Lyle Bettger

The townsfolk are set on lynching an accused killer held in the town lockup. But US Marshal Johnny Reno stands in their way. One of the thirteen low-budget westerns produced by A.C. Lyles in the sixties. The premise is a simple one: Sheriff Johnny Reno is heading to a small town in order to see his one-time sweetheart Nona Williams. On the way, he is set upon by two brothers who think he is after them. Forced to shoot one, he captures the other, Joe Conners, and brings him into town. His prisoner insists he is innocent of the crime the whole town wants him hanged for, and after hearing his story, will Andrews believe him? —phillindholm

Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. After a long career as a lawman that made him a legend, Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) decides to quit and join his brothers in Tombstone, Arizona. There, he would see them in a feud with the Clantons, a local clan of thugs and cattle thieves. When the showdown becomes inevitable, the help will come from Doc Holliday (Kirk Douglas), a terminally-ill gambler who happens to be another Wild West legend. —Dragan Antulov <dragan.antulov@altbbs.fido.hr>

Charley Grayson (Jay C. Flippen), an old circus owner, is the the first American carnival to play in Munich, Germany - a few years after the devastation of WW2. Joe Hammond (Steve Cochran), catches a pickpocket, Willi (Anne Baxter), a blonde with a man's name but without the fifty cents entrance fee to the circus, after she spends some of his money to buy a sausage to appease her hunger. Her situation, and her beauty, leads him to offer her to stay with the circus, working as a cook. After the girl takes a shower with bubbly American soap, he kisses her. Frank Colloni (Lyle Bettger) has the more risky job of the troupe, and the one that attracts more crowds: high diving into a pool covered with blazing oil. Willi is also smitten by his athleticism and courage, and when he feels a headache, she offers him a massage. Soon, he breaks her fears, and gets her with him in the act of high diving - training her step by step. Joe is still wooing Willi, whistling outside the ladies' common tent for her to come out and for them to make love in secret. After she had seen him having lunch too close to Peggy (Helene Stanley), the redhead in the Haitian dance group, she hesitates to go. Then she gets up, puts on a dressing gown, and makes for the door. Peggy had also heard him, and quickly stands up in her pajamas, blocking her rival's way. Willi shoves her aside, and the scratching, rolling cat-fight is on, stopped by the other awaken girls. Willi confronts Joe, and complains of their situation - but he is not of the marrying kind. One day, Charley Grayson introduces the pair of high jumpers, to the great acclaim of a large crowd. After their number, Frank proposes to Willi, and she accepts. Immediately after, she informs Joe that their affair is finished, and to her rage, he says that the marriage does not mean they can't be lovers. After the Collonis' marriage feast, Joe figures he can still exercise his sexual hold over Willi; he keeps appearing to Willi when she is by herself, until one day he tries to kiss her by force. Frank finds them together, and the two men fight over her, in such way that they awake the full circus - and make a spectacle of themselves. Joe demands that Charley dismisses Frank - and he does so. Frank is ready to go, and he tells his wife then that he has money enough to buy themselves a farm, and start a new life. Willi is too adventurous to leave the circus. She asks her part of the money but he refuses that. Eventually they make peace - and love. Next evening, the Collonis pose for Life magazine photo reporter, Bill Vines (George Nader) before the show. But there is no show. When Joe is on the last steps of the ladder to the plunging platform, he falls back - and dies. Willi inherits Jo's US$ 5,000 cash by the will he had written the day after their marriage feast. Bill shows her the published photo report, but Willi is too shocked to enjoy it. She finds sympathy in him, and confesses to him how her marriage had not been a happy one due to Joe's harassment. Joe approaches Willi, tells her that he stopped seeing Peggy, and that he is not good for her. As she still loves him, they sleep together again. Next morning, she wakes up to find that all the stuff in the caravan had been rummaged, and the hidden cash is gone. Joe, too, is gone from the circus. She demands Charley more money to keep on with the high diving act alone, which he reluctantly accepts. Next evening, Willi's high dive his successful, but she faints when she hits the water. Her recovery from hospital is helped by Bill's companionship - that is turning into love. She receives a phone call from Charley, but Frank is close to the phone - and despite apparently she shuns him away on the phone call, she returns to the carnival... to be close to him. From all the carnival's people who had greeted her at the marriage ceremony, only the mute giant, Groppo (Adi Berber), comes now by her - offering her a bouquet of wild flowers. Willi returns to her successful act, and Jo returns to her. He promises to give her back the money he took, and in his attempt to win her affection, he confesses he has worked the wood steps so that they would break under Frank's feet causing the accident - to have her just for himself. She screams, and he tries to strangle her. Groppo intervenes, hunts Frank into the Ferris wheel, from where he throws him down to a death similar to that of Frank's. Groppo is about to commit suicide, but Willi talks him into coming down, and letting the police take him. Eventually, Willi ends up with Bill's arm to support her.

South Sea freebooters fight for hidden treasure and the love of the beautiful Luana. Hurricane Smith and his marooned sailors escape from a South Seas island by stealing the ship of Capt. Raikes who's come to the island in search of slaves. Smith sails the ship to Australia where he charters it to Harry Gorvahlsen and Dr. Whitmore who claim to be studying flora and fauna. To fill out his crew, Smith "shanghais" Capt. Raikes who, by this time, has also made his way to Australia. During the course of the voyage, it becomes clear that Gorvahlsen and Whitmore are actually in search of a cache of gold that's been hidden on a South Seas island. Smith also seeks this gold, which he considers his own, as does Capt. Raikes. Complicating this 3-way rivalry is a growing shipboard romance between Smith and Dr. Whitmore's beautiful daughter, Luana. Events reach a violent climax when the treasure-island is finally reached. —dinky-4 - Minneapolis

The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle. To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous one-upmanship duel in the ring, while he pursues her on the ground. Subplots involve the secret past of Buttons the Clown and the efforts of racketeers to move in on the game concessions. Let the show begin! —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu> "The Greatest Show on Earth" is a dazzling spectacle of life behind the scenes with Ringling Bros.-Barnum and Bailey Circus, the best three-ring circus in the land. Celebrates the extravagant three-ring circus and depicts the passionate scenes of love and jealousy behind the greatest show on Earth. —Jwelch5742 Brad Braden (played by Charlton Heston) is the manager of a circus. The circus is his life and everything else is secondary. The next most important thing to him is Holly (Betty Hutton), a trapeze artist, but she realises she will always take second place. Then Brad hires a world-famous trapeze artist, The Great Sebastian (Cornel Wilde) and Holly is bumped to second place in the trapeze act. The Great Sebastian has a reputation as a womaniser and Holly soon falls under his spell. —grantss To ensure that the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus stays in the black, rugged, money-oriented manager Brad Braden brings in a famed aerialist known as The Great Sebastian to increase sales. However, as Brad's dogged determination moves ambitious trapeze artist Holly to the second ring, driving her into the arms of another man, the unbridled competition between the duelling star attractions invites heartbreak and disaster. And as profound, turbulent feelings emerge, cryptic clowns and villainous racketeers threaten Braden's future. Yet the circus is above all else. What will it take to keep the greatest show on Earth running? —Nick Riganas

Woman gets involved with a crook trying to reform. Miriam Wilkins, teen-age daughter of Senator Wilkins, starts a Society for the Rehabilitation of Criminals and, without the approval or knowledge of the Senator, elects him to the position of honorary president. After a new gardener, Baxter, turns out to be a notorious ex-convict who was sentenced to prison by Senator Wilkins when he was a judge, and is about to be fired, his daughter points out it would be an unwise decision considering the position her father held on her society. Further complications arise involving a fuss-budget banker, Albert, a former suitor of Miriam's older married sister, plus some domestic misunderstandings between Baxter and his wife, and the older sister and her husband. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

In a New York City apartment building, pregnant Helen Ferguson is knocking repeatedly at her ex-boyfriend's door. Steve Morley is inside with his new girlfriend, Irma, and won't open the door. Trying not to attract attention, Helen pleads for Steve's help. At last he slides an envelope under the door. It contains train tickets to San Francisco, which is Helen's hometown, and some money. Obviously he doesn't intend to do the right thing and marry Helen. In her haste to get away, she loses the money. Irma warns Steve that he had better not try to get rid of her that way. The train is crowded and Helen is forced to sit on her suitcase. A well-dressed young woman sees her and nudges her husband to give Helen his seat. She gratefully accepts and the two strike up a conversation. Her new friend is Patrice Harkness, who is also pregnant. She and her husband Hugh are traveling to the midwest to live with his family. Patrice is nervous about meeting them for the first time. She wouldn't even let Hugh send them a picture so they have no idea what she looks like. Patrice also mentions that she has no family left. Helen makes up a story about being widowed, which earns her Patrice's sympathy. When the dining car opens, Patrice and Hugh invite Helen to be their guest at dinner, sensing that she has very little money. In fact, all she has left is thirty-seven cents. Later, Patrice and Helen are in the washroom preparing for bed. Patrice shows Helen her wedding ring, which has their names engraved on the inside. Since she has cold cream on her hands, she gives Helen the ring to hold. Helen slips it onto her own finger. Just then the train gives a lurch and leaves the tracks. The women tumble to the floor and the last thing Helen hears is Patrice screaming for Hugh. Some time later, Helen half-regains consciousness in a hospital. The accident has caused her to go into labor and a c-section must be performed. She is delivered of a healthy son. When she wakes up, the first thing she notices are the beautiful flowers by her bedside and wonders who sent them. The nurse comes in and calls her Mrs. Harkness. Helen is still wearing Patrice's ring and realizes that they think she is Patrice. She tries to protest but is too weak. Her condition improves and the doctor is pleased. But he must break the news to her that her husband did not survive. Again Helen protests that there has been a mistake, she has to make them understand. But the doctor gives her a sedative, assuming that she is in denial about her husband's death. Wanting to ask about Patrice, Helen tells the nurse that there was another woman with her in the washroom. The nurse says they have no identification for her, only a worn purse with thirty-seven cents inside. She asks Helen if she had only met the woman on the train and Helen says yes. Unfortunately, the woman and her baby died in the accident. Helen is too frightened to tell the truth. A letter arrives from Hugh's mother, along with some beautiful baby clothes and more flowers. Mrs. Harkness writes that she is so looking forward to finally meeting Patrice. Due to ill health, she cannot come to the hospital. When Patrice is strong enough to travel, she will be put on the train and her in-laws will meet her at the other end. Wanting to provide for her son, Helen assumes Patrice's identity. Her in-laws welcome her warmly and she settles into the family. But it is not easy. Hugh's brother Bill shows up. Helen didn't know he had a brother and he reminds her that they met at the hospital. She explains that she was not fully conscious and that's why she doesn't remember him. Mrs. Harkness, who has a heart condition, brings Helen a box of Hugh's pictures. But they mean nothing to Helen because she is not Patrice. Life at the Harkness mansion is much easier than the life Helen knew in New York. She doesn't have to work and it is evident that the family means to provide for her and the child, whom Helen has named Hugh Jr. But she cannot avoid slips of the tongue, including not recognizing Hugh's favorite song, causing Bill to grow suspicious. Christmas is coming up and Bill asks Helen to meet him downtown to choose a gift for his father. They decide to get him a fountain pen and Bill suggests that Helen sign her name to see how it writes. She starts to write Helen Ferguson, then crosses it out and writes Patrice Harkness. That night, Bill decides to tell his father of his suspicions. But before he can do so, his mother remarks how fond she has grown of Patrice. Both parents dote on their grandson. Realizing this, Bill decides to let the matter drop. Then Helen receives a letter, unsigned, with a message asking what she is doing there. She is terrified that someone has found her out. Bill asks her to go with him to the Country Club dance and his mother urges her to accept. It is time she got on with her life and started seeing people again. Helen reluctantly agrees to go, even after another letter arrives. At the dance, Helen is horrified to see her former boyfriend and the father of her child, Steve Morley. He introduces himself to Bill and asks to dance with Helen. After a few minutes of dancing, he steers her outside. When the train accident occurred, he went to identify Helen's body. But the dead woman that bore her name tag was not her. Steve made inquiries and figured out what happened. Now he wants money for his silence. Once he has it, he will leave and she'll never see him again. Helen realizes she will have to pay him but she has no money of her own. After a hint at the dinner table, she is given her own checking account. She and Steve meet at the train station. He takes her check but does not leave as she expected. He puts it in an envelope addressed to Mr. Harkness, along with the rent receipts from when he and Helen lived together back in New York. Unless she goes along with the next part of his plan, he will mail the envelope. His plan is for them to get married, giving him access to any money the Harkness parents leave to Patrice. He knows Mrs. Harkness is very ill and figures the old man will not long survive her. Helen has no choice but to agree. Steve laughingly reminds her that at one time she was desperate to marry him. Steve and Helen drive through snowy weather to the justice of the peace in the next town. Helen breaks down and declares she cannot go through with it, so Steve places a call to the Harkness home. Mrs. Harkness, confined to her bedroom, answers the phone and overhears Helen pleading with Steve. The connection is broken but Bill manages to have the call traced. He sets out to rescue Helen but runs his car off the icy road. Meanwhile, Helen marries Steve. Helen decides her only hope of escape is to kill Steve. When he drops her off, she take a gun from a drawer in the Harkness home. Bill follows her to the downtown building where Steve has taken a room. When Helen enters the room, she sees Steve sprawled on the bed. She tells him to wake up but he doesn't move. She fires the gun but realizes he is already dead. Someone else has shot him. Bill pounds on the door, demanding to be let in. Helen tries to keep him out but he forces his way inside. Assuming that Helen has shot and killed Steve, he takes the gun and asks if there is anything to link the two. He finds the marriage license but the check has disappeared. Helen tries to explain but Bill doesn't believe that she didn't kill Steve. Now they must get rid of his body so there will be no link to the Harkness family. He drags Steve to his car and puts him in the back seat. They drive out of town to a bridge over a railroad. Bill knows that a train will be coming along shortly. He rolls Steve's body off the bridge and it lands in an open car. The train is going out of town and hopefully the body won't be discovered for a while. Afterwards, they sit in the car and Helen tells Bill everything. He told her he had known for a long time that she was not Patrice but didn't want to upset his mother by outing her. When they return home, the doctor is there and Mrs. Harkness is dying. Helen is momentarily left alone with her and confesses how much she loves Mrs. Harkness. That much is true. Somehow she senses that Mrs. Harkness knows she is not Patrice but it doesn't matter now. Mrs. Harkness dies and Helen and Bill decide to marry. Unfortunately, Steve's body is discovered and traced back to the Harkness family. The police arrive to question Bill and Helen on the day of the funeral. Bill makes up a story about how Steve was a gambling acquaintance of Hugh's from his college days. He showed up to get money from Patrice to cover the debts Hugh had owed. Beyond that, Bill and Helen know nothing about him or how he died. The police seemingly accept this story but warn them that they may be questioned again. Bill and Helen -- who has decided to remain Patrice -- marry but they are not happy. Each of them thinks the other killed Steve. In a voice over, Patrice says that one day she will leave Bill or he will leave her. Then they get a phone call that the police are on their way over. Before they can decide what to say, the housekeeper brings them a letter from Mrs. Harkness. Her instructions were to give it to them if the police came. Inside is a written confession from Mrs. Harkness, stating that she killed Steve Morley because he was threatening her daughter-in-law. Bill and Patrice are horrified and realize instantly that she has done this to protect them. Patrice says she will gladly confess so there will be no stigma attached to the only mother she ever knew. Bill tears up the letter and says he will confess. Then the police arrive. They have the check Patrice wrote. Irma, Steve's girlfriend, had killed him, taken the check, and tried to cash it. Bill and Patrice realize they are free and can be happy now since neither is a murderer.

A sharp-eyed woman spots a man with a gun on a train and her alert to the railroad police helps them in their search for a ruthless gang who have kidnapped a blind heiress. Secretary Joyce Willecombe grows suspicious of two men boarding her train and is referred to 'Tough Willy' Calhoun, head of the Union Station police. The all-seeing, no-nonsense Calhoun is initially skeptical, but the men (who escape) prove to be involved in a kidnap case. Calhoun calls in equally tough police Inspector Donnelly, but the ruthless kidnapper's precision planning stays one jump ahead of them. Most of the action centers around bustling Union Station. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu> On a train to Union Station, Joyce Willecombe witnesses what she believes is suspicious activity by two men. Indeed, they have kidnapped Lorna Murchison, the blind daughter of Joyce's wealthy employer, and are holding Lorna ransom for $100,000. As the crooks use bustling and aways crowded Union Station as the drop-off point for the ransom, "tough" Lt. Bill Calhoun, Chief of Police at Union Station, leads the investigation along with equally pragmatic Inspector Donnelly of the city police. Joyce and Bill are two of only a few people who can identify the two men. The investigators use this limited knowledge to gather more evidence as to the crooks' hideout and hopefully a still living Lorna. Meanwhile, Joe Beacom, a penny-ante ex-con and mastermind behind the kidnapping, won't let anything or anyone, including his accomplices, stop him from getting the prized $100,000. —Huggo Lt William Calhoun, head of the police squad at Union Station, finds himself trying to solve a kidnapping when the criminals decide to use the train station as the drop-off point for the money. The victim, Lorna Murchison, is blind and her wealthy father is prepared to pay any amount to get her back safe. Working with Inspector Donnelly, they track down the kidnapper but he manages to escape leading to a final showdown in the station. —garykmcd