Joe Flynn Movies
A former ventriloquist and radio deejay, bespectacled character-actor Joe Flynn was a professional even before he graduated from Northwestern University. He made his first film appearance as a priest in the Bob Hope comedy The Seven Little Foys (1955) then spent several years in uncredited roles before building up a reputation as a reliable comic foil on television. He was one of the regulars on the first season of The Joey Bishop Show (1961), but left early on, reportedly because he was stealing too many scenes from star Bishop. From 1962 through 1966, Flynn played the irascible Captain Binghamton on the TV sitcom McHale's Navy (1962) and also starred in two theatrical films spun off from the series. In the early 1970s, Flynn spearheaded a movement on behalf of the Screen Actors' Guild for more equitable distribution of TV residual payments. Shortly after completing his voiceover work in the Disney animated feature The Rescuers, 50-year-old Joe Flynn died of a heart attack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This TV movie stars Stockard Channing as an "ugly duckling" who is dumped on by everyone with whom she comes in contact. After her heart is broken by a callous campus jock, Stockard tearfully speeds off in her car and is involved in a serious accident. Plastic surgery is required, and when Ms. Channing emerges from behind the bandages, she is ravishingly beautiful. She uses her new attractiveness to exact revenge on those who'd wronged her, murdering her former nemeses in a variety of creative ways (for example, she entices a nasty cheerleader to back-flip out of a high rise window). Police inspector Ed Asner is called on the scene when the death rate soars, only to find himself falling in love with the crafty Ms. Channing. Despite its morbid plotline, The Girl Most Likely To... is actually a comedy, written by none other than Joan Rivers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Ed Asner, (more)
In this comedy, a bungling bookkeeper's assistant works in the Dalton city hall and finds himself framed for embezzling by his corrupt superiors. A sweet young woman helps him clear his name. He is also assisted by Leo the computer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
In this comedy, an accountant aids a group of children to help save the local zoo from being razed by those wanting to build a museum in its place. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
An air-traffic reporter discovers that his partner--a St. Bernard dog--has accidentally swiped a priceless necklace from a jewel-smuggling gang. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Fired up with patriotic fervor, Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot) agrees to play Henry VIII in a movie made by shoestring producer Fred Wallace (Joe Flynn). Though Mr. French is certain that this will be a good experience, the film turns out to be an unscripted, underfunded disaster, and as a result French loses something far more precious than his time and effort: namely, his dignity. This is the final episode of Family Affair's third season, and the last episode to be telecast on CBS' Monday-night schedule. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke) has finally put together what he considers an authenticated dossier of the strange goings-on in the home of Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman). Despite the concerted efforts of both Tony and Jeannie (Barbara Eden), Bellows succeeds in delivering the document to Gen. Peterson (Barton MacLane). But rather than dismiss Tony, Peterson decides that it is Bellows who has got to go--and his replacement, Dr. Corbett (Joe Flynn), may prove to be an even bigger threat to the future of Tony and Jeannie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Those who worried that the Disney studio would collapse without the presence of the late Uncle Walt were put at ease when the profits starting rolling in for The Love Bug. The "star" is Herbie, a lovable little Volkswagen with a personality all its own. Abused by a bad guy race-car driver (David Tomlinson), Herbie is rescued by a good guy racer (Dean Jones). Out of gratitude, Herbie enables the luckless good guy to win one race after another. The real fun begins when the ruthless hot-rodder connives to get Herbie back through fair means or foul. Based on a story by Gordon Buford, The Love Bug inspired two equally lucrative sequels, Herbie Rides Again and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Jones, Michele Lee, (more)
- 1968
After registering well in supporting roles in such Bob Hope farces as Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number and Eight on the Lam, raucous comedienne Phyllis Diller attempted to carry a picture all by herself. Alas, Did You Hear the One About the Travelling Saleslady? proved to be as bad as its title. Borrowing elements previously utilized in Joan Davis' Travelling Saleswoman (1950) and the Ginger Rogers-Carol Channing vehicle The First Travelling Saleslady (1956), the film casts Diller as a player-piano saleslady, dispatched to the Wild West. TV-sitcom perennials Bob Denver and Joe Flynn offer their usual overplayed support; at times they're funnier than Diller, though that's not saying much. The film's highlight is a cattle stampede, which should give you some idea. Did You Hear the One... was scripted by John Fenton Murray, soon to be a mainstay of such Sid & Marty Krofft kiddie fare as The Bugaloos and Lidsville; compared to the Diller film, the Krofft stuff was a step upward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Diller, Joe Flynn, (more)
- 1965
In this comedy, another entry in the slapstick series based on a popular TV show, meek little Ensign Parker finds himself getting promoted for no apparent reason. He gets himself rip-roarin' drunk one night and finds himself wearing an Air Force uniform and mistaken for a big-wig. He continues to mess up, but to no avail, no matter what he does, he continues to get promoted. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Flynn, Tim Conway, (more)
- 1964
Captain Wallace Binghamton (Joe FLynn), St. Comdr. Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine) and Ensign Charles Parker (Tim Conway) brought their wacky antics to the big screen for this feature, spawned from the popular '60 television program of the same name. McHale and his crew get involved in a betting scam aboard their PT boat. Soon, they find themselves owning money to a group of Marines. In order to pay off their debts, they plan a sure-fire way of making money--involving the transportation of a disguised racehorse on board their boat. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernest Borgnine, Joe Flynn, (more)
- 1961
The title character in this standard comedy about the foibles of military life is Archie Hall (Robert Mitchum), a puffed-up dandy whose strutting personality makes the other privates in a Civilian Pilot Training program absolutely certain he is a spy. They figure him for a multiple-star general, out to entrap a Japanese spy by the unlikely name of Cindy (France Nuyen). A series of enlisted men and officers contribute to the misadventures due to the misunderstanding, including comics like Don Knotts as Captain Little and Louis Nye as Private Sam Beecham. Jack Webb directs, and plays the role of Archie's sidekick. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Jack Webb, (more)
- 1961
A round robin of betrayal and murder takes up most of the running time in this episode. First off, Elise Taylor (Diana Van Der Vlis) falls in love with Bish Darby (James Best), who is married to a woman named Jackie (Madeleine Sherwood), who in turn makes arrangements for Bish to die and for Elise to be blamed. But someone beats Jackie to the punch -- namely, the husband of another woman with whom Bish is fooling around. Ultimately, Elise is punished for her indiscretion...but not in the way that Jackie had expected. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Predictable and demeaned by low-brow humor, this comedy-drama by George Marshall revolves around the amorous entanglements of four G.I. photographers on leave in Japan from their last mission in the Korean War. The men, headed by officer Andy Cyphers (Glenn Ford) check into a house with four resident geishas and immediately misunderstand what a geisha does for a living. Once they get straightened out about the musical, cultural, and educational background of geishas -- and after spending some time with the four women, the men begin to pair off. More misunderstandings are in store but it definitely looks like at least two of the men will not go back to the U.S. alone. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Donald O'Connor, (more)
- 1961
This one-hour, police-story melodrama does not focus on the two-legged officers commonly found chasing the bad guys, but a four-legged K-9 corps German Shepherd named "Wolf" (played by Rocco), whose training forms a large part of the story. Wolf is put through his paces so that when the time comes, he can join up with his bosses and head out to capture some nasty arsonists, intent on torching buildings to collect insurance money. Given that Wolf's fans are likely to be the younger set, any ingrained clichés and lines of uninspired dialogue will not be a great problem. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brown, Merry Anders, (more)
Although not as well known as Pillow Talk (1959), this romantic-comedy pairing of stars Rock Hudson and Doris Day earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay. Hudson stars as Jerry Webster, a Madison Avenue advertising executive who has achieved success not through hard work or intelligence but by wining and dining his big-shot clients, even setting them up on dates with attractive girls. Jerry's equal at a rival agency is Carol Templeton (Day). Although she has never met him, Carol is disgusted by Jerry's unethical antics and reports him to the Ad Council. Jerry avoids trouble with his usual aplomb, sending a comely chorus girl, Rebel Davis (Edie Adams), to seduce the council members. When Jerry subsequently makes Rebel the star of television commercials for a nonexistent product called VIP, the spots are accidentally aired by perplexed company president Pete Ramsey (Tony Randall). Carol becomes determined to win the VIP account away from Jerry, but after she discovers the truth, she again reports him to the Ad Council. Jerry skirts out of trouble a second time by producing VIP, an intoxicating candy quickly whipped up by company research scientist Linus Tyler (Jack Kruschen). VIP's extreme effects lead to a one-night stand between bitter rivals Jerry and Carol, with unexpected consequences. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Doris Day, (more)
- 1959
It's late Thursday night at the local paper and a savvy city editor, a world-weary but upright writer, and a beleagured copy boy prepare to put the next day's paper to bed. Suddenly two stories come over the wire. In the first, a young girl has gotten lost in the city's storm drains, and her life is endangered when a terrible storm erupts and the sewers begin to fill with runoff. In the second, the grandson of the writer is among a team of missing Air Force pilots who were attempting to set a record flying from Hawaii to Washington, DC. This suspenseful, newsroom drama chronicles the ways in which these situations affect the workers as they try to get the paper out on time. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Hypochondriac Walter Bedecker (David Wayne) would do anything to feel better -- including making a deal with the Devil. When His Satanic Majesty makes an appearance in the form of the jovial Mr. Cadwallader (Thomas Gomez), Walter enters into a contract whereby he will be given perfect health and immortality. Unfortunately, Walter soon discovers that eternal life isn't all it's cracked up to be, while his wife Ethel suffers spectacularly from Walter's efforts to "spice up" his existence. Several 1960s TV icons appear in supporting roles, including commercial "stars" Virginia Christine (aka Mrs. Olsen) and Dick Wilson) (Mr. Whipple), The Beverly Hillbillies' Raymond Bailey, and McHale's Navy's Joe Flynn. First telecast November 6, 1959, "Escape Clause" was written by Rod Serling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Wayne, Thomas Gomez, (more)
- 1958
This Happy Feeling is based on the F. Hugh Herbert play For Love or Money. Debbie Reynolds plays impulsive Janet Blake, who develops a crush on retired stage star Preston Mitchell (Curt Jurgens). Rejuvenated by Janet's ardor, Mitchell decides to return to the stage, where he must contend with predatory leading lady Nita Holloway (Alexis Smith) and pretentious method actor Tony Manza (Troy Donahue). Meanwhile, Janet begins evincing a preference for Mitchell's neighbor Bill Tremaine (John Saxon), who is closer to her own age. Some extra laughs are provided by the booze-laced pancakes served up by pixieish housekeeper Mrs. Early (Estelle Winwood). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debbie Reynolds, Curd Jürgens, (more)
- 1957
Long before she was "domesticated" as Consuela in TV's Marcus Welby MD, Elena Verdugo was the hip-swinging heroine of Panama Sal. The story finds Sal Regan (Verdugo) singing and dancing for her supper in a low-class Panamanian dive. Wealthy Dennis P. Dennis (Edward Kemmer) takes a liking to Sal, and decides to do the "My Fair Lady" bit. He takes the girl back to the States, where, after teaching her the social graces, he makes her famous as a high-toned supper club songstress. Along the way, Dennis falls in love with Sal, much to the dismay of his wealthy pals, who try to break up the romance. Not meant to be taken seriously, Panama Sal is an enjoyable diversion from the waning days of Republic Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Kemmer, Carlos Rivas, (more)
- 1957
Virtually every major city in the 1950s harbored some sort of political corruption or other, providing plenty of material for the "exposé" school of filmmaking. Portland Expose is a fact-based account of skullduggery in the Oregon metropolis. Inspired by revelations made during the Senate's McClellan Committee hearings, the story concentrates on an honest tavern owner named George Madison (Edward Binns) who is involuntarily sucked into the city's rotten-to-the-core political machine. When Madison refuses to allow his establishment to serve as the gathering place for hoods and delinquents, the powers-that-be threaten to harm his family. Only after his daughter is attacked by a syndicate flunkey does Madison decide to fight back. At great personal risk, he manages to tape-record damning evidence against Portland's "untouchable" criminal kingpin (Russ Conway). The supporting cast includes such radio and TV "regulars" as Virginia Gregg, Larry Dobkin, Frank Gorshin and Joe Flynn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Binns, Carolyn Craig, (more)
- 1956
John Payne always felt that he delivered his best screen performance in The Boss. Set in the years following WW1, the story concerns a small-town veteran named Matt Brady (John Payne), whose brother, machine politician Tim Brady (Roy Roberts), arranges for Matt to get a cushy government job. When Tim dies, Matt takes over his operation, eventually assuming control of the entire state (which judiciously remains unnamed in the film). Though a successful power broker, Matt is unable to win the woman he loves (Doe Avedon), so he settles for another (Gloria McGhee) whom he treats atrociously. A falling out with his best friend/severest critic Bob Herrick (William Bishop) sets the stage for the ruthless Brady's inevitable downfall. Though all the names were changed to protect the guilty, audiences in 1956 were quick to perceive that the film was a thinly disguised attack on the Pendergast machine of Kansas City, Missouri. Coproduced and cowritten by John Payne, The Boss falters only in its overreliance upon anachronistic newsreel footage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, William Bishop, (more)
