Ellen McRae Movies
This routine stockcar racing feature finds Grant Willard (Brian Donlevy) as the head of a racing team who desires to be first at any cost. He helps rookie driver Rick Bowman (Dick Davalos) break into the racing circuit. Their efforts are impeded by the villainous driver Hawk Sidney (Sid Haig), who battles the team at every turn on and off the track. Distaff interest is provided by Beverly Washburn and Ellen McRae, with professional driver George Washburn on hand to give the picture an authentic angle. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Donlevy, Dick Davalos, (more)
- 1964
In this beach movie, a group of teenagers hang out at the Silver Palms everyday after school. Because things can get quite raucous in the club, the protagonist's grandfather wants to shut it down. When the clever kids discover that grandpa used to be a bootlegger, they blackmail him into keeping it open. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, (more)
- 1964
George Axelrod's Goodbye Charlie flopped on Broadway with Lauren Bacall in the lead, but fared a little better as a film vehicle for Debbie Reynolds. Charlie (Harry Madden) is an inveterate philanderer who is shot dead by jealous husband Walter Matthau. Through a celestial fluke, Charlie's soul enters the well-rounded body of Debbie Reynolds. In this form, Charlie/Debbie seeks to settle old scores with her murderer as well as several other enemies. As if these aren't complications enough, Charlie's best friend Tony Curtis falls in love with Debbie, knowing full well that Debbie isn't really Debbie. If you liked Goodbye Charlie once, you'll love it twice: Blake Edwards retooled the whole megillah for Ellen Barkin, added a trendy feminist underlining, and came up with Switch (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, (more)
- 1962
Producer Alex Chase (Jeff Morrow) hopes to persuade Broadway star Mona White (played by a young Ellen Burstyn, then billed as Ellen McRae) to headline his new musical by allowing her to preview the score. Instead, Mona angrily accuses Alex of stealing the music from her composer husband Damion White (David Hedison). The real song thief is two-bit tunesmith Phil Schuyler (James Forrest), who ends up electrocuted in his bathtub on Halloween night. Though Damion White was identified fleeing the scene of the crime, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) intends to prove that White is innocent by pointing out the heavy traffic in costumed trick-or-treaters--any one of whom could have been the real murderer. This episode was originally scheduled to air on October 25, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
