Jean Harvey Movies

Based on a true story, this murder mystery is steeped in accusation as it chronicles the investigation into the deaths of a pair of Montagnais Indian fisherman who may have been shot by white game wardens who find them illegally fishing for salmon. The story is set in 1984 along the northeastern coast of Quebec and begins on the Maliotenam reserve when Salomon Ispatau's bloated corpse washes ashore, pierced with what looks like bullet holes. This naturally causes a stir amongst the residents. Roxane Lalo is most upset, for her brother Ulysse had gone out fishing around the same time as Salomon. At the time Salomon's body is discovered, a French marine biologist, Jean-Pierre Lafond, is there studying local whale migrations. Since his arrival, he has become friends with Roxane and it is with her that they find Ulysse's blood-covered body on a beach. The latest discovery causes even greater conflict. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This is the last of four consecutive episodes in which Perry Mason appears only briefly, while a "guest" lawyer handles the case at hand (Raymond Burr was at the time recovering from minor surgery). Walter Pigeon stars as corporation lawyer Sherman Hatfield, who in Perry's absence tackles his first murder case. Hatfield's client is scatterbrained Hollis Wilburn (Joyce Bulifant), charged with the murder of her uncle John Wilburn (Carl Benton Reid), a high-profile industrialist who was being blackmailed by someone who knew of his illegal Swiss bank account. Excluded from the original Perry Mason syndicated rerun package in 1966, this episode would not be seen again until it was shown on cable TV in the mid-1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A British officer is slated to parachute into Normandy. What he doesn't know is that he is being set up by British Intelligence to be captured by the enemy and reveal erroneous information to the Nazis. Officer Raine (Bradford Dillman) is the unknowing soldier who has intentionally been given false information. His superiors justify the expenditure of one man verses the thousands of lives that will be saved by his mission. The unlucky officer faces capture, brutal torture and debilitating guilt leading to alcoholism over his perceived "failure" to keep the information secret. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The title of the 60-minute British programmer Ambush in Leopard Street tells the whole story. Retired thief James Kenney comes out of mothballs for one last big heist. The plan is to bushwack a diamond shipment as the truck tools its way down Leopard Street. Since the truck is heavily guarded, it is necessary for Kenney to recruit a larger gang of henchmen than usual. The "old pros" perform efficiently, but the hotheaded newcomers gum up the works. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a novel by Robert Penn Warren, this Southern potboiler stars Yvonne DeCarlo as Amantha Starr, the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana plantation owner. When her father unexpectedly dies, Amantha discovers that her father was deep in debt and the family is penniless, and she is forced to drop out of the exclusive girls' school she was attending. What's more, it is discovered that Amantha has a small amount of African-American blood, and under the laws she is to be sold into slavery in New Orleans. Amantha is purchased by Hamish Bond (Clark Gable), a dashing, wealthy, but mysterious landowner. While Amantha is at first terrified by her new situation, in time she grows fond of Hamish and becomes romantically involved with him. However, the outbreak of the Civil War leads to Union forces taking New Orleans; RauRu (Sidney Poitier), Hamish's trusted overseer, joins the Northern forces as the Rebels go down in defeat. RauRu hates Amantha for literally sleeping with the enemy, and Hamish for the corrupt system he represents, but his last remaining threads of loyalty prevent him from taking them prisoner. With his crops destroyed, Hamish must rebuild his empire from the ground up, and, as he joins forces with his former associate Capt. Canavan (Torin Thatcher), he must reveal a shameful secret to Amantha: he once earned his living as a slave trader. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The Solid Gold Cadillac was adapted from the George S. Kaufman-Howard Teichmann Broadway hit of the same. Both the play and film were predicated upon the notion of a humble ten-share stockholder triumphing over a corrupt big-business board of directors, but there was one significant difference. In the stage version, septuagenarian Josephine Hull starred as Laura Partridge, a sweet little old lady who asks several embarrassing questions at a stockholder's meeting. In the film version, Laura's age is lowered by at least four decades to accommodate star Judy Holliday. In both versions, a romance develops between Laura Partridge and Edward L. McKeever, the owner of the corporation she takes on. McKeever (played in the film by Paul Douglas, Holliday's co-star in the Broadway version of Born Yesterday) is an honest man, which is more than can be said for his self-serving board of directors (Fred Clark, John Williams, Ray Collins et. al.) With McKeever's covert help, Laura, who has been given a dummy executive position in the corporation in hopes that she'll shut up, forms a stockholder's association intent upon throwing the rascals out. Though the dialogue in Solid Gold Cadillac is consistently entertaining, the film's best line goes to Judy Holliday: Describing her brief career as an actress in a Shakespearean troupe, she recalls ruefully that "No one's allowed to sit down unless you're a king." George Burns, taking over from the stage version's Fred Allen, provides the wry scene-setting narration. Currently available TV prints of The Solid Gold Cadillac have restored the original Technicolor final shot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Alcoholic Bill Cannon's (Dan Duryea) past sins catch up with him in Chicago Calling. Cannon's daughter Nancy (Melinda Plowman) is seriously injured in an accident while out of town, and his wife Mary (Mary Anderson) has promised to call him back as soon as she learns the result of Nancy's operation. Unfortunately, Cannon's phone service is cut off for nonpayment, forcing him to go begging for the $50 necessary to square his phone bill. Only through the kindness of waitress Peggy (Marsha Jones) and telephone engineer Jim (Ross Elliot) is Cannon able to make the crucial call to his wife. Alas, the operation has proved unsuccessful. Will the impact of this tragedy push Cannon over the brink, or will it inspire him to seek out a new lease on life? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi