Bad Day at Black Rock 1955 N/R, 81 min. Genre: Drama / Western / Thriller
Director: John Sturges Cast: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Walter Brennan, Dean Jagger, John Ericson, Walter Sande, Russell Collins, Francis McDonald, Billy Dix, Harry Harvey, Mickey Little, Bobby Johnson
Based on Howard Breslin's novel, this movie tells the story of one-armed John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) who arrives in the town of Black Rock on a mission. He tries and fails to find a hotel room, and his request for information about a Japanese farmer, Komoko, who he has come to see is met with silence by Sheriff Tom Horn (Dean Jagger). The town is run by Reno Smith (Robert Ryan) who hates the Japanese and had Komoko killed. Macreedy is unaware of Smith's secret and does locate Komoto's home where he finds his grave. One of Smith's henchmen, Coley Trimble (Ernest Borgnine), has followed Macreedy to Komoto's home, and now Macreedy must not only deal with the cover-ups by the townsfolk, but he will be fighting for his own life as well. Spencer Tracy and Director John Sturges received Oscar nominations.
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Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free 1976 TV, 98 min. Genre: Western aka: Banjo Hackett
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen Cast: Don Meredith, Ike Eisenmann, Jeff Corey, Gloria DeHaven, L.Q. Jones, Jennifer Warren, Chuck Connors, Dan O'Herlihy, Jan Murray, Anne Francis, Slim Pickens, John O'Leary
Horse trader Banjo Hackett (Don Meredith) travels west with his young nephew, Jubal (Ike Eisenmann), in search of a rare Arabian horse that was stolen from Jubal's mother before her death. But they're not alone in their quest. A slow, made-for-TV film.
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Battle Cry 1955 N/R, 149 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Raoul Walsh Cast: Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Mona Freeman, Nancy Olson, James Whitmore, Raymond Massey, Tab Hunter, Dorothy Malone, Anne Francis, Fess Parker
Based on Leon Uris' novel, this is the story of a U.S. Marine Corps unit involving their training, romances, and battles during World War II.
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Blackboard Jungle 1955 N/R, 101 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Richard Brooks Cast: Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Louis Calhern, Margaret Hayes, Sidney Poitier, Vic Morrow, John Hoyt, Richard Kiley, Emile Meyer, Warner Anderson
Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) teaches at a rough inner-city high school. At first met with resentment and distrust, Dadier earns his students' (Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow) respect. Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" provides penetrating reinforcement of the theme of early problems in America's school systems.
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Cry Panic 1974 TV, 85 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: James Goldstone Cast: John Forsythe, Earl Holliman, Ralph Meeker, Norman Alden, Anne Francis, Eddie Firestone, Claudia McNeil, Harry Basch, Gene Tyburn, Jason Wingreen, Royce D. Applegate, Wesley Lau
In this made-for-TV mystery, David Ryder (John Forsythe) runs over and kills a pedestrian. When he returns to the scene if the accident, the body is missing. It appears that the townsfolk, including the sheriff, have something to hide.
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Don't Go Near the Water 1957 N/R, 107 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Charles Walters Cast: Glenn Ford, Gia Scala, Earl Holliman, Anne Francis, Keenan Wynn, Fred Clark, Eva Gabor, Russ Tamblyn, Mary Wickes, Mickey Shaughnessy
Stationed on a remote–and very peaceful–South Pacific island during World War II, a group from the U.S. Navy Press Corps tries to liven up the action in their world which is far-removed from the excitement of the war front.
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Forbidden Planet 1956 N/R, 98 min. Genre: Sci-Fi / Thriller / Romance
Director: Fred M. Wilcox Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly, Richard Anderson, Earl Holliman, James Drury, George Wallace, Robert Dix, Jimmy Thompson, Harry Harvey Jr., Roger McGee, Peter Miller, James Best
This is probably the best science fiction movie of the 1950s. It is the year 2200, and spaceship Altair-4–commanded by John J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen)–has landed on a faraway planet. There he is greeted by Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter (Anne Francis) who are the sole survivors of a colony of settlers. All is not as it should be, and the doctor does not intend to share the secrets of the planet.
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Funny Girl 1968 G, 151 min. Genre: Drama / Musical / Comedy / Romance
Director: William Wyler Cast: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon, Lee Allen, Mae Questel, Gerald Mohr, Frank Faylen, John Harmon, Mittie Lawrence, Gertrude Flynn, Penny Santon, Thordis Brandt, Bettina Brenna
Barbra Streisand's talent was discovered by the world during the run of her Broadway performance in her role as Fanny Brice. The story is about comedian Fanny Brice's turbulent marriage to Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif), which coincided with her rise to fame. Fanny Brice, "I'm a bagel on a plate of onion rolls." Streisand carried away an Oscar for Best Actress.
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Hook, Line & Sinker 1969 G, 91 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: George Marshall Cast: Jerry Lewis, Peter Lawford, Anne Francis, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Jimmy Miller, Kathleen Freeman, Eleanor Audley, Jennifer Edwards, Phillip Pine
After Doctor Scott Carter (Peter Lawford) tells Peter Ingersoll (Jerry Lewis) that he has less than a year to live, Peter is determined to make the best of what little time he has left by spending more than he has on his favorite sport: fishing. The spree comes to a crashing halt when Peter learns he is not dying after all, and Carter is involved with Peter's wife, Nancy (Anne Francis).
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A Lion Is in the Streets 1953 N/R, 87 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Raoul Walsh Cast: James Cagney, Barbara Hale, Anne Francis, Warner Anderson, John McIntire, Jeanne Cagney, Lon Chaney Jr., Frank McHugh, Larry Keating, Onslow Stevens
Hank Martin (Cagney) is a Southern hustler and con artist who tries to make it big as a backwoods politician. He steps on anyone and everyone he meets until he's stopped by a bullet. This would be just a so-so movie without Cagney and his favorite director (Raoul Walsh), but with them it packs a pretty good wallop.
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The Love God? 1969 PG-13, 101 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Nat Hiken Cast: Don Knotts, Anne Francis, Edmond O'Brien, James Gregory, Maureen Arthur, Maggie Peterson, Jesslyn Fax, Jacques Aubuchon, Marjorie Bennett, Jim Boles, Ruth McDevitt, Roy Stuart
Bird-watching magazine editor Abner (Don Knotts) loses his publication to Osborn (Edmond O'Brien). Osborn turns the magazine into a girlie format, and Abner, still the editor, becomes a national sex symbol and playboy. He finally yearns for the simple life he left behind. Silly.
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Lydia Bailey 1952 N/R, 89 min. Genre: Adventure
Director: Jean Negulesco Cast: Dale Robertson, Anne Francis, William Marshall, Luis Van Rooten, Robert Evans, Juanita Moore, Charles Korvin, Will Wright, Gladys Holland, Roy E. Glenn Sr.
An American lawyer, Albion Hamlin (Dale Robertson), visits Haiti during a native uprising against French dominion. His quest is to find heiress Lydia Bailey (Anne Francis) and remove her from harm's way.
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Mazes and Monsters 1982 TV, 102 min. Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Steven Hilliard Stern Cast: Tom Hanks, Wendy Crewson, David Wallace, Lloyd Bochner, Peter Donat, Anne Francis, Vera Miles, Susan Strasberg, Chris Makepeace, Murray Hamilton
Four college students, playing a "Dungeons and Dragons" type game, find the level of intensity accelerates as they become more and more involved in the medieval world of sorcery.
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Mongo's Back in Town 1971 TV, 73 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Marvin J. Chomsky Cast: Joe Don Baker, Telly Savalas, Sally Field, Anne Francis, Charles Cioffi, Martin Sheen, Johnny Haymer, Gregg Palmer, Ned Glass, Angelo Rossitto
An ex-con returns home where he is hired to kill in this story based on that of a real criminal.
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More Dead Than Alive 1969 PG, 101 min. Genre: Western
Director: Robert Sparr Cast: Clint Walker, Vincent Price, Anne Francis, Paul Hampton, Mike Henry, Clarke Gordon, Harry Lauter, Craig Littler, Beverly Powers, William Woodson
Ex-prisoner Cain (Clint Walker) takes a job as a sharpshooter for a carnival show and runs into problems with the show's egotistical star. Cain quits the show, but his problems are just beginning.
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Pancho Villa 1972 PG, 92 min. Genre: Western
Director: Eugenio Martin Cast: Telly Savalas, Clint Walker, Chuck Connors, Anne Francis, Angel del Pozo, Jose Maria Prada, Luis Davila, Monica Randall, Ben Tatar, Antonio Casas, Alberto Dalbes, Eduardo Calvo
Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (Telly Savalas) sends Scotty (Clint Walker) into America to get guns. When the deal goes bad, Villa takes revenge by crossing the border and taking over a U.S. Cavalry fort, commanded by Col. Wilcox (Chuck Connors). The Army fights back and drives Villa back over the Mexican border. The big scene involves a head-on crash of two trains.
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Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story 1987 TV, 98 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Charles Jarrott Cast: Farrah Fawcett, James Read, Kevin McCarthy, Burl Ives, Anne Francis, Bruce Davison, David Ackroyd, Stephane Audran, Tony Peck, Zoe Wanamaker, Amadeus August, Nicholas Clay, Carmen du Sautoy, Sascha Hehn, Clive Arrindell
Edited from a 250-minute TV miniseries, this film relates the sad life experiences of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton (Farrah Fawcett). When she was six years old, Barbara inherited $40 million. She was married seven times, and film star Cary Grant (James Read) was her third husband. When they divorced, Cary refused to take her fortune, but the other husbands did gain financially. When Barbara died at age 65, she had only $3,500 left from her inheritance.
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The Rack 1956 N/R, 100 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Arnold Laven Cast: Paul Newman, Wendell Corey, Walter Pidgeon, Edmond O'Brien, Lee Marvin, Anne Francis, Cloris Leachman, Robert Burton, Robert F. Simon, Trevor Bardette
Adapted from Rod Serling's teleplay, this compelling drama is about an Army court-martial of an officer (Paul Newman) who was brainwashed into collaborating with the enemy in a North Korea prison camp.
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Rogue Cop 1954 N/R, 91 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Roy Rowland Cast: Robert Taylor, Janet Leigh, George Raft, Steve Forrest, Anne Francis, Alan Hale Jr., Robert F. Simon, Robert Ellenstein, Peter Brocco, Anthony Ross
Undercover cop Christopher Kelvaney (Robert Taylor) seeks the killers of his brother. Well made flick.
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Susan Slept Here 1954 N/R, 97 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank Tashlin Cast: Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Anne Francis, Ellen Corby, Glenda Farrell, Alvy Moore, Mara Lane, Herb Vigran, Les Tremayne, Rita Johnson
A screenwriter (Dick Powell) takes in a juvenile (Debbie Reynolds) as part of his research for his next project on juvenile delinquency. Plans go awry when he begins to fall in love with his young houseguest.
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| 1. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
2. Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free (1976) aka: Banjo Hackett
3. Battle Cry (1955)
4. Blackboard Jungle (1955)
5. Cry Panic (1974)
6. Don't Go Near the Water (1957)
7. Forbidden Planet (1956)
8. Funny Girl (1968)
9. Hook, Line & Sinker (1969)
10. Laguna Heat (1987)
11. The Last Survivors (1975)
12. A Lion Is in the Streets (1953)
13. Little Mo (1978)
14. The Love God? (1969)
15. Lydia Bailey (1952)
16. Mazes and Monsters (1982)
17. Mongo's Back in Town (1971)
18. More Dead Than Alive (1969)
19. Pancho Villa (1972)
20. Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story (1987)
21. The Rack (1956)
22. Rogue Cop (1954)
23. Susan Slept Here (1954)
24. The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951)
In The News
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