John Larch Movies

In this limp western melodrama, when Mexican bandit Hector Cordoba (Raf Vallone) attacks a U.S. Army fort a few miles from the Mexican border, General John Pershing (John Russell) orders Captain Rod Douglas (George Peppard) to organize a group of soldiers to cross the border into Mexico to capture Cordoba and to bring him back to the U.S. for trial. When Douglas's band cross into Mexico, Douglas meets Leonora (Giovanna Ralli), a beautiful Mexican woman raped by Cordoba, who agrees to lead the Americans to Cordoba's stronghold. But Leonora is not entirely trustworthy, and when the Americans reach the fort, Cordoba takes them prisoners. Now, the Americans must escape from Cordoba's clutches and make it back to the other side of the border. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this western comedy, a bogus evangelist and his assistant travel to the town of Friendly and endeavor to rob the West's purportedly most unrobbable bank. Unfortunately, they are not the only bandits planning to rob the bank. Their rivals in robbery include a Mexican bandido and his dullard son. A gunman and his assistant also want to attempt a heist. To make things even more confusing, a Texas Ranger and his six Chinese-American G-men pose as laundrymen to investigate a crooked mayor. They all converge on Friendly at the same time and chaos ensues when they meet. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A serial killer is on the loose in San Francisco, and five victims--all women--have already been claimed. Ironside (Raymond Burr) suspects that the most recent killing was not committed by the same maniac who bumped off the previous four victims, but by a different person who was using the murder spree to cover his tracks. The episode's climax finds youthful policewoman Eve Whitfield (Barbara Anderson) donning old-age makeup to flush out the villain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Two of The F.B.I gets under way as Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) receives an anonymous tip that teenager Paul Wallace (David Macklin) has been kidnapped and returned unharmed once the ransom was paid. But when Erskine interviews Wallace's father (John Larch), the man steadfastly denies that any kidnapping took place. It turns out that the abductors, Casey (Scott Marlowe) and Junior (Robert Blake), have threatened horrific consequences to the Wallace family if they talk to the authorities. Unfortunately, Mr. Wallace's silence may prove fatal for the kidnappers' latest victim(Dennis Joel Olivieri)--a diabetic in desperate need of insulin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a rather confusing and slow-paced manner, this wartime drama about a real-life dilemma is meant to highlight the dedication of Colonel Alois Podhajsky (Robert Taylor), the instructor at a prestigious Vienna equestrian school. The colonel is in charge of the safety and health of the royal Lipizzaner horses and he has a serious problem. He has not been able to secure German permission to leave for a safe haven with the horses and, at the same time, he has to get them together with the Lipizzaner mares in order to continue the species. The trouble is that the mares are in the hands of the enemy. And so the colonel sets out to get the horses through a German checkpoint, and convince General Patton (John Larch) to help him with his mission. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Filmed in panoramic Cinerama, this star-studded, epic Western adventure is a true cinematic classic. Three legendary directors (Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall) combine their skills to tell the story of three families and their travels from the Erie Canal to California between 1839 and 1889. Spencer Tracy narrates the film, which cost an estimated 15 million dollars to complete. In the first segment, "The Rivers," pioneer Zebulon Prescott (Karl Malden) sets out to settle in the West with his wife (Agnes Moorehead) and their four children. Along with other settlers and river pirates, they run into mountain man Linus Rawlings (James Stewart), who sells animal hides. The Prescotts try to raft down the Ohio River in a raft, but only daughters Lilith (Debbie Reynolds) and Eve (Carroll Baker) survive. Eve and Linus get married, while Lilith continues on. In the second segment, "The Plains," Lilith ends up singing in a saloon in St. Louis, but she really wants to head west in a wagon train led by Roger Morgan (Robert Preston). Along the way, she's accompanied by the roguish gambler Cleve Van Valen (Gregory Peck), who claims he can protect her. After he saves her life during an Indian attack, they get married and move to San Francisco. In the third segment, "The Civil War," Eve and Linus' son, Zeb (George Peppard), fights for the Union. After he's forced to kill his Confederate friend, he returns home and gives the family farm to his brother. In the fourth segment, "The Railroads," Zeb fights with his railroad boss (Richard Widmark), who wants to cut straight through Indian territory. Zeb's co-worker Jethro (Henry Fonda) refuses to cut through the land, so he quits and moves to the mountains. After the railway camp is destroyed, Zeb heads for the mountains to visit him. In the fifth segment, "The Outlaws," Lilith is an old widow traveling from California to Arizona to stay with her nephew Zeb on his ranch. However, he has to fight a gang of desperadoes first. How the West Was Won garnered three Oscars, for screenplay, film editing, and sound production. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Bull Hanlon (John Larch), "The King of the Boardwalk", imposes Syndicate rule upon New York's bakeries at the behest of Joe "The Teacher" Kulak (Oscar Beregi). But Bull isn't working fast enough to suit Kulak, and if he wants to keep his job--and his life--he had better force the sole holdout, baker Adam Stone (Harold Stone), to pay tribute to the Mob. Meanwhile, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) tries to persuade Stone to defy both Hanlon and Kulak and organize his fellow bakers into an honest union--but Stone has already been warned that if he doesn't play ball, something mighty bad will happen to his daughter Marcia (Joan Staley, a Coney Island "nautch dancer." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wandering into the small Mexican town where Luis Gallegos (John Alonso) is about to be hanged, mercenary peddler Sykes (Thomas Gomez) sells the rope to the hangman, then turns around and sells a handful of "magic dust" to the condemned man's father (Vladimir Sokoloff). Lying through his teeth, Sykes insists that the dust will spread goodwill throughout the community -- and, it is hoped, will spare Gallegos' life. One doesn't have to be a diehard Twilight Zone fan to guess what will happen next. Douglas Heyes, Jr., son of the episode's director, plays a small role. Written by Rod Serling, "Dust" was first telecast January 6, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paladin (Richard Boone) has been summoned to the town of Whiskey Slide, where a baseball game has been going on for days and days. Unfortunately, the makeshift ballpark has become a battleground due to long-standing feuds amongst the local players and their professional out-of-town rivals; in fact, several men have been killed or wounded in the course of the marathon game! Donning an umpire's uniform, Paladin attempts to bring the game to a satisfactory conclusion--while simultaneously avoiding further bloodshed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the fifth episode of Walt Disney's 17-part miniseries Tales of Texas John Slaughter, Slaughter (Tom Tryon) has retired from the Texas Rangers and has set up his own cattle ranch together with his new bride Adeline (Norma Moore). Alas, Slaughter's career as a cattleman may be over before it begins, thanks to the obstreperous behavior of neighboring rancher Sam Underwood (Sidney Blackmer). After engaging in a bitter battle over local water right, Slaughter and Underwood are forced to form a united front against a common enemy, outlaw boss Bill Gallagher (Stephen McNally). Originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "The Man From Bitter Creek" and the subsequent episode "The Slaughter Trail" were edited together in 1962 and released overseas as the "feature film" Stampede at Bitter Creek. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inger Stevens guest-stars as Emily Pennington, the frail and sickly fiancée of itinerant miner Black McCall. Arriving on the Ponderosa, McCall asks that Emily be allowed to stay until her health improves. Hoss grows fond of the girl, but can't shake his fundamental mistrust of McCall's motives. Featured in the cast is Bob Knapp as Emily's brother John. Written by Thomas Thompson,"The Newcomers" originally aired on September 26, 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Saga of Hemp Brown gets under way when the title character (Rory Calhoun) is court-martialed and booted from the Cavalry. Brown is accused of permitting his men to walk into a deadly ambush; he knows he's innocent, and he spends the rest of the picture tracking down the real culprit. Joining a travelling medicine show, Brown falls in love with pretty snake-oil peddler Mona Langley (Beverly Garland). She is instrumental in helping Brown corner the mastermind behind the ambush (whose identity must remain secret in this paragraph). As a western, Saga of Hemp Brown is more of the same; the film's greatest strength is the unstressed rapport between stars Rory Calhoun and Beverly Garland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide