Paul Langton Movies

Attorney Theodore Berringer (Simon Oakland) is none too fond of his current clients, a band of scofflaw anarchists. When the gang escapes from prison, they take Berringer's son Ted (Brad David) hostage to ensure the elder Berringer's cooperation. As it turns out, however, Ted is a willing accomplice of the anarchists--though he is blissfully unaware of their sinister plans for the future. Thus, Ironside (Raymond Burr) must not only rescue Ted from the villains, but also from his own misguided idealism. Featured in the cast is Christina Crawford, adopted daughter of movie queen Joan Crawford and future author of the infamous tell-all biography Mommie Dearest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Youngblood Hawke (James Franciscus) is a Kentucky truck driver who comes to New York City to make it as a writer. He meets editor Jeanne Green (Suzanne Pleshette), who sees talent in Hawke's work. Jeanne falls for the handsome Kentuckian and helps him put together a book deal. His first book is only moderately successful, but his confidence is lifted when veteran actress Irene Perry (Mary Astor) wants to make his story into a Broadway play. Hawke soon discovers he is desired by many women, and the heartbroken Jeanne takes a job at another publishing company. His second book makes Hawke the toast of the town and the New York social elite. When Hawke has an affair with the married socialite Frieda Winter (Genevieve Page), her husband Paul (Kent Smith) discovers his wife's infidelity and sets out to ruin Hawke's career. His third book bombs, Frieda's son kills himself over his mother's affair, and Hawke's financial fortune takes a severe nosedive. He returns to Kentucky to work on his next book, but he contracts pneumonia before realizing that Jeanne is the woman he really loves. Good supporting performances from Werner Klemperer, Don Porter, Eva Gabor, and Edward Andrews along with the principle characters make this sentimental melodrama a success. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Thirty years after leaving Earth, a group of space colonists live a spartan existence on a desolate asteroid. All that keeps these castaways together is the charismatic leadership of Captain William Benteen (James Whitmore), an archetypal "benevolent despot." When a rescue ship arrives to transport the colonists back to Earth, everyone rejoices -- everyone but Benteen, who is unwilling to relinquish his self-anointed authority. Written by Rod Serling, "On Thursday We Leave for Home" was the last of the 60-minute Twilight Zone episodes, though not the last one to be telecast. The episode made its network debut on May 2, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beaver (Jerry Mathers) wins a 14-carat locket at a carnival. At first, he plans to give the prize to his mother, June (Barbara Billingsley). But at the prodding of his friend Gilbert (Stephen Talbot), Beaver ends up presenting the locket to pretty Donna Yeager (Christine Jordan). Not unexpectedly, the ramifications of Beaver's generosity are daunting indeed -- especially when Donna's parents find out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 4 for Texas, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin star as Zack Thomas and Joe Jarrett, a pair of rival mountebanks who spend most of the film battling over who will control the gambling and wenching in 1870 Galveston. Though they'd as soon cut each other's throats than cooperate, Zack and Joe are forced to unite against a pair of common enemies: crooked banker Harvey Burden (played by Victor Buono, a favorite of director Robert Aldrich) and cold-blooded outlaw/hired-gun Matson (Charles Bronson, virtually the only person in the film who takes his role seriously). The heroes also battle over the affections of well-endowed heroines Elya Carlson (Anita Ekberg) and Maxine Richter (Ursula Andress), both of whom are sharp-witted businesswomen who match Zack and Joe scam for scam. The Three Stooges show up for a moment, in which they repeat their "point to the right" and "State of Texas" routines, and get into a fracas with feisty little old lady Jesslyn Fax. Also making guest appearances are Arthur Godfrey and Teddy Buckner and His All Stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After he is seen literally throwing his money away, eccentric businessman Gus Dalgran (Otto Kruger) is locked up in a mental instution. Dalgran's far from loyal employees decide to use his absence as an opportunty to double-cross him, whereupon he escapes--and then things really get out of hand! Can it be that Dalgran was merely feigning insanity to cover up the murder of his duplicitous nephew Kenneth (Don Dubbins)? And what clues will Perry Mason find while visiting the military base which also figures into the story? Featured in the cast is a young Burt Reynolds, as well as soap-opera veteran John Larkin, who had previously starred in the radio version of Perry Mason. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For those of you who might have wondered whether accordion virtuoso Dick Contino ever made a film, we refer you to The Big Night. Fourth-billed Contino weaves in and out of a plotline involving stolen money, an innocent married couple, and not-so-innocent gangsters. Newlyweds Randy Sparks and Venetia Stevenson find a sack of cash, then stash it away for a rainy day rather than inform the cops. That this is not a smart move is hammered home before the film is half over. You'll have to see The Big Night yourself to find out if Dick Contino gets the opportunity to render "Lady of Spain" on his squeeze-box. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) breathing down his neck, Mig Torrance (Mike Kellin), head of With a large and thriving prostitution racket, moves his base of operations south of the Mexican border. Though Mig refuses to dirty his hands with firearms, he has no qualms about dispatching his minions to gun down anyone who threatens his business; as a result, the hookers victimized by Torrance are unwilling to cooperate with the Feds. In the end, Ness must bank upon the courage of feisty retired madam Mrs. B (Betty Field)--and the cowardice of Torrance's sniveling kid brother Ernie (a decidedly pre-Bewitched Dick York). "The White Slavers" boasts a higher dead-body count than any other Untouchables episode...and also features the single most brutal act of violence in the series' history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Earth is attacked by mysterious invaders from outer space, who plan on destroying humankind. The invaders are invisible in our atmosphere, but are able to inhabit and reanimate the bodies of the dead. The armies of rotting corpses march on the cities, and it seems as though there is no defense. Major Bruce Jay (John Agar) is put in charge of a small, secret research center with a group of scientists, who must find a way of combating the invaders. Personality conflicts develop as Jay's hard-nosed, by-the-book approach to his job -- which requires him to kill anyone who might jeopardize the mission -- put him in opposition to the scientists (played by Jean Byron, Philip Tonge, and Robert Hutton). They develop an ultra-sonic gun that has the combined effect of rendering the aliens visible and killing them, but first they must test it, by capturing an alien, an action that forces them to run the risk of being discovered. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Swimsuit manufacturer Wally Dunbar (John Lupton) is none too happy when his new summer line of bikinis is pirated after the design sketches are stolen. It gets worse when Dunbar's girlfriend Kitty Wynne (Terry Huntingdon) is charged with the murder of Dunbar's top designer Rick Stassi (Stephan Bekassy), with Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) offering as motive the fact that Stassi was systematically blackmailing Kitty. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) agrees to defend Kitty in court--never imagining that DA Burger (William Talman) intends to put Perry's detective friend Paul Drake (William Hopper) on the witness stand. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Cosmic Man is a moralistic sci-fi tale that does not quite live up to the pretensions of its title. Everything starts when a strange sphere settles down in a California canyon, causing both the scientific and military communities to gather around in an instant. The object appears to have one figure inside but no clear way of penetrating the sphere. As the military brass argue for a destructive course of action, scientist Karl Sorensen (Bruce Bennett) defends the sphere and its passenger, advocating a reasoned approach to the enigma. In the meantime, a ghostly entity wanders around town and a man nearly hidden underneath heavy clothing checks into the lodge where the antagonistic investigators are staying. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

One of the best of the medium-budgeted science fiction flicks of the 1950s, It! The Terror from Beyond Space is set in "the future" (1973, to be exact). An rescue ship travels out to Mars to retrieve the only survivor of a space probe that has experienced some sort of cataclysm. That survivor, Col Ed Carruthers (Marshall Thompson) is accused of murdering his fellow crewmen. But Ed claims that the killer was a Martian monster, and hopes to prove his assertions by signing up for a second journey to the Red Planet. Before long, the crew members of this second expedition are being systematically killed off, and it looks as though Ed is up to his old tricks. As it turns out, however, Ed was telling the truth: there is a monster on board, the savage descendant of the once-mighty Martian civilization, who snuck on board when an irresponsible crew member left the door open. The monster stays alive by absorbing the vital body fluids of its victims-and there seems to be no way to stop this parasitic creature! If the plot of It! The Terror from Beyond Space seems vaguely familiar, it is because it was one of the primary inspirations for the 1979 sci-fi classic Alien. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide