Anthony Eustrel Movies

Once again, Hogan needs Klink as a dupe for a vital mission; this time, the task is to smuggle a French girl named Janine Robinet (Brenda Benet) to London. Unfortunately, Klink falls ill and is knocked out of commission. Hogan and his men set about to get Klink back on his feet, using such home remedies as LeBeau's tasty -- but unpleasantly aromatic -- Bernaise sauce. Written by Arthur Julian, "Is There a Doctor in the House?" first aired on January 6, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this psychological thriller, Paul (James Caan) and Jennifer (Katherine Ross) are a pair of wealthy but blasé socialites with a sadistic streak. Lisa (Simone Signoret), an older woman from France, arrives at their door one day selling cosmetics; the couple invite her in, and when the conversation reveals that Lisa is believed to have psychic abilities, Paul and Jennifer ask her to arrange some "games" for their amusement. Lisa proceeds to set up several situations of simulated domestic discord that the couple can react to. The arrival of Norman (Don Stroud), a delivery boy, is Jennifer's cue to seduce him, just in time for Paul to arrive and shoot him in a fit of jealousy. Norman is then coated with plaster and placed in the corner, disguised as a work of art; however, Paul soon leaves on a business trip, and Jennifer discovers that Norman isn't dead after all. She panics and shoots Norman dead, only to discover that the previous murder was merely a "game" staged by Lisa. Jennifer, however, is having a very real nervous breakdown, which seems to be what Paul had in mind all along. But once Jennifer is committed to a mental hospital, Paul discovers that Lisa is not necessarily his ally in this increasingly dangerous game. Games was directed by Curtis Harrington, a one-time experimental filmmaker who previously helmed such horror cult movies as Queen of Blood and Night Tide. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Klink's old friend Major Kronman (Antony Eustrel) is captured by the Gestapo and charged with conspiring against Adolf Hitler. In true "guilt by association" fashion, Klink is likewise targeted for arrest and execution. Thus it is that Klink agrees to allow Hogan to steal the evidence against Kronman from the camp's safe -- a job requiring the special skills of Newkirk's old friend, professional cracksman Alfred "Alfie the Artist" Burke (Walter Burke). Written by Laurence Marks, "The Safecracker Suite" originally aired on March 25, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

George Axelrod's Goodbye Charlie flopped on Broadway with Lauren Bacall in the lead, but fared a little better as a film vehicle for Debbie Reynolds. Charlie (Harry Madden) is an inveterate philanderer who is shot dead by jealous husband Walter Matthau. Through a celestial fluke, Charlie's soul enters the well-rounded body of Debbie Reynolds. In this form, Charlie/Debbie seeks to settle old scores with her murderer as well as several other enemies. As if these aren't complications enough, Charlie's best friend Tony Curtis falls in love with Debbie, knowing full well that Debbie isn't really Debbie. If you liked Goodbye Charlie once, you'll love it twice: Blake Edwards retooled the whole megillah for Ellen Barkin, added a trendy feminist underlining, and came up with Switch (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This lavishly produced, big-budget comedy (it cost $20 million in 1964 dollars) stars Shirley MacLaine as Louisa, a widow who is worth $200 million dollars. However, she's convinced that her fortune is cursed, and she wants to give all her money to the IRS. As she explains her sad tale to her psychiatrist, Dr. Stephanson (Robert Cummings), it seems that when Louisa was young she had the choice of marrying rich playboy Leonard Crawley (Dean Martin) or poor but decent Edgar Hopper (Dick Van Dyke). She chose Edgar, but soon he became obsessed with providing a fine home and fortune for her; he got rich but worked himself to death in the process. Despondent, Louisa flies to Paris, where she strikes up a romance with expatriate artist Larry Flint (Paul Newman). When Larry invents a machine that creates paintings based on sounds, he becomes wealthy and famous -- and dies. Louisa returns to America, where she figures to break her streak by marrying Rod (Robert Mitchum), a business tycoon who already has lots of money. He resolves to take life easier and becomes a farmer, only to die in a strange accident with a bull. Louisa is drowning her sorrows one night at a sleazy night spot when she falls for second rate entertainer Jerry (Gene Kelly). They marry, and a now-wealthy Jerry develops a relaxed, carefree quality to his act that makes him a huge star, which leads to his being crushed by a mob of his biggest fans. What a Way to Go! boasted a screenplay by Betty Comdon and Adolph Green that featured many amusing film parodies and a score by Nelson Riddle; it also marked the final screen appearance of comic actress Margaret Dumont, best remembered as Groucho Marx's straight woman in several films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This slapstick comedy is a hilarious spoof on "Around The World In 80 Days." The grandson of the celebrated Phinius Fogg makes a bet with his cohorts at the London Explorers Club that he can complete the journey. Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe are the dedicated servants who accompany the explorer along with his pretty girlfriend Amelia (Joan Freeman). The group must earn money to live on along the way as the wager was made with the provision young Fogg bring no money. Curly Joe fights a Sumo wrestler in Japan for prize money. In a hilarious scene, the Stooges observe a Japanese trio of Stooges acting like their American counterparts and walk away shaking their heads in disbelief over the slapstick behavior. The group races against time to complete the journey and collect on the bet. Longtime Stooge associate Emil Sitka appears as a butler in the exclusive blue blooded club. Directed by Moe's son-in-law Norman Maurer, this may be the funniest of all the Stooges films from the 1960s. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Bret (James Garner) is hired by pretty Connie Coleman to protect her ranch's cattle drive to Abilene. While our hero has his hands full with Indians and such, poor Connie sells her herd for several thousand dollars--in counterfeit money. None too pleased that all his work is for naught, Bret sets about to catch the counterfeiter and make him fork over some genuine greenbacks. And yes, that timid, somewhat chubby youngster playing Connie's brother is indeed a 23-year-old Robert Redford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kit (Doris Day), an American married to wealthy London businessman Tony Preston (Rex Harrison) becomes the terrified victim of a mysterious stalker, who she hears but can never see. She is threatened by the eerie, high-pitched voice as she walks in the thick London fog. She then begins receiving repeated threatening telephone calls. The now totally panicked Kit is nearly killed when someone pushes her in front of a bus. Unfortunately for Kit, no one but she hears the voice or the telephone calls and neither Tony, Kit's visiting aunt Bea (Myra Loy), or Scotland Yard take any of these incidents seriously. The only one who seems to believe Kit is Brian Younger (John Gavin), a construction foreman, but Kit is not convinced that she can trust him. The tension builds to a thrilling climax as Kit flees for her life on a scaffolding outside her apartment building. Midnight Lace is an exciting thriller, with many surprising plot twists and a nice sinister performance by Rex Harrison. Roddy McDowall is also fun as the son of Kit's housekeeper, who keeps hitting up his mom for money. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

When the body of wealthy Peter Baxter (Anthony Joachim) is found in the charred ruins of his mansion, caretaker James Hing (Benson Fong), who'd been made Baxter's sole heir in his will, is accused of the crime. Hing admits to burning down the mansion, but insists that he did so on the orders of Baxter, who'd planned to fake his death in order to test the loyalty of his heirs. Can it be that someone else got wind of Baxter's scheme and decided to bump him off for real? That's what Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must find out before the final commercial. This episode is based on Erle Stanley Gardner's novel The Case of the Black Cat, previously adapted as a 1935 theatrical feature, with Ricardo Cortez as Mason. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This filmed biography of Vincent Van Gogh was adapted by Norman Corwin from the best-selling novel by Irving Stone, which was in turn inspired by the written correspondence between Van Gogh and his brother Theo. Kirk Douglas plays the tormented genius, whose obsessive devotion to his art engulfs, consumes, and finally destroys him. James Donald costars as Theo Van Gogh, who provides financial and moral support to his brother from the time Vincent leaves his Holland home in 1878 to his death in Auvers in 1890. Anthony Quinn won an Oscar for his eight-minute turn as Van Gogh's fast friend and erstwhile rival Paul Gaugin. Nearly 200 of Van Gogh's original paintings were borrowed from private collections for brief display in the film: some are "recreated" before our eyes, as the artist stands before his easel, spattered with paint and with a look of white-hot intensity burned into his countenance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To say that Lady Godiva is historically inaccurate is a moot point, since most historians agree that the whole Lady Godiva story never happened. At any rate, Maureen O'Hara stars in the title role, as the rebellious Saxon wife of a Norman nobleman. To show her fidelity to her people, and to protest Norman taxation, Lady Godiva rides naked through the streets of Coventry. All the elements of the original middle-ages legend are in attendance, including the blinding of "Peeping Tom" (about the only effective moment in the whole film). Whatever audience titillation there might have been in the dreary climactic ride was dissipated by tons of studio publicity which insisted that Maureen O'Hara wasn't really naked under her long red tresses. Lady Godiva is interesting only for its supporting cast, including such veterans as Victor McLaglen and a few newcomers like Clint Eastwood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Roundly panned when it was first released, this CinemaScope film version of Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman can now be enjoyed on a "high camp" level. George Sanders plays King Richard the Lionhearted, while his arch-foe Saladin is over-acted by Rex Harrison. One of Richard's objectives during the Crusades is to reclaim the Holy Grail from Saladin's Mohammedan hordes. On the home front, Richard must contend with a group of conspirators dedicated to toppling him from his throne. In the middle of all this is the fictional Lady Edith,a British noblewoman played by Virginia Mayo in a manner that can best be described as overbaked. It is Ms. Mayo who delivers the film's classic line "Oh, fight, fight, fight! That's all you ever think of, Dickie Plantagenet!" In his American film debut, Laurence Harvey is as hammy as the rest of the cast as Sir Kenneth, Richard's right-hand man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Historically important as the first CinemaScope feature film, 20th Century-Fox's The Robe is fine dramatic entertainment in its own right. Based on the best-selling novel by Lloyd C. Douglas, the film stars Richard Burton as the wastrelly Roman tribune who is assigned by a weary Pontius Pilate (Richard Boone, who spends the whole of his single scene washing his hands) to supervise the crucifixion of Christ. After the Seven Last Words, the jaded Burton wins Christ's robe in a dice game. Gradually, the mystical influence of the holy garment transforms Burton from a roistering cynic into a True Believer--at the cost of his own life, which he willingly gives up in the service of his Lord. Also starring in The Robe are Jean Simmons as Burton's pious childhood sweetheart, Victor Mature as his Christian-convert slave Demetrius (an excellent performance--in fact, Mature is more believable than Burton!), Michael Rennie as the disciple Peter, and Jay Robinson as the raving Emperor Caligula. Mature, Rennie and Robinson would appear in the 1954 sequel to The Robe, the hurriedly assembled Demetrius and the Gladiators. Watch and listen for the unbilled contributions of Michael Ansara as Judas and Cameron Mitchell as the voice of Jesus. The film won three Academy Awards, and a special Oscar bestowed upon Fox for the development of CinemaScope. For many years, the TV prints of the Robe were struck from the "flat," standard-ratio version shot simultaneously with the widescreen version. Only recently has the CinemaScope The Robe been made available to cable TV (shown in "letterbox" format to allow home viewers the full picture). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide