Ralph Meeker Movies
Northwestern University grad Ralph Meeker reached Broadway just when the "Method" school of acting was taking hold. His first role of note was Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' Streetcar Named Desire; Meeker took over the role from Marlon Brando, and there were those who felt that he was closer to Williams' concept of Stanley than the mighty Brando. Meeker went on to star in the Pulitzer Prize-winning William Inge play Picnic, though when time came to film the play, he was passed over in favor of the more bankable William Holden. As for his own film career, Meeker often had to settle for indifferent leading-man and villain assignments; his best screen showings included the role of Mike Hammer in 1955's Kiss Me Deadly and his harrowing portrayal of a condemned army private in Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957). He remained active onscreen until the early 1980s, and in 1978 both starred in and co-produced the feature film My Boys are Good Boys. In 1959, Ralph Meeker starred as army investigator Steve Dekker in the syndicated TV series Not For Hire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1980
This goofy sci-fi/horror nonsense plays like '50s-style alien-invasion schlock with a dollop of '80s-style blood and gore. The invasion -- such as it is -- is perpetrated on various backwoods hunters and campers by a scarcely-seen alien that looks like a menacing Star Trek guest star in a glam-rock outfit. The alien's rather simple frontal attack employs an arsenal of toothy, pulsating frisbees that glow in the dark and glom onto the necks and backs of various flannel-clad denizens of the woods. That's about it... oh, and there's a few reliable character actors on hand to spout silly dialogue. Jack Palance plays a crusty hunter who fancies the alien stuffed and mounted, not caring that it plans to do the same to him (now there's a trophy); Martin Landau turns in an eye-rolling performance as the local lunatic, whose paranoid ravings presage those of his character in the feature film The X-Files. Also known as It Came Without Warning. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Martin Landau, (more)
- 1976
The Earth is threatened when an alien organism, that has the potential to destroy all life, is released. A corrupt government tries to cover up the danger. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1975
This interesting made-for-TV period gangster-horror piece -- written by Psycho author Robert Bloch -- stars George Hamilton as a military man in 1930s Chicago who pounds the pavement in search of answers after his brother's wrongful execution. His investigations plunge him into a dark world even more sinister than the gangland circles he is forced to penetrate, leading him to the domain of a diabolical scientist, Varek (Ray Milland), who is plotting to seize control of the entire city with his army of walking dead. Directed by horror veteran Curtis Harrington, this plays very much like a '30s pulp novel come to life with plenty of menacing noir atmosphere, creepy monsters, and some well-mounted shocks. The Dead Don't Die is also enhanced by good uniform performances and the presence of the undeniably spooky Reggie Nalder. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Ironside (Raymond Burr) is reunited with his old friend Dr. Juan Domingo (Desi Arnaz), an eccentric Cuban-born doctor currently residing in a small California town. When not being sidetracked by an odd assortment of patients (which include an expectant duck!), Dr. Domingo likes to dabble in crime-solving, much to the dismay of his nurse Big Sue (Linda Foster) and local police chief Cardiff (L.Q. Jones). At the moment, the good doctor is trying to prove that an alleged heart attack victim was actually murdered while flying his own plane. This episode was originally the pilot for a potential Desi Arnaz detective series called Dr. Domingo, which unfortunately failed to make a network sale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this made-for-TV movie, a driver is involved in a hit-and-run accident. By the time the guilt-ridden fellow returns to the accident scene, the body has mysteriously disappeared. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Forsythe
- 1974
This suspense film is about a lawyer who defends a high-society woman charged with killing her husband. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Don Murray stars as slick network news producer William Martin in The Girl on the Late, Late Show. In addition to his administrative duties, Martin is a news reporter, and it is in this capacity that he investigates a series of Hollywood murders. The unifying link between the killings would seem to be faded movie queen Carolyn Parker (Gloria Grahame). Several Tinseltown veterans show up in key roles in this made-for-TV mystery, including Van Johnson, Cameron Mitchell, John Ireland, Walter Pidgeon and Frankie Darro. First telecast April 1, 1974, Girl on the Late, Late Show was designed as the pilot for a weekly Don Murray TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Harry Walker (David Janssen) is a helicopter traffic reporter in Salt Lake City who's never quite gotten over the time he spent flying during World War II -- a former combat pilot, he sees the world passing him by amid complacency and his own life reduced to boredom and bittersweet nostalgia for the best of times, when he was working for a cause that mattered (and there were causes that mattered). He chances on a brutal armored car robbery and helps the police give chase, and suddenly finds himself in the thick of the action when the robbers -- who have taken a woman hostage -- switch from a getaway car to a chopper. And when the getaway chopper tries to ram him, that's all it takes to get Walker into a cross-country aerial pursuit into the Utah desert in a duel to the death. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Love Comes Quietly (aka Angela) tells the story of a free-spirited girl who was born in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the 1920s, even the somewhat more tolerant people of the Netherlands (relative to the rest of Europe) did not easily suffer the open flouting of the rules of society. Cheerful and optimistic, Angela (Barbara Hershey) defied the conventions of her conservative Dutch family by traipsing about the countryside with her lover, living on what turned up each day. However, even for the sunniest of optimists such an idyll can have tragic consequences. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Seedy newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is assigned the Las Vegas police beat by his boss Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland). A series of murders has been plaguing the Glitter Capital; the victims, all beautiful showgirls, have had the blood drained from their bodies. Kolchak can't understand why the authorities are so uncooperative as he probes the case. Nor can he believe the evidence he's gleaned on his own: There can't possibly be a Dracula-like vampire stalking Las Vegas, or can there? Adapted by Richard Matheson from a novel by Jeff Rice, The Night Stalker debuted January 11, 1972 - -and on that fateful evening, this thriller became the highest-rated TV movie up to its time, as well as an instant cult classic. The film spawned a popular sequel, The Night Strangler (1972), and a 1974 TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, (more)
- 1971
Two men kidnap Wendy Rankin (Belinda J. Montgomery), the daughter of a thief (Ray Rankin) who absconded with $400,000 ten years earlier. As the FBI endeavors to locate the kidnappers, Wendy is forced to relive a horrifying experience that occurred at the same time as the robbery. Interestingly, the part of Wendy's mother is played by Leave It to Beaver's Barbara Billingsley--whose character name is "June". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
In this war drama, things are looking quite hopeless for a besieged regiment under enemy attack. It is their commanders knowledge of history that ultimately saves them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In 1966, producer Frank Price came up with a TV series concept about a group of people lost on an uncharted island who are forced to carve out their own civilization. No, it wasn't Gilligan's Island, but a more serious endeavor titled Stranded. When the pilot episode didn't sell, Price put the idea on the back burner until 1969 when, in collaboration with writer Dean Riesner, he dreamed up the two-hour pilot film, Lost Flight. This time, an airliner captained by Steve Bannerman (Lloyd Bridges) crashes on a remote island in the Pacific. Among Bannerman's fellow castaways are Gina Talbot (Anne Francis), Merle Barnaby (Billy Dee Williams), Glenn Wallup (Ralph Meeker), Jonesey (Andrew Prine), Charlie Burnett (the character who gets killed off early, played by Michael-James Wixted), and, as the resident troublemaker, Eddie Randolph (Bobby Van). Given a one-shot telecast in early 1970, Lost Flight didn't fly as a series...nor did Price's like-minded effort, 1976's Stranded. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Ironside (Raymond Burr) heads to San Francisco's Skid Row to solve the murder of a street person. In the course of events, the Chief tries to rehabilitate Rafe (Ralph Meeker), a fiercely proud ex-cop who has become a shabby derelict. Meanwhile, another down-and-outer named Jack (Clu Gulager) confounds the authorities with a trail of forged checks. It soom becomes clear to Ironside that either Rafe or Jack is the murderer...and is more than willing to murder again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Acting on a tip from an ex-convict (who is promptly shot down!), the FBI heads to a motel in order to capture Scott Martin, a dangerous criminal known as "The Iceman." Unfortunately, Martin is currently stage-managing a major bank heist, and to make certain that he is left alone he has taken a 10-year-old boy (Peter Robbins) hostage. This places the FBI in a standoff situation with Martin, who has used this hostage-taking technique before--and has never left anyone alive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The title character is a benign 7-foot-tall grizzly bear (perhaps all grizzlies are benign, but we're not about to get close enough to find out). Little Clint Howard befriends the bear, naming the beast Ben. Clint's wildlife-officer dad Dennis Weaver and mom Vera Miles have some trouble adjusting to the boy's new pet, but all ends happily after a lengthy sojourn in the Everglades. The best scenes involve ex-Bowery-Boy Huntz Hall, here playing a grizzled old swamp tramp. The upshot of Gentle Giant's success was the TV series Gentle Ben, which also starred Howard and Weaver and which ran from 1967 through 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Weaver, Vera Miles, (more)
- 1967
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Schlockmeister Roger Corman produced this graphically violent chronicle of the Chicago gangster wars of the 1920s and the events that lead to the bloody title showdown between rival mobsters Al Capone (Jason Robards) and Bugs Moran (Ralph Meeker) that marked a brutal end to a terrifying era. Fred Steiner's film score is effectively mixed with popular songs from the 1920s, and the re-creation of gangster-era Chicago is a credit to the set designers. Historic and insightful narration is dramatically provided by Paul Frees, giving the film the flavor of a docudrama. Jean Hale plays Moran's gun moll, who is mercilessly kneed in the stomach while arguing over a fur coat. Though The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was heralded by critics at the time of its initial release, their opinion of the film has changed with each decade as they waver on the cinematic value of all of Corman's work. Audiences continue to relish the film, which is often shown on the anniversary of the bloody executions. Watch for Jack Nicholson as one of the unfortunate victims. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Robards, Jr., George Segal, (more)
Director Robert Aldrich took what he considered a hopelessly old-fashioned script by Lukas Heller and Nunnally Johnson and fashioned The Dirty Dozen into one of MGM's biggest moneymakers of the 1960s--and the sixth highest-grossing film in the studio's history. Lee Marvin plays Major Reisman, assigned to coordinate a suicide mission on a French chateau held by top Nazi officers. Since no "normal" GI can be expected to volunteer for this mission, Reisman is compelled to draw his personnel from a group of military prisoners serving life sentences. This "dirty dozen" includes a sex pervert (Telly Savalas), a psycho (John Cassavetes), a retarded killer (Donald Sutherland), and the equally malevolent Charles Bronson, Trini Lopez, Jim Brown, and Clint Walker. On the dim promise of receiving pardons if they survive, the criminals undergo a brutal training program, then are marched behind enemy lines dressed as Nazi soldiers, the better to overtake the chateau and kill everyone in it--including the innocent wives and mistresses of the German officers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1966
After meticulously planning a Baltimore bank robbery, four men--Hogan (Ralph Meeker) Collins (Don Quine), Cowboy (Albert Salmi and Breese (Paul Bryar)--steal only a few thousand dollars. Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) wants to know why the thieves were willing to settle for so paltry a sum. Doing a bit of digging, Erskine learns of a legendary bank robber who would likewise pull small robberies just for practice, in preparation for one big, spectacular heist. Now the Inspector must second-guess the thieves and prevent them from making their final haul. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In Volume 13 of a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, a prehistoric creature found encased in ice is thawed out to lead an army of cavemen. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In Volume 24 of a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, the researchers on a military base on the Moon find a living organism. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1963
This film about characters who hang around a horseracing focuses on the darker side rather than the limelight of the winner's circle. Joey (Ty Hardin) is an ambitious horse trainer who is sleeping with the boss' wife Laura (Susan Pleshette). When husband Matt (Ralph Meeker) discovers the affair, Joey get fired. He goes to the boyfriend of an old flame to borrow money to buy the horse. The steed wins a race and a post position in an even bigger race. Matt tries to buy the horse from Joey, who refuses the generous offer. The horse loses the big race, leaving Joey harnessed with a balloon payment he can't possibly make. Another old flame helps Joey out by paring off the debt and sleeping with the sleazy loanshark. Exciting racing scenes and a cameo appearance of real life sportswriter Jim Murray highlight this film where hardly of the characters are likeable or endearing. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Suzanne Pleshette, Ty Hardin, (more)
- 1961
A rape victim goes through inner turmoil in the days following her suffering the brutal assault. Mary Ann (Carroll Baker) leaves her middle class New York home to wander the mean streets of Manhattan. She is isolated and lonely in spite of being surrounded by people. A kindly garage mechanic befriends the troubled woman on the brink of self destruction - but soon
Mary Ann must ask herself if she can really trust him. Musical score provided by American legend Aaron Copeland. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Mary Ann must ask herself if she can really trust him. Musical score provided by American legend Aaron Copeland. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, (more)
- 1961
Dean Martin plays an easygoing Southern politician, long on charm but short on brains. Susan Hayward, a poor girl with rich ideas, marries Martin and endeavors to engineer him into the governor's chair. Though no saint herself, Hayward is determined to overcome the good-old-boy corruption infesting the state government. She emerges triumphant after a public showdown with crafty politico Wilfred Hyde-White. Based on a novel by Wirt Williams,Ada was produced by the same team that had guided Susan Hayward to an Oscar nomination for I'll Cry Tomorrow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Dean Martin, (more)
- 1961
In the final episode of Walt Disney's 17-part miniseries Tales of Texas John Slaughter, John (Tom Tryon), in his capacity as sheriff of Tombstone, AZ, has captured vicious robber and murderer Jimmy Deuce. As a result, every other outlaw in Tombstone has fled for the hills -- thereby utterly ruining the town's economy and causing the populace to turn against Sheriff Slaughter. Urged to give up his badge by his wife Viola (Betty Lynn), John refuses, insisting that his job is far from finished. Meanwhile, professional gunfighter Frank Clell (Ralph Meeker) rides into town, insisting that he's mended his murderous ways -- but has he? Originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "Frank Clell's in Town" and the previous episode, "A Trip to Tucson," were in 1966 excerpted for use in the expanded theatrical-feature version of the earlier Tales of Texas John Slaughter entry "A Holster Full of Law." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
