The Nearly Good B-Pictures of the 1950s
Can there even be a thing like 'nearly good B-pictures'? At first I wasn't so sure either. But after years of watching B-movies, more often than not I stumbled across a B-picture which I wouldn't exactly consider to be a good (or even brillant) one. On the other hand it didn't reach the absolute bottoms of z-grade moviedom that connoisseurs of this kind of pictures are used to either. It was simply a movie which, in terms of B-pictures, was competently done, had all those ingredients we love so much in this kind of movies, yes, possibly it was even done bad for all the right reasons. But nevertheless, it didn't click with me, didn't offer that special something which makes B-pictures so enjoyable. What you can expect on this list are B-pictures which are not bad per se, they are more like near misses which can still offer plenty for the B-movie fan. Especially if you are a fan of a certain subgenre, actor or whatever. So have fun browsing through the nearly, but not quite, good B-pictures of the 1950s.
If you're up to it, don't hesitate to leave a comment.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
If you're up to it, don't hesitate to leave a comment.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
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- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsLloyd BridgesOsa MassenJohn EmeryAn astronaut crew on their way to the Moon are unexpectedly propelled by gravitational forces and end up on Mars instead.
- DirectorFord BeebeStarsJohnny SheffieldDonald WoodsMarjorie LordWhen a young boy is kidnapped by hunters who believe he knows the location of a great treasure, Bomba the Jungle Boy seeks to rescue him from them and from a volcano which is about to erupt.
- DirectorLee SholemStarsLex BarkerVanessa BrownRobert AldaAs Jane and the local tribeswomen are abducted one by one by the wild Lionians, Tarzan attempts to persuade their prince to accept a potent medicament for his ailing men, while the girls face certain death. Can Tarzan set them free?
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsJohnny WeissmullerTrudy MarshallSuzanne DalbertCrooks dressed to look like gorillas are looking for lost Nazi gold, and Jungle Jim must stop them.
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsJohnny WeissmullerAnn SavageDavid BruceJungle Jim heads a search for missing WAC Captain Ann Kingsley; a white midget plays Tembo, the pygmy chief.
- DirectorFord BeebeStarsJohnny SheffieldSue EnglandPaul GuilfoylePrincess Leah is the rightful heir to a tribal throne which has been stolen from her by the dastardly Hassan. Bomba the Jungle Boy, of course, comes to her rescue.
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsJohnny WeissmullerBuster CrabbeAnita LhoestJungle Jim is out to save Joan Martindale from an evil witch doctor whilst simultaneously fighting Barton, an evil treasure hunter.
- DirectorSeymour FriedmanStarsHoward St. JohnAmanda BlakeRon RandellWhen enemy agents obtain leaked secrets about a guided missile reservation, the chief of America's counterspy division (Howard St. John) and Scotland Yard's best investigator Ron Randell get on an investigative trail which quickly leads to a reservation secretary (Gunsmoke's Miss Kitty, Amanda Blake).
- DirectorGodfrey GraysonStarsDon StannardTamara DesniGeorge FordSpecial Agent Dick Barton has been assigned to recover a kidnapped professor and de-activate a death ray before catastrophe occurs and World War III is declared.
- DirectorFred C. NewmeyerStarsLon Chaney Jr.Zara TazilJohn InceA colonial police detective in an Eastern seaport seeks a stolen gem, and infiltrates the underworld by posing as a look-alike wharfside bar owner.
- DirectorFrancis SearleStarsMichael MedwinGarry MarshYvonne OwenA man and his sister live in a country home, not knowing that there is stolen loot hidden there. A gang of criminals attempts to get them to move so they can get the loot for themselves.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsMacdonald CareyMärta TorénRobert DouglasPosing as an ex-German medical officer, a U.S. Navy intelligence officer sets out to rescue a kidnapped scientist and sink a German submarine hiding off the coast of South America.
- DirectorLewis D. CollinsStarsJimmy LydonArt BakerGil StrattonA young man builds a hot rod despite the disapproval of his father, a Juvenile Court judge. Circumstantial evidence points to the innocent teenager when his car is involved in a hit-and-run accident and he must reconcile with his father.
- DirectorHerbert I. LeedsStarsRobert SterlingJoan DixonRicardo CortezA detective goes after a ring of phony "mediums" who are trying to swindle a rich widow out of her fortune.
- DirectorRay NazarroStarsCharles StarrettGail DavisTommy IvoWidow Mahoney, the best cook in town and hotel proprietor , along with her larcenous sons, is trying to take control of the town's water supply so she can acquire the valley ranchland cheaply.
- DirectorWilliam WitneyStarsRoy RogersTriggerDale EvansRoy is an insurance investigator looking into the theft of uranium ore. He must prevent the thieves from taking off in a plane with the stolen ore.
- DirectorLesley SelanderStarsTim HoltNoreen NashTom KeeneDave Saunders and his sidekick Chito, cowhands looking for work, arrive in Sundown Valley, Wyoming just in time to stop sheep ranch foreman Jess Rawlins from lynching cattleman Tug Caldwell. Rawlins seems set on starting a range war; but why? Before Dave and Chito can find out, they must convince Chris Marvin, Rawlins's attractive boss, that he's no good...and get out from under a framed murder charge.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsLeo GorceyHuntz HallAdele JergensWith Louie away, Slip turns the Sweet Shop into an escort service that attracts the attention of bank robbers.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsLeo GorceyHuntz HallHillary BrookeTo solve the death of a friend, the boys go to gambling school, then go undercover as croupiers in an illegal gambling house.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsLeo GorceyHuntz HallGabriel DellSlip, Sach, Whitey, Butch and Chuck witness a warehouse robbery, and are arrested and jailed on suspicion. Gabe Moreno, their lawyer-friend gets them released on bail. Since the charge of suspicion is one that the prosecutors appear to believe can be easily proved, the gang is awaiting trail, when Whitey, a short-wave radio fan, picks up information that leads him to believe that instructions for the warehouse robbery and others are given by an inmate in the penitentiary to his pals on the outside via short-wave radio. When the five go on trail, Slip and Sach plead guilty so that they may be imprisoned and the other three are given probation. Once in the Big House, Slip and Sach learn immediately learn that two notorious gangsters, Pretty Boy Gleason and Benny the Blood, expected to arrive at the prison have received a last-minute stay-of-sentence, so they decide to pose as Pretty Boy and Benny, in order to be readily accepted among the Cons and learn which of them is the one sending out the robbery instructions. They meet the leader, Bat Armstrong, and learn from Whitey, who has intercepted one of Bat's short-wave messages, that a prison break is planned. But before they can do much about that, the real Pretty Boy and Benny are imprisoned, and Slip and Sach are now known by Bat and his friends to be impostors.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsLeo GorceyHuntz HallAdele JergensAfter he undergoes a throat operation, Slip and the gang discover that Sach now possesses a beautiful singing voice and try to figure out how to make money off of it.
- DirectorRay NazarroStarsCharles StarrettLois HallSteve DarrellSteve Lawton, aka The Durango Kid, U.S. Army undercover man, and his assistant Smiley, are sent to Santa Fe by Army investigator Copeland to deliver a gold shipment and check on the strange disappearance of Captain Tanner from Fort Navajo. Copeland is murdered by Forsythe, a fake government agent,who orders Krag Benson and his other henchmen to ambush Steve and Smiley and steal the gold shipment. Steve and Smiley escape the trap and reach Santa Fe, where they learn that Tanner's wife Alice is being held hostage by Forsythe and his gang.
- DirectorWilliam WitneyStarsRoy RogersTriggerDale EvansRoy is a United States Marshal tracking down a counterfeiting ring and hunting down a mountain lion. Songs: "It's One Wonderful Day, " "Rootin' Tootin' Cowboy, " "Pancho's Rancho" and the title song.
- DirectorWilliam WitneyStarsRoy RogersTriggerPenny EdwardsThe annual return of the salmon each year gives the Indians of the Northwest enough food to last until the next year. This way of live is threatened by Banning who puts in a cannery on the river to harvest the fish for sale. With the Canadian cannery on the other side, the Indians find no fish in the river for them. But Banning wants all the fish for his business and he plans to burn the Canadian cannery and put the blame on Chief Nagora. But Indian Agent Roy knows that Nagora is being framed and starts looking for the people responsible with the help of his blood brother Dakota.
- DirectorJohn EnglishStarsGene AutryChampionGail DavisAfter leaving the Confederate cavalry, Gene becomes an undercover man in the Union army.