Cabinet of Caligari, The (1962) 104m. ½ D: Roger Kay. Dan O’Herlihy, Glynis Johns, Richard Davalos, Lawrence Dobkin, Estelle Winwood, J. Pat O’Malley. Unimaginative remake of the 1919 German classic, removing all the mystery-exotic appeal; Johns tries hard as lady in ornate modern home confronted by O’Herlihy’s sinister Caligari; many bizarre scenes. Written by Robert Bloch. CinemaScope.

Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The (1919-German) 69m. ½ D: Robert Wiene. Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Lil Dagover. Somewhat stiff but still fascinating German Expressionist film about “magician” Caligari and hypnotic victim who carries out his evil bidding. Landmark film still impresses audiences today. Remade in 1962.

Cabin in the Cotton, The (1932) 77m. ½ D: Michael Curtiz. Richard Barthelmess, Dorothy Jordan, Bette Davis, Hardie Albright, David Landau, Berton Churchill, Henry B. Walthall, Tully Marshall. Dated melodrama of sharecroppers, with earnest Barthelmess almost led to ruin by Southern belle Davis; exaggerated, but interesting. Bette’s immortal line: “Ah’d like to kiss ya, but Ah jes’ washed mah hair.”

Cabin in the Sky (1943) 100m. D: Vincente Minnelli. Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, The Hall Johnson Choir. Stellar black cast in winning (if somewhat racist) musical fable about forces of good and evil vying for the soul of Little Joe (Anderson). John Bubbles’ dancing, Waters singing “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” (written for the film) among musical highlights. First feature for Minnelli (who, with Waters and Ingram, came from the Broadway production).

Cabiria (1914-Italian) 148m. ½ D: Piero Fosco (Giovanni Pastrone). Italia Almirante Manzini, Lidia Quaranta, Bartolomeo Pagano, Umberto Mozzato, Vitale de Stefano. Still-impressive silent epic, a landmark film for its use of lighting and camera movement, as well as its sheer spectacle. The story chronicles the plight of the title character (Quaranta), a Sicilian slave girl, during the Second Punic War. Pastrone coscripted with poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, who penned those lushly composed intertitles. This also served as an inspiration to D. W. Griffith, particularly for the Babylonian sequence of INTOLERANCE.

Caddy, The (1953) 95m. ½ D: Norman Taurog. Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Donna Reed, Fred Clark, Barbara Bates, Joseph Calleia. Weak Martin & Lewis vehicle about golf-nut Jerry coaching Dean to be a champion player. Dean sings “That’s Amore.”

Caesar and Cleopatra (1946-British) C-134m. D: Gabriel Pascal. Claude Rains, Vivien Leigh, Stewart Granger, Flora Robson, Francis L. Sullivan, Cecil Parker. Two fine stars suffer through static, boring rendition of George Bernard Shaw’s play, which seems to go on forever. Occasional wit and intrigue can’t keep this afloat.

Café Metropole (1937) 84m. ½ D: Edward H. Griffith. Loretta Young, Tyrone Power, Adolphe Menjou, Gregory Ratoff, Charles Winninger, Helen Westley. Young is courted by penniless playboy Power, who’s posing as a Russian prince. OK comedy, from a story by Ratoff.

Cafe Society (1939) 83m. ½ D: Edward H. Griffith. Madeleine Carroll, Fred MacMurray, Shirley Ross, Jessie Ralph, Claude Gillingwater. This time around Carroll chases MacMurray to win husband on a bet; chic fluff.

Caged (1950) 96m. D: John Cromwell. Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Hope Emerson, Jan Sterling, Jane Darwell, Gertrude Michael. Remarkable performances in stark record of Parker going to prison and becoming hardened criminal after exposure to brutal jail life. Remade as HOUSE OF WOMEN (1962).

Caged Fury (1948) 60m. D: William Berke. Richard Denning, Sheila Ryan, Mary Beth Hughes, Buster Crabbe. Not bad low-budgeter about mad killer on the loose in a circus.

Cage of Gold (1950-British) 83m. ½ D: Basil Dearden. Jean Simmons, David Farrar, James Donald, Madeleine Lebeau, Herbert Lom, Bernard Lee. Fair suspense yarn with sleazy Farrar, supposedly dead in a plane crash, attempting to blackmail wife Simmons, now remarried to doctor Donald.

Cain and Mabel (1936) 90m. D: Lloyd Bacon. Marion Davies, Clark Gable, David Carlyle (Robert Paige), Allen Jenkins, Roscoe Karns, Walter Catlett, Hobart Cavanaugh, Ruth Donnelly, Pert Kelton. Publicist concocts phony romance between Broadway star Davies (who’s miscast) and heavyweight champ Gable—who happen to despise one another. Gargantuan production numbers add nothing to stale plot. Rescued somewhat by the snappy one-liners delivered by the supporting cast.

Caine Mutiny, The (1954) C-125m. D: Edward Dmytryk. Humphrey Bogart, Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson, Robert Francis, May Wynn, Fred MacMurray, E.G. Marshall, Lee Marvin, Tom Tully, Claude Akins. WW2 Naval officers Johnson and Francis mutiny against paranoid, unpopular Capt. Queeg (Bogart) and are court-martialed in this exciting adaptation (by Stanley Roberts) of Herman Wouk’s Pulitzer Prize novel. Wartime mutiny scene during typhoon still packs a wallop. Followed by a TVM in 1988.

Cairo (1942) 101m. D: W.S. Van Dyke II. Jeanette MacDonald, Robert Young, Ethel Waters, Reginald Owen, Lionel Atwill, Dooley Wilson. Musi-comedy spoof of WW2 spy films is strained, although stars are pleasant and production is well mounted.

Cairo (1963-British) 91m. ½ D: Wolf Rilla. George Sanders, Richard Johnson, Faten Hamama, John Meillon, Eric Pohlmann, Walter Rilla. Mediocre remake of THE ASPHALT JUNGLE with the “surefire” caper aiming to steal King Tut’s treasures from the Cairo Museum.

Calamity Jane (1953) C-101m. D: David Butler. Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn (Ann) McLerie, Philip Carey, Gale Robbins, Dick Wesson, Paul Harvey. Doris is irresistible as the bombastic, rootin’-tootin’ title character in this lively musical, with Keel as Wild Bill Hickok, who only begins to realize his feelings for her when she makes a stab at becoming more “feminine.” Sammy Fain–Paul Francis Webster score includes the Oscar-winning “Secret Love.” Jane Alexander later played Calamity in a 1984 TV movie.

Calamity Jane and Sam Bass (1949) C-85m. ½ D: George Sherman. Yvonne De Carlo, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, Lloyd Bridges, Milburn Stone. Tattered retelling of 19th-century cowgirl and Texas outlaw, with De Carlo and Duff a disinterested duo.

Calcutta (1947) 83m. ½ D: John Farrow. Alan Ladd, Gail Russell, William Bendix, June Duprez, Lowell Gilmore. Standard actioner with pilot Ladd avenging friend’s murder.

Calendar Girl (1947) 88m. D: Allan Dwan. Jane Frazee, William Marshall, Gail Patrick, Kenny Baker, Victor McLaglen, Irene Rich, James Ellison, Janet Martin, Franklin Pangborn, Gus Schilling, Charles Arnt. Titillating title for a bland tuner about a singer, a composer, and a painter in a turn-of-the-19th-century boardinghouse. Republic Pictures musical has forgettable songs by Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh (“Let’s Have Some Pretzels and Beer”) and proves again that this genre wasn’t the studio’s strong suit.

California (1946) C-97m. ½ D: John Farrow. Barbara Stanwyck, Ray Milland, Barry Fitzgerald, Albert Dekker, Anthony Quinn, Julia Faye, George Coulouris. Ray is a wagonmaster with a past, Stanwyck a shady gal who makes good in this elaborately ordinary Western.

California Conquest (1952) C-79m. ½ D: Lew Landers. Cornel Wilde, Teresa Wright, John Dehner, Hank Patterson. Film deals with sidelight of American history. Californian Wilde et al. under Spanish control help their ally against Russian attempt to confiscate the territory.

California Passage (1950) 90m. ½ D: Joseph Kane. Forrest Tucker, Jim Davis, Adele Mara, Estelita Rodriguez, Peter Miles, Charles Kemper, Bill Williams, Rhys Williams, Paul Fix. Tucker and Davis make an engaging team as uneasy partners in a saloon and rivals for the love of Mara. Davis tries to get Tucker out of the way by framing him for robberies of gold shipments. Action-packed Republic Western hokum moves along at a gallop.

California Straight Ahead (1937) 67m. D: Arthur Lubin. John Wayne, Louise Latimer, Robert McWade, Theodore Von Eltz, Tully Marshall. Good little actioner with Wayne competing in cross-country race between trucks and train.

Call a Messenger (1939) 65m. D: Arthur Lubin. Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, William Benedict, David Gorcey, Robert Armstrong, Buster Crabbe, Anne Nagel, Victor Jory, El Brendel, Mary Carlisle. Well-cast Little Tough Guys outing. Halop gets a job as a junior mailman and tangles with gangsters in this typical crime yarn. Crabbe makes an impressive heavy, complete with mustache.

Callaway Went Thataway (1951) 81m. ½ D: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank. Fred MacMurray, Dorothy McGuire, Howard Keel, Jesse White, Fay Roope, Natalie Schafer, Stan Freberg. Gentle spoof of early-TV “Hopalong Cassidy” craze, with Keel as lookalike who impersonates veteran cowboy star for promotional purposes; good fun until it starts getting serious. Several MGM stars make cameo appearances.

Call Her Savage (1932) 88m. ½ D: John Francis Dillon. Clara Bow, Gilbert Roland, Thelma Todd, Monroe Owsley, Estelle Taylor, Russell Simpson, Margaret Livingston. Wild comeback vehicle for indefatigable Clara Bow ranges from sharp comedy to teary-eyed soap opera, but it’s never dull. Bow is amazingly sensual throughout, matched in brief confrontations with Todd; great fun.

Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951-U.S.-British) 80m. ½ D: Victor Saville. Walter Pidgeon, Margaret Leighton, Robert Beatty, David Tomlinson, Peggy Evans, Charles Victor, Bernard Lee. Pidgeon makes a satisfactory Drummond as the sleuth is called out of retirement to help Scotland Yard nab a gang of sophisticated thieves armed with military hardware. Starts well but bogs down in talk.

Calling Dr. Death (1943) 63m. D: Reginald LeBorg. Lon Chaney, Jr., Patricia Morison, J. Carrol Naish, David Bruce, Ramsay Ames. Ultra-low-budget mystery about a neurologist (a badly miscast Chaney) who is tormented by the realization that he may have killed his unfaithful wife during a moment of madness. First of the Inner Sanctum series.

Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) 84m. ½ D: Harold S. Bucquet. Lionel Barrymore, Philip Dorn, Donna Reed, Phil Brown, Nat Pendleton, Alma Kruger, Mary Nash, Walter Kingsford, Charles Dingle, Nell Craig, Marie Blake, Jonathan Hale. With Lew Ayres gone, the series continues with Gillespie getting a new assistant (Dorn), while the crusty old sawbones himself is the target of a homicidal maniac. Enjoyable melodrama; look sharp for Ava Gardner.

Calling Dr. Kildare (1939) 86m. ½ D: Harold S. Bucquet. Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Lana Turner, Lynne Carver, Nat Pendleton, Samuel S. Hinds, Emma Dunn, Walter Kingsford, Marie Blake, Donald Barry. Efficient second entry in the series has Kildare in trouble with the police for treating a gangster and getting involved with the hood’s cute sister (Turner).

Calling Homicide (1956) 61m. ½ D: Edward Bernds. Bill Elliott, Don Haggerty, Jeanne Cooper, Thomas Browne Henry, Lyle Talbot, Kathleen Case, Myron Healey, James Best, Mary Treen. Low-key crime yarn involving homicide detective Elliott’s search for a cop killer. Former Western star Elliott played the same character in four other movies.

Calling Northside 777 SEE: Call Northside 777

Calling Philo Vance (1940) 62m. D: William Clemens. James Stephenson, Margot Stevenson, Henry O’Neill, Edward Brophy, Ralph Forbes, Martin Kosleck. Stephenson makes a refined (if sinister) Philo Vance, investigating the death of an aircraft manufacturer by foreign agents. Minor, but watchable, entry is virtually a scene-for-scene remake of THE KENNEL MURDER CASE, updated to wartime.

Call It a Day (1937) 89m. D: Archie Mayo. Olivia de Havilland, Ian Hunter, Anita Louise, Alice Brady, Roland Young, Frieda Inescort, Bonita Granville, Peggy Wood, Walter Woolf King. Minor, fluffy domestic comedy set during a 24-hour period and chronicling the various entanglements, romantic and otherwise, of a middle-class British couple (Hunter, Inescort) and their three children.

Call It Murder SEE: Midnight (1934)

Call Me Bwana (1963) C-103m. D: Gordon Douglas. Bob Hope, Anita Ekberg, Edie Adams, Lionel Jeffries, Arnold Palmer. Hope and Adams on jungle safari encounter Ekberg and Jeffries and nothing much happens. The ladies are lovely.

Call Me Madam (1953) C-117m. D: Walter Lang. Ethel Merman, Donald O’Connor, George Sanders, Vera-Ellen, Billy DeWolfe, Walter Slezak, Lilia Skala. Often stagy musical from Irving Berlin tuner based on Perle Mesta’s life as Washington, D.C., hostess and Liechtenstein ambassadress. Merman is blowsy delight. Songs include “The Best Thing for You,” “It’s a Lovely Day Today,” “You’re Just in Love.”

Call Me Mister (1951) C-95m. ½ D: Lloyd Bacon. Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Danny Thomas, Dale Robertson, Benay Venuta, Richard Boone, Frank Fontaine, Jeffrey Hunter. Acceptable plot line helps buoy this musical. Soldier Dailey, based in Japan, goes AWOL to patch up marriage with Grable traveling with USO troupe. Bears little resemblance to the Broadway revue on which it’s supposedly based. An unbilled Bobby Short sings “Going Home Train.”

Call Northside 777 (1948) 111m. ½ D: Henry Hathaway. James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, Helen Walker, Moroni Olsen, E. G. Marshall. Absorbing drama of reporter Stewart convinced that convicted killer is innocent, trying to prove it; handled in semi-documentary style. Retitled: CALLING NORTHSIDE 777.

Call of the Canyon (1942) 71m. ½ D: Joseph Santley. Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Sons of the Pioneers, Ruth Terry, Thurston Hall, Joe Strauch, Jr., Cliff Nazarro, Dorothea Kent. Gene deals with the crooked purchasing agent for a packing company and gets roped into doing a Western radio show. Plays like a tired pastiche of Autry’s previous movies; even his pairing with the Sons of the Pioneers is lackluster.

Call of the Flesh (1930) 100m. ½ D: Charles Brabin. Ramon Novarro, Dorothy Jordan, Ernest Torrence, Nance O’Neil, Renée Adorée, Mathilde Comont, Russell Hopton. Jordan is a young novice who leaves the convent after flipping for Latin singer Novarro. Ornate star vehicle moves like molasses and inspires unintentional laughter. Some scenes were originally in two-strip Technicolor.

Call of the Prairie (1936) 65m. ½ D: Howard Bretherton. William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, Muriel Evans, George Hayes, Chester Conklin, Alan Bridge, Hank Mann, Chill Wills and His Avalon Boys. Following Bar 20 cattle sale, a bad crowd frames unwitting Ellison (who’s on a drinking bender) in a scheme to steal Hopalong Cassidy’s bankroll. Adapted from Clarence E. Mulford’s 1926 novel, Hopalong Cassidy’s Protégé. Not so slick as other entries; driven by personalities and authentic atmosphere. Boyd uses heavy Southern accent and Hayes plays sinister outlaw leader!

Call of the Wild, The (1935) 81m. D: William Wellman. Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Jack Oakie, Reginald Owen, Frank Conroy. More Hollywood than Jack London, this Yukon adventure/romance is lots of fun, and Owen a fine snarling villain. Original release was 95m. Remade in 1972 and as a TVM in 1976, 1993, and 1997, and in 2009 in 3-D.

Call Out the Marines (1942) 67m. D: Frank Ryan, William Hamilton. Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, Binnie Barnes, Paul Kelly, Dorothy Lovett, Franklin Pangborn. Tepid comedy, Lowe and McLaglen’s last starring film together. The boys tangle with waterfront seductress Barnes while on the trail of spies. Several forgettable tunes (like “Zana Zaranda”) to boot.

Calm Yourself (1935) 71m. ½ D: George B. Seitz. Robert Young, Madge Evans, Betty Furness, Ralph Morgan, Nat Pendleton, Hardie Albright, Claude Gillingwater. When Young is fired from his advertising agency job, he starts his own company, called Confidential Services, which specializes in calming down clients by handling unpleasant tasks for them. Frothy filler gets by on its genial cast and some surprising dialogue, as when Young tells Evans, “You’re habit forming, like hashish and whiskey.”

Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (1959-Italian) 76m. D: Robert Hampton (Riccardo Freda). John Merivale, Didi Sullivan, Gerard Herter, Daniela Rocca. Set in Mexico, sci-fi has blob-ish fiend pursuing members of scientific expedition; poorly conceived but amusing. Photographed by Mario Bava.

Calypso Heat Wave (1957) 86m. D: Fred F. Sears. Johnny Desmond, Merry Anders, Paul Langton, Michael Granger, Meg Myles, Joel Grey, The Treniers, The Tarriers, The Hi-Lo’s, Maya Angelou, Darla Hood. Trite plot—crooked Granger takes over Langton’s record company—takes a back seat to performances by Desmond, Grey, Hi-Lo’s, etc. A once-in-a-lifetime cast. Alan Arkin is one of The Tarriers.

Calypso Joe (1957) 76m. ½ D: Edward Dein. Herb Jeffries, Angie Dickinson, Edward Kemmer, Stephen Bekassy, Laurie Mitchell, Lord Flea and His Calypsonians. Thin programmer about stewardess Dickinson and TV star Kemmer quarreling and making up in a South American setting. Jeffries sings seven songs.

Cameo Kirby (1923) 77m. ½ D: John Ford. John Gilbert, Gertrude Olmstead, Alan Hale, Eric Mayne, William E. Lawrence, Richard Tucker, Phillips Smalley, Jean Arthur. Gilbert is dashing as a Mississippi riverboat gambler who inadvertently causes the death of an old man, then falls in love with his daughter. Colorful silent, the first for which Ford was billed as John instead of Jack, with good atmosphere involving card games and duels. Jean Arthur’s film debut. Based on a play by Harry Leon Wilson and Booth Tarkington. Previously filmed in 1914; remade in 1930.

Cameraman, The (1928) 76m. D: Edward Sedgwick. Buster Keaton, Marceline Day, Harold Goodwin, Sidney Bracy, Harry Gribbon, Edward Brophy. Buster plays a lovesick would-be newsreel cameraman in this entertaining silent comedy, a cut below his masterpieces but still brimming with invention, ingenious set pieces, and big laughs. Remade with Red Skelton as WATCH THE BIRDIE.

Camille (1921) 70m. ½ D: Ray C. Smallwood. (Alla) Nazimova, Rudolph Valentino, Rex Cherryman, Arthur Hoyt, Zeffie Tilbury, Patsy Ruth Miller, Elinor Oliver, William Orlamond. “Modernized” version of Alexandre Dumas’ oft-filmed tale, set in contemporary Paris, with law student Armand Duval (Valentino) becoming enamored of Marguerite Gautier (Nazimova), “the Lady of the Camellias,” a frail, flirtatious, but self-sacrificing beauty. Over-baked melodrama benefits from stunning Art Deco sets (courtesy of Natasha Rambova, Valentino’s eventual wife) and Rudy’s presence. Written by June Mathis.

Camille (1937) 108m. ½ D: George Cukor. Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Laura Hope Crews, Henry Daniell, Joan Brodel (Leslie). Beautiful MGM production; in one of her most famous roles, Garbo is Dumas’ tragic heroine who must sacrifice her own happiness in order to prove her love. Taylor is a bit stiff as Armand, but Daniell is a superb villain. Filmed before in 1915 (with Clara Kimball Young), 1917 (Theda Bara), and 1921 (Nazimova, with Rudolph Valentino as Armand). Remade for TV in 1984 with Greta Scacchi. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Campbell’s Kingdom (1957-British) C-102m. D: Ralph Thomas. Dirk Bogarde, Stanley Baker, Michael Craig, Barbara Murray. Set in Canadian Rockies, big-budget adventure film focuses on landowner Bogarde’s conflict with Baker et al., when latter seeks to build large dam near his property.

Camp on Blood Island, The (1958-British) 81m. D: Val Guest. Andre Morell, Carl Mohner, Walter Fitzgerald, Edward Underdown. So-so gore as inhabitants rebel against brutal commander of prison compound. Followed by THE SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND. Megascope.

Campus Rhythm (1943) 63m. D: Arthur Dreifuss. Johnny Downs, Gale Storm, Robert Lowery, Candy Candido, Gee Gee Pearson, Doug Leavitt, Tom Kennedy, Claudia Drake. By-the-numbers campus musical with radio singing star Storm quitting the biz to realize her dream of attending college.

Canadian Pacific (1949) C-95m. ½ D: Edwin L. Marin. Randolph Scott, Jane Wyatt, J. Carrol Naish, Victor Jory, Nancy Olson. Scott is railroad surveyor helping with construction of train link, fighting Indians while romancing Wyatt and Olson.

Canadians, The (1961) C-85m. D: Burt Kennedy. Robert Ryan, John Dehner, Torin Thatcher, John Sutton, Teresa Stratas. Cornball nonsense about Mounties who pacify war-happy Sioux. Film features Metropolitan Opera singer Stratas to no advantage. Filmed in Canada; Kennedy’s first feature as director. CinemaScope.

Canaris Master Spy (1954-German) 92m. D: Alfred Weidenmann. O. E. Hasse, Martin Held, Barbara Rutting, Adrian Hoven. Potentially interesting account of German Intelligence leader during 1930s who tried to depose Hitler; meandering.

Canary Murder Case (1929) 81m. ½ D: Malcolm St. Clair. William Powell, Louise Brooks, James Hall, Jean Arthur, Charles Lane. Stilted but interesting and well-cast early talkie (originally shot as a silent) with Powell debuting as urbane sleuth Philo Vance, probing the death of scheming nightclub singer Brooks. (She made this right before her classic German films with G. W. Pabst. When she refused to return for retakes she was doubled, fairly obviously in some scenes, by Margaret Livingston.)

Can-Can (1960) C-131m. ½ D: Walter Lang. Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Juliet Prowse. Lackluster version of Cole Porter musical of 1890s Paris involving lawyer Sinatra defending MacLaine’s right to perform “daring” dance in her nightclub. Chevalier and Jourdan try to inject charm, but Sinatra is blasé and MacLaine shrill. Songs: “C’est Magnifique,” “I Love Paris,” “Let’s Do It,” “Just One of Those Things.” Runs 142m. with overture, intermission/entr’acte, exit music. Todd-AO.

Cannibal Attack (1954) 69m. ½ D: Lee Sholem. Johnny Weissmuller, Judy Walsh, David Bruce, Bruce Cowling. Weissmuller dropped the Jungle Jim monicker and used his own name in this juvenile yarn about enemy agents who disguise themselves as crocodiles(!?) to steal cobalt.

Canon City (1948) 82m. D: Crane Wilbur. Scott Brady, Jeff Corey, Whit Bissell, Stanley Clements, DeForest Kelley. Solid crime thriller follows members of a prison break from a Colorado State jail in semidocumentary style. Strong and violent with excellent photography by John Alton.

Canterbury Tale, A (1944-British) 124m. D: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, John Sweet, Dennis Price, Esmond Knight, Charles Hawtrey, Hay Petrie. Curious and disarming film from the Powell-Pressburger writing-and-directing team draws on British eccentricities—and provincial flavor—to flesh out its simple story about three people whose lives cross in a small English village during the war. There’s only the slightest tangent with the Chaucer work from which it draws its title. American version with added footage of Kim Hunter runs 95m. and doesn’t retain the charm of the original.

Canterville Ghost, The (1944) 96m. D: Jules Dassin. Charles Laughton, Robert Young, Margaret O’Brien, William Gargan, Reginald Owen, “Rags” Ragland, Una O’Connor, Mike Mazurki, Peter Lawford. Enjoyable fantasy, loosely adapted from Oscar Wilde’s short story, of 17th-century ghost Laughton, spellbound until descendant, WW2 soldier Young, helps him perform heroic deed. Remade for TV in 1986 (with John Gielgud) and 1996 (with Patrick Stewart).

Can’t Help Singing (1944) C-89m. ½ D: Frank Ryan. Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige, Akim Tamiroff, Ray Collins, Thomas Gomez. Durbin goes West to find her roaming lover; despite good cast and Jerome Kern songs, it’s nothing much.

Canyon Crossroads (1955) 83m. D: Alfred L. Werker. Richard Basehart, Phyllis Kirk, Stephen Elliott, Russell Collins, Richard Hale, Charles Wagenheim, Tommy Cook. Unexceptional account of down-on-his-luck mining engineer Basehart, who’s hired by a geology professor to prospect for uranium, with resulting complications. Shot on location in and around Moab, Utah.

Canyon Passage (1946) C-92m. D: Jacques Tourneur. Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, Patricia Roc, Ward Bond, Hoagy Carmichael, Fay Holden, Stanley Ridges, Lloyd Bridges, Andy Devine, Rose Hobart. Intelligent Western, complexly plotted, set in a backwoods Northwest settlement in the 1850s. Among the characters are hardworking shopkeeper Andrews and banker-gambler Donlevy, with Hayward the woman between them. Oregon locations are stunning in Technicolor, and Carmichael introduces “Ole Buttermilk Sky.” Adapted from a novel by Ernest Haycox.

Canyon River (1956) C-80m. ½ D: Harmon Jones. George Montgomery, Marcia Henderson, Peter Graves, Richard Eyer. Trite Western of Indian and rustler attacks on cattle drive. Remake of 1951 Bill Elliott Western LONGHORN. CinemaScope.

Cape Canaveral Monsters, The (1960) 69m. BOMB D: Phil Tucker. Scott Peters, Linda Connell, Jason Johnson, Katherine Victor, Gary Travis. Aliens, represented by small balls of white light, inhabit slowly decomposing corpses in order to shoot down U.S. rockets; science student Peters, using wallet inserts and Pig Latin, combats the invaders. Astonishing film is almost the equal of writer-director Tucker’s legendarily awful ROBOT MONSTER.

Cape Fear (1962) 105m. D: J. Lee Thompson. Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Martin Balsam, Lori Martin, Jack Kruschen, Telly Savalas, Barrie Chase, Edward Platt. Mitchum is memorably (and believably) creepy as a wily Southern ex-con who blames lawyer Peck for his incarceration and plots an insidious revenge on his family. Dated only in its lack of explicitness, but still daring for its time. Based on John D. MacDonald’s novel The Executioners. Musical score by Bernard Herrmann is reminiscent of his best work with Hitchcock. Remade in 1991.

Capital Punishment (1925) 67m. ½ D: James P. Hogan. Elliott Dexter, George Hackathorne, Clara Bow, Margaret Livingston, Alec B. Francis, Mary Carr. Dexter, who is fervently against the death penalty, conducts an experiment by having Hackathorne accused of a murder that did not happen . . . but complications arise. Clever but predictable crime melodrama, predating such films as Fritz Lang’s BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. Bow has a supporting role as Hackathorne’s fiancée.

Captain Applejack (1931) 63m. D: Hobart Henley. Mary Brian, John Halliday, Kay Strozzi, Alec B. Francis, Louise Closser Hale, Claud Allister, Julia Swayne Gordon, Arthur Edmund Carewe. Restless English nobleman’s thirst for adventure is realized when a clutch of thieves appears at his castle seeking treasure buried by a pirate ancestor. Bizarre pastiche of drawing-room comedy, old-dark-house thriller, and pirate-movie spoof, with a dream sequence that must be seen to be believed.

Captain Blackjack (1951-U.S.-French) 90m. D: Julien Duvivier. George Sanders, Herbert Marshall, Patricia Roc, Agnes Moorehead, Marcel Dalio. Tacky tale of derelict ship purchased by suave Sanders to use for drug smuggling, and what happens when all those on board mysteriously die. Moorehead is good as a villainess. Filmed in Spain; released in France at 105m.

Captain Blood (1935) 119m. ½ D: Michael Curtiz. Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Ross Alexander, Guy Kibbee, Henry Stephenson, Robert Barrat, Donald Meek, J. Carrol Naish. Flynn’s first swashbuckler, based on Rafael Sabatini’s novel, scores a broadside. He plays Irish physician Peter Blood who is forced to become a pirate, teaming for short spell with French cutthroat Rathbone, but paying more attention to proper young lady de Havilland. Vivid combination of exciting sea battles, fencing duels, and tempestuous romance provides Flynn with a literally star-making vehicle. First original film score for Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Beware of 99m. reissue version. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Captain Blood (1960-French) C-95m. D: Andre Hunebelle. Jean Marais, Elsa Martinelli, Arnold Foa, Bourvil, Pierrette Bruno. Set in 17th-century France, this juvenile costumer deals with plot to overthrow throne of Louis XIII. Dyaliscope.

Captain Boycott (1947-British) 92m. ½ D: Frank Launder. Stewart Granger, Kathleen Ryan, Cecil Parker, Mervyn Johns, Alastair Sim. Poor Irish farmers band together to combat the abuses of their landlords in early 19th century; interesting but dramatically uneven, with misplaced components of humor and romance. Robert Donat appears briefly as Charles Parnell; Parker has title role.

Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1950) 83m. D: Mitchell Leisen. Alan Ladd, Wanda Hendrix, Francis Lederer, Joseph Calleia, Rusty (Russ) Tamblyn. Nicely turned account of WW2 vet Ladd returning to Italy to uncover the informer who cost the lives of villagers, including the woman he loved. Ray Evans–Jay Livingston theme song “Mona Lisa,” which plays a key role in the story, won an Oscar.

Captain Caution (1940) 85m. D: Richard Wallace. Victor Mature, Louise Platt, Leo Carrillo, Bruce Cabot, Vivienne Osborne, Robert Barrat. OK action film of spunky Platt commandeering her father’s ship into war; no messages, just fast-moving narrative. Look for Alan Ladd as a sailor.

Captain China (1949) 97m. D: Lewis R. Foster. John Payne, Gail Russell, Jeffrey Lynn, Lon Chaney (Jr.), Edgar Bergen. Often listless sea yarn of Payne, seeking out persons responsible for his losing his ship’s command.

Captain Eddie (1945) 107m. ½ D: Lloyd Bacon. Fred MacMurray, Lynn Bari, Charles Bickford, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Nolan, James Gleason. Routine aviation film doesn’t do justice to exciting life of Eddie Rickenbacker; it’s standard stuff.

Captain Fracasse (1929-French) 92m. ½ D: Alberto Cavalcanti, Henry Wulschleger. Pierre Blanchar, Lien Deyers, Charles Boyer. Swashbuckler about a French aristocrat who joins a troupe of traveling players incognito. Based on the oft-filmed novel by Theophile Gautier, this version’s silent turn by Boyer as a suavely villainous duke was his last French work before achieving American stardom.

Captain From Castile (1947) C-140m. D: Henry King. Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Lee J. Cobb, John Sutton, Antonio Moreno, Thomas Gomez, Alan Mowbray, Barbara Lawrence, George Zucco, Roy Roberts, Marc Lawrence, Reed Hadley, Jay Silverheels. Power, driven to avenge the cruel treatment of his family by Spanish Inquisitor (Sutton), eventually serves with Cortez (Romero) during his conquest of Mexico. Color and romance; magnificent location photography by Charles Clarke and Arthur E. Arling; Alfred Newman’s majestic score ranks with Hollywood’s very best. Peters’ film debut.

Captain Fury (1939) 91m. D: Hal Roach. Brian Aherne, Victor McLaglen, Paul Lukas, June Lang, John Carradine, George Zucco, Douglass Dumbrille, Charles Middleton. Australia serves as background in story of illustrious adventurer fighting evil land baron.

Captain Hates the Sea, The (1934) 93m. D: Lewis Milestone. Victor McLaglen, John Gilbert, Walter Connolly, Wynne Gibson, Helen Vinson, Alison Skipworth, Leon Errol, Walter Catlett, Akim Tamiroff, Donald Meek, Arthur Treacher, The Three Stooges. Bizarre, seagoing GRAND HOTEL, with accent on comedy; romances and intrigues carry on under bored eye of disgruntled skipper Connolly. Once-in-a-lifetime cast does its best with mediocre script; Gilbert (ironically cast as a heavy drinker) gives a solid performance in his final film.

Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951-British) C-117m. D: Raoul Walsh. Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty, Denis O’Dea, Christopher Lee, Stanley Baker, James Robertson Justice. Exciting, well-produced sea epic based on C. S. Forester’s British naval hero of the Napoleonic wars. Original British title: CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER R.N.

Captain Is a Lady, The (1940) 63m. D: Robert B. Sinclair. Charles Coburn, Beulah Bondi, Virginia Grey, Helen Broderick, Billie Burke, Dan Dailey. Thin little comedy of Coburn pretending to be a woman to accompany wife Bondi to old ladies’ home.

Captain January (1936) 75m. ½ D: David Butler. Shirley Temple, Guy Kibbee, Slim Summerville, Buddy Ebsen, June Lang, Sara Haden. Straightforward, sentimental tale of orphaned Shirley, and the new truant officer who tries to separate her from her adoptive father, lighthouse keeper Kibbee. Short and sweet. Shirley and Ebsen sing and dance “At the Codfish Ball.”

Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953) C-75m. ½ D: Lew Landers. Anthony Dexter, Jody Lawrance, Alan Hale, Jr., Douglass Dumbrille, Robert Clarke. Title tells all in pedestrian tale set in colonial America.

Captain Kidd (1945) 89m. D: Rowland V. Lee. Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, Reginald Owen, John Carradine, Gilbert Roland, Sheldon Leonard. Even with Laughton, this is slow-going low-budget stuff.

Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl (1954) C-83m. D: Lew Landers. Anthony Dexter, Eva Gabor, Alan Hale, Jr., James Seay. Modest costumer has Dexter and Gabor in title roles romping the seas to find treasure for their benefactor.

Captain Lightfoot (1955) C-91m. D: Douglas Sirk. Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Jeff Morrow, Finlay Currie, Kathleen Ryan. Fine, flavorful costume adventure about 19th-century Irish rebellion and one of its dashing heroes. Beautifully filmed on location in Ireland in CinemaScope.

Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) C-126m. D: David Miller. Gregory Peck, Angie Dickinson, Tony Curtis, Eddie Albert, Jane Withers, Bobby Darin, Larry Storch, Bethel Leslie, Robert Duvall. Provocative, well-acted comedy-drama about dedicated Army psychiatrist Peck, battling bureaucracy and the macho military mentality on a stateside air base during WW2. Darin is particularly good as a troubled, ill-fated corporal. Based on Leo Rosten’s best-selling novel.

Captain Pirate (1952) C-85m. ½ D: Ralph Murphy. Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, John Sutton, Charles Irwin, George Givot, Ted de Corsia. Reformed pirate must return to his renegade ways in order to expose the imposter who is using his name; good-enough programmer based on Sabatini’s Captain Blood Returns.

Captain Scarface (1953) 72m. ½ D: Paul Guilfoyle. Barton MacLane, Leif Erickson, Virginia Grey, Rudolph Anders, Peter Coe, Don Dillaway, Howard Wendell, Isabel Randolph, Paul Brinegar. Interesting little programmer about a Communist agent who schemes to blow up the Panama Canal. Erickson’s world-weary antihero character easily might have been written for Humphrey Bogart.

Captain Scarlett (1953) C-75m. ½ D: Thomas Carr. Richard Greene, Leonora Amar, Nedrick Young, Edourado Noriega. Acceptable costumer with Greene properly dashing.

Captains Courageous (1937) 116m. D: Victor Fleming. Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Charley Grapewin, John Carradine, Mickey Rooney, Walter Kingsford. Spoiled rich-boy Bartholomew falls off cruise ship, rescued by Portuguese fisherman Tracy (who won Oscar for role). Boy learns to love seafaring on crusty Barrymore’s fishing vessel. Enthusiastic cast in this splendid production of Kipling’s story. Scripted by John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, and Dale Van Every. Remade as a TV movie in 1977 (with Karl Malden and Ricardo Montalban) and 1996 (with Robert Urich). Also shown in computer-colored version.

Captain Sindbad (1963-U.S.-West German) C-85m. ½ D: Byron Haskin. Guy Williams, Heidi Bruhl, Pedro Armendariz, Abraham Sofaer, Bernie Hamilton. Williams is an energetic Sindbad in this elaborate, effects-filled but ponderous fantasy.

Captain Sirocco SEE: Pirates of Capri, The

Captains of the Clouds (1942) C-113m. D: Michael Curtiz. James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, Brenda Marshall, Alan Hale, George Tobias, Reginald Gardiner. Atmospheric wartime drama charting the shenanigans of cocky bush pilot Cagney, who joins the Canadian air force but refuses to follow regulations.

Captain’s Paradise, The (1953-British) 77m. D: Anthony Kimmins. Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo, Celia Johnson, Bill Fraser. Guinness has field day as carefree skipper who shuttles back and forth between wives in opposite ports. De Carlo and Johnson make a good contrast as the two women. Original British running time: 86m. Later a Broadway musical, Oh, Captain!

Captain’s Table, The (1960-British) C-90m. D: Jack Lee. John Gregson, Peggy Cummins, Donald Sinden, Nadia Gray. Satisfactory comedy involving skipper of cargo vessel (Gregson) who is given trial command of luxury liner, and the chaos ensuing trying to keep order among crew and passengers.

Captain Thunder (1931) 65m. ½ D: Alan Crosland. Victor Varconi, Fay Wray, Charles Judels, Robert Elliott, Don Alvarado, Natalie Moorhead, Bert Roach. Dull, technically primitive nonsense from the director of THE JAZZ SINGER chronicling the romantic and criminal exploits of a Robin Hood–like Mexican bandit. Ostensibly performed tongue-in-cheek, but merely obnoxious.

Captain Tugboat Annie (1945) 60m. D: Phil Rosen. Jane Darwell, Edgar Kennedy, Charles Gordon, Mantan Moreland, Pamela Blake, Hardie Albright, H. B. Warner. Annie sails again in low-budget epic which depends entirely on its stars, Darwell and Kennedy, for its flavor.

Captive City, The (1952) 90m. D: Robert Wise. John Forsythe, Joan Camden, Harold J. Kennedy, Marjorie Crosland, Victor Sutherland, Ray Teal, Martin Milner. Small-city newspaper editor Forsythe gradually learns that the Mafia has taken over bookie operations formerly run by corrupt local businessmen. Based-on-fact drama is earnest and intelligent, with fine noir-style photography by Lee Garmes. Sen. Estes Kefauver provides an afterword.

Captive Girl (1950) 73m. D: William Berke. Johnny Weissmuller, Buster Crabbe, Anita Lhoest, Rick Vallin, John Dehner. More Jungle Jim hokum, this time he’s trying to save young Lhoest from a witch doctor, while battling treasure hunter Crabbe. Interesting primarily for pitting two former Tarzans against each other.

Captive Heart, The (1946-British) 108m. ½ D: Basil Dearden. Michael Redgrave, Mervyn Johns, Basil Radford, Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Gordon Jackson, Ralph Michael, Rachel Kempson. Compelling examination of British POWs during WW2 and their German captors with controlled, flawless performance by Redgrave and excellent supporting cast. Patrick Kirwan’s story was scripted by Angus MacPhail and Guy Morgan. Original British running time: 98m.

Captive Wild Woman (1943) 61m. ½ D: Edward Dmytryk. John Carradine, Evelyn Ankers, Milburn Stone, Acquanetta, Martha MacVicar (Vickers), Lloyd Corrigan. Deranged Dr. Carradine surgically transforms a circus ape into a beautiful woman (Acquanetta), who at stressful moments becomes an ape woman (envision a female Wolf Man). Good fun. Stone’s animal-training scenes are stock footage of Clyde Beatty from THE BIG CAGE. Sequels: JUNGLE WOMAN, THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE.

Captive Women (1952) 64m. ½ D: Stuart Gilmore. Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, Gloria Saunders, Ron Randell, Stuart Randall, William Schallert, Robert Bice. In the year 3000, following nuclear wars, three primitive tribes—some deformed by radiation—vie for supremacy amidst the ruins of Manhattan. Then-novel idea is hampered by tired, routine treatment. Reissue title: 1000 YEARS FROM NOW.

Capture, The (1950) 91m. ½ D: John Sturges. Lew Ayres, Teresa Wright, Victor Jory, Jacqueline White, Jimmy Hunt, Barry Kelley, Duncan Renaldo. Oil field supervisor Ayres begins to ponder whether the payroll robber he shot was really an innocent man. Straightforward, well acted, but slow at times.

Captured (1933) 72m. ½ D: Roy Del Ruth. Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Paul Lukas, Margaret Lindsay. Dated drama set in a German POW camp during WW1, where Howard is joined by an old friend (Fairbanks) who—it turns out—had a relationship with his wife. The two leading actors bring some value to this otherwise unmemorable film.

Caravan (1934) 101m. ½ D: Erik Charrell. Loretta Young, Charles Boyer, Jean Parker, Phillips Holmes, Louise Fazenda. Offbeat musical of royal Loretta forced to marry vagabond Boyer; main interest is curiosity in this not altogether successful film.

Carbine Williams (1952) 91m. D: Richard Thorpe. James Stewart, Jean Hagen, Wendell Corey, Paul Stewart, James Arness. Sturdy history of the inventor of famed rifle, his problems with the law, and his simple family life. Stewart is most convincing in title role. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Card, The SEE: Promoter, The

Cardinal, The (1963) C-175m. ½ D: Otto Preminger. Tom Tryon, John Huston, Romy Schneider, Carol Lynley, Jill Haworth, Raf Vallone, Joseph Meinrad, Burgess Meredith, Ossie Davis, John Saxon, Robert Morse, Dorothy Gish, Tullio Carminati, Maggie McNamara, Bill Hayes, Cecil Kellaway, Murray Hamilton, Patrick O’Neal, Chill Wills, Arthur Hunnicutt. Long, long story of an Irish-American’s rise from priesthood to the College of Cardinals. Has some outstanding vignettes by old pros like Meredith, but emerges as an uneven, occasionally worthwhile film. Includes an intermission/entr’acte. Panavision.

Cardinal Richelieu (1935) 83m. ½ D: Rowland V. Lee. George Arliss, Maureen O’Sullivan, Edward Arnold, Cesar Romero. Arliss etches another historical portrayal of France’s unscrupulous cardinal who controlled Louis XIII (Arnold). Good cast supports star.

Career (1959) 105m. D: Joseph Anthony. Dean Martin, Anthony Franciosa, Shirley MacLaine, Carolyn Jones, Joan Blackman, Robert Middleton, Donna Douglas. Occasionally shrill, generally forceful presentation of an actor’s (Franciosa’s) tribulations in seeking Broadway fame; Jones is excellent as lonely talent agent.

Career Girl (1959) C-61m. ½ D: Harold David. June Wilkinson, Charles Robert Keane, Lisa Barrie, Joe Sullivan. Sloppy account of Wilkinson going to Hollywood, seeking screen career; sleazy production values.

Carefree (1938) 80m. D: Mark Sandrich. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Ralph Bellamy, Luella Gear, Jack Carson, Franklin Pangborn, Hattie McDaniel. Madcap Rogers is sent to psychiatrist Astaire, and romance naturally blossoms; Fred and Ginger’s most comic outing, wacky and offbeat, with good Irving Berlin score including “Change Partners,” “I Used to Be Color Blind.”

Caretakers, The (1963) 97m. ½ D: Hall Bartlett. Robert Stack, Polly Bergen, Diane McBain, Joan Crawford, Janis Paige, Van Williams, Constance Ford, Sharon Hugueny, Herbert Marshall, Barbara Barrie, Ellen Corby, Ana St. Clair, Robert Vaughn, Susan Oliver. Well-intentioned but clichéd account of life in a psychiatric hospital, centering on dedicated, progressive doctor Stack and a patient (Bergen, never better) driven to the brink after the death of her child. Paige also scores as a patient with attitude issues.

Cargo to Capetown (1950) 80m. ½ D: Earl McEvoy. Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Ellen Drew, Edgar Buchanan. Tramp steamer is setting for mild love triangle as Crawford and Ireland vie for Drew.

Caribbean (1952) C-97m. D: Edward Ludwig. John Payne, Arlene Dahl, Cedric Hardwicke, Francis L. Sullivan, Woody Strode. 18th-century costume vehicle allows Payne to battle pirates and flirt with Dahl.

Cariboo Trail (1950) C-81m. ½ D: Edwin L. Marin. Randolph Scott, George “Gabby” Hayes, Bill Williams, Karin Booth, Victor Jory, Douglas Kennedy, Jim Davis, Dale Robertson, Mary Stuart, Lee Tung Foo. Sturdy Scott vehicle about a cattleman who brings his herd to the Canadian wilderness, where he takes on corrupt Jory. Filmed in Colorado and British Columbia.

Carlton-Browne of the F.O. SEE: Man in a Cocked Hat

Carmen (1915) 59m. ½ D: Cecil B. DeMille. Geraldine Farrar, Wallace Reid, Pedro de Cordoba, Horace B. Carpenter, William Elmer, Jeanie Macpherson. Opera diva Farrar, in her screen debut, offers a florid performance as a conniving gypsy seductress, linked with a band of smugglers, who distracts supposedly incorruptible military officer Reid. Farrar sang the role onstage; however, the film is based on Prosper Mérimée’s 1845 novella rather than the Bizet opera. One of the earliest versions of an oft-told tale.

Carmen Jones (1954) C-105m. ½ D: Otto Preminger. Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Roy Glenn, Diahann Carroll, Brock Peters. Powerful melodrama adapted from Bizet’s opera by Oscar Hammerstein II, with exciting music and equally exciting Dandridge as the ultimate femme fatale. Stars’ singing voices are all dubbed— Dandridge’s by opera star Marilyn Horne. Film debuts of Carroll and Peters. CinemaScope.

Carnegie Hall (1947) 134m. ½ D: Edgar G. Ulmer. Marsha Hunt, William Prince, Frank McHugh, Martha O’Driscoll. Lame story about a pushy mother and her pianist son links magnificent concert performances by the cream of the classical music world: Artur Rubinstein, Leopold Stokowski, Jascha Heifetz, Rise Stevens, Lily Pons, Ezio Pinza, Jan Peerce, Gregor Piatigorsky, Bruno Walter and The New York Philharmonic. Some mediocre pop tunes are shoehorned into the proceedings, along with Vaughn Monroe and Harry James.

Carnet de Bal SEE: Un Carnet de Bal

Car 99 (1935) 68m. D: Charles Barton. Fred MacMurray, Sir Guy Standing, Ann Sheridan, William Frawley, Dean Jagger, Marina Schubert, Frank Craven. Michigan rookie state trooper MacMurray is suspended when he lets a gang of bank robbers get away but proves his worth when they kidnap his girl. Fair crime filler gave MacMurray one of his first big roles, but it’s stolen by Frawley as comical sergeant and Standing as criminal mastermind posing as a kindly old professor.

Carnival Boat (1932) 62m. ½ D: Albert Rogell. William Boyd, Ginger Rogers, Hobart Bosworth, Fred Kohler, Edgar Kennedy. Trifling but enjoyable story of North Woods logger Bosworth, who expects his son to follow in his footsteps, but Boyd’s attention is divided between his job and Rogers, the cute entertainer on the carnival boat. Benefits from location shooting and some hair-raising action scenes: one on a runaway locomotive, the other involving planting TNT in the middle of a logjam.

Carnival in Costa Rica (1947) C-95m. D: Gregory Ratoff. Dick Haymes, Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere, J. Carrol Naish. Despite fair cast, boring musical of trip to Costa Rica and the shenanigans of newlyweds and their quarreling parents.

Carnival in Flanders (1935-French) 115m. D: Jacques Feyder. Françoise Rosay, Jean Murat, Louis Jouvet, André Alerme, Bernard Lancret. Rollicking farce about Spanish invasion of a small Flemish town in the 17th century. While all the men find excuses to leave, the women stay behind and conquer the warriors with romance and revelry. Amusing costume comedy with outstanding photography by Harry Stradling and striking art direction. American version runs 95m. Original title: LA KERMESSE HEROIQUE.

Carnival of Souls (1962) 83m. ½ D: Herk Harvey. Candace Hilligoss, Sidney Berger, Frances Feist, Herk Harvey, Stan Levitt, Art Ellison. Eerie little film of “phantom figure” pursuing Hilligoss after she has seemingly drowned. Imaginative low-budget effort. Filmed mostly in Lawrence, Kansas. Has developed a strong cult reputation in recent years. Original running time: 91m. Computer-colored version also available. Remade in 1998 and 2008 (as YELLA).

Carnival Rock (1957) 75m. D: Roger Corman. Susan Cabot, Dick Miller, Brian Hutton, The Platters, David Houston, David J. Stewart. Stewart, owner of a dilapidated nightclub, loves singer Cabot, who in turn loves gambler Hutton. Forgettable melodrama with The Platters, Houston, and others in musical cameos.

Carnival Story (1954) C-95m. D: Kurt Neumann. Anne Baxter, Steve Cochran, Lyle Bettger, George Nader, Jay C. Flippen. Hardened Baxter is involved with sleazy Cochran. “Nice guy” high diver Bettger takes her on as a protégée, and there are complications. When this romantic melodrama is not trashy, it’s sluggish. Set in Germany (and filmed in Munich), and not unlike E. A. Dupont’s classic, VARIETY. A German version was also filmed, with Eva Bartok, Bernhard Wicki, and Curt Jurgens.

Carolina Blues (1944) 81m. ½ D: Leigh Jason. Kay Kyser and His Band, Ann Miller, Victor Moore, Jeff Donnell, Howard Freeman, Georgia Carroll, Ish Kabibble, Harry Babbitt, Sully Mason, Harold Nicholas. Excruciating musical about Kyser raising money for war bonds while roguish Moore and daughter Miller try to land her a job singing with his band. Redeemed briefly by a great Harlem-inspired production number, “Mr. Beebe,” performed by Nicholas with the Four Step Brothers and, unbilled, dancer Marie Bryant and singer June Richmond.

Carolina Cannonball (1955) 74m. ½ D: Charles Lamont. Judy Canova, Andy Clyde, Jack Kruschen, Ross Elliott. Hicksville hokum with Canova involved with enemy agents and a missile that lands in her backyard.

Carolina Moon (1940) 65m. D: Frank McDonald. Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Mary Lee, Eddy Waller, Hardie Albright. Gene gets involved with horse racing in the Deep South. Ambles along, but Autry seems a bit far away from the range. Gene sings the title tune.

Carousel (1956) C-128m. ½ D: Henry King. Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Cameron Mitchell, Barbara Ruick, Claramae Turner, Robert Rounseville, Gene Lockhart. Excellent filmization of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s memorable adaptation of Ferenc Molnár’s Liliom, with MacRae as rowdy carousel barker Billy Bigelow, who tries to change for the better when he falls in love with Jones. Excitement of wide-screen location filming will be minimized on TV, but moving characters, timeless songs remain. Script by Phoebe and Henry Ephron. Filmed before as LILIOM in 1930 and 1934. CinemaScope 55.

Carpetbaggers, The (1964) C-150m. ½ D: Edward Dmytryk. George Peppard, Carroll Baker, Alan Ladd, Bob Cummings, Martha Hyer, Elizabeth Ashley, Lew Ayres, Martin Balsam, Ralph Taeger, Archie Moore, Leif Erickson, Tom Tully, Audrey Totter. Blowsy claptrap based on Harold Robbins novel of millionaire plane manufacturer (Peppard) dabbling in movies and lovemaking à la Howard Hughes. Set in 1920s–30s; sexploitational values are tame. Ladd’s last film; followed by prequel, NEVADA SMITH. Panavision.

Carrie (1952) 118m. ½ D: William Wyler. Jennifer Jones, Laurence Olivier, Miriam Hopkins, Eddie Albert, Mary Murphy, William Reynolds. Jones passively plays the title role in this uneven turn-of-the-20th-century soaper of poor farm girl who comes to Chicago, eventually links up with unhappily married restaurant manager Olivier (who is excellent). David Raksin’s score is a plus. Based on Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie. DVD includes restored “flop house” scene, which runs almost 3m.

Carrington, V. C. SEE: Court Martial Carry On Admiral SEE: Ship Was Loaded, The

Carry On Cleo (1964-British) C-92m. ½ D: Gerald Thomas. Amanda Barrie, Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey. Diverting reworking of ancient history to serve as amusing satire on CLEOPATRA epic, sufficiently laced with hijinks by perennial misfits. Aka CALIGULA’S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS.

Carry On Nurse (1959-British) 90m. ½ D: Gerald Thomas. Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Terence Longdon, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Joan Hickson, Jill Ireland, Michael Medwin. Occasionally funny but too often silly farce detailing the various hijinks in a hospital ward. Typical entry in the series is crammed with lowbrow humor.

Carry On Sergeant (1958-British) 88m. D: Gerald Thomas. William Hartnell, Bob Monkhouse, Shirley Eaton, Eric Barker, Dora Bryan, Bill Owen, Kenneth Connor. This time around prankish misfits are the bane of Army officer’s existence, who swears he’ll make these recruits spiffy soldiers or bust.

Carry On Spying (1964-British) 88m. ½ D: Gerald Thomas. Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Cribbins, Charles Hawtrey, Eric Barker, Victor Maddern. Acceptable James Bond spoof with daffy novice spy-catchers on the hunt for enemy agents who stole secret formula.

Carson City (1952) C-87m. D: Andre De Toth. Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, Raymond Massey, Don Beddoe, Richard Webb, James Millican, Larry Keating, George Cleveland. Opposing forces clash when construction engineer Scott commences building a railroad through Nevada in the 1870s. OK of its type.

Carson City Kid, The (1940) 57m. D: Joseph Kane. Roy Rogers, George “Gabby” Hayes, Bob Steele, Noah Beery, Jr., Pauline Moore, Francis McDonald, Hal Taliaferro, Arthur Loft. Marshall Hayes sets out to capture the title outlaw (Rogers), who seeks to avenge his brother’s death at the hands of saloon owner Steele. One of Roy’s best from his late ’30s–early ’40s “historical” period, with Steele a standout. Remade as IN OLD SACRAMENTO (1946), with Bill Elliott.

Carthage in Flames (1959-Italian) C-96m. D: Carmine Gallone. José Suárez, Pierre Brasseur, Anne Heywood, Illaria Occhini, Daniel Gélin, Mario Girotti (Terence Hill). Unremarkable mixture of love and intrigue set against backdrop of Rome-Carthage war of 2nd century B.C.; spirited action scenes. Super Technirama 70.

Cartouche (1964-French-Italian) C-115m. ½ D: Philippe De Broca. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale, Odile Versois, Jess Hahn, Jean Rochefort, Philippe Lemaire, Marcel Dalio, Noel Roquevert. Colorful, exciting exploits of 18th-century French Robin Hood who takes over a Parisian crime syndicate. Belmondo is dashing as Cartouche and Cardinale is ravishing as Venus, his gypsy-mistress, in this rousing action-comedy. Dyaliscope.

Carve Her Name With Pride (1958-British) 119m. D: Lewis Gilbert. Virginia McKenna, Paul Scofield, Jack Warner, Maurice Ronet, Bill Owen, Denise Grey, Billie Whitelaw, Michael Caine. McKenna, widowed during WW2, becomes a courageous British secret agent. Solid and inspiring; based on a true story.

Casablanca (1942) 102m. D: Michael Curtiz. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson, Marcel Dalio, S. Z. Sakall, Joy Page, Helmut Dantine, Curt Bois. Everything is right in this WW2 classic of war-torn Morocco with elusive nightclub owner Rick (Bogart) finding old flame (Bergman) and her husband, underground leader Henreid, among skeletons in his closet. Rains is marvelous as dapper police chief, and nobody sings “As Time Goes By” like Dooley Wilson. Three Oscars include Picture, Director, and Screenplay (Julius & Philip Epstein and Howard Koch). Our candidate for the best Hollywood movie of all time. Spawned short-lived TV series in the 1950s and the 1980s. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Casanova Brown (1944) 94m. ½ D: Sam Wood. Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Frank Morgan, Anita Louise, Isobel Elsom. Cooper has divorced Wright, but now she’s pregnant; entertaining little comedy with stars outshining material. Filmed in 1930 and 1939 as LITTLE ACCIDENT.

Casanova in Burlesque (1944) 74m. ½ D: Leslie Goodwins. Joe E. Brown, June Havoc, Dale Evans, Lucien Littlefield, Marjorie Gateson, Ian Keith, Sugar Geise. Shakespeare professor leads a double life as a burlesque clown in this slight but amusing musical comedy. Evans sings jive numbers like “Mess Me Up” and “Willie the Shake,” while Havoc performs a very funny “Who Took Me Home Last Night?”

Casanova’s Big Night (1954) C-86m. D: Norman Z. McLeod. Bob Hope, Joan Fontaine, Audrey Dalton, Basil Rathbone, Raymond Burr. Lavish costumed fun with Bob masquerading as Casanova (Vincent Price in an unbilled cameo role) in Venice and wooing lovely Dalton.

Casanova ’70 (1965-French-Italian) C-113m. ½ D: Mario Monicelli. Marcello Mastroianni, Virna Lisi, Michele Mercier, Marisa Mell, Marco Ferreri, Enrico Maria Salerno. Dashing Major Mastroianni is only interested in seducing women when there is an element of danger involved. Modest, though amusing.

Casa Ricordi SEE: House of Ricordi

Casbah (1948) 94m. D: John Berry. Tony Martin, Yvonne De Carlo, Peter Lorre, Marta Toren, Hugo Haas, Thomas Gomez, Douglas Dick, Katherine Dunham, Herbert Rudley, Virginia Gregg. If you can accept singer Martin as slippery thief Pépé Le Moko (he’s actually quite good) you’ll enjoy this musical remake of ALGIERS. It’s stylishly directed and designed, and features Lorre in one of his best performances as the crafty inspector determined to nail Le Moko. Fine score by Harold Arlen and Leo Robin includes “For Every Man There’s a Woman” and “Hooray for Love.” Look fast and you’ll spot Eartha Kitt, then one of the Katherine Dunham dance troupe. Martin also produced the film.

Case Against Brooklyn, The (1958) 82m. ½ D: Paul Wendkos. Darren McGavin, Maggie Hayes, Warren Stevens, Peggy McCay. Unexciting little exposé yarn involves fledgling cop McGavin combating gambling syndicate in title borough.

Case Against Mrs. Ames, The (1936) 85m. ½ D: William Seiter. Madeleine Carroll, George Brent, Arthur Treacher, Alan Baxter, Beulah Bondi. D.A. Brent finds himself falling in love with beautiful Carroll, suspected of murdering her husband.

Case of Dr. Laurent, The (1958-French) 91m. D: Jean-Paul le Chanois. Jean Gabin, Nicole Courcel, Sylvia Monfort, Michel Barbey. Film was exploited theatrically for its frank birth sequence, only small logical sequence in recounting life of country doctor Gabin who advocates natural childbirth.

Case of Mrs. Loring, The SEE: Question of Adultery, A

Case of the Black Cat, The (1936) 65m. ½ D: William McGann. Ricardo Cortez, June Travis, Jane Bryan, Gordon (William) Elliott, Craig Reynolds, Harry Davenport. A trio of murders, a treasure hunt, and a shrieking feline are the ingredients in this enjoyable Perry Mason mystery, with Cortez quite adequate in his only crack at the role. One mystery unsolved by Perry: who gave this title to a movie about a white cat?

Case of the Curious Bride, The (1935) 80m. D: Michael Curtiz. Warren William, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Woods, Claire Dodd, Allen Jenkins, Wini Shaw. Shrill Perry Mason film takes offhanded approach to murder mystery with large doses of humor; Perry (William) is more interested in gourmet food than he is in the case! Errol Flynn has small role as the victim in his first Hollywood film.

Case of the Howling Dog, The (1934) 75m. D: Alan Crosland. Warren William, Mary Astor, Helen Trenholme, Allen Jenkins, Grant Mitchell, Dorothy Tree. First of the Perry Mason series is probably the least interesting, centering on the case of feuding neighbors who both claim they’re married to the same woman.

Case of the Lucky Legs, The (1935) 76m. ½ D: Archie Mayo. Warren William, Genevieve Tobin, Patricia Ellis, Lyle Talbot, Allen Jenkins, Barton MacLane. Stylish Perry Mason whodunit centering on the murder of a crooked beauty contest promoter. The movie is as much a comedy as a mystery, maybe more so, especially with Perry struggling to stay on an anti-alcoholic diet.

Case of the Red Monkey (1955-British) 73m. D: Ken Hughes. Richard Conte, Rona Anderson, Colin Gordon, Russell Napier. Acceptable police-on-the-case fare, tracking down murderers of atomic scientists. Original British title: LITTLE RED MONKEY.

Case of the Stuttering Bishop, The (1937) 70m. D: William Clemens. Donald Woods, Ann Dvorak, Anne Nagel, Linda Perry, Craig Reynolds. Woods is a bland Perry Mason in this last series entry, about the murder of an oil millionaire whose granddaughter—now suddenly his heir—may be an imposter.

Case of the Velvet Claws, The (1936) 60m. D: William Clemens. Warren William, Claire Dodd, Winifred Shaw, Gordon (William) Elliott, Joseph King. Perry Mason (William) finally weds Della Street (Dodd), but the honeymoon is interrupted by the case of a murdered scandal sheet publisher. Brisk entry marked William’s final appearance in the role.

Cash (1933-British) 73m. ½ D: Zoltan Korda. Robert Donat, Wendy Barrie, Edmund Gwenn, Clifford Heatherley, Morris Harvey. Dull, disappointing comedy about ex-rich boy Donat, now working for a living, who becomes involved with pretty Barrie and scheming father Gwenn. The U.S. title was FOR LOVE OR MONEY; aka IF I WERE RICH.

Cash McCall (1959) C-102m. ½ D: Joseph Pevney. James Garner, Natalie Wood, Nina Foch, Dean Jagger, E.G. Marshall, Henry Jones, Otto Kruger, Roland Winters. Garner is just right as business tycoon who adopts new set of values as he romances daughter (Wood) of failing businessman Jagger. Superficial film from Cameron Hawley novel.

Cash on Delivery (1956-British) 82m. D: Muriel Box. Shelley Winters, John Gregson, Peggy Cummins, Wilfrid Hyde-White. Story with a twist suffers from sloppy execution. Winters seeks to earn inheritance by preventing ex-husband’s wife from having a child. Original title: TO DOROTHY A SON.

Casino Murder Case (1935) 85m. D: Edwin L. Marin. Paul Lukas, Alison Skipworth, Donald Cook, Rosalind Russell, Arthur Byron, Ted Healy, Eric Blore, Leo G. Carroll, William Demarest. Polished but perfunctory Philo Vance mystery about a series of murders at the mansion of eccentric old lady Skipworth, with Healy and Blore around for comic relief. Stolid, thickly accented Lukas is not very effective as Vance.

Casque d’Or (1952-French) 98m. D: Jacques Becker. Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Claude Dauphin, Raymond Bussières, William Sabatier, Gaston Modot. Signoret is luminous as a seductive underworld beauty who inspires men to die for her love in this tale of rivalry and revenge among Parisian “apache” gangsters in 1898. Much more than just a period crime yarn, this is one of the most physically beautiful and sensuous films ever made. Becker’s poetic direction and Robert Le Febvre’s shimmering photography are sheer perfection. Aka GOLDEN MARIE and GOLDEN HELMET.

Cassidy of Bar 20 (1938) 58m. ½ D: Lesley Selander. William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Frank Darien, Nora Lane, Robert Fiske, John Elliott, Gertrude Hoffman. Terrorized by cattle rustlers, former sweetheart sends for Hopalong Cassidy to clean up her town, run by high-handed Fiske. Sequel to HOPALONG RIDES AGAIN, based on 1928 novel Me an’ Shorty by series creator Clarence E. Mulford. Leisurely paced Western melodrama is light on action but still entertaining. Alleged comedy relief by sidekick Darien (as “Pappy”) proves George Hayes was irreplaceable.

Cass Timberlane (1947) 119m. ½ D: George Sidney. Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Zachary Scott, Tom Drake, Mary Astor, Albert Dekker, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Mona Barrie, Josephine Hutchinson, Rose Hobart, Selena Royle, Cameron Mitchell. Ordinary adaptation of Sinclair Lewis novel of an upright, upper-crust Minnesota judge (Tracy) whose friends are either corrupt or elitist and his marriage to bright, working-class Turner (in one of her best performances). Walter Pidgeon appears as himself in a cocktail party scene.

Cast a Dark Shadow (1955-British) 84m. D: Lewis Gilbert. Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kathleen Harrison, Kay Walsh, Robert Flemyng, Mona Washbourne. Tense suspenser with Bogarde in fine form as a psychotic Bluebeard who murders rich, aging mate Washbourne. Lockwood and Walsh won’t be such easy prey, however.

Cast a Long Shadow (1959) 82m. ½ D: Thomas Carr. Audie Murphy, Terry Moore, John Dehner, James Best, Rita Lynn, Denver Pyle, Ann Doran. Murphy, troubled by shady past, is reformed by being given a ranch and building a new future; plodding oater.

Castle in the Desert (1942) 62m. D: Harry Lachman. Sidney Toler, Arleen Whelan, Richard Derr, Douglass Dumbrille, Henry Daniell, Edmund MacDonald, Victor Sen Yung, Ethel Griffies. Twentieth Century-Fox’s last Charlie Chan entry is a first-rate mystery set in a spooky mansion in the Mojave, where mysterious deaths are occurring.

Castle of Terror, The (1964-Italian-French) 85m. D: Anthony Dawson (Antonio Margheriti). Barbara Steele, George Riviere, Margarete Robsahm, Henry Kruger, Montgomery Glenn, Sylvia Sorente. On a wager, poet spends the night in haunted castle. Atmospheric chiller. Remade by the same director as WEB OF THE SPIDER. Aka CASTLE OF BLOOD.

Castle of the Living Dead (1963-Italian-French) 90m. D: Herbert Wise (Luciano Ricci). Christopher Lee, Gala Germani, Philippe Leroy, Jacques Stanislawski, Donald Sutherland. Lee is suitably cast as sinister Count Drago, who mummifies visitors to his gothic castle. Unexceptional horror fare, notable mainly as Sutherland’s film debut in two roles—one an old lady.

Castle on the Hudson (1940) 77m. D: Anatole Litvak. John Garfield, Pat O’Brien, Ann Sheridan, Burgess Meredith, Jerome Cowan, Henry O’Neill, Guinn “Big Boy” Williams, John Litel. Faithful but familiar remake of 20,000 YEARS IN SING SING, with tough, stubborn hood Garfield going up against dedicated, reform-minded warden O’Brien.

Castles in the Sky SEE: Yidl Mitn Fidl

Cat and the Canary, The (1927) 74m. D: Paul Leni. Laura LaPlante, Tully Marshall, Flora Finch, Creighton Hale, Gertrude Astor, Lucien Littlefield. Delightful silent classic, the forerunner of all “old dark house” mysteries, with nice touch of humor throughout as heiress LaPlante and nervous group spend night in haunted house. Remade several times.

Cat and the Canary, The (1939) 74m. D: Elliott Nugent. Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Gale Sondergaard, John Beal, Douglass Montgomery, Nydia Westman, Elizabeth Patterson, George Zucco. Entertaining remake of the venerable “old dark house” chiller, spiced with Hope’s brand of humor. This film cemented his movie stardom and led to the even more successful scare comedy THE GHOST BREAKERS. Remade again in 1978.

Cat and the Fiddle, The (1934) 90m. D: William K. Howard. Jeanette MacDonald, Ramon Novarro, Frank Morgan, Charles Butterworth, Jean Hersholt. Delightful Jerome Kern–Otto Harbach operetta, filled with sly comedy and clever ideas. Novarro is a struggling composer who forces his attentions on MacDonald; Morgan is “benefactor” who comes between them. Songs include “The Night Was Made for Love,” “She Didn’t Say Yes.” Final sequence is in color.

Cat Ballou (1965) C-96m. ½ D: Elliot Silverstein. Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman, Tom Nardini, John Marley, Reginald Denny, Jay C. Flippen, Arthur Hunnicutt, Bruce Cabot. Funny Western comedy, with Fonda as Cat Ballou, notorious school-teacher-turned-outlaw. Marvin copped an Oscar for his dual role as a drunken gunman and his twin, a desperado with an artificial nose. Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye appear as strolling minstrels. Roy Chanslor’s novel was adapted by Walter Newman and Frank R. Pierson.

Catch Us If You Can SEE: Having a Wild Weekend

Cat Creeps, The (1946) 58m. ½ D: Erle C. Kenton. Noah Beery, Jr., Lois Collier, Paul Kelly, Fred Brady, Douglass Dumbrille, Rose Hobart. Shabby B mystery with reporter and various greedy types searching for fortune in old lady’s spooky mansion.

Catered Affair, The (1956) 93m. D: Richard Brooks. Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald, Rod Taylor. Davis sheds all glamour as Bronx taxi driver’s wife wanting to give daughter ritzy wedding. Gore Vidal’s script based on Paddy Chayefsky TV play. Also shown in computer-colored version. Later a Broadway musical.

Cat Girl (1957-British) 69m. ½ D: Alfred Shaughnessy. Barbara Shelley, Robert Ayres, Kay Callard, Paddy Webster. A family curse is passed down to Shelley, who begins to imagine that she’s part cat, in this no-chills thriller that shamelessly rips off CAT PEOPLE. Silly, low-grade stuff.

Catherine the Great (1934-British) 92m. ½ D: Paul Czinner. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Elisabeth Bergner, Flora Robson, Joan Gardner, Gerald Du Maurier. Lavish historical drama of Russian czarina whose life is spoiled by rigidly planned marriage. Slow-moving but interesting. Also known as THE RISE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT.

Catman of Paris, The (1946) 65m. ½ D: Lesley Selander. Carl Esmond, Lenore Aubert, Adele Mara, Douglass Dumbrille, Gerald Mohr, Fritz Feld, Francis Pierlot, John Dehner, Anthony Caruso. A werewolf-like catman stalks the streets of fin de siècle Paris and suspicion falls on famous writer Esmond, who’s subject to blackouts. Talky, routine horror from Republic. After transformation, the catman is played by an unbilled Robert J. Wilke.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) C-108m. ½ D: Richard Brooks. Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith Anderson, Madeleine Sherwood, Larry Gates. Southern patriarch Ives learns he is dying; his greedy family, except for son Newman, falls all over itself sucking up to him. Tennessee Williams’ classic study of “mendacity” comes to the screen somewhat laundered but still packing a wallop; entire cast is sensational. Adaptation by Brooks and James Poe. Remade for TV in 1976 and 1984.

Cat People (1942) 73m. D: Jacques Tourneur. Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jack Holt, Jane Randolph. Storyline and plot elements don’t hold up, but moments of shock and terror are undiminished in the first of producer Val Lewton’s famous horror films. Smith falls in love with strange, shy woman (Simon) who fears ancient curse of the panther inside her. Followed by THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE. Remade in 1982.

Cat’s-Paw, The (1934) 98m. ½ D: Sam Taylor. Harold Lloyd, Una Merkel, George Barbier, Alan Dinehart, Grace Bradley, Nat Pendleton. Harold is a missionary’s son, raised in China; he comes to U.S. a babe in the woods, is duped into running for mayor in big city by corrupt politicos who regard him as perfect patsy. Odd Capraesque comedy ends with strange denouement where Lloyd takes law into his own hands. A real curio.

Cattle Drive (1951) C-77m. ½ D: Kurt Neumann. Joel McCrea, Dean Stockwell, Leon Ames, Chill Wills, Henry Brandon, Howard Petrie, Bob Steele. What lessons will be learned by bratty Stockwell, the neglected son of a railroad magnate, while in the company of veteran cowhand McCrea? Predictable but agreeable Western.

Cattle Empire (1958) C-83m. D: Charles Marquis Warren. Joel McCrea, Gloria Talbott, Don Haggerty, Phyllis Coates. McCrea agrees to lead cattle drive, planning revenge on cattle owners who sent him to jail; OK Western. CinemaScope.

Cattle King (1963) C-88m. D: Tay Garnett. Robert Taylor, Joan Caulfield, Robert Loggia, Robert Middleton, Larry Gates, Malcolm Atterbury. Control of grazing land subject of standard Western confrontation saga, Taylor and Middleton squaring off in forgettable drama. Metroscope.

Cattle Queen of Montana (1954) C-88m. ½ D: Allan Dwan. Barbara Stanwyck, Ronald Reagan, Gene Evans, Lance Fuller, Anthony Caruso, Jack Elam. Stanwyck battles to protect her livestock and property from plundering by Indians—and a ruthless villain (Evans). Reagan plays second fiddle to feisty Stanwyck here—but they’re both done in by mediocre script. Beautiful scenery (filmed in Glacier National Park, Montana) helps.

Cattle Town (1952) 71m. D: Noel Smith. Dennis Morgan, Philip Carey, Amanda Blake, Rita Moreno, Sheb Wooley, Merv Griffin. Both Warner Bros. and Morgan were at low points when this sad echo of a slick Western was churned out.

Cat-Women of the Moon (1954) 64m. ½ D: Arthur Hilton. Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory, Marie Windsor, Bill Phipps, Douglas Fowley, Susan Morrow. All-star cast in tacky sci-fi entry about a moon expedition that discovers female civilization and its underground empire. Aka ROCKET TO THE MOON. Remade as MISSILE TO THE MOON. 3-D.

Caught (1949) 88m. D: Max Opuls (Ophuls). James Mason, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Ryan, Frank Ferguson, Curt Bois, Natalie Schafer. Compelling tale of naïve Bel Geddes, from a modest background, who dreams of wedding a wealthy man. She does just that, but life with powerful, sadistic Ryan (a character reportedly based on Howard Hughes) is not what she envisioned.

Caught in the Draft (1941) 82m. D: David Butler. Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Lynne Overman, Eddie Bracken. The last thing movie star Hope wants is to get drafted, but he accidentally enlists himself. Very funny service comedy.

Caught Plastered (1931) 69m. ½ D: William Seiter. Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Lucy Beaumont, Jason Robards (Sr.), DeWitt Jennings, Charles Middleton. Amusing farce loaded with puns, wisecracks, and vaudeville gags. W&W play itinerant song-and-dance men who help save a sweet old lady’s drugstore from foreclosure by using it to stage live radio broadcasts, then try to keep it from falling into the hands of a bootlegging gang.

Caught Short (1930) 75m. ½ D: Charles F. Riesner. Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, Anita Page, Charles Morton, Thomas Conlin, Greta Mann, T. Roy Barnes. Bickering boardinghouse landladies try to one-up each other as they invest in the stock market, as Marie’s daughter and Polly’s son fall in love. Typical Dressler-Moran comedy is pleasant enough but has no big slapstick sequences and lacks the punch of such other films as PROSPERITY. Ostensibly based on Eddie Cantor’s best-selling book about the stock-market crash.

Cause for Alarm! (1951) 74m. D: Tay Garnett. Loretta Young, Barry Sullivan, Bruce Cowling, Margalo Gillmore, Carl Switzer, Richard Anderson. Simple, effective thriller with Young registering as the panic-stricken wife of psychotic Sullivan. Tension builds, and there’s a neat plot twist.

Cavalcade (1933) 110m. D: Frank Lloyd. Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Herbert Mundin, Ursula Jeans, Margaret Lindsay, Beryl Mercer, Una O’Connor, Billy Bevan, Frank Lawton. Lavish Hollywood adaptation of Noel Coward’s London stage success (which may remind many of TV’s Upstairs, Downstairs) chronicling two English families from eve of the 20th century to early 1930s. Nostalgic, richly atmospheric, but also sharply critical of war and the aftershocks that brought an end to a wonderful way of life. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Best Director, and “Interior Decoration” (it is handsome).

Cavalry Charge SEE: Last Outpost, The (1951)

Cavalry Scout (1951) C-78m. D: Lesley Selander. Rod Cameron, Audrey Long, Jim Davis, James Millican, James Arness. Routine Western of scout Cameron tracking down stolen army goods and romancing Long.

Cave of Outlaws (1951) C-75m. D: William Castle. Macdonald Carey, Alexis Smith, Edgar Buchanan, Victor Jory. Search for stolen gold leads ex-con, lawman, miner, et al. to title situation; Smith is wasted.

Cease Fire (1953) 75m. D: Owen Crump. Members of an American infantry platoon in Korea embark on a dangerous patrol as delicate peace negotiations are under way in Panmunjon. Documentary produced by Hal Wallis with the U.S. Dept. of Defense is interesting for its glimpses of actual GIs on real battlefield locations, but marred by obvious reenactments and staged situations. Originally shown in 3-D.

Ceiling Zero (1936) 95m. D: Howard Hawks. James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, June Travis, Stuart Erwin, Barton MacLane, Isabel Jewell. Irresponsible mail flier Cagney causes no end of grief for old pal (and boss) O’Brien, especially when he sets his sights on young pilot Travis. Typically machine-gun–paced Hawks drama belies its stage origins; one of the best Cagney-O’Brien vehicles. Based on the play by Frank “Spig” Wead; remade as INTERNATIONAL SQUADRON.

Cell 2455 Death Row (1955) 77m. D: Fred F. Sears. William Campbell, Kathryn Grant (Crosby), Vince Edwards, Marian Carr. Exploitative retracing of life of notorious criminal, based on real-life Caryl Chessman and his demand, while in prison, for retrials. Alan Alda later played Chessman in KILL ME WHILE YOU CAN.

Centennial Summer (1946) C-102m. ½ D: Otto Preminger. Jeanne Crain, Cornel Wilde, Linda Darnell, William Eythe, Walter Brennan, Constance Bennett, Dorothy Gish. Leisurely, plush musical of Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, with sisters Crain and Darnell both after handsome Wilde; nice Jerome Kern score helps.

Central Airport (1933) 75m. ½ D: William A. Wellman. Richard Barthelmess, Sally Eilers, Tom Brown, Grant Mitchell, Willard Robertson, Glenda Farrell. Film’s title has nothing to do with its story, a romantic rivalry between pilot brothers Barthelmess and Brown. Some great aerial stunts and impressive miniature special effects help make up for underdeveloped script. Blink and you’ll miss John Wayne in a bit part as Brown’s copilot in the climactic sequence.

Central Park (1932) 61m. ½ D: John Adolfi. Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Wallace Ford, Henry B. Walthall, Patricia Ellis, Charles Sellon. Blondell and Ford uplift this programmer as a pair of small-town kids making their way in the big city who inadvertently become involved with gangsters. Set entirely in N.Y.C.’s Central Park.

Ceremony, The (1963) 105m. ½ D: Laurence Harvey. Laurence Harvey, Sarah Miles, Robert Walker, Jr., John Ireland, Ross Martin, Lee Patterson, Noel Purcell. Mishmash about convicted killer rescued by brother who demands liaison with sister-in-law as reward.

Certain Smile, A (1958) C-106m. ½ D: Jean Negulesco. Rossano Brazzi, Joan Fontaine, Bradford Dillman, Christine Carere. Françoise Sagan’s novella becomes overblown soap opera. Romance between Parisian students Dillman (in film debut) and Carere interrupted when she is beguiled by roué Brazzi; chic Fontaine is wasted. CinemaScope.

César (1936-French) 134m. ½ D: Marcel Pagnol. Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Charpin, Andre Fouche, Alida Rouffe. Fanny’s son (Fouche), now grown, learns that his father is Marius (Fresnay), not Panisse (Charpin). Raimu steals the film in the title role, particularly when he gives a poignant discourse on death. Third of Pagnol’s trilogy, preceded by MARIUS and FANNY. All three were the basis of the play and movie FANNY (1961).

Chad Hanna (1940) C-86m. D: Henry King. Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, Linda Darnell, Guy Kibbee, Jane Darwell, John Carradine. Rather flat circus drama set in 19th-century New York; colorful but empty.

Chained (1934) 76m. ½ D: Clarence Brown. Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Otto Kruger, Stuart Erwin, Una O’Connor, Akim Tamiroff. Chic formula MGM love triangle with Crawford torn between love for Gable and married lover Kruger. Watch for Mickey Rooney splashing in a swimming pool.

Chain Lightning (1950) 94m. D: Stuart Heisler. Humphrey Bogart, Eleanor Parker, Raymond Massey, Richard Whorf. After WW2, bomber pilot Bogart becomes a test pilot for jet manufacturer Massey. Some romantic rivalry over Parker with inventor Whorf is as low-key as the rest of this bland, uninvolving movie.

Chain of Evidence (1957) 64m. ½ D: Paul Landres. Bill Elliott, Don Haggerty, James Lydon, Claudia Barrett, Tina Carver, Ross Elliott, Dabbs Greer, Hugh Sanders, Timothy Carey, Meg Randall. Programmer has dedicated homicide detective Elliott tracking down the real killer of a businessman. Former Western star Elliott played the same character in four other movies.

Chalk Garden, The (1964-British) C-106m. D: Ronald Neame. Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, John Mills, Edith Evans, Felix Aylmer, Elizabeth Sellars. Very-high-class soap opera with good cast supporting story of teenager set on right path by governess Kerr; colorful production, quite entertaining. From Enid Bagnold play.

Challenge, The (1948) 68m. D: Jean Yarbrough. Tom Conway, June Vincent, Richard Stapley, John Newland, Eily Malyon, Terry Kilburn, Stanley Logan. Conway easily slides into the role of Bulldog Drummond in this fair mystery about a murdered sea captain who knew the whereabouts of hidden gold.

Challenge, The (1960) SEE: It Takes a Thief

Challenge to Lassie (1949) C-76m. ½ D: Richard Thorpe. Edmund Gwenn, Donald Crisp, Geraldine Brooks, Reginald Owen, Alan Webb, Ross Ford, Henry Stephenson, Alan Napier, Sara Allgood, Arthur Shields. Based-on-fact story, set in 19th-century Edinburgh, about a dog (actually a Skye terrier but played here by Lassie), who keeps returning to a churchyard where its master (Crisp) is buried. Pleasant film, with a fine character actor cast. Remade as GREYFRIARS BOBBY, which also features Crisp (as the cemetery caretaker).

Chamber of Horrors (1940-British) 80m. ½ D: Norman Lee. Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge, Gina Malo, Richard Bird, Cathleen Nesbitt. Low-budget horror comes over fairly well, with dastardly Banks duplicating his MOST DANGEROUS GAME–Count Zaroff look and accent—even though his character here is Spanish! Based on Edgar Wallace story. Original British title: THE DOOR WITH SEVEN LOCKS.

Champ, The (1931) 87m. ½ D: King Vidor. Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Roscoe Ates, Edward Brophy, Hale Hamilton. Superb tearjerker about a washed-up prizefighter and his adoring son, played to perfection by Beery and Cooper (in the first of their several teamings). Simple, sentimental in the extreme, but very effective. Beery won an Oscar for his performance, as did Frances Marion for her original story. Remade in 1953 (as THE CLOWN) and 1979.

Champagne (1928-British) 93m. ½ D: Alfred Hitchcock. Betty Balfour, Jean Bradin, Gordon Harker, Ferdinand von Alten, Clifford Heatherley, Jack Trevor. Romantic escapades of irresponsible socialite Balfour whose father pretends he’s broke to teach her a lesson. Overlong silent Hitch is moderately entertaining with the usual quota of striking visuals.

Champagne Charlie (1944) 107m. ½ D: Cavalcanti. Tommy Trinder, Betty Warren, Stanley Holloway, Austin Trevor, Jean Kent, Guy Middleton. Splendid evocation of British music halls of the 1860s and their robust entertainers simply hasn’t got enough story to last 107m. The songs are still great fun. Look for young Kay Kendall.

Champagne for Caesar (1950) 99m. D: Richard Whorf. Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, Vincent Price, Barbara Britton, Art Linkletter. Genius Colman becomes national celebrity on TV quiz show; sponsor Price sends temptress Holm to distract big winner. Enjoyable spoof; Price hilarious as neurotic soap manufacturer.

Champagne Safari (1952) 60m. ½ D: Jackson Leighter. Documentary on Rita Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan’s troubled second honeymoon in colonial Africa is a fascinating curio that combines National Geographic–style travelogue with Photoplay-esque heartbreak-of-the-stars. Amid stops in Uganda, Kenya, and the former Tanganyika and Belgian Congo, Leighter’s camera captures a marriage that is already beginning to unravel. (They were divorced before the film’s release.) Originally photographed in color; all current prints are b&w.

Champagne Waltz (1937) 87m. D: A. Edward Sutherland. Gladys Swarthout, Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie, Herman Bing, Vivienne Osborne. Flyweight musical about rivalry between Vienna waltz palace and American jazz band next door gets sillier as it goes along; operatic Swarthout is saddled with mediocre songs. Oakie’s comedy relief most welcome.

Champ for a Day (1953) 90m. D: William Seiter. Alex Nicol, Audrey Totter, Charles Winninger, Hope Emerson, Henry (Harry) Morgan. Brooklyn boxer tracks down friend’s murderer. Standard.

Champion (1949) 99m. ½ D: Mark Robson. Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy, Ruth Roman, Paul Stewart, Lola Albright. Unscrupulous boxer punches his way to the top, thrusting aside everybody and everything. Douglas perfectly cast in title role; gripping film, with Harry Gerstad’s Oscar-winning editing. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Chance at Heaven (1933) 70m. D: William Seiter. Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea, Marian Nixon, Andy Devine, Ann Shoemaker, Betty Furness. Honest, hardworking McCrea leaves fiancée Ginger for spoiled society brat Nixon. Sincere performances and realistic small-town atmosphere are only virtues of this humdrum film.

Chance Meeting (1959-British) 96m. ½ D: Joseph Losey. Hardy Kruger, Stanley Baker, Micheline Presle, Robert Flemyng, Gordon Jackson. Kafkaesque story of painter framed for girlfriend’s murder. Intriguing little mystery becomes talky, loses initial momentum. British title: BLIND DATE.

Chance of a Lifetime, The (1943) 65m. ½ D: William Castle. Chester Morris, Erik Rolf, Jeanne Bates, Richard Lane, George E. Stone, Lloyd Corrigan, Walter Sande, Douglas Fowley, Cy Kendall. Director Castle made his debut with this proficient Boston Blackie episode about a group of prisoners who are paroled to Blackie’s care to work in a war plant—but some of them have larceny and not patriotism in mind.

Chance of a Lifetime, The (1950-British) 89m. D: Bernard Miles, Alan Osbiston. Basil Radford, Niall MacGinnis, Bernard Miles, Geoffrey Keen, Kenneth More, Julien Mitchell, Hattie Jacques. Nearly a landmark film by actor-director Miles, blending comedy and drama when a fed-up factory owner (Radford) agrees to turn over all management duties to his workers. Laborers, led by Miles and More, eventually learn how difficult it is to run a business. Outstanding performances and realistic location filming.

Chances (1931) 72m. D: Allan Dwan. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Rose Hobart, Anthony Bushell, Mary Forbes, William Austin. Entertaining, neatly acted drama of love and war, with soldier-brothers Fairbanks and Bushell both falling for Hobart. Fairbanks in particular is a standout.

Chandu the Magician (1932) 70m. ½ D: William Cameron Menzies, Marcel Varnel. Edmund Lowe, Bela Lugosi, Irene Ware, Henry B. Walthall, Herbert Mundin. Mystic Chandu battles madman whose death ray threatens to destroy world; not as good as most serials of this genre, and even sillier. Disappointing.

Chang (1927) 67m. ½ D: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack. Kru, Chantui, Nah, Ladah, Bimbo. Set in the jungle of Siam (Thailand), this fascinating ethnographic documentary/narrative tells the story of Kru and his family, and their daily struggle for survival amid wild animals and cruel forces of nature—particularly a herd of chang (the Siamese word for “elephant”). Some of the shots of animals are truly amazing. The Cooper-Schoedsack team later made KING KONG.

Change of Heart (1943) 90m. D: Albert S. Rogell. John Carroll, Susan Hayward, Gail Patrick, Eve Arden, Melville Cooper, Walter Catlett, Dorothy Dandridge, Count Basie & Orchestra, Freddy Martin & Orchestra. Forgettable musical numbers abound in this romantic trifle of Carroll stealing songwriter Hayward’s work. Of course, they fall in love. Originally titled HIT PARADE OF 1943.

Chaplin Revue, The (1958) 119m. ½ D: Charles Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Sydney Chaplin, Mack Swain. Three of Chaplin’s best shorts strung together with his own music, narration, and behind-the-scenes footage: A DOG’S LIFE (1918), one of his loveliest films; SHOULDER ARMS (1918), a classic WW1 comedy; and THE PILGRIM (1923), his underrated gem about a convict who disguises himself as a minister.

Chapman Report, The (1962) C-125m. ½ D: George Cukor. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda, Claire Bloom, Glynis Johns, Ray Danton, Ty Hardin, Andrew Duggan, John Dehner, Harold J. Stone, Corey Allen, Cloris Leachman, Chad Everett, Henry Daniell, Jack Cassidy. Slick, empty yarn about Kinsey-like sex researchers coming to suburban community to get statistical survey, with repercussions on assorted females. Potboiler material elevated by good performances and direction.

Charade (1953-British) 82m. D: Roy Kellino. James Mason, Pamela Mason, Scott Forbes, Paul Cavanagh, Bruce Lester, John Dodsworth, Judy Osborne, Sean McClory. Trilogy of short stories adapted by the then-married Masons (and directed by her ex-husband) for British TV, subsequently reedited for theatrical release. Only the middle piece, Alexandre Dumas’ romantic drama “Duel at Dawn,” holds up today. The others: a mystery, “Portrait of a Murderer,” and a light comedy, “The Midas Touch.”

Charade (1963) C-114m. ½ D: Stanley Donen. Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Ned Glass, Jacques Marin. Suave comedy-mystery in Hitchcock vein, with Grant aiding widow Hepburn to recover fortune secreted by husband, being sought by trio of sinister crooks; set in Paris. Excellent screenplay by Peter Stone, score by Henry Mancini. Remade in 2002 as THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE.

Charge at Feather River, The (1953) C-96m. ½ D: Gordon Douglas. Guy Madison, Vera Miles, Frank Lovejoy, Dick Wesson, Helen Westcott, Onslow Stevens, Steve Brodie, Neville Brand, Henry Kulky. Pretty good saga of Madison leading ragtag “guardhouse brigade” toward an inevitable clash with the Cheyenne at title location. Subplots involve a SEARCHERS-like rescue of two white girls raised by Indians and a bit too much comedy relief from Wesson and Kulky. Listen for Lt. Wilhelm! Originally in 3D; Lovejoy even spits at the camera.

Charge of the Lancers (1954) C-74m. D: William Castle. Paulette Goddard, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Richard Stapley, Karin Booth, Charles Irwin. Stilted affair of gypsy Goddard and British officer Aumont finding romance in midst of Crimean War.

Charge of the Light Brigade, The (1936) 116m. D: Michael Curtiz. Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, Nigel Bruce, Donald Crisp, David Niven, C. Henry Gordon, Robert Barrat, Spring Byington, J. Carrol Naish. Thundering action based on Tennyson’s poem, with immortal charge into the valley of death by British 27th Lancers cavalry. Lavish production values accent romantic tale of Flynn and de Havilland at army post in India. Max Steiner’s first musical score for Warner Brothers is superb. Balaklava Heights charge directed by action specialist B. Reeves Eason. Remade in 1968. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Charley’s Aunt (1930) 88m. ½ D: Al Christie. Charles Ruggles, June Collyer, Hugh Williams, Doris Lloyd, Halliwell Hobbes. Ruggles shines in this amusing (if occasionally creaky) version of the Brandon Thomas farce. He’s a twit who impersonates the title relative and chaperones for a couple of his pals and their girlfriends. Originally filmed in 1925 (with Sydney Chaplin); remade in 1941.

Charley’s Aunt (1941) 81m. ½ D: Archie Mayo. Jack Benny, Kay Francis, James Ellison, Anne Baxter, Edmund Gwenn, Reginald Owen. Broad but surefire filming of Brandon Thomas play about Oxford student posing as maiden aunt, joke getting out of hand. Previously filmed six other times! Remade as musical WHERE’S CHARLEY?

Charlie Chan Earl Derr Biggers enjoyed great success with a series of novels featuring a detective on the Honolulu police force. The character first appeared on-screen in 1926, but did not make an impression until Warner Oland took over the role in 1931’s CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON (one of four early Chan films which no longer exist—except in a Spanish-language version—the others being CHARLIE CHAN’S CHANCE, CHARLIE CHAN’S COURAGE, and CHARLIE CHAN’S GREATEST CASE). Swedish-born Oland seemed born to play the Mandarin-like sleuth, but the series really hit its stride when Keye Luke was cast as his youthful, Americanized “Number One Son” Lee in CHARLIE CHAN IN PARIS; their good-natured parrying gave the series a uniquely human, and humorous, foundation that made them more than mere whodunits. Oland’s death in 1937 might have spelled the end of the series, but 20th Century-Fox decided to continue, and found another actor well suited to the part, Sidney Toler. He was soon joined by (Victor) Sen Yung, who was cast as Jimmy Chan, Charlie’s Number Two Son. The series became more formulaic, but still benefited from good writing and the best array of character actors in Hollywood to play the various red herrings. Fox retired the series in 1942, but two years later, low-budget Monogram Pictures decided to revive it, with Toler in the lead. These potboilers have little to recommend them. In 1947, after Toler’s death, Roland Winters took on the role for a final round before the series expired in 1949. The vintage Chan movies, from the mid-1930s to the early 1940s, remain highly enjoyable today, deftly blending crime solving and comedy, and always punctuated by Charlie’s wise sayings, like: “Insignificant molehill sometimes more important than conspicuous mountain.”

CHARLIE CHAN

Behind That Curtain (1929)

The Black Camel (1931)

Charlie Chan in London (1934)

Charlie Chan in Paris (1935)

Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)

Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)

Charlie Chan’s Secret (1936)

Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936)

Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)

Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)

Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)

Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937)

Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1938)

Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)

Charlie Chan in Reno (1939)

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939)

Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939)

Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)

Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise (1940)

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940)

Murder Over New York (1940)

Dead Men Tell (1941)

Charlie Chan in Rio (1941)

Castle in the Desert (1942)

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944)

The Chinese Cat (1944)

Black Magic (1944); aka Meeting at Midnight

The Jade Mask (1945)

The Scarlet Clue (1945)

The Shanghai Cobra (1945)

The Red Dragon (1945)

Dark Alibi (1946)

Shadows Over Chinatown (1946)

Dangerous Money (1946)

The Trap (1947)

The Chinese Ring (1947)

Docks of New Orleans (1948)

The Shanghai Chest (1948)

The Golden Eye (1948)

The Feathered Serpent (1948)

The Sky Dragon (1949)

Charlie Chan and the Golden Eye SEE: Golden Eye, The

Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1938) 71m. D: Eugene Forde. Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Virginia Field, Sidney Blackmer, Harold Huber, Kay Linaker, Robert Kent. A casino vacation on the Riviera turns into a murder investigation for the inscrutable detective. Oland’s final appearance as Chan is not one of his best.

Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) 72m. ½ D: Harry Lachman. Warner Oland, Keye Luke, George and Olive Brasno, Francis Ford, Maxine Reiner, John McGuire, Shirley Deane, J. Carrol Naish. Murder strikes under the big top, with Charlie and his 12 kids on hand to investigate. Pleasing entry.

Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) 71m. ½ D: H. Bruce Humberstone. Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Katherine DeMille, Pauline Moore, Allan Lane, C. Henry Gordon, Jonathan Hale, Morgan Wallace, Layne Tom, Jr., John Eldredge, Frederick Vogeding. Spies converge on the 1936 Berlin games and kidnap Number One Son Luke from the American swim team. Neat entry featuring well-integrated Olympic newsreel footage, and amusing byplay with plucky Charlie Chan, Jr. (Tom).

Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) 66m. D: H. Bruce Humberstone. Warner Oland, Boris Karloff, Keye Luke, Charlotte Henry, Thomas Beck, Margaret Irving, Gregory Gaye, Nedda Harrigan, Frank Conroy, William Demarest. The series at its peak, a stylish blend of murder and music, with Karloff as the leading suspect, Demarest as a skeptical cop, and a bogus opera written for the film by Oscar Levant.

Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) 70m. ½ D: H. Bruce Humberstone. Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Helen Wood, Thomas Beck, Alan Dinehart, Gavin Muir, Gloria Roy, Jonathan Hale, Junior Coghlan, Frankie Darro. Chan corrals some crooked gamblers during the investigation of a horse owner’s murder, with Number One Son Luke starting to become a regular participant in the series.

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) 63m. ½ D: Lynn Shores. Sidney Toler, Sen Yung, C. Henry Gordon, Marc Lawrence, Joan Valerie, Marguerite Chapman, Ted Osborn, Michael Visaroff. A gangster put away by Chan escapes and swears vengeance, hiding out at a wax museum run by a madman. Atmospheric entry with an appropriately creepy milieu and a handful of surprises.

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) 75m. D: Norman Foster. Sidney Toler, Cesar Romero, Pauline Moore, Sen Yung, Douglas Fowley, June Gale, Sally Blane, Wally Vernon, Donald MacBride, Douglass Dumbrille. One of the best Toler entries, with Charlie getting help from magician Romero in his attempt to prove that a phony psychic was behind the mysterious suicide of his friend. Tight script by John Larkin, set at Golden Gate International Exposition.

Charlie Chan in Black Magic SEE: Black Magic (1944)

Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939) 75m. D: Herbert I. Leeds. Sidney Toler, Lynn Bari, Richard Clarke, Harold Huber, Pedro de Cordoba, Dorothy Tree, C. Henry Gordon, Douglass Dumbrille, Noel Madison, Lon Chaney, Jr., Leo G. Carroll, Frederick Vogeding. In Paris, Chan and bumbling inspector Huber investigate the killing of an arms dealer supplying weapons to the Germans. Mediocre entry with a topical angle.

Charlie Chan in Dangerous Money SEE: Dangerous Money

Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) 72m. D: Louis King. Warner Oland, “Pat” Paterson, Thomas Beck, Rita Cansino (Hayworth), Jameson Thomas, Frank Conroy, Nigel de Brulier, Paul Porcasi, Stepin Fetchit. Highly enjoyable mystery about the search for a mummified archeologist in the land of the pyramids. Many horror-movie trappings in this one, including music lifted from CHANDU THE MAGICIAN.

Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) 68m. ½ D: H. Bruce Humberstone. Sidney Toler, Phyllis Brooks, Sen Yung, Eddie Collins, John King, Claire Dodd, George Zucco, Robert Barrat, Marc Lawrence, Richard Lane, Philip Ahn. Toler makes a serviceable Chan in his first outing (with Yung also debuting as Number Two Son Jimmy), probing murder on a ship docked in Hawaii while his daughter is about to give birth to his number one grandchild. Layne Tom, Jr., is fun as the daring young Charlie Chan, Jr.

Charlie Chan in London (1934) 79m. D: Eugene Forde. Warner Oland, Drue Leyton, Douglas Walton, Alan Mowbray, Mona Barrie, Raymond (Ray) Milland, George Barraud, David Torrence, Madge Bellamy, Murray Kinnell, E. E. Clive. Charlie tries to solve a murder during a foxhunt weekend at a British country estate—while dodging death-dealing darts and interpreting mysterious notes. Solid entry is helped by good portrayal of gentried British types . . . including a young Ray Milland.

Charlie Chan in Meeting at Midnight SEE: Black Magic (1944)

Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) 67m. ½ D: Norman Foster. Sidney Toler, Jean Rogers, Kane Richmond, Lionel Atwill, Mary Nash, Sen Yung, Chris-Pin Martin, Jack La Rue. They really started to play up the WW2 angle with this one, a slick entry about saboteurs planning to attack Navy ships in the Panama Canal. Strong cast helps. Reworking of MARIE GALANTE.

Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) 72m. ½ D: Lewis Seiler. Warner Oland, Mary Brian, Thomas Beck, Erik Rhodes, John Miljan, Ruth Peterson, Minor Watson, Murray Kinnell, John Qualen, Keye Luke, Henry Kolker. Compact early entry has Chan rounding up counterfeiters with the help of Number One Son Luke, making his first appearance as Lee.

Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) 70m. ½ D: Norman Foster. Sidney Toler, Ricardo Cortez, Phyllis Brooks, Pauline Moore, Slim Summerville, Kane Richmond, Sen Yung, Robert Lowery, Eddie Collins, Kay Linaker, Morgan Conway. Chan heads for the divorce capital to defend a friend charged with murder in this trim episode.

Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) 61m. ½ D: Harry Lachman. Sidney Toler, Mary Beth Hughes, Cobina Wright, Jr., Ted (Michael) North, Victor Jory, Harold Huber, Victor Sen Yung, Richard Derr, Kay Linaker. Picturesque Brazil is the backdrop for this entertaining murder mystery, with Chan joining the local police to solve a double homicide. A reworking of THE BLACK CAMEL (1931), which was directed by Hamilton MacFadden, who appears in this film as Bill Kellogg.

Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) 70m. ½ D: James Tinling. Warner Oland, Irene Hervey, Russell Hicks, Keye Luke, Halliwell Hobbes, Charles Locher (Jon Hall), Frederick Vogeding. Charlie tracks down murderous opium smugglers in this one. More physical action than usual.

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) 63m. D: Phil Rosen. Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Gwen Kenyon, Benson Fong, Arthur Loft, Marianne Quon. The Oriental sleuth probes the murder of an inventor in this initial Charlie Chan film for low-budget Monogram studios, which resulted in an obvious drop in production quality and the addition of Moreland in the stereotyped role of Birmingham, a frightened cab driver.

Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) 68m. D: Eugene Forde. Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Joan Marsh, J. Edward Bromberg, Leon Ames, Joan Woodbury, Douglas Fowley, Louise Henry, Donald Woods, Harold Huber, Marc Lawrence. Slangy entry about a shady chanteuse who’s murdered for her little black book containing the names and misdeeds of some highly placed criminals. Try to solve this one—and look fast for Lon Chaney, Jr.

Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise (1940) 75m. D: Eugene Forde. Sidney Toler, Sen Yung, Marjorie Weaver, Lionel Atwill, Robert Lowery, Don Beddoe, Leo G. Carroll, Cora Witherspoon, Kay Linaker, Harlan Briggs, Charles Middleton, Layne Tom, Jr. Overly familiar shipboard whodunit centering on the murder of a Scotland Yard inspector. Remake of CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON (1931), which no longer exists.

Charlie Chan’s Secret (1936) 71m. D: Gordon Wiles. Warner Oland, Rosina Lawrence, Charles Quigley, Henrietta Crosman, Edward Trevor, Astrid Allwyn, Herbert Mundin. Hollow mystery about a missing heir believed drowned who turns up alive, only to be killed during a seance. Number One Son is sorely missed.

Charlie Chaplin Carnival (1938) 100m. Four vintage comedies from Chaplin’s 1916–17 peak period: BEHIND THE SCREEN, THE COUNT, THE FIREMAN, THE VAGABOND. First one is best, with leading lady Edna Purviance and oversized villain Eric Campbell. Some prints run 75m.

Charlie Chaplin Cavalcade (1938) 75m. More priceless gems from 1916–17 period: ONE A.M. (Chaplin’s famous solo film), THE RINK, THE PAWNSHOP, THE FLOORWALKER. All great.

Charlie Chaplin Festival (1938) 96m. Best of the Chaplin compilations, which all suffer from obtrusive sound effects and music: THE ADVENTURER, THE CURE, EASY STREET, THE IMMIGRANT. Four of the greatest comedies ever made—don’t miss them. Some prints run 75m.

Charlie McCarthy, Detective (1939) 65m. ½ D: Frank Tuttle. Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, Constance Moore, Robert Cummings, Louis Calhern, John Sutton, Harold Huber, Edgar Kennedy. Good comedy-whodunit with Bergen & McCarthy rivaling Inspector Kennedy’s investigation.

Charming Sinners (1929) 85m. ½ D: Robert Milton. Ruth Chatterton, Clive Brook, William Powell, Mary Nolan, Laura Hope Crews, Florence Eldridge. Obvious, creaky marital drama of Chatterton, whose philandering husband (Brook) has taken up with her best friend. To pique his jealousy, she pretends to become involved with former boyfriend Powell. Based on Somerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife.

Charterhouse of Parma, The (1948-French-Italian) 170m. ½ D: Christian-Jaque. Gérard Philipe, Renée Faure, María Casarès, Tullio Carminati, Louis Salou, Lucien Coëdel. Epic-length romantic tragedy from Stendhal’s 1839 masterwork about a cleric irredeemably in love with a parish girl and the jealous aunt bent on preserving his purity . . . for herself. Director’s assured hand convincingly alternates appropriate reverence with forbidden passion, but the hero’s descent is a slow fall.

Chartroose Caboose (1960) C-75m. D: William “Red” Reynolds. Molly Bee, Ben Cooper, Edgar Buchanan, Mike McGreevey. Buchanan, an eccentric retired train conductor, shelters a young couple in his strange house, a converted caboose. Panavision.

Chase, The (1946) 86m. ½ D: Arthur D. Ripley. Robert Cummings, Michele Morgan, Steve Cochran, Peter Lorre, Lloyd Corrigan, Jack Holt, Don Wilson, James Westerfield. Mildly diverting melodrama with luckless vet Cummings becoming involved with a ruthless racketeer (well played by Cochran) and his melancholy wife (Morgan). Scripted by Philip Yordan, based on a book by Cornell Woolrich.

Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958-British) 87m. D: Michael Anderson. Richard Todd, Anne Baxter, Herbert Lom, Alexander Knox. Heiress Baxter doubts her sanity when allegedly dead brother Todd appears to claim inheritance; exciting, Hitchcock-like melodrama. Epilogue by film’s producer, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Chase Me Charlie (1932) 61m. Narrated by Teddy Bergman. Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Ben Turpin. Inept attempt to string early Chaplin shorts into storyline—1914 material used is often weak.

Chaser, The (1928) 63m. BOMB D: Harry Langdon. Harry Langdon, Gladys McConnell, Helen Hayward, Bud Jamison, Charles Thurston. Baby-faced Langdon is forced by a judge to take his spouse’s place as a housewife—in drag—for thirty days in this embarrassing and unfunny comedy. Langdon’s decision to direct himself sent his career plummeting, and it’s easy to see why.

Chasing Rainbows (1930) 85m. D: Charles F. Riesner. Bessie Love, Charles King, Jack Benny, Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, George K. Arthur, Gwen Lee. Love, laughs, and tears among the members of a touring theatrical company. Benny, Dressler, and Moran provide welcome comic relief in this standard early-talkie backstage musical in the wake of THE BROADWAY MELODY, which also starred Love and King. Songs include “Happy Days Are Here Again.” Originally contained two lavish production numbers in two-strip Technicolor; both are now lost. Original running time: 100m.

Chatterbox (1936) 68m. ½ D: George Nicholls, Jr. Anne Shirley, Phillips Holmes, Edward Ellis, Erik Rhodes, Margaret Hamilton, Granville Bates, Allen Vincent, Lucille Ball. Sweetly likable account of enthusiastic but naïve country girl Shirley, who yearns for a career as an actress but must contend with her narrow-minded grandfather. Starts off nicely but fizzles out near the finale.

Chatterbox (1943) 76m. ½ D: Joseph Santley. Joe E. Brown, Judy Canova, Rosemary Lane, John Hubbard, Gus Schilling, Chester Clute, Anne Jeffreys. Entertaining comedy of radio-cowboy Brown (not much of a hero in real life) visiting dude ranch for publicity purposes.

Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) C-85m. D: Walter Lang. Clifton Webb, Myrna Loy, Jeanne Crain, Mildred Natwick, Edgar Buchanan. Charming turn-of-the-20th-century story of the Gilbreth children, twelve strong, their exacting father (well played by Webb), and mother (Loy). From the Gilbreth-Carey novel. Loosely remade in 2003. Sequel: BELLES ON THEIR TOES.

Cheat, The (1915) 59m. D: Cecil B. DeMille. Fannie Ward, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Dean, James Neill. Once audacious melodrama remains an engrossing curio about a proper, upper-class Long Island lady (Ward) who is exploited by a licentious Asian (Hayakawa). Watch this, and you’ll see why Hayakawa was one of the most popular screen actors of the time. Remade in 1923, 1931, and 1937 (in France as FORFAITURE, also with Hayakawa).

Cheat, The (1931) 74m. D: George Abbott. Tallulah Bankhead, Irving Pichel, Harvey Stephens, Jay Fassett, Ann Andrews. Bankhead gives a standout performance as the flighty wife of a struggling financier who lives beyond her means among Long Island society. When she’s desperate for money she succumbs to the advances of wealthy, creepy Pichel, who’s spent time in Japan and likes to brand his female conquests! Abbott and cinematographer George Folsey create fluid scenes, with naturalistic use of sound. Pre-Code remake of the notorious 1915 silent film.

Cheaters, The (1945) 87m. D: Joseph Kane. Joseph Schildkraut, Billie Burke, Eugene Pallette, Ona Munson, Raymond Walburn, Ruth Terry. Excellent cast in enjoyable tale of wealthy family of snobs humanized by downtrodden actor they invite for Christmas dinner. Aka THE CASTAWAY.

Check and Double Check (1930) 80m. BOMB D: Melville Brown. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Sue Carol, Charles Morton, Ralf Harolde, Duke Ellington and His Band. Movie debut for radio’s Amos ’n’ Andy is a leaden-paced early talkie with stale script and precious little comedy; not nearly as good as a sample radio (or later TV) episode of the show.

Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) 95m. D: Tay Garnett. Martha Scott, William Gargan, Edmund Gwenn, Sterling Holloway, Sidney Blackmer, Mary Anderson, Dorothy Peterson. Sentimental story of Scott devoting her life to teaching in small Midwestern town. Nicely done.

Cheers of the Crowd (1935) 60m. D: Vin Moore. Russell Hopton, Irene Ware, Harry Holman, Bradley Page, John Dilson. A publicity stunt designed to boost the box office of the Broadway musical Yes Yes Georgette results in comical complications. The very low budget prevents us from seeing even a moment of the show, but by movie’s end you’ll know the lobby and hatcheck room layouts intimately!

Cherokee Strip (1940) 86m. ½ D: Lesley Selander. Richard Dix, Florence Rice, Victor Jory, William Henry, Andy Clyde, George E. Stone. Solid if unsurprising little Western with quiet but determined Dix becoming marshal of small town, hoping to get the goods on crooked Jory and his gang.

Cheyenne (1947) 100m. D: Raoul Walsh. Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyman, Janis Paige, Bruce Bennett, Alan Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Barton MacLane. Standard Western as gambler attempts to capture outlaw—instead spends time with outlaw’s wife. Later a TV series. Retitled THE WYOMING KID.

Cheyenne Autumn (1964) C-145m. D: John Ford. Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Dolores Del Rio, Sal Mineo, Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Ricardo Montalban, Gilbert Roland, Arthur Kennedy, Patrick Wayne, Elizabeth Allen, Victor Jory, John Carradine, Mike Mazurki, John Qualen, George O’Brien. Sprawling, uneven, but entertaining John Ford Western (his last) about Cheyenne Indian tribe and its eventful journey back to original settlement after being relocated by the government. Director Ford’s last film in Monument Valley. Dodge City sequence (with Stewart as Wyatt Earp) was cut after premiere engagements. Roadshow version on video runs 157m. with overture, intermission/entr’acte, and restored footage. Super Panavision 70.

Chicago Calling (1951) 74m. D: John Reinhardt. Dan Duryea, Mary Anderson, Gordon Gebert, Ross Elliott. Slim premise has Duryea sitting by telephone awaiting news of estranged family injured in car accident; mild tour de force.

Chicago Confidential (1957) 73m. ½ D: Sidney Salkow. Brian Keith, Beverly Garland, Dick Foran, Beverly Tyler, Elisha Cook. Keith and Garland make good protagonists in their crusade to clean up corruption and crime amid the labor unions of the Windy City.

Chicago Deadline (1949) 87m. ½ D: Lewis Allen. Alan Ladd, Donna Reed, June Havoc, Irene Hervey, Arthur Kennedy, Shepperd Strudwick. Potentially top-notch actioner bogs down in clichés, with Ladd as crusading reporter in corruption-filled city. Remade as FAME IS THE NAME OF THE GAME.

Chicago Syndicate (1955) 83m. D: Fred F. Sears. Dennis O’Keefe, Abbe Lane, Paul Stewart, Xavier Cugat. Passable exposé film involving cleanup of Windy City rackets.

Chicken Every Sunday (1948) 91m. ½ D: George Seaton. Dan Dailey, Celeste Holm, Colleen Townsend, Alan Young, Natalie Wood. Easygoing turn-of-the-20th-century Americana about get-rich-quick schemer Dailey and understanding wife Holm.

Chief, The (1933) 65m. ½ D: Charles Riesner. Ed Wynn, Charles “Chic” Sale, Dorothy Mackaill, William “Stage” Boyd, Effie Ellsler, C. Henry Gordon, Mickey Rooney, George Givot, Nat Pendleton. Designed to cash in on Wynn’s radio popularity, this clumsy film has a script problem: no one bothered to write one! After getting Ed involved in a kidnapping plot, and some innocuous love interest, it winds up at Wynn’s radio show, where he describes the plot to announcer Graham McNamee . . . and it ends. Not a moment too soon.

Chief Crazy Horse (1955) C-86m. ½ D: George Sherman. Victor Mature, Suzan Ball, John Lund, Ray Danton, Keith Larsen, Paul Guilfoyle, David Janssen, Dennis Weaver. Intelligent if slow-moving Western with Mature perfectly cast as the proud, idealistic Sioux chief who unites the Indian tribes (and defeats Custer at Little Big Horn). CinemaScope.

Chikamatsu Monogatari SEE: Crucified Lovers, The

Child Is Born, A (1940) 79m. D: Lloyd Bacon. Geraldine Fitzgerald, Jeffrey Lynn, Gladys George, Gale Page, Spring Byington, Eve Arden. Smooth, touching remake of LIFE BEGINS about everyday life in maternity ward, involving prisoner Fitzgerald sent to hospital to have her child.

Child Is Waiting, A (1963) 102m. D: John Cassavetes. Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Gena Rowlands, Steven Hill, Bruce Ritchey. Poignant story of Lancaster’s attempts to treat retarded children with the help of overly sympathetic Garland. Sensitive subject handled with honesty and candor.

Child of Manhattan (1933) 70m. ½ D: Edward Buzzell. Nancy Carroll, Charles (Buck) Jones, John Boles, Jessie Ralph, Clara Blandick, Luis Alberni, Warburton Gamble, Jane Darwell, Nat Pendleton, Tyler Brooke. Dance-hall girl falls in love with a millionaire, but an unexpected pregnancy complicates the relationship for both of them. Nice little film has a fairly light touch and keeps moving, which covers a multitude of sins. Carroll is excellent, genuinely touching in her dramatic moments. You’ll have to look sharp to spot Betty Grable. Based on a play by Preston Sturges.

Children Are Watching Us, The (1944-Italian) 84m. ½ D: Vittorio De Sica. Emilio Cigoli, Luciano De Ambrosis, Isa Pola, Adriano Rimoldi, Giovanna Cigoli. Devastating drama about a little boy (De Ambrosis, in a heartbreaking performance) who can’t avoid noticing that his mother is carrying on with another man. Even though there is no hint of WW2 on-screen, the events unfolding in Europe when the film was made reverberate throughout. Filmed in 1942; released in the U.S. in 1947. This was the first credited collaboration for De Sica and Cesare Zavattini, who are among the screenwriters.

Children of Paradise (1945-French) 195m. D: Marcel Carné. Jean-Louis Barrault, Arletty, Pierre Brasseur, Albert Remy, Maria Casarés, Leon Larive, Marcel Herrand, Pierre Renoir. Timeless masterpiece of filmmaking (and storytelling), focusing on a rough-and-tumble theatrical troupe in 19th-century France. Barrault plays the mime whose unfulfilled passion for free-spirited Arletty dominates his life, even as he achieves great fame on stage. Wise, witty, and completely captivating. Written by Jacques Prévert. Filming began in 1943 in Nazi-occupied France, but wasn’t completed until 1945.

Children of the Damned (1964-British) 90m. ½ D: Anton Leader. Ian Hendry, Alan Badel, Barbara Ferris, Patrick White, Bessie Love. Follow-up to VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED suffers from unimaginative account of precocious deadly children and their quest for power.

Children’s Hour, The (1961) 107m. ½ D: William Wyler. Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner, Miriam Hopkins, Fay Bainter, Karen Balkin, Veronica Cartwright. Updated version of Lillian Hellman’s play is more explicit in its various themes, including lesbianism, than original THESE THREE (also made by Wyler), but not half as good. Impact is missing, despite MacLaine and Hepburn as two teachers, Hopkins as meddling aunt, Bainter as questioning grandmother.

Chimes at Midnight (1965-Spanish-Swiss) 115m. D: Orson Welles. Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford, John Gielgud, Marina Vlady, Keith Baxter; narrated by Ralph Richardson. Welles combines parts of five Shakespeare plays with mixed results, but his performance as Falstaff makes it well worth seeing. Gielgud is also magnificent. Despite a modest budget, one key battle scene is a Wellesian tour de force. Aka FALSTAFF.

China (1943) 79m. D: John Farrow. Loretta Young, Alan Ladd, William Bendix, Philip Ahn, Iris Wong, Sen Yung. Pat wartime tale of mercenary Ladd who suddenly realizes his true allegiance while helping enemy.

China Clipper (1936) 85m. ½ D: Ray Enright. Pat O’Brien, Beverly Roberts, Ross Alexander, Humphrey Bogart, Marie Wilson, Henry B. Walthall. O’Brien stars as man determined to develop trans-Pacific flights; usual plot of initial failure, grim determination, and neglected wife; fairly well done.

China Corsair (1951) 67m. ½ D: Ray Nazzaro. Jon Hall, Lisa Ferraday, Ron Randell, Douglas Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine. Tinsel-like adventure of Hall’s romancing, combating crooks aboard title ship. Borgnine’s film debut.

China Doll (1958) 88m. ½ D: Frank Borzage. Victor Mature, Li Li Hua, Bob Mathias, Stuart Whitman. Bizarre storyline can’t boost dull film of Air Force pilot Mature accidentally buying Asian wife whom he grows to love. Romantic story with WW2 backdrop from John Wayne’s Batjac unit.

China Gate (1957) 97m. D: Samuel Fuller. Gene Barry, Angie Dickinson, Nat King Cole, Paul Dubov, Lee Van Cleef, George Givot, Marcel Dalio. International soldiers under French command attack Communist munitions dumps in Indochina. Interesting subplots flesh out Fuller’s dynamic action story, with early view of Vietnam’s internal strife. CinemaScope.

China Girl (1942) 95m. D: Henry Hathaway. Gene Tierney, George Montgomery, Lynn Bari, Victor McLaglen, Sig Ruman, Bobby (Robert) Blake, Ann Pennington, Philip Ahn. American photographer in mysterious Orient during WW2 is background for unbelievable adventure yarn; Bari best item in film.

China Seas (1935) 90m. D: Tay Garnett. Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Rosalind Russell, Dudley Digges, Robert Benchley, C. Aubrey Smith, Hattie McDaniel. Impossible to dislike film with that cast, even if the story—about mysterious goings-on and relationships on Gable’s Singapore-bound ship—is ludicrous. Also shown in computer-colored version.

China Sky (1945) 78m. D: Ray Enright. Randolph Scott, Ruth Warrick, Ellen Drew, Anthony Quinn, Carol Thurston, Richard Loo. Slow-moving Pearl Buck story of dedicated doctor Scott fighting Japanese with Chinese comrades during WW2.

China’s Little Devils (1945) 74m. D: Monta Bell. Harry Carey, Paul Kelly, “Ducky” Louie, Hayward Soo Hoo, Gloria Ann Chew, Ralph Lewis, Philip Ahn. Patriotic WW2 yarn involving Chinese waifs who battle Japanese invaders and come to the aid of downed American pilots.

Chinatown Nights (1929) 82m. D: William A. Wellman. Wallace Beery, Florence Vidor, Warner Oland, Jack Oakie, Jack McHugh, Tetsu Komai, Frank Chew. San Francisco socialite Vidor gets caught in the middle of a Tong war in the Chinese quarter and takes up with gang leader Beery. Silent film with some dialogue scenes obviously added at the last minute; awkward but interesting.

China Venture (1953) 83m. ½ D: Don Siegel. Edmond O’Brien, Barry Sullivan, Jocelyn Brando, Richard Loo, Philip Ahn. Exciting WW2 adventure film of marine group on mission to capture Japanese naval commander wanted by U.S. interrogation department.

Chinese Cat, The (1944) 65m. D: Phil Rosen. Sidney Toler, Benson Fong, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland, Weldon Heyburn, Ian Keith, John Davidson, Betty Blythe. Formula Charlie Chan programmer, with usual assortment of villains literally dying to get their hands on statue containing an uncut diamond.

Chinese Ring, The (1947) 65m. ½ D: William Beaudine. Roland Winters, Warren Douglas, Victor Sen Yung, Mantan Moreland, Philip Ahn, Louise Currie, Byron Foulger. Charlie Chan probes the murder of a Chinese princess, with Winters debuting as the great detective. Routine entry indistinguishable from the other Monogram cheapies.

Chip Off the Old Block (1944) 82m. D: Charles Lamont. Donald O’Connor, Peggy Ryan, Ann Blyth, Helen Vinson, Helen Broderick, Arthur Treacher, Patric Knowles, Ernest Truex. Innocuous wartime musical of misunderstandings, climaxing in teenage romance and musical show. Blyth’s film debut.

Chocolate Soldier, The (1941) 102m. D: Roy Del Ruth. Nelson Eddy, Rise Stevens, Nigel Bruce, Florence Bates, Dorothy Gilmore, Nydia Westman. Not the Oscar Straus operetta, but rather a remake of Molnár’s THE GUARDSMAN. Eddy and Stevens are husband-wife opera stars; to test her fidelity, he disguises himself as a Cossack and woos her. Much too talky and not enough music; remade as LILY IN LOVE. Film debut of Met Opera star Stevens.

Christmas Carol, A (1938) 69m. D: Edwin L. Marin. Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Terry Kilburn, Barry MacKay, Lynne Carver, Leo G. Carroll, Ann Rutherford. Nicely done adaptation of Dickens’ classic with Owen a well-modulated Scrooge, surrounded by good MGM players and period settings. Young June Lockhart makes her screen debut. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Christmas Carol, A (1951-British) 86m. D: Brian Desmond-Hurst. Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley, Clifford Mollison, Michael Hordern, George Cole, Carol Marsh, Miles Malleson, Ernest Thesiger, Hattie Jacques, Peter Bull, Hugh Dempster. Superb film is too good to be shown only at Christmastime; always delightful Sim makes Scrooge a three-dimensional character in this faithful, heartwarming rendition of the Dickens classic. Screenplay by Noel Langley. Patrick Macnee plays young Marley. Original British title: SCROOGE. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Christmas Eve (1947) 90m. ½ D: Edwin L. Marin. George Brent, George Raft, Randolph Scott, Joan Blondell, Virginia Field, Ann Harding, Reginald Denny, Joe Sawyer. Slow-moving mixture of comedy and drama as foster sons discover evil intentions of relations to victimize Harding. Retitled: SINNER’S HOLIDAY.

Christmas Holiday (1944) 92m. D: Robert Siodmak. Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly, Gale Sondergaard, Gladys George, Richard Whorf. Somerset Maugham novel reset in America. Crime story with Durbin gone wrong to help killer-hubby Kelly; songs include “Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year.”

Christmas in Connecticut (1945) 101m. ½ D: Peter Godfrey. Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner, S. Z. Sakall, Robert Shayne, Una O’Connor. Airy fluff with Stanwyck, a chic magazine writer who’s supposed to be an expert homemaker, forced to entertain a war veteran (Morgan) and her boss (Greenstreet) for the holidays. Standard studio corn it may be, but a wonderful treat for late-night viewing on Christmas Eve. Remade for cable TV in 1992. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Christmas in July (1940) 67m. ½ D: Preston Sturges. Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Ernest Truex, Franklin Pangborn. Top Sturges comedy about Powell going on shopping spree after mistakenly believing he has won big contest. Walburn and Demarest are at their best.

Christmas Wish, A SEE: Great Rupert, The

Christopher Bean (1933) 87m. ½ D: Sam Wood. Marie Dressler, Lionel Barrymore, Helen Mack, Beulah Bondi, Jean Hersholt, Russell Hardie, H. B. Warner, George Coulouris. N.Y.C. art dealers pursue a small-town family when they learn that a deceased artist worked as their handyman and gave them one of his now-valuable paintings. Deliciously droll (and still-timely) comedy. Dressler, as a household slavey, and Barrymore, as a not-so-simple country doctor, are at their best. Based on Sidney Howard’s play The Late Christopher Bean, adapted from the French play Prenez Garde à la Peinture, itself filmed in 1932. Dressler’s final film. Aka HER SWEETHEART.

Christopher Columbus (1949-British) C-104m. D: David Macdonald. Fredric March, Florence Eldridge, Francis L. Sullivan, Linden Travers, Kathleen Ryan, Derek Bond, James Robertson Justice, Felix Aylmer, Nora Swinburne, Abraham Sofaer. Stark, slowly paced biography of explorer, with earnest portrayal by March in title role; good period setting.

Christopher Strong (1933) 77m. ½ D: Dorothy Arzner. Katharine Hepburn, Colin Clive, Billie Burke, Helen Chandler, Jack LaRue. Hepburn’s an aviatrix in love with married Clive. Dated film intriguing for star’s performance as headstrong, individualistic woman—and dig that silver lamé costume. Margaret Lindsay appears unbilled.

Chu-Chin-Chow (1934-British) 103m. D: Walter Forde. George Robey, Fritz Kortner, Anna May Wong, John Garrick, Pearl Argyle, Laurence Hanray, Dennis Hoey, Malcolm McEachern, Francis L. Sullivan. Elephantine operetta version of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (more or less), shot on enormous indoor sets, makes THE DESERT SONG seem like cutting-edge entertainment. Labored, hokey, claustrophobic, miscast, but curiously fascinating, with Austrian Kortner as Abu Hassan, Cockney Robey as Ali Baba, and Wong with too little to do as a mistress of intrigue. Sullivan doesn’t show up until the end, but livens things up as the bored Caliph. The popular play was filmed before in 1923.

Chump at Oxford, A (1940) 63m. ½ D: Alfred Goulding. Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Wilfred Lucas, Forrester Harvey, James Finlayson, Anita Garvin. So-called feature is more like a series of barely related shorts; film is nearly half over before L&H even get to Oxford. Still quite funny, especially when they settle down in the Dean’s quarters. A young Peter Cushing plays one of the boys’ tormentors. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Chushingura (1962-Japanese) C-108m. ½ D: Hiroshi Inagaki. Koshiro Matsumoto, Yuzo Kayama, Chusha Ichikawa, Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa. Young lord Kayama is forced to commit hara kiri by corrupt feudal lord Ichikawa, and his 47 samurai retainers (or ronin) seek vengeance. A version of an oft-filmed story, based on a real-life event: sprawling, episodic, exquisitely beautiful, if a bit slow. Sometimes referred to as the GONE WITH THE WIND of Japanese cinema. Originally released in Japan in two parts, running 204m. Tohoscope.

Cimarron (1931) 124m. ½ D: Wesley Ruggles. Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, Nance O’Neil, William Collier, Jr., Roscoe Ates. Edna Ferber’s saga about an American family and the effect of empire building on the American West, 1889–1929. Oscar winner for Best Picture and Best Screenplay (Howard Estabrook), it dates badly, particularly Dix’s overripe performance—but it’s still worth seeing. Remade in 1960.

Cimarron (1960) C-147m. ½ D: Anthony Mann. Glenn Ford, Maria Schell, Anne Baxter, Arthur O’Connell, Russ Tamblyn, Mercedes McCambridge, Vic Morrow, Charles McGraw, Henry (Harry) Morgan, Edgar Buchanan, Robert Keith, Aline MacMahon, David Opatoshu, Mary Wickes. Edna Ferber’s chronicle of frontier life in Oklahoma between 1889 and 1929 becomes an indifferent sprawling soap opera unsalvaged by a few spectacular scenes. CinemaScope.

Cimarron Kid, The (1952) C-84m. ½ D: Budd Boetticher. Audie Murphy, Beverly Tyler, James Best, Yvette Dugay, Hugh O’Brian, Roy Roberts, Noah Beery (Jr.), Leif Erickson, Rand Brooks. Formulaic but actionful Western with Murphy in title role, reluctantly riding a lawless road alongside the Daltons and other “name value” outlaws. Some fine scenery.

Cincinnati Kid, The (1965) C-113m. ½ D: Norman Jewison. Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret, Edward G. Robinson, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld, Joan Blondell, Rip Torn, Jack Weston, Cab Calloway. Roving card-sharks get together in New Orleans for big poker game; side episodes of meaningless romance. Robinson, Blondell, and Malden come off best as vivid members of the playing profession. Script by Ring Lardner, Jr., and Terry Southern; Jewison replaced Sam Peckinpah as director. Ray Charles sings the title song.

Cinderella (1914) 52m. D: James Kirkwood. Mary Pickford, Owen Moore, Isabel Vernon, Georgia Wilson, Lucille Carney, W. N. Cone. Charming version of the beloved fairy tale about the girl who is cruelly treated by her stepmother and stepsisters and whose life changes after a visit from her Fairy Godmother. Mary makes a sweet Cinderella. Contemporary children may not relate to this, but it’s a real curio for film buffs. Prince Charming is played by Pickford’s real-life husband at the time, Owen Moore.

Cinderella (1950) C-74m. ½ D: Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi. Voices of Ilene Woods, William Phipps, Eleanor Audley, Rhoda Williams, Lucille Bliss, Verna Felton. One of Walt Disney’s best animated fairy tales spins the traditional story with some delightful comic embellishments, including a couple of mice named Gus and Jaq who befriend the put-upon heroine. Tuneful score includes “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.” Followed by two DVD sequels.

Cinderella Jones (1946) 88m. D: Busby Berkeley. Joan Leslie, Robert Alda, S. Z. Sakall, Edward Everett Horton, Ruth Donnelly, Elisha Cook, Jr. Silly comedy of girl who must marry brainy husband to collect inheritance; good cast defeated by trivial script.

Cinderfella (1960) C-91m. ½ D: Frank Tashlin. Jerry Lewis, Ed Wynn, Judith Anderson, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Henry Silva, Count Basie. Jerry is the poor stepson turned into a handsome prince for a night by fairy godfather Wynn. Fairy tale classic revamped as a pretentious Lewis vehicle, with talky interludes and ineffectual musical sequences.

Cinerama Holiday (1955) C-128m. D: Robert L. Bendick, Philippe De Lacy. Three-panel Cinerama travelogue is a captivating relic of its era as it follows a “typical” American couple from Kansas and what they see and experience as they tour Europe, as well as a Swiss couple and their first experience in the U.S. Opens with images of ice-capped Swiss Alps that look as if they might have been filmed last week using state-of-the-art 21st-century technology. 2012 restoration is presented in a curved screen simulation that duplicates the feeling of seeing the film in its original presentation. Cinerama.

Circle, The (1959-British) 84m. ½ D: Gerald Thomas. John Mills, Derek Farr, Roland Culver, Wilfrid Hyde-White. Well-acted, neatly paced murder yarn involving London medico. Retitled: THE VICIOUS CIRCLE.

Circle of Danger (1951-British) 86m. ½ D: Jacques Tourneur. Ray Milland, Patricia Roc, Marius Goring, Hugh Sinclair. Straightforward account of Milland returning to England to ferret out brother’s killers.

Circle of Deception, A (1961-British) 100m. ½ D: Jack Lee. Bradford Dillman, Suzy Parker, Harry Andrews, Robert Stephens, Paul Rogers. At times engaging psychological yarn of WW2 espionage agent Dillman, who breaks under Axis torture; ironic climax. Dillman and Parker later married in real life. CinemaScope.

Circle of Love (1964-French-Italian) C-105m. ½ D: Roger Vadim. Jane Fonda, Jean-Claude Brialy, Maurice Ronet, Jean Sorel, Catherine Spaak, Anna Karina, Marie Dubois, Claude Giraud, Françoise Dorléac. Undistinguished remake of Ophuls’ classic LA RONDE: A seduces B, B makes love to C, C has an affair with D—circling all the way back to A. Screenplay by Jean Anouilh; original running time: 110m. Other screen version of the Arthur Schnitzler play on which this is based is CHAIN OF DESIRE. Franscope.

Circumstantial Evidence (1945) 68m. ½ D: John Larkin. Michael O’Shea, Lloyd Nolan, Trudy Marshall, Billy Cummings, Ruth Ford, Reed Hadley, Roy Roberts, Scotty Beckett. Thoughtful, engaging programmer of O’Shea fighting with a grocer, who is accidentally killed; he then finds himself accused of murder and convicted on the testimony of eyewitnesses who think they saw him commit the crime.

Circus, The (1928) 72m. ½ D: Charles Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin, Merna Kennedy, Allan Garcia, Betty Morrissey, Harry Crocker. Not the “masterpiece” of THE GOLD RUSH or CITY LIGHTS, but still a gem; story has Charlie accidentally joining traveling circus, falling in love with bareback rider. Hilarious comedy, with memorable finale. Chaplin won a special Academy Award for “versatility and genius in writing, acting, directing and producing” this.

Circus Clown, The (1934) 63m. D: Ray Enright. Joe E. Brown, Dorothy Burgess, Patricia Ellis, Lee Moran, Tom Dugan, William Demarest. Brown mixes comedy and drama in account of circus star whose father objects to his work.

Circus of Horrors (1960-British) C-89m. ½ D: Sidney Hayers. Anton Diffring, Erika Remberg, Yvonne Monlaur, Donald Pleasence. A most unethical plastic surgeon takes over a run-down circus and begins turning scarred female criminals into beautiful star attractions. Fast-moving, rousing horror film.

Circus Queen Murder, The (1933) 65m. D: Roy William Neill. Adolphe Menjou, Greta Nissen, Ruthelma Stevens, Donald Cook, Dwight Frye, Harry Holman. A madman is on the loose in a traveling circus, but vacationing N.Y.C. police commissioner Thatcher Colt (Menjou) happens to be on the scene to investigate. A quick perusal of the cast list pretty much tips off the main suspect, but this is a stylish and enjoyable little whodunit with some clever touches. Circus footage is lifted from Frank Capra’s RAIN OR SHINE. Menjou also played Colt in THE NIGHT CLUB LADY (1932). Sidney Blackmer played Colt in THE PANTHER’S CLAW (1942).

Circus World (1964) C-135m. ½ D: Henry Hathaway. John Wayne, Rita Hayworth, Claudia Cardinale, John Smith, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte. Made in Spain, film has nothing new to offer, but rehashes usual circus formula quite nicely with the Duke as Big Top boss trying to pull his three-ring Wild West show through various perils during European tour. Climactic fire sequence is truly spectacular. Runs 138m. with intermission/entr’acte, exit music. Super Technirama 70.

Cisco Kid, The (1931) 61m. D: Irving Cummings. Warner Baxter, Edmund Lowe, Conchita Montenegro, Nora Lane, Frederick Burt, Willard Robertson, Charles Stevens, Chris (Pin) Martin. Barney McGill’s fluid camerawork and shots of silhouetted cacti against the Arizona sky are more interesting than the hackneyed screenplay about O. Henry’s “romantic bad man” (Baxter) helping a widow and her kids while dodging cocky Army sergeant Lowe. Sequel to IN OLD ARIZONA; followed by THE RETURN OF THE CISCO KID in 1939.

Cisco Kid and the Lady, The (1939) 74m. ½ D: Herbert I. Leeds. Cesar Romero, Marjorie Weaver, Chris-Pin Martin, George Montgomery, Robert Barrat, Virginia Field, Harry Green. Lively B Western has Cisco wooing two women (a dance-hall girl and a schoolmarm) while tangling with Barrat over ownership of a mine and possession of an orphaned baby. First of six Cisco Kid movies featuring Romero.

Citadel, The (1938-U.S.-British) 112m. ½ D: King Vidor. Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson, Rex Harrison, Emlyn Williams, Penelope Dudley-Ward, Francis L. Sullivan. Superb adaptation of A. J. Cronin novel of impoverished doctor Donat eschewing ideals for wealthy life of treating rich hypochondriacs, neglecting wife and friends in the process; tragedy opens his eyes. Weak ending, but fine acting makes up for it. Frank “Spig” Wead, Emlyn Williams, Ian Dalrymple, Elizabeth Hill, and John Van Druten all contributed to the script. Remade in Britain as a TV miniseries.

Citizen Kane (1941) 119m. D: Orson Welles. Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, Agnes Moorehead, Dorothy Comingore, Ray Collins, George Coulouris, Ruth Warrick, William Alland, Paul Stewart, Erskine Sanford. Welles’ first and best, a film that broke all the rules and invented some new ones, with fascinating story of Hearst-like publisher’s rise to power. The cinematography (by Gregg Toland), music score (by Bernard Herrmann), and Oscar-winning screenplay (by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz) are all first-rate. A stunning film in every way . . . and Welles was only 25 when he made it! Incidentally, the reporter with a pipe is Alan Ladd; Arthur O’Connell is another one of the reporters.

City Across the River (1949) 90m. ½ D: Maxwell Shane. Stephen McNally, Thelma Ritter, Luis Van Rooten, Jeff Corey, Anthony (Tony) Curtis, Richard Jaeckel. Watered-down version of Irving Shulman’s novel The Amboy Dukes, involving tough life in Brooklyn slums, with predictable hoods et al.

City After Midnight (1957-British) 84m. ½ D: Compton Bennett. Phyllis Kirk, Dan O’Herlihy, Petula Clark, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Jack Watling. Tame detective film of private eye O’Herlihy investigating death of antique dealer. British title: THAT WOMAN OPPOSITE.

City Beneath the Sea (1953) C-87m. ½ D: Budd Boetticher. Robert Ryan, Mala Powers, Anthony Quinn, Suzan Ball, Woody Strode. Inconsequential underwater yarn invigorated by Ryan and Quinn as deep-sea divers hunting treasure off Jamaican coast.

City for Conquest (1940) 101m. D: Anatole Litvak. James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Frank Craven, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh, George Tobias, Elia Kazan, Anthony Quinn. Cagney makes this a must as boxer devoted to younger brother Kennedy. Beautiful production overshadows film’s pretentious faults. A rare chance to see young Kazan in an acting role, as a neighborhood pal turned gangster. Long-missing prologue was restored in 2006, bringing running time to 104m.

City Girl (1930) 88m. ½ D: F. W. Murnau. Charles Farrell, Mary Duncan, David Torrence, Edith Yorke, Dawn O’Day (Anne Shirley), Tom McGuire, Richard Alexander, Pat Rooney, Roscoe Ates, Guinn “Big Boy” Williams. Minnesota farmer Farrell goes to the big city to sell his family’s wheat crop and returns with a wife, a waitress with whom he’s fallen in love. His family is unwelcoming, to say the least. Beautifully realized silent drama is simple, eloquent, and exquisitely photographed (by Ernest Palmer). Murnau’s final Hollywood production. Talkie version no longer exists.

City in Darkness SEE: Charlie Chan in City in Darkness

City Lights (1931) 86m. D: Charles Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, Hank Mann. Chaplin’s masterpiece tells story of his love for blind flower girl and his hot-and-cold friendship with a drunken millionaire. Eloquent, moving, and funny. One of the all-time greats.

City of Bad Men (1953) C-82m. D: Harmon Jones. Jeanne Crain, Dale Robertson, Richard Boone, Lloyd Bridges, Carl Betz. Robbers attempt to steal prizefight proceeds in 1890s Nevada; film combines Western with re-creation of Jim Corbett–Bob Fitzsimmons fight bout.

City of Fear (1959) 81m. ½ D: Irving Lerner. Vince Edwards, Lyle Talbot, John Archer, Steven Ritch, Patricia Blair. Programmer involving escaped convict Edwards sought by police and health officials; container he stole is filled with radioactive material, not money.

City of Missing Girls (1941) 74m. D: Elmer Clifton. H. B. Warner, Astrid Allwyn, John Archer, Sarah Padden, Gale Storm. Assistant DA Archer tries to get the goods on a slick racketeer whose “School of Fine Arts” lures wannabe-showgirls into the world of nightclubs—and worse. Tinny organ music score sounds like it’s from a 1940s radio soap opera. George Rosener, playing a cop named “Copper,” cowrote the screenplay.

City of Shadows (1955) 70m. ½ D: William Witney. Victor McLaglen, John Baer, Kathleen Crowley, Anthony Caruso. Mild happenings about crafty newsboys involved with derelict racketeer McLaglen.

City of the Dead, The SEE: Horror Hotel

City on a Hunt SEE: No Escape (1953)

City Streets (1931) 82m. D: Rouben Mamoulian. Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas, Wynne Gibson, Guy Kibbee, Stanley Fields. Cooper is an unambitious carnival worker who’s drawn into the underworld by his love for racketeer’s daughter (Sidney). Stylish melodrama is more interesting for Mamoulian’s innovative presentation (and the stunning camerawork of Lee Garmes) than for its predictable plot. Lukas and Kibbee stand out in unusually smarmy characterizations. Notable, too, as Dashiell Hammett’s only original screen story.

City Streets (1938) 68m. D: Albert S. Rogell. Edith Fellows, Leo Carrillo, Tommy Bond, Mary Gordon, Helen Jerome Eddy. Painless programmer with kindly Carrillo fighting for the interests of crippled orphan Fellows. Likable performances by the leads.

City That Never Sleeps (1953) 90m. D: John H. Auer. Gig Young, Mala Powers, William Talman, Edward Arnold, Chill Wills, Marie Windsor, Paula Raymond, Otto Hulett, Wally Cassell, Tom Poston. Film noir about one night in the life of Chicago cop Young, who plans to quit his job and leave his wife for nightclub singer Powers. Events centering on criminal Talman and crooked lawyer Arnold interfere. Tense and ethically complex in the noir manner, and well photographed on location. Main misstep: Wills plays Chicago, the city itself, in human form.

City Under the Sea, The SEE: War-Gods of the Deep

City Without Men (1943) 75m. ½ D: Sidney Salkow. Linda Darnell, Michael Duane, Sara Allgood, Edgar Buchanan, Glenda Farrell, Leslie Brooks, Margaret Hamilton, Sheldon Leonard, Rosemary DeCamp. Very routine lower-berth item about a boardinghouse near a prison where the women wait for their men to get out.

Civilization (1916) 86m. ½ D: Thomas H. Ince, Raymond B. West, Reginald Barker. Howard Hickman, Enid Markey, Herschel Mayall, Lola May, George Fisher, J. Frank Burke. Intriguing if drawn-out epic set in a fictitious kingdom, portraying its destiny in time of war. Of interest mostly for historical reasons, as a humanistic, antiwar morality tale intended to champion the foreign policy of President Woodrow Wilson (before America became involved in WW1).

Clairvoyant, The (1934-British) 80m. ½ D: Maurice Elvey. Claude Rains, Fay Wray, Jane Baxter, Mary Clare, Athole Stewart, Felix Aylmer, Donald Calthrop. A phony music hall mind-reader suddenly acquires clairvoyant powers—and soon discovers they’re more of a curse than a blessing. Intriguing storyline doesn’t hold up to the end, though Rains is fine as always. Also known as THE EVIL MIND.

Clancy Street Boys (1943) 66m. ½ D: William Beaudine. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Noah Beery, Sr., Amelita Ward, Bennie Bartlett, Rick Vallin, Billy Benedict. Farcical East Side Kids yarn, with Muggs (Gorcey) enlisting the boys to be his siblings for benefit of uncle Beery. Hall in drag is a comic highlight.

Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965) C-98m. ½ D: Andrew Marton. Marshall Thompson, Betsy Drake, Cheryl Miller, Richard Haydn, Alan Caillou. Basis for Daktari TV show is good family entertainment set in Africa with adventure and wholesome comedy well blended.

Clash by Night (1952) 105m. D: Fritz Lang. Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe, Keith Andes, J. Carrol Naish. Moody, well-acted Clifford Odets story of drifter Stanwyck settling down, marrying good-natured fisherman Douglas. Cynical friend Ryan senses that she’s not happy, tries to take advantage. Andes and Monroe provide secondary love interest.

Clash of the Wolves (1925) 74m. ½ D: Noel Mason Smith. Rin Tin Tin, June Marlowe, Charles Farrell, “Heinie” Conklin, William Walling, Pat Hartigan. Tenderfoot prospector Farrell rescues and tames a half-breed wolf dog called Lobo; the animal shows his loyalty when his new pal is imperiled by a dastardly claim jumper. Predictable but enjoyable action yarn, made to order for its canine star. Worth a look if only for those majestic shots of Rinty perched atop boulders and racing across the desert.

Classe Tous Risques (1960-French) 103m. D: Claude Sautet. Lino Ventura, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Sandra Milo, Marcel Dalio, Stan Krol. Solid crime drama with Ventura as a murderer who’s been living in exile in Milan but decides to return to Paris after pulling one last heist. His plans go awry, and while he expects his criminal pals to help him when he arrives in Nice, they send a young guy instead (Belmondo) to pick him up. Tough, ironic tale filled with interesting characters and vivid location work. Great showcase for the young Belmondo, made around the same time as BREATHLESS.

Claudelle Inglish (1961) 99m. ½ D: Gordon Douglas. Diane McBain, Arthur Kennedy, Will Hutchins, Constance Ford, Claude Akins, Chad Everett, Robert Logan. Trite soaper derived from Erskine Caldwell tale of Southern farm gal who gives all to find excitement, with predictable consequences.

Claudia (1943) 91m. D: Edmund Goulding. Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Ina Claire, Reginald Gardiner, Olga Baclanova, Jean Howard. Warm comedy of young Claudia suddenly marrying, facing adult problems, learning a lot about life in short period; beautifully acted. McGuire, in film debut, recreates her Broadway role. Sequel: CLAUDIA AND DAVID.

Claudia and David (1946) 78m. D: Walter Lang. Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Mary Astor, John Sutton, Gail Patrick, Florence Bates. Enjoyable follow-up to CLAUDIA with McGuire and Young having a baby, adjusting to suburban life; engaging, well acted.

Clay Pigeon, The (1949) 63m. ½ D: Richard O. Fleischer. Bill Williams, Barbara Hale, Richard Loo, Richard Quine, Frank Fenton, Martha Hyer. Neat little actioner with Williams, a seaman accused of treason and of responsibility in the death of his friend, on the trail of the real culprit, a Japanese prison guard. Written by Carl Foreman, based on a true incident.

Clear All Wires! (1933) 78m. ½ D: George Hill. Lee Tracy, Benita Hume, Una Merkel, James Gleason, Alan Edwards. Tracy enlivens this so-so story of a manipulative, globe-trotting journalist, who creates as much news as he covers; highlighted are his escapades while in Russia. Script by Bella and Sam Spewack, from their play.

Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962-French) C/B&W-90m. D: Agnés Varda. Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dorothée Blanck, Michel Legrand, Anna Karina, Eddie Constantine, Jean-Luc Godard. Intelligent, fluid account of Parisian songstress forced to reevaluate her life while awaiting vital medical report on her physical condition. First scene is in color.

Cleopatra (1934) 100m. ½ D: Cecil B. DeMille. Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon, Gertrude Michael, Joseph Schildkraut, C. Aubrey Smith, Claudia Dell, Robert Warwick. Opulent DeMille version of Cleopatra doesn’t date badly, stands out as one of his most intelligent films, thanks in large part to fine performances by all. Top entertainment, with Oscar-winning cinematography by Victor Milner.

Cleopatra (1963) C-243m. D: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown, George Cole, Hume Cronyn, Cesare Danova, Kenneth Haigh, Andrew Keir, Martin Landau, Roddy McDowall, Robert Stephens, Francesca Annis, Herbert Berghof, Michael Hordern, John Hoyt, Carroll O’Connor. Saga of the Nile goes on and on and on. Definitely a curiosity item, but you’ll be satisfied after an hour. Good acting, especially by Harrison and McDowall, but it’s lost in this flat, four-hour misfire. Nevertheless earned Oscars for cinematography, art direction–set decoration, costumes, special effects. Runs 251m. with overture, intermission/entr’acte, exit music. Todd-AO.

Cleopatra’s Daughter (1960-Italian) C-102m. D: Richard McNamara. Debra Paget, Ettore Manni, Erno Crisa, Robert Alda, Corrado Panni. American actors are lost in this costumer, more intent on playing up sadistic sequences; intrigue at Egyptian court the highlight. Ultrascope.

Climax, The (1944) C-86m. ½ D: George Waggner. Boris Karloff, Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey, Gale Sondergaard, Thomas Gomez, Scotty Beckett, George Dolenz, Jane Farrar, June Vincent, Ludwig Stossel. Technicolor tale of suave but sinister physician to the Vienna Opera House who takes an unnatural interest in their newest soprano (Foster)—just as he did another singer who disappeared ten years ago. No surprises here, but slickly done.

Clinging Vine, The (1926) 71m. ½ D: Paul Sloane. Leatrice Joy, Tom Moore, Toby Claude, Robert Edeson, Dell Henderson. Handsome fluff about unfeminine executive (Joy) who becomes involved in business swindle and falls in love.

Clipped Wings (1953) 65m. ½ D: Edward Bernds. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, David (Gorcey) Condon, Bennie Bartlett, Renie Riano, Todd Karns, June Vincent, Mary Treen, Philip Van Zandt. Sach and Slip join the Air Force in a fast and funny Bowery Boys entry.

Clive of India (1935) 90m. ½ D: Richard Boleslawski. Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, Colin Clive, Francis Lister, C. Aubrey Smith, Cesar Romero, Montagu Love, Leo G. Carroll, Don Ameche. Colman is ideally cast as Robert Clive, the “man of destiny” who secured British rule in India at the sacrifice of his own personal happiness. More fanciful than factual, but entertaining and lavishly produced.

Cloak and Dagger (1946) 106m. ½ D: Fritz Lang. Gary Cooper, Lilli Palmer, Robert Alda, Vladimir Sokoloff, J. Edward Bromberg, Marjorie Hoshelle, Ludwig Stossel, Helene Thimig, Dan Seymour, Marc Lawrence. U.S. professor-physicist Cooper heads to Europe to link up with an atomic scientist and becomes involved in assorted intrigue. Spy drama is not among Lang’s best, but is still worth a look. Screenplay by Albert Maltz and Ring Lardner, Jr.

Cloak Without Dagger SEE: Operation Conspiracy

Clock, The (1945) 90m. ½ D: Vincente Minnelli. Judy Garland, Robert Walker, James Gleason, Keenan Wynn, Marshall Thompson, Lucille Gleason. Soldier Walker has two-day leave in N.Y.C., meets office worker Judy; they spend the day falling in love, encountering friendly milkman Gleason, drunk Wynn; charming little love story with beguiling Garland. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Close Call for Boston Blackie, A (1946) 60m. D: Lew Landers. Chester Morris, Lynn Merrick, Richard Lane, Frank Sully, George E. Stone, Claire Carleton, Erik Rolf, Charles Lane. Blackie is framed for murder by a femme fatale in this disappointing entry with a plethora of comedy.

Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942) 65m. ½ D: James Hogan. William Gargan, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, Ralph Morgan, Kay Linaker, Edward Norris, James Burke, Addison Richards. Gargan picks up the role of Queen in this dreary entry about a missing heirs racket.

Close to My Heart (1951) 90m. D: William Keighley. Ray Milland, Gene Tierney, Fay Bainter, Howard St. John. Superior soaper; Tierney attaches herself to waif in Bainter’s orphanage, but husband Milland won’t allow adoption until child’s background is traced.

Cloudburst (1951-British) 83m. ½ D: Francis Searle. Robert Preston, Elizabeth Sellars, Colin Tapley, Sheila Burrell, Harold Lang, Mary Germaine. Moody, atmospheric drama, set right after WW2, with intelligence officer Preston determined to avenge the death of his beloved wife.

Clouded Yellow, The (1950-British) 85m. D: Ralph Thomas. Jean Simmons, Trevor Howard, Sonia Dresdel, Barry Jones, Kenneth More, Geoffrey Keen, Andre Morell, Maxwell Reed. Entertaining psychological drama/mystery/chase film in which ex-secret serviceman Howard takes a job cataloguing butterflies, and becomes involved with a strange, fragile young girl (Simmons)—and murder.

Clouds Over Europe SEE: Q Planes

Clown, The (1953) 91m. ½ D: Robert Z. Leonard. Red Skelton, Tim Considine, Jane Greer, Loring Smith, Philip Ober. Sentimental remake of THE CHAMP about a washed-up, self-destructive comic with a devoted son who looks out for him. Skelton’s not bad in rare dramatic role; Considine is so good he overcomes some of the hokiness of script. Charles Bronson has a bit role in dice game scene.

Club Havana (1945) 62m. D: Edgar G. Ulmer. Tom Neal, Margaret Lindsay, Don Douglas, Gertrude Michael, Isabelita (Lita Baron), Dorothy Morris, Ernest Truex. Roadshow GRAND HOTEL is very cheap production with little of interest.

Clue of the New Pin (1960-British) 58m. ½ D: Allan Davis. Paul Daneman, Bernard Archard, James Villiers, Catherine Woodville, Clive Morton. Old-fashioned Edgar Wallace yarn about “perfect crime,” with Villiers a TV interviewer who tangles with murderer; ponderous.

Cluny Brown (1946) 100m. ½ D: Ernst Lubitsch. Charles Boyer, Jennifer Jones, Peter Lawford, Helen Walker, Reginald Gardiner, C. Aubrey Smith, Reginald Owen, Richard Haydn, Sara Allgood, Ernest Cossart, Una O’Connor, Florence Bates, Christopher Severn. Delightful comedy which charts the evolving relationship between orphan Jones and penniless Czech refugee professor Boyer in pre–WW2 England. Takes hilarious pot-shots at the British class system, with the help of a sterling cast of character actors. Screenplay by Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt, from Margery Sharp’s novel.

“C” Man (1949) 75m. ½ D: Joseph Lerner. Dean Jagger, John Carradine, Harry Landers, Lottie Elwen, Rene Paul. Spunky little N.Y.-made programmer in which U.S. Customs agent Jagger sets out to track a stolen necklace and find the killer of another agent, his longtime friend.

Coast Guard (1939) 72m. D: Edward Ludwig. Randolph Scott, Frances Dee, Ralph Bellamy, Walter Connolly, Warren Hymer, Robert Middlemass, Stanley Andrews. Scott and Bellamy are hard-loving, hard-fighting guardsmen in love with Dee. When one of them is stranded in the snow after a plane crash, the other must decide whether to help or not. Routine but action-filled hokum with similarities to Capra’s DIRIGIBLE.

Coast of Skeletons (1964-British) C-91m. D: Robert Lynn. Richard Todd, Dale Robertson, Heinz Drache, Marianne Koch, Elga Andersen, Derek Nimmo. Edgar Wallace’s Sanders of the River is basis for largely rewritten tale of ex-officer hired to investigate scuttling of American tycoon’s African diamond operation. Todd repeats role he played in SANDERS (DEATH DRUMS ALONG THE RIVER). Techniscope.

Cobra (1925) 75m. D: Joseph Henabery. Rudolph Valentino, Nita Naldi, Gertrude Olmstead, Casson Ferguson, Henry Barrows, Lillian Langdon. Valentino produced Martin Brown’s play about an aristocratic seducer held in thrall by a female serpent. The star shows acting muscle his peers never noticed in a three-dimensional role as tailor-made for him as a fine Italian suit. Pluses: gowns by MGM’s Adrian and handsome art deco direction by William Cameron Menzies.

Cobra Woman (1944) C-70m. D: Robert Siodmak. Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu, Lon Chaney (Jr.), Edgar Barrier, Lois Collier, Mary Nash. Deliriously silly camp classic, with island beauty Montez, set to wed Hall, finding herself kidnapped and discovering she has an evil twin sister. Sabu plays Hall’s faithful (and ever-so-goofy) companion Kado. Coscripted by Richard Brooks!

Cobweb, The (1955) C-124m. D: Vincente Minnelli. Richard Widmark, Lauren Bacall, Gloria Grahame, Charles Boyer, Lillian Gish, John Kerr, Susan Strasberg, Oscar Levant, Tommy Rettig, Paul Stewart, Adele Jergens. Good cast in static soaper detailing the goings-on in psychiatric clinic headed by Dr. Widmark; of course, some of the personnel are more unbalanced than the patients. Scripted by John Paxton, produced by John Houseman. Film debuts of Strasberg and Kerr. CinemaScope.

Cocaine Fiends, The (1936) 68m. BOMB D: William A. O’Connor. Noel Madison, Lois January, Sheila (Bromley) Mannors, Dean Benton, Lois Lindsay, Eddie Phillips. Dope peddler and mob front man, on the lam, turns a young girl on to cocaine (which she believes is “headache powder”) . . . and she’s hopelessly addicted. Then her brother is taken “on a sleigh ride with some snow birds.” Tawdry, hilariously awful and, in its way, a bit depressing; from the REEFER MADNESS school of filmmaking. Originally shown as THE PACE THAT KILLS.

Cockeyed Cavaliers (1934) 72m. D: Mark Sandrich. Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Thelma Todd, Dorothy Lee, Noah Beery, Franklin Pangborn. Colorful costume comedy with Wheeler & Woolsey trying to crash into society by posing as the King’s physicians; lively mix of slapstick, puns, and music.

Cockeyed Miracle, The (1946) 81m. D: S. Sylvan Simon. Frank Morgan, Keenan Wynn, Cecil Kellaway, Audrey Totter, Marshall Thompson. Good cast carries weak material. Morgan returns from heaven to make up for financial error he made involving family.

Cockeyed World, The (1929) 118m. ½ D: Raoul Walsh. Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Lily Damita, El Brendel, Lelia Karnelly, Stuart Erwin. Sequel to WHAT PRICE GLORY with McLaglen and Lowe as battling Marines Flagg and Quirt sent to South Sea island where fiery Damita captures their attention. Smash hit in 1929, it moves like molasses today, and is no match for GLORY.

Cockleshell Heroes, The (1955-British) C-97m. D: Jose Ferrer. Jose Ferrer, Trevor Howard, Dora Bryan, Anthony Newley, Victor Maddern, Christopher Lee. Special task force is trained in the use of kayaks for WW2 mission. Film never jells. CinemaScope.

Cocktail Hour (1933) 73m. D: Victor Schertzinger. Bebe Daniels, Randolph Scott, Sidney Blackmer, Muriel Kirkland, Jessie Ralph, Barrie Norton, George Nardelli. Successful illustrator Daniels lives life to the fullest but meets her match in Scott, her chauvinistic boss. Opening scenes in Bebe’s incredible art deco apartment, and her bantering relationship with Scott, shouldn’t lead to such a dull, dreary third act. Director and composer Schertzinger inserts a completely incongruous rhythmic embarkation montage as an ocean liner sets sail.

Cocktails in the Kitchen SEE: For Better, For Worse

Cocoanut Grove (1938) 85m. D: Alfred Santell. Fred MacMurray, Harriet Hilliard (Nelson), Yacht Club Boys, Ben Blue, Rufe Davis, Billy Lee, Eve Arden. MacMurray’s band just has to make good at Cocoanut Grove audition in flimsy musical with nine songs you’ll never hear again.

Cocoanuts, The (1929) 96m. D: Joseph Santley, Robert Florey. Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo Marx, Kay Francis, Oscar Shaw, Mary Eaton, Margaret Dumont. The Marxes’ first film suffers from stagy filming and stale musical subplot, but when the brothers have scenes to themselves it’s a riot; highlights include hilarious auction, classic “viaduct” routine.

Code of Scotland Yard (1946-British) 90m. D: George King. Oscar Homolka, Derek Farr, Muriel Pavlov, Kenneth Griffith, Manning Whiley, Kathleen Harrison, Diana Dors. Entertaining melodrama with Homolka most effective as a seemingly respectable London antique dealer who’s really an escapee from Devil’s Island; Griffith matches him as his slimy assistant. Original British title: THE SHOP AT SLY CORNER.

Code of the Secret Service (1939) 58m. ½ D: Noel Smith. Ronald Reagan, Rosella Towne, Eddie Foy, Jr., Moroni Olsen, Edgar Edwards, Jack Mower. Limp actioner with Lt. Brass Bancroft (Reagan) tangling with counterfeiters in Mexico. Second of a series, following SECRET SERVICE OF THE AIR.

Code Two (1953) 69m. D: Fred Wilcox. Ralph Meeker, Sally Forrest, Keenan Wynn, Robert Horton, Jeff Richards. Three recruits on L.A. motorcycle police force face occupational hazards; when Richards is killed, his partners go after culprits.

Colditz Story, The (1957-British) 97m. ½ D: Guy Hamilton. John Mills, Eric Portman, Christopher Rhodes, Lionel Jeffries, Bryan Forbes, Ian Carmichael, Richard Wattis, Anton Diffring, Theodore Bikel. Super-solid POW saga set in Germany’s Colditz Castle, supposedly “escape-proof” but challenged by various European prisoners, and a hardy British group in particular.

Cold Wind in August, A (1961) 80m. ½ D: Alexander Singer. Lola Albright, Scott Marlowe, Herschel Bernardi, Joe De Santis. Offbeat account of tenement boy Marlowe having affair with stripper Albright; frank, flavorful tale.

Cole Younger, Gunfighter (1958) C-78m. D: R. G. Springsteen. Frank Lovejoy, James Best, Abby Dalton, Jan Merlin. Modest actioner has gunfights to perk up trite account of 1870s Texas. CinemaScope.

Collector, The (1965) C-119m. D: William Wyler. Terence Stamp, Samantha Eggar, Maurice Dallimore, Mona Washbourne. Disturbing story of man who collects more than just butterflies, which is where Eggar fits in. Chilling, if not altogether believable. Based on the novel by John Fowles.

Colleen (1936) 89m. D: Alfred E. Green. Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Jack Oakie, Joan Blondell, Hugh Herbert, Paul Draper, Louise Fazenda, Marie Wilson. Neglected Warner Bros. musical is quite good, with usual boy-meets-girl plot framing tasteful musical numbers. Includes perhaps-definitive Hugh Herbert performance.

College (1927) 65m. D: James W. Horne. Buster Keaton, Anne Cornwall, Flora Bramley, Harold Goodwin, Grant Withers, Snitz Edwards. Highbrow student Buster has to become an all-star athlete to please his girlfriend; episodic gag structure makes this less impressive than other Keaton features, but it’s awfully funny.

College Coach (1933) 75m. ½ D: William Wellman. Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak, Pat O’Brien, Hugh Herbert, Herman Bing, Lyle Talbot. Well-paced tale of ruthless football coach O’Brien, neglected wife Dvorak, star player Powell who also likes chemistry. Look for John Wayne in a bit part.

College Confidential (1960) 91m. ½ D: Albert Zugsmith. Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, Mamie Van Doren, Walter Winchell, Herbert Marshall, Cathy Crosby, Conway Twitty, Ziva Rodann, Mickey Shaughnessy. Idiocy involving sociology professor Allen and what happens when he surveys the sexual activities of his students. “Special Guests” include Rocky Marciano, Sheilah Graham, Pamela Mason, and Earl Wilson.

College Holiday (1936) 88m. ½ D: Frank Tuttle. Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Mary Boland, Martha Raye, Marsha Hunt, Eleanore Whitney. Silly musicomedy about college types arriving at bankrupt hotel where Boland is doing sex experiments.

College Humor (1933) 80m. D: Wesley Ruggles. Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Burns and Allen, Richard Arlen, Mary Carlisle, Mary Kornman, Joseph Sauers (Sawyer). College was never like this. Hokey, entertaining rah-rah musical with Bing a professor (!), Arlen and Oakie football stars; Carlisle and Kornman provide love interest. Songs: “Learn to Croon,” “Down the Old Ox Road,” among others.

College Rhythm (1934) 75m. ½ D: Norman Taurog. Jack Oakie, Joe Penner, Lanny Ross, Helen Mack, Lyda Roberti, Mary Brian, George Barbier, Franklin Pangborn, Dean Jagger. Brash Oakie, All-American football player and “cupid’s gift to coeds,” finds himself unemployed and humbled upon graduation. Silly but enjoyable musical/comedy/romance with Mack Gordon–Harry Revel songs. Penner and his duck are even tolerable here.

College Scandal (1935) 75m. D: Elliott Nugent. Arline Judge, Kent Taylor, Wendy Barrie, William Frawley, Benny Baker, William Benedict, Mary Nash, Edward Nugent. Students turn amateur sleuths when murder strikes on campus. Lower-bracket cast fails to add pep to Paramount’s seemingly unending series of ’30s “College” movies. Formula script manages to find time for a lightweight musical revue. Remade as SWEATER GIRL in 1942.

College Swing (1938) 86m. D: Raoul Walsh. George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, Bob Hope, Edward Everett Horton, Florence George, Ben Blue, Betty Grable, John Payne, Robert Cummings, Jerry Colonna. Gracie hasn’t been able to graduate from school in this entertaining collegiate musicomedy with top cast, forgettable songs. Preston Sturges worked (uncredited) on the script.

Colonel Blimp SEE: Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The

Colonel Effingham’s Raid (1945) 70m. ½ D: Irving Pichel. Charles Coburn, Joan Bennett, William Eythe, Allyn Joslyn, Elizabeth Patterson, Donald Meek. Entertaining little comedy of ex-officer Coburn fighting to save town’s historical landmark; cast supports fair material.

Colorado (1940) 54m. ½ D: Joseph Kane. Roy Rogers, George “Gabby” Hayes, Pauline Moore, Milburn Stone, Maude Eburne, Arthur Loft, Hal Taliaferro, Vester Pegg. Undercover Union officer Rogers is sent to Colorado territory to quell secessionist unrest and finds his brother (Stone) at the bottom of the trouble. Well handled by director Kane, with notable work from Moore and Taliaferro.

Colorado Sunset (1939) 65m. ½ D: George Sherman. Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Barbara Pepper, Buster Crabbe, Robert Barrat, Patsy Montana, The Texas Rangers, Purnell Pratt, William Farnum, Kermit Maynard, Elmo Lincoln. When Gene and Smiley mistakenly buy a milk-cow ranch, they are thrust into the middle of a dairy war as racketeers try to drive them out of business. Entertaining blend of action, comedy, and music, with songs “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” and “It Happened in Monterey.”

Colorado Territory (1949) 94m. D: Raoul Walsh. Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Dorothy Malone, Henry Hull, John Archer, Frank Puglia. Strong, fast-moving Western with McCrea an outlaw on the lam; remake of director Walsh’s HIGH SIERRA, later remade as I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Colossus of New York, The (1958) 70m. D: Eugene Lourie. John Baragrey, Mala Powers, Otto Kruger, Robert Hutton, Ross Martin. Doctor implants dead son’s brain into oversized robot with predictable chaos. Inspired by the ancient Golem legend; eerie piano score.

Colossus of Rhodes, The (1960-Italian) C-128m. ½ D: Sergio Leone. Rory Calhoun, Lea Massari, Georges Marchal, Conrado Sanmartin, Angel Aranda, Mabel Karr. Big-budget sword-and-sandal spectacular about a slave revolt against the corrupt leaders of ancient Rhodes. Though Calhoun looks mighty uncomfortable in a toga and the dubbing is poor, Leone’s directorial debut is notable for some well-staged battle scenes and impressive sets, including the title edifice. SuperTotalscope.

Colt Comrades (1943) 66m. ½ D: Lesley Selander. William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, George Reeves, Gayle Lord (Teddi Sherman), Victor Jory, Bob (Robert) Mitchum. Average Hopalong Cassidy yarn of cattle ranchers struggling against water rights monopoly. Novel by Bliss Lomax (Harry Sinclair Drago) adapted by Michael Wilson, who went on to bigger and better things. Strong cast, including producer Harry Sherman’s daughter; exteriors lensed in scenic Lone Pine.

Colt .45 (1950) C-74m. ½ D: Edwin L. Marin. Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman, Zachary Scott, Lloyd Bridges, Alan Hale, Chief Thundercloud. In the Old West days of single-shot pistols, gun salesman Randolph Scott hawks the first Colt .45 repeaters—but a pair falls into the hands of a sadist who forms an unstoppable gang. Scott rides out for retribution in a Western that doesn’t skimp on gunplay and gore. Hale’s final film. Retitled THUNDERCLOUD.

Column South (1953) C-85m. D: Frederick de Cordova. Audie Murphy, Joan Evans, Robert Sterling, Ray Collins. OK mixture of Civil War and Indian fighting, as Union officer Murphy champions underdog Indians to prevent hostilities.

Comanche (1956) C-87m. D: George Sherman. Dana Andrews, Kent Smith, Linda Cristal, Nestor Paiva, Henry Brandon. Andrews is staunch as Indian scout seeking to patch Indian-cavalry hostilities in this pat Western. CinemaScope.

Comancheros, The (1961) C-107m. D: Michael Curtiz. John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Lee Marvin, Ina Balin, Bruce Cabot, Nehemiah Persoff. Well-paced actioner with Duke a Texas Ranger out to bring in gang supplying liquor and firearms to the Comanches. Curtiz’s last film. CinemaScope.

Comanche Station (1960) C-74m. ½ D: Budd Boetticher. Randolph Scott, Nancy Gates, Claude Akins, Skip Homeier, Richard Rust, Rand Brooks. Scott rescues a woman from Indian capture, then runs into an old nemesis who wants to turn her in himself—for a fat reward. Typically interesting Boetticher/Scott Western, with a Burt Kennedy script. CinemaScope.

Comanche Territory (1950) C-76m. ½ D: George Sherman. Maureen O’Hara, Macdonald Carey, Will Geer, Charles Drake, Pedro de Cordoba, James Best. So-so Western in which Jim Bowie (Carey) tangles with fiery bar owner O’Hara as he aids the Comanches, whose treaty with the U.S. government is about to expire.

Combat Squad (1953) 72m. ½ D: Cy Roth. John Ireland, Lon McAllister, Hal March, Tris Coffin, George E. Stone, Norman Leavitt, Myron Healey, Don Haggerty. Weak study of platoon led by Sgt. Ireland during the Korean War.

Come and Get It (1936) 99m. D: Howard Hawks, William Wyler. Edward Arnold, Joel McCrea, Frances Farmer, Walter Brennan, Andrea Leeds, Frank Shields, Mady Christians, Mary Nash. Arnold plays a self-made empire-builder who fights his way to the top in Wisconsin lumber business, sacrificing the one love of his life. Farmer has best screen showcase of her career, in dual role, as a saloon entertainer and (years later) her own daughter; Brennan won his first Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing Arnold’s simple Swedish pal. Typically plotty, two-generation Edna Ferber saga. Reissued as ROARING TIMBER.

Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) 99m. ½ D: Daniel Mann. Burt Lancaster, Shirley Booth, Terry Moore, Richard Jaeckel, Philip Ober. William Inge play is emotional tour de force for Booth (who won an Oscar recreating her Tony Award–winning stage role) as slovenly housewife coping with drunken ex-chiropractor husband (Lancaster) and boarder Moore, whose curiosity about her landlords sets drama in motion. Screenplay by Ketti Frings.

Come Blow Your Horn (1963) C-112m. D: Bud Yorkin. Frank Sinatra, Lee J. Cobb, Molly Picon, Barbara Rush, Jill St. John, Tony Bill. Sinatra is good as a free-swinging bachelor with wall-to-wall girls and a nagging father (Cobb). He also sings the title song, and teaches kid brother (Bill) the ropes. From Neil Simon play. Panavision.

Come Dance With Me! (1959-French) C-91m. ½ D: Michel Boisrond. Brigitte Bardot, Henri Vidal, Dawn Addams, Noel Roquevert, Dario Moreno, Philippe Nicaud, Serge Gainsbourg. Sometimes amusing mystery-comedy with Bardot a pert dentist’s wife who plays detective when her husband is suspected of murder. Video title: DO YOU WANT TO DANCE WITH ME?

Comedy of Terrors, The (1963) C-84m. ½ D: Jacques Tourneur. Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Joe E. Brown, Joyce Jameson. Medium horror spoof with undertaker Price trying to hasten customers’ demise, “helped” by bumbling assistant Lorre. Great cast; Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay. Panavision.

Come Fill the Cup (1951) 113m. ½ D: Gordon Douglas. James Cagney, Phyllis Thaxter, Raymond Massey, James Gleason, Gig Young. Cagney is quite restrained as ex-newspaperman seeking to conquer alcoholism. Fine performance by Gleason as helpful ex-drunk and by Young as drunken playboy.

Come Fly With Me (1963) C-109m. ½ D: Henry Levin. Hugh O’Brian, Pamela Tiffin, Dolores Hart, Karl Boehm, Lois Nettleton, Karl Malden. Flighty fluff of three stewardesses trying to catch husbands, becoming involved with three men on a trans-Atlantic flight. Glossy, easy to take. Panavision.

Come Live With Me (1941) 86m. D: Clarence Brown. James Stewart, Hedy Lamarr, Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Donald Meek, Barton MacLane, Adeline de Walt Reynolds. Charming romantic comedy with starving writer Stewart marrying Lamarr so she won’t be deported. Strong supporting cast, with Reynolds fine as Stewart’s grandmother.

Come Next Spring (1956) C-92m. D: R. G. Springsteen. Ann Sheridan, Steve Cochran, Walter Brennan, Sherry Jackson, Richard Eyer, Edgar Buchanan, Sonny Tufts, Mae Clarke, Roscoe Ates, James Best. Charming slice of Americana, set in 1920s Arkansas. Cochran walked out on his wife and kids nine years ago; now he returns, cold sober and determined to make good (and try to make up for his past transgressions). Appealing performances and a nice feel for the material distinguish this modest film, which Cochran also produced.

Come-On, The (1956) 83m. D: Russell Birdwell. Anne Baxter, Sterling Hayden, John Hoyt, Jesse White. Baxter is dramatically fine as unscrupulous con woman involved with murder, but the story is hackneyed. SuperScope.

Come On, Rangers (1938) 57m. ½ D: Joseph Kane. Roy Rogers, Mary Hart (Lynne Roberts), Raymond Hatton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Purnell Pratt, Harry Woods. Former Texas Rangers regroup to assist the U.S. cavalry in running down rampaging outlaws who have killed Roy’s brother. Emphasis is on action, but Roy still takes time out for songs.

Come out Fighting (1945) 62m. ½ D: William Beaudine. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, Gabriel Dell, Mende Koenig, Bud Gorman, Johnny Duncan, Amelita Ward, June Carlson. The police commissioner asks the East Side Kids to toughen up his wimpy son in this grating entry. Last in the series before it was revamped and rechristened The Bowery Boys.

Come September (1961) C-112m. D: Robert Mulligan. Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, Walter Slezak, Joel Grey. Frothy comedy about the younger generation (Darin and Dee) vs. the “older” folks (Hudson and Lollobrigida) at an Italian villa. Good fun, with some dated Darin vocals. CinemaScope.

Come to the Stable (1949) 94m. D: Henry Koster. Loretta Young, Celeste Holm, Hugh Marlowe, Elsa Lanchester, Regis Toomey, Mike Mazurki. Young and Holm register well as French nuns living in New England, seeking aid from a variety of local characters in building a children’s dispensary. Warm, sentimental comedy-drama. Story by Clare Boothe Luce.

Comet Over Broadway (1938) 69m. ½ D: Busby Berkeley. Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, John Litel, Donald Crisp, Minna Gombell, Melville Cooper. Sappy, dated soap opera tells risible story of stage star Francis and the tragedy caused by her burning ambition. Not even a musical number to save it.

Coming-Out Party (1934) 79m. ½ D: John G. Blystone. Frances Dee, Gene Raymond, Alison Skipworth, Nigel Bruce, Harry Green. Tired tale of young socialite Dee in love with jazz musician, fighting her mother’s ambitions for her to marry within social class.

Coming-Out Party (1961-British) 100m. ½ D: Ken Annakin. James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter, Eric Sykes, Richard Wattis. P.O.W. comedy with prisoner Baxter impersonating lookalike Nazi commandant to help peevish scientist Justice escape camp. Original British title: VERY IMPORTANT PERSON.

Comin’ Round the Mountain (1936) 60m. D: Mack V. Wright. Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Ann Rutherford, LeRoy Mason, Raymond Brown, Ken Cooper, Robert McKenzie. Pony Express rider Autry proposes a race between Rutherford’s wild mustangs and bad guy Mason’s thoroughbreds, the winner to receive a valuable contract to sell horses to the Express company. One of Gene’s best early starring films builds up to that remarkable race and makes excellent use of wild-horse footage from Yakima Canutt’s 1926 silent film THE DEVIL HORSE.

Comin’ Round the Mountain (1951) 77m. ½ D: Charles Lamont. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dorothy Shay, Kirby Grant, Joe Sawyer, Glenn Strange. Bud and Lou invade hillbilly country in this substandard comedy, with far too much footage of singing Shay.

Command, The (1954) C-88m. D: David Butler. Guy Madison, Joan Weldon, James Whitmore, Carl Benton Reid. Madison unflinchingly copes with smallpox epidemic and rampaging Indians as he leads troops and civilians through Wyoming. Filmed (but not released) in 3-D. CinemaScope.

Command Decision (1948) 112m. ½ D: Sam Wood. Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson, Brian Donlevy, Charles Bickford, John Hodiak, Edward Arnold, Marshall Thompson, Richard Quine, Cameron Mitchell, John McIntire. Taut, engrossing adaptation of the William Wister Haines stage hit, with Gable a flight commander who knows that, to win the war, he must send his men on suicide missions over Germany. Intriguing look at behind-the-scenes politics of the U.S. war effort. Screenplay by William Laidlaw and George Froeschel. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942) 96m. ½ D: John Farrow. Paul Muni, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, Cedric Hardwicke, Robert Coote, Ray Collins, Rosemary DeCamp, Alexander Knox. Well-intentioned drama of Norwegian Muni aiding British commandos in attack on Nazis who have invaded Norway. Dated propaganda angle lessens impact today.

Common Law, The (1931) 74m. D: Paul L. Stein. Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, Lew Cody, Robert Williams, Hedda Hopper. McCrea falls in love with Bennett, but when he learns she has “known” other men he sends her away. Will true love prevail? Tiresome soap opera is notable only for risqué pre-Code plot elements and an all-too-brief sequence at a huge Beaux Arts ball.

Company She Keeps, The (1950) 83m. ½ D: John Cromwell. Lizabeth Scott, Jane Greer, Dennis O’Keefe, Fay Baker, John Hoyt, Don Beddoe. Satisfactory tale of ex-con Greer, who’s determined to go straight. She yearns for companionship and makes a play for O’Keefe, the boyfriend of her parole officer (Scott). Produced by John Houseman. Jeff Bridges’ screen debut; he’s the baby in Greer’s arms.

Compulsion (1959) 99m. ½ D: Richard Fleischer. Orson Welles, Diane Varsi, Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman, E. G. Marshall, Martin Milner. Hard-hitting version of Leopold-Loeb thrill murder case of 1920s Chicago. Good characterizations, period decor, and well-edited courtroom scenes. Story also told in earlier ROPE and later SWOON. CinemaScope.

Comrade X (1940) 90m. ½ D: King Vidor. Clark Gable, Hedy Lamarr, Felix Bressart, Oscar Homolka, Eve Arden, Sig Ruman. NINOTCHKA-esque plot with American Gable warming up icy Russian Lamarr (a streetcar conductor). Synthetic romance tale never convinces; Bressart has great closing line, though.

Concrete Jungle, The (1960-British) 86m. D: Joseph Losey. Stanley Baker, Margit Saad, Sam Wanamaker, Gregoire Aslan, Jill Bennett, Laurence Naismith, Edward Judd, Patrick Magee. Baker shines in this intense, stunningly directed account of a criminal who must contend with jailer Magee and, most tellingly, hood Wanamaker (with whom he robs a racetrack). More than just a crime drama, it’s a story of how greed and lust for money can result in alienation, and the destruction of the spirit. Original title: THE CRIMINAL, released at 97m.

Condemned (1929) 86m. D: Wesley Ruggles. Ronald Colman, Ann Harding, Louis Wolheim, Dudley Digges, William Elmer. Suave thief Colman is sent to Devil’s Island, where he becomes romantically involved with the wife of sadistic warden Digges. Stiff early-talkie melodrama, which attempts to depict social evils of the infamous penal colony. Scripted by Sidney Howard.

Condemned of Altona, The (1962-Italian) 114m. ½ D: Vittorio De Sica. Sophia Loren, Fredric March, Robert Wagner, Maximilian Schell, Francoise Prevost. Sluggish pseudo-intellectual version of Jean-Paul Sartre play about post-WW2 Germany involving dying magnate (March), his two sons—one a playboy (Wagner) with an actress wife (Loren); the other an insane Nazi war criminal (Schell). CinemaScope.

Condemned to Live (1935) 67m. ½ D: Frank R. Strayer. Ralph Morgan, Maxine Doyle, Pedro de Cordoba, Mischa Auer, Russell Gleason, Lucy Beaumont. A series of vampirelike murders has plagued a quiet European village. Surely it can’t have anything to do with the saintlike Professor Kristan (Morgan) or his hunchbacked assistant (Auer)? Romantic elements complicate slow-moving story. Achingly sincere Poverty Row horror film was shot on familiar Universal sets and in Bronson Caverns.

Condemned Women (1938) 77m. ½ D: Lew Landers. Louis Hayward, Anne Shirley, Sally Eilers, Esther Dale, Lee Patrick, Leona Roberts, George Irving. Blunt little women-in-prison drama, a precursor of CAGED, with embittered prisoner Eilers becoming romantically linked to penitentiary psychiatrist Hayward. There’s a ruthless matron, a naive inmate who’s taken the rap for her boyfriend, a prison break. . . .

Coney Island (1943) C-96m. D: Walter Lang. Betty Grable, George Montgomery, Cesar Romero, Charles Winninger, Phil Silvers, Matt Briggs. Breezy, enjoyable turn-of-the-century musical of saloon entertainer Grable turned into famous musical star by hustling Montgomery. Remade with Grable seven years later as WABASH AVENUE.

Confess, Dr. Corda (1958-German) 81m. D: Josef von Báky. Hardy Kruger, Elisabeth Mueller, Lucie Mannheim, Hans Nielsen. Tedious handling of story of Kruger circumstantially involved in death of his mistress, with his attempt to prove innocence at trial.

Confession (1937) 86m. D: Joe May. Kay Francis, Basil Rathbone, Ian Hunter, Donald Crisp, Jane Bryan, Dorothy Peterson, Laura Hope Crews, Veda Ann Borg, Robert Barrat. Extremely stylish, well-acted soap opera in the MADAME X vein, with singer Francis recounting events leading up to her murder of oily Rathbone. Visually arresting, this looks more like a 1920s German film than a late 1930s Hollywood product; in fact, director May was a German émigré. Based very closely on the 1935 German film MAZURKA (which starred Pola Negri).

Confession (1956) SEE: Deadliest Sin, The

Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) 102m. ½ D: Anatole Litvak. Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, Paul Lukas, Henry O’Neill, James Stephenson, Sig Rumann, Dorothy Tree, Lya Lys, Joe Sawyer. Fast-paced but obvious drama of FBI agent Robinson investigating vast Nazi spy ring operating in the U.S. Of interest mainly as a reflection of its era; Lukas, as a German-American Bund leader, clearly patterns his mannerisms and speeches on those of Hitler.

Confessions of an Opium Eater (1962) 85m. ½ D: Albert Zugsmith. Vincent Price, Linda Ho, Richard Loo, June Kim, Philip Ahn, Victor Sen Yung. Bizarre low-budgeter. Price is hammy in tale of slave girls brought to the Chinese section of San Francisco in 1902 and the adventurer who aids them.

Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941) 65m. D: Edward Dmytryk. Chester Morris, Harriet Hilliard (Nelson), Richard Lane, George E. Stone, Lloyd Corrigan, Joan Woodbury, Walter Sande. Delightful second entry in the series finds Blackie, trying to smash a murderous art forgery racket, being chased by the killers as well as the relentless Inspector Farraday. George E. Stone joins the cast as Blackie’s sidekick “Runt” (replacing Charles Wagenheim), providing ample comic relief.

Confessions of Felix Krull, The (1958-German) 107m. ½ D: Kurt Hoffman. Horst Buchholz, Lilo Pulver, Ingrid Andree, Susi Nicoletti. Waggish chronicle of charming rascal Buchholz rising in rank as Parisian hotel employee; based on Thomas Mann novel.

Confidence Girl (1952) 81m. ½ D: Andrew L. Stone. Hillary Brooke, Tom Conway, Eddie Marr, Dan Riss, Jack Kruschen, John Gallaudet, Aline Towne. Brooke capably portrays title character, hooking up with slick swindler Conway for a series of clever scams in L.A. that baffle the cops. But she has a change of heart while posing as a mind reader in a nightclub. Absorbing second feature is given a big plus by Stone’s use of authentic locales and William Clothier’s top-notch camerawork.

Confidential (1935) 67m. ½ D: Edward L. Cahn. Donald Cook, Evalyn Knapp, Warren Hymer, J. Carrol Naish, Herbert Rawlinson, Theodore von Eltz, Morgan Wallace, Kane Richmond, Reed Howes. Fast-moving gangster programmer with G-man Cook going undercover to bust open a crime syndicate. Knapp is a sassy blonde; Hymer a dumb lug with Brooklyn accent; Naish a cold-blooded killer. Good fun.

Confidential Agent (1945) 118m. D: Herman Shumlin. Charles Boyer, Lauren Bacall, Katina Paxinou, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, George Coulouris, Wanda Hendrix, John Warburton. Boyer is Graham Greene’s hero in engrossing spy yarn of Spanish Civil War; he meets Bacall along the way; they battle enemy agents Lorre and Paxinou.

Confidentially Connie (1953) 74m. ½ D: Edward Buzzell. Van Johnson, Janet Leigh, Louis Calhern, Walter Slezak, Gene Lockhart. Mild chuckles as pregnant wife Leigh schemes to get underpaid professor hubby (Johnson) to leave academic circles. Calhern as Van’s rich Texan father is amusing.

Confidential Report SEE: Mr. Arkadin

Confirm or Deny (1941) 73m. ½ D: Archie Mayo. Don Ameche, Joan Bennett, Roddy McDowall, John Loder, Raymond Walburn. Love in an air-raid shelter with Ameche and Bennett as reporter and wireless operator; pleasant romance.

Conflagration SEE: Enjo

Conflict (1945) 86m. ½ D: Curtis Bernhardt. Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet, Rose Hobart, Charles Drake, Grant Mitchell. Far-fetched story of husband (Bogart) plotting to murder wife (Hobart) to marry her sister (Smith). Unconvincing plot not salvaged by good cast.

Congo Crossing (1956) C-87m. D: Joseph Pevney. Virginia Mayo, George Nader, Peter Lorre, Michael Pate, Rex Ingram. OK adventure yarn set in Africa, involving wanted criminals and construction engineer’s attempt to civilize the Congo territory.

Congo Maisie (1940) 70m. ½ D: H. C. Potter. Ann Sothern, John Carroll, Shepperd Strudwick, Rita Johnson, J. M. Kerrigan, E. E. Clive. Second Maisie entry, in which Brooklyn chorus girl Sothern finds herself involved with doctor Carroll in the middle of an African native revolt.

Conjugal Bed, The (1963-French-Italian) 90m. D: Marco Ferreri. Ugo Tognazzi, Marina Vlady, Walter Giller, Linda Sini. Tognazzi is admirably suited to the role of a middle-aged bachelor who weds beautiful young Vlady and must cope with her sexual demands as she desires to become pregnant. A funny, entertaining sex comedy.

Connecticut Yankee, A (1931) 78m. D: David Butler. Will Rogers, Maureen O’Sullivan, Myrna Loy, Frank Albertson, William Farnum. Mark Twain’s classic story of a man who travels back in time to King Arthur’s court, rewritten to suit Rogers’ genial personality. Full of contemporary wisecracks and funny ideas, though the script gets a bit silly.

Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, A (1949) C-107m. ½ D: Tay Garnett. Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, William Bendix, Cedric Hardwicke, Henry Wilcoxon, Murvyn Vye, Virginia Field. Mark Twain’s story becomes carefree Crosby musical, with Bing transported into past, branded a wizard. No great songs, but colorful production. Previously filmed in 1921 and 1931 (with Will Rogers); remade in 1979 (as UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL); TVMs in 1989 and 1995.

Connection, The (1961) 103m. ½ D: Shirley Clarke. William Redfield, Warren Finnerty, Garry Goodrow, Jerome Raphael, James Anderson, Carl Lee, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jackie McLean. Searing, admirably acted drama of junkies awaiting arrival of their “connection” with heroin, and a documentary filmmaker (Redfield) filming them. Independently produced, based on Jack Gelber’s stage play. Original running time 110m.; some prints run 93m.

Conquered City (1962-Italian) C-87m. ½ D: Joseph Anthony. David Niven, Ben Gazzara, Michael Craig, Martin Balsam, Lea Massari, Daniela Rocca. Niven and disparate international group are holed up in Athens hotel under siege in waning days of WW2; not-bad programmer released overseas as THE CAPTIVE CITY at 108m.

Conqueror, The (1956) C-111m. D: Dick Powell. John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendariz, Agnes Moorehead, Thomas Gomez, John Hoyt, William Conrad. Mongols vs. Tartars, and John Wayne vs. the silliest role of his career, Genghis Khan. Expensive epic has camp dialogue to spare. The film had a sobering real-life aftermath, however: it was shot on location in Utah near an atomic test site, and an alarming number of its cast and crew (including the stars) were later stricken by cancer. CinemaScope.

Conquerors, The (1932) 86m. D: William A. Wellman. Richard Dix, Ann Harding, Edna May Oliver, Guy Kibbee, Julie Haydon, Donald Cook. Unabashed rip-off of CIMARRON with Dix and Harding as newlyweds who go West to make their fortune, and build a banking empire that spans 50 years of ups and downs. Some good scenes lost in clichés in this epic saga. Retitled PIONEER BUILDERS.

Conquest (1937) 112m. D: Clarence Brown. Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, Reginald Owen, Alan Marshal, Henry Stephenson, Leif Erickson, Dame May Whitty, Maria Ouspenskaya, Vladimir Sokoloff, Scotty Beckett. Boyer as Napoleon and Garbo as Polish countess Walewska in fairly interesting costumer with fine performances making up for not-always-thrilling script.

Conquest of Cochise (1953) C-70m. D: William Castle. John Hodiak, Robert Stack, Joy Page, John Crawford. Unspectacular Indian vs. cavalry, set in 1850s Southwest, as Stack and troops try to calm Cochise’s (Hodiak) rampaging braves.

Conquest of Everest, The (1953-British) C-78m. No director credited. Outstanding, Oscar-nominated documentary chronicle of Edmund Hillary and company’s successful expedition to the summit of Mount Everest. As dramatic as the most complexly plotted fiction; breathtaking photography by Thomas Stobart and George Love.

Conquest of Space (1955) C-80m. ½ D: Byron Haskin. Eric Fleming, William Hopper, Ross Martin, Walter Brooke, Joan Shawlee. Despite some good special effects, this George Pal production about the first trip to Mars is hampered by a pedestrian script and an inappropriate emphasis on religion. A disappointment.

Conquest of the Air, The (1936-British) 66m. ½ D: Alexander Esway, Zoltan Korda, John Monk Saunders, Alexander Shaw, Donald Taylor. Frederick Culley, Laurence Olivier, Franklin Dyall, Henry Victor, Hay Petrie, John Turnbull, Alan Wheatley. Informative history of the evolution of flying, with actors (most notably Olivier) playing men across the ages who attempt to soar through the skies—with varying degrees of success. Updated version, running 71m. and acknowledging the role of air power in the earliest days of WW2, was released in 1940.

Consolation Marriage (1931) 82m. D: Paul Sloane. Irene Dunne, Pat O’Brien, John Halliday, Myrna Loy, Matt Moore, Lester Vail. Dunne and O’Brien are married after they’re both jilted by their respective mates but years later must decide what to do when the former lovers return. Standard marital melodrama uplifted by considerably charming cast.

Conspiracy (1939) 58m. ½ D: Lew Landers. Allan Lane, Linda Hayes, Robert Barrat, Charley Foy, Lionel Royce, J. Farrell MacDonald, Lester Matthews, Henry Brandon. Taut little B thriller about a ship’s radio operator (Lane), who finds himself immersed in intrigue when his craft pulls into port in a fascist country. Jerome Chodorov’s unsubtle script mirrors the world situation at the time of the film’s release.

Conspiracy of Hearts (1960-British) 116m. D: Ralph Thomas. Lilli Palmer, Sylvia Syms, Yvonne Mitchell, Ronald Lewis. Despite familiar situation of nuns sheltering refugee Jewish youths in Northern Italy, this film is both suspenseful and moving.

Conspirator (1949-British) 85m. D: Victor Saville. Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Flemyng, Harold Warrender, Honor Blackman, Wilfrid Hyde-White. Innocent Elizabeth is unaware that the dashing soldier (Taylor) with whom she’s fallen in love is a Communist spy. Stale melodrama.

Conspirators, The (1944) 101m. ½ D: Jean Negulesco. Hedy Lamarr, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, Vladimir Sokoloff, George Macready, Monte Blue, Joseph Calleia. WW2 intrigue in Lisbon, with echoes of CASABLANCA; this one’s no classic, but with that cast (and Hedy at her most beautiful) how bad can it be?

Constant Husband, The (1955-British) C-88m. D: Sidney Gilliat. Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall, Cecil Parker, Nicole Maurey, George Cole, Raymond Huntley, Michael Hordern, Robert Coote, Eric Pohlmann. Harrison, recovering from amnesia, realizes he’s wed to more than one woman. Entertaining comedy, with sexy Rexy ideally cast (opposite real-life wife Kendall).

Constantine and the Cross (1962-Italian) C-120m. D: Lionello de Felice. Cornel Wilde, Christine Kaufmann, Belinda Lee, Elisa Cegani, Massimo Serato. Intelligent interpretation of 4th century A.D. Emperor (Wilde) battling Romans for Christianity. Good action. Totalscope.

Constant Nymph, The (1943) 112m. ½ D: Edmund Goulding. Charles Boyer, Joan Fontaine, Alexis Smith, Brenda Marshall, Charles Coburn, Dame May Whitty, Peter Lorre, Joyce Reynolds, Jean Muir, Montague Love, Edward (Eduardo) Ciannelli. Intensely romantic story of a Belgian gamine (Fontaine) who’s madly in love with a self-serious and self-absorbed composer (Boyer). He marries a socialite (Smith) without ever realizing the depth of his own feelings for the younger girl. Touching, intelligent, and beautifully realized, with sweeping music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Margaret Kennedy’s novel and play were adapted by Kathryn Scola. Filmed before in 1928 and 1934.

Contempt (1963-French-Italian) C-103m. ½ D: Jean-Luc Godard. Brigitte Bardot, Jack Palance, Michel Piccoli, Giorgia Moll, Fritz Lang. Perversely funny look at international moviemaking with Piccoli as a dramatist of integrity who gets mixed up with a vulgar producer (Palance) and director (Lang—playing himself) in a film version of The Odyssey. Producer Joseph E. Levine didn’t seem to understand that Godard, who appears here as Lang’s assistant, held him in contempt, making this film a highly amusing “in” joke. Bardot’s appearance only adds to the fun. Franscope.

Contraband (1940-British) 92m. ½ D: Michael Powell. Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Hay Petrie, Joss Ambler, Raymond Lovell, Esmond Knight, Peter Bull, Leo Genn. Superior spy yarn from the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger that’s very much in the Hitchcock vein. Veidt is a Danish merchant sea captain, Hobson an enigmatic passenger—both get caught up with London spy ring. Though set in 1939, film hardly seems dated at all! That’s Bernard Miles as a disgruntled smoker. Powell and Brock Williams adapted Pressburger’s story. P&P had teamed up with Veidt and Hobson the previous year for THE SPY IN BLACK. Original U.S. title: BLACKOUT.

Convicted (1950) 91m. ½ D: Henry Levin. Glenn Ford, Broderick Crawford, Millard Mitchell, Dorothy Malone, Carl Benton Reid, Frank Faylen, Will Geer, Roland Winters, Ed Begley. Above-par reworking of THE CRIMINAL CODE, with Ford a luckless ex-GI who ends up in the slammer after a nightclub mishap and becomes romantically involved with the daughter of district-attorney-turned-warden Crawford.

Convicted Woman (1940) 65m. ½ D: Nick Grinde. Rochelle Hudson, Frieda Inescort, June Lang, Lola Lane, Glenn Ford, Iris Meredith, Esther Dale. Innocent Hudson is wrongfully accused of theft and railroaded to a reformatory, where she is subjected to brutal treatment at the hands of corrupt matron Dale. Crusading reporter (a very young Ford) and reform-minded lawyer (Inescort) fight to free her. Not bad women-in-prison exposé with an ending copied from CRIME SCHOOL.

Convict 99 (1938-British) 88m. D: Marcel Varnel. Will Hay, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt, Googie Withers, Garry Marsh, Peter Gawthorne, Basil Radford, Kathleen Harrison. Bumbling, disgraced schoolmaster is mistakenly appointed warden of a prison and wins the tough inmates over by letting them run the joint. Pretty funny vehicle for British music-hall comedian Hay, though this has more elements of social criticism than his usual farces. Val Guest was one of the writers.

Convicts 4 (1962) 105m. D: Millard Kaufman. Ben Gazzara, Stuart Whitman, Ray Walston, Vincent Price, Rod Steiger, Broderick Crawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jack Kruschen. Gazzara gives sincere portrayal as long-term prisoner who becomes professional artist. Oddball supporting cast. Retitled: REPRIEVE.

Cookin’ Up Trouble (1944) 67m. D: D. Ross Lederman. Billy Gilbert, Shemp Howard, Maxie Rosenbloom, Helen Gilbert, June Lang, Buzzy Henry. A fading comic team acts offstage as foster parents to a small boy. Feeble attempt by Monogram Pictures to create its own version of The Three Stooges, including Curly Howard’s brother Shemp (a once and future Stooge). Excessively sentimental, but at least the accent is on vintage vaudeville humor and slapstick. Aka THREE OF A KIND.

Cool and the Crazy, The (1958) 78m. D: William Witney. Scott Marlowe, Gigi Perreau, Dick Bakalyan, Dick Jones. Fifties equivalent of REEFER MADNESS is a great unsung j.d. melodrama; reform school veteran introduces thirtyish-looking high schoolers to grass, turns them into psychotics. On-location Kansas City photography gives this one an authentic feel. Remade, in name only, in 1994.

Cool World, The (1964) 105m. D: Shirley Clarke. Hampton Clanton, Yolanda Rodríguez, Bostic Felton, Gary Bolling, Carl Lee, Clarence Williams (III), Gloria Foster, Georgia Burke, Antonio Fargas. The streets, rhythms, and populace of Harlem are the stars of this justifiably celebrated cinéma vérité film. While primarily a mood piece, it does feature a gritty, realistic—and very un-Hollywood—storyline, which involves a young black teen gang member (Clanton, in his only screen appearance). Based on a novel by Warren Miller and play by Miller and Robert Rossen. Clarke also coscripted (with Lee) and edited. Produced by Frederick Wiseman.

Copacabana (1947) 92m. D: Alfred E. Green. Groucho Marx, Carmen Miranda, Andy Russell, Steve Cochran, Gloria Jean, Louis Sobol, Abel Green, Earl Wilson. Potentially intriguing Marx-Miranda casting can’t save this unengrossing musical comedy. Groucho is a Broadway agent attempting to promote Carmen, his only client, resulting in her being hired for two jobs (in two different guises) at the same nightclub. This was Groucho’s first film without his brothers. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Cop Hater (1958) 75m. D: William Berke. Robert Loggia, Gerald O’Loughlin, Ellen Parker, Shirley Ballard, Russell Hardie, Hal Riddle, Jerry Orbach, Vincent Gardenia. Stark, low-key crime drama based on an Ed McBain novel about the hunt for a killer who’s picking off cops of the 87th Precinct one by one during a Manhattan heat wave. Low budget is more than offset by vivid location photography, gritty feel, and a neat twist ending. Orbach’s film debut.

Copper Canyon (1950) C-83m. ½ D: John Farrow. Ray Milland, Hedy Lamarr, Macdonald Carey, Mona Freeman, Harry Carey, Jr., Frank Faylen, Hope Emerson, Percy Helton. OK Western of post–Civil War days, with Confederate vet Milland faced with decision to assist fellow Southerners who are being harassed as they attempt to mine copper. Lamarr plays the femme fatale.

Coquette (1929) 75m. D: Sam Taylor. Mary Pickford, John Mack Brown, Matt Moore, John Sainpolis, William Janney, Henry Kolker, George Irving, Louise Beavers. Pickford’s first talkie, for which she won an Oscar playing an ill-tempered flapper who becomes involved with a man who is beneath her station, resulting in tragedy. This stilted, artificial melodrama is a curio at best, notable as a showcase for Pickford’s “new,” modern screen personality. Based on a play which was a famous vehicle for Helen Hayes.

Corky of Gasoline Alley (1951) 80m. D: Edward Bernds. Scotty Beckett, Jimmy Lydon, Don Beddoe, Gordon Jones, Patti Brady, Susan Morrow, Kay Christopher, Madelon Mitchel, Dick Wessel, John Dehner, Ludwig Stossel, Emil Sitka. Second in short-lived B movie series (following GASOLINE ALLEY) based on Frank King’s comic strip is completely unlike the first. Broad slapstick comedy has Skeezix (Lydon) running a fix-it shop (repairing television sets, among other things). He and the rest of the family are undone by the arrival of an obnoxious, know-it-all cousin (Jones), who’s so insufferable he all but sinks the film.

Cornered (1945) 102m. D: Edward Dmytryk. Dick Powell, Walter Slezak, Micheline Cheirel, Nina Vale, Morris Carnovsky, Luther Adler. High-tension drama with determined Canadian flyer Powell in Buenos Aires, tracking down the man responsible for the death of his French bride during WW2. Powell is in peak form. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Corn Is Green, The (1945) 114m. ½ D: Irving Rapper. Bette Davis, Nigel Bruce, John Dall, Joan Lorring, Rhys Williams, Rosalind Ivan, Mildred Dunnock. Thoughtful acting in this story of devoted middle-aged teacher Davis in Welsh mining town coming to terms with her prize pupil. Emlyn Williams’ play was adapted by Casey Robinson and Frank Cavett. Remade, beautifully, for TV with Katharine Hepburn in 1979.

Coronado (1935) 77m. ½ D: Norman Z. McLeod. Johnny Downs, Betty Burgess, Jack Haley, Andy Devine, Leon Errol, Jacqueline Wells (Julie Bishop), Alice White, Eddy Duchin with His Orchestra, The Nicholas Brothers. Unspectacular but pleasant B musical about wealthy, brash songwriter Downs and his romantic escapades with singer Burgess one summer at a resort hotel. Haley and Devine lend support as a couple of hapless sailors.

Coroner Creek (1948) C-93m. D: Ray Enright. Randolph Scott, Marguerite Chapman, George Macready, Sally Eilers, Edgar Buchanan, Barbara Reed, Wallace Ford, Forrest Tucker, William Bishop. Single-minded Scott seeks vengeance against the seemingly respectable man responsible for the events leading to a mysterious death. Solid little Western, based on a Luke Short novel; Scott’s fisticuffs with henchman Tucker are a highlight.

Corpse Came C.O.D., The (1947) 87m. D: Henry Levin. George Brent, Joan Blondell, Adele Jergens, Jim Bannon, Leslie Brooks, Grant Mitchell, Una O’Connor, Marvin Miller. Rival reporters Brent and Blondell attempt to solve the mystery of why movie star Jergens has received a dead body. Passable comedy-mystery, with too much emphasis on the former.

Corpse Vanishes, The (1942) 64m. D: Wallace Fox. Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters, Tristram Coffin, Elizabeth Russell, Vince Barnett, Joan Barclay, Angelo Rossitto. A cut above the average low-grade thrillers Lugosi made for producer Sam Katzman. Bela is a scientist who kidnaps brides for the purpose of using their body fluids to rejuvenate wife Russell, an elderly countess.

Corregidor (1943) 73m. D: William Nigh. Otto Kruger, Elissa Landi, Donald Woods, Frank Jenks, Rick Vallin, Wanda McKay, Ian Keith. Routine WW2 melodrama focusing not so much on the American military’s courageous stand against the Japanese at the title locale but on a corny love triangle involving a trio of doctors (one of whom is a woman). Unintentionally funny at times; Eddie Hall and Charles Jordan play characters named “Brooklyn” and “Bronx.” Coscripted by Edgar Ulmer.

Corridor of Mirrors (1948-British) 105m. D: Terence Young. Eric Portman, Edana Romney, Barbara Mullen, Hugh Sinclair, Joan Maude, Lois Maxwell, Christopher Lee. Underrated “art” film, similar to Jean Cocteau’s work of this period, has Portman well cast as an artist who lives in the past, surrounding himself with Renaissance-era objects. Beauteous Romney (whose acting is not so hot) is the woman he falls in love with. Stunning sets, photography, and musical score.

Corridors of Blood (1962-British) 86m. ½ D: Robert Day. Boris Karloff, Betta St. John, Finlay Currie, Christopher Lee, Francis Matthews, Adrienne Corri, Nigel Green. Middling account of 19th-century British doctor who experiments with anesthetics, becomes addicted to the narcotics, and winds up consorting with grave-robbers to continue his experiments. Filmed in 1958.

Corsair (1931) 73m. ½ D: Roland West. Chester Morris, Alison Loyd (Thelma Todd), William Austin, Frank McHugh, Emmett Corrigan, Fred Kohler, Frank Rice, Ned Sparks, Mayo Methot. Former college football hero Morris goes to work for a crooked Wall Street tycoon and tries to woo his beautiful, spoiled daughter (Todd), but she’s not interested until he becomes a bootlegger! Title refers to the name of the boat he uses to hijack the booze. Stylish but slow-moving crime drama is notable for Ray June’s fluid camerawork.

Corsican Brothers, The (1941) 112m. D: Gregory Ratoff. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Ruth Warrick, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carrol Naish, H. B. Warner, Henry Wilcoxon. Entertaining swashbuckler from Dumas story of twins who are separated, but remain spiritually tied. Fairbanks excellent in the dual lead, with strong support, ingenious photographic effects. Remade for TV in 1985.

Corvette K-225 (1943) 99m. D: Richard Rosson. Randolph Scott, James Brown, Ella Raines, Barry Fitzgerald, Andy Devine, Walter Sande, Richard Lane. First-rate war film with Canadian officer Scott fighting to save prominent Navy destroyer from enemy attack; realistic actioner produced by Howard Hawks. Look quickly for Robert Mitchum.

Cosmic Man, The (1959) 72m. ½ D: Herbert Greene. Bruce Bennett, John Carradine, Angela Greene, Paul Langton, Scotty Morrow. Mediocre sci-fi, a pale imitation of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, in which the title character (Carradine) arrives on Earth. The military wants to destroy him, while scientists argue that this would result in dire consequences. Well-intentioned message regarding abuse of atomic energy is lost in poorly made film.

Cosmic Monster, The (1958-British) 75m. ½ D: Gilbert Gunn. Forrest Tucker, Gaby André, Martin Benson, Alec Mango, Wyndham Goldie, Hugh Latimer. Britain’s only Giant Bug movie is talky tale of a mad scientist whose magnetism experiments punch a hole in the ionosphere, letting in cosmic rays which enlarge insects in the woods. Gleefully ghoulish at times. Original British title: THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X.

Cossacks, The (1928) 92m. ½ D: George (W.) Hill. John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Ernest Torrence, Nils Asther, Paul Hurst, Dale Fuller, Mary Alden. Gilbert is a disgrace to his father, his girlfriend, and his village until he transforms himself into a Cossack warrior. Silly story, slickly made by MGM to reunite Gilbert and Adorée, the romantic stars of THE BIG PARADE, with a rousing action climax. Based on a Leo Tolstoy novel.

Cossacks, The (1959-Italian) C-113m. D: Giorgio Rivalta. Edmund Purdom, John Drew Barrymore, Giorgia Moll, Massimo Girotti. Heavy-handed historical tale set in 1850s Russia; Cossack Purdom and son Barrymore clash in loyalties to Czar Alexander II. Totalscope.

Cottage to Let (1941-British) 90m. D: Anthony Asquith. Alastair Sim, John Mills, Leslie Banks, Michael Wilding, Carla Lehmann, Catherine Lacey, George Cole. Good cast is wasted in this disappointing thriller about Nazi spies attempting to pilfer the plans for inventor Banks’ secret bomb sight. Interesting to see Sim and Cole acting together, ten years before they played Ebenezer Scrooge—old and young—in A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

Couch, The (1962) 100m. ½ D: Owen Crump. Shirley Knight, Grant Williams, Onslow Stevens, William Leslie. Bizarre yarn of psychopathic killer on the prowl while under analysis. Script by Robert Bloch from screen story cowritten by Blake Edwards.

Counsel for Crime (1937) 61m. ½ D: John Brahm. Otto Kruger, Douglass Montgomery, Jacqueline Wells (Julie Bishop), Thurston Hall, Nana Bryant, Gene Morgan, Marc Lawrence. Idealistic law school graduate (Montgomery) is given a job by a crafty defense lawyer (who else but Kruger?), quits when he discovers his boss’ unscrupulous ways, and later prosecutes him for murder—unaware that the legal eagle is his real father. Kruger’s magnetic performance and some clever plotting keep this B film afloat.

Counsellor-at-Law (1933) 82m. D: William Wyler. John Barrymore, Bebe Daniels, Doris Kenyon, Onslow Stevens, Isabel Jewell, Melvyn Douglas, Thelma Todd, John Qualen, Mayo Methot. Vivid adaptation of Elmer Rice play about rags-to-riches Jewish lawyer who can’t escape his background—and begins to question his success when he learns his wife has been unfaithful. Barrymore gives one of his greatest performances in meaty, colorful role; Wyler keeps this comedy-drama moving at breakneck pace. Scripted by Rice. Cast also includes future directors Vincent Sherman, Richard Quine, and Robert Gordon.

Counter-Attack (1945) 90m. ½ D: Zoltan Korda. Paul Muni, Marguerite Chapman, Larry Parks, Philip Van Zandt, George Macready, Roman Bohnen. Satisfactory WW2 movie of Allied fighters going behind enemy lines to sabotage German positions; no classic, but good.

Counter-Espionage (1942) 73m. ½ D: Edward Dmytryk. Warren William, Eric Blore, Hillary Brooke, Thurston Hall, Fred Kelsey, Forrest Tucker. Deftly handled Lone Wolf series entry pits the sleuth against Nazi spies in London amidst the brutal German bombing blitz.

Counterfeiters (1948) 73m. ½ D: Peter Stewart (Sam Newfield). John Sutton, Doris Merrick, Hugh Beaumont, Lon Chaney (Jr.), George O’Hanlon, Herbert Rawlinson, Joyce (Joi) Lansing. Not bad little actioner with Scotland Yard cop Sutton going undercover to nab counterfeiter Beaumont and his gang.

Counterfeit Plan, The (1957-British) 80m. D: Montgomery Tully. Zachary Scott, Peggie Castle, Mervyn Johns, Sydney Tafler. Scott is appropriately nasty as escaped murderer who sets up international counterfeit syndicate.

Counterfeit Traitor, The (1962) C-140m. ½ D: George Seaton. William Holden, Lilli Palmer, Hugh Griffith, Erica Beer, Werner Peters, Eva Dahlbeck. Holden is a double agent during WW2, falls in love with Palmer between various dangerous missions. Authentic backgrounds and fine cast. Based on true story.

Counterplot (1959) 76m. D: Kurt Neumann. Forrest Tucker, Allison Hayes, Gerald Milton, Edmundo Rivera Alvarez. Mundane hide-and-seeker set in Puerto Rico where Tucker is dodging police and his double-dealing attorney.

Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard (1950) 67m. ½ D: Seymour Friedman. Howard St. John, Ron Randell, Amanda Blake, Lewis Martin, June Vincent, Charles Meredith, Fred Sears, John Dehner, Everett Glass, Gregory Gay (Gaye), John Doucette, Rick Vallin. Scotland Yard agent (Randell) is assigned to work with Counterspy David Harding (St. John) to discover who is leaking government secrets to “the enemy.” Slick, efficient B movie yarn based on Phillips H. Lord’s radio show, following DAVID HARDING, COUNTERSPY.

Countess of Monte Cristo, The (1948) 77m. D: Frederick de Cordova. Sonja Henie, Olga San Juan, Dorothy Hart, Michael Kirby, Arthur Treacher. Sonja and Olga pretend to be royal visitors in this limp costume comedy.

Count Five and Die (1958-British) 92m. ½ D: Victor Vicas. Jeffrey Hunter, Nigel Patrick, Ann-Marie Duringer, David Kossoff. WW2 espionage flick has Hunter an American agent working with British to mislead Nazis about Allied landing site. CinemaScope.

Count of Monte Cristo, The (1934) 113m. ½ D: Rowland V. Lee. Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Raymond Walburn, O.P. Heggie, Luis Alberni, Irene Hervey. Superb filmization of classic story of Edmond Dantes, who spends years in prison unjustly but escapes to seek revenge on enemies who framed him. Donat leads excellent cast in rousing classic from Dumas’ story.

Count of Monte Cristo, The (1954-French) C-97m. ½ D: Robert Vernay. Jean Marais, Lia Amanda, Roger Piguat. Serviceable rendition of Alexandre Dumas costume classic.

Count of Monte Cristo, The (1961-French) C-90m. ½ D: Claude Autant-Lara. Louis Jourdan, Yvonne Furneaux, Pierre Mondy, Bernard Dheran. Faithful adaptation of Dumas novel, but Jourdan hasn’t the zest that Robert Donat gave the role in 1934. Originally 120m. Dyaliscope.

Country Gentlemen (1936) 66m. D: Ralph Staub. Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Joyce Compton, Lila Lee, Pierre Watkin, Donald Kirke, Ray Corrigan. Slight Olsen & Johnson comedy, with the boys cast as fast-talking con men involved in a variety of shenanigans.

Country Girl, The (1954) 104m. ½ D: George Seaton. Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden, Anthony Ross. Kelly won an Oscar as wife of alcoholic singer (Crosby) trying for comeback via help of director (Holden). Crosby excels in one of his finest roles. Writer-director Seaton also won Academy Award for adaptation of Clifford Odets play. New songs by Ira Gershwin and Harold Arlen. Remade for cable TV in 1982.

Country Music Holiday (1958) 81m. D: Alvin Ganzer. Ferlin Husky, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jesse White, Rocky Graziano, Cliff Norton, Clyde Woods, June Carter, The Jordanaires, Drifting Johnny Miller, Patty Duke. A hillbilly’s rise to fame; lots of songs and specialties dominate this curio.

Count the Hours (1953) 76m. D: Don Siegel. Teresa Wright, Macdonald Carey, Dolores Moran, Adele Mara, Jack Elam. Lawyer Carey takes case of migrant worker falsely accused of a double murder. Trim, well-directed (if implausible) story; Elam is at his slimiest as an alcoholic psycho.

Count Three and Pray (1955) C-102m. ½ D: George Sherman. Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward, Raymond Burr, Nancy Kulp. Atmospheric rural Americana in post-Civil War days, with Heflin exerting influ- ence on townfolk as new pastor with reckless past. Woodward (making film debut) as strong-willed orphan lass and Burr, the perennial villain, are fine. CinemaScope.

Count Your Blessings (1959) C-102m. D: Jean Negulesco. Deborah Kerr, Rossano Brazzi, Maurice Chevalier, Martin Stephens, Tom Helmore, Patricia Medina. Unfunny comedy that even Chevalier’s smile can’t help. Kerr marries French playboy Brazzi during WW2; he goes off philandering for years. Their child conspires to bring them together again. CinemaScope.

Courage of Black Beauty (1957) C-77m. D: Harold Schuster. John Crawford, Diane Brewster, J. Pat O’Malley, John Bryant. Wholesome programmer of Crawford and colt he is given.

Courage of Lassie (1946) C-92m. ½ D: Fred Wilcox. Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, Tom Drake, Selena Royle, George Cleveland, Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer. Third of the MGM Lassie movies has a radiant Taylor trying to rehabilitate the collie after his combat experiences during WW2. Despite title, the dog in question is called Bill, not Lassie, though played by the same collie who starred in the other studio films. Filmed on beautiful locations in Canada.

Courageous Dr. Christian (1940) 67m. D: Bernard Vorhaus. Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, Robert Baldwin, Tom Neal, Maude Eburne. The good doctor battles a town’s indifference to its homeless and an epidemic that breaks out in shantytown. Typical entry in Hersholt’s B picture series.

Courageous Mr. Penn (1941-British) 79m. D: Lance Comfort. Clifford Evans, Deborah Kerr, Dennis Arundell, Aubrey Mallalieu, D. J. Williams. Repetition overwhelms this sometimes intelligent—but mostly dull—biography of Quaker William Penn, his trial for religious freedom and founding of the Pennsylvania colony. Original British title: PENN OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Court Jester, The (1956) C-101m. D: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank. Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker, Mildred Natwick, Robert Middleton, John Carradine. One of the best comedies ever made has Danny as phony jester who finds himself involved in romance, court intrigue, and a deadly joust. Delightfully complicated comic situations (scripted by the directors), superbly performed. And remember: the pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle. VistaVision.

Court Martial (1955-British) 105m. D: Anthony Asquith. David Niven, Margaret Leighton, Victor Maddern, Maurice Denham. Tense courtroom story of officer Niven accused of stealing military funds. The trial reveals provocations of grasping wife. A solid drama. Originally released as CARRINGTON, V.C.

Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, The (1955) C-100m. D: Otto Preminger. Gary Cooper, Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger, Elizabeth Montgomery, Fred Clark, James Daly, Jack Lord, Peter Graves, Darren McGavin. Low-key drama about trial of military pioneer who in 1925 predicted Japanese attack on U.S. Steiger adds spark to slowly paced film as wily attorney; Montgomery made her movie debut here. CinemaScope.

Courtney Affair, The (1947-British) 112m. ½ D: Herbert Wilcox. Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Gladys Young, Coral Browne, Michael Medwin. Wealthy young man marries housemaid in this family saga tracing the years 1900–1945; amiable but soapy, this was a big hit in England. Originally ran 120m. Original title: THE COURTNEYS OF CURZON STREET.

Courtneys of Curzon Street, The SEE: Courtney Affair, The

Courtship of Andy Hardy, The (1942) 93m. D: George B. Seitz. Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker, Ann Rutherford, Sara Haden, Donna Reed, William Lundigan. While Judge Hardy handles a divorce case, Andy romances the couple’s withdrawn daughter (Reed). Sticky series entry.

Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The (1963) C-117m. D: Vincente Minnelli. Glenn Ford, Ronny Howard, Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens, Dina Merrill, Roberta Sherwood, Jerry Van Dyke. Cute family comedy with Howard trying to find wife for widower father Ford. Look sharp for Lee Meriwether as Glenn’s assistant. Later a TV series. Panavision.

Cousins, The (1959-French) 112m. ½ D: Claude Chabrol. Jean-Claude Brialy, Gerard Blain, Juliette Mayniel, Claude Cerval, Genevieve Cluny. Complex, depressing, ultimately haunting tale of youthful disillusion, with decadent city boy Brialy and provincial cousin Blain competing for the affection of beauty Mayniel. Superbly directed by Chabrol.

Covered Wagon, The (1923) 98m. ½ D: James Cruze. J. Warren Kerrigan, Lois Wilson, Alan Hale, Ernest Torrence. Slow-paced silent forerunner of Western epics, following a wagon train as it combats Indians and the elements; beautifully photographed, but rather tame today.

Cover Girl (1944) C-107m. D: Charles Vidor. Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Lee Bowman, Phil Silvers, Jinx Falkenburg, Eve Arden, Otto Kruger, Anita Colby. Incredibly clichéd plot is overcome by loveliness of Rita, fine Jerome Kern–Ira Gershwin musical score (including “Long Ago and Far Away”), and especially Kelly’s solo numbers. Silvers adds some laughs, but Eve Arden steals the film as Kruger’s wisecracking assistant.

Cowboy (1958) C-92m. D: Delmer Daves. Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, Anna Kashfi, Brian Donlevy, Dick York. Intelligent, atmospheric Western based on Frank Harris’ reminiscences as a tenderfoot. Lemmon is Harris, with Ford as his stern boss on eventful cattle roundup.

Cowboy and the Indians, The (1949) 70m. D: John English. Gene Autry, Sheila Ryan, Jay Silverheels, Frank Richards, Hank Patterson, Claudia Drake, Iron Eyes Cody, Clayton Moore. With pretensions of social drama, Gene comes to the aid of Navajo Indians being treated badly by crooked Indian agent Richards. Female doctor Ryan aids Autry in his quest to help the starving Indians. Amusing note: Silverheels (the future Tonto) plays a good guy, while Moore (The Lone Ranger) is a villain!

Cowboy and the Lady, The (1938) 91m. ½ D: H. C. Potter. Gary Cooper, Merle Oberon, Patsy Kelly, Walter Brennan, Fuzzy Knight, Harry Davenport, Henry Kolker. Bored, aristocratic Oberon, whose father is a presidential aspirant, goes slumming at a rodeo and falls for reluctant cowpuncher Cooper. Slight (if sometimes overly cute) comedy. Leo McCarey cowrote the story; the script had contributions from Anita Loos and Dorothy Parker!

Cowboy and the Senorita (1944) 77m. ½ D: Joseph Kane. Roy Rogers, Mary Lee, Dale Evans, John Hubbard, Guinn “Big Boy” Williams, Fuzzy Knight, Dorothy Christy, Lucien Littlefield, Hal Taliaferro, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. Crooked town boss Hubbard tries to cheat teenaged Lee out of a mine she’s inherited, convincing her it’s worthless; Roy is doubtful and investigates with his pal Teddy Bear (Williams). Significant as the first teaming of Roy and Dale, but big musical numbers don’t blend well with the story. Look for Spanky McFarland and Kirk (Superman) Alyn in bit parts.

Cowboy From Brooklyn (1938) 77m. ½ D: Lloyd Bacon. Dick Powell, Pat O’Brien, Priscilla Lane, Dick Foran, Ann Sheridan, Johnnie Davis, Ronald Reagan, Emma Dunn. Singing tenderfoot Powell, who has a phobia about animals, hires on at a Wyoming dude ranch, then is mistaken for a cowboy crooner by fast-talking N.Y. agent O’Brien. Silly but enjoyable musicomedy includes songs “Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride” and the title tune. Remade as TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS.

Cowboy Quarterback, The (1939) 56m. ½ D: Noel M. Smith. Bert Wheeler, Marie Wilson, Gloria Dickson, William Demarest, Eddie Foy, Jr., DeWolf (William) Hopper. Tiresome reworking of Ring Lardner–George M. Cohan’s play Elmer the Great, with Wheeler (minus Woolsey) miscast as a Montana cowpoke who becomes a gridiron hero and unknowingly gets mixed up with gamblers. Previously made as FAST COMPANY and ELMER, THE GREAT.

Cowboy Serenade (1942) 66m. ½ D: William Morgan. Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie, Cecil Cunningham, Addison Richards, Rand Brooks, Lloyd “Slim” Andrews, Tristram Coffin, Melinda Leighton. Professional gamblers cheat gullible Brooks out of all the money entrusted to him by Gene and the Cattlemen’s Association . . . but there’s someone even more powerful behind their dirty deeds. Pretty good Autry outing.

Cow Country (1953) 82m. D: Lesley Selander. Edmond O’Brien, Helen Westcott, Robert Lowery, Barton MacLane, Peggie Castle, Robert Barrat, Raymond Hatton. Earnest Western set in 1880s Texas, with O’Brien coming to the rescue of debt-ridden ranchers struggling against villainous Lowery and his cronies.

Cow Town (1950) 71m. ½ D: John English. Gene Autry, Gail Davis, Harry Shannon, Jock O’Mahoney (Mahoney), Clark “Buddy” Burroughs. When Gene brings in barbed wire to fence his range, town blacksmith Shannon instigates a range war to further his own ends. Another sober, tough entry from Autry’s early 1950s period.

Cracked Nuts (1931) 65m. ½ D: Edward Cline. Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Edna May Oliver, Dorothy Lee, Leni Stengel, Stanley Fields, Boris Karloff, Ben Turpin. The boys get mixed up in a Latin American revolution as Woolsey wins the throne in a crap game. Wheeler wants to be king to impress his girl’s aunt. Meanwhile, general Fields plots a coup and cross-eyed Turpin tries to bump them off by dropping bombs from a plane. No DUCK SOUP, but still fun. As usual, Oliver steals every scene she’s in.

Crack in the Mirror (1960) 97m. D: Richard Fleischer. Orson Welles, Juliette Greco, Bradford Dillman, Alexander Knox. Welles, Greco, and Dillman enact contrasting dual roles in intertwining love triangles set in contemporary Paris, involving murder, courtroom trial, and illicit love; novelty eventually wears thin, marring Grade-A effort. CinemaScope.

Crack in the World (1965) C-96m. ½ D: Andrew Marton. Dana Andrews, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore, Alexander Knox, Peter Damon. Believable sci-fi about scientists trying to harness earth’s inner energy but almost causing destruction of the world; realistic special effects.

Crack-Up (1937) 71m. ½ D: Malcolm St. Clair. Peter Lorre, Brian Donlevy, Helen Wood, Ralph Morgan, Thomas Beck, Kay Linaker. Not-bad espionage tale, with Lorre highly amusing as a spy trying to secure plans for experimental airplane; Donlevy’s the test pilot he tries to bribe.

Crack-Up (1946) 93m. D: Irving Reis. Pat O’Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall, Wallace Ford, Ray Collins. Art critic O’Brien remembers surviving a train wreck that never took place; it’s just the first incident in a growing web of intrigue and murder. Tense, fast-paced Hitchcockian thriller with many imaginative touches.

Craig’s Wife (1936) 75m. D: Dorothy Arzner. Rosalind Russell, John Boles, Billie Burke, Jane Darwell, Dorothy Wilson, Alma Kruger, Thomas Mitchell. Russell scored first big success as domineering wife who thinks more of material objects than of her husband. Based on George Kelly play, remade as HARRIET CRAIG.

Crainquebille (1922-French) 76m. ½ D: Jacques Feyder. Maurice de Féraudy, Marguerite Carré, Charles Mosnier, René Worms, Félix Oudart, Jean Forest, Jeanne Cheirel. Ironic, biting account of the title character (de Féraudy), a kindly, no-nonsense vegetable peddler who’s been pushing his cart through the streets of Paris for a half century and is unjustly arrested for insulting a policeman. Vividly atmospheric, with Feyder capturing the pulse of the city and offering pointed commentary on the abuse of power. Feyder adapted Anatole France’s novel. Restored in 2005; beware of shorter prints. Remade in 1933 and 1954.

Cranes Are Flying, The (1957-Russian) 94m. ½ D: Mikhail Kalatozov. Tatyana Samoilova, Alexei Batalov, Vasili Merkuriev, A. Shvorin. Lilting love story set in WW2 Russia. Doctor’s son (Batalov) leaves his sweetheart (Samoilova) to join the army. She is seduced by his cousin, marries him, and from subsequent tragedies tries to rebuild her life.

Crash, The (1932) 58m. D: William Dieterle. George Brent, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Cavanagh, Barbara Leonard, Henry Kolker, Lois Wilson. Chatterton is fine in this otherwise plodding drama about a self-centered, materialistic woman whose stockbroker husband (Brent) loses his fortune.

Crash Dive (1943) C-105m. ½ D: Archie Mayo. Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, James Gleason, Dame May Whitty, Henry (Harry) Morgan. Submarine battleground just backdrop for love story; Power and Andrews both love young Baxter. Oscar winner for special effects, film’s main asset.

Crashing Hollywood (1938) 61m. D: Lew Landers. Lee Tracy, Joan Woodbury, Paul Guilfoyle, Lee Patrick, Richard Lane, Bradley Page, Tom Kennedy, George Irving, Frank M. Thomas, Jack Carson. Lively comedy about screenwriter Tracy collaborating with ex-con Guilfoyle on a script based on his last bank robbery. Amusing movie-studio background (shot all around the RKO lot) supports Tracy’s usual fast-talking antics.

Crashing Las Vegas (1956) 62m. D: Jean Yarbrough. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Jimmy Murphy, David (Gorcey) Condon, Mary Castle, Nicky Blair. An electric shock enables Sach to predict numbers in this flat Bowery Boys entry. A noticeably inebriated Gorcey threw in the towel after this one, claiming he couldn’t go on after the death of his father Bernard, who played “Louie Dumbrowski” in the series.

Crash Landing (1958) 76m. ½ D: Fred F. Sears. Gary Merrill, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Irene Hervey, Roger Smith. Insipid revelations of passengers aboard plane facing possible crash landing into the ocean.

Crash of Silence (1953-British) 93m. D: Alexander Mackendrick. Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Terence Morgan, Mandy Miller. Honest drama of young deaf girl (Miller) and her mother’s dilemma: keep her at home or send her to a special school. Originally titled MANDY.

Crashout (1955) 90m. ½ D: Lewis R. Foster. William Bendix, Arthur Kennedy, Luther Adler, William Talman. Low-budget but interesting story of prison break headed by Bendix. Kennedy as humane gang member is fine.

Crawling Eye, The (1958-British) 85m. ½ D: Quentin Lawrence. Forrest Tucker, Laurence Payne, Janet Munro, Jennifer Jayne, Warren Mitchell. OK, if predictable, tale (adapted by Jimmy Sangster from British TV series The Trollenberg Terror) about cloud hiding alien invaders on Swiss mountaintop. Hampered by low-grade special effects.

Crawling Hand, The (1963) 89m. ½ D: Herbert L. Strock. Peter Breck, Kent Taylor, Rod Lauren, Arline Judge, Richard Arlen, Allison Hayes, Alan Hale, Jr. Astronaut’s disembodied hand instigates rash of stranglings in this amateurish rehash of THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS. Good for a few (unintended) laughs, anyway.

Crawling Monster, The SEE: Creeping Terror, The

Crazy House (1943) 80m. D: Edward F. Cline. Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Martha O’Driscoll, Patric Knowles, Cass Daley, Percy Kilbride. Olsen & Johnson take over film studio to make epic in frantic musicomedy with guests galore: Basil Rathbone, Count Basie, Allan Jones, Edgar Kennedy, Billy Gilbert, Andy Devine, etc.

Crazylegs (1953) 87m. ½ D: Francis D. Lyon. Elroy Hirsch, Lloyd Nolan, Joan Vohs, Louise Lorimer. Inconclusive fiction based on the football escapades of Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch with gridiron star playing himself.

Crazy Over Horses (1951) 65m. D: William Beaudine. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, William (Billy) Benedict, Bernard Gorcey, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Ted de Corsia, Allen Jenkins. The Bowery Boys get mixed up with a race horse (again) and some crooked gamblers (again).

Creation of the Humanoids, The (1962) C-75m. BOMB D: Wesley E. Barry. Don Megowan, Frances McCann, Erica Elliott, Don Doolittle. Years after an atomic war, human beings are about to be outnumbered by their subservient robots; anti-robot Megowan discovers a plot to replace people with robot duplicates. Andy Warhol loved this slow, stagy cheapie.

Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) 79m. D: Jack Arnold. Richard Carlson, Julia (Julie) Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, Whit Bissell, Nestor Paiva, Ricou Browning, Ben Chapman. Archetypal ’50s monster movie has been copied so often that some of the edge is gone, but story of Amazon expedition encountering deadly Gill Man is still entertaining, with juicy atmosphere, luminous underwater photography sequences directed by James C. Havens and Scotty Welbourne. Originally in 3-D, but just as good without it. Two sequels: REVENGE OF THE CREATURE and THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US. 3-D.

Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961) 74m. ½ D: Roger Corman. Antony Carbone, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Edward Wain, E. R. Alvarez, Robert Bean. Gangster tries to cover crime wave by creating panic with story of sea monster . . . then real sea monster shows up. Roger Corman quickie comedy is not as freakish as his others. Costar Wain is actually Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Towne. Remake of NAKED PARADISE.

Creature Walks Among Us, The (1956) 78m. D: John Sherwood. Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Leigh Snowden, Gregg Palmer. Sequel to REVENGE OF THE CREATURE has Gill Man (Ricou Browning in the water, Don Megowan on land) captured by scientists in Florida Everglades and surgically made more human: smooth-skinned, air-breathing, clothes-wearing. Third and final Creature movie “jumps the shark” by ruining the look of Universal’s coolest monster, but his climactic house-wrecking rampage provides an exciting series wrap-up.

Creature With the Atom Brain (1955) 70m. D: Edward L. Cahn. Richard Denning, Angela Stevens, Gregory Gaye, Tristram Coffin. Passable hokum: scientist revives the dead via high-charged brain tissue, and these robots are used by gangster seeking revenge.

Creeper, The (1948) 64m. D: Jean Yarbrough. Onslow Stevens, Eduardo Ciannelli, June Vincent, Ralph Morgan, Janis Wilson. Scientists experimenting with cats start getting bumped off by a fiend with a cat’s hand. Indoorsy, talky, sleep-inducing.

Creeping Terror, The (1964) 75m. BOMB D: Art J. Nelson (Vic Savage). Vic Savage, Shannon O’Neill, William Thourlby, Louise Lawson, Robin James. Awful horror movie, poor on every conceivable (and inconceivable) level. Monster aptly described as a giant carpet absorbs humans into its body. When it’s destroyed, another takes its place. Badly shot. Aka THE CRAWLING MONSTER.

Creeping Unknown, The SEE: Quatermass Xperiment, The

Crest of the Wave (1954-British) 90m. ½ D: John Boulting, Roy Boulting. Gene Kelly, John Justin, Bernard Lee, Jeff Richards. Static account of Navy officer Kelly joining British research group to supervise demolition experiments. Original British title: SEAGULLS OVER SORRENTO.

Crime against Joe (1956) 69m. D: Lee Sholem. John Bromfield, Julie London, Henry Calvin, Patricia Blake (Blair), Rhodes Reason, Joyce Jameson. Standard whodunit with struggling artist/Korean War vet Bromfield out on a drunken binge, during which a singer is murdered—and he’s the prime suspect.

Crime and Punishment (1935) 88m. ½ D: Josef von Sternberg. Edward Arnold, Peter Lorre, Marian Marsh, Tala Birell, Elisabeth Risdon. Fascinating Hollywoodization of Dostoyevsky’s novel about man haunted by murder he committed. Low-budget but full of inventive ideas by von Sternberg.

Crime and Punishment (1956-French) 108m. D: Georges Lampin. Jean Gabin, Marina Vlady, Ulla Jacobsson, Bernard Blier. Perceptive updating of Dostoyevsky novel set in Paris. Retitled: THE MOST DANGEROUS SIN.

Crime and Punishment U.S.A. (1959) 78m. ½ D: Denis Sanders. George Hamilton, Mary Murphy, Frank Silvera, Marian Seldes, John Harding, Wayne Heffley. Trim, updated version of Dostoyevsky novel has Hamilton (film debut) a law student who becomes involved in robbery and murder.

Crime By Night (1944) 72m. ½ D: William Clemens. Jane Wyman, Jerome Cowan, Faye Emerson, Eleanor Parker, Creighton Hale. Good little murder mystery with detective Cowan unwittingly walking into murder case.

Crime Doctor In 1943 Columbia Pictures took Max Marcin’s successful radio show Crime Doctor and initiated a film series of that name with Warner Baxter in the lead. The first film set the premise of an amnesia victim named Dr. Ordway becoming the country’s leading criminal psychologist, later discovering that he was a gang leader himself before a blow clouded his memory. This idea served as the basis for ten fairly respectable, enjoyable mysteries. Most of the films followed a standard whodunit formula, but were well acted and directed (by such people as William Castle and George Archainbaud), with competent players rounded up from Columbia’s contract list. The films moved along briskly, most of them running barely over an hour.

CRIME DOCTOR

Crime Doctor (1943)

The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case (1943)

Shadows in the Night (1944)

The Crime Doctor’s Courage (1945)

The Crime Doctor’s Warning (1945)

Crime Doctor’s Man Hunt (1946)

Just Before Dawn (1946)

The Millerson Case (1947)

The Crime Doctor’s Gamble (1947)

The Crime Doctor’s Diary (1949)

Crime Doctor (1943) 66m. ½ D: Michael Gordon. Warner Baxter, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Ray Collins, Harold Huber, Don Costello, Leon Ames. Ex-gang leader Baxter loses his memory and becomes a criminal psychologist, only to stand trial when his past is revealed. Slow-starting, but fairly good initial entry. Remake of THE MAN WHO LIVED TWICE, remade in 1953 as MAN IN THE DARK.

Crime Doctor’s Courage, The (1945) 70m. ½ D: George Sherman. Warner Baxter, Hillary Brooke, Jerome Cowan, Robert Scott, Lloyd Corrigan, Emory Parnell, Stephen Crane. Dr. Ordway probes the murder of a man whose first two wives died mysteriously in this OK entry.

Crime Doctor’s Diary, The (1949) 61m. D: Seymour Friedman. Warner Baxter, Lois Maxwell, Adele Jergens, Robert Armstrong. The Crime Doctor’s final case, with a lethargic Baxter getting involved with an ex-con who claims he was framed on arson charges.

Crime Doctor’s Gamble, The (1947) 66m. ½ D: William Castle. Warner Baxter, Micheline Cheirel, Roger Dann, Steven Geray, Marcel Journet. The doc’s vacation in gay Paree is interrupted by murder that involves a case of art theft and a colorful chase across Europe.

Crime Doctor’s Man Hunt (1946) 61m. ½ D: William Castle. Warner Baxter, Ellen Drew, William Frawley, Frank Sully, Claire Carleton, Bernard Nedell. An amnesiac soldier is murdered and Ordway is led into a web of deceit by the man’s fiancée in this lively episode with a good script by Leigh Brackett and welcome wisecracks by cop Frawley.

Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case, The (1943) 68m. D: Eugene J. Forde. Warner Baxter, Lynn Merrick, Lloyd Bridges, Reginald Denny, Barton MacLane, Jerome Cowan, Rose Hobart. Dr. Ordway analyzes an old lady’s dreams, which hold the key to a murder in this sluggish entry.

Crime Doctor’s Warning, The (1945) 70m. ½ D: William Castle. Warner Baxter, John Litel, Dusty Anderson, Coulter Irwin, Miles Mander, John Abbott. Engrossing entry, as Dr. Ordway gets involved in the case of an emotionally unstable artist who suffers from blackouts and is suspected of murder when his models start turning up dead.

Crime, Inc. SEE: Gangs, Inc.

Crime in the Streets (1956) 91m. ½ D: Donald Siegel. James Whitmore, John Cassavetes, Sal Mineo, Mark Rydell, Virginia Gregg, Denise Alexander, Will Kuluva, Peter Votrian, Malcolm Atterbury. Incisive if overlong drama of angry, alienated teen Cassavetes, who conspires to commit murder. Good performances by Cassavetes, Mineo and future director Rydell as his cronies, and Whitmore as an idealistic social worker. Adapted by Reginald Rose from his 1955 teleplay; Cassavetes, Rydell, and Kuluva repeat their TV performances.

Crime of Doctor Crespi, The (1935) 63m. D: John H. Auer. Erich von Stroheim, Dwight Frye, Paul Guilfoyle, Harriett Russell, John Bohn, Jean Brooks. Von Stroheim gets even with man who loves his girl by planning unspeakable buried-alive torture for him. Low-grade chiller. Allegedly based on “The Premature Burial” by Edgar Allan Poe; filmed in the Bronx(!).

Crime of Doctor Hallet, The (1938) 68m. ½ D: S. Sylvan Simon. Ralph Bellamy, William Gargan, Josephine Hutchinson, Barbara Read, John King. Tedious story of jungle doctor working on fever cure who assumes assistant’s identity when the latter dies in experiment. Remade as STRANGE CONQUEST.

Crime of Monsieur Lange, The (1936-French) 90m. D: Jean Renoir. Rene Lefevre, Jules Berry, Florelle, Nadia Sibirskaia, Sylvia Bataille, Jean Daste. Clever (if a bit too talky) tale of an exploited publishing house clerk (Lefevre), who pens stories in his spare time, his evil, lecherous boss (Berry), and a host of complications. Scripted by Jacques Prévert, with a pointed anticapitalist message.

Crime of Passion (1957) 84m. ½ D: Gerd Oswald. Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray, Royal Dano, Virginia Grey. Stanwyck is rough and tough as grasping wife who’ll do anything to forward police lieutenant husband’s career.

Crime of the Century, The (1933) 73m. D: William Beaudine. Stuart Erwin, Frances Dee, Jean Hersholt, Wynne Gibson, Robert Elliott, David Landau. Doctor Hersholt invites police captain Elliott to witness a hypnosis session in which he commands a criminal to rob a bank; naturally, things don’t go as planned. Snappy, well-plotted whodunit with nice twists and clever touches (introducing the cast in silhouette, reviewing the suspects as a grandfather’s clock ticks off one minute).

Crimes at the Dark House (1940-British) 69m. D: George King. Tod Slaughter, Sylvia Marriott, Hilary Eaves, Geoffrey Wardell, Hay Petrie. Slaughter is at his lip-smacking best in this adaptation of Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White. Old-fashioned melodrama without a whiff of condescension is not to all tastes, but for those with a liking for this rip-snorting stuff, this is one of the best. Typical line: “I’ll feed your entrails to the pigs!”

Crime School (1938) 86m. ½ D: Lewis Seiler. Dead End Kids (Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Bernard Punsley, Gabriel Dell), Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page. Bogart sets out to improve a reform school, but meets his match in the Dead End Kids. OK reworking of THE MAYOR OF HELL, weakened by the Kids’ disreputable personalities and Bogart’s unlikely casting as a do-gooder. Story rehashed again as HELL’S KITCHEN.

Crimes of Dr. Mabuse, The SEE: Testament of Dr. Mabuse, The

Crimes of Stephen Hawke, The (1936-British) 69m. ½ D: George King. Tod Slaughter, Marjorie Taylor, D. J. Williams, Eric Portman, Ben Soutten. Florid melodrama with Slaughter deliciously ripe as kindly moneylender Hawke, secretly the murderous fiend known as Spine Breaker. Stodgy direction, in this case, seems appropriate. Lower the rating if you can’t stand barnstorming thrillers. Aka STRANGLER’S MORGUE.

Crime Unlimited (1935-British) 71m. ½ D: Ralph Ince. Esmond Knight, Lilli Palmer, Cecil Parker, George Merritt, Richard Grey, Raymond Lovell, Sara Allgood. Scotland Yard agent Knight goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of jewel thieves and becomes romantically involved with Russian Palmer, a gang member. Standard tale, nicely done; Palmer’s first English-language screen role.

Crime Wave (1954) 74m. ½ D: Andre De Toth. Sterling Hayden, Gene Nelson, Phyllis Kirk, Ted de Corsia, Charles Buchinsky (Bronson), Jay Novello, James Bell, Dub Taylor, Timothy Carey. Neat little B picture about some escaped cons who try to involve a former prisonmate (who’s now gone straight) in their latest heist. Actuality-style filming on L.A. locations gives this an extra boost.

Crime Without Passion (1934) 72m. D: Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur. Claude Rains, Margo, Whitney Bourne, Stanley Ridges, Esther Dale, Leslie Adams. Bizarre, fascinating melodrama of callous lawyer Rains, jealous of Margo’s escorts, who must establish false alibi after shooting her in lovers’ quarrel. Helen Hayes (Mrs. Charles MacArthur) and Fanny Brice have brief cameos in hotel lobby scene, and directors Hecht and MacArthur play reporters! Slavko Vorkapich contributed that incredible opening montage depicting The Furies in night flight over N.Y.C.

Criminal, The SEE: Concrete Jungle, The

Criminal Code, The (1931) 95m. ½ D: Howard Hawks. Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Constance Cummings, Mary Doran, Boris Karloff, De Witt Jennings. Warden Huston—tough but essentially fair—faces a dilemma when his daughter falls in love with prisoner Holmes, who’s shielding the killer of a squealer. Creaky in parts, lively in others, but cast and director make this a must for buffs. Remade as PENITENTIARY in 1938 and CONVICTED in 1950.

Criminal Court (1946) 63m. D: Robert Wise. Tom Conway, Martha O’Driscoll, Robert Armstrong, Addison Richards, June Clayworth, Pat Gleason, Steve Brodie. Disappointingly routine programmer finds O’Driscoll charged with murder of blackmailer Armstrong, defended by wily attorney Conway who is the real killer (by accident). Confusing mystery tale.

Criminal Lawyer (1937) 72m. ½ D: Christy Cabanne. Lee Tracy, Margot Grahame, Eduardo Ciannelli, Erik Rhodes, Betty Lawford, Frank M. Thomas. Tracy’s the whole show here, playing a slick, self-confident trial lawyer who becomes district attorney and goes up against crafty Ciannelli, whom he once represented.

Criminal Lawyer (1951) 74m. ½ D: Seymour Friedman. Pat O’Brien, Jane Wyatt, Carl Benton Reid, Mary Castle. Alcoholic attorney O’Brien sobers up to defend friend saddled with homicide charge.

Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz, The (1955-Mexican) 91m. D: Luis Buñuel. Ernesto Alonso, Miroslava Stern, Rita Macedo, Ariadna Welter, Rodolfo Landa, Andrea Palma. Very minor psychological drama from Buñuel. As a boy, Archibaldo witnesses his governess’ death and is fascinated by what he feels; as a man, he’s obsessed with murder and dying. Much too talky; it sounds far more interesting than it plays.

Criminals Within (1941) 66m. D: Joseph H. Lewis. Eric Linden, Ann Doran, Constance Worth, Donald Curtis, Weldon Heyburn, Ben Alexander, Dudley Dickerson. Pallid Poverty Row spy thriller in which sinister foreign agents murder a scientist to purloin his secret explosives formula. The scientist’s kid brother, an Army corporal, tracks the spies to solve the crime and save America from its enemies. Film’s pre–WW2 naiveté somewhat dampens the gung-ho attitude. Aka ARMY MYSTERY.

Crimson Blade, The (1963-British) C-82m. ½ D: John Gilling. Lionel Jeffries, Oliver Reed, Jack Hedley, June Thorburn, Duncan Lamont. OK swashbuckler features romance between two young people on opposite sides of Cromwell’s struggle for power in 17th century; good-looking Hammer production. Originally titled THE SCARLET BLADE. Megascope.

Crimson Canary, The (1945) 64m. ½ D: John Hoffman. Noah Beery, Jr., Lois Collier, Danny Morton, John Litel, Claudia Drake, Steven Geray. Offbeat murder mystery with nightclub musicians the suspects, nicely done. Jazz fans will enjoy Coleman Hawkins, Howard McGhee, Oscar Pettiford, Sir Charles Thompson, and Denzel Best playing “Hollywood Stampede” (“Sweet Georgia Brown”).

Crimson Kimono, The (1959) 82m.½ D: Samuel Fuller. Victoria Shaw, Glenn Corbett, James Shigeta, Anna Lee, Paul Dubov, Gloria Pall. Two close-knit L.A. detectives investigate a stripper’s murder and its ties to the city’s Japanese community. Uniquely odd Fuller film explores racial identity and a seldom-seen facet of L.A.

Crimson Pirate, The (1952) C-104m. ½ D: Robert Siodmak. Burt Lancaster, Nick Cravat, Eva Bartok, Torin Thatcher, Christopher Lee, James Hayter. Lancaster and Cravat swashbuckle their way across the Mediterranean in one of the great genre classics of all time. Well-loved film offers loads of thrills and laughs to both children and adults.

Crimson Romance (1934) 72m. D: David Howard. Ben Lyon, Sari Maritza, Erich von Stroheim, Hardie Albright, James Bush, William Bakewell, Herman Bing, Jason Robards, Sr. Provocative drama of impetuous American test pilot Lyon, whose German-born pal returns to the Fatherland during WW1—before America’s involvement in the fracas. He joins his friend in the German military, and finds himself at odds with a sadistic commandant (who else but von Stroheim?).

Cripple Creek (1952) C-78m. ½ D: Ray Nazarro. George Montgomery, Karin Booth, Jerome Courtland, Richard Egan. Government agents Montgomery and Courtland track down mining crooks by joining gang in this OK Western.

Crisis (1946-Swedish) 93m. D: Ingmar Bergman. Inga Landgré, Stig Olin, Marianne Löfgren, Dagny Lind, Allan Bohlin, Ernst Eklund, Signe Wirff. A plain, poor, small-town woman lovingly raises a child who was abandoned at birth. When the girl is 18, her manipulative birth mother arrives unexpectedly to take her away to Stockholm. Overwrought melodrama, contrasting idyllic country life with the corruption of the big city; notable mainly as Bergman’s directorial debut.

Crisis (1950) 95m. ½ D: Richard Brooks. Cary Grant, Jose Ferrer, Paula Raymond, Signe Hasso, Ramon Novarro, Antonio Moreno, Leon Ames, Gilbert Roland. Melodrama of American doctor (Grant) held in South American country to treat ailing dictator (Ferrer); intriguing but slow. Brooks’ first film as director. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Criss Cross (1949) 87m. D: Robert Siodmak. Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally. Lancaster returns to hometown, where he crosses path of ex-wife De Carlo, who’s taken up with gangster Duryea. Potent film noir look (by cinematographer Franz Planer) and music (by Miklos Rozsa) help compensate for Lancaster’s miscasting as easily manipulated husband. Tony Curtis’ screen debut; he’s briefly seen as De Carlo’s dance partner. Remade in 1995 as UNDERNEATH.

Critic’s Choice (1963) C-100m. ½ D: Don Weis. Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Maxwell, Rip Torn, Jessie Royce Landis, Marie Windsor, John Dehner. An in-joke Broadway play diluted for movie audience consumption. Lucy as a novice playwright outshines Hope who plays her drama critic hubby. Film emerges as tired, predictable comedy, with best moments contributed by supporting players. Based on a play by Ira Levin. Panavision.

Crooked Circle, The (1932) 70m. D: H. Bruce Humberstone. ZaSu Pitts, James Gleason, Ben Lyon, Irene Purcell, C. Henry Gordon, Raymond Hatton, Roscoe Karns. Creaky comedy-mystery teams jittery housemaid Pitts with excitable motorcycle cop Gleason to figure out who murdered an amateur criminologist. Overstuffed plot with counterfeiters and Secret Service agents running loose in a haunted-house setting ensures every possible genre cliché is present.

Crooked Road, The (1965-British) 86m. ½ D: Don Chaffey. Robert Ryan, Stewart Granger, Nadia Gray, Marius Goring, George Coulouris. OK battle of wits between dictator Granger and newspaperman Ryan, who’s got the goods on him.

Crooked Way, The (1949) 90m. D: Robert Florey. John Payne, Sonny Tufts, Ellen Drew, Rhys Williams. Military hero Payne recovers from shellshock to be confronted by criminal past and his old gang seeking to eliminate him.

Crooked Web, The (1955) 77m. ½ D: Nathan Juran. Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard, Richard Denning, Richard Emory. Ponderous unspinning of government officer’s ensnaring prime suspect to return to Germany, scene of the crime.

Crooks Anonymous (1962-British) 87m. ½ D: Ken Annakin. Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter, Wilfrid Hyde-White, James Robertson Justice, Julie Christie. Cornball comedy with thief Phillips enrolling in Alcoholics Anonymous–type organization for hoods. Christie, in her film debut, plays Babette La Vern, a stripper.

Crook’s Tour (1941-British) 81m. ½ D: John Baxter. Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Greta Gynt, Charles Oliver, Gordon McLeod, Abraham Sofaer, Bernard Rebel, Cyril Gardiner. Charters and Caldicott, the scene-stealing characters introduced in Hitchcock’s THE LADY VANISHES (and seen again in NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH), are reunited in this slight but amiable comedy-mystery in which they’re mistaken for spies while touring the Middle East. Based on a radio serial by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, who created the characters.

Crooner (1932) 68m. ½ D: Lloyd Bacon. David Manners, Ann Dvorak, Ken Murray, J. Carrol Naish, Guy Kibbee, Claire Dodd, Allen Vincent, Edward J. Nugent, William Janney. Struggling bandleader Manners inadvertently hits on a gimmick—singing through a megaphone—that makes him a star. Topical Warner Bros. programmer is predictable but still fun to watch.

Crosby Case, The (1934) 60m. ½ D: Edwin L. Marin. Wynne Gibson, Alan Dinehart, Onslow Stevens, Warren Hymer, Skeets Gallagher. Former lovers have to clear themselves when police suspect them of murder. Good whodunit with interesting plot point—a hint of abortion.

Cross-Country Romance (1940) 69m. ½ D: Frank Woodruff. Gene Raymond, Wendy Barrie, Hedda Hopper, Billy Gilbert, George P. (G. P.) Huntley, Berton Churchill, Alan Ladd. Flighty heiress Barrie skips out on her arranged marriage, attaches herself to doctor Raymond. Will romance ensue? Moderately amusing variation on IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT.

Crossed Swords (1954-Italian) C-86m. ½ D: Milton Krims. Errol Flynn, Gina Lollobrigida, Cesare Danova, Nadia Gray. Unsuccessful attempt to recapture flavor of swashbucklers of 1930s; set in 16th-century Italy with Flynn out to save Gina and her father’s kingdom.

Crossfire (1947) 86m. ½ D: Edward Dmytryk. Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame, Paul Kelly, Richard Benedict, Sam Levene, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, Lex Barker. Engrossing film of insane ex-soldier leading city police in murderous chase. Anti-Semitic issue handled with taste, intelligence. Script by John Paxton, from Richard Brooks’ novel The Brick Foxhole. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Cross My Heart (1946) 83m. D: John Berry. Betty Hutton, Sonny Tufts, Rhys Williams, Ruth Donnelly, Iris Adrian, Michael Chekhov. Compulsive liar Hutton claims she’s a killer so scrupulously honest lawyer husband Tufts can clear her and earn a reputation. Almost as bad as the comedy it’s a remake of, TRUE CONFESSION.

Cross of Lorraine, The (1943) 90m. ½ D: Tay Garnett. Jean-Pierre Aumont, Gene Kelly, Cedric Hardwicke, Richard Whorf, Joseph Calleia, Peter Lorre, Hume Cronyn. High-grade propaganda of WW2 POW camp with hero Aumont rousing defeated Kelly to battle; Whorf is dedicated doctor, Lorre a despicable Nazi, Cronyn a fickle informer.

Crossroads (1942) 82m. D: Jack Conway. William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor, Basil Rathbone, Margaret Wycherly, Felix Bressart, Reginald Owen, Sig Ruman, H. B. Warner. Smooth, clever tale of respected diplomat Powell, who was once a victim of amnesia; he is accused by an extortionist of having a previous identity as a sly petty crook, causing much grief for him and his new wife (Lamarr).

Crosswinds (1951) C-93m. D: Lewis R. Foster. John Payne, Rhonda Fleming, Forrest Tucker, Robert Lowery. Payne tries to retrieve cargo of gold from plane that crashed in New Guinea, encountering headhunters, crooks, and gorgeous Fleming.

Crowd, The (1928) 104m. D: King Vidor. Eleanor Boardman, James Murray, Bert Roach, Daniel G. Tomlinson, Dell Henderson, Lucy Beaumont. Classic drama about a few happy and many not-so-happy days in the marriage of hard-luck couple. One of the greatest silent films; holds up beautifully. Written by Harry Behn, John V.A. Weaver, and director Vidor, from the latter’s original story.

Crowded Sky, The (1960) C-105m. ½ D: Joseph Pevney. Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., John Kerr, Troy Donahue, Keenan Wynn, Joe Mantell, Donald May, Louis Quinn, Edward Kemmer, Jean Willes, Patsy Kelly. Slick film focusing on emotional problems aboard jet liner and Navy plane bound for fateful collision; superficial but diverting.

Crowd Roars, The (1932) 70m. ½ D: Howard Hawks. James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, Eric Linden, Guy Kibbee, Frank McHugh. Exciting racing-driver tale with Cagney in typically cocky role, familiar plot devices, but well done by Warner Bros. stock company. Remade as INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDWAY.

Crowd Roars, The (1938) 92m. ½ D: Richard Thorpe. Robert Taylor, Edward Arnold, Frank Morgan, Maureen O’Sullivan, William Gargan, Lionel Stander, Jane Wyman. Tippling Morgan gets son Taylor into fighting game and involved with underworld chief Arnold in well-handled yarn. Remade as KILLER McCOY.

Crown v. Stevens (1936-British) 66m. ½ D: Michael Powell. Beatrix Thomson, Patric Knowles, Glennis Lorimer, Reginald Purdell, Allan Jeayes, Frederick Piper, Googie Withers. Thomson gives an excellent performance as a greedy young wife who murders a money lender and then plots to bump off her stingy husband. Fairly straightforward thriller was one of Powell’s several 1930s British “quota quickies.”

Crucible, The (1956-French-German) 140m. D: Raymond Rouleau. Simone Signoret, Yves Montand, Mylene Demongeot, Jean Debucourt, Raymond Rouleau. Successful French translation of Arthur Miller’s stirring play about the Salem witchcraft trials of the 17th century. Signoret and Montand are excellent, re-creating their stage performances in the leading roles. Adaptation by Jean-Paul Sartre. Originally titled THE WITCHES OF SALEM. Remade in 1996.

Crucified Lovers, The (1954-Japanese) 100m. ½ D: Kenji Mizoguchi. Kazuo Hasegawa, Kyoko Kagawa, Yoko Minamida, Eitaro Shindo, Sakae Ozawa. Timid scrollmaker Hasegawa loves his master’s wife (Kagawa), with tragic results. Superior performances, stunning direction; originally a marionette play written in 1715. Better known by its original Japanese title, CHIKAMATSU MONOGATARI.

Cruel Sea, The (1953-British) 126m. ½ D: Charles Frend. Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, John Stratton, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna, Moira Lister, Alec McCowen. Poignant drama of life on a British warship as it battles German U-boats and the elements during WW2. Main focus is the effect war has on civilians who’ve been pressed into military service. Eric Ambler scripted, from Nicholas Monsarrat’s novel. Beware edited 121m. version.

Cruel Swamp SEE: Swamp Women

Cruel Tower, The (1956) 79m. ½ D: Lew Landers. John Ericson, Mari Blanchard, Charles McGraw, Steve Brodie, Peter Whitney, Alan Hale, Jr. Friendship, loyalty, jealousy, and fighting among a crew of highriggers; standard stuff, well done.

Crusade Against Rackets SEE: Slaves in Bondage

Crusades, The (1935) 123m. D: Cecil B. DeMille. Loretta Young, Henry Wilcoxon, Ian Keith, C. Aubrey Smith, Katherine DeMille, Joseph Schildkraut, Alan Hale, C. Henry Gordon, J. Carrol Naish. Love, action, and great big siege machines in DeMille version of medieval era Holy Crusades spectacle that’s good for fun, with Young a luminous queen who’s kidnapped by infidels; Wilcoxon as Richard the Lion-Hearted must rescue her. Look fast for Ann Sheridan as a Christian girl.

Cry Baby Killer, The (1958) 62m. ½ D: Jus Addiss. Harry Lauter, Jack Nicholson, Carolyn Mitchell, Brett Halsey, Lynn Cartwright, Ed Nelson. Nicholson’s film debut is a Roger Corman quickie about juvenile delinquent who panics when he thinks he’s committed murder. A curio at best, with coscripter Leo Gordon and Corman himself in bit parts.

Cry Danger (1951) 79m. D: Robert Parrish. Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Erdman, William Conrad, Regis Toomey, Jean Porter, Joan Banks. Jaded, smart-mouthed ex-con Powell hunts down those responsible for framing him and finds himself neck-deep in a world of sleaze. Taut film noir yarn is Parrish’s directorial debut; interesting use of L.A. locations.

Cry for Happy (1961) C-110m. ½ D: George Marshall. Glenn Ford, Donald O’Connor, Miiko Taka, Myoshi Umeki. Poor man’s TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON, involving Navy photography team in Tokyo using a geisha house for their home. CinemaScope.

Cry From the Streets, A (1959-British) 99m. D: Lewis Gilbert. Max Bygraves, Barbara Murray, Colin Peterson, Dana Wilson. Kathleen Harrison. Poignant handling of story about homeless London children and social workers who attempt to rehabilitate them; plot is forgivably diffuse and episodic.

Cry “Havoc” (1943) 97m. D: Richard Thorpe. Margaret Sullavan, Joan Blondell, Ann Sothern, Fay Bainter, Marsha Hunt, Ella Raines, Frances Gifford, Diana Lewis, Heather Angel. Female volunteers join some overworked American nurses on beleaguered island of Bataan during WW2. Reveals its stage origins and incorporates expected clichés, but also presents pretty honest picture of war. Robert Mitchum has a bit part as a dying soldier.

Cry in the Night, A (1956) 75m. D: Frank Tuttle. Edmond O’Brien, Brian Donlevy, Natalie Wood, Raymond Burr, Richard Anderson. Why is mysterious, psychotic Burr spying on Wood and her boyfriend? And what happens after he kidnaps her? Overwrought drama, but fascinating as a time capsule of its era, and then prevalent attitudes toward cops and victims. Burr is quite good.

Cry of Battle (1963) 99m. ½ D: Irving Lerner. Van Heflin, Rita Moreno, James MacArthur, Leopoldo Salcedo. Uneven actioner set in Philippines with MacArthur as son of wealthy businessman who joins partisan cause, finding romance and sense of maturity.

Cry of the City (1948) 95m. ½ D: Robert Siodmak. Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark, Shelley Winters, Betty Garde, Debra Paget, Hope Emerson. Rehash of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA about childhood pals, one who becomes a cop, the other a criminal—slick but predictable.

Cry of the Hunted (1953) 80m. D: Joseph H. Lewis. Vittorio Gassman, Barry Sullivan, Polly Bergen, William Conrad. Unnoteworthy chase film involving escaped convict Gassman being sought by lawman Sullivan, with a few atmospheric sequences set in Louisiana marshland.

Cry of the Werewolf (1944) 63m. D: Henry Levin. Nina Foch, Stephen Crane, Osa Massen, Blanche Yurka, Fritz Leiber, John Abbott. Young woman raised by gypsies is the daughter of a werewolf and becomes one herself, killing those who have found her out. OK low-grade thriller.

Crystal Ball, The (1943) 81m. D: Elliott Nugent. Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Virginia Field, Gladys George, William Bendix, Ernest Truex. Weak comedy of beauty-contest loser who becomes fortune-teller; good players left stranded by stale material.

Cry Terror! (1958) 96m. D: Andrew L. Stone. James Mason, Rod Steiger, Inger Stevens, Neville Brand, Angie Dickinson, Jack Klugman. Tight pacing conceals implausibilities in caper of psychopath Steiger forcing Mason to aid him in master extortion plot, filmed on N.Y.C. locations. Stevens good as Mason’s frightened but resourceful wife. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Cry, the Beloved Country (1951-British) 111m. ½ D: Zoltan Korda. Canada Lee, Charles Carson, Sidney Poitier, Geoffrey Keen, Reginald Ngeabo, Joyce Carey. Simple back-country minister journeys to Johannesburg in search of his son, while fate links his path with that of a wealthy, bigoted white landowner. Heartrending story chronicles racial divisiveness (and its roots) in South Africa without resorting to preachiness. Alan Paton’s book was also basis for stage and film musical LOST IN THE STARS. Some prints run 96m. Remade in 1995.

Cry Tough (1959) 83m. D: Paul Stanley. John Saxon, Linda Cristal, Joseph Calleia, Arthur Batanides, Joe De Santis, Barbara Luna, Frank Puglia. Saxon emotes well as Puerto Rican ex-con tempted back into criminal life by environment and his old gang. Torrid love scenes shot for foreign markets gave film initial publicity.

Cry Vengeance (1954) 83m. ½ D: Mark Stevens. Mark Stevens, Martha Hyer, Skip Homeier, Joan Vohs. Stevens lives up to title as innocent ex-con seeking gangsters who sent him to prison.

Cry Wolf (1947) 83m. D: Peter Godfrey. Barbara Stanwyck, Errol Flynn, Geraldine Brooks, Richard Basehart, Jerome Cowan. Static adventure-mystery of Stanwyck attempting to untangle family secrets at late husband’s estate.

Cuban Love Song, The (1931) 80m. ½ D: W.S. Van Dyke. Lawrence Tibbett, Lupe Velez, Ernest Torrence, Jimmy Durante, Karen Morley, Hale Hamilton, Louise Fazenda. Generally enjoyable, if slow-moving, musical-romance with fun-loving marine Tibbett (surprisingly effective as a romantic lead) tangling amorously with hot-tempered peanut vendor Velez in Havana—a cue for the song “The Peanut Vendor.” Torrence and Durante are Tibbett’s rowdy sidekicks.

Cuban Rebel Girls (1959) 68m. BOMB D: Barry Mahon. Errol Flynn, Beverly Aadland, John McKay, Marie Edmund, Jackie Jackler. Flynn’s last film is an embarrassment: playing himself, he aids Fidel Castro in his overthrow of Batista. Shot on location during the Castro revolution. Of interest only to see Flynn teamed with his final girlfriend, 16-year-old Aadland. Aka ASSAULT OF THE REBEL GIRLS and ATTACK OF THE REBEL GIRLS.

Cuckoos, The (1930) 97m. D: Paul Sloane. Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, June Clyde, Hugh Trevor, Dorothy Lee, Ivan Lebedeff, Marguerita Padula, Mitchell Lewis, Jobyna Howland. Following their success in RIO RITA, RKO quickly reteamed Wheeler and Woolsey for this similar musical comedy about the adventures of two phony fortune tellers who get mixed up with gypsies. Pretty creaky, like a photographed stage play, though W&W are funny and Wheeler has one good song, “I Love You So Much.” Some sequences in two-strip Technicolor.

Cult of the Cobra (1955) 82m. ½ D: Francis D. Lyon. Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Marshall Thompson, Jack Kelly, David Janssen. Minor camp masterpiece involves ex-servicemen being killed in post-WW2 N.Y.C. by exotic serpent lady.

Curley (1947) C-54m. ½ D: Bernard Carr. Frances Rafferty, Larry Olsen, Gerald Perreau, Eilene Janssen, Dale Belding, Kathleen Howard. Producer Hal Roach’s feeble attempt to revive Our Gang finds these unappealing little rascals tormenting their new schoolteacher (Rafferty). Almost unwatchable. Followed by WHO KILLED DOC ROBBIN? Reissued as part of HAL ROACH’S COMEDY CARNIVAL. Later retitled THE ADVENTURES OF CURLEY AND HIS GANG for TV.

Curley and His Gang in the Haunted Mansion SEE: Who Killed Doc Robbin?

Curly Top (1935) 75m. ½ D: Irving Cummings. Shirley Temple, John Boles, Rochelle Hudson, Jane Darwell, Rafaela Ottiano, Arthur Treacher. Shirley sings “Animal Crackers In My Soup” as she plays Cupid again, this time for sister Hudson and handsome Boles. Based on Jean Webster’s Daddy Long Legs. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Curse of Dracula, The SEE: Return of Dracula, The

Curse of Frankenstein, The (1957-British) C-83m. ½ D: Terence Fisher. Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Valerie Gaunt, Noel Hood. OK retelling of original Shelley tale, with Cushing as Baron von Frankenstein, whose experimentation with creation of life becomes an obsession. First of Hammer Films’ long-running horror series, and itself followed by six sequels, starting with THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN.

Curse of Simba SEE: Curse of the Voodoo

Curse of the Aztec Mummy (1957-Mexican) 65m. ½ D: Rafael Portillo. Ramón Gay, Rosita Arenas, Crox Alvarado, Luis Aceves Castañeda, Jorge Mondragón, Arturo Martinez. Escaped supervillain The Bat tries to force the secret of Aztec gold out of those who faced LA MOMIA AZTECA (1957). A dashing but ineffectual masked, caped hero called the Angel is around, too. Cheap and droning; the Aztec Mummy only shows up for a couple of brief scenes.

Curse of the Cat People, The (1944) 70m. D: Gunther von Fritsch, Robert Wise. Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph, Elizabeth Russell, Ann Carter, Julia Dean. Follow-up to CAT PEOPLE creates wonderful atmosphere in story of lonely little girl who conjures up vision of Simon, her father’s mysterious first wife. Despite title, not a horror film but a fine, moody fantasy. Produced by Val Lewton, written by DeWitt Bodeen. Wise’s directing debut. Also available in computer-colored version.

Curse of the Demon (1957-British) 95m. ½ D: Jacques Tourneur. Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Athene Seyler, Liam Redmond, Reginald Beckwith, Maurice Denham. Andrews is a psychologist who doesn’t believe that series of deaths have been caused by ancient curse, but film convinces audience right off the bat and never lets up. Charles Bennett and producer Hal E. Chester adapted Montague R. James’ story “Casting the Runes.” Exceptional shocker, originally called NIGHT OF THE DEMON. Beware of truncated 83m. version.

Curse of the Faceless Man (1958) 66m. BOMB D: Edward L. Cahn. Richard Anderson, Elaine Edwards, Adele Mara, Luis Van Rooten. There are echoes of Karloff’s THE MUMMY in this silly tale of a gladiator, coated with lava during the eruption of Vesuvius, returning to life in the 20th century and searching for the reincarnation of his Pompeiian love. Written by Jerome Bixby.

Curse of the Fly (1965-British) 86m. ½ D: Don Sharp. Brian Donlevy, Carole Gray, George Baker, Michael Graham, Jeremy Wilkins, Charles Carson, Burt Kwouk. In the third and last of original THE FLY series, young escapee (Gray) from a mental institution winds up involved with the Delambre family, still doggedly trying to make their teleportation machine work. Highly inadequate makeup, weak script, but very atmospheric direction produce oddly mixed results. CinemaScope.

Curse of the Living Corpse (1964) 84m. D: Del Tenney. Helen Warren, Roy R. Sheider (Scheider), Margo Hartman, Hugh Franklin, Candace Hilligoss. Tepid old-dark-house murder mystery with dead man supposedly returning to “life” and committing series of killings. Scheider’s film debut.

Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, The (1964-British) C-81m. D: Michael Carreras. Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, Fred Clark, Jeanne Roland, George Pastell, Jack Gwillim, Dickie Owen (as the Mummy). Handsomely photographed but routine Hammer thriller featuring vengeful mummy at large in Victorian London, killing the usual profaners of the tomb in foggy surroundings. Most unusual twist: The (human) villain is in fact the Mummy’s brother. Follow-up, not sequel, to THE MUMMY (1959). Techniscope.

Curse of the Stone Hand (1965) 72m. BOMB D: Jerry Warren, Carl Schlieppe. John Carradine, Sheila Bon, Ernest Walch, Katherine Victor, Lloyd Nelson. Americanized version of 1959 Mexican film tries to interweave two separate story elements with incoherent results.

Curse of the Undead (1959) 79m. D: Edward Dein. Eric Fleming, Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley, John Hoyt, Bruce Gordon, Edward Binns. Once-novel mixture of horror-Western tale hasn’t much zing. Mysterious gunslinging stranger has vampirish designs on Crowley.

Curse of the Voodoo (1965-British) 77m. ½ D: Lindsay Shonteff. Bryant Haliday, Dennis Price, Lisa Daniely, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Mary Kerridge, Danny Daniels. In Africa, hunter Haliday kills a lion in the area dominated by a lion-worshiping tribe. He follows his fed-up wife to England, where it seems he is stalked by vengeful African natives. Slow-paced and thinly plotted, but not without a few effective moments. “Africa,” however, never looks like anything but the English countryside. Original British title: CURSE OF SIMBA.

Curse of the Werewolf, The (1961-British) C-91m. ½ D: Terence Fisher. Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain, Anthony Dawson. Reed has wolf’s blood and struggles to control the monster within him; it finally erupts when he is denied his girl’s love. Eerie atmosphere pervades this good chiller. Loosely based on novel The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore.

Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950) C-86m. ½ D: Charles Lamont. Donald O’Connor, Gale Storm, Vincent Price, Walter Brennan, Eve Arden. Sometimes foolish slapstick as O’Connor, touring with road show, gets involved with bank robbers and irate citizens of Arizona.

Curtain Up (1952-British) 85m. ½ D: Ralph Smart. Robert Morley, Margaret Rutherford, Kay Kendall, Olive Sloane, Joan Rice, Michael Medwin, Charlotte Mitchell, Liam Gaffney. Mild but amusing look at a repertory troupe in the British provinces that suffers a minor crisis when the amateur playwright of its latest show turns up on the first day of rehearsals. Morley (as the director) and Rutherford (as the playwright) are great fun to watch.

Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956) C-76m. ½ D: Curt Siodmak. John Bromfield, Beverly Garland, Tom Payne, Harvey Chalk. One of the most infamous disappointments (for monster-loving kids of the 1950s) as Bromfield and Garland go after title monster in South American jungle.

Cyclops, The (1957) 66m. D: Bert I. Gordon. James Craig, Gloria Talbott, Lon Chaney, Jr., Tom Drake. Expedition scours Mexico in search of Talbott’s lost fiancé, discovers that radiation has transformed him into an enormous monster. Nothing much in this cheapie.

Cynara (1932) 78m. D: King Vidor. Ronald Colman, Kay Francis, Henry Stephenson, Phyllis Barry, Paul Porcasi. Badly dated film about British lawyer who has interlude with working girl while wife is away; Colman is good as usual.

Cynthia (1947) 98m. ½ D: Robert Z. Leonard. Elizabeth Taylor, George Murphy, S. Z. Sakall, Mary Astor, Gene Lockhart, Spring Byington, Jimmy Lydon. Sugary film of sickly girl Taylor finding outlet in music; good cast wasted.

Cyrano de Bergerac (1925-Italian) C-114m. ½ D: Augusto Genina. Pierre Magnier, Linda Moglia, Angelo Ferrari, Alex Bernard, Umberto Casilini. Cyrano, fabled poet-swordsman-philosopher of 17th-century Paris, must conceal his love for his cousin Roxane because of the size of his nose. Adequate retelling of Edmond Rostand’s classic lacks the requisite romantic fire. Worth seeing for its use of color, produced by tinting, toning, stencil coloring, and hand-painting. First filmed in 1900; remade in 1945, 1950, 1987 (as ROXANNE), and 1990.

Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) 112m. ½ D: Michael Gordon. Jose Ferrer, Mala Powers, William Prince, Morris Carnovsky, Elena Verdugo. Ferrer received an Oscar for portraying the tragic 17th-century wit, renowned for his nose but longing for love of a beautiful lady. From Edmond Rostand’s play. Previously filmed in 1900, 1925, and 1945; later modernized as ROXANNE, and remade in 1990. Also shown in computer-colored version.