Foghorn

 

 (imdb)

THE ROCKET MAN-1954-Timmy (George “Foghorn” Winslow), an imaginative little orphan is given a special space gun by a weird looking alien. When he shoots it, it makes moving things stop. It also makes people tell the truth. He's taken in by Amelia Brown (Spring Byington), the local judge and her daughter June (Anne Francis two years before FORBIDDEN PLANET). Amelia wants to put the local corrupt politico Big Bill Watkins (Emory Parnell) in jail. Mayor Ed Johnson (Charles Colburn) is sweet on Amelia but he's in Big Bill's pocket. Enter Tom Baxter (John Agar; in Hugo Haas' BAIT the same year), a parolee sent by a warden to get reformed under the Judge's wing. A couple Bob (future “Bowery Boy” Stanley Clements) and Ludine (Beverly Garland) come to get married, and it turns out Bob is the parolee not Tom. In fact, Tom is actually a lawyer hired by Watkins to close the orphanage. Timmy uses the gun to save the orphanage and help June and Tom fall in love. 

This is a whimsical little love story comedy with a great cast but a so-so script dripping with sentimentality. It was co-written by future comedian Lenny Bruce. 

Director Oscar Rudolph worked mainly in TV but he also made the features TWIST AROUND THE CLOCK (1961) and DON'T KNOCK THE TWIST (1962). He was the father of future director Alan Rudolph. Child actor George Winslow was also known for his earlier in the musical comedy GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) (also with Charles Coburn) and made his last movie in 1958.

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Stanley Before The Bowery

DESTINATION MURDER-1950-Stanley Clements (6 years before replacing Leo Gorcey in The Bowery Boys series) is Jackie Wales, a telegram delivery boy who kills a man for club owner Mr. Armitage (Albert Dekker) who likes to talk in the third person. The dead man's daughter Laura (Joyce MacKenzie) suspects Jackie and begins dating him. Later she gets a job as a cigarette girl in the club where manager Stretch Norton (Hurd Hatfield) puts the moves on her. Armitage's mistress (Myrna Dell) gets Jackie involved in blackmail and eventually his own murder. It turns out Norton is actually the brains of the operation. 

After Jackie's killed (it's not shown; his character seems to have just been written out) it turns into a revenge love story focusing on Laura and her relationship with Norton. 

 Star Joyce MacKenzie played Jane to Lex Barker's Tarzan in TARZAN AND THE SHE DEVIL. James Flavin is a police lieutenant and John Dehner is another suspect. Future star of THE WEREWOLF Steve Ritch has a bit role. 

A great vocal band Steve Gibson's Red Caps plays in the club. You can read about them here: http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/redcaps.html

There's actually a lot of strange twists in this little murder mystery directed by Edward L. Cahn a few years before he made some of the greatest low budget horror and Sci-Fi movies of all time.

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Hold That Hypnotist!

HOLD THAT HYPNOTIST!-1957-When the Bowery Boys' landlady Mrs. Kelly (Queenie Smith) decides to visit a hypnotist (Robert Foulke) so she can be regressed to a former life, Sach (Huntz Hall) and Duke (Stanley Clements) decide to investigate. They are assisted by Myron (Jimmy Hall) and Chuck (David Gorcey). Sach is regressed to a 17th century tax collector! He has to confront the pirate Blackbeard (Mel Welles) and learns of his hidden treasure. Well, sort of. When he is re-hypnotized to find out more info he becomes a Mark Anthony quoting Shakespeare! They are eventually double crossed by the hypnotist and his manager (James Flavin). 


Parts are funny (especially when Sach talks with an English accent but most of the routines are "sub Abbott & Costello". Also with Jane Nigh. Usual second unit director Austin Jewell made only one other film. The credited screenwriter Dan Pepper is a pseudonym. Mel Welles was in 3 Roger Corman features the same year!


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Fighting Trouble

FIGHTING TROUBLE-1956-The Bowery Boys redux! 

Now billed as "Huntz Hall and The Bowery Boys" second billed Stanley Clements joins the cast (replacing Leo Gorcey) as Stanislaus "Duke" Covelske. They (along with David (Gorcey) Conlon as Chuck and un-billed Danny Welton as Danny) live in a boarding house run by Miss Kelly (Queenie Smith) who keeps referring to Sach as a genius (which tells you her state of mind). 


To (what else?) raise money Sach and Duke try to get an incriminating picture of a gangster (Thomas B. Henry) for a newspaper publisher. Naturally Sach winds up impersonating a hit man but screws everything up! Adele Jurgens (in at least her third BB appearance) is Henry's moll. Also with Tim Ryan, Laurie Mitchell and Paul Brinegar. 


Ellwood Ullman once again was the screenwriter. Director George Blair began his film career in 1944 but by the mid-fifties was working more on TV (he directed many first season episodes of SUPERMAN). He later made THE HYPNOTIC EYE. The jazzy score is by Buddy Bregman.


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