Edith Leslie Movies
- 1966
It is spring, and Granny has embarked upon her annual spring-cleaning campaign. Hoping to get out of helping with the "chores," Jed and the rest of the Clampett clan try to convince Granny to move into a country cottage of her own. But Granny misunderstands as usual, believing that her kinfolk want to ship her off to a retirement home. "The Old Folks Home" made its first network appearance on March 9, 1966, as the 130th episode of The Beverly Hillbillies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Flamboyant character actor Hans Conried delivers a surprisingly low-key performance as Homer Eakins, the black sheep of a prominent family. Hoping to claim his share of his clan's estate, Homer asks Bret to impersonate him and pay a visit to wealthy General Eakins (Will Wright). Thoroughly convinced that Bret is Homer, the Colonel takes a liking to him, much to the dismay of Eakins' greedy relatives. Before long, the heirs to the Eakins fortune are being bumped off one by one, and Bret finds himself a murder suspect...and the most likely next victim. This episode is narrated by Bret's brother Bart (Jack Kelly), who otherwise does not appear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
A number of police stakeout posts are set up around Los Angeles, the better to capture a bandit who has been robbing hotels with a sawed-off shotgun. Alas, no sooner have Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) begun their surveillance of the Brinton Hotel than the elusive bandit switches to holding up restaurants. It is up to a dentist named Patterfield (Robert Filmer) to provide the clue that will ultimately ensnare the bad guy. This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of April 5, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
In this entry in the long-running Bowery Boys series, Sach becomes a mind-reader after he is punched in the nose. To capitalize on his new talent, he and the boys open the Eagle Eye Detective Agency. Their first client, a forgetful fellow, desperately needs them to find the combination to the vault where he placed an envelope containing secret information about a group of gangsters. The young detectives then don disguises and sneak in to the gangsters' lair to stop them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Lloyd Bacon wrapped up his lengthy directorial career with the innocuous comedy She Couldn't Say No. "She" is a young heiress named Corby (Jean Simmons), who visits the small town of Progress, Arkansas, hoping to repay a good deed. It seems that, when Corby was a child, the villagers had all donated money to pay for her life-saving operation. Now she intends to reward the villagers by anonymously donating all sorts of financial boons and civic improvements. This serves only to stir up resentment against our well-intentioned heroine. Particularly offended is local doctor Robert Mitchum, who rightly sees Corby's beneficence as an invitation for every hustler and con-artist on earth to descend upon Progress. What Doc Mitchum can't foresee (though the audience can) is that he'll fall head over heels in love with Corby before fadeout time. With She Couldn't Say No, Jean Simmons fulfilled her contractual obligations to RKO, freeing her for more prestigious assignments like Desiree and Guys and Dolls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, (more)
Warner Bros. made good use of its backlog of Harry Warren/Al Dubin tunes in its 1951 Doris Day musical Lullaby of Broadway. Day plays an American musical comedy star who comes back from a successful London engagement to visit her mother Gladys George. A once-great Broadway star herself, George is now living in drunken poverty, but this fact has been carefully hidden from Day by lovable millionaire S.Z. Sakall, who lives in the mansion once owned by Ms. George. Sakall arranges for George to pretend to still be the lady of the manor and to host a party in Day's honor. During the reception, love blooms between Day and Broadway hoofer Gene Nelson. There are several breakups and reconciliations involving a number of characters before the big-money finale. While the musical highlights in Lullaby of Broadway are consummately produced, the script (based on a story by Earl Baldwin) occasionally falls flat, especially when striving for laughs. The best comic bit is a throwaway: Sakall enjoys a nocturnal bottle of beer, which in closeup is advertised as "The Beer That Made Cincinnati Famous" -- Cincinnati being, of course, Doris Day's home town. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Gene Nelson, (more)
- 1948
Monogram's Jiggs and Maggie in Society was the second entry in the series based on the George McManus comic strip "Bringing Up Father." Joe Yule Sr. (Mickey Rooney's father) and Rene Riano are once again ideally cast as Jiggs and Maggie, the world-famous nouveau riche shanty-Irish couple. Though down-to-earth Jiggs has little patience for his wealthy new surroundings, Maggie insists upon entering "The 400," and to do this she enlists the aid of dance instructor Arthur Murray and How to Win Friends and Influence People guru Dale Carnegie (both playing themselves!) Try though she might, Maggie cannot win acceptance in High Society, but Jiggs saves the day when he solves a jewel robbery in an upper-crust mansion. The level of wit in Jiggs and Maggie in Society can be gauged by such character names as Mrs. Vacuum and Mrs. Heavydoe. Still, a good time was apparently had by all during filming; it's especially enjoyable to watch "guest stars" Murray, Carnegie and columnist Sheila Graham enthusiastically participate in the lowbrow proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Aubrey, Betty Blythe, (more)
- 1947
The 161-minute costume drama Green Dolphin Street is set in 1840, on an island off the coast of Newfoundland, (or at least, the MGM backlot facsimile of same). Boiled down to essentials, it's the story of two sisters, blonde Marguerite Patourel (Donna Reed) and brunette
Marianne Patourel (Lana Turner), daughters of the wealthy Octavius Patourel (Edmund Gwenn). The two women meet New Zealander William Ozone (Richard Hart) and both quietly fall in love with him, though he's far more interested in Marguerite. To get William away from her sister, the conniving Marianne encourages the young man to fulfill his dreams by enlisting in H.R.H.'s Navy, whereby he'll be shipped off to China. But William misses the boat (no pun intended) and becomes a fugitive. He and buddy Timothy Haslam (Van Heflin) pair up and ship out to New Zealand, where they found a lumber business. William gets soused one night and writes to the sister he loves, inviting her to join him in marriage - but drunkenly uses the other sister's name by mistake. Marianne, believing he meant to write to her, decides to set off for New Zealand to be with her intended. Meanwhile,
Timothy secretly pines for Marguerite - and that's only the set up for this broadly-scaled melodrama. Reportedly budgeted at $4 million, Green Dolphin Street was based on the somewhat better bestseller by Elizabeth Goudge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Marianne Patourel (Lana Turner), daughters of the wealthy Octavius Patourel (Edmund Gwenn). The two women meet New Zealander William Ozone (Richard Hart) and both quietly fall in love with him, though he's far more interested in Marguerite. To get William away from her sister, the conniving Marianne encourages the young man to fulfill his dreams by enlisting in H.R.H.'s Navy, whereby he'll be shipped off to China. But William misses the boat (no pun intended) and becomes a fugitive. He and buddy Timothy Haslam (Van Heflin) pair up and ship out to New Zealand, where they found a lumber business. William gets soused one night and writes to the sister he loves, inviting her to join him in marriage - but drunkenly uses the other sister's name by mistake. Marianne, believing he meant to write to her, decides to set off for New Zealand to be with her intended. Meanwhile,
Timothy secretly pines for Marguerite - and that's only the set up for this broadly-scaled melodrama. Reportedly budgeted at $4 million, Green Dolphin Street was based on the somewhat better bestseller by Elizabeth Goudge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lana Turner, Patrick Aherne, (more)
