Mike Minor Movies

In the final episode of the seven-part, eighteen-hour miniseries The Winds of War, Ambassador-at-large "Pug" Henry (Robert Mitchum) represents the US in a series of conferences with the intansigent Russian premier Josef Stalin (Anatoly Chauginian). Dallying briefly with his erstwhile British sweetheart Pamela Tudsbury (Victoria Tennant), Pug stays in Moscow long enough to witness the attempted Nazi invasion. Meanwhile, Pug's daughter-in-law Natalie (Ali McGraw) and her Uncle Aaron (John Houseman) are among the Jewish refugees being smuggled into Palestine. And back in the Western Hemisphere, Pug's sons Byron (Jan-Michael Vincent) and Warren (David Dukes) are swept up in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Winds of War was adapted by Herman Wouk from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in 1940, the fourth episode of the seven-part, eighteen-hour miniseries The Winds of War finds American troubleshooter Cmdr. "Pug" Henry (Robert Mitchum) heading to England on a secret mission for President Roosevelt. Here he is reunited with his secret love, Pamela Tudsbury (Victoria Tennant) and later has a tense showdown with Winston Churchill (Howard Lang) over policy matters. Barely escaping the Nazi bombs during the first London blitz (a spectacular sequence), Henry survives to fly in a retaliatory raid over Germany--while both the women in his life (the other being his long-suffering wife Rhoda [Polly Bergen]) wait and worry. The Winds of War was adapted by Herman Wouk from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The sixth episode of the seven-part, eighteen-hour miniseries The Winds of War takes place in early 1941. Government attache "Pug" Henry (Robert Mitchum) commands a fleet of destroyers escorted a US convoy that is unoffically heading to England, there to aid in the war effort against Germany. En route, Hardy crosses the path of a Nazi U-boat, forcing him to choose between violating America's neutrality or fighting for his life. Meanwhile, Henry's pregnant daughter-in-law Natalie (Ali Graw) and her Uncle Aaron (John Houseman) encounter more anti-semitism as they try to book passage from Europe to the US. The Winds of War was adapted by Herman Wouk from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Yes, Cupid's arrow has penetrated the heart of confirmed bachelor girl Jane Hathaway. Her new beau is a handsome fellow who calls himself Robert Audobon Getty (played by former Petticoat Junction regular Mike Minor). But Jane is in for a big letdown: "Getty" is really an unemployed actor named Dick Bremerkamp, who is using Jane to get close to her wealthier and prettier roommate Elly May Clampett. "Love Finds Jane Hathaway" originally aired on March 9, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It looks as though fortune-hunting actor Dick Bremerkamp (Mike Minor) is going to succeed in his scheme to marry Elly May for her money. Both Granny and Drysdale have been thoroughly hoodwinked by the charming Bremerkamp, despite Jane Hathaway's efforts to expose the caddish suitor for the scoundrel that he is. Meanwhile, Jethro is still in Louisiana, drawing up marriage plans of his own. Curt Massey, the series' musical director, appears as a policeman. Originally telecast on March 23, 1971, "Jethro Returns" was the 274th and final episode of The Beverly Hillbillies. After nine seasons, the series -- no longer a top-rated attraction, but still commanding a large audience - was cancelled as part of a general demographic "de-ruralization" of the CBS TV network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In still another "crossover" episode, the Clampetts are reunited with two of the cast members from Petticoat Junction. While paying a visit to Hooterville, Jed goes into the airplane-transport business with pilot Steve Elliot (Mike Minor). Along for the ride is good old Jethro who, still under the spell of Air Force hero Lance "Jetstream" Bradford, has purchased the uniform of a USAF general and is all ready to soar into the wild blue yonder. Linda Kaye Henning appears in her Petticoat Junction role as Betty Jo Bradley Elliot. "Buzz Bodine, Boy General" was originally broadcast on December 31, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although Bea Benaderet is still billed as the star of the first few episodes of Petticoat Junction's sixth season, it was purely a gesture of kindness and sentiment on the part of producer Paul Henning. Everyone in the cast knew that Benaderet was mortally ill with cancer, but this tragic information was largely withheld from the public under the actress' death on October 13, 1968. Her last series "appearance" -- which consists of a telephone voice-over -- occurs in the episode "The Valley Has a Baby," in which Benaderet's character Kate Bradley offers best wishes to her daughter Betty Jo (Linda Kaye Henning) and son-in-law Steve Elliott (Mike Minor) when their first child, Kathy Jo Elliott, is born (the infant is played this season by unbilled twin babies Barbara and Heather Whiter).
With Benaderet's departure, Edgar Buchanan is elevated to top billing in the role of lazy Uncle Joe Carson, now forced by circumstances to take over ownership of Hooterville's Shady Rest Hotel. In hopes of replicating the warm rapport between Benaderet and Buchanan, the producers introduce a new, strong-willed female character, Dr. Janet Davis (June Lockhart), in the episode "The Lady Doctor." Not unexpectedly, Janet has a tough time winning over the chauvinist males of Hooterville -- especially Uncle Joe -- but the three Bradley daughters take to Janet as if she were their surrogate mother (which, in a sense, she is!). Although Bea Benaderet's death unavoidably casts a pall over Petticoat Junction's sixth season, there are a number of very worthwhile episodes. Irene Ryan crosses over from The Beverly Hillbillies in her familiar Granny role in two chucklesome outings, "The Valley Has a Baby" and "A Cake From Granny" (which also features another Hillbillies regular, Nancy Kulp as Jane Hathaway). Veteran film favorites Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen appear as themselves in an amusing episode wherein the two actors attend Hooterville's long-overdue premiere of their silent starring feature film Wings. And in "Billie Jo and the Big Big Star," guest star Rich Little delivers dead-on impressions of Petticoat Junction regulars Edgar Buchanan and Byron Foulger (introduced this season in the role of timorous train conductor Wendell Gibbs). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While Granny is visiting her friends in Hooterville, Jethro and Jed are forced to fend for themselves in the kitchen. Constitutionally incapable of cooking an edible meal, Jethro finally breaks down and hires Maria Antonini (Maria Mirka), a delectable Italian cook who speaks no English. This "crossover" episode features three regulars from the TV sitcom Petticoat Junction: Linda Kaye (Betty Jo Bradley), Mike Minor (Steve Elliot), and Frank Cady (Sam Drucker). The second chapter in a three-part story arc, "The Italian Cook" first aired on November 6, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In retrospect, the first episode of Petticoat Junction's fifth season, "Is This My Daughter?," is ironically amusing. Kate Bradley, widowed owner of Hooterville's Shady Rest Hotel, is astonished by how much her daughter Betty Jo (Linda Kaye Henning), has changed upon returning from a trip to Europe. This in itself is astonishing since, of the six actresses who have portrayed Kate's three daughters during the previous five seasons, Linda Kaye Henning is the only one who has been with the series since the outset! (This loyalty may or may not stem from the fact that Henning was the daughter of the "boss," Petticoat Junction executive producer Paul Henning). That said, it can be noted that Betty Jo is pretty much the entire focus of season five. After choosing among the three Bradley girls, handsome crop duster Steve Elliott (Mike Minor) decides to propose to Betty, leading inevitably to a wedding episode, cunningly designed to boost Petticoat Junction's sagging ratings. Halfway through the season, Kate Bradley goes "out of town," obliging her lazy Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) to take charge of the Shady Rest, with the occasional help of a hitherto unseen Bradley relative, Aunt Helen (played by Rosemary de Camp, who had previously co-starred in producer Paul Henning's "The Bob Cummings Show.") Kate would not return to Hooterville until the season finale, and then only briefly. The reason for her conspicuous absence was both simple and tragic: series star Bea Benaderet was seriously ill with cancer, unable to appear before the cameras for any more than a few minutes at a time. Bea Benaderet would be heard (but not seen) in only one more Petticoat Junction episode, filmed just before her death on October 13, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's "Romeo and Juliet", Hooterville style, when rumors spread that Billie Jo Bradley (Jeannine Riley) is engaged to Dan Plout. Seems that Billie Jo's mother Kate (Bea Benadaret) and Dan's mom Selma (Virigina Sale) are bitter enemies, and they aren't about to let their families be united. Ironically, Dan Plout is played by Mike Minor, who in Petticoat Junction's fourth season would join the cast as Steve Elliott--the sweetheart, and ultimate husband, of Billie Jo's sister Betty Jo (played by Minor's real-life wife Linda Kaye). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide