Eddie Hodges Movies

The Tony Award-winning actress and songstress Carol Lawrence, for years a toast of Broadway and the centerpiece of innumerable stage musicals, became one of the staple vocalists of the Bell Telephone Hour, a network musical showcase that drew significant audiences on NBC from 1959-61 by featuring performers of adult standards. Lawrence joined the program in 1960, under the aegis of producer Barry Wood and conductor Donald Voorhees. Carol Lawrence: The Bell Telephone Hour Appearances 1960-67 compiles excerpts from many of Ms. Lawrence's appearances on the program over the course of seven years, with a combination of rare black-and-white and color archival footage, in this release from VAI Distribution. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Singing stars from two very different generations appear in Live A Little, Love A Little. Elvis Presley plays Greg, a photographer who divides his time working for a skin magazine and a conservative newspaper. Rudy Valle plays Penlow, the veteran newspaper publisher. Lansdown (Don Porter) is the publisher of a girly magazine as Greg tries to work for both without the other finding out. Greg falls in love with a fashion model (Michele Carey) in this situation comedy that even die-hard Elvis fans have a hard time swallowing. By this time, Elvis planned to fulfil his remaining movie obligations and return to the stage, as his 1960s film career had failed to take on the dramatic seriousness he desperately sought. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Adapted from the book and play of the same name, The Happiest Millionaire is the (mostly) true story of eccentric Philadelphia millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle (Fred MacMurray). The Biddle mansion is the gathering place for a pugilistic boxing class, pet alligators and would-be opera singers. Cordelia Biddle (Lesley Ann Warren), the daughter of Anthony and his wife (Greer Garson), wants to marry wealthy and handsome Angie Duke (John Davidson), but Angie's parents are shocked by the Biddles' freewheeling lifestyle. Thanks in part to the ebullient intervention of John Lawless (Tommy Steele), the Biddles' butler, all misunderstandings are eventually swept away. Like Disney's previous Mary Poppins, The Happiest Millionaire is decked out with a vibrant musical score by Richard and Robert Sherman, but the magic is somehow lacking this time around. This was the last live-action film to personally supervised by Walt Disney; released several months after Disney's death, the film was made available in 141-minute and 164-minute versions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Broadway favorite Eddie Hodges guest stars as Roger McChesney, the teenaged babysitter for Ritchie Petrie (Larry Mathews). Unbeknownst to Ritchie's parents, Roger is hopelessly in love with Laura (Mary Tyler Moore). In their efforts to find out why Roger is so moony-eyed, Laura and Rob (Dick Van Dyke) unwittingly make things worse for the boy -- and when the truth comes out and Roger announces that he's leaving town, a guilt-ridden Rob and tries to talk him out of so rash a move. In an unexpected musical highlight, Eddie Hodges performs the old Phil Harris song hit "The Thing." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The first of Allen Drury "all names changed to protect the guilty" political novels, Advise and Consent was brought to the screen by producer/director Otto Preminger. The film hinges upon the appointment of Robert Leffingwell (Henry Fonda) to Secretary of State. Leffingwell has been hand-picked by the President (Franchot Tone), meaning that there'll be a battle on the Senate floor between adherents of and opponents to the current administration. Among the participants are veteran Dixiecrat Charles Laughton, freshman Senator Don Murray and powerseeker George Grizzard. Burgess Meredith also shows up as a man who is brought into the Senate to "prove" that Leffingwell is a communist. To neutralize Murray, Grizzard threatens to dredge up a homosexual incident in Murray's past, which results in the latter's suicide. Advise and Consent is a slow and old-fashioned film, coming to life only when Laughton and Grizzard are on screen--and in the climax, in which the fate of Leffingwell's appointment is left in the hands of acting President Lew Ayres. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although the main character, Tony Manetta (Frank Sinatra), in this light comedy tends to tip the scales towards being unbelievably unrealistic, the story is pulled off because everyone else is convincing. Tony is a widower in need of a financial bailout for himself and his son, so he asks for help from his brother Mario (Edward G. Robinson), a wealthy New Yorker. Tony owns a small hotel in Miami Beach but his impractical ways have made it a losing proposition. After Mario and his wife (Thelma Ritter) arrive in Miami, thinking of taking custody of Tony's son, they suddenly decide to try to match Tony up with the widowed Mrs. Rogers -- maybe that will teach him some responsibility. This was one of the last movies directed by Frank Capra. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi