Gary Vinson Movies
- 1979
In the conclusion of "Greetings from Earth", six Terrans from the 13th Colony (formerly known as Earth) are released from suspended animation when their drifting space station is discovered. Upon awakening, the six become obsessed with the notion that the Galactica is part of the hated Eastern Alliance, which brought about the destruction of Earth several centuries before. Adama (Lorne Greene) begins to wonder if the newly revived travellers are whom they claim to be when they demand to be taken to the planet Paradeen--lest they all perish. Originally telecast as a two-hour "special", "Greetings from Earth" has since been reedited as two one-hour episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, (more)
- 1979
In Part One of "Greetings from Earth", the Galactica encounters an "ancient" space shuttle that has seemingly originated on the elusive 13th Colony--namely, the Earth. On board the shuttle, six people are in a state of suspended animation. Once awakened, the six strangers hold out hope to the Colonists that their long and frustrating search for the 13th Colony is at last at an end. Veteran song-and-dance men Ray Bolger and Bobby Van head the guest cast. Originally telecast as a two-hour "special", "Greetings from Earth" has since been reedited as two one-hour episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, (more)
- 1974
When it seems as if nobody understands his grief over the death of the schoolroom guinea pig that had been left in his care, Jim-Bob (David W. Harper) runs away from home. Although he may be forced to miss a long-awaited public appearance by a prominent author, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) agrees to conduct a search for his missing brother. Ultimately, John-Boy catches up with Jim-Bob--and, much to his surprise, with the author! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1973
The SFPD's internal affairs division suspects that something is amiss when a witness under police protection is killed. Clearly, someone in the Department is a Syndicate informer--and everyone is under suspicion, even Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas). Written by Star Trek veteran D.C. Fontana, this episode's highlight is a compelling performance by Mariette Hartley as a harried female cop. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
Helen Hayes, Mildred Natwick, Myrna Loy and Sylvia Sidney star as four elderly pranksters devoted to practical jokes. When one of the ladies gets hold of a computer-dating questionnaire, the others invent a mythical girl and feed the falsified information into the computer. Alas, the description matches a very real young lady, who becomes the target of a murderous rapist (Vince Edwards). Attacked at the time of its release for making light of a potentially deadly situation, Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate led to the casting of Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick in the weekly detective series The Snoop Sisters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1969
War hero Wally Shanks (Michael Witney) is the unwitting pawn in an extortion racket masterminded by his father-in-law, "respectable" banker Hal DeWitt (Richard Carlson). The crooks rely upon Wally to attract his fellow servicemen to DeWitt's finance company for loans, at which point they are all rejected and turned over to a bloodsucking loan-shark operation. Hoping to throw a monkey wrench in this scheme, FBI agent Colby (William Reynolds) poses as an ex-GI named Ed Loomis. This is the final episode of The F.B.I.'s fourth season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1968
This military comedy finds chief petty officer Doc Willoughby (Doug McClure) on board the submarine U.S.S. Bustard. He spends the majority of his off-duty time chasing women, getting in fights and trying to stay one step ahead of the irascible commanding officer. He scatters cockroaches in the captain's quarters in an attempt to gain shore leave to make time with a pretty female. Nancy Kwan is the Japanese nurse who is his love interest, and James Whitmore is the infuriated commander who suspects but is unable to pin anything on the resourceful CPO. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bea Bradley, Steve Carlson, (more)
- 1965
In this comedy, another entry in the slapstick series based on a popular TV show, meek little Ensign Parker finds himself getting promoted for no apparent reason. He gets himself rip-roarin' drunk one night and finds himself wearing an Air Force uniform and mistaken for a big-wig. He continues to mess up, but to no avail, no matter what he does, he continues to get promoted. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joe Flynn, Tim Conway, (more)
- 1964
Captain Wallace Binghamton (Joe FLynn), St. Comdr. Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine) and Ensign Charles Parker (Tim Conway) brought their wacky antics to the big screen for this feature, spawned from the popular '60 television program of the same name. McHale and his crew get involved in a betting scam aboard their PT boat. Soon, they find themselves owning money to a group of Marines. In order to pay off their debts, they plan a sure-fire way of making money--involving the transportation of a disguised racehorse on board their boat. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ernest Borgnine, Joe Flynn, (more)
- 1961
This standard love story adapted by Leonard Spigelgass from his stage play was acclaimed when it was released for probing into the nature of prejudice. Rosalind Russell plays Mrs. Jacoby, a Jewish widow living in Brooklyn whose daughter Alice (Madlyn Rhue) is married to Jerome (Ray Danton), a U.S. diplomat newly assigned to Japan. Because of Jerome's new post, Mrs. Jacoby decides to visit the land of the rising sun, and once there, she meets Koichi Asano (Alec Guinness). Asano is a suave, sophisticated, and wealthy man with an aesthetically impressive Tokyo home. After the two meet, love starts to blossom. This was one of the rare '60s films geared to the older set but it is significant that even during this period Hollywood still chose to cast a white actor (albeit Alec Guinness!) in the role of Asano. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rosalind Russell, Alec Guinness, (more)
- 1959
Rather than pay a gambling debt owed to Bret Maverick (James Garner), notorious gunslinger Henry Arnett (a pre-Batman Adam West) skips town when Bret shows up. Impressionable Smoky Vaughn (Gary Vinson) incorrectly assumes that Arnett was afraid of Bret's gun, and spreads the word that there's a new "hero" in town. Unfortunately, while basking in undeserved glory, Bret ends up being framed for murder--in a scheme concocted to frame someone else for the same crime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1959
Based on a book by Clay Fisher, this 1959 western has a cast loaded with television stars of the era. Clint Walker of TV's Cheyenne appears as the title character, a trapper who befriends the American Indian tribes in his hunting territory in 1867. When the U.S. cavalry is attacked by Kelly's Sioux friends, Kelly is caught between his friendships and loyalty to his country. The troops are slaughtered by the Sioux. Kelly moves in to rescue Wahleeah (Andra Martin), an Apache Indian girl who is being held prisoner by the Sioux because she refuses to marry their chief. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Clint Walker, Edward Byrnes, (more)
- 1957
The title of this episode refers to a curious chemical process created by college student Marv Adams (Gary Vinson). Alas, Marv may not only be a drowning duck but a dead duck when he is charged with the murder of unscrupulous private detective Donald Briggs (Harry Landers). Acting as Marv's defense counsel, Perry (Raymond Burr) learns that Briggs was hired by Clyde Waters (Victor Sutherland), the father of Marv's fiancee Helen (Carolyn Craig)--and that Marv's father was Ben Devereaux, who was executed for murder 18 years ago, a fact that Briggs was trying to use to his advantage in extorting money from several other people connected with the case. This episode is based on a 1942 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1957
In this musical, an ex-fan dancer leaves the burlesque to start a new in a small town with her two teenage children. There she soon becomes one of the most respected women in town; she also falls in love with the school principal. Unfortunately, her happiness disintegrates when her past is revealed. Fortunately, the townsfolk respect her too much to hold it against her. Songs include: "We're on Our Way", "Why Can't I?", "Is It Love?", "I'd Rather Be", "My Calypso Baby" (Paul Dunlap), and "Teenage Cutie" (Dick Kallman, sung by Luis Amando). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Virginia Field, Douglas Kennedy, (more)
- 1957
Adapting a made-for-TV play that he had directed for the screen, John Frankenheimer made his feature film debut with this sensitive father-son drama. Tom Ditmar (James Daly) is a movie studio executive who has a strained relationship with his teenaged son Hal (James MacArthur). Hal is arrested after an incident in a movie theater in which he was provoked into slugging the manager, Grubbs (Whit Bissell). Hal is rude to the police officer, Sergeant Shipley (James Gregory). Tom Ditmar gets the charges dropped but doesn't believe his son's story. Hal goes back to talk to Grubbs to try to get him to tell his father what really happened. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- James MacArthur, Kim Hunter, (more)
When insecure rich-type Stevens (John Ashley) decides to impress his fellow students, he does so by establishing a crime empire to take command of his high school. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Ashley, Gary Vinson, (more)
