Dan Ferrone Movies
- 1973
Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) cover the length and breadth of the Bay Area to track down three escaped convicts. The escapees have embarked on a murder spree, wiping out anyone who gets in their way at the behest of the sadistic outlaw leader who kills for the thrill of it. The detectives' mission is made doubly difficult by a potential witness who refuses to get involved--and whose silence costs the lives of a helpless elderly couple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Last seen on Bonanza in the 1968 episode "A Girl Named George," Jack Albertson paid a return visit to the series in the December 5, 1972 episode "The Sound of Loneliness." Albertson is here cast as elderly widower Jonathan May, who goes to great lengths to make sure that two orphan boys will not be separated when the older boy (but not the younger) is adopted by a childless couple. Also in the cast is another frequent Bonanza guest star, John Randolph, this time in the role of Mr. Dawson. "The Sound of Loneliness" was written and directed by series star Michael Landon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1972
Several years before achieving stardom in the TV miniseries Rich Man--Poor Man, Peter Strauss is cast in this episode as temporarily paroled convict Bobby Jepson. Ordered to find a job during a 36-hour-pass or return to prison, Jepson runs headlong into a stone wall of prejudice and hostility, with only Detective Stone (Karl Malden) willing to give the man a break. But even Stone's compassion is sorely tested when Jepson is accused of murder--and the evidence seems air-tight and irrefutable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
It is not uncommon for actors to double and triple in roles while appearing in the "omnibus" plays of Neil Simon. Plaza Suite was the first film version of a Simon play to carry over the multiple-role device to the screen. Walter Matthau appears in all three one-act playlets comprising Plaza Suite, with a different leading lady in each. First we see Matthau as the husband of Maureen Stapleton, nostalgically returning to the same hotel suite where they'd spent their honeymoon 24 years earlier. Times have changed, however, and the twosome spend more timing sniping at one another than pitching woo. The second vignette casts Matthau as an effusive movie producer (lavish toupee and all) who hopes to seduce his old sweetheart Barbara Harris. The third and best sequence finds Matthau and Lee Grant playing the parents of a bride who steadfastly refuses to leave her locked room to attend her own wedding. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Maureen Stapleton, (more)
- 1971
Bonanza star Michael Landon both wrote and directed the poignant episode "Don't Cry, My Son." After the death of her baby, Ruth (Diana Shalet), the distraught wife of an overworked doctor (Richard Mulligan), walks out on her husband. Unhinged by this, the doctor kidnaps the newborn child of the woman he is presently caring for, imagining that the infant is his own child. "Don't Cry, My Son" was first broadcast on October 31, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1970
A father-and-son team battle to protect their Southern farm from military deserters during the Civil War. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Answering a call from two park rangers, Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) conduct an A.P.B. search for a horse, stolen from a riding stable from alleged junkie. In turns out that the thief is a homesick Texan, who has gone to rather extreme measures to assuage his loneliness. Back on their home turf, Jim and Pete chase after a pair of vicious gunmen. This week's supporting cast includes a young Tim Matheson (The West Wing) and Peter Duryea, the son of veteran movie heavy Dan Duryea. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Among the civilians encountered by Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) in this episode is elderly Mr. Saulsberry (Richard Hale) who is determined to leave Los Angeles and walk back to his home town--Deadwood, South Dakota. Elsewhere, the two patrolmen investigate a holdup at a service station, and shoot it out with three desperate criminals. Future Emergency! regular Marco Lopez appears unbilled. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
A young James Caan heads the guest cast in this episode, wherein the heir to a plastics fortune is kidnapped. Investigating, the FBI finds blood stains at the suspected abduction site, but their labs are unable to determine whose blood it is. In order to solve this mystery--and by extension, save the kidnap victim's life--Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) breaks from established FBI proctocol by attempting to capture the kidnappers before the ransom is paid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
There's not much "down time" for Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) as they go about their rounds in this episode. Of primary importance is the recovery of a stolen car, the trunk of which contains the owner's pet boa constrictor. Elsewhere, the two officers mediate an out-of-control neighborhood argument, and attempt to rescue two people from a smoke-filled room. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
It's Christmastime, and Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) enter into the spirit of things by playing Santa for the impoverished Ward family--with the curmudgeonly Malloy agreeing to put up half the money for a toy dump truck. But it's back to business as usual when the cops chase after the perpetrators who have stolen the Wards' car. Elsewhere, Jim and Pete break up a domestic quarrel and haul in a driver who has indulged in too much "Yuletide cheer." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Long before he scored with the epic Ragtime, novelist E.L. Doctorow wrote a minor novel upon which this stark 1967 film is based. It was adapted for the screen by veteran western director Burt Kennedy. In a forlorn town called Hard Times in the Old West, a cowardly mayor, Will Blue (Henry Fonda), does little to protect the citizens from the rampages of a ruthless criminal known as The Man from Bodie (Aldo Ray). The cold-blooded killer gets away with murder -- and then he burns down the town as he leaves. The citizens rebuild, and a newcomer named Zar (Keenan Wynn) injects some life into the desolate place by opening a saloon that attracts a bevy of interesting women, including Molly Riordan (Janice Rule) and Adah (Janice Paige). However, things again look bleak when The Man from Bodie returns to town. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Janice Rule, (more)
- 1967
Set amidst the steamy underworld of Bermuda and Jamaica, this spy adventure chronicles the exploits of a female spy trying to investigate the mysterious murders of two colleagues before an important meeting between the world's most powerful leaders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Troy Donahue, Andrea Dromm, (more)
- 1965
Anne (Betty Conner) and John (Peter Deuel), the sister and brother and law of "Gidget" Lawrence (Sally Field), have decided that the time has come for the 15 1/2-year-old surfin' girl to start preparing for proper womanhood. With this in mind, the couple draws up plans to send Gidget to an exclusive finishing school in Paris. Featured in the cast as is Kevin O'Neal, brother of film star Ryan O'Neal, and future Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In "Sock-It-To-Me" gal Judy Carne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
