Louise Lorimer Movies

Answering a call to a burglary in progress, rookie cop James Wells (Mark Wells) shoots an kills an intruder. Performing an autopsy on the dead man, Quincy (Jack Klugman) discovers that the evidence doesn't match the young cop's story, but he refuses to issue an official statement--leading a muckraking TV journalist (David Spielberg) to conclude that there's a coverup going on to hide a possible case of police brutality. Actually, Quincy is merely playing for time to find out why the rookie is lying, and to determine what really happened. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alfred Hitchcock's final film was adapted from Victor Canning's novel The Rainbird Pattern by Ernest Lehman, who previously wrote the screenplay for Hitchcock's North by Northwest. Barbara Harris plays Blanche, a phony psychic, hired by wealthy Julia Rainbird (Cathleen Nesbitt) to trace the whereabouts of her nephew, who'd been given up for adoption years earlier and who is now heir to a fortune. Blanche's cohort is "investigator" Lumley (Bruce Dern), who is fully prepared to milk the last dollar out of Julia before locating the long-lost nephew. Meanwhile, we are introduced to elegant kidnappers Adamson and Fran (William Devane and Karen Black). The fates of the two couples are inextricably intertwined by the search for the missing heir. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Things get personal for Rampart Police Sergeant "Mac" MacDonald (William Boyett) when a rebellious young man is arrested for joyriding in a stolen car. The driver turns out to be Mac's own son Bill (Sean Kelly), prompting Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) to lend a helping hand. . .or at least, to try. Elsewhere, the two cops contend with a drunken traffic director, played by none other than Green Acres' "Mr. Haney", Pat Buttram. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sidelined by a fractured wrist, Officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) pulls what he regards as "light duty", a night-desk shift with attractive policewoman Doris Mills (Beth Brickell). But things go from light to dark in a hurry when the two officers are confronted by a armed sniper who demands that his criminal brother be released from jail immediately. Luckily, Pete's regular partner Officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord) is on hand to help his comrades survive this terrifying ordeal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This situation comedy comes from a Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx play. Jonathan Kingsley (David Niven) is the teaching psychiatrist at the local university and is happily married to his wife Alice (Lola Albright). The couple has two teenage daughters, and the trouble begins when the oldest daughter Linda (Christina Ferrare) begins to take an adult interest in boys. Her misadventures corrupt her impressionable sister Abbey (Darlene Carr) and is driving the head of the university, Dean Rockwell (John Harding), absolutely crazy as he fears a scandal that could blight the school. Jonathan is put under review by the board of directors. Linda falls for Jonathan's teaching assistant Richard (Chad Everett) as her father receives neighborly advise from Dr. Fleischer (Ozzie Nelson), a hopeless hypochondriac. Linda is also pursued by a spaced-out hippie (Jeff Cooper) and another admirer (Michael McGreevey). Jonathan tries to stop his daughter's lustful yearnings before the reputation of the university and his family become fodder for the local gossip mongers. The title track is sung by The Cowsills. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Condemned as being a "disappointing" and "unworthy" Alfred Hitchcock effort at the time of its release, Marnie has since grown in stature; it is still considered a lesser Hitchcock, but a fascinating one. Tippi Hedren plays Marnie, a compulsive thief who cannot stand to be touched by any man. She also goes bonkers over the sight of the color red. Her new boss, Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) is intrigued by Marnie -- to such an extent that he blackmails her into marriage when he stumbles onto her breaking into his safe. Rutland is in his own way as "sick" as his wife because of his fetishist desire to cohabit with a thief. After innumerable plot twists and turns, Marnie is "cured" by a facile but mesmerizing flashback sequence involving her ex-hooker mother (Louise Latham). Among the critical carps aimed at Marnie was the complaint that the studio-bound sets -- particularly the waterfront locale where the film ends -- were tacky and artificial; curiously, this seeming "carelessness" adds to the queasy, off-setting mood that Hitchcock endeavored to sustain. Even when the direction seems to falter, the film is buoyed by the driving musical score of Bernard Herrmann (his last for Hitchcock). Among the supporting actors in Marnie are Mariette Hartley as a secretary and Bruce Dern as a sailor; twelve years later, Dern would star in Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marianne Darelle (Norma Crane) wants to spend her vacation at the ocean resort of Woodmere, but for some curious reason the travel agent sells her a ticket to the town of Seaside instead. Even after Marianne exchanges the ticket, she ends up in Seaside all the same. Also in the same resort is a married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Bromley (Charles Aidman, Louise Lorimer), who have likewise been redirected to Seaside despite their desire to go to Woodmere. Just what exactly is going on here--and more specifically, what does fate have in store for Miss Darelle and Mr. Bromley? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Compulsion is a compelling, stylish thriller, loosely based on the famous 1924 murder trial of thrill-killers Loeb and Leopold, two homosexual students who murdered a young boy to demonstrate their intellectual superiority. Artie Straus (Bradford Dillman) is a sadistic, mother-dominated bully. Judd Steiner (Dean Stockwell) is a submissive, introverted sissy. Having been raised by wealthy, arrogant families, both Artie and Judd consider themselves above conventional morality. Unfeeling and conceited, the boys, after the killing, take delight in offering to aid in finding the culprits. It is this arrogance which leads to their capture and prosecution for the murders. Jonathan Wilk (Orson Welles), playing a Clarence Darrow-like criminal defense attorney, takes on the case, and puts on a defense, without the cooperation of his clients, who will offer no explanation for what they have done. Bradford Dillman gives an outstanding performance, as does Dean Stockwell as the utterly unsympathetic murderers. Orson Welles is flamboyantly imposing as Wilk, who must use all his wits to try to save the boys from execution. Compulsion is a suspenseful courtroom drama, even though most viewers will know the outcome. Tautly directed by Richard Fleischer, the film is an outstanding, believable courtroom drama. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Dragnet switches to "living color" for its eighth season (though existing episodes are in black-in-white), and that's not the only big change: dedicated police detective Joe Friday (Jack Webb has been promoted to lieutenant, while his longtime partner Frank Smith (Ben Alexander) now wears a sergeant's badge. Lieutenant Friday and Sergeant Smith's first case is a nasty one indeed, involving a battered child, a terrified wife, and a viciously abusive husband. And this time around, not even Friday's obligatory "Jesus speech" is enough to make the brutish husband realize the error of his ways! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mister Cory represented the first of several successful collaborations between star Tony Curtis and director Blake Edwards. Adapted from a story by Leo Rosten, the story details the rise of Mr. Cory (Curtis) from summer-resort busboy to high-stakes gambler. Along the way, Cory uses several close associates to get ahead, including sluttish socialite Abby Vollard (Martha Hyer) and Abby's virtuous young sister Jen (Kathryn Grant). Charles Bickford delivers a sturdy performance as the worldly-wise older gambler who becomes Cory's partner and severest critic. Judging by the number of times it has recently popped up on Cable TV, Mister Cory is one of the most enduringly popular of Tony Curtis' 1950s vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) really have their work cut out for them when bartender George Cabot (Nesdon Booth) reports that his wife Ethel was assaulted by an unknown perpetrator, who then threw hot tar on the unfortunate woman. It soon becomes obvious that Cabot himself injured his wife--but she refuses to file charges. The part of Mrs. Cabot is played by Georgia Ellis, better known as "Miss Kitty" on the radio version of Gunsmoke. This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of October 12, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

You're Never Too Young is a slapstick-with-songs remake of the 1944 Ray Milland/Ginger Rogers vehicle The Major and the Minor. Dean Martin plays the Milland part, while Ginger's shoes are filled by...Jerry Lewis? Lewis plays an apprentice barber who inadvertently crosses a homicidal jewel thief (Raymond Burr), and equally inadvertently hightails it out of town with the crook's jewels in his possession. Desperate to escape the crook's clutches, and lacking the necessary funds for a train ticket, Lewis disguises himself as a 12-year-old boy so he can travel half fare. He latches onto Dean, a music teacher heading for an all-girls school. After innumerable routines sparked by Lewis's adolescent disguise, the jewel thief catches up with him, leading to a rollicking climactic speedboat chase. Dean Martin has plenty of opportunities to serenade leading lady Diana Lynn (who'd played a supporting role in The Major and the Minor), while Jerry Lewis is in peak form doing his usual "waah-waah-waah" schtick. The original Billy Wilder/Charles Brackett script for The Major and the Minor was reshaped into You're Never Too Young by future bestselling novelist Sidney Sheldon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Why would James Fader (Than Wyenn) walk up to a pawnbroker and offer to sell a ring worth thousands of dollars for only twenty bucks? That's the question that Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) would like to answer--immediately. But that answer won't come until the two detectives unearth considerable evidence of a recent jewel robbery, with a bus-depot rental locker providing a vital clue. Based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of November 2, 1954, this episode was later adapted by Richard Deming as a short story in a 1957 paperback anthology inspired by the Dragnet TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide