Joseph Corey Movies
- 1972
Billy Green Bush guest-stars as Cowboy, a wonder chopper pilot. When Henry (McLean Stevenson) refuses to ship Cowboy home, the outraged pilot threatens dire consequences. Before long, the 4077th is plagued by all manner of weird calamities, ranging from a runaway jeep to an exploding toilet. But the worst is saved for last, when Henry is obliged to take a helicopter ride with the combustible Cowboy. This episode originally aired on November 12, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
This episode marks the first series appearance of Elizabeth Baur as rookie policewoman Fran Belding. Anxious to prove that her murdered police-captain father is innocent of corruption charges, Fran tags along with Ironside and his team as they conduct their investigation of the killing. Though the overeager rookie proves to be more hindrance than help, Ironside is impressed by her diligence and dedication. Meanwhile, two-bit gambler Charlie (played by singer Bobby Darin in one of his last TV appearances) weaves in and out of the plotline, "helpfully" providing information that might clear Fran's dad--all the while pursuing a sinister hidden agenda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
There's intrigue aplenty aboard the USS "Moray" when Navy submarine commander James Page (Hugh Marlowe) accuses seaman Robert Chapman (Jack Ging) of murdering a nightclub singer. Things get worse for Chapman when Cmdr. Page himself is killed. In his efforts to defend Chapman, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) exposes evidence of a complicated blackmail scheme involving an electronics firm owned by the victim's father-in-law Anthony Beldon (Robert F. Simon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
One the finest of all Twilight Zone episodes, "Walking Distance" benefits not only from a superb Rod Serling script and a magnificent starring performance by Gig Young, but also from an evocative musical score by Bernard Herrmann (which would be cannibalized many times on subsequent episodes). Young is cast as 35-year-old businessman Martin Sloan, who, while waiting for his car to be repaired, takes a sentimental journey to his home town of Homewood. Gradually, Martin begins to realize that the town has not changed one bit in 25 years: In fact, his parents are still alive, and there's a young boy running around who is the living image of 10-year-old Martin Sloan. Watch for Ron Howard in a three-line bit role. "Walking Distance" was first telecast October 30, 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gig Young, Frank Overton, (more)
- 1956
The third film version of Robert E. Sherwood's play Waterloo Bridge, Gaby is also the most antiseptic of the three. In the original 1931 film, Mae Clarke is cast as a British streetwalker who falls despearately and tragically in love with aristocratic military officer Douglass Montgomery. In the cleaned-up 1940 version, Vivien Leigh plays a ballerina who becomes a prostitute only after being informed that her lover, British "landed gentry" officer Robert Taylor, was killed in battle. In the 1956 edition, Leslie Caron is once again a ballerina at the outset, who once again turns to the World's Oldest Profession when she believes that her sweetheart, American GI John Kerr, has been killed during the D-Day invasion. The source material has been dry-cleaned to the extent that the heroine is permitted a happy ending, something she was flatly denied in the first two versions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Caron, John Kerr, (more)
- 1956
Nightclub singer Ilona Vance (Vera Ralston) is Accused of Murder in this Republic programmer. And from the looks of things, Ilona is guilty; she was, after all, the last person to see crooked lawyer Hobart (Sidney Blackmer) alive. But Lt. Roy Hargis (David Brian) is convinced that Ilona is innocent, and he intends to prove it. Except for the mildly surprising denoument, there is little in Accused of Murder that is not thoroughly predictable. Star Vera Ralston, the wife of Republic chieftan Herbert J. Yates, is her usual expressionless self. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Brian, Vera Ralston, (more)
- 1956
The rate of recovery for stolen vehicles has dropped to an all-time low, and Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) want to know why. With information provided by a former thief (and current forger!), the detectives are able to close down on an unusually efficient auto-theft ring. Movie buffs will easily recognize supporting player Thomas E. Jackson as the same man who played police detective Flaherty in the 1931 crime classic Little Caesar. One of several black and white Dragnet episodes to lapse into public demand, thus making it eminently accessible to the home-video market, this installment is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of April 19, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Jerry Lewis' first solo effort was also his first headlong plunge into pathos. The Delicate Delinquent stars Jerry as mixed-up teenaged janitor Sidney Pythias, a nice kid on the verge of throwing in with a not-so-nice street gang. Sensing potential in Sidney, police officer Mike Damon (Darren McGavin, in role originally intended for Lewis' ex-partner Dean Martin) takes the boy under his wing. To prove that Sidney can be weaned away from bad influences, Mike arranges for the boy to become a rookie cop, with fitfully hilarious results (the best scene, involving a monolingual Japanese gentleman, is also the most politically incorrect). Martha Hyer costars as an idealistic social worker with whom Mike (and briefly, Sidney) falls in love. The film's tenuous balance between juvenile-delinquent drama and slapstick comedy is never more pronounced than in the opening scene, wherein the clumsy Sidney, carrying a bulky garbage can, stumbles into the middle of a gang rumble. Though not Jerry Lewis' best film, Delicate Delinquent was a hit, proving he could carry a picture himself; as a bonus, Jerry gets to sing the significantly titled ditty "By Myself". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Lewis, Darren McGavin, (more)
- 1955
"The Silent Partner" is, along with John Ford's "Rookie of the Year", perhaps the best-known episode of the TV anthology series Screen Directors' Playhouse. Buster Keaton stars as Kelsey Dutton, a former silent-film comedian fallen upon hard times. While visiting a neighborhood tavern, Kelsey is recognized by Selma (ZaSu Pitts), herself an ex-actress. Their happy reunion is spoiled by the Academy Award telecast being shown on the bar's TV set, in which prominent actor-director Arthur Vail (Joe E. Brown), accepting an Oscar, flippantly refers to Kelsey and Selma as washed-up hasbeens. As it turns out, however, Vail's apparent cruelty has a noble purpose. Directed and cowritten by George Marshall, who in his movie heyday worked with the likes of Bob Hope, W.C. Fields and Laurel and Hardy, the film is at its best when recreating the Golden Days of silent slapstick comedy, of which Keaton was an acknowledged master. Unavailable for many years, The Silent Partner was put back in circulation for collectors and aficionados alike by Blackhawk Films in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
