William Stephens Movies
- 1949
Based on a novel by Charles Huckelmann, Deputy Marshal was a "special" by the standards of cost-conscious Screen Guild productions. The film stars Jon Hall and Frances Langford, who were Mr. and Mrs. at the time. Hall plays the title character, aka Ed Garry, while Langford essays the role of Janet Masters, a Wyoming ranchowner threatened by land thieves. While Garry does the dirty work so far as keeping the villains at bay, Janet gets to sing a couple of pleasant songs. Deputy Marshal was promoted on its novelty value; the film was photographed by Carl Berger with the Garutso Balanced Lens, a deep-focus apparatus that simulated a 3-D effect. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Frances Langford, (more)
Future "Superman" George Reeves and former "Dick Tracy" Ralph Byrd co-star in Thunder in the Pines. The stars play a pair of eternally bickering loggers in Tall Timber country. Both vie for the attentions of Gallic charmer Yvette (Denise Darcel), who promises to wed the logger who cuts down the most trees (this is not a pro-eco piece!) All sorts of adventures ensue before the two loggers swear off "dames" forever -- or at least for the next few minutes. Filmed in "Glowing Sepiatone," Thunder in the Pines benefits from the well-focused location photography by Carl Berger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Reeves, Ralph Byrd, (more)
- 1949
Robert Lowery stars in the 65-minute actioner Arson Inc. Lowery plays a fireman in search of a seemingly random arsonist--or arsonists. Putting two and two together, our hero figures out that culprits are a gang of thieves who've been torching businesses to cover up their robberies. Much of the film has a semidocumentary quality, as director William Berke concentrates on the real-life methods and firefighting equipment of the LA Fire Department. Curiously, the film's co-scripter was Arthur Caesar, one of Hollywood's foremost humorists. Trade-shown in May of 1949, Arson Inc. hit the neighborhood theatre screens in June. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lowery, Anne Gwynne, (more)
- 1949
Set virtually in its entirety in an airborne TWA Constellation (evidently the company agreed to the use of its name in exchange for free advertising), Sky Liner stars Richard Travis as FBI agent Steve Blair. At the beginning of the film, a government courier is murdered by a foreign spy during a transcontinental flight. Blair manages to collar the spy, who is then promptly murdered himself. Now Blair is forced to play detective, sifting out the guilty party (or parties) from the passenger list. Pamela Blake and Rochelle Hudson play the standard "good" and "bad" girls, while the rest of the cast is a film-buff's dream: Steven Geray, Bess Flowers, Jack Mulhall, George Meeker et. al. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Travis, Pamela Blake, (more)
- 1949
Superman and Dick Tracy star in Jungle Goddess--or rather, the actors who played Superman and Dick Tracy, George Reeves and Ralph Byrd. When pilots Mike Patton (Reeves) and Bob Simpson (Byrd) learn that the father of long-missing Greta Vanderhorn (Wanda McKay) is offering a huge reward for his daughter's return, they fly off to the African jungle where Greta's plane crashed many years ago. Mike and Bob trace Greta to a supersititious native tribe, where she reigns as queen. Bob has the misfortune to kill one of the natives, whereupon Greta condemns him to death. Eventually, the more sympathetic of the two pilots manages to make his escape, with Greta by his side. Filmed "in glowing Sepiatone", Jungle Goddess recently resurfaced as an object of derision on TV's Mystery Science Theater 3000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Reeves, Wanda McKay, (more)
- 1948
There's a thrill a minute in the economical actioner Highway 13. Robert Lowery plays Hank Wilson, an honest truck driver who suspects foul play after a series of trucking "accidents". Offering his services to undercover detective George Montgomery (Gaylord Pendleton), Wilson finds himself at the mercy of the villains-who hope to put a major transportation firm out of business-when Montgomery is murdered in an unusually grotesque fashion. It wouldn't be fair to reveal the true identities of the criminal masterminds, except to say that the actors playing those roles had seldom appeared as villains in any previous film. It can be said that the usually underhanded Dan Seymour shows up as one of the good guys, one of the many surprises in this lightning-paced little film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lowery, Pamela Blake, (more)
Actually it's Rin Tin Tin III, grandson of the legendary silent-movie canine star. Filmed in less than glorious Vitacolor, Return of Rin Tin Tin stars Donald Woods as an American priest assigned to a postwar European mission. Bobby Blake (later Baretta star Robert Blake) is a young war orphan whose harrowing experiences have soured him on mankind. Father Woods brings the boy to America, but the lad is still unapproachable until he befriends Rin Tin Tin. The dog restores the boy's zest for living and faith in humanity. A villain threatens to take the dog away, but all ends happily (and tearfully). While not on a par with MGM's Lassie pictures, PRC Pictures' Return of Rin Tin Tin has its heart in the right place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Woods, Claudia Drake, (more)
For some reason or other, Melody for Three seems to be the most frequently revived of RKO Radio's "Dr. Christian." As ever, Jean Hersholt stars as Christian, kindly general practitioner of the town of River's End. In this one, Dr. Christian takes an avuncular interest in young Billy Stanley (Schuyler Standish), a violin prodigy. Soon thereafter, he dedicates himself to reuniting Billy's divorced parents, music teacher Mary Stanley (a standout performance by Fay Wray) and famed orchestra conductor Antoine Pirelle (Walter Woolf King). One can only wish that Real Life were as simple and clear-cut as the adventures of Dr. Christian. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Hersholt, Fay Wray, (more)
This last entry in the Dr. Christian series tells about a country doctor who pieces together a defense to get a bank teller-- who has been wrongly convicted of embezzlement--out of jail. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
Remedy for Riches was the fourth in RKO Radio's six-entry "Dr. Christian" series. Jean Hersholt returns as Dr. Christian, the wise and beneficent general practitioner of the town of River's End. The plot is thickened on this occasion by an oil-well scam, perpetrated by city slickers Stewart (Warren Hull) and Vandeveer (Jed Prouty). When the doctor's geologist friend Davis (Dick Baldwin) looks into the duo's get-rich-quick scheme, they contrive to have Davis thrown in jail. Before Christian is able to take matters into his own hands, he is sidetracked by a comic subplot involving a baking contest, presided over by real-life newspaper nutritionist Prudence Penny (as herself). Remedy for Riches is distinguished by more happy endings than a volume of Grimm Fairy Tales. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, (more)
The second entry in RKO Radio's "Dr. Christian" series, Courageous Dr. Christian was like the first inspired by the popular radio weekly. In this one, kindly general practioner Dr. Christian (Jean Hersholt) tends to the needs of a group of indigents, living in squalor in the town's shanty district. The local "landed gentry" is indifferent to the plight of the squatters, until an outbreak of spinal meningitis threatens the entire community. On a lighter note, Dr. Christian spends a good portion of his screen time fending off the romantic overtures of wealthy dowager Mrs. Stewart (Vera Lewis). Like the others in the "Christian" series, Courageous Dr. Christian is currently available from a wide variety of public-domain video sources. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, (more)
The third of six feature films based on radio's popular Dr. Christian series, Dr. Christian Meets the Women once more stars Jean Hersholt as the kindly eponymous medico. In this entry, the tiny community of River's End is invaded by Professor Kenneth Parker (Rod La Rocque), a charming charlatan who is promoting a "miracle" diet pill. Despite Dr. Christian's warnings, Parker's wares are ravenously consumed by the female population, whereupon the pill's dangerous side effects begin to manifest themselves. Dr. Christian comes to the rescue with a sensible diet formula which, according to studio publicity, was an amalgam of suggestions from 100 leading American doctors. Its health benefits aside, Dr. Christian Meets the Women was only a fair-to-middling series entry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, (more)
As a direct result with his excellent showing as warm-hearted Dr. Dafoe in the Dionne Quintuplets films, Jean Hersholt was awarded a not dissimilar radio series about a kindly general practioner named Dr. Christian. Two years after the debut of the Dr. Christian radio series, RKO Radio launched a group of films based on the property, again with Hersholt in the lead. First of the series was Meet Dr. Christian, in which the viewer was introduced to the titular doctor, his fussbudget housekeeper Mrs. Hastings (Maude Eburne), his favorite nurse Judy Price (Dorothy Lovett), Judy's pharmacist boyfriend Roy Davis (Robert Baldwin), and grouchy but lovable town grocer George Browning (Edgar Kennedy). Set in the town of River's End, the story concerns the efforts made by the pompous mayor to remove Dr. Christian from his position as the town's health officer and replace him with a more "modern" medico. Ultimately, Christian proves his worth by performing a delicate operation without the benefit of the proper instruments. As a result, he not only keeps his job but is able to convince the town council to erect a new hospital. The overwhelmingly positive response to Meet Dr. Christian encouraged RKO to continue the series, ultimate toting up six profitable entries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, (more)
