Ronny Howard Movies

Future film director Ron Howard is cast as 14-year-old Jess Orkin, who runs away from home after mistakenly believing that he has killed his uncle. During his flight, Jess linkes up with John Evans (J.D. Cannon, a genuine killer who is planning to rob and murder a wealthy Pennsylvania farm family headed by Dan Scott (Charles Bateman) Convincing the impressionable Jess that he is the "good guy" and Scott is the "villain", Evans sweet-talks the boy into becoming his accomplice...while Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) races against time to save several innocent lives. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Proof positive that The Andy Griffith Show had been on the air for seven seasons by the fall of 1966 was offered in the season opener, "Opie's Girlfriend," in which Opie Taylor (Ronny Howard), all of six years old when the series started, has entered the dating scene! In a related development, it is clear that Opie's dad, Mayberry sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), is very, very serious about his longtime sweetheart Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut), though wedding bells would not ring for at least another year. The basic cast lineup at this point includes Andy Griffith, Ronny Howard, Aneta Corsaut, Frances Bavieras Aunt Bee, George Lindsey as gas station attendant and erstwhile sheriff's deputy Goober Pyle, Jack Dodson as mother-dominated town clerk Howard Sprague, and Hal Smith as town drunk Otis Campbell. Also still on hand is Howard McNear as barber Floyd Lawson, but in a diminished capacity. Having suffered a serious stroke, actor McNear was unable to walk or to move his left arm. In a sweet, sentimental gesture, Andy Griffith insisted that the stricken actor remain on the series as long as he was able, seeing to it that Floyd's scenes were written so that he could remain seated and gesture only with his "good" arm. Having left the series as a regular at the end of season five, Don Knotts makes two more return appearances as Andy's former deputy in the episode "A Visit to Barney Fife" and "Barney Comes to Mayberry." This last-mentioned episode would earn Knotts another Emmy Award -- his fifth for playing the same role! Some viewers felt that The Andy Griffith Show had grown tired and predictable by the time its seventh season rolled around, with Andy Griffith's enthusiasm obviously waning. Other viewers didn't feel that way at all, as witnessed by the fact that the series closed out season seven as America's third highest-rated program. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The sixth season of The Andy Griffith Show was the first season to be filmed in color -- and the first to do without the services of longtime co-star Don Knotts, who had abandoned his Emmy-winning role of Mayberry deputy Barney Fife to pursue a film career. For a while, it looked as though star Andy Griffith would follow Knotts' lead, thereby voluntarily ending one of CBS's most popular sitcoms. At the last moment, however, Griffith opted to remain with the show, though reports still persist that he was never entirely happy with this decision. With the exception of Knotts, the series' familiar supporting cast remained intact: Ronny Howard as Opie Taylor, son of widowed sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith); Frances Bavier as the Taylors' housekeeper, Aunt Bee; Aneta Corsaut as Andy's schoolteacher sweetheart Helen Crump; Howard McNear as jittery town barber Floyd Lawson; George Lindsey as gas station attendant Goober Pyle; and Hal Smith as town drunk Otis Campbell. New to the series is Jack Burns as Andy's new deputy, the over-conscientious Warren Ferguson; and Jack Dodson as mother-dominated town clerk Howard Sprague. This season marked the first time that The Andy Griffith Show relied upon story arcs, with a single storyline spread throughout several consecutive episodes. The first of these found Andy, Opie, Aunt Bee, and Helen heading to Hollywood to oversee production of "The Sheriff Without a Gun," a film based on Andy's law career. The second arc, consuming two episodes, finds Barney Fife Don Knotts returning to Mayberry to attend his high school reunion. Ironically, these two installments proved to be the highlights of the season, and also earned Don Knotts his fourth Emmy award for his portrayal of Barney Fife! Although some aficionados feel that The Andy Griffith Show lost momentum during its post-Barney "color years," the series remained an audience favorite throughout its sixth season, ranking as America's sixth highest-rated program. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With The Andy Griffith Show as hilarious and highly rated as ever during its fifth season on the air, one would never suspect that there was trouble brewing in Mayberry, NC. The source of the difficulty was Don Knotts, who had won three Emmy awards for his performance as Barney Fife, the high-strung deputy to laid-back Mayberry sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith). Although the friendship and rapport between Knotts and Griffith remained strong, Knotts was upset that he was not being groomed for his own series, as former Andy Griffith Show regular Jim Nabors had been before being spun off into Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Thus, when an offer to star in theatrical feature films came his way, Knotts jumped at it -- and, of course, this meant that his fifth season as Barney Fife would be his last. Reportedly concerned that Knotts' defection would lessen the quality of his series, star Andy Griffith himself considered voluntarily ending the show at the end of season five and looking for movie work of his own. Banking on the possibility that Griffith would change his mind, the series' writers cast about for a character that could adequately replace Don Knotts. Eventually they came up with Don Rickles, who plays the title role in the final episode of the season, "The Luck of Newton Monroe." Cast as a perennial loser who fails at every job he tries, Rickles is amusing, but the character is too insubstantial to be made a permanent Mayberry resident. Even so, "The Luck of Newton Monroe" upholds the high standards of The Andy Griffith Show, as do most of the series' fifth season episodes.
Highlights this year include "The Education of Ernest T. Bass," in which Mayberry's resident rock-throwing village idiot (played by frequent Griffith Show director Howard Morris) decides to re-enroll in the fifth grade -- and promptly falls for Andy Taylor's sweetheart, schoolteacher Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut); "Barney's Bloodhound," wherein Barney purchases a phlegmatic "police dog" in his efforts to capture a desperate criminal; "Barney's Uniform," pitting the hapless deputy against a boorish bully (played by perennial sitcom guest star Allan Melvin); "Goodbye, Sheriff Taylor," in which Andy considers taking an out-of-town job, obliging Barney to try out a number of unworthy candidates for deputy; "Goober Takes a Car Apart," built around the talents of George Lindsey as Goober Pyle, Gomer's cousin and erstwhile replacement on the series; and "The Case of the Punch in the Nose," illustrating the perils of not letting sleeping dogs lie. Rumors of imminent cancellation notwithstanding, The Andy Griffith Show continued to be a viewer magnet, ending its fifth season as America's fourth most popular series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Meredith Wilson's hit 1957 Broadway musical was transferred to the screen in larger-than-life fashion in 1962. Robert Preston repeats his legendary stage performance as fast-talking con man Harold Hill, who goes from town to town selling citizens on starting a "boy's band," then extracts money from them by ordering instruments and uniforms, with the promise that he'll teach the kids how to be musicians. Once he's collected his bankroll, Hill skips town, leaving the kids in the lurch. Looking for new suckers in Iowa, Hill arrives in River City, where he declares that the only way to save the youth of River City from the lure of the poolroom is to organize a boy's band. He charms the mayor's wife Eulalie (Hermione Gingold) into forming a "ladies' dance committee" and sets his sights on winning over local music teacher Marian Paroo (Shirley Jones). Marian rightly considers Hill a fraud, especially when he espouses the "Think System" of learning music: if you think a tune, he claims, you can play it. But Marian becomes Hill's staunchest ally when her young brother Winthrop (Ronny Howard), sullen and withdrawn since the death of his father, exuberantly comes out of his shell at the prospect of joining Hill's band; and Marian's budding romance with the charming but unreliable Hill ultimately brings her out of her own shell as well. Marion Hargrove's script uses most of the original play, with a handful of amusing expansions, especially in the roles played by Gingold and by Buddy Hackett as Hill's comic sidekick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vincente Minnelli takes another of his occasional dips into situation comedy (i.e. The Long Long Trailer) in The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Ron Howard is the precocious Eddie, who wants to see his recently widowed father, Tom Corbett (Glenn Ford), get married again. He even has the lucky bride picked out -- their attractive neighbor Elizabeth Marten (Shirley Jones), a young divorcee. When his father's interest isn't whetted, he strikes up a friendship with Dollye Daly (Stella Stevens), a shy, beauty contest winner. But, much to Eddie's disappointment, Dollye falls in love with Tom's friend Norman Jones (Jerry van Dyke). When Tom meets stylish fashion consultant Rita Behrens (Dina Merrill) and announces their plans to marry, Eddie -- who disapproves of the match -- runs away from summer camp and hides out in Elizabeth's apartment. Tom breaks off his engagement to Rita and tries to find Eddie. Arriving at Elizabeth's apartment, Tom confronts Elizabeth and decides to try to get to know her a little better. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

One of the few unqualified hits of the 1960-1961 season, The Andy Griffith Show was a shoe-in for a second season renewal come September of 1961. Back in the saddle are Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor, easygoing sheriff of Mayberry, NC; Don Knotts as Andy's nervous, anal-retentive deputy Barney Fife; Ronny Howard as the widowed Andy's son Opie; and Frances Bavier as Andy and Opie's warmhearted housekeeper, Aunt Bee. Ever so gradually, and never pushing the issue, the series has evolved into an ensemble piece, with Andy Taylor frequently and graciously surrendering the spotlight to the supporting characters. Among the citizens of Mayberry who can be seen with more frequency during season two are Betty Lynn as Barney's girlfriend Thelma Lou, Hal Smith as town drunk Otis Campbell ("deputized" so that he can lock himself in the Mayberry jail whenever going on a bender), and Howard McNear as dithery barber Floyd Lawson. After unsuccessfully trying to romantically pair up Andy with drugstore clerk Ellie Walker during the previous season, the writers attempted to develop a new relationship between our hero and county nurse Mary Simpson. However, since Mary is played by two different actresses (Julie Adams and Sue Ane Langdon) in two separate episodes, no sense of continuity is established with the character, thus Andy remains unattached. Closing out its second season as America's seventh most popular series, The Andy Griffith Show also collected its second Emmy Award, again presented to co-star Don Knotts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There is nothing like suspecting your husband of murder to add suspense to a marriage, at least that is the case in this standard whodunit with a compelling plot. George Radcliffe (Gary Cooper) testifies in court against a man suspected of murdering George's business partner, absconding with a lot of cash in the process. Several years later, when his wife, Martha (Deborah Kerr), is confronted by a blackmailer (Eric Portman) who says her husband murdered his partner, she gets suspicious. George did come into a lot of money just at that time. And to make matters worse, life starts to turn very menacing for the confused and frightened Martha. This was Gary Cooper's last feature film. He succumbed to cancer a few months before The Naked Edge was released. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The pilot for the long-running CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show was seen on February 15, 1960, as an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, "Danny Meets Andy Griffith." As originally conceived, Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) was not only the sheriff of the sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry, but he was also the mayor, justice of the peace, and newspaper editor. Child actor Ronny Howard (who, as Ron Howard, would in adulthood enjoy a spectacularly successful career as a film director) was seen in the pilot as the widowed Andy's son Opie, but Frances Bavier played an entirely different role than she would in the actual series, while Frank Cady rather than Hal Smith was cast as town drunk Otis Campbell. While there would be changes in concept and casting, the laid-back character of Andy Taylor "clicked" with TV audiences, ensuring that The Andy Griffith Show would join the Monday night CBS lineup come October 3, 1960. Introduced as regulars during season one were of course Andy Griffith, Ronny Howard, and Frances Bavier (now as Aunt Bee, housekeeper for Andy and Opie Taylor), with the significant and salutary addition of Don Knotts as Andy's tightly wound deputy Barney Fife. The rapport between Andy and Barney contributed mightily to the series' success during its shakedown season, with nominal leading character Andy often voluntarily taking a back seat to Barney's overzealous antics. Subsequent additions to the cast included Jim Nabors as bucolic gas station attendant Gomer Pyle (later spun off into his own series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.); George Lindsey as Gomer's cousin, Goober Pyle; Howard McNear as dithery barber Floyd Lawson; and Hal Smith as the aforementioned Otis Campbell. Taking advantage of Andy Taylor's widower status, the series' writers tried to pair the character off with a number of eligible young ladies, beginning in the first season with Elinor Donahue as drugstore sales clerk Ellie Walker. But only when Aneta Corsaut joined the cast as Opie's schoolteacher Helen Crump did Andy find the "right" girl. Indeed, Andy and Helen would become engaged during the series' final season. Conversely, Barney Fife had but one steady girlfriend, Thelma Lou, played by Betty Lynn.
Don Knotts left the series at the outset of its sixth season (the show switched from black-and-white to color at the same time); it was explained that Barney had accepted a deputy position in Raleigh, permitting Knotts to make a handful of memorable return guest appearances. Barney was briefly replaced by Deputy Warren Ferguson, played by Jack Burns; later on, Goober Pyle became Andy's unofficial deputy. The post-Don Knotts episodes brought forth several other new recurring characters: Jack Dodson as town clerk Howard Sprague, Paul Hartman as handyman Emmet Clark, and Hope Summers as Aunt Bee's best friend, Clara. During the Emmy-winning series' eighth season, Andy Griffith decided to leave the show. At this point, Ken Berry was added to the cast as widowed farmer and later town councilman Sam Jones, with Buddy Foster as Sam's son Mike and Arlene Golonka as Sam's girlfriend, Millie Hutchins. After the final telecast of The Andy Griffith Show on September 16, 1968, the series continued for three additional seasons under the title Mayberry RFD, with Ken Berry taking over as star and with most of the familiar Andy Griffith Show supporting characters still in attendance. One of the most consistently popular sitcoms of all time, The Andy Griffith Show lasted 249 half-hour episodes, and also spawned the high-rated 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The two romantic leads in this standard but well-acted political drama renew a famous pairing that began with The King and I in 1956. Deborah Kerr is Lady Diana Ashmore, caught at the wrong side of the Hungarian-Austrian border in 1956, and Yul Brynner is Major Surov, a Russian commander who works at the border crossing. With the outbreak of the 1956 rebellion, the Budapest airport is shut down and Diana, along with other international travellers, are forced to reach Vienna by bus. Along for the ride is one of the Hungarian dissenters hunted by the police, Paul (Jason Robards, Jr. in his screen debut). Diana and Paul are in love and she is determined to protect his secret. Major Surov suspects a rebel is hidden on the bus, but he does not know which passenger is the guilty one. As interaction continues at the border, Diana is attracted to the Major and his complex character, even against her will. Their developing relationship and strong personalities carry the story from start to finish. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide