O.Z. Whitehead Movies

The year is 1183. Like many a modern-day politician, Britain's King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) finds it occasionally useful to take his wife out of mothballs and parade her before the public. Henry's Queen Eleanor (Katharine Hepburn), long exiled to a faraway castle, is "invited" to join Henry and their three sons for a family reunion. In this way, Henry hopes to maintain a stronghold on his Empire and to prevent the balance of power from shifting to Eleanor or to one of his sons: Richard the Lion-Hearted (Anthony Hopkins in his movie debut), Prince Geoffrey (John Castle), or Prince John (Nigel Terry). Also on hand for the get-together is Henry's mistress Princess Alais (Jane Merrow) -- who covets the King's influence -- and the Princess' brother, King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton). Despite Henry's efforts to keep his wife and offspring at arms' length (and away from the throne), Eleanor successfully reunites the brood, assuring that her power will not only be restored, but will last long after her death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A young widow from Boston travels with her three children to Maine to enjoy their summer vacation. Margaret Carey (Dorothy McGuire) is helped by the friendly Osh Popham (Burl Ives), who finds the family a rent-free house vacated by a vacationing landowner. Daughter Nancy (Hayley Mills) catches the eye of a young schoolteacher, Digby (Michael J. Pollard). The owner of the summer house shows up from Europe unexpectedly, but keeps his identity a secret when he too falls for the young Nancy. The entire family gets to croon with Burl Ives in a folksy front-porch singalong. The townsfolk make the Careys feel at home to the point that they consider making the idyllic coastal town their permanent home. This Walt Disney film is lighthearted entertainment for the entire family. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Like Pontius Pilate, director John Ford asks "What is truth?" in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--but unlike Pilate, Ford waits for an answer. The film opens in 1910, with distinguished and influential U.S. senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) and his wife Hallie (Vera Miles) returning to the dusty little frontier town where they met and married twenty-five years earlier. They have come back to attend the funeral of impoverished "nobody" Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). When a reporter asks why, Stoddard relates a film-long flashback. He recalls how, as a greenhorn lawyer, he had run afoul of notorious gunman Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), who worked for a powerful cartel which had the territory in its clutches. Time and again, "pilgrim" Stoddard had his hide saved by the much-feared but essentially decent Doniphon. It wasn't that Doniphon was particularly fond of Stoddard; it was simply that Hallie was in love with Stoddard, and Doniphon was in love with Hallie and would do anything to assure her happiness, even if it meant giving her up to a greenhorn. When Liberty Valance challenged Stoddard to a showdown, everyone in town was certain that the greenhorn didn't stand a chance. Still, when the smoke cleared, Stoddard was still standing, and Liberty Valance lay dead. On the strength of his reputation as the man who shot Valance, Stoddard was railroaded into a political career, in the hope that he'd rid the territory of corruption. Stoddard balked at the notion of winning an election simply because he killed a man-until Doniphon, in strictest confidence, told Stoddard the truth: It was Doniphon, not Stoddard, who shot down Valance. Stoddard was about to reveal this to the world, but Doniphon told him not to. It was far more important in Doniphon's eyes that a decent, honest man like Stoddard become a major political figure; Stoddard represented the "new" civilized west, while Doniphon knew that he and the West he represented were already anachronisms. Thus Stoddard went on to a spectacular political career, bringing extensive reforms to the state, while Doniphon faded into the woodwork. His story finished, the aged Stoddard asks the reporter if he plans to print the truth. The reporter responds by tearing up his notes. "This is the West, sir, " the reporter explains quietly. "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Dismissed as just another cowboy opus at the time of its release, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance has since taken its proper place as one of the great Western classics. It questions the role of myth in forging the legends of the West, while setting this theme in the elegiac atmosphere of the West itself, set off by the aging Stewart and Wayne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Henpecked husband Leonard Thompson (Martin Balsam) shows up at funeral parlor, where he orders an expensive casket and makes arrangements for an even more expensive funeral. When asked who the "dear departed" is, Leonard replies that the future occupant of the casket has not died just yet. However, the funeral will go on as scheduled the following day...and Leonard will definitely be in attendance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arrested for embezzling 20,000 dollars, mild-mannered Milton Potter (Paul Hartman) immediately surrenders to the police, explaining that he is "not the running type." Sentenced to 12 years in jail, Milton is given several opportunities to shorten his sentence by revealing the whereabouts of the stolen money, but he refuses each time. And then, upon his release, Milton promptly returns every penny of the 20 grand. So what was in it for him? You'd be surprised. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the end of a cattle drive, the Cartwrights and their cowhands look forward to rest and relaxation in San Francisco, Instead, two of Ben's gullible drovers are shanghaied on a boat bound for Hong Kong. While searching for his missing employees, Ben is himself shanghaied, forcing Hoss and Joe to go to the rescue. Featured in the cast are Murvyn Vye as Cut-Rate Joe, Robert Nichols as Johnny and O.Z. Whitehead. Written by Thomas Thompson, "San Francisco Holiday" (aka "San Francisco") first aired on April 2, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Spencer Tracy stars in John Ford's sentimental adaptation of Edwin O'Connor's novel about the final campaign of a big city mayor, loosely based upon the life of Boston politician James Curley. Tracy is Frank Skeffington, the political boss of an Eastern city dominated by Irish-Americans. Skeffington tries to assist the people of the city and avoids cutting political deals with the power elite. But despite his concern for the people, Skeffington has no friends, just flunkies. The Mayor is greatly admired by his idealistic nephew Adam Caulfield (Jeffrey Hunter), who writes for an opposition newspaper run by Amos Force (John Carradine). When Skeffington needs money for a loan, he asks the powerful banker Norman Cass (Basil Rathbone), but Cass steadfastly refuses. In retaliation, Skeffington appoints Cass's retarded son as an interim fire commissioner. To prevent his son from disgracing the family, Cass agrees to the bank loan. But Cass uses his deep pockets to finance the opposition's candidate for mayor. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the long running "Bowery Boys" series, one of the boys is bequeathed a farm in Kentucky. The boys go there and find themselves in the middle of a hillbilly feud between the Smiths and the Joneses. The warring clans unite when bank robbers break into the Jones' house and force the hapless family to assist them. The boys begin calling the thieves "Joneses" and this causes the Smiths to come a runnin' with their shot guns and capture them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Joel McCrea plays 19th-century miner Rick Nelson in The San Francisco Story. The year is 1856, and Frisco is a wide-open town. To stem the activities of crooks and con artists, newspaper editor Jim Martin (Onslow Stevens) organizes a group of peace-keeping vigilantes. Nelson, an old friend of Martin's, arrives in the Golden Gate city to help out. The villain of the piece is political boss Andrew Cain (Sidney Blackmer), who regards San Francisco as his own personal fiefdom. When not battling Cain's bought-off flunkies and hulking henchman, Nelson dallies with Cain's erstwhile girlfriend Adelaide McCall (Yvonne DeCarlo). Not so much a western as a historical actioner, The San Francisco Story is tip-top entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also known as The Tall Lie, For Men Only was a hard-hitting if somewhat gratuitous expose of college fraternity "hazing." A young man is rushed by a popular and well-established frat, only to discover that part of the initiation ceremony requires him to kill a puppy. He drops out of the fraternity and tells the world its "secrets". The fraternity leader, played by Russell Johnson, organizes a campaign to drive the pledge off the campus--which results in the pledge's death. Professor Paul Henried investigates, and learns that the fraternity's ties to the business community are so strong that he can do nothing to stop the cruelty of the hazing process. Henried's only recourse is to expose arrogant frat leader Johnson as a coward with feet of clay--which he does, in a breast-beating scene that will surprise those who know Russell Johnson only as the mild-mannered "Professor" on Gilligan's Island. Made inexpensively, For Men Only is competently directed by star Paul Henried. The only question is: Why should the non-collegiates in the audience care anything about the iniquities of fraternity life? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Hoodlum is tailor-made for the roughneck talents of actor Lawrence Tierney. The film details the rise and fall of a habitual criminal, and the havoc he wreaks on the lives of his loved ones. Things really go downhill when the "hero" (Tierney) seduces and abandons his brother's sweetheart (Allene Roberts), whereupon the girl commits suicide. Lawrence Tierney's "reel" brother is played by his real brother Edward; presumably, Tierney's more famous sibling Scott Brady was occupied elsewhere. The best performance is delivered by Lisa Golm as the Hoodlum's long-suffering mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Abbott & Costello vehicle set in rural Kentucky, a magician (Lou Costello), his agent (Bud Abbott) and his sister (Dorothy Shay) unwittingly become involved in a down-home feud. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide