Paul Picerni Movies

Paul Picerni guest stars as Jack Williams, an opportunistic -- and treacherous -- American POW. In exchange for his own freedom, Williams intends to give the Gestapo information on Hogan's underground activities. Hogan hatches a scheme to turn the tables on the turncoat. The episode's highlight is a brawl sequence -- a masterpiece of comic choreography. Written by Laurence Marks, "One in Every Crowd" originally aired on November 11, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pat Hingle guest stars as Mike Decker, a Chicago newspaper columnist who has always believed in the innocence of accused murderer Richard Kimble (David Janssen). Managing to make contact with the fugitive Kimble, Decker agrees to mount a widespread search for the elusive One-Armed Man (Bill Raisch) who actually committed the murder. The fly in the ointment is Mike's alcoholic wife Paula, whose reckless behavior may end up betraying Kimble to his relentless pursuer Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Patricia Medina guest-stars as Rosita Morales, a former cabaret dancer. A pair of con artists, Luga (Sebastian Cabot) and Sanchez (Paul Picerni), hire Rosita to pose as Spanish noblewoman Isabella Marie Inez de la Cuesta. It is the first step in a scheme to claim the valuable De La Cuesta Land Grant -- which includes a generous portion of the Ponderosa. Written by David Dortort and Leonard Heideman, "The Spanish Grant" was originally telecast on February 6, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sexual misconduct in white-collar suburbia is the topic of this routine melodrama involving two neighboring couples. Architect Larry Coe (Kirk Douglas), unhappy with his wife Eve's (Barbara Rush) fixation on their bank balance, starts taking an interest in Maggie Gault (Kim Novak), whose husband has been losing interest in her. The two steal several illicit moments together, but this activity has not gone unnoticed. Good ol' neighbor Felix (Walter Matthau) figures that Eve might be feeling a little neglected, so he decides to move into the picture. Richard Quine's direction is an asset to an otherwise clichéd tale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Although Army major Frank Lessing (John Archer) left behind a suicide note before his death, Sgt. Joseph Dexter (Paul Picerni) is charged with Lessing's murder. Exercising his legal prerogative, Dexter demands a civilan lawyer to defend him at his Court-Martial--and that's where Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) comes in. But by the time Perry has arrived at the Army base to confer with his client, Dexter has been murdered as well! The outcome of this case hinges upon a payroll robbery committed years earlier in the Philippines. Making certain that this episode remained "by the book" throughout was technical advisor Lt. Allison A. Conrad, who receives special screen credit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marjorie Morgenstern (Natalie Wood) is an 18-year-old, middle-class, Jewish girl from New York who wants nothing more than to be an actress, despite the hopes and wishes of her parents (Everett Sloane and Claire Trevor) that she graduate from college, marry, and settle down to have a family. At the urging of her more worldly friend Marsha Zelenko (Carolyn Jones), she takes a job at an upstate camp, and, one night when sneaking onto the grounds of a neighboring resort, meets and falls wildly in love with the entertainment director, Noel Airman (Gene Kelly). A Lothario with a gift of song as well as dance, Airman romances Marjorie and tries to teach her something of theater, suggesting that she change her name to Marjorie Morningstar, which she does. He intends to enjoy her company for the summer, until her aging uncle Samson (Ed Wynn), who is also working at the resort, tells him of the family's concerns for the girl. Noel and Marjorie end up linked romantically, despite their best efforts to stay away from each other. Marjorie gives up a potential romance with a slightly older, successful doctor (Martin Balsam) and resists the honest entreaties of Airman's assistant, Wally Wronken (Martin Milner), and tries to get Airman to straighten up and fly right; she can't get her own acting career off the ground, but she owns Airman's heart. Instead of biding his time at writing a musical that he's been working at for four years, and spending his summers working in the Catskills, Noel tries to work in the advertising world -- he also finds himself just as troubled by the stable family life and religious life that Marjorie comes from as he is attracted to her personally. He is also bitterly disturbed by the fact that his one-time assistant Wally Wronken is now a successful Broadway playwright, the darling of critics and audiences, with backers eager to sign checks to produce his work. Unable to pursue a life in business, or remain faithful to Marjorie, he reaches a crisis point from which only she can rescue him -- together they try to build a life and he tries to finish his long-gestating masterpiece, which proves a disaster when it gets to Broadway. Noel abandons Marjorie, and when she goes to find him, Wally warns her off, explaining that Noel has to return to a place where he can feel successful, like the Catskills resort where they met, where he can be the big fish in the tiny pond. Her marriage over and her girlish ideals behind her, she sees Noel back in his element, wowing young acting students with his skills, and finally turns to the one man who has loved her for precisely who she is all along, Wally. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Bret (James Garner) is offered $6000 by the American authorities to bring back accused murderer Steve Corbett (Gerald Mohr), who has hightailed it to Mexico. Heading South of the Border, himself, Bret ends up in the wide-open town of Tampico, where Corbett now runs a tourist camp, the "Cantina Americana." The task at hand for our hero is to devise a strategy to lure Corbett back to the U.S.A. Somewhere along the line, the story evolves into a western variation of Casablanca--not surprisingly, since the Cantina Americana is actually the redressed set of "Rick's Café Americain" from that 1942 film classic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a singer finds herself implicated in the fatal immolation of her husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Petty thief Steve Morgan (Rip Torn) uses a toy gun to hold up a candy store. Later on, the cops make the necessary connections and Steve is arrested. At first, he is thrilled and delighted that so many people are making so much of a fuss over so minor a crime. But Steve is in for quite a shock when he learns exactly why the police, and the public, are so interested in his criminal career. "Number Twenty-Two" is based on a story by Evan Hunter, who later worked on the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Obviously inspired by such films as The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing, The Big Caper takes place in a small town with a large bank. James Gregory plays the leader of a gang of thieves who intends to knock over the bank--but not without meticulous pre-planning. In the months prior to the holdup, gang members Rory Calhoun and Mary Costa (a popular opera star making her dramatic film debut) gain the confidence of the townspeople by posing as the husband-and-wife owners of a local gas station. When Gregory makes it clear that he plans to blow up a school to create a diversion, Calhoun and Costa decide to go straight in a hurry. The Big Caper was directed by Robert Stevens, best known for his work on such TV anthologies as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this frantic service comedy, a group of bored-to-tears American GI's stationed at a medical facility in France would like nothing more than to have a big party to let off steam -- except for the possibility of having a big party with some of the nurses they work with. However, it seems that the nurses are officers and the GI's are enlisted men, which means the Army forbids them to socialize, and Capt. Locke (Ernie Kovacs), the camp's Commanding Officer, is not a man to bend the rules. But Private Hogan (Jack Lemmon) is not the sort of guy to let the rules get in the way of a good time, and with the help of Yancy Skibo (Mickey Rooney), a sergeant with a talent for scaring up needed supplies, and Mme. LaFour (Jeanne Manet), a local hotel manager with a soft spot for making money off American servicemen, Hogan hatches a plan to make his dream a reality. Hogan's lady friend, Lt. Betty Bixby (Kathryn Grant), isn't quite as convinced as her beau on the potential success of this scheme. Operation Mad Ball was the first directorial effort from former actor Richard Quine, and afforded Jack Lemmon his first starring role; Blake Edwards also contributed to the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The fate that brings lovers together can easily tear them apart as can be seen in this sentimental tragedy that centers on an ordinary-looking secretary's (Jane Wyman) lonely life. Other than working and spending some free time with a spinster (Eileen Heckart), who is her best friend, the woman devotes most of her time attempting to cheer up her deeply depressed, eternally grieving mother, who has never recovered from her husband's leaving her. One day the secretary is in Central Park when a cloudburst occurs and she ends up meeting a handsome young soldier from Tennessee (Van Johnson). Although they couldn't be more different, they fall deeply in love. Unfortunately, he goes overseas and gets killed. The poor secretary nearly falls apart both mentally and physically. She seems near death when one day she is walking near St. Patrick's Cathedral when a second miracle occurs, giving her the will to live again. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide