June Lockhart Movies

June Lockhart makes her first series appearance as Dr. Janet Craig, the new replacement for Hooterville's Doc Stuart (Regis Toomey). Upon discovering that the town now has a female MD, the menfolk are none too pleased about it--nor are their jealous womenfolk! Although Bea Benaderet) is still billed in the opening credits, the actress died a month before this episode originally aired. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Switching from black-and-white to color for its second season, Lost in Space also abandons all pretense of being a serious space opera, opting instead for the "camp" approach popularized by the previous season's big TV hit Batman. As a result, the Space Family Robinson (Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Marta Kristen, Bill Mumy, and Angela Cartwright), their pilot Don West (Mark Goddard), duplicitous and cowardly stowaway Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris), and the steadfast Robot are visited by a cornucopia of outrageous characters ranging from a clumsy magician (played by "Grandpa Munster" himself, Al Lewis) to a misplaced Don Quixote type (Hans Conried) to a scurvy space pirate (Albert Salmi) -- complete with a robot parrot on his shoulder! In keeping with the general frivolity, Dr. Smith has become a much broader and more clownish figure, utterly divesting himself of the cold-blooded villainy he briefly displayed at the beginning of season one. Having spent all of the past season on a single planet, the travelers manage to get the Jupiter II in working order, blasting off into the void again -- only to be marooned on still another uncharted world! Of the 30 episodes telecast during season two, several stand out, among them "The Golden Man," a well-intentioned if a bit heavy-handed lesson in tolerance and "appearances are deceiving"; and "A Trip Through the Robot," wherein a miniaturized Will Robinson (Bill Mumy) and Dr. Smith embark upon a "fantastic voyage" to repair the robot's damaged innards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in black-and-white, the first season of Lost in Space took itself more seriously than subsequent seasons -- at least at the outset. Set in 1997, the series began as the Robinsons, a family of space travelers preparing for a five-year exploratory voyage to the Alpha Centauri star system in the "Jupiter II." Unfortunately, an enemy spy named Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris) intends to sabotage the mission and kill the family, with help of his malevolent robot. But when the Jupiter II blasts off, Dr. Smith is trapped inside the vehicle with his intended victims: Prof. John Robinson (Guy Williams); his wife, Maureen (June Lockhart); his children, Judy (Marta Kristen), Will (Bill Mumy), and Penny (Angela Cartwright), and ship's pilot Don West (Mark Goddard). Thanks to Smith's dirty work, the ship veers way off course to an unchartered planet where the Robinsons et. al. will spend the remainder of the season. It had been intended to kill off both Dr. Smith and the evil robot after the first five-episode story arc; instead, the robot "reforms" and becomes an unending fount of valuable information for the space castaways, periodically bursting forth with cries of "Warning! Warning!" and "Danger! Danger!" and dealing with matters beyond his ken by muttering metallically, "That does not compute." As for Smith, he evolves from snarling villain to cowardly buffoon, whom the others inexplicably tolerate, even though Smith's perfidy and duplicity causes nothing but trouble for them. The notion to "serialize" the episodes is dropped early on in favor of self-contained stories, though each episode ends with a cliff-hanging preview of the following week's installment. Unlike the next two seasons of Lost in Space, guest stars are kept at a minimum during season one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As originally conceived by executive producer Irwin Allen, the weekly, 60-minute Lost in Space was to have been a relatively serious sci-fi opus called The Space Family Robinson. Set in 1997, the series focused on astrophysicist Dr. John Robinson (Guy Williams), his wife, Maureen (June Lockhart); and their children, Judy (Marta Kristen), Will (Bill Mumy), and Penny (Angela Cartwright), all of whom were blasted into space on the "Jupiter II." Placed in suspended animation, the family was on a mission to colonize a planet in the Alpha Centauri star system four light years from Earth. But the Jupiter II's computer malfunctioned, the ship was thrown way off course, and the family woke up several years ahead of schedule to find themselves lost in space. In the series pilot, the main characters were joined by Jupiter II's pilot, Don West (Mark Goddard) -- and no one else. CBS was impressed by Space Family Robinson, but the network insisted upon a title change and also demanded that a villain be added to the proceedings. Thus the project was re-christened Lost in Space, and the pilot episode was reshot so the Jupiter II's malfunction was due to the treachery of an enemy spy named Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris), who had sabotaged a robot aboard the ship and programmed it to kill the Robinsons and abort the mission. Unfortunately for Dr. Smith, he was accidentally trapped in the Jupiter II and hurtled into space along with the Robinsons, hence the new title of the pilot show, "The Reluctant Stowaway" (portions of the original pilot, which was top-heavy with expensive special effects, were edited into the series' first five episodes). It had been planned that both Dr. Smith and the killer robot would be eliminated from the series after its inaugural five-episode story arc, but CBS saw potential in both characters and insisted that they be retained.

The network's decision proved to be a brilliant one in terms of the series' ratings: gradually morphing from a cold-hearted assassin to a supercilious, cowardly buffoon, Dr. Smith was easily the show's most popular character -- next to the now-benign robot, who turned out to be a veritable cornucopia of useful technical information and also came in handy when warning the Robinson family of impending danger. Between the Lost in Space pilot and the series proper, it had also been decided to drop the original intention of serializing the episodes, though each installment ended with a coming-attractions "cliffhanger." Finally, what started out as a straightforward, straight-faced endeavor gradually evolved (or, in the minds of less enchanted viewers, devolved) into a semi-humorous exercise in Batman-style camp, replete with such colorful guest villains as a scurvy space pirate (with a robotic parrot), a Brandoesque space-cruising cycle bum, and even a huge talking carrot! The first season, filmed in black-and-white, found the Robinsons stranded on an uncharted planet. The series switched to color for the second season, in which the "Jupiter II" was repaired and the space travelers blasted off -- only to be marooned on another mysterious planet. Season three did a more efficient job of living up to the series' title, as the Jupiter II hopped from planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy, though no closer to "home" than before. The 83 episodes of Lost in Space have flourished in syndication and on such cable-TV services as The Sci-Fi Channel ever since the series' initial CBS run, which lasted from 1965 to 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fresh from her six-year stint on Lassie, June Lockhart is cast as Mona Harvey, the wife of wildly eccentric sculptor Hannibal Harvey (Sean McClory), and the principal stockholder in the highly respected publishing firm owned by her uncle Everett Stanton (Stuart Erwin). In dire need of $10,000, Hannibal takes advantage of Mona's temporary absence to shake down Everett for the money, arranging for his model Bonnie (Sue Ane Langdon) to deliver a blackmail note. But Mona gets her hands on the note and decides to confront Bonnie--and as a result, she and Hannibal show up just in time to find the girl's corpse, and to be charged with murder. Looks like it's going to be another one of those days for overworked defense attorney Perry Mason (Raymond Burr)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Lassie's Great Adventure is the feature-film version of a three-episode cliffhanger, originally presented on the Lassie television series. It all begins when the faithful collie accompanies his master Timmy (Jon Provost) to the market. While nosing around the vegetables, Lassie wanders into a van, which is promptly locked up. By the time she makes her escape, Lassie is hundreds of miles from home. Meanwhile, Timmy never gives up hope that his beloved Lassie will eventually return. Written by Sumner Long, Lassie's Great Adventure (original title: Lassie's Odyssey) was first telecast February 18, 24, and March 4, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a self-imposed, nine-year "retirement," former child star Shirley Temple returned to show business as host and occasional star of a series of monthly specials based on popular fairy tales. The first entry of Shirley Temple's Storybook, and one of the few to be broadcast live (most subsequent episodes were filmed), was a lavish adaptation of Beaumont's classic fable Beauty and the Beast, with Claire Bloom and Charlton Heston in the title roles. E.G. Marshall (who was to appear in several future Storybooks) is cast as the hapless merchant who, after thoughtlessly plucking a rose from the garden of a strange and forbidding castle, is ordered by the castle's beastly master (Heston) to give up one of his three daughters, lest he lose his own life. The merchant's oldest daughter, Beauty (Bloom), volunteers to remain at the Beast's castle for the rest of her life, never dreaming that her love and kindness will one day release her captor from the spell that imprisons him in his monstrous form. Although Shirley Temple does not appear in the play proper, she serves as host and narrator, and also sings the familiar Storybook theme song. "Beauty and the Beast" was originally telecast in color. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Popular game shows from the '50s and '60s are featured in this collection, including "The Price Is Right," "The Face Is Familiar," "PDQ," and "Truth or Consequences." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

June Lockhart makes her first appearance as fearless lady physician Dr. Phyllis Thackeray. Paladin (Richard Boone) comes to Dr. Thackeray's aid when she insists upon treating, and sheltering, a pioneer family suspected of carrying typhoid fever. The assignment is complicated by the blind religious zealotry of wagon-train master Mulrooney (Grant Withers), who insists upon abandoned the stricken family in the middle of the wilderness--and Mulrooney has several men with guns to back him up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The moodily evocative docudrama T-Men stars Dennis O'Keefe as Dennis O'Brien, a treasury agent determined to bring a counterfeiting ring to justice. O'Brien and his partner Tony Genaro (Alfred Ryder) go undercover to gain the confidence of the ruthless Detroit mob responsible for the phony money. The plot, compelling though it is, takes second place to the film's stylish set pieces, superbly directed by Anthony Mann and brilliantly photographed by John Alton. Among the film's most famous moments is the scene in which two-bit hood Wallace Ford is bumped off in a steam bath by sadistic hood Charles McGraw, not to mention the harrowing vignette wherein O'Keefe, posing as a crook, must stand by silently as his partner Ryder is murdered. One of the finest examples of the film noir form, T-Men proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that a film didn't need to have a lush budget, brilliant Technicolor and Clark Gable to score a hit with postwar moviegoers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide