Leon Lontoc Movies

"Nightfall" is the code name of a widespread terrorist attack planned by a secret organization called the Pendulum. The IMF must learn the nature of the attack, and also bring down Pendulum leader Gunnar Malstrom (Dean Stockwell). As an interesting change of pace, the viewer is given far more plot information than the IMF in the course of the story. Written by Calvin Clements Jr. and originally telecast on February 22, 1973, "The Pendulum" was the last Mission:Impossible episode to be filmed, though not the last to be aired. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Glenn Ford plays a man who joins a mysterious fraternity, "The Brotherhood of the Bell", while in college. Upon attaining wealth and prominence, Ford discovers that the Brotherhood has been keeping tabs on him, and expects certain favors from him in the private sector. It dawns on Ford that the Bell is a sinister, subversive organization bent on world domination. When he tries to bring this to the attention of the public on a TV program hosted by a "gonzo" talkshow star (William Conrad), he is mocked and humiliated. Realizing that the Brotherhood of the Bell is too big and powerful to be defeated by conventional methods, Ford attempts to take on the organization in his own way. The Brotherhood of the Bell was previously presented as a "live" hourlong television drama in the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A murder investigation uncovers a plot that could destroy the world as we know it in this thriller. When a scientist doing research on nuclear weapons is murdered during a hospital stay, federal investigator Dave Pomeroy (Howard Duff) is called in to find out who killed him and why. With the help of Dr. Paula Stevens (Linda Cristal), the late scientist's assistant, Pomeroy learns that the scientist fell victim to a group of communist renegades whose members include two brilliant but unstable weapons experts, August Best (Nehemiah Persoff) and Myra Pryor (Anne Jeffreys). Pomeroy discovers that Best and Pryor have constructed an atomic bomb of their own -- and that they're threatening to use it to start World War III, forcing the detective to take swift action to prevent worldwide devastation. Panic in the City also features Dennis Hopper in the small role of Goff, just a year before Easy Rider would make him a star. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This feature-length espionage thriller is an expanded version of an episode of the TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. entitled "The Alexander the Great Affair." Mr. Alexander (Rip Torn) is a power-hungry multi-millionaire who wants to take over the world from his compound in Greece, with Alexander the Great serving as his role model. Alexander starts his bid for world domination in a small but strategically crucial Asian nation, where he plans to assassinate the President and render his chain of command helpless with a chemical weapon that destroys a person's will to win. International agents Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) are sent out to stop him, while Alexander's wife Tracey (Dorothy Provine) has her own ideas of how to deal with him. The original airing of "The Alexander The Great Affair" led off the second (and most popular) season of the TV series; the theatrical release of One Spy Too Many proved somewhat less successful. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Taken from a best-selling book, this is an uneven, politically tinged drama by George Englund that does not really follow the book that closely. Marlon Brando is Harrison Carter MacWhite, an ambassador to a Southeast Asian country that goes unnamed but stands in well for Vietnam. There is a growing movement against Yankee imperialism and the current government, increasing unrest, and other signs of a complex situation getting worse. At first the ambassador relies on past training and has his own facile explanations for the unfolding events. But as time goes by, he comes to learn that a revolutionary movement is not one-dimensional. Unfortunately, the film itself never adequately clarifies the events it depicts. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Arnold Bourdon (Scott McKay) hires beautiful nurse Joan Grecco (Antoinette Bower) to care for his overbearing wife, Elizabeth (Geraldine Fitzgerald). Inevitably, Arnold falls in love with Joan, whereupon husband and nurse conspire to kill the ailing wife. Unfortunately for the conspirators, Elizabeth figures out what's going on and fires Joan, replacing her with a much older nurse -- but Arnold still manages to have the last laugh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rear Admiral Matt Sherman (Cary Grant) visits the submarine Sea Tiger on the morning of its decommissioning and reminisces about his time as the first commander of the boat, in 1941. Three days after Pearl Harbor, the sub is damaged during an enemy air raid in the Philippines; rather than abandoning her, Sherman and his chiefs refloat the boat. He's forced to accept the services of Lt. (jg) Nick Holden (Tony Curtis), who has no sea experience. Sherman appoints Holden -- a born conniver, deal-maker, and scrounger (his motto: "In confusion, there is profit") -- as supply officer, and through a series of burglaries and petty thefts he gets the Sea Tiger seaworthy again. Up to this point, the movie is an increasingly amusing service comedy, akin to the lighter moments of Mr. Roberts, running on Grant's wry exasperation and Curtis's cool arrogance, coupled with Arthur O'Connell's periodic sardonic yet optimistic jabs at their situation and Gavin MacLeod's fidgety nervousness. The Sea Tiger puts to sea ahead of the Japanese with a quintet of stranded army nurses aboard. The film shifts to a new level of humor as the officers and crew try to cope with living in close quarters with five attractive women in their midst. Grant gives a very witty performance as a man who is both exasperated by the situation he is in, having to adjust his masculinity to keep it from clashing with the feminine sensibilities of his guests, and also trying to control the mating urges of his men, starting with Holden, who can't stay away from Lt. Duran (Dina Merrill). Complicating matters more is Grant's awareness that the Sea Tiger is a "virgin" -- she has never engaged the enemy, but when they finally do, the accident-prone Lt. Crandall (Joan O'Brien) causes their torpedo to miss a tanker and sink a truck (probably the funniest sight gag in the movie). The boat also gets an accidental coat of pink paint when their supply of red and white runs low, and ends up carrying several Filipino families -- including two pregnant women. Since neither the Japanese nor the Americans officially has a pink submarine, the Sea Tiger ends uphunted by both sides and come under attack by an American destroyer. That's where the women's presence becomes a godsend. The movie ends 18 years later, with Holden a serious career navy man and responsible father, married to Duran, and Grant married to Crandall, who is as accident prone as ever. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Directed with crisp efficiency by Dick Powell, The Hunters is a romantic melodrama with an aviation angle. Robert Mitchum plays veteran Air Force pilot Maj. Cleve Saville, in charge of a group of young flyboys in 1952 Korea. Among the men under Saville's command are cocksure Lt. Ed Peil (Robert Wagner) and timorous Lt. Abbott (Lee Phillips). Much against his better judgment, Saville falls in love with Abbott's gorgeous wife Kris (Mai Britt). When Abbott crashes behind enemy lines, Saville and Peil are sent out to rescue the downed pilot-and Peil has an inkling of the Major's feelings towards Mrs. Abbott. During their grueling journey back to their own lines, both Peil and Abbott benefit from the military expertise of the no-nonsense Saville, who knows where and when to separate his private life from his responsibilities. Distinguished by excellent aerial sequences, The Hunters is adapted from the novel by James Salter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Humphrey Bogart stars in this improbable tale that marked Gene Tierney's return to the screen after battling mental illness for a number of years. Bogart plays Jim Carmody, an American soldier of fortune who, after crashing his plane in China, takes up with the Chinese warlord General Yang (Lee J. Cobb). Jim becomes Yang's advisor, but after watching one of the General's flunkies brutally kill a priest, Jim decides to leave. Unfortunately, Yang has declared that any deserter will be shot. Disguising himself as the slain priest, Jim sneaks out of the General's headquarters and makes his way to a mountain village where missionaries Beryl (Agnes Moorehead) and David (E.G. Marshall) take him in. Jim still is posing as the priest but his vows of celibacy are challenged when he falls in love with the attractive mission nurse Anne Scott (Gene Tierney). Anne feels ashamed because she is also attracted to him, but Jim writes to the bishop confessing that he is an impostor. At that moment, General Yang arrives, insisting that Jim rejoin his army or else he will burn down the village. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

It doesn't take long for old-time-radio fans to figure out that The Naked Jungle is a film version of the classic Carl Stephenson nailbiter Leiningen Versus the Ants. Charlton Heston plays South American plantation owner Christopher Leiningen, who spends most of the film preparing for the hellish onslaught of deadly soldier ants. The original story concentrated solely on Leiningen; the film version hokes things up a bit by bestowing upon the hero a gorgeous mail-order bride, played by Eleanor Parker. No matter: the climactic insect invasion is well worth the wait, utilizing the Paramount Pictures optical-effects department to the nth degree. The Naked Jungle also offers excellent supporting work from Abraham Sofaer, Douglas Fowley, and William Conrad, who also acted in several of the radio adaptations of the Carl Stephenson yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"Daily Planet" reporters Clark (George Reeves), Lois (Noel Neill) and Jimmy (Jack Larson) head into a treacherous jungle, searching for a scientific expedition which has vanished. The local natives prove quite hostile to the "intruders" because the jeweled eye of a native idol has apparently been stolen. This is the episode in which Clark's alter ego Superman not only wrestles a gorilla, but also uses his bare hands to convert a lump of coal into a diamond! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A very tired-looking Errol Flynn heads the cast of Maru Maru. Flynn plays deep-sea diver Gregory Mason, who is hired to locate a sunken PT boat bearing a diamond-encrusted religious icon. Mason's employer on this mission is the disreputable Brock Benedict (Raymond Burr), a firm believer in the old buccaneer credo that "dead men tell no tales." Aware that he's expendable once he finds the treasure, Mason stalls as long as he can, hoping that Benedict and his crooked flunkies will end up wiping out one another. He also intends to claim the treasure for himself, rather than turn it over to the proper authorities. Ruth Roman co-stars as Stella Callahan, the widow of Mason's former partner, who wants nothing more than for Mason to return the gem-studded cross to its rightful owners (well, maybe she wants Mason, too). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

I Was an American Spy is a true story, based on a series of autobiographical Reader's Digest articles written by Claire Phillips. Ann Dvorak stars as Ms. Phillips, an American nightclub singer trapped in Singapore when the Japanese march in. Having lost her husband to the Bataan death march, Phillips agrees to join an American secret agent (Gene Evans) in undermining the Japanese occupation troops. She is captured by the enemy, tortured, and sentenced to be shot, but is rescued at the last minute by her American contact. I Was an American Spy handles its more brutal scenes with a marked degree of tastefulness, thanks to the careful direction of Lesley Selander. Just as in their wartime movie appearances, Chinese actor Richard Loo and Korean actor Philip Ahn are eminently hissable as the Japanese villains. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide