Murray Hamilton Movies
Murray Hamilton first stepped on a Broadway stage in 1945; among his subsequent theatrical credits was the original production of Mister Roberts and his Tony-winning stint in 1964's Absence of a Cello. Hamilton's film career began with a minor role in Bright Victory (1951). He often played abrasive, cynical characters, such as the "feller sufferin' from R.O.T.C" in 1958's No Time for Sergeants, but he occasionally essayed good-guy roles, notably as James Stewart's foredoomed partner in The FBI Story (1959). Murray Hamilton is best known to many moviegoers for his role as the bombastic mayor in 1975's Jaws, a role which he won, according to the film's scenarist Carl Gottlieb, thanks to his acute ability "to portray weakness disguised as strength." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1963
An international bevy of beautiful teenage girls represent their countries as the daughters of diplomats. The teenage temptresses use their feminine wiles to steal some top-secret files vital to the survival of freedom-loving nations everywhere. Produced and directed by William Castle, the drawbridge of the film's plot falls between suspense and comedy and ends up mired in a moat of demeaning international caricatures. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Murray Hamilton, Joyce Taylor, (more)
It's December of 1941, and the people of California are in varying states of unease, ranging from a sincere desire to defend the country to virtual blind panic in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus begin several story threads that comprise the "plot" of this strange period comedy, a sort of satirical disaster movie, from Steven Spielberg. The stories and story threads involve lusty young men, officers (Tim Matheson) and civilians (Bobby Di Cicco) alike, eager to bed the young ladies of their dreams; Wild Bill Kelso, a nutty fighter pilot (John Belushi) following what he thinks is a squadron of Japanese fighters along the California coast; a well-meaning but clumsy tank crew (including John Candy) led by straight-arrow, by-the-book Sgt. Tree (Dan Aykroyd), who doesn't recognize the thug (Treat Williams) in his command; and homeowner Ward Douglas (Ned Beatty), who is eager to do his part for the nation's defense and, despite the misgivings of his wife (Lorraine Gary), doesn't mind his front yard overlooking the ocean being chosen to house a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. There is also a pair of grotesquely inept airplane spotters (Murray Hamilton, Eddie Deezen) who are doing their job from atop a ferris wheel at a beachfront amusement park; a paranoid army colonel (Warren Oates) positive that the Japanese are infiltrating from the hills; a big dance being held on behalf of servicemen, being attended by a lusty young woman of size (Wendie Jo Sperber) eager to land a man in uniform; and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell (Robert Stack), in charge of the defense of the West Coast, who can't seem to get anyone to listen to him when he says to keep calm. And, oh yes, there's also a real Japanese submarine that has gotten all the way to the California coast under the command of its captain (Toshiro Mifune) and a German officer observer (Christopher Lee), only to find itself without a working compass or usable maps. Its captain won't leave until the sub has attacked a militarily significant, honorable target, and the only one that anyone aboard ship knows of in California is Hollywood. By New Year's Eve, all of these characters are going to cross paths, directly or once-removed, in a comedy of errors and destruction strongly reminiscent of the finale to National Lampoon's Animal House (as well as several disaster movies from the same studio), but on a much larger and more impressive scale. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1979
"Sharon cries out for strength...for hope...for love...." So read the ad copy for the made-for-TV A Last Cry For Help Sharon (Linda Purl) is an outwardly happy, normal high schooler: A-student, cheerleader, popular with everyone. So why is she so determined to commit suicide? Director Hal Sitowitz' penetrating script is at its best when dealing with Sharon's inner turmoil; otherwise, Sitowitz' last-act tendency to proselytize weakens the overall impact. First aired January 19, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
A Tattered Web starts out at a high level of tension which seldom flags during its lean 74 minutes. Lloyd Bridges stars as a police detective who finds out that his son-in-law Frank Converse is cheating on his daughter Sallie Shockley. Catching up with the "other woman," Bridges accidentally kills her. After his initial panic has subsided, the detective rearranges the evidence, pinning the murder on a harmless drunk. Avoiding two-dimensionality, A Tattered Web is told largely from the murderer's point of view; we don't like the man, but we can understand him. Made for television, the film first aired September 24, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Burt Reynolds appears in this episode as truck driver Bill Davis, who with his brother Andy is piloting a huge tanker through the desert. When the road is blocked by a stalled car, Bill and Andy climb out of their truck to offer assistance. The disabled auto turns out to be owned by a pair of kidnappers (Murray Hamilton, Robert Karnes) who are escaping with their female victim (Venetia Stevenson). Getting the drop on the Davis brothers, the kidnappers steal their tanker, leaving Bill, Andy and the girl to roast under the desert sun. Fortunately, good is rewarded and evil punished by episode's end -- with the fate of the villains proving most ironic in light of the "cargo" being hauled by the Davis boys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Alice (Linda Lavin) despairs over the likelihood that her overbearing mother-in-law Rose (Eileen Heckart) will move to Phoenix permanently. The only way out of this devastating dilemma is to patch up the differences between Rose and her estranged husband Charlie (Murray Hamilton). Problem is, Charlie is apparently having a grand old time as an "instant" bachelor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
An American Dream is adapted from the Norman Mailer novel of the same name. Stuart Whitman plays an acerbic TV talk show host who kills his wife Eleanor Parker during an argument. Whitman exerts his influence to cover up his crime, and the official verdict is suicide. But Whitman has not reckoned with the "Hell hath no fury" intensity of his cast-aside mistress Janet Leigh. When An American Dream bombed at the box office, the desperate distributors re-titled the film See You in Hell, Darling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, (more)
Based on the best-selling novel by Robert Traver (the pseudonym for Michigan Supreme Court justice John D. Voelker), Anatomy of a Murder stars James Stewart as seat-of-the-pants Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler. Through the intervention of his alcoholic mentor, Parnell McCarthy (Arthur O'Connell), Biegler accepts the case of one Lt. Manion (Ben Gazzara), an unlovable lout who has murdered a local bar owner. Manion admits that he committed the crime, citing as his motive the victim's rape of the alluring Mrs. Manion (Lee Remick). Faced with the formidable opposition of big-city prosecutor Claude Dancer (George C. Scott), Biegler hopes to win freedom for his client by using as his defense the argument of "irresistible impulse." Also featured in the cast is Eve Arden as Biegler's sardonic secretary, Katherine Grant as the woman who inherits the dead man's business, and Joseph N. Welch -- who in real life was the defense attorney in the Army-McCarthy hearings -- as the ever-patient judge. The progressive-jazz musical score is provided by Duke Ellington, who also appears in a brief scene. Producer/director Otto Preminger once more pushed the envelope in Anatomy of a Murder by utilizing technical terminology referring to sexual penetration, which up until 1959 was a cinematic no-no. Contrary to popular belief, Preminger was not merely being faithful to the novel; most of the banter about "panties" and "semen," not to mention the 11-hour courtroom revelation, was invented for the film. Anatomy of a Murder was filmed on location in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Lee Remick, (more)
- 1951
Arthur Kennedy stars as a blinded war veteran struggling to adjust to his affliction in peacetime. He must overcome his pugnacious attitude towards any problem he can't think his way out of--and he must learn to temper his inbred racial prejudices. Peggy Dow plays the woman who loves Kennedy enough to be cruel to him during his bouts of self-pity. Refusing to lapse into sentimentality, Bright Victory, based on the novel by Bayard Kendrick, is one of the best of the "against all odds" films of the 1950s. Arthur Kennedy's performance won him the New York Critics' Circle award, but not the Oscar he so richly deserved. Trivia note: new Universal contractee Rock Hudson receives 18th billing for his bit role as a soldier in this film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Kennedy, Peggy Dow, (more)
Fact-based drama starring Robert Redford as Henry Brubaker, the new inmate at a run-down Southern prison that's become notorious for corruption and violence. After he witnesses several instances of gross misconduct and defuses a tense confrontation with a crazed inmate (Morgan Freeman), Brubaker reveals to the guards and administrators that he's not a criminal at all, but the new warden, assigned by the governor to infiltrate the facility undercover. His identity confirmed, Brubaker takes office and sets about shaping up policies and procedures, despite resistance from, incredibly, even some of the more entitled convicts. With the help of the prison's chief trustee (Yaphet Kotto) and a compassionate ally (Jane Alexander), the warden effects some positive change, but powerful business interests line up against him when his ideas threaten their financial bottom line. A reform-minded, socially conscious, and politically liberal picture of the type usually associated with director Norman Jewison, this fact-based prison drama was the result of a troubled production that saw original director Bob Rafelson replaced with Cool Hand Luke (1967) and The Amityville Horror (1979) helmsman Stuart Rosenberg. Despite the backstage turmoil, Brubaker was an acclaimed release and an Oscar-nominated, career-finale triumph for co-screenwriter Arthur A. Ross, creator of Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) and father of successful writer/director Gary Ross. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
- 1971
William Conrad stars as corpulent private eye Frank Cannon in this 2-hour pilot for the subsequent Cannon series. He responds to a plea for assistance from ex-flame Vera Miles (an actress who was in practically every pilot film made between 1965 and 1975). She is the prime suspect in the murder of her husband, and has also become the target of vicious anonymous phone calls. Cannon's investigation unearths a hotbed of small-town corruption. Cannon was first telecast March 26, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Conrad
Cajun quarter-horse trainer Lloyd Bourdelle (Walter Matthau) struggles to eke out a decent living for himself and his three sons Buddy, Randy and Casey (Andrew A. Rubin, Stephen Burns and Michael Hershewe). Their prize horse is thoroughbred foal Casey's Shadow, named after the youngest son (Hershewe). The question is whether or not Lloyd, a life-long loser, can take advantage of the opportunity for bettering his lot afforded by Casey's Shadow. Alexis Smith co-stars as Sarah Blue, a wealthy woman who becomes Matthau's strongest ally when she offers to buy the horse rather than allow the vindictive Mike Marsh (Robert Webber) to destroy it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Alexis Smith, (more)
- 1966
In this drama, a Yankee spy begins impersonating a dead man who looks just like him. In doing so he begins a fun-filled life as a jet-setting playboy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1958
James Garner stars as WWII hero Major William Darby in this characteristically gusty William Wellman combat film. Darby organizes a highly-trained group of rangers, to be deployed in behind-the-lines activities in Italy and Northern Africa. The first portion of the film details the training, with time out for a few comic and romantic interludes; the second part shows Darby's Rangers in full, ferocious action. In addition to Garner, Warner Bros. used Darby's Rangers to spotlight another of its TV stars, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes; Bill Wellman Jr. also shows up in the supporting role of Eli Clatworthy. The film was adapted from the book by Major James Altieri. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Etchika Choureau, (more)
- 1972
Richard Boone stars as Anton Solca, an Iron Curtain defector living contentedly in California's Napa Valley. Now a successful wine grower, Solca finds himself targetted by a mysterious assailant. Someone from his East European past wants him dead, and by mid-film we find out why. Patty Duke, Michael Constantine, Jack Kruschen and Murray Hamilton costar in this TV-movie adaptation of Geoffrey Household's novel Watcher in the Shadows. Deadly Harvest debuted September 26, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Die, Darling, Die stars Jimmy Stewart as countrified lawyer/sleuth Hawkins. Julie Harris costars as a recent widow, the heir to a $2 million estate. Not surprisingly, Ms. Harris is suspected of facilitating her husband's death--especially since she was seen throwing away his medication. It's Hawkin's job to find out if she really "done it". Die, Darling, Die premiered as the October 23, 1973 episode of the TV series Hawkins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
After arguing with gambler Ned Pickard (Tom Pickard) over a girl named Nita Tucker (Peggie Castle), Chester (Dennis Weaver) must take Ned into custody and escort him to jail. En route, Ned ends up shot to death in an alley--and the townsfolk suspect that Chester has committed murder. Though he wants to do everything he can to help prove Chester's innocence, Marshal Matt Dillon (Dennis Weaver) may be forced to honor the letter of the law instead. This episode is adapted from the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of January 15, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Fired by wealthy rancher Gil Borden (Stuart Whitman), shiftless Ed McKay (Murray Hamilton) decides to get even by pulling off a cruel practical joke. McKay goads Judd Calhoun (Peter Whitney), a gentle giant with mind of a child, to place burr under the saddle of Borden's horse. Unfortunately, it is Borden's wife Nora (Jean Allison) who is thrown from the horse and crippled for life--and it is innocent bystander Paladin, who'd helped Nora onto the horse, who is accused of causing the tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cary Grant scored still another box-office smash with his 1958 vehicle Houseboat. Grant plays a widowed father who packs himself and his spoiled kiddies off to a ramshackle houseboat. Enter Sophia Loren, who is attempting to break loose from her tyrannical father's (Eduardo Cianelli) iron grip. She hires on as Grant's housekeeper and his children's governess. Though Grant struggles valiantly to maintain a "hands off" policy, he and Loren are billing and cooing by fadeout time--but not before plenty of reversals, recriminations and sitcom-style mishaps. As a bonus, the kids end up behaving like little angels (not surprising, since Loren has threatened from time to time to turn them into genuine angels if they don't toe the line). According to most sources, the on-screen romance between Cary Grant and Sophia Loren in Houseboat spilled over into their private lives as well, though Sophia put an end to this dalliance when she married Italian movie mogul Carlo Ponti. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, (more)
- 1983
- PG
During the peak of the slasher-movie boom of the early '80s, there were numerous attempts at Airplane!-style horror parodies, all of which fell considerably short of their comic targets and vanished into cable-TV obscurity. Hysterical, an abortive vehicle for the questionable comic talents of the Hudson Brothers, is perhaps the weakest of the lot. Bill Hudson plays Fred Lansing, a writer vacationing at a rustic lighthouse in the deceptively idyllic Oregon fishing town of Hellview, where he is tormented by the apparition of Venecia (Julie Newmar), a local woman who killed herself one hundred years ago. The lovelorn Venecia wishes to use Fred's body as the vessel for the spirit of her dead husband, Captain Howdy (Richard Kiel, once again typecast as a great big guy), and isn't particularly interested in Fred's opinion on the matter. When Howdy apparently grumbles to life, several townspeople are subsequently murdered in ghastly ways, leading a pair of bumbling detectives (Mark Hudson and Brett Hudson) to investigate the horrific history of the Hellview lighthouse and generally make nuisances of themselves. Filled with insipid puns, tired sight gags, silly musical numbers, and unfunny cameo appearances from the likes of Bud Cort and Charlie Callas, this inept spoof has perhaps three genuine laughs scattered throughout its ninety-minute runtime, amounting to only one decent joke per half-hour of wasted film. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Hudson, Mark Hudson, (more)
- 1969
- G
- Add If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium to QueueAdd If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium to top of Queue
A mid-1960s TV documentary special (and a New Yorker cartoon before that) was the inspiration for If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium. The film is a likeable satire of "packaged" European tours, where the nonplused tourists are expected to rush from one landmark to another in a breathless 18 days. Ian McShane stars as the amorous tour guide, with Suzanne Pleshette as the American department store buyer he falls for; their romance ends when Pleshette decides that the supposedly worldly McShane is too immature for her. An all-star cast, including Murray Hamilton, Peggy Cass, Pamela Britton, Marty Ingels, John Cassavetes and Vittorio De Sica, pops up in comic cameo roles. Our favorite bit: an American and German tourist, simultaneously regaling their respective wives with wildly divergent accounts of the same wartime confrontation. If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium was reworked in 1987 as a made-for-TV movie, cleverly title If It's Tuesday, It Still Must be Belgium. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Suzanne Pleshette, Ian McShane, (more)
- 1972
This TV movie was the pilot for a series that would have been titled The Prosecutors...had it sold. David Canary and Robert Pine play two green law school graduates, sent to work at the Department of Justice's office in Manhattan. The standard-issue "gruff but lovable" father figure is US attorney James Olson (who would have been the star of the subsequent series). The first case-load: Getting the goods on a mafia boss, while simultaneously exposing City Hall corruption and tracking down a narcotics operation. Richard Castellano, late of The Godfather, shows up as a minor mafioso. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on Peter Benchley's best-selling novel, Steven Spielberg's 1975 shark saga set the standard for the New Hollywood popcorn blockbuster while frightening millions of moviegoers out of the water. One early summer night on fictional Atlantic resort Amity Island, Chrissie decides to take a moonlight skinny dip while her friends party on the beach. Yanked suddenly below the ocean surface, she never returns. When pieces of her wash ashore, Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) suspects the worst, but Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), mindful of the lucrative tourist trade and the approaching July 4th holiday, refuses to put the island on a business-killing shark alert. After the shark dines on a few more victims, the Mayor orders the local fishermen to catch the culprit. Satisfied with the shark they find, the greedy Mayor reopens the beaches, despite the warning from visiting ichthyologist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) that the attacks were probably caused by a far more formidable Great White. One more fatality later, Brody and Hooper join forces with flinty old salt Quint (Robert Shaw), the only local fisherman willing to take on a Great White--especially since the price is right. The three ride off on Quint's boat "The Orca," soon coming face to teeth with the enemy. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, (more)
