William Challee Movies

After a hard day in the field, John (Randolph Mantooth) returns to his bunk at the station, only to find that it has become the new home of a stray cat and her kittens. This week's emergency roster includes an old codger who is stuck in the bear trap he'd set to capture a thief; a burning airplane, with two passengers trapped inside; a gas leak at an elementary school; a near-fatal boating mishap; and a really bad case of stage fright. Virginia Gregg, a loyal member of producer Jack Webb's "stock company", appears as Zelda Zack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Written and directed by Bonanza star Michael Landon, "The Younger Brothers' Younger Brother" is one of the series' zaniest episodes. It all begins when Hoss Cartwright is mistaken for one of the notorious Younger Brothers, who have recently resumed their criminal activities after a 12-year prison term. Thrown in jail, Hoss must depend upon Ben and Joe to bail him out-only to end up sharing a cell with his father and brother when they, too, are mistaken for Youngers. Meanwhile, the real Younger boys, led by Cole Younger (Strother Martin), demonstrate the monumental stupidity that landed them in the slammer in the first place. "The Younger Brothers' Younger Brother" first aired on March 12, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The venerable John Carradine gets his first chance to play the fanged count in 20 years (the last time was House of Dracula), albeit in one of the weirdest scenarios ever committed to film. Arriving in the Wild West via stagecoach, Drac installs himself in the home of a pretty rancher (Melinda Plowman) by convincing her (through hypnosis) that he is her long-lost uncle. Unfortunately for the Count, one of her hired hands is none other than legendary outlaw Billy the Kid (Chuck Courtney), who has been trying to put his wicked ways behind him. Billy takes a shine to his boss but starts to have his suspicions about her creepy "uncle." Eventually, the reformed desperado straps on his six-guns again to do battle with the Count, ably assisted by the local sawbones who must be an acquaintance of Dr. Van Helsing, since he obviously knows such helpful arcane knowledge such as (gasp) "The Vampire Test!" A camp anti-classic from William "One-Shot" Beaudine, who shot it back-to-back with yet another Wild-West-Horror mutation, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Joshua Norton was a real-life character in 19th century San Francisco, formerly a man of wealth who in middle age declared himself "Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico", even going so far as to purchase a resplendant uniform (complete with plumed hat) for the occasion. Amused by this harmless eccentric, the people of San Francisco indulged him in his delusions of grandeur-and generously paid all his expenses--until the end of his days. In this February 27, 1966 episode of Bonanza, Sam Jaffee guest-stars as The Emperor Norton, who at the beginning of the story is about to be committed to an asylum. To save him from this fate, Norton's friend Harry Crawford (Parley Baer) brings him to the Ponderosa, and then-of course-the fun (?) really begins. William Challee appears as Mark Twain (the second of the author's three Bonanza appearances), who in the climactic scenes joins the Cartwrights in championing Norton's cause. "The Emperor Norton" was written by Robert Sabaroff and Gerrit P. Young. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a bored, but seductive wife of a wealthy old ranch goes cruising for trouble and finds it when she picks up a hapless hitchhiker who soon falls under her sexy spell. Like a fly to a spider's web, he is drawn to her bedroom. Unfortunately, the old rancher sees him leaving and flies into a rage, killing his cheating wife. The crooked county sheriff is delighted by the events as he can now begin blackmailing the rancher. To cover for the crime, he arrests the poor drifter who doesn't even know the woman is dead. In the end, the rancher kills the sheriff and confesses all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

During a gas station holdup, Richard Kimble (David Janssen) and Joanne Spencer (Brenda Vaccaro) are taken hostage by psychotic gunmen Miles (Chris Robinson) and Vinnie (Lou Antonio). In an effort to save Joanne's life, Kimble pretends to be a master criminal, offering to cut the two thugs in on a big heist if they'll drive him to Hollywood. Though Kimble tries to convince Joanne that he's really on her side, she panics when she disovers that he is an accused murderer--while the sadistic Miles awaits the opportunity to kill both captives in cold blood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the concluding episode of the series' only two-parter, future director Sydney Pollack guest stars as Joe Culp, a sadistic cattleman bent upon lynching murder suspect (and sheepherder) Joselito Kincaid (Robert Carricart) just for the fun of it. Hired to bring Kincaid to trial, Paladin (Richard Boone) isn't about to let Culp have his way, but he is overwhelmed by the cattleman's vicious buddies, Roy Smith (James Best) and the Slimser brothers. Pummelled into unconsciousness, Paladin awakens with vengeance in his heart, determined to get even with the villains for what is done to the hapless Kincaid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally filmed for Twilight Zone's second season, writer-director Montgomery Pittman's "The Grave" was not telecast until Season Three -- to be exact, October 27, 1961. Lee Marvin stars as western gunslinger Conny Miller, who upon arriving in a flea-bitten town for a showdown with outlaw Pinto Sykes, is told that Sykes is already dead. Convinced that Miller is a coward who never really wanted to catch up with him, the dying Sykes had challenged Miller to visit his grave, warning that he would reach up from the ground and drag Miller in with him. Goaded by the townspeople, the terrified Miller ventures into the graveyard in the dead of night. Western-movie regulars Strother Martin and Lee Van Cleef appear in key supporting roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arrested and jailed on a charge of murdering a small-town mayor, Bret (James Garner) is none too encouraged by his court-appointed defense attorney Luke Abigor (Alan Mowbray), a momument to ineptitute who bases his entire defense on an astrology chart. The only hope for salvation is to locate the real killer, who has been going around town impersonating Bret. In this pursuit, our hero receives some unexpected assistant from the redoubtable Melanie Blake (Kathleen Crowley), who'd caused him a heap of trouble in the previous episode "Maverick Springs". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jim Davis was light-years away from his role as Larry Hagman's dad on Dallas when he starred in Noose for a Gunman. In this 1960 B oater, Davis is a gunslinger who is appointed town marshal to clean out the criminal element. It isn't long before Davis is kicked out of town on a trumped-up murder rap. The real villain is cattle baron Barton MacLane, who exercises his usual prerogative of shouting all his lines. Noose for a Gunman was a Premium Production (an inaptly-named firm), released through United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A suspenseful courtroom drama, The Story on Page One was the second and last film directed by the distinguished American playwright Clifford Odets (who also wrote the screenplay). Jo (Rita Hayworth) and Larry (Gig Young) are lovers accused of murdering Jo's husband. Their trial lawyer, Victor Santini (Anthony Franciosa) has his work cut out for him on two different fronts. For one, he has to overcome his own tendency to hit the bottle, and for another, he has to somehow win this case. As revealed in the beginning, Jo's husband died accidentally. Yet the unpredictability of the courtroom proceedings indicate that a verdict of "not guilty" is going to be anything but automatic. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This lively musical was made to capitalize on the popularity of calypso music and features some excellent production numbers. It all begins when a jukebox magnate tries to force his way into a record company. They succeed and this angers the labels biggest star, who doesn't want to change his style. He disappears and so does all of the company's profits. Musical chaos reigns for awhile, but eventually everything is set to rights and happiness ensues. Look for distinguished poet Maya Angelou singing "Run Joe" and actor Alan Arkin's performance with the folk group the Tarriers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After accusing his wife Myrna (June Dayton) of trying to poison him, Ed Davenport (John Stephenson) dies in a motel room. Worse still, Ed has written a letter, implicating his wife in his death. By the time the police arrive, both corpse and letter have disappeared, but some arsenic-spiked candy is found on the scene--evidence enough to charge Myrna with murder when Ed's body is finally recovered. Faced with what seems to be an open-and-shut case, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must perform some spectacular legal calisthenics to save Myrna from execution. This episode is based on a 1954 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide