Mike Ross Movies
- 1969
Returning from their Hooterville holiday, Granny and Elly May arrive in Beverly Hills to discover that both Mr. Drysdale -- and Elly's pet bear -- are nowhere to be found. It seems that Drysdale, with bear in tow, had set out for Hooterville to meet the Clampett ladies, unaware that his car carried a generous supply of Granny's white lightning. And now, the bemused banker is languishing in a rustic jail, arrested for vagrancy and bootlegging. "Drysdale and Friend" originally aired on January 1, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
This is one of the first sitcom episodes to acknowledge the phenomenon known as Beatlemania. Hoping to cash in on the popularity of the Fab Four, Uncle Joe organizes a female rock group called the Ladybugs, consisting of his three nieces and Sheriff Ragdale's daughter Sally (played by Sheila James, formerly Zelda Gilroy on Dobie Gillis, and better known in recent years as California State Senator and feminist activist Sheila James Kuehl). Musical comedy legend Donald O'Connor directed this episode, in which the "Ladybugs" perform their deathless signature tune "I'll Be Your Ladybug If You'll Be My Beatle"--which the girls had previously introduced on the March 22, 1964 edition of The Ed Sullivan Show! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In the conclusion of a two-part story arc, Mrs. Drysdale demands that the city of Beverly Hills tear down the replica of Granny's Ozark cabin that has been erected in the back yard of the Clampett mansion. At the same time, a group of well-meaning social workers, headed by a girl named Ginny Jennings (Sheila James), mount a campaign to rescue Granny's "home" from the wrecking ball. John Stephenson, best known for his voice-over work as Mr. Slate on The Flintstones, appears as Professor Graham. "Jed Foils a Home Wrecker" originally aired on June 3, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
This drama tells the true story of one of Broadway's most successful madams in the 1920s. It is loosely based on the autobiography of Polly Adler. The story begins when young Polly is seduced and raped at her job by the sweatshop foreman. When her uncle, with whom she lived, learns of the act, he blames her and tosses her out. She then moves into an apartment owned by a racketeer. It is he who encourages her into her "helping" profession when he gives her money for bringing her pals to a gangster party. Soon she is beginning to build up her own clientele. As her business prospers, she begins to choose nicer locations. Her tiny cathouse becomes a haven for sleazy politicos, mobsters, and businessmen. The madame herself has a passionate romance with a young songwriter and she helps his career. He does not know of her vocation and she eventually breaks up with him to keep his reputation intact. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Winters, Robert Taylor, (more)
- 1959
Bob Hope plays a 19th-century insurance agent whose miserable sales record prompts his boss to send him out West, where he can (supposedly) do little harm. Hope manages to sell a $100,000 life insurance policy--to outlaw Jesse James (Wendell Corey), one of the worst "risks" in history! In his efforts to get the policy back, Hope finds himself being mistaken for Jesse, which is all part of the outlaw's plan to get Hope killed and thereby collect the policy money himself. But with the help of beauteous Rhonda Fleming (the essentially honest beneficiary to Jesse's policy), Hope gains a reputation as a lightning-fast gunslinger. In the inevitable shoot-out with the James gang, Hope is helped out by several famous Westerners, including Gary Cooper, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, James "Maverick" Garner, and even Tonto (Jay Silverheels). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Rhonda Fleming, (more)
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman may well be one of the worst science-fiction films of all time, but that's not to say that it isn't thoroughly enjoyable. Allison Hayes achieved screen immortality as Nancy Archer, the wealthy, dipsomaniac wife of shameless philanderer Harry Archer (William Hudson). When she witnesses the crash landing of a alien spaceship -- whose occupant is a 30-foot giant, dressed in the manner of a medieval Frenchmen! -- Nancy goes to the local sheriff (George Douglas) with her story, only to be laughed off as a drunken crank. Even the local TV anchorman makes cruel fun of Nancy on his nightly newscast. Meanwhile, hubby Harry is making whoopee at a roadhouse with his latest tootsie, Honey Parker (Yvette Vickers). Not long afterward, Nancy, who's been exposed to the radiation of the spaceship, begins to feel queasy. Within a few days, she has grown to the height of 50 feet and is lumbering around the countryside clad only in a gigantic towel, smashing houses and trees in search of her faithless husband ("HARRY-HARRY!!!") Hilarious in its ineptitude (the special effects are particularly shoddy), Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is impossible to dislike, which cannot be said of its slicker but less entertaining 1993 cable-TV remake (with Darryl Hannah in the title role). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allison Hayes, William Hudson, (more)
- 1957
On the eve of his execution for a crime he didn't commit, Gerald Daniels (Harry Guardino) makes one last request: a typewriter. Angrily, Daniels pounds out a damning critique of D.A. Bernard Butler (Hugh Marlowe), the man who had sent him to death row. Daniels reveals that, not only did Butler prosecute him unfairly, but that the D.A. had previously condemned an innocent man for a murder that Butler had actually committed! "Is this the sort of man you want for governor?" Daniels asks at the conclusion of his embittered harangue -- just before an ironic twist caps this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Retired insurance salesmen Mr. Fox (Robert H. Harris) and Mr. Shaw (John Qualen) are of the theory that the hotter the temperature, the more likely people are to commit murder. Upon making the acquaintance of the nagging Mrs. Shrike (Jo Van Fleet), Mr. Fox and Mr. Shaw are convinced that she is doomed to die at the hands of her henpecked husband (Mike Ross), and thus attempt to save her from this fate. The results are a bit surprising, not to mention slightly surreal. "Shopping for Death" is the first of several Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes based on the works of Ray Bradbury; in this case, the source material is Bradbury's short story "Touched by Fire." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
The fate in the Free World is threatened when three atomic scientists decide to sell their secrets to the Reds. American secret agent Steve (George Brent) heads to Tangier, where he poses as a black marketer in hopes of intercepting the rogue scientists. But Steve finds he has a formidable foe in the shapely shape of Soviet spy Millicent (Mari Aldon), who is posing as an American heiress to throw the Good Guy off the track. Dan Seymour, veteran of such espionage mellers of the 1940s as Casablanca and To Have and Have Not, has a juicy role as the head of the Tangier police. Tangier Incident wasn't quite an "A" picture, but it was too slick and expensive-looking to qualify for a "B." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Mari Aldon, (more)
- 1953
The title characters of Tarzan and the She-Devil are played by Lex Barker and Monique Van Vooren. He, of course, is the loin-clothed Lord of the Jungle; she is the beautiful-but-deadly Lyra, head of a gang of ivory thieves. To expedite her crooked operation, Lyra has managed to enslave an East African tribe to do her bidding. Tarzan intervenes, only to be captured, tied up (several times) and imprisoned for his troubles. Finally able to free himself, Tarzan rescues the tribe -- and, incidentally, his mate Jane (Joyce McKenzie) -- by summoning forth his elephant friends. Raymond Burr co-stars as Lyra's slovenly, unshaven chief henchman, who ends up trampled to death by the rampaging pachyderms. Many of the jungle scenes in Tarzan and the She-Devil were lifted from the 1934 Frank Buck documentary Wild Cargo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lex Barker, Joyce MacKenzie, (more)
