Richard Eastham Movies

A Wedding on Walton's Mountain has no John-Boy (Richard Thomas) or Olivia (Michael Learned),but does feature five regulars from the long-running TV series: Ralph Waite as John Walton, Ellen Corby as Grandma, Mary Elizabeth McDonough as Erin, Jon Walmsley as Jason and Judy Norton-Taylor as Mary Ellen. The year is 1947, and the wedding is Erin's, about to tie the knot with lumberman Paul Northridge (Morgan Stevens). Erin's ex-boyfriend (Louis Welch) threatens to gum up the works, but with the help and support of her family the girl is successfully wed. The first of several Waltons TV movies following the demise of the series in 1981, The Wedding on Walton's Mountain turned out to be an unexpected ratings magnet. It assured the Faithful that there would be many minings of the Waltons vaults for future made-for-TV specials--the most recent of these appearing in early 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Erin (Mary Elizabeth McDonough) has fallen in love with Paul Matthews (Morgan Stevens), a new employee at the Walton lumber yard. His curiosity aroused by Paul's reluctance to discuss his past, John-Boy does a bit of research on his own--and discovers to his amazement that Paul's real name is Northridge, and that his father is one of the Waltons' biggest business rivals. Meanwhile, Ike and Jim-Bob gets a lot more than they bargained for when they go prospecting for uranium. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The new, pro-American president of the island nation of San Christos is on the verge of breaking off diplomatic relations with the U.S. At the core of the crisis is a new Diptheria vaccine produced in American and sent to the children of San Christos. It appears as though the vaccine is tainted, and has caused several deaths. Quincy (Jack Klugman) and Sam (Robert Ito) are dispatched to San Christos in hopes of learning all the facts--and, in the process, avoiding a devastating international incident that would greatly benefit the new president's political enemies. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An elderly Cherokee Indian, Grandfather Joseph Taskigi (Jerado DeCordovier), arrives at the Walton farm with his grandson Matthew (Ernest Esparza III) in tow. But it isn't a social call by any means: Joseph insists that the Walton barn has been built on sacred Cherokee burial ground, and he demands "return" of the land--going so far as to set the barn ablaze when he is turned down. Arrested and place on trial, Joseph finds that he has a strong and unexpected ally in the person of Elizabeth Walton (Kami Cotler). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Attack on Terror: The FBI Versus the Ku Klux Klan is a fact-based, two-part TV movie. The film is a dramatization of the murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. The FBI, personified herein by southern operative Wayne Rogers, is brought in to investigate the trio's disappearance. Upon the discovery of the bodies on August 2, 1964, the feds follow a trail of (admittedly skimpy) evidence which leads to the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, headed by the virulent Glen Tuttle (Rip Torn). The first part of Attack on Terror was originally telecast February 20, 1975. The film was based on the book by Don Whitehead. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After one of his clients commits suicide, unscrupulous private eye Ray Coughlin (Martin Balsam hopes to cash in on the man's insurance policy. Conspiring with the victim's equally crooked business manager, Coughlin arranges the evidence to make suicide look like murder. In his efforts to foil this scheme, police lieutenant Kojak (Telly Savalas) makes little effort to hide his shame and disgust over the fact that Coughlin used to be a cop himself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A crisis ensues when Air Force One crashes while on a flight out west, apparently killing all those aboard, including President Jeremy Haines (Tod Andrews). The United States is in the midst of a confrontation with China that could lead to a nuclear war between the two countries, and the government is now in the hands of Vice President Kermit Madigan (Buddy Ebsen), a not too intelligent or sophisticated man, who was deliberately kept out of the loop. His confidence on foreign policy issues virtually nil, Madigan seeks to carry out Haines's intended policy in confronting the Chinese but gets two completely different accounts of what that policy was to be. Secretary of State Freeman Sharkey (Raymond Massey), a career diplomat, claims that Haines was pursuing firm but peaceful containment of the problem, while National Security advisor George Oldenburg (Rip Torn) says that Haines was ready to go eyeball-to-eyeball with the Chinese and go to war if necessary -- and Oldenburg quickly picks up on how to gain Madigan's confidence. As if Madigan doesn't have enough problems, the stunned Washington community cannot help but openly doubt his competence, while his ambitious wife (Mercedes McCambridge) sees this unfolding tragedy as a way for herself and her husband to finally get some respect and settle a few scores with those who belittled the Second Couple. Even more troubling, as the search teams comb the wreckage, another mystery ensues -- they can't seem to find the president's body. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Perennial TV villain Monte Markham is up to his old tricks as James Devlin, a ski instructor who moonlights as a bank robber. Planning to pull off his biggest heist thus far, Devlin must first head East to link up with former girlfriend--and potential accomplice--Gilliam Norbury (Jessica Walter). Dogging Devlin's trail is, as always, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) of the FBI. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A murder occurs near a controversial job-training center, but the FBI does not arrest the primary suspect due to lack of evidence. This doesn't matter at all to the local citizens who have long resented the presence of the center and its "undesirable" trainees. Several of them have already found the suspect guilty in their own minds and are aching for the opportunity to mete out their own brand of justice--and unless Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) acts in a hurry, that's just what they will do. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the words of Hamlet, there's a plentiful lack of wit in Not with My Wife, You Don't! Korean war vet Tony Curtis is living in London, blissfully married (so he thinks) to Virna Lisi. In strolls old air force buddy George C. Scott, who has a history of stealing Curtis' ladies away from him. Unable to woo Lisi by fair means, Scott resorts to foul; he exercises his prerogative as Curtis' superior officer, shipping him out to a faraway post. George C. Scott may have been right to refuse his Oscar for Patton; he doesn't look like much of an award-winner in Not With My Wife, You Don't! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Unable to break his contract with mean-spirited race car builder Pappy Ryan (Michael Constantine) Pete Griston (Henry Brandt) goes onto the track in a car owned by Harvey Rettig (Anthony Caruso)--and promptly gets involved in a spectacular wreck with Ryan's new driver (and Pete's best friend). Ryan then accuses Pete of conspiring with Rettig to deliberately destroy Ryan's car. Subsequently, Rettig is murdered and Pete is charged with the crime. In handling Pete's defense, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is faced with some extremely compelling evidence that Pete and Rettig were definitely in cahoots. Watch for a young Paul Winfield in a small role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Doctor Wayne Edley (Skip Homeier) has trouble finding colleagues that will back him up when he is accused of malpractice by a disgruntled patient (Frank Cady). But that's nothing compared to the trouble facing the good doctor when he is accused of two murders committed by scalpel. Perry Mason must do some clever "operating" of his own to clear Edley's name. Richard Eastham appears as Prosecutor Parness, temporary substitute for Mason's usual nemesis, DA Hamilton Burger. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Like Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), 20th Century-Fox's There's No Business Like Show Business is a "catalogue" film, its thinnish plot held together by an itinerary of Irving Berlin tunes. The story chronicles some twenty years in the lives of a showbiz family, headed by Dan Dailey and Ethel Merman. Two of the couple's three grown children -- Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor -- carry on the family tradition, while the third, Johnny Ray, decides to become a priest. There are a few tense moments when O'Connor falls in love with ambitious chorine Marilyn Monroe and loses all sense of perspective, but the family reunites during a splashy production-number finale. Highlights include Dailey and Merman's Play a Simple Melody duet, O'Connor's A Man Chases a Girl solo, and Monroe's tempestuous rendition of Heat Wave (her delivery and stage presence both compensate for her unflattering bare-midriff costume). Of historical interest, There's No Business Like Show Business was Fox's first CinemaScope musical; as such, it is best viewed on TV in "letterbox" format. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi