Martin Blaine Movies
- 1968
Originally telecast on May 26, 1968 as Bonanza's 300th episode, "The Stronghold" finds Joe Cartwright and Ponderosa hand Candy chasing Josh and Mike Farrell (Michael Witney and Paul Mantee), the two men who swindled them out of a herd of cattle. Joe and Candy catch up with the duplicitous brothers at their hideout in Arizona, where a deadly game of cat-and-mouse ensues. The only hope for a happy ending lies with the Farrells, who are slowly but surely growing sick of each other's company. "The Stronghold" was written by John Hawkins and W.R. Burnett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1966
Receiving a "Dear John" letter from his hometown girlfriend Mary Jane, Sgt. Carter asks Col. Hogan's permission to escape from Stalag 17. Hogan allows him to do so -- on the proviso that Carter help out on one final sabotage mission. As it turns out, however, Carter is happier as a POW than as a scorned sweetheart. Written by Laurence Marks, "Request Permission to Escape" originally aired on April 29, 1966, as the final episode of Hogan's Heroes' first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
The British title of Billy Wilder's classic comedy was Meet Whiplash Willie -- for, despite Jack Lemmon's star billing, the movie's driving force is Oscar-winning Walter Matthau as gloriously underhanded lawyer "Whiplash" Willie Gingrich. CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Lemmon) is injured when he is accidentally bulldozed by football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) during a Cleveland Browns game. Willie, Harry's brother-in-law, foresees an insurance-settlement bonanza, and he convinces Harry to pretend to be incapacitated by the accident. To insure his client's cooperation, Willie arranges for Harry's covetous ex-wife Sandy (Judi West) to feign a rekindling of their romance. Harry's conscience is plagued by the solicitous behavior of Boom Boom, who is so devastated at causing Harry's injury that he insists on waiting on the "cripple" hand and foot. Meanwhile, dishevelled private eye Purkey (Cliff Osmond) keeps Harry under constant surveillance, hoping to catch him moving around so the insurance company can avoid shelling out a fortune. Wilder and usual co-writer I.A.L. Diamond were at their most jaundiced and cynical here, even if, after a sardonic semiclimax, the last ten minutes succumb to the sentimentality that often marred Wilder's later movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, (more)
- 1966
Mercenary Gestapo agent Major Hegel (Paul Lambert demands that the Allies give him $1 million worth of industrial diamonds, lest he blow the whistle on Hogan's espionage operation. Left with no alternative, Hogan and his men agree to steal the precious gems. Ulla Stromstredt is cast as Hegel's gorgeous partner in crime Myra. Scriptwriter Laurence Marks managed to sustain the series' high humor content while still incorporating two violent off-screen deaths. "Diamonds in the Rough" originally aired on September 30, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
- 1965
Adapted from an Alistair MacLean novel, The Satan Bug is one of the best efforts in the "deadly virus at large" genre. Insane scientist Dr. Hoffman (Richard Basehart) steals several vials containing a lethal germ culture from a government lab. Hoffman has been unhinged by the notion of the government playing God and now it's his turn to do the same. Hot on his trail are Lee Barrett, a scientific investigator (George Maharis) and Ann, a general's daughter (Anne Francis). The climax, which seems to have been borrowed from the 1939 Bela Lugosi serial The Phantom Creeps, finds Maharis wrestling with the controls of a runaway helicopter, wherein the deadly vials are being jostled about. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Maharis, Richard Basehart, (more)
- 1964
In this remake of Johnny Dark (1954) an ex-GI and college dropout would rather play with cars than anything else until he meets the lovely Eady with whom he falls passionately in love. They get engaged and go to San Francisco where he begins working on building a prototype car for a millionaire. When the arrogant young man ignores the millionaire's advice and destroys the car, he is immediately fired. The young man, determined to make his engine work, manages to scare up enough cash to get his engine back from the millionaire. He then goes on to enter the Tri-State Endurance Race. After it is all over, the young fellow finds that he has become a serious young man. He then marries his girl, and goes back to college. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, (more)
- 1964
College football star Skip Baxter (Michael Parks) is in danger of expulsion because of his heavy drinking. Hoping to cure Skip of his booze habit, his prankish roommate, Doc Carroll (Joby Baker), cooks up an elaborate hoax. "Borrowing" a female cadaver from a medical classroom, Doc plants the corpse next to the sleeping Skip -- and when Skip awakens with his usual hangover, he is told that he has murdered a local waitress named Ruby (Jennifer West). The trick backfires when a panicky Skip sets about to dispose of the body, an act which not only ruins his life, but also claims another life in the process. This episode was originally slated to air on November 29, 1963, but was pre-empted for a special about the JFK assassination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Parks, Joby Baker, (more)
- 1963
- NR
In this comedy, the head of a United Nations department suddenly becomes a father when he stumbles across an abandoned baby in one of the halls. He tries to find a home for the darling and suddenly finds himself surrounded by assorted exotic beauties all trying to win the baby for their country. In the end, though, the bachelor takes the babe for his own. Songs include: "So Wide the World," "Fais Do Do," and "A Global Affair." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Liselotte Pulver, (more)
