James Gregory Movies
"As familiar as a favorite leather easy chair" is how one magazine writer described the craggy, weather-beaten face of ineluctable character actor James Gregory. Indeed, it is hard to imagine any time in the past six decades that Gregory hasn't been seen on stage, on TV or on the big screen. There were those occasional periods during the 1930s and 1940s when he was working on Wall Street rather than acting, and there were those uniformed stints in the Marines and the Naval Reserve. Otherwise, Gregory remained a persistent showbiz presence from the time he first performed with a Pennsylvania-based travelling troupe in 1936. Three years later, he was on Broadway in Key Largo; he went on to appear in such stage hits as Dream Girl, All My Sons, Death of a Salesman and The Desperate Hours.In films from 1948, Gregory was repeatedly cast as crusty no-nonsense types: detectives, military officers, prosecuting attorneys and outlaw leaders. With his bravura performance as demagogic, dead-headed senator Johnny Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Gregory launched a second career of sorts, cornering the market in portraying braggadocio blowhards. One of his best characterizations in this vein was as the hard-shelled Inspector Luger in the TV sitcom Barney Miller. He played Luger for six seasons (1975-78, 1979-81), with time out for his own short-lived starring series, Detective School (1978). He also played Prohibition-era detective Barney Ruditsky on The Lawless Years (1959-61) and T. R. Scott in The Paul Lynde Show (1972), not to mention nearly 1000 guest appearances on other series. James Gregory has sometimes exhibited his sentimental streak by singing in his spare time: he has for many years been a member of the SPEBQSA, which as any fan of The Music Man can tell you is the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
"The Bride" is none other than IMF agent Casey in this Mission: Impossible episode from January 1, 1972. This time, the IMF has targetted Syndicate hit man Joe Corvin (James Gregory), who has turned "money man" and is smuggling millions of underworld dollars out of the country. To get the goods on Corvin, Casey poses as his mail-order bride. Brad Dexter, one of the original "Magnificent Seven" in the 1960 film of the same name, costars as Frank Mellinger. "The Bride" was written by Jackson Gillis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1972
The police are stymied by a lack of witnesses and clues as they investigate the murder of a pretty coed in San Francisco park. Hoping to arouse the conscience of The Public, Ironside (Raymond Burr) appears on an all-night TV debate show, begging people to come forward with any information that might help collar the killer. The Chief hopes that he can either panic the perpetrator into tipping his hand, or play for time until his assistant Ed Brown (Don Galloway) can ferret out the one clue that will crack the case. Featured in the cast is a young Ed Begley Jr. (who undoubtedly was bicycling to the studio even back in those pre-Global Warming days). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This western drama from the team that made True Grit -- director Henry Hathaway, screenwriter Marguerite Roberts. and producer Hal B. Wallis -- stars Gregory Peck as a gunfighter who served a seven-year stretch in prison after his partner turned on him during a bank robbery. Shortly after his release, he's saddled with the responsibility of looking after a six-year-old girl while looking for his old sidekick with revenge on his mind. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Dawn Lyn, (more)
In $1,000,000 Duck, the titular duck is exposed to radiation and begins laying golden eggs, which brings it under the scrutiny of the treasury department, the FBI, and a gang of comic-opera crooks. The cast includes Disney perennials Dean Jones and Joe Flynn, with Sandy Duncan taking over the part usually assumed by someone like Michele Lee or Stefanie Powers. $1,000,000 Duck was directed by Vince McEveety. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandy Duncan, Dean Jones, (more)
- 1971
- PG
This Dick Ross melodrama stars Anne Baxter as an alcoholic socialite who beats her addiction by finding strength through religion. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- PG
The Hawaiians is the sequel to 1969's Hawaii; both films were adapted from the same sprawling novel by James A. Michener. Charlton Heston is top-billed as a sailor who returns to his Hawaiian homestead, only to learn that his grandfather's fortune has been bestowed upon his hated cousin Alec McCowan. As a reprisal, Heston sets up his own pineapple plantation in competition with his cousin. Heston's son John Phillip Law falls in love with the daughter (Virginia Ann Lee) of a Chinese farmer (Mako). The issue of miscegenation rears its ugly head, but by the end of this very long film Heston's family is united by marriage to the Chinese clan. The British title of The Hawaiians was Master of the Islands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Geraldine Chaplin, (more)
- 1970
In this drama, a crime correspondent reports his findings at a Congressional committee hearing on addictive drugs. Later he finds himself entangled with a self-destructive, drug-addicted young girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- G
- Add Beneath the Planet of the Apes to QueueAdd Beneath the Planet of the Apes to top of Queue
Sometime after the events of the first Planet of the Apes, the climax of which is repeated frame for frame at the beginning of this sequel, another set of astronauts arrives on the far-future Earth that is the titular planet. This time it's Brent (James Franciscus) who survives the crash landing and learns that evolved simians have taken over the world, post-apocalypse. After hooking up with Nova (Linda Harrison), the mute, fur bikini-clad beauty who spent the first film being squired by astronaut Taylor (Charlton Heston), Brent confers with Zira (Kim Hunter) and Cornelius (David Watson, giving Roddy McDowall his only break during the five-film series), the ape scientists whose adherence to scientific principles makes them friendly to the possibility of intelligent human life. Something of a military coup has taken place among the apes, who dispatch an army to the desolate "Forbidden Zone" where Taylor has coincidentally disappeared. With the apes and the humans both rooting about in the ruins of 20th century civilization, it's only a matter of time before they all find out what happened to the other survivors of the nuclear holocaust. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, (more)
In this uneven comedy, Abner (Don Knotts) is the editor of a bird-watching magazine who is the victim of a hostile corporate takeover by Osborn Tremaine (Edmond O'Brien). When Abner returns from a bird-watching excursion to Brazil, he finds his publication has been purchased for the fourth-class mailing permit. Osborn turns the publication into a girlie magazine and puts his wife Elanor (Maureen Arthur) on the front cover. Still listed as an editor, Abner becomes The Love God as the public perceives him as a Hugh Hefner-like character, epitomizing the life of a swinging bachelor playboy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Knotts, Anne Francis, (more)
- 1969
The Cartwrights give food and shelter to a bedraggled, impoverish company of army veterans, who have been denied their pensions for various and sundry reasons. What the Cartwrights don't know is that the ex-soldiers intend to get even with the government by robbing the Carson City mint. Complicating matters is the fact that one of the veterans, Sgt. Mike Russell (James Gregory), is an old friend of ranch hand Candy. First broadcast on February 2, 1969, "Company of Forgotten Men" was written by Kay Lenard and Jess Carneol. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1969
Mark (Don Mitchell) comes to the aid of his old boxing coach Bakey Baker (James Gregory), now an impoverished derelict. Unjustly accsued of felonious assault, Baker is unable to afford a decent lawyer, and the authorities are callously prepared to hang the man solely on the basis of circumstantial evidence, refusing even to listen to his side of the story. Mark's frustration with the iniquities of the legal system reaches the crisis stage when he can't even persuade his liberal law-school instructor Maria Wakeman (Janet MacLachlan) to take up Bakey's cause. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
This World War II comedy finds Harry Frigg (Paul Newman) as the unwilling volunteer slated to rescue five generals from the clutches of the Germans and Italians. Frigg would rather spend his time goofing off than fighting the war, but his superiors make him a fake general and pack him off to retrieve the top brass. He has a romantic interest in the Countess (Sylva Koscina), an Italian beauty who helps Harry locate the missing officers. Tom Bosley, Andrew Duggan, Charles D. Gray, Jacques Roux and John Williams are the five generals who carry most of the comedy. Normal Fell and Buck Henry excel in small roles as well. General Prentiss (James Gregory) is the brains behind the plan that finds the frustrated Frigg rise to the occasion when he reluctantly accepts his assignment. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Sylva Koscina, (more)
- 1967
In this, the third in the Matt Helm special-agent series, Dean Martin plays Helm who's called to save those aboard a hijacked U.S. spacecraft. Ambushers is generally regarded as the weakest of the Helm films, lacking inspiration at most levels. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1967
James Gregory, previously seen in two first-season F Troop episodes as Major Duncan, returns to the series in the role of smooth-talking carpetbagger Big Jim Parker. Managing to gain financial control of Fort Courage, Big Jim evicts the F Troopers and tells them to vamoose. O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and Agarn (Larry Storch) decide to scare off Big Jim with a phony Indian raid--assuming that the peace-loving Hekawis are willing to cooperate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
With the series' premise (a wheelchair-bound detective) already established in a two-hour TV pilot film, Ironside launches its first season with a minimum of exposition and a maximum of fast action. Now living in his third-floor office at police headquarters, former San Francisco police chief Robert T. Ironside (Raymond Burr) doggedly disregards his semi-invalid status and continues to solve crimes with an elite three-person staff, consisting of Det. Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway), policewoman Eve Whitfield (Barbara Anderson) and Ironside's bodyguard-general factotum Mark Sanger (Don Mitchell). In this episode, Ironside and company try to solve a racetrack robbery that occurred virtually under their noses. With only one firm clue (a crashed car) to go on, Ironside detemines that the robbery was an inside job...but who was the inside man? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The ninth season of Bonanza began on September 17, 1967 with the episode titled "Second Chance". Ben Cartwright joins an army patrol to rescue his sons Hoss and Joe, who are presently at the mercy of renegade Indians. The boys are pinned down with a wagon party, consisting almost exclusively of society's outcasts: A group of thieves, two women of checkered reputation, a dying man, and a coward (appropriately enough, this episode went into production as "The Losers"). Also in the cast are James Gregory as Mulvaney, Bettye Ackerman as Estelle, Joe De Santis as Dawson, Douglas Kennedy as Frazier, Zane Zachery as Anna, and Ken Drake as Breck. Written by John Hawkins and Paul Sneider, "Second Chance" was one of several "classic" episodes rebroadcast during the Spring and Summer of 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
Elvis Presley plays Scott Heyward, the son of a Texas oil millionaire in this thin storyline. Scott changes places with the poor but honest water-skiing instructor Tom Wilson (Will Hutchins) to find out if women love him for himself or his money. Tom goes to the posh penthouse previously occupied by Scott, and Scott takes over as the instructor. Scott's father Duster (James Gregory) blows a gasket when he finds out what his son is doing. Boat builder Sam Burton (Gary Merrill) talks Scott into driving his new boat in the big race. Elvis delivers 8 songs in one of the more lackluster vehicles of his 1960s film catalogue. A bevy of beauties, some exciting race scene, and glossy production all help this one across the finish line. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, (more)
- 1966
Dean Martin reprises his role as Matt Helm, famed secret agent who is part James Bond and part Rat Packer, in Murderer's Row. The film concerns the nefarious plan of arch-villain Julian Wall (Karl Malden) to take over the world by kidnapping Dr. Norman Solaris (Richard Eastham), who has invented a "helio-beam" -- a device that can harness the rays of the sun to destroy the earth. To insure his plans go smoothly, Wall has eliminated most of the ICE (Intelligence and Counter-Espionage) agents. But luckily for the world, super-agent Matt Helm, having escaped from being boiled to death in his own swimming pool, is hot on Wall's trail. Traveling to the Riviera, Helm meets Solaris's mod daughter Suzie (Ann-Margret) and they team up to rescue her father. Helm poses as a gunman on the run and Wall hires him. Wall becomes suspicious when Helm saves Suzie's life after she is threatened by one of Wall's goons, but Matt and Suzie escape from Wall and make their way to his island fortress, where they must find Solaris and disarm the "helio-beam" before Wall destroys Washington, D.C. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1966
While on a routine stop at Tantalus, a rehabilitation facility -- the twenty-third century equivalent of a hospital for the criminally insane -- the starship Enterprise is involved in an unsuccessful escape attempt. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) knows of the sterling reputation of Tantalus under its enlightened director, Dr. Tristan Adams (James Gregory), but he is compelled to investigate, due in part to the concerns of chief medical officer McCoy (DeForest Kelley) over the fragile mental condition of the would-be escapee, Simon Van Gelder (Morgan Woodward) -- and to the fact that Van Gelder is not an inmate at Tantalus, but was assigned there as Adams' assistant. While McCoy tries to help Van Gelder, with some assistance from Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and his Vulcan mind-meld (the first time this is seen in the series), Kirk and a psychiatric expert, Dr. Noelle (Marianna Hill), beam down to the colony. They discover that Adams has been experimenting with a very powerful and dangerous device, the neural neutralizer, using it on staff members as well as inmates to control their thoughts and psyches -- and won't tolerate any interference or inquiries from Kirk or anyone else. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1966
While employed at the winery owned by Pete Crandall (James Gregory), Kimble (David Janssen) happens to be on hand when the leader of a grape picker's strike is murdered by Crandall's treacherous son Carl (Roy Thinnes). As the only witness to the killing, Kimble could easily clear his fellow worker Morales (Carlos Romero), whom Carl has framed for the crime. Unfortunately, Kimble dare not contact the police for fear of being arrested himself, so he enlists the aid of Morale's wife Elena (Pilar Seurat)--while Carl dispatches a team of hired thugs to make certain that no one will ever tell anyone that he pulled the trigger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Hogan's Heroes began its second season on September 16, 1966, with the episode titled "Hogan Gives a Birthday Party." Assigned to bomb a heavily guarded German oil refinery, Hogan hopes to trick his captors into letting him fly a German plane in a test mission. Unfortunately, his plans are discovered by an old nemesis, General Biedenbender (James Gregory), who has an uncanny knack for anticipating Hogan's every move -- and every thought. The climactic airborne sequence finds Sgt. Schultz "seeing nothing-NOTHING!" to ridiculous lengths. "Hogan Gives a Birthday Party" was written by Richard M. Powell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
Columbia Pictures tried to create a tongue-in-cheek American James Bond with this, the first of five motion pictures based on the character of Matt Helm, a spy created in a series of novels by Donald Hamilton. Dean Martin stars as Helm, a boozing, womanizing cad of a spy coaxed out of retirement by ex-girlfriend Tina Batori (Daliah Lavi). His mission: stop the evil Big O organization, whose leader, Tung-Tze (Victor Buono), schemes to sabotage an atomic missile and thus spark World War III. Producer Irving Allen had once been partners with Albert R. Broccoli in the British film production company Warwick Films, their alliance ironically disintegrating over the merits of creating a Bond series. When Broccoli's instincts proved correct, Allen attempted to create his own spy franchise with the Helm character. The sequels to The Silencers (1966) were Murderers' Row (1966), The Ambushers (1967), and The Wrecking Crew (1968). Allen unsuccessfully tried to resurrect the character as a TV movie, Matt Helm (1975). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, (more)
- 1966
The future of O'Rourke Enterprises is threatened by the arrival of Major Duncan (James Gregory). Not that Duncan suspects that anything crooked is going on: It's just that he is impressed by Sgt. O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and wants to promote him to lieutenant. Realizing that such a promotion would be fatal to O'Rourke's many business ventures, Cpl. Agarn (Larry Storch) goes out of his way to prove that the Sergeant is in no way qualified to be an officer or a gentleman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
With the departure of the company cook, O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) orders Agarn (Larry Storch) to don chef's hat and dish up food for the troopers. The fact that Agarn can't even boil water is inconsequential: O'Rourke intends to turn a huge profit by having Agarn pad his list of supplies. Future M*A*S*H costar Jamie Farr makes a hilarious cameo appearance as Indian comedian Standup Bull {"Take my squaw--please.") ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Henry Hathaway directs the 1965 psychological Western The Sons of Katie Elder. Four sons reunite in their Texas hometown to attend their mother's funeral. John (John Wayne) is the gunfighter, Tom (Dean Martin) is the gambler, Matt (Earl Holliman) is the quiet one, and Bud (Michael Anderson Jr.) is the youngest. They soon learn that their father gambled away the family ranch, leading to his own murder. The brothers decide to find their father's killer and get back the ranch, even though they are discouraged to do so by local Sheriff Billy Wilson (Paul Fix). When the sheriff turns up dead, the Elder boys are blamed for the murder. Deputy Sheriff Ben Latta (Jeremy Slate) joins forces with the only witnesses of the murder: Morgan Hastings (James Gregory) and his son Dave (Dennis Hopper). A gunfight breaks out between the Hastings gang and the Elder gang. After his brother Matt is killed, John decides to settle the ranch dispute in a court of law with a judge (Sheldon Allman). However, Tom decides to take matters into his own hands by kidnapping Dave. After the final climactic gunfight, John and the wounded Bud retreat to a rooming house owned by Mary Gordon (Martha Hyer). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Dean Martin, (more)
