Jim Hutton Movies
American actor Jim Hutton was performing in a military show in Germany when he was discovered by director Douglas Sirk. Sirk promptly cast Hutton in A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958), which though released by Universal, led to an MGM contract for the young actor. Evidently MGM had plans to turn Hutton into the new Jimmy Stewart, for the studio insisted upon casting their young star in roles calling for ingenuous clumsiness. Perhaps the quintessential Hutton role was as The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962), in which his constant bumbling eventually transforms him into a war hero. MGM frequently paired Hutton with another player of acute comic skill, Paula Prentiss; they worked so well together that many fans assumed Hutton and Prentiss were married -- which must have been amusing to Paula's longtime husband Richard Benjamin. Hutton was allowed a few non-comedy "outdoors" roles in Major Dundee (1965) and The Green Berets (1969), but for the most part was locked into playing gangling young goofs. Oddly, Hutton's screen persona worked quite well for his TV-series role as Ellery Queen in the mid-1970s. The actor was charming and convincing as the self-effacing, deceptively preoccupied criminologist, especially when he turned to the camera 45 minutes into each Ellery Queen episode and invited the folks at home to help him solve the mystery. Hutton died of cancer at age 46 -- too soon to fully realize the success of his son, actor Timothy Hutton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1978
Flying High was a Charlie's Angels of the airways. Pat Klous, Connie Sellecca and Kathryn Witt play three flight attendants for the fictional Sunwest airways. This TV movie (the pilot for the original series) traces their various seriocomic adventures in the sky and on land. Guest stars on this particular boarding are Marcia Wallace and Jim Hutton. Flying High was the pilot film for a sixty-minute weekly TV series, which ran--or flew--from September 1978 through January 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In this suspenseful drama an adolescent glider pilot and his assistant are falsely accused of smuggling drugs by the Hawk's evil henchman. Naturally it is the enigmatic Hawk who is behind it all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Ellery Queen (also known as Too Many Suspects) was the 78-minute pilot film for a TV series based on the fictional intellectual author/sleuth created by cousins Frederick Dannay and Manfred Lee. Jim Hutton plays Ellery (the tenth actor to do so on screen!), while David Wayne is his police inspector father. The plot, set in 1947 Manhattan, involves the murder of a fashion model. Fifteen minutes before the fade-out, Ellery turns to the audience, presents the clues, and asks us to solve the murder--a cute if unnecessary trick, since Ellery's got the case all worked out and the killer is no surprise to anyone who's watched TV murder mysteries in the last 25 years (the actor in question has said "I did it!" so often that it's a wonder he can walk the streets without being apprehended). Ellery Queen was a pet project of the TV writing team of Richard Levinson and William Link (of Columbo) fame. After the subsequent Queen TV series expired after a single season, Levinson and Link revived the notion of a murder-solving novelist and changed the gender of the protagonist--and the result was Murder She Wrote. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
The Underground Man was the pilot film for a series based on Ross MacDonald's private eye hero Lew Archer (the source of Paul Newman's film appearances as "Lew Harper"). Most of the elements of the factory-approved MacDonald formula are put into effect here: An old flame, a seemingly cut-and-dried case leading to sinister complexities, dark family secrets, ecological rape, and the inadvertent solving of previously unsolved crimes. Archer (Peter Graves) is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of his former love, and the cycle begins. This particular pilot didn't sell, but there would be a separately produced Archer series late in 1974 starring Brian Keith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this fact-based drama, the quiet life of an average family is torn apart when a SWAT team bursts in and arrests them for drug dealing. Though they plead their case in court, no one believes them and they undergo a terrible ordeal as they try to prove their innocence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway) goes undercover as a member of gangster Lew Parker's entourage. Angered over the death of one of his "boys", Parker (Peter Mark Richman) puts out a contract on Chief Ironside (Raymnd Burr)--and now Ed must prove his loyalty to Parker by murdering his own boss. Will he be able to warn Ironside before the fatal moment? And what will happen to Ed when his cover is blown during a robbery? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Ranking with Dan Curtis' Trilogy of Terror as one of the spookiest made-for-TV horror films of the 1970's, this atmospheric monster chiller stars Kim Darby and Jim Hutton as a comfortable, reasonably happy young couple who inherit the archetypal "Old Dark House" from the wife Sally's deceased aunt. While renovating the creepy mansion, they enter a previously-sealed room, which features a securely bricked-up fireplace. Despite the insistence of a local contractor (My Three Sons' William Demarest) that they leave the room undisturbed, Sally's husband manages to open the flue, releasing a horde of shriveled mini-monsters imprisoned there for decades. The little demons immediately fixate their malevolent attention on Sally in an effort to claim her soul, a mission which can only be averted by the love of her husband -- which, in light of his self-centered careerism, means poor Sally's pretty much on her own. Director John Newland manages to pull off this one-note premise with some effective, frightening scenes -- especially when he chooses to show as little of the goofy-looking monsters as possible -- but it's hard to sustain this level of suspense for a full 90 minutes. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1972
"Mom" is Connie Stevens, who stars in this made-for-TV comedy. Stevens plays a small-town waitress who is appointed the housemother for a rambunctious fraternity house on the local college campus. The frat boys assume that freewheeling Stevens will allow them to party to their hearts' content, but "Mom" takes her job quite seriously and compels the students to behave themselves. She also becomes involved in a campus feminist movement that threatens to topple the college's male power structure (headed by dean Van Johnson). Call Her Mom was the pilot for a Connie Stevens TV series that found neither a sponsor nor a network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
In this drama, a troubled Vietnam vet sees a psychiatrist and engages in group therapy to help heal his terribly damaged psyche. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1971
They Call It Murder was the pilot for a potential TV series based on the "Doug Selby" character created by Perry Mason mentor Earl Stanley Gardner. Inspired by Gardner's 1969 novel The DA Draws a Circle, the film finds district attorney Selby (Jim Hutton) probing the mystery of a corpse in a swimming pool. It is obvious from the outset that the dead man did not drown, but was killed elsewhere and then unceremoniously dumped in the chlorine. Selby traces the chain of events to a car accident and an insurance scam. Originally telecast December 17, 1971, They Call It Murder was given a network rerun in the Spring of 1973--on a particularly bloodthirsty evening in which the competition included the woman-in-jeopardy TV movie The Bait and a murder-trial episode of Hawaii 5-0! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
In this war drama, things are looking quite hopeless for a besieged regiment under enemy attack. It is their commanders knowledge of history that ultimately saves them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Jim Hutton and Anjanette Comer have the misfortune to be honeymooning while a forest fire ranges all around them. But that's only the beginning, folks. The lovebirds are also being stalked by crazed hunters Tony Franciosa and Peter Lawford. Deadly Hunt is based on Autumn of a Hunter, a novel by Pat Stadley, but it also owes quite a lot to Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game. Made for television, the film debuted October 1, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Chance Buckman (John Wayne) heads a team of international trouble shooters who travel around the world to put out oil fires. The dangerous profession has taken a toll on the marriage between Chance and Madelyn (Vera Miles), who leaves when she can no longer endure the stress of saying goodbye and fearing she will never see him again. With his faithful assistant Greg (Jim Hutton), the team is ready at a moments notice to race anywhere to extinguish the flames of oil fires raging out of control. Greg eventually falls for Chance's daughter, Tish (Katherine Ross), who shares her mother's concern over the dangers the men endure. Hellfighters received technical advising from famed oil-well fighter Red Adair and his assistants who provided excellent and credible information for the film and the pyrotechnic team headed by legendary special-effects expert Fred Knoth. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Katharine Ross, (more)
- 1967
Harry Lucas (Jim Hutton) is a U.S. Mint employee who scrambles to recover $50,000 he accidentally destroyed in this underrated comedy of errors. After he mistakenly throws the money down the garbage disposal, a frantic Harry recruits retired mint employee Pop Gillis (Walter Brennan) to cook up a hot new batch of cold cash. The two have to hire a bunch of colorful crooks to pull off the caper. Soon the money paid out far exceeds the total of the original loss. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Hutton, Dorothy Provine, (more)
In The Hallelujah Trail, Lee Remick plays temperance leader Cora Templeton Massingale, who is determined to halt a shipment of whiskey headed for Denver. The shipment is being escorted by the US cavalry, under the guidance of Col. Thadeus Gearhardt (Burt Lancaster). As the Denver miners thirstily await the precious booze, Gearhardt must fend off not only Cora and her minions, but a bibulous tribe of Sioux warriors, headed by Chief Walks-Stooped-Over (Martin Landau)-not to mention an outsized sandstorm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, (more)
- 1965
In this comedy, a middle-aged woman discovers that she is pregnant, to the dismay of her husband and surprise of the town. The husband doesn't feel up to the challenge, and their daughter is now forced to cook and clean around the house, and meanwhile, tries to get pregnant herself. After a drunken argument with the mayor and another with his wife, the husband finally accepts the inevitable. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Ford, Connie Stevens, (more)
- 1964
Popular singer Connie Francis stars in this romantic musical-comedy as Libby Caruso, an aspiring young entertainer who yearns for the attention of handsom Paul Davis (Jim Hutton). Though at first Paul is not interested in her, Libby soon wins him over. Upon catching him, however, Libby changes her mind and decides a young grocer (Joby Baker) is a better prospect. Libby's roomate and pal, Jan (Susan Oliver), doesn't seem to mind leftovers when Paul takes an interest in her. Along with much of the supporting cast from Francis' first screen role, Where the Boys Are (1960), a few celebrities also appear onscreen. Included are cameos from Johnny Carson, Danny Thomas, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton and Yvette Mimeiux. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Connie Francis, Jim Hutton, (more)
- 1962
This was the first feature-length film directed by the very successful George Roy Hill. Based on a Tennessee Williams' novel, this standard comedy-drama focuses on two married couples who are both having a hard time of it, at least for now. The first couple, Isabel and George Haverstick (Jane Fonda in an early role, and Jim Hutton), are in trouble because George has bouts of intense fear ultimately brought on by his need to appear to be as macho as he can -- basically his problem is performance anxiety. The second couple, Ralph and Dorothea Baitz (Tony Franciosa and Lois Nettleton) have their problems centering on the fact that he married her for her money -- and she knows it. What she may not realize is that after six years of marriage he has fallen in love with her. Added to that difficulty is the problem of meddlesome in-laws. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Franciosa, Jane Fonda, (more)
- 1961
Bob Hope was in the first stages of his cinematic decline when he starred in Bachelor in Paradise. Hope plays a "romance expert" who is contracted to write an expose on the sexual habits of suburban California housewives. For research purposes, he moves into a subdivision called Paradise, populated exclusively by good-looking young newlyweds. Much to the dismay of the men in the community, all of the gorgeous young wives gravitate to Hope-especially Paula Prentiss, the sexy bride of nonplussed Jim Hutton. Fortunately for all concerned, Hope is "claimed" by the only other single resident of Paradise, the glamorous Lana Turner. Frequent Bob Hope collaborator Hal Kanter cowrote the screenplay of Bachelor of Paradise with Valentine Davies; the script was based on a story by Vera Caspary, who in better days wrote Laura. Henry Mancini and Mack Davis' Oscar-nominated title song is the only true distinction of this lesser Hope farce. He seems to be sleepwalking while the rest of the cast is trying way too hard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Lana Turner, (more)
- 1961
Although the talented cast in this uninspired comedy do the best they can with their lines, nothing quite brings The Horizontal Lieutenant to an upright, stand-up-and-take-notice presence. Paula Prentiss as Lt. Molly Blue and Jim Hutton as Lt. Merle Wye are once again paired, this time as officers in action in the Pacific at the end of World War II. Lt. Wye is given the challenge of bringing in a lone Japanese hold-out on an island that was taken by the American forces many months earlier. Though the situation has great potential, pratfalls and the most obvious gags take the place of a more sophisticated humor. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, (more)
- 1961
Just a few years before The Great Escape would catapult Steve McQueen to stardom, the charismatic actor played the lead, Lt. Fergie Howard, in this light romantic farce involving the computers on a Navy ship. Lt. Howard is playing poker on the good ship El Mira when he gets a brilliant idea. Why not use the ship's computer "Max" to figure out where the ball will land on a roulette wheel? After the ship docks near Venice, he and Ensign Beau Gillaim (Jack Mullaney), along with navy scientist Jason Eldridge (Jim Hutton) check out the casino there. Then they set up the ship's computer to receive incoming signals from the results at the roulette wheel, planning on it to predict which numbers will come up next. Trouble lies ahead when Admiral Fitch (Dean Jagger) intercepts the signals and assumes that the fleet is about to be attacked. While the subsequent chaos reigns, the women (Paula Prentiss and Brigid Bazlen) in these men's lives get involved. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve McQueen, Brigid Bazlen, (more)
- 1960
Based rather loosely on a novel by Jack Kerouac, The Subterraneans concerns a writer (played by George Peppard) who moves to San Francisco and falls in with a crowd of beatniks after falling in love with a French girl (Leslie Caron). The woman was black, not French, in Kerouac's novel, only the most obvious of the many areas in which this strays from the source material. Jazz great Gerry Mulligan has a small role as a saxophone-playing priest; jazz fans will also want to watch for cameos by Art Pepper, Shelly Manne, and Art Farmer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Caron, George Peppard, (more)
Yvette Mimeux, Paula Prentiss, Connie Francis, and Dolores Hart star in this frothy teen romance-drama as attractive co-eds who take off from Midwest colleges on the annual spring break to land in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida -- where the boys are. There are plenty of parties, booze, and sex to keep minds off calculus for awhile. Merritt Andrews (Hart) and Ryder Smith (George Hamilton) manage to get together, Tuggle Carpenter (Paula Prentiss) manages to let her comedic talents shine, Angie (Connie Francis) sings the hit title song, but Melanie (Yvette Mimeux) becomes a casualty of too many good times. She will recover, and all the leads will go on to good, even great careers in some cases. Dolores Hart was the only featured player here to leave Hollywood behind -- she became a Benedictine nun in 1963. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolores Hart, George Hamilton, (more)
- 1959
Richard Matheson was first represented on the Twilight Zone with the December 11, 1959 episode "And When the Sky Was Opened," adapted by Rod Serling from Matheson's short story "Disappearing Act." After an experimental space flight crash-lands, the three crew members -- who have miraculously survived -- begin experiencing strange sensations. As the episode develops, it becomes obvious that no one but the crewmen have any memory of the crash. . .and before long, no one has any memory whatsoever of the crew itself! This tricky, complex set-up was brilliantly handled by director Douglas Heyes (making his own Twilight Zone debut) and by a topnotch cast, including Rod Taylor, Jim Hutton, and Charles Aidman as the benighted astronauts (also, keep an eye out for Sue Randall, aka "Miss Landers" on Leave It to Beaver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Charles Aidman, (more)
