Barry Kelley Movies
Trained at the Goodman Theatre in his hometown of Chicago, the 6'4", 230-pound Barry Kelley made his professional stage bow in 1930. Seventeen years later, he appeared in his first film, director Elia Kazan's Boomerang. Kelley was most often found in crime yarns and westerns, often cast as a corrupt law officer, e.g. Lieutenant Ditrich in John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle. Barry Kelley's hundreds of TV credits include the recurring roles of city editor Charlie Anderson in Big Town (1954) and Pete's boss Mr. Slocum in Pete and Gladys (1961). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1986
- R
Irish youths Vinnie (Stephen Brennan) and Arthur (Eamon Morrissey) fight their ongoing boredom by running a video print of Elvis Presley's Roustabout. If you've seen that film, you'll remember that at one point, Elvis participates in "The Wall of Death," a dangerous cylindrical motorcycle stunt. Suddenly inspired, Vinnie and Arthur set about constructing their own Wall of Death. Supplies are costly, but the boys are benumbed to reality by their dreams of fame and fortune. Entering the picture (and foredooming the project) is con artist Boots (Niall Toibin), who claims to be an American showman bent upon giving Vinnie and Arthur a spectacular TV showcase. Like the later The Commitments, Eat the Peach deftly blends traditional sour-faced Irish pragmatism with pie-in-the-sky idealism. This time, however, there's no blarney: Eat the Peach is based on a true story! Privately financed in England and Ireland, the film earned good American bookings thanks to the sponsorship of filmmaker Jonathan Demme. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eamon Morrissey, Stephen Brennan, (more)
- 1969
John Frankenheimer directed this tepid World War II comedy set in the Philippines. When four American soldiers -- Lieutenant Morton Krim (Alan Alda), Cook 3rd Class W.J. Oglethorpe (Mickey Rooney), Gunner's Mate Orville Toole (Jack Carter), and Seaman 1st Class Lightfoot Star (Manu Tupou) -- are detached from their ship, they find themselves stranded on an uncharted island. Looking up from the surf, they see the vision of Lieutenant Commander Finchhaven (David Niven), immaculately dressed, standing atop an old gunboat and sipping some whiskey. The Americans set about repairing the gunboat, the H.M.S. Curmudgeon. After it is repaired, they set sail -- with the additions of Finchhaven and Jennifer Winslow (Faye Dunaway), a woman also stranded on the island. Almost immediately, the ship is attacked by the Japanese, but luckily the ship survives. All the while, Finchhaven simply stands on deck and sips his whiskey. It is then revealed that Finchhaven is a ghost, condemned to stay upon this ship for all eternity to redeem the family honor that was lost in 1914 when Finchhaven got drunk before his first battle and disgraced the family name. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Faye Dunaway, (more)
Those who worried that the Disney studio would collapse without the presence of the late Uncle Walt were put at ease when the profits starting rolling in for The Love Bug. The "star" is Herbie, a lovable little Volkswagen with a personality all its own. Abused by a bad guy race-car driver (David Tomlinson), Herbie is rescued by a good guy racer (Dean Jones). Out of gratitude, Herbie enables the luckless good guy to win one race after another. The real fun begins when the ruthless hot-rodder connives to get Herbie back through fair means or foul. Based on a story by Gordon Buford, The Love Bug inspired two equally lucrative sequels, Herbie Rides Again and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Jones, Michele Lee, (more)
- 1968
Self-styled deputy Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) informs everyone at the Shady Rest that a bank robbery has occurred and the bandit is still at large. This information piques the interest of a new guest at the hotel (Alan Reed Sr.)--who happens to be the bank robber! It takes the combined resources of Aunt Helen (Rosemary DeCamp) and a WW2-vintage life raft to save the day and mete out justice. Bea Benaderet (Kate Bradley) does not appear in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In the first episode of a two-part story, Lucy (Lucille Ball) turns activist to save the small town of Bancroft, which is slated to be demolished to make room for a new freeway. With sign in hand and slogans in her mouth, Lucy leads the citizens in a protest, blissfully unaware (at first) that her own boss Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) is funding the freeway project. Another of the protesters is Lucy's songwriter friend Mel Tinker (Mel Torme), who pens the stirring ballad "My Home Town" and joins Lucy and legendary song-and-dance man John Bubbles in a performance of the title tune "Main Street USA." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Tormé, John Bubbles, (more)
- 1967
Kate (Bea Benaderet) comes to the sad conclusion that honeymooners Betty Jo (Linda Kaye) and Steve (Mike Minor) have forgotten her birthday. In truth, the couple has not forgotten at all. The problem is that they're hoping to return from Hawaii in time for the birthday celebration in Hooterville--and thanks to a variety of foul-ups, it looks like this ain't a-gonna happen! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Tired of hanging around the house and feeling useless, Jed looks forward to joining the board of directors of a second-rate oil company. But when it becomes clear that he's been hired as merely a figurehead, Jed feels worse than ever. By the time the episode has run its course, the Clampett patriarch has accepted a job as a trash collector. Barry Kelly guest stars as Mr. Brachner. "Jed Joins the Board" was originally telecast on November 16, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
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
- 1965
Adam Cartwright rescues long-suffering schoolteacher Barbara (Mariette Hartley), who has been tied to a burning post by her unruly pupils. While Barbara recovers from her ordeal, Adam takes over her classroom, determined to teach her contentious charges the history of the Nevada Territory. In so doing, he unexpectedly unearths some deep, dark and ugly secrets about several of the territory's leading citizens. First shown on March 7, 1965, "Right is the Fourth R" was written by Jerry Adelman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1965
The premiere episode of F Troop explains how Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), the last and least descendant of a proud military family, came to be known as "The Scourge of the West." Near the end of the Civil War, Union private Parmenter is sent out to pick up the laundry for General Grant. En route, Wilton's sneeze is mistaken for an order to mount a charge against the Confederates--and as a result, he finds himself a much decorated hero, bound for his first command at Fort Courage, somewhere in Kansas. The clueless Captain Parmenter is unaware that the Fort is actually the personal domain of the entrepreneurial Sergeant O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and his partner-in-crime Corporal Agarn (Larry Storch), who connive to keep Wilton in the dark about their many crooked business activities--and to convince the new commander that the hopeless misfits of F Troop are actually an expert tean of Indian fighters! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
George Axelrod's script for How to Murder Your Wife isn't politically correct in the least, but you're likely to get a charge out of it -- provided you are of the male persuasion, that is. Jack Lemmon stars as Stanley Ford, a successful cartoonist and a confirmed bachelor who shares a lavish apartment with his misogynistic manservant, Charles (Terry-Thomas). While attending a friend's bachelor party, Stanley falls head over heels in love with the gorgeous bikini-clad girl (Virna Lisi) who pops out of a cake. He impulsively marries her, but thinks better of it the next day. Alas, Stanleycan't get a divorce because his bride is an Italian Catholic (this is 1966). Dicier still, she is a "domestic goddess," lovingly plying her hubby with rich Italian food until Stanley's once-athletic physique is as bloated as the dirigible Hindenberg. Stanley's descent into husbandhood is reflected in his work: his popular adventure comic strip "Bash Brannigan" metamorphoses into a Blondie-like "idiot husband" daily. As a catharsis, Stanley vicariously "kills" his lovely wife by having Bash Brannigan murder his missus. Stanley's wife sees the finished strip on his desk and runs tearfully out of his life (at least temporarily). The publication of the strip, coupled with his wife's disappearance, results in Lemmon being put on trial for murder. We won't tell you how things turn out; suffice it to say that most feminists will be outraged, while most husbands will laugh immoderately. Eddie Mayehoff and Claire Trevor provide sparkling support as Lemmon's bombastic editor and his dragon-like wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi, (more)
- 1964
A huge shipment of rifles are stolen in Texas sometime shortly following the close of the Civil War. It turns out the rifles are going to Apaches who are being recruited by a disgruntled Rebel officer (Edmond O'Brian) who wishes to resurrect the war. Richard Boone and company are sent to reclaim the rifles and apprehend the scheming thieves. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Boone, Stuart Whitman, (more)
The Rat Pack packed it in after this sprightly musical comedy that owes more than it should to Damon Runyon's stories and Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows's classic musical Guys and Dolls. Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen's bright and snappy score features such songs as "Style", "Bang-Bang" and the Sinatra standard "My Kind of Town". Set in 1920s Chicago, the tale begins during a birthday party for head mobster Big Jim (Edward G. Robinson) who is shot to death during the celebration. Rival gangster Guy Gisbourne (Peter Falk) immediately declares himself the chief gangster. The northside gang, headed by Robbo (Frank Sinatra) is willing to grant Guy his self-declared title as long as he leaves the northside territory alone. Guy refuses and when small time hood Little John (Dean Martin) joins Robbo's crew, turf warfare breaks out between the two gangs, resulting in the destruction of both Robbo and Guy's nightclubs. Meanwhile, Big Jim's daughter Marian (Barbara Rush) offers Robbo $50,000 to find the man who killed her father. Robbo demurs and gives the money to his henchman Will (Sammy Davis Jr.) to get rid of. Will, hoping to do a good deed, hands the money over to Allen A. Dale (Bing Crosby), who runs an orphanage. Allen, finding out that the money came from Robbo, informs the newspapers of Robbo's philanthropic enterprise and Robbo immediately becomes a local celebrity, referred to as Chicago's Robin Hood. For his part, Robbo is willing to go along with the publicity. On the romantic front, although Robbo is attracted to Marian, he gives her the brush-off when he finds she is using a charitable foundation as a front for a counterfeiting ring being run by herself and Little John. Robbo tells Marian to leave town. Instead, she hooks up with Guy, proposing that he kill both Robbo and Little John. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, (more)
- 1964
Suffering from insomnia, Herman (Fred Gwynne) begins taking midnight strolls in a nearby park. Naturally, this throws the populace into a panic, forcing harried police chief Harris (Cliff Norton) to issue warnings about a marauding "monster" in the vicinity. Likewise nervous is Herman's wife Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo), who worries that her husband might fall victim to the mysterious monster--never catching on that it is Herman himself who is terrifying the neighborhood! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Using the alias "Joseph Walker", fugitive Richard Kimble (David Janssen) hires on as a fruitpicker in a farming community. His coworkers, many of whom are illegal immigrants, are highly suspicious of "Walker", ironically believing that he is a police officer. Ultimately, Kimble wins the other workers' trust by saving the lives of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, and helping to fight a forest fire--an act of selfless bravery which unfortunately may result in the fugitive's capture, thanks to roving reporter Johnny Peters (Peter Helm). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Nathan Juran, director of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, tries to make the magic happen again on a much more attenuated budget in Jack the Giant Killer. Torin Thatcher, another Sinbad alumnus, plays a wicked wizard who kidnaps toothsome-princess Judi Meredith. Kerwin Mathews, still another veteran of Sinbad, plays Jack, who rescues Meredith and promises to escort her to safety. Stop-motion animator Jim Danforth creates several fire-breathing perils along the same lines as Ray Harryhausen's special effects in Sinbad; happily, Danforth emulates the Harryhausen style without stooping to imitation. Prominent among the supporting actors is Don Beddoe as an impish genie. In the recently reissued prints of Jack the Giant Killer, most of the original voices have been dubbed over, and incongruous musical numbers added. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kerwin Mathews, Judi Meredith, (more)
- 1962
Paladin (Richard Boone) must once again come to the defense of a "devil incarnate"--in this case, the much-feared, much-hated gunslinger Virge Beech (Sherwood Price). The citizens of Tabelrock, who have long lived in mortal terror of Beech, are determined to get revenge by hanging the gunman on a murder charge--even though everyone in town knows that Virge shot in self-defense. In his efforts to assure Beech a fair trial, Paladin characteristically puts his own life in dire jeopardy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An unusually tense and intelligent political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate was a film far ahead of its time. Its themes of thought control, political assassination, and multinational conspiracy were hardly common currency in 1962, and while its outlook is sometimes informed by Cold War paranoia, the film seemed nearly as timely when it was reissued in 1987 as it did on its original release. It opens with a group of soldiers whooping it up in a bar in Korea as their commander, Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), arrives to inform them that they're back on duty. These men obviously have no fondness for Shaw, and he feels no empathy for them. While on patrol, Shaw and his platoon are ambushed by Korean troops. Months later, Shaw is receiving a hero's welcome as he returns to the United States to accept the Congressional Medal of Honor, and several of the soldiers who served under Shaw repeatedly refer to him as "the bravest, finest, most lovable man I ever met." It soon becomes evident that after their capture by the Koreans, Shaw and his men were subjected to an intense program of brainwashing prior to their release. While several are troubled by bad dreams and inexplicable behavior, it's Capt. Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) who seems the most haunted by the experience. In time, Marco is able to piece together what happened; it seems Raymond Shaw was programmed by a shadowy cadre of Russian and Chinese agents into a killing machine who will assassinate anyone, even a close friend, when given the proper commands. On the other side of the coin, Shaw is also used for political gain by his harridan mother (Angela Lansbury), who guides the career of her second husband, John Iselin (James Gregory), a bone-headed congressman hoping to win the vice-presidential nomination through a campaign of anti-Communist hysteria.
The Manchurian Candidate features a host of remarkable performances, several from actors cast cleverly against type. Frank Sinatra's edgy, aggressive turn as Marco may be the finest dramatic work of his career; Laurence Harvey's chilly onscreen demeanor was rarely used to s better advantage than as Raymond Shaw; James Gregory is great as the oft-befuddled Senator Iselin; and Angela Lansbury's ultimate bad mom will be a shock to those who know her as the lovable mystery writer from Murder, She Wrote. George Axelrod's screenplay (based on Richard Condon's novel) is by turns compelling, witty, and horrifying in its implications, and John Frankenheimer's direction milks it for all the tension it can muster. While Frankenheimer's career has had its ups and downs, The Manchurian Candidate and Seconds (1966) suggest that he deserves to be recognized as one of the most brilliantly paranoid American filmmakers of the '60s. Entertaining yet unsettling, both films indicate that things in the '60s were not what they seemed, with a resonance that still echoes uncomfortably in the present. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
The Manchurian Candidate features a host of remarkable performances, several from actors cast cleverly against type. Frank Sinatra's edgy, aggressive turn as Marco may be the finest dramatic work of his career; Laurence Harvey's chilly onscreen demeanor was rarely used to s better advantage than as Raymond Shaw; James Gregory is great as the oft-befuddled Senator Iselin; and Angela Lansbury's ultimate bad mom will be a shock to those who know her as the lovable mystery writer from Murder, She Wrote. George Axelrod's screenplay (based on Richard Condon's novel) is by turns compelling, witty, and horrifying in its implications, and John Frankenheimer's direction milks it for all the tension it can muster. While Frankenheimer's career has had its ups and downs, The Manchurian Candidate and Seconds (1966) suggest that he deserves to be recognized as one of the most brilliantly paranoid American filmmakers of the '60s. Entertaining yet unsettling, both films indicate that things in the '60s were not what they seemed, with a resonance that still echoes uncomfortably in the present. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, (more)
- 1962
The final episode of Maverick finds Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) crossing the path of his brother Bret's old nemesis Modesty Blaine (played in earlier episodes by Mona Freeman, and here enacted by Kathleen Crowley). Hoping that Bart will marry her, Modesty goes ballistic (even though that word didn't exist in the 1870s) when he turns her down--and to get even, she tells the authorities that Bart tried to "have his way" with her. Somehow or other, all this nonsense is prelude to the climactic sequence, in which both Bart and Modesty are key players in a spectacular train robbery, which also involves real-life luminaries Diamond Jim Brady (Barry Kelley) and Doc Holliday (Peter Breck). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Based on the novel I Cover the Waterfront, this uninspired crime melodrama stars Ron Foster as Skip Hanlon, a reporter who inadvertently gets involved in tracking down a criminal operation on the waterfront. Hanlon falls in love with Janey Fowler (Merry Anders) whose father is a sea captain doing some questionable work for the Mafia. When one of the mafiosi gets too hot to stay in the U.S., the elder Fowler (Barry Kelley) ships them out of the country. After the reporter decides to blow the whistle on the sea captain, circumstances lead him closer to danger and farther from the object of his affection. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Foster, Barry Kelley, (more)
- 1961
In this sequel to "The Underground Court", Nero Rankin (Will Kuluva) has installed himself as chairman of the Syndicate, replacing the estimable Judge Foley. When Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) manages to convince Rankin's secretary Sylvia Orchins (Jean Carson) that her boss will be killed unless she cooperates with the Feds, Rankin quickly disposes of the hapless girl and gives Ness a "message" by sparking a bloodbath in which innocent bystanders are mowed down in the streets. Ironically, this turns the public against Ness rather than Nero--making it all the more crucial to end Rankin's reign of terror before Chicago becomes one huge slaughterhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
During a stopover in a mining camp, a weary Paladin (Richard Boone) allows self-proclaimed mystic Mme. Destin (June Vincent) to read his future with Tarot cards. The cards subsequently reveal that Paladin is slated to meet a sailor--whereupon death will follow! Almost on cue, a tough character named Danceman (Barry Kelley) roars into camp primed for revenge...and it looks like Paladin's fate has been sealed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
This one-hour, police-story melodrama does not focus on the two-legged officers commonly found chasing the bad guys, but a four-legged K-9 corps German Shepherd named "Wolf" (played by Rocco), whose training forms a large part of the story. Wolf is put through his paces so that when the time comes, he can join up with his bosses and head out to capture some nasty arsonists, intent on torching buildings to collect insurance money. Given that Wolf's fans are likely to be the younger set, any ingrained clichés and lines of uninspired dialogue will not be a great problem. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brown, Merry Anders, (more)
- 1961
In this sentimental crime melodrama, an ailing clown dies while trying to take his son to a Texas convent school. The orphaned lad then hooks up with a fugitive who dons the late clown's make-up as a disguise. At first the boy doesn't know that he is traveling with an escaped convict, but when he finds out, he steals the crook's horse and gallops straight into the path of an oncoming tornado. The outlaw is about to set off after the youth when the police show up. A fight ensues and he escapes to continue his search. He finds the unconscious child and returns him to safety. He then gives himself up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Justin Groton (Buzz Martin), sole surviving member of a vicious outlaw family, has been in jail on a murder charge since the age of 13. Now Justin is approaching his 21st birthday--and as such, he will be legally eligible to hang for his crime. It is up to Paladin to convince a flint-hearted judge (Liam Sullivan), and an angry mob, that Justin has already suffered enough for his transgressions and should be spared the hangman's rope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
