Tom Horn (1980)

Tom Horne - A Romantic Western with Steve McQueen.

Tom Horn is a 1980 western film about the legendary lawman, outlaw, and gunfighter. It starred Steve McQueen as the title character and was based on Horn's own writings. A renowned former army scout is hired by ranchers to hunt down rustlers but finds himself on trial for the murder of a boy when he carries out his job too well. Tom Horn finds that the simple skills he knows are of no help in dealing with the ambitions of ranchers and corrupt officials as progress marches over him and the old west. Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American Old West lawman, scout, soldier, hired gunman, detective, outlaw and assassin. On the day before his 43rd birthday, he was hanged in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the murder of Willie Nickell.

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Horn's exploits as an assassin far overshadowed any other accomplishments he made during his lifetime, including during his time as a scout in tracking Apaches in southeastern Arizona Territory, southwestern New Mexico Territory, and into the states of Sonora and Chihuahua in northern Mexico along the Sierra Madre Occidental.

 

• Steve McQueen as Tom Horn
• Linda Evans as Glendolene Kimmel
• Richard Farnsworth as John C. Coble
• Billy Green Bush as U.S. Marshal Joe Belle
• Slim Pickens as Sheriff Sam Creedmore
• Peter Canon as Assistant Prosecutor
• Elisha Cook Jr. as Stablehand
• Harry Northup as Thomas Burke

The Dam Busters

The Dam Busters is a 1955 British war film, set during the Second World War, and based on the true story of the RAF's 617 Squadron, the development of the "bouncing bomb", and Operation Chastise, the attack on the Ruhr dams in Germany. It stars Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis and Richard Todd as Wing Commander Guy Gibson and was directed by Michael Anderson. The film was based on the books The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill and Enemy Coast Ahead by Guy Gibson. It was re-mastered and re-released in September 2007 in the United Kingdom.

Watch Movie - The Dam Busters (1955)

Plot Synopsis;

The film falls into two parts. The first part involves Wallis struggling to develop a means of attacking Germany's dams in the hope of crippling German heavy industry. Working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production, as well as doing his own job at Vickers, he works feverishly to make practical his theory of a bouncing bomb which would skip over the water to avoid protective torpedo nets. When it came into contact with the dam, it would sink before exploding, making it much more destructive. Wallis calculates that the aircraft will have to fly extremely low (150 ft) to enable the bombs to skip over the water correctly, but when he takes his conclusions to the Ministry he is told that lack of production capacity means they cannot go ahead with his proposals.

Angry and frustrated, Wallis secures an interview with Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris (played by Basil Sydney), the head of RAF Bomber Command, who at first is reluctant to take the idea seriously. But he is eventually convinced and takes the idea to the Prime Minister, who authorises the project.

The second part of the film involves Bomber Command forming a special squadron of Lancaster bombers, 617 Squadron, to be commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. He recruits experienced crews, especially those with low-altitude flight experience. While they train for the mission, Wallis continues his development of the bomb but has problems, such as the bomb breaking apart upon hitting the water. This requires the drop altitude to be reduced to 60 feet. With only a few weeks to go, he succeeds in fixing the problems and the mission can go ahead.

The bombers attack the dams. Several Lancasters and their crews are lost, but the overall mission succeeds and two dams are breached. The film's reflective last minutes convey the poignant mix of emotions felt by the characters – triumph over striking a successful blow against the enemy's industrial base is greatly tempered by the sobering knowledge that many died in the process of delivering it.

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Desert War (1953)

Richard Burton stars in this exciting film about the courageous men who held off notorious German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, despite being hopelessly outnumbered. The year is 1941, and all that stands between Rommel and the Suez Canal is the fortress of Tobruk, which is manned only by a small Australian battalion whim Captain MacRoberts (Burton) must whip them in to shape - fast! James Mason co-stars in a stunning portrayal as Rommel in this stirring, action-packed story of the World War II hereos known as The Desert Rats.

Plot;

In mid-April 1941, during World War II, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (James Mason) and his Afrika Korps have driven the British Army into headlong retreat across North Africa toward Egypt and the vital Suez Canal. Standing in Rommel's way is Tobruk, a constant threat to his supply lines. The 9th Australian Division are asked to hold the port for two months, at which time they are to be relieved.

Watch Movie -The Desert Rats (1953)

The defending Allied general (Robert Douglas) chooses English Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts (Richard Burton), an experienced field officer, to take command of a company of newly-arrived, green Australian troops. The no-nonsense MacRoberts is disliked by the undisciplined Australians. He is surprised to see in their ranks his former schoolmaster, Tom Bartlett (Robert Newton). Barlett, an alcoholic, later explains that after being dismissed from his job in England due to his drinking, he went to Australia and joined the army while intoxicated. MacRoberts offers to transfer him to a safer billet, but Bartlett turns him down.

Because of the desperate situation, the inexperienced troops are sent directly into the front line. The men dig foxholes and prepare for Rommel's certain attack. The Allied general masses his artillery where he guesses the Germans will strike. His gamble pays off. Under cover of a sandstorm, they attack exactly where the general predicted and head directly at MacRoberts' men. In the fierce battle, Captain Currie is wounded. Lieutenant Harry Carstairs (Charles Tingwell) abandons his vital post to go to his aid, in vain. After the Germans are beaten back, an infuriated MacRoberts vows to have Carstairs court-martialed for disobeying orders and leaving a dangerous hole in the line, but Bartlett persuades MacRoberts to retract his request.

MacRoberts receives a field promotion to major, then a temporary one to lieutenant colonel after the general elevates him to command of his battalion of Australians. The general then decides to erode the besiegers' confidence by sending out small commando raids every night. MacRoberts' patrols do their part in exacting a toll on the enemy.

One day, the general worries about reports of German heavy artillery being moved up, indicating an attack is imminent. The suspected location of the artillery's ammunition dump is too far away to be attacked by the usual nighttime raid, so MacRoberts proposes using trucks abandoned by the Italians to drive there in disguise and blow it up. MacRoberts leads 54 picked men in three trucks. The attack is a success, but Carstairs is killed and MacRoberts is wounded and captured. While he is being attended to, he meets Rommel, who has been shot by a strafing Spitfire. Although he is respectful to the field marshal, MacRoberts defiantly points out that Tobruk is a thorn in his side. Rommel is bemused by his brashness and orders that he be treated well.

Later, as the prisoners are being transported, their trucks are attacked by British fighter aircraft. In the confusion, MacRoberts and Sergeant "Blue" Smith (Chips Rafferty) get away. After an exhausting walk through the desert, they reach friendly lines. The Australians have now held on for eight months.

In November, the general tells his officers that a relief column led by General Claude Auchinleck is headed for Tobruk. However, they need to take control of a key hill that overlooks the road that Auchinleck must use. The general asks MacRoberts to take his best company and hold the position for three days. On the morning of the ninth day, fearing that the men can take no more, MacRoberts orders a retreat, though Bartlett begs him to ask the men to hang on. To MacRoberts' surprise, the men refuse to leave. Bartlett overcomes his self-professed cowardice by manning the forward observation post, where survival is measured in hours. Just after the Germans bombard the hill, the Australians hear bagpipes announcing the arrival of Auchinleck's troops. After a hard-fought 242 days, the Allies have relieved Tobruk.



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The Scarlet Pimpernel

"They seek him here, they seek him there, Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven?, Is he in hell? That damned, elusive Pimpernel". (Leslie Howard as Sir Percy Blakeney).

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1934 adaptation of the book  "The Scarlet Pimpernel", the classic adventure novel by Baroness Orczy. It was produced by Alexander Korda, directed by Harold Young and stars Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon, Nigel Bruce and Raymond Massey.

Alexander Korda, a Hungarian, who had been born in a town not far from the Orczy farm, had recently had great success with the actor Charles Laughton in the film The Private Life of Henry VIII, so he understandably asked the famous British actor to play the role of Sir Percy. But when the announcement went out to the press, the reaction from the Pimpernel's many fans was horror — the pug-nosed Laughton to play the suave Sir Percy? Never! Korda was nothing if not pragmatic and he offered the role to Leslie Howard, with Merle Oberon as Marguerite. Howard set the standard with his portrayal of Sir Percy Blakeney; his version is widely regarded as the best screen adaptation, although Orczy herself believed Oberon was miscast.



Plot Synopsis;

In 1792, at the bloody height of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, the French leadership finds their executions of French aristocrats continually frustrated by the "Band of the Scarlet Pimpernel", a secret society of 20 English aristocrats, "one to command, and nineteen to obey". Among the latest scheduled for education are the Count de Tournay, the former ambassador to Great Britain, and his family. As they wait to be executed they are contacted by the League, who promises escape. As they are being escorted to the cart to be taken to the guillotine, however, the guards separate the count from his family before the Scarlet Pimpernel can stage their escape. Nevertheless, they free the countess and her daughter, spiriting them to safety.

Back in Paris, the leader of France, Maximilien Robespierre, meets with Chauvelin, the republic's new ambassador to Britain, to discuss the problem of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Summoning the Count de Tournay, they offer him freedom in return for information from his contacts as to the Pimpernel's true identity. Unknown to them, the Scarlet Pimpernel is actually Sir Percy Blakeney, a wealthy and well-connected Englishman who cultivates the image of a fop in order to throw off suspicion. Percy's pose is so successful that not even his wife, Marguerite St. Just, suspects him. Though the two are in love with one another, a distance has emerged between them, the result of Sir Percy's frequent absences and Marguerite's denunciation of the Marquis de St. Cyr, an action which led to the execution of the marquis and his family.



Through his network of spies Chauvelin discovers that Armand St. Just, Marguerite's brother, is one of the Scarlet Pimpernel's agents. Chauvelin orders Armand's arrest, then uses the threat of Armand's execution to blackmail Marguerite into discovering the identity of the Pimpernel, who is rumored to be in attendance at an upcoming ball. At the ball, Marguerite intercepts a message given to Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, a member of the Pimpernel's band, stating that the Pimpernel will be in the library at midnight. She passes the information along to Chauvelin, who goes to the library to find Percy apparently asleep. While waiting Chauvelin falls asleep; when he wakes up he finds a message from the Pimpernel mocking him.

The next morning Percy and Marguerite travel to their house in the country. After they arrive Marguerite breaks down and tells her husband of Armand's arrest and her deal with Chauvelin. Confronting her, Percy learns the truth behind her denunciation of the marquis; he had her imprisoned for consorting with his son and she subsequently told this to Chauvelin, who was really the one who denounced them and had them executed. Promising to use his influence at court to try to get Armand freed, he leaves for London. Mulling over their conversation afterward, Marguerite notices a detail on a portrait of her husband hanging in the library — a ring with the design of a pimpernel on it. Realizing that her husband is the Pimpernel, she rushes out of the room only to be confronted with a letter from Chauvelin announcing that he had discovered the Pimpernel's true identity as well. Racing back to London, she warns Ffoulkes that Percy's life is in danger. Ffoulkes agrees to mobilize the band to save Percy from Chauvelin's trap.

In an effort to capture Percy, Chauvelin has both Armand and the Count de Tournay transferred to Boulogne-sur-Mer. Despite the vigilance of Chauvelin's men, the Pimpernel succeeds in freeing the two men. One of the prison guards tells Chauvelin that the Pimpernel will be at a tavern that evening. Marguerite goes there to warn Percy, only to be arrested by Chauvelin and his troops. At the appointed time Percy arrives at the tavern, where he confronts a gloating Chauvelin. Percy distracts him long enough for Armand and the count to board the ship, but as he prepares to leave Chauvelin announces that he has Marguerite in custody. Percy surrenders on the condition that Marguerite is freed; once she is released he is led away by soldiers to be shot by a waiting firing squad. Chauvelin exults at hearing the sounds of Percy's execution, but Percy returns to the tavern very much alive, revealing that the men in uniform were in fact the members of the band. Locking Chauvelin in the basement, Percy joins his wife on the ship for the trip back to England and freedom.

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The Conqueror (1956)

In ancient times, the Mongolian warlord Temujin must do battle against the rival tribe that killed his father. The battles pale in comparison with Temujin's home life, as he attempts to woo the heart of the red-haired Tartar prisoner Bortai whom he has captured in a raid. He must also deal with various intrigues within his palace. Eventually, Bortai falls to his manly charms, Temujin defeats his enemies within and without, and is crowned Genghis Khan.

The Conqueror is a 1956 CinemaScope epic film produced by Howard Hughes and starring John Wayne as the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan. Other performers included Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead, and Pedro Armendáriz. The picture was directed by actor/director Dick Powell. The film was principally shot near St. George, Utah.

The picture was a critical and commercial failure (often ranked as one of the worst films of the 1950s), which is remarkable given the stature of the cast. Wayne, who was at the height of his career, had lobbied for the role after seeing the script and was widely believed to have been grossly miscast. (He was so "honored" by The Golden Turkey Awards.)

Reportedly, Howard Hughes felt guilty about his decisions regarding the film's production (see Cancer controversy below) and kept the film from view until 1974 when it was first broadcast on TV. The Conqueror, along with Ice Station Zebra, is said to be one of the films Hughes watched endlessly during his last years.



The exterior scenes were shot on location near St. George, Utah, 137 miles downwind of the United States government's Nevada Test Site, Operation Upshot-Knothole, where extensive above-ground nuclear weapons testing occurred during the 1950s. The cast and crew spent many difficult weeks on the site. In addition, Hughes later shipped 60 tons of dirt back to Hollywood for re-shoots. The film-makers knew about the nuclear tests—there are pictures of Wayne holding a Geiger counter during production—but the link between exposure to radioactive fallout and cancer was poorly understood then.

Powell died of cancer in January 1963, only a few years after the picture's completion. Hayward, Wayne, and Moorehead all died of cancer in the mid to late 1970s. Cast member actor John Hoyt died of lung cancer in 1991. Pedro Armendáriz was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 1960 and committed suicide after he learned it was terminal. Skeptics point to other factors such as the wide use of tobacco—Wayne and Moorehead in particular were heavy smokers—and the notion that cancer resulting from radiation exposure does not have such a long incubation period. The cast and crew totaled 220 people. By 1981, 91 of them had developed some form of cancer and 46 had died of the disease. Dr. Robert Pendleton, professor of biology at the University of Utah, stated, "With these numbers, this case could qualify as an epidemic. The connection between fallout radiation and cancer in individual cases has been practically impossible to prove conclusively. But in a group this size you'd expect only 30 some cancers to develop...I think the tie-in to their exposure on the set of The Conqueror would hold up in a court of law."

Destination Tokyo

Destination Tokyo (1943 Movie)

Cary Grant plays Captain Cassidy of the U.S. submarine Copperfin, skippering his torpedo-laden thunderfish with courage and resourcefulness as it makes its battle-strewn way from San Francisco to the Aleutians.
Plot;
During World War II, Captain Cassidy and his crew of submariners are ordered into Tokyo Bay on a secret mission. They are to gather information in advance of the planned bombing of Tokyo. Along the way, the crew learn about each other as they face the enemy and some of them lose their lives. After getting the information they need,they face the harrowing task of getting free once their presence is discovered.
This film represents one of four movies made by Hollywood during the 1940s which were about or related to the USA military's Dolittle Raid on Tokyo, Japan during World War II. The four movies (the first three considered "fictionalized") are Destination Tokyo (1943); The Purple Heart (1944); Bombardier (1943) and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), the latter being the most accurate and least fictionalized of the four. This movie also stars John Forsythe Who played Charlie in Charlies Angels.
   

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