Ted Knight Movies

Discounting the pilot "Where Is Everybody?", "The Lonely" was the first Twilight Zone episode to be produced, though not the first to be shown. Jack Warden stars as futuristic convicted murderer James Corry, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment on a lonely asteroid. Out of compassion for Corry, Captain Allenby (John Dehner), leader of the supply ship that makes biannual stopovers at the asteroid, presents the prisoner with a "companion" -- a beautiful female android named Alicia (Jean Marsh). Future Mary Tyler Moore Show regular Ted Knight appears unbilled as a hostile crew member. Blessed with a poignant Bernard Herrmann musical score (which incorporates the first-season Twilight Zone theme music), "The Lonely" originally aired November 13, 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock was already famous as the screen's master of suspense (and perhaps the best-known film director in the world) when he released Psycho and forever changed the shape and tone of the screen thriller. From its first scene, in which an unmarried couple balances pleasure and guilt in a lunchtime liaison in a cheap hotel (hardly a common moment in a major studio film in 1960), Psycho announced that it was taking the audience to places it had never been before, and on that score what followed would hardly disappoint. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (John Gavin). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits throughout this film. The first of a handful of sequels followed in 1983, while Gus Van Sant's controversial remake, starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche, appeared in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Host John Newland once again beckons us into the "unknown" world of psychic phenomena as One Step Beyond begins its third season. The opening episode is based on actual events, as wheelchair-bound Margaret North (Jean Allison) hears a radio bulletin announcing that a huge tidal wave is rapidly approaching her Hawaiian beach home. Miles from her nearest neighbor, the helpless Margaret is unable to alert anyone of her plight--but she hasn't taken into account the power of "thought transference." The real Margaret North appears at the end of this episode, which was later refilmed as the pilot for the sequel TV series The Next Step Beyond. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Scott Harper (Ron Foster) is frustrated and angry as a police detective because he keeps getting passed over for a promotion to lieutenant. Meanwhile, he is assigned to gain the confidence of Holly Taylor (Patricia Blair), the girlfriend of a suspect in a robbery/homicide. Predictably, the two fall in love, conspire to kill Holly's boyfriend, and plan to run off with the proceeds. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide

One of director John Ford's least characteristic films, it derives from the latter part of his career, when the director's belief in the myth of the West had faded, and he was beset by failing health and personal problems. In the cynicism of its humor, the director seems be to taking a page from the work of his friend Howard Hawks. James Stewart stars as Guthrie McCabe, the marshal of a Texas town who spends most of his time in front of the local saloon, where he gets 10 percent of the action, in addition to favors from its owner, Belle Aragon Anelle Hayes. Based on his knowledge of the Commanche tribe, his friend, cavalry officer Jim Gary (Richard Widmark), asks him to help the army to recover long-missing white captives. Despite his initial reluctance, the ability of the opportunistic McCabe to neogotiate a lucrative per capita deal for his recovery of the captives, in addition to his desire to evade the marital intentions of Belle, seal the deal. Even after interviewing the captives' desperate relatives, the hardened McCabe is unmoved, although he believes their chance of ever seeing their relatives again as they once knew them is remote. However, as events unfold, the all-knowing marshal find he has a few things to learn. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide

Leaning heavily on violence to ostensibly deliver a pacifist message, this standard drama by Philip Leacock looks at the problem of teen gangs from a slightly different angle -- these teens are all wealthy. Everything starts off when aerospace engineer Walt Sherill (Alan Ladd) is accosted and severely beaten by a group of young punks. The victimized man decides to hunt down the thugs on his own, at first just for curiosity and then increasingly for vengeance. His actions spark retaliatory measures, and before the credits roll, the body count is elevated by a few more victims in what amounts to nothing more than a blood feud. In the end, justice of the legal and politically correct sort makes a token appearance. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This was the last film by director Stuart Heisler, and in his uneven output it was not one of the most memorable. The evil dictator (Richard Basehart) is shown to be very much involved with his love life, as though impotency and a severe Oedipal complex alone could account for his dominion over Germany and the insanity that led into World War II. Other characters in the top echelons make their way into and out of the story, including Heinrich Himmler (Rick Traeger), Joseph Goebbels (Martin Kosleck), and of course, Eva Braun (Marla Emo). Any viewers looking for an explanation of how the madness within Hitler related to his rise to power and his downfall, will best look elsewhere. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A 13-year-old French orphan named Gilbert (Serge Prieur) wants more than anything to join the US Army. Though he is told to get lost, Gilbert insists upon tagging along with the squad led by Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow)--straight to the battlefield. Director Robert Altman tells much of the story from the boy's point of view, a difficult task to pull off in a series of this nature. Future Mary Tyler Moore Show regular Ted Knight is seen as an outwardly amiable German soldier who forces the well-meaning but naïve Gilbert to question his true loyalties. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though worn to the breaking point by recent fighting, Saunders (Vic Morrow) is selected to guide a reconnaissance patrol headed by Sgt. Jenkins (Albert Salmi). Complicating matters is the embittered Jenkins' refusal to hide his resentment over Saunders' presence, feeling that the higher-ups are giving him a message that he can't be depended upon. Things come to a head when, while seeking out top-secret German documents, both men are trapped in an old mill where the enemy has set up command. Typical of the Combat! episodes directed by Robert Altman, this one is capped by a grimly ironic finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a bombed-out French farmhouse, Hanley (Rick Jason) is savagely attacked by a wild girl named Annette (Anjanette Comer). Managing to subdue his attacker, Hanley finds out that Annette is mute and near-catatonic, possibly as the result of a terrible shock. When it develops that Annette may know where the nearby German forces are positioned, Hanley must break down the girl's wall of silence--and hopefully, discover why she has retreated from the "real world." Future Mary Tyler Moore regular Ted Knight is seen as a German sergeant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This exploitation crime drama offers a fictionalized account of John Dillinger just before he became known as one of the most ruthless mobsters of the 1930s. The tale begins as Dillinger and his girlfriend try to rob her daddy's safe and get caught red-handed. Dillinger takes the fall and goes to the joint where he encounters some of America's most infamous gangsters including Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson. Dillinger helps them all escape and together they become some of the most fearsome criminals ever. Because he is considered Public Enemy No. 1, Dillinger decides to undergo a total face transformation. Following the operation, he kills the surgeon, who was trying to force himself on Dillinger's moll. Later, he wrongs her and this ultimately leads to tragedy for him and for her. Keep an eye out for background people dressed in 1960s clothing, quite an anomaly for a film set in the '30s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) learns that Bishop John Atwood (Dean Jagger), a peace envoy to the US, has been targetted for assassination. Unfortunately, the trigger man, known only to the FBI as "Anton Christopher", has never been photographed or fingerprinted, making it virtually impossible to track him down. Further complicating the situation is the fact that Christopher has been hired by one of Bishop Atwood's most trusted confidantes! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In one of those bizarre twists of fate so beloved by the writers of The Fugitive, both Richard Kimble (David Janssen) and the elusive "one-armed man" Fred Johnson (Bill Raisch) are seriously injured in an explosion--and both end up in the same hospital. Temporarily blinded in the blast, Kimble must rely on young freelance photographer Howey's Keever (Tim Considine) to help him evade arrest long enough to bring Johnson to justice. But Kimble's efforts may come to naught thanks to Howey's uncle, who is all for turning the fugitive over to the police--thus allowing the murderous Johnson to escape scot-free again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide