Dan Ullman Movies

1980  
 
Jason (Jon Walmsley) befriends a young Polish-American Jew named Ted Lupinsky (Todd Susman). When Ted tells the Waltons that his grandfather died in an extermination camp, the story seems too incredible (and too horrible) to believe. Eventually, however, Ted persuades the family that he is telling the truth -- and along the way, he helps Elizabeth (Kami Cotler) overcome her feelings of rejection for being more intellectual and less frivolous than her classmates (one of whom is played by Erica Hunton, who previously essayed the title role in "The Foundling," the very first episode of The Waltons). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1972  
 
Richard Boone stars as Anton Solca, an Iron Curtain defector living contentedly in California's Napa Valley. Now a successful wine grower, Solca finds himself targetted by a mysterious assailant. Someone from his East European past wants him dead, and by mid-film we find out why. Patty Duke, Michael Constantine, Jack Kruschen and Murray Hamilton costar in this TV-movie adaptation of Geoffrey Household's novel Watcher in the Shadows. Deadly Harvest debuted September 26, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1971  
 
Written by Dan Ullman, "The Miracle" focuses in on $8,000,000 worth of heroin. The IMF must determine the location of the heroin and put Syndicate operatives Taynor (Ronald Feinberg) and Kearney (Joe Don Baker) out of business. The gimmick: a phony heart transplant, which will convert the homicidal Kearney into a religious pacifist. Filmed at Southern California's Marineland, "The Miracle" was originally telecast on October 23, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Peter GravesGreg Morris, (more)
1966  
 
Turncoat scientist Lawrence Underwood (Linden Chiles) manages to steal some top-secret documents from an atomic lab in Idaho. Picking up Underwood's trail, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) methodically tracks the man down. What Erskine doesn't know is that Underwood has been exposed to deadly atomic radiation--and is contaminating everyone with whom he comes in contact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1966  
 
Scheduled to go on trial for fraud, Mark Tabor (J.D. Cannon) jumps bail, feigns a nervous breakdown, and takes refuge in a mental instution. Going undercover as a fellow mental patient, Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist) tries to figure out the motivation behind Tabor's actions. Meanwhile, the Syndicate dispatches a few hired guns to make certain that Tabor never testifies in court. Anthony Eisley, later seen in the recurring role of Special Agent Chet Randolph, is here cast as another FBI operative, Kirby Greene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1966  
 
In one of those bizarre twists of fate so beloved by the writers of The Fugitive, both Richard Kimble (David Janssen) and the elusive "one-armed man" Fred Johnson (Bill Raisch) are seriously injured in an explosion--and both end up in the same hospital. Temporarily blinded in the blast, Kimble must rely on young freelance photographer Howey's Keever (Tim Considine) to help him evade arrest long enough to bring Johnson to justice. But Kimble's efforts may come to naught thanks to Howey's uncle, who is all for turning the fugitive over to the police--thus allowing the murderous Johnson to escape scot-free again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1966  
 
Posing as "Ben Russell", Kimble finds refuge in the home of the Koraks, a family of Hungarian emigres. When the police put the family's apartment building under surveillance while searching for an escaped murderer, Josef Korak (Ludwig Donath) begins to worry that his past criminal record as an illegal abortionist will be revealed. To save himself, Korak plans to turn Kimble over the authorities--until the runaway murderer invades the family's flat and dramatically changes the whole scenario. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1966  
 
Glenn Madison (Steven Hill), a war hero with political ambitions, is rescued from a plane crash by Richard Kimble (David Janssen). Normally, this would make Kimble a hero, but both he and Madison are anxious to keep the rescue a secret from the public--Kimble because he is a fugitive from justice, and Madison because his travelling companion was his mistress Pat Haynes (Jessica Walter). But Madison's vengeful wife Claire (Nancy Wickwire) doesn't intend to let her husband, or Kimble, off the hook so easily. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1966  
 
Kimble (David Janssen) covers several states using several aliases in this episode, barely escaping capture at every turn. The reason? Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse) has opted to use technology in his efforts to trap Kimble, and to this end has teamed with electronics expert Dr. Mark Ryder. Utilizing Ryder's state-of-the-art computer "2130", Gerard is now able to anticipate Kimble's every move by evaluating the geographical pattern of the fugitive's travels. For once, it looks as if Kimble has met his match--but machines, like people, are capable of making mistakes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1966  
 
In Baker City, Ohio, newspaper reporter Barbara Webb (Janice Rule) publishes the photo of a murder suspect (Bill Raisch) whom fugitive Richard Kimble (David Janssen) recognizes as Fred Johnson, the One-Armed Man who killed his wife. As a result, Kimble rushes to Baker City in hopes of collaring the man who has so long eluded. . .while at the same time, Lt. Gerard heads to the same city for the essentially same purpose. The plot takes an unexpected twist when, during a jailbreak, Johnson is seriously injured, and Kimble struggles to keep alive long enough to make a confession--with Barbara as the witness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1966  
 
Singer Wayne Newton makes his dramatic debut as Andy Walker, the son of domineering dirt farmer Willard Walker (Malcolm Atterbury). Desirous of pursuing a musical career, Andy is stopped in his tracks by his hidebound father. Ben Cartwright intervenes in this domestic dilemma-and along the way, guest-star Newton warbles such traditional tunes as "Old Joe Clark", "Scarlet Ribbons", "Danny Boy", and "The Old Rugged Cross". Also in the cast are Anne Jeffreys as Lily and Wayne Newton's real-life brother Jerry as Andy's brother Mike. First shown on April 10, 1966, "The Unwritten Commandment" was written by Jo Pagano, William Blinn and Dan Ullman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Lorne GreeneMichael Landon, (more)
1965  
 
As "Ed Curtis", Richard Kimble befriends Josephus Adams (Arthur O'Connell), an old-fashioned rural doctor who believes in using "folk remedies" to cure all ills. After a woman in Adams' care dies of an untreated bronchial infection, Kimble insists upon intervening in the doctor's future cases. Meanwhile, Adams' faithless young wife Marianne (Sheree North) threatens to reveal Kimble's true identity if he resists her romantic advances. Things come to a head when Adams' beloved niece Sharon (Kim Darby) lapses into a coma after being stung by a bee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1964  
 
Publicly humiliated by town tough Al Mooney (Ron Foster), young Johnny Chapman (Guy Stockwell) asks his friend Joe Cartwright to teach him how to use a gun. Joe agrees, but eventually regrets this decision when Johnny becomes a cold-blooded bounty hunter. Making matters worse, Johnny has been hired to gun down his former girlfriend Olive (Valerie Allen)-and also Joe Cartwright. Written by Dan Ullman, "Invention of a Gunfighter" originally aired September 20, 1964, as the inaugural episode of Bonanza's sixth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Lorne GreenePernell Roberts, (more)
1964  
 
Still a few steps ahead of the law, Kimble (David Janssen) makes it to a railroad yard and hops a freight car already occupied by Neil Pinkerton (Paul Richards) and Matt Mooney (Lou Antonio). It turns out that Kimble's travelling companions are a pair of convicts who have escaped in a mass prison breakout. Forced to join Pinkerton and Mooney as they make their getaway, Kimble ends up in an isolated house occupied by Mona Ross (Shirley Knight) and her mother (Virginia Gregg). Now the fugitive faces a tricky problem: He must pretend to hold the terrified Mona captive while devising a strategy to save her life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1964  
 
Now calling himself "Bill Martin", Kimble (David Janssen) arrives in a town where several women have fallen victim to a serial killer. A local vigilante committee, by nature suspicious of all outsiders, immediately assumes that Kimble is responsible for the killing spree. Joanne Mercer (June Harding), a mentally challenged girl shunned by the community, takes pity and Kimble and allows him to hide in her cellar--little imagining that the real murderer is likewise hiding only a few feet away. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1964  
 
In Volume 34 of a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, an astronaut returns from Venus to find he can no longer stay warm in Earth's climate. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

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1964  
 
While working as a farmhand, Kimble (David Janssen) is recognized from a wanted poster, and finds himself pursued by local sheriff Morgan Fallon (Don Gordon). Meanwhile, aging Samuel Cole (Arthur O'Connell), the town's former sheriff, is determined to make up for the tragic blunder of allowing a murderer to escape his clutches. Ultimately, Kimble is trapped by both Fallon and Cole, who engaged in a tense and potentially deadly "tug of war" with the hapless Fugitive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1961  
NR  
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Filmed at least nine times over the last nine decades, Jules Verne's Mysterious Island received its most popular picturization in the hands of producer Charles Schneer, director Cy Endfield and special-effects maestro Ray Harryhausen. During the Civil War, several P.O.W.s led by Gary Merrill escape from a southern stockade in a huge observation balloon. Buffeted about by a violent storm, the balloon lands on an unchartered island somewhere near New Zealand. The fugitives soon discover that this is no ordinary desert isle, especially after being attacked by a giant-sized crab. Joined by a pair of shipwrecked British gentlewomen (Joan Greenwood and Beth Rogan), the castaways find evidence that the island has been previously inhabited-and that they're all being watched. Sure enough, it turns out that the island is the domain of Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom), skipper of the futuristic underwater vessel Nautilus. Having failed to end all wars by blasting battleships out of the sea, Nemo is now experimenting with new means of ending starvation in the world: hence the outsized crabs and birds that the castaways have confronted. Before Nemo can spread his goodwill elsewhere, he is destroyed by the island's volcano, while the others manage to escape in the Nautilus. As in 1957's 7th Voyage of Sinbad, the combination of Ray Harryhausen and musical composer Bernard Herrmann is unbeatable; otherwise, Mysterious Island tends to slow to a halt in-between its spectacular special-effects highlights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Michael CraigJoan Greenwood, (more)
1959  
 
Even with the guiding hand of talented action director Paul Wendkos, and good performances by the cast, this routine western unconvincingly tries to develop complex relationships in a 24-hour period. Mark Riley (Fred MacMurray) is in the middle of robbing a bank when his younger brother guns his way into the scene to stop him. In the process, he kills a deputy and is killed himself, while Mark takes off to save his own skin. He is now accused of the murder. Holing up in another town where he is a stranger, Mark falls in love with the sheriff's sister. Then he really gets into trouble when he decides to save the sheriff from imminent death -- he himself is caught out and captured. There is some hope for him because the sheriff he just rescued happens to be a lawyer. What a difference a day makes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Fred MacMurrayLin McCarthy, (more)
1959  
 
Although the actual battle of the Coral Sea does not begin this standard wartime drama, there is plenty of action and suspense as the preparation stage of the battle is carried out. A submarine captained by Jeff Conway (Cliff Robertson) successfully scouts the location of enemy installations, ships, and subs and then starts to head back to friendly waters. Before chugging very far in that direction, the submarine is spotted and captured by the Japanese. The crew members are taken prisoner by an even-handed Commander Mori (Teru Shimada) and held on the Japanese forces' island base. While chaffing under a ticking clock as the day of the final confrontation draws near, an island woman is secretly enlisted to help smuggle out three of the prisoners. If they can make it off the island to their own base, then the all-important information on the Japanese positions will tip the scales in favor of the U.S. Navy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Cliff RobertsonGia Scala, (more)
1959  
 
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With Gene Barry already riding the video range as legendary gunfighter-turned-lawman Bat Masterson, independent producer Walter Mirisch hired old-timer Joel McCrea to play a rather less-dandified version in this routine Western released in Cinemascope. When his brother Ed (Harry Lauter) is cowardly shot in the back and killed, Bat accepts to run for county sheriff against the corrupt Jim Regan (Don Haggerty), only to learn that the real killer is someone entirely different. Not wanting the job of sheriff in the first place but only accepting to please a lady friend, the pious Pauline Howard (Julie Adams), Bat willingly breaks the law to aid an old friend (Walter Coy), almost losing both his position and his life in the ensuing shootout. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Joel McCreaJulie Adams, (more)
1958  
 
Case Against Brooklyn was based on an "expose" article by Ed Reid. Darren McGavin plays rookie cop Pete Harris, who goes undercover to help smash a Brooklyn bookie ring. The problem here as that the crooks have been bribing other cops to look the other way. As if Harris wasn't courting enough trouble by going up against his "own", he also falls in love with gambler's widow Lil Polombo (Maggie Hayes), even though he's already married to Jane Harris (Peggy McCay). Daniel B. Ullman's screenplay adheres to the facts as recorded by Ed Reid, right down to the semi-unhappy finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Darren McGavinMaggie Hayes, (more)
1958  
 
A brave cowboy/ex-con hits the dusty trail as the leader of a major cattle drive in this western. He is offered the job by the very townspeople his gang terrorized a few years before. They are also the same people who put him in the slammer, and even though he accepts the task, he secretly plots his revenge. He gets it by proving himself courageous and honest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Joel McCreaGloria Talbott, (more)
1958  
 
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The Springdale, NE, bank is held up and robbed by a well organized gang. One of the members is Eddie Campbell (Robert Vaughn), a onetime resident of the town and orphan who was brought up in part by Ben Cutler (Fred MacMurray), an ex-lawman-turned-rancher. While pursuing the robbers, the town marshal, Hiram Cain (Emile G. Meyer), is shot dead by Campbell, who in turn is wounded and captured by Cutler. The town council appoints Cutler as temporary marshal, and the prosecution seems like an open-and-shut case -- he begins to see signs of trouble when his own daughter Laurie (Joan Blackman), who was raised with Campbell and was once his sweetheart, refuses to believe that he's guilty of the crime. Ben's fiancée, Ruth (Maggie Hayes), also feels the boy deserves leniency, but the real trouble starts when Campbell's attorney, William Selby (Edmon Ryan), shows up; he first tries to compromise the jury pool by ingratiating himself with the asking the townspeople what we would now call "push" questions, about Campbell's being an orphan and a hard-luck case all of his life, under the guise of building his case. He's also just clever enough at the trial to shake the testimony of the five other witnesses to the shooting, but Cutler's testimony is enough to put the jury into the guilty column. Then Campbell starts working on the sympathy of Laurie and the townspeople who've been persuaded by his lawyer -- it's also been a long time since there's been a capital case like this in the state, and Cutler discovers that the townspeople and even the law may not be as ready to execute a killer as common sense says they should be. Cutler's and Ruth's romance is jeopardized, and he is pushed to the point of resigning when matters come to an explosive head. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Fred MacMurrayMaggie Hayes, (more)
1957  
 
Man Afraid stars George Nader as a clergyman serving a big-city slum district. He is forced to kill a young hoodlum in self-defense; the police are willing to forgive him of the killing, but the victim's psychotic father (Harold J. Stone) is not so pliable. The father threatens not only to wreak vengeance on Nader, but on Nader's family as well. The minister is torn apart by the practical necessity of protecting his family and the pacifistic edicts of his religious calling. Man Afraid is a tight, claustrophobic melodrama that was inappropriately filmed in CinemaScope; consequently, it tends to play better on TV than it did in theatres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
George NaderPhyllis Thaxter, (more)

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