Jack Harris Movies
- 1962
Joe (Bing Russell) is an ex-convict trying to make an honest living after his release from prison. He returns home to his long-suffering mother and his motherless son and tries to become gainfully employed. Joe faces the prejudice of the jaundiced townsfolk, who smugly refuse to hire him for any available position. After again losing a job because his employer learned of his criminal record, the con goes a little crazy and kidnaps his former employer's son. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Russell, Billy Hughes, (more)
- 1961
In this crime melodrama set in Phoenix, a police investigator looks into a counterfeiting ring. Among the gang members is a pretty singer. Meanwhile the owner of a local business is falsely accused of murder after one of his employees is killed. Fortunately, the owner and his girlfriend work together and prove his innocence while the cop destroys the counterfeiting ring. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Bryar, Don Marlowe, (more)
- 1959
Millie Crest (Ruta Lee) is in big trouble. Already framed for embezzlement, Millie could also face a charge of "stolen identity" by posing as Fern Driscoll (Helene Stanley), a woman who is supposed to have died in a car accident in which Millie was involved. The beleagured girl has also stabbed seedy private eye Carl Davis (Robert Bray) in self-defense--and now Davis is dead. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is going to have to work overtime to earn the retainer (all of 38 cents!) given him by poor Millie (or is it poor Fern)? Based on a 1958 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this episode was remade in 1965 as "The Case of the Fanciful Frail". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
After the mysterious death of her motel-owner father Glenn (Russell Thorson), Stephanie Falkner (Peggy McCay) is left with nothing but her dad's property and a huge pile of debts. Enter big-time gambler George Castle (Joe De Santis), who dearly covets Stephanie's land. Unbeknownst to the girl, George had killed her father over a gambling debt--or perhaps Stephanie has known this all along. Whatever the case, when George himself turns up murdered, Stephanie is charged with the crime...and that's when Perry Mason (Perry Mason) takes a hand in matters. This episode is based on a 1958 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Accused of murdering her Uncle Martin (Alexander Price), Nadine Marshall (Christine White) makes a detailed confession of the crime while under drugged hypnosis. The doctor handling the case informs Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), who despite this damning evidence is convinced that Nadine is innocent. The key to the solution would seem to be Nadine's engagement to one John Locke (Sherwood Price)--which under normal circumstances would be a happy occasion, but which for reasons unknown prompted Nadine to attempt suicide! This episode is based on a 1954 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Perry (Raymond Burr) receives an envelope containing $500 from Marian Fargo (played by a redheaded Angie Dickinson), who wants him to exchange the money for documents pertaining to her brother, a fugitive from justice. Things get sticky when the "drop-off" point turns out to be a murder scene. Compelled to clear Marian of charges that she killed not only a blackmailer named Renault (Jan Arvan) but her own husband Arthur (Peter Adams), Perry must rely upon a witness (Dorothy Green) whose eyesight is very seriously impaired--and who may have a hidden agenda of her own. (In an unintentionally amusing scene, Perry complains that the coffee in an expensive French restaurant costs an outrageous one dollar per cup!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
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, All Movie Guide
- 1957
After accusing his wife Myrna (June Dayton) of trying to poison him, Ed Davenport (John Stephenson) dies in a motel room. Worse still, Ed has written a letter, implicating his wife in his death. By the time the police arrive, both corpse and letter have disappeared, but some arsenic-spiked candy is found on the scene--evidence enough to charge Myrna with murder when Ed's body is finally recovered. Faced with what seems to be an open-and-shut case, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must perform some spectacular legal calisthenics to save Myrna from execution. This episode is based on a 1954 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) answer a call from a Mrs. Halmer (Lucille Vance), whose husband Jason, a mannequin salesman, has been missing for several hours. Mrs. Halmer believes she has good reason to worry: Mr. Halmer had left the house in the company of his business partner Fred Madison (Walter J. Lally)--whom Halmer was planning to turn over to the police! Trouble is, Madison has disappeared as well. Only after Halmer's abandoned car is located are the two detectives able to crack the case. This episode is a remake of the Dragnet radio broadcast of October 19, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
In order to get rid of her husband Bruce's mistress Roxy Howard (Greta Thyssen), Sybil Granger hires Perry (Raymond Burr) to secretly help her gain a majority financial interest in Bruce's oil company. But someone else is apparently aware of what Sybil is up to, and that someone is old George Lutz (Richard Hale). After catching Sybil spying on Roxy, George is shot to death. Inasmuch as Sybil is already his client, Perry assumes the task of clearing her of a murder charge. This episode is based on a 1955 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Among the reasons that Doris Cole (Hillary Brooke) has left her husband Peter (John McNamara) is that she once awoke to find him standing over her bed, brandishing a knife. Peter insists that he is a chronic sleepwalker and had no idea what he was doing. Even so, when Phillip Kendall (Harry Hickox), an extortionist who has threatened to block the divorce that Peter so desperately wants, is found stabbed to death, Peter is charged with murder. It is up to Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to prove Cole's innocence--and to reveal the guilty party. This episode is based on a 1936 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
The Farmer Takes a Wife is a musicalized remake of the 1935 film of the same name. Betty Grable and Dale Robertson star in the roles originally essayed by Janet Gaynor and Henry Fonda. Set in the early 19th century, the plot details the trials and tribulations of those hardy souls who settled along the Erie Canal. Grable plays Molly Larkin, the girlfriend of rough-and-tumble canal-boat captain Jotham Klore (John Carroll). Much to Klore's dismay, she hires mild-mannered farmer Daniel Harrow (Robertson) to work on the boat. Molly and Daniel fall in love and marry, but there's many a heartbreak and letdown before a happy ending can be reached. Though not in any way a "typical" Betty Grable musical, Farmer Takes a Wife was misleadingly advertised as such: one promotional still showed a grinning Grable anachronistically garbed in tight jeans and a bare-midriff blouse! Both versions of The Farmer Takes a Wife were adapted from the stage play by Frank B. Elser and Marc Connelly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, Dale Robertson, (more)
