Roy Engel Movies

In this children's drama, an angry little boy is adopted by a ranching couple. The mean little tyke takes an immediate dislike to his new parents, but his life changes for the better when he finds a wounded German Shepherd that was especially trained by the Marines. The troubled youth begins spending all his time nursing the hurt animal. One day he discovers a gun that the dog had brought with him when he ran away from his master's house after his owner was murdered. The boy's life is jeopardized when he accidentally stumbles across the killer. Fortunately, the brave dog saves him by attacking the killer and making him drop the gun. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When Will Griner (Walter Barnes) is acquitted of murder, the angry townsfolk, convinced that the trial was rigged in Will's favor, organize a lynch mob. It is up to the Cartwrights, Candy, and Sherriff Coffee to protect Will throughout a long and violent night. Meanwhile, Ben quietly re-opens the murder case to see if, indeed, Will was as guilty as the townspeople claim. The supporting cast includes Guy Stockwell as John Degnan, Ellen Weston as Louise Thurston, Ted Gehring as Jim, Stacy Harris as Teague, Tyler McVey as Al, and Mills Watson as Pete. Written by Preston Wood, "Anatomy of a Lynching" was initially telecast on October 12, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Multi-talanted dwarf actor Michael Dunn guest-stars as George Marshall, a former circus midget who, fulfilling a promise to his late wife, gives up show business to lead a normal life in Virginia City. Despite the assistance of his friend Ben Cartwright, George is unable to secure employment because of his size, thus he turns to crime. The story reaches a climax when the daughter of George's chief tormenter, banker John Flint (Edward Binns), is trapped in a very narrow mine shaft. Written by directed by Bonanza star Michael Landon, "It's a Small World" first aired January 4, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A decidedly pre-All in the Family Carroll O'Connor stars as freight line owner Tom Slayden. Using underhanded and monopolistic tactics, Slayden has managed to crown himself the unofficial boss of Virginia City. The Cartwrights become mixed up with the ruthlessly ambitious Slayden when one of his henchmen shoots Joe Cartwright in the back for "trespassing." Also in the cast are Judee Morton as Karen Slayden, Denver Pyle as the Sheriff, Phil Ober as Oliver, Chris Alcaide as Gus, William Tannen as Duran, and Roy Engel as the Doctor. Co-scripted by actor (and occasional Bonanza supporting player) Leo Gordon, with Paul Leslie Piel, "The Boss" originally aired on May 19, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Cartwrights take a hand in matters when bandits reportedly steal the $100,000 dowry intended for the wedding of Michele Dubois (Luciana Paluzzi), the daughter of self-proclaimed land baron Alexander Dubois (Steven Geray). While the Cartwright sons stand guard over the injured DuBois during his recuperation at the Ponderosa, Ben begins to wonder why the same outlaws repeatedly manage to track down DuBois and his money. Meanwhile, bride-to-be Michele deftly wraps Joe, Hoss, and Adam around her little finger. Lee Bergere costars as Ricardo Fernandez. First shown on April 29, 1962, "The Dowry" was written by Robert Vincent Wright. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Low-budget Realart Films managed to pick up an above-average property when it secured the screen rights to the Robert Abel play The Samson Slasher. Retitled Breakdown, the story concerns a heavyweight boxer, played by William Bishop. Framed for murder, Bishop is sent to prison, but is released after a few years on good behavior. Putting two and two together (no mean feat when you're wearing boxing gloves), Bishop surmises that the real killer is linked up in some way with his girl friend Anne Gwynne. Richard Benedict, a real-life boxer who turned actor in the mid-1940s, appears in the supporting cast as "Punchy." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alcoholic Bill Cannon's (Dan Duryea) past sins catch up with him in Chicago Calling. Cannon's daughter Nancy (Melinda Plowman) is seriously injured in an accident while out of town, and his wife Mary (Mary Anderson) has promised to call him back as soon as she learns the result of Nancy's operation. Unfortunately, Cannon's phone service is cut off for nonpayment, forcing him to go begging for the $50 necessary to square his phone bill. Only through the kindness of waitress Peggy (Marsha Jones) and telephone engineer Jim (Ross Elliot) is Cannon able to make the crucial call to his wife. Alas, the operation has proved unsuccessful. Will the impact of this tragedy push Cannon over the brink, or will it inspire him to seek out a new lease on life? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 3D melodrama Dangerous Mission starts off with a bang when innocent Piper Laurie inadvertently witnesses the murder of her gangster boss. Though she doesn't get a particularly good look at the killer, she knows she's dead meat if she remains in town. Thus, Laurie skeedaddles to Montana's Glacier National Park, where most of the film takes place. Following her westward are Victor Mature and Vincent Price. One of these men is a federal agent, bound and determined to bring Laurie back to the East to testify; the other is the murderer, who intends to silence our heroine for keeps. Laurie doesn't know which is which, but the audience does. A bit poky at times (thanks in part to the uninspired editing of Gene Palmer), Dangerous Mission roars into life during a mid-film forest fire and a climactic chase through the glacier fields. Featured in the cast are William Bendix as a Montana ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Completed in 1953, Dragon's Gold was released by United Artists early the following year. John Archer (the father of present-day leading lady Anne Archer) stars as an insurance investigator, sent to China to locate a missing client. The official story is that the client stole $7 million from his employer, but Archer smells a rat. His olfactory senses are right on target: The supposed theft was actually a smokescreen, contrived by a Red Chinese general (Noel Cravath). Also intimately involved in the intrigue is Hillary Brooke, playing straight once more after several years' worth of TV work on The Abbott and Costello Show and My Little Margie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Just before achieving TV stardom as The Sheriff of Cochise, John Bromfield headed the cast of Frontier Gambler. Coleen Gray co-stars as the ruthless boss lady of a frontier town. When Gray disappears, suspicion immediately falls upon her former lover Bromfield. Others who had reasons to see Gray dead include Jim Dallas Davis, Kent Taylor and Veda Ann Borg. Frontier Gambler was stitched together by the reliable (if parsimonious) producer-director team of Sigmund Neufield and Sam Newfield (they were brothers, despite the spelling differences). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Matt (James Arness) sustains a minor wound during a violent quarrel between Zack Ritter (Theodore Marcuse) and his old enemy Hoffer (Ray Engel). Later, Ritter is found shot, and Hoffer is fingered as the culprit--just before he too is felled by a bullet. With his dying breath, Hoffer insists that he didn't shoot Ritter, and that the guilty man is Sam Baxton (Tyler McVey). Matt has no choice but to place Baxton under arrest. . .but the killings continue unabated. This episode is based on the Gunsmoke) radio broadcast of June 12, 1956. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paladin (Richard Boone) hires on as bodyguard for waspish English author-poet Oscar Wilde (John O'Malley), who has come West as part of an American lecture tour. A pair of disgruntled hooligans named Jim and Chris Rook (Richard Shannon, Jack Hogan), angry that they were beaten out for the bodyguard assignment, retaliate by kidnapping Wilde and attempting to murder Paladin in the process. Although many of the Wildean epigrams heard on this episode are genuine ("A man can't be too careful in the choice of enemies"), several were created from whole cloth by scriptwriter Irving Wallace, later the author of such bestselling novels as The Prize and The Word. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide