Henry Norell Movies
- 1964
Nancy Banks (Joyce Bulifant) may not be too bright, but she is intensely loyal. Finding it impossible to believe that her brother Rodney (Dick Davalos) embezzled from his job to gamble at the race track, Nancy sets about to help Rodney in any way she can. Could it be that Nancy's zeal has resulted in the murder of Rodney's former boss Marvin Fremont (Arch Johnson)? That is what the police believe, and that is what Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must disprove in court. This episode is based on a novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1963
Returning to work after a four-week absence, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) makes up for lost time by agreeing to represent cantankerous orange grower Amos Keller (Arthur Hunnicutt). To get even with Amos for messing up his plans to bulldoze the local orange groves, land developer Gerald Thornton is suing the old coot, claiming to have been bitten by Amos' dog Hard Tack. Things turns deadly serious, however, when Thornton is murdered and Amos' granddaughter Sandra (Natalie Trundy) is charged with the crime. Watch for future spaghetti-western icon Lee Van Cleef in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1961
Cliff Robertson plays Tolly Devlin, an embittered ex-convict who has spent a lifetime tracking down the men who murdered his father. Desirous of handling matters on his own, Devlin pretends to be loyal to both the Mob and the Government, playing one against the other in hopes of flushing out the killers. He learns that the three surviving assassins are employed by a supposedly charitable "cover" operation known as National Projects. To get what he wants, Devlin ingratiates himself with mob boss (and outwardly solid citizen) Conners (Robert Emhardt). What Robertson didn't count on was falling in love with "Cuddles" (Dolores Dorn), which leads to his own downfall -- but not before justice is served. Producer/director/writer Fuller based Underworld USA on a series of "exposé" articles in The Saturday Evening Post; the film's release fortuitously occurred shortly after that infamous mob convention in Appalachin, New York. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cliff Robertson, Dolores Dorn, (more)
- 1961
The Young Savages is what used to be called a "thinking man's picture" about a potentially lurid subject: urban juvenile delinquency. A blind Puerto Rican boy is knifed to death in Spanish Harlem, and three teenage gang members are accused of the crime. Politically ambitious assistant DA Burt Lancaster initially presses for the conviction of all three boys. But as he gets deeper into the case, he realizes that what appears cut-and-dried on the surface is tortuously complex: for starters, the murder victim was hardly the paragon of virtue that the prosecution claims. Despite pressure from his superiors and from members of the accused boys' gang (who at one point threaten Lancaster's wife Dina Merrill with a switchblade,) Lancaster nonetheless sees to it that justice is properly administered. The defendants are portrayed with varying degrees of Brando/Dean "method" by John Davis Chandler, Neil Nephew and Stanley Kristien; more believable, less affected performances are rendered by Shelley Winters, Pilar Seurat and Telly Savalas. Filmed on location in New York, The Young Savages was based on the Evan Hunter novel A Matter of Conviction. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Dina Merrill, (more)
- 1960
Bob Lansing (Jeremy Slate), lookalike son of a notorious bank robber, arrives in a small town to receive information about his father from J.J. Flaherty (Robert Emhardt), the local bigwig who has been making huge contributions to the orphanage where Bob grew up. Instead of information, Bob is the recipient of a great deal of hostility from the townsfolk--including his so-called benefactor. Ultimately, murder rears its ugly head, and in order to defend accused killer Bob in court, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must somehow solve a crime that occurred way back in 1939. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1960
TV producer Aaron Spelling first came up with the story for this standard western set in a small town just after the American Civil War. Mitch (Alan Ladd) has tragically lost his wife during a problem in her pregnancy because he could not come up with $1.87 for the medicine she needed. A little twisted right from the beginning, he vows revenge. In the first step toward his goal, he gets the post of deputy sheriff from the repentant townspeople. In the second step, he murders the sheriff and then recruits a gang of disreputable toughs to steal $100,000 and bankrupt the town. In the last and fatal part of his plan for vengeance, he turns on his own gang of thieves. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Don Murray, (more)
