Sammy Jackson Movies
Character actor Sammy Jackson specialized in playing Southern hayseeds and was best known for playing Airman Will Stockdale in the television version of No Time for Sergeants (1964-1965). Prior to that, he had played a small role in the 1956 film version that made Andy Griffith a star. His other film credits include Night of the Grizzly (1966), Norwood (1970), The Boatniks (1970), and Another Stakeout (1993). He also guest starred on several television shows and appeared occasionally in miniseries and made-for-TV films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In Stakeout, cop Richard Dreyfuss fell in love with Madeline Stowe, the woman he and his partner Emilio Estevez were watching during a police stakeout. Stowe's back in Another Stakeout, but her part is fleeting and unbilled. On the other hand, we get plenty of Dreyfuss and Estevez, still both as cantankerous and obnoxious as ever. This time, our two heroes are in search of a Mafia witness who has disappeared after an attempt on her life. While holed up in a judge's mansion, staking out the apartment where the woman may or may not return, the pair are subject to the comic aggravation of DA's assistant Rosie O'Donnell, who's brought her "darling" little rotweiler along for company. Another Stakeout works a little harder for its laughs than its predecessor; the best scenes go to Ms. O'Donnell and to nonplussed supporting players Dennis Farina and Marcia Strassman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, (more)
- 1979
In order to collect the $180 necessary to repair the "General Lee", Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) hire themselves out to drive an eighteen-wheeler, which is ostensibly transporting shock absorbers but is actually an illegal "casino on wheels" run by the delectable Helen Hogan (Jo Ann Pflug). When one of Jesse's friends loses $1200 at the casino's rigged roulette wheel, the Dukes concoct a "string" to get the money back, with Jesse (Denver Pyle) and Daisy (Catherine Bach) posing as a couple of wealthy high rollers. But they'd better hurry before Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) puts the casino out of business--not because he is shocked, SHOCKED, to find that gambling is going on in Hazzard County, but because he wants to get his mitts on the gambling equipment for his own gain! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In this western, a family of cattle rustlers find themselves observed by a man who did not want to be sheriff. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In the conclusion of Quincy, M.E.'s two-part Season Two opener (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), Quincy (Jack Klugman) continues to look for the source of a mysterious epidemic that has caused several deaths at a pathologist's convention in a Lake Tahoe casino. The casino's customers and employees have now been quarantined, and panic has started to spread. This places Quincy in the unenviable position of preventing a riot--to say nothing of halting the epidemic before it expands into the rest of Nevada. Also, there's a strong possibility that the rampaging illness was far from "natural", and that there's a criminal conspiracy afoot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
After a four-episode tryout as a component of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie anthology, Quincy, M.E. launched its regular weekly run with this episode, originally telecast as a two-hour special but since re-edited for syndication as two one-hour installments. In Part One, we find LA County medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman) attending a pathologists' convention at Lake Tahoe in the company of his girlfriend Lee (Lynette Mettey) and his pal Danny (Val Bisoglio). No sooner has Quincy arrived than a mysterious illness begins spreading through a Lake Tahoe casino, claiming several lives. Asked to investigate this apparent epidemic, Quincy runs up against resistance from the anxious casino manager (Van Johnson), who is worried that news of the medical disaster will destroy his business. (Incidentally, this episode appeared not long after a medical crisis caused panic at an American Legion convention, thereby earning the designation "Legionnaire's Disease".) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
This drama examines the reaction of an African-American community to a love affair between a black man and his Caucasian girl friend. Their love is imperiled because so many of his family and friends are strongly against the match. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Mark Miller plays a paranoid ex-convict named Tom and Leslie Parrish appears as a waitress named Sharon in a sad story of a star-crossed romance. Sharon fond of Tom, but he is more preoccupied with the fear that he is being stalked and pursued . When Sharon attempts suicide, Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) try to find out the reason by tracing a letter she had sent to Tom--with unexpected results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In $1,000,000 Duck, the titular duck is exposed to radiation and begins laying golden eggs, which brings it under the scrutiny of the treasury department, the FBI, and a gang of comic-opera crooks. The cast includes Disney perennials Dean Jones and Joe Flynn, with Sandy Duncan taking over the part usually assumed by someone like Michele Lee or Stefanie Powers. $1,000,000 Duck was directed by Vince McEveety. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandy Duncan, Dean Jones, (more)
The inept Ensign Garland (Robert Morse) battles a trio of jewel thieves in this Walt Disney comedy. Garland starts by spilling paint on the lovely Kate Fairchild (Stephanie Powers). Harry (Phil Silvers), Max (Norman Fell) and Charlie (Mickey Shaughnessy) try to recover the jewels accidentally dumped by Garland into a picnic basket. Garland's superior is Commander Taylor (Don Ameche), who hounds the harried ensign for being a constant bumbler. Jason Bennett (Wally Cox) is the playboy who has replaced his yacht engine with a wine cellar. Character actors Joe E. Ross and Al Lewis witness the sight gags and react to the seafaring shenanigans. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Morse, Stefanie Powers, (more)
- 1970
In this romance, an ex-Marine begins looking for a fellow Vietnam vet in hopes of making it as musicians in New York. He does not realize it, but he is driving in stolen cars. After being chased by the police, he ditches the cars and hitchhikes the New York. By the time he arrives, his pal has already left. At the friend's former apartment, the Marine gets romantic with a hippie chick and begins singing in the Village where he finds audiences unreceptive. He then boards a bus where he meets a young woman on her way to marry a Marine who ends up refusing to marry her. Soon she and the musical Marine are traveling companions. They are accompanied by a trick chicken, and a midget. Just as he finally finds his friend, the girl states that she is pregnant and the honorable fellow offers to marry her, but she will not. Then her old fiancé appears and a fight ensues. She ends up going with him. When the singer finally gets his big chance, he sees the girl watching him and realizes they are in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glen Campbell, Kim Darby, (more)
- 1968
The must-be-seen-to-be-believed Fastest Guitar Alive offers singer Roy Orbison in his one and only movie starring role. Orbison plays Johnny Banner, a Confederate Spy who keeps a rifle hidden in his guitar. While on an espionage mission with partner Steve (Sammy Jackson), Johnny discovers that the war is over, and that now he and Steve are considered outlaws. Their many subsequent adventures include their involvement with dance-hall gals Flo (Maggie Pierce, co-star of the infamous TVer My Mother the Car) and Sue (Joan Freeman). Indicative of the general tone of seriousness in this film is the presence of veteran comedian Ben Lessy as a most urban-looking Indian. Though silly in the extreme, Fastest Guitar Alive is at least superficially better than most of the youth-oriented Sam Katzman productions of the period. And besides, you wouldn't want to pass up an opportunity to see Roy Orbison in his performing prime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Orbison, Sammy Jackson, (more)
- 1966
- G
A small town is terrorized by a grizzly bear in this uninspired western. Jim Cole $Clint Walker must defend his inherited property from the designs of his greedy, land-grabbing neighbor Jed Curry (Keenan Wynn). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Walker, Martha Hyer, (more)
Frank Sinatra took over the directors' chair for the first (and only) time in this unusual WWII drama. Lt. Kuroki (Tatsuya Mihashi) is the leader of a Japanese platoon stranded on a remote Pacific island, where with an iron hand he oversees the construction of a rescue ship. An American plane crash-lands on the island, leading to a skirmish between the two rag-tag legions; eventually, both sides call a truce, and medical officer Maloney (Sinatra) treats a Japanese soldier who was seriously wounded in the fighting. American commander Capt. Bourke (Clint Walker) and Lt. Kuroki come to an agreement -- they will work together to bring needed help to the island, but once either side's forces reach them, the fighting will pick up where it left off. None But the Brave was an international co-production of Artanis Productions (Sinatra's production company -- "Artanis" is Sinatra backwards), Warner Brothers, Tokyo Eiga, and Toho. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Clint Walker, (more)
- 1960
Beau (Roger Moore) finds himself in the middle of some deadly intrigue (not to mention a bitter family feud) when he wins half-ownership of the Golden Wheel Casino. Shortly after this windfall, Bart's new partner Rand Storm is shot and killed in self-defense by dance-hall gal Flo Baker (Kathleen Crowley). When Flo disappears, Rand's brother Luke (played by Bing Russell, the father of film star Kurt Russell) takes advantage of the situation by framing Bart for murder and claiming the Golden Wheel as his own. This episode was cowritten by actor Leo Gordon, whose wife Lynn Cartwright (best known as the "older" Geena Davis in the 1992 theatrical feature A League of Their Own) appears in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Bret (James Garner) is determined to foil the never-ending efforts by Big Ed Murphy (John Dehner) to rob the bank owned by Col Dutton (Wendell Holmes). Figuring that the best way to save Big Ed from himself is to remove the temptation, Bret conspires with Foursquare Foley (Gage Clarke) to steal the bank's money themselves, then hide it in a safe place. In fact, Foley has already dug a tunnel under the bank for this purpose...a fact that should have put Bret on guard from the get-go. This final episode of Maverick's third season also marks the next-to-last appearance by James Garner as Bret Maverick (discounting the later TV and movie sequels). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Caught gambling on a military post, Bart (Jack Kelly) is given the choice of spending several months in the stockage or working for the Army as an undercover agent. Bart's assignment is to root out a traitor in the ranks, a person who has done an excellent job covering his tracks up to now. Unfortunately, things don't quite go as planned, and it is Bart rather than the traitor who ends up with a noose around his neck. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Mac Hyman's hilarious barracks novel No Time for Sergeants was adapted for TV by Ira Levin in 1955, with newcomer Andy Griffith as bumptious Air Force draftee Will Stockdale. This TV version was soon afterward transformed into a Broadway play, and then a movie, again with Griffith in the lead. Brought to the Air Force base in handcuffs because his farmer father has been hiding his draft notices, good-natured Will becomes the target of ridicule for the other transcripts. Especially nasty is Private Irvin (Murray Hamilton), but Will is able to forgive him because he knows that Irvin is suffering from some mysterious disease called ROTC. Will's best pal is hot-headed private Ben (Nick Adams), who wants to be transferred to the Infantry and convinces Will to try for the same goal. Slowly becoming aware that the trusting, naïve Will may prove to be a troublemaker, career sergeant King (Myron McCormick), who wants nothing more out of life than a little peace and quiet, tries to keep Stockdale out of mischief by appointing him "PLO" -- Permanent Latrine Orderly, a dubious distinction in which Will takes enormous pride. Later on, King tries to pull strings to get Will transferred, succeeding only in losing his sergeant's stripes. The story goes off on a zany tangent when Will and Ben find themselves on a crippled plane in flight. They manage to escape with their lives, but all evidence suggests that they've been killed in the plane's crash. Imagine the dismay of newly reinstated Sergeant King when Will and Ben show up in his office -- just as the entire base is gathered for a memorial service for the two "fallen heroes." Featured in a minor role as a "coordination officer" is Griffth's future TV cohort Don Knotts, while Sammy Jackson, who played Stockdale in a 1964 sitcom version of No Time for Sergeants, shows up in an unbilled bit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Griffith, Myron McCormick, (more)
