Dani Sue Nolan Movies
- 1973
Lloyd Nolan guest stars as Judge Harper, who during his long career on the bench has made a number of controversial decisions--none more so than when he sentenced a man named Holloway to a ten-year prison term for treason. When Holloway dies just before his parole, his son Joe (Jack Bender) vows to get even by murdering Harper. Taking a special interest in this cast is FBI Special Agent Chris Daniels, who as a young law student had always been skeptical about the motives behind Harper's verdict. A very young Audrey Landers makes her first major TV appearance in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Extortionist Casey Morton (Stephen McNally) would like his son Junior (Robert Drivas) to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, Junior can't seem to do anything right, and after bungling his latest assignment he finds his trail dogged by the FBI. Proving that blood is thicker than water, Morton takes the rap for Junior's misdeeds to throw the Feds off the track--but Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) isn't one to take things at face value. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Described in the original TV Guide listings as "a young movie and TV comer", Martin Sheen essays another bad-guy role for producer Quinn Martin in this episode. Sheen is cast as Steve Chandler, a novice contract killer who goes into hiding from both the FBI and the Mob after bungling a job. On the verge of starting life anew with girlfriend Marcy Brandon (Meg Foster), Chandler realizes with startling suddenness that his days of freedom (and on earth!) might be numbered. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Racketeer Rudy Walden (Peter Mark Richman) has managed to corrupt several members of a college basketball team, bribing them to shave points and "fix" certain games. By the time the FBI has gotten wind of Walden's activities, star player Billy Blaik (Anthony Costello) has been added to his list of potential accomplices. Before the story reaches its climax, the villains have resorted to kidnapping--with murder the next item on the menu. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Rancher Drake Farron (Earl Holliman) has always considered his younger brother James (Bryan Montgomery) to be a thorn in his side. With this in mind, it is only natural that Drake should hire two-bit thug Lee Chard (Henry Silva) to murder his brother. When this scheme goes awry, Chard opts for a quick turnover by kidnapping James and demanding a huge ransom from the boy's father (Jim Davis)--thus bringing FBI Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) into the family intrigue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Desperate for money to keep their troubled marriage afloat, Frank and Elizabeth Colling (Larry Blyden, Lois Nettleton) kidnap 7-year-old Jimmy Bowden (Brian Dewey) and hold him for ransom. Ironically, while the kidnapping merely intensifies Elizabeth's neuroses and exacerbates Frank's drinking problem, the ordeal brings the victim's estranged parents Anne (Joan Hotchkiss) and James (Lee Bergere) closer together. This F.B.I. episode is unique in at least one respect: the truck seen in the opening sequence is a Dodge rather than a Ford! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) gives African American FBI agnet Harry Dane (Booker Bradshaw) plenty of latitude as Dane combs through a tough ghetto neighborhood in search of athlete-turned-criminal Nate Phelps (Billy Dee Williams). Meanwhile, Nate turns to his former girlfriend Lenore (Lola Falana), hoping she'll summon his underworld buddies for help in escaping the FBI agent. But none of Nate's cohorts want anything to do with him: He's a cop killer, and that's bad for business all around. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Trouble comes in pairs for the family of a young kidnap victim. Not only has the family received a ransom note from the kidnappers, but they are also being shaken down for money from an extortionist who hopes to cash in on their travails. It is up to Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to round up all the various and sundry villains and return the abductee safely. Featured as one of the kidnappers is a young Karen Black, several years removed from her stardom vis-à-vis such films as The Great Gatsby and Nashville. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
On an Indiana college campus, Professor Fritz Simpson is conducting a psychological experiment to determine the significance of dreams. Recognizing the man who has volunteered for this experiment as Fred Johnson (Bill Raisch), aka "The One-Armed Man", Simpson contacts his old friend, fugitive Richard Kimble (David Janssen). At the risk of his own freedom, Kimble rushes to Simpson's college lab, hoping that Johnson will at long last confess to the murder of Mrs. Kimble. Unfortunately, Simpson's neurotic wife Caroline (Geraldine Brooks) alerts Lt. Gerard as to Kimble's whereabouts. Featured in the small role of a coed is Jill Janssen, the sister of series star David Janssen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Mickey Rooney guest stars as Charlie Paris, a former standup comedian and Syndicate bookie who has "gone straight" and is running the Yonkers laundromat where Richard Kimble (David Janssen) is presently employed. Unfortunately, some gamblers who knew Charlie back in his mob days have come to town to get even for his testifying against him. Though nervous about this turn of events, Charlie is confident that no matter what happens he can count on the undying devotion of his girlfriend Paula (Nita Talbot)--who at this very moment is planning to double-cross Charlie for a hefty sum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
The FBI investigates a possible case of sabotage when a chemical plant is blown up. What Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) doesn't realize is that the "saboteur", research chemist Roger Mason (Bradford Dillman), was driven by neither politics or monetary gain, but by mental illness. A schizophrenic, Mason has cracked under the pressures of both his job and his home life--and worse, he has no idea of why he's behaving so monstrously, nor where he plans to strike next! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Although Smoky Canyon is officially an entry in Charles Starrett's "Durango Kid" western series, the film is essentially a showcase for the talents of Jack (later Jock) Mahoney, who'd been a supporting player and stunt double in the Starrett films for several years. Mahoney plays a sheepman who's framed for the murder of a rancher. It's all part of a scheme by a dishonest cattleman (Tristam Coffin) who hopes to extenuate a range war for his own profit. Starrett assumes his "Durango" disguise to help clear Mahoney's name. A few comic breaks in the action are provided by habitual Starrett sidekick Smiley Burnette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1952
The "regeneration" of blacklisted director Edward Dmytryk was expedited when he was hired by producer Stanley Kramer to helm the location-filmed melodrama The Sniper. In the interests of political expediency, Dmytrk was required to direct Adolphe Menjou, one of the most virulent Red-baiters of the HUAC hearings. Shorn of his trademarked mustache, and with his famous expensive wardrobe replaced by a humdrum business suit, Menjou turns in one of his best performances as a world-weary San Francisco detective assigned to track down a mad sniper. From the beginning, the audience knows that the criminal is psycho Eddie Miller (Arthur Franz), who is possessed of the notion that he must kill every beautiful brunette woman who crosses his path. Some audience sympathy is elicited by Miller's pathetic attempts to rid himself of his obsession, but this never gets in the way of the film's suspense. The excellent supporting cast includes Richard Kiley as a police psychiatrist, Marie Windsor as Miller's first victim, and Mabel Paige as the sniper's snoopy landlady. An unbilled Wally Cox shows up briefly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Arthur Franz, (more)
- 1952
The sole survivor of the doomed planet Krypton is the baby son of scientist Jor-El (Robert Rockwell) and Lara (Aline Towne), who providently place the child in a rocketship and blast him to earth just before their planet explodes. Rescued by a farm couple named Kent, the infant, renamed Clark, grows up with the knowledge that he is "different" from other children--mainly, he has powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, including the power of X-Ray vision and the ability to fly. Making his way to the big city of Metropolis, the adult Clark Kent (George Reeves) applies for a reporter job at the "Daily Planet", but irascible editor Perry White (John Hamilton) wants nothing to do with the bespectacled greenhorn--at least, not until Clark offers to "arrange" the rescue of a man dangling from a dirigible guide wire 1000 feet above ground. Of course, Clark neglects to tell anyone that he is able to pull off the rescue himself--as his alter ego, Superman! This "origin" episode of The Adventures of Superman was the first to be telecast, but was actually the 24th episode to be filmed for the series' inaugural season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1950
Prisoners in Petticoats is a misleadingly innocuous title for this girls-behind-bars melodrama. It all begins when innocent cocktail pianist Joan Grey (Valentine Perkins) is implicated in a crime committed by her gangster boss (Anthony Caruso). Rather than reveal her true identity, thereby humiliating her highly respected father (Alex Gerry), Joan tells the police nothing, and is sent to prison as a consequence. Oddly, the most exploitable angle of this film, i.e. Joan's misadventures behind bars, is downplayed in the second half of the film, which is primarily devoted to the investigation conducted by special investigator Mark Hampton (Robert Rockwell). Veteran musical comedy performer Queenie Smith steals the show as an elderly convict. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valentine Perkins, Robert Rockwell, (more)
- 1950
Filmed with the full cooperation of the U.S. Army, Breakthrough is a lean, no-nonsense war film set during the 1944 invasion of the continent. Led by Captain Hale (David Brian), a small group of infantrymen march through Normandy. The war-weary foot soldiers resent the presence of 90 Day Wonder lieutenant Joe Mallory (John Agar), but before long he proves his value to the platoon. The supporting characters are the usual aggregation of "types," though for the most part the usual cliches are avoided (so far as can be determined, nobody mentions the Brooklyn Dodgers). The only woman in the cast is Suzanne Dalbert, playing a Normandy villager with whom the GIs briefly dally. Near the beginning of Breakthrough, several scenes of actual combat training are deftly inserted into the dramatized sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Brian, Frank Lovejoy, (more)
- 1949
Flame of Youth was a modest juvenile-delinquent drama from the Republic Studio mills. With too much time on their hands, a bunch of high school kids set up a lucrative automobile accessory business. Bypassing more honest methods, the group steals the accessories and sells them at cut-rate prices. The kids soon learn the error of their ways when a gang of big-time hoodlums muscle into their racket. Tucked away among the supporting players in young, callow, clean-shaven Denver Pyle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Fuller, Ray McDonald, (more)
- 1949
The rubber-stamp quality of Allan "Rocky" Lane's Republic westerns continued to manifest itself in Bandit King of Texas. Lane plays an honest cowboy who has seemingly fallen in with an outlaw gang. It comes as no surprise when Lane turns out to be working undercover to bring the gang to justice. As with his earlier films, the whole story is wrapped up in a brisk 60 minutes. One of the pleasanter aspects of Allan Lane's vehicles was their depiction of the villains as fairly normal human beings: in this case, Jim Nolan is the wicked but essentially believable heavy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Lane, Eddy Waller, (more)
