Dody Heath Movies
Reportedly, Vincente Minnelli turned down the opportunity to film Brigadoon on location in Scotland insisting that MGM's studio mockups looked more Scottish than the genuine article. This lavish adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe Broadway musical stars Gene Kelly as an American tourist who stumbles upon an enchanted Scottish village. Every 100 years, the people of Brigadoon awaken for a 24-hour period, then go back to sleep for another century while Brigadoon itself vanishes in the mists. Tommy Albright (Kelly) falls in love with village lass Fiona Campbell (Cyd Charisse) while his hard-drinking pal, Jeff Douglas (Van Johnson), dismisses the legend -- and indeed the existence of Brigadoon as a result of delirium. Fiona's betrothed Harry Beaton (Hugh Laing), upset by Kelly's intervention, threatens to leave Brigadoon -- an act that will spell doom for its residents. When this crisis has passed, Tommy is persuaded against his better judgment to escape Brigadoon himself and return to his own fiancée (Elaine Stewart) in New York. But the love between Tommy and Fiona results in a miraculous finale. Most of the Lerner-Loewe score remains intact, including the hit songs "Almost Like Being in Love," "Heather on the Hill," and "Come to Me Bend to Me." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, (more)
- 1959
Lumber tycoon Bill Fleming (Paul Douglas) knows that his wife, Laura (Dody Heath), is unfaithful, but he draws the line at killing Laura's love, Philip Baxter (Hugh Marlowe). However, Fleming changes his mind when a young acquaintance named Sandy (Robert Morse) cites an archaic but still viable law, which declares that Fleming cannot be prosecuted if he kills his rival in a duel. What Sandy doesn't tell Fleming is that this law has its own peculiar conditions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This is the autobiographical drama of a young Dutch Jewish girl hiding from the invading Nazis during World War II. Anne and her family share a claustrophobic attic with another family. Tension is often unbearable, as the people hiding know that their discovery by the enemy could lead to almost certain death at the hands of their captors. They also must contend with the Dutch Gestapo or "Green Police," who will turn them over to the Nazis if discovered. Dutch nationals risk their lives by hiding the family for two years. The group, despite the horror and crowded conditions, still find time for celebrations of Hanukkah and rejoice quietly in the small attic that has become their world. The story is told from the narrative perspective of Anne, a young girl hoping to live to womanhood. The film was nominated for several academy awards and won two for best supporting actress (Shelley Winters) and for cinematography (William Mellor). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Millie Perkins, Joseph Schildkraut, (more)
- 1959
Viewers know they're in a 1959 comedy film early in the proceedings of Ask Any Girl, when secretary Shirley MacLaine is advised by her new supervisor Jim Backus to wear a sweater "a size too small." But she is a good girl: like Doris Day, she won't offer any carnal favors unless a wedding ring is part of the bargain. She targets irresponsible CEO Gig Young for matrimony, asking Young's sober-sided older brother David Niven to help her out. The highlight of Ask Any Girl is Shirley MacLaine's extended drunk scene in the club car of a commuter train. The film was based on a satirical novel by Winifred Wolfe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
- 1960
This episode was written by W.R. Burnett of Little Caesar fame, so it shouldn't be a surprise that much of the story is told from the viewpoint of the nominal villain--in this case, dapper bank robber Larry "Ace" Banner (Dan O'Herlihy). As a clever as he is prolific, Banner is a master of disguise and psychology, frequently covering his tracks by preying on bankers who are even bigger crooks than he is. Unable to put the cuffs on Banner because bank robbery is not yet a Federal crime, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) must resort to other, more subtle methods to trip up the elusive thief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
College professor Kittridge (Edgar Stehli) cannot understand why the history lectures of his future son-in-law, Professor Walter Jameson (Kevin McCarthy), seem so vividly real -- as if Jameson were actually present at the incidents he describes. It turns out that Jameson is actually several hundred (if not several thousand) years old, and that he has been blessed -- or cursed -- with the gift of immortality. Only the intervention of a "ghost" from Jameson's past can prevent him from ruining the life of Kittridge's daughter Suzanna (Dody Heath). Boasting a powerful script by Charles Beaumont, not to mention the makeup prowess of William Tuttle, "Long Live Walter Jameson" made its first TV appearance on March 18, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin McCarthy, Edgar Stehli, (more)
- 1962
This episode reunites the stars of the 1956 comedy film Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Tony Randall and Jayne Mansfield -- but there's nothing funny going on here, not even in the surprisingly somber epilogue delivered by host Alfred Hitchcock. Randall is cast as hard-drinking advertising executive Hadley Purvis, who awakens one morning with a monstrous hangover, and no recollection of what happened the night before. All he knows for sure is that his long-suffering wife, Sandra (Dody Heath), is nowhere in sight...and that a strange blonde (Mansfield) is lounging around in his living room. As Purvis painfully tries to piece together the events leading up to this situation, the viewer bears witness to one of the most terrifying descents into alcoholism ever filmed. "Hangover" was adapted by Lou Rambeau from two separate short stories: Hangover, by John D. MacDonald, and Marian, by Charles Runyon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Randall, Jayne Mansfield, (more)
A fortune in cash is the bait that draws some would-be criminals into a feeding frenzy in this offbeat but stylish crime drama. Lylle Corbett (Cameron Mitchell) and his girlfriend, Darlene (Jayne Mansfield), have just pulled off the heist of a lifetime, stealing one million dollars in American currency as it's being transported from Europe back to the United States. Hiding out in a small, run-down hotel on the Mediterranean coast, Lylle and Darlene plan to hire a boat and make their way back to the States, where they can start spending some of their loot. However, Darlene's abundance of enthusiasm and lack of common sense cause Livio Morelli (Aldo Camarda), the manager of the hotel, to suspect that she and Lylle are responsible for the robbery that's been all over the news. Livio quickly hatches a plan to steal the fortune from Lylle and cover his tracks, but Livio's hardly the only one looking for the loot, with his spinster sister, Sandra (Dody Heath), greedy butler Dolph (Ivor Salter), and eccentric heiress Madame Benoit (Isa Miranda) all conniving to get their hands on the cash. Dog Eat Dog (aka La Morte Vestita di Dollar) was released in the United Kingdom as When Strangers Meet, the title of the novel that was the basis for its screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Cameron Mitchell, (more)
- 1965
Alfred Hitchcock's long-running suspense anthology wraps up its ten seasons on the air with its 361st episode, directed by a pre-French Connection, pre-Exorcist William Friedkin. John Gavin heads the cast as Johnny Kendall, a trigger-happy cop who is suspended from the force after killing a derelict during a liquor-store holdup. With no other source of income, Johnny heads to a small vacation town to take a job as a watchman. His efforts to keep his temper in check seem to be working until Johnny begins to suspect that his girlfriend, Sandy (Indus Arthur) is fooling around with the local sheriff's ex-deputy (Richard Jaeckel). "Off Season" was written by Robert Bloch, whose most famous collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock is the 1960 chiller Psycho. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gavin, Dody Heath, (more)
The British title of Billy Wilder's classic comedy was Meet Whiplash Willie -- for, despite Jack Lemmon's star billing, the movie's driving force is Oscar-winning Walter Matthau as gloriously underhanded lawyer "Whiplash" Willie Gingrich. CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Lemmon) is injured when he is accidentally bulldozed by football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) during a Cleveland Browns game. Willie, Harry's brother-in-law, foresees an insurance-settlement bonanza, and he convinces Harry to pretend to be incapacitated by the accident. To insure his client's cooperation, Willie arranges for Harry's covetous ex-wife Sandy (Judi West) to feign a rekindling of their romance. Harry's conscience is plagued by the solicitous behavior of Boom Boom, who is so devastated at causing Harry's injury that he insists on waiting on the "cripple" hand and foot. Meanwhile, dishevelled private eye Purkey (Cliff Osmond) keeps Harry under constant surveillance, hoping to catch him moving around so the insurance company can avoid shelling out a fortune. Wilder and usual co-writer I.A.L. Diamond were at their most jaundiced and cynical here, even if, after a sardonic semiclimax, the last ten minutes succumb to the sentimentality that often marred Wilder's later movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, (more)
Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) is a listless Manhattan businessman who lives with his wife in the New York suburbs. One day, he runs into an old friend (Murray Hamilton) whom he thought had died. The friend leads him to The Company, a secretive operation run by The Old Man (Will Geer). The Company is a high-tech service which, for a price, provides older men with plastic surgery, a beefed-up body, and a fresh start in life. To cover the "disappearance," a middle-aged male cadaver is "killed" in a hotel fire. Hamilton submits to the operation that will turn him into a "Second," and when the bandages are removed, he's shed twenty years, renamed Tony Wilson and is portrayed by Rock Hudson. The Company creates a new identity for Hamilton, relocating him in a hedonistic California beach community with an identity as a painter. Celebrating during a local wine festival, Hamilton has his revelry cut short when he learns that all his new young friends are Seconds like himself and suddenly feels trapped in these surroundings. Unfortunately, finding a way out isn't nearly as easy as it was to find a way in. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Salome Jens, (more)
- 1974
- R
The consumption of human flesh is the main course of this off-beat horror movie that centers on a war veteran who returns to California a cannibal. His sister likes peopleburgers too. The trouble begins when a gentle hippie chick encounters the hungry duo enthusiastically eating their latest meal. The terrified girl heads for the police, but they refuse to believe her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
