Gilbert Frye Movies

This western mystery offers a behind-the-scenes look at movie making. The trouble begins when a cowboy star is mysteriously killed on the set. A detective investigates and becomes determined to save the prime suspect. Despite the terrible danger he faces, the investigator does not stop until the real culprit has been apprehended and justice is served. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Taking place during a transcontinental flight, the story of The Great Plane Robbery concerns an airborne robbery (hence the title) and a series of ancillary murders. With no minions of the law on board, it is up to the pilot (Tom Conway) and an eccentric passenger (Margaret Hamilton) to solve the case. The villain's identity is so obvious that it's a wonder he doesn't wear a name-tag reading "I DID IT!" The biggest mystery concerning The Great Plane Robbery is its running time: officially, the film runs 61 minutes; according to the records kept by United Artists, it clocks in at 63 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The opening credits appearing over a turbulent ocean serve as a foreshadowing of things to come in this standard-issue love triangle that shifts into high drama thanks to taut direction by Fritz Lang and a sizzling performance by Barbara Stanwyck. Returning to live with her brother, Joe (Keith Andes), at her family's home in a small fishing village, Mae Doyle (Stanwyck) has reached rock bottom. Reeling from the pain of her previous romances, Mae slowly pieces things together and begins dating Jerry (Paul Douglas), a simple-minded fisherman. More along Mae's speed is Jerry's slick, boozy pal Earl Pfeiffer (Robert Ryan), a film projectionist who makes his feelings for her known right away despite the fact that he is married. Mae spurns his advances and decides to marry Jerry. Meanwhile, Joe has grown close to ditzy factory worker Peggy (Marilyn Monroe). Some time later, Mae and Jerry have had a baby, and things appear happy, but Mae is not in love with Jerry, and soon finds herself in Earl's arms. Jerry discovers the affair, and during a confrontation with the deceitful couple, Mae reveals that she is leaving to be with Earl. After some booze and a pep talk from his Uncle Vince (J. Carrol Naish), Jerry confronts Earl and proceeds to nearly strangle him until Mae arrives. Jerry storms off, but when Mae comes to their home to retrieve the baby, she discovers that Jerry has taken the child. Desperately upset, she explains the situation to Earl, but as they talk, she begins to arrive at a new realization about her life and what it takes to find happiness. ~ Patrick Legare, Rovi

In order to afford new bicycles, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) and Wally (Tony Dow) take up a paper route. Thanks to a series of misunderstandings, the boys' parents Ward (Hugh Beaumont) and June (Barbara Billingsley) end up delivering the papers themselves -- and nearly get Beav and Wally fired in the process! This is the first Leave It to Beaver episode to feature a pre-credit "preview" without Hugh Beaumont's narration (a device that would be abandoned after the series' first season). And incidentally, the actor playing Mr. Merkel is former child star Jackie Kelk, best known as Homer on the old Henry Aldrich radio show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Monster That Challenged the World is the misleadingly title for one of the more well-regarded second-echelon horror films of the 1950s. An underwater earthquake in the Sargasso sea yields up the eggs of a long-extinct sea monster. Once hatched, the monster's offspring (which resemble huge snails) sustain themselves by sucking the life forces of various unlucky human land dwellers. Even worse, these horrendous creatures procreate at an incredible rate, laying 3000 eggs per sitting. Eventually, the monsters are neutralized by Modern Science, save for one stray snail that very nearly lunches on a little girl.. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The second season of Perry Mason begins when Perry (Raymond Burr) receives an unusual phone call from one George Hartley Beaumont (Ross Elliott). What makes it unusual is that Beaumont is dead--or at least he's supposed to be. Reported killed in a plane crash three years earler, Beaumont had actually missed the fatal flight, but decided to take advantage of his "demise" so his wife Laura (Jeanne Cooper) could collect his insurance, and so he could start life anew in Mexico with his girflriend Ruth (Joan Camden). Now he wants to come home and come clean--but before he can do so, someone stabs him to death. Now Perry takes it upon himself to clear Number One suspect Ruth of a murder charge. This is the first of several episodes in which Perry argues his case before a woman judge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Feeling sorry for Albert Sanders (Fred Sherman), who has lost his entire family in a terrible accident, Perry agrees to defend the man pro-bono on a smuggling charge. The situation becomes a bit more serious when Sanders is accused of murdering cabdriver Kim Lane (Betty Utey). In order to clear his client, Mason and Paul Drake must expose a vicious smuggling ring operating from a tawdry dance hall. This episode is based on a 1958 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Perry's client Janet Morris (Bethel Leslie) is charged with poisoning her husband Dr. Morris (Sheppard Strudwick), who has been reported killed in a plane crash. As it turns out, however, the crash victim is not Dr. Norris but instead David Kirby (Dabbs Greer); Norris has faked his demise so he can run off to Mexico with his girlfriend (played by Maxine Cooper, best known for her work in the 1955 cult film favorite Kiss Me Deadly). No matter: Janet must now stand trial for Kirby's murder, meaning that Mason will have to dig up the elusive Dr. Morris to prove his client's innocence...but who exactly is guilty? Based on a 1954 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this episode would be remade in 1965 as "The Case of the Vanishing Victim". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The "music box" of the title of this low-budget, routine gangster film is a submachine gun, and its owner Larry Shaw (Ronald Foster) is the focus of attention. Larry has as little concern for morality or human life as an exterminator does for cockroaches, and so he is able to climb up the ladder of organized crime with little difficulty. The setting is New York in the 1920s, when mobsters become both rich and famous and eventually dead because of Prohibition. For inexplicable reasons, Larry is married to a decent woman (Luana Patten) who one day has had enough of her husband's activities and rebels in a most significant way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Unless viewers are especially fascinated by the outré dance craze of the early '60s known as the "twist," there is nothing exceptionally compelling about this music-filled drama, except maybe Louis Prima and his non-dancing performances. The thin storyline is centered on the nightclub belong to Prima's character, Louis Evans. Evans is about to lose his place because the upstairs tenants in the building -- a group of shady characters -- want all that twisting downstairs to go away. June Wilkinson is Louis' girlfriend Jenny. She and just about everyone else in the cast twist through the 76-minute running time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Recognizing the man in a picture snapped by a sidewalk photographer as Richard Kimble (David Janssen), Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse) rushes to Chicago in hopes of finally capturing the fugitive. Seeking a hideout, Kimble takes refuge in the home of two crotchety middle-agers named Jake (John McGiver) and Sam (John Fiedler), who by a strange coincidence are in the middle of a lengthy debate over Kimble's innocence. Legendary sportscaster Chick Hearn appears as a TV newscaster in this semi-comic episode, which brings the first season of The Fugitive to a close. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Lifelong parasite Rachel Gordon (Phyllis Hill) will be cut off without a cent by her rich Uncle Abner (Richard Hale) unless she immediately returns all the money she has syphoned from his bank account. Out of desperation, Rachel takes a shot at Albert while the man is sleeping. It turns out she needn't have bothered: Albert is already dead, and the police have charged his secretary--and main benificiary--Bruce Jay (John Napier). Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) knows that Bruce is innocent, and that Rachel wanted to be guilty but technically isn't...so whose alibi does he ultimately break down in court? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi