Author Archive: Retro

Parish priest tries to reform street punk Paul Baroni–nicknamed “Monk” because of his disfigured face–by teaching him how to box and involving him in church activities. All goes well for a time. Produced by Jack Broder. Dir. Wallace Fox.

Secret plans for a remote-control operated missile are stolen by an unethical inventor and an FBI agent must go to a spooky old mansion to get them back. Based on the novel “On Irish Hill” by Peter B. Kyne. Produced by Sam Katzman. Dir. Robert Hill

Based on a popular radio game show in which people did silly or embarrassing things in order to win prizes, this lively comedy centers upon a pair of radio producers, both of whom have come up with similar ideas for a show to convince a major sponsor to exclusively back their efforts.

This WW II-era actioner, shot on location in the Philippines, tells the story of a former American fighter who single-handedly (literally–as he was honorably discharged after losing a hand in battle) organizes a crack team of guerrilla fighters and fights the invading Japanese.

A woman turns to crime after she is wrongly sent to prison for a hit-and-run accident that was really the fault of a wealthy playboy. Ladd has a minor role, filmed before he hit the big time. Written by crime reporter Martin Mooney, this was the first production from Frank and Maurice King. Dir. Phil Rosen Great performance by Woodbury as a woman with an unhappy past who turns to a life of crime. She is then sent to prison for the hit-and-run crime of a wealthy playboy.

Mill girl marries an old bookie she doesn’t love in order to get jobs for her father and brother. Well made, well acted drama about a family’s struggle to survive and maintain dignity during the Depression. Dir. King Vidor.

The Intruder was not only Roger Corman’s most daring and unusual film, but a unique movie in the history of cinema, as one of the few theatrical feature films to deal with school desegregation in the South. William Shatner gives the performance of a lifetime as Adam Cramer, a sly, rabble-rousing racist who travels the South in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision, fomenting protests and riots and organizing white citizens groups with himself at their head. By turns quietly soft-spoken and boldly charismatic, Cramer arrives in a small town where the local white high school is about to get its first black students and manipulates the men, women, and students around him, quietly taking control of the debate and the agenda, and turning a tense situation into a riot. He’s opposed by Frank Maxwell, playing a local newspaper editor who pays a terrible price for his thoughtful and [...]

Singing star attempts to revive her career by going to the country for a publicity stunt.

Theater treasurer has a plan to boost ticket sales with a chain-letter scheme, but the man he hires to help him turns out to be a wanted criminal. Written by George Waggner, Produced by Trem Carr. Dir. Vin Moore