Mona Freeman

  • Joseph Pevney – Flesh and Fury (1952)

    1951-1960DramaFilm NoirJoseph PevneyUSA

    Deaf boxer Paul Callan captures the interest of gold-digging blonde Sonya Bartow and retired fight manager ‘Pop’ Richardson. For a time, Sonya has the upper hand with Paul, but ultimately a rival appears in the shape of upper-crust reporter Ann Hollis. With a 3-way fight under way for influence over Paul, he takes matters into his own hands, but learns that getting what he wanted isn’t necessarily a happy ending.Read More »

  • Norman Z. McLeod – Isn’t It Romantic? (1948)

    1941-1950ComedyMusicalNorman Z. McLeodUSA

    In rural 19th-century Indiana, the three daughters of a Civil War veteran are courted by three young men–one a sophisticated city slicker who sells phony oil stock, the second a local eccentric and the third a stolid country boy.Read More »

  • Raoul Walsh – Battle Cry (1955)

    1951-1960Raoul WalshUSAWar

    Plot Synopsis: Adapted by Leon Uris from his own novel, the film follows a group of World War II marines, from Basic Training to Battlefield. Major Van Heflin knows that his men are spoiling for a real fight, but must make do with the desultory skirmishes assigned them by the Brass. All this changes with an onslaught of heavy-duty battling in the South Pacific. Aldo Ray plays a tough leatherneck who falls in love with demure Nancy Olson, while James Whitmore, Tab Hunter, Dorothy Malone and Raymond Massey costar. And watch for young Justus McQueen, cast as private L.Q. Jones; McQueen liked his character name so much that he adopted it as his professional cognomen. Composer Max Steiner’s musical score earned him an Oscar nomination. — Hal Erickson (AMG)Read More »

  • Walter Lang – Mother Wore Tights (1947)

    1941-1950DramaMusicalUSAWalter Lang

    In this chronicle of a vaudeville family, Myrtle McKinley (class of 1900) goes to San Francisco to attend business school, but ends up in a chorus line. Soon, star Frank Burt notices her talent, hires her for a “two-act”, then marries her. Incidents of the marriage and the growing pains of eldest daughter Miriam are followed, interspersed with nostalgic musical numbers.Read More »

  • Leslie Fenton – Streets of Laredo (1949)

    1941-1950Leslie FentonUSAWestern

    Quote:
    Streets of Laredo is a streamlined and Technicolorful remake of Paramount’s 1936 box-office champ The Texas Rangers. William Holden, William Bendix and MacDonald Carey star as roguish outlaws Jim Dawkins, Wahoo Jones and Lorn Remming. After rescuing a little girl named Rannie Carter from a wicked tax collector, Dawkins and Jones decide to switch to the right side of the law; Remming, however, has other ideas. Years later, Rennie has grown up quite prettily into Mona Freeman, while Jim and Wahoo have become scrupulous members of the newly-formed Texas Rangers. Jim is in love with Rennie, but she has eyes for the still-crooked Lorn — at least until Lorn proves to be the louse that the audience knew he was from the first reel.Read More »

  • Alfred Santell – That Brennan Girl (1946)

    1941-1950Alfred SantellDramaRomanceUSA

    On Mother’s Day, 1946, in San Francisco, Ziggy Brennan thinks back on the events which have brought her to this day.

    Quote:
    Raised as a grifter by her single mother, a San Francisco girl (Mona Freeman, in the role that should have made her a star) learns to adjust her priorities when she is left a young war widow, with a child of her own to take care of. Unaccountably overlooked, this resonant, formally inventive film was the final work of the director Alfred Santell as well as the last leading role of Oscar-winner James Dunn.Read More »

  • Otto Preminger – Angel Face (1952)

    1951-1960ClassicsFilm NoirOtto PremingerUSA

    Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons star in this classic tale of love, money, and murder directed by Otto Preminger. This film noir centers on Diane, a femme fatale whose sweet features belie the murderess within. Diane is looking for someone to take the heat when her stepmother dies in a mysterious accident and leaves her stepdaughter a hefty inheritance. That someone is Frank – a man whose average life is thrown into chaos when he meets Diane.Read More »

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