June Lockhart Movies
The daughter of actors Gene and Kathleen Lockhart, June Lockhart made her own acting bow at age 8. In 1938, the 12-year-old June appeared in her first film, A Christmas Carol (1938), in which her parents portrayed Mr. and Mrs. Bob Cratchit. Few of her ingenue roles of the 1940s were memorable, though Lockhart did get to play the title character in The She-Wolf of London (1945) (never mind that she turned out not to be a she-wolf by fadeout time). In 1958, Lockhart took over from a recalcitrant Cloris Leachman in the role of rural wife and mother Ruth Martin on the long-running TV series Lassie. Though she professed to despise the role, Lockhart remained with the series until 1964, and over 20 years later satirically reprised the character on an episode of It's Garry Shandling's Show. She went on to play the young matriarch of the "space family Robinson" on the Irwin Allen TV endeavor Lost in Space (1965-68), and portrayed a lady doctor on the last two seasons of the bucolic sitcom Petticoat Junction. In deliberate contrast to her TV image, Lockhart enjoyed a bohemian, kick-up-your-heels offscreen existence. At one juncture, she was fired from her co-hosting chores at the Miss USA pageant when it was revealed that (gasp!) she was living with a man much younger than herself. June Lockhart is the mother of Anne Lockhart, a prolific TV actress in her own right. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
For a generation of radio fans, Lionel Barrymore was the definitive Ebeneezer Scrooge. Alas, Barrymore was crippled by arthritis by the time MGM got around to filming Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in 1938, so the Scrooge role went to contract player Reginald Owen - who, though hardly in the Barrymore league, does a splendid job. Hugo Butler's screenplay must make some adjustments from the source material. The Ghost of Christmas Past, for example, is played not by a robust middle-aged man but by a beautiful young woman (Ann Rutherford). Impeccably cast, the film includes such reliable character players as Leo G. Carroll (Marley's Ghost), Barry McKay (Scrooge's nephew Fred) and Gene and Kathleen Lockhart (Bob and Mrs. Cratchit). The Lockhart's teenaged daughter June makes her screen debut as one of the Cratchit children, while Terry Kilburn is a fine, non-sentimental Tiny Tim. Commenably short for a major production (69 minutes), MGM's Christmas Carol is one of the best adaptations of the oft-filmed Dickens Yuletide classic, and definitely on equal footing with the more famous 1951 Alastair Sim version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, (more)
- 1978
Initially telecast September 9, 1978, A Double Life was the pilot film for the weekly TV series Sword of Justice. Dack Rambo stars as Jeff Cole, who has just spent three years in prison after being framed on an embezzlement charge. Swearing vengeance against the actual crook -- who was also responsible for his father's death -- Cole devotes his post-prison life to bringing to justice criminals beyond the reach of the life. Having learned a great deal about such underhanded activities as electronic bugging and lock-picking while in stir, Cole utilizes these talents for good rather than evil (shades of It Takes a Thief--and no wonder, since Glen A. Larson produced both series). Aiding Cole in his mission is his ex-cellmate Hector Ramirez (Bert Rosario), while federal agent Arthur Woods (Alex Courtney) spends most of his time trying to second-guess the elusive hero. Sword of Justice remained on the NBC prime time schedule until August 11, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Ingrid Bergman stars in Adam Had Four Sons, her second American film appearance. Based on a novel by Charles Bonner, the story begins in the early twentieth century, when French governess Emilie Gallatin (Bergman) is hired to care for the four growing sons of wealthy Adam Stoddard (Warner Baxter). The sudden death of Stoddard's wife Molly (Fay Wray) and the loss of his fortune compels Emilie to reluctantly give up her position and head home. Ten years later, Stoddard, having recovered financially, again sends for Emilie, even though his sons have all grown and are about to march off to WW1. Secretly in love with Stoddard, Emilie nonetheless keeps her place, until the libertine behavior of Stoddard's scheming sister-in-law Hester (Susan Hayward) forces Emilie to take drastic action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingrid Bergman, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1974
Adam-12 launches its seventh season with the first episode of a two-part story. When officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) haul in a pint-sized lawbreaker (Lee H. Montgomery, they assume it is the kid's first offense. Soon, however, they learn that the boy is really 14 years old, that he's been using an alias, and that he already has built up a lengthy criminal record. After a confrontation with the boy's overprotective, in-denial mother (June Lockhart), Pete takes it upon himself to straighten the kid out by sending him to a summer camp for troubled teens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In the conclusion of a two-part story, youthful lawbreaker Greg Whitney (Lee H. Montgomery) is sent to a summer camp for troubled youths, where Officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner)is one of the counselors. Although Pete does everything he can to help Greg, the boy seems incapable of getting along with anyone--and unless someone can get past his wall of hostility, Greg is doomed to a miserable adulthood. Back at the Rampart Division, Pete's partner Jim Reed (Kent McCord) investigates reports of a rampaging snake and an alleged sexual molestation. Olympic pole vaulter Bob Seagren appears as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1940
An incredibly long but never dull adaptation of the Rachel Field best-seller, All This and Heaven Too was based on a once-notorious European scandal. Star Bette Davis, playing Henriette Deluzy-Desportes, is first seen as a French schoolteacher in a 19th century American seminary. When her supervisor, Reverend Henry Mortyn Field (Jeffrey Lynn), has questions to ask about her tainted past, Henriette relates her story in flashback. She had been hired by French duke De Praslin (Charles Boyer) to be the governess for his children. De Praslin's wife (Barbara O'Neil) was insanely jealous, so much so she inadvertently threw De Praslin and Henriette together. Henriette was willing to leave rather than cause more discord, but the influential wife vengefully refused to write a letter of recommendation (a bravura scene). Later, the impoverished Henriette was arrested as an accomplice in the murder of De Praslin's wife. The latter's position in French society stirred up volatile political ramifications, with Henriette innocently in the center of the storm. De Praslin committed suicide, exonerating Henriette on his deathbed, but she had already been condemned in the court of public opinion. Disgraced, she left for America to start life anew, which brings the story back to the present. Unable to continue running away from herself, Henriette confesses her past indiscretions to her students -- who promptly forgive her. Casey Robinson had a hell of a job adapting Rachel Field's cumbersome novel, but, by golly, he pulled it off. The performances in All This and Heaven Too are enhanced immeasurably by the lush Max Steiner musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Charles Boyer, (more)
- 2000
This sequel to the 2000 cable movie Au Pair finds wannabe executive Jenny Morgan (Heidi Lenhart) still working as the nanny for the children of widowed CEO Oliver Caldwell (Gregory Harrison). Oh, and Jenny and Oliver still aren't married, and are keeping their romance a secret for fear of offending Oliver's imperious mother-in-law Nell Grayson (June Lockhart). The BIG COMPLICATION this time around attends the merger between Caldwell's firm and the company run by zillionaire Carl Sennhauser, whose avaricious grown children Cassandra (Rachel York) and Michael (Robin Dunne) intend to use Jenny to financially ruin Oliver. As before, Oliver's kids Alex (Jake Dinwiddie) and Kate (Katie Volding) come to the rescue of practically everyone--and in the bargain, they continue playing matchmaker for their dad and their nanny. Also looming large in the scheme of things is Carl Sennhauser's precocious grandniece Brigitte (Celine Massuger). Filmed on location in Austria, Au Pair II made its first Fox Family Channel appearance on April 22, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
June Lockhart, who previously appeared with Babylon 5 regular Bill Mumy on Lost in Space, guest-stars as Laura Rosen, an unlicensed doctor. Though Dr. Franklin welcomes the "miracle" cure for all diseases developed by Rosen, he cannot shake the feeling that something is seriously amiss. Meanwhile, Talia participates in the "execution" of a condemned man's personality, while Londo and Lennier embark upon a wild B5 pub crawl. Originally titled "The Resurrectionist", "The Quality of Mercy" was written by J. Michael Straczynski. When the episode originally aired on August 17, 1994, it was advertised as Babylon 5's first-season finale -- though there was still one more episode, "Chrysalis", in the series' manifest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael O'Hare, Claudia Christian, (more)
- 1964
Jimmy Mathers, younger brother of Leave It to Beaver star Jerry Mathers, appears on this episode. Samantha decides to offer a helping hand when insecure ten-year-old Marshall Burns (Mathers) tries out for the neighborhood league baseball team. Unfortunately, Sam's "assistance" consists largely of witchcraft -- and as usual, she has to cook up a story to hide the fact that she possesses magical powers. Also appearing is another 1960s TV icon, June Lockhart, as Marshall's overproctective mother. Written by Barbara Avedon, "Little Pitchers Have Big Ears" first aired on October 22, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
- 1965
New York newspaperman Ned Travis (Claude Akins) tracks down Jason McCord (Chuck Connors) in hopes of getting the "real story" of what happened at Bitter Creek. Under normal circumstances, McCord would like nothing better than to reveal the truth and clear himself of the charge of cowardice. But this proves uniquely difficult when McCord comes face to face with Sue Pritchett (June Lockhart), the widow of Jason's former commanding officer. This episode was directed by B-picture veteran Joseph H. Lewis, whose films include such cult favorites as The Big Combo and Terror in a Texas Town. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1947
Two icons of 1950s television, June Lockhart and Hugh Beaumont, appear in uncharacteristic roles in the 1947 B-plus melodrama Bury Me Dead. It begins when Barbara Carlin (Lockhart) shows up amongst the mourners at a funeral. Thing of it is, it's her funeral-or at least it's supposed to be. With the help of family lawyer Michael Dunn (Hugh Beaumont), Barbara endeavors to find out who's been buried in her place?and who, if anyone, wants her dead enough to murder her. The prime suspects include Barbara's husband Rod (Mark Daniels) and sister Rusty (Cathy O'Donnell), who appear to be in the middle of an illicit affair. Ultimately, the instigator of Barbara's presumed death is revealed, but not in this synopsis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy O'Donnell, June Lockhart, (more)
- 1970
This made-for-TV movie stars Herschel Bernardi as a middle-aged widower, contentedly resigned to his bachelorhood. Bernardi's well-meaning friends and relatives are tireless in their efforts to hitch him up with a new bride. All the candidates are played by prominent actresses (Shirley Jones, Tina Louise, June Lockhart et. al.); few of them are compatible with poor Mr. Bernardi. The bemused bachelor is determined to remain unmarried until he meets a lovely widow who is similarly indisposed to matrimony. Under the directorial guidance of Jerry Paris, But I Don't Want to Get Married rolls along with TV-sitcom efficiency. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Pia Zadora stars in an over-cooked melodramatic adaptation of the 1946 James M. Cain novel that is every bit as smutty and sleazy as Zadora's vampish character of Kady. The location of the novel has been switched from Appalachia to the barren lands of Arizona and Nevada in 1937. Stacy Keach plays Jess Tyler, a desert hermit who has spent years guarding an abandoned silver mine. Suddenly, Jesse is confronted by his very grown-up and sexy daughter, who, when she was a baby, had been taken away from him by his wife, Belle (Lois Nettleton). Kady, it so happens, hasn't come home for a family reunion -- she has just been dumped by a rich young man who is the father of her illegitimate child and whose family owns the very silver mine that Jess is guarding. Kady hopes to use her feminine wiles to seduce Jess and reopen the mine and extract the money from the earth that she feels is due her from the family. As if his seductive daughter walking around bare-breasted in front of him isn't enough, Jess must also deal with the sudden return of his older daughter, Janey (Ann Dane), who appears with Kady's son; Belle, who comes back to Jess dying of tuberculosis; and Moke Blue (James Franciscus), the man who stole Belle away from Jess years ago. Also squeezing his way into Jess's shack is Wash Gillespie (Edward Albert), the father of Kady's child, who now wants to marry her. Butterfly also features Orson Welles as Judge Rauch. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stacy Keach, Pia Zadora, (more)
- 1989
- R
Originally conceived as a Return of the Living Dead sequel and later inexplicably re-titled (despite the highly questionable marketing value of a C.H.U.D. franchise) this clunky attempt at a horror satire involves a pair of teenage do-nothings who abscond from a military base with a corpse who turns out to be a zombie, the by-product of a backfired military experiment. Despite the C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller) references, Bud (Gerrit Graham) is really a zombie of the George Romero variety, chomping down on human flesh and spreading the virulent zombie plague to those unfortunate enough to be onscreen long enough. Eye-rolling Graham is fun to watch, as always, and Robert Vaughn puts in a goofy performance as a rabidly gung-ho general, but they provide scarce gems of humor in a morass of reconstituted horror plot elements and lame jokes. The end product is more C.R.U.D. than C.H.U.D. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Robbins, Bill Calvert, (more)
- 1955
In this drama, a journalist, seeking to write the biography of a renowned man who recently died, discovers that the man had a very dark past that included murder and graft. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
This wonderfully cheesy TV movie-of-the-week stars Tony Franciosa as a detective hot on the trail of a murderer whose mutilated and predominantly male victims are found encased in silken cocoons. He eventually tracks the killer's path to Los Angeles, where he discovers her true identity -- a woman who was bitten by black widow spiders as a child, who has developed the ability to transform herself into a gigantic spider-monster (as portrayed by a not-too-convincing rubber puppet). An odd diversion for director Dan Curtis, with a 1950's monster-movie mentality incongruous with his earlier TV features. The cast -- comprised of many familiar TV faces -- try to play their roles straight, despite the overall impression that the whole thing is a silly put-on. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Anthony Franciosa, (more)
- 1992
Made for television, Danger Island has also been released as The Presence. Things get going when a private plane crashes on tropical island. We soon learn we aren't in for Gilligan's Island Redux as an unseen presence wreaks havoc. Some of the castaways disappear, while others develop bizarre deformities. It's all due to a biological experiment which went horribly wrong nearly two decades earlier. Model Kathy Ireland costars with June Lockhart and Richard Beymer: where else but on American network television? Danger Island debuted September 20, 1992, its print ads emphasizing a bikini-clad Ireland rather than horrific elements. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Beymer, Kathy Ireland, (more)
There are murderous goings on at a sweatshop that specializes in lingerie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- R
In this routine slasher film about the relationship between a deranged killer and his victim, Keegan (Jo Ann Harris) is a young woman who returns to her home town to look for her sister's killer. Other victims have been brutally murdered by a man in a black mask, and Keegan turns to the easy-going, investigating cop Roger Lane (Sam Groom) for information on the slayings. As the investigation continues, Roger and his friend Billy (Steve Railsback) play a horror-movie board game that seems to somehow be connected to the deaths, while Keegan meets with her mother (June Lockhart) and relives the past with old friends. In-house references to horror movies are also featured when Keegan and the two board-game buddies watch the 1932 shocker The Monster Walks at Billy's work place. The contrast between Keegan's normal life and the world of thrills in the movies is all the greater in the final scenes, when the killer -- who is fairly easily psyched out early on -- reveals his motives. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Groom, Jo Ann Harris, (more)
- 1978
Long before obesity became the "cause du jour" for pediatricians, the ABC Afterschool Special series tackled the issue head-on with the riveting drama Dinky Hocker. The title character, played by Wendie Jo Sperber, is the daughter of Helen Hocker (June Lockhart), a committed community activist and drug counselor. Unfortunately, Helen is far too busy with her "outside" activities to notice that her daughter Dinky has an addiction of her own -- to junk food and sweets. Only when she turns to her equally overweight friend Tucker for help does Dinky make an effort to lose her excess weight. But, alas, her mom and dad barely notice the difference, moving Dinky to a desperate act. Based on Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack, a novel by M.E. Kerr, Dinky Hocker originally aired in the fall of 1978 -- ironically under the sponsorship of a major candy company! ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Lockhart, Wendie Jo Sperber, (more)
- 1946
This Technicolor musical remake of the 1936 comedy classic Libeled Lady isn't quite up to the standards of the original, but on its own terms is quite entertaining. Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Lucille Ball and Keenan Wynn expertly assume the roles originally played by William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy. Faced with a libel suit from socialite Connie Allenbury (Williams), newspaper editor Warren Haggerty (Wynn) cooks up a plan to beat Connie at her own game. To do this, he must rely upon the romantic chicanery of ex-employee Bill Stevens Chandler (Johnson), with Haggerty's fiancee Gladys Benton (Ball) caught in the middle. The comedy high point of the original Libeled Lady, in which William Powell is forced to demonstrate his (non-existent) prowess as a fisherman, is ably repeated in Easy to Wed when Van Johnson must prove his skills at duck-hunting. The songs aren't anything special, but Lucille Ball's superb comic performance is worth the admission price in itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Esther Williams, (more)
- 1968
June Lockhart guest stars as Miss Evans, Jody's new subsitute teacher. Developing a crush on Miss Evans, Jody is heartsick when she is transferred to another job. Hoping to find out why Jody is so attached to the "sub", Bill arranges to meet Miss Evans--and discovers that she bears a striking resemblance to Jody's late mother. Joan Vohs, here seen as Jody's regular teacher Miss Cummings, previously showed up during Season Two as Miss Scofield, the teacher of Jody's older sister Cissy (Kathy Garver). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1943
The 80-star cast of Forever and a Day would certainly not have been feasible had not most of the actors and production people turned over their salaries to British war relief -- a point driven home during the lengthy opening credits by an unseen narrator. The true star of the film is a stately old manor house in London, built in 1804 by a British admiral (C. Aubrey Smith) and blitzed in 1940 by one Adolf Hitler. Through the portals of this house pass a vast array of Britons, from high-born to low. The earliest scenes involve gay blade Lt. William Trimble (Ray Milland), wronged country-girl Susan (Anna Neagle), and wicked landowner Ambrose Pomfret (Claude Rains). We move on to a comic interlude involving dotty Mr. Simpson (Reginald Owen), eternally drunken butler Bellamy (Charles Laughton), and cockney plumbers Mr. Dabb (Cedric Hardwicke) and Wilkins (Buster Keaton). Maidservant Jenny (Ida Lupino) takes over the plot during the Boer War era, while the World War I sequence finds the house converted into a way-station for soldiers (including Robert Cummings) and anxious families (including Roland Young and Gladys Cooper). Finally we arrive in 1940, with American Gates Pomfret (Kent Smith) and lady-of-the-house Lesley Trimble (Ruth Warrick) surveying the bombed-out manor, and exulting over the fact that the portrait of the home's founder, Adm. Eustace Trimble (Smith), has remained intact -- symbolic proof of England's durability in its darkest hours. The huge cast includes Dame May Whitty, Edward Everett Horton, Wendy Barrie, Merle Oberon, Nigel Bruce, Richard Haydn, Donald Crisp, and a host of others -- some appearing in sizeable roles, others (like Arthur Treacher and Patric Knowles) willingly accepting one-scene bits, simply to participate in the undertaking. Seven directors and 21 writers were also swept up in the project. Forever and a Day was supposed to have been withdrawn from circulation after the war and its prints destroyed so that no one could profit from what was supposed to have been an act of industry charity. Happily for future generations, prints have survived and are now safely preserved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, (more)
