Harold J. Stone Movies
A third-generation actor, Harold J. Stone made his stage debut at age six with his father, Jacob Hochstein, in the Yiddish-language play White Slaves. Stone had one line--"Mama!"--which he managed to forget on opening night. He didn't act again until after his graduation from New York University. After gleaning valuable experience in radio, he returned to the stage in George Jessel's production of Little Old New York at the 1939 World's Fair. Stone made his Broadway bow shortly afterward in Sidney Kingsley's The World We Make, and thereafter was seldom unemployed. In 1952, he began the first of many TV-series gigs when he replaced Philip Loeb as Jake on The Goldbergs; within a decade, he was averaging 20 TV appearances per year. In films from 1956, the harsh-voiced, authoritative Stone was most often seen as big-city detective (as in Hitchcock's The Wrong Man), generals, and gangsters (he was Frank Nitti in 1967's St. Valentine's Day Massacre). Usually billed at the top of the supporting cast, Stone enjoyed a rare above-the-title starring assignment when he played investigator John Kennedy in the 1959 syndicated TV series Grand Jury. His other weekly-series roles included Hamilton Greeley (a character based on New Yorker maven Harold Ross) in My World and Welcome to It (1969) and Sam Steinberg in Bridget Loves Bernie (1972). In the latter stages of his career, Harold J. Stone unexpectedly found himself a favorite of Jerry Lewis, co-starring in Lewis' The Big Mouth (1967), Which Way to the Front? (1970) and Hardly Working (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1981
- PG
Jerry Lewis' first film in a decade stars the comedian as Bo Hooper, an unemployed circus clown who cannot hold down a job. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Lewis, Susan Oliver, (more)
- 1977
The Angels, assuming the usual false identities, embark upon a luxury cruise to Hawaii in hopes of proving that their ship isn't "jinxed." Unfortunately, the passengers and crew members continue to be plagued by mysterious accidents -- and more unfortunate still, the mystery villain is aware of the Angels' true identities, and he isn't above killing them off, one by one. If the shipboard sets in this episode seem familiar, it is because they are the same ones that were later utilized on another popular Aaron Spelling-produced series of the 1970s, The Love Boat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Kate Jackson, (more)
- 1976
Things get personal for Lt. Kojak (Telly Savalas) when an undercover cop is found murdered, gangland style. Figuratively tossing the rule book out the window, Kojak sets his sights on bringing elusive crime boss Franco "Six Bits" Donatello (Harold J. Stone) to justice. Actress Diana Hyland, whose stellar career was tragically cut short by cancer one year after "A Grave Too Soon" first aired on March 7, 1976, plays a key role in this final episode of Kojak's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- R
A tough-guy cop (Joe Don Baker) pursues two drug runners (Martin Balsam, John Saxon) across the city to bust a large syndicate. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Don Baker, Martin Balsam, (more)
Originally released as The Wild McCulloughs, this AIP melodrama stars Forrest Tucker as J.J. McCulloch, a domineering patriarch. In their race to escape their father's overbearing influence, J.J.'s grown sons come to grief; one son dies in Korea, while another is arrested for murder. Only Gary (Chip Hand), the youngest son, manages to survive the situation. J.J. also has a daughter, played by Janice Heiden, whose romantic misadventures add more fuel to the dysfunctional flames. Costarring in The McCulloughs is Julie Adams as Tucker's long suffering wife, and former "Beverly Hillbilly" Max Baer (who also produced, directed and wrote the film) as one of Heiden's beaus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forrest Tucker, Julie Adams, (more)
- 1975
Legend of Valentino is a TV-shorthand retelling of the life and loves of legendary silent screen star Rudolph Valentino, here portrayed by Franco Nero. This TV movie was advertised as "romantic fiction," which was just as well since its only nods to the truth are the basic facts of Valentino's enormous screen fame and the national hysteria attending his early death in 1926 of peritonitis. Typical of Legend of Valentino's fabrications is the depiction of Valentino's first meeting with his future mentor, screenwriter June Mathis (played by Suzanne Pleshette). In real life, Mathis discovered Valentino by watching him play a string of supporting roles; in Legend, she confronts him in her living room while he's burglarizing her house! Despite its historical shortcomings, Legend of Valentino is a lot better than the 1951 and 1977 biopics of the "Latin Lover." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Suzanne Pleshette, Franco Nero, (more)
- 1974
Jim Rockford (James Garner) is hired by former countess Deborah Ryder (Susan Strasberg), who is being blackmailed about her less-than-savory past by Carl Brego (Dick Gautier). After filming Deborah meeting Brego at the drop-off point, Jim confronts the blackmailer and "leans" on him a little to persuade him to get lost. You guessed it: Brego later turns up dead, and Rockford finds himself facing a murder rap. Tom Atkins makes his first series appearance as police lieutenant Alex Diehl, who here as elsewhere would give anything to throw Rockford in the slammer for keeps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Everett Ward (Andrew Duggan), longtime accountant for drug-dealing businessman Mike Martine (Harold J. Stone), decides to step forward and testify against his boss after witnessing a murder. Unfortunately, Ward's act of defiance proves to be his undoing when he becomes Martine's next victim. Now Ironside (Raymond Burr) must persuade Ward's terrified daughter Caroline (Joan Van Ark) to replace her late father on the witness stand. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- R
This movie, a sequel to The Legend of Nigger Charlie, tells the story of a Southern colonel in the Civil War who has raided locations in the North in order to capture renegade slaves for a colony of Southern aristocrats living in Mexico. Escaped slave Charley (Fred Williamson) and his friend and fellow escapee Toby (D'Urville Martin) bend all their energies to freeing the 71 blacks captured by the colonel. In the violence that follows, the Southern cause suffers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Upon his return from Vietnam, ex-POW Mike Doyle (Cliff Potts) is certain that he sees his police-officer father (Warren Kemmerling) waiting for him at the airport--just before disappearing in the crowd. But the Commissioner (Gene Lyons), and everyone else who knows and cares about Mike, insists that the elder Doyle was killed in a car crash two years earlier. Worried that he is losing his mind, Mike conducts a frantic search for his father...while Ironside (Raymond Burr), who knows the whole truth about the father's reported "death" but is honor-bound to remain silent, tries to prevent the hapless veteran from going off the deep end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
In this counter-culture melodrama, a youthful hitcher teams up with an aging vagabond on a lonely Southwestern road. The two are given a lift by an unemployed rocker. Soon the three find themselves at odds with assorted "establishment" characters until the old hobo has a fatal heart attack. As he dies, he asks to be buried on his old farm. Unfortunately, the newest owner refuses, so the rocker and the hitcher have the old guy cremated. They then scatter his ashes over the farm. Songs include: "Echos of the Road" (Stu Phillips, Bob Stone), "Electric Ethel" (Murphy and Castleman), and "Flowers For My Bed" (Nino Candido). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Written by Arthur Julian, this episode finds Hogan and his crew trying to harness the forces of nature in order to create an avalanche. It is all part of a scheme to redirect a full-scale Panzer assault, which has been routed through the slippery slopes of Mount Hoffenstein. Harold J. Stone heads the guest cast as General Stromberger. Originally telecast on March 21, 1971, "Look at the Pretty Snowflakes" was the last episode of Hogan's Heroes to be filmed, though not the last one to be shown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
- 1971
- R
Russ Meyer followed-up his delirious Beyond the Valley of the Dolls with this surprisingly straighforward drama, which offered little of Meyer's traditional tongue-in-cheek humor or remarkably proportioned women in favor of a serious message about the evils of censorship. A bookstore sells a copy of a notorious erotic novel, entitled The Seven Minutes, to a teenager who is later arrested for rape. A prosecutor on a crusade against pornography seizes upon this as an opportunity to have the book declared obscene, and the trial sparks a heated debate about the issue of pornography vs. free speech, as well as revealing a startling revelation about the novel's true author. Adapted from a novel by Irving Wallace, The Seven Minutes featured one of Meyer's more interesting casts, including veteran character actors John Carradine and Alexander D'Arcy, a post-Munsters Yvonne de Carlo, a pre-Magnum P.I. Tom Selleck, lounge comic Jackie Gayle, and Wolfman Jack as himself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wayne Maunder, Marianne McAndrew, (more)
- 1971
Lynda Day George joins the Mission:Impossible cast as agent Lisa Casey in the episode entitled "Blind." Guest star Tom Bosley is cast as government undercover operative Henry Matula, who has been infiltrated into the criminal empire of John Lawton (Harold J. Stone), and is in line for a Syndicate promotion. To protect Matula's cover, Phelps must take extreme measures to pose as a discredited, and blind, FBI agent. This episode was written by Arthur Weiss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1970
In this drama, a crime correspondent reports his findings at a Congressional committee hearing on addictive drugs. Later he finds himself entangled with a self-destructive, drug-addicted young girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- G
Brendan (Jerry Lewis) is an eccentric multimillionaire who is rejected for military service in this misfired comedy. Eager to help the Allies, he gathers a quartet of offbeat irregulars and sails to Italy to join the conflict. Brendan captures a Nazi general and masquerades as the enemy. When Allies arrive, he is mistaken for the real general. Jan Murray, Dack Rambo, John Wood and Steve Franklin help the inept but patriotic Brendan. Also appearing are Kaye Ballard, Neil Hamilton, and George Takei, all allumni of successful television programs from the late 1960s. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Lewis, John Wood, (more)
- 1969
Harold J. Stone guest stars as defecting German Field Marshal Rudolf Richter. Hogan hopes to help Richter escape to England, but this proves difficult with Gestapo officer Hochstetter breathing down everyone's neck. Arlene Martel, seen in earlier episodes as underground agent Tiger, portrays a character named Gretchen. First broadcast on November 28, 1969, "The Defector" was written by Laurence Marks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
- 1969
A Florida numbers racket is Ground Zero for a bitter turf war between two mob families. Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) hopes that the battle will result in a rift in Mob security that will enable the FBI to smash the racket and bring several elusive criminals to justice. The guest cast is a 1960s TV buff's dream, ranging from veteran tough guys Harold J. Stone and Don Gordon to voluptuous starlet Francine York. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
There may be blood in the streets when the chief of staff of the "Second Force", a paramilitary vigilante group ostensibly set up to fight crime, is murdered. Despite his distaste for the group's racist rantings, Ironside dedicates himself to solving the man's murder before the vigilantes begin exacting vengeance against their supposed enemies. In the course of events, the Chief uncovers the group's true motives--and they are not pure in any way, shape or form. TV talk show host Les Crane appears as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
An undercover U.S. intelligence agent arranges for Hogan and his crew to be smuggled into Berlin. Disguised as members of a hospital staff, the heroes are ordered to kidnap a British defector before he reveals top-secret information to the Nazis. The supporting cast includes such frequent Hogan's Heroes drop-ins as Harold J. Stone (as Major Teppel), John Stephenson (Decker), and Edward Knight (Gestapo Major Metzger). Written by Laurence Marks, "Bad Day in Berlin" first aired on December 7, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
- 1967
Jerry Lewis is aptly cast as The Big Mouth in this production (he also served as producer, director and cowriter). As bad luck would have it, Lewis is the exact double of a notorious gangster. The bad guys who think they've disposed of the gangster are taken aback when they see Jerry strolling about, while several other disreputable characters chase after Lewis in the mistaken assumption that our hero knows the whereabouts of a cache of stolen diamonds. Charlie Callas provides some good moments as a hit man who is so unnerved by Jerry's "resurrection" that he turns into a babbling idiot (so what else is new?) There's also a cute bit involving a Kabuki dance troupe. Overall, however, The Big Mouth suffers from the Curse of Jerry: too much repetition, too many pointless gags (will someone explain why Colonel Sanders makes a guest appearance?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Lewis, Harold J. Stone, (more)
- 1967
- Add The St. Valentine's Day Massacre to QueueAdd The St. Valentine's Day Massacre to top of Queue
Schlockmeister Roger Corman produced this graphically violent chronicle of the Chicago gangster wars of the 1920s and the events that lead to the bloody title showdown between rival mobsters Al Capone (Jason Robards) and Bugs Moran (Ralph Meeker) that marked a brutal end to a terrifying era. Fred Steiner's film score is effectively mixed with popular songs from the 1920s, and the re-creation of gangster-era Chicago is a credit to the set designers. Historic and insightful narration is dramatically provided by Paul Frees, giving the film the flavor of a docudrama. Jean Hale plays Moran's gun moll, who is mercilessly kneed in the stomach while arguing over a fur coat. Though The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was heralded by critics at the time of its initial release, their opinion of the film has changed with each decade as they waver on the cinematic value of all of Corman's work. Audiences continue to relish the film, which is often shown on the anniversary of the bloody executions. Watch for Jack Nicholson as one of the unfortunate victims. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Robards, Jr., George Segal, (more)
- 1967
Gunslinger Joe Delk (Harold J. Stone) has managed to avoid arrest by forcing his victims to draw first, then killing them in "self defense." When Delk shoots down the Baxter boys, who didn't have an enemy in the world, the people of Dodge City demand that Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) do something. Since he cannot legally arrest Delk, Matt figures out a way to expose the swaggering gunman as a coward--without even lifting his own six-shooter. This episode is based on the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of February 26, 1956. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Affair with a Killer stars Stephen Young as Nick King and Austin Willis as Admiral Fox. King is a security agent, assigned to patrol the St. Lawrence Seaway by Fox, the head of the Ship Owners Association. Right now they must contend with a ruthless US/Canadian dope ring. Affair with a Killer was culled from two episodes of the Canadian TV series Seaway, which ran in 1965 and was thereafter syndicated to the US. It is one of two ersatz Seaway feature films; the other was the less-lurid-than-its-title Don't Forget to Wipe the Blood Off. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
