Jan Clayton Movies

Jan Clayton, best known to TV aficionados as the first "mom" on Lassie, is here cast as widow Lucinda Meadows, an old flame of Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle). Returning to Hazzard County to claim a debt owed her late husband by Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke), Lucinda eventually discovers that her legacy consists of nine barrels of "white lightning", deeply hidden in a mine somewhere under the Dukes' property. Jay Ripley appears as Deputy Wilbur Fudge, temporary replacement for Deputy Cletus (actor Rick Hurstwas otherwise occupied during filming). This episode was originally scheduled to air on January 9, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The two-part opener of Streets of San Francisco's fifth and final season marks a major transition, as SFPD homicide detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden) loses his longtime partner Steve Keller (Michael Douglas) and gains a new one, athletic young inspector Dan Robbins (Richard Hatch). But before Keller can leave the force to launch a teaching career, he and Stone are faced with the daunting task of rescuing a busload of jurors who have been kidnapped by a "family" of dangerously misguided revolutionaries, who demand the release of their imprisoned cohorts. This two-parter is clearly inspired by the Patty Hearst kidnapping, with former Partridge Family regular Susan Dey delivering a shockingly powerful performance. As a publicity ploy, the season opener features fourteen guest stars, including Marion Ross (then appearing regularly on Happy Days, Barry Sullivan, Dick Van Patten, Norman Fell and Doris Roberts--not to mention such stars-to-be as Anthony Geary and Ron Glass. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"A woman loses her mind and is confined to a mental institution." That's the usual TV-listing encapsulation of The Snake Pit -- and like most such encapsulations, it only scratches the film's surface. Olivia de Havilland stars as an outwardly normal young woman, married to loyal, kindly Mark Stevens. As de Havilland's behavior becomes more and more erratic, however, Stevens comes to the sad conclusion that she needs professional help. She is sent to an overcrowded state hospital for treatment -- a curious set-up, in that, while de Havilland is treated with compassion by soft-spoken psychiatrist Leo Genn, she is sorely abused by resentful matrons and profoundly disturbed patients. Throughout the film, she is threatened with being clapped into "the snake pit" -- an open room where the most severe cases are permitted to roam about and jabber incoherently -- if she doesn't realign her thinking. In retrospect, it seems that de Havilland's biggest "crime" is that she wants to do her own thinking, and that she isn't satisfied with merely being a loving wife. While this subtext may not have been intentional, it's worth noting that de Havilland escapes permanent confinement only when she agrees to march to everyone else's beat. Amazingly, Olivia de Havilland didn't win an Academy Award for her harrowing performance in The Snake Pit (the only Oscar won by the film was for sound recording). While some of the psychological verbiage in this adaptation of Mary Jane Ward's autobiographical novel seems antiquated and overly simplistic today, The Snake Pit was rightly hosannahed as a breakthrough film in 1948. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Shepperd, later known as Shepperd Strudwick, stars as the tragic Edgar Allan Poe in this low-budget biopic. Adopted as a child, Poe grows into a directionless adult, disgracing himself and his foster family through his inability (or unwillingness) to conform to the status quo of 19th century Baltimore. Devastated by the loss of his childhood sweetheart, Elmira Royster (Virginia Gilmore), he finds solace in his marriage to his cousin Virginia Clemm (Linda Darnell). Poe's blossoming literary reputation, and the stability of his private life, are ultimately done in by his addiction to alcohol and drugs. Sixty-seven minutes simply isn't enough time to do justice to this fascinating, complex individual, but everyone involved tries hard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Father is a Prince is a scaled-down remake of the 1934 comedy-drama Big Hearted Herbert, itself based on a play by Sophie Kerr Underwood. Grant Mitchell plays tyrannical paterfamilias Mr. Bower, who runs his home like he runs his carpet-sweeper factory: pinching pennies, turning off lights, and interfering in every aspect of his loved ones' private lives. What with trying to manage things at home and attempting to hoodwink the IRS at the factory, Bower is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The limit comes when he humiliates his daughter Connie (Jan Clayton) at the home of his prospective in-laws with his obnoxious behavior. But Bowers' essential decency and humanity finally surfaces when his wife (Dora Bryant) is forced to undergo emergency surgery. The nominal leading man is future Superman star George Reeves, though perhaps the role should have gone to John Ridgely, who makes a meal of his bit part as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Showdown was the second 1940 entry in Paramount's "Hopalong Cassidy" western series. William Boyd (who else?) stars as Hoppy, while his sidekicks on this trip are Russell Hayden as Lucky Jenkins and Britt Wood as Speedy. When his rancher friend dies of a heart attack after being swindled by a gang of crooks, Hoppy vows to see that justice is done for the sake of the dead man's niece (Jane Clayton, aka Jan Clayton, who at the time was Mrs. Russell Hayden). There's action aplenty in Showdown, ranging from a burning barn to a runaway train, but the film's highlight is a rigged poker game, wherein supposed tenderfoot Hoppy flummoxes the bad guys. Perennial "Cassidy" heavy Morris Ankrum seems to be having a wonderful time posing as a European count, though he reverts to his usual Ugly-American self in the final scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Boyd, alias "Hopalong Cassidy," dons the guise of fop in order to catch the bad guys in this above-average series entry co-starring Russell Hayden and George "Gabby" Hayes. When Silver City rancher John Marsh (Kenneth Harlan) is killed by casino owner Monte Keller (Robert Fiske) after selling Keller his herd for 30,000 dollars, his widow, Ann Marsh (Charlotte Wynters), and daughter, Dorrie (Jan Clayton), are convinced to return to Silver City and open a dude ranch. Among the premiere guests is one William H. Cassidy, an Eastern hypochondriac who in reality is Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) in disguise. Also incognito at the ranch are Hoppy's Bar 20 cohorts, Lucky Jenkins (Russell Hayden) and Windy Halliday (George "Gabby" Hayes), the latter spending most of his spare time fending off lovesick spinster Abigail Snodgrass (Kathryn Sheldon). Pretending to be a gambling fool, Hoppy manages to win back some of the yellowbacks stolen from the late John Marsh, and, together with Ann, sets a trap for the evil Keller. Taking a rare breather from the action, Jan Clayton sings "A Cowgirl Dreams On" by Stanley Cowan and Bobby Worth ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide