{"id":39028,"date":"2020-02-02T16:01:18","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T16:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ucm.one\/?page_id=39028"},"modified":"2020-02-16T00:22:25","modified_gmt":"2020-02-16T00:22:25","slug":"the-cruel-tower","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ucm.one\/en\/the-cruel-tower\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cruel Tower (1956) by Lew Landers | The blue series"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Cruel Tower<\/h1>\n

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“The Cruel Tower<\/strong>” (German: “Turm des Todes<\/strong>“) by Lew Landers<\/strong> is the third film in “The Blue Series<\/strong>” of the film label “M-Square Classics<\/strong>“. The film, which is based on a novel by William B. Hartley<\/strong>, is being released for the first time in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and has been recut in the cinema version on DVD. The leading actress Mari Blanchard<\/strong> had great success as an actress in the 60’s: You could see her next to John Wayne<\/strong> in “MacLintock<\/strong>” or next to Vincent Price<\/strong> in “The Poison of Evil<\/strong>” as well as in the long-running TV hit “77- Sunset- Strip<\/strong>“. John Ericso<\/strong>n became famous through “City in Fear<\/strong>” next to Spencer Tracy<\/strong> and in the 60s and 70s through countless guest roles in well-known TV series like “Bonanza<\/strong>“, “Smoking Colts<\/strong>“, “The Streets of San Francisco<\/strong>” or “Vegas<\/strong>“. Charles McGraw<\/strong> on the other hand drew attention to himself especially through roles in “Spartacus<\/strong>“, Alfred Hitchcock<\/strong>‘s “The Birds<\/strong>” or the TV series “The Untouchables<\/strong>“.\u00a0The sometimes breathtaking high altitude shots were staged by camera legend Ernest Haller<\/strong>, who won two Oscar<\/strong>s for “Gone with the Wind<\/strong>” and “Jezebel<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Synopsis:<\/h3>\n

The unemployed tramp Tom Kittredge (John Ericson<\/strong>) joins three assembly workers who repair giant chimneys, steel towers and high-voltage lines at dizzying heights. However, Tom is constantly struggling with his fear of heights, which his supervisor Stretch (Charles McGrawn<\/strong>) makes fun of all the time. When he falls in love with Stretch\u2018s girlfriend Mary (Mari Blanchard<\/strong>), catastrophe strikes\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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About John Ericson:<\/h3>\n

John Ericson<\/span><\/b> (* 23 September 1926 in D\u00fcsseldorf as Joseph Meibes) emigrated with his family to Antwerp in 1931 and to the USA in 1934. Here he took his stage name and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York together with later stars like Grace Kelly<\/strong> and Jack Palance<\/strong>. Afterwards he worked as a theater actor, among other things on Broadway in the original production of the play Stalag 17<\/strong>, later filmed by Billy Wilder<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ericson made his highly acclaimed film debut in “Teresa<\/strong>”\u00a0in 1951. This was followed by roles at the side of world stars such as Spencer Tracy<\/strong>, Elizabeth Taylor<\/strong> or Barbara Stanwyck<\/strong> and directed by greats like Fred Zinnemann<\/strong>, John Sturges<\/strong> or Samuel Fuller<\/strong>. However, he never made the big breakthrough into the A-League of Hollywood stars. Ericson often played elegant, self-confident and hard acting men, often in westerns. Besides, Ericson played in numerous TV series like “Airwolf<\/strong>“, “Murder She Wrote<\/strong>“, “General Hospital<\/strong>“, “Knight Rider<\/strong>“, “Smoking Colts<\/strong>“, “Bonanza<\/strong>” and “The A-Team<\/strong>“. In the TV series “Private Detective Honey West<\/strong>” he played the male lead role alongside Anne Francis<\/strong> between 1965 and 1966. His last of over 100 film and television appearances he made in 2008 in the series “L.A. Crash<\/strong>“.<\/span><\/p>\n

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About Mari Blanchard:<\/h3>\n

Mari Blanchard <\/span><\/b>(*13 April 1923) was an American film and television actress, best known for her roles as B-movie Femme Fatale in American productions of the 1950s and early 1960s.\u00a0<\/span>At the age of nine she fell ill with polio. After her health improved, she ran away from home as a teenager and joined a circus. She then studied at several universities before becoming a successful model and film extra in the late 1940s. A producer discovered her in an advertisement and hired her for the big screen. From 1950 to 1951 she took small roles in a series of movies at MGM<\/strong>, RKO<\/strong> and Paramount<\/strong> until she was signed on by Universal International<\/strong> in 1952. Her first movie at Universal was “Back at the Front<\/strong>“, followed by the romantic adventure “The Veils of Baghdad<\/strong>” in 1953 in which she played the leading role at Victor Mature<\/strong>‘s side.<\/span><\/p>\n

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