This page is sponsored by:
Martha Hyer
1924-
Updated 9/29/2008 with more films available on DVD!
biography
Born in Texas in 1924, gorgeous Martha Hyer majored in drama at Northwestern University. Upon graduation, she made her way to Hollywood and, after a stint at the Pasadena Playhouse, snagged a contract with RKO. After a series of bit parts, Hyer moved into westerns, where she starred alongside Tim Holt and Allan "Rocky" Lane. When Hyer's contract with RKO ended in 1951, she took time off to marry producer/director C. Ray Stahl, whom she met on the set of Oriental Evil (1950). She freelanced afterward for several studios, including Monogram, Paramount, and Warner Bros., and was under contract to Universal-International in the late 1950s. Hyer and Stahl worked on another film together, The Scarlet Spear (1954), released the year they called their marriage quits. Hyer's most successful period came in the mid to late 1950s, when she starred in a string of films and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Some Came Running (1958).
Beautiful pin-up shots of Martha Hyer
the films of martha hyer
The Battle of Rogue River (1954)
From Columbia's The Battle of Rogue River
Francis in the Navy (1955)
One of the entries in Universal-International's Francis, the Talking Mule series, Francis in the Navy
Red Sundown (1956)
From the Universal-International western Red Sundown
Kelly and Me (1957)
LEFT: With Van Johnson, Frank Wilcox, and Herbert Anderson in Kelly and Me. RIGHT Again with Van Johnson
Mister Cory (1957)
From Universal-International's Mister Cory, directed by Blake Edwards. LEFT: Beautiful promotional photo. CENTER: With Tony Curtis. RIGHT: With William Reynolds
Once Upon a Horse (1958)
From Universal-International's Rowan and Martin comedy Once Upon a Horse
Desire in the Dust (1960)
LEFT: Necking with Brett Halsey in the potboiler Desire in the Dust. RIGHT: With Raymond Burr as her father, Col. Ben Marquand
The Last Time I Saw Archie (1957)
With Robert Mitchum, France Nuyen, and Jack Webb in The Last Time I Saw Archie. This film was based on actor/director Arch Hall Sr.'s experiences as a test pilot
Pyro (1963)
Hyer in a bad girl role in the American International thriller Pyro
Blood on the Arrow (1964)
With Wendell Corey in the Allied Artists western Blood on the Arrow
martha hyer today
Into the 1960s, Hyer's career remained strong; she starred in a string of 'A' and 'B' pictures, but with her 1966 marriage to producer Hal Wallis, Hyer put the brakes on her career. She made few films afterward, retiring from the screen after the release of Day of the Wolves in 1973. She was widowed in 1986 with the death of Wallis. Hyer published her autobiography Finding My Way in 1990 and is today retired.
Thunder Mountain [DVD](1947) DVD
First-rate adaptation of Zane Grey's story stars Tim Holt as a college grad who tries to stop a family feud that's been fanned by a group of sly crooks out to dupe the local farmers. Holt and gal pal Martha Hyer, a member of a rival family, stop the dirty work and try to make peace. With Richard Martin, Steve Brodie. 60 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: Spanish; featurettes.
Zane Grey Western Classics, Vol. 2 [DVD] DVD
Four-disc boxed set includes "The Arizona Raiders" (1936), "Code of the West," "Thunder Mountain" (1947), and "Under the Tonto Rim."
Geisha Girl [DVD](1952) DVD
Whacked-out sci-fi adventure in which a team of Japanese scientists develop pills that can cause more explosive destruction than nuclear bombs. Two American soldiers get their hands on the pills, and when they get in trouble, a hypnotist from the Secret Service tries to help them out. William Andrews and Martha Hyer star. 67 min.
Oriental Evil [DVD](1953) DVD
Set in Japan, this thriller tells of a British man who weds his pregnant Japanese girlfriend in a fake ceremony, then falls for a woman who arrives looking to clear her late brother of suspected involvement in the opium trade. Martha Hyer, Byron Michie, Tetsu Nakamura star. Soundtrack: English.
Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection [DVD] DVD
Fifteen-disc set includes "One Night in the Tropics" (1940), "Buck Privates" (1941), "In the Navy" (1941), "Hold That Ghost!" (1941), "Keep 'Em Flying" (1941), "Ride 'Em Cowboy" (1942), "Pardon My Sarong" (1942), "Who Done It?" (1942), "It Ain't Hay" (1943), "Hit the Ice" (1943), "In Society" (1944), "Here Come the Co-Eds" (1945), "The Naughty Nineties" (1945), "Little Giant" (1946), "The Time of Their Lives" (1946), "Buck Privates Come Home" (1947), "The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap" (1947), "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948), "Mexican Hayride" (1948), "Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff" (1949), "Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion" (1950), "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (1951), "Comin' Round the Mountain" (1951), "Lost in Alaska" (1952), "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars" (1953), "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1953), "Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops" (1955), and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" (1955), and a disc featuring the documentaries "The World of Abbott and Costello" (1964), "Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld" (1994), and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters" (2000). 38 hrs. total.
Sabrina [DVD](1954) DVD
Billy Wilder helmed and co-scripted this spry romantic comedy. Audrey Hepburn is the shy chauffeur's daughter who becomes a stunning beauty, and William Holden and Humphrey Bogart are the socialite brothers who at first ignore, then are entranced by Hepburn. 112 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; documentary; photo gallery.
Lucky Me [DVD](1954) DVD
A group of out-of-work entertainers finds themselves relegated to kitchen work at a Miami hotel, but spunky Doris Day teams up with songwriter Robert Cummings to convince an oil tycoon to sponsor Cummings' new show. The problem is, the oilman's spoiled daughter keeps getting in the way. Breezy musical also stars Phil Silvers, Eddie Foy, Jr., Nancy Walker. Songs include "I Speak to the Stars," "Men," and the title song. 101 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1; bonus shorts "When the Talkies Were Young" (1955), "Sandy Claws" (1954); theatrical trailer.
Battle Hymn [DVD](1957) DVD
Based on a true story, director Douglas Sirk's moving drama stars Rock Hudson as Dean Hess, an American WWII pilot who became a minister after the war and, during the Korean conflict, went to Asia to care for orphaned children. With Martha Hyer, Dan Duryea, Don DeFore. 109 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: Spanish, French.
The Delicate Delinquent [DVD](1957) DVD
In his first solo outing, Jerry Lewis plays a nerdy janitor who gets caught in the middle of a gang rumble and is arrested. Policeman Darren McGavin (a role written for Dean Martin) sets out to reform the "delinquent" Lewis, who soon becomes a cop. A mirthful mix of silliness and sentiment; with Martha Hyer, Rocky Marciano. 100 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish; theatrical trailer.
Jerry Lewis: The "Legendary Jerry" Collection [DVD] DVD
Ten-disc set includes "The Stooge," "The Delicate Delinquent," "The Bellboy," "Cinderfella," "The Errand Boy," "The Ladies Man" (1961), "The Nutty Professor" (Special Edition) (1963), "The Disorderly Orderly," "The Patsy," and "The Family Jewels."
Frank Sinatra: The Golden Years [DVD] DVD
Five-disc set includes "The Man with the Golden Arm," "The Tender Trap," "Some Came Running" (1958; with Martha Hyer), "None But the Brave," and "Marriage on the Rocks."
Houseboat [DVD](1958) DVD
Engaging comedy classic stars Cary Grant as a widowed government attorney living aboard a houseboat with his three unruly children. After hiring Italian socialite Sophia Loren to look after his kids, Grant quickly becomes enchanted with the mysterious beauty. As the pair strikes up a relationship, Grant realizes that his streak of bad luck may have finally come to an end. With Martha Hyer, Harry Guardino. 109 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; photo gallery; theatrical trailers. NOTE: This Title Is Out Of Print; Limit One Per Customer.
Paris Holiday [DVD](1958) DVD
The City of Lights becomes the City of Laughs when Bob Hope travels to Paris to buy a French playwright's latest work and winds up getting involved with gangsters and lovely Anita Ekberg (What's not to like?). Co-stars French comic Fernandel and director Preston Sturges. 100 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono; biographies; filmography; scene access.
The Best Of Everything [DVD](1959) DVD
Follow the tumultuous affairs of a group of women trying to juggle romantic fulfillment with a career in New York's publishing industry in this glossy, soap-styled drama. Diane Baker, Martha Hyer, Hope Lange and Suzy Parker are the ladies; Stephen Boyd, Robert Evans and Louis Jourdan are among the men in their lives; and Joan Crawford plays the no-nonsense boss. 121 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish; audio commentary; theatrical trailer; newsreel footage.
Mistress Of The World [DVD](1960) DVD
When a scientist whose experiments create an electromagnetic pulse that can immobilize an entire continent is kidnapped, his daughter and a pair of European intelligence agents set out to free him from the sinister female Asian mastermind seeking to use his invention to become (what else?) mistress of the world. Based in part on a silent serial, this French/German sci-fi thriller stars Martha Hyer, Carlos Thompson, Gino Cervi, and Sabu. Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English.
First Men In The Moon [DVD](1964) DVD
An eccentric professor in Victorian England develops an anti-gravity invention and uses it to travel to and inside the moon, finding an insect-like civilization there. Witty science-fiction adventure, based on H.G. Wells' novel, stars Lionel Jeffries, Edward Judd and Martha Hyer, and features stop-motion creations by Ray Harryhausen. 102 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 4.0; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai; theatrical trailers; scene access; photo gallery; documentary; featurette.
Frankie & Annette: M-G-M Movie Legends Collection [DVD] DVD
"Surf's up" in this four-disc boxed set saluting AIP's teen comedy series and seaside sweethearts Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Anthropologist Bob Cummings uses the pair as part of a study of modern mating habits in the original "Beach Party" (1963), with Morey Amsterdam, Dorothy Malone, and Harvey Lembeck as Eric Von Zipper. Annette has her hands full when the Potato Bug, a British pop star who's Frankie's double, arrives at "Bikini Beach" (1964). Martha Hyer, Don Rickles, and Little Stevie Wonder guest star. Gym owner Rickles wants to take over the kids' surf spot, and heiress Luciana Paluzzi wants to woo Frankie from Annette, in "Muscle Beach Party" (1964). Avalon trades his board for slats and joins Dwayne Hickman, Deborah Walley and James Brown for a "Ski Party" (1965). "Beach Blanket Bingo" (1965) boasts a missing singer, a mermaid, and skydiving surfdogs. Avalon wants to keep pal Hickman away from Funicello while he's on military duty in "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" (1965), with Buster Keaton. Frankie's a moonshine-running hot rodder competing with racer Fabian for Annette's hand in "Fireball 500" (1966). And Fabian and Funicello burn rubber together in "Thunder Alley" (1967). 12 1/2 hrs. total. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English mono.
The Sons Of Katie Elder [DVD](1965) DVD
John Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson, Jr., and Earl Holliman are the sons, reunited after many years to avenge the death of their mother. Rowdy and exciting Western action film also stars Martha Hyer and George Kennedy. 122 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English mono, French; Subtitles: English; theatrical trailer; scene access.
The Chase [DVD](1966) DVD
Tense, powerful drama by Arthur Penn ("Bonnie and Clyde") set in a small Texas town. Robert Redford is the prison escapee whom sheriff Marlon Brando wants to bring back alive, but the other townsfolk aren't as fussy. Jane Fonda, E.G. Marshall, Angie Dickinson and Robert Duvall also star; script by Lillian Hellman. 135 min.
Crossplot [DVD](1969) DVD
Between his turns as the Saint and James Bond, Roger Moore starred in this stylish spy drama, playing a London ad executive who hires a beautiful Hungarian girl as a model, unaware that she has overheard plans for assassination plot that will lead them both into a deadly game of international intrigue. Claudie Lange, Martha Hyer, Bernard Lee also star. 96 min. Standard and Widescreen; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; theatrical trailer.
martha hyer dvds available from amazon.com
filmography
Day of the Wolves (1973) with Richard Egan and Jan Murray
Crossplot (1969) with Roger Moore and Bernard Lee
Once You Kiss a Stranger (1969) with Paul Burke and Carol Lynley
Catch As Catch Can (1967) with Vittorio Gassman
Some May Live (1967) with Peter Cushing and Joseph Cotten
House of 1,000 Dolls (1967) with George Nader and Vincent Price
Another Man's Wife (1967)
The Happening (1967) with George Maharis and Faye Dunaway
Picture Mommy Dead (1966) with Zsa Zsa Gabor, Don Ameche, and Wendell Corey; directed by Bert I. Gordon
The Night of the Grizzly (1966) with Clint Walker, Ron Ely, and Nancy Kulp
The Chase (1966) with Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, and Angie Dickinson
War Italian Style (1965) with Buster Keaton and Franco and Ciccio
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) with John Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson Jr., Earl Holliman, Jeremy Slate, James Gregory, George Kennedy, and Dennis Hopper
First Men in the Moon (1964) with Lionel Jeffries
Blood on the Arrow (1964) with Dale Robertson, Wendell Corey, and Paul Mantee
Bikini Beach (1964) with Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Donna Loren, and Keenan Wynn
The Carpetbaggers (1964) with George Peppard, Alan Ladd, and Robert Cummings
Pyro (1963) with Barry Sullivan
Wives and Lovers (1963) with Janet Leigh, Shelley Winters, and Van Johnson
The Man from the Diner's Club (1963) with Danny Kaye
A Girl Named Tamiko (1962) with Laurence Harvey, Nick Adams, France Nuyen, and Gary Merrill
The Right Approach (1961) with Juliet Prowse
The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961) with Jack Webb, Robert Mitchum, France Nuyen, and Richard Arlen
Desire in the Dust (1960) with Joan Bennett, Raymond Burr, Irene Ryan, and Brett Halsey
Mistress of the World (1960) with Sabu and Carlos Thompson
Ice Palace (1960) with Robert Ryan, Richard Burton, Carolyn Jones, and Ray Danton
The Big Fisherman (1959) with John Saxon, Susan Kohner, and Howard Keel
The Best of Everything (1959) with Hope Lange, Suzy Parker, Stephen Boyd, Brett Halsey, and Joan Crawford
Once Upon a Horse (1958) with Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, and Nita Talbot
Some Came Running (1958) with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin
Houseboat (1958) with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren
Paris Holiday (1958) with Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg
My Man Godfrey (1957) with David Niven and June Allyson
The Delicate Delinquent (1957) with Darrin McGavin and Jerry Lewis
Kelly and Me (1957) with Piper Laurie and Van Johnson
Battle Hymn (1957) with Rock Hudson and Jock Mahoney
Mister Cory (1957) with Tony Curtis and William Reynolds
Red Sundown (1956) with Rory Calhoun and Grant Williams
Showdown at Abilene (1956) with Jock Mahoney and Grant Williams
Fresh From Paris (1955) with Forrest Tucker and Margaret Whiting
Kiss of Fire (1955) with Rex Reason, Barbara Rush, and Jack Palance
Francis in the Navy (1955) with Donald O'Connor, Clint Eastwood, David Janssen, and Martin Milner
Trouble on the Trail (1954) with Guy Madison
Cry Vengeance (1954) with Mark Stevens
Sabrina (1954) with Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, and Audrey Hepburn
Lucky Me (1954) with Doris Day and Robert Cummings
Down Three Dark Streets (1954) with Broderick Crawford and Ruth Roman
Wyoming Renegades (1954) with Philip Carey
The Battle of Rogue River (1954) with George Montgomery and Richard Denning
The Scarlet Spear (1954)
Riders to the Stars (1954) with Richard Carlson and William Lundigan
So Big (1953) with Sterling Hayden, Steve Forrest, and Jane Wyman
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) with Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Mari Blanchard, and Anita Ekberg
Yukon Gold (1952) with Kirby Grant
Geisha Girl (1952) with Steve Forrest
Wild Stallion (1952) with Ben Johnson and Hugh Beaumont
The Lawless (1950) with Macdonald Carey and Gail Russell
Oriental Evil (1950)
The Kangaroo Kid (1950) with Jock Mahoney and Veda Ann Borg
Frisco Tornado (1950) with Allan "Rocky" Lane
Salt Lake Raiders (1950) with Allan "Rocky" Lane and Myron Healey
Outcasts of Black Mesa (1950) with Charles Starrett and Smiley Burnette
The Clay Pigeon (1949) with Bill Williams and Barbara Hale
The Judge Steps Out (1949) with Ann Sothern
Roughshod (1949) with Gloria Grahame, Robert Sterling, and John Ireland
Rustlers (1949) with Tim Holt and Steve Brodie
Gun Smugglers (1948) with Tim Holt
The Velvet Touch (1948) with Rosalind Russell
Thunder Mountain (1947) with Tim Holt and Steve Brodie
martha hyer links
Luis' Martha Hyer Page
Check out this site for more than 100 photos of gorgeous Martha Hyer.
Click on the logo to go back to Brian's Drive-In Theater
This page premiered September 4, 2002.
Copyright and Disclaimer Information
