Max Mellinger Movies
- 1967
There's been a slight increase in the population of Hooterville Valley, requiring the services of a new county supervisor. Sam Drucker (Frank Cady) assumes that he's a shoe-in for the post, but when election time rolls around, he is faced with a formidable opponent: namely, Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet. The hotly contested election ends up dividing the electorate along gender lines, with the boys declaring war against the girls, and vice versa! Watch for cult-film favorite Jackie Joseph (Little Shop of Horrors, Gremlins) in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1963
Paladin (Richard Boone) finds himself in the middle of a long-standing feud between two Native American brothers. Jim Redrock (Charles Bronson) is the ineffectual sheriff of a small town, while brother Abe Redrock (Michael Keep) is a wild, untamed outlaw. When Jim offers a $200 reward for the capture of Abe, Abe counters with an offer of $500 for the capture of Jim. Forsaking any hopes of monetary gain, Paladin dedicates himself to reuniting the two warring siblings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1962
Rod Serling penned the story on which this crime melodrama was based. The trouble begins when as a policeman rushes toward the scene of a robbery. En route he hears a woman scream in a dark alley and gets there just in time to see someone tearing away. The cop calls out, but the runner does not stop. The cop opens fire and fatally shoots a young teenage boy. Apparently the youth had only accidentally bumped the lady and knocked her down. Though the cop is eventually acquitted, his reputation amongst his peers is destroyed. This leads the disgraced officer to launch his own investigation in hopes of clearing his sullied name. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chris Warfield, Erin O'Donnell, (more)
- 1962
In this comedy, two small-time con men steal an honest ex-convict's car and use it to rob a bank. They then hide the loot in the car's spare tire. Unfortunately for the ex-con, his car ends up repossessed and eventually sold to a parish priest who immediately drives off for a much-needed fishing trip. The priest is then stopped by a cop who recognizes the vehicle from the robbery. The priest is blamed for the crime and jailed; he is then released and the ex-con is arrested in his place. Because the police claim that the priest has been harboring criminals in his parish, his monsignor transfers him. The good parishioners are so distraught that the con men feel remorse and confess to their crime. Peace is restored, and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Bryar, Stanley Clements, (more)
- 1961
In this crime drama, several people gather at an inn adjacent to a prison where a man is scheduled to be executed at midnight. Just as the clock is about to strike twelve, a man comes in and confesses the crime. He is arrested. The rest of the guests, who have come to retrieve the original inmate's loot from a safety deposit box, now try to get their hands upon the loot. Treachery and mayhem ensue. Eventually someone calls the police and everything works out for the best. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Brown, Merry Anders, (more)
If anything, this star-studded sequel is even sillier than the original, adding to its problems by completely recasting all the roles, combining several of them into existing characters. Carol Lynley is the heroine this time, and she leaves Peyton Place for New York to write a book about the hypocrisy of her hometown. The book causes lots of trouble back home, getting Mike (Robert Sterling) fired as principal, angering Lynley's mother (Eleanor Parker), and stirring such horrible memories in Selena (Tuesday Weld) that she brains her new boyfriend with a fireplace poker, thinking he is her dead rapist stepfather. The film really belongs to Mary Astor, in a hilarious turn as a smotheringly possessive mother. She tries to come between her son and his new bride (Luciana Paluzzi) in some unintentionally hilarious scenes, causing Paluzzi to fling herself down a ski slope in an attempt at a self-induced miscarriage. Overwrought and overblown, the film is still a treat for fans of campy "suburban sin" melodramas. Look for Bob Crane as an unctuous talk show sidekick. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carol Lynley, Jeff Chandler, (more)
- 1961
Based on the novel I Cover the Waterfront, this uninspired crime melodrama stars Ron Foster as Skip Hanlon, a reporter who inadvertently gets involved in tracking down a criminal operation on the waterfront. Hanlon falls in love with Janey Fowler (Merry Anders) whose father is a sea captain doing some questionable work for the Mafia. When one of the mafiosi gets too hot to stay in the U.S., the elder Fowler (Barry Kelley) ships them out of the country. After the reporter decides to blow the whistle on the sea captain, circumstances lead him closer to danger and farther from the object of his affection. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ron Foster, Barry Kelley, (more)
In this romantic melodrama, a light-skinned black woman abandons her family to pretend that she is white. She soon marries a white wealthy man, but does not tell him the truth. Eventually the pressures caused by her deception cause her to breakdown. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sonya Wilde, James Franciscus, (more)
- 1950
The Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur Broadway comedy Ladies and Gentlemen formed the basis of the Warner Bros. laughspinner Perfect Strangers. The title characters are Terry Scott and David Campbell, played by Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan. She's a divorcee, he's a husband and father. Terry and David are thrown together by fate -- or rather, the LA judicial system. While serving as jurors on a murder trial, the two fall in love. Ironically, the woman on trial allegedly killed her husband because he'd asked for a divorce. The seriocomic tension develops on two levels: will juror Isobel Bradford (Margolo Gillmore) be able to sway the others to vote for the death penalty, and will Terry and David continue to pursue their romance at the expense of the happiness of others? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, (more)
