Victor Jory Movies

This gorgeously shot western, filmed in the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the Shoshone National Forest, stars Charlton Heston and was written by his son Fraser Clarke Heston. The story concerns two grizzled mountain men -- Bill Tyler (Heston) and Henry Frapp (Brian Keith) -- during the dying days of the fur-trapping era. The plot begins when Running Moon (Victoria Racimo) runs away from her abusive husband Heavy Eagle (Stephen Macht) and comes across the two seedy fur trappers. The mountain men take her in, unaware that Heavy Eagle has dispatched an army of Indian braves to reclaim her. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This program is part of a series that chronicles the stories of some of the great heroes of the Old Testament of the Bible. The colorful stories have made an indelible mark on Western consciousness, as they illustrate great spiritual truths in the plain narratives about ordinary people. This episode tells the story of Daniel who had a gift for interpreting dreams. This asset aids him in his audience with King Nebachadnezzar, who wants very much to understand a dream that has been troubling him. The ensuing drama is one of the most beloved stories in the Christian repertoire, exemplifying the importance of faith in an all-powerful God. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi

This video provides an excellent lesson about who can be trusted in life and which human values are the most important ones. In this Biblical story, Delilah's greed causes her to repeatedly betray Samson as she seeks to tell his enemies how his great strength can be taken away from him. At first, Samson is clever and deceives Delilah. Eventually, he trusts her, only to have her accept money in exchange for his secret. Men arrive to subdue Samson, once Delilah tells them the best way to take away his mighty strength. This video can generate reflection on the most important traits that adults should try to nurture within themselves. ~ Elizabeth Smith, Rovi

Victor Jory guest stars as a wizened old man who claims to be a Navajo Indian. He also claims that Mel's Diner has been built on a sacred Navajo burial ground, and he intends to plant himself on the floor and fast until restitution has been made. While it cannot be said that the ending of this episode comes as a surprise, it works beautifully thanks to the brilliant ensemble playing of the stars and supporting cast. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Victor Jory assumes the title role in The Man Who Talks to Whales. Jory plays a Hemingwayesque codger who goes on a search for the rare California grey whale. Along the way, he must fend off those short-sided "sportsmen" who would wipe the whales from the face of the earth if given a chance. Filmed in 1976, the 91-minute The Man Who Talks to Whales wasn't shown theatrically until 1979, at which time it was pointlessly retitled The Man Who Talks With Whales. The film's TV exposure has been generally limited to PBS pledge weeks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Frasier the Sensuous Lion would seem to have been conceived as a racy "answer" to Disney's sugary-sweet animal comedies. The talkative title character is befriended by zoologist Marvin Feldman (Michael Callan). When Frasier's loquaciousness becomes public knowledge, Feldman tries to save the lion from being commercially exploited by a sleazy California wildlife preserve. The film's supporting cast includes such TV perennials as Frank De Kova ("Wild Eagle" on F Troop) and Malachi Throne ("Noah Bain" on It Takes a Thief). Frasier's innuendo-laden dialogue is supplied by, of all people, Victor Jory. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This unique western centers on an innocent farm boy with a talent for handling guns who decides to make it big. He begins as a bounty hunter. Later he encounters a crazed gunslinger and ends up fatally shot. Before the fateful encounter, the young man is visited by a number of mythical western heroes including Judge Roy Bean, seen as a sentimental drunk, and Jesse James who gives the boy some good advice. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Mackenna's Gold is a colorful, action-packed western feature with an all-star cast. Mackenna (Gregory Peck) has committed to memory the map that leads to some hidden Apache gold. The Indians now want the gold to finance their fight against the white men who invade their territory. Mexican bandit Colorado (Omar Sharif) wants the gold for himself, and the local preacher (Raymond Massey) and the editor of the newspaper (Lee J. Cobb) also get gold fever. Burgess Meredith plays the storekeeper and Edward G. Robinson is long-time town resident Old Adams. Everyone goes looking for the hidden treasure as the Indians dwindle their numbers with violent attacks. The search is monitored by U.S. calvary Sergeant Tibbs (Telly Savalas). Colorado captures Mackenna to lead him to the gold as death comes to those who show the most avarice. Music is provided by Quincy Jones. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Once again, Ironside (Raymond Burr) comes to the aid of an old friend, in this case an outwardly solid citizen who faces extradition to New York on a murder charge. Although Wally Stowe (Victor Jory) is a fugitive from justice who has been living under an assumed identity for nearly two decades, Ironside is convinced that Stowe was wrongly convicted of the killing--and he intends to scour the length and breadth of Manhattan Island to prove his point. Featured in the cast as Stowe's son Tom is a young Harrison Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Agarn (Larry Storch) insists that he has seen a strange Indian wandering around Fort Courage in the dead of night. Since no one else has seen the mysterious visitor, Agarn is diagnosed with "Indian Fever" and ordered to take a few days off. Meanwhile, the local Hekawi tribe are made aware of the presence of the elusive Chief Mean Buffalo (played by veteran movie heavy Victor Jory). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Ford's last western film, Cheyenne Autumn was allegedly produced to compensate for the hundreds of Native Americans who had bitten the dust in Ford's earlier films (that was the director's story, anyway). Set in 1887, the film recounts the defiant migration of 300 Cheyennes from their reservation in Oklahoma territory to their original home in Wyoming. They have done this at the behest of chiefs Little Wolf (Ricardo Montalban) and Dull Knife (Gilbert Roland), peaceful souls who have been driven to desperate measures because the US government has ignored their pleas for food and shelter. Since the Cheyennes' trek is in defiance of their treaty, Captain Thomas Archer (Richard Widmark), who agrees with the Indians in principle, reluctantly leads his troops in pursuit of the tribe. While there was never any intention to shed blood, the white press finds it politically expedient to distort the Cheyennes' action into a declaration of war. Thanks to the cruelties of such chauvinistic whites as Captain Oscar Wessels (Karl Malden), the Cheyennes are forced to defend themselves--and whenever Indians take arms against whites in the 1880s, it's usually misrepresented as a massacre. Only the intervention of US secretary of the interior Carl Schurz (Edward G. Robinson) prevents the hostilities from erupting into wholesale bloodshed. Based on a novel by Mari Sandoz, Cheyenne Autumn is a cinematic elegy--not only for the beleaguered Cheyennes, but for John Ford's fifty years in pictures. It is weakest when arbitrarily throwing in a wearisome romance between Richard Widmark and pacifistic schoolmarm Carroll Baker, who out of sympathy for the Indians has joined them in their 1500-mile westward journey. When the Warner Bros. people decided that the film ran too long, they chopped out the wholly unnecessary but very funny episode involving a poker-obsessed Wyatt Earp (James Stewart). Contrary to popular belief, this episode was included in the earliest non-roadshow prints of Cheyenne Autumn; the scene was excised only when the film went into its second and third runs in 1966 (it has since been restored). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi