Donald Lawton Movies
- 1962
Though introduced in the episode titled "Andy and Opie-Bachelors," Sheriff Andy's new girlfriend, county nurse Peggy McMillan (Joanna Moore), made her earliest series appearance in "Andy's Rich Girlfriend", which though filmed after her inaugural episode was telecast first, on October 8, 1962. Upon discovering that Peggy has a very wealthy father, Andy begins to think that the girl is out of his league. Barney takes it upon himself to "re-invent" Andy so that he'll be acceptable to Peggy's friends and family. "Andy's Rich Girfriend" was written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
While enjoying a leisurely ocean cruise in the company of secretary Della (Barbara Hale), Perry (Raymond Burr) is approached by passenger Anna Houser (Lurene Tuttle), who is worried about the wellbeing of her husband Carl (Theodore Newton). Not long afterward, Carl is seen jumping off the ship, an apparent suicide--but when the body is recovered, it turns out that he was shot. Accused of murder, Anna puts her fate in the hands of Perry, who in the course of piecing things together unearths the fact that Carl had once accepted a huge bribe while serving on a jury. And how does that mysterious wheelchair-bound passenger, whose face is completely wrapped in bandages, figure into the story? This episode is based on a 1938 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Arriving in a banana republic on a goodwill mission, Perry (John White), Clark (George Reeves) and Lois (Noel Neill) land smack-dab in the middle of an assassination attempt aimed at President Bateo (Donald Lawton). Quickly transforming into Superman, Clark manages to neutralize an exploding bomb, only to be promptly arrested when scheming Vice President Oberon (Robert Tafur) cites an obscure ordinance. To prevent Bateo from losing face in front of his people, Superman agrees to be placed behind bars, even though his absence leaves the President at the mercy of the villains. Enter eccentric Professor La Serne (Everett Glass), who has developed a theory whereby Superman can literally be in two places at once by dividing his molecule structure. Alas, once Superman has split himself in two, he dare not fuse back into a single body, lest "both" of him perish! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
In this third episode of Walt Disney's six-part miniseries The Saga of Andy Burnett, Andy (Jerome Courtland, Joe Crane (Jeff York) and the other Mountain Men have finally arrived in New Mexico. The head of the local border patrol agrees to guide Jack Kelly (Andrew Duggan, the head Mountain Man, to the outpost of Taos. Awaiting Jack's return, Andy and his friends must suffer the anti-Yankee vitriol of Capitan Reyes (Britt Lomond)--while Andy himself has a brief fling with lovely senorita Estrellita (Adele Mara). "Andy's Love Affair" originally aired on the Disneyland anthology series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This filmed version of the 1927 George Gershwin Broadway musical Funny Face utilizes the play's original star, Fred Astaire, and several of the original tunes, then goes merrily off on its own. Astaire is cast as as fashion photographer Dick Avery (a character based on Richard Avedon, the film's "visual consultant"), who is sent out by his female boss Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson) to find a "new face". It doesn't take Dick long to discover Jo (Audrey Hepburn, who does her own singing), an owlish Greenwich Village bookstore clerk. Acting as Pygmalion to Jo's Galatea, Dick whisks the wide-eyed girl off to Paris and transforms her into the fashion world's hottest model. Along the way, he falls in love with Jo, and works overtime to wean her away from such phony-baloney intellectuals as Professor Emile Flostre (Michel Auclair). The Gershwin tunes include the title song, "S'wonderful", "How Long Has This Been Going On" and "He Loves and She Loves"; among the newer numbers is Kay Thompson's energetic opener "Think Pink". For years available only in washed-out, flat prints, Funny Face was eventually restored to its full Technicolor and VistaVision glory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, (more)
The debate still rages as to whether Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much is superior to his own original 1934 version. This two-hour remake (45 minutes longer than the first film) features more stars, a lusher budget, and the plaintive music of Bernard Herrmann (who appears on-camera, typecast as a symphony conductor). Though the locale of the opening scenes shifts from Switzerland to French Morocco in the newer version, the basic plot remains the same. American tourists James Stewart and Doris Day are witness to the street killing of a Frenchman (Daniel Gelin) they've recently befriended. Before breathing his last, the murder victim whispers a secret to Stewart (the Cinemascope lens turns this standard closeup into a truly grotesque vignette). Stewart knows that a political assassination will occur during a concert at London's Albert Hall, but is unable to tell the police: his son (a daughter in the original) has been kidnapped by foreign agents to insure Stewart's silence. The original script for Man Who Knew too Much was expanded and updated by John Michael Hayes and Angus McPhail. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Doris Day, (more)
- 1954
With the exception of the brilliant The Court Jester, Knock on Wood must rank as the best of Danny Kaye's movie vehicles. Capitalizing on the star's recent successful engagement in London, the film casts Kaye as a neurotic American ventriloquist performing in England and Europe. In a parody of the 1946 thriller Dead of Night, Kaye is unable to control the words coming out of his dummy, resulting in a near-nervous breakdown. On the advice of his manager (David Burns), Kaye seeks out the help of a psychiatrist, who turns out to be beautiful Mai Zetterling. But first, he heads to a local repair shop to pick up one of his dummies. What Kaye doesn't know is that a set of stolen blueprints for a top-secret weapon have been secreted into his dummy's head. Before he knows what's happening, our hero is up to his ears in spies, counterspies, and corpses. Falsely accused of murder, Kaye spends the rest of the film adopting one disguise after another to elude both the authorities and the various enemy agents roaming about. Filled to overflowing with musical and comedy highlights, Knock on Wood includes the famous "under the table" bit wherein Kaye finds himself literally between two warring spy factions, and a climactic ballet sequence reminiscent of (and superior to) the comic-opera finale of Kaye's Wonder Man (1945). And of course, the audience is treated to the tongue-twisting patter songs written for Kaye by his wife Sylvia Fine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Kaye, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1953
Treasure of the Golden Condor is a Technicolor remake of 1942's Son of Fury; both films were based on the same novel by Edison Marshall. Cornel Wilde stars in the old Tyrone Power role as Jean-Paul, a Frenchman cheated of his birthright by his duplicitous uncle (George Macready). Retreating to South America with lovable reprobate MacDougal (Finlay Currie), Jean-Paul searches for buried treasure in the jungles of Guatemala. He also romances MacDougal's comely daughter Clara (Constance Smith). Eventually, Jean-Paul must bid Clara goodbye and return to France, there to settle accounts with his uncle. Clara prays for the day that Jean-Paul will come back for her and as the closing music swells . . . . ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Constance Smith, (more)
This sixth entry in the Crosby-Hope-Lamour "Road" series was the first (and last) in Technicolor. This time, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope play George Cochran and Harold Gridley, American vaudevillians stranded in Australia. To avoid a dual shotgun wedding, George and Harold sign on as deep-sea divers for sinister South-Sea-island prince Ken Arok (Murvyn Vye). After a contretemps with an octopus (courtesy of stock footage from Reap the Wild Wind), our heroes sail to the prince's Balinese homeland, where they meet and fall in love with gorgeous Princess Lalah (Dorothy Lamour). Though Lalah favors George, she feels obligated to Harold, because he resembles her childhood best friend -- a chimpanzee (this must be seen to be believed). When Ken Arok attempts to usurp Lalah's throne, she and the boys escape to a tropical island, where they meet the inevitable slapstick-comedy gorilla. More adventures await the intrepid trio on another island, this one dominated by an active volcano. Who gets the girl in this one? A hint: the loser tries to physically prevent the "The End" title from flashing on the screen during the final fadeout. Though not as fresh and spontaneous as earlier "Road" endeavors, Road to Bali has its fair share of non sequitur gags, inside jokes and unbilled guest appearances (including Martin and Lewis, Bing's brother Bob Crosby, Humphrey Bogart and Jane Russell). Best bit: when Crosby feels a song coming on, Hope turns to the camera and hisses "He's gonna sing, folks. Now's the time to go and get your popcorn." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, (more)
- 1951
The Bowery Boys once more frolic about in an "old dark house" setting in Ghost Chasers. The story finds Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and his gang endeavoring to expose a phoney seance racket. Slip's pal Sach is aided and abetted in this endeavor by a genuine ghost, a jovial 17th-century wraith named Edgar (Lloyd Corrigan). Naturally, no one but Sach can see or hear Edgar, leading to any number of delightfully comic complications. Director William "One-Take" Beaudine effectively mixes humor with horror, sustaining audience interest for a full seven reels. Ghost Chasers should not be confused with such previous and future Bowery Boys endeavors as Spook Busters and Spook Chasers, though many of the gags and comic setpieces are pretty much the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
