Mona Freeman

In this drama, a freed-POW returns home and is further traumatized by his supposed friends, family and neighbors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Unsuccessful football coach Burt Payne (Bill Williams) wants to sell his share of the Wildcats pro football team to a cartel of investors, but his wealthy wife Ellen (Mona Freeman) vetoes the deal. Even so, Ellen arranges a meeting with one of the investors--just before Burt is killed in a mysterious explosion. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is on hand when Burt's remains are delivered to Los Angeles by train. . .and also happens to be in the vicinity when another murder occurs and the wrong person is accused. Several real-life members of the Los Angeles Rams appear as themselves in this episode, which ends with a frenetic chase sequence filmed on location at LA Memorial Colisseum, site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While vacationing in the small town of Price Hill, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) agrees to speak before the local board of education on behalf of English teacher Jane Wardman (Mona Freeman), who may lose her job because of an anonymous letter accusing her of "playing around" with her male students. Things get worse for Jane when local barkeep Gus Wiler (Chris Alcaide) is killed, and the townsfolk are reminded of an earlier incident wherein a troubled student befriended by Jane likewise died under mysterious circumstances. The outcome of the story takes place during an impromptu hearing in the school gymnasium, presided over by avuncular judge Edward Dally (the ever-popular Edgar Buchanan). This episode is based on "The Man with Half a Face", a short story by Hugh Pentecost. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mona Freeman makes her first series appearance as Modesty Blaine, whose gorgeous face and figure bely her larcenous nature and near-maniacal temperament. Riding into a mining camp infested with mice and other vermin, Bret (James Garner) gets involved in Modesty's scheme to purchase a pack of cats, then re-sell them to the miners. When it becomes obvious that he's been swindled, Bret tries to figure out a strategy to recoup his money, only to run afoul of a homicidal sheriff (Buddy Ebsen) and a black-clad gunslinger (Lance Fuller) who bears more than a slight resemblance to Have Gun--Will Travel's Paladin. A lively shootout in a graveyard caps this tongue-in-cheek entry, which features an amusing appearance by the ubiquitous Richard Deacon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Future Tonight Show host Johnny Carson made one of his rare acting appearances in this 1957 Playhouse 90 adaptation of George Abbott and John Cecil Holm's 1935 stage farce Three Men on a Horse. Carson plays Erwin Trowbridge, a henpecked husband who makes his living writing sappy verse for a greeting-card company. Erwin also possesses a unique gift: The ability to pick winning race horses (though he would never, ever dare to bet on one). It is thus inevitable that our hero would find himself genteely abducted by a trio of Runyonesque horse players who hang out in a seedy bar. Only one problem: Since there's money involved, Erwin's picking prowess is stymied--so the gamblers must figure out a way to get him over his mental block. Jack Carson (no relation to Johnny), Carol Channing and Edward Everett Horton are among the outstanding supporting players in this delightful comedy, which also features Frank McHugh, who'd starred as Erwin in the 1936 film version of Three Men on a Horse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Stirling Silliphant from his own novel, Huk was filmed on location in the Philippines. George Montgomery heads the cast as a plantation owner who struggles to fend off native insurrectionists (the "Huks" of the title). He is aided in this effort by fellow planter John Baer, whose wife Mona Freeman harbors a secret love for Montgomery. The thrill-packed conclusion finds Montgomery and Baer working shoulder to shoulder to save a boatland of women and children from the Huk guerillas. Ramio Barri portrays the Huk leader as a villain pure and simple, making it easy for the audience to sort out the good and bad guys in this somewhat jingoistic endeavor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Men Against Speed is a 60-minute adaptation of the 1955 feature film The Racers. Regis Toomey, Farley Granger and Rick Jason play a family auto-racing team, a father and two sons. Intent upon proving that their American vehicle is the superior to any foreign job, Toomey and his sons enter an important Italian road competition. Press agent Mona Freeman nearly upsets the apple cart by fomenting dissension between brothers Granger and Jason. Relying extensively on stock footage, Men Against Speed debuted December 12, 1956, as an episode of the biweekly anthology The Twentieth Century-Fox Hour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Way Out was originally released in Great Britain as Dial 999. The eponymous telephone number is the emergency line to Scotland Yard, which in this film is represented by detective John Bentley. Hollywood's Gene Nelson plays a philandering husband who tries to hide the fact that he's killed a man. Nelson's wife Mona Freeman and brother-in-law Michael Goodliffe concoct an elaborate scheme to evade the authorities, but it all proves futile in the film's ironic climax. Assembled by Merton Park productions, the low-budget firm later responsible for Edgar Wallace mysteries, Dial 999 was spun off into a 39-week TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Leon Uris from his own novel, the film follows a group of World War II marines, from Basic Training to Battlefield. Major Van Heflin knows that his men are spoiling for a real fight, but must make do with the desultory skirmishes assigned them by the Brass. All this changes with an onslaught of heavy-duty battling in the South Pacific. Aldo Ray plays a tough leatherneck who falls in love with demure Nancy Olson, while James Whitmore, Tab Hunter, Dorothy Malone and Raymond Massey costar. And watch for young Justus McQueen, cast as private L.Q. Jones; McQueen liked his character name so much that he adopted it as his professional cognomen. Composer Max Steiner's musical score earned him an Oscar nomination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although The Stooge had been filmed right after Martin and Lewis' Sailor Beware, the film was temporarily shelved so that the team could continue their winning streak of military comedies with Jumping Jacks. This time, Dean Martin plays Chick Allen, a paratrooper-in-training whose commanding officer intends to do away with all camp variety shows. In desperation, Chick sends for his old nightclub partner Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis) to change the CO's mind. In order to gain entry to the military base, Hap is forced to pose as a GI, and thus the plot proper gets under way. Most of the "awkward squad" gags are straight out of Abbott and Costello, with Lewis messing up at each and every turn while Martin lags behind for damage control. The film concludes with a routine from Abbot and Costello's Keep 'Em Flying, wherein Martin and Lewis bail out from a plane in flight, with one parachute between them. Robert Strauss repeats his Sailor Beware duties as Lewis' irascible topkick, while nominal leading lady Mona Freeman does practically nothing magnificently. Dean's songs include the deathless "Do the Parachute Jump". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not to be confused with a 1942 20th Century-Fox aviation actioner with the same title, Thunderbirds is a Republic Pictures war flick. John Derek and John Barrymore Jr. play two handsome flyboys with the Oklahoma National Guard who are pressed into service at the outbreak of World War II. They spend most of the war in the Italian campaign, then blast their way into Berlin. By way of a plot complication, Ward Bond shows up as a tough veteran sergeant who turns out to be the long-lost father of hotheaded Barrymore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dear Brat was the second sequel to the 1947 comedy hit Dear Ruth (the first sequel, in case you're interested, was Dear Wife). Mona Freeman is back as Miriam Watkins, still minding everyone's business but her own. This time around, Miriam "adopts" a criminal (Lyle Bettger) who claims he wants to go straight. The crook's presence does not sit well with Miriam's politician father (Edward Arnold), nor does it appear that the "lost sheep" has any real intention of reforming. Thanks to Miriam's influence, however, the criminal ends up being as good as his word. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Darling, How Could You is an amiable adaptation of James M. Barrie's stage perennial Alice-Sit- By-the-Fire. Joan Fontaine and John Lund head the cast as Alice and Robert Grey, who return to London from a five-year sojourn at the Panama canal, where Robert, a doctor, has tended to the sick. Upon arriving home, Mr. and Mrs. Grey must become reacquainted with their ever-growing children, especially precocious teenager Amy (Mona Freeman). Having just seen a play about an errant wife, Amy misinterprets the attentions paid to her mother by young physician Steve Clark (Peter Hanson), leading to a bottomless reserve of whimsically comic complications. Long unavailable to TV due to legal hassles with the Barrie estate, Darling, How Could You has since lapsed into public domain, and is now more available than ever. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide