Alan Napier Movies

The Monkey Mission was the second of three feature-length pilot films for the never-sold Robert Blake TV series Joe Dancer. On this occasion, hard-boiled private eye Joe Dancer (Blake, of course) takes on the challenge of return a priceless European vase to its rightful owner. Stolen by Nazis during WWII, the vase is now the property of a high-scale museum -- with round-the-clock guards to prevent its being swiped again, even by the "good guys." To pull off his assignment, Dancer enlists the aid of shady electronics genius Stump Harris (Keenan Wynn), veteran sneak thief Jimmy Papadopolous (John Fiedler), and Jimmy's "assistant" -- a chimpanzee named Gregor. Airing March 23, 1981, on NBC, The Monkey Mission failed to result in a weekly Joe Dancer series, though critical and viewer response was positive. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Circumstantial evidence has implicated Nico Triforos (George Pan Casselman), a reclusive young Greek immigrant, in the murder of a prostitute. Assigned to solve the case, Kojak (Telly Savalas) runs afoul of his fellow Greek-Americans, who disapprove of his "persecution" of a downtrodden countryman. Featured in the supporting cast as heavily accented Greek characters are Alan Napier (Batman) and Oscar Beregi, respectively born in England and Hungary. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Myrna Loy guest stars as Andrea Wollcott, a pioneering feminist author. Over the years, Andrea has made many enemies--one of whom apparently hates her enough to fire a few gunshots at her. Assigned by Ironside (Raymond Burr) to protect Andrea, Fran (Elizabeth Baur) is thrilled at meeting one of her idols...at least at first. Meanwhile, Ed (Don Galloway) falls in love with the Great Lady's granddaughter April Morris (Jacqueline Scott), leading to unanticipated complications. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Returning to Fiji for the first time since WW2, Ironside is anxious to be reunited with a wartime friend. Upon his arrival, however, Ironside is informed that his friend has left for San Francisco to meet him. Suspecting foul play, Ironside summons Mark and Ed to the islands--only to mysteriously vanish himself. Central to the mystery is a well-coordinated scheme to steal gold from the US government. Featured in the cast are two 1960s TV icons: Alan Napier, aka "Alfred the Butler" on Batman; and Bernard Fox, whose many sitcom roles included Dr. Bombay on Bewitched and Malcolm Merriwether on The Andy Griffth Show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This second episode of a four-part story arc is one of three Beverly Hillbillies installments filmed in England for the series' sixth season. Having inherited a castle and a title, Jed Clampett arrives in London with his family in tow. After a tussle with the local officials, the Clampetts take a rollicking tour of the "swinging" English metropolis. Reportedly, this was one of the series' most difficult episodes to film, thanks to the thousands of loyal British Beverly Hillbillies fans who converged upon cast and crew at every opportunity. "The Clampetts in London" first aired on September 13, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The satire in Evelyn Waugh's darkly comic novel The Loved One was originally double-edged. The book was not only an attack on the Southern California funeral industry but also a lampoon of Hollywood's "British colony," those clannish, cricket-playing English actors of years gone by who bemoaned the artificiality of Tinseltown while eagerly accepting the demeaning and insignificant movie roles they were offered. The film version of The Loved One, anxious to live up to its ad-campaign promise of containing "something to offend everybody," downplays the British-colony business (save for the presence of the magnificent Robert Morley) and pumps up the "death" gags. Innocent British poet Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse) falls in love with funeral-home cosmetician Aimee Thanatogenos (Anjanette Comer), who in turn is loved by prissy funeral director Mr. Joyboy (Rod Steiger). The latter lives with his obese mother (Ayllene Gibbons), whose eating sequence is far more hilarious (and more tasteless) than many of the film's calculatedly "black" jokes. A huge guest-star cast is headed by Jonathan Winters in a dual role as a funeral home manager and his covetous twin brother, who operates an elaborate pet cemetery. Musician Paul Williams is also on hand as a 13-year-old aeronautics genius who develops a method of sending corpses into "eternal orbit" (a plot device that Waugh neglected to include in his novel). Film historian William K. Everson has commented that The Loved One is one of the best and most underrated comedies of the 1960s. For others, especially those who might feel guilty chuckling at the sight of Anjanette Comer committing suicide with an embalming needle, it's purely a matter of taste...or lack of same. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this suspenseful thriller, a man is sentenced to ten years in a mental institution for the criminally insane after murdering his wife. In the hospital, the man's doctor slyly tells him about an esoteric law that will allow the patient a new trial if he can escape and stay out of the hospital for two full weeks. Naturally, the patient promptly escapes and ends up staying in the home of a woman whose husband is out of town. She is unhappily married and begins feeling drawn to the fugitive killer. Later the man begins to get suspicious when he discovers a corpse near the house. He trips and tumbles down a flight of stairs. When he regains consciousness, the body has vanished. The police eventually find it, and the woman blames the death on the fugitive. Fortunately, the pressure is too much and the woman finally admits that she and the doctor have been having a passionate affair and that they engineered the whole set up to frame the patient for the death of her husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In 1950, Maj. Jefferson Pike (James Garner), an Army intelligence agent who served with distinction in World War II, awakens in a hospital with severe amnesia. He isn't sure where he is, how he got there, or even who the woman at his side is, even though the doctor tells him that her name is Anna (Eva Marie Saint) and that she is his wife. The doctor instructs Pike to recall, in as much detail as possible, what he was doing before the accident that caused his traumatic memory loss. But the doctor isn't a doctor, Anna isn't Pike's wife, it isn't 1950, and he isn't in an American hospital. World War II is still very much in progress, and Pike is being duped in an elaborate scheme prepared by Maj. Walter Gerber (Rod Taylor), a German intelligence agent. Gerber is trying to trick a drugged and suggestible Pike into telling him everything he knows, as the injured soldier lies in a Bavarian military hospital after being taken prisoner. Will Pike be able to see through the cracks in Gerber's facade before he spills the beans that could mean death and defeat for American soldiers? 36 Hours was later remade for TV under the title Breaking Point. TV fans will want to keep an eye peeled for bit parts by James Doohan from Star Trek and John Banner from Hogan's Heroes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Nerdy bank teller Oscar Blenny (Larry Storch) returns from a Vegas vacation with a new wife in tow: Eva Ashley (Linda Christian), who only wed Oscar because she was broke. Eventually, Oscar tries to divest himself of the faithless Eva by asking for a divorce, but she will only grant him one if he pays her 50,000 dollars in advance. Since Oscar works at a bank, he figures he has no choice but to steal the money from his boss -- but Eva's thuggish boyfriend, Bill Grant (Henry Silva), has a better plan, one that will not only net Oscar even more money, but also rid him of the troublesome Eva once and for all. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Roger Corman's success with low-budget adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe tales continued with this third installment, the first to lack the commanding presence of Vincent Price. Instead, we have Ray Milland as tormented protagonist Guy Carrell, who is so traumatized by the death of his father -- whom he believes was entombed alive after suffering a cataleptic attack -- that he becomes convinced that he will meet a similar demise. Guy's mounting dementia rapidly undermines his recent marriage to the lovely Emily (Hazel Court), particularly after he begins the construction of a specially designed crypt rigged with numerous escape devices. Encouraged by Emily to face his fears, Guy decides to view his father's remains, to prove once and for all whether he died peacefully. When the crypt is opened, however, what he finds there is so horrifying that he succumbs to a cataleptic episode himself, which doctors misdiagnose as a fatal heart attack... and Guy's worst fear soon becomes a reality. Milland's performance conveys the requisite amount of hand-wringing torment (in the mode of The Lost Weekend), even if he fails to capture the manic intensity that Price brought to the other Poe films. Corman's deft direction, employing a rich palette of colors and superb widescreen compositions, is on a par with the series' finest installments. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Rock 'n roll king Elvis Presley stars as Glenn Talbot, a country boy with a problem temper and a yen for literary greatness in this typical Presley vehicle directed by Philip Dunne. After Glenn is sent packing by his father for mixing it up one too many times with his brother, the court makes him a ward of his uncle. His inner turmoil leads him into therapy with the older and very attractive Irene (Hope Lange), a patient-doctor relationship that is misconstrued by their small town. The two spend a platonic night in the same room in a motel, but no one is believing it was innocent. Glenn's romantic interests include Noreen (Tuesday Weld), with whom he shares a drink or two or more, and a song, and Betty Lee (Millie Perkins). Between the singing and carousing and fist fights, it still looks like a happy resolution looms large on the horizon. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Scotland Yard inspector Benson (played by future "James Bond" Roger Moore) seems determined to monitor every movement made by Lady Gwendolyn Avon (Hazel Court). Benson informs his superiors that he is convinced that Lady Gwendolyn plans to smuggle a valuable emerald necklace out of the country, and then sell it so she won't have to pay the taxes on it. The story takes an unexpected turn when the necklace is stolen by a "person or persons unknown." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi