Showing posts with label William Lundigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William Lundigan. Show all posts
Archaeologist Robert Burton (William Lundigan, in a Richard Denning-type role) plans to hunt for the remains of a lost Mexican civilization. His magazine sends him a female photographer, Kathryn Williams (Peggie Castle), which brings out his not-so-latent chauvinism. Kathryn is not above using her sex appeal to get the very handsome rancher Juan Cervantes (Armando Silvestre) to guide them to the ruins. Cervantes owns a vanilla bean plantation that also boasts white orchids, and it isn't long before he's forsaking his lady love Lupita (Rosenda Monteros) and declaring undying devotion to Kathryn as an annoyed Burton looks on. During a fiesta scene, there's some business with men flying around a tall pole on ropes that is cleverly-edited, but the movie doesn't lead to anything too exciting, and doesn't amount to much, despite the heavy breathing. Silvestre was born in San Diego, and was a busy actor, mostly in Mexican productions. Lundigan was also in The Case of the Black Parrot and many others, and Castle starred in Beginning of the End. Le Borg also directed Voodoo Island, which was more interesting than this.
Verdict: Good-looking cast with little to do. **.
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| Eddie Foy Jr., William Lundigan and Maris Wrixon |
Jim Moore (William Lundigan of Riders to the Stars) is a reporter who works with a photographer named "Tripod" (Eddie Foy Jr.) and has a girlfriend named Sandy (Maris Wrixon). Sandy's Uncle Paul (Charles Waldron) has returned from Europe with an antique cabinet that seems to have a lot of secrets surrounding it. For one thing, it has hidden drawers containing all sorts of surprises, and for another, anyone who touches the thing drops dead right afterward, with what appears to be a strange bite mark on their hands. Then there's the master criminal, the Black Parrot, suspected of stealing the Mona Lisa and substituting a fake -- like a parrot, he imitates, get it? Now he seems to be after this cabinet, which itself may be only a copy. Others involved in this intrigue include Max Armand (Paul Cavanagh of Son of Dr. Jekyll); Madame de Charrier (Luli Deste); an anxious lady named Julia (Phyllis Barry); and of course Rogers the butler (Cyril Thornton). Inspector Grady (Joseph Crehan) tries to solve the case, but he's not quick enough for Moore. This is a pleasant enough but unremarkable programmer with little to recommend it, although the cast has some appeal, and there are a couple of mildly clever touches. Barry, who gave a fine performance nine years earlier in Cynara with Ronald Colman, is utterly wasted in this, and the oddly-named Wrixon makes a somewhat odd leading lady by Hollywood standards.
Verdict: At least it's only about an hour long. **.
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| Clifton Webb takes charge of little Tommy Rettig |
| ELOPEMENT (1951). Director: Henry Koster. "What does she see in that creature?" "I'd sooner be related to a ring-tailed baboon." "Jake" (Anne Francis of Forbidden Planet and Honey West) plans to study abroad after graduating college, but instead she decides to elope with one of her professors, Matt Reagan (William Lundigan) -- this despite the fact that the two have never actually been out on a date! Naturally their parents (Clifton Webb, Margalo Gillmore, Charles Bickford and Evelyn Varden) take off in pursuit to try to stop them before they can get hitched. But considering all the misunderstandings that are cropping up between Jake and Matt, the parents may find that their interference is unnecessary ... Elopement must be taken with a grain of salt. First, the idea of a professor having the hots for one of his students (granted, she's an adult), while hardly without precedent, is still a little creepy. Second, there's no good reason for the couple not to wait and have a "normal" wedding. Third -- they hardly know one another! That being said, Elopement still has its amusing moments and situations, and the performances are all very good, with Webb simply outstanding. Although Webb never married, was deeply attached to his mother, and may or may not have been gay, he can play husbands and fathers with absolute conviction and aplomb, as he does here. Whether Webb is dealing with his friend Roger (Reginald Gardner) or little Daniel (Tommy Rettig), Matt's youngest brother, he is very sharp and funny. Webb and Francis also teamed up for Dreamboat the following year. Verdict: Cute picture despite obvious flaws. ***. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||