CITY OF SHADOWS

Victor McLaglen and John Baer

CITY OF SHADOWS (1955). Director: William Witney. Colorized. 

Small-timer "Big Tim" Channing (Victor McLaglen) meets up with Dan Mason (John Baer of Guns Girls and Gangsters) when the latter is just 12-years-old and putting slugs in slot machines. The two form a bond and inspire each other until Tim becomes a big-time racketeer and Dan is about to graduate law school, using his and other's expertise to keep Tim out of jail. Dan changes his tune when he falls in love with Fern (Kathleen Crowley of The Flame Barrier), the daughter of a prominent lawyer whose brains Dan wanted to pick. He decides to help Tim go legit, but is unaware that Tim's associates are still playing it fast and loose. Before long Tim, Dan and Fern are all on the run from gangsters. 

Baer with Kathleen Crowley

City of Shadows tosses in a lot of over-familiar elements but the picture works because it's fast-paced and well-acted by all. McLaglen plays the usual Hollywood version of a gangster, all joviality and with a heart of gold, although this type is generally seen in comedies. Good-looking and adept, Baer displays leading man charisma and ability as Dan Mason, and Kathleen Crowley offers another one of her solid and effective portrayals. Others in the cast include Frank Ferguson [The Big Night] as the D.A., Anthony Caruso as another mobster, Richard Reeves as a bad-tempered gunsel, Richard Travis as an undercover agent, and June Vincent as a secretary to Mason when he starts his own insurance/security firm but who secretly reports to Caruso. The script for this could have come out of the thirties. Serial specialist William Witney keeps things moving, and there's an exciting climax and chase on a ski lift. 

Verdict: More than acceptable crime thriller with a good cast. ***. 

MASK OF THE DRAGON

Sheila Ryan and Richard Travis

MASK OF THE DRAGON (1951). Director: Sam Newfield.

In Korea Lt. Dan Oliver (Richard Emory) is asked to take a package containing a Jade dragon back to the United States. He has barely arrived when he is murdered and his luggage searched. Oliver's partner, Phil Ramsey (Richard Travis), investigates his murder along with Ramsey's gal pal, Ginny (Sheila Ryan). Ginny isn't thrilled when Phil shows an interest in blonde singer Terry Newell (Dee Tatum), who appears on an L.A. TV show and was in love with Oliver. While Phil kibbitzes with Lt. McLaughlin (Lyle Talbot), sinister art dealer Kim Ho (Jack Reitzen) and his associates Murphy (Sid Melton), Kingpin (Karl Davis) and Simo (Charles Iwamoto, billed as Mr. Moto) try to find the Jade dragon and beat up or dispose of anyone who gets in their way. Major Clinton (Michael Whelan) is convinced that Oliver was up to some funny business, a notion that infuriates Phil.

Curt Barrett and the Trailsmen

Mask of the Dragon was undoubtedly made back to back with Travis' earlier film Fingerprints Don't Lie, as it has the same director, writer, stars and virtually the same cast in both pictures. It is an even worse movie, however. At one point the action stops dead so that we can be treated to the song stylings of Curt Barrett and the Trailsmen, who aren't terrible but do little to add to the intrigue. Mask of the Dragon seems cobbled together from outtakes, with a script hastily scribbled on toilet paper to make use of the footage and the cowboy singers used to pad out the running time. Like other mystery films Travis starred or co-starred in, Dragon was cut down to half an hour and shown on television as part of a mystery series. Dudley Chambers' organ score is another minus. The actors do the best they can. 

Verdict: Even singing cowboys can't save this. *1/2.  

FINGERPRINTS DON'T LIE

Richard Travis and Sheila Ryan

FINGERPRINTS DON'T LIE (1951). Director: Sam Newfield. 

At the murder trial of artist Paul Moody (Richard Emory), fingerprint expert James Stover (Richard Travis of Missile to the Moon) must give damning testimony. The theory of the prosecuting attorney (Tom Neal of Jungle Girl) is that Moody, angered because Mayor Palmer (Ferris Taylor) turned down his mural proposal because he objected to Moody's dating his daughter, Carolyn (Sheila Ryan of Railroaded), bashed Palmer on the head with a telephone, killing him. James points out Moody's fingerprints on the murder weapon, and it all seems cut and dried. But Carolyn insists that her boyfriend is innocent, and that there must be some other explanation for the fingerprints. Knowing that a man's life is at stake, James investigates with Carolyn's assistance. 

Defendant: Richard Emory

The premise of this film is that fingerprints can be duplicated -- in other words, faked -- which can be done, although it's rare. Suspects for this devious activity include Police Commissioner Frank Kelso (Michael Whalen), gangster King Sullivan (George Eldredge), gun moll Connie Duval (Dee Tatum), even Lt. Grayson (Lyle Talbot). Also in the cast are Margia Dean and Syra Marty as artist's models. Travis is okay in the lead and the supporting performances, especially Eldredge, are more than adequate, but the movie is minor-league. Sid Melton is genuinely amusing, for a change, as the hapless photographer, Hypo Dorton. An in-joke has him checking out a wanted poster that has his real name on it.  Dudley Chambers' lousy score consists of terrible chorale writing and organ music. 

Verdict: Despite some intriguing elements this is mostly a time-waster. **1/4. 

DANGER ZONE

Virginia Dale and Hugh Beaumont

DANGER ZONE (1951). Produced and directed by William Berke. 

In the first of three movies starring Hugh Beaumont as boat renter and sometime private eye Denny O'Brien working out of Pier 23 in San Francisco, he gets involved in two separate cases (as he does in the subsequent films Roaring City and Pier 23). In the first story a woman at an auction, Claire Underwood (Virginia Dale), importunes Denny to bid for her on a locked suitcase that turns out to contain a saxophone. Claire isn't the only person who wants the sax, there's a dumpy fellow named Dunlap (Ralph Sanford) who's after it as well. Then there's a poor guy named Bud Becker (Don Garner) who wants the instrument simply to play sweet music and winds up poisoned to death. Lt. Bruger (Richard Travis) is convinced that Denny is up to his ears in murder and mischief, but with the help of his pal the professor (Edward Brophy), Denny is able to find out the secret of the sax and the identity of the killer.

Beaumont with Tom Neal

In the second story Denny is hired by another private eye, Edgar Spadely (Tom Neal), to escort a woman, Vicki (Pamela Blake), to a party on a yacht. This turns out to be a trick so that the lady's husband can catch her in a compromising position with a photographer at the ready. Naturally Lt. Bruger suspects Denny of murdering the husband even as Denny fingers Vicki and her accusatory niece, Sheila (Paula Drew), who will inherit all of her uncle's money. Eventually the unsurprising truth comes out. A fast pace is the main asset of Danger Zone, although the first story has a slight bit of suspense to it. Beaumont and Travis are good as the bickering hero and cop, although Denny never comes off like an especially likable character. The women give mediocre performances and aren't very sexy, either. Edward Brophy adds some humor and gives arguably the most notable performance as the tippling professor, who sleeps on a couch in Denny's bedroom. Don Garner is also memorable in his bit as the sick and dying Bud, whose tragic death is barely remarked upon. From Lippert Pictures. 

Verdict: Low-grade film noir. Proof that B movies transitioned into TV shows, in this case literally. **.  

ROARING CITY

Hugh Beaumont and Joan Valerie

ROARING CITY (1951). Director: William Berke.

"He was with me all night." -- Gail.

"That's not an alibi, that's just bad taste." -- Denny O'Brien. 

Troubleshooter and boat renter Dennis O'Brien of Pier 23 gets involved in two cases in this last of three flicks featuring Hugh Beaumont as O'Brien. First O'Brien finds himself mixed up in a boxing match fix in which one of the fighters dies and both the other fighter, Lundy (Greg McClure), and the crooked promoter find themselves on the wrong end of a bullet. In the second and more interesting case, a blonde named Irma (Joan Valerie) hires Denny to pretend to be the husband of her step-daughter, Sylvia (Wanda McKay). Sylvia's angry boyfriend shows up, and her real husband is found dead in a box along with an unconscious O'Brien. 

Beaumont with Richard Travis

Once again as he did in Pier 23 Hugh Beaumont proves very adept at the hard-boiled style in his on-target portrayal of the unlikable, borderline immoral and not-terribly-bright Dennis O'Brien. His interplay with Inspector Bruger (Richard Travis, who is also quite good) is sharp and well-played --Beaumont and Travis make a good team --  and the script has lots of good dialogue. Edward Brophy is some fun as O'Brien's pal the "professor" and there are some decent supporting performances; Greg McClure is notable. However, neither Joan Valerie or even Wanda McKay make much of an impression as two of the shady ladies. A third, the oddly-named Rebel Randall, who plays Gail in the first story, is slightly better. 

Verdict: Fun to watch "Ward Cleaver" as an anti-hero. **1/2. 

PIER 23

Hugh Beaumont and Richard Travers

PIER 23 (1951). Director: William Berke.

Dennis O'Brien (Hugh Beaumont of Railroaded) lives on the San Francisco docks and operates as a troubleshooter. Father Donovan (Raymond Greenleaf) importunes Denny to meet up with an escaped con on Pier 23 and bring him to the priest, who hopes to convince him to turn himself in. Denny grabs the guy, who insists on taking time out to see a shady lady named Ann (Ann Savage). Denny is slugged and wakes up to discover that the escaped con is a corpse -- and it turns out that he wasn't even the guy he was supposed to bring to Father Donovan. This leads into a convoluted plot involving wrestling fraud (!) and murder. 

Ann Savage with Beaumont

In the early fifties Hugh Beaumont starred in three films featuring the character of Dennis O'Brien, who takes on cases but doesn't really seem to be a licensed private eye. His adversary was Police Inspector Lt. Bruger (Richard Travis of Missile to the Moon.) Beaumont gets into the hard-boiled style even better than he did as Michael Shayne in the forties, but the character is callous and unlikable. The films were generally two radio scripts put together and it's sometimes hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Pier 23 is talky and convoluted but also fast-paced at 57 minutes, and it has an interesting cast. 

Beaumont vamped by Margia Dean

Ann Savage of Detour is typically vivid but she doesn't have much time on-screen and it's never clearly delineated as to how exactly she fits in the story line. Mike Mazurki of New Orleans Uncensored plays a wrestler named "Ape," and Edward Brophy is comedy relief as Professor Shickler, Denny's tippling roommate. Eve Miller gives a poor performance as Savage's nicer sister, Norma, but Margia Dean is more flavorful as a dead wrestler's widow named Flo. Frankly Dean and the other ladies are not exactly the sexiest women in the world, but the real beauties don't wind up in poverty row pictures. (Dean was actually the mistress of producer Robert L. Lippert.) On the other hand, Joi Lansing has a small role as a cocktail waitress and is rather sexy. This is atmospheric and well-acted but the plot is poor. 

Verdict: Despite a solid performance from Beaumont this never really catches fire. **.

MISSILE TO THE MOON

A popular spider and Cathy Downs

MISSILE TO THE MOON (1958). Director: Richard E. Cunha.

Scientist Dirk Green (Michael Whalen) has built a spaceship to the moon and decides to take off with the help of two escaped convicts that he sort of blackmails into going along. Trapped in the rocket are Green's associate, Steve Dayton (Richard Travis) and his fiancee, June (Cathy Downs). Of the two fugitives, Gary (Tommy Cook) is more edgy and obnoxious  while his buddy, Lon (Gary Clarke), is a nicer person who was pulled into committing robberies. Once on the moon, the motley crew -- minus Green, who is killed en route -- discovers an oxygen-filled cavern full of virtually nothing but beautiful women, most of them played by International beauty contest winners!

Cathy Downs vs Nina Bara

Apparently the moon is a hotbed of intrigue. The Lido -- or queen -- of the colony (K. T. Stevens), who is blind, is in a power-struggle with busty and aggressive Alpha (Nina Bara). Both women mistake Steve for Green -- the Lido being blind and Alpha having been a child when she last saw Green, who turns out to be a moon being who was desperate to get back to his people. (The logistics of this are glossed over.) Steve's deception is uncovered when June learns that Alpha intends to marry Steve, and the two women engage in a catfight, with June nearly being sacrificed to a gigantic spider monster. If that weren't enough, the moon also has menacing rock men who (in a clever bit) pull themselves out of the camouflage of the surrounding mountains and take after the earthlings in somewhat comical fashion. The fiery death of one of the characters late in the picture was an early "shock" scene for some viewers. 

Tommy Cook, Leslie Parrish, Gary Clarke

Missile to the Moon is a remake of Cat-women of the Moon, and is a better picture. Now I can well understand if anyone looks at this movie and decides it's a load of crap, and they wouldn't necessarily be wrong. But keep in mind that Missile is a kid's movie, and it was as a kid that I first saw it -- and loved it -- on television. All these years later I still find it a hoot. The movie has all the illogic of a comic book. As for the acting, Richard Travis is pretty much as stiff as ever, but the other cast members are better, with Bara effective as the nasty throne-stealer, and Leslie Parrish (billed as Marjorie Hellen) appealing as Zema, who forms an attachment to lonely Lon. Laurie Mitchell, who played the title role in Queen of Outer Space, is cast as Lambda, who becomes the spider's supper. Speaking of the spider, this prop creature with its limited movements was a supporting player in any number of TV shows and feature films, including the aforementioned Queen, and was creepy enough in appearance. The other FX in the film are decidedly low-tech but okay, considering the budget.  

K. T. Stevens as the "Lido" of the moon

Cathy Downs' most famous credit after this was The Amazing Colossal Man, in which she was quite good. Richard Travis co-starred with Bette Davis in The Man Who Came to Dinner, but after that he was relegated to TV appearances and B movies. K. T. Stevens was the daughter of director Sam Wood, and appeared primarily on television. The late Nina Bara had one more credit after Missile and retired in 1961. The late Michael Whalen amassed 92 credits in his long career. Tommy Cook and Gary Clarke are both still alive and making movies. Missile to the Moon has been digitally restored as well as colorized and looks great, although I'm not certain if the moon ladies were always supposed to have had blue skin. The attitudes of and towards women in this picture are strictly 1950's in all respects! 

Verdict: A fun movie but hardly for every taste. ***.