Dee Hartford Movies
Dee Hartford was a model turned actress who became the third wife of director Howard Hawks. Born Donna Higgins in 1927, she was the older sister of Eden Hartford, who married Groucho Marx in 1954. Dee Hartford initially achieved fame in the late '40s as a model for Vogue magazine -- a tall brunette with beautifully etched features, she could stop traffic or conversation in a room by entering it, and cut a startling figure in photographs. Hartford chalked up exactly one big-screen credit in her early career, with a role in the 1952 Groucho Marx vehicle A Girl in Every Port, directed by Chester Erskine. She married Hawks -- who was more than 30 years her senior -- the following year, and did no acting during the six years that they were together. The two divorced in 1959, but the director gave her a small uncredited role in his 1965 film Red Line 7000. She had already resumed her acting career by then, on Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Burke's Law, The Outer Limits ("The Invisibles"), and The Twilight Zone ("Bewitchin' Pool"). Her later work included appearances on Batman, Time Tunnel, Land of the Giants, and Lost in Space. Her work on the latter three series likely came about in part as a result of Hartford's sister Eden's marriage to Groucho Marx -- Marx was one of the primary investors in Irwin Allen's production company, which was responsible for all three programs. Her performance as the android Verda in the 1966 Lost in Space episode "The Android Machine" led to her return in the same role in a sequel, "Revolt of the Androids." Hartford brought an engaging warmth and sincerity to the role of an android who finds herself turning into a human, and is no longer content to allow herself to be treated like a piece of property, with no rights. As a result of "Revolt of the Androids," Hartford became one of the most popular female guest stars in the three-year run of the series. Her last screen role to date was in Michael Campus' 1976 thriller Survival. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Shifty space showman Farnum B (Harold J. Stone) is back, now as the owner of an intergalactic beauty contest. At Farnum's B-hest, Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris) tricks Judy (Marta Kristen) into signing up as a contestant--little realizing that if she wins, she will be forced to become the bride of Farnum's boss, a literally fiery dictator. This is the episode in which the Robot appears in drag as another contestant, "Miss Mechanical Marvel"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Will (Billy Mumy), Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris), and the robot encounter a super-powerful android, IDAK (short for Instant Destroyer and Killer) Alpha-12 (Don Matheson), who has been dispatched to destroy a runaway android. Having been damaged by his interstellar journey, and a little disoriented in dealing with humans, IDAK accepts their help in recovering his full strength and also their assurances that there are no androids among the Robinson party, just humans and one robot. But they're wrong -- Verda (Dee Hartford), the female android introduced earlier in the episode "The Android Machine", has returned to them. A policy change at the Celestial Department Store resulted in an order for all androids of her type to report for destruction, but she refused and ran, transporting herself back to the Robinsons' planet -- except that she's changed, and she looks and acts almost completely human. At first, unable to convince IDAK Alpha-12 to abandon his programming, she is able to convince him that she is human, and enough of what she shows him about being human rubs off, that he is able to resist his programming to kill her. When the CDS sends another, much more powerful IDAK Omega-17 model (Dawson Palmer), however, the first IDAK struggles between the new impulse for survival and the self-sacrifice that he sees in Verda, and finally joins together with the Robinsons to combat the threat. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Stumbling upon a vending machine for the "Celestial Department Store", Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris accidentally places an order for a gorgeous--and emotionless--female android named Verda (Dee Hartford). Enter Zumdish (Fritz Feld in his first series appearance), the pompous CEO of the Celestial Department Store. With a crook of the eyebrow and a "pop" of the hand, Zumdish demands that Verda be returned immediately--but alas, the android has been "ruined" by the Robinsons, who have endowed the curvaceous android with human emotions. This is the episode which establishes the Robinsons' deutronium fuel supply as the "Euro" currency of the universe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Despite the efforts of detective Paul Drake (William Hopper) to protect a secret desalinization process developed by Tryon Labs, the formula is pirated by a rival company. Working undercover for Tryon's head man Dr. Malcolm Scranton (Gilbert Green), Horace Lehigh (Bryan O'Byrne) is on the verge of revealing the identity of the person responsible for the security leak when he is drowned in a chemical vat. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) ends up defending Dr. Todd Meade (Grant Williams), who apparently had both motive and opportunity to murder Lehigh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Legendary director Howard Hawks revs up and hits the track in this drama about race car drivers and the women who love them. Pat Kazarian (Norman Alden) is a racing driver who also oversees a team of racers, among them Jim Loomis (Anthony Rogers) and Mike Marsh (James Caan). Jim is engaged to marry Holly McGregor (Gail Hire), but after she arrives in Daytona to be with her man, Holly learns Jim died in a crash. With no where else to do, a shattered Holly takes a job at a restaurant owned by her friend Lindy (Charlene Holt). Ned Arp (John Robert Crawford) is tapped to replace Jim, who quickly makes a reputation for moving fast on the track. He also becomes known for moving fast with the ladies, which doesn't please Pat when he learns Ned has his eyes on Julie Kazarian (Laura Devon), his younger sister. After a few early successes, Ned breaks off from Pat's team, and Dan McCall (James Ward) steps in in his place. Dan arrives with his girlfriend, French beauty Gabrielle (Marianna Hill), but soon finds himself infatuated with Holly. Mike begins to fall for Gabrielle, and becomes angry with the shabby way Dan has treated her, going so far as to take his anger out on his teammate on the track. Red Line 7000 includes plenty of superb racing footage and some unusual rock and roll interpretations of classic folk songs; keep an eye peeled for George Takei (Mr. Sulu on Star Trek) in a minor role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Laura Devon, (more)
- 1964
An otherwise peaceful lakeside resort is the scene of an angry confrontation between Edward Lewis (Richard Anderson) and his father-in-law B.K. Doran (Murray Matheson), with each man accusing the other of embezzling funds from the family business. Later on, Doran is stabbed to death, and Lewis is charged with murder. Fortunately for Lewis, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is also visiting the resort. Featured in the cast is actress and model Dee Hartford, who at one time was both the wife of director Howard Hawks and the sister-in-law of comedian Groucho Marx (whew!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Written by Earl Hamner, Jr., this late Twilight Zone episode shows evidence of production difficulties and post-production tampering, as indicated by the curious repetition of several key scenes and the decision to dub the voice of child actress Mary Badham (of To Kill a Mockingbird fame) with that of adult actress June Foray. Whatever the case, this is the story of Sport (Badham) and Jeb (Tim Stafford), two wealthy southern kids who would give anything to escape their parents' constant quarrelling. While lolling near the swimming pool in their suburban backyard, the kids are astonished when a Huck Finnish young boy suddenly emerges from the water and beckons them to dive in. They do so, resurfacing in an idyllic backwoods setting, populated by disenfranchised children and presided over by benevolent "earth mother" Aunt T (Georgia Simmons). With the telecast of "The Bewitchin' Pool" on June 19, 1964, the five-year saga of Twilight Zone came to an end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Newman, Mary Badham, (more)
- 1964
Season eight of Perry Mason begins with Perry (Raymond Burr) in the middle of a natsy child-custody battle between divorcing couple Janice and Dirk Blake (Julie Adams, Ed Nelson). The child in question is the Blakes' five-year-old daughter Button (Claire Wilcox), who has just inherited a four-million-dollar trust fund. With both Janice and Dirk behaving deplorably, Perry arranges for Button to be placed in the temorary custody of her cousins Lois and Roger Gray (Dee Hartford, Alan Baxter). As it turns out, the Grays may end up with the kid for keeps: dad Dirk has been charged with the murder of Vince Rome (Anthony Eisley), who had earlier conspired with Dirk to "kidnap" Button from her mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
When the faithless wife of architect Paul Sampson (Barry Sullivan) demands a divorce, he goes berserk and kills her. The police rule that the death was an accident, but it isn't long before Paul is tortured by the pangs of conscience. He decides to confess to the murder and take the consequences -- only to find that no one believes him. Well, almost no one: Paul does manage to convince Judge David Wilcox (Louis Hayward), who, as it turns out, has a vested interest in the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1951
The unique comic talents of Groucho Marx, William Bendix and Marie Wilson are hardly exploited to their fullest in RKO's A Girl in Every Port. Groucho and Bendix play Benny Linn and Tim Dunnevan, respectively, a couple of scheming sailors who embark upon one get-rich-quick scheme after another. This time around, our heroes use a small inheritance to purchase two horses, one for racing purposes and one to be sold at a tidy profit. After a series of bizarre complications, both horses are pitted against each other in a crucial race which could spell either triumph or ruin for the two goofy gobs. Wilson co-stars as a birdbrained carhop who owns one of the horses coveted by Linn and Dunnevan. No stone is left unturned so far as wheezy comedy routines are concerned: writer-director Chester Erskine even manages to revive the old chestnut wherein the sailors sneak both horses on board their ship. The likeable supporting cast includes Don DeFore as a disgruntled stable owner, Dee Hartford (who later became Groucho Marx's sister-in-law) as DeFore's financially savvy fiancee, Gene Lockhart as a seedy horse dealer, Hanley Stafford ("Daddy" on radio's Baby Snooks) as the two protagonists' flustered commanding officer, and Teddy Hart as a Runyonesque gangster. A box-office disappointment, A Girl in Every Port ended Groucho Marx's efforts to become a solo screen star; fortunately, he still had TV's You Bet Your Life to fall back on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Groucho Marx, Marie Wilson, (more)
