KING OF THE COWBOYS

Roy Rogers behind bars

KING OF THE COWBOYS (1943). Director: Joseph Kane.

Rodeo star Roy Rogers, playing himself, is importuned to quit the show so he can go undercover to find some WW2 saboteurs. His sidekick, Frog Milhouse (Smiley Burnette),  goes along with him and they hook up with another show of which Judy Mason (Peggy Moran of Horror Island) and her pal Ruby (Dorothea Kent of Young Fugitives) are a part. The gals work with Maurice  (Gerald Mohr) -- the "Mental Marvel" -- who does a mind-reading act via which he communicates with his fellow spies. James Bush plays Dave Mason, the show manager, who may not be on the side of the angels. Lloyd Corrigan plays Karley, the governor's private secretary, who is definitely not on the side of the angels.

Kent, Moran and Mohr

King of the Cowboys is often mistaken as Roger's first starring role, but he starred in a great many films-- mostly for Republic Studios  --  before he made this one. The plot in this "modern" nominal western is negligible, but Rogers has a nice voice and the film's highlights are the musical numbers: "I'm an Old Cowhand;" "Ride, Ranger, Ride;" and especially "Prairie Moon." An odd moment occurs when the governor (Russell Hicks) tells Roy how his last agent was killed and that his final words were "following May." Rogers, who is not too swift, assumes that May was some hot tamale, says "sounds like nice work," and shows absolutely no concern for the agent who was murdered! Otherwise, Rogers is pleasant, handsome and bland, and Burnette is only mildly amusing. The two gals don't get much to do, but Mohr and Corrigan are as professional as ever. Irving Bacon, Ethel's dad on I Love Lucy, has a small role as well. In addition to other Roy Rogers features, as well as co-directing a couple of serials, Joseph Kane also helmed Jubilee Trail for Republic.

Verdict: Odd mixture of cowboys and spies with some good songs. **1/2. 

GILDA

Rita Hayworth

GILDA (1946). Director: Charles Vidor.

"Hate can be an exciting emotion. Very exciting. Hate is the only thing that can ever warm me." -- Ballin Mundson.

"If I'd been a ranch, they'd have named me the bar nothing." -- Gilda.

Down Argentine way just at the end of WW2, a hustler and crooked gambler named Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) is nearly robbed when a stranger on the docks with a spear in his cane comes to his rescue. The stranger is casino owner Ballin Mundson (George Macready), who hires Johnny to look after his interests. Some time later Ballin introduces Johnny to his beautiful wife, Gilda (Rita Hayworth), and both feign ignorance of the fact that they were once involved. Johnny and Gilda have a real love-hate relationship to add to the stew, and Ballin has a consortium with a bunch of Germans to add to the confusion. After a man is murdered in the casino, Ballin seems to commit suicide in his plane ... What to make of the modestly entertaining and often silly Gilda? Artificial and Hollywoodish as all get-out, with one-dimensional characters and one of the shortest climaxes in the history of the movies, Gilda has a few interesting twists and turns and is distinguished by the sex appeal and fine, constantly insinuating performance of Rita Hayworth, who makes the most of a standard role of the good-bad girl who is kept by wealthy men while loving the poor fellow she truly adores. Ford is not bad, if miscast, as the grubby borderline lowlife who winds up a kind of bodyguard/ersatz gunsel to Ballin (the narration he's given is unnecessary). Macready gives a good performance -- probably the longest and most famous of his career -- although some of his line readings are a little too matter-of-fact; one can think of other actors who might have played it in a somewhat more colorful and poetically sinister fashion. Steven Geray, Gerald Mohr, and Joseph Calleia all score as, respectively, a lowly casino employee who knows where the bodies are buried; a slimy guy with a hankering for Rita; and the police inspector who is concerned with the doings of the German consortium (even if no one in the audience is).

Some people* have had a different reading on Gilda, claiming that Johnny Farrell is a literal hustler on the bisexual side, Ballin's boyfriend, in fact, and that Johnny's self-hatred forced him to walk away from Hayworth before the story begins. This theory has it that Ballin needs to have power over attractive people of both sexes (one is reminded of Clifton Webb's character in Laura). Unfortunately, this take on the film makes it seem like a bad, regressive gay novel of the forties -- the tormented "queer" pulls away from the guy he's with and walks off into the sunset with a woman -- and while some advocates of this theory can point out certain lines and situations in scene after scene (and they may even have a point), they forget that many, many movies featured bad (and good) guys with live-in bodyguards and buddies, and this was never necessarily considered homoerotic. The proponents of this theory would have a lot to make of the Gilda imitation, Forbidden and many others as well.

Rudolph Mate has contributed some fine cinematography, but you would never know that the story takes place in Buenos Aires, as it has little Argentinian atmosphere. Gilda might be considered film noir except for the fact that its crime aspects are comparatively minimal. The pseudo-clever dialogue is often amusing.

* such as film noir specialist Eddie Muller on the Gilda DVD.

Verdict: Anyway, it's fun watching Hayworth do her "Put the Blame On Mame" number. **1/2.

INVASION U.S.A.

INVASION U.S.A. (1952). Director: Alfred E. Green.

A group of people in a bar, including Vince Potter (Gerald Mohr of Redhead from Manhattan), Carla Sanford (Peggie Castle), and George Sylvester (Robert Bice of The Big Bluff), are horrified to learn on television that a foreign power has invaded the United States. There's talk of an A bomb hurtling towards Manhattan! Via hypnotism, a mysterious man named "Mr. Ohman" (Daniel O'Herlihy)-- get it? -- offers the patrons a cautionary tale of what might happen if the U.S. should succumb ... Red-Baiter Hedda Hopper loved this film (see poster) because it was anti-communist, but that's about all anybody could love about this very minor and routine picture. O'Herlihy offers the best performance, although Castle isn't bad, and Mohr is his usual lounge-lizard self. Interesting cast members in small roles include both "Lois Lanes" -- Phyllis Coates and Noel Neill -- and Edward G. Robinson, Jr. Green also directed Housewife with Bette Davis, among others.

Verdict: Worth sleeping through. *1/2.

DETECTIVE STORY

Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker

DETECTIVE STORY (1951). Director: William Wyler.

24 hours in a police precinct focusing on Detective James McLeod (Kirk Douglas) and his efforts to bring down Karl Schneider (George Macready), who helps bring unwanted babies into the world so he can sell them [in the play, Schneider was a simple abortionist]. McLeod seems so crazy to get this guy that his superior, Lt. Monaghan (Horace McMahon), wonders if there's some personal connection to the case, and in an ironic development, discovers that there is -- and it concerns McLeod's wife, Mary (Eleanor Parker). Will these revelations bring about the too-rigid McLeod's ruination? Detective Story is an absorbing and often powerful movie and features some fine performances from Douglas, Macready, McMahon [Quick Millions], and especially the wonderful William Bendix as McLeod's colleague, Brody. Lee Grant [Damian: Omen 2], in her first film, is fine as a likable if bewildered shoplifter; Craig Hill scores as an embezzler in love with the wrong woman; and Cathy O'Donnell offers a sensitive portrayal of another woman who's in love with Hill. There are also some flavorful short appearances by Gladys George [Flamingo Road] and Gerald Mohr; Joseph Wiseman, only in his second film, is perhaps less effective. Eleanor Parker, possibly miscast to begin with, is a bit too showy and mannered at times, although she has her moments. In general, Wyler's assured direction gets the most out of the story and characters and the film holds the attention throughout. O'Donnell and Mohr appeared together in Terror in the Haunted House.

Verdict: Another very fine Wyler feature. ***1/2.

REDHEAD FROM MANHATTAN

REDHEAD FROM MANHATTAN (1943). Director: Lew Landers.

The delightful Lupe Velez from the Mexican Spitfire series plays dual roles in this fairly amusing musical: Rita, whose boat is sunk as she reaches New York; and her identical cousin Maria, who is now known as Broadway star Elaine Manners. Maria has hid her marriage and pregnancy from the boss because he doesn't hire married women, so lookalike Rita's arrival is a godsend -- she can take Maria's place in the musical while the latter goes off to have her baby. Complications include a lover boy (Gerald Mohr from Angry Red Planet) who wants to marry Elaine, and a saxophonist named Jimmy (Michael Duane), who was on the same boat as Rita. [This whole business with the boat torpedoed, sunk, or whatever is sort of glossed over.] Velez is excellent in two roles, making them reasonably distinct, and shines in her snappy production numbers which feature some lively songs. In his second film Michael Duane is good-looking but betrays little real acting ability; still he amassed a few more credits up until 1948. Lewis Wilson, the first actor to play Batman, is cast as Elaine's husband. Shirley Patterson,/Shawn Smith --who was also in the Batman serial with Wilson --  is a switchboard operator. This was released by Columbia on the Port Pictures label.

Verdict: If you enjoy Velez, you may get a kick out of this. **1/2.

TERROR IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE

TERROR IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE (aka My World Dies Screaming/1958). Director: Harold Daniels.

Philip Tierney (Gerald Mohr) has just married a woman he met in Switzerland named Sheila (Cathy O'Donnell). She is plagued with nightmares about a strange haunted house but hopes to leave all that behind her when she and new hubby leave for America. Unfortunately, the house Philip takes her to is the exact same house that she's been dreaming about! William Ching plays a cousin who seems to know more then he's telling. Among several problems with this movie is that Sheila is such a wimpy heroine, literally screaming at every noise and shadow -- although O'Donnell is a very good actress. This is a rare starring role for Mohr of Angry Red Planet. Ching mostly did television work but he was also in Buck Privates Come Home, Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap and The Mysterious Mr. M. This is actually a Gothic romance masquerading as a horror film. O'Donnell, who sometimes spelled her first name with a "K," also appeared in The Miniver Story, Amazing Mr. X and Ben-Hur. Sensitively scored by Darrell Calker.

Verdict: In spite of everything it holds the attention. **1/2. 

JUNGLE GIRL

JUNGLE GIRL 15-chapter Republic serial (1941). Directors: William Witney; John English. 

Nyoka (Frances Gifford), who lives in the jungles of Cairobi with her father Dr. Meredith, doesn't realize that he has been replaced by his evil twin brother Bradley (Trevor Bardette). Nyoka not only has to deal with the sinister machinations of the medicine man, Shamba (Frank Lackteen), but with the deadly wiles of Bradley's confederate, Slick Latimer (Gerald Mohr). At least the brave Nyoka has three allies: the pilot Jack Stanton (Tom Neal of Detour fame), his buddy and co-pilot Curly (Eddie Acuff), and the little native boy Kimbu (Tommy Cook). 

Jungle Girl, loosely based on a novel by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, is packed with action and deadly situations that occur within each chapter and not just at the end of each. Nyoka is suspended over a fire and tied to logs by straps, shrinking due to the heat, which are about to snap her into the flames; or is nearly drawn and quartered by the sadistic Shamba. Kimbu falls off a rope bridge and is nearly eaten by a crocodile. Jack gets trapped in a pit with a hungry lion in one chapter and dangles overhead in a trap as another tries to claw him from the ground in another. Nyoka herself battles a lion to the death at one point. And these aren't even the cliffhangers! 

The actual cliffhangers present a flood of water that nearly washes the good guys out of a cavern and off of a cliff; a thatch of fiery oil on the river that nearly roasts them alive; a slipping log that traverses a high chasm; and a trap that consists of a room with a floor that moves to reveal what appears to be a bottomless pit! One of the best cliffhangers and action scenes has to do with Jack trapped on a conveyor belt that draws him ever nearer to a huge block of stone that repeatedly mashes downward as his head gets closer and closer. The suspense over this sequence continues into the following chapter where Jack continues to be in danger as Nyoka and the others battle all around him. There is a superb fight to the death between Jack and Slick on an airplane for the memorable and highly satisfying climax. 

Curly isn't just comedy relief, although he does figure in the funniest scene, when he throws his voice to make little Kimbu think that his adorable monkey can talk! Later on, when Curly is unjustly accused of murdering the native chief, he realizes that they will kill everyone else just to get to him and is willing to sacrifice his life to save the others -- until the truth comes out. The actors are fine, with Mohr, in one of his best roles, taking top honors as the slimy Slick. Neal makes a more than adequate two-fisted hero, and Gifford is lively and athletic. Bardette is fine as both the sympathetic doctor and his very unsympathetic brother. Tommy Cook is a charmer as Kimbu, as is his little monkey. There's even a very hammy gorilla in chapter eight. Al Kikume, who played Lothar in Mandrake the Magician, is herein cast as Chief Lutembi. Ken Terrell, who played Mrs. Archer's butler Jess in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, is cast as another native. Gifford also appeared in Henry Aldrich Gets Glamor. The theme music sounds like something you'd hear for a "safari" act in a nightclub. 

NOTE: The Perils of Nyoka, made by Republic the following year, was probably not an "official" sequel. In this Nyoka's dead father [killed in the first chapter of Jungle Girl] somehow turns up alive. 

Verdict: One of the best serials ever made! ***1/2.

BATMAN AND ROBIN (1949)

BATMAN AND ROBIN 1949 15-chapter Columbia serial. Director: Spencer Bennet. 

Batman (Robert Lowery) and Robin (John Duncan) cross wits and figurative swords with a criminal mastermind known only as the Wizard. The suspects for his real identity are numerous: the grumpy old Professor Hammil (William Fawcett) who seems to be crippled but can attach himself to a certain energy device; Dunn, the skulking private eye (Michael Whalen); radio announcer Barry Brown (Rick Vallin), who always seems to know what everyone is up to ahead of time; or Carter (Leonard Penn), Hammil's unctuous butler. [The Wizard's voice appears to be dubbed by Gerald Mohr.] The relatively colorless Jane Adams plays photographer Vicki Vale, who has a crooked brother named Jimmy. Lyle Talbot plays Commissioner Gordon. The Wizard employs such devices as a remote control machine that can stop cars and trains in their tracks, and another machine that turns him invisible to wreak more havoc. Robert Lowery makes an okay Batman/Bruce Wayne, and 26-year-old John Duncan is fine and credible as an adult Robin. The near-operatic theme music is also quite memorable. 

Verdict: Suspenseful and fun. ***.

THE ANGRY RED PLANET

THE ANGRY RED PLANET (1959). Director: Ib Melchior. 

A space flight to Mars returns with half the crew dead or missing, and one with a weird parasitic infection. Only the female member of the group, biologist Iris Ryan (Nora Hayden), is able to answer questions, and she barely remembers anything. Most of the movie is a flashback to the spaceship landing on Mars, encountering its weird life forms -- including man-eating plants and a marvelous rat-bat-spider (pictured) which stands very tall on crab-like tree trunk legs. Gerald Mohr as Colonel O'Bannion comes off as a hokey make-out artist -- or used car salesman -- while Hayden seems more like a Las Vegas show girl than a scientist. Les Tremayne is more on the mark as Professor Gettell. Effectively weird score by Paul Dunlap, whose closing credit music is fun. Second best scene [after the bat-rat-spider]: Chief warrant officer Sam (Jack Kruschen) gets digested by a giant amoeba. Director Melchior wrote the screenplay for Reptilicus. 

Verdict: Fun -- and in cinemagic, too! ***.

HUNT THE MAN DOWN

HUNT THE MAN DOWN (1950). Director: George Archainbaud.

A busboy named Kincaid (James Anderson) becomes a hero during an attempted robbery, but it turns out that he's an accused murderer on the lam. Supposedly he murdered a jealous man who accused him of having an affair with his wife. Paul Bennett (Gig Young, pictured) is the public defender who hunts down witnesses and tries to figure out who actually committed the killing. Hunt the Man Down is like a slightly longer episode of the Perry Mason TV show with just a little more action in it. Gerald Mohr and Cleo Moore are also in the cast.

Verdict: Worth missing. *1/2.

YOUNG WIDOW

YOUNG WIDOW (1946). Director: Edwin L. Marin.

The very American hotsy totsy Jane Russell teamed in a romantic pairing with the veddy British and veddy cultured Louis Hayward? You wouldn't think of these two together, but somehow it works. Part of the reason is that this film features a more subdued, much less hard-bitten Russell, who gives a very nice performance as Joan Kenwood, who is dealing with her grief over losing her beloved husband in the war. She and an equally effective Hayward play quite well together, despite their obvious differences. But there are even more cast surprises in this film. Penny Singleton of Blondie fame plays a friend and roommate's of Joan's, but she's not the dingbat -- her other roommate Marie Wilson (My Friend Irma) takes that role, and Singleton is sensible! Kent Taylor of The Day Mars Invaded Earth is Joan's boss and Faith Domergue of It Came from Beneath the Sea is another colleague who is afraid to marry a serviceman. Norman Lloyd of Hitchcock's Saboteur [he falls from the Statue of Liberty at the end] is another serviceman, and Gerald Mohr of Angry Red Planet and Funny Girl is another reporter. Also in the cast are Louise Beavers, Connie Gilchrist, Cora Witherspoon, and James Burke, who plays a motorcycle cop in a funny sequence and was also in the classic "The Diner" episode of I Love Lucy. A bizarre moment occurs in a hospital room full of expectant dads where a middle-aged man tells of how he and his wife were trying for twenty years to have a baby. Their luck finally changed when a young serviceman took a room in their place. Hmmm.

Verdict: Entertaining drama has laughs and poignancy in equal measure. ***.

THE SNIPER

THE SNIPER (1952). Director: Edward Dmytryk.

Eddie Miller (Arthur Franz) is a delivery man for a cleaning service and has a problem with women. When one of his customers, a singer named Jean (Marie Windsor) innocently excites him but sends him away when her boyfriend shows up, he begins a spree of shooting women, with Jean the first victim. Franz, who is excellent, is the perfect choice for the title role, with his clean cut features and appealing presence in stark contrast to the terrible crimes he's committing. The movie certainly has an interesting cast. Adolphe Menjou is the head cop on the case, Lt. Frank Kafka, and Richard Kiley, that Man of La Mancha himself, is a police psychologist. He gives disturbing statistics about sexual predators (the situation has obviously gotten much worse since 1952). Frank Faylen and Gerald Mohr are also cast as policemen. Miller's landlady is played by Mabel Paige, who sold Lucy and Ethel her dress shop in a classic I Love Lucy episode. Jay Novello, who also appeared on I Love Lucy, turns up in another amazing characterization as Pete, the owner of the bar where Jean sings for her supper. The movie is well made and completely absorbing, but it does give rather short shrift to the victims.

Verdict: Probably Franz' finest hour. ***.