Henry Hunter Movies

Just like Jack Bauer on 24, Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot) suffers through one of those days where everything goes wrong. Disaster piles upon disaster: Jody (Johnnie Whitaker) gets paint all over his clothes, a vacuum-cleaner bag is spilled on the carpet, and poor French takes an embarrassing pratfall in a public park. Finally, when Bill (Brian Keith) announces that he's bringing a last-minute guest to a meticulously prepared dinner party, the normally unflappable French blows his top--and it isn't a pretty sight! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This exploitation film about the evils of marijuana finds art teacher Phil Blake (Fabian) discovering some of his students are smoking pot. Although he admits to the students he tried it himself in college, he is dumber than a bag of hammers about student drug use. Phil has eyes for fellow teacher Ellie (Diane McBain) until he discovers she is the main dealer, along with the star of the football team. Included in the cast is actress (Patty McCormick), all grown up since her appearance in Bad Seed, and Terri Garr, who makes a brief appearance as a student. This unintentionally laughable film, a feeble attempt to cash in on the sensationalism of marijuana use, was co-written by Richard Gautier and Peter Marshall of "Hollywood Squares" television fame. This film, along with similarly overblown 1930s anti-marijuana diatribes, cost the "straight" world a great deal of credibility at the time, and it became an instant "camp" classic. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Not only is Ethel Andrews (Pippa Scott) jilted by her fiance Bruce Strickland (Hunt Powers) on her wedding day, but she is also blamed for a $50,000 theft masterminded by her erstwhile sweetheart. Fleeing town, Ethel ends up swapping identities with Peggy Sutton (Althea Milgrave), who is likewise on the lam. This proves to be yet another tragic blunder for Ethel when it turns out that Peggy is carrying $50,000 in the trunk of her car. Subsequently, the cops find the 50 grand, put two and two together, and charge poor Ethel with the murder of Bruce Strickland! It is up to Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to end Ethel's incredible bad-luck streak and clear her of all charges. This is the second Perry Mason episode based on Erle Stanley Gardner's novel The Case of the Footloose Doll (the first was filmed under that title in 1959). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Acquitted for the murder of her husband Jameson (John Hart), Louise Selff (Marion Moses) hires Perry Mason (Perry Mason) to find the real killer--or at the very least, to locate Jameson's still-missing body. Things get really dicey for Louise when she starts having visions of her supposedly deceased spouse, culminating with a visitation by Jameson's "ghost", who advises Louise to invest heavily in a new laser process. Of course, it turns out that Jameson isn't dead at all--but he soon will be, and since "double jeopardy" doesn't apply here, Louise is again put on trial for murder! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Among her many other reasons for disliking her son-in-law Darrin, Endora is dissatisfied with Darrin's physical appearance. As Samantha looks on, Endora transforms a sleeping Darrin into a "perfect husband" -- a veritable Adonis, in fact. Upon awakening, Darrin becomes convinced that it is Sam and not Endora who is unhappy with his appearance, forcing Sam to assume the identity of a sexy French sculptress to build up her hubby's ego. Written by Bernard Slade, "Change of Face" originally aired on May 13, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During a family jaunt to the beach, Herman (Fred Gwynne) goes scuba diving with full regalia. No sooner has he submerged than Herman is scooped up by a net cast from a Russian submarine. The Soviet sailors are thrilled at their "catch", believing that they've at last found the Missing Link. But a gimlet-eyed commissar (Jan Arvan) is convinced that Herman is an American espionage agent and acts accordingly--thereby nearly bringing down the fall of the USSR some 24 years ahead of schedule! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Son of Flubber represented the first time that Walt Disney ever attempted a theatrical feature sequel: in this case, the earlier film was the 1961 moneyspinner The Absent-Minded Professor. While Flubber is more formula-bound than Professor, it proved an instant audience-pleaser, and a hit to the tune of nine million dollars. Fred MacMurray returns as professor Ned Brainerd, currently working on his new discovery, "dry rain." The comically destructive side effects of this discovery seemingly doom the professor to failure -- at least until the closing courtroom sequence -- but meanwhile he has better luck with Flubbergas, a byproduct of the antigravity glop he'd invented in the first film. In addition to MacMurray, Absent-Minded Professor alumni Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, Elliott Reid, Alan Carney, Gordon Jones, Forrest Lewis, and James Westerfield reprise their roles from the earlier film, while Ed Wynn shows up in a new guise as a nervous agricultural agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "teaser" opening of this episode shows Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) losing an appeal before Judge Daniel Redmond (Robert Middleton). Later on, however, Redmond is banking on Perry to win in court--in fact, the judge's life depends on it. It seems that Redmond is running for lieutenant governor, but may be discredited in the eyes of the voters thanks to the dissolute Martin Weston (Vaughn Taylor), who claims that the Judge was involved in a nasty fraud scheme twenty years earlier. When Weston is killed, the police are convinced that Redmond is the guilty party--and it is up to Perry to un-convince them! This is the final episode of Perry Mason's sixth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this children's movie, an adorable newsboy, his dog, and his friend the hobo accidently stumble across a briefcase containing $100,000. It belongs to a desperate thief who definitely wants it back. The honest child, not knowing the loot is stolen, looks for its owner. Fortunately the police save the day. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Wealthy J.J. Gideon (Otto Kruger) disapproves of the romance between his grandson David (Karl Held) and David's secretary Dorine (Patricia Barry). As it happens, Gideon has good reason to be upset: Dorine is a duplicitous golddigger who swindles David out of $10,000, claiming that she needs it to get her husband Tony out of her life. Pretty soon, Tony is out of his own life as well--and David, who was seen fighting with Tony just before the man's death, is charged with murder. Evidently Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) takes quite a shine to David while preparing his defense; during the series' fifth season, David Gideon would return on a semi-regular basis as Perry's new legal assistant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Edgar Buchanan, who had guest-starred as Captain Jack in the very first Leave It to Beaver episode, returns to the series as the Cleaver boys' lovable Uncle Billy. Though everyone in the family knows that Billy is prone to spinning tall tales, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) believes every word that he says. A crisis soon develops when Beaver makes it clear that he expects Uncle Billy keep his "promise" about buying him a new fishing reel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the height of a nasty corporate power struggle, embezzling accountant Robert Doniger (Phil Terry) is murdered. The man accused of the crime is Edward Nelson (Herbert Rudley), who had earlier hired Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to protect him from threats he'd received from his spiteful wife Sylvia (Virginia Arness) and from business rival Frank Avery (John Stephenson). Now Perry must assemble enough evidence to prove that Nelson is not a murderer,and that someone else in his circle of "friends" is the guilty party. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The flourishing orchid business owned by Mildred Kimber (Anne Barton) may pass into the hands of unscrupulous florist Harry Marlow (Dan Seymour), who has arranged for Mildred's husband to lose all his money in a rigged poker game at the nightclub owned by Sam Lynk (Michael Emmett). Subsequently, Lynk is found poisoned to the death, and the evidence points to Mildred. Determined to prove Mildred's innocence, Perry (Raymond Burr) finds that DA Hamilton Burger (William Tallman) is more determined than ever to get a conviction--meaning that most of Perry's work will have to take place outside the courtroom! Based on a 1940 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this episode was remade in 1965 as "The Case of the Candy Queen." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide