Tag Archives: Arthur Kennedy

Given a bigger budget than usual, cult director Edgar G. Ulmer rises to the occasion in The Naked Dawn. Filmed in Mexico, the story focuses on a poor but proud farmer named Manuel (Eugene Iglesias) and his wife Maria (Betta St. John). When glib-tongued drifter Santiago (Arthur Kennedy) tries to get Manuel mixed up in a train robbery, the farmer is at first resistant, but is goaded into joining Santiago by the covetous Maria. Corrupted by the prospect of untold wealth, Manuel begins plotting the murder of Santiago; meanwhile, Maria makes plans to bump off Manuel and run off with the handsome stranger. There’s a moral in all this, and Ulmer makes certain that we don’t miss it.
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When shipwrecked Daniel washes ashore on a tropical island to find the gorgeous Haydee, he thinks he’s found paradise. Haydee’s father and brother, however, aren’t so approving of the pair’s budding romance.
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Adapted by Don M. Mankiewicz from his own novel, Trial is a surprisingly timely story of how justice can sometimes be compromised by “special interests”. It all begins when Mexican youth Angelo Chavez (Rafael Campos) is placed on trial for the murder of a white teenaged girl. Battling the lynch-mob mentality in and out of the courtroom is relatively inexperienced defense attorney David Blake (Glenn Ford). Believing that anything done on behalf of his client is for the common good, Blake approves the organization of an “Angelo Chavez Society” to pay the boy’s court costs and ostensibly see that justice is done in the face of small-town prejudice. Soon, however, Blake discovers that both he and his client are being used as dupes by a Communist lawyer, who hopes that Chavez will be found guilty and executed, thereby creating a martyr for the Red cause. Much was made in 1955 of the fact that the presiding judge is a black man, played by Juano Hernandez. A bit creaky at times, Trial nonetheless still packs a wallop when shown today.
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Old miss Marple is on a train ride when she witnesses a murder in a passing train. She reports it to the police but they won’t believe her: since no body can be found there can’t have been any murder, right? As always, she begins her own investigation. The murder was committed while passing Ackenthorpe Hall and miss Marple gets herself a job there, mixing cleaning and cooking with searching the house for clues.
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Ben Matthews gives up the flashy life of a riverboat gambler, hoping to settle down in Galena with his girlfriend, luscious entertainer Zoe. But Galena’s leading citizen is murdered on the boat; Ben, on arrival, finds a lynch mob after his neck, and flees. Three years of wandering later, Zoe’s letters stop coming and Ben returns to find her and attempt the hopeless task of clearing himself.
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A western based on the story “Gunsight Whitman” by Silvia Richards. Vern Haskell, a nice rancher, seeks out to avenge his fiancé’s death when she is killed during a robbery. His revenge leads him to Chuck-a-luck, Altar Keane’s ranch set up to hide criminals, and he finds more than he bargains for.
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