Edward Colmans Movies

Adam-12 moved from a Wednesday to a Tuesday-night timeslot with this episode, in which an out-of-uniform Jim Reed (Kent McCord) drops off a deposit at a bank--only to be taken hostage by a desperate pair of robbers. When the crooks find out that Reed is a cop, they hope to use him to bargain for their freedom...even though they have no intention of letting him get out alive. It is up to Jim's partner Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Sgt. MacDonald (William Boyett) to defuse the crisis and rescue their colleague. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Don Grady of My Three Sons fame guest stars as John McElroy, the irresponsible son of business executive Douglas McElroy (Murray Hamilton). After John inadvertently commits a crime on a government reservation, a mobster who witnessed the incident strongarms the boy's father into allowing his company to be taken over by the Mafia. Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) must not only bring John to justice for his crime, but also save the boy from becoming yet another Mob casualty. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The IMF is faced with an assignment that virtually requires them to be in two places at once. First, they must prevent the murder of Professor Napolsky (Edward Colmans), who has defected to the West. Simulatenously, they must discredit the more dangerous of the two enemy spy groups who are determined to kill the professor. Hans Gudegast, who later billed himself as Eric Braeden, appears as one of the chief assassins. First telecast December 17, 1966, "The Short Tail Spy" was written by Julian Barry. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the story "The Horla" by Guy de Maupassant, this grim low-budget potboiler stars Vincent Price as Simon Cordier, a ruthless magistrate in 19th-century Paris who becomes possessed by the malevolent spirit (or "horla") of a condemned murderer whom Cordier was forced to kill in self-defense. Driven by the madman's ghost to continue his pattern of brutal crimes, Cordier comes to the realization that the only way he can purge the violent demon from his soul is to immolate himself in a blazing pyre. Though the riveting Price (whose very presence can enliven even the most dismal of horror duds) does an admirable job as the tormented Cordier, he is unable to bear the ponderous weight of this tedious production. Although a parallel between the callousness of Cordier's office and the insensate evil of his crimes would have provided an interesting subtext, the script forfeits this potential, relying instead on a pat, self-righteous finale with religious overtones. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

One of Hollywood's great directors, Vincente Minnelli, turns a jaundiced eye towards the film industry in this drama about the inner workings of the movie business. Jack Andrus (Kirk Douglas) is an actor whose career has gone into a tailspin along with his personal life; after a severe bout with alcoholism, a messy break-up with his wife, a life-threatening auto accident, and a nervous breakdown, Andrus has spent three years in a private mental hospital in Connecticut. Andrus is approached by Maurice Kruger (Edward G. Robinson), a noted filmmaker who worked many times with Andrus in the past, offering him a small role in his next picture, and with the blessings of his doctors, the actor flies to Rome to return to work. However, once he arrives, Andrus finds the project is in chaos -- his role has been recast, Kruger is constantly battling with producer Tucino (Mino Doro), leading man Davie Drew (George Hamilton) is squabbling with both %Kruger and his girlfriend Veronica (Daliah Lavi), and the female lead (Rosanna Schiaffino) can't recite her dialogue in English. With the shooting in shambles, Kruger asks Andrus to take over the dubbing work in hopes of bringing the film in on schedule, and against his better judgement Andrus agrees. As Andrus tries to rise to this new challenge -- made all the more trying by the arrival of his ex-wife Carlotta (Cyd Charisse) -- the production receives its biggest setback when Kruger suffers a heart attack after a bitter argument with his wife (Claire Trevor). Andrus takes over the direction of the picture, and proves a capable hand for the job, bringing in the project on time and on budget. However, Kruger expresses resentment rather than gratitude, claiming that Andrus is trying to put an end to his career. Two Weeks In Another Town was adapted from a novel by Irwin Shaw. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Hubert Cornfield wrote, directed, and co-produced this standard suspense story about two people who commit both murder and fraud -- out of revenge on the one hand and materialistic gain on the other. Marian Forbes (Laraine Day) has been having an affair with her boss and when he drops her for another woman she sees green -- jealousy and greed take over. She convinces an acquaintance (Edmond O'Brien) to murder her former lover and then impersonate him just long enough to get their hands on a large sum of money. Everything comes off as she plans, but then as the two cover up their crime, the danger of being discovered looms larger at every turn. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In the sixth episode of Walt Disney's ten-part miniseries Elfego Baca, the titular hero (Robert Loggia, a gunslinger-turned-lawyer) defends British-born rancher Cecil Cunningham (Patrick Knowles), who has been accused of murdering land baron Drew Griswold. According to witnesses, Griswold had been fooling around with Cyril's wife (Audrey Dalton), thereby firmly establishing a motive. In court, Baca finds that he must go face to face with his former law partner J. Henry Newman (James Dunn), the newly appointed District Attorney. Outside the courtroom, the dead man's relatives begin forming a lynch mob. Originally telecast on the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "The Griswold Murder" and the fifth Elfego Baca episode "Attorney at Law" were edited together in 1962 and released as a theatrical feature, Six-Gun Law. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The third and (as of 2005) the last film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short story To Have and Have Not, The Gun Runners was as topical as this morning's news when it came out in 1958. Audie Murphy plays Sam Martin, a charter-boat skipper based in Key West, whose bad luck has enlarged from the gambling tables to his business. He's managed to stay honest up to this point, with a little help from his boozy friend and first-mate, Harvey (Everett Sloane), and a lot from his loyal, loving wife, Lucy (Patricia Owens), both of whom represent the best things in Sam's life. But then he finds himself about to lose his boat, and the only opportunity he has to save it lies with a larcenous American arms seller named Hannagan (Eddie Albert), who isn't above murder to get what he wants. Sam falls in with him, first for a quick trip in and out of Cuba and then up to his neck, and he is suddenly faced with destroying the most decent part of himself and the only people who care about him. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In this adventure, a remake of Singapore (1947), a hero finds a bracelet containing 13 precious gems while visiting Istanbul. He soon finds himself pursued by covetous crooks who want those jewels. He is then deported by the Turkish authorities, but not before he has time to hide the bracelet in a hotel. Five years later, the man returns to seek out the stones. Again he is pursued by both authorities and criminals. He must also contend with the reappearance of his wife whom he thought had burned to death on their wedding night. She lived but suffered amnesia. She then remarried. Nat "King" Cole sings "When I Fall in Love". ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on the autobiographical novel by Han Suyin, Love is a Many Splendored Thing was evocatively location-filmed in Hong Kong. Jennifer Jones plays Ms. Suyin, a Eurasian doctor and the widow of a Chinese general. She falls in love with American news correspondent Mark Elliot (William Holden), who unfortunately cannot obtain a divorce from his present wife. This, together with the disapproval of Dr. Suyin's tradition-bound relatives and Hong Kong's strict racial laws, forces the couple to carry on their romance in a clandestine fashion. The romance ends in tragedy, but with renewed hope for a happier future. The one lasting legacy of Love is a Many Splendored Thing is its Oscar-winning title song, written by Paul Fain and Sammy Webster; Oscars also went to Alfred Newman's musical score and Charles LeMaire's costume design. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a novel by Gwen Bristow, Jubilee Trail is a sprawling, all-star western from the Republic Studio mills. Despite is vaunted budget, the plot is strictly B-picture material. Ambitious California landowner Charles Hale (Ray Middleton) hopes to add to his riches by marrying off his brother Oliver (John Russell) to a wealthy Spanish family. But when Oliver weds a gal named Garnet (Joan Leslie) instead, Charles vows revenge against the new bride. Later, Oliver is killed, leaving Garnet to raise their baby alone. Charles intends to claim the baby for himself, but Garnet, who has subsequently fallen in love with John Ives (Forrest Tucker), isn't about to let that happen. Top-billed Vera Ralston plays saloon-hall chirp Florinda, a Woman With a Past who is peripherally involved in the plot proper, while Richard Webb, TV's "Captain Midnight", fills the obligatory "disgruntled suitor" role. The film is stolen hands down by Pat O'Brien as a drunken doctor who serves as last-minute problem-solver. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cashing in on the popularity of such pro-Native American films as Broken Arrow, Columbia's resident quickiemeister Sam Katzman came up with Conquest of Cochise. John Hodiak plays the eponymous Apache leader, who at the beginning of the film is seen conducting raids on the U.S.-Mexican border in the company of the Comanches. Eventually realizing that the whites are better armed and equipped than the Indians, Cochise wants to put an end to the raids and smoke the peace pipe, but the Comanches don't see things his way. In films of this nature, there is usually a foredoomed love affair between a white man and an Indian girl. This time, however, Cochise falls in love with Mexican aristocrat Consuelo de Cordova (Joy Page), whom he holds hostage while U.S. cavalry officer Burke (Robert Stack) searches for the killer of Cochise's Indian bride. Director William Castle does a nice job matching stock footage with his newly-shot scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds had been on the Paramount Pictures docket since the silent era, when it was optioned as a potential Cecil B. DeMille production. When Paramount finally got around to a filming the Wells novel, the property was firmly in the hands of special-effects maestro George Pal. Like Orson Welles's infamous 1938 radio adaptation, the film eschews Wells's original Victorian England setting for a contemporary American locale, in this case Southern California. A meteorlike object crash-lands near the small town of Linda Rosa. Among the crowd of curious onlookers is Pacific Tech scientist Gene Barry, who strikes up a friendship with Ann Robinson, the niece of local minister Lewis Martin. Because the meteor is too hot to approach at present, Barry decides to wait a few days to investigate, leaving three townsmen to guard the strange, glowing object. Left alone, the three men decide to approach the meterorite, and are evaporated for their trouble. It turns out that this is no meteorite, but an invading spaceship from the planet Mars. The hideous-looking Martians utilize huge, mushroomlike flying ships, equipped with heat rays, to pursue the helpless earthlings. When the military is called in, the Martians demonstrate their ruthlessness by "zapping" Ann's minister uncle, who'd hoped to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the standoff. As Barry and Ann seek shelter, the Martians go on a destructive rampage. Nothing-not even an atom-bomb blast-can halt the Martian death machines. The film's climax occurs in a besieged Los Angeles, where Barry fights through a crowd of refugees and looters so that he may be reunited with Ann in Earth's last moments of existence. In the end, the Martians are defeated not by science or the military, but by bacteria germs-or, to quote H.G. Wells, "the humblest things that God in his wisdom has put upon the earth." Forty years' worth of progressively improving special effects have not dimmed the brilliance of George Pal's War of the Worlds. Even on television, Pal's Oscar-winning camera trickery is awesome to behold. So indelible an impression has this film made on modern-day sci-fi mavens that, when a 1988 TV version of War of the Worlds was put together, it was conceived as a direct sequel to the 1953 film, rather than a derivation of the Wells novel or the Welles radio production. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi