Leif Erickson Movies

A dazed man, David Stillwell (Gregory Peck), wanders down the stairs of a New York skyscraper during a power blackout, only vaguely aware of who he is, where he's been, and why he has this nagging feeling that danger lurks all about him. Stillwell does know that many of the people in the building are acquainted with him -- and that he is somehow linked with the death of wealthy philanthropist Charles Calvin (Walter Abel), who has fallen 27 floors to his death (a special effect that was remarkable for its time). From this point onward, everyone Stillwell meets is connected with Calvin's death, or is in some way threatening Stillwell's well-being. When he seeks the help of Dr. Pepper-imbibing private eye Ted Caselle (Walter Matthau), he is told that "you don't want to remember" -- shortly before Caselle is murdered by persons unknown. Only the enigmatic Sheila (Diane Baker) evinces any real sympathy, and she too is part of the conspiracy aimed at silencing and/or neutralizing the dumbfounded Stillwell. Mirage has far too many twists of plot to go into here, but if you stay with it, everything is satisfactorily explained. Less than three years after its initial release, the black-and-white Mirage was remade in color as Jigsaw. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Clint Howard is the center of attention on this Bonanza episode as impressionable young Michael Thorpe. When his father Evan (Simon Scott) is seriously wounded, Michael takes literally the words of Ponderosa ranchhand Lijah (Rodolfo Acosta), who mournfully declares that "Only God" can save Evan now. The boy sets off on a trek into the mountains to search for God-and believes he has gazed upon the face of the Almighty when he meets fugitive mountainer Tom Caine (Leif Erickson). Originally shown on December 19, 1965, "All Ye His Saints" was written by William Blinn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With true William Castle-style flamboyance the advertisements for I Saw What You Did intrigued non-etymologically inclined audiences by warning them that this suspenseful thriller was about uxoricide. He then had some of the theaters where the film was shown equipped with seat belts so frightened audience members wouldn't flee the theater in a panic. It was a spooky film, but wasn't all that scary. The tale begins upon a dark and foggy night as two teenage girls, bored with their baby-sitting job, decide to have a little fun and make some prank phonecalls. Every time some hapless person answers, they whisper conspiritorally "I saw what you did. I know who you are." Unfortunately, they happen to call a man who has just murdered his wife --- in the shower no less! He takes the call seriously and so sets off into the night to find the girls and silence them forever. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this chilling blood-tale in "Psycho" style, Robert Bloch modernizes the Lizzy Borden story. A wife (Joan Crawford) literally axes her cheating husband and his lover, witnessed by her three-year-old daughter. Mom is packed off to the insane asylum for 20 years before reuniting with the daughter (Diane Baker). From this point, the axe murders continue along a contrived plot intended to lead the audience astray until the mystery is solved. Crawford's strong performance and the excellently constructed suspense are the best elements of the film -- and the chopping saves the show when the plot tends to slow. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide

Edward Dmytryk brings Harold Robbins' trashy, dirt-dishing Hollywood best-seller to the screen with George Peppard starring as Jonas Cord, a rancidly-sketched portrait of Howard Hughes. In 1925, when his father dies of a stroke, Jonas inherits the Cord Chemical factory, a manufacturer of dynamite and other explosives. Jonas proceeds with several cut-throat transactions, making a settlement with his sexy stepmother Rina (Carroll Baker) and liquidating the stock owned by cowhand Nevada Smith (Alan Ladd, in his final American film role). With the help of Mac McAllister (Lew Ayres), his father's attorney, Jonas builds his father's company into a multi-million dollar business, expanding into plastics and aeronautics. Meanwhile, Rina has become a top fashion model and movie star and Nevada Smith has parlayed his laconic demeanor into a career as a popular silent film cowboy idol. Jonas then marries, then ignores, the well-meaning Monica Winthrop (Elizabeth Ashley), and ruins her father's company in the process. Then, with the advent of sound films, Jonas helps Nevada Smith through the sound film crisis by offering financial backing for a film to star both Nevada and his ex-mother-in-law Rina. Jonas decides to direct the film himself, hoping to seduce Rina. But Jonas's insensitive and egomaniacal behavior causes Monica to leave him. Jonas invests all his time in film production but the alcoholic Rina dies in a car accident. The owners of the film studio -- Bernard B. Norman (Martin Balsam) and Dan Pierce (Robert Cummings) -- want to sell the studio to Jonas but hide the fact that Rina, the studio's biggest star, has died. Jonas buys the studio and when he finds his biggest asset is gone, he goes on a drunken binge. But Jonas quickly meets call girl Jennie Denton (Martha Hyer), who he decides to turn into a superstar modeled upon Rina. Despite having made her a star, Jonas's vile treatment of Jennie repulses both her and his old friend Nevada Smith, and Smith decides it's time to beat some sense into Jonas's head. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this western, originally designed as the pilot of a television show that never made it to air, a self-designated preacher desires to control the Big Sag territory of Montana. To do this, he must first force two newly arrived Texans off of their land. Meanwhile, the preacher's wife knows that he is too yellow-bellied to actually do the dirty deed. She sends their lovely daughter to town with a note for the owner of the local saloon. During the journey, the girl is caught in a big storm. She weathers it out with the Texan's son. Naturally the two fall in love, but this does not stop the girl from continuing on to deliver the note to the lecherous proprietor who immediately begins making a play for the innocent young girl. His lasciviousness pushes his alcoholic wife over the brink and in a jealous rage she fatally shoots him. It is then revealed that the greedy saloonkeeper has hired a gunslinger. The gunslinger ends up killed by the preacher, who then officiates the wedding ceremony for his daughter and his rival's son. Afterward he solemnly swears to never again use a gun. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Having gained a measure of TV fame by 1958, the nightclub comedy duo of Dan Rowan and Dick Martin decided to give movies a try with Once Upon a Horse. Dan and Dick play Dan Casey and Doc Logan, a pair of nitwitted cowboys who turn to outlawry because they can't make a go at any honest profession. Stealing a valuable herd of cattle, the boys' dreams of financial security are dashed when they're forced to raise money to feed their stolen bovines. Martha Hyer costars as Miss Amity Babb, a resourceful saloon hall owner who applies 20th century business methods to her 19th century operation. For nostalgia buffs, several western-movie favorites (billed as "Our Old Pals") make cameo appearances, including Tom Keene, Bob Livingston, Kermit Maynard and Bob Steele. Hal Kanter's screenplay is full of clever, satirical touches, most of which proved to be too smart for the room in 1958. A financial disappointment, Once Upon a Horse (aka Hot Horse) would be Rowan and Martin's last joint film effort until 1969's The Maltese Bippy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Ernest Gann from his own novel, Twilight for the Gods bears traces of Gann's earlier The High and the Mighty. This "psychological adventure" stars Rock Hudson as Captain Bell, who crawls into a bottle after being court-martialed and discharged from the Navy. Reduced to skippering a rundown schooner in the South Seas, Bell comes into contact with a group of passengers and crew members who are almost as mixed up as he is: Charlotte (Cyd Charisse), a Honolulu prostitute on the lam from the authorities; Hutton (Leif Erickson), a third-rate show biz entrepreneur, Wiggins (Richard Haydn), an erudite beachcomber; Feodor and Ida Morris (Vladimir Sokoloff, Celia Lovsky) a refugee couple; ineffectual missionary Butterfield (Ernest Truex); washed-up opera star Ethel Peacock (Judith Evelyn); and second mate Ramsay (Arthur Kennedy), an all-around rotter. In other words, it's "Grand Hotel" at sea. During a treacherous, life-threatening storm at sea, the true characters of the passengers and crewmen are revealed -- for better or worse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this adventure, a remake of Singapore (1947), a hero finds a bracelet containing 13 precious gems while visiting Istanbul. He soon finds himself pursued by covetous crooks who want those jewels. He is then deported by the Turkish authorities, but not before he has time to hide the bracelet in a hotel. Five years later, the man returns to seek out the stones. Again he is pursued by both authorities and criminals. He must also contend with the reappearance of his wife whom he thought had burned to death on their wedding night. She lived but suffered amnesia. She then remarried. Nat "King" Cole sings "When I Fall in Love". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Luther Davis' racy wartime comedy Kiss Them for Me was expurgated a bit for the 1957 film version. Cary Grant, Ray Walston and Larry Blyden portray three navy war heroes who've been booked on a morale-building "vacation" in San Francisco. Eluding their ulcerated public relations officer (Werner Klemperer), the trio arranges a wild party with plenty of pretty girls. Cary Grant is paired with knockout Suzy Parker, an icy socialite who eventually thaws under his charms. Also on hand is Jayne Mansfield, playing a "good time girl" whose profession was a bit more explicit in the original play; the role was originated by Judy Holliday, who brought a wistfulness to the character that Ms. Mansfield couldn't quite manage. TV sitcom fans will get a kick out of the supporting cast of Kiss Them For Me: Ray Walston, later star of My Favorite Martian plays a libertine navy officer; Werner Klemperer, shorn of the accent he'd use as Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes, is hilarious as the flustered p.r. man; and Richard Deacon (Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show) pops up unbilled as a dour businessman who can't understand the war-hero mystique. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, a pacifistic store owner does all he can to avoid association with his father, a notorious gunfighter. One day he gets drunk and shows off his own considerable skills with a pistol. Unfortunately, this attracts the attention of the man who fancies himself the town's fastest draw and he heads to the store for a little confrontation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Christmas, 1955 presentation of the CBS anthology Climax! was based on a true story in the lives of the ancestors of co-scenarists Dale and Katherine Eunson. Set in rural Wisconsin in the 1860s, the story begins on a somber note, as both parents of 12-year-old Robbie Eunson (Brandon De Wilde die within a few months of each other. Now the man of the family, Robbie sets about to honor his mother's dying wish, that proper homes be provided for Robbie and his five younger siblings. Thus it is that on Christmas eve, Robbie visits several of his neighbors, offering to give away his brothers and sisters. Joan Evans, actress daugher of the Eunsons, serves as narrator. Adapted from the authors' Cosmopolitan magazine article, "The Day They Gave Babies Away" was later transformed into a theatrical feature film, All Mine to Give (1957); of the TV play's cast, only Stephan Woolton repeated his role (as Jimmie Eunson) in the movie, though Allen Reisner directed both versions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide