Larry D. Mann Movies

The supremacy of Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) is challenged by the equally corrupt (and far more dangerous) Boss J.W. Hickman (Larry D. Mann), who has set his sights on taking over Hazzard County. At the same time, Daisy (Catherine Bach) has fallen for a handsome hitchhiker named Earl Beckett (Phillip Brown)--little suspecting that Earl is Hickman's bomb-throwing chief henchman. This week's victims of Boss Hogg's "celebrity speed trap" are The Oak Ridge Boys, who sing "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" Originally slated to air on February 20, 1981, this episode was ultimately bumped forward to January 9. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Designed for the regional family trade, Pony Express Rider is a fond harkback to the Saturday afternoon westerns of old. Stewart Paterson plays the title character, a young frontiersman hoping to avenge his father's death. He takes a job with the Pony Express mail service in hopes of running across his dad's murderer. The supporting cast is populated with such always-welcome reliables as Joan Caulfield, Henry Wilcoxon, Ken Curtis, Slim Pickens and Dub Taylor. Pony Express Rider was directed by Robert J. Totten, a specialist in episodic television horse operas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Best known for directing several popular science-fiction films in the 1950s, Jack Arnold turned to blaxploitation with this gritty crime film. Fred Williamson stars as Shep Stone, who becomes a private detective after being suspended from the police department. The usual sleazy setpieces deal with porno producers (one of whom, Bret Morrison, was the voice of The Shadow on radio), drugs, and murder. Teresa Graves (Get Christie Love!) co-stars with Rosemary Forsyth and The $6,000,000 Man's Richard Anderson in this average, but entertaining potboiler. Williamson and Arnold re-teamed for Boss Nigger the same year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Helen Hayes, Mildred Natwick, Myrna Loy and Sylvia Sidney star as four elderly pranksters devoted to practical jokes. When one of the ladies gets hold of a computer-dating questionnaire, the others invent a mythical girl and feed the falsified information into the computer. Alas, the description matches a very real young lady, who becomes the target of a murderous rapist (Vince Edwards). Attacked at the time of its release for making light of a potentially deadly situation, Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate led to the casting of Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick in the weekly detective series The Snoop Sisters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ponderosa ranchhand Dusty Rhodes (Lou Frizzell) has landed in jail. The only man who can clear Dusty is an itinerant, ill-tempered wrestler named Tom Callahan (Victor French), who is nowhere to be found. While searching for the reluctant witness, Joe Cartwright not only runs afoul of Callahan but also Callahan's girl Evangeline (Sandy Duncan in her TV debut), a deceptively frail-looking lass who is capable of smashing barrels with her head! Written by Preston Wood, "An Earthquake Called Callahan" originally aired on April 11, 1971, as the final episode of Bonanza's twelfth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Seeking the location of a New York repair shop for his broken antique watch, Oliver (Eddie Albert) gets in touch with his former secretary Carol Rush (Elaine Joyce), who is now working for a realtor. One thing leads to another, and by the end of the story Oliver and Carol have combined forces to save her boss from being bilked out of 10,000 dollars. This 170th and final episode of Green Acres was intended as the pilot for a spinoff series starring Elaine Joyce, Emmaline Henry, and Richard Deacon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While burrowing through a wall in their farm, Oliver and Lisa come across a very old mail-order catalog. This yellowed volume soon morphs into a "wish book" for the Douglases, as they experience another of those Green Acres flashbacks in which they play different characters in an earlier time period. On this occasion, Oliver and Lisa are recast as 1890s newlyweds Calvin and Tessie Whitaker, who become movie pioneers with their travelling magic-lantern show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode of Hogan's Heroes features bravura performances by three of the series' most frequent guest stars: Nita Talbot in her customary role of Russian spy Marya, Gavin McLeod as General Von Rauscher, and Larry D. Mann as captured Russian rocket scientist Zagoskin. Von Rauscher hatches a plan whereby Hogan will witness a test flight of Zagoskin's new and devastatingly destructive rocket weapon; Hogan will then be released and sent to England, where he will demand the Allies' surrender lest the weapon be unleashed on London. Can Hogan count on the mercurial Marya's cooperation to foil the General's scheme? Written by Richard M. Powell, "The Witness" was originally broadcast on March 1, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As with the previous season's "Twitching for UNICEF," this Bewitched episode is a half-hour endorsement for the United Nations Children's Fund. Not wishing to see her "national holiday" exploited, Endora refuses to allow Samantha and Tabitha to go trick-or-treating on behalf of UNICEF. When Sam defies her, Endora retaliates by transforming Darrin into a hideous Halloween witch. By episode's end, however, Endora is won over to the UNICEF cause -- and so, presumably, is the viewer. Written by Shirley Gordon, "To Trick or Treat or Not to Trick or Treat" first aired, appropriately enough, on October 30, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to retrieve Tabitha's toy flying saucer, Aunt Clara accidentally summons a genuine spaceship from the dog star Sirius, bearing two canine-like aliens named Alpha (Hamilton Camp) and Orvis (Steve Franken). The crisis intensifies when a pair of Air Force officers (Larry D. Mann and Eldon Quick) descend upon the Stephens household. Originally telecast April 18, 1968, this was the final Bewitched episode to feature Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara; Lorne died on May 9 of that same year. "Samantha's Secret Saucer" was written by Jerry Mayer and Paul L. Friedman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture (as well as four other Oscars), In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town, Gillespie instinctively puts him under arrest as a murder suspect. Tibbs reveals himself to be a Philadelphia police detective; after he and Gillespie come to a grudging understanding of one another, Tibbs offers to help in Gillespie's investigation. As the case progresses, both Gillespie and Tibbs betray a tendency to jump to culture-dictated conclusions. Still, the case is solved thanks to the informal teamwork of the two law officers. Based on the novel by John Ball, In the Heat of the Night inspired two sequels, both starring Poiter as Virgil Tibbs. In 1987, a TV series version of In the Heat of the Night appeared, with Carroll O'Connor as Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Tibbs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Doris Day plays a swinging, mod-attired agent of espionage (yes, that Doris Day) in this caper comedy directed by Frank Tashlin. Patricia Fowler (Day) is an industrial spy who is hired to work undercover at a cosmetics company. While posing as a low-level employee, she is to get the goods on a new formula they intend to market. However, it turns out that makeup isn't all this firm has to sell; they're also involved in an international drug-smuggling ring, and she finds herself doing battle with other agents willing to kill to ensure that the flow of narcotics is unabated. Her adventures cause her to cross paths with Christopher White (Richard Harris), a fellow agent with whom Patricia is soon romantically involved, and together the couple locate the secret lab of cosmetics tycoon and evil genius Stuart Clancy (Ray Walston). While this was a game attempt to update Day's squeaky-clean image, it was not terribly well received; one year and three films later, Day retired from movies to devote herself to television work, and quit showbiz altogether in 1973 (with the exception of a short-lived talk show that aired in 1984). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Once again, Tim (Bill Bixby) is victimized by the sinister minions of the enemy spy organization CRUSH. This time, Tim is held captive by CRUSH mastermind Butterball (Larry D. Mann), who thinks that our hero has information concerning the "good" espionage agency TOPSEEK. How will Martin (Ray Walston) extricate Tim from THIS predicament without revealing his own true identity? Featured in the cast is Tony Martinez, best known as the Hispanic handyman Pepino on The Real McCoys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide