William Paterson Movies

Based on a novel by Alvah Bessie, this accomplished film by his son Dan Bessie handles the love affair between a pilot's widow (Ellen Geer) and a maintenance man (J.E. Freeman) who at first seem mismatched. In the end, they share an affection that does not waiver in the face of tragedy. Although the names and events have been changed, the story is basically about the director's mother and his stepfather. In this fictional rendering of their love for each other, the two marry, but the husband is soon charged with murder and faces a heavy-handed court trial. Novelist Alvah Bessie was himself blacklisted during the McCarthy era. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The plot of this episode is sparked (no pun intended) by an overdue electric bill. In his efforts to raise the necessary funds, Grandpa Walton (Will Geer) becomes enmeshed in a situation that incurs the wrath of Grandma (Ellen Corby). This minor and rather silly misunderstanding escalates into a bitter quarrel--whereupon Grandpa and Grandma, too stubborn to admit their mistakes and reconcile their differences, may well be on the verge of a permanent split-up! This episode is based on a story by series regular Ellen Corby). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"You've got to ask yourself a question: 'do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" Dirty Harry provoked a critical uproar in 1971 for its "fascist" message about the power of one, as it also elevated Clint Eastwood to superstar status through his most enduring screen persona. Harry Callahan (Eastwood, in a role meant for Frank Sinatra) is a sardonic, hard-working San Francisco cop who can't finish his lunch without having to foil a bank robbery with his 44 Magnum, "the most powerful handgun in the world." When hippie-esque psycho Scorpio (Andy Robinson) goes on a killing spree, Harry and new partner Chico (Reni Santoni) are assigned to hunt him down, but not before the Mayor (John Vernon) and Lt. Bressler (Harry Guardino) admonish Callahan about his heavy-handed tactics. Racing against a deadline to save a kidnap victim from suffocating to death and unbothered by the niceties of Miranda rights and search warrants, Callahan brings in Scorpio, only to see him released on technicalities. "The law's crazy," opines Harry in disgust, before taking it upon himself to ensure that Scorpio doesn't kill again. Directed in violent and efficient fashion by Don Siegel, with a propulsive score by Lalo Schifrin, Dirty Harry was the fourth Siegel-Eastwood collaboration after Coogan's Bluff (1968), Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), and The Beguiled (1970). Critics at the time strongly objected to the heroic image of a cop's violations of a suspect's Miranda rights, forcing Siegel and Eastwood to deny that they were right-wing reactionaries. All the same, Dirty Harry proved to be highly popular and spawned four sequels: Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983), and The Dead Pool (1988). ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi