Robert Stevens Movies

Based on a true story, Ti Ritrovera is set in postwar Naples. Newlywed Maria (Delia Scala) can't understand why her husband disappeared without a trace during their honeymoon. What the audience knows, but Maria doesn't, is that hubby is a British intelligence agent on a top-secret mission. Maria finally locates her husband with the help of sympathetic village priest Don Giuseppe (Enrico Viarisio). Featured as an American MP is John Kitzmiller, whom most filmgoers will remember as "Quarrel" in the inaugural James Bond entry Doctor No (1962). Though its story has dramatic potential, director Giacomo Gentilomo chooses to play most of Ti Ritrovera for laughs, and very effectively. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cowboy star Charles Starrett goes through his usual paces in the under-an-hour formula western The Lone Hand Texan. As ever, Starrett plays a roving do-gooder named Steve who adopts the disguise of The Durango Kid to further the cause of justice. This time, he dons his Durango mask to save his old pal Smiley (Smiley Burnette), whose oil-rich land is dearly coveted by the villains. Halfway through the proceedings, Steve is framed for murder (as usual), but by reel five the actual miscreants are eating dust or rotting away in the calaboose. Musical relief is provided by the hillbilly team of Mustard and Gravy, who are about as funny as their name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A man down on his luck runs afoul of a beautiful but dangerous woman in this superior low-budget film noir. Mike Lambert (Glenn Ford), while trained as a mining engineer, has fallen on hard times and is driving a truck when his rig breaks down in a small town. He soon meets the seductive Paula Craig (Janis Carter) at a cafe and is quickly drawn into her web of larceny. Paula encourages her lover, Stephen Price (Barry Sullivan), to rob the bank that he manages, then kills Stephen and takes the ill-gotten money. Paula confesses the killing to Mike and begs him to run away with her, claiming she murdered Price in a fit of passion while she was drunk. Mike considers her offer until he learns that his close friend Jeff Cunningham (Edgar Buchanan) has been accused of killing Stephen -- and that Paula intends to pin the robbery that Stephen committed on Mike. Femme Fatale Janis Carter originally studied to be a classical musician before her career as an actress took off, while Edgar Buchanan's big break would come 16 years down the road, when he was cast as "Uncle Joe" on the television series Petticoat Junction. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When wealthy Ballin Mundson (George Macready) rescues down at his heels gambler Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) and invites him to the Buenos Aires casino he owns, both men get more than they wagered on. Farrell convinces Mundson to hire him as casino manager, but is shocked when Mundson introduces his new bride, and Farrell's old flame, Gilda (Rita Hayworth).Though Farrell is unwavering in his loyalty to his employer, and he and Gilda treat each other with contempt, Mundson realizes that the torch never died for either of the former lovers. Ordered to guard Gilda, Farrell tries to convince himself that he's protecting Mundson's interests, but Gilda sees through his self-deception. Meanwhile, Mundson reveals to Farrell that his primary business is control of an international tungsten cartel that he plans to use to further his fascist ends. With the police closing in on the cartel, Mundson fakes his death, apparently leaving Gilda and Farrell free to marry. They do so: Gilda for love, but Farrell to punish her for being unfaithful to Mundson. When Mundson returns to kill them, it is he who dies, thereby freeing the lovers to apologize to each other and return to the U.S. Charles Vidor's Gilda is a voyeuristic film noir treat that engages the viewer in a complex web of sado-masochistic triangles. When, for example, Gilda performs her signature number, "Put the Blame on Mame," she is not simply enraging both Mundson and Farrell with her open sexuality, she is also crying out in pain for the love she is being denied. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide

This was Curly Howard's next to last film as a member of the Three Stooges. He would collapse from a stroke while filming Half-Wits Holiday, and his illness would end his career. Even though he wasn't well during his last few shorts, Curly's comic timing was usually flawless, and he's especially hilarious here disguised as a Rajah. The time is supposedly 1642, but when the Stooges are washed up onto Dead Man's Island from a wrecked garbage scow, they are dressed as sailors circa 1946 (when the film was made). Curly immediately displeases the governor (Vernon Dent) by flirting with his fiancée, Rita (Christine McIntyre), and he sentences all three of them to death. Rita doesn't want to marry the governor, so she gives the boys tools (including an electric drill) so they can escape from their cell. Unfortunately, they choose the wrong wall and wind up right back in their cell. So Rita disguises them as "wayfarers from a strange land" -- apparently somewhere around India. They talk in gibberish and offer the governor a raspberry lollipop, which he mistakes as a ruby (he's delighted because he's never been given the raspberry before). Only after they're gone does he discover that they are the sailors he wants dead. He enlists the help of Black Louie the pirate, and the boys wind up in a tense situation at a saloon. But they battle it out, and with Rita's help they emerge victorious. Moe, however, has decided he wants to stay; he proclaims himself emperor and a mallet immediately comes down and smashes him on the head. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This biopic takes an in-depth look into the life of Minnesota All-American football player Bruce Smith. The story is framed by a screenwriter's interview with the famed halfback. In order to garner information, the scenarist is assigned to live with Smith. During the film, Smith shares his thoughts on football and anecdotes from his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

White villains once again agitate a friendly tribe of Indians in this average Columbia serial starring nonentity Robert Stevens (aka Robert Kellard. Stevens, who was awarded billing below leading lady Nell O'Day, played Sgt. MacLane of the Royal Canadian mounties, assigned to quell the uprising. As it turns out, a nasty renegade, Mort Ransome (Kenneth MacDonald), is behind the attacks, conspiring with evil medicine man Black Bear (Nick Thompson) to stir up the heretofore friendly tribe for his own gain. Between chapter one, "The Totem Talks" and the concluding (and self-explanatory) "The Mountie Gets His Man," MacLane, heroine Diana and the mounties survive Indian attacks, forest fires, explosions and sundry other perils, all courtesy of Columbia producer Larry Darmour. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Tom Brown, an actor who "borrowed" his professional name from 1932's Tom Brown of Culver, finds himself back in the collegiate pool in 1942's Hello Annapolis. Brown and up-and-coming Larry Parks sign up at the titular Naval academy, battling both in and out of uniform over the affections of Jean Parker. This pre-Pearl Harbor comedy has plenty of energy and little in the way of truth, but who wanted 62 minutes' worth of truth on the bottom half of a double bill? Silent movie buffs might want to keep a lookout for veterans Herbert Rawlinson and Mae Busch in the supporting cast. Hello Annapolis is augmented with background footage lensed at the real-life Annapolis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide