Joaquin Phoenix "looks like" Chester Morris.

Chester Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970), was born the son of Broadway stage actor William Morris and the performer Etta Hawkins.

He made his Broadway debut at 17 in Lionel Barrymore's The Copperhead. At 17, he billed himself as "the youngest leading man in the country".

His film career began in the film, An Amateur Orphan(1917). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film, Alibi (1929). He also starred in, The Bat Whispers (1930) and Corsair (1931).

He starred in the early prison film, The Big House (1930). After that his career faded, but made a come back with roles in B-movies: Smashing the Rackets(1938) and Five Came Back (1939).

 From 1941 to 1949 he played the character Boston Blackie, in 14 low-budget movies produced by Columbia Pictures.

Before the screening of some of his films, Morris performed magic acts, with live animals and larger stage tricks such as nearly severing an audience volunteer's head in a prop guillotine.

During World War II he performed hundreds of free magic shows for the U.S.O. at army and navy camps, war bond drives and hospitals.

In 1944, a B-24 "Liberator" airplane was christened "The Chester and Lili Morris" in honor of him and his wife, and their contributions to the United States war effort.

Morris also contributed tricks to magician's journals and often added magic into his film performances, including: "Boston Blackie and The Law" (1946.)

Through the 1950s and 1960s, Morris worked mainly in television, with a recurring role as detective Lieutenant Max Ritter in the CBS summer replacement series, Diagnosis: Unknown, which aired from July to September 1960.

He also remembered for his performance in the science-fiction film, The She Creature, where he played Dr. Carlo Lombardi.

After his last Boston Blackie movie, he only performed in three more films, including his final role in, The Great White Hope (1970) which was released after his death.

Joaquin Phoenix (born October 28, 1974). Became well known for his performance as Commodus, in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as well as nominations for the Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite Award, and BAFTA.

He is probably best known for playing the famous musician, Johnny Cash, in the 2005 biographical film, Walk the Line and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Phoenix, was once again nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2012 film, The Master.

He also worked behind the camera, directing music videos as well as producing movies and television shows, and has recorded an album, the soundtrack to Walk the Line, for which he won a Grammy Award.

The She-Creature

In the mid-1950s, the idea of reincarnation hit the mainstream with a bang with the unexpected success of “The Search for Bridey Murphy” a (supposedly) non-fiction account of a woman who, while under a deep hypnosis, revealed details about a previous life several centuries previously in England. It was a huge best seller and in 1956 became a movie of the same name starring Teresa Wright and Louis Hayward.

That same year, up-and-coming American International Pictures (AIP), made their own reincarnation movie, but in true AIP fashion, added a monster.

“The She-Creature” relates the story of a hypnotist (Chester Morris) who puts his assistant (the beauteous Marla English) in a deep trance. While in this trance an earlier manifestation of her, when she was a prehistoric monster, emerges from the sea to do his bidding, including murder. This is perpetuated by a shady businessman (Tom Conway).

It’s a fun little B movie, and moves along at 77 minutes. Most of the enjoyment centers on the wealth of character actors that dot the proceedings. Producer Richard Gordon was a huge movie fan and enjoyed giving roles to actors from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Film buffs get the pleasure of seeing two actors best remembered for their 1940s detective portrayals (Morris was Boston Blackie and Conway was The Falcon) on the other side of the law. There’s also: Frank Jenks as a cop; Frieda Inescort as a society lady (she really does the most memorable voice); El Brendel as, what else, a Swedish servant; frequent Three Stooges foil Kenneth McDonald as a doctor; and Jack Mulhall as a lawyer. Their presence ups the movie’s enjoyment value considerably.

The film also contains one of the most memorable creations of make up man Paul Blaisdell. Toiling in relatively anonymity at AIP, he remains today a cult figure, creating memorable monsters out of the tiniest of budgets. His She-Creature creation is a gem.

Rating for “The She-Creature”: Two and a half stars.