83% (2) The River 99 min, Not Rated, [Drama, Romance] [Jean Renoir] [19 Dec 1951]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 76%, Rotten Tomatoes: 91%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.
Actors: Arthur Shields, Esmond Knight, Nora Swinburne, Patricia Walters, Suprova Mukerjee
Writer: Rumer Godden (novel), Rumer Godden (screenplay), Jean Renoir (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, Bengali Country: France, UK, India, USA
Plot: Harriet, now an adult, narrates the story of her coming of age growing up as a British national and a daughter of a jute press manager in the Bengal region of India, they living in the big house on the banks of one of the holy rivers. At the time, she is the eldest of six siblings - five girls and one boy - with another on the way and with she being significantly older the rest of her siblings. As such, she spends much time with an honorary member of their family, a late teen - not quite an adult - named Valerie, also a British national and the daughter of the jute press owner. Another friend, who recently arrived home from her western schooling, is Melanie, the biracial daughter of British national Mr. John and his then deceased Hindu wife. Both Mr. John and Melanie realize her difficult position, straddling both the Hindi and western cultures. Their small world is shaken up with the arrival of Captain John, Mr. John's cousin and an American ex-military man who has one prosthetic leg the result of his time in the war. He is a somewhat sullen man who is running away from anything that reminds him of his time before his physical disability. Regardless, he has an effect on all three of Harriet, Valerie and Melanie in different ways, that effect which nonetheless tests their friendships. In combination with other things that happen may provide Harriet with a bigger view of life in her coming of age.
Rotten Tomatoes: Three teenage girls are living in Bengali (India) near a big river: Harriet is the oldest child of a big family of English settlers. Valerie is the unique daughter of an American industrialist. Melanie has an American father and an Indian mother. One day, a man arrives. He will be the first love of the three girls.
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66% (1) Pride of the Blue Grass 71 min, APPROVED, [Drama] [William Beaudine] [04 Apr 1954]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 66%, External Reviews
Actors: Arthur Shields, Lloyd Bridges, Margaret Sheridan, Vera Miles
Writer: Harold Shumate (screenplay), Harold Shumate (story)
External Links: Wikipedia IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: A girl owns a horse, and hires a boy as a trainer. The horse (Gypsy Prince) enters a race and is injured. The boy takes job at another stable and is semi-seduced by the stable siren. The girl finally rehabilitates the horse then enters it in a big race.
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63% (1) South Sea Woman 99 min, APPROVED, [Action, Adventure, Comedy] [Arthur Lubin] [27 Jun 1953]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 63%, External Reviews
Actors: Arthur Shields, Burt Lancaster, Chuck Connors, Virginia Mayo
Writer: Edwin Blum (screenplay), Earl Baldwin (adaptation), Stanley Shapiro (adaptation), William Rankin (play)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, French, Japanese, Mandarin Country: USA
Plot: Marine Sergeant James O'Hearn is being tried at the San Diego Marine base for desertion, theft, scandalous conduct and destruction of property in time of war. He refuses to testify or plead guilty or not guilty to the charges. Showgirl Ginger Martin takes the stand against his protest. She testifies O'Hearn won't talk because he is protecting the name of his pal, Marine Private Davey White. Ginger tells how she, broke and stranded, met the two marines in Shanghai two weeks before Pearl Harbor. White proposes marriage so that Ginger can be evacuated from China as his wife. Before the ceremony, the two Marines get into a fight with the natives and escape with Ginger aboard a small motor boat. They wind up in Namou, a Vichy French island, and are quartered in a run-down hotel. O'Hearn discovers a Nazi yacht delivering radar supplies to the island, and plans to seize it with the help of the Free French. White refuses to join and says he is deserting and intends to remain on the island with Ginger, who calls him a coward. O'Hearn forces White on board the commandeered vessel bound for Guadalcanal.
Rotten Tomatoes: Burt Lancaster and Virginia Mayo, the stars of 1950's Flame and the Arrow, are reteamed in the lusty adventure romp South Sea Woman. It all begins at the military trial of Marine sergeant O'Hearn (Burt Lancaster), facing a court-martial for desertion. In flashback, O'Hearn recalls how he was stranded in Shanghai while trying to break up the impending marriage between his pal David White (Chuck Connors) and brassy nightclub photographer Ginger Martin (Virginia Mayo). The two marines try to make it back to Pearl Harbor, but they undergo several hair-raising adventures along the way, including a sticky involvement with a group of French resistance fighters. The upshot of all this is that O'Hearn arrives in Pearl after the Japanese attack, and as such is branded as a coward. It is up to Ginger Martin to provide the evidence that will clear our hero -- but she isn't too fond of O'Hearn at the moment.
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62% (1) Apache Drums 76 min, Approved, [Western] [Hugo Fregonese] [01 Apr 1951]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 62%, External Reviews
Actors: Arthur Shields, Coleen Gray, Stephen McNally, Willard Parker
Writer: David Chandler (screenplay), Harry Brown (from "Stand at Spanish Boot")
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: A gambler is thrown out of a western town, but returns when the town is suddenly threatened by a band of marauding Apaches.
Rotten Tomatoes: Shortly before his death, horror film producer Val Lewton switched creative gears by overseeing the Universal western Apache Drums. The scene is the potentially prosperous western town of Spanish Boot, built from nothing by a group of determined settlers. Before they can enjoy the fruits of their labors, the townsfolk are threatened with an imminent Apache attack. Delivering this sobering news is gambler Sam Leeds (Stephen McNally), previously kicked out of town by the "proper" citizens. At first, no one believes Leeds, but soon the Apaches prove the veracity of the gambler's claims. The rest of the film is light on action but heavy on tension, as the true personalities of all concerned are revealed while they await the final, fatal Apache assault.
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51% (1) Enchanted Island 93 min, [Action, Adventure, Drama] [Allan Dwan] [08 Nov 1958]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 51%, External Reviews
Actors: Arthur Shields, Dana Andrews, Don Dubbins, Jane Powell
Writer: James Leicester (screenplay), Herman Melville (novel), Harold Jacob Smith (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Two 19th-century sailors jump ship only to discover their tropical paradise is a cannibal stronghold.
Rotten Tomatoes: Based on Herman Melville's novel Typee, this adventure centers on the love affair that blossoms between a sailor and a lovely cannibal when the former stops upon the latter's tropical island for supplies.
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