Richard Grant Movies
- 1962
Washed out of an upcoming Moon project, civilian astronaut Mitchell Heller (Robert Bray) has plenty of reason to despise the man responsible, Maj. Gen. Addison Brand (a pre-stardom James Coburn). Not only has Heller stolen his job and his girlfriend, but he also may have swiped an invention on which Heller has been working for years. Thus, when Brand is murdered, the police think that Heller is the culprit. In his efforts to clear Heller, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) immerses himself in the brave new world of Astronautics--while a reluctant Paul Drake (William Hopper) participates in a simulated space-capsule flight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
MGM's first big-budget science fiction film, Forbidden Planet, combined state-of-the-art special effects with a storyline based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. In the 23rd century, Cmdr. J.J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) guides United Planets cruiser C-57-D on a rescue mission to faraway planet Altair-4. Twenty years earlier, Earth ship Bellerophon disappeared while en route to Altair-4. Only the ship's philologist, Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), survived; in the intervening decades, Morbius has created an Edenlike world of his own, for the benefit of himself and his nubile young daughter, Altaira (Anne Francis). His private paradise is zealously guarded by Robby the Robot, a piece of technology far in advance of anything on Earth. When Adams and his crew land on Altair-4, Morbius announces that he has no intention of being rescued and returned to Earth. When Adams attempts to contact home base, he finds that his radio equipment has been smashed by some unseen force. Holding Morbius responsible, Adams confronts the scientist, who decides to tell all. At one time, according to Morbius, Altair-4 was populated by the Krel, a wise, intellectually superior race. Using leftover Krel technology, Morbius has doubled his intellect and gained the ability to shape a new world to his own specifications. Forbidden Planet was a big influence on future sci-fi outer-space efforts, especially Star Trek. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, (more)
- 1956
The men behind America's first venture into space are honored in this drama that paid special emphasis on historical accuracy and obtained much input and assistance from the US Air Force. The story centers on an Air Force doctor who performs many detailed test to discover how the human body will respond to the rigors of space travel including its reactions to being ejected in a space capsule from 45,000 feet, to traveling 1,000 miles per hour in a rocket sled, and ascending to 100,000 feet in a balloon. His devoted wife supports him all the way even though he sometimes insists on using himself as a guinea pig. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Madison, Virginia Leith, (more)
- 1955
Working in cooperation with a US Postal Service inspector (Douglas Kennedy), Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) search for a forger who has been stealing checks and bank statements from mailboxes. After interrogating a first-time offender who turns out not to be the man they're looking for, the two detectives are able to track down the actual perp with the help of the San Diego police department. In one of the series' sillier moments, all action stops dead in its tracks as Officer Smith (Ben Alexander) tries in vain to refold a portable raincoat! This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of May 24, 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1951
Singer Frances Langford stars as herself in Purple Heart Diary. The film is a reenactment of Langford's USO tours during WW II, as reported in the singer's newspaper columns for the Hearst syndicate. Also appearing as themselves are two of Langford's fellow troupers, singer Tony Romano and comic pianist Ben Lessy. Since Langford couldn't very well participate in a fictional wartime romance (her actual love life was public domain thanks to the various Hollywood columnists of the era), the love interest is handled by Aline Towne and Brett King, cast respectively as an army nurse and a crippled ex-football jock. The musical sequences in Purple Heart Diary play a lot more credibly than the melodramatic "courage under fire" setpieces. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frances Langford, Judd Holdren, (more)
