Alan Baxter Movies

John Wayne toplines this biography of the cattle owner John Simpson Chisum, a controversial figure who was the most powerful man in New Mexico during the Wild West era. A founder and prominent citizen in the town of Lincoln, Chisum is slow to act when ruthless land baron Lawrence Murphy (Forrest Tucker) moves in on several local businesses and takes them over. By the time Chisum and his ally, fellow rancher Henry Tunstall (Patrick Knowles), decide to go to the law, Murphy's already bought and paid for influence there, as well. The only recourse left to the cattlemen is to take Murphy on in all-out range war that embroils everyone in the county, including Tunstall's hand Billy the Kid Bonney (Geoffrey Deuel) and his comrade Pat Garrett (Glenn Corbett). Screenwriter and producer Andrew J. Fenady based the script for Chisum (1970) on his own short story, a very loosely fact-based account of Chisum, Billy the Kid and their involvement in the Lincoln County wars. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Keeping officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) on their toes in this episode is a very clever--and very elusive--teenaged purse snatcher (Gary Morgan). The young offender seems to get his kicks more from outwitting the cops than the actual thefts themselves. In fact, the kid is using his current crime wave as a stepping-stone to becoming a career criminal--and he's not about to let anyone, policeman or civilian, get in his way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a debut on Broadway in 1951, Paramount spent an estimated 17 to 20 million dollars in production costs for this Lerner and Loewe musical. With Loewe's permission, Lerner wrote five additional tunes for the film with Andre Previn. Ben Rumson (Lee Marvin) is the grizzled prospector trying his luck panning for gold in California. Pardner (Clint Eastwood) is his companion. When Ben buys a woman from a Mormon, Elizabeth (Jean Seberg) expects equal rights for her gender and chooses to live with both men. Ben and Pardner tunnel under the boomtown to gather the fallen gold dust that has filtered through the cracks of the saloon and other places. The musical comedy features 13 songs, the most recognizable being "They Call The Wind Maria". The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band helps out on the song "Hand Me Down That Can O' Beans". Both Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin are given a chance to show their vocal ability (or lack of it) in several songs. The initial release fell far short of regaining the millions put into the production, and most critics dipped their pens in poison to pan the picture -- though the film plays better than the critics would lead anyone to believe. Many jumped on the Paint Your Wagon smear campaign after the film proved to be not nearly as successful as other musicals. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The title character in this episode is a female amnesia victim, played by the versatile Vera Miles. While searching for "Barbara"'s true identity, Ironside (Raymond Burr) discovers that somebody is trying to kill the woman. He also realizes that he is falling in love with "Barbara"--and that, despite his inherent professionalism, he is afraid of what he'll find out once her real name is verified. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Future Hill Street Blues star Dan Travanti (still billing himself as "Travanty") is cast as Barney Austin, the abrasive host of a late-night radio call-in show (one of several 1960s takeoffs of volatile talkmeister Joe Pyne). In mid-broadcast, Austin receives a note instructing him to place an on-the-air call to his boss Kevin Steele. As a result, the vast radio audience hears the sound of an argument, followed by two gunshots--and not long afterward, Holly Andrews (Myrna Fahey) is accused of Steele's murder. Normally, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) would enter the story at this point as Holly's defense attorney; instead, because he was listening to Austin at the time of the murder, Perry is subpoenaed as a witness for the prosecution! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Jason (Chuck Connors) intervenes when ruthless cattle baron Aaron Shields (Gary Merrill) orders the flogging of Kolyan (Nico Minardos), the leader of a gypsy tribe. This action earns Jason the undying hatred of Shields, but has a completely different effect on Shields' daughter Robin (Ahna Capri). As for Kolyan's gypsies...well, that's another story, one that will not be resolved until the concluding episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There has never been any love lost between handsome, dissolute playboy Ernest Mullett (Peter Lawford) and his homely, hardworking brother, Farnum (Roger C. Carmel). The sibling rivalry intensifies when Farnum manages to take over Ernest's money, his job, his wife, Judith (Martha Hyer), and even his mistress, Barbara (Julie London). What we have here is a classic "Cain and Abel" situation -- and Ernest intends to literalize this Biblical allusion by eliminating Farnum for good. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season eight of Perry Mason begins with Perry (Raymond Burr) in the middle of a natsy child-custody battle between divorcing couple Janice and Dirk Blake (Julie Adams, Ed Nelson). The child in question is the Blakes' five-year-old daughter Button (Claire Wilcox), who has just inherited a four-million-dollar trust fund. With both Janice and Dirk behaving deplorably, Perry arranges for Button to be placed in the temorary custody of her cousins Lois and Roger Gray (Dee Hartford, Alan Baxter). As it turns out, the Grays may end up with the kid for keeps: dad Dirk has been charged with the murder of Vince Rome (Anthony Eisley), who had earlier conspired with Dirk to "kidnap" Button from her mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Posing as "Johnny Sherman", Richard Kimble (David Janssen) befriends his fellow worker Gus Priamos (Gilbert Roland), who manages to learn Kimble's true identity as a fugitive from justice. Upon finding out that he has but a short time to live, Gus volunteers to pose as Kimble to throw Lt. Girard (Barry Morse) off the trail. This Gus does not out of friendship, but to make an impression on his much-younger girlfriend Sophie (Madlyn Rhue)--who up till now has proven mighty difficult to impress. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dr. Moody (Alan Baxter) prevails upon Paladin (Richard Boone) to locate Johnny Tully (James Stacy, the son of Moody's former sweetheart. Young Johnny is forsworn to shoot down Cardiff (Edgar Buchanan), the veteran gunslinger suspected of killing Johnny's father. It is up to Paladin to save Johnny from an early grave--or to prevent the boy from becoming a hard-bitten killer himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After the end of World War II, the world gradually became aware of the full extent of the war crimes perpetrated by the Third Reich. In 1948, a series of trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany, by an international tribunal, headed by American legal and military officials, with the intent of bringing to justice those guilty of crimes against humanity. However, by that time most of the major figures of the Nazi regime were either dead or long missing, and in the resulting legal proceedings American judges often found themselves confronting the question of how much responsibility someone held who had "just followed orders." Judgment at Nuremberg is a dramatized version of the proceedings at one of these trials, in which Judge Dan Haywood (Spencer Tracy) is overseeing the trials of four German judges -- most notably Dr. Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) and Emil Hahn (Werner Klemperer) -- accused of knowingly sentencing innocent men to death in collusion with the Nazis. Representing the defense is attorney Hans Rolfe (Maximilian Schell), while prosecuting the accused is U.S. Col. Tad Lawson (Richard Widmark). As the trial goes on, both the visiting Americans and their reluctant German hosts often find themselves facing the legacy of the war, and how both of their nations have been irrevocably changed by it. Judgment at Nuremberg also features notable supporting performances by Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, and Montgomery Clift. Originally written and produced as a play for television, the screen version of Judgment at Nuremberg was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, with Maximilian Schell and Abby Mann taking home Oscars for (respectively) Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Sixty-year-old gardener Phil Canby (Tom Tully) woos neither wisely nor well when he falls in love with 18-year-old Sue Thompson (Phyllis Love). Later on, Sue's father is killed, and Sheriff Willetts (Alan Baxter) arrests Phil for the murder. Protesting his innocence, Phil insists that he was babysitting his grandson on the night of the killing. The outcome of the story hinges on the sound of a baby's cry...but not from a baby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide