Bern Hoffman Movies

Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) again matches wits with erudite master thief Arthur Justin, whom he sent to prison in the second-season episode "Shell Game". On that occasion, Justin had been played by Sorrell Booke; this time, the role is handled by Dan O'Herlihy. Determined to have his revenge on Ironside, Justin draws up elaborate plans for a spectacular art heist, dropping tantalyzing clues all along the way--and never revealing that he ultimately plans to "hijack" Elizabeth Van Deering (Skye Aubrey), the current sweetheart of Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This comedy finds American writer Lawrence Colby (Robert Wagner) augmenting his scribing income by smuggling Swiss watch parts into France. Martine (Mary Tyler Moore) enlists his help to find her friend Sabine (Glynis Johns), an author of erotic novels. Sabine is vacationing in Greece, but crooks kidnap her beautiful ghost writer (Barbara Rhoades) by mistake. Sabine's nervous agent Merriman Dudley (Harvey Korman) feels the pressure from the book publishers for the deadline on the new book, still unfinished. Martine and Lawrence help the ghost writer escape, but she is accused of murdering a notorious gangster. The thug conveniently appears and is promptly arrested, as the writers all try to get back to work. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this wonderfully Wagnerian episode, Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris brings the wrath of Valhalla down upon the Robinsons when he steals the gloves and hammer of the Norse god Thor (Bern Hoffman). Now Smith must engage Thor in mortal combat, lest everyone suffer mightily. Amazingly, Thor is vanquished, whereupon the neurotic deity loses all his confidence--leaving Valhalla vulnerable to attack from giant aliens. Sheila Matthews, the wife of series producer Irwin Allen, does a neat comic turn as the "Yo-do-ho"-ing Brynhilda...helmet, sword and all. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Martin (Ray Walston) needs to lose a just a little bit of weight to fit into his spacesuit. Unfortunately, Tim (Bill Bixby) flips the wrong switch on the weight-loss machine, which promptly shrinks Martin's spaceship to the size of a toy. Worse still, the teeny-tiny vessel is carried off by a dog and ulimately retrieved by a toy manufactuer, who plans to mass-produce the item and make a fortune. Martin and Tim conduct a desperate search for the spaceship--but how will they find the real one amidst all those duplicates? Featured in the cast are Leave It to Beaver's former "Miss Landers" Sue Randall) and The Flying Nun's future "Sister Jacqueline" Marge Redmond. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The title character in this Bonanza episode is a middle-aged Frenchman (John Dehner) who claims to be legendary pirate-patriot Jean Lafitte. Making a nuisance of himself in Virginia City with his grandiose claims, "Lafitte" is thrown into jail, only to be bailed out by Hoss Cartwright, who is convinced that the stranger is telling the truth about his identity. Things get sticky for both Hoss and the Frenchman when Amos Whittaker (Harry Swoger) is killed with "Lafitte's" knife. Also in the cast are Sheldon Allman as Betts and Jean Willes as Molly. Written by William Bruckner, "The Gentleman from New Orleans" first aired February 2, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bruce Yarnell makes his first appearance as the Cartwrights' cousin Muley from Missouri. "Blessed" with a singing voice that can literally shatter glass, Muley manages to make life difficult for his rich relations-and also inadvetently louses up negotiations with a neighboring Indian tribe. The supporting cast includes such dependable character actors as Jesse White, Jerome Cowan, Strother Martin and Ralph Moody, the latter in his standard role as an elderly Indian chief. Written by Robert Barron and Alex Sharp, "The Saga of Muley Jones" was originally telecast on March 29, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Accused of murder, Hoss Cartwright puts his life in the hands of celebrated lawyer Whitney Parker (James Gregory). Unforunately, Parker's glory days are behind him: more to the point, he is now the town drunk. The Cartwrights struggle to keep Parker sober long enough to save Hoss from the gallows. Also in the cast are Michel Petit as Jamie, Hal Baylor as Durfee, William Mims as Evans, and Jason Johnson as the Doctor. Written by Mort R. Lewis, "A Man to Admire" first aired on December 6, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this reworking of a standard I Love Lucy plotline, Lucy (Lucille Ball) gets a brilliant idea when she hears Eddie Collins (Don Briggs) waxing enthusiastic over Viv's (Vivian Vance) recipe for caramel popcorn. With visions of endless profits dancing in their heads, the girls promptly convert their kitchen into a candy factory. Only one trouble: In the excitement of "getting rich quick", neither Lucy nor Viv bothered to check if their neighborhood had been zoned for a business establishment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Written by Eric Norden and Frank Arno, "Little Man-Ten Feet Tall" focuses on the relationship between Ponderosa ranchhand Nick Biancci (Ross Martin) and Nick's impressionable young son Mario (Michael Davis. Though Mario is prepared to fulfill Nick's dreams by becoming a concert guitarist, he changes his mind when he sees his father being intimidated by his fellow ranchhands. Thoroughly disillusioned, Mario latches onto a new "role model"-Hoss Cartwright. Denver Pyle appears as the Sheriff, while other roles are filled by James Anderson, Lane Bradford and Bern Hoffman. "Little Man-Ten Feet Tall" was originally telecast on May 26, 1963, as the final episode of Bonanza's fourth season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part Zorro adventure, dashing Mexican bandit leader El Cuchillo (Gilbert Roland) and his gang are diverted from robbing a stagecoach by alluring señorita Chulita (Rita Moreno). Changing his plans, El Cuchillo decides to hide out in the pueblo of Los Angeles to steal a valuable cache of silver from the local warehouse. But that dauntless masked do-gooder Zorro (Guy Williams) (aka Don Diego de la Vega), is not about to let that happen. Originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "El Bandido" was a one-hour spin-off of Disney's popular weekly series Zorro, which ran from 1957 to 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this high-gloss soap opera (not dissimilar to the then-popular Peyton Place), Guy (Richard Burton) is a doctor who returns to the New England town where he grew up to help care for his good friend Larry (Tom Drake), who is dying of Hodgkins Disease. Guy gets to know Larry's wife Margaret (Barbara Rush), and a strong attraction quickly develops between them; before long, they're having an affair. His betrayal of his friend notwithstanding, Guy is deeply upset by Larry's rapid decline into illness; when it becomes obvious that Larry cannot be saved, Guy cuts off his life support to end Larry's suffering. Guy is then arrested for murder, as the police believe that he killed Larry to marry his wife, who is now carrying Guy's baby. Fran (Angie Dickinson) is a nurse who was attracted to, and spurned by, Guy; while she harbors bitterness against him, she also knows that Guy's actions were well-intended. Fran falls into an affair with Bert (Jack Carson), a local political figure who wants to see Guy behind bars. Bert persuades Fran to pose for a set of nude photos, and he then gives them to newspaper editor Parker Welk (Henry Jones) as blackmail to keep her quiet about Guy's innocent intentions and Bert's infidelity. The film was based on a best-selling novel by Charles Mergendahl. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

1959's Li'l Abner was adapted from the hit 1956 Broadway musical--which, in turn, was inspired by the satirical comic strip by Al Capp. Peter Palmer recreates his Broadway role as Li'l Abner Yokum, the handsome, muscle-bound, muscle-brained leading hillbilly of Dogpatch, USA. The citizens of Dogpatch are in an uproar because their ramshackle community has been designated the "most useless" town in America, and therefore a prime candidate for an atomic bomb testing site. At first, the Dogpatchers consider their least-desirable status a great honor, but then they despair upon realizing that they'll have to vacate the premise before the annual girl-chases-boy Sadie Hawkins Day race. Together with his Mammy (Billie Hayes) and Pappy (Joe E. Marks), Li'l Abner is dispatched to Washington DC, to argue that Dogpatch has some vital significance: after all, only in Dogpatch can one partake of the Yokumberry Tonic, the source of Abner's super strength. Shifty billionaire General Bullmoose (Howard St. John) wants that Yokumberry tonic for his own devices, and to that end dispatches his lady friend Appasionatta von Climax (Stella Stevens) to Dogpatch to catch Li'l Abner during the Sadie Hawkins race and thus secure the mountain boy's cooperation via marriage. Li'l Abner's erstwhile girl friend Daisy Mae Scragg (Leslie Parrish) would likewise like to snare Abner in the race, but Appasionata wins, thanks to the squirrelly Evil Eye Fleegle (Al Nesor), whose "triple whammy" paralyzes Abner just inches before the finish line. If you think all this is unbelievable, wait till you see how the story resolves itself. Featured in the cast is Stubby Kaye as Marryin' Sam, who leads the hillbilly chorus in the musical's best number, "Jubilation T. Corpone". Other Johnny Mercer-Gene de Paul tunes carried over from the Broadway version of Li'l Abner are "A Typical Day," "If I Had My Druthers," "Namely You," "The Country's in the Very Best of Hands," "Past My Prime," "Put 'Em Back (The Way They Wuz)" and "The Matrimonial Stomp."The film is staged in the same broad, caricatured manner as the play, which only adds to the fun. An earlier, unrelated movie adaptation of Li'l Abner, filmed in 1940, is best forgotten, as is a series of lukewarm Abner cartoons produced by Screen Gems in the late forties. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi