Carole Cook Movies

The most elaborate--and longest--of Universal's Frankenstein series, Son of Frankenstein represents Boris Karloff's last appearance in the role of the Monster. The title character is played by Basil Rathbone, who with wife Josephine Hutchinson and son Donnie Donegan returns to the Old Country to take over his late father's estate. Rathbone receives a cool reception from the local villagers, who remember all too well the havoc wreaked by his father's monstrous creation. Though he assures his neighbors that he has no intention of following in his father's footsteps, Rathbone is hounded by suspicious town constable Lionel Atwill, whose stiff artificial arm is an unfortunate legacy of an earlier confrontation with Karloff. Also hanging around Frankenstein Castle is crazed shepherd Bela Lugosi), whose neck was broken in an unsuccessful hanging attempt. Lugosi wishes to exact revenge on the city fathers who'd tried to execute him, and to that end persuades Rathbone to revive the hideous Karloff. At first resistant, Rathbone becomes as obsessed as his father with the notion of creating artificial life. Now the fun begins, directed with Germanic intensity by Rowland V. Lee. Though Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein has rendered Son of Frankenstein virtually impossible to take seriously, the film remains an excellent marriage of the slick, sanitized production values of the "New Universal" and the Gothic zeitgeist of the earlier Frankenstein epics. Best line: Lugosi, looking over the dormant body of The Monster, explains raspily that "He does...things...for me." Hans J. Salter's intense musical score for Son of Frankenstein would continue to resurface in Universal's Mummy B pictures of the 1940s. Watch for Ward Bond in a bit part as a police officer...and see if you can spot Dwight Frye, whose supporting part was excised from the final release print, among the villagers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lucy (Lucille Ball wants to sing in Viv's Barbershop Quartet, but Viv (Vivian Vance) has reservations about her roommate's singing talents (or lack of same). However, when one of the quartet members is forced to drop out just before a big musical contest in Albany, Viv decides to give Lucy a chance. Of course, this requires our heroine to take some singing lessons in a hurry--and inasmuch as the inimitable Hans Conried is cast as the flustered music teacher, it's not hard to determine what happens next! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This light romantic comedy filmed on location in Palm Springs finds couples engaging in a kissing frenzy of puppy love. Jim (Troy Donahue) has eyes for Bunny (Stephanie Powers), unaware she is the daughter of the local chief of police (Andrew Duggan). Connie Stevens, Jack Weston, Ty Hardin and Jerry Van Dyke. The Modern Folk Quartet makes an out-of-place appearance performing in a casino. Robert Conrad is the spoiled rotten rich kid who tries to interfere with love and romance with his lupine lusting. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

When her son Jerry (Jimmy Garrett) needs money for a new tuba, Lucy (Lucille Ball) wangles a job at the bank. Not surprisingly, she succeeds in driving Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) crazy, even though she's been given the simple, virtually foolproof task of handing out toasters to cutomers opening new accounts. But our gal Lucy hasn't even gotten started yet: wait until she inadvertently triggers a run on the bank! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Viv (Vivian Vance) casts aspersions on Lucy's cooking, Lucy (Lucille Ball) defiantly enters a big baking contest. Things get out of hand early on, with Lucy and Viv each inadvertently passing off the other's cooking as her own. The situation rapidly degenerates into--what else?--a huge pie fight! This final episode of The Lucy Show's second season was also the last written by Lucille Ball's longtime collaborators Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arthur Godfrey, at one time the most popular (and powerful) personality on radio and TV, makes a guest appearance in this episode. Hoping to persuade Godfrey to appear in the Riverboat musical being staged by the Danfield Little Theater, Lucy (Lucille Ball) is willing to go to great and near-impossible lengths to achieve her goal. She is even willing to travel all the way to Godfrey's home in Virginia--and then the fun (?) begins. The original songs heard in this episode were written by Max Showalter), who appears as Lucy's former beau Vinnie Meyers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, a reluctant Mooney (Gale Gordon) has joined Lucy (Lucille Ball) and her songwriter friend Mel Tinker (Mel Torme) in their efforts to save the small town of Bancroft from being demolished to make room for a new freeway. In hopes of bringing Bancroft's plight to the attention of a major network TV reporter (Dan Rowan), Lucy stages a phony shootout at Mooney's bank. Three guesses as to what happens next! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sid Caesar pulls double duty in this episode, playing "himself" and his lookalike, Frankie the Forger. Upset that Frankie is going around time forging checks with his name, Sid conspires with Lucy (Lucille Ball) to catch the crook in the act. Alas, Lucy is so confused by the plethora of Caesars that she ends up "capturing" only Sid and herself--over and over and over and over again! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Injured in a hit-and-run accident, John (Randolph Mantooth) ends up in a Rampart hospital bed, where he proceeds to drive the staff crazy. Meanwhile, Roy is saddled with John's replacement Craig Bice (John R. Richardson in his first series appearance), an unsufferable perfectionist whose strict adherence to rules and regulations does more harm than good. This week's case load includes a possible heart attack victim and a raging fire. Series costar Randolph Mantooth pulled double duty as actor and director in this final episode of Emergency's fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kojak returned to its familiar Sunday-night network berth for its fifth and final season. Things get off to a rousing start with this opening episode, with Lt. Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) determined to nail the murderer of a fellow cop. Unfortunately, the only witness to the crime, Janet Carlisle (Paula Kelly), is the girlfriend of a gangster (Charles Cioffi) who hates Kojak--and who goes to great and violent lengths to intimidate Janet into non-cooperation. This is the episode in which Kojak leans into the villain's face and snarls "If you touch her again, I'm going to splatter your brain" (Could this line have been written by future Quantum Leap and JAG producer Donald P. Bellisario, the man credited for the teleplay--or was it another Telly Savalas inspiration?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Kojak recalls the events leading up to his shooting of a notorious serial murderer in 1969. Though convinced at the time that he had disposed of the "Clothesline Killer", Kojak has reason to wonder if he got the right man: someone is currently embarked upon a murder spree, using the Clothesline Killer's modus operandi. At the same time, the detective experiences poignant memories of a lost romance. This was the final Sunday-night Kojak episode; Part Two of "The Summer of '69" would be seen in the series' new Saturday-evening berth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Playing police stooge Ben Shockley, Clint Eastwood sends up his Dirty Harry-ness in this 1977 cop film-action movie-romantic comedy. Ben is assigned to escort tough Vegas hooker Gus Mally (Sondra Locke) to Phoenix for a Mob trial because, he thinks, he always "gets the job done." But corrupt commissioner Blakelock (William Prince) chose alcoholic Ben precisely because Ben does not get much done at all, and Blakelock has no intention of letting them get to Phoenix alive. Once Gus figures this out and makes Ben see the truth, Ben resolves to prove Blakelock wrong, even if it means surviving car bombs, a house shot to pieces, a helicopter-motorcycle chase, and finally driving an armored bus through a gauntlet formed by scores of shooting cops. Amidst the mayhem, Ben falls in love with the smart-mouthed, college-educated Gus, and she insists on riding out the gauntlet with her Ben. An obedient cop who is not as clever as his female charge, Ben Shockley is the opposite of Eastwood's ultra-capable loner Harry Callahan from the Dirty Harry series, allowing Eastwood to poke fun at his image even as Shockley eventually does get the job done. While the exaggerated action set pieces also parody the Eastwood cop hero's usual invincibility, their efficient, energetic staging still makes them effective; The Gauntlet was another popular success for Eastwood as director as well as star. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

A slick Los Angeles callboy finds love and redemption in Paul Schrader's ultra-stylish drama. High-living prostitute Julian Kay (Richard Gere, stepping in for John Travolta) has it all: the Mercedes, the clothes, access to Beverly Hills' swankiest establishments, and a stable of rich, older female clients. But it all falls apart after he does a favor for his former pimp (Bill Duke) and the trick turns up dead a short while later; Julian's actual client won't give him an alibi, and police detective Sunday (Hector Elizondo) doesn't believe the gigolo's denials. The one person who can help him is frustrated politician's wife (and sole non-paying bedmate) Michelle (Lauren Hutton), if only Julian could let down his defenses and accept her gesture of love. Mixing his admiration for European art cinema with a voyeuristic view of the seamier side of sex and affluence, Schrader renders Julian an inscrutable, emotionally disengaged purveyor of pleasure, decked out in Giorgio Armani clothes coordinated with Ferdinando Scarfiotti's meticulous production design. Amid critical doubts about its artiness and distanced eroticism, American Gigolo surprised everyone by not dying on the box office vine. With some audiences reportedly showing up for repeat viewings of Gere's seductive charms, it became a moderate hit, turning Gere into a star and Armani into the new fashion sensation. Whatever reservations one may have about the movie, it provided two indelible images of 1980s decadence to come: Gere's perusing his "artist's palette" of shirts, ties, and jackets, and Gere's cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in his convertible to the New Wave strains of Blondie's "Call Me". ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide