James Maloney Movies

Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play Detective Story was praised for its realistic view of an event-filled day in a single police precinct station. The film, directed by meticulous taskmaster William Wyler, manages to retain this realism, even allowing for the star-turn performance of Kirk Douglas. A stickler for the letter of the law, Detective James McLeod (Douglas) is not averse to using strong-arm methods on criminals and witnesses alike in bringing lawbreakers to justice. He is particularly rough on a first-time offender (Craig Hill), on whom the rest of the force is willing to go easy because of the anguish of his girlfriend (Cathy O'Donnell). But McLeod's strongest invective is reserved for shady abortion doctor Karl Schneider (George MacReady); McLeod all but ruins the case against Schneider by beating him up in the patrol wagon. When McLeod discovers that his own wife (Eleanor Parker) had many years earlier lost a baby in one of Schneider's operations, and that the baby's father was gangster Tami Giacoppetti (Gerald Mohr), it is too much for the detective to bear. Punctuating the grim proceedings with brief moments of humor is future Oscar winner Lee Grant, reprising her stage role as a timorous shoplifter; it would be her last Hollywood assignment until the early 1960s, thanks to the iniquities of the blacklist. Despite small concessions to Hollywood censorship, Detective Story largely upheld the power of its theatrical original, and it forms a clear precursor to such latter-day urban police dramas as NYPD Blue. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this western, a sheriff attempts to exact his revenge against the desperadoes who cost him his job. The former lawman successfully gets rid of the bad hombres and clears his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

While driving toward a secret rendezvous, adulterous couple Gerald Simms (Harry Townes) and Frances Hiller (Randy Stuart) accidentally strike a boy on a bicycle. Afraid that their illicit romance will be revealed, the couple speeds off without providing assistance to the dying boy. Exactly one year after the tragedy, Gerald turns on his office dictaphone, only to hear the sounds of pain and anguish--and at the same time, Frances is haunted by grotesque noises in her own home. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Juvenile delinquency invades the Wild West in this episode, wherein three young punks named Sim (Richard Rust), Bunk (Martin West) and Burt (Ralph Reed) gleefully terrorize a small town. The local sheriff (Stephen Roberts) refuses to intervene, and Paladin (Richard Boone) wants to find out why. Meanwhile, the three hooligans attempt to goad Paladin into a gunfight, but he is reluctant to kill anyone so young and relies upon barbed insults to keep the trio at bay--a strategy that obvious will not work forever! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a young mother refuses to marry her son's father because he is too violent. The young father has a secret brother, a mute, whom his ashamed parents have locked away in an insane asylum. One day a cruel guard turns a hose upon him and, because he is deathly afraid of water, the terrified young man escapes. Later he meets his nephew and the two become friends. Soon after, the quiet misanthrope sees his new friend drowning. Overcoming his fear, the fellow jumps in to save the lad. He is carrying the unconscious boy to safety when the posse appears. Thinking he has hurt the boy, they beat the man and return him to the hospital. Later the boy runs away to be with the mute and his father pursues him. Once there, the boy locks his father in a room filled with other patients. It is then that the father is forced to realize that the patients are gentle and will not hurt his son. He promises to visit his brother the next day, causing the elated brother to speak for the first time in years. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

There's no love lost between small-town busybody Bessie Carnby (Lillian Gish) and her neighbors Henry and Samantha Wilkins (Peter Lind Hayes, Patricia Cutts) -- nor does Bessie's daughter, Camilla (Maggie McNamara), make a secret of her dislike for the mousy Henry. Eventually, Bessie decides to bury the hatchet and pays a visit to the Wilkinses -- and in the process, comes to the conclusion that Samantha has murdered Henry and disposed of his body. Thanks to Bessie's persistence, Samantha is arrested, convicted, and executed. Only afterward does Bessie learn the whole truth -- and this time, it looks as though justice will not be done. Originally scheduled to air on November 22, 1963, "Body in the Barn" was rescheduled for July 3, 1964, as the final episode of Alfred Hitchcock's ninth season on the air. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi