Michael Fox Movies

Lewis Martin (Wynn Pearce) considers himself lucky to be alive; he has been kidnapped, driven way in the country, and forced to get drunk, apparently as part of an elaborate frame-up. After his ordeal, Martin contacts Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), accusing his stepfather Judson Bailey (Bruce Gordon) of arranging the abduction in order to get Martin out of the way so that Bailey could take over the family business. Perry is asked to locate a photograph showing Bailey conspiring with the mysterious kidnapper--but the lawyer ends up defending Martin when Bailey turns up dead. H.M. Wynant makes his first appearance as Deputy DA Sampson, one of several temporary replacements for absentee series regular William Talman (DA Hamilton Burger). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) can't believe his eyes: traditional courtroom rivals Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) and DA Hamilton Burger (William Talman) are working together to save a man from a murder charge! The man in question is Jeff Pike (J. Pat O'Malley), who years earlier had saved Burger's life. When Jeff is accused of killing Denver Leonard (Walter Coy), Burger recuses himself from the case and puts his old friend's fate in the hands of his "friendly enemy" Perry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Someone has stolen the confidential tapes of conversations between psychiatrist David Craig (Dick Foran) and his patients, and is using those tapes for blackmail. It so happens that Dr. Craig is in love with his nurse Edith (Marianne Stewart), whose brother Mark (Barry McGuire) who is in big trouble with the "mob" and is the primary suspect in the theft of the tapes. When Mark is murdered, Craig is charged, and Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) swings into action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to divorce her husband Walter (Walter Prescott) so she can marry her sweetheart Jimmy McLain (Biff Elliot), Ruth Prescott (Stacy Graham) is terrified that Walter is trying to kill her. Actually, it may be the other way around: Walter turns up dead, and Ruth is charged with the crime. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is convinced that Ruth is innocent, and that there is more to this seemingly open-and-shut case than meets the eye. Based on a 1936 novel by Erle Stanley Gardner, this is the final episode of Perry Mason's second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third season of Perry Mason begins with a typically baffling set of circumstances. Just before he left for a business trip, henpecked Bruce Chapman (Karl Weber) stumbled upon the strangled body of his hateful wife Marie (Peggy Knudsen). Deciding not to press his luck, Bruce did not report the crime. Upon his return, Bruce is charged with murder--even though all evidence suggests that his wife is still very much alive! To be sure, there has been a murder, and there is a culprit; it's up to Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to figure out who did what to whom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Philip Larkin (Terry Becker) is murdered, and his stepfather Joseph Harrison (John Hoyt) is charged with the crime. A key piece of evidence for the prosecution is a home movie showing Larkin and Harrison quarrelling; could their argument have been about sexy Lorraine Stevens (Andra Martin), whom Philip had earlier tried to seduce? Fay Wray of King Kong fame makes the first of three Perry Mason appearances as Harrison's former wife Ethel, who hires Perry (Raymond Burr) to defend her ex-husband in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by series star George Reeves, this wild-and-woolly spoof of old time movie serials begins when a mysterious masked man (Michael Fox) shows up at the "Daily Planet" to inform Clark (Reeves), Lois (Noel Neill), Jimmy (Jack Larson) and Perry White (John Hamilton) that their days are numbered. The masked figure turns out to be a criminal who has a vendetta against the "Planet" staff, and who has adopted a disguise to whet their curiosity and lure them into an elaborate trap. As the episode hurtles to its climax, Clark is about to be immersed in a vat of boiling acid, Perry has been strapped to a whirring buzz-saw, Jimmy is locked in a car without brakes that is careening down a treacherous mountain road, and Lois is tied to the railroad tracks as a speeding locomotive bears down upon her! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This gritty crime drama is based on the true story of a Mexican news reporter who single-handedly takes on a crime syndicate. The journalist begins by publishing the names of several prominent, corrupt politicians. The syndicate retaliates and the journalist is killed. The locals rebel and the reporter's son takes up his father's cause. By uniting, the community routs the crooks from their home. The story is narrated by the actual journalist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Zsa Zsa Gabor plays twin sisters in this campy Red Scare espionage thriller from the late 1950s. She plays the nurse to Joseph Stalin, who didn't die in 1953 after all. The death was all a nefarious scam in which the leader faked his death, had his face surgically rearranged and then moved to Greece with a fortune in Soviet currency. Nurse Zsa Zsa, who is also Stalin's lover. Unfortunately, she told no one where she was going. When her twin discovers her missing, she worries and hires an ex O.S.S. agent to find her. After much searching and danger, the agent finds the wicked dictator and sees that he this time his reign of terror is permanently ended. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When an Army general is appointed to the sensitive diplomatic post that the powerful publisher of a prominent news magazine had hoped would go to a particularly qualified civilian, she launches a vitriolic campaign to discredit the general. First the publisher orders one of her cameraman to snap a few incriminating photographs of the general. In order to get them, she invites the general out for a night on the town. No matter how hard she tries to get him drunk, the general remains sober. Unfortunately, she ends up quiet tipsy and falls in a pool where she nearly drowns until the general rescues her. The sodden but grateful publisher kisses him and it is at that point that they realize that animosity is rapidly turning to love, at least for her. When she discovers that her newborn love is fated to remain unrequited because of things from the general's past, the jealous publisher pens a poisonous article about him. This creates all kinds comical obstacles and further misunderstandings. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

George Pal's now-quaint science fiction odyssey concerns a multi-national group on the first space flight to Mars. Pal pulls out all stops in the special effects department, creating "The Wheel" (a earth-orbiting circular space station), rocket launches into space, and a breathtaking near-collision with an asteroid. The film itself concerns the travails of the crew of the spaceship as they make their way to Mars. General Samuel T. Merritt (Walter Brooke) heads the team. Supporting him and along for the ride are his son, Captain Barney Merritt (Eric Fleming), Sergeant Mahony (Mickey Shaughnessy), Jackie Siegle (Phil Foster), and Imoto (Benson Fong). As the ship gets closer to their Martian quest, General Merritt cracks and tries to sabotage both the mission and the crew, babbling about the blasphemy of mankind trespassing upon God's domain. His son is forced to kill him and save the mission, whereupon the crew peacefully lands on the Martian surface and scouts out the terrain like a group of sightseers at Lourdes before returning to Earth. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A long-awaited sequel to Columbia Pictures' popular The Phantom (1943), this film was produced by legendary Hollywood cheapskate Sam Katzman. Katzman refused to pay the owners of the character, King Features, their royalty demands, thus the name change to "Captain Africa." The 1943 Phantom still appeared in this latter-day serial, however, via a vast amount of stock footage. One could actually argue that Tom Tyler, who had starred as the original "Phantom," also starred in the sequel and not John Hart, credited with the role of "Captain Africa." Hart did not resemble Tyler at all but that was of little consequence to Katzman, a producer who never met a corner he wouldn't cut. Captain Africa comes to the aid of an Arabian potentate (Paul Marion) whose prime minister has been kidnapped. There is a beautiful princess (June Howard), a young sidekick (Rick Vallin), a dastardly villain (Bud Osborne), and a great deal of ferocious wildlife fauna, much of which is rather more indigenous to Asia than Africa, where the action ostensibly takes place. In many ways, the carelessness of chapterplays like Adventures of Captain Africa only hastened the demise of the action serial. John Hart is perhaps best known for replacing Clayton Moore for one season as television's The Lone Ranger. Appearing as the kidnapped Prime Minister in Adventures of Captain Africa is Michael Fox, the veteran character actor whose long-time membership of Screen Actors Guild forced the later leading man of the same name to add the middle initial "J" to his billing. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Robert Aldrich's screen adaptation of Clifford Odets' stage play reflects the quandary of the writer's later career; the golden boy of the Group Theater in the '30s, when his plays were the toast of Broadway, his talent seemed to wither after a number of years in the screenwriting trenches, and a revulsion for what he saw as hackwork combined with his capitulation to HUAC to blight his final decade. Jack Palance stars as Charlie Castle, a major film star who has refused to sign a long-term contract for big money with a studio run by the tyrannical Stanley Hoff (Rod Steiger). This has led to the return of his wife, Marion (Ida Lupino), who had left him due to his womanizing and a willingness to kowtow to Hoff in doing bad movies only for the money. After his agent, Nat Danziger (Everett Sloane), tries unsuccessfully to get him to reconsider, Hoff himself badgers Charlie, insisting on the absolute necessity of his signing. When the star continues to resist, Hoff threatens to blackmail him with an ugly incident from his past. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide