Bob Jellison Movies

Mobile officer Pete Malloy (Kent McCord) is a bit tired of his partner Jim Reed (Kent McCord) extolling the joys of married life. In fact, Jim is more determined than ever to remain a bachelor after he and Pete are summoned to break up a rather vicious domestic dispute. Elsewhere, the two officers arrive at the scene of a car crash where a woman has been pinned under her vehicle, and chase down the perpetrators of a liquor store robbery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lucy's old school pal Rosie Hannigan (Ann Sothern), now known as the Countess Framboise, would like to open a charm school in Danfield. Unfortunately, despite her lofty title, the Countess is flat broke, thus she conspires with Lucy (Lucille Ball) to entice a pair of wealthy patrons, Mr. and Mr. Dunbar (Reta Shaw, Byron Foulger), into bankrolling the school. This scheme entails a lengthy takeoff of "My Fair Lady" wherein the Countess endeavors to "transform" a dowdy scrubwoman named Liza Lumpwhomper (actually Lucy in disguise) into a society debutante. Alas, when Liza/Lucy attends a soiree held by the Dunbars, she completely forgets that she is violently allergic to caviar! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Trying her best to acclimate herself to her new Hooterville farm, Lisa (Eva Gabor) decides that what the place needs is a cosmopolitan touch -- thus she hires an expensive interior decorator. This proves to be headache enough for Oliver (Eddie Albert), but things get worse when his overbearing mother (Eleanor Audley) drops in. But the most horrendous turn of events in this episode occurs when Lisa gamely tries to prepare her first meal -- and we all know what her "hots-cakes" look like (and how much they weigh!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tom Ewell plays a busy attorney who wishes to be closer to his son. To do this, he becomes manager of the boy's little league team, much to the dismay of his wife (Anne Francis), who can't stand baseball. Ewell finds that he must contend with pushy and ambitious parents who hope to live their own sports fantasies vicariously through their ballplaying children. The single mother of one of the kids (Ann Miller) goes to Ewell to plead for her boy's advancement, but the purpose of the meeting is misinterpreted by Ewell's jealous wife. Fed up with sacrificing sportsmanship to the whims of the parents, Ewell encourages his team to play for the love of the game rather than "winning at any cost." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although Ricky (Desi Arnaz) cannot remember the exact date of his 15th wedding anniversary, he hopes to mollify Lucy (Lucille Ball) by arranging a gala anniversary party at the Mocambo nightclub. Unfortunately, Lucy at the moment is very, very angry with Ricky over his faulty memory, and refuses to accompany him to the Mocambo; instead, she chooses Bobby (Bob Jellison), the bellboy at the Beverly Palms Hotel, as her escort. Believe it or not, this episode was based on an actual event in the lives of stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. ~ All Movie Guide

Now that Ricky (Desi Arnaz) is starring in a movie version of "Don Juan," and former vaudevillians Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) have been offered supporting roles in a Donald O'Connor picture, Lucy (Lucille Ball) is dying to get before the cameras herself. Her persistence pays off when she lands a small part as a chorus girl in an MGM musical. Unfortunately, Lucy's part requires her to wear an enormous -- and very unwieldy -- headdress, and her vain efforts to maintain her balance during a musical number causes the movie to go way over budget. In desperation, the film's director (Lou Krugman) cuts Lucy's part (that of a murder victim) to a "carry-on," in which her fully covered-up body is carted off the set by two policemen. But though she has been denied her close-up, Lucy still manages to make an indelible mark on her big scene. ~ All Movie Guide

Ricky (Desi Arnaz) and Fred (William Frawley) demand that Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) stop spreading gossip, but the girls insists that the boys are as gossipy as they are. Thus, a wager is established: whoever can abstain the longest from gossiping will be served breakfast in bed for a month. Determined to win the wager, Ricky and Fred indulge in some underhanded trickery, forcing Lucy and Ethel to foment a false rumor about Mr. and Mrs. Foster and their milkman. As a result, a smirking Ricky and Fred are seen lying in bed, with Lucy and Ethel waiting on them hand and foot -- but it isn't long before the tables will turn in a spectacular fashion. ~ All Movie Guide

Love Nest is a thoroughly likeable formula comedy with a most engaging cast. William Lundigan plays Jim Scott, an aspiring writer who, together with his wife Connie (June Haver), moves into the basement of an apartment building that they've bought. Scott's hopes to keep financially solvent are thwarted by the everyday travails of maintaining the building and ministering to the needs of the tenants. The episodic plotline settles on the activities of charming con artist Charley Patterson (Frank Fay), who targets tenant Eadie Gaynor (Leatrice Joy) as his latest victim. When Patterson is finally arrested, he generously offers to tell his life story to Scott, thereby launching the latter's writing career in earnest. Love Nest was frequently revived throughout the 1950s and 1960s because of the supporting-cast presence of future sex symbol Marilyn Monroe and TV talk host Jack Paar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fred Astaire had announced his retirement before the cameras began to roll on Easter Parade, but he decided to accept the film's leading role when its original star Gene Kelly became incapacitated. The thinnish plot, which finds Astaire trying to turn chorus girl Judy Garland into a star in order to show up his former partner Ann Miller, is hardly what keeps the audience's eyes riveted to the screen. All that truly matters are the 17 musical numbers, all written by Irving Berlin (ten were standards, while seven were new to this film). Among the many highlights are Astaire's slow-motion version of "Steppin' Out," the Astaire/Garland duet "We're a Couple of Swells," the opening rendition of "Happy Easter," and the closing performance of the title number. So successful was Easter Parade that plans were immediately drawn to reteam Fred Astaire and Judy Garland in The Barkeleys of Broadway; this time, however, it was Garland who withdrew, to be replaced by Astaire's most famous vis-à-vis, Ginger Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide