George Mitchell Movies

Desperate for money, frontier rancher Van Heflin holds outlaw Glenn Ford at gunpoint, intending to collect the $200 reward. While both men await the train to Yuma that will escort Ford to prison, the cagey outlaw offers Heflin $10,000 if he'll set Ford free. The rest of the film is a sweat-inducing cat-and-mouse game between captive and captor, interrupted with bursts of violence from both Ford's gang (commandeered by Richard Jaeckel) and the vacillating townsfolk. 3:10 to Yuma is one of the best of the character-driven "psychological" westerns of the 1950s. Its only flaw is Ford's unconvincing character turnaround towards the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

American "B"-movie mogul Jerry Warren can always be counted on to turn a cheap but fun horror import into a boring, unwatchable mess -- as proven by this tedious effort, originally produced in Mexico as The Aztec Mummy and later padded out with deadly-dull exposition. The original film is silly enough; the first of a popular Mexican series, it involves the awakening of the mummy Popoca to avenge the desecration of his tomb by infidels. As a cost-saving measure, instead of re-dubbing the Spanish dialogue, Warren added new scenes with American actors, who drone on about reincarnation and past-life regression and bring the action to a screeching halt. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Mike Sullivan (George Mitchell) and his cronies pitch camp at the Ponderosa, claiming that they've been sold a generous portion of the ranch's best land. It turns out that Sullivan and others have been hornswoggled by a fellow named John Zink, or maybe John Polk. Ben Cartwright finds himself in a bind when Zink, er, Polk turns out to be none other than his old Army comrade Colonel Bragg (John McGiver. First broadcast on December 31, 1961, "Land Grab" was written by Ward Hawkins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the height of the bloody feud between the McFaddens and the Hadfields, Alonzo McFadden (Douglas Spencer) hires the dreaded Slade brothers to kill Anse Hadfield (Jonathan Gilmore). As it happens, the Slades bear a remarkable resemblance to Hoss and Little Joe Cartwright. A strong supporting cast includes Henry Hull as B. Bannerman Brown, Ellen Corby as Lorna Doone, and George Mitchell as Jubal. Written by W. Carey Wilbur, "The Gunmen" first aired on January 23, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Burke has a showdown with Roger -- and the bone of contention is Burke's recent prison sentence. Victoria tries to pump handyman Matthew for information concerning Elizabeth's curious business transactions. Later on, Elizabeth warns Victoria that Matthew is not as harmless as he seems. This episode first aired on July 13, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While searching for David Collins (David Henesy) in the cellar of Collinwood, Victoria (Alexandra Moltke) is frightened by a stranger. He turns out to be handyman Matthew Morgan (George Mitchell), who promptly unfolds a strange story. Later, Elizabeth (Joan Bennett), confronted by evidence that she knows more of Victoria's past than she is willing to admit, denies everything. This episode originally aired on July 4, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Justin Groton (Buzz Martin), sole surviving member of a vicious outlaw family, has been in jail on a murder charge since the age of 13. Now Justin is approaching his 21st birthday--and as such, he will be legally eligible to hang for his crime. It is up to Paladin to convince a flint-hearted judge (Liam Sullivan), and an angry mob, that Justin has already suffered enough for his transgressions and should be spared the hangman's rope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This musical boxing drama finds Walter (Elvis Presley) as a recently discharged soldier looking forwork in New York's Catskill Mountains. He happens across Grogan's Gym, a boxing emporium that helps perfect the "gentle art." Proprioter Willie Grogan (Gig Young) and trainer Lew (Charles Bronson) run the camp for aspiring pugilists. Walter saves Grogan's long suffering girlfriend Rose (Joan Blackman) from an assault by a gangster when he knocks out the goon. He earns the nickname "Kid Galahad" and a chance to show off his talents in the boxing ring. While Walter trains for the big fight, Lew is approached by unsavory gamblers, who want Lew to be lax in repairing any cuts Walter sustains in the ring for a slice of the economic pie. Lew refuses and has his hands broken by the gambling goons. Although Walter knows the fix is on, he battles his way to victory against overwhelming odds and an intimidating opponent. Walter exacts revenge on the men who broke Lew's hands, which may be the first and only time in cinematic history that Charles Bronson needs any outside help. Presley delivers seven songs, the most memorable being "I Got Lucky." United Artists got lucky with the release of Kid Galahad, which drew legions of loyal Presley fans at the box office. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Henry Hathaway's film is based on a character from Harold Robbins' The Carpetbaggers, who, in turn, based it on cowboy actor Ken Maynard. Set in the West of the 1890s, the film opens with the torture and murder of the parents of Max Sand (Steve McQueen) by a trio of gunslingers seemingly motivated by their hostility toward the mixed nature of the marriage, since the wife is a Native American. Swearing revenge, the young cowhand enlists the help of itinerant gunsmith Jonas Cord Brian Keith, who teaches him how to shoot while counseling against revenge. Nonetheless, Sand doggedly scours one town after the other before finally running up against one of the murderers, Jesse Coe (Martin Landau). He finally kills Coe in a vicious knife fight, but is severely wounded himself and has to be nursed back to health by Neesa (Janet Margolin), a young Kiowa woman. He next heads for Louisiana where another of the murderous trio, Bill Bowdre (Arthur Kennedy), is serving a prison sentence in a remote swamp. In order to get close to the man, Sand stages a robbery, and is soon among the prison inmates. This was the only film on which McQueen worked with Landau, the only other person admitted to the Actor's Studio out of thousands of applicants in 1957. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide

Blaming his daughter Sally (Anne Whitfield) for the death of her brother, Pa Ellis (George Mitchell) forces the girl out of their home. Soon, however, Pa regrets his harsh words and begs her to come back. And on a dark and stormy night some seven years later, a truck driver (Pat McCaffrie) picks up a hitchhiking Sally, follows her directions, and takes her home--where a shocking surprise awaits him. This classic episode was inspired by the centuries-old legend "The Vanishing Hitchhiker." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "rodeo week" festivities in the town of Placer City apparently include a barroom brawl, which is broken up by none other than Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), in town to deliver a subpoena to elusive prospector Amos Catledge (George Mitchell). Perry becomes more deeply involved in the situation when one of the brawlers, Ken Bascombe (Hugh Sanders) is murdered, apparently by the other brawler, Gerald Norton (Ray Sticklyn). Per the episode's title, Perry hinges his defense of Norton on the "testimony" of a burro! This episode was hastily inserted into Perry Mason's third-season manifest as a replacement for "The Case of the Credulous Quarry", which remained on the shelf until Season Four. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Monte Hellman and writer-star Jack Nicholson filmed this western simultaneously with The Shooting (1967). Nicholson stars as Wes, cowpuncher pal to Vern (Cameron Mitchell) and Otis (Tom Filer), who have all been hired as hands for a cattle roundup. En route to their new jobs, the men come across the handiwork of a lynch mob. Later, they find hospitality at the home of Blind Dick (Harry Dean Stanton), who graciously provides them with food and shelter. The cowboys are unaware that Blind Dick and his men recently robbed a stagecoach and murdered the driver. A sheriff (Bradon Carroll) and his posse surround the cabin and hang the thieves. Though innocent, the terrified cowboys flee. Otis is killed, but Wes and Vern escape -- with the posse in pursuit. When they stop to rest at the ranch of Evan (George Mitchell), Wes considers taking Evan's daughter hostage. Trying to steal Evan's horse, Vern is killed by the rancher, who in turn is shot by Wes. Once a law-abiding citizen, Wes has been transformed by unjust vigilantism into a killer. Fascinated by frontier era journals that he discovered in an L.A. library, Nicholson used the documents as inspiration in writing the script. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

After suffering a blow on the head, Phil Townsend (Richard Basehart) awakens to discover that he has long been suffering from amnesia. Realizing that he's slated to be married, Phil rushes to the house of his fiancée, only to discover that he is three years late. Soon afterward, he finds out that he has spent those three years living under the name of David Webber -- and as it happens, "David Webber" is suspected of murdering the wife of his ex-employer. This episode is based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich, previously filmed in 1942 as Street of Chance (with Burgess Meredith as the amnesiac protagonist) and thereafter adapted several times for the radio anthology Suspense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide