Douglas Kennedy Movies

This wide-screen Republic western is yet another retelling of the James Brothers saga--albeit one with a few unexpected twists. This time, Jesse (Henry Brandon) and Frank (Douglas Kennedy) are supporting characters, while the film's dramatic weight is carried by Jesse's (fictional) friend and fellow outlaw Vic Rodell (Stephen McNally). After one holdup too many, Vic decides to retire from the robbery biz and settle down with his fiancee Paula Collins (Peggie Castle). It so happens that Paula's brother is another ex-James gang member, Bob Ford (Robert Vaughan). In exchange for full pardons, Vic and Bob agree to betray Jesse and Frank and bring them to justice, dead or alive. This may well be the only American film in which "dirty little coward" Bob Ford, the man who ultimately plugs Jesse in the back, is depicted sympathetically. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) comes to the aid of restaurant owner Morey Allen (Robert Osterloh) and waitress Dixie Dayton (Kay Faylen) when Dixie is accused of murdering a man who had been stalking her. It turns out that this case is linked with an earlier killing, in which a cop was the victim. The key to the mystery may be the titular "moth-eaten mink", with which DA Burger hopes to prove that Dixie was more intimate with the murder victim than she is willing to admit. Based on a 1952 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner,this episode was remade in 1965 as "The Case of the Sausalito Sunrise". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, an ex-fan dancer leaves the burlesque to start a new in a small town with her two teenage children. There she soon becomes one of the most respected women in town; she also falls in love with the school principal. Unfortunately, her happiness disintegrates when her past is revealed. Fortunately, the townsfolk respect her too much to hold it against her. Songs include: "We're on Our Way", "Why Can't I?", "Is It Love?", "I'd Rather Be", "My Calypso Baby" (Paul Dunlap), and "Teenage Cutie" (Dick Kallman, sung by Luis Amando). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In one of his last appearances in a Hollywood production, Edmund Purdom plays Korean war veteran Paul Quentin. Keeping his promise to his dead war buddy Adrian (Donald Murphy), Quentin arrives at the doorstep of his Adrian's widow Alice (Ida Lupino). Alice and her children welcome Quentin with open arms, little suspecting that his mission includes killing the children as retribution for Alice's alleged infidelities. Ultimately, Quentin grows too fond of the kids to carry out his bloody task, but there's still slimy blackmailer Howard (Jacques Bergerac) to contend with. Strange Intruder is based on a novel by Helen Fowler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Corey Allen, who'd played James Dean's ill-fated "chickie run" opponent in the 1955 feature Rebel without a Cause (and who later became a prolific TV director), is the guest star in this episode. Allen plays Gil Dalliford, who deeply resents the fact that his widowed father Jonathan (Douglas Kennedy) has married the much-younger Rosina (Georgann Johnson). When Jonathan dies, Gil accuses Rosina of poisoning him. But the guilt lies elsewhere -- not only outwardly, but within the conscience of the actual culprit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also known as Wiretapper and The Jim Vaus Story, this low-budget production begins as a crime melodrama, then bumpily segues into a religious tract. Bill Williams stars as the real-life Jim Vaus, who for many years was a minor functionary in two major crime syndicates. The wastrel son of a minister, Vaus was "born again"late in life, and as a result he agreed to gather evidence against his mob bosses--including the notorious Mickey Cohen. The Rev. Billy Graham appears as "himself", whom the real Jim Vaus credited for his latter-day conversion to Christ. Wiretapper was adapted from Vaus' autobiography, Why I Quit Syndicated Crime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Working in concert with FBI agent Tom Ashford (Douglas Kennedy), Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) inaugurate an intensive search for a bank robber. The most valuable clues are provided by bank guard Leon Gibson (Ben Morris), despite his being the target of several condescending remarks from his pompous boss Clifton Allen (Jonathan Hale). Nor is Mr. Allen the only unwitting impediment to the the investigation: Friday and Smith must also endure the eccentric behavior of "armchair detective" Mabel Hartford (Dorothy Adams), a neighbor of one of the suspects. One of the most accessible of the original black-and-white Dragnet episodes thanks to its current public-domain status, "The Big Number" is adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of October 26, 1952. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Working in cooperation with a US Postal Service inspector (Douglas Kennedy), Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) search for a forger who has been stealing checks and bank statements from mailboxes. After interrogating a first-time offender who turns out not to be the man they're looking for, the two detectives are able to track down the actual perp with the help of the San Diego police department. In one of the series' sillier moments, all action stops dead in its tracks as Officer Smith (Ben Alexander) tries in vain to refold a portable raincoat! This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of May 24, 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There are few surprises in The Lone Gun--and few lulls, either. Things get under way when ex-marshal George Montgomery rides into a wide-open Texas town. Montgomery intends to bring three cattle-rustling brothers to justice. Since those siblings are played by Neville Brand, Douglas Kennedy and Robert Wilke, one suspects that Our Hero's task will not be accomplished within the film's first twenty minutes. Taking over a cattle ranch run by Dorothy Malone and her brother Skip Homeier, the villains inaugurate a deadly game of cat and mouse with Montgomery. Frank Faylen scores in an uncharacteristic performance as a dude gambler. The Lone Gun was produced by Edward Small for United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Action star Phil Carey once more dons Cavalry Blue in Columbia's Massacre Canyon. This time, Carey plays the unsavory role of an alcoholic Cavalry lieutenent who fancies himself an expert on Indians. In truth, only his sergeant, Douglas Kennedy, possesses enough knowhow for the task at hand: To transport a wagon train full of weapons into Indian territory without arousing suspicion. Thanks to a stupid blunder, Native American chief Steve Ritch discovers that the army is trying to ship guns through his land, and the chase is on. Evidently as a means to enhance the film's box office, Massacre Canyon costars two attractive but totally unnecessary leading ladies, Audrey Totter and Miss Jeff Donnell (as she was often billed). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vic Barron (Mark Stevens) is an ex-detective from San Francisco whose career is ruined and family is destroyed because of his dedication to his job. Three years before, he'd been close to breaking a gang with ties to some very powerful people. Then they tried to kill him by bombing his car; he was permanently disfigured, and his wife and child died in the blast, and then he was set up with planted money and sentenced to prison. Now he's out, and he's no longer a cop, but that won't stop him from finishing his last case or finding the man who planted the bomb. Neither his former friends on the force (who know he was innocent) nor the "persuasive" efforts of Roxey (Skip Homeier), a psychopathic strong-arm man, can get him to change his mind or his plans. Vic thinks he knows one of the men responsible, Tino Morelli (Douglas Kennedy), but it turns out that Morelli's been hiding out in Alaska, just as desperate in his desire not to be found as Vic has been to get revenge, and hiding from the same man. No sooner does the ex-cop come to appreciate this fact then he is set up for another fall -- this time for murder. But in the process, he finally figures out who was behind the destruction of his family; and he finds some things in life worth living for, if he can manage to stay alive to enjoy them. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Jack McCall, the man who shot Wild Bill Hickok in the back, is presented in a sympathetic light in this "revisionist" western. During the Civil War, McCall (George Montgomery) is falsely accused of treason. He escapes to prove his innocence, but vengeful union sergeant Will Bill Hickok (Douglas Kennedy) won't let him. It's Les Miserables, western style, not to mention once of the few cinematic depictions of Hickok as an unregenerate villain: Wild Bill even participates in the murder of McCall's parents! Thus, the death of Hickok is seen as a justifiable act of revenge, with Jack McCall living happily ever after with Rose Griffith (Angela Stevens)--and never mind that the real McCall was hanged shortly after plugging Hickok during that fateful poker game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in Mexico, this thriller centers on an author who becomes obsessed with solving a murder that occurred fifteen years ago. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide