Robert Ryan

  • André De Toth – Day of the Outlaw (1959)

    USA1951-1960André De TothCrimeWestern

    Eastman Museum writes:
    According to Quentin Tarantino, his eighth and latest film not only pays homage to that peculiar brand of the western set not in dust but in snow, but also an even more peculiar genre of the so-called parlor room mystery. André De Toth’s criminally underrated Day of the Outlaw happened to mine a similar territory in 1959: Set in an isolated, snow-covered town in the far West, the story has a renegade army officer named Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) and his henchmen riding into the town threatening their worst to the men and women there. Blaise Starrett (Robert Ryan) decides to agree to Bruhn’s demands for someone knowledgeable to lead them away from the law and the town, to safety. Mortally wounded himself, Bruhn opts to take Starrett up on his offer in one last act of generosity toward the townspeople, sparing them the mayhem threatened by his men.Read More »

  • Richard Brooks – The Professionals (1966)

    USA1961-1970ActionRichard BrooksWestern

    Synopsis:
    Four soldiers of fortune are hired by a wealthy rancher to rescue his beautiful young wife who has been kidnapped by a villainous Mexican bandit. When they finally find her, after fighting their way across deserts and mountains, they discover she is not being held against her will. This causes friction within the band as to whether they should honor their agreement.Read More »

  • Ken Annakin – Battle of the Bulge (1965)

    1961-1970ClassicsKen AnnakinUSAWar

    Synopsis:
    American Lt. Col. Dan Kiley (Henry Fonda), a military intelligence whiz, discovers that the Nazis are planning to attack Allied forces near Belgium. Certain that the exhausted enemy can’t muster much force, Gen. Joe Grey (Robert Ryan) isn’t convinced by Kiley’s findings, and his men pay the price when the German tanks begin their offensive. In the heat of this key World War II battle, Kiley must come up with a plan when it becomes clear that the Nazis are trying to steal fuel from the Allies.Read More »

  • Edward Dmytryk – Crossfire (1947)

    1941-1950CrimeEdward DmytrykFilm NoirUSA

    Quote:
    Homicide Capt. Finlay finds evidence that one or more of a group of demobilized soldiers is involved in the death of Joseph Samuels. In flashbacks, we see the night’s events from different viewpoints as Sergeant Keeley investigates on his own, trying to clear his friend Mitchell, to whom circumstantial evidence points. Then the real, ugly motive for the killing begins to dawn on both Finlay and Keeley…Read More »

  • Various – The Longest Day (1962)

    USA1961-1970ClassicsVariousWar

    Synopsis:
    In 1944, the U.S. Army and Allied forces plan a huge invasion landing in Normandy, France. Despite bad weather, General Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the okay and the Allies land at Normandy. General Norma Cota travels with his men onto Omaha Beach. With much effort, and lost life, they get off the beach, traveling deep into French territory. The German military, due to arrogance, ignorance and a sleeping Adolf Hitler, delay their response to the Allied landing, with crippling results.Read More »

  • Robert Stevenson – The Woman on Pier 13 aka I Married A Communist (1949)

    1941-1950Film NoirRobert StevensonUSA

    Quote:
    Brad Collins, former stevedore, is rising fast in a shipping company when local communist agitators use his former Party affiliation to extort his help in stirring up trouble. When Brad resists, communist femme fatale Christine works through his brother-in-law Don. But Brad’s new wife Nan sees that her husband and brother are under pressure; when she investigates on her own, party boss Vanning takes ruthless action.Read More »

  • Anthony Mann – God’s Little Acre (1958)

    1951-1960Anthony MannClassicsDramaUSA

    Synopsis:
    A poor farmer is obsessed with finding gold on his land supposedly buried by his grandfather. To find it he conveniently moves a marker out of his way that designates the land on which it rests as as God’s Little Acre, where anything that comes from the ground will go to God’s work. Eventually he abducts an albino to help him find the gold. Meanwhile, his daughter-in-law is suspected of fooling around with a labor activist out of work since the mill closed, and a local political hopeful actively seeks his daughter’s hand in marriage.Read More »

  • Peter Ustinov – Billy Budd (1962)

    1961-1970AdventurePeter UstinovUnited Kingdom

    H.M.S. Avenger is headed into battle against the French fleet during the Napoleonic Wars, and the dark shadow of two recent mutinies in the English fleet concern Captain Vere. He relies on his cruel and often sadistic Master-at-Arms John Claggert to maintain what he believes to be tenuous order and discipline aboard the ship. When a new seaman, Billy Budd, is pressed into service from a passing merchantman, his innocent, happy-go-lucky attitude quickly endears him to both his messmates as well as the ship’s officers. However, his charismatic naivete seems to bother Claggert, whose perverse depravity makes him resent Billy’s good-natured purity, especially after the teenager’s promotion to fore-top captain. The mean-spirited Claggert unfairly plots to put him on report and ultimately perjures himself when he accuses Billy of conspiring to mutiny.Read More »

  • Samuel Fuller – House of Bamboo (1955)

    1951-1960CrimeDramaSamuel FullerUSA

    Synopsis:
    In Tokyo, a ruthless gang starts holding up U.S. ammunition trains, prepared to kill any of their own members wounded during a robbery. Down-at-heel ex-serviceman Eddie Spannier arrives from the States, apparently at the invitation of one such unfortunate. But Eddie isn’t quite what he seems as he manages to make contact with Sandy Dawson, who is obviously running some sort of big operation, and his plan is helped by acquaintance with Mariko, the secret Japanese wife of the dead American.Read More »

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