Albert E. Lewin Movies

Another of Edith's castoff relations, Aunt Iola (Nedra Volz) has been passed from relative to relative, with no willing to keep her on a permanent basis. Inevitably, Iola ends up at the Bunker household, and despite Edith's feeling of obligation, Archie likewise wants to rid himself of the troublesome old woman. Albert E. Lewin wrote the script from a story by Michael Loman. "Aunt Iola's Visit" was first telecast on January 22, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A dirty joke that became a "clean" TV movie, Coffee, Tea or Me stars Karen Valentine, cast to type as a perky stewardess. In a chaste variation of The Captain's Paradise, Valentine finds herself married to two different men in two different countries. Since the men are played by John Davidson and Michael Anderson Jr., each in his own way as cute as Valentine, the girl's dilemma is profound. Until its cop-out ending, Coffee Tea or Me glides through its risque situations with class and finesse. The film was directed by Norman Panama, who earlier had been responsible (in collaboration with Melvin Frank) for such comedies as Danny Kaye's The Court Jester (56) and the film version of the Broadway musical Li'l Abner (59). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, a rebellious East German athlete forgoes her dowdy uniforms in favor of daring miniskirts. Soon the leggy track star attracts a lustful villain. To escape, she pole vaults over the Berlin Wall. There she is befriended by a broke black marketeer who has secretly agreed to return her to the communists in exchange for badly-needed money. He hides her in the apartment of an old army buddy of his who secretly works for the CIA. The smuggler is preparing to turn the girl over when he realizes that he is in love. The fellow is still busted and so tries to convince his pal to let her work for the CIA. When the athlete learns about this, she is crushed and decides to return to East Germany. Later, to prove he does love her, the smuggler dresses in drag and sneaks into East Berlin to see her. The woman is bowled over and together, they creep back into West Germany. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Usually cited as the absolute nadir of Bob Hope's film career, Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! is by no means a classic, but it isn't nearly as bad as some of his other sixties efforts (take a look a Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell sometime). The plot is set in motion by movie sex bomb Elke Sommer, who flees from the set of her latest picture when she refuses to do yet another bathtub sequence. Sommer hides out in the home of real estate agent Hope, who is forced to keep the buxom starlet under wraps lest his wife Marjorie Lord misunderstand. Phyllis Diller plays Hope's maid, who conspires with her boss to keep Sommer out of sight. The plot lumbers forward to a wild climax wherein Hope, accused of Sommer's murder (she's still very much alive), embarks upon a slapstick car chase, chock full of Sennett-like sight gags. Though cheaply produced and perilously anachronistic, Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! is professionally assembled by director George Marshall, a Hope colleague from way back. The film turned a tidy profit, thanks largely to the popularity of Hope's costar Phyllis Diller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mrs. Brown's abominable violin playing causes a short-circuit in Martin's system--and before long, Martin (Ray Walston) is turning transparent every time his landlady hits a sour note. It turns out, however, that the fault is with the instrument, and not the musician. Now Martin must figure out a way to help violin maker Pop Amalfi (Ernest Sarracino) improve his product without revealing his overworldy "interference". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thanks to a botched experiment, Martin (Ray Walston) is transformed into a walking magnet. To avoid arousing the suspicions of Detective Brennan (Alan Hewitt), Martin transfers his magnetic powers to Andy (Herbie Faye), a reformed criminal now working as Mrs. Brown's handyman. Before long, his new-found ability to attract metal objects makes it appear as though poor Andy is picking pockets again--and it is now Martin's responsibility to clear Andy without drawing attention to himself! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While working on calculations to return to Mars, Martin (Ray Walston) emanates brain waves which activate the new electric bed purchased by landlady Mrs. Brown (Pamela Britton). As a result, Mrs. Brown begins rambling incoherently about atomic energy, jet propulsion and the like--inevitably arousing the suspcions of Detective Brennan (Alan Hewitt). Now Martin must keep Mrs. B from returning to her bed or risk facing exposure as a Martian...and he must do so within a VERY limited timeframe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A mineral deficiency called "gold starvation" temporarily gives Martin (Ray Walston) the Midas touch--that is, everything he touches turns to gold. Though he valiantly tries to hide this cumbersome talent, Martin "gold-izes" a dinner roll, which is discovered by snoopy Detective Brennan (Alan Hewitt). This, coupled with a few more false clues, leads Brennan to the conclusion that Martin and Tim (Bill Bixby) are gold smugglers--and that they are planning to rob Fort Knox! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to land a hot scoop that will increase his prestigate as a reporter, Tim (Bill Bixby) uses the CCTBS time machine to solve the robbery of the famous Beaudelaire jewels. Instead, Tim is forced to help the jewel robbers--and ends up in jail for his troubles. Martin (Ray Walston) goes undercover as a convict to save Tim and expose the real crooks, who were allegedly behind bars when the heist took place. Look for a young Billy Green Bush (here billed as "William") as a bank guard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No sooner has Martin's spaceship been prepared for a return trip to Mars than the vessel is swiped by six-year-old runaway Peter Pendleton (Todd Baron) for a joyride. Peter returns home to tell of his adventures, taking along Martin's precious gravity converter. It now falls on Martin (Ray Walston) to retrieve both converter and ship without arousing the suspicions of newspaper reporter Grinnell (Herb Ellis), who has been covering Peter's story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As the castaways prepare to take advantage of an upcoming high tide, the Professor (Russell Johnson) races against time to stir up a formula for making nails in order to repair the "Minnow". At the same time, Gilligan (Bob Denver) is using sap from one of the island's trees to make pancake syrup. As it turns out, the sap is the main ingredient for a powerful glue--but will it be powerful enough to hold the "Minnow" together and help the castaways make a break for freedom? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The slow pacing of this fanciful tale about the life and one reputed love of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya makes for an uneven drama. Anthony Franciosa is the artist, and Ava Gardner plays his paramour, the Duchess of Alba. While the Prime Minister of Spain schemes to betray his country to Napoleon's forces and the Spanish Inquisition is winding to a close (overplayed here) Goya is trying to survive the pangs of love he feels for the aloof Duchess. In reality, the artist was seriously ill during this period -- in the last decade of the 18th century -- and actually went deaf. But reality is set aside for high romance, as the pair of star-crossed lovers take center stage over art and politics. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Of the many TV miniseries produced by Walt Disney for his various weekly anthologies of the '50s and '60s, only Tales of Texas John Slaughter came close to matching the "Davy Crockett" programs in popularity and longevity. Based on fact, the 17-episode saga of Texas Ranger-turned-rancher John Slaughter began with this 1958 episode, as Slaughter (played by future bestselling novelist Tom Tryon) rides into the Texas community of Friotown in 1870. Almost immediately, Slaughter is forced to kill two men in self-defense, whereupon he learns that the men had attacked him because they thought he was Texas Ranger Ben Jenkins (Harry Carey Jr.). Offered an opportunity to join the Rangers himself, Slaughter turns Jenkins down, preffering instead to set up a cattle ranch. Unfortunately, the murderous activities of outlaw boss Frank Davis (Robert Middleton) force Slaughter to forsake his peaceloving ways and slap on his shootin' irons. Originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology, this episode and the subsequent "Ambush at Laredo" were in 1960 edited together and released theatrically overseas as the "feature film" Texas John Slaughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide