Robert Foulk Movies

Written by Dick Carr, "The Spotlight" is a showcase for Viveca Lindfors in the role of long-retired opera diva Angela Drake. Appointed entertainment-committee chairman of the Virginia City anniversary celebration, Ben persuades Angela to come out of retirement for a command performance. Angela is so euphoric that she accepts the offer, neglecting to admit that she has completely lost her singing voice. Sharp-eared fans will hear a brief but pointed "inside joke" referring to recently departed series regular Pernell Roberts (Hint: It has something to do with Shakespeare). Also seen are Ron Randell as Carleton, Winnie Coffin as Mrs. Brown and Jean Determann as Mrs. Finch. "The Spotlight" originally aired on May 16, 1965, and was rebroadcast as the Christmas offering for Bonanza's 1965-66 season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Rat Pack packed it in after this sprightly musical comedy that owes more than it should to Damon Runyon's stories and Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows's classic musical Guys and Dolls. Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen's bright and snappy score features such songs as "Style", "Bang-Bang" and the Sinatra standard "My Kind of Town". Set in 1920s Chicago, the tale begins during a birthday party for head mobster Big Jim (Edward G. Robinson) who is shot to death during the celebration. Rival gangster Guy Gisbourne (Peter Falk) immediately declares himself the chief gangster. The northside gang, headed by Robbo (Frank Sinatra) is willing to grant Guy his self-declared title as long as he leaves the northside territory alone. Guy refuses and when small time hood Little John (Dean Martin) joins Robbo's crew, turf warfare breaks out between the two gangs, resulting in the destruction of both Robbo and Guy's nightclubs. Meanwhile, Big Jim's daughter Marian (Barbara Rush) offers Robbo $50,000 to find the man who killed her father. Robbo demurs and gives the money to his henchman Will (Sammy Davis Jr.) to get rid of. Will, hoping to do a good deed, hands the money over to Allen A. Dale (Bing Crosby), who runs an orphanage. Allen, finding out that the money came from Robbo, informs the newspapers of Robbo's philanthropic enterprise and Robbo immediately becomes a local celebrity, referred to as Chicago's Robin Hood. For his part, Robbo is willing to go along with the publicity. On the romantic front, although Robbo is attracted to Marian, he gives her the brush-off when he finds she is using a charitable foundation as a front for a counterfeiting ring being run by herself and Little John. Robbo tells Marian to leave town. Instead, she hooks up with Guy, proposing that he kill both Robbo and Little John. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The millionaire Clampetts are astonished to learn that their bank account is overdrawn to the amount of 34 dollars and 70 cents. It turns out that there's been a mix-up in the bank records; the hillbillies have received a bank statement intended for J.D. Clampett (King Donovan), an unemployed actor. Conversely, J.D. discovers that his account suddenly contains Jed Clampett's 25 million-dollars -- and he intends to take full advantage of this clerical boo-boo. Shirley Mitchell appears as J.D.'s equally avaricious spouse, Opal. "The Clampetts are Overdrawn" made its first network appearance on November 13, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the best-remembered and best-loved Bonanza episodes, "Any Friend of Walter's" first aired on March 24, 1963. While travelling to visit his sweetie Bessie Sue (Katie Sue), Hoss Cartwright is forced to take shelter in the shack occupied by scroungy prospector Obie (Arthur Hunnicutt) and Obie's mangy dog Walter. Though Walter is supposed to possess great intelligence, he demonstrates the instincts of an ignoramus when Obie's shack is besieged by three dimwitted bandits-Macie (Steve Brodie), Teague (Vic Werber) and Willard (James Luisi)-who think that Obie is harboring a fortune in gold. Written by Lois Hire, "Any Friend of Walter's" proved popular enough to warrant a sequel, the 1964 episode "Walter and the Outlaws." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This is the third time around for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. The action takes place in urban Texas instead of the traditional setting in rural Iowa. This film version contains five extra songs written exclusively by Richard Rodgers. Box office results were adequate at best, and movie going public deemed this version the least interesting of the three. The youth audience was lured by the casting of Ann-Margaret, Pat Boone and Bobby Darin. Alice Faye returned to the big screen after a sixteen year absence as Melissa Frake. Tom Ewell plays her husband, Abel. The plot finds a family traveling to Dallas for the Texas State Fair. Singing commences on the ferris wheel, the merry-go-round and in other locales. The only real action is the anticipation of a drag race between Wayne (Pat Boone) and the carrot topped, malevolent motorhead Red (Edward "Tap" Canutt). ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This long, 135-minute feature is divided into four different segments, three highlighting fairy tales and the first introducing the two Brothers Grimm. Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey) is the dreamer, and Jacob (Karl Boehm) is the practical one, and between them, some marvelous fairy tales develop. Seguing into the first tale about the "Dancing Princess," co-directors Henry Levin and George Pal -- also the producer -- allow their special-effects artists full rein. In-between dancing, the princess (Yvette Mimieux) falls in love with a charming woodsman (Russ Tamblyn). In the second story about the "Cobbler and the Elves," a Christmas miracle of dedicated labor helps the cobbler out when he most needs it. In the last story, a fire-breathing dragon threatens the kingdom until a lowly servant (Buddy Hackett) saves the day. One of the highlights of this production are the Puppetoons, and another is Cinerama -- three projectors working to create a three-paneled (sometimes visibly so), wide-screen panorama. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this comic episode, mail-order huckster Gideon Flinch (Ian Wolfe), alias Homer T. Cranston, fleeces ornery Bullethead Burke (Harry Swoger) of 5,000 dollars. When Bullethead shows up in Virginia City seeking revenge, Gideon's quick-thinking niece Jennifer (Sue Anne Langdon) convinces the surly bruiser that Little Joe Cartwright is really the elusive Flinch. Arnold Stang co-stars as Jake the Weasel, while venerable character actors Burt Mustin and Clem Bevans function as a sort of Greek chorus, weaving in and out of the proceedings. Written by Robert Vincent Wright and first broadcast November 5, 1961, "The Many Faces of Gideon Flinch" was one of several Bonanza episodes directed by Robert Altman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Robert Colbert makes his first appearance as Brent Maverick, yet another cousin of frontier gambler Bart Maverick Jack Kelly) (Colbert sports the same costume worn by former series regular James Garner, a rather blatant move by Warner Bros. to create a "new" Bret Maverick). Riding into the town of Sunburst along with Bart, Brent is immediately thrown in jail--merely for owning the deck of cards used in a poker game. It appears on surface that Sunburst is a "temperance" town, where gambling and gunplay is strictly outlawed, and all the saloons close at sundown. But in truth, the town fathers have gone out of their way to make strangers feel unwelcome in order to to cover up a crime committed 20 years earlier--and they're willing to commit murder to make certain their dirty little secret is never revealed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Lloyd Nolan guest-stars as New Orleans police inspector Charles Leduque, a man who harbors a deep and festering grudge against Ben Cartwright. On the eve of Ben's gubernatorial campaign, Leduque shows up in town bearing a warrant for Ben's arrest -- on a charge of murder. Though it appears that the charges will hold up in court, Joe conducts his own investigation to learn the truth behind Leduque's vendetta. Also appearing are Joan Staley as Dixie, Robert Foulk as the sheriff, and Hal Baylor as Tom Cole. Originally broadcast on February 27, 1960, "The Stranger" was written by Leonard Heidieman and Oliver Crawford. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the fourth episode of Walt Disney's 17-part miniseries The Tales of Texas John Slaughter, Slaughter (Tom Tryon) has captured outlaw leader Mrs. Barko (Beverly Garland) who, though she faces the gallows, refuses to explain why she was trying to join forces with another notorious bandit, Dan Trask (Dan Duryea). With the nervous approval of his Texas Rangers superior officer Captain Cooper (Judson Platt), Slaughter formulates a plan whereby he and his fiancée Adeline Harris (Norma Moore) will impersonate Mrs. and Mr. Barko and infiltrate the Trask gang. Originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "Showdown at Sandoval" and the previous episode "Killers From Kansas" were edited together in 1961 and released overseas as the "feature film" Gunfight at Sandoval. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Hugo Haas reprises the theme of romantic love in this routine yet innocent story of matchmaking. The setting is an overcrowded tenement building in which the residents seem to live beyond the reach of muggers or drug dealers or trigger-happy gangs because they mingle and mix in the halls as they energetically interact with each other. Prof. Brauer (Haas) is a music teacher whose neighbor Dorothy (Carol Morris, a former Miss Universe) is a single woman, a seamstress by trade. Prof. Brauer sees a potentially ideal match for her in his student Eddie (Dick Kallman). While he is promoting that concept, Dorothy is busy introducing him to her friend Mrs. Hoffmann (Vera Vague), a rich widow. Cupid's arrows dart right and left as these two possible couples meet. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Dr. Blane (Don Beddoe) asks Perry (Raymond Burr) for advice in dealing with his scapegrace son-in-law Jack Hardisty (Fredd Wayne), who has already embezzled thousands of dollars from the doctor and intends to blackmail the poor man out of even more money. Perry decides to confront Hardisty and stop in his tracks--but a murderer has beaten him to it. Unfortunately, Blane is charge with the crime by rural DA Hale (Paul Fix). The key to Perry's defense of the doctor is a candid camera. . .and as it turns, sometimes pictures DO lie! This episode is based on a 1943 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Left Handed Gun was adapted by Gore Vidal from his own TV play, The Death of Billy the Kid. 33-year-old Paul Newman stars as 21-year-old William Bonney, the hotheaded gunslinger known as Billy the Kid. Avoiding the usual Hollywood glamourization of this controversial character, Newman portays Bonney pretty much as he was: an illiterate, homicidal cretin. Treated with kindness for the first time in his life by rancher Tunstall (Colin Keith-Johnston), Bonney becomes devoted to the rancher; in fact, it is virtually a love affair. Soon after, however, Tunstall is killed, prompting Bonney to go on a murderous spree. In the end, Bonney must face down the other important father-figure in his life, Pat Garrett (John Dehner). In case anyone should miss the Freudian subtext in The Left Handed Gun, the closeups of Bonney fondling his six-shooter will make things crystal clear. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi