Walter Woolf King

An outstanding performance by LeVar Burton makes this an above-average sports biography. Based on an adaptation of his autobiography, this is the story of Ron LeFlore, who was raised in the Detroit ghetto and became a major league baseball player for the Detroit Tigers. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Rosie! is directly based upon Ruth Gordon's play A Very Rich Woman, which was itself based upon a French play by Philippe Heriat, but the indirect source for all three versions is Shakespeare's King Lear. Rosalind Russell has the Lear part, here transformed from a powerful king into a rich, madcap grandmother by the name of Rosie Lord. Unlike in Shakespeare, however, Rosie does not abandon her wealth voluntarily; instead, her viperish children make an assault on her in an attempt to claim their inheritance while Rosie is still alive. They succeed in getting her declared mentally incompetent and thrown into a grotesque asylum, an experience that is so traumatic that she nearly does go insane. Fortunately, Rosie's beloved granddaughter Daphne (Sandra Dee) is appalled at what has happened; she moves into high gear, contacting an ex-lover of Rosie's (played by Brian Aherne) who also happens to be a powerful and skilled attorney. A lengthy court battle ensues, with both sides determined to come out triumphant. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Hoping to coerce Tony (Larry Hagman) into marrying her, Jeannie pretends to accept Roger's marriage proposal. This makes it imperative for Jeannie to hide her true identity from Roger(Bill Daily). For this purpose, she "creates" a set of wealthy parents, who live in the house across the street from Tony--which she also conjures up out of thin air, leading to no end of complications for her long-suffering Master. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The debut episode of the mirthfully macabre sitcom The Munsters begins as Marilyn, the "normal" member of the monstrous Munster family of Mockingbird Heights (normal by our standards if not by theirs) is invited to a costume party held by the snobbish parents of her new boyfriend Tom Daly (Linden Chiles). Under these circumstances, Mr. and Mrs. Daly (Frank Wilcox, Mabel Albertson) have no way of knowing that the masqueraded Munsters bear close resemblances to such Hollywood horrors as the Frankenstein monster, Dracula and the Wolfman. The fun begins when Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne), seeing that Tom's father has unwittingly made himself up to look just like Herman, jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Daly isn't wearing any costume at all! With this episode, Beverly Owen makes the first of 13 appearances as Marilyn Munster, a role played for the remainder of the series by Pat Priest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While on a drinking binge, Dianne Castillejo (Lois Nettleton) accidentally caused the drowning death of her adopted son, but managed to persuade the child's governess to take the blame. Now a recovering alcoholic, Dianne is finally getting her life back in order when she is visited by Consuela Sandino (Madlyn Rhue), who claims to be the dead child's birth mother -- and who demands a huge amount of money to keep her from revealing Dianne's guilt to the police. Ultimately, Consuela is allowed to move into Dianne's home, where she conducts a systematic campaign to drive Dianne back to the bottle -- and to steal Dianne's rich and influential husband, Victor (Anthony George). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Show business agent Janice Brandt (Anne Baxter) all but abandons her client list to advance the career of young actor Larry Duke (George Segal), with whom she has fallen in love. Janice's alcoholic husband, Ed (Harry Townes), objects to this situation, expressing his displeasure by striking out at his wife -- who manages to knock Ed unconscious. In a panic, Janice tells Larry what she has done...whereupon Larry calmly suggests that she finish the job and murder Ed, and thus finally be rid of him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is an uneven melodrama on the tragic life of Pima Indian Ira Hayes, one of the men who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima. The story picks up with Hayes (Tony Curtis) leaving his reservation in Arizona to join the Marines, enter boot camp, and start to adapt to the life of a Marine. Hayes becomes good friends with Sorenson (James Franciscus), and it is this friendship that sustains him in a white man's world. But as time goes by and the moment immortalized on Iwo Jima ends, Hayes goes into a decline, being unconvinced there was any heroism involved in his actions during the war and never being able to adjust to civilian life. At this point in time, no one recognized the afflictions common to all soldiers after long years in battle, and the death of Sorenson is blamed for Hayes' downfall. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Gangster Eddie Slovak (Alex Nicol) is worried that his cowardice during the Korean War will be exposed by his old army buddy Pete (Don Keefer). To prevent this, Eddie offers Pete a huge sum of money to keep his mouth shut. But the gangster overplays his hand when he falls in love with Pete's wife Louise (Nita Talbot). Figuring into the outcome of the story is an elaborate murder scheme involving another woman, named Fay (Carmen Mathews). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The only thing genuinely brave about Three Brave Men is the second word in the title. The film is based on the true story of a Navy employee who was fired as a security risk, then took the case to court to prove his loyalty to the United States. Ernest Borgnine plays the victimized employee, whose life is ruined simply because he once briefly participated in an alleged "Pinko" organization. Borgnine and his family are ostracized from the community when word leaks out about his so-called disloyalty. Lawyer Ray Milland takes Borgnine's case; he pleads so eloquently on behalf of his client's patriotism that the navy, represented by Eisenhower lookalike Dean Jagger, reinstates Borgnine. The problem in Three Brave Men is in how the material is approached. Instead of attacking the atmosphere of paranoia that fostered the Communist "witch hunts" of the 1950s, the crucifixion of Borgnine is treated as a necessary evil in the interests of "democracy." The low point comes at the end, when Ray Milland profusely thanks the Navy for their open-mindedness before his client has been exonerated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An Affair to Remember, director Leo McCarey's scene-for-scene remake of his own 1939 film Love Affair, isn't really an improvement on the original, but it's equally as enjoyable. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, high-profile types both engaged to be married to other people, meet and fall in love during an ocean voyage. To test the depth of their commitment to each other, Grant and Kerr promise that, if they're still in love at the end of six months, they will meet again at the top of the Empire State Building. Clips from An Affair to Remember were used as "reference points" throughout the 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, which likewise concluded atop the Empire State Building. Disproving the theory that "Third Time's the Charm," Warren Beatty attempted to remake Affair to Remember, again titled Love Affair, in 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the Holy Scriptures, with additional dialogue by several other hands, The Ten Commandments was the last film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The story relates the life of Moses, from the time he was discovered in the bullrushes as an infant by the pharoah's daughter, to his long, hard struggle to free the Hebrews from their slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. Moses (Charlton Heston) starts out "in solid" as Pharoah's adopted son (and a whiz at designing pyramids, dispensing such construction-site advice as "Blood makes poor mortar"), but when he discovers his true Hebrew heritage, he attempts to make life easier for his people. Banished by his jealous half-brother Rameses (Yul Brynner), Moses returns fully bearded to Pharoah's court, warning that he's had a message from God and that the Egyptians had better free the Hebrews post-haste if they know what's good for them. Only after the Deadly Plagues have decimated Egypt does Rameses give in. As the Hebrews reach the Red Sea, they discover that Rameses has gone back on his word and plans to have them all killed. But Moses rescues his people with a little Divine legerdemain by parting the Seas. Later, Moses is again confronted by God on Mt. Sinai, who delivers unto him the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile, the Hebrews, led by the duplicitous Dathan (Edward G. Robinson), are forgetting their religion and behaving like libertines. "Where's your Moses now?" brays Dathan in the manner of a Lower East Side gangster. He soon finds out. A remake of his 1923 silent film, DeMille's The Ten Commandments may not be the most subtle and sophisticated entertainment ever concocted, but it tells its story with a clarity and vitality that few Biblical scholars have ever been able to duplicate. It is very likely the most eventful 219 minutes ever recorded to film--and who's to say that Nefertiri (Anne Baxter) didn't make speeches like, "Oh, Moses, Moses, you splendid, stubborn, adorable fool"? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As a gift to his young wife Ethel (Janet Ward), real estate agent Ralph Montgomery (Everett Sloane) hires a cook named Mrs. Sutton (Beulah Bondi). Before long, however, Ralph has reason to regret this act of extravagance, as evidence begins to pile up suggesting that Mrs. Sutton is the same woman who has recently poisoned three people. When traces of arsenic show up in Ralph's hot chocolate, it would appear that his suspicions about Mrs. Sutton have been confirmed. But, as often happens on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the truth of the matter is something else entirely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Taxi stars Dan Dailey as Ed Nielson, a been-there-done-that Manhattan cabbie. Nagged by his mother (Blanche Yurka) to find himself a wife, Ed must also contend with a blood-sucking loan company, demanding huge payments for his cab. His life is further complicated when he falls in love with one of his fares: Mary, a young Irish immigrant (Constance Smith), freshly arrived in New York in search of her husband. The girl discovers that her hubby is a louse, but she's forced to stay with him lest she face deportation. Despite his own problems -- not to mention the huge cab fare that Mary's running up while searching for her husband -- Ed vows to rescue his new love from an ungovernable fate. Though running only 77 minutes, Taxi boasts no fewer than six screenwriting credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide