Backlash 1956  N/R, 83 min.
Genre: Western
Director: John Sturges
Cast: Richard Widmark, Donna Reed, William Campbell, John McIntire, Barton MacLane, Harry Morgan, Robert J. Wilke, Edward Platt, Jack Lambert, Roy Roberts
Jim Slater (Richard Widmark) is searching for the truth about what happened to his father during and after an Apache raid in post-Civil War Arizona. He runs across Karyl (Donna Reed) who is on a similar mission after her husband was killed in the same raid. They join forces, and, to Jim's regret, his father is the thief he was accused of being and had sold out his fellow thieves. John McIntire does his usual good job, this time in the role of Jim's father. Other than that, this expensive film, though beautifully shot, is not at the level of Sturges' other Western sagas such as "Bad Day at Black Rock" and "Gunfight at O.K. Corral".
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The Benny Goodman Story 1956  N/R, 116 min.
Genre: Drama / Musical
Director: Valentine Davies
Cast: Steve Allen, Donna Reed, Berta Gersten, Herbert Anderson, Robert F. Simon, Hy Averback, Dick Winslow, Jack Kruschen, Harry James, Wilton Graff, Sammy Davis Jr., Martha Tilton, Barry Truex, Shepard Menken, David Kasday
Great music is part of this biography of the famous bandleader Benny Goodman (Steve Allen) that includes his days of growing up in Chicago as well as his romance with and marriage to society debutante Alice Hammond (Donna Reed). Guest performers include Harry James, Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Sammy Davis Jr., and Martha Tilton.
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Beyond Glory 1948 N/R, 82 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Farrow
Cast: Alan Ladd, Donna Reed, George Macready, George Coulouris, Audie Murphy, Harold Vermilyea, Henry Travers, Luis Van Rooten, Tom Neal, Dick Hogan
Following his service in World War II, a West Point professor comes home and ends up on trial for misconduct. Audie Murphy's first film.
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Chicago Deadline 1949  N/R, 86 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Lewis Allen
Cast: Alan Ladd, Donna Reed, June Havoc, Irene Hervey, Arthur Kennedy, Berry Kroeger, Shepperd Strudwick, Tom Powers, Harold Vermilyea, Gavin Muir
After a body is discovered in a rooming house, crusading journalist Ed Adams (Alan Ladd) launches an investigation into racketeering in the city. This story was later remade as "Fame is the Name of the Game."
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The Courtship of Andy Hardy 1942 N/R, 93 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Director: George B. Seitz
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford, Sara Haden, Donna Reed, William Lundigan, Frieda Inescort, George P. Breakston, Harvey Stephens, Betty Wells
Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) is handling a divorce case when he asks son Andy (Mickey Rooney) to date the divorcing couple's daughter, Melodie (Donna Reed)–an act he believes will help Melodie gain popularity and aid in her parents' reconciliation. Of course, complications ensue.
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Eyes in the Night 1942 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Edward Arnold, Ann Harding, Donna Reed, Katherine Emery, Allen Jenkins, Reginald Denny, Rosemary DeCamp, Barry Nelson, Mantan Moreland, John Emery
Duncan Maclain (Edward Arnold) is a blind detective who investigates a murder, but his sleepy-eyed dog is the real star of this film. Followed by "The Hidden Eye."
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The Far Horizons 1955 N/R, 107 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Rudolph Mate
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Charlton Heston, Donna Reed, Barbara Hale, William Demarest, Alan Reed, Eduardo Noriega, Walter Reed, Larry Pennell, Julia Montoya
This film is loosely based on the Lewis and Clark expedition into the Louisiana Territory. The scenery is beautiful, but the facts are strictly Hollywood.
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 From Here to Eternity 1953  N/R, 118 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Ernest Borgnine, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Philip Ober, Jack Warden, Mickey Shaughnessy, Harry Bellaver, John Dennis, Merle Travis, George Reeves, Tim Ryan, Claude Akins
This is the story about Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr) and the men she encounters while looking for a break from her loneliness as an Army wife. From the quiet Hawaiian nights to the earth-shaking December 7th bombing of Pearl Harbor, this story's characters are pawns in the hands of fate. The movie won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra), and Supporting Actress (Donna Reed). It was also nominated for five Oscars, including Best Actress (Kerr) and two for Best Actor (Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift).
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Green Dolphin Street 1947 N/R, 140 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Victor Saville
Cast: Lana Turner, Van Heflin, Donna Reed, Richard Hart, Frank Morgan, Edmund Gwenn, Dame May Whitty, Reginald Owen, Gladys Cooper, Linda Christian
Set in 19th-century New Zealand, this is a weak epic tale about two sisters who desire the same man. Nevertheless, the film did win the Academy Award for "Best Special Effects" along with three nominations.
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Gun Fury 1953 N/R, 83 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Philip Carey, Lee Marvin, Neville Brand, Leo Gordon, Roberta Haynes, Mel Welles, Forrest Lewis, Pat Hogan
When his fiancee (Donna Reed) is kidnapped and held hostage by stagecoach robbers, our hero (Rock Hudson) rides to her rescue. This film was originally shot in 3-D and had some exciting special effects that, unfortunately, were lost in the change to video.
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 Hangman's Knot 1952 N/R, 81 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Roy Huggins
Cast: Randolph Scott, Donna Reed, Claude Jarman Jr., Richard Denning, Lee Marvin, Frank Faylen, Glenn Langan, Jeanette Nolan, Clem Bevans, Ray Teal
When Confederate troops transfer stolen gold, they are ambushed by vigilantes who also want a piece of the action.
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The Human Comedy 1943  N/R, 118 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Clarence Brown
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, James Craig, Marsha Hunt, Fay Bainter, Ray Collins, Van Johnson, Donna Reed, Dorothy Morris, Henry O'Neill
Based on William Saroyan's novel about small-town America during World War II, this film won an Academy Award for Best Story and was nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Actor.
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 It's a Wonderful Life 1946 N/R, 130 min.
Genre: Family / Drama / Fantasy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Frank Albertson, H. B. Warner, Todd Karns, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Treen, Virginia Patton
When a businessman (James Stewart) is despondent and decides to end his life, he is saved by his "angel" (Henry Travers) who shows him that he has helped his family and neighbors over the years by giving them opportunities that changed their lives. Henry Travers: "Strange isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives–and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"
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The Last Time I Saw Paris 1954 N/R, 116 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Richard Brooks
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Donna Reed, Eva Gabor, Kurt Kasznar, Roger Moore, George Dolenz, Celia Lovsky, Peter Leeds, Sandy Descher, John Doucette, Odette Myrtil, Ann Codee, Jean Del Val
Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, II wrote the title song for this film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited." Successful writer Charles (Van Johnson) returns to Paris and remembers the last time he was there. Through flashbacks, the story takes place in post-World-War-II Paris where struggling writer Charles meets and falls in love with American ex-patriot Helen Ellswirth (Elizabeth Taylor). They marry, and Charles loves Helen's free-spirited lifestyle. After Charles strikes it rich and lives off the revenue from a Texas oil well, he loses his desire to write, and his drinking leads to devastating results in his personal life.
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The Picture of Dorian Gray 1945 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama / Fantasy / Horror / Romance
Director: Albert Lewin
Cast: George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Angela Lansbury, Peter Lawford, Donna Reed, Lowell Gilmore, Richard Fraser, Reginald Owen, Mary Forbes, Morton Lowry, Douglas Walton, Miles Mander, Lydia Bilbrook, Billy Bevan, Robert Greig
After his friend Lord Henry Wotton (George Sanders) talks him into it, London aristocrat Dorian Gray (Hurd Hatfield) commissions artist Basil Hallward (Lowell Gilmore) to paint his portrait. When the picture is completed, Gray makes a pact with the Devil to stay eternally young. Years go by, and others grow older, but Gray seems to get younger. Meanwhile, the portrait is hidden away, but it shows Gray's face growing old and disfigured. He murders Hallward to ensure that his secret will not be told and then falls in love with Hallward's niece Gladys (Donna Reed). But, Gladys' ex-boyfriend David (Peter Lawford), whose Aunt Sibyl committed suicide when Gray betrayed her, is suspicious of Gray and sets out to reveal his true, evil nature. Gray: "To get back my youth, I'd do anything in the world–except get up early, take exercise, or be respectable." Angela Lansbury received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
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Raiders of the Seven Seas 1953 N/R, 88 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: Sidney Salkow
Cast: John Payne, Donna Reed, Gerald Mohr, Lon Chaney Jr., Anthony Caruso, Henry Brandon, Frank DeKova, William Tannen, Christopher Dark, Claire DuBrey
Pirate Barbarossa (John Payne), in his stolen Spanish ship with a crew of prisoners taken with the ship, has success in embarrassing the Spanish Navy by routinely winning sea battles. He also steals the affections of a high-ranking Spanish officer's love. This adds to the Spanish Navy's desire to capture the pirate.
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Ransom! 1956 N/R, 109 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alex Segal
Cast: Glenn Ford, Donna Reed, Leslie Nielsen, Juano Hernandez, Robert Keith, Alexander Scourby, Richard Gaines, Mabel Albertson, Juanita Moore, Robert Burton
When his son is kidnapped, David Stannard (Glenn Ford) must decide whether to pay the ransom or use the money to catch the kidnappers.
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Scandal Sheet 1952 N/R, 82 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: The Dark Page
Director: Phil Karlson
Cast: John Derek, Donna Reed, Broderick Crawford, Rosemary DeCamp, Henry O'Neill, Harry Morgan, James Millican, Griff Barnett, Jonathan Hale, Pierre Watkin
An ambitious and ruthless newspaper editor (Broderick Crawford) is hired to turn a respected New York paper around. He does it by turning the paper into a tabloid, to the dismay of many. At a party to celebrate the success, the editor's wife, whom he had run out on several years before, shows up. After she threatens to blackmail him, he kills her and makes it look as if it was an accidental death. Now, two of the paper's reporters seek the truth. A very good, and gripping, tale.
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See Here, Private Hargrove 1944  N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Wesley Ruggles
Cast: Robert Walker, Donna Reed, Robert Benchley, Keenan Wynn, Ray Collins, Bob Crosby, Chill Wills, Grant Mitchell, Frank Faylen, Douglas Fowley
Raw recruit Private Marion Hargrove (Robert Walker) learns the basics about army life in this very funny story.
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 Shadow of the Thin Man 1941 N/R, 98 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed, Sam Levene, Alan Baxter, Loring Smith, Henry O'Neill, Will Wright, Louise Beavers
Master sleuths Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) are at it again. Of course, their dog Asta is in the middle of things as they investigate mysterious events at the local racetrack.
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They Were Expendable 1945 N/R, 136 min.
Genre: Action / Drama
Director: John Ford
Cast: Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed, Jack Holt, Ward Bond, Marshall Thompson, Paul Langton, Leon Ames, Cameron Mitchell, Donald Curtis, Arthur Walsh, Jeff York, Jack Pennick, Murray Alper, Harry Tenbrook
This is a good war film about American PT Boat crews battling the Japanese in the Pacific. Lt. John Brickley (Robert Montgomery) commands a Torpedo Boat Squadron in Manila Bay, an inlet of the South China Sea, at the beginning of World War II. The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, and many U.S. ships are out of commission. The assignment of Brickley's PT Boats is to run messages, but they do manage to shoot down three Japanese planes. Fed up with message-running assignments, Brickley's executive officer Lt. Rusty Ryan (John Wayne) asks for a transfer to destroyer duties. This story does not glorify war; instead, it tells it like it is–warts and all. Vintage John Ford.
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Trouble Along the Way 1953 N/R, 109 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: John Wayne, Donna Reed, Charles Coburn, Tom Tully, Sherry Jackson, Marie Windsor, Leif Erickson, Chuck Connors, Bill Radovich, Ned Glass
When a Roman Catholic college decides to devote funds to a winning football team, coach Steve Williams (John Wayne) comes out of retirement to turn a hapless group into champions.
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| Oscar: Best Supporting Actress for From Here to Eternity (1953) |
1. Backlash (1956)
2. The Benny Goodman Story (1956)
3. Beyond Glory (1948)
4. The Caddy (1953)
5. Chicago Deadline (1949)
6. The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942)
7. Eyes in the Night (1942)
8. The Far Horizons (1955)
9. From Here to Eternity (1953)
10. Green Dolphin Street (1947)
11. Gun Fury (1953)
12. Hangman's Knot (1952)
13. The Human Comedy (1943)
14. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
15. The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
16. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
17. Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953)
18. Ransom! (1956)
19. Scandal Sheet (1952)
aka: The Dark Page
20. See Here, Private Hargrove (1944)
21. Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
22. They Were Expendable (1945)
23. Trouble Along the Way (1953)
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