Herb Ellis Movies

In the most controversial Dragnet episode to date, Sgt. Friday (Jack Webb) must put off his Christmas vacation to investigate the disappearance of a boy named Stevie Martin. The missing youngster's best friend Stanley Johnstone (Sammy Ogg) tearfully comes forward, confessing that he has killed his playmate. Tragically, it turns out that Stanley is telling the truth--and the cause of it all is a .22. rifle which Stanley's father had bought him for a Christmas present. It is impossible not to be moved by the final scene in which Stevie's dad (Bill Johnstone) comes to grips with his son's death. Although the original radio version of ".22. Rifle for Christmas" (first heard on December 22, 1949) incurred the wrath of the National Rifle Association, Jack Webb received so much positive response for the episode that he insisted upon filming a TV adaptation for telecast just before Christmas Week of 1952--whereupon he was again subject to criticism, this time for depicting a dead child on screen! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Herb Ellis) investigate the trashing of a movie theater by a gang of teenagers. In typical Dragnet fashion, it turns out that the kids were all high on marijuana. Harold Everson Sr. (Willis Bouchey), the father of youthful drug pusher Hal Everson (Edwin Bruce), refuses to believe that his son is guilty of anything other than high spirits--but the boy ends up proving his Dad wrong in a spectaculary violent fashion. This episode is based on the Dragnet radio program first heard on September 6, 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of December 27, 1951, which was originally written to acknowledge the death of Jack Webb's costar Barton Yarborough. The TV version opens as Joe Friday (Webb) mourns the loss of his longtime partner Ben Romero (the role played by Yarbrough), who has succumbed to a sudden heart attack. But Friday recovers sufficiently to team with a new partner, Frank Smith, and search for a pair of holdup men who have escaped to a desolate patch of farmland on the L.A. County border. The role of Frank Smith is played in this and several other episodes by Herb Ellis; the "real" Smith, Ben Alexander, would not join the series for several weeks to come. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Friday (Joe Friday) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate when the body of 21-year-old Helen Corday, who has been bludgeoned to death with a tire iron, is found in a vacant lot. Unfortunately, the only clue is the footprint of a very popular brand of tennis shoe. After several dead-end interrogations and dozens of false leads, the detectives arrest Frank Larson (Stacy Harris), who has been caught in the act of attack a young babysitter. Even so, there isn't quite enough proof to put the noose around Larson's neck---obliging Joe and Frank to indulge in a neat bit of psychological warfare. This episode is based on one of the earliest Dragnet radio broadcasts, originally heard on July 7, 1949. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the height of the popularity of his Dragnet TV series, producer/director/star Jack Webb struck a deal with Warner Bros. to direct several feature films--the first of which, but of course, was 1954's Dragnet. This time around, the "true story" in which "only the names are changed to protect the innocent" involves the murder of former syndicate member Dub Taylor. LAPD sergeants Joe Friday (Webb) and Frank Smith (Ben Alexander) follow the trail of evidence to shifty gangster boss Stacy Harris, who during most of the film is able to avoid arrest through legal loopholes. Richard Boone plays Captain Hamilton, while Ann Robinson, best known for her screaming and scurrying about in War of the Worlds, plays policewoman Grace Downey. Most of the rest of the cast is drawn from Webb's TV and radio stock company, including Virginia Gregg, who is quite good as the amputee wife of the victim, and Vic Perrin, who would later portray the voyeuristic serial killer in the 1967 TV movie version of Dragnet. Some sources list Cliff Arquette as being in the cast of Dragnet, playing his familiar Charley Weaver character, but we can't find him. Dragnet has often been derided because of Joe Friday's reluctance to honor the civil liberties of his suspects, but remember that this was 1954, long before the "You have a right to remain silent" era. Webb's terse, tightly edited, close-up-dominated TV technique translates surprisingly well to the big screen. At its worst, Dragnet falls victim to the corny overkill of the TV version: the subtle-as-an-earthquake musical cues, Friday and Smith's ubiquitous nods and exchanged glances, etc. Still, Dragnet was a satisfying and profitable feature film directorial debut for Jack Webb, whose subsequent efforts included Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), The DI (1957), 30 (1959) and The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pete Kelly's Blues is arguably the most stylish of director/star Jack Webb's theatrical features. Beginning with a brilliantly evocative pre-credits prologue, wherein we see how WWI vet Pete Kelly (Webb) came into possession of his precious trumpet, the film traces Kelly to his 1927 gig at a Kansas City speakeasy. Most of the film concerns Kelly's efforts to keep his "Big Seven" aggregation together, his off-and-on romance with socialite Ivy Conrad (Janet Leigh), and his frequent confrontations with mob boss Fran McCarg (Edmond O'Brien). The Richard L. Breen screenplay is full of the deliciously hyperbolic allusions, similes, and metaphors that characterized Webb's radio version of Pete Kelly's Blues, while the musical score is graced by the jazz artistry of such greats as Ella Fitzgerald and Teddy Buckner. Peggy Lee, cast as a mob mistress who is rendered an imbecile after falling down a flight of stars, deservedly earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance. Likewise superb is Andy Devine, cast against type as a corrupt, brutal Kansas City detective, and Lee Marvin as Kelly's best pal. Disney art director Harper Goff, who'd been performing miracles on Webb's TV series Dragnet, brilliantly sustains the smoky zeitgeist of the Prohibition era. Pete Kelly's Blues was later spun off into a TV series starring William Reynolds as Kelly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An enterprising gang of crooks has been systematically syphoning oil from storage tankers. These thefts are tied in with an elaborate swindle, preying upon trucking companies. In order to track down and capture the outlaws, police detectives Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) go undercover as a pair of unemployed truck drivers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A man claiming to be Australian Bishop Arthur Mallory (Vaughn Taylor) arranges a reunion between orphanage alumnus Carol Delaney (Rebecca Welles) and her millionaire grandfather Charles Burroughs (Carl Benton Reid. Shortly thereafter, Burroughs is murdered and Carol is arrested for the crime. While preparing Carol's defense, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) unearths some disturbing information about the so-called Bishop. This episode is based on a 1936 novel by Earl Stanley Gardner, which was previously adapted (and considerably rewritten!) as a 1937 theatrical feature with Donald Woods as Mason. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arrested for embezzling 20,000 dollars, mild-mannered Milton Potter (Paul Hartman) immediately surrenders to the police, explaining that he is "not the running type." Sentenced to 12 years in jail, Milton is given several opportunities to shorten his sentence by revealing the whereabouts of the stolen money, but he refuses each time. And then, upon his release, Milton promptly returns every penny of the 20 grand. So what was in it for him? You'd be surprised. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No sooner has Martin's spaceship been prepared for a return trip to Mars than the vessel is swiped by six-year-old runaway Peter Pendleton (Todd Baron) for a joyride. Peter returns home to tell of his adventures, taking along Martin's precious gravity converter. It now falls on Martin (Ray Walston) to retrieve both converter and ship without arousing the suspicions of newspaper reporter Grinnell (Herb Ellis), who has been covering Peter's story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Taking charge of Mammoth Pictures in Hollywood, the Clampetts embark upon a tour of the studio lot (actually the backlot of General Services Studios, home base for The Beverly Hillbillies). Aware that banker Drysdale plans to convert the studio into real estate, the hillbillies naturally assume that the ersatz exterior sets are genuine homes and business offices. Thus, the family pitches camp in Mammoth's "rustic village" set, and even set up a general store on the property. Part two of a four-episode story arc, "Clampett City" first aired on September 30, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While researching a book, Tim (Bill Bixby) uses Martin's CCTBS time machine to return to the "New Netherlands" of 1626. Unfortunately for posterity, Tim manages to talk the Indians out of selling Manhattan Island to Peter Minuit (Leon Askin). In his efforts to set things right and restore the balance of history, Martin finds his mission complicated by amorous Indian princess Little Feather (played by future Will & Grace regular Shelley Morrison. This was originally telecast as the final episode of My Favorite Martian. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide