Charles Irving Movies

Project X boasts better special effects than usual for tight-fisted producer/director William Castle, but it crumbles in the story department. Christopher George is a secret agent living in the year 2118, who through a complex scientific charade is convinced that he's living in 1968. The plan is for George to uncover a secret germ formula that had been hidden away 50 years earlier. Castle's propensity for borrowing gimmicks from earlier films is well known; this time he reaches back as far as a nearly-forgotten 1954 episode of the TV series Flash Gordon! The biological warfare throughline of Project X was more convincing in its source material, a novel by Leslie P. Davies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Monkees -- Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones and Peter Tork -- didn't really enjoy being labelled the Prefab Four back when their TV series was all the rage in 1966. With the help and support of Bob Rafaelson (co-producer, co-writer and director) and Jack Nicholson (co-producer, co-writer, and, if you look closely, bit player), the Monkees expressed their displeasure over being packaged for popular consumption in the non sequitur masterpiece Head. At least, it seems that the film is an indictment of the merchandising of pop stars. It's hard to tell at times, because Head literally has no plot; it is instead a patchwork of loopy sight gags, instant parodies, "camp" cutups, musical numbers and wry inside jokes. Clips of such old movies as the 1934 Karloff-Lugosi epic The Black Cat pop up every so often, as does an impressive lineup of pop-culture icons: Victor Mature, Annette Funicello, Sonny Liston, Frank Zappa (he's the one leading a cow) and Ray Nitschke, as well as such movie-trivia "answers" as Timothy Carey, Vito Scotti, Teri Garr, Percy Helton, Logan Ramsey, Carol Doda, and pre-Divine cross-dresser T.C. Jones. The best bits include a lengthy Golden Boy parody which does double duty as a lampoon of the network's efforts to create "personalities" for the individual Monkees, and a psychedelic buck-and-wing performed by Davy Jones. One gag, in which Micky Dolenz blows up a Coca Cola machine, is usually excised from TV showings. Head did zero business when it first came out thanks to poor distribution, but it has since become a fixture of midnight-movie showings and campus cinema classes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fifteen years after Ben Cartwright's testimony sent a man named Preston to the gallows, Preston's son Colter arrives in Virginia City. A self-styled troubador, Colter sings a bitter ballad denouncing Ben and proclaiming his own father's innocence, forcing the authorities to re-open the case. Colter even goes so far as to shoot himself so that Ben will be arrested for attempted murder. Also appearing are Ann Doran as Lisa Stanley, Roger Davis as Harold Stanley, and John Archer as Dave Sinclair. The teleplay, by series costar Michael Landon and Rik Vollaerts, manages to include a reference to long-department Cartwright brother Adam. "Ballad of the Ponderosa" was first shown on November 13, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pre-Laugh-In Arte Johnson guest stars as Samantha's cousin, Edgar, who can be described as "elfin," mainly because he is a genuine elf. Disapproving of Sam's mortal husband, Darrin, Edgar makes it his mission in life to break up the Stephens' marriage. So flustered is Darrin that he very nearly loses a major advertising account, whereupon Edgar does an about-face and comes to Darrin's rescue. Written by Paul Wayne, "Cousin Edgar" first aired on June 3, 1965, as the final episode of Bewitched's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Investment broker Eric Pollard (Lloyd Bochner) seems to have gone off his trolley when he begins suffering from dizzy spells; to begin with, he publicly charges his wife Sybil (Marian Moses) with every crime under the sun--and as a capper, he hires a taxi to rob a bank! Though he is thrown in jail, Eric receives a suspended sentence thanks to Sybil's probation-officer friend Roy Galen (Jason Evers). Far from grateful, Eric accuses Roy and Sybil of being lovers--and when Sybil is murdered, it is Roy who is arrested. In order to save an innocent man from the gas chamber, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must first find the real reasons behind Eric's nutty behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season eight of Perry Mason begins with Perry (Raymond Burr) in the middle of a natsy child-custody battle between divorcing couple Janice and Dirk Blake (Julie Adams, Ed Nelson). The child in question is the Blakes' five-year-old daughter Button (Claire Wilcox), who has just inherited a four-million-dollar trust fund. With both Janice and Dirk behaving deplorably, Perry arranges for Button to be placed in the temorary custody of her cousins Lois and Roger Gray (Dee Hartford, Alan Baxter). As it turns out, the Grays may end up with the kid for keeps: dad Dirk has been charged with the murder of Vince Rome (Anthony Eisley), who had earlier conspired with Dirk to "kidnap" Button from her mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While paging through their old high school annuals, Andy and Barney hit upon the notion of staging a class reunion. The boys are particularly anxious to be reunited with their school sweethearts Sharon (Peggy McCay) and Ramona (Virginia Eilers). In true "You Can't Go Home Again" fashion, the reunion serves only to reaffirm the reasons that Andy and Sharon drifted apart in the first place. Incidentally, those class pictures of teenaged Andy Griffith and Don Knotts are the genuine article. First telecast on February 4, 1963, "Class Reunion" was written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Since her husband Felton (Michael Conrad) always seems to be out of town on business, nervous Nell Grimes (Jackie Loughery) asks her best friend, door-to-door salesperson Gwynn Ellison (Pippa Scott), to temporarily move in with her--which Gwynn does, despite the fact that she hates Felton with a passion. Not long afterward, Gwynn accidentally discovers that Felton is leading a double life as "Frank Gillette", complete with a second wife!. In a rage, she concocts a scheme to bump off Felton, but someone else kills him first. In his efforts to clear Gwynn of a murder charge, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) comes upon several other "respectable" gentlemen who are carrying on double lives as well. This episode is based on a 1961 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) takes the case of self-made millionaire Otto Olney (John Larkin), who wants to sue art critic Colin Durant (John Larkin) for allegedly spreading rumors that the rare Gauguin painting recently purchased by Olney is a forgery. But Durant insists that he had never cast aspersions on Olney--and he offers to produce a witness, Maxine Lindsay (Erin O'Donnell), to prove his assertion. In his efforts to track down the elusive Maxine, Perry ends up in her bathroom--where Colin Durant, dead as a doornail, is taking his last shower! This episode is based on a 1962 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dickie Durham (Liam Sullivan), proverbial black sheep of his wealthy family, returns home after nineteen years at sea and puts the bite on his rich brother Russell (Ford Rainey). Dickie wants enough money to open a pub in Australia--and if he doesn't get it, he will reveal that he is the actual father of Russell's "daughter" Paula (Barbara Parkins). Later on, Dickie is killed in a waterfront brawl, and his shipmate "Lord Harry" Fothergill (Sean McClory) is charged with the crime. Lawyer Perry Mason must prove that, despite his disreptuable demeanor, Harry is the soul of honesty and wouldn't harm a fly--even though there's a $100,000 inheritance that could be considered a motive for the murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Doctor Wayne Edley (Skip Homeier) has trouble finding colleagues that will back him up when he is accused of malpractice by a disgruntled patient (Frank Cady). But that's nothing compared to the trouble facing the good doctor when he is accused of two murders committed by scalpel. Perry Mason must do some clever "operating" of his own to clear Edley's name. Richard Eastham appears as Prosecutor Parness, temporary substitute for Mason's usual nemesis, DA Hamilton Burger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The meteoric popularity of Arthur Godfrey was allegedly the basis of the 1957 drama Face in the Crowd. Andy Griffith makes a spectacular film debut as Lonesome Rhodes, a philosophical country-western singer discovered in a tanktown jail by television talent coordinator Patricia Neal and her assistant Walter Matthau. They decide that Rhodes is worthy of a TV guest spot, the result being that the gangly, aw-shucks entertainer becomes an overnight sensation. As he ascends to stardom, Rhodes attracts fans, sponsors and endorsements by the carload, and soon he is the most powerful and influential entertainer on the airwaves. Beloved by his audience, Rhodes reveals himself to his intimates as a scheming, power-hungry manipulator, with Machiavellian political aspirations. He uses everyone around him, coldly discarding anyone who might impede his climb to the top (one such victim is sexy baton-twirler Lee Remick, likewise making her film debut). Just when it seems that there's no stopping Rhodes' megalomania, his mentor and ex-lover Neal exposes this Idol of Millions as the rat that he is. She arranges to switch on the audio during the closing credits of Rhodes' TV program, allowing the whole nation to hear the grinning, waving Rhodes characterize them as "suckers" and "stupid idiots." Instantly, Rhodes' popularity rating plummets to zero. As he drunkenly wanders around his penthouse apartment, still not fully comprehending what has happened to him, Rhodes is deserted by the very associates who, hours earlier, were willing to ask "how high?" when he yelled "jump". Written by Budd Schulberg, Face in the Crowd was not a success, possibly because it hit so close to home with idol-worshipping TV fans. Its reputation has grown in the intervening years, not only because of its value as a film but because of the novelty of seeing the traditionally easygoing Andy Griffith as so vicious and manipulative a character as Lonesome Rhodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide