Showing posts with label Harry Lauter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Lauter. Show all posts
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| Lovejoy, Blanchard and Denning on the road |
THE CROOKED WEB (1955). Director: Nathan Juran.
Joanie (Mari Blanchard) works for boyfriend Stanley (Frank Lovejoy) in his drive-in. Along comes her ne'er-do-well brother Frank (Richard Denning) who knows a way they can all make a lot of money if Stanley is willing to kick in. Thus begins a saga that eventually lands the trio in post-war Germany. The best thing about The Crooked Web is the first half hour which has more than one twist that turns bad guys into good guys and vice versa. [Warning: the imdb.com synopsis gives the twist away, as it often does.] The rest is a fairly routine crime melodrama that has a modicum of suspense but is comparatively flat. The three lead performances are all quite good, however, with Blanchard especially zesty as the gal who's looking for "security" any way she can get it. Harry Lauter [Trader Tom of the China Seas] is an Army sergeant, and Roy Gordon [War of the Colossal Beast] plays the father of a murdered M.P.
Verdict: If only the twists had kept coming ... **1/2.
Duncan Marsh (Steven Ritch) comes into the town of Mountaincrest with no memory of who he is or what he may have done in the past couple of days. Duncan has apparently been experimented on without permission by two conscienceless mad scientists, Chambers (George Lynn) and Forrest (S. John Launer), and can turn into a murderous wolfman without warning. The werewolf make up is rather good, but it's amazing that no one in Mountaincrest seems especially astonished by a wolfman in their midst, as if this were something that happened every day. Don McGowan is the sheriff, Joyce Holden his fiancee, and Harry Lauter [Trader Tom of the China Seas] is his deputy, while Eleanore Tanin and Kim Charney play Marsh's distraught wife and son. Ritch, who gives a credible performance, wrote the screenplay for City of Fear, in which he also appeared. Decidedly downbeat and overall second-rate despite some good scenes and an effective lead performance. Sears also directed the minor sci fi classic Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and many, many other low-budget movies.
Verdict: Somber horror film. **.
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| Khan (Jan Arvan) confers with Trader Tom ( Harry Lauter) |
In what is supposed to be the China seas but looks more like the coast of California, Trader Tom (Harry Lauter) is importuned to take over from a murdered special agent, James Dean (William Hudson), who was investigating smugglers who are trying to foment revolution in an Asian country by stirring up the natives; the leader of these bad guys is Tarent (Lyle Talbot, as professional and bland as ever). Captain's daughter Vivian (Aline Towne) joins with Tom to discover Tarent's hide-out and secret cache of munitions, which includes a deadly poison gas. The interesting thing about this serial is that Tom and Vivian are equal partners; she's just as brave as he is and just as likely to pull out a gun and start shooting at everyone, and Tom just seems to take it as a matter of course. When the action doesn't take place at sea or underwater -- in chapter three Tom must fight off a fat murderous fellow as his air supply is running out -- it's in the mythical country where Tom has a secret meeting with the leader Khan (Jan Arvan). This is one of the last of the Republic serials, and it's as smooth, fast-paced and entertaining as most of their product, if decidedly on the minor side. "Handsome" Harry Lauter is fine as the hero, Towne is game for anything, and Robert Shayne, Tom Steele, and Victor Sen Yung are also in the cast. Lauter had about a zillion credits and Towne was also busy, appearing in such serials as Don Daredevil Rides Again and Radar Men from the Moon.
Verdict: Standard Republic serial is nevertheless fun. **1/2.