Harvey Stephens Movies

In this romantic drama based on a novel by Betty Smith, Carl Brown (Richard Chamberlain) is a student in law school who wants to marry his sweetheart, Annie McGairy (Yvette Mimieux). However, Carl and Annie's parents knew each other when they grew up in Ireland before emigrating to America, and Carl's father Patrick (Arthur Kennedy) vehemently objects to their engagement. The young couple decide to tie the knot anyway, and Patrick retaliates by cutting off financial support to his son. The young couple deal with the usual tribulations of newlyweds while they struggle to keep their heads above water -- Carl takes a job as a night watchman, while Annie makes a few dollars babysitting for Beverly Karter (Joan Tetzel), a married woman who is cheating on her husband with Stan Pulaski (Oscar Homolka), a married man. Living in a tiny apartment on the shabby side of town, Carl and Annie get to know other people too poor or too different to fit in elsewhere in an upscale college town. When Annie becomes pregnant, she leaves Carl, not wanting to burden him so that he can continue with his education. This sends Carl into an emotional tailspin, and Patrick tries to patch up the marriage he once opposed for the sake of his son's happiness. Joy in the Morning marked the first and only feature film role for TV and stage actor Donald Davis, who played Anthony, a gay florist who befriends the young couple. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The "Thunder Man" is explosives expert William Poole (Simon Oakland), who in addition to his demolition skills, happens to be a serial killer. No sooner has the episode gotten under way than Poole has murdered Joe Cartwright's girlfriend Ann. The sole witness is Ann's father, who has suffered a stroke and can only remember the curious song whistled by the killer. The plot thickens when Poole is hired by Joe's father Ben. Featured in the cast are Evelyn Scott as Mrs. Gibson, Harvey Stephens as Uncle Fred, Bill Quinn as the doctor, and Bing Russell, making his first series appearance in the recurring role of Deputy Clem. Originally telecast on May 5, 1963, "Thunder Man" was written by Lewis Reed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Flight that Disappeared sugars its Vital Message with a sci-fi/fantasy coating. Three nuclear scientists prepare to deliver their report on the potentials of atomic weaponry to the President. En route to Washington, the scientists' plane disappears from view. They awaken to find themselves in the presence of benign aliens, possibly residents of the Afterworld. Before the scientists are permitted to leave, they have been persuaded that their nuclear report will need a healthy dose of anti-bomb rhetoric. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While having lunch at the Plaza Hotel in New York, advertising executive Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) has the bad luck to call for a messenger just as a page goes out for a "George Kaplan." From that moment, Thornhill finds that he has stepped into a nightmare -- he is quietly abducted by a pair of armed men out of the hotel's famous Oak Room and transported to a Long Island estate; there, he is interrogated by a mysterious man (James Mason) who, believing that Roger is George Kaplan, demands to know what he knows about his business and how he has come to acquire this knowledge. Roger, who knows nothing about who any of these people are, can do nothing but deny that he is Kaplan or that he knows what they're talking about. Finally, his captors force a bottle of bourbon into Roger and put him behind the wheel of a car on a dangerous downhill stretch. Through sheer luck and the intervention of a police patrol car and its driver (John Beradino), Roger survives the ride and evades his captors, and is booked for drunk driving. He's unable to persuade the court, the county detectives, or even his own mother (Jesse Royce Landis) of the truth of his story, however -- Thornhill returns with them to the mansion where he was held, only to find any incriminating evidence cleaned up and to learn that the owner of the house is a diplomat, Lester Townsend (Philip Ober), assigned to the United Nations. He backtracks to the hotel to find the room of the real George Kaplan, only to discover that no one at the hotel has ever actually seen the man. With his kidnappers once again pursuing him, Thornhill decides to confront Townsend at the United Nations, only to discover that he knows nothing of the events on Long Island, or his house being occupied -- but before he can learn more, Townsend gets a knife in his back in full view of 50 witnesses who believe that Roger did it. Now on the run from a murder charge, complete with a photograph of him holding the weapon plastered on the front page of every newspaper in the country, Thornhill tries to escape via train -- there he meets the cooly beautiful Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), who twice hides him from the police, once spontaneously and a second time in a more calculated rendezvous in her compartment that gets the two of them together romantically, at least for the night. By the next day, he's off following a clue to a remote rural highway, where he is attacked by an armed crop-dusting plane, one of the most famous scenes in Hitchcock's entire film output. Thornhill barely survives, but he does manage to learn that his mysterious tormentor/interrogator is named Phillip Vandamm, and that he goes under the cover of being an art dealer and importer/exporter, and that Eve is in bed with him in every sense of the phrase -- or is she? ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Based on the Anton Myrer novel The Big War, In Love and War is an entertaining showcase for several of 20th Century-Fox's younger contract players. Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter and Bradford Dillman plays three young San Francisco residents who sign up for the Marines at the outbreak of WW2. The film traces the progress of all three in the Pacific "theater of operations", emphasizing the characters' individual strengths and shortcomings. One of the men is a gung-ho patriot, the second is a perennial goof-off, and the third hopes to prove his worth to his wealthy father. The women in the three protagonists' lives are played by Sheree North, Hope Lange, France Nuyen, and Dana Wynter, the latter delivering a powerhouse performance in an extremely difficult role. Providing comic counterpart to the more serious goings-on is nightclub comedian Mort Sahl, making his screen debut in a tailor-made role as an eternal griper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Falsely accused of embezzling $300,000, Martin Ellis (William Phipps) is released after several years' imprisonment thanks to Perry Mason, who is in possession of new evidence. The real embezzler is Charles Brewster (Ralph Clanton), who unfortunately is let out on bail. Shortly thereafter, Brewster is murdered--and guess who gets charged with the crime? This is one of several Perry Mason episodes directed by Arthur Hiller, whose subsequent film credits included The Out-of-Towners and Love Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a sea captain is accused of negligence when his ship sinks and 162 passengers drown. A zealous defense attorney, proud of his perfect track record, is assigned to defend the sailor. Though the captain is clearly guilty, the DA gets him acquitted. Afterward, the lawyer's wife and friends are utterly disgusted and end up leaving him. In the end, the lawyer vindicates himself by proving that the captain is indeed innocent. He then brings the guilty ship's mate to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Gangsters Georgie (Lee Philips) and Lucky (Chick Changler) despise one another, and it is this fact that keeps them both alive. Georgie knows that he would be blamed if Lucky was ever bumped off, and vice versa. Unfortunately, Georgie loses his head and kills Lucky, forcing him to blackmail his landlady (Argentina Brunetti) into providing him with an airtight alibi. What Georgie hadn't counted on was Lucky's uncanny ability to get even...from beyond the grave. Alan Reed, best known as the voice of Fred Flintstone, appears as Uncle Leo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, the real-life personality so brilliantly (albeit briefly) portrayed by Elizabeth McGovern in Ragtime (1981), is given the full biopic treatment in 20th Century Fox's The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing. Since the real Mrs. Thaw served as technical advisor for the film, it isn't surprising that the controversial Evelyn comes across as being more sinned against that sinning. Joan Collins stars as Evelyn, the gorgeous chorine and original "Gibson Girl" who becomes the romantic bone of contention between ageing architect Stanford White (Ray Milland) and slightly unbalanced young millionaire Harry K. Thaw. Setting up Evelyn in a plush apartment, the lecherous White insists that she "perform" for him on the red velvet swing of the title (allegedly, Evelyn swung naked above the slavering White, though she's fully clothed in the film). Eventually, Thaw marries Evelyn, but cannot prevent White from continuing his romantic overtures. Things come to a head in 1906, on the roof of Madison Square Garden. As Evelyn sings and dances in a stage musical, the insanely jealous Thaw walks up to White, pulls out a pistol, and, in full view of the audience, pumps several bullets into the older man. Though Thaw manages to avoid the gallows by pleading insanity (he was eventually released), Evelyn's reputation is permanently besmirched, leaving her little choice but to capitalize upon her notoriety on the vaudeville stage (actually, Evelyn pursued a moderately successful film career before losing all her money to bad investments in the 1920s). By purifying the character of Evelyn Nesbit and thoroughly vilifying Stanford White, The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing is hardly 100 percent accurate; still, the film is immensely entertaining, thanks to the enthusiastic performances of the three stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Freely adapted from a successful Broadway musical by Moss Hart, this story stars Ginger Rogers as Liza Elliott, the editor of a popular fashion magazine. Despite her beauty, wealth, and success in business, Liza is unhappy and out of sorts. And while three men are vying for her affections -- advertising director Charley Johnson (Ray Milland), newly single Kendall Nesbitt (Warner Baxter), and youthful and handsome Randy Curtis (Jon Hall) -- Liza has been unlucky in love, and she feels that she's come to the end of her emotional rope. She begins seeing Dr. Brooks (Barry Sullivan) in hopes of resolving her emotional crises and finding happiness, and her self-searching explorations of her past take the form of a handful of musical numbers. While the stage version of Lady in the Dark featured songs written by the estimable team of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, several of them were replaced for this screen adaptation; "The Saga of Jenny", "One Life to Love", and "Girl of the Moment" were the most notable among the Weill/Gershwin tunes that survived the editing process. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Mitchell Leisen directed this romantic comedy with melodramatic overtones, starring Marlene Dietrich in a sympathetic role as famed stage star Elizabeth Madden. Elizabeth longs for motherhood but has no husband. Her desire appears to be fulfilled when she finds an abandoned baby, but she doesn't have a clue on how to raise it. She finds divorced pediatrician, Dr. Corey McBain (Fred MacMurray), to help her with the child. Elizabeth names the child after him and makes Corey an offer. Since she's single, she cannot adopt the child. But if Corey would marry her in name only, she could be the adopted mother and Corey could stay in a section of her apartment where she would support his research. Corey agrees to the deal, but it's not too long before Corey and Elizabeth fall in love. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The Moss Hart-George S. Kaufman Broadway hit George Washington Slept Here has herein been tailored to the unique talents of Jack Benny. In the original play, city dweller Bill Fuller, fired up with the spirit of "back to the soil," purchases a ramshackle Colonial-era farmhouse in upstate New York, dragging his reluctant wife, Connie, along for the ride. Everett Freeman's screenplay retains the basic set-up with one important difference: in the film, it is Connie Fuller (Ann Sheridan), an inveterate antique collector, who is all hopped up about buying and renovating the old farmhouse, while husband Bill (Jack Benny), with visions of abject poverty dancing in his head, hates the whole idea. This slight character alteration allows Jack Benny to indulge in the frustrated, put-upon slow-burn comedy he does so well, while still leaving Hart and Kaufman's dextrous plot twists and punch lines intact. Most of the humor derives from the thousand-and-one "little" flaws in the drafty old house -- collapsing walls and ceilings, antiquated plumbing, et al. -- all duly categorized by laconic caretaker Mr. Kimber (Percy Kilbride, in a brilliant performance). Also thickening the plot are the efforts by the near-bankrupt Bill and Connie to curry favor with their wealthy uncle Stanley (Charles Coburn), who turns out to be a cheerful old fraud. The resolution of the plotline is inherent in the title, but there's still one last indignity left to be dumped on poor Bill Fuller's head at fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This upbeat war-time tale chronicles the ordeal of ardently American munitions plant worker Joe Smith (Robert Young), whose access to the U.S. military's plan for a new bomb-sight leave him victim to an abduction from Nazi agents. Knowing that Joe (Young) has vital information, the German soldiers hold nothing back in their attempts to force it out of him, including vicious, unending rounds of torture. The captured patriot, however, reveals nothing, opting instead to visualize happy times from his past as a means to escape his agonizing ordeal. Luckily, Joe manages to escape, contact the FBI, and bring his Nazi captors to justice. Directed by Richard Thorpe, Joe Smith, America also features actors arsha Hunt and arryl Hickman as Joe's beloved family. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide