Frances Osborne Movies

Influenced by the Glenn Ford "G-Man" picture at the local movie house, Barney is determined to prove that security is lax at the Mayberry City Bank. To that end, he disguises himself as a little old lady in order to stage a phony holdup-and ends up locked in the bank vault, in full drag, for his troubles. Later on, a real robbery gives Barn' a chance to redeem himself. Originally broadcast on December 24, 1962, "The Bank Job" was written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Claude (Vince Edwards) is an educated, respectable young man with a goal in life -- to buy a house that he has his eye on; but to do that on the money he makes in his office job could take 25 years, so he chooses to embark on a new profession, as a hired assassin. A cold-blooded, thoroughly professional killer, he does his work quickly and efficiently and establishes himself as a top trouble-shooter for the particular mob that employs him, even disposing of his immediate superior when he becomes a liability to the higher-ups. But then he takes a new contract to dispose of the key witness in a federal trial; he flies out to Glendale, CA, and meets the two local hoods, George (Herschel Bernardi) and Marc (Phillip Pine), who are supposed to show him the hit, and it takes their getting used to his methodical way of working, which includes days of seeing the sights and recreation just to see if they're being followed. All goes well until Claude discovers that the target he is to kill is a woman. As he explains, women are too unpredictable in their behavior, and this particular woman, Billie Williams (Caprice Toriel), a nightclub singer and pianist, is particularly erratic. Claude is almost ready to abandon the hit, but he doesn't want to walk out on a contract, especially as that could get him killed. He tries one basic method of assassination that's very clever but also too dependent on events he can't predict, and it fails; then he rigs a hit with George and Marc's help that seems letter-perfect and foolproof, until he discovers that it failed because of the intervention of someone -- another woman -- that no one could have predicted. Finally, he's forced to get Marc and George out of the way before they kill him, and he goes for the target once more. It's then that we discover the one serious chink in Claude's seemingly impervious, steely psychic armor. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Behind the High Wall is a remake of the 1937 Jackie Cooper-Victor McLaglen film The Big Guy. Tom Tully plays prison warden Frank Carmichael, who is kidnapped during a jail break in which a policeman is killed. In an ensuing car crash, all the escapees are killed except young Johnny Hutchins (John Gavin). Though he knows that Hutchins had nothing to do with the cop's murder, Carmichael refuses to intervene when Johnny is condemned to death. It seems that the escaping convicts had been carrying $100,000 in stolen money with them, which Carmichael has hidden away for his own use. By eliminating Hutchins, the warden is also getting rid of the only potential witness to his own perfidy. Sylvia Sidney is pure venom as Carmichael's crippled, greedy wife, while Betty Lynn (who later played Thelma Lou on The Andy Griffith Show) also registers well as Johnny's agonizing fiancee. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Neville Brand receives top billing by default in 20th Century-Fox's Man Crazy. The main characters--three larcenous Minnesota girls who travel to Hollywood with stolen funds--are played by newcomers Christine White, Irene Anders and Coleen Miller. The ladies have a high old time while trying to evade both the law and the man (John Brown) they ripped off back home. Paul Wocynski (Brand) is a shifty type who forces Georgia (White) into marriage when he learns the source of her money. As it turns out, he's one of the few likeable characters in the whole affair. John Brown, who plays the robbery victim in Man Crazy, would soon be blacklisted from films because of his alleged communist ties; radio fans will best remember Brown as Digger O'Dell, the "friendly undertaker" on The Life of Riley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Monogram's low-budget, high-grossing "Joe Palooka" series carries on in this 66-minute entry. Joe Kirkwood plays Joe Palooka, the soft-hearted pugilist created for the funny papers by Ham Fisher. This time, Joe is framed on a bum rap by a group of gamblers who hope to fix the outcome of an upcoming bout. When Joe manages to clear himself, the gamblers go a step farther by having the scrupulously honest boxer accused of murder. On the lam from the law, Joe is forced to solve the murder himself--and he'd better hurry if he's going to get to the Big Fight on time. Virginia Welles is cast as Joe's love interest Ann Howe, while comedian Leon Errol is afforded top billing as Joe's manager Knobby Walsh. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi