 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1954  PG-13, 127 min.
Genre: Family / Adventure / Drama / Sci-Fi
Director: Richard Fleischer
Cast: Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre, Robert J. Wilke, Carleton Young, Ted de Corsia, Eddie Marr, Percy Helton, Fred Graham, Herb Vigran, J.M. Kerrigan, Ted Cooper, Dayton Lummis, Jack Pennick
Captain Nemo (James Mason) and his submarine, Nautilus, fill the screen with the adventures imagined by Jules Verne in his classic novel. Many whaling ships have been lost at sea when Professor Pierre Aronnax (Paul Lukas), his aide Conseil (Peter Lorre), and harpoon master Ned Land (Kirk Douglas) voyage out in search of the sea monster that is supposedly sinking the ships. Their ship sinks, but they survive and are taken aboard Nautilus. They discover that the sea monster is actually the Nautilus, and they are amazed by the undersea world that greets them. Highlight: Kirk Douglas singing "A Whale of a Tale." The film won Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Special Effects and was nominated for Best Film Editing.
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3 Godfathers 1948  N/R, 106 min.
Genre: Western
aka: Three Godfathers
Director: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, Harry Carey Jr., Ward Bond, Mae Marsh, Jane Darwell, Ben Johnson, Mildred Natwick, Guy Kibbee, Dorothy Ford, Charles Halton, Hank Worden, Jack Pennick, Fred Libby, Michael Dugan
Three outlaws, Robert Marmaduke Hightower, Pedro "Pete" Roca Fuente, and William Kearney "the Abilene Kid" (John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, and Harry Carey Jr.), become godfathers to an orphaned baby. When two of them die, the remaining guardian, Hightower, undergoes a spiritual change and cares for the baby.
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 The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms 1953  N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Eugene Lourie
Cast: Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Jack Pennick, Lee Van Cleef, Steve Brodie, Ross Elliott, Frank Ferguson, Mary Hill, Michael Fox
Nuclear testing in the Arctic results in the release of a frozen, prehistoric monster (a rhedosaurus), but when Tom Nesbitt (Paul Hubschmid), who saw the creature, tries to warn the people, his warnings fall on deaf ears. People start to believe when the monster heads down the East coast of the U.S. and invades New York from the sea. It is finally dealt with on Coney Island. Good early special effects and a glimmer of what would lie ahead in the monster world (e.g. Godzilla).
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Fort Apache 1948 N/R, 127 min.
Genre: Western
Director: John Ford
Cast: Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Ward Bond, John Agar, George O'Brien, Shirley Temple, Irene Rich, Victor McLaglen, Anna Lee, Pedro Armendariz, Dick Foran, Guy Kibbee, Grant Withers, Jack Pennick, Mae Marsh
Lt. Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda) is annoyed because he has been sent out West to command Fort Apache in Arizona after serving valiantly during the Civil War. After his daughter Philadelphia (Shirley Temple) and Lt. Michael O'Rourke (Ward Bond) discover the bodies of mutilated soldiers murdered by the Apaches, Thursday decides to stir up the Indians for his own fame and fortune. One of his officers, Capt. Kirby York (John Wayne), tries to teach him the realities of co-existing with the Indians and tells him that the real problem is not the Apaches, but, instead, it is the corrupt Indian agents promoting the problems. York's words go unheeded, and Thursday leads his men into a disastrous situation after which he is labeled a hero by the press.
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Four Sons 1928 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Ford
Cast: Margaret Mann, James Hall, Ralph Bushman, Earle Foxe, Charles Morton, George Meeker, June Collyer, Albert Gran, Frank Reicher, Jack Pennick
In this silent, anti-war film, a Bavarian woman (Margaret Mann) had four sons, but three of them were killed during World War I. Now, her only remaining son (James Hall) has moved to the United States and is branded a traitor, but she longs to join him.
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 The Fugitive 1947 N/R, 104 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Ford
Cast: Henry Fonda, Dolores del Rio, Pedro Armendariz, Ward Bond, J. Carrol Naish, Leo Carrillo, Robert Armstrong, John Qualen, Fortunio Bonanova, Mel Ferrer, Chris-Pin Martin, Miguel Inclan, Fernando Fernandez, Mel Ferrer, Jack Pennick
From Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory" comes this film adaptation of the story of a fugitive priest (Henry Fonda) who is on the run from Mexican authorities. He has baptized a baby in spite of a Mexican dictatorship that has made religious worship illegal. The Fugitive runs into a friend, James Calvert (Ward Bond), and an enemy who is a police enformer (J. Carrol Naish) during his fateful escape attempt. Very good–what else would you expect from John Ford?
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Heritage of the Desert 1932 N/R, 62 min.
Genre: Western
aka: When the West Was Young
Director: Henry Hathaway
Cast: Randolph Scott, Sally Blane, J. Farrell MacDonald, David Landau, Gordon Westcott, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Vince Barnett, Susan Fleming, Fred Burns, Charles Stevens, Jack Pennick, Hal Price, Lew Meehan, Merrill McCormick
Rancher Adam Naab (J. Farrell MacDonald) owns land that provides the only way out of the valley, and he won't allow outlaw Judson (David Landau) to drive his stolen cattle through his land. Judson attempts to buy the land without success and resorts to trying to get the land through Adam's son Snap (Gordon Westcott). The stage is set for a showdown with surveyor Jack Hare (Randolph Scott) in the center of the action, which is complicated by Snap's girlfriend Judy (Sally Blane) showing an interest in Jack. This film, based on a Zane Grey story, is Randolph Scott's first starring role.
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King of the Newsboys 1938 N/R, 65 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Bernard Vorhaus
Cast: Lew Ayres, Helen Mack, Alison Skipworth, Victor Varconi, Sheila Bromley, Alice White, Horace McMahon, William "Billy" Benedict, Ray Cooke, Jack Pennick, Mary Cornman, Gloria Rich, Oscar O'Shea, Marjorie Main
After Jerry Flynn's (Lew Ayres) girlfriend Mary Ellen Stephens (Helen Mack) gives in to her materialism and leaves him for gangster Wire Arno (Victor Varconi) who can give her all that she thinks she wants, Jerry pours his time and energy into a newspaper trucking business. His efforts pay off, Jerry obtains wealth, and sets out to regain Mary's affections. By story's end, Jerry has lost the business–but not Mary.
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Lady from Louisiana 1941  N/R, 82 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Bernard Vorhaus
Cast: John Wayne, Ray Middleton, Ona Munson, Henry Stephenson, Helen Westley, Jack Pennick, Dorothy Dandridge, Shimen Ruskin, Jacqueline Dalya, Paul Scardon, James C. Morton
A lawyer, John Reynolds (John Wayne), leaves New England and travels to New Orleans where he looks into the lottery with plans to fight the local crime syndicate that is skimming off profits. On the trip to New Orleans, John meets Julie (Ona Munson) and falls in love. But, problems develop because Julie just happens to be the daughter of General Mirbeau (Henry Stephenson) who runs the gaming business that John is trying to clean up.
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Min and Bill 1930  N/R, 66 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: George W. Hill
Cast: Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Dorothy Jordan, Marjorie Rambeau, Frank McGlynn Sr., Don Dillaway, Russell Hopton, DeWitt Jennings, Jack Pennick, Gretta Gould
Marie Dressler won the Academy Award as Best Actress for her role as Min, the salty owner of a seaside inn who goes to extremes protecting those she loves.
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Mountain Rhythm 1939 N/R, 61 min.
Genre: Western
Director: B. Reeves Eason
Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Maude Eburne, Ferris Taylor, Tom London, Walter Fenner, Jack Pennick, Hooper Atchley, Bernard Suss
Land grabbers are frequent problems in Gene Autry's movies, and he again must deal with them.
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She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 1949 N/R, 103 min.
Genre: Western
Director: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Ben Johnson, Victor McLaglen, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr., Mildred Natwick, Paul Fix, George O'Brien, Arthur Shields, Michael Dugan, Noble Johnson, Fred Graham, Tom Tyler, Jack Pennick
Tried and true cavalry officer Capt. Nathan Brittles (John Wayne) is getting ready for retirement, but there is one more job left to do. He is given the assignment of escorting the wife and niece–Abby and Olivia (Mildred Natwick and Joanne Dru)–of his commanding officer Major Mac Allshard (George O'Brien) from the fort to the stagecoach at Sudros Wells. However, the Apaches are on the warpath; they have massacred Custer and the Seventh Cavalry, and dangers lie ahead on the trek to Sudros Wells. The dangers include the Indians AND two of Brittles' men (John Agar and Harry Carey, Jr.) who fight for the attention of Olivia. John and John (Ford and Wayne) are in great form.
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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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Tugboat Annie 1933 N/R, 87 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Robert Young, Maureen O'Sullivan, Willard Robertson, Frankie Darro, Tammany Young, Jack Pennick, Paul Hurst, Oscar Apfel
Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery provide enjoyable fare as Tugboat Annie and her boozing husband in this lighthearted comedy.
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The Virginian 1929 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Tom Forman
Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Huston, Mary Brian, Richard Arlen, Eugene Pallette, Chester Conklin, Helen Ware, Jack Pennick, George Chandler, Randolph Scott
Gary Cooper takes on the title role in this early Western. The plot involves the Virginian's predicament when his friend (Richard Arlen) joins forces with an outlaw (Walter Huston).
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The Westerner 1940 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Western
Director: William Wyler
Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Doris Davenport, Fred Stone, Dana Andrews, Chill Wills, Forrest Tucker, Tom Tyler, Charles Halton, Julian Rivero, Lilian Bond, Trevor Bardette, Lucien Littlefield, Hank Bell, Jack Pennick
Walter Brennan plays the "hanging lawman" Judge Roy Bean who conducts trials from his saloon in Vinegaroon, Texas, and often uses hanging as his sentence. Judge Roy Bean just might meet his match in Cole Hardin (Gary Cooper) who is charged with stealing a horse. Cole talks his way into a delay for his hanging by convincing Judge Bean that he is a friend of actress Lily Langtry (Lilian Bond) who the Judge adores. Cole says he can give the Judge a lock of her hair. When Cole says it will take two weeks to get the lock of hair, his hanging is delayed. Meanwhile, Cole becomes involved in a range war and even gets to see Lily Langtry when she arrives in Texas. Walter Brennan won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and two other nominations were received.
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What Price Glory? 1926 N/R, 116 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, Dolores del Rio, William V. Mong, Phyllis Haver, Elena Jurado, Leslie Fenton, Barry Norton, Jack Pennick
This good adaptation of the hit play concerns two boisterous friends and rivals. After starting out fighting over a girl in Shanghai, the scene shifts to France after the outbreak of WWI where they are again rivals over another girl. The grimness of war is also portrayed in this fine silent flick.
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| 1. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
2. 3 Godfathers (1948)
aka: Three Godfathers
3. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
4. Fort Apache (1948)
5. Four Sons (1928)
6. The Fugitive (1947)
7. Heritage of the Desert (1932)
aka: When the West Was Young
8. King of the Newsboys (1938)
9. Lady from Louisiana (1941)
10. Min and Bill (1930)
11. Mountain Rhythm (1939)
12. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
13. They Were Expendable (1945)
14. Tugboat Annie (1933)
15. The Virginian (1929)
16. Way Out West (1930)
17. The Westerner (1940)
18. What Price Glory? (1926)
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