John Dierkes

Dierkes was born on February 10, 1905 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Brown University and subsequently went to work as an economist for the United States Department of State. In 1941 he joined the Red Cross and served in the Britain duringWorld War II. There he met director John Huston who recommended that he try Hollywood after the war. Instead, Dierkes went to work for the U.S. Treasury Department which coincidentally sent him to Hollywood to function as technical advisor for the film To the Ends of the Earth (1948). Because of his appearance and very tall frame (6 feet, 6 inches), Dierkes enjoyed a long career as a character actor, often portraying villains or soldiers. In the 1953 film Shane, Dierkes portrays villain Morgan Ryker, who is the last man shot by the title character, Shane, in the final bar room shootout. One of his more memorable scenes is in the 1960 film, The Alamo. Dierkes portrays a Tennessean named Jocko, who is torn between leaving before the attack to care for his blind wife, or staying to support the Texans' cause. Understanding that if Jocko stays to fight she will likely be widowed, Jocko's wife coaxes him to stay and defend the fort, despite her disability. Dierkes died in 1975 of emphesyma and was survived by his wife Cynthia, two sons, and two daughters.

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Macbeth (1948)

A Scottish warlord and his wife murder their way to a pair of crowns.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Orson Welles
CAST:  Orson Welles  •  Jeanette Nolan  •  Dan O'Herlihy  •  Alan Napier

A Scottish warlord and his wife murder their way to a pair of crowns.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Orson Welles
CAST:  Orson Welles  •  Jeanette Nolan  •  Dan O'Herlihy  •  Alan Napier

One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

Running from the law after a bank robbery in Mexico, Dad Longworth finds an opportunity to take the stolen gold and leave his partner Rio to be captured. Years later, Rio escapes from the prison where he has been since, and hunts down Dad for revenge. Dad is now a ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Marlon Brando
CAST:  Marlon Brando  •  Karl Malden  •  Katy Jurado  •  Pina Pellicer

Running from the law after a bank robbery in Mexico, Dad Longworth finds an opportunity to take the stolen gold and leave his partner Rio to be captured. Years later, Rio escapes from the prison where he has been since, and hunts down Dad for revenge. Dad is now a ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Marlon Brando
CAST:  Marlon Brando  •  Karl Malden  •  Katy Jurado  •  Pina Pellicer

Shane (1953)

Charming

A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.  (more)

DIRECTION:  George Stevens
CAST:  Alan Ladd  •  Jean Arthur  •  Van Heflin  •  Brandon De Wilde

A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.  (more)

DIRECTION:  George Stevens
CAST:  Alan Ladd  •  Jean Arthur  •  Van Heflin  •  Brandon De Wilde

The Alamo (1960)

The legendary true story of a small band of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Wayne
CAST:  John Wayne  •  Richard Widmark  •  Laurence Harvey  •  Frankie Avalon

The legendary true story of a small band of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Wayne
CAST:  John Wayne  •  Richard Widmark  •  Laurence Harvey  •  Frankie Avalon

The Comancheros (1961)

Texas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves known as Comancheros.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Wayne  •  Michael Curtiz
CAST:  John Wayne  •  Stuart Whitman  •  Ina Balin  •  Nehemiah Persoff

Texas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves known as Comancheros.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Wayne  •  Michael Curtiz
CAST:  John Wayne  •  Stuart Whitman  •  Ina Balin  •  Nehemiah Persoff

The Hanging Tree (1959)

Joseph "Doc" Frail is a doctor with a past he's trying to outrun. While in Montana, he comes across a mining camp with a hanging tree and rescues a man named Rune from the noose. With Rune as his servant, Frail decides to settle down, and he takes over as town ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Delmer Daves
CAST:  Gary Cooper  •  Maria Schell  •  Karl Malden  •  George C. Scott

Joseph "Doc" Frail is a doctor with a past he's trying to outrun. While in Montana, he comes across a mining camp with a hanging tree and rescues a man named Rune from the noose. With Rune as his servant, Frail decides to settle down, and he takes over as town ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Delmer Daves
CAST:  Gary Cooper  •  Maria Schell  •  Karl Malden  •  George C. Scott

The Omega Man (1971)

Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain - sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Boris Sagal
CAST:  Charlton Heston  •  Anthony Zerbe  •  Rosalind Cash  •  Paul Koslo

Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain - sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Boris Sagal
CAST:  Charlton Heston  •  Anthony Zerbe  •  Rosalind Cash  •  Paul Koslo

The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

Truncated adaptation of Stephen Crane's novel about a Civil War Union soldier who stuggles to find the courage to fight in the heat of battle.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Huston
CAST:  Audie Murphy  •  Bill Mauldin  •  Douglas Dick  •  Robert Easton

Truncated adaptation of Stephen Crane's novel about a Civil War Union soldier who stuggles to find the courage to fight in the heat of battle.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Huston
CAST:  Audie Murphy  •  Bill Mauldin  •  Douglas Dick  •  Robert Easton

The Thing from Another World (1951)

GrippingClassicFantasticalScary

Scientists and US Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while investigating at a remote arctic outpost.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Howard Hawks  •  Christian Nyby
CAST:  Margaret Sheridan  •  Kenneth Tobey  •  Robert Cornthwaite  •  Douglas Spencer

Scientists and US Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while investigating at a remote arctic outpost.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Howard Hawks  •  Christian Nyby
CAST:  Margaret Sheridan  •  Kenneth Tobey  •  Robert Cornthwaite  •  Douglas Spencer

Touch of Evil (1958)

When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas begins his investigation, along with American police captain Hank Quinlan. When Vargas begins to suspect that Quinlan and his shady partner, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Orson Welles
CAST:  Charlton Heston  •  Janet Leigh  •  Orson Welles  •  Joseph Calleia

When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas begins his investigation, along with American police captain Hank Quinlan. When Vargas begins to suspect that Quinlan and his shady partner, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Orson Welles
CAST:  Charlton Heston  •  Janet Leigh  •  Orson Welles  •  Joseph Calleia

X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

A doctor uses special eye drops to give himself x-ray vision, but the new power has disastrous consequences.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Roger Corman
CAST:  Ray Milland  •  Diana Van der Vlis  •  Harold J. Stone  •  Don Rickles

A doctor uses special eye drops to give himself x-ray vision, but the new power has disastrous consequences.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Roger Corman
CAST:  Ray Milland  •  Diana Van der Vlis  •  Harold J. Stone  •  Don Rickles

Les Miserables (1952)

Jean Valjean, a Frenchman of good character, has nevertheless been convicted for the minor crime of stealing bread. A minor infraction leads to his pursuit by the relentless policeman Javert, a pursuit that consumes both men's lives for many years.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Lewis Milestone
CAST:  Michael Rennie  •  Debra Paget  •  Robert Newton  •  Edmund Gwenn

Jean Valjean, a Frenchman of good character, has nevertheless been convicted for the minor crime of stealing bread. A minor infraction leads to his pursuit by the relentless policeman Javert, a pursuit that consumes both men's lives for many years.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Lewis Milestone
CAST:  Michael Rennie  •  Debra Paget  •  Robert Newton  •  Edmund Gwenn

The Raven (1963)

A magician who has been turned into a raven turns to a former sorcerer for help.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Roger Corman
CAST:  Vincent Price  •  Peter Lorre  •  Boris Karloff  •  Hazel Court

A magician who has been turned into a raven turns to a former sorcerer for help.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Roger Corman
CAST:  Vincent Price  •  Peter Lorre  •  Boris Karloff  •  Hazel Court

The Naked Jungle (1954)

The Leiningen South American cocoa plantation is threatened by a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Byron Haskin
CAST:  Charlton Heston  •  Eleanor Parker  •  William Conrad  •  Abraham Sofaer

The Leiningen South American cocoa plantation is threatened by a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Byron Haskin
CAST:  Charlton Heston  •  Eleanor Parker  •  William Conrad  •  Abraham Sofaer

The Buccaneer (1958)

During the War of 1812 against Britain: General Andrew Jackson has only 1,200 men left to defend New Orleans when he learns that a British fleet will arrive with 60 ships and 16,000 men to take the city. In this situation an island near the city becomes ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Anthony Quinn
CAST:  Yul Brynner  •  Claire Bloom  •  Inger Stevens  •  Charlton Heston

During the War of 1812 against Britain: General Andrew Jackson has only 1,200 men left to defend New Orleans when he learns that a British fleet will arrive with 60 ships and 16,000 men to take the city. In this situation an island near the city becomes ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Anthony Quinn
CAST:  Yul Brynner  •  Claire Bloom  •  Inger Stevens  •  Charlton Heston

The Vanishing American (1955)

A woman arrives in New Mexico to claim property she's inherited and receives an education in the greedy exploitation of the local Navajo.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Joseph Kane
CAST:  Audrey Totter  •  Scott Brady  •  Forrest Tucker  •  Jay Silverheels

A woman arrives in New Mexico to claim property she's inherited and receives an education in the greedy exploitation of the local Navajo.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Joseph Kane
CAST:  Audrey Totter  •  Scott Brady  •  Forrest Tucker  •  Jay Silverheels

Silver City (1951)

Having masterminded the hold up of his company office, a mining engineer is barred from the industry. He then sets up shop as an assayer, scheming to acquire a rich silver mine lease from its operators.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Byron Haskin
CAST:  Edmond O'Brien  •  Yvonne De Carlo  •  Barry Fitzgerald  •  Richard Arlen

Having masterminded the hold up of his company office, a mining engineer is barred from the industry. He then sets up shop as an assayer, scheming to acquire a rich silver mine lease from its operators.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Byron Haskin
CAST:  Edmond O'Brien  •  Yvonne De Carlo  •  Barry Fitzgerald  •  Richard Arlen

The Vanquished (1953)

A man returns to his home -- a post Civil-War village -- and finds the law is in the hands of a few scrupulous people.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Edward Ludwig
CAST:  John Payne  •  Jan Sterling  •  Coleen Gray  •  Lyle Bettger

A man returns to his home -- a post Civil-War village -- and finds the law is in the hands of a few scrupulous people.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Edward Ludwig
CAST:  John Payne  •  Jan Sterling  •  Coleen Gray  •  Lyle Bettger

The Guns of Fort Petticoat (1957)

Opposing his commanding officer's decision to attack a group of innocent Indians and wipe them out, Lt. Frank Hewitt leaves his post and heads home to Texas. He knows that the attack will send all of the tribes on the warpath and he wants to forewarn everyone. He ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  George Marshall
CAST:  Audie Murphy  •  Kathryn Grant  •  Patricia Tiernan  •  Ray Teal

Opposing his commanding officer's decision to attack a group of innocent Indians and wipe them out, Lt. Frank Hewitt leaves his post and heads home to Texas. He knows that the attack will send all of the tribes on the warpath and he wants to forewarn everyone. He ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  George Marshall
CAST:  Audie Murphy  •  Kathryn Grant  •  Patricia Tiernan  •  Ray Teal

The Moonlighter (1953)

Wes Anderson (Fred MacMurray) is caught cattle rustling and promptly jailed. The public is outraged, but, since Wes always worked at night, they don't know what he looks like. Still, they break into the prison and lynch a hobo they think is Wes, while the actual ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Roy Rowland
CAST:  Barbara Stanwyck  •  Fred MacMurray  •  Ward Bond  •  William Ching

Wes Anderson (Fred MacMurray) is caught cattle rustling and promptly jailed. The public is outraged, but, since Wes always worked at night, they don't know what he looks like. Still, they break into the prison and lynch a hobo they think is Wes, while the actual ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Roy Rowland
CAST:  Barbara Stanwyck  •  Fred MacMurray  •  Ward Bond  •  William Ching
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