Howard McNear Movies

At the height of their TV fame, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were contracted by MGM to make two theatrical films. The first of these, The Long, Long Trailer, stars Lucy and Desi as an upwardly mobile couple who decide to buy a trailer so they can live together while his job takes him around the country. Thanks to their naivete in such matters, they end up with a huge, bulky RV that costs five times what they planned. Their "seeing America" trip turns out to be a slapstick disaster, topped by Lucy's foolish decision to hide a heavy rock collection in the trailer; as Desi tries to maneuver a treacherous mountain road, the weighted-down home-on-wheels nearly loses its balance and almost tumbles off a cliff. The story is told in flashback, as Desi 'splains the breakup of his marriage to a motel court manager. Happily, Lucy shows up, goes "Waaaaah" a little, and all is forgiven. Despite the fact that audiences were getting Ball and Arnaz for free each week on television, The Long, Long Trailer was a big hit at the box-office. The film was adapted by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich from a novel by Clinton Twiss, with uncredited assistance from the I Love Lucy writing staff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Friday (Joe Friday) and Smith (Ben Alexander) spend the better part of a year trying to crack a case in this episode, which was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of April 12, 1951. The detectives are stymied by the fact that the victims of a series of robberies and beatings refuse to testify against the two suspects. Obviously, the victims have been intimidated into silence--and in at least one case, the son of a crime witness has been beaten as a "warning". Eventually, one of the perpetrators is arrested out of town on another charge...but chief suspect Marvin Carter is still very much at large. An ironic ending caps this labyrinthine tale of justice delayed and justice denied. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the night he is to play his drums in his kindergarten orchestra, Little Ricky (Richard Keith) is suddenly paralyzed with stage fright -- mainly because his parents and the Mertzes had been so nervous themselves just before the performance. Hoping to help her son overcome his fear of appearing in public, Lucy (Lucille Ball) persuades Ricky to let Little Ricky play a drum solo at Club Babalu. She then attempts to mollify the boy by using "reverse psychology," pretending that she doesn't want him to perform -- a strategy that nearly sabotages the poor kid a second time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This musicalized remake of the 1939 comedy Bachelor Mother stars Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher (then Mr. and Mrs.) in the roles originated by Ginger Rogers and David Niven. Reynolds plays a department store salesgirl whose life is turned topsy-turvy when she finds an abandoned baby. Despite her protestations, everyone assumes that she's the mother of the child, including Fisher, the son of store owner Adolphe Menjou. Meanwhile, Menjou convinced that his son is the baby's father, is determined that his boy will "do right" by the innocent Reynolds. Much of the comic zest of the original film is diluted by the lackluster performance of Eddie Fisher, though Debbie Reynolds and the rest of the cast are in fine form. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Red Skelton's final film starring vehicle is an expansion of an hour-long TV play, which also starred Skelton when it was originally seen in September of 1955 on the weekly anthology Climax!. Skelton plays doltish lunchroom attendant Rusty Morgan, who is dutifully saving up enough money so that he and sweetheart Edith Enders (Janet Blair) can be married. Rusty foolishly entrusts his bankroll to a gang of stock swindlers, whom he believes to be FBI agents. Before long, our hero finds hmself the crooks' unwitting courier, landing in jail as a result. After a zany prison break orchestrated by genuine FBI agents who've had their eyes on Rusty all along, our hero catches up with the crooks during a nightclub floor show presided over by the vivacious Rita DeLacey (Vivian Blaine). Produced by RKO Radio, Public Pigeon No. 1 was eventually released by Universal-International. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Envious of Wally's touchdown at the school football game, Eddie (Ken Osmond) needles Wally (Tony Dow) because he hasn't started shaving yet. Determined to reaffirm his manhood, Wally attempts to trim what few whiskers he has with his dad Ward's safety razor -- and gives himself a bad nicking in the process. Hoping to discourage Wally, Ward (Hugh Beaumont) applies a bit of psychology, which in typical Leave It to Beaver fashion, bids fair to make the situation worse. And yes, that's Howard McNear, the future Floyd the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show, playing (what else?) a barber. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Every so often, the prestigious 1950s CBS anthology Playhouse 90 would digress from its "live" format and offer a sumptuously produced film presentation. One of these was the suspenseful 1958 offering No Time at All, a fascinating precursor to the Airport films of the 1970s. On a routine night flight from Miami to New York, an airliner loaded with passengers is suddenly plunged into darkness due to an electrical failure. Losing contact with the plane, the ground crew in New York worries that all on board may be lost--especially since the weather has turned ugly. In a brilliant dramatic device, the viewer never sees the plane in flight nor its passengers and crew: Instead, the play stays on solid land, concentrating on the reactions of the friends and families of those on board. This Playhouse 90 entry boasts perhaps the most impressive cast ever assembled for the series, among them dramatic actors Bill Lundigan, Jane Greer, Betsy Palmer, Sylvia Sidney and Keenan Wynn; comedians Buster Keaton, Chico Marx (with a Jewish accent), and Harry Einstein (aka "Parkyakarkus", and the father of contemporary comic actors Bob Einstein and Albert Brooks); and musical-comedy favorites Jack Haley (in a rare unsympathetic role) and Cliff Edwards (the voice of Jiminy Cricket in the 1940 cartoon feature Pinocchio). Also seen in the supporting cast is an up-and-coming young player named Charles Bronson, here cast as a sentimental boxer; and "Floyd the Barber" himself, Howard McNear--who, indirectly, is the hero of the piece. Long considered a "lost" film, No Time at All was made available on the home-video market in the early years of the 21st century, complete with the original commercials and a preview of the next week's Playhouse 90. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the best-selling novel by Robert Traver (the pseudonym for Michigan Supreme Court justice John D. Voelker), Anatomy of a Murder stars James Stewart as seat-of-the-pants Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler. Through the intervention of his alcoholic mentor, Parnell McCarthy (Arthur O'Connell), Biegler accepts the case of one Lt. Manion (Ben Gazzara), an unlovable lout who has murdered a local bar owner. Manion admits that he committed the crime, citing as his motive the victim's rape of the alluring Mrs. Manion (Lee Remick). Faced with the formidable opposition of big-city prosecutor Claude Dancer (George C. Scott), Biegler hopes to win freedom for his client by using as his defense the argument of "irresistible impulse." Also featured in the cast is Eve Arden as Biegler's sardonic secretary, Katherine Grant as the woman who inherits the dead man's business, and Joseph N. Welch -- who in real life was the defense attorney in the Army-McCarthy hearings -- as the ever-patient judge. The progressive-jazz musical score is provided by Duke Ellington, who also appears in a brief scene. Producer/director Otto Preminger once more pushed the envelope in Anatomy of a Murder by utilizing technical terminology referring to sexual penetration, which up until 1959 was a cinematic no-no. Contrary to popular belief, Preminger was not merely being faithful to the novel; most of the banter about "panties" and "semen," not to mention the 11-hour courtroom revelation, was invented for the film. Anatomy of a Murder was filmed on location in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When someone takes a shot at wealthy Diana Dangerfield (Diana Millay), Bart (Jack Kelly) gallantly comes to her rescue. Alas, Diana is convinced that Bart himself faked the shooting merely to meet her--and now he finds himself accused of robbery and murder. Cast as the ineffectual sheriff of Dangerfield is Howard McNear, who had originated the role of Doc Adams on the radio version of Gunsmoke, and who later entered the Valhalla of TV-sitcom icons with his portrayal of Floyd the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a man collapses and apparently dies on the street, the wallet he is carrying is stolen by impoverished Joe Helmer (Jeremy Slate). Examining the wallet's contents, Joe finds a card indicating that the wallet's owner is suffering from a disease that causes a deathlike state. Consumed by guilt over his failure to check if the man was truly dead, Joe makes a full confession to the police -- little knowing that he is in for the surprise of his life! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The pilot for the long-running CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show was seen on February 15, 1960, as an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, "Danny Meets Andy Griffith." As originally conceived, Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) was not only the sheriff of the sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry, but he was also the mayor, justice of the peace, and newspaper editor. Child actor Ronny Howard (who, as Ron Howard, would in adulthood enjoy a spectacularly successful career as a film director) was seen in the pilot as the widowed Andy's son Opie, but Frances Bavier played an entirely different role than she would in the actual series, while Frank Cady rather than Hal Smith was cast as town drunk Otis Campbell. While there would be changes in concept and casting, the laid-back character of Andy Taylor "clicked" with TV audiences, ensuring that The Andy Griffith Show would join the Monday night CBS lineup come October 3, 1960. Introduced as regulars during season one were of course Andy Griffith, Ronny Howard, and Frances Bavier (now as Aunt Bee, housekeeper for Andy and Opie Taylor), with the significant and salutary addition of Don Knotts as Andy's tightly wound deputy Barney Fife. The rapport between Andy and Barney contributed mightily to the series' success during its shakedown season, with nominal leading character Andy often voluntarily taking a back seat to Barney's overzealous antics. Subsequent additions to the cast included Jim Nabors as bucolic gas station attendant Gomer Pyle (later spun off into his own series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.); George Lindsey as Gomer's cousin, Goober Pyle; Howard McNear as dithery barber Floyd Lawson; and Hal Smith as the aforementioned Otis Campbell. Taking advantage of Andy Taylor's widower status, the series' writers tried to pair the character off with a number of eligible young ladies, beginning in the first season with Elinor Donahue as drugstore sales clerk Ellie Walker. But only when Aneta Corsaut joined the cast as Opie's schoolteacher Helen Crump did Andy find the "right" girl. Indeed, Andy and Helen would become engaged during the series' final season. Conversely, Barney Fife had but one steady girlfriend, Thelma Lou, played by Betty Lynn.
Don Knotts left the series at the outset of its sixth season (the show switched from black-and-white to color at the same time); it was explained that Barney had accepted a deputy position in Raleigh, permitting Knotts to make a handful of memorable return guest appearances. Barney was briefly replaced by Deputy Warren Ferguson, played by Jack Burns; later on, Goober Pyle became Andy's unofficial deputy. The post-Don Knotts episodes brought forth several other new recurring characters: Jack Dodson as town clerk Howard Sprague, Paul Hartman as handyman Emmet Clark, and Hope Summers as Aunt Bee's best friend, Clara. During the Emmy-winning series' eighth season, Andy Griffith decided to leave the show. At this point, Ken Berry was added to the cast as widowed farmer and later town councilman Sam Jones, with Buddy Foster as Sam's son Mike and Arlene Golonka as Sam's girlfriend, Millie Hutchins. After the final telecast of The Andy Griffith Show on September 16, 1968, the series continued for three additional seasons under the title Mayberry RFD, with Ken Berry taking over as star and with most of the familiar Andy Griffith Show supporting characters still in attendance. One of the most consistently popular sitcoms of all time, The Andy Griffith Show lasted 249 half-hour episodes, and also spawned the high-rated 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A man named Ernest Maxwell (Hugh Marlowe) arrives in Mayberry, claiming to be a talent scout for a major record company. Armed with a tape recorder, Maxwell begins auditioning local talent, and soon everyone in town is currying the man's favor-everyone, that is, except Sheriff Andy Taylor. Suspecting that Maxwell is nothing more than a con artist, especially after the locals begin investing money in Maxwell's company. But someone is in for a big surprise-and that someone is Guess Who. Written by Benedict Freeman and John Fenton Murray, "Mayberry on Record" originally aired on February 13, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide