Charles Aidman Movies

In the first episode of a two-part story, Rob (Dick Van Dyke) can't understand why Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) is so reluctant to sign some simple insurance forms. When Laura fails to show at a meeting arranged with an insurance agent, Rob refuses to buy her explanation that she went out to see the new Vincent Price movie "The Horrible Dr. Charming" and demands to know the real reason. Tearfully, Laura reveals that, at the time of their wedding, she told a "little lie" on the marriage certificate -- one that very well may nullify their entire marriage! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though it is often assumed that Twilight Zone was rife with special-effects trickery, in point of fact the series used such effects sparingly -- though always effectively, as with this classic episode. Awakened by the cries of their daughter Bettina, Chris and Ruth Miller (Robert Sampson and Sarah Marshall) enter the girl's bedroom, only to find that she has apparently disappeared. Still, they can hear her Bettina's cries for help, and in desperation, they call in their physicist friend Bill (Charles Aidman) for advice. Assessing the evidence at hand, Bill comes to the unsettling conclusion that Bettina has somehow fallen through an invisible hole into the Fourth Dimension -- and as time runs out, it is Bill who puts his own life on the line to rescue the girl. So vital to the proceedings was the musical score by Bernard Herrmann that, for the first and only time in Twilight Zone history, Herrmann was billed above the name of the director. Scripted by Richard Matheson from his own short story, "Little Girl Lost" was first telecast on March 16, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite irrefutable evidence which places Jim Applegate (Charles Aidman) at the scene of a lynching, Hoss Cartwright doesn't reveal this information to Sheriff Coffee. It is not friendship or loyalty which motivates Hoss' silence: Both he and Jim are in love with Cameo Johnson (Peggy Ann Garner), and Hoss does not want to be accused of falsely besmirching his romantic rival. Featured in the cast are Robert McQueeney as Gideon and Joe De Santis as Morehouse. Written by Anthony Lawrence and first telecast on April 15, 1961, "The Rival" was one of several Bonanza episodes directed by Robert Altman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An Indian chief (Anthony Caruso) whose son has been sentenced to be executed by the Army seeks out the help of Paladin (Richard Boone). The chief does not want his son released, but merely to make certain that the boy is afforded the proper tribal burial rites. Upon reaching the Army outpost, Paladin fully intends to carry out his assignment, only to be sidetracked by his growing suspicion that the chief's son has been framed for murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the height of a nasty corporate power struggle, embezzling accountant Robert Doniger (Phil Terry) is murdered. The man accused of the crime is Edward Nelson (Herbert Rudley), who had earlier hired Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to protect him from threats he'd received from his spiteful wife Sylvia (Virginia Arness) and from business rival Frank Avery (John Stephenson). Now Perry must assemble enough evidence to prove that Nelson is not a murderer,and that someone else in his circle of "friends" is the guilty party. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pork Chop Hill was based on the eyewitness essays of ex-soldier S. L. A. Marshall. The film is set during the Korean "police action." While diplomats argue pointlessly over the shape of the negotiation tables at Panmunjon, United Nations troops bleed and die. Lieutenant Gregory Peck leads a 135-man unit on the attack of the Chinese-held Pork Chop Hill. When reinforcements finally arrive, only 25 of Peck's men survive (and they aren't the usual survivors we've come to expect from earlier, cliché-ridden war films). Among the American troops are such dependable performers as Harry Guardino, Woody Strode, Rip Torn, Barry Atwater, George Peppard, Robert Blake and Martin Landau. Former cowboy-star Bob Steele also shows up briefly as an American general. According to director Lewis Milestone, Pork Chop Hill was cut by nearly twenty minutes because the wife of star Gregory Peck felt that her husband made his first entrance too late into the picture. True or not, the film does show signs of post-production tampering, with flashes of several excised scenes showing up under the main title credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

June Lockhart makes a return appearance as lady medico Dr. Phyllis Thackeray, a character introduced in the earlier episode "No Visitors". Once again, Dr. Thackeray must rely upon the aid of Paladin (Richard Boone) to effectively administer to the sick. This time, she has imposed a smallpox quarantine on the ranch owned by wealthy Sam Barton (Grant Withers)--who refuses to allow his cowboys to be vaccinated against the disease. Singer Johnny Western, best known for his rendition of the Have Gun--Will Travel theme music during the series' closing credits, makes a rare on-screen appearance as an ill-tempered gunslinger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Alfred Hitchcock lets us know from the outset that The Wrong Man is a painfully true story and not one of his customary fabricated suspense yarns, through the simple expedient of walking before the camera and telling us as much (this introductory appearance replaced his planned cameo role as a nightclub patron). The real-life protagonist, musican Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero, is played by Henry Fonda. Happily married and gainfully employed at the Stork Club, Balestrero's life takes a disastrous turn when he goes to an insurance office, hoping to borrow on his wife's (Vera Miles) life insurance policy in order to pay her dental bills. One of the girls in the office spots Balestrero, identifying him as the man who robbed the office a day or so earlier. This, and a few scattered bits of circumstantial evidence, lead to Balestrero's arrest. Though he's absolutely innocent, he can offer no proof of his whereabouts the day of the crime. Lawyer Frank O'Connor (Anthony Quayle) does his best to help his client, but he's up against an indifferent judicial system that isn't set up to benefit the "little man". Meanwhile, Balestrero's wife becomes emotionally unhinged, leading to a complete nervous breakdown. As Balestrero prays in his cell, his image is juxtaposed onto the face of the actual criminal-who looks nothing like the accused man! Utilizing one of his favorite themes-the helplessness of the innocent individual when confronted by the faceless bureaucracy of the Law-Hitchcock weaves a nightmarish tale, all the more frightening because it really happened (the film's best moment: Fonda looking around the nearly empty courtroom during his arraignment, realizing that the rest of the world cares precisely nothing about his inner torment). Hitch enhances the film's versimilitude by shooting in the actual locations where the real story occured. His only concession to Hollywood formula was the half-hearted coda, assuring us that Mrs. Balestrero eventually recovered from her mental collapse (she sure doesn't look any too healthy the last time we see her!) Watch for uncredited appearances by Harry Dean Stanton, Bonnie Franklin, Tuesday Weld and Charles Aidman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide