John Orchard Movies

Will Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) finally get the promotion that has so long been denied him? Though sympathetic to Mulcahy's plight, the doctors of the 4077th have got problems of their own. A big brawl at Rosie's bar has sent the proprietor to a hospital bed and placed the doctors in charge of dispensing liquor to the customers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ben Gazzara stars in this low-level depiction of legendary gangster Al Capone, who rose to command the mob underworld in 1920's Chicago. Born in Brooklyn, Capone joins his first gang at the age of 11. From there, he graduates to the infamous "Five Points Gang" run by Johnny Torrio (Harry Guardino). After moving to Chicago a few years later and wiping out Torrio's crimeboss uncle, Capone becomes Torrio's right hand man. Capone becomes head of the area's prostitution and racketeering business, but, as his mind deteriorates from syphillis, so does his empire. There's not much to recommend here, aside from a surprisingly good appearance by Sylvester Stallone as fellow gangster Frank Nitti. Gazzara is frankly awful in the title role and producer Roger Corman uses stock shootout footage from other gangster films, including footage of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre from his own, earlier movie on the subject. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) is reassigned to Tokyo after the 4077th gets a high efficiency rating. Unfortunately, this leaves Frank Burns (Larry Linville) in charge of the camp -- and as expected, Frank goes mad with power. The last straw is broken when Frank confiscates Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and Trapper's (Wayne Rogers) precious still, forcing the two thirsty doctors to enter into a conspiracy with camp clerk Radar (Gary Burghoff) to bring Henry back. "Henry, Please Come Home" first aired on November 19, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Billy Green Bush guest-stars as Cowboy, a wonder chopper pilot. When Henry (McLean Stevenson) refuses to ship Cowboy home, the outraged pilot threatens dire consequences. Before long, the 4077th is plagued by all manner of weird calamities, ranging from a runaway jeep to an exploding toilet. But the worst is saved for last, when Henry is obliged to take a helicopter ride with the combustible Cowboy. This episode originally aired on November 12, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There's weeping and wailing at the 4077th when Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) orders the transfer of a sexy nurse upon whom both Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and Trapper (Wayne Rogers) have designs. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) offers to bring the nurse back, provided that Trapper agrees to fight in an upcoming tournament, with Hawkeye as his trainer. Only one slight hitch: Trapper's opponent is a 260-pound behemoth with a record of 97 wins -- and at least three arrests! "Requiem for a Lightweight" first aired on October 1, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a series of disturbing medical mishaps, Hawkeye (Alan Alda) wonders if he has lost his surgical touch. Meanwhile, it appears as though Hawkeye's bête noire, the spectacularly incompetent Frank Burns (Larry Linville), could actually be speaking the truth for a change. Then again, appearances can be deceiving. A deft combination of hilarity and heartache, "Sticky Wicket" was originally telecast on March 4, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The action in this episode alternates between "business as usual" at the 4077th and a tacky USO Show headed by second-rate comic Jackie Flash (Joey Forman). Thing of it is, nothing that Jackie says or does is nearly as funny as the average goings-on within the M*A*S*H unit. One of the many plot strands involves one Captain Kaplan (Harvey J. Goldenberg), whose tour of duty is over, but who is convinced that disaster will befall him if he attempts to leave for home. "Showtime" was originally telecast on March 25, 1973, as the final episode of M*A*S*H's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The British fleet is enroute to North Africa to engage the Germans, and the best port for them to use is Tobruk. There, they have problems: Germans occupy Tobruk, and have fortified it with devastating heavy artillery which would prevent a British landing. The original scheme for sabotaging the guns, by using British commandos planted behind the lines as prisoners of war, has gone awry. Posing as a Nazi officer, the man who was to lead the attack (Richard Burton) arrives at the rendezvous point, but all he finds are genuine prisoners of war, all of them sick, accompanied by their medics who are pacifists. A great many British lives hang in the balance, and a failure here could affect the outcome of the entire Second World War. Somehow, he must make use of these unlikely recruits to carry out the raid. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Returning to Fiji for the first time since WW2, Ironside is anxious to be reunited with a wartime friend. Upon his arrival, however, Ironside is informed that his friend has left for San Francisco to meet him. Suspecting foul play, Ironside summons Mark and Ed to the islands--only to mysteriously vanish himself. Central to the mystery is a well-coordinated scheme to steal gold from the US government. Featured in the cast are two 1960s TV icons: Alan Napier, aka "Alfred the Butler" on Batman; and Bernard Fox, whose many sitcom roles included Dr. Bombay on Bewitched and Malcolm Merriwether on The Andy Griffth Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) is a self-made Boston millionaire who masterminds a bank heist in hopes of leaving it all behind. Tired of being part of the Establishment, he has hopes of pulling off the caper and flying to Rio. Erwin Weaver (Jack Weston) leads the cast of crooks who never actually meet Crown but manage to pull off the robbery without a hitch. Crown deposits 3 million in a Swiss bank account, pays off the crooks, and waits for the insurance company to repay the bank for the loss. Eddy Malone (Paul Burke) is the savvy detective who helps insurance investigator Vicky Anderson (Faye Dunaway) find the mastermind behind the heist. Thomas Crown Affair became one of the first films to employ many split-screen images throughout its running time, as devised by editor Hal Ashby. Michel Legrand's score was nominated for an Academy Award, and the song The Windmills Of Your Mind, written by Legrand with Alan and Marilyn Bergman took home the coveted Oscar. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A top-secret Soviet spy satellite -- using stolen Western technology -- malfunctions and then goes into a descent that lands it near an isolated Arctic research encampment called Ice Station Zebra, belonging to the British, which starts sending out distress signals before falling silent. The atomic submarine Tigerfish, commanded by Cmdr. James Ferraday (Rock Hudson), is dispatched with orders to get to Ice Station Zebra carrying three passengers, a Englishman going by the name of David Jones (Patrick McGoohan), a Soviet turncoat named Boris Vaslov (Ernest Borgnine), and an American Marine officer, Captain Anders (Jim Brown), who is supposed to command the Marine unit assigned to the mission. Jones is problem enough, as he is in command of the mission and he prefers to withhold as much information as it's possible to do from Ferraday, even at the risk of the Tigerfish's safety. Add to that the fact that Anders is suspicious of Vaslov, and Vaslov seems much too inquisitive and is telling even less of what he knows about the mission, and Ferraday has his hands full trying to get these men to the polar ice -- 600 miles of dangerous travel -- in just two days. When an attempt to break through the ice -- coupled with some timely sabotage -- kills one man and nearly destroys the boat, the men surrounding these contending parties start to understand just how high the stakes are for everyone. It turns out that the Soviets want what was aboard that satellite as much as the West does; indeed, both sides are frantic to get it, and, just as much, to keep the other side from getting it -- and they're prepared to take it by brute force. Once Ferraday and his men arrive at Zebra, they find a disaster and still more mystery, with most of the men dead and the object that Mr. Jones is supposed to secure nowhere in evidence, and he and his two fellow men of mystery suddenly showing their killing instincts quite freely. And with the storm clearing from the Soviet side first, their planes and their paratroops are closing in on Ferraday, and his relative handful of men. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

This second episode of a four-part story arc is one of three Beverly Hillbillies installments filmed in England for the series' sixth season. Having inherited a castle and a title, Jed Clampett arrives in London with his family in tow. After a tussle with the local officials, the Clampetts take a rollicking tour of the "swinging" English metropolis. Reportedly, this was one of the series' most difficult episodes to film, thanks to the thousands of loyal British Beverly Hillbillies fans who converged upon cast and crew at every opportunity. "The Clampetts in London" first aired on September 13, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide