R.S. Allen Movies

Caught in the act of completing a British commando's sabotage mission, Hogan and Carter are forced to capture the witness to their mission, German General Schmidt (Roger C. Carmel). The two heroes manage to smuggle Schmidt into the general POW population in camp, keeping him at bay by fabricating a phony illness. The problem: Once Hogan has pumped Schmidt for valuable information, how can he get him back out of the camp without arousing Klink's suspicions? Written by R.S. Allen and Harvey Bullock, "The Prisoner's Prisoner" originally aired on October 22, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Hill was unfairly subjected to ridicule by the more obtuse "critics" of 1965 who harped on the fact that it starred Sean Connery and, unlike Connery's Bond pictures, had no women in it. Bypassing these cretinous comments, it must be noted that The Hill is an above-the-norm entry in the "military prison" genre. The film takes place during World War II, in a Libyan stockade for incorrigible British soldiers. The camp's brutal Sergeant Major (Harry Andrews) puts his charges to work on grueling, monotonous and pointless projects to break their spirits. When one rebellious inmate dies due to this treatment, the Sergeant Major is reprimanded by Joe Roberts (Connery), who has been appointed as the prisoners' spokesman. The result is that Roberts is likewise subjected to the most demeaning and humiliating of prison chores -- but his spirit, and that of his comrades, is not so easily crushed. Based on a TV play by Ray Rigby, The Hill should never be seen in any form other than its dusty, parched original black-and-white; the currently available colorized version is a crime against humanity. One problem: The British dialects in the first 20 minutes are so thick that an American viewer practically needs subtitles (British critics chalked this problem up not to elocution but to poor sound recording). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of Elvis Presley's most popular vehicles, Girl Happy is also one of the most typical. Elvis plays Rusty Wells, the leader of a four-piece rock group, consisting of Gary Crosby, Joby Baker and Jimmy Hawkins. Hired by Chicago gangster boss Big Frank (Harold J. Stone) to protect the virtue of Frank's cute daughter Valerie (Shelley Fabares), Rusty and his buddies follow Valerie to Fort Lauderdale during Spring Break. The girl falls in love with Rusty, then falls out of love when she learns that he's in her dad's employ. Valerie then becomes involved with a slick Italian playboy (Fabrizio Mioni), forcing Rusty to break up the romance lest he end up in a cement overcoat. It all ends happily, of course: after all, Elvis hadn't died on screen since Flaming Star. A bikini-watcher's dream, Girl Happy is less successful as a musical; of the many songs, the title number is the only one with lasting value. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although "Mr. McBeevee" was filmed as the third episode of The Andy Griffith Show's third season, it was chosen to air as the season opener on October 1, 1962. Having raised his son Opie to never tell a lie, Andy is understandably worried when Opie arrives home with wild stories about meeting a man who walks in the trees, wears a silver hat, jingles when he walks-and has twelve extra hands. Amazingly, it turns out that Opie is telling the truth-at least from his perspective-but Andy doesn't believe a word of it until the elusive Mr. McBeevee (Karl Swenson) makes a deux-ex-machina appearance. This episode was written by Richard Allen Saffian(aka R. S. Allen) and Harvey Bullock. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Aunt Bee begins dropping not-so-subtle hints that she'd like a new bed jacket for her birthday. By the time Andy finally catches on, the only bed jacket in town has been purchased by Mayor Stoner. Offering to buy the "extravagant" gift from Stoner, Andy is forced to part with a precious commodity-his favorite secret fishing hole. Written by Ray Saffian Allen and Harvey Bullock, "The Bed Jacket" was originally telecast on December 17, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi