Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr. Movies

At the request of Rocky's old friend Peter Preli (Dabbs Greer), Jim (James Garner) agrees to deliver the ransom for Peter's kidnapped granddaughter Houston (Lane Bradbury). Soon afterward, Houston turns up safe and sound--and Peter is found murdered. Suspected of committing the crime, Jim tries to find out what really happened...and to determine if Houston, who'd been laboring under the false assumption that her grandfather was wealthy, is in some way responsible for the whole sorry affair. This episode was originally slated to air on February 6, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An overstock situation prompts junk dealer Julio Fuentes (Gregory Sierra) to store some of his belongings at the home of his neighbors (and business rivals), the Sanfords. Upset by this, Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) hires a surveyor to determine exactly where the property line is between his house and Julio's. Inevitably, it turns out that Julio is legally entitled to the biggest half of the property -- and the result splits the Sanford living room right down the middle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The only witness to a woman's murder is the victim's son, 13-year-old Jerry Jessup (Mitch Vogel). Unfortunately, Jerry refuses to cooperate with the investigation spearheaded by Ironside (Raymond Burr), holding the Chief responsible for the arrest of his bank-robber father Marty (William Shatner). Ironside's only hope of finding the woman's murderer is to arrange for Marty Jessup to get a temporary pass from prison--and then hope against hope that Jessup won't use the opportunity to escape. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Having struck pay dirt with his 1958 western Rio Bravo, Howard Hawks more or less remade the picture twice in the 1960s. The first of these rehashes was El Dorado, with Rio Bravo star John Wayne back for more. Wayne plays a gunfighter who rides into El Dorado to link up with his old pal, sheriff Robert Mitchum ("It's the big one with the big two!" declared the film's advertisements). Wayne has turned down a job with evil land baron Ed Asner, who'd hoped to drive a family off the land that he needed for its water. That family, headed by R.G. Armstrong, is convinced that Wayne is working with Asner; when Armstrong's son Johnny Crawford dies, Wayne is held responsible, earning him a bullet in the spine from Crawford's sister Michele Carey. A year passes: Wayne returns to El Dorado, in the company of his new saddle pal James Caan. They find that Asner is still up to his old tricks, and that Mitchum has descended into alcoholism. Several plot twists and power shifts ensue, leading to the slam-bang climax, with the partially paralyzed Wayne, the newly crippled Mitchum (on crutches), and the concussion-suffering Caan battling together to stave off Asner's minions. The final long-shot, of Wayne and Mitchum limping off together arm-in-arm, is one of the most enduring images in the entire Hawks canon. If they loved it twice they'll love it thrice: in 1969, John Wayne and Howard Hawks teamed up for a third Rio Bravo derivation, Rio Lobo--which, like the first two films, was scripted by Leigh Brackett. Incidentally, that's famed artist Olaf Weighorst (whose paintings appear in the title sequence) in a cameo as the gunsmith. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Lana Turner takes the lead in the seventh film version of Alexandre Bisson's glossy soap opera. Holly Parker (Turner) is married to respected diplomat Clay Anderson (John Forsythe), but his busy schedule prevents them from seeing each other very often. Distracted and lonely, Holly allows her head to be turned by carefree playboy Phil Benton (Ricardo Montalban), who dies in a freak accident during an assignation. In a panic, Holly contacts her mother-in-law, Estelle Anderson (Constance Bennett) and asks what she should do. Estelle, a joyless woman who has never cared for her daughter-in-law, tells Holly that unless she wants to destroy her husband's life and career, she should flee the country and never return. Tearfully, Holly follows Estelle's advice, leaving behind her young son. Many years later, Holly has fallen on hard times; addicted to drugs, she scrapes out a meager living as a prostitute in a cheap hotel in Mexico. Devious criminal Dan Sullivan (Burgess Meredith) tries to involve Holly in a blackmail scheme; at the last minute, she finds out that Clay is the target, and she kills Sullivan. She cannot afford to hire a lawyer to defend her, so she is assigned a dedicated young public defender, whom she soon recognizes as her son, Clay Anderson, Jr. (Keir Dullea). Not wanting Clay, Jr. to know her true identity, Holly is tried as "Madame X," but she has trouble keeping her composure given the trial and her mixed joy and shame at seeing her son. Madame X was Constance Bennett's first film in 12 years and the last she would ever make; she died of a cerebral hemorrhage shortly after completing her work on the picture, nine months before it was released. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is frustrated when a case that he has been building against mob functionary Theodore Newberry (Ken Lynch) literally goes South when the star witness, bookkeeper Julius Imbry (Byron Foulger), is kidnapped and spirited away to Mexico. When Newberry manages to humiliate Ness in public, undercover cop Nick Delgado (Vince Edwards) is assigned to bring Imbry back--while Newberry, who did not engineer the kidnapping, dispatches his own hired guns to locate and silence the witness. Martin Landau steals the show as a stuttering hit man in this episode, which also features an uncredited appearance by Batman's future "Chief O'Hara" Stafford Repp. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While searching for a missing man named James Baker, Paladin stops for water at the lavish Mexican hacienda of wealthy Mexican silver miner Don Francisco (Donald Randolph). Impressed by Paladin's gunfighting credentials, Don Francisco hires him to escort a valuable silver shipment. But upon witnessing his host's cruel treatment of servant girl Lupita (Babara Luna), Paladin begins to harbor doubts concerning Don Francisco--and his suspicions are confirmed when he discovers that James Baker had died "accidentally" while laboring in the Mexican millionaire's silver mines! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Toughest Gun in Tombstone, at least according to this film, as Arizona ranger Matt Sloane (George Montgomery). Working undercover, Sloane infiltrates an all-star outlaw gang consisting of Johnny Ringo (Jim Davis), Ike Clanton (Gerald Milton), Curly Bill Broces (Lane Bradford) and several other sagebrush celebrities. His purpose: to put an end to the smuggling of silver bullion across the Mexican border. Complicating matters is Sloane's concern over his young son Terry (Scott Morrow), who is being pursued across the territory by the man who murdered Sloane's wife. Not exactly an "A" picture, Toughest Gun in Tombstone is too well-mounted to be dismissed as a "B." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Roger Bristol (James Craig) is the star of a popular TV adventure series. To further boost his ratings, Bristol promises his viewers that he will locate a sunken treasure off the coasts of South America. True to his word, Bristol, his secretary Anne Stevens (Audrey Totter) and his skindiver son Bob (Lowell Brown) embark on his dangerous quest, using the cryptic messages carved on an ancient idol as his guide to the treasure. Their mission is threatened by a covetous local diver (Nico Minardos), who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the treasure. Not everything goes as planned, but Roger does discover that true love is worth all the gold in the sea. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this suspenseful detective yarn, an insurance investigator finds himself unbearably bored by his routine life and decides to become a criminal. Following the robbery he engineers, he begins to investigate the theft himself. Unfortunately, he is trailed by a determined railroad cop, a dear friend who remains professional despite the mixed emotions he feels. The film is the feature debut of TV actor Jack Klugman. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A friendship is ripped apart by a greedy woman in this drama. The trouble begins when a horse trainer and a jockey, both long-time friends, fall for the same woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Before Indiana Jones there was Harry Steele (Charlton Heston), an idealistic archaeologist determined to return an ancient Incan mask to the society from which it came. A greedy con-artist (Robert Young) has other ideas, though, and the two men race to fund an expedition to find the treasure, which has reportedly been buried by Spanish conquistadores somewhere in Machu Picchu. The con-artist (Young) seduces a beautiful tourist in order to reach his goal, leaving Steele (Heston) to locate the site through more honorable means. Twenty-seven years before directors George Lucas and Steven Spielburg collaborated to create Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jerry Hopper directed Secret of the Incas. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi