text: Egan was a solid "B" adventure/detective star with an occasional "A" leading role such as Elvis Presley's older brother in 1956's "Love Me Tender", Walt Disney's 1960 "Pollyanna" and "King Leonides" in 1963's "The 300 Spartans". As for his "B" films there was the final installment in Ivan Tors' "Office of Scientific Investigation Trilogy". This was the very good 1954 3-D movie "GOG". For any Science Fiction buff reading this article, if you hasn't heard of the Tors trilogy. My article on it with the first two films starring Richard Carlson. May be read at:
  "Underwater" was released February 9, 1955 and as far as the box office went was never underwater. The screenplay, no matter which actress had the lead role, was a very routine hunt for treasure in a sunken Spanish galleon. The ship is on an underwater ledge in shark infested water and another man wants the treasure. He awaits Roland and Egan to bring it up and will steal it from them.
  Although "Jet Pilot" would be released the following year. The last actual motion picture made by Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. also starred John Wayne and came with a legendary curse.
  Production on "The Conqueror" started in 1954 with a screenplay by Oscar Millard. This was going to be major historical epic. Howard Hughes needed a major name to Direct and at the same time be an audience draw.
  Hughes chose Singer/Actor/Director Dick Powell. This would be Actor Powell's. 1934's "Flirtation Walk", 1944's "Murder My Sweet" portraying Raymond Chandler's "Philip Marlowe", the 1945 Film Noir "Cornered" and 1952's "The Bad and the Beautiful", second directing assignment., The decision to hire Powell was based upon the 1953 feature "Split Second". That Film Noir was about escaped convicts lead by Stephen McNally. Who on the run pick up several hostages including co-star Alexis Smith. They then take them to a deserted ghost town. The tension and suspense in the film was captured by Powell. Along with a twist in Irving Wallace's screenplay. Unbeknownst to McNally and the other convicts is that the ghost town is actually an Atom Bomb Test site. The title refers to how much time is left at the pictures climax, before the bomb goes off
  During production 20th Century Fox would release 1954's "The Robe" in their new process CinemaScope. To illustrate how much Howard Hughes wanted a major epic. He paid 20th Century Fox for the right to use their wide screen process over the lower quality widescreen Superscope of RKO.