Steve Brodie Movies

Candy makes good his long-standing promise to quit the Ponderosa to join his longtime sweetheart Lila Holden (Elizabeth MacRae) in the town of River Bend. His dreams of starting life anew are shattered when he is arrested on a trumped-up charge and held without bail. Hoping to help Candy out, the Cartwrights enter into a dangerous confrontation with murderous, graft-grabbing Sheriff Booker (Robert Wilke and his equally disreputable deputy Horn (Steve Brodie). Written by David Lang, "Trouble Town" originally aired on March 17, 1968, then was afforded a special "encore presentation" by NBC in the Spring of 1972. At present, two differently edited syndicated versions exist of this title. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Batwoman (Katherine Victor) is a costumed crime fighter who leads a gang of beautiful Batgirls in a neverending crusade to "fight against evil with all sincerity." Her arch-enemy, Rat Fink (Richard Banks), sends henchmen to drug one of the Batgirls at a nightclub and hold her for ransom. Rat Fink wants revenge against Batwoman for foiling so many of his criminal schemes, so he threatens to dispose of the kidnapped girl if the heroine doesn't help him steal a very valuable new invention. The Ayjax Development Corporation has created an atomic hearing aid that hasn't been awarded a patent yet in the United States because it can be used for eavesdropping on telephone conversations, and it's downright explosive if exposed to cobalt. Rat Fink wants it for these very reasons, but Batwoman outwits his henchmen and escapes with the Batgirl. Understanding the danger that the world would be in if the device fell into the wrong hands, the Batgirls are sent to Ayjax to guard the prototype. Rat Fink's men hoodwink the ladies by serving them soup laced with experimental "happy pills," causing fits of go-go dancing, and soon the forces of evil have the atomic hearing aid in their clutches. Batwoman must save the day, and holds a seance to consult the spirits of the dead for help. Can Rat Fink be stopped or will the Batgirls be distracted by a wild rock & roll beach party? After D.C. Comics sued director/producer Jerry Warren for copyright infringement, a brief prologue featuring three yogurt-drinking vampire girls was added to this campy genre spoof and the title was changed to She Was a Hippy Vampire. ~ Fred Beldin, Rovi

Season Five of Bonanza came to a close on May 24, 1964 with the episode titled "Walter and the Outlaws", a sequel to the previous season's "Any Friend of Walter's" (the scripts for both episodes were written by Lois Hire). Arthur Hunnicutt returns as grizzled prospector Obie, who lives in a squalid shack with his pet dog, the redoubtable Walter. Also making return appearances are Steve Brodie, Vic Werber and James Luisi as dimwitted but deadly outlaws Macie, Teague, and Willard, still determined to steal Obie's cache of gold. This time around, the crooked trio kidnap Walter, hoping to make Obie surrender his treasure. The prospector and the Cartwrights concoct an elaborate rescue scheme which goes hilariously awry. The classic scene in which head outlaw Macie is forced to take castor oil has, alas, often been removed from syndicated prints of "Walter and the Outlaws." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Boiling over with sexual shenanigans and general sleaziness the Mexico-set tale centers on a confused socialite who falls in love with an American engineer who was hired by her half- brother to oversee his mining outfit. At first the attraction between the girl and the Yank is purely sexual, but soon it turns to love. This causes the half-brother great torment, for he has fallen in love with his sister. Obsessed with jealousy, the conniving brother tries to bust things up by bringing in the girl's ex-lover. He is a cad and after trying unsuccessfully to seduce her, the creep results to rape. The next day, the despondent woman tries to kill herself, but the American shows up and reassures her that his love is true. This was the first film actress Merle Oberon had worked on in seven years and was filmed in her spectacular Mexican home. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Washed out of an upcoming Moon project, civilian astronaut Mitchell Heller (Robert Bray) has plenty of reason to despise the man responsible, Maj. Gen. Addison Brand (a pre-stardom James Coburn). Not only has Heller stolen his job and his girlfriend, but he also may have swiped an invention on which Heller has been working for years. Thus, when Brand is murdered, the police think that Heller is the culprit. In his efforts to clear Heller, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) immerses himself in the brave new world of Astronautics--while a reluctant Paul Drake (William Hopper) participates in a simulated space-capsule flight. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season Four of Maverick concludes with the series' only two-part episode. In Part One, Bart (Jack Kelly) purchases a wagonload of merchandise sight unseen from silver-tongued peddler Luther Cannonbaugh (John Dehner). Bart's plan to sell the merchandise at a nearby Army post hits a snag when he peeks into the wagon and finds a large supply of illegal liquor--as well as a bound and gagged Indian girl named Tawney (Sharon Hugueny). In his efforts to keep himself out of prison and avoid an all-out Indian war, Bart ends up captured by Tawney's tribe. Also held captive is the redoubtable Mr. Cannonbaugh, who thinks he has devised a foolproof scheme to save himself and Bart from being killed...and he's just the fool to prove it. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A routine story about an attempted assassination of a foreign head of state, Three Came to Kill is one of many action dramas directed by the indefatigable Edward L. Cahn in 1960 and '61. In this instance, the setting is Los Angeles and a gang of hoodlums, for their own reasons, are intent on murdering a visiting Asian Prime Minister. Three of the men are professional killers, and their plan is to break into the house of an airport employee and shoot down the plane that is carrying the PM out of the U.S. The L.A. police are alerted, placing the plan in jeopardy before it can be put into effect. Cameron Mitchell is the head hoodlum honcho. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The creation and testing of jet planes is the focus of this action film. The story centers on a boozy hero from the Korean War who is hired as a test pilot by an aircraft executive on the condition that he sober up for good. It is a long road for the alcoholic aviator, and at one point he almost suffers a breakdown during a simulated flight, but he manages to dry out and begin flying experimental planes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

W. Lee Wilder, the somewhat less prestigious producer-director brother of Billy Wilder, went to Holland to film his 1958 opus Spy in the Sky. Steve Brodie plays Cabot, a U.S. intelligence agent who heads to Vienna (actually Amsterdam) in search of a missing rocket scientist. Cabot's quest is jeopardized by the machinations of a communist spy ring, headed by a Colonel Benedict (George Coulouris). The Reds hope to coerce the scientist to build a spy satellite, the better to keep tabs on the Decadent Democracies. A spy in the sky? What a ridiculous notion! What self-respecting nation would stoop to outer-space espionage? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Worrywart Norman Frayne (James Best) is so wrapped up with his own problems that he is neglecting his wife, Paula (Katherine Bard). All this changes when Norman's old pal, handsome Al Revenel (Steve Brodie), comes to town. Now Norman has something new to worry about -- namely, that Al is poised to steal Paula away from him. His solution to this dilemma is to move out of his own house...and that is the first of his many fatal errors. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally released as Gun Duel in Durango, this solid little western stars George Montgomery as reformed outlaw Dan. He falls in love with ranch owner Judy (Ann Robinson), but she won't accept his proposal until she's certain that he's given up his criminal activities. This proves difficult when Dunston (Steve Brodie), a member of Dan's old gang, shows up, insisting that his former boss rejoin the crooks. Tension mounts until the obligatory final shootout. Former western star Don "Red" Barry shows up in a choice character role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Released from prison, criminal Joe Kedzie (Steven Hill) makes a beeline to an abandoned mine shaft in the desert, where he has hidden 100,000 dollars in stolen money. Hot on Joe's heels are his two cohorts, Maxie (Steve Brodie) and Madge, (Jean Hagen), who hope to claim their share of the dough -- or to knock Joe off and keep it all. There's double-crossing aplenty amongst the unholy trio throughout the rest of the episode, with only one conspirator remaining alive at the end...albeit no luckier nor richer than before. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi