Van Johnson

  • Robert Z. Leonard – In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

    Robert Z. Leonard1941-1950ComedyRomanceUSA
    In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
    In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

    Plot:
    In this musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner, feuding co-workers in a small music shop do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.Read More »

  • Rudolph Maté – The Siege at Red River (1954)

    1951-1960Rudolph MatéUSAWestern

    In Ohio in 1865, a Gatling gun is being transported by a Confederate Army officer in civilian clothes, calling himself Jim Farraday, and a sergeant, going by Benjy, to aid the Southern cause in the war. They come to the aid of a Rebel-hating Yankee nurse, Nora Curtis, whose wagon is stuck in the mud.

    Stopping off in a town for supplies and information, Farraday falls under the suspicion of a Pinkerton detective, Frank Kelso, who has been assigned to locate the stolen Gatling gun. Behind her back, Farraday and Benjy smuggle the gun out of town in Nora’s wagon……Read More »

  • Sam Wood – Command Decision (1948)

    1941-1950PoliticsSam WoodUSAWar

    Synopsis:
    General Dennis of the US Force in England in World War II finds that he must order his planes deeper and deeper into Germany to prevent the production of military jet planes that will turn the tide of battle to the Germans. He must fight congressmen, and his own chain of command to win the political battle before he can send his planes out. His problem is complicated by a very narrow window of good weather necessary to allow his effort to be successful. Adapted from a stage play, it attempts to look at the challenges of command in the political arena.Read More »

  • Edward Dmytryk – The Caine Mutiny (1954)

    USA1951-1960ClassicsEdward DmytrykWar

    Synopsis:
    During the World War II, the crew of a small insignificant ship in the U.S. Pacific Fleet experience an event unlike any event ever experienced by the United States Navy. A Ship’s Captain is removed from command by his Executive Officer in an apparent outright act of mutiny. As the trial of the mutineers unfold, it is learned that the Captain of the ship was mentally unstable, perhaps even insane. The Navy must decide if the Caine Mutiny was a criminal act, or an act of courage to save a ship from destruction at the hands of her Captain?Read More »

  • Edward Buzzell – Easy to Wed [+Extras] (1946)

    1941-1950Buster KeatonComedyEdward BuzzellRomanceUSA

    Quote:
    This is one of the few times at MGM Lucy was given a chance to exploit her full comedic range, and she goes at it with gusto. From the moment she makes her whirlwind entrance looking absolutely gorgeous in a white wedding gown, she commands the screen whenever the camera is on her. In fact, though the movie ostensibly “stars” Van Johnson and Esther Williams, the bland leads take a back seat to the lively pairing of Lucy and Keenan Wynn, as her somewhat morally corrupt boyfriend. Forget comparisons to “Libeled Lady”; “Easy to Wed” is of a different era, and much more slapsticky, and, as noted, Lucy is a gem whether getting drunk and playing the piano or evincing true pathos as a wronged woman. She has rarely been photographed more appealingly, either.Read More »

  • Jack Cardiff – Beyond This Place AKA Web of Evidence (1959)

    1951-1960DramaJack CardiffMysteryUnited Kingdom

    Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson
    Beyond This Place is a tame murder mystery based on a novel by A. J. Cronin. Van Johnson is cast as an American citizen whose British father has supposedly been dead for years. On a visit to London, Johnson discovers that his father is very much alive, serving a life sentence for murder. Johnson inaugurates his own investigation, retraces the trail of circumstantial evidence, and unearths the real culprit. Director Jack Cardiff was not happy with his work on Beyond This Place, possibly because he was obliged for box office purposes to use an American star in an essentially British story. The film was released in the US as Web of Evidence.Read More »

  • Henry Hathaway – 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)

    1951-1960DramaHenry HathawayThrillerUSA

    tvguide wrote:
    Van Johnson plays a blind American writer who is renting an apartment on Baker Street while in London for the opening of his new play. After a row with his former fiancée (Vera Miles), he decamps to the local pub to drown his self-pity with a drink. There, his acute hearing picks up hushed snatches of conversation from the next booth. Convinced that a kidnap plot is in the offing, he rushes to the police, who are polite but refuse to believe him. However, Johnson knows what he heard is true and engages the help of Vera and Cecil Parker, his secretary, to find the kidnappers and save the unknown victim.Read More »

  • Robert Z. Leonard – Grounds for Marriage (1951)

    USA1951-1960MusicalRobert Z. LeonardRomance

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    In the film, Grayson plays Ina Massine, an opera diva, and Johnson is her ex-husband, Dr. Lincoln Bartlett, who is now engaged to Agnes Young (Paula Raymond), the daughter of a doctor. Ina wants Lincoln back and pulls all kinds of shenanigans to get her man. The film was really just an excuse to watch Grayson sing selections from La Bohème, although curiously, she was not the first actress cast in the role. June Allyson had the part but was later replaced. Likewise, Robert Walker was set to play Lincoln Bartlett but was replaced with Van Johnson.
    Read More »

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