Phyllis Coates Movies
Born on her family's cattle ranch in Texas, American actress Phyllis Coates left home to attend UCLA. Shortly afterward she secured a dancing job with Ken Murray's Blackouts, a long-running LA-based stage review. She later danced for producer Earl Carroll and in a USO tour of Anything Goes. Through the auspices of her first husband, director Richard Bare, Phyllis entered films in 1948 as leading lady of Warner Bros.' Behind the Eight-Ball short subjects series, playing Mrs. Joe McDoakes (George O'Hanlon). Coates stayed with the Eight-Ball series even after her marriage to Bare ended, and also appeared in supporting parts in such Warners features as Look for the Silver Lining (1949). In 1951, Coates was cast as reporter Lois Lane in Lippert Productions' "B"-feature Superman and the Mole Men, wherein George Reeves played the dual role of Superman and Clark Kent for the first time. This week-long assignment led to both Reeves and Phyllis being cast in the subsequent Superman TV series. While Phyllis thrived on the rigors of the hectic production schedule and was a good friend of Reeves', she was compelled to leave Superman after its first season when a possible starring role in another TV weekly came her way. That project died, but Phyllis remained in films until the early 1960s, mostly in westerns (Marshall of Cedar Creek [1953] and Blood Arrow [1958]) and also as the lead in one of the last Republic serials, Panther Girl of the Kongo (1953). She appeared in quite a few sci-fi and horror films as well; in Invasion USA (1952) one of her fellow cast members was Noel Neill, the actress who'd replaced her as Lois Lane on Superman. Phyllis remained active in television throughout her career, co-starring on the short-lived 1958 sitcom This is Alice and playing good guest roles in a multitude of series like Perry Mason, The Untouchables and The Patty Duke Show. Long in retirement, Phyllis Coates returned to films and TV in the early 1990s; one of her best latter-day roles was on the newest Superman TV incarnation, Lois and Clark where she plays Lois Lane's mother! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A foster home-bound 9-year-old and his aging grandmother run from the authorities in this drama. ~ All Movie Guide
Whoopi Goldberg stars in this TV movie as a single mother who begins paying the bills by hustling pool at a local billiards hall. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
The sequel to Goodbye, Norma Jean, this film introduces the theory that Marilyn Monroe's death was the result of a calculated mercy killing. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Misty Rowe, Paula Lane, (more)
In this made-for-TV thriller, Liz Barlett (Loni Anderson) is a rookie journalist covering a series of murders that seem to have touched nearly everyone she knows. When one of Liz's best friends, a fellow journalist named Jerry Caper, becomes the next victim, she meets Dan Walker (Joe Penny), a freelance investigative journalist who knew Caper and wants to track down his killer. Liz and Dan join in hopes of finding the murderer before he can strike again. Before long, they become emotionally involved, though Dan discovers that Liz has a past that she isn't entirely proud of. Whisper Kill also stars Jeremy Slate, June Lockhart, and James Sutorius. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Barbara Hershey stars as the "baby maker" of the title. Tish Gray (Hershey) hires herself out to married couple Jay and Suzanne Wilcox (Sam Groom and Collin Wilcox-Horne), who've been unable to conceive a child of their own. Tish agrees to bear the child for them, assuming that her hippie boyfriend, Ted Jacks (Scott Glenn), will go along with the plan. The problem is that Tish must allow Jay to impregnate her, causing severe strains on both couple's relationships. In 1970, the notion of surrogate motherhood was radical in the extreme, so The Baby Maker seemed quite progressive and daring. This served as the theatrical-feature directorial debut for screenwriter James Bridges. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Hershey, Collin Wilcox-Horne, (more)
- 1964
Nancy Banks (Joyce Bulifant) may not be too bright, but she is intensely loyal. Finding it impossible to believe that her brother Rodney (Dick Davalos) embezzled from his job to gamble at the race track, Nancy sets about to help Rodney in any way she can. Could it be that Nancy's zeal has resulted in the murder of Rodney's former boss Marvin Fremont (Arch Johnson)? That is what the police believe, and that is what Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must disprove in court. This episode is based on a novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In his final Untouchables appearance, Lee Marvin is cast as Chicago cop Mike Brannon, a veteran of fifteen years on the force. Alas, Brannon's experience means very little when he is suspended after mobster Tony Lamberto (Frank DeKova) complains that Mike has roughed up one of his "boys". Outraged by a system that punishes honest cops while letting hoodlums walk free, Brannon and his four brothers form a vigilante group, "The Fist of Five". Dressed in police uniforms and driving a phony squad car, Brannon boys intend to destroy Lamberto by playing his own crooked game--something that Elliot Ness (Robert Stack), for all his hatred of punks like Lamberto, simply can't allow. Featured in the cast as Keir Brannon is a young James Caan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
When a baby gorilla named Toto is stolen from a zoo, curator Tony Osgood (Fred Beir) begins questioning his employees. One of them, a visiting dentist named Dr. Braun (Leslie Bradley), accuses Tony's girlfriend Hilde (Carol Rossen) of stealing Toto. Not long afterward, Braun is found dead in the lion's cage--and once it is determined that lion didn't do it (hence the episode's title), suspicion immediately falls upon Tony. In his efforts to mount Tony's defense, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) unearths several unsavory secrets, among them the fact that the dead man was a bigamist--and that there's a drug-smuggling ring at the center of all the intrigue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
This episode could well have been inspired by the story of comedian Joe E. Lewis, whose throat was slashed during a vicious Chicago gang war in the 1930s. Cameron Mitchell guest stars as Johnny Pacheck, a comic working at the mob-controlled Mohawk club. Finding himself caught between bootlegger Big Jim Harrington (Ted De Corsia), who regards Johnny as his personal property, and Federal agent Elliot Ness (Robert Stack), who wrongly suspects Johnny of murder, the beleagured comedian makes several wrong decisions that could end up costing a lot of lives--including his own. Also in the cast are Phyllis Coates, onetime Lois Lane on Superman, as a duplicitous doxie, and veteran movie heavy Timothy Carey as a leering, ultra-sadistic hoodlum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Often tagged "The Incredible Petrified Movie," this science-fiction mistake was created by one of the more unsung "heroes" of bad moviemaking, Jerry Warren, a Hollywood "auteur" comparable to the legendary Edward D. Woods, Jr.. This time, Jerry depicts a group of divers "stranded" in some underwater caverns when their diving bell malfunctions. While the intrepid little group of two men and an equal number of women (including erstwhile "Lois Lane," Phyllis Coates) scamper about beneath the surface, Professor Millard Wyman (John Carradine) works feverishly on solid ground to find a new diving apparatus that may reach them before an underwater source of oxygen runs out. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Although his bootlegging operation has been smashed up and his boss Al Capone is in Federal Prison, Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon) still has plenty of crooked irons in the fire. One his most lucrative enterprises is a Hollywood-based extortion racket, designed to control exhibition prices for theater operators. Hoping to break Nitti once and for all, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) uses an old warrant against Nitti flunkey Sidney Rogers (Richard Anderson) as the first step in his plan. This final episode of The Untouchables' first season feature the last appearance of Anthony George as "Untouchable" Cam Allison--but if you think that the explosive climax marks the exit of the formidable Frank Nitti, guess again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Whitney Blake, who played the first client of Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) in the series opener "The Case of the Restless Redhead", returns in this episode as blonde Diana Reynolds, who shows up in Perry's office clad in a bathrobe and sporting a black eye. As Perry and Della listen attentively, Diana weaves an incredible tale of being framed for a jewel theft. But this turns out to be the least of the girl's problems when she is charged with the murder of Marian Shaw (Judith Ames). A long-lost grandson also figures prominently in this episode, which is based on a 1944 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 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
- Starring:
- Joel McCrea, Gloria Talbott, (more)
- 1958
Phyllis Coates, TV's erstwhile Lois Lane, essays one of her largest film roles in Blood Arrow. Coates is cast as a devout Mormon girl whose mission is to transport smallpox vaccine to her friends and neighbors. Unfortunately, this requires her to journey through hostile Indian territory. Appointing themselves as the girl's unofficial protectors are Indian scout Scott Brady, trapper Don Haggerty and (reluctantly) gambler Paul Richards. Any resemblance to Stagecoach and The Outcasts of Poker Flat were probably intentional. Incidentally, Don Haggerty was the father of Dan Haggerty, star of TV's The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Brady, Paul Richards, (more)
- 1957
Chicago Confidential may not have been the best of the late-1950s "expose" films, but it certainly boasted one of the most impressive casts. Based on the factual best-seller by Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer, the film stars Brian Keith as a State Attorney who vows to bring corrupt Chicago union officials to justice. It turns out that the union crooks are in cahoots with a gambling syndicate, conspiring to frame uncooperative union leader Dick Foran for murder. With the considerable assistance of his coworker-fiancee Beverly Garland, Keith strives to prove Foran's innocence and punish the genuine miscreants. Crucial to the plotline is nightclub comedian Buddy Lewis, cast as an impressionist who helps to frame the troublesome Foran; also in the cast are such crime-flick perennials as Elisha Cook Jr., Paul Langton, Douglas Kennedy, Jack Lambert, John Indrisano, Phyllis Coates, and Thomas B. Henry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Keith, Beverly Garland, (more)
- 1957
From the folks who brought you I Was a Teenage Werewolf comes this relentlessly shlocky variation on the Frankenstein legend. Whit Bissell stars as Professor Frankenstein, descendant of you-know-who, who harbors a few radical theories about limb transplantation. Laughed at by students and colleagues alike, the good professor intends to prove the efficacy of his theories in his own lab at home--keeping an alligator as a "pet" to dispose of discarded body parts. When a carful of teenagers crashes near his home, Frankenstein and his assistant Carlton (Robert Burton) gather up the bodies and begin stitching up the fragments, adding a few chunks of flesh recovered from a convenient plane wreck. The result is a teenaged monster (Gary Conway) with a bad attitude. Already a bit off in the coop to begin with, Professor Frankenstein goes completely bonkers, using the monster to dispose of such awkward witnesses as the professor's fiancee Margaret (Phyllis Coates). The film's final burst of violence is filmed in color, for no discernable reason. If for nothing else, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein would be memorable for Professor F's deathless line to his sullen creation: "Answer me! You have a civil tongue in your head! I know, I sewed it in there!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates, (more)
- 1957
Ken Osmond makes his first series appearance as that legendary creep among creeps, Eddie Haskell. As a welcome for the Cleavers' new neighbors the Donaldsons, June (Barbara Billingsley) sends Beaver (Jerry Mathers) next door to deliver a vase of flowers. Pretty neighbor lady Betty Donaldson (played by Phyllis Coates, best known as TV's first Lois Lane on The Adventures of Superman) is so touched by Beaver's gallantry that she plants a kiss on his cheek. As embarrassing as this is to our hero, it gets even worse when Eddie prankishly warns Beaver that Mr. Donaldson (Charles Gray) will most certainly "clobber" him when he finds out about his wife's indiscretion! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Gray, Phyllis Coates, (more)
- 1956
This Disneyland episode served to promote the upcoming theatrical feature Westward Ho the Wagons, with that film's star, Fess Parker, acting as narrator. After a brief segment in which host Walt Disney relates the history of the Oregon Trail (the pioneer route from Kansas City to the Pacific Coast), the episode segues into a dramatized sequence, combining footage from the feature film as well as some freshly-shot vignettes. Several of the actors appearing in Westward Ho the Wagons repeat their roles in this portion of the program, in which the preparations made by settlers to undertake the 2000-mile westard trek along the Oregon Trail are meticulously detailed. Also heard are two songs from the film, the title number and "Pioneer's Prayer" (the film's popular ditty "Wringle Wrangle" was reserved for a special presentation of Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club. Ironically, while one of the stars of the Westward Ho the Wagons, George Reeves of Superman fame, does not appear in "The Oregon Trail", Phyllis Coates, who'd previously played Lois Lane to Reeves' Clark Kent, shows up in an important supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fess Parker, Jeff York, (more)
- 1956
Girls in Prison is a typical babes-behind-bars affair, elevated by a better than usual cast. Richard Denning stars as a prison chaplain who believes inmate Joan Taylor's story that she's been framed. But Joan's cellmates, convinced that the girl has salted away several thousand dollars of stolen money, stage a breakout and force the girl to join them. Adele Jergens and Helen Gilbert do their usual "hard-boiled dame" routines as Joan's so-called friends, while Phyllis Coates forever leaves "Lois Lane" behind with a chilling portrayal of a psycho. Veteran thespians Jane Darwell, Raymond Hatton and Mae Marsh also make worthwhile contributions to the proceedings. The 1994 Girls in Prison, produced as part of the cable-TV "Rebel Highway" series, utilizes the title of the 1956 film and nothing else. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Denning, Joan Taylor, (more)
- 1955
The Claw Monsters was the feature-length version of the 1955 Republic serial Panther Girl of the Kongo. The plot has something to do with mad doctor Arthur Space, who while squirreled away in his darkest-Africa laboratory has developed a serum that can change harmless crayfish into hideous monsters. The Panther Girl, played by Phyllis Coates, inadvertently takes a picture of one of these monstrosities, and things start percolating from then on. Panther Girl of the Kongo was a product of the last dismal days of the serials, meaning that 90 percent of the action highlights were culled from stock footage. In fact, Phyllis Coates is dressed in the same costumes worn by Frances Gifford in Jungle Girl, Kay Aldridge in The Perils of Nyoka and Linda Stirling in The Tiger Woman, allowing Republic to lift stock scenes from all three of those earlier chapter plays. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Yet another serial from penny-pinching producer Sam Katzman, the fifteen chapter Gunfighters of the Northwest suffered from the usual Katzman shortcomings, including grainy stock-footage and slapdash writing. As an added economy measure, not a single scene was filmed indoors! Jock Mahoney plays Northwest Mounted Police Constable O'Mahoney, assigned to track down a mysterious villain known only as The Leader. Trying to locate a secret gold mine, The Leader pits the Indians against the Mounties, whom he blames for creating trouble. All in all, Gunfighters of the Northwest did nothing to re-establish the serial genre as a viable alternative to cheap television Westerns. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Virginia Mayo stars in this unofficial follow-up to her 1952 musical hit She's Working Her Way Through College. Mayo plays movie star Catherine Terris, who after three box-office flops in a row, returns to the Broadway stage whence she came. Her co-star in this endeavor is Rich Sommers (Steve Cochran), who still harbors a grudge against Catherine because of her walkout during her last Broadway appearance. Predictably, Rich and Catherine bury the hatchet by midfilm, and when fadeout time rolls around they're in each other's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, (more)
- 1953
Originally intended as a 3D film, this standard-issue Bob Hope musical comedy was released "flat." The 50-year-old Hope plays over-aged chorus boy Stanley Snodgrass, whose attempts to get ahead in the early 20th-century theatre world always come acropper. His luck suddenly changes when he's promoted to the leading-man role in a show headlined by Irene Bailey (Arlene Dahl). What Stanley doesn't know is that he's been set up as a decoy to bring the murderous Jack the Slasher (Robert Strauss) out in the open. It seems that Jack is obsessed with Irene, and has a nasty habit of cutting all of her male co-stars into ribbons. Meanwhile, Stanley lays waste to the show by performing all of his big numbers incorrectly, but his faithful gal Daisy Crockett (Rosemary Clooney) loves him all the same. Tony Martin also appears as Irene's boyfriend, while Millard Mitchell makes his final film appearance as Stanley's stepfather (and never mind that he and Hope were the same age!) A brief clip from Here Come the Girls showed up in, of all places, the 1953 sci-fier Conquest of Space. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Tony Martin, (more)
- 1953
El Paso Stampede was the last of Republic Pictures' 38 Allan "Rocky" Lane westerns. Happily, the
series maintained a fairly high batting average right to the end. This time, the action takes place in 1898, during the Spanish-American war. Someone has been stealing cattle that was intended for the U.S. troops in Cuba. Government agent Lane heads westward to find out who's the brains behind the rustlers. El Paso Stampede delivers the goods in the action department, and then some. After the cessation of his 6-year western series, Allan "Rocky" Lane had some trouble lining up acting work; by 1961, however, he was gainfully employed as the voice of TV's Mr. Ed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
series maintained a fairly high batting average right to the end. This time, the action takes place in 1898, during the Spanish-American war. Someone has been stealing cattle that was intended for the U.S. troops in Cuba. Government agent Lane heads westward to find out who's the brains behind the rustlers. El Paso Stampede delivers the goods in the action department, and then some. After the cessation of his 6-year western series, Allan "Rocky" Lane had some trouble lining up acting work; by 1961, however, he was gainfully employed as the voice of TV's Mr. Ed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Lane, Eddy Waller, (more)
