Harry Bartell Movies
- 1974
This final episode of Adam-12's sixth season is actually the pilot for a proposed spinoff series titled Fraud. After they find a dead man with an oscillator belt tied around his waist, Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) discover that the victim died of diabetic shock--and that he was the patient of a quack doctor. Enter Deputy DA Abe Stayhorn (Ed Nelson) of the " Major Fraud" division, and Strayhorn's elite team of scam-busters, including chief investigator Gino Bardi (Frank Sinatra Jr.) and policewoman Lynn Carmichael (Sharon Gless), who work in concert with Jim and Pete to get the goods on the crooked medico. Advertised as a "special", this episode was seen outside the usual Adam-12 Tuesday-night timeslot, and afforded a rare Thursday-evening telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Filmed in 1966 (when screenwriter Richard Breen was still around), this made-for-TV feature marked the return of Jack Webb's classic 1950s cop series Dragnet after a seven-year absence. Ordered to cut his vacation short, Sgt. Joe Friday (played by Jack Webb) is assigned to investigate the mysterious disappeances of two beautiful models and a pretty young war widow. In concert with partner Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan), Friday does his best to follow the trail of evidence, only to be continually stymied by contradictory or reluctant eyewitnesses. Before arriving at the disturbing conclusion that the missing girls have been the victims of a voyeuristic serial killer, Joe and Bill manage to solve another, unrelated murder involving a visiting Frenchman. Several members of Jack Webb's radio and TV Dragnet stock company are cast in colorful supporting roles, including Virginia Gregg, Victor Perrin, and Herb Ellis, while L.A. Dodgers catcher John Roseboro is seen as a fellow cop. A powerful opening sequence and an thrilling action climax more than compensate for the unevenness of the script (the last such by veteran Webb collaborator Richard Breen) and the occasional pokiness of the direction. Although this 97-minute Dragnet was good enough to convince NBC to revive the vintage Jack Webb series on a weekly, half-hour basis (it ran successfully for three seasons), the film itself was shelved for several years, not making its network TV debut until January 27, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Disgraced Army officer Jason McCord (Chuck Connors) crosses the path of another outcast in the form of saloon girl-turned-dressmaker Elsie Brown (Jeanne Cooper). Inasmuch as Elsie once saved her life, Jason comes to the town of McKinley to return the favor. His visit coincides with that of a low-life named Charlie Vance (Brad Weston), who has made it his mission in life to ruin Elsie's reputation by dredging up memories of her unsavory past. Not long afterward, Vance is found shot in the back--and Jason is accused of murder. Featured in the cast is future Family Affair costar Kathy Garver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
In the first episode of a two-part story, Richard Kimble (David Janssen), alias Jeff Cooper, arrives in Santa Barbara. Here the fugitive gives serious consideration to giving up his flight from the law--and his search for the one-armed man who murdered his wife--when he falls in love with Karen Christian (Susan Oliver), the niece of Norwegian sailmaker Lars Christian (Will Kuluva). This arouses the jealousy of Karen's neurotic half-brother Eric (a young Robert Duvall), who begins plotting Kimble's demise. Meanwhile, Lt. Gerard, still in relentless pursuit of Kimble, has shown up in nearby Los Angeles. (Trivia note: Gerard's wife, played by Rachel Ames, is identified as "Ann"; in later episode, she will be played by Barbara Rush, byt which time her name will have inexplicably changed to "Marie"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Dickie Durham (Liam Sullivan), proverbial black sheep of his wealthy family, returns home after nineteen years at sea and puts the bite on his rich brother Russell (Ford Rainey). Dickie wants enough money to open a pub in Australia--and if he doesn't get it, he will reveal that he is the actual father of Russell's "daughter" Paula (Barbara Parkins). Later on, Dickie is killed in a waterfront brawl, and his shipmate "Lord Harry" Fothergill (Sean McClory) is charged with the crime. Lawyer Perry Mason must prove that, despite his disreptuable demeanor, Harry is the soul of honesty and wouldn't harm a fly--even though there's a $100,000 inheritance that could be considered a motive for the murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
This episode could well have been inspired by the story of comedian Joe E. Lewis, whose throat was slashed during a vicious Chicago gang war in the 1930s. Cameron Mitchell guest stars as Johnny Pacheck, a comic working at the mob-controlled Mohawk club. Finding himself caught between bootlegger Big Jim Harrington (Ted De Corsia), who regards Johnny as his personal property, and Federal agent Elliot Ness (Robert Stack), who wrongly suspects Johnny of murder, the beleagured comedian makes several wrong decisions that could end up costing a lot of lives--including his own. Also in the cast are Phyllis Coates, onetime Lois Lane on Superman, as a duplicitous doxie, and veteran movie heavy Timothy Carey as a leering, ultra-sadistic hoodlum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
During a manned space flight, a spaceship crashlands on a distant, desolate terrain, which may be an uncharted asteroid. The three surviving astronauts -- Donlin (Edward Binns), Corey (Dewey Martin), and Pierson (Ted Otis) -- begin a long and arduous search for food and water. Unfortunately, Corey gets greedy, and he ultimately murders his two comrades. Only at the very end does Corey realize that his homicidal behavior was totally unecessary. First telecast January 15, 1960, "I Shot an Arrow into the Air" was scripted by Rod Serling from a story idea by Madelon Champion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dewey Martin, Edward Binns, (more)
- 1959
The third-season opener for Have Gun, Will Travel finds Paladin (Richard Boone) among several sinister-looking patrons of a remote frontier inn. Accosted by the father of an outlaw who he helped condemn to death, Paladin is told that he himself will soon be killed by a paid assassin. But which of the inn's guest is the hired killer? Finally narrowing down the candidates to four men, Paladin must take care not to kill the wrong person--and of course, to avoid being gunned down before he is able to identify his real enemy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In this sensitive drama, a commercial artist is devastated by his tiny daughter's death and takes to drinking to numb the terrible pain. Soon he has become a full-blown alcoholic. His loving wife and caring doctor are unable to help. He wants to stop drinking, but he simply cannot until he meets another alcoholic who is also desperate to stop. Together, they support each other as they withdraw from the debilitating drug. Later the fellow founds an organization designed to help other drunks dry out by offering them the same kind of support he had. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Egan, Julie London, (more)
- 1958
A dying Colorado town is caught in the middle of a bloody right-of-way battle between two railroads. A man claiming to be the agent of one of the railroads hires Paladin (Richard Boone) to rid the town of the hired gunfighters who have overrun the area. Soon, however, Paladin finds that he has accepted a job under false pretenses--and in the end, it is up to him to determine who is the real "villain" of the piece. Featured in the cast is Harry Bartell, who also appeared in several episodes of the radio version of Have Gun--Will Travel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Versatile character actors Harry Morgan and Harry Bartell don old-age makeup to play a pair of grizzled, garrolous gold miners. Having only recently struck it rich, Fred Braus (Morgan) and Nick Talbot (Bartell) become so argumentative over who owns what that it seems as though each man wants to murder the other. When Paladin (Richard Boone) enters the scene, he finds that there is an unknown third party who intends to bump both miners off and claim the gold for himself (or is it herself?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In this sea-going suspense drama, Edwin Rumill (James Mason) is the former first mate of an ocean liner who leaps at the chance to have a vessel under his full command. However, the S.S. Berwind is no ship to write home about, a freighter from the mothball fleet whose captain has recently died. The crew is often ill-tempered, and Mahia (Dorothy Dandridge), the wife of the ship's cook, doesn't make anyone more comfortable with her flirtatious nature. Rumill learns that the bad attitude of his crew has a sinister undercurrent: two of the hands, Leroy Martin (Stuart Whitman) and Henry Scott (Broderick Crawford), have hatched a scheme to murder Rumill and the rest of the crew, bring in the ship as salvage, and sell it to the highest bidder, expecting to earn close to a million dollars. Rumill must rally support if he and the other men hope to survive. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mason, Dorothy Dandridge, (more)
- 1957
Affair in Reno is an uneven Republic adventure from the later phases of the studio's history. Doris Singleton, usually cast as the heroine's next door neighbor or best friend (she's Caroline Appleby in the "Harpo Marx" episode on I Love Lucy), is here seen as a smart-lipped private eye. She comes to Reno on a case, and falls in love with publicity agent John Lund. But nothing dissuades her from her mission to get the goods on suspected crook John Archer. Affair in Reno doesn't have much in the way of production values, but compensates for this with an emphasis on comedy, especially whenever Doris Singleton has to pose as someone she's not. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lund, Doris Singleton, (more)
- 1957
Gentle, soft-spoken Cain Vestal (Harry Bartell) is told by Doc (Milburn Stone) and several other physicians that he is dying of consumption. En route to Arizona where he intends to end his days, Cain stops over at Dodge City--then confuses everyone by buying a six-gun and asking Chester (Dennis Weaver) to teach him how to shoot. It turns out that Cain plans to kill a local bigwig named Joel Adams (Mark Roberts), and he has no qualms about revealing those plans to Matt (Dennis Weaver). . .but refuses to explain why he wants to kill a man who claims never to have seen Cain before in his life. This episode is adapted from the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of October 3, 1952. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Coadapted by David Harmon from his own TV play, the psychological western Johnny Concho stars Frank Sinatra as the title character, a callow young punk who lives off the reputation of his gunslinger brother. Most of the townsfolk consider Johnny to be nothing more than a cowardly bully; only Mary Dark (Phyllis Kirk), who loves Johnny, and gunfighter-turned-preacher Barney Clark (Keenan Wynn) can see the scared little boy beneath his swaggering facade. When word comes down that Johnny's brother has been killed and that the killers (William Conrad and Christopher Dark) intend to take over the town, Johnny runs like a scared rabbit. Eventually summoning up his innate courage, Johnny returns, hoping to convince the citizens to help him rid the town of the despotic killers. As "zero hour" approaches, however, Johnny is forced to go up against his enemies all by himself. The political symbolism in Johnny Concho is impossible to ignore, though it is up to the viewer to decide if this is an anti-Red or anti-McCarthy tract. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Keenan Wynn, (more)
- 1956
The past of Doc Adams (Milburn Stone) catches up with him when he prepares to kill a stranger named Clem Maddow (Chris Alcaide). Matt (James Arness) is at a loss to explain his old friend's behavior, especially since Maddow is such a polite, mild-mannered fellow. Things get worse when Clem is found shot in the back--and Matt may be forced to arrest Doc for murder. This landmark Gunsmoke TV episode is based on a radio play, first broadcast on January 8, 1956. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
This exciting caper outing is loosely based on the famous robbery of Brinks in Boston that netted the crooks $2.5 million. The story covers the six years small-time hood Jerry Florea (Tony Curtis) spent planning the heist. The story begins with the events that led a young Florea (played by Sal Mineo) to become a crook. Hoping to save him from a life of crime, a kindly policeman and his wife take him under their wing. Though he appreciates their kindness, Florea seems destined to become a criminal. As a young man, he begins pretending to reform and even gets a job at Brinks. The loving couple have no clue that it is only a ruse and that he is preparing to rob the establishment. It is only after he and his gang pull-off the job that Florea reconsiders his actions and then makes a daring attempt to make amends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, George Nader, (more)
- 1955
A particularly vicious "strong-arm" bandit has been preying on innocent downtown pedestrians. Police detectives Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) take turns as "decoy" and "lookout" in hopes of bringing the miscreant out in the open. Despite its violent nature, this final episode of Dragnet's fourth TV season (which was based on a radio broadcast originally heard on January 4, 1955) was among those adapted by author Richard Deming for a 1957 children's paperback book based on the TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate reports of a TV repair racket, in which customers are charged for more than the work actually costs, and sometimes aren't even given the tubes and other parts that they've paid for. Going undercover with crusading newspaperman Jack Kennitt (Willis Bouchey), the detectives manage to catch one of these crooked TV technicians in the act. At one point, it is noted that the criminals explain away their confusing MO by telling customers "you wouldn't understand the technical talk" (do those words sound familiar to all you PC owners?) This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of August 9, 1951, which was prefaced with the information that the crime depicted was "not yet wide-spread"--but probably would be very soon! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
No sooner have the Ricardos and the Mertzes boarded the Union Pacific Domeliner train for New York than Lucy (Lucille Ball) has accidentally pulled the emergency brake -- and rest assured, it isn't for the last time in this episode. As for the plot, Lucy becomes convinced that a traveling jewelry salesman (Lou Krugman) and a detective (Joseph Crehan) are a pair of crooks, and that a genuine jewel thief (Harry Bartell) is an FBI agent! In the course of events, Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) are splattered with mashed potatoes -- no fewer than three times. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathryn Card, Frank Nelson, (more)
- 1954
On the eve of his execution, killer Edward G. Robinson busts out of prison with the help of his girlfriend (Jean Parker) and a crook posing as a reporter (Warren Stevens). Robinson takes along five hostages, including the daughter of the murdered head guard (Sylvia Findley), a real reporter (Jack Kelly), and a priest (Milburn Stone). Escaping with Robinson is a murderous bank robber (Peter Graves), who is wounded while evading the law. The bleeding robber heads for the safety deposit box where he keeps his ill-gotten gains, allowing the Law to follow the trail of blood to Robinson's hideout. Robinson threatens to kill his hostages if he's not given safe passage, then murders the priest just to prove his point. Appalled at this action, the bank robber kills Robinson, allows the surviving hostages to escape, and gives himself up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Peter Graves, (more)
- 1954
Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) go on the prowl for a holdup man who has hit several bars in a period of a few days. The felon's MO is identical in each case: he orders a scotch and water and turns on the same jukebox song before pulling out his gun. The detectives intensify their efforts when the elusive robber kills a bartender. This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of November 10, 1949. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Working out of the Bunco division, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) make it their personal mission to capture two con artists posing a police officers. In an elaborate scam targetting out-of-town businessmen, the phony cops, working with an accomplice who pretends to be a drug addict, extort enormous bribes from their hapless victims, who've been convinced that they'll be arrested on a narcotics charge unless they pay up. Acting on information provided by the most recent victim, Friday goes undercover to catch the crooks in the act. This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of October 27, 1953. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
In the past several weekends, a number of stores have been burglarized in the same neighborhood. Curiously, the thief takes only small amounts of cash and merchandise--and even more curiously, he leaves behind an empty milk bottle as his "calling card." Inevitably, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) bring in their man...who turns out not to be a man at all, but a diminutive teenager with a severe "Napoleon" complex. This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of November 24, 1953. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Detective Frank Smith (Ben Alexander) gets word that four vicious hoodlums who have cut quite a swath of crime and terror in San Francisco are headed for LA. Setting up a stakeout in a seedy hotel, Smith and his partner Joe Friday (Jack Webb) must contend with a drunken desk clerk (Peter Leeds) while waiting to pounce upon the four outlaws. Based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of March 14, 1950, this is one of the most readily accessible of the original black and white TV episodes, and no wonder: one of the thugs is played by a young and very swarthy-looking Leonard Nimoy (complete with pencil mustache!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
