Richard Haydn Movies

Return of Charlie Chan was subtitled Happiness is a Warm Clue, which should be warning enough for the discriminating viewer. Ross Martin, the disguise-happy "Artemus Gordon" of The Wild Wild West, here plays Earl Derr Biggers' scrupulously polite Chinese sleuth. Chan is dragged out of retirement to solve a baffling case, made less baffling by the guest star line-up (the killer all but wears a neon sign reading "IT'S ME!"). The victim is a possessive Greek shipping tycoon, who isn't named Onassis but you can't fool us. Rocky Gunn, Virginia Lee, Soon Teck-Oh and Ernest Harada are among the many actors playing Charlie's offspring, none of them any brighter than the "Number One" and "Number Two" sons in the old Charlie Chan B pictures. Return of Charlie Chan was the pilot film for a projected "Chan" TV series, but it was shelved due to pressure-group complaints over the casting of a Caucasian in the lead. The film was released theatrically in Europe in 1973, but didn't make it to American television until 1979. No pressure groups complained this time, mainly because no one was watching. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In a bit of casting that would probably not pass muster anymore, British character actor Richard Haydn appears as Darrin's Japanese client, Kensu Mishimoto. Thanks to a misfire magic spell, Mishimoto falls madly in love with dotty old Aunt Clara. In the course of events, Sam tries vainly to conjure up Clara's former beau, Ocky; a beautiful Japanese stewardess makes a coincidental appearance; and much fun is had with the Oriental tendency to mispronounce "L"s and "R"s (again, a bit of comic business that would be rejected out of hand nowadays!) Written by Ed Jurist, "A Majority of Two" was originally telecast on April 11, 1968 (though existing evidence indicates it was meant to be broadcast at a much earlier date). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the most popular movie musicals of all time, The Sound of Music is based on the true story of the Trapp Family Singers. Julie Andrews stars as Maria, a young nun in an Austrian convent who regularly misses her morning prayers because she enjoys going to the hills to sing the title song. Deciding that Maria needs to learn something about the real world before she can take her vows, the Mother Superior (Peggy Wood) sends her off to be governess for the children of the widowed Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). Arriving at the Trapp home, Maria discovers that her new boss is cold and aloof, and his seven children virtual automatons-at least, whenever the Captain is around. Otherwise, the kids are holy terrors, as evidenced by the fact that Maria is the latest in a long line of governesses. But Maria soon ingratiates herself with the children, especially oldest daughter Liesl (Charmian Carr), who is in love with teenaged messenger boy Rolf. As Maria herself begins to fall in love with the Captain, she rushes back to the Abbey so as not to complicate his impending marriage to a glamorous baroness (Eleanor Parker). But the children insist that Maria return, the Baroness steps out of the picture, and Maria and the Captain confirm their love in the song "Something Good." Unhappily, they return home from their honeymoon shortly after the Nazis march into Austria. Already, swastikas have been hung on the Von Trapp ancestral home, and Liesl's boyfriend Rolf has been indoctrinated in the "glories" of the Third Reich. The biggest blow occurs when Von Trapp is called back to active duty in the service of the Fuhrer. The Captain wants nothing to do with Nazism, and he begins making plans to take himself and his family out of Austria. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rob (Dick Van Dyke) plans to devote an episode of "The Alan Brady Show" to a showcase of famous old radio comedians. The staff has no trouble lining up such venerable talent as Bert Gordon (the "Mad Russian" of The Eddie Cantor Show fame) and Arlene Harris (whose "Chatterbox" routines were a highlight of Al Pierce and His Gang). But when Rob approaches Edwin Carp (Richard Haydn), the tweedy "Fish Man" of many a classic radio variety series, Carp refuses to emerge from retirement -- and for a very strange reason. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This colorful remake of the 1935 version again concerns the crew and treatment of the HMS Bounty by a cold hearted sadistic captain. Captain Bligh (Trevor Howard) boards the ship in Portsmouth, England, to embark on a mission to bring tropical breadfruit trees to Jamaica. Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando) is the aristocratic second mate who welcomes the new captain aboard. Christian's view of the captain sours with the cruel treatment of the crew and the dangerous decision to round Cape Horn. The Bounty sails into the teeth of a ferocious winter storm which is another in a long line of indignities suffered on the journey. John Mills (Richard Harris) is punished for stealing cheese. A sailor is ordered to stay aloft in the crow's nest, nearly resulting in death. The crew finds temporary paradise in Tahiti before Bligh's behavior becomes intolerable for the once faithful Christian. The crew revolts and sends the captain on his way in a small rowboat. Settling on Pitcairn Island, the crew soon realizes they may never see England again. Mills burns the ship to insure the trip is never made. Christian attempts to save the only means of transportation of their new island home. Lewis Milestone directed the film which was plagued by constant cost overruns to the tune of 18 million dollars. Brando's legendary ego clashed with results as turbulent as the fictitious trip around stormy Cape Horn. The movie retained slightly over half the cost of the production price tag in its initial release. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Magazine critic Bartlett Finchley (Richard Haydn) despises all things mechanical, from electric typewriters to refrigerators. Such is his invective against machinery that, inevitably, all the machines in his household band together and turn against him. This was one of those "you can see the end coming a mile away" episodes that tended to weaken Twilight Zone's second season. First telecast October 28, 1960, "A Thing About Machines" was written by Rod Serling. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

That zany video genius Ernie Kovacs plays it (sort of) straight in this Playhouse 90 adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's satirical stage play Topaze. A man constitutionally incapable of being dishonest, Monsieur Topaze (Kovacs) loses his teaching position at a small provincial French private school when he refuses to give a passing grade to an undeserving pupil. On the advice of Suzy (Sheree North), the attractive aunt of another pupil, Topaze accepts a new job with Castel-Bernac (Stephen Wooton), a crooked politician who happens to be Suzy's "protector." Castel-Bernac takes Topaze on in the secure belief that someone so indomitably honest would never suspect that anything unscrupulous was going on within Castel-Bernac's political machine. But things happen which not only profoundly alter Topaze, but also everyone around him. Carl Reiner costars in this production, which originally aired live. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Toy Tiger was a remake of the 1938 Deanna Durbin film Mad About Music. The adolescent girl of the original becomes a preteen boy in the remake, played with an excess of the cutes by Tim Hovey. A student in a private school, Hovey brags to his classmates about the accomplishments of his father. Actually the boy's dad has been dead for years, thus he's up against it when challenged to produce his fictional papa. Jeff Chandler, businessman friend of Hovey's widowed mother (Laraine Day), is coerced into posing as the boy's father. The "see it coming" ending was at least compensated for in Mad About Music by Deanna Durbin's singing. The banality of Toy Tiger is made bearable only by the gritty performance of Jeff Chandler, who lets us know that he knows he's better than his material. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After a fruitful 15-year association, Greer Garson and MGM parted company with Her Twelve Men. The William Roberts-Laura Z. Hobson screenplay was adapted from Louise Baker's autobiographical novel Miss Baker's Dozen, the title of which pointed out the fact (which the film's title does not) that there are thirteen men in the story. Ms. Garson plays widow Jan Stewart, who after several years of marriage decides to create a new life for herself as a teacher at an exclusive boys' school. It takes her some time to win over her 13 troublesome students, but win them over she does. A more formidable task is to convince stodgy professor Joe Hargrave (Robert Ryan) that her teaching methods are viable; also doubtful of Jan's capability is Richard Y. Oliver (Barry Sullivan), the oil-rich father of her most contentious student (Tim Considine). Featured as another of the parents is Frances Bergen, the real-life wife of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and the mother of Murphy Brown star Candice Bergen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Clark Gable's next-to-last MGM film was the Cold War melodrama Never Let Me Go. Filmed in England, the story finds American journalist Philip Sutherland (Gable) desperately trying to retrieve his Russian-ballerina bride Marva Lamarkins (Gene Tierney) from behind the Iron Curtain. Stymied by bureaucracy on both sides, Sutherland attempts to plead his case directly to Soviet bigwig Molotov, in London for a peace conference. When this too fails, Sutherland aligns himself with an Englishman (Richard Haydn) in a similar predicament. Together, the two men formulate a daring escape plan, which could spell instant doom for both their wives and themselves. The Englishman's bride is played by Belita, who unlike Gene Tierney did her own dancing in the ballet scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This Disney feature-length cartoon combines the most entertaining elements of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Chasing after the White Rabbit, who runs into view singing "I'm Late! I'm Late!," Alice falls down the rabbit hole into the topsy-turvy alternate world of Wonderland. She grows and shrinks after following the instructions of a haughty caterpillar, attends a "Very Merry Unbirthday" party in the garden of the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, stands in awe as the Cheshire Cat spouts philosophy, listens in rapt attention as Tweedledum and Tweedledee relate the story of the Walrus and the Carpenter (a sequence usually cut when Alice is shown on TV), and closes out her day with a hectic croquet game at the home of the Red Queen. The music and production design of Alice in Wonderland is marvelous, but the film is too much of a good thing, much too frantic to do full honor to the whimsical Carroll original, and far too episodic to hang together as a unified feature film. One tactical error is having Alice weep at mid-point, declaring her wish to go home: This is Alice in Wonderland, Walt, not Wizard of Oz! Its storytelling shortcomings aside, Alice in Wonderland is superior family entertainment (never mind the efforts in the 1970s to palm off the picture as a psychedelic "head" film). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi