Charles Bickford

Comedy western in which a traveler bets more money than he can afford in a poker game, and unusual events follow. A naive couple and a child arrive to the town on the way to San Antonio, Texas to buy a farm there. There is a poker game between the richest men in the region. The man cannot resist it and though he is a very bad poker player, enters the game betting all the money of his family. In the climax of the game he suffers a heart-attack. His wife then takes his place in the table. That's the only way of recovering their savings. But there is a little problem. Can anybody explain to her how to play poker? —Miguel A. Andrade <andrade@gredos.cnb.uam.es> A couple with a young son arrive in the town of Laredo, just as the five richest men of the area are settling down to play the biggest game of poker of the year. When the wife disappears, the husband, after watching a few hands, joins in the game only to lose most of the families savings. As the wife returns, he finds that he has dealt himself a winning hand, but does not have the cash to continue. In the following argument he collapses, and his wife has no choice but to continue with his hand in order to win back their money, the only problem being she can't play poker. —MIKE.WILSON6@BTINTERNET.COM

An alcoholic marries a young woman and systematically addicts her to booze so that they can share his "passion" together. Joe Clay is a top-notch public-relations man. Anything a client wants, Joe can arrange, from dancing girls to an article in a prominent magazine. But part of the job is drinking, and Joe's ability to consume alcohol seems boundless. When he meets the very pretty Kirsten Arnesen, she prefers chocolate to alcohol; Joe's solution is Brandy Alexander, which is made up of brandy and crème de cacao. Joe and Kirsten eventually marry, but their love can't prevent the downward spiral brought on by alcohol. —garykmcd Working in a public relations firm as an account executive, Joe Clay feels like he needs to drink as part of his job. But he enjoys this aspect of work. While at a client party, Joe meets his client's secretary, Kirsten Arnesen. Despite an initial dislike of Joe, Kirsten eventually goes out on date with him. She is a non-drinker who neither likes the taste of alcohol or feels the need for its effects. But based on her addiction to chocolate, Joe does start her on alcohol consumption with the chocolate-tasting Brandy Alexander. Joe and Kirsten fall in love, get married, and start a family. But as the stresses of work start to pile up, Joe's drinking increases and he pressures Kirsten into joining him to drown his sorrows. Alcohol soon becomes their main focus, and this rapidly destroys both their personal lives and Joe's professional life. Kirsten's father, hardworking nurseryman Ellis Arnesen, wants to help, specifically his daughter, but he has a difficult time forgiving Joe who introduced her to drinking. Despite Joe finally coming to the realization that alcohol is the main problem in their lives (Joe states that the reflection of a bum he saw in a window was himself), they must admit that they are indeed alcoholics and that they can never have alcohol again before they can even think of reclaiming their lives. Beyond that, they must be able to stay away from liquor, which may be impossible. —Huggo Public relations agent Joe Clay drinks a lot. He doesn't think he has a problem: shmoozing and boozing is part of his job. He meets Kirsten Arnesen and they fall in love. She's a teetotaller but his influence sees her drinking heavily too. Soon their drinking is having a significantly detrimental effect on their lives. —grantss Boy (with drinking problem) meets girl (with addiction to chocolate). They fall in love, marry, and have a beautiful baby girl. But the picture-perfect family is anything but. Joe has introduced his wife Kirsten to the "pleasures" of drinking, and soon both are confirmed alcoholics. An absorbing, frightening study of the insidiousness of addiction. —A.L.Beneteau <albl@inforamp.net>

A New England sea captain in the 1880s arrives at his fiancée's sprawling Texas ranch, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between two families over a valuable patch of land. Retired, wealthy sea Captain James McKay arrives in the vast expanse of the West to marry fiancée Pat Terrill. McKay is a man whose values and approach to life are a mystery to the ranchers and ranch foreman Steve Leech takes an immediate dislike to him. Pat is spoiled, selfish and controlled by her wealthy father, Major Henry Terrill. The Major is involved in a ruthless land war, over watering rights for cattle, with a rough hewn clan led by Rufus Hannassey. The land in question is owned by Julie Maragon and both Terrill and Hannassey want it. —E.W. DesMarais <jlongst@aol.com> Retiring to the American West to marry his fiancée, Patricia Terrill, Captain James McKay enters a land-and-water feud between his future father-in-law, Major Terrill, and the rough and lawless Hannassey family, led by Rufus. McKay prefers peace between himself and the Hannasseys, who repeatedly attempt to provoke violence. But his steadfast demeanor only angers his fiancée and Major Terrill, who won't settle for truces. —Jwelch5742 Sailor James McKay (Gregory Peck), after accumulating wealth and experience sailing the world's seas, meets the beautiful and temperamental Pat Terrill (Carroll Baker) and decides to move to the vast expanse of the West to marry her. Arriving at the ranch of his future father-in-law, Major Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford), he begins to confront the arrogant and inhospitable frontier, just like the ranch foreman Steve Leech (Charlton Heston), who, also in love with his employer's daughter, takes an immediate dislike to his new fiancé. The major himself is also strong-willed and domineering, controlling his daughter's life and demanding the same from his neighbors, with whom he wages a ruthless war over watering rights for their cattle on the estate inherited by the peaceful and tolerant Julie Maragon (Jennifer Jones), who, with great difficulty, tries to broker peace between the major and the family led by the crude and controversial Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives). —Alessandro

After Texas heiress Ellie Andrews defies her father, A. A. Andrews, to marry fortune-hunter Jacques Ballarino, Andrews has Ellie kidnapped before the marriage can be consummated and locks her away on his San Diego yacht while he arranges an annulment. To thwart her father, Ellie jumps overboard, and travelling incognito, boards a Greyhound bus bound for Houston, where her groom awaits. Also on the bus is Peter Warne, an irreverent, fast-talking reporter who has just been fired. Ellie is assigned to the seat next to Peter, and when they stop for a dinner break, a thief steals the suitcase containing all her money, leaving Ellie with only six dollars to her name. The bus continues onto Tucson, and when it stops for breakfast, Ellie naively asks the driver to wait for her. Returning late, Ellie finds the bus gone and a bemused Peter waiting at the station with the ticket she left behind. Disclosing that he knows Ellie is the missing heiress, Peter holds up a copy of the local newspaper with her picture plastered all over the front page. When Ellie offers to buy his silence, Peter, offended, sends a telegram to Joe Gordon, his former editor in Houston, offering an exclusive story about his cross-country adventure with the heiress. They then board the night bus to Houston, where Ellie is accosted by the garrulous, lecherous George Shapely. To rescue Ellie from Shapely's verbal advances, Peter tells him that they are married. When the bus is forced to stop for the night because the road has been washed out by a storm, Peter and Ellie take refuge at an auto court, where Peter registers as husband and wife. Once in their room, Peter strings a blanket between their beds and dubs it the "Walls of Jericho." Ellie accuses Peter of trying to take advantage of her, but Peter replies that all he wants is a story. Meanwhile, back in Texas, Andrews offers a $20,000 reward for Ellie. The next morning, an attraction begins to smolder between Peter and Ellie when he cooks her breakfast and she confides that she has never been alone with a man. When Andrews' detectives come to the auto court in search of Ellie, Ellie combs her hair over her face, affects a crude accent and feigns a marital spat with Peter, sending the embarrassed detectives scurrying. Ellie and Peter then break out in a congratulatory dance and are about to kiss when Peter sees a newspaper story trumpeting the reward. Concerned, Peter insists upon leaving the bus and taking the back roads. Broke and hungry, Ellie proves her mettle by using her womanly wiles to hitch a ride with Danker, a passing motorist who offers them a ride in his old jalopy. When they stop at the diner, however, Danker speeds off with Peter's suitcase. Peter chases after Danker, then swaps his wrist watch for the old clunker and drives back to fetch Ellie. After Ballarino refuses his father-in-law's demand for an annulment, Andrews releases a statement that he will not interfere with his daughter's marriage if she will just return home. Upon reading the story in the paper, Ellie, who is falling in love with Peter, tries to delay their arrival in Houston by convincing Peter to spend one last night on the road. That evening, after Peter strings up the Walls of Jericho, Ellie crosses over to Peter's side and confesses that she loves him. Stunned, Peter tells Ellie to go back to bed, and once she falls asleep, he barters his hat for a tank of gas to drive to Houston. There, Peter goes to Gordon's office and offers to sell his story for $2,000 so that he an afford to propose to Ellie and "tear down the Walls of Jericho." Back at the motel, the proprietors awaken, and noticing that Peter's car is missing, think that he has skipped out on the rent. Barging into Peter's room, they find Ellie alone and throw her out into the night. Believing that Peter has deserted her, Ellie contacts her father about coming home. Peter is motoring back to Ellie when Andrews, accompanied by a police escort, sweeps past to collect his daughter. While stopped at a railroad crossing, Peter spots Ellie in Andrews' car and tries to follow, but his jalopy breaks down. When Peter sheepishly returns to Gordon's office to return his advance, the editor assigns him to cover Ellie's lavish wedding that is to be held at the Andrews estate. On the day of her wedding, Ellie tells her father that she is in love with Peter, prompting him to show her a letter that Peter has sent, asking for reimbursement of his expenses. When Ellie reads the letter, she assumes that Peter is after the reward. Soon after, Peter arrives at the estate and presents Andrews with an itemized bill for $35.75. When an incredulous Andrews asks why Peter has decided to forgo the reward, Peter finally admits that he is in love with Ellie. As Andrews escorts his daughter to meet her groom, he tells Ellie that Peter has refused the reward and declared his love for her. Just as the ceremony begins, Peter walks out, and Ellie, noticing his absence, runs after him, flags him down and jumps into his jalopy. Later, while on their honeymoon, Peter tears down the Walls of Jericho for good.

Intolerant of the weaknesses of others, especially those closest to him, an ego-driven aspiring physician comes to grips with his own imperfections. Intern Lucas Marsh is intent upon becoming not just a successful doctor but a first-class one. He courts and marries the warm-hearted Kristina, not out of love but because she is highly knowledgeable in the skills of the operating room, and because she has frugally put aside her savings through the years. He shrewdly knows that she will be a supportive wife in every way. She helps make him the success he wants to be and cheerfully moves with him to the small town in which he starts his practice. But as much as he tries to be a good husband to undemanding Kristina, Marsh easily falls into the arms of a local siren, and the patience of long-sorrowing Kristina wears thin. Reasoning that he no longer needs her, she asks for a divorce. A calamity now brings Marsh to his senses: Dr. Runkleman, Marsh's gruff and wise employer, is stricken with a heart attack and requires emergency surgery, and Marsh is forced to operate. —alfiehitchie

In Hollywood, California, many film celebrities attend a gala show at the Shrine Auditorium. Oliver Niles (Charles Bickford), who runs his own film studio, tells publicist Matt Libby (Jack Carson) to keep the alcoholic star actor Norman Maine (James Mason) off the stage, who is clearly drunk at this point. But Norman knocks Libby down and wanders onto the stage while the Glenn Williams Orchestra performs. Vocalist Esther Blodgett (Judy Garland), a young newcomer from the Midwest, incorporates him into the act so the audience doesn't realize that he is drunk. Later, the grateful and intrigues Norman tracks Esther to a small club where she is jamming. When he hears her sing "The Man Who Got Away", he realizes that she has great talent. He convinces her to quit the band she is performing with and take a chance a living her dream to be a big star. Norman promises to get Esther a studio audition. Esther's friend Danny McGuire (Tom Noonan) who works as the pianist, tells her that Norman is just giving her a line. Niles whisks Norman to a faraway location, so he looses contact with Esther before he can help her. Esther is forced to take odd jobs to survive. When Norman hears her voice on a silly TV commercial, he tracks her down to the boarding house where she lives. He gets her a studio contract. Her name is changed to Vicki Lester, but no one pays any attention to her until Norman shrewdly figures a way for Niles to hear Esther/Vicki sing. Niles casts her as the lead in a new musical which is a box office hit and to Esther/Vicki, a star is born. Esther agrees to marry Norman, hoping he will stop drinking and focus on his acting career once again. When they elope, this infuriates Libby, who despises Norman. Niles informs Norman that the studio is dropping him because his alcoholism has made him too great a risk. When Norman cannot find any work elsewhere in any major or independent studio, his fame begins to slip away. Norman starts drinking even more heavily. Esther tries to persuade him to stop drinking or at least "tone it down" but Norman angrily tells her to stay out of his personal business. After Esther is nominated and wins an Oscar for her performance in her first feature musical, Norman crashes the Academy Awards completely drunk and pushes his way on the stage where he embarrasses Esther and himself with his drunken rambling and when she tries to calm him down, he accidentally hits her in the face in full view of the televised audience forcing security men to remove him from the stage. Eventually Norman ends up in a sanatorium where he hopes to stay sober. When Niles sees how depressed that Esther is now that her career is stalled for her association with Norman, he visits Norman at the sanatorium where he offers him a small part in a picture. But this makes Norman even more upset. Due to being so used to having lead roles, Norman is too full of stubborn and foolish pride to accept the offer and pretends that he has other offers when he gets out the sanatorium. A few weeks later when Norman finally gets out of the sanatorium, he hopes to stay sober. But at the Hollywood Park racetrack where he goes to place a few bets, Libby confronts and insults him for living off his wife's salary and new fame, and assumes that Norman is and always will be a drunk. When Norman takes a swing at Libby, he knocks Norman down. A gathering crowd assumes that Norman is drunk. He gets up after Libby walks away and immediately falls of the wagon by ordering a drink at the racetrack bar. After being missing for four days, Esther and Niles learn that Norman has been arrested for drunk driving, getting into a car accident and resisting arrest. When the judge threatens to sentence him, Esther turns up in court and promises to take care of her husband so there will be no more incidents. He is released into her custody. At their beachfront house, while Esther and Niles think that Norman is asleep, he overhears them. Esther confides in Niles that she loves Norman so much despite his alcoholism that she has decides to give up her acting career and go to Europe with him so he can recover. Esther feels she owes her success to him for she believes that he is responsible for the success that she's had. She hopes they both can resume their acting careers abroad in England or Italy, or France. But Niles tells her that Norman's talent disappeared years before when he started drinking. Norman is clearly agonized by what he hears. After Niles leaves, Norman tells Esther that things will be better for her. Then while they go to sleep for the night, he wakes up early the next morning, walks into the ocean from the beach and deliberately drowns himself. Esther goes into seclusion, intending to mourn forever. After several weeks, Danny visits and insists that she appear at a benefit at the Shrine Auditorium. He says that Esther is Norman's monument that her love and success were the only good things in Norman's life. If she kicks it all away, it will be as if Norman never existed. Esther makes a surprise appearance at the shrine. She introduces herself to a worldwide audience: "This is Mrs. Norman Maine."

After a disgruntled rancher and his sons rob at gun-point a rival rancher, the town forms a posse to go after the culprits but the ensuing events are muddled by unclear facts, false testimony, old scores, secrets, murder and stolen money. When the anxiously awaited posse returns with neither prisoners nor the stolen money, we learn in flashback what happened. Having been cheated by Sampson Drune, a rancher, his brother and his son have robbed him and fled. A posse led by Drune took off after them and although unwanted, the town's drunken Sheriff joins them. The Sheriff's influence on Jed, the adopted son of Drune, was the key to Jed later revealing who actually killed Drune, the robbers, and what happened to the money. —Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net> Complicated by flash-backs and flash-forwards, a posse of basically honest citizens track down a trio of outlaws responsible for robbing a wealthy New Mexico cattle baron, and decide to keep the recovered money for themselves. Honest Sheriff John Frazier (Broderick Crawford), an alcoholic, joins the posse and is mortally wounded during the foray and is unaware the cash has not been returned. He is expected to die at any moment and, as far as the greedy men in his posse are concerned, the sooner the better. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Remake of the movie "Broadway Bill" (1934)

A gunfighter takes part in a scheme to bilk a wealthy cattle family out of half a million dollars by pretending to be their son, who was kidnapped as child. Twenty-five years ago the Lavery baby was kidnapped. Bad guy Leffingwell gets Choya to impersonate the son to gain the Lavery estate. When he finally fesses up to his "sister" Ruth she is furious. To redeem himself he sets out to find the real son. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>