Ollie O'Toole Movies

Written by Dan Ullman, "The Miracle" focuses in on $8,000,000 worth of heroin. The IMF must determine the location of the heroin and put Syndicate operatives Taynor (Ronald Feinberg) and Kearney (Joe Don Baker) out of business. The gimmick: a phony heart transplant, which will convert the homicidal Kearney into a religious pacifist. Filmed at Southern California's Marineland, "The Miracle" was originally telecast on October 23, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An epidemic of rustling has fueled the flames of a possible range war between the cattlemen and the nesters. Ex-sheriff Dan Logan (Steve Forrest) is hired to stop the war before it starts, while rancher Slater (Warren Kemmerling), convinced that the nesters are responsible for the trouble, offers a $300 dollar reward for every rustler brought in by Logan, dead or alive. The Cartwrights become involved when Slater himself commits murder, then tries to frame Logan for the crime. A poignant subplot involves Logan's efforts to reform an ex-prostitute named Anita (Miriam Colom), a denizen of Viriginia City's notorious D Street. First shown on October 19, 1969, "To Stop a War" was written by Carey Wilbur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's a seemingly peaceful spring morning in New York City -- graduation day at the Police Academy -- and Police Commissioner Anthony X. Russell (Henry Fonda) is looking forward to giving a speech to the new officers. But all isn't well: Russell's been given apparently incontrovertible evidence that his oldest friend, Chief Inspector Charles Kane (James Whitmore), is shaking down a bar owner, and a black minister (Raymond St. Jacques) is claiming that his son was brutalized when he was picked up for questioning in a rape/assault case. Then Russell gets a call informing him that two first-grade detectives, Daniel Madigan (Richard Widmark) and Rocco Bonaro (Harry Guardino), allowed small-time hood Barney Benesch (Steve Ihnat) to get the drop on them, steal their guns, and escape while they were trying to pick him up for questioning at the request of Brooklyn detectives -- and Benesch is now a suspect in that earlier murder in Brooklyn. Madigan has other problems, including the fact that the commissioner -- his ex-captain -- doesn't trust him, always believing him to be a loose cannon who has taken advantage of the badge in accepting favors and cutting corners where peoples' rights were concerned. Madigan also has a beautiful, upwardly mobile wife (Inger Stevens) who loves him but can't abide all the time his job takes him away from her or crimps her socializing; and he has never fully gotten over Jonesy (Sheree North), a saloon singer he knew before he was married. Madigan and Bonaro are given 72 hours to bring in Benesch and begin beating the bushes for leads. They get help from "Midget" Castiglione (Michael Dunn), a bookmaker and an old enemy of Benesch's, and a nervous, long-haired punk named Hughie (Don Stroud). While the clock ticks away on Madigan's and Bonaro's careers, the commissioner must decide how to deal with Kane, whose father -- also a police officer -- was like his own, and he must also fathom how a four-star chief could be involved with anything as tawdry as pressuring a tavern owner. Russell genuinely believes that there must be "one standard, one rule" for any member of the department, but in the course of this one weekend, he finds this notion shattered by what he discovers about Madigan, King, and himself. Meanwhile, Benesch is still on the loose, acting like a complete psycho and a threat to anyone who crosses his path. Russell's and Madigan's paths finally cross personally, as the detective proves -- and the commissioner discovers -- just how good a cop he is. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story arc, Barney Fife heads back to Mayberry via train. En route, he is reunited with his high school girlfriend Teena Andrews (Diahn Williams), who is now a major movie star. Teena's PR man Carson (Chet Stratton) decides to capitalize on his star's past relationship with Barney by staging the premiere of Teena's latest picture in Mayberry. Naturally, Barney is led to believe that Teena still carries a torch for him-but there are plenty of surprises in store for everyone concerned. First telecast on January 22, 1967, "Barney Comes to Mayberry" was written by Sid Morse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Robinsons' robot doesn't like the looks of the old, dilapidated robot that Will (Bill Mumy) has found and has decided to fix up. It seems that Will's robot is actually a "robotoid", capable of making its own decisions without human intervention. Sure enough, the robotoid turns out to have an evil streak, and is bent upon capturing the Robinsons and killing off their robot. The "villain" in this episode is played by the immortal Robby the Robot of Forbidden Planet fame, who like the Lost in Space robot was created by Bob Kinoshita. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bobbie Jo (Lori Saunders) wants to win a school spelling bee, and is pinning her hopes on the "good luck" ring in her possession. Alas, panic and confusion sets in when our heroine loses the precious ring. This crisis also affects Bobbie's mom Kate, who'd hoped that her daughter's win would settle the hash of her arch-rival Cora Watson (Elvia Allman), whose daughter Henrietta (Susan Walther) is also in the contest. (Trivia note: Elvia Allman would later become a Petticoat Junction semi-regular as another of Kate's rivals, Selma Plout--who, coincidentally, also had a daughter named Henrietta!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having been burned by a previous marriage to a callous fortune hunter, heiress Grace Renford (Diana Hyland) promises herself that she won't make the same mistake again. Thus, when she falls in love with handsome engineer Keith Holloway (Jeremy Slate), Grace does not tell him that she is fabulously wealthy. Nonetheless, Grace's surrogate mother, Minnie (Mildred Dunnock), is suspicious of the gregarious Holloway -- but this hardly seems to matter when an unexpected tragedy strikes, requiring the services of a spiritualist named Dr. Shankara (Abraham Sofaer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Austin Lloyd (Gerald Mohr) is convinced that his business partner Dwight Garrett (Douglas Henderson) is stealing money from their firm--and worse, that Garrett is fooling around with Lloyd's wife Bonnie (Gloria Talbott). To get even, Lloyd first tries to frame Garrett for embezzlement, then fakes an attempt on his life so that both Garrett and Bonnie will be charged with attempted murder. That charge is immediately bumped up to murder in the first degree when Lloyd is killed for real--and Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) has two clients on his hands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once again, Paladin (Richard Boone) has a brush with history when he makes the acquaintance of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel (played by Milton Selzer). It seems that Nobel has brought several cases of his new invention, nitroglycerin, to the Carleton Hotel, and the management is understandably nervous over the likely consequences. At the same time, a mercenary chap named Sam Thurber (Parley Baer) has vowed to gain possession of one of those explosive cases. This episode is capped by a morbidly cynical climax, with Paladin taking center stage in a burst of flamboyant fatalism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Entering into a poker game with a loudmouthed miner named Moriarity (Jacques Aubuchon), Paladin (Richard Boone) ends up winning a month's worth of Moriarity's "Silver Strike." But this is hardly a reason to celebrate: "Silver Strike" turns out to be Moriarity's young son (Flip Mark), as wild and unruly a creature as has ever walked the earth. In the month alotted him, Paladin endeavors to scrub, tame and educate the incorrigible youngster--a formidable task indeed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Fox Jr.'s popular 1906 novel has been filmed several times, and converted into a number of theatrical presentations. The 1961 edition of Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come stars singer Jimmy F. Rodgers as a confused young man growing up in 1860s Kentucky. Sheltered from his brutal guardian by a friendly schoolmaster, Rodgers learns to love the tiny village of Kingdom Come and has no inclination of leaving. But when the Civil War breaks out, Rodgers finds himself at odds with most of his friends by joining the Union Army. His wartime experiences force Rodgers to grow up in a hurry, and he returns to Kingdom Come with a whole new outlook on his future existence. Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come was elaborately produced, but failed to establish Jimmy Rodgers as a movie star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paladin (Richard Boone) catches up with a wanted outlaw in a saloon called Big Red's Roundup. In the ensuing gun battle, female saloon owner Big Red (played by Hope Holiday, best remembered to Billy Wilder fans as Jack Lemmon's Christmas-eve pickup in The Apartment) is seriously wounded. Whether or not the lady will survive is up to her erstwhile boyfriend Guy Fremont (Richard Ney), whose claims of possessing medical skill may just be a lot of hot air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide