Bernard Fox Movies
Bernard Fox was descended from a long line of British stage actors; perhaps his most famous forebear was his uncle, veteran comic actor Wilfred Lawson. Fox made his screen debut in 1956's Soho Incident, appearing in several other British films before he was brought to Hollywood by actor/producer Danny Thomas in 1963. Generally cast in stuffy, old-school-tie roles, the toothbrush-mustached Fox flourished in American films and TV programs well into the late 1980s. Bernard Fox is most widely recognized for his TV work, notably his recurring appearances as gentleman's gentleman Malcolm Merriweather on The Andy Griffith Show and wacky warlock Dr. Bombay on Bewitched; he also played Dr. Watson opposite Stewart Granger's Sherlock Holmes in the 1972 TV-movie adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1956
Faith Domergue is the sweet-faced villainess in the murky British melodrama Spin a Dark Web. Domergue plays Bella Francesi, who with her brother Rico (Martin Benson) runs practically all illegal activities in London. The parallels between the Francesi and the Borgias are underlined at every possible opportunity, in the manner of the 1931 gangster flick Scarface. The erstwhile hero, one Jim Bankley (Lee Patterson), is the catalyst for Bella's ultimate downfall. Spin a Dark Web was based on Wide Boys Never Work, a novel by Robert Westerby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faith Domergue, Lee Patterson, (more)
- 1956
In this comedy, the lives of two families get turned topsy-turvy when their respective young sons win a large football pool. The two share the winning ticket and the trouble begins when their parents get greedy and begin trying to devise way to get the hefty pot all to themselves. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Ray Milland doubles up as star and director of The Safecracker. Set during WW II, the film casts Milland as professional cracksman Colley Dawson, who is rescued from prison by Army major Adbury (Ernest Clark). Dawson is offered a deal: if he'll agree to embark upon a dangerous mission behind enemy lines, he'll be given his freedom. The mission, of course, is to break into a Nazi safe and steal a list of German spies operating in England. Before one can say "Robert Wagner", Dawson is trained as a commando and parachuted into Belgium for the "caper" of his life. Supposedly based on a true story, The Safecracker was lensed in Europe and released stateside by MGM. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Barry Jones, (more)
- 1958
This WWII espionage drama is based on the true tale of a British spy, as told in the story by J. Alvin Kugelmass. Alex Schottland (Jack Hawkins) is a career agent for England, having served during WWI. He is assigned to Nazi Germany and rises to the rank of general as WWII breaks out. His contact is Cornaz (Felix Alymer), who pretends to be a clock seller. But Cornaz's identity is discovered, and he is brutally murdered. Schottland overcomes suspicions and makes contacts with a new British agent, Lili Geyr (Gia Scala), who is a nightclub singer. His love for her is first feigned as part of the spy game -- then becomes real. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hawkins, Gia Scala, (more)
- 1963
Adrian Messenger (John Merivale) asks his friend, British colonel Anthony Gethryn (George C. Scott), to check on the whereabouts of the eleven men named on a written list. Not long afterward, the plane on which Messenger is travelling is deliberately blown up. The mystery killer slipped the bomb on the plane while disguised as a priest, and we soon learn that the killer adopts a different guise for each of his subsequent murders. As Gethryn tracks down the men on Messenger's list, he discovers that all had been POWs in the same Burmese stockade during World War II, and he deduces that the murderer, who is methodically decimating those on the list, had been a traitor and informer. Gethryn traces the killer to the British estate of The Marquis of Gleneyre (Clive Brook), where his visit coincides with the return of "prodigal" American relative George Brougham (Kirk Douglas). Gethryn is convinced that Brougham is the killer, and that he plans to murder the only heir who stands in the way of the family fortune, but he has no tangible proof. Filmed primarily in Ireland, The List of Adrian Messenger received good theatrical bookings by virtue of its gimmick: several of the bit characters are played by famous stars in heavy makeup, and each of these stars -- Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Curtis -- "unmasks" in the epilogue. In truth, only Douglas and Mitchum did any real acting under their mounds of collodion and crepe hair; the others showed up only to shoot their unmasking scenes (at a salary of $75,000 each!) and were "doubled" in the film itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Dana Wynter, (more)
- 1963
Actor Bernard Fox (Bewitched, Titanic etc.) makes his first appearance as Malcolm Merriwether, British valet par excellance. Ticketed for reckless bicycling in Mayberry, Malcolm is unable to pay his fine. Thus, he graciously works off his debt to society by serving as Andy's valet and chauffeur, inadvertently turning the Taylor household on its ear with his own special brand of social propriety. Written by Harvey Bullock, "Andy's English Valet" was first shown on March 25, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Intending to marry Cynthia (Anne Helm), Jay Menlow (Robert Morse) is stranded at the alter on the day of the blessed occasion. Left with a paid Honeymoon vacation in the Caribbean, Jay takes along best man Ross Kingsley (Robert Goulet) to the Boca Boca, a "honeymooners only" resort. Ross soon finds an attractive companion in the resort's social director, Lynn Hope (Nancy Kwan). Jay, on the other hand, shows signs of weakening to Cynthia's telephone apologies and Ross desperately attempts to prevent their reconciliation so he may continue to enjoy the arrangement. When Ross' employer Mr. Sampson (Keenan Wynn) arrives on the scene with his blank-headed mistress, Sherry (Jill St. John), things begin to get a bit crazy. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Sampson's wife (Elvia Allman) arrives looking for her philandering husband. Finally Cynthia appears on the frantic scene to ensure chaos in the proceedings. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Goulet, Nancy Kwan, (more)
- 1964
Signing up for a nighttime creative writing class, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) is unexpectedly lauded as a literary genius by her nerdy teacher Mr. Caldwell (Bernard Fox). Rob (Dick Van Dyke) suspects that Caldwell is playing up to Laura just to get an opportunity to show off his own writing efforts to a professional -- namely, Rob. Little does anyone suspect Caldwell's true ulterior motive -- to be alone and in a romantic embrace with the delectable Laura! This was the final episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show's third (and, arguably, funniest) season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Fox, Cheerio Meredith, (more)
- 1964
As indicated by the title of this episode, Bernard Fox makes a return appearance as resourceful British gentleman's gentleman Malcolm Merriwether. Hoping to lighten Aunt Bee's workload, Andy hires the hard-working Malcolm as the Taylor household's general factotum. Unfortunately, Malcolm does his job so efficiently that poor Bee begins to feel useless. Harvey Bullock's teleplay concludes with one of those "I must be cruel to be kind" denouments so common to The Andy Griffith Show. "The Return of Malcolm Merriwether" first aired on April 20, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In this comedy, an introverted journalist for a prominent magazine is assigned to do a story on "Little America" in Antarctica. Once there he gets in all sorts of trouble with the army, a rival, and the penguin Milton Fox. He also finds himself embroiled in a plot to ship some Kiwi women to the base, and in the attempted defections of a number of Russian scientists. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Maharis, Robert Morse, (more)
- 1965
Bernard Fox makes a return visit to The Andy Griffith Show in the role of resourceful Britisher Malcolm Merriwether. This time around, Andy appoints Malcolm as Mayberry's crossing guard, replacing the unreliable Ernest T. Bass. Outraged, Ernest T. invokes his Irish heritage and challenges the "British-ter" to a fist fight. Fully aware that Ernest will probably slaughter Malcolm (especially since the Englishman is taking boxing lessons from Goober!), Andy has to do some mighty quick thinking. Written by Harvey Bullock and first telecast September 27, 1965, "Malcolm at the Crossroads" represented the final Andy Griffith Show appearances of both Malcolm Merriwether and Ernest T. Bass. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Fox, Howard Morris, (more)
This romantic comedy stars Rock Hudson as Carter Harrison, an executive rising through the ranks of a major oil company. When he meets Toni Vincente (Gina Lollobrigida), a beautiful but hot-tempered artist, it's love at first sight and they quickly marry. The bloom is soon off the rose, however, and, five years later, Carter and Toni are about to finalize their divorce. However, just as the final paperwork is about to go through, Carter learns that he's up for a major promotion which would hinge on his being married. Carter is able to engineer a reconciliation with Toni with the help of his friend Richard Bramwell (Gig Young), a PR agent with the firm who hopes that a happy marriage will improve Carter's reputation. Since his separation from Toni, Carter has become known as something of a lothario, a reputation that the family-oriented company would like to avoid. But even though the couple patches things up, Richard has his work cut out for him when Toni announces that she'll be reenacting Lady Godiva's naked ride as part of a protest organized by an artists' group. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, (more)
- 1965
Moving to a new Sunday-night timeslot opposite Bonanza for its ninth and final season, Perry Mason gets the ball rolling as Perry (Raymond Burr) is requested by a judge (Dan Tobin) to handle the defense of Carla Chaney (Jean Hale) a destitute young woman with a really nasty attitude. Charged with the murder of two-bit journalist Gerald Havens, Carla has failed to convince three previous lawyers that she is innocent, especially since her fingerprints were all over the murder weapon. But Perry is willing to take a chance, and immediately set about to locate the mysterious "laughing lady" whom Carla claims to have seen standing over the corpse. With this episode, Richard Anderson becomes a regular as Lt. Steve Drumm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Bernard Fox makes his first appearance as British martinet Col. Crittendon, the new senior POW at Stalag 13. Crittendon's never-ending efforts to escape may mess up Hogan's plans to help a German baroness named Lili (Louise Troy) defect to England. The trick is to cool off Crittendon while simultaneously keeping the Gestapo in the dark about Hogan's underground activities. Written by Richard M. Powell, "The Flight of the Valkyrie" first aired on October 15, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
- 1965
Bernard Fox guest stars as Major Bentley Royce (foreign-car fanciers please note!), late of the Bengal Lancers. Arriving amidst much ceremony at Fort Courage, the "Phantom Major" sets about to instruct the men of F Troop in the fine art of camouflage. Unfortunately, the troopers can barely find themselves even when they aren't camouflaged, and it looks as though Bentley Royce's planned infiltration of the Hekawi Tribe will be a humiliating bust unless O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) can come to the rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
The sixth and final season of The Flintstones begins with a miraculous event: Fred and Barney's respective infant children Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, who can't even talk yet, suddenly develop the abilitiy to sing! The phenomenon brings the babies to the attention of celebrated musical entrepreneur Eppy Brianstone (whose most famous clients are "The Termites", just in case you missed the joke!) Fast-talking Eppy signs Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm to an exclusive contract--so exclusive that Fred relinquishes all rights as a parent, and is forced to kidnap his own child in order to be with her again! This is the episode in which Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm perform a syrupy rendition of that old Sunday School favorite "Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sun Shine In", which would be reprised during the closing credits of each subsequent episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this classic episode, Rob (Dick Van Dyke) and Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) give their neighbor Millie (Ann Morgan Guilbert) the lowdown about their big weekend in New York, which was supposed to have involved a romantic getaway at a plush hotel and a fabulous night at a Broadway show. Unfortunately, the couple's plans were radically altered when, while taking a bath, Laura got her big toe stuck in the bathtub faucet! Legend has it that Mary Tyler Moore burst into tears when she read the script for this episode because it required her to be off-camera for most of the action; but when the show finally aired, she realized that it represented one of her finest half-hours. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Morgan Guilbert, Bernard Fox, (more)
- 1965
Normally, Rob (Dick Van Dyke) and Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) would be proud of the fact that their son, Ritchie (Larry Mathews), knows better than to strike a girl. However, the problem is a girl is striking Ritchie -- in fact, little Priscilla Darwell (Tracy Stratford) considers the day wasted when she doesn't beat Ritchie to a pulp! This crisis leads to a zany encounter with Priscilla's parents (Bernard Fox, Doris Singleton), and the ultimate revelation of the motive behind the girl's unladylike pugnaciousness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Fox, Doris Singleton, (more)
- 1966
In the wake of the Beatles' landmark film Help comes this campy movie featuring British pop-rockers Herman's Hermits. The story begins as the English cuties find themselves pursued by a NASA scientist while on a U.S. tour. The scientist is trying to determine whether the group should have a space capsule named after it. Meanwhile the lads find themselves mixed up with an ambitious starlet willing to stop at nothing, and of course there is one of their girlfriends around to complicate things. During the film's musical finale, the Hermits perform at the Rose Bowl and get their name upon the spacecraft. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herman's Hermits, Peter Noone, (more)
- 1966
One of Our Spies is Missing was cobbled together from a two-part episode of the American TV series Man From UNCLE, then shipped overseas as a feature film. Robert Vaughn and David McCallum head the cast as Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin, U.N.C.L.E's top agents. The original two-parter, "The Bridge of Lions Affair" (telecast February 4 and 11, 1966), concerns a biochemist who develops a rejuvenation process. The chemist disappears, so it's up to Solo and Kuryakin to recover or destroy the process before it falls into the hands of the enemy spy organization THRUSH. Padding out the proceedings in One of Our Spies is Missing is a newly-filmed subplot concerning the niece (Yvonne Craig) of U.N.C.L.E. head honcho Alexander Waverly (Leo G. Carroll). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
When Hogan is ordered to assassinate German atomic scientist Dr. Vanetti (Larry D. Mann), the obstreperous Colonel Crittendon demands that he pull off the unpleasant task. Bowing to pressure, Hogan agrees to smuggle Crittendon out of a neighboring POW camp so that he can complete the mission. But Vanetti throws a spanner in the works when he announces that he wants to defect to the Allies. Written by Richard M. Powell, "The Assassin" first aired on April 8, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
- 1966
Bernard Fox makes his first Bewitched appearance, but not as his soon-to-be familiar role of Dr. Bombay. Instead, Fox portrays a self-styled "witch debunker" named Osgood Rightmire, who, at a lecture attended by Samantha and Darrin, describes all so-called witches as dull neurotics. Trouble begins a-brewing when Darrin is hired to publicize Rightmire's lecture tour. Adding to the dilemma is an ancient ring in Rightmire's possession -- a ring that has a very strange effect on Sam. Written by Paul David and John L. Greene, "Disappearing Samantha" originally aired on April 7, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
- 1966
Jeannie (Barbara Eden is just about worn to a frazzle serving as genie to two masters, namely Tony (Larry Hagman) and Roger (Bill Daily). More work comes her way when Roger begs Jeannie to get him out of trouble when he keeps his date Sheila (a pre-Laugh-In Judy Carne), the niece of Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke) out too late one night. Jeannie's solution to this crisis is to provide Roger with a genie of his own--her cousin Myrt, played by Emmaline Henry before she was established on I Dream of Jeannie in the role of Dr. Bellows' wife Amanda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Herman Munster and his ghoulish clan leave the confines of their 1960s television series The Munsters to try their luck on the big screen in this feature length comedy that chronicles their adventures in merry England where Herman has inherited a large estate. Unfortunately, the Munsters do not realize that their new home is already inhabited by a ring of counterfeiters determined to frighten the family back to the United States. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
- 1967
Hogan's Heroes inaugurated its third season -- and moved from its Friday timeslot to a new Saturday-evening berth in the process -- with the episode titled "The Crittendon Plan." Much against his better judgment, Hogan is ordered to spring his longtime rival Colonel Crittendon (Bernard Fox) from a neighboring POW camp, all because the bumbling Crittendon has unexpectedly drawn up a perfect scheme for destroying a Nazi convoy. Things get even dicier when it turns out that Hogan has the wrong Crittendon! Written by Richard M. Powell), "The Crittendon Plan" first aired on September 9, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
