George Fenneman Movies
Best-remembered for being the radio and television emcee of Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life from the late '40s through the late '50s, George Fenneman also occasionally acted on television and in feature films. Born in Beijing (formerly Peking), China, Fenneman was raised in San Francisco, CA. Following his graduation from San Francisco State College with a B.A. in speech and drama in 1942, he was hired by San Francisco's KGO radio (an ABC affiliate). Fenneman was a radio correspondent for the Office of War Information during WWII. While there he befriended Jack Webb and would later work for the producer/actor on the radio and television versions of Webb's Dragnet. Following his discharge, Fenneman and his wife, Peggy, moved to Los Angeles. In late 1947, You Bet Your Life premiered and was a smash hit. Fenneman was also in demand for other radio announcing jobs and his voice was heard on such shows as the Orson Welles Show and the Hedda Hopper Show. The same applied to his television career and Fenneman was associated with everything from The Life of Riley to The Donny and Marie Show. His feature film credits include The Thing (1951) and How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying (1967). Fenneman died of respiratory failure on May 29, 1997, at the age of 77. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1990
This salute to the famous comedy team of the Marx Brothers is narrated by actor/director Gene Kelly. Shown are clips from many of their best-known films, including Duck Soup, Horse Feathers and Animal Crackers. Also shown are rare outtakes from their films and interviews with them, in addition to reminiscences and tributes by Dick Cavett, Robert Klein, David Steinberg and others. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- PG
Diana (Carol Lynley) is the wealthy, mentally unbalanced woman who seduces the local golf pro Jerry (Paul Burke). She proposes they each do the other a favor by eliminating their rivals. The drunken golfer laughs and agrees to kill Diane's psychiatrist Dr. Haggis (Whit Bissell), believing Diane is kidding. She is dead serious and kills the golfer's main competitor Mike (Philip Carey) by running him over with a golf cart. Diane tape records their conversation and uses it to blackmail the golfer into going through with his end of the bargain. Jerry goes to Dr. Haggis with the problem while police Lieutenant Gavin (Stephen McNally) is called in to solve the murder of the rival golfer. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Burke, Carol Lynley, (more)
- 1967
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Robert Morse recreated his Tony-winning stage role in this 1967 film version of Frank Loesser's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical. A humble window washer at the New York offices of World Wide Wickets, J. Pierpont Finch applies the lessons he's learned from a book called How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying to wangle his way to the top of the executive heap. Though advised by the mailroom supervisor (Sammy Smith) to keep a low profile and play things "The Company Way," Finch follows his own skewed set of rules, endearing himself to bombastic company president J. B. Biggely (Rudy Vallee) by posing as a graduate of Grand Old Ivy, Biggely's alma mater. As he climbs to the top, Finch manages to dispose of an over-amorous rival by arranging a tryst between that rival and curvaceous secretary Hedy LaRue (Maureen Arthur)--who happens to be Biggely's live-in girlfriend. Finch also gets rid of the troublesome Mr. Ovington (Murray Matheson) by exposing the latter as an alumnus of Old Ivy's hated rival university. Graduating to vice-president, Finch feels secure enough to sing the show's one genuine love song "I Believe In You"--to himself! Actually, he's really in love with true-blue secretary Rosemary (Michele Lee), but won't admit to this until he suffers a career setback. Most of Loesser's songs survived the transition from stage to screen, with the exception of "Paris Original," which is heard merely as background music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Morse, Michele Lee, (more)
- 1958
Co-produced by Walt Disney and Perkins Films, this episode of Walt Disney Presents was based on the book Pigeon Fly Home by Thomas Liggett. This is the story of a young boy named Chad (Bradley Payne), who after sustaining an injury in a ball game is confined to a wheelchair. The doctors are convinced that Chad's paralysis is merely psychosomatic, borne of a deep-rooted fear of failure, but nothing seems to arouse Chad enough to try to use his legs. All this changes when the boy emerges from his self-imposed shell by adopting a new hobby: raising and training pigeons. And it is, of course, one of these pigeons, a mere baby at the beginning of the story, who ultimately leads to the "miracle" of Chad's recuperation. "The Pigeon That Worked a Miracle" was released theatrically overseas in 1962, the same year that the episode was rebroadcast on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bradley Payne, Whitney Davenport, (more)
- 1953
Popular radio and TV announcer George Fenneman is the leading man in this semi-documentary adventure yarn. Filmed on location at Tennessee's Reelfoot Lake, the film casts Fenneman as naturalist Bill Richards, who undertakes a difficult expedition into the wilderness. When Richards runs into problems finding suitable wildlife specimens for his research, he is helped by local gal Lainie Thorne (Gloria McGough). Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen appears briefly as Richards' mentor. Produced and directed by former Walt Disney associate Larry Lansburgh, Mystery Lake later appeared in serialized form on Disney's Mickey Mouse Club. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Fenneman
The scene is a distant Arctic research station, where a UFO has crashed. The investigating scientists discover that the circular craft has melted its way into the ice, which has frozen up again. While attempting to recover the ship, Captain Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) accidentally explodes the vessel, but the pilot -- at least, what seems to be the pilot -- remains frozen in a block of ice. The body is taken to base headquarters, where it is inadvertently thawed out by an electric blanket. The alien attacks the soldier guarding him and escapes into the snowy wastes. An attack dog rips off the alien's arm, whereupon Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite) discerns that "The Thing" (played by future Gunsmoke star James Arness!) is not animal but a member of the carrot family, subsisting on blood. While the misguided Carrington attempts to spawn baby "Things" with the severed arm, the parent creature wreaks murderous havoc all over the base. Female scientist Nikki (Margaret Sheridan) suggests that the best way to destroy a vegetable is to cook it. Over the protests of Carrington, who wants to reason with the "visitor" (a very foolhardy notion, as it turns out), the soldiers devise a devious method for stopping The Thing once and for all. This oversimplification of The Thing does not do full justice to the overall mood and tension of the piece, nor does it convey the lifelike "business as usual" approach taken by the residents of the military base in dealing with something beyond their understanding. A superior blend of science fiction, horror, naturalistic dialogue, and flesh-and-blood characterizations, The Thing is a model of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, (more)
