George Macready Movies
Born in Rhode Island, George Macready graduated from Brown University. He was briefly a New York newspaperman before embarking upon a theatrical career on the advice of director Richard Boleslawski. Making his Broadway debut in a 1926 staging of The Scarlet Letter, Macready acted with Katherine Cornell in Romeo and Juliet and The Barretts of Wimpole Street and with Helen Hayes in Victoria Regina. When he entered films in 1943, the probing eye of the camera emphasized the sinister scar on Macready's cheek (the result of an automobile accident). Thus, he had very little choice but to specialize in cold, aristocratic screen villainy. His most complex film role was the evil, sexually ambivalent nightclub manager in Gilda (1946), who evidently has a yearning for both Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. On television from 1948, Macready appeared in over 200 video productions, again working the evil side of the street often as not. Off-screen, Macready was a dedicated art connoisseur, who during the war years established a profitable Los Angeles gallery with his friend and fellow actor Vincent Price. Far from distressed at being typed as a villain, George Macready relished his niche: "I like heavies," he once noted, adding, "I think there's a little bit of evil in all of us." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1971
- PG
Lonely vampire Count Yorga and his bloodthirsty cohorts begin living in a ramshackle mansion located near an orphanage. This slightly fang-in-cheek horror film chronicles what happens when the Count falls in love with a toothsome young woman and tries to make her his bride. Fortunately for her, her boy friend has other ideas. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Centuries old Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) is a vampire that is given a ride to his gloomy mansion in the woods by Paul (Michael Murphy) and Donna (Judith Lang) in their Volkswagon van. On the way out of the woods, the vehicle becomes stuck in the mud, but the duo refuses to return to the creepy house. After the two make love, Donna is bitten by the Count. Paul becomes suspicious when she starts to devour cats and a seance reveals some uneasy feelings about the Count. Donna is examined by Dr. Hayes (Roger Perry), and the dedicated physician brings wooden stakes to the Volkswagon. While the demented demon looks on and shrieks with delight, a bevy of vampire beauties eats the doctor alive after he falls into the Count's trap. Unnecessary narration is employed to explain the action. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Quarry, Roger Perry, (more)
This 25-million dollar epic collaboration accurately recreates the events that led to the Japanese attack on the American naval base during World War II. With Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, the wheels are set in motion by Japan to plan the attack. After internal differences in the government, the Japanese quickly mobilize plans for the assault. Key American personnel ignored warnings of the possibility of Japanese aggression. The first part of the film divides scenes from both countries. Part two contains spectacular battle scenes of the bombing that destroyed the American naval base of operations in Hawaii. Governmental errors on both sides add to the confusion, but the Japanese ultimately carry out the deadly mission. The film did well in Japan, did not do well in the he United States, and took years to make back the production costs. It remains an insightful and well crafted World War II action drama that was the result of years of negotiations between the two countries. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, (more)
- 1969
In the two-hour pilot film for the subsequent TV "occult" anthology, series creator Rod Serling hosts three macabre short stories, introducing each with a framed portrait in a nocturnal art gallery. The first story stars Roddy MacDowall as a covetous nephew who murders his uncle, suffering the consequence of being possessed by a family painting. The second story stars Joan Crawford as a blind, thoroughly despicable millionairess who purchases the eyes of down-and-out Tom Bosley in order to enjoy 12 precious hours of sight. The final tale involves a Nazi war criminal (Richard Kiley), who attempts to evade his pursuers by escaping into a painting in a museum. The middle sequence is by far the best, directed with youthful bravado by 21-year-old Steven Spielberg. An uneven package, Night Gallery was nonetheless infinitely superior to the series that followed, which suffered from too much network and studio interference and not enough Rod Serling. The Night Gallery pilot was first telecast November 8, 1969; the series ran from 1970 through 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Psychologist Don Murray investigates the claim of Nobel prize winning scientist Ray Milland, who insists he has spoken to his young daughter. The thing of it is, the daughter has been dead for several weeks. At first dismissing the claims as the delusions of a grief-stricken man, Murray decides to stick with the case when he notices that the Government is acutely interested in Milland's ethereal "conversations". As the story unfolds, we learn that the apparitions are tied in with a complicated espionage plot. Daughter of the Mind was one of the first high-quality offerings of ABC's Movie of the Week series. The film also represented the TV-movie debut of Gene Tierney, as the other woman in the scientist's life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Asylum for a Spy stars Robert Stack as a CIA agent who becomes an alcoholic, believing himself responsible for the death of two close friends. The Russians believe that Stack would be useful in fingering potential soviet defectors. The Americans plans to use Stack's inebriated state to get him into a mental hospital, and there locate an enemy spy. Stack's girl friend (Felicia Farr) merely wants to get him to pull himself together. Asylum for a Spy was originally telecast on April 2 and April 9, 1965, as Memorandum for a Spy, a two-part drama on NBC's Bob Hope Chrysler Theatre anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Originally telecast November 26, 1966, Fame is the Name of the Game was the first official entry in NBC-TV "Project 120" series of made-for-TV movies (after two false starts in 1964). Tony Franciosa plays a magazine writer investigating the suicide of a beautiful girl. He uses the girl's address book as a key to piecing together the mystery of her self-destruction--and in so doing discovers that she'd actually been murdered. Advertised as an "original" for television, Fame is the Name of the Game was actually a remake of the 1949 Alan Ladd melodrama Chicago Deadline, right down to the identity of the mystery killer. Jill St. John and Jack Klugman co-star, with Jack Weston, Robert Duvall, Nanette Fabray and Jay C. Flippen popping up in supporting roles. This film served as the pilot for the 1968-71 TV series Name of the Game, with cast members Tony Franciosa and Susan St. James retained for the series proper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Tony Curtis stars as The Great Leslie, a hero among heroes whose purity of heart is manifested by his spotlessly white wardrobe. Leslie's great rival, played by Jack Lemmon, is Professor Fate, a scowling, mustachioed, top-hatted, black-garbed villain. Long envious of Leslie's record-setting accomplishments with airships and sea craft, Professor Fate schemes to win a 22,000-mile auto race from New York City to Paris by whatever insidious means possible. The problem is that Fate is his own worst enemy: each of his plans to remove Leslie from the running (and from the face of the earth) backfires. Leslie's own cross to bear is suffragette Maggie Dubois (Natalie Wood), who also hopes to win the contest and thus strike a blow for feminism. The race takes all three contestants to the Wild West, the frozen wastes of Alaska, and, in the longest sequence, the mythical European kingdom of Carpania. This last-named country is the setting for a wild Prisoner of Zenda spoof involving Professor Fate and his look-alike, the foppish Carpanian king. When Leslie and Fate approach the finish line at the Eiffel Tower, Leslie deliberately loses to prove his love for Maggie. Professor Fate cannot stand winning under these circumstances, thus he demands that he and Leslie race back to New York. The supporting cast includes Peter Falk as Fate's long-suffering flunkey Max, Keenan Wynn as Leslie's faithful general factotum, Dorothy Provine as a brassy saloon singer, Larry Storch as ill-tempered bandit Texas Jack, and Ross Martin as Baron Von Stuppe. The film also yielded a hit song, Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer's The Sweetheart Tree. The Great Race was dedicated to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, (more)
Though he's most famous for his portrayal of Victor Laszlo in 1942's Casablanca, actor Paul Henreid took a few turns behind the camera as evidenced by this 1964 thriller starring Bette Davis as twins Margaret DeLorca and Edith Phillips. After landing the beau they both sought after by falsely claiming she was pregnant, Margaret lives a life of luxury as the wife of a wealthy man. Now, 20 years later, a broke and lonely Edith has returned for revenge. After killing the recently widowed Margaret, Edith assumes her identity with plans of living the life she feels she's deserved all along. But in order to pull it off, she'll have to play the role of Margaret connivingly enough to fool her servants as well as a local playboy and the police. Dead Ringer was remade in 1986 as Killer in the Mirror, a made-for-television movie starring Ann Jillian. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Karl Malden, (more)
- 1964
Just before embarking upon a 40-year space journey, Cmdr. Douglas Stansfield (Robert Lansing) falls in love with the beautiful Sandra Horn (Mariette Hartley). Blasting into space, Stansfield in placed in a state of suspended animation, which will enable him to retain his youth and vitality during the long journey. Thus does he spend most of the flight in despair, knowing that when he returns, Sandra will have aged four decades. . .or will she? Also appearing in this low-key Twilight Zone installment are veteran movie heavy George Macready and TV-series perennial Edward Binns. Written by Rod Serling, "The Long Morrow" was originally telecast January 10, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lansing, Mariette Hartley, (more)
- 1964
Kolos (Richard Kiel) is a space alien sent to Earth in this low-budget science fiction story. His mission is to make duplicates of the world leaders in an effort to take over the world. Government agents Glenn Martin (George Nader) and Gale Wilson (Barbara Nichols) are called on to stop the scheming alien. Watch for Hugh Beaumont (best known as Ward Cleaver in the television series Leave It To Beaver) in his last screen role. Kiel would gain fame as the villainous character known as Jaws in several James Bond spy thrillers in the 1970s. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Nader, Barbara Nichols, (more)
Adapted by Rod Serling from the best-selling novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles Waldo Bailey II, Seven Days in May was allegedly inspired by the far-right ramblings of one General Edwin Walker. Burt Lancaster plays General James M. Scott, who, convinced that liberal President Jordan Lyman (Fredric March) is soft on America's enemies, plots a military takeover of the United States. Every effort made by President Lyman to find concrete evidence of General Scott's scheme is scuttled by political protocol, human error and accidental death. Ultimately, Lyman must rely upon the man who first uncovered the plot: Colonel "Jiggs" Casey (Kirk Douglas). John Frankenheimer's terse direction and Ellsworth Fredericks' stark black and white photography enhance the "docudrama" feel of Seven Days in May. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, (more)
- 1964
Luis Spain (Don Gordon), Genaro Planetta (Tony Mordente), and Henry Castle (Chris Warfield) are three seeming social misfits who are recruited into the ranks of the Invisibles, a subversive underground organization run by an alien race. The Invisibles, small creatures with hard shell-covered bodies and sharp claws, have the ability to invade and merge with any human being, taking over control of their minds and bodies; they have already done this with several high-ranking politicians and other prominent personalities, and are planning on doing it with more, with help from Spain, Planetta, and recruits like them. Spain turns out to be an agent of the GIA (Government Intelligence Agency), sent to infiltrate the ranks of the Invisibles' followers. Cut off from his agency by the murder of his partner (William O. Douglas, Jr.), he is sent on his first mission, the takeover of a top defense department advisor (Neil Hamilton), only to learn that the Invisibles have suspected him from the beginning, and that he is the target, their goal to get one of their own into the ranks of the GIA. Seriously injured and desperately seeking help, Spain turns to his fellow recruit Planetta, with whom he developed a tenuous bond during their indoctrination. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Based on the novel by Harold Robbins, comes this family drama from director Edward Dmytryk. Adapted for the the screen by John Michael Hayes, the film follows the events that befall Luke Miller (Michael Connors) when he discovers that his daughter, Danielle (Joey Heatherton), has been arrested for murdering his ex-wife Valerie's (Susan Hayward) new lover. As Danielle's trial unfurls, and the sordid events of the family's past are brought into the open, Luke is forced to address and relive several of the painful events that led to the family's present state. Also starring Bette Davis as Valerie's mother and a pre-Star Trek DeForest Kelley, Where Love Has Gone netted Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, the songwriters behind the film's title song. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Bette Davis, (more)
- 1964
In Volume 26 of a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, a drifter stumbles across a mansion controlled by aliens. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1964
The reactor at the Broadridge experimental nuclear station runs out of control when two unstable elements accidentally come into contact. As Dr. Marshall (George Macready), the station director, struggles to understand what is happening, deadly radiation pours out of the reactor furnace, killing the men trying to control it and replacing them inside their anti-radiation suits with creatures made of pure electromagnetic energy. Marshall is the sole survivor among the scientists and seems incapable of coping with the danger, overwhelmed by his fear of radiation and the seemingly inevitable chain reaction boiling up in the furnace. With help from his wife, Laurel (Signe Hasso), he finds the courage that he needs and deduces what is happening -- the combination of heavy elements bombarded with cosmic radiation has ripped open an inter-dimensional hole, through which these "particle creatures" are entering, and they are trying to widen the opening. The only chance to stop them is to initiate a fusion reaction that could seal the inter-dimensional hole and cut the creatures off from their energy source, destroying them. But does Marshall have the time or strength, in the minutes left to them, to prepare a jury-rigged hydrogen bomb? ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Macready, Signe Hasso, (more)
- 1964
Wealthy Adelaide Snow (Patricia Collinge) confronts her nephew Bruce (Don Chastain), who has been passing bad checks to pay his gambling debts. Rather than allow Adelaide to notify the authorities, Bruce locks the old woman in her own money vault and leaves her there to suffocate. Bruce has taken the precaution of locking one of Adelaide's pet cats in the vault as well, reasoning that the police will conclude that she entered the vault to retrieve her cat and was trapped by accident. What our "hero" hadn't figured on was that his own wife, Lorna (Jessica Walter), does not possess his sociopathic streak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Collinge, Jessica Walter, (more)
- 1963
Austin Lloyd (Gerald Mohr) is convinced that his business partner Dwight Garrett (Douglas Henderson) is stealing money from their firm--and worse, that Garrett is fooling around with Lloyd's wife Bonnie (Gloria Talbott). To get even, Lloyd first tries to frame Garrett for embezzlement, then fakes an attempt on his life so that both Garrett and Bonnie will be charged with attempted murder. That charge is immediately bumped up to murder in the first degree when Lloyd is killed for real--and Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) has two clients on his hands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The spectacular hordes of Cossack horsemen flying across the steppes to do battle with first one enemy and then another are the highlights of this otherwise thinly scripted costume drama set in the 16th century in the Ukraine. After the Cossack leader Taras Bulba (Yul Brynner) makes a pact with the Poles to join forces against the Turks and drive them from the European steppes, victory brings betrayal as the Poles then turn on their ally and force the Cossacks into the hills. From there, Taras Bulba decides that one of his sons, Andrei (Tony Curtis), will be sent to Polish schools to better learn the nature of their enemy. While away from home and hearth, the adult Andrei falls in love with a Polish noblewoman, Natalia (Christine Kaufmann, who would become the second Mrs. Curtis). As time progresses, the tensions between father and son, loyalty and love, ethnic identity and assimilation steadily increase until they end in tragedy. Taras Bulba was nominated for a 1963 Academy Award for "Best Music", scored by Franz Waxman. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Yul Brynner, (more)
- 1962
One of Hollywood's great directors, Vincente Minnelli, turns a jaundiced eye towards the film industry in this drama about the inner workings of the movie business. Jack Andrus (Kirk Douglas) is an actor whose career has gone into a tailspin along with his personal life; after a severe bout with alcoholism, a messy break-up with his wife, a life-threatening auto accident, and a nervous breakdown, Andrus has spent three years in a private mental hospital in Connecticut. Andrus is approached by Maurice Kruger (Edward G. Robinson), a noted filmmaker who worked many times with Andrus in the past, offering him a small role in his next picture, and with the blessings of his doctors, the actor flies to Rome to return to work. However, once he arrives, Andrus finds the project is in chaos -- his role has been recast, Kruger is constantly battling with producer Tucino (Mino Doro), leading man Davie Drew (George Hamilton) is squabbling with both %Kruger and his girlfriend Veronica (Daliah Lavi), and the female lead (Rosanna Schiaffino) can't recite her dialogue in English. With the shooting in shambles, Kruger asks Andrus to take over the dubbing work in hopes of bringing the film in on schedule, and against his better judgement Andrus agrees. As Andrus tries to rise to this new challenge -- made all the more trying by the arrival of his ex-wife Carlotta (Cyd Charisse) -- the production receives its biggest setback when Kruger suffers a heart attack after a bitter argument with his wife (Claire Trevor). Andrus takes over the direction of the picture, and proves a capable hand for the job, bringing in the project on time and on budget. However, Kruger expresses resentment rather than gratitude, claiming that Andrus is trying to put an end to his career. Two Weeks In Another Town was adapted from a novel by Irwin Shaw. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, (more)
- 1961
A man wearing dark glasses steals a valuable necklace from the showroom window of a jewelry store--then returns the item and walks away. It turns out that this is a mere "dress rehearsal" for an actual robbery planned by store employee Karl Addison (John Conte), who intends to use the fact that an upcoming operation will render him temporarily blind as his alibi. Alas, things go terribly wrong, and Addison is killed. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) enters the scene when his client James Kincannon (Jack Ging) is charged with Addison's murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
The plot gets under way when artist Jack Culross (Britt Lomond) fakes his own suicide so that his paintings will increase in value. Upon discovering that her husband is still alive, Culross' wife Edna (Lori March) tracks him down and angrily confronts him. Not long afterward, Culross is found dead for real, and Edna is charged with the crime. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must find out who else knew of Culross' phony suicide--and who else hated him enough to kill him. With this episode, Wesley Lau becomes a regular as Lt. Anderson, though in many episodes he is still billed among the supporting players. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Arriving at a ferryboat station with a prisoner (Michael Ferris) in tow, Paladin (Richard Boone) is waylaid by a crazed Frenchman named Devereaux (Alan Dexter), who holds Paladin at gunpoint and orders him to "wait." Soon thereafter, Devereaux takes three more people hostage, likewise telling them to wait until his employer arrives--and providing no further explanation of his actions. As the hours pass, each prisoner wonders if he or she is the one targeted for death by Devereaux's boss...while Paladin tensely awaits an opportunity (even a slim one!) to turn the tables on his captor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In this Western, a good-hearted gunfighter helps a young cowboy find the cruel cattle baron who killed his daddy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
The 14-season run of Bonanza began with this introductory episode, originally aired on September 12, 1959, entitled "A Rose for Lotta." Guest star Yvonne DeCarlo) plays renowned entertainer Lotta Crabtree, who finds herself duped into a plot against the Cartwright family and their ranch, the Ponderosa, located outside of Virginia City, Nevada. A cartel of businessmen led by Alpheus Troy (George Macready), Aaron Hopper (Barry Kelley) and George Garvey (Willis Bouchey), have been pressuring patriarch Ben Cartwright (Lorne Green) to sign over all the timber on the Ponderosa, to provide lumber that is essential for the continued operation of their mines; but Ben is equally adamant in his opposition, as the trees are essential to the future of the ranch and the land. Troy decides to use Lotta Crabtree as bait, to entice one of the Cartwright sons into Virginia City, where he plans to take them hostage and force Ben Cartwright to deal. Hot-headed youngest son Joe Cartwright (Michael Landon) falls the hardest for Lotta, goes to call on her, and finds himself trapped. But Troy hasn't reckoned with how the Cartwrights stick together, how far Ben and older sons Adam (Pernell Roberts) and Hoss (Dan Blocker) will go to protect one of their own -- even facing down a hired killer -- or just how resourceful Joe can be, even on the run, unarmed, from a pair of thugs who don't seem bright enough to know that they need him alive, or to avoid wrecking half the town. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
