Linda Burton Movies
- 1971
- PG
In this drama, based on a novel by Richard Bradford, an adolescent boy and his mother are sent to live in New Mexico after his father goes off to fight WW II. The move is hard on both mother and son. The boy, one of the few whites in the area, must deal with making friends, the strange new land, and first love. Meanwhile, his mother becomes increasingly withdrawn. When they learn that his father has been killed, the son must fight with his mother's lover to become the real head of the household. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
"Consider the possibilities," read the ads for Paul Mazursky's 1969 satirical comedy about what happens when the sexual revolution hits affluent bourgeois life. After a weekend of "beautiful" emotional honesty at an Esalen-type retreat, married wannabe hipsters Bob (Robert Culp) and Carol (Natalie Wood) return to their well-heeled Los Angeles life determined to apply the principles of free love and complete openness to their marriage. To the respective curiosity and repulsion of their married best friends, Ted (Elliott Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon), Bob and Carol have affairs that they happily reveal to everyone. Inspired by all that openness during the quartet's trip to Vegas, Ted admits an affair of his own, provoking the outraged Alice to demand that this new ethos be taken to its obvious conclusion: a mate-sharing foursome. Once they're bedded down and ready to go, however, they start to have second thoughts. Without sacrificing authenticity for comedy, first-time director Mazursky and co-writer/producer Larry Tucker delve into the confusion of the Eisenhower generation when faced with the temptations of the counterculture. Too old to be hippies and too young to be fogies, the would-be California swingers sincerely attempt to try on the lifestyle, but it never looks quite right. A then-controversial example of the New Permissiveness both onscreen and off, Bob & Carol debuted at the New York Film Festival to great praise, particularly for Gould and Cannon. Whether they wanted to laugh at their elders' faux looseness or see what their peers might be doing, audiences turned Bob & Carol into a substantial hit, and its observations about marriage and sex remain humorously sharp even if the encounter group jargon is past its vogue. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, (more)
- 1966
Art-gallery owner Francis Clune (Donald Murphy) is the victim of theft and fraud, while his girlfriend Bobbie Dane (Francine York) is nearly killed by a "careless" motorist. The couple's woes are exacerbated when both are charged with killing a detective (Allan Melvin) and a hijacker (Peter Mamakos). Determined to prove the innocence of Francis and Bobbie, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), literally puts his own life on the line. This is the second Perry Mason episode based on Erle Stanley Gardner's 1952 novel The Case of the Moth-Easten Mink, previously filmed under that title in 1958 (and incidentally, the painting identified as "Sausalito Sunrise" had likewise appeared in at least two earlier episodes!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
Appropriately enough, the 271st and final episode of Perry Mason concerns a murder which takes place during the filming of a TV show. No sooner has Perry (Raymond Burr) been able to establish the innocence of chief suspect Jackson Sidemark (Denver Pyle) than Sidemark himself is knocked off by the real killer (and wait until you see who THAT is!) Several members of the Perry Mason production staff, including executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson, appear in cameo roles, while series creator Erle Stanley Gardner shows up unbilled as a judge. Longtime fans of the series will enjoy the multitude of "inside" jokes in the script (including a barbed reference to the show's NBC competition Bonanza), but the best is reserved for last when Perry and his longtime courtroom adversary Hamilton Burger (William Talman) exchange words for the final time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1965
Aspiring folksinger Amy Jo Jennings (Bonnie Jones) is not only incredibly naïve, but also incredibly rich, thanks to the profits of her family's "home remedy" firm. Shifty promoter Harry Bronson (Robert H. Harris) hopes to capitalize on both Amy Jo's naivete and wealth by offering her a starring role in a touring musical production--provided she invests $50,000 in the show. When she finally realizes she's being duped, Amy Jo heads to a wild party to confront Bronson, only to find that he's been murdered and she's the principal suspect. Among those "grilled" by Amy Jo's attorney Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is a weird character named Jazzbo, played by the estimable Gary Crosby. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
