Russell Collins Movies

Pictures is an expansive biopic about pioneer photographers Walter and Alfred Burton. Through the eyes of the ubiquitous Burton brothers, we are treated to the history of New Zealand's colonial era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally trade-previewed as Those Crazy Calloways, Disney's Those Calloways is a lengthy, anecdotal film about a highly individualistic New England family. Patriarch Cam Calloway (Brian Keith) is regarded as a crank by the local villagers because of his dream to build a bird sanctuary that will protect migratory geese from hunters. Cam uses all his savings to buy a lake, where he intends to establish his sanctuary. When a wealthy sportsman offers to turn the town into a booming resort community in exchange for hunting rights, Cam opposes the plan, which briefly puts him on the outs with everyone else. Only when Cam is accidentally shot by the sportsman do the locals rally around the "crazy" Calloways so that Cam's sanctuary can come to fruition. The plot of Those Calloways can best be described as picaresque; the film is most successful in establishing mood and atmosphere, and in offering a vast array of distinctive characterizations from such pros as Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn, John Larkin, Parley Baer, John Qualen, and Paul Hartman. Look for young Linda Evans as the girl friend of the oldest Calloway boy (DeWilde) and for future Picket Fences star Tom Skerritt as the town bully. Those Calloways was based on Swiftwater, a novel by Paul Annixter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"Doctor" Granny feels rejected when Elly May calls in a veterinarian (Russell Collins) to look after one of her ailing critters. The fun really begins when Granny mistakes a door-to-door insecticide salesman for the aforementioned vet. Mark Goddard, later one of the stars of Lost in Space, appears as the nonplussed salesman. First telecast March 11, 1964, "The Critter Doctor" was one of the few episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies that was not telecast in the order of its production; it was filmed before "Lafe Returns," "Son of Lafe Returns," "The Clampetts Go Fishing," and "A Bride for Jed," but broadcast after those episodes had aired. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, Fail-Safe is set for the most part at Strategic Air Command headquarters, where a misguided transmission sends a squadron of bombers hurtling towards Russia, fully prepared to drop their atomic weaponry on Moscow. Air Force commander Frank Overton desperately tries to establish radio contact with the bombers, but once the pilots have passed the "fail safe" point, they've been instructed to disregard any reversal of orders. Racing against time, US President Henry Fonda, through his interpreter (Larry Hagman), informs the Russian premiere of the impending nuclear disaster. Working in concert with SAC, the Russians send up interceptors to shoot down the American bombers, while some of the planes run out of fuel and crash. Unfortunately, one aircraft, piloted by Edward Binns, manages to escape destruction and continues on its fatal mission. Realizing that Moscow is doomed, the President must decide how to avert World War III. Featured in the cast of Fail Safe are Walter Matthau as a hawkish scientist, Fritz Weaver as a round-the-bend colonel, and Dom DeLuise (billed as "DeLouise") as a weeping sergeant. Fail-Safe is followed by a government-dictated disclaimer insisting that the events leading up to the nuclear disaster depicted in the film could not possibly happen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In an ironic turn of events, fugitive Richard Kimble (David Janssen) is sworn in as a deputy when Phil Bellows (Robert Doyle) is arrested for murder. Ordered to drive the prisoner and the witnesses to the county seat, Kimble is persuaded that Bellows is actually an innocent victim of circumstance--just like himself. Only after saving Bellows from a lynch mob does Kimble realize that he's being played for a sucker by a very clever psychopath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) has confessed to Rob (Dick Van Dyke) that she was only 17 years old when they were married. Though technically speaking, the Petries are still legally man and wife, the rules about "age of consent" vary from state to state, so their lawyer has advised them to undergo a second marriage ceremony just to make sure. However, by the time they show up at the home of justice of the peace Judge Krata (Russell Collins), Rob and Laura are so angry with each other that the judge flatly refuses to perform the ceremony! The day is saved by the two marital witnesses, superbly played by venerable character actors Madge Blake and Burt Mustin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though the producers of The Untouchables had promised that their fourth season would have less violence and more humanity than in previous years, that season's opening episode was hardly in the "kinder, gentler" category. No sooner had the episode gotten under way than a likeable lug named Hap Levinson, dressed in a Santa Claus costume and handing out presents on Christmas Eve, is gunned down in full view of several wide-eyed orphans (one of whom is played by an unbilled, pre-"Eddie Munster" Butch Patrick). Why would anyone kill a nice guy like Hap, whose only connection to the Underworld appeared to be the fact that he managed a nightclub owned by mobster Mike Volney (Murvyn Vye)? As the story progresses, Elliot Ness learns the awful truth about good ol' Hap, and he intends to use what he knows to put Volney out of business for keeps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Boxing manager Barney Jurow (Harold J. Stone) smells a rat when one of his fighters is killed in the ring--and an autopsy reveals that the kid was pumped full of morphine. Unfortunately, Jurow can't go to Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) with his suspicions without running the risk of having his wife (Viveca Lindfors) deported as an illegal alien. So, Barney keeps his mouth shut--but this isn't enough for the mobsters who ordered his boy's death, who proceed to kill the trainer responsible for the doping and framing Jurow for the crime. This episode was originally scheduled to air on April 6, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A young Robert Redford headlines this episode as burglar Charlie Pugh, who after a shoot-out with the cops is himself wounded. In excruciating pain, Charlie visits a doctor (Gage Clarke), who fills out a prescription for pain killers. Upon learning that he has killed a cop in the shoot-out, Charlie begins to worry that both the doctor and the pharmacist (Russell Collins) who fills the prescription will report him to the authorities. Charlie's anxiety leads to two more deaths -- but only one of them is the result of violence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Used-car salesman John Forbes (Ralph Meeker) is saddled with a high-maintenance wife named Dorothy (Elizabeth Fraser), who spends far more than her husband earns. When Dorothy insists upon taking an expensive trip to New Zealand, John can stand no more. Using one of the cars on his lot, John prepares to "accidentally" kill his wife -- but his plan has one tiny, irksome flaw, namely another husband with another spendthrift spouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thornton Wilder's 1938 stage play The Merchant of Yonkers was based on an old British stage farce by John Oxenford (which in turn served as the basis of an Austrian farce by Johann Nestroy). Merchant of Yonkers was a bomb, but Wilder was quite fond of the piece, so he revised it as the considerably more successful The Matchmaker in 1955. The 1958 film version stars Shirley Booth as 19th-century matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi (a character not found in the Oxenford or Nestroy versions; Wilder "borrowed" Dolly from Moliere's The Miser). Dolly is currently trying to arrange a marriage between Yonkers dry-goods merchant Horace Vandergelder (Paul Ford) and hatmaker Irene Molloy (Shirley MacLaine)-though she secretly harbors a desire to march Horace to the altar herself. Meanwhile, Vandergelder's chief clerk Cornelius (Anthony Perkins), celebrating a recent promotion, decides to head to New York for a "good time". Though he's supposed to be minding the store, Cornelius abandons the shop, with fellow-clerk Barnaby (Robert Morse, repeating his stage role) in tow. Inevitably, Cornelius and Barnaby wind up escorting Irene Molloy and her co-worker Minnie Fay (Perry Wilson) to a fancy restaurant, where Horace and Dolly are also dining. As the many plot twists wend their way through the proceedings, the camera occasionally pauses to allow the character to speak directly to the audience, expressing their innermost desires and philosophies; this purely theatrical device works quite well on screen, especially the monologue about honesty delivered by handyman Malachi Stack (played with alcoholic whimsy by Wallace Ford). While the name "Malachi Stack"may not be familiar to you, the other characters-and the basic plot-will be instantly recognizable to fans of Hello Dolly, the 1964 musical comedy version of The Matchmaker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mrs. Herman (Doro Merande) is the landlady of actress Mrs. Fenimore (Mary Astor). Both ladies are in dire need of quick money -- and thus, when Mrs. Herman hatches a scheme to murder her wealthy uncle Bill (Russell Collins), Mrs. Fenimore agrees to help her for a share of the inheritance. As things turn out, however, one of the two ladies is a bit quicker on the uptake than the other...and she's the one who ends up with all the cash. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide