Dwayne Hickman Movies

1001 Arabian Nights was the first animated feature film produced by the "progressive" UPA cartoon firm. The studio had originally planned to feature its star attraction, the nearsighted Mr. Magoo, in an adaptation of Don Quixote scripted by no less than Aldous Huxley. But Columbia, UPA's distributor, didn't think that a Quixote film would sell to the kiddie trade, so the studio settled on the oft-used "Aladdin's Lamp" story. It might have worked better had Magoo portrayed a bumbling genie; instead, the Myopic One is cast as Aladdin's uncle, a wholly extraneous character who has no bearing on the plot or its outcome. Beyond its script shortcomings, 1001 Arabian Nights boasts an attractive production design and color scheme, as well as some pleasant voicework by Dwayne Hickman, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Hans Conried and Herschel Bernardi. Many of the character designs seen in Arabian Nights were reused on UPA's weekly 1964 TV series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Famed WW1 aviator Eddie Rickenbacker once more entered the public's consciousness during WW2 when, while serving as an Air Force officer, he and several other pilots crashed into the Pacific. While the world anxiously awaited news of his fate, Rickenbacker and a handful of survivors floated for 19 days in a tiny rubber raft. Captain Eddie recreates this incident, using it as a framework for a series of flashbacks in which Rickenbacker (Fred MacMurray) reminisces on the high points of his life. He is seen experimenting with aviation in his backyard, working in an auto factory to finance his earliest flights, and wooing and winning the lovely Adelaide (Lynn Bari). When America enters WW1, Rickenbacker immediately signs up, eventually shooting down more enemy planes than any other American aviator. Back in "the present", Rickenbacker and his comrades (including Lloyd Nolan and Richard Conte as Lt. Whittaker and Private Bartek) struggle to stay alive while awaiting rescue. Darryl Hickman plays Rickenbacker as a boy, while Charles Bickford portrays his father William. The huge supporting cast includes amusing unbilled contributions by Grady Sutton ("The schottische is my fav-or-ite dance!") and George Chandler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, an aspiring singer finds herself single and pregnant. The story begins when she is rushed to the hospital to give birth. She is joined by three men; all of them want to marry her. The story of her pregnancy and her rise to stardom are told in flashback. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The great Vincent Price obviously had fun with his characterization of Dr. Goldfoot in this campy spy spoof directed by Norman Taurog. With his henchman Igor (Jack Mullaney), the demented doctor builds a machine that mass-produces an army bikini-clad babes. Goldfoot programs his vixens to seduce the wealthiest men alive and convince them to sign their fortunes over to him - thus enabling the fiendish doctor to amass tremendous wealth and take over the world. Frankie Avalon co-stars as Secret Agent Craig Gamble, who sets out to destroy the women and bring Goldfoot's plan to a screeching halt. Annette Funicello and Harvey Lembeck provide cameo appearances. Strictly for fans who loved those 1960s drive-in quickies. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Lucille Ball offers a seminal version of her Lucy Ricardo TV character in Her Husband's Affairs. Ball is cast as Margaret Weldon, the wife of advertising executive William Weldon (Franchot Tone). Though Weldon is successful, Margaret can't help but feel that he'd be more successful if she were to take an active part in his business affairs. The fun really begins when Margaret tries to help Weldon promote a crackpot inventor (Mikhail Rasumny) who's come up with a revolutionary new embalming fluid. As in the previous year's The Hucksters, Madison Avenue and Big Business are targetted for a great deal of derisive ribbing. If only Her Husband's Affairs were as funny as everyone involved seems to think it is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

How to Stuff a Wild Bikini is considered to be the strangest of the "Beach Party" movies. Frankie (Frankie Avalon) is off in the navy, serving in the South Pacific, and nervous about all of the guys that will be hitting on Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) back at the beach. He makes a deal with an eccentric white witch doctor (Buster Keaton), who conjures up a woman named Cassandra (Beverly Adam) who is irresistible to all men, and she attracts all of the guys on the beach. But complications ensue when lunatic advertising man Mickey Rooney decides to try and make Cassandra a new national sex symbol, and she gets noticed by nutsy bike gang leader Erik Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck), who vows to have her. With enough plot complications to rival A Midsummer Night's Dream, Wild Bikini is laced with satire and some surprisingly good music. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

"Hold it! I think you're gonna like this picture!" With this jaunty assurance, Bob Cummings calmly snuggled into the late-Sunday-night NBC time slot previously occupied by The Hunter for the first season of the breezy sitcom Love That Bob (originally The Bob Cummings Show). Little time is wasted establishing professional photographer Bob Collins (Cummings) as an insatiable skirt-chaser, who uses his profession primarily as an excuse to romance a variety of curvaceous models and starlets. Nor is Bob the only person on the series with an ulterior motive. His widowed sister Margaret MacDonald (Rosemary de Camp), with whom he shares a tasteful little L.A. bungalow, is forever doing her best to undermine Bob's love life -- not out of any sisterly concern, but because she feels that Bob's hedonistic behavior sets a bad example for her teenaged son Chuck (Dwayne Hickman).
In the same vein, Bob's "gal Friday" Charmaine "Schultzy" Schultz (Ann B. Davis) never tires of delivering little verbal zingers calculated to throw Bob's models off the track -- not because she feels her boss would be better off keeping his mind on his work, but because she secretly yearns to be "Mrs. Collins" herself. The series' first episode finds Bob going through the motions of finding a suitable second husband for Margaret (again, there's that ulterior motive: Marry Margaret off, and she'll stop meddling in his affairs). Later on, he attempts to fix up Schultzy with a girl-shy soda jerk, and still later he gives her the "glamour" treatment so she'll be more appealing to her erstwhile sailor beau Frank (Dick Wesson). Of course, these missions of mercy are secondary to Bob's own never-ending pursuit of the fairer sex -- said pursuit arousing the envy -- and emulation -- of his two Air Force reserve buddies, Paul Fonda (Lyle Talbot) and Harvey Helm (King Donovan). Paul, in fact, evinces so many "wolf-like" tendencies that a panicky Bob tries to discourage what he thinks is a budding romance between Paul and Margaret. Love That Bob did not crack the Top Twenty ratings during its first season, and in fact never would rank any higher than 32nd or 33rd place. But the series was popular and a solid performer -- so much so that when NBC decided to cancel at the end of the first season, the series' sponsor simply shifted the program over to rival CBS, where it remained for the next three years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Happy-go-lucky photographer Bob Collins (Bob Cummings) continues to ardently pursue his lovely models -- and for that matter, any other lovely lady who tickles his fancy -- as Love That Bob (originally The Bob Cummings Show) enters its third season. Also still on hand are future Brady Bunch co-star Ann B. Davis as Bob's "gal Friday" Schultzy, who secretly pines for her boss; Rosemary de Camp as Bob's widowed sister Margaret, still hoping that her randy brother will stop playing the field and settle down to marriage; and Dwayne Hickman as Margaret's son and Bob's nephew, Chuck, now an 18-year-old who is even more determined to follow in his Uncle's footsteps as God's Gift to Women (late 1956 model). New to the series is Mary Lawrence as Ruth Helm, the wife of Bob's Air Force Reserve buddy Harvey Helm. Fully aware of Bob's reputation with the opposite sex, jealous Ruth keeps Harvey on a short leash, but she can't censor the gleam in her otherwise 100 percent faithful husband's eye whenever he gets a gander at Bob's harem of lady friends. Also conspicuous by her frequent appearances this season is Nancy Kulp as gangly bird-watcher Pamela Livingston, who'd like to feather Bob's nest someday (this character is virtually a "dress rehearsal" for Kulp's more famous role as Jane Hathaway on The Beverly Hillbillies, which like Love That Bob, was executive-produced by Paul Henning).
And finally, there are several more appearances this season by Bob's aged but spry grandfather Josh Collins, who is even more of a wolf than his grandson. (Both Bob and Josh are, of course, played by Bob Cummings.) Ol' Josh is in fact the focal point of the season opener, "Grandpa Meets Zsa Zsa" -- and it is surely unnecessary for us to mention who "portrays" Zsa Zsa! Of Season three's 35 episodes, several stand out. "Bob Clashes With His Landlady" is a film buff's dream, offering a romantic pairing of Amazonian character actress Hope Emerson and dialect comedian El Brendel. "Bob Meets Miss Sweden" introduces a new recurring player, real-life Miss Sweden Ingrid Goude." Former child actress Bonita Granville, on the verge of becoming co-producer of the TV series Lassiewith husband Jack Wrather, plays the cousin in "Bob Meets Schultzy's Cousin." And "Chuck at College" was originally intended as the pilot episode for a spin-off series starring Dwayne Hickman; though no such series materialized at the time, Hickman would eventually headline his own sitcom, Dobie Gillis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Still on NBC after moving from CBS a year earlier, Love That Bob (originally The Bob Cummings Show) enters its fifth and final season in first-run prime time. Bob Cummings returns in his signature role as professional photographer and self-styled ladies' man Bob Collins, with Ann B. Davis as Bob's faithful assistant Schultzy, Rosemary de Camp as Bob's widowed sister Margaret, and Dwayne Hickman as Margaret's son Chuck, now a college sophomore. With the series' ratings in a slump, Love That Bob producer Paul Henning tries to freshen up the proceedings with a gimmick or two. First off, there are more guest stars this season than ever before, including Steve Allen, George Burns, Art Linkletter, Peter Lawford, Anna Maria Alberghetti, and, most memorably, Mamie van Doren, here hiding her considerable assets under a frizzy wig, an outsized pair of glasses, and a dumpy outfit. (It is explained that van Doren is "preparing" for a movie character role!) Secondly, a belated effort is made to "domesticate" the rakish Bob Collins by introducing child actress Tammy Marihugh in the role of six-year-old Tammi Johnson. Attracted to Tammi's widowed mother, Bob suddenly (and uncharacteristically) finds himself working overtime to win the little tyke's affection and respect, at one point hiring actor George Montgomery, then starring on the TV Western Cimarron City, to teach him how to be a "real cowboy"! Though Love That Bob would conclude its nighttime run at the end of its fifth season, the series' episodes were rebroadcast on ABC's daytime schedule from 1959 through 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Diana Canova guests as Maggie McCauley, former student of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) and now the producer of a TV police show. Shortly after a heated argument between Maggie and the network programmer who is planning to cancel the series, the programmer turns up murdered. With herself under suspicion, Maggie draws upon the deductive skills gleaned from her mentor Jessica to find the real killer. Actor-turned-network executive Dwayne Hickman is quite cleverly cast in this episode!. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An air-traffic reporter discovers that his partner--a St. Bernard dog--has accidentally swiped a priceless necklace from a jewel-smuggling gang. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Columbia's dog-and-boy "Rusty" series galloped ever forward with Rusty Leads the Way. This time, young Danny Mitchell (Ted Donaldson) and his canine pal Rusty (played by "Flash") befriend blind girl Penny Moffatt (Penny Waters). Feeling cheated by life, Penny resists all efforts to cope with her handicap. But with Rusty's help, the girl gains a new lease on life and agrees to adopt a seeing-eye dog. In addition to Ted Donaldson, John Litel and Ann Doran make return appearances as Danny's understanding parents. Way, way down on the cast list is young "Wayne Hickman," who of course grew up to become Dobie Gillis' Dwayne Hickman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Columbia's heartwarming "Rusty" series came to a close with Rusty's Birthday. As in previous series entries, the doggie hero is played by "Flame", while his human master Danny Mitchell is portrayed by Ted Donaldson. This time, Rusty is taken to parts unknown by a group of tourists who think they've bought the pooch. Later on, Rusty falls into the hands of a migrant worker (Ray Teal) and his family. The worker is a decent sort, meaning that a happy ending is in the offing. Featured as the migrant's son is Jimmy Hunt, later to achieve fame as the youthful protagonist of the 1953 sci-fi classic Invaders from Mars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide