Dave Ketchum Movies

The second feature-length revival of the Get Smart television series (1965-1970) of blessed memory, Get Smart Again reunited Don Adams as bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart and Barbara Feldon as his wife, sultry "fellow" agent 99. Smart coerces 99 to drop her public-sector job and join him in thwarting the evil machinations of their old nemesis Siegfried (Bernie Kopell). Other alumni from the original TV series include Dick Gautier as Hymie the Robot, Robert Karvelas (Don Adams' cousin) as Larrabee, King Moody as Starker and Dave Ketchum as the ubiquitous Agent 13. A few concessions have been made to the passage of time (Smart's fabled shoe-phone now has "call waiting"), but the film scores highest on its nostalgic appeal, encapsulated by such catch-phrases as "Sorry about that", "Would you believe?" and "Missed it by that much." Get Smart, Again was first telecast February 26 (would you believe February 27?), 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a group of randy young interns turn City Hospital upside down with their romantic liaisons and their blunders. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) are outraged when they think they have been passed over for a salary hike. In the tradition of such previous sitcom protagonists as Ralph Kramden and Rob Petrie, the girls mete out vengeance by writing an angry letter to the boss. Inevitably, word comes through that L&S have gotten their raise after all--but it's too late to retrieve the letter from their boss' office! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stubby Kaye guest stars as Cowboy Bill, owner of the restaurant chain that employs Laverne's dad Frank (Phil Foster). When Bill is called out of town, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) offer to take care of his Malibu mansion until he returns. Alas, the girls use the opportunity to throw a party, which is unexpectedly crashed by a gang of bikers (led by future Night Court regular Richard Moll)--and the whole sorry spectacle is witnessed by Cowboy Bill's talking parrot! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the bigger non-cartoon moneymakers for Disney in the 1970s, The North Avenue Irregulars is predicated on the premise of the "Neighborhood Watch" system. Priest Michael Hill (Edward Herrmann), newly arrived on North Avenue, decides to buck the patriarchal notions of his superiors by delegating church responsibilities to the neighborhood women. Since the ladies include Vickie, Jane, Anne, Claire and Rose (Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine, Susan Clark, Cloris Leachman and Patsy Kelly), we're well primed for a surfeit of feistiness. Father Michael entrusts the church funds to Rose, who loses it all at the race track. In trying to retrieve the cash, he comes up against an influential bookie ring, controlled by several of the above-suspicion town officials. The wily priest responds by organizing the ladies of his congregation into the North Avenue Irregulars, a two-fisted crimefighting unit. There's slapstick aplenty within the film's 99 minutes, including the expected comic car crash. North Avenue Irregulars is based on a (drawn-from-life?) novel by the Reverend Albert Fay Hill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alice sees an episode of 60 Minutes about a famous mobster who dropped out of sight three decades ago. Shortly thereafter, an oldster named Gino (Michael V. Gazzo) makes another of his regular drop-ins at the diner. Taking a closer look at the elderly Gino than she ever has before, Alice is convinced that the old man and the missing mobster are one and the same. This episode was originally slated to air on October 30, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An all-star "disaster" flick set in an elevator: is there no limit? This made-for-TVer top-bills James Farentino as a bank robber suffering from claustrophobia. Fleeing from his latest crime, the criminal is forced to take an elevator, populated with the likes of Roddy McDowall, Craig Stevens, Teresa Wright, Myrna Loy and Carol Lynley. Naturally, the elevator stalls between floors, high above ground level. The Elevator debuted as an ABC Movie of the Week on February 9, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In order to requisition extra money and supplies for a group of Korean orphans, Hawkeye (Alan Alda) invents a fake doctor and war hero, "Captain Jonathan S. Tuttle." All goes well until Henry (McLean Stevenson), impressed by "Tuttle's" sterling record, wants to make the imaginary physician the Officer of the Day. The plot further thickens when General Clayton (Herb Voland), a man not known for his sense of humor, insists upon meeting the "legendary" captain. "Tuttle" was originally broadcast on January 14, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Oliver (Eddie Albert) and Lisa (Eva Gabor) are given an offer they can't refuse: a free paint job for their house and barn. Of course, there are a few strings attached -- namely, the Douglases will have to allow the paint company extending this offer to use the side of their barn for an advertising poster. The fact that this event coincides with Lisa's disastrous efforts to cook spaghetti should be a tip-off that paint is not the only element that will end up coating the Douglases' walls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Christine (Jacqueline Bisset) is the young bank teller who is bored with her job and her husband. She leaves for Las Vegas where she scores a job as a chorus girl. The beautiful Christine does not have the talent to parlay the job into an upwardly mobile career. She marries an older man and becomes a "kept woman." Tommy Marcott (Jim Brown) is the greeter at a casino who poses for pictures with the guests and marries Christine. When Christine is invited to dinner by Roosevelt Dekker (Ramon Bieri), she is beaten up by her host. Tommy tracks down the construction magnate at a local golf course and beats him to a pulp. Danny (Corbett Monica) is the comic who gives Christine her first tour of Vegas and his bedroom. Christine hires a pilot to skywrite an obscenity that sums up her feelings about her experience. Joseph Cotten also appears in this drama of a naive young woman nearly swallowed up by the seamier side of the Las Vegas nightlife. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

After putting in several years as a pump jockey and mechanic, Goober buys Wally's service station, with Andy and Emmett as his financial backers. Unfortunately, Goober's new responsibilities prove to be too much for him; he worries so much about making executive decisions that he ends up making no decisions whatsoever. It is up to young Opie, of all people, to help Goober get his head on straight. Written by Michael Morris and Seaman Jacobs, "Goober the Executive" was filmed as the second episode of The Andy Griffith Show's eighth season, but was withheld from view until December 25, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Disgusted by the smarminess of his 1963 vehicle Under the Yum Yum Tree, Jack Lemmon vowed that his next effort would be a wholesome family picture. Good Neighbor Sam is suitable for all ages, to be sure, but that doesn't stop producer-writer-director David Swift from injecting plenty of double-entendre dialogue and harmlessly risque situations. Lemmon plays ad executive Sam Bissell, happily married to all-American blonde Minerva (Dorothy Provine). Anxious to land the Nurdlinger's milk account, Sam is carefully scrutinized by the prudish Simon Nurdlinger (Edward G. Robinson), a staunch advocate of old-fashioned family values.

Meanwhile, Minerva welcomes her old school friend, sexy Janet Langerlof (Romy Schneider) into her home. Janet is in line to inherit a fortune, but only if she's married. Unfortunately, Janet is currently separated from her insanely jealous spouse Howard Ebbets (Michael Connors), so big-hearted Minerva volunteers Sam to pose as Janet's husband. The ensuing comic complications come to a head when Nurdlinger elects Sam and Janet as the nation's ideal "married" couple, and posts their pictures on billboards all over town! Some of the smaller pleasures in this film are provided by Louis Nye as a high-tech private eye, Barbara Nichols as a squeaky-voiced call girl, Robert Q. Lewis as Sam's lascivious neighbor, and an uncredited Gil Lamb as a genial wino. An amusing running gag involved the Hertz "man in the driver's seat" commercials of the 1960s has sometimes been cut from TV prints of Good Neighbor Sam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide