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Post by mikef6 on Aug 5, 2020 20:59:14 GMT
Hugh Beaumont is usually thought of by people of a certain age (my age) as Ward Cleaver, greatest sit-com Dad, on the long running series Leave It To Beaver (1957-1963). But he was under contract to the Poverty Row studio PRC for much of the 1940s and appeared in many film noir and noir-ish crime films as hard-boiled detectives, suspects, and, in a couple of pictures, the unknown killer. Among these titles are: as P.I. Michael Shayne in five features - none seen by me (all 1946), The Lady Confesses (1945), Bury Me Dead (1947), Railroaded! (directed by Anthony Mann) (1947), and an “A” picture at RKO, The Seventh Victim (1943). Maybe the most notorious of them all is Apology For Murder (1945), PRC’s rip-off of the previous year’s “Double Indemnity.” Beaumont takes the Fred MacMurray role while Ann Savage steps in for Barbara Stanwyck. The theft was so blatant that Paramount filed a lawsuit to stop production. It is not known for sure what happened next, but the suit was never carried through and “Apology for Murder” went ahead. Of course, it is a pale shadow of the film it is a carbon copy of, but is still a watchable thriller for its lead actors and sometimes witty and suggestive dialog. . It was also good to see Ann Savage as the glammed-up evil rich lady who, later in 1945, became immortal as the hard-bitten, down and dirty evil lady, Vera, in Edgar Ulmer’s “Detour” for the same studio. Just don’t go in expecting a hidden gem. It is more of a curiosity than anything. Apology For Murder  The Seventh Victim  The Lady Confesses  Bury Me Dead  Railroaded!  Can anyone name me the movie where Beaumont plays a Nazi? This was the first thing outside of Ward Cleaver that I saw him in, making me remember at least that part of the movie. |
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Post by Prime etc. on Aug 5, 2020 21:26:25 GMT
I've seen THE LADY CONFESSES.
It is funny to see him in such a movie.
Previously the only movie I knew him from was THE MOLE PEOPLE.
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Post by marianne48 on Aug 5, 2020 21:26:39 GMT
Was it The Fallen Sparrow? I think TCM is showing that this month on Maureen O'Hara Day. I hope the Beav doesn't find out what his dad really did in the war.
Ward Cleaver was my favorite TV dad.
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Post by mikef6 on Aug 5, 2020 21:31:42 GMT
Was it The Fallen Sparrow? I think TCM is showing that this month on Maureen O'Hara Day. I hope the Beav doesn't find out what his dad really did in the war. Ward Cleaver was my favorite TV dad. Looking at the cast of The Fallen Sparrow I think I do remember John Garfield. I'm sure this is the one. Thanks ever so. |
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Post by mattgarth on Aug 5, 2020 21:43:49 GMT
Hugh gets to shoot John Ireland and get the girl in RAILROADED.
And also pal around with Navy buddies Alan Ladd and William Bendix in THE BLUE DAHLIA.
Not a bad pre-Beaver film pedigree.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Aug 5, 2020 21:50:35 GMT
It's always fun to spot a TV mom or dad in a pre-TV role. Sometimes it takes forever to figure out just who the villain reminds you of .... well, it takes ME forever  and I have been known to put a movie on hold and go look it up on IMDb ! Railroaded  The Blue Dahlia     Matt |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Aug 5, 2020 21:56:06 GMT
 The Fallen Sparrow That looks like him behind John Garfield. Edit .. or maybe not  |
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Post by marshamae on Aug 5, 2020 22:36:02 GMT
He was Blond in Fallen Sparrow! Another mystery performer , John Banner, best known as SCHULTZ ( I know Nothing) from Hogan’s Hero’s , plays the slimy pianist . He is very thin but still recognizable . Don’t miss the frantic Gypsy dance and violin piece at the end.
I would have bet Hugh Beaumont’s best known film was Blue Dahlia
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Post by BATouttaheck on Aug 5, 2020 23:10:48 GMT
Another mystery performer , John Banner, best known as SCHULTZ ( I know Nothing) from Hogan’s Hero’s , plays the slimy pianist . He is very thin but still recognizable . WOW .. I never would have recognized him !  |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Aug 5, 2020 23:15:45 GMT
Found an image IDd as Hugh in The Fallen Sparrow  |
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Post by Prime etc. on Aug 5, 2020 23:17:30 GMT
I thought his footage in The Lady Confesses could be used to make some Leave it to Beaver fan edit where Ward is a psycho.
It only needs something with Fred Rutherford being killed for discovering the truth.
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Post by mikef6 on Aug 5, 2020 23:19:01 GMT
It's always fun to spot a TV mom or dad in a pre-TV role. Sometimes it takes forever to figure out just who the villain reminds you of .... well, it takes ME forever and I have been known to put a movie on hold and go look it up on IMDb ! Railroaded The Blue Dahlia Matt That's Ward with Sheila Ryan and John Ireland. Railroaded! Some people (including me) have described PRC as the poorest of the studios on Hollywood’s “Poverty Row.” A lot of their output bears out that analysis. But occasionally, under the right conditions, they could produce some minor gems. This is one of them. The right conditions were 1) a dangerous and scary performance by John Ireland (in his first lead role) as a remorseless killer with additional good thesping from heroine Sheila Ryan and Jane Randolph as Ireland’s partner in crime who cracks under pressure; 2) PRC had just been taken over by Eagle-Lion Films, a British owned production company and higher ranked “B” movie studio; 3) an engaging screenplay from John C. Higgins (Border Incident, Shield For Murder) and Gertrude Walker (Whispering Footsteps, The Damned Don’t Cry), and 4) Anthony Mann, supplied by Eagle-Lion, who was following up on his popular and critical success “T-Men.” The story: Clara Calhoun (Randolph), who runs a bookie operation in the back room of her hair salon, partners with her mob boyfriend Duke Martin (Ireland) to rob her weekly take and put the blame on innocent Steve Ryan (Ed Kelly). The robbery goes wrong and a police officer is killed but the frame sticks and it looks like Steve will take the fall. The only person on his side is his sister Rosie (Ryan) who resolves to solve the case herself. Also doubtful of Steve’s guilt is homicide detective Mickey Ferguson (Hugh Beaumont). This is a nice little suspenser and a worthy addition to Anthony Mann’s reputation. “Railroaded!” (don’t forget that exclamation point!) is based on the same true life case that inspired “Calling Northside 777.” |
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Post by Doghouse6 on Aug 6, 2020 1:04:21 GMT
Here's an obscurity from the Beaumont filmography: an excerpt from a 1945 U.S. Navy film, I'm A Civilian Here Myself, intended to prepare servicemen for what they could expect at "separation centers" as they return to civilian life. In it, Beaumont does a good job as foil to Robert Benchley, trying mightily to quietly contain his exasperation at Benchley's addled answers during an interview.
Ava Gardner also makes a cameo appearance but, regrettably, not in this excerpt.
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Post by marshamae on Aug 6, 2020 17:20:17 GMT
Hugh beaumont contributed to Guideposts, a Christian devotional and news paper, pretty regularly during the 50’s.
I did not see anything especially preachy about Ward Cleaver. In fact, watching the reruns now, I am surprised at how often Ward and June fight and snuggle, how often Ward gets angry at the boys, shows some mildly unpleasant but realistic trait like jealousy, being too eager for the boys to demonstrate being chips off the old block and a credit to their parents. He is much less of a perfect Dad than, say Robert young on Father Knows Best.
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Post by teleadm on Aug 6, 2020 18:27:31 GMT
Thought it would be another actor I've never seen ( Leave It to Beaver wasn't broadcasted in Sweden), but he has popped up in a few I've seen, including Night Passage 1957.  A slightly older Hugh with Tom Tryon in The Virginian episode Girl on the Glass Mountain 1966.  A 1974 pic with Hugh with wife, and Barbara Billingsley with husband. |
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Post by phantomparticle on Aug 7, 2020 2:15:05 GMT
A lot of the fun in re-visiting the Classics is recognizing actors you probably saw before they became well known. In Beaumont's case, pre Beaver. Here he is with John Agar and Cynthia Patrick in The Mole People. I saw this in 1956 and it's one of my many guilty pleasures. Got a good laugh out of spotting him when the movie became available on the video market. I bet the Beav didn't know his pop was an archeologist who discovered a lost Sumerian civilization.  |
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hilda
Sophomore
@hilda
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Post by hilda on Aug 11, 2020 12:25:53 GMT
Hugh Beaumont is usually thought of by people of a certain age (my age) as Ward Cleaver, greatest sit-com Dad, on the long running series Leave It To Beaver (1957-1963). But he was under contract to the Poverty Row studio PRC for much of the 1940s and appeared in many film noir and noir-ish crime films as hard-boiled detectives, suspects, and, in a couple of pictures, the unknown killer. Among these titles are: as P.I. Michael Shayne in five features - none seen by me (all 1946), The Lady Confesses (1945), Bury Me Dead (1947), Railroaded! (directed by Anthony Mann) (1947), and an “A” picture at RKO, The Seventh Victim (1943). Maybe the most notorious of them all is Apology For Murder (1945), PRC’s rip-off of the previous year’s “Double Indemnity.” Beaumont takes the Fred MacMurray role while Ann Savage steps in for Barbara Stanwyck. The theft was so blatant that Paramount filed a lawsuit to stop production. It is not known for sure what happened next, but the suit was never carried through and “Apology for Murder” went ahead. Of course, it is a pale shadow of the film it is a carbon copy of, but is still a watchable thriller for its lead actors and sometimes witty and suggestive dialog. . It was also good to see Ann Savage as the glammed-up evil rich lady who, later in 1945, became immortal as the hard-bitten, down and dirty evil lady, Vera, in Edgar Ulmer’s “Detour” for the same studio. Just don’t go in expecting a hidden gem. It is more of a curiosity than anything. Was Barbara a movie star pre Beaver fame as well? I think Tony(Wally) did a few films too. Apology For Murder The Seventh Victim The Lady Confesses Bury Me Dead Railroaded! Can anyone name me the movie where Beaumont plays a Nazi? This was the first thing outside of Ward Cleaver that I saw him in, making me remember at least that part of the movie.
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hilda
Sophomore
@hilda
Posts: 182
Likes: 92
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Post by hilda on Aug 11, 2020 12:27:02 GMT
Thought it would be another actor I've never seen ( Leave It to Beaver wasn't broadcasted in Sweden), but he has popped up in a few I've seen, including Night Passage 1957. He aged well circa the 70's pic. A slightly older Hugh with Tom Tryon in The Virginian episode Girl on the Glass Mountain 1966. A 1974 pic with Hugh with wife, and Barbara Billingsley with husband.
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hilda
Sophomore
@hilda
Posts: 182
Likes: 92
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Post by hilda on Aug 11, 2020 12:33:26 GMT
Hugh beaumont contributed to Guideposts, a Christian devotional and news paper, pretty regularly during the 50’s. I did not see anything especially preachy about Ward Cleaver. In fact, watching the reruns now, I am surprised at how often Ward and June fight and snuggle, how often Ward gets angry at the boys, shows some mildly unpleasant but realistic trait like jealousy, being too eager for the boys to demonstrate being chips off the old block and a credit to their parents. He is much less of a perfect Dad than, say Robert young on Father Knows Best. I had no idea Guideposts was around in the 50's. No the Wards were not sweet as cookie parents. I recall both of them correcting their sons when necessary. The same with Carol and Mike Brady.
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Post by marshamae on Aug 11, 2020 13:34:23 GMT
Hi hilda! Thanks for joining the conversation.
It’s a little hard to see your remarks. Instead of adding them to the comment you quote, maybe you could add your comment below the quote, outside the box.
I did not know how long Guideposts was in print. It was a staple in our house and Hugh’s articles were well liked, folksy and personal. Barbara billingsly was in a few films as was Tony Dow. It was Jerry Mather who had TGE film career, in Hitchcock’s comedy THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY,
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and I have been known to put a movie on hold and go look it up on IMDb ! 
Matt 
