Hal Hopper Movies

Producer Roy Huggins and director Douglas Heyes, Maverick veterans both, reteamed for the made-for-TV Drive Hard, Drive Fast. Brian Kelly stars as a race car driver who would have been better off sticking to the track. Upon hopping out of his slicked-up auto, Kelly gets mixed up in an unsavory love triangle involving Joan Collins and Joseph Campanella. Before long, Kelly has to keep peeking over his shoulder to avoid being hacked to piece by a machete-wielding assailant. Completed in 1969, Drive Hard, Drive Fast was not telecast until September 11, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

California McKinney (John Furlong) is hitchhiking to the state he was named for after serving a five-year sentence for manslaughter. He runs out of money in Spooner, MO, and finds work at a farm run by Lute Wade (Stuart Lancaster) and his niece, Hannah Brenshaw (Antoinette Christiani). All Calif wants is to do is work quietly until he can save enough money to keep on moving, but Hannah's drunken husband, Sidney (Hal Hopper), takes it upon himself to verbally and physically abuse him, as he does his own wife and any one else who crosses his path. Sidney spends most of his time drinking corn liquor at the local whorehouse and bragging about his plans to sell the farm after the sickly Uncle Lute dies. However, the goodhearted Calif and the long-suffering Hannah are falling in love, and Lute arranges his will so that Sidney can't lay claim to the estate after his death. The desperate Sidney plots with the local preacher (Franklin Bolger) to exploit the small town's gossipy nature with lies about Hannah's virtue, though his conniving is undone when he commits an insane, jealous crime and finds himself the target of a bloodthirsty vigilante group. ~ Fred Beldin, Rovi

When Chris Carlyle's (Jay North) family leaves their farm for the city, Chris must give his pet puma up to the local zoo. When Chris discovers the terrible conditions that the animals are being kept in, he manages to find a way to set all of the creatures free, much to the dismay of the local residents. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Lorna (Lorna Maitland) is growing tired of her husband, Jim (James Rucker), after only a year of matrimony. He spends his days toiling in a salt mine and his evenings studying to become a certified public accountant, and their home is a run-down shack in a boring little town. Worse still, he has never satisfied her as a lover, and Lorna is aching to experience more from life. On the day of their first anniversary, Lorna is attacked and raped by an escaped convict (Mark Bradley). Though she resists at first, the act awakens her frustrated sexuality, and she brings this dangerous stranger home for more illicit pleasure while Jim works. Meanwhile, Jim's slovenly bachelor co-workers -- Luther (Hal Hopper) and Jonah (Doc Scortt) -- taunt him out of jealousy for his beautiful wife, trying to inspire suspicion in his heart. Jim trusts Lorna and defends her honor with his fists. When he returns from work early with a battered face, he discovers Lorna's indiscretion, and the result is tragedy. ~ Fred Beldin, Rovi

The first episode of Maverick's second season may be the last appearance of Bret Maverick (James Garner) unless he does some quick thinking. When the town of Hallelujah is robbed of $40,000, the bandit plants incriminating evidence on poor Bret--who as a result is sentenced to hang. In order to avoid having his neck stretched, Bret cuts a deal with Sheriff Tucker (Ray Teal), offering to locate the stolen money and provide the sheriff with a percentage of the loot. Of course, the fact that Bret has no idea where the money is might prove problematic as the hour of his execution approaches. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When Bret (James Garner) is accused of robbery, he seeks out John Stacey (John Vivyan), the only man who can clear him. Alas, John may not live long enough to provide testimony for Bret's defense: he is slated for a showdown with notorious gunslinger Doc Holliday (Gerald Mohr), who isn't inclined to Bret talk him out of adding another notch to his handle. Film noir icon Marie Windsor has a plum role in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi