Stephen Carr Movies

Clark Kent (George Reeves) and Inspector Henderson (Robert Shayne) go off to Hollwyood, where Clark is to serve as technical advisor for a film about underworld kingpin Louie Dinelli (Anthony Caruso). The gangster boss isn't about to let the film get made, and he arranges a number of suspicious accidents on the set--not to mention a few fatalities. Thus it is that Clark disappears into the shadows and re-emerges in his traditional Superman guise. The "National Studios" seen in this episode is actually the backlot of the historic RKO-Pathe studio, while the actor playing movie director Tommy Carr is actually Tommy's brother Stephen Carr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Reporters Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates) and Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) show up in Peru, hoping to find an Incan treasure and thereby scoop their colleague Clark Kent (George Reeves). Unfortunately, the two intrepid newshounds stumble onto a cave being used by a particulary vicious gang of criminals. The upshot of all this is another "death trap" for poor Lois and Jimmy, obliging Clark to whip off his spectacles and morph into Superman for the last-minute rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cub reporter Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) pays a visit to his Aunt Louisa (Sarah Padden) who lives in a lighthouse off the coast of Maine. Upon arrival, Jimmy begins to suspect that something is amiss: Though he's never met Aunt Louise, she sure doesn't live up to her description. And besides, there's a sinister looking "cousin" (Jimmy Ogg) and a very terrified young woman (Allen Roberts) on the premise. It is up to Clark Kent (George Reeves) to figure out that the lighthouse is being used by a gang of smugglers--and it's up to Kent's alter ego Superman to save Jimmy from a watery doom.. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates) runs across a pair of mysterious men who are going around Metropolis, purchasing cheap plaster statuettes at various gift shops and then smashing them. Intrigued by their bizarre behavior and positive that there's a story behind it somewhere, she enlists the help of Clark Kent (George Reeves) to see what they're up to and even gets ahead of them, purchasing some of the statues herself and smashing them, whereupon she discovers some small, seemingly meaningless objects inside. But before she can figure out what it all means, she's kidnapped out of her own apartment. Kent and Inspector Henderson (Robert Shayne) are positive that notorious international criminal Paul Martin (Tris Coffin) is behind the kidnapping and the plot, but can't get a lead on his whereabouts, or the meaning of it all. Inspector Henderson is slowly sweating the truth out of one of Martin's henchmen, but it looks as though only Superman can help Miss Lane, if he can find out where she's being held. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

While taking a well-deserved vacation in Canada, reporter Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates) ends up at a seedy motel where the owner's wife (Ann Doran) is behaving in a strangely terrified fashion. It turns out that the motel is the refuge for a pair of gunmen who are awaiting the arrival of a paid killer. Before long, Lois has been kidnapped by the villains--and when cub reporter Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) comes to her rescue, he is snatched as well. Looks like this is another job for Superman (George Reeves). Watch for the notorious scene in which supporting actor Frank Richards accidentally knocks Phyllis Coates unconscious for real! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Superman, the comic-book "Man of Steel" created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, made his feature-film debut in Lippert's Superman and the Mole Men. The story takes place in the small town of Silsby, where the local oil company is drilling what will become the world's deepest well. When the drillers reach the six-mile point, the results are astonishing: four subterranean Mole Men (Jack Banbury, Billy Curtis, Jerry Marvin and Tony Barvis) emerge from the well. Though basically harmless, the Mole Men are regarded as a threat by the citizens of Silsby, especially lynch-happy Luke Benson (Jeff Corey). Reporters Clark Kent (George Reeves) and Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates) arrive in town to do a story on the well. When Kent realizes that the Mole Men are in danger of falling victim to mob violence, he tears off his glasses and street clothes to become Superman. In this guise, he endeavors to rescue the Mole Men and to convince the townsfolk that blind prejudice is both stupid and dangerous. Rather mild by today's standards (the audience never gets to see Superman fly), Superman and the Mole Men served its primary purpose: to act as a theatrical pilot for the very popular Superman TV series, which also starred Reeves and (for the first season, at least) Coates. The feature film was later edited into two half-hour installments of the Superman series, and retitled "The Unknown People." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fast on the Draw was one of six Lippert Studios "Four Star" westerns, all of which were filmed simultaneously in the space of a single month. Jimmy Ellison plays Shamrock, a Colorado Ranger who suffers from a fear of firearms. Despite this handicap, Shamrock is assigned to pose as a gunman, the better to get the goods on a crooked land baron. As in the early "Four Star" outings, Ellison's co-stars are Russ Hayden, Raymond Hatton, Fuzzy Knight and Betty (later Julie) Adams. Cast as the outlaw leader is Tom Tyler, whose performance is hampered somewhat by encroaching arthritis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Monogram's Outlaws of Texas is surprisingly bereft of the action highlights one might expect from star Whip Wilson. This time, the Whip and his saddle pal Andy Clyde play heroes Tom and Hungry who work undercover to break up a gang of bank robbers. As a novelty, the crooks are headed by the beauteous Anne (Phyllis Coates). Inevitably, Tom and Hungry are found out, leading to a long-overdue slam-bang finale. Outlaws of Texas was the last of Whip Wilson's vehicles to feature veteran funster Andy Clyde; Clyde's replacements over the next year would include Fuzzy Knight, Tommy Farrell, and Lee Roberts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though released second, Hostile Country was the first of six "Four Star" westerns, filmed back to back within the space of four weeks by Lippert Productions. Starring in all six of these quickie oaters are Jimmie Ellison and Russell Hayden as a couple of wandering cavaliers named Shamrock and Lucky. This time around, Our Heroes come to the aid of a pretty cattle rancher (Betty Adams), who is being victimized by a gang of landgrabbers. Like Ellison and Hayden, Betty Adams (who later billed herself as Julie Adams) was also present in all six of Lippert's "Four Star" westerns, as were Raymond Hatton and Fuzzy Knight. Hostile Country was later released to TV as Outlaw Fury. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This adventure is the first live-action Superman serial and was one of the most successful multi-chapter films ever made. Superman is played by B-movie hero Kirk Alyn. The story centers upon the hero and the nefarious Spider Lady, who is trying to rule the Earth. If she cannot have complete control, she plans on shrinking it with her powerful reducer ray. Much of the episodes center upon Superman's relationship with Lois Lane and upon his ability to fly. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

No one was surprised in 1929 that aviation mogul Howard R. Hughes would produce a paean to World War I flying aces like Hell's Angels. Given Hughes' comparative inexperience as a moviemaker, however, everyone was taken slightly aback that the finished film was as good as it was. The very American Ben Lyon and James Hall play (respectively) Monte and Roy Rutledge, a couple of British brothers who drop out of Oxford to join the British Royal Flying Corps. Several early scenes establish Lyon and Hall's romantic rivalry over two-timing socialite Helen (Jean Harlow). While flying a dangerous bombing mission over Germany, the brothers are shot down. The commandant (Lucien Prival), who'd earlier been cuckolded by one of the brothers, savors his opportunity for revenge. He offers the boys their freedom if they'll reveal the time of the next British attack; if they don't cooperate, they face unspeakable consequences. Roy, driven mad by his combat experiences, is about to tell all when he is shot and killed by Monte. The latter is himself condemned to a firing squad by the disgruntled commandant -- who, it is implied, will soon meet his own doom at the hands of the British bombers. Nobody really cares about this hoary old plot, however; Hell's Angels culls most of its strength from its crackerjack aerial sequences. The highlight is a Zeppelin raid over London, one of the most hauntingly effective sequences ever put on film. From the first ghost-like appearance of the Zeppelin breaking through the clouds, to the self-sacrificing behavior of the German crew members as they jump to their deaths rather than provide "excess weight," this is a scene that lingers in the memory far longer than all that good-of-the-service nonsense in the finale. Also worth noting is the star-making appearance of Jean Harlow. When Hell's Angels was begun as a silent film, Norwegian actress Greta Nissen played the female lead. During the switchover to sound, producer Hughes decided that her accent was at odds with her characterization, so he reshot her scenes with his latest discovery, Harlow. While she appears awkward in some of her scenes, there's no clumsiness whatsoever in her delivery of the classic line about slipping into "something more comfortable." Originally, Marshall Neilan was signed to direct the film, but became so rattled by Howard Hughes' interference that he handed the reins to Hughes himself, who was in turn given an uncredited assist by Luther Reed. Also ignored in the film's credits are the dialogue contributions by future Frankenstein director James Whale, who'd been hired as the film's English-dialect coach. Modern audiences expecting a musty museum piece are generally surprised by Hell's Angels' high entertainment content: they are also startled by the pre-code frankness of the dialogue, with phrases like "The hell with you" bandied about with reckless abandon. In recent years, archivists have restored the film's two-color Technicolor sequence, providing us with our only color glimpses of the radiant Jean Harlow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Zane Grey's 1925 story of the great Buffalo hunts became a sprawling silent Western produced by Paramount and starring the studio's stalwart Jack Holt as a trader who uncovers a scheme to blame the Indians for a Buffalo massacre. The film's highlight, a breathtaking shot of wagons careening across a frozen lake, was used again in the studio's equally fine 1933 remake. To match the old footage, director Henry Hathaway employed some of the same actors and stunt performers. The original Thundering Herd has gained the reputation, along with the same year's Wild Horse Mesa (also starring Holt), as the finest Grey adaptation ever produced. Both Tim McCoy and Gary Cooper earned bit parts in this epic Western filmed on locations at Lone Pine, California. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This charming and expensively made historical romance was one of Marion Davies' best films. She spends much of the picture disguised as a boy, something she also did effectively in several other films. A young Irish lad, Patrick O'Day (Stephen Carr), inherits a fortune, providing he travels to New York to claim it within a certain period of time. His father, John (J.M. Kerrigan), manages to scrape together the money to send himself, his son, and daughter, Patricia (Davies), across the Atlantic. But the boy is sick and dies en route to New York. In order to get the money, John convinces Patricia to disguise herself as her brother. They arrive just in time to claim the inheritance, which frustrates cousin Larry Delevan (Harrison Ford), who would have received it had Pat not shown up. Although Delevan is not thrilled with his cousin's arrival, they become fast friends anyhow, and he never suspects that Pat is really a girl. Delevan wants to invest in Robert Fulton's steamship, the Clermont, and Pat loans him the money. But Delevan then wagers on a fight between Bully Boy Brewster (Harry Watson) and the Hoboken Terror (Louis Wolheim). The match is an uneven one and it looks like Delevan will lose all his money, so Pat rings a false alarm to break up the fight. When her deed is discovered, the mob drags her out to be whipped. She takes it for a few lashes before revealing that she's really a girl. Delevan falls in love with her and they marry. Contrary to popular belief, many of Marion Davies' films made money, and Little Old New York was one of them. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide