Ricky Nelson Movies

The career of rock and roll pioneer Ricky Nelson is chronicled in this release featuring twenty live performances from The Ozzie and Harriet Show, interviews with Nelson's children and fellow musicians, and thirty-minutes of rare behind-the-scenes footage. In addition to performances of "A Teenager's Romance", "Lonesome Town", and "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It" that originally aired on The Ozzie and Harriet Show, additional performances by Nelson and James Burton and appearances by Kris Kristofferson make this one release that's sure to please fans of television star-turned-teen idol. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A 6 volume rock 'n' roll video series with Volume 4 featuring artists Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Paul Anka, Ricky Nelson, Sonny James, Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers. ~ All Movie Guide

About ten minutes into The Shootist, Doctor Hostetler (James Stewart) tells aging Western gunfighter John Bernard Books (John Wayne), "You have a cancer." Knowing that his death will be painful and lingering, Books is determined to be shot in the line of "duty." In his remaining two months, Books settles scores with old enemies, including gambler Pulford (Hugh O'Brian) and Marshall Thibido (Harry Morgan) and reaches out to new friends, including a feisty widow (Lauren Bacall) and her hero-worshipping son (Ron Howard). Throughout the film, Books' imminent demise is compared with the decline of the West, as represented by the automobiles and streetcars that have begun to blight the main street of Books' hometown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

McCloud's girlfriend is held hostage with the ransom being the release of a murder suspect. ~ All Movie Guide

One of the better and more diverting of ABC's first full season of made-for-television movies, The Over-the-Hill Gang was a low-budget Western with a gimmick: Get a bunch of elderly actors, known either for their leading roles in the 1930s, or for playing comic sidekicks (and Walter Brennan was a lot of both categories) through the 1950s, and put them together in a plot. The result was this enjoyable oater about a quartet of retired Texas Rangers (Pat O'Brien, Walter Brennan, Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan) who take on the corrupt mayor (Edward Andrews) of a small Nevada town where O'Brien's daughter (Kris Nelson) and newspaper editor son-in-law (Rick Nelson) live. Jack Elam represents the bad guys' muscle with his usual threatening aplomb, and Andy Devine gets a lot of mileage out of his role as a corrupt, inept judge. The other surprise in the cast is Gypsy Rose Lee, looking radiant as ever, portraying an admirer of the former rangers, in what was her final screen appearance, and such familiar old faces as Myron Healey, William Benedict, and Elmira Sessions in supporting roles. When O'Brien and company realize that they're no longer fast enough to do the job with guns, they decide to use their wits instead, outsmarting and outflanking the villains. The pacing by director Jean Yarbrough (whose own career went back to the 1920s, and whose last film this was) is a little leisurely, but the script is fairly clever and it's a lot of fun watching the veteran actors chewing up the scenery, with Devine having the most fun of all in an unusual role as a villain. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Nelson are both suffering from "empty nest" syndrome as Ozzie & Harriet enters its 13th season. While the elder Nelsons remain in their familiar suburban home (complete with that garish-looking brass eagle over the fireplace!), their sons David Nelson and Ricky Nelson have flown the coop. David is a lawyer, married to wife June (played by June Blair, the real-life Mrs. David Nelson). And Ricky, a law clerk and perennial college student, is likewise wed to the lovely Kris (played by Ricky Nelson's genuine spouse Kristin Harmon). And oh yes, Rick is still singing whenever he gets a chance -- and in one episode, "The Ballerina," we are treated to the spectacle of a dancing Ricky Nelson. (And he's not bad at all!) As for David and Rick's overaged college pal Wally (Skip Young), he is looking past his soda jerk job and seeking out "real"employment, evidently at the behest of his erstwhile sweetie Ginger (Charlene Salerno). Outside of the usual Nelson family shenanigans, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet made sitcom history this season with its unprecedented 400th episode, the otherwise unremarkable "Dave, the Fraternity Advisor." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In its 11th year on the air, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet continues to follow the formula established in its most recent seasons. Though top-billed, Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Nelson have ceded the series' "stardom" to their now-adult sons, David Nelson and Ricky Nelson -- especially Ricky, who (in these pre-Beatles years) continues to top the charts with his popular singing efforts. While a handful of season 11 episodes are focused on the "oldsters" -- notably "The Adventurers," in which Ozzie and his pal Joe (Lyle Talbot) agree to participate to a parachute jump -- the bulk of the "adventures" focus on David, now a lawyer married to wife June (stilled billed as June Blair despite her real-life status as Mrs. David Nelson) and Ricky, who is still in college studying gosh-knows-what while pursuing an active social life with the Kappa Alpha fraternity. Speaking of the Kappa Alphas, David and Ricky's mutual pal Wally (Skip Young) now has a steady girlfriend named Ginger, played by Charlene Salerno. As before, the season's highlights largely consist of Ricky's musical performances. This year, his repertoire includes "I Will Follow You," "My One Desire," and "You Don't Love Me Any More." And in the season's classic final episode "June Music Festival," Ricky honors his fans with "Gypsy Woman," "I Got a Woman," and "That's All," while sharing the spotlight with musical guest stars Bud and Travis, The Brothers Four, Jennie Smith, and the Garrett Square Dancers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet launches its record-breaking (for a TV sitcom) tenth season with "Dancing Lessons," in which Harriet Nelson goads her two-left-feet hubby Ozzie Nelson to improve his terpsichorean skills. It is one of the few times during season ten that the focus is exclusively on nominal stars Ozzie and Harriet; for the most part, the attention is concentrated on the couples' now-grown sons, David Nelson and Ricky Nelson. David is now a partner at his law firm, and now married to wife June, played by David Nelson's real-life spouse June Blair, who this season is listed in the regular starring cast for the first time. Ricky (who prefers to be known as Rick) continues pursuing his college activities, not only as a student teacher but as spiritual leader of the Kappa Alpha fraternity: His best pal on campus (who used to be David's best pal) is still rotund Wally (Skip Young), the world's oldest undergraduate. And of course, Rick persists in his ever-burgeoning singing career, usually backed up by the Four Preps. The season ends with "Little Handprints in the Sidewalk," one of the series' multitude of "cheater" episodes, utilizing footage from the past nine seasons of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in Texas during the late 1860s, Rio Bravo is a story of men (and women) and a town under siege. Presidio County Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) is holding Joe Burdette (Claude Akins), a worthless, drunken thug, for the murder of an unarmed man in a fight in a saloon -- the problem is that Joe is the brother of wealthy land baron Nathan Burdette (John Russell), who owns a big chunk of the county and can buy all the hired guns he doesn't already have working for him. Burdette's men cut the town off to prevent Chance from getting Joe into more secure surroundings, and then the hired guns come in, waiting around for their chance to break him out of jail. Chance has to wait for the United States marshal to show up, in six days, his only help from Stumpy (Walter Brennan), a toothless, cantankerous old deputy with a bad leg who guards the jail, and Dude (Dean Martin), his former deputy, who's spent the last two years stumbling around in a drunken stupor over a woman that left him. Chance's friend, trail boss Pat Wheeler (Ward Bond), arrives at the outset of the siege and tries to help, offering the services of himself and his drovers as deputies, which Chance turns down, saying they're not professionals and would be too worried about their families to be good at anything except being targets for Burdette's men; but Chance does try to enlist the services of Wheeler's newest employee, a callow-looking young gunman named Colorado Ryan (Ricky Nelson), who politely turns him down, saying he prefers to mind his own business. In the midst of all of this tension, Feathers (Angie Dickinson), a dance hall entertainer, arrives in town and nearly gets locked up by Chance for cheating at cards, until he finds out that he was wrong and that she's not guilty -- this starts a verbal duel between the two of them that grows more sexually intense as the movie progresses and she finds herself in the middle of Chance's fight. Wheeler is murdered by one of Burgette's hired guns who is, in turn, killed by Dude in an intense confrontation in a saloon. Colorado throws in with Chance after his boss is killed and picks up some of the slack left by Dude, who isn't quite over his need for a drink or the shakes that come with trying to stop. Chance and Burdette keep raising the ante on each other, Chance, Dude, and Colorado killing enough of the rancher's men that he's got to double what he's paying to make it worth the risk, and the undertaker (Joseph Shimada) gets plenty of business from Burdette before the two sides arrive at a stalemate -- Burdette is holding Dude and will release him in exchange for Joe. This leads to the final, bloody confrontation between Chance and Burdette, where the wagons brought to town by the murdered Wheeler play an unexpected and essential role in tipping the balance. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Season 14 of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet is the series' first season in color -- and its last on the air. Diminishing ratings were only one of the many factors motivating the decision to pull the plug. Series star Ozzie Nelson and his wife Harriet Nelson wanted to explore new and different professional vistas; oldest son David Nelson was now pursuing a prolific career as a director; and Ricky Nelson would rather have been singing than acting. (And his fans agreed!) The end of the series also effectively put an end to the acting careers of David's wife June Blair and Rick's wife Kris Nelson, both of whom had, for the past several seasons, been afforded star billing along with the rest of the Nelsons. Rather surprisingly, two new semi-regulars are added to the show during its terminal season: Greg Dawson and Sean Morgan, cast respectively as Greg and Sean, two of perennial college student Ricky's frat brothers. The series ends quietly and amusingly with episode number 435, "The Game Room," in which Ozzie wants to convert his sons' former bedroom into a den for himself, much to the dismay of the sentimental Harriet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season six of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet still finds Ozzie Nelson, as cheerfully "unemployed" as ever, gently ruling the roost at the Nelson family household, with level-headed spouse Harriet Nelson at his side. Oldest son David Nelson is now in his third year of college, dividing his time between his studies and his fraternity, Kappa Sigma: indeed, the season opener is titled "Fixing Up the Fraternity House." And high-schooler Ricky Nelson, already launched on his spectacular career as a pop singer, gains more and more prominence this season for his soulful renditions of such hits as "Bebop Baby," "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?," "I'm Confessin'," "I'll Walk Alone," and "Shirley Lee"; and in the season's Christmas story, Ricky performs on TV for the first time (in the context of the show, that is). Additions to the supporting cast this season include Gordon Jones as the Nelsons' new neighbor Butch Barton, brought in to fill the gap left by the defection of Don DeFore in the role of Thorny Thornwell; and Skip Young as chubby, giggling perennial college student Wally, here introduced as David's fellow frat member. Otherwise, things go on pretty much the way they've been going on for the past five seasons, notably in the episodes "Ozzie's Triple Banana Surprise" and "Tutti-Frutti Ice Cream," both of which focus on Ozzie Nelson's by-now-legendary obsession with frozen dairy products. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide