Ken Berry Movies

The 90-minute TV special Eunice reunites the "family" originally created for the weekly variety series The Carol Burnett Show. Carol Burnett plays Eunice, the frustrated, viper-tongued, ever-envious wife of dyspeptic, long-suffering Ed (Harvey Korman, who also directed). Eunice carries on a ceaseless battle with her cranky, obnoxious mother (Vicki Lawrence), who considers the day wasted if she can't spread a little gloom amongst her loved ones. The special is constructed in the form of a three-act play. Act One, set in 1955, delineates Ed and Eunice's courtship, and also introduces Eunice's easily hurt brother Philip (Ken Berry). Act Two takes place in 1963, with Philip encouraging Eunice to head to New York in pursuit of an acting career, which comes to naught when, in Act Three, she self-indulgently chooses a life of booze and broken dreams. And Act Four occurs in 1978, with the death of Eunice's unlamented mother (a character later revived for the TV sitcom Mama's Family) and the invasion of her snooty, judgmental sister Ellen (Betty White). Alternately hilarious and heartrending, Eunice was first telecast March 15, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second of two pilot films for the Love Boat TV series was originally telecast on January 21, 1977. After the shakedown cruise, several of the actors playing the crew of the Pacific Princess were replaced. In Love Boat 2, Ted Lange, Bernie Kopell and Fred Grandy portray the roles they would be playing for several seasons thereafter, namely Isaac, Doc and Gopher, respectively. But instead of Gavin McLeod as the Captain and Lauren Tewes as the cruise director, Love Boat II offers us Quinn Redecker in the former part, and Diane Stilwell in the latter. {As with the first Love Boat, this second pilot fills its time with four separate sets of passengers, each in their own self-contained plotline. Hope Lange plays a wife who, fed up with philandering husband Robert Reed, takes up with tennis pro Lyle Waggoner. Divorcee Celeste Holm is reunited with old flame Craig Stevens. CPA Bert Convy (practically a "regular" of the subsequent series) pursues cruise director Diane Stillwell. And last but not least, shy psychiatrist Ken Berry falls for brash cruise entertainer Candice Azzara. The Love Boat series proper would commence in September of 1977, and sail on until late 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A sequel to the 1973 TV movie The Letters, this film is also based on the premise of a bundle of letters, presumed lost in a plane crash, being delivered one year late, resulting in profound changes (happy, sad etc.) in the lives of the recipients. This time around, the three delayed letters were all written by the sweethearts of the deliver-ees. Among those affected by the missives are a young couple cruelly separated by the wheels of justice, a housewife involved in a extramarital relationship, and a pair of "wealthy" jetsetters who aren't all that they seem to be. As before, Henry Jones ties the three stories together as the avuncular postman. Originally telecast October 3, 1973 on ABC, Letters From Three Lovers was like its predecessor a pilot film for an unsold TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this war drama, things are looking quite hopeless for a besieged regiment under enemy attack. It is their commanders knowledge of history that ultimately saves them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When irascible boss T.R. Hollister (Jim Backus) threatens to pull the plug on an underwater environmental living project, employee Fred Miller (Tony Randall) and his wife, Vivian (Janet Leigh), take their family down in the deep to live for 30 days. With all the modern conveniences of a home on land, the family even invites a rock & roll band to get down and record. Merv Griffin (himself) arranges an underwater interview for his television show while Mel Cheever (Ken Berry) schemes to get Fred's job back on dry land. Two of the Miller kids, Lorrie (Kay Cole) and Tommy (Gary Tigerman), join three others (Richard Dreyfuss, Roddy McDowall, and Lou Wagner) in the rock band. Friendly dolphins fend of shark attacks as the land sharks try to scuttle the underwater project in this family film. Music is provided by Jeff Barry. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Buddy Foster, the brother of Jodie Foster, makes one of his first appearances as Mike Jones, the son of widowed farmer Sam Jones (Ken Berry). Taking an immediate liking to Mike, Opie protects the boy from schoolyard bully Edgar. But the new friends quickly fall out over the affections of pretty Heather Campbell (Diane Quinn). Written by Doug Tibbles, this was one of three episodes designed to ease fans of The Andy Griffith Show into the spinoff series Mayberry RFD. "Opie and Mike" first aired on March 18, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As indicated by its title, this episode of The Andy Griffith Show served as the pilot for the spinoff series Mayberry RFD. Ken Berry makes his first appearance as widowed Mayberry farmer Sam Jones (though the episode was shown out of production order, making it Berry's third appearance). When his old friend, Italian laborer Mario (Gabrielle Tinti), shows up in town, Sam generously hires Mario as a handyman-little realizing that the enterprising foreigner has brought his entire family along. Written by Bob Ross, "Mayberry RFD" was originally telecast on April 1, 1968, as the final first-run installment of The Andy Griffith Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second season of F Troop is filmed in color instead of black-and-white, and the ballad and action montage which opened each season-one episode has been replaced by a simpler opening title, featuring caricatures of the cast members rendered by MAD magazine's Mort Drucker. Otherwise, it is business as usual in the 19th century cavalry outpost of Fort Courage, as enterprising Sgt. O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and Cpl. Agarn (Larry Storch), in league with peace-loving Hekawi Indian chief Wild Eagle (Frank DeKova), manage a vast array of questionable business concerns right under the nose of Fort Courage's clueless, clumsy commanding officer, Captain Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry). Meanwhile, curvaceous trading-post operator Wrangler Jane (Melody Patterson) persists in her efforts to arouse Parmenter's romantic nature, to no avail. That F Troop is a comedy rather than a Western is once again made abundantly clear in its choice of guest stars. In the episode "The Great Troop Robbery," Milton Berle appears as intrepid Indian detective Wise Owl. "Where Were You at the Last Massacre" features Phil Harris as 147-year-old Indian warrior Flaming Arrow, who vividly recalls his meeting with the wife of President James Madison ("Hello, Dolly!"). "The Singing Mountie" stars Paul Lynde as the title character, a devastating takeoff of movie tenor Nelson Eddy. "V Is for Vampire" spotlights Vincent Price as a Dracula-like stranger who may or may not have kidnapped Wrangler Jane. "Bye Bye Balloon" finds Harvey Korman as stiff-necked Prussian officer Heinrich Von Zippel, whose attempt at lighter-than-air flight elicits the now-classic line from Wild Eagle, "It...is...balloon!" And "That's Show Biz" is a deliciously anachronistic outing featuring the singing group the Factory Rock Quartet, and highlighted by Melody Patterson's rendition of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" -- some 90 years before it was written. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Each of the first-season episodes of the riotous Western sitcom F Troop opened with a stirring balled, sung by a male chorus, which explained how clumsy, inept Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), a hapless scion of a legendary military family, was promoted to captain in the final days of the Civil War. Dispatched to pick up General Grant's laundry, Parmenter developed a cold en route and abruptly sneezed within earshot of the Union troops, who were then in retreat. This sneeze was misinterpreted as a command to "Charge!," whereupon the troops reversed direction and scored an enormous victory over the Confederates. Although Parmenter was now a hero, it was clear that he was somewhat lacking in the basic requirements of strong leadership, so he was shipped far, far out West to assume command of Fort Courage, an obscure cavalry post manned by misfits and foul-ups known as "F Troop." In the series opener, "Scourge of the West," it is quickly established that, despite Parmenter's presence, that F Troop was actually controlled by crafty Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker), a genial con artist who runs most of the local illicit activities, from gambling to moonshine to the manufacture of phony Indian souvenirs. Together with his sidekick, Cpl. Randolph Agarn (Larry Storch), O'Rourke is able to keep his various underhanded enterprises up and running, all the while pulling the wool over the eyes of the dimwitted Parmenter. Aiding and abetting O'Rourke and Agarn is Wild Eagle, chief of the local Hekawi Tribe, a timid soul who proclaims "We not fighters -- we lovers. Hekawis invent peace pipe!" In several of the earliest episodes, venerable character comedian Edward Everett Horton is seen as the Hekawi's doddering medicine man, "Roaring Chicken." The satirical tone of the series is maintained in its choice of guest stars and character names. Henry Gibson appears as the "jinxed" cavalry private Wrongo Starr; Sarah Marshall is seen as suspected murderess Hermione Gooderly; Pat Harrington Jr. does an on-target impersonation of Get Smart star Don Adams in the role of frontier spy B. Wise; Don Rickles is his usual frantic self as cowardly renegade Indian Bald Eagle; Andrew Duggan shows up as Major Chester Winster, inventor of "the gun that will win the West"; Bernard Fox guests as Major Bentley-Royce, British master of camouflage; and in the episode "El Diablo," series regular Larry Storch does double duty as both Cpl. Agarn and Agran's lookalike cousin, a notorious Mexican bandit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the opening episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show's fifth season, Rob (Dick Van Dyke) painfully explains how he wound up in a hospital bed. It all started when, while at a local bar, Rob and Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) were accosted by an obnoxious drunk. In his efforts to protect Laura, Rob gets decked -- whereupon Laura unexpectedly uses a judo move to subdue the drunk. When word leaks out about Laura's feat of strength, Rob is understandably embarrassed, and he goes to great lengths to prove that he and he alone is the man of the family (though one look at Laura in her capri pants could have solved that mystery without any further trouble!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The pilot for the long-running CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show was seen on February 15, 1960, as an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, "Danny Meets Andy Griffith." As originally conceived, Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) was not only the sheriff of the sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry, but he was also the mayor, justice of the peace, and newspaper editor. Child actor Ronny Howard (who, as Ron Howard, would in adulthood enjoy a spectacularly successful career as a film director) was seen in the pilot as the widowed Andy's son Opie, but Frances Bavier played an entirely different role than she would in the actual series, while Frank Cady rather than Hal Smith was cast as town drunk Otis Campbell. While there would be changes in concept and casting, the laid-back character of Andy Taylor "clicked" with TV audiences, ensuring that The Andy Griffith Show would join the Monday night CBS lineup come October 3, 1960. Introduced as regulars during season one were of course Andy Griffith, Ronny Howard, and Frances Bavier (now as Aunt Bee, housekeeper for Andy and Opie Taylor), with the significant and salutary addition of Don Knotts as Andy's tightly wound deputy Barney Fife. The rapport between Andy and Barney contributed mightily to the series' success during its shakedown season, with nominal leading character Andy often voluntarily taking a back seat to Barney's overzealous antics. Subsequent additions to the cast included Jim Nabors as bucolic gas station attendant Gomer Pyle (later spun off into his own series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.); George Lindsey as Gomer's cousin, Goober Pyle; Howard McNear as dithery barber Floyd Lawson; and Hal Smith as the aforementioned Otis Campbell. Taking advantage of Andy Taylor's widower status, the series' writers tried to pair the character off with a number of eligible young ladies, beginning in the first season with Elinor Donahue as drugstore sales clerk Ellie Walker. But only when Aneta Corsaut joined the cast as Opie's schoolteacher Helen Crump did Andy find the "right" girl. Indeed, Andy and Helen would become engaged during the series' final season. Conversely, Barney Fife had but one steady girlfriend, Thelma Lou, played by Betty Lynn.
Don Knotts left the series at the outset of its sixth season (the show switched from black-and-white to color at the same time); it was explained that Barney had accepted a deputy position in Raleigh, permitting Knotts to make a handful of memorable return guest appearances. Barney was briefly replaced by Deputy Warren Ferguson, played by Jack Burns; later on, Goober Pyle became Andy's unofficial deputy. The post-Don Knotts episodes brought forth several other new recurring characters: Jack Dodson as town clerk Howard Sprague, Paul Hartman as handyman Emmet Clark, and Hope Summers as Aunt Bee's best friend, Clara. During the Emmy-winning series' eighth season, Andy Griffith decided to leave the show. At this point, Ken Berry was added to the cast as widowed farmer and later town councilman Sam Jones, with Buddy Foster as Sam's son Mike and Arlene Golonka as Sam's girlfriend, Millie Hutchins. After the final telecast of The Andy Griffith Show on September 16, 1968, the series continued for three additional seasons under the title Mayberry RFD, with Ken Berry taking over as star and with most of the familiar Andy Griffith Show supporting characters still in attendance. One of the most consistently popular sitcoms of all time, The Andy Griffith Show lasted 249 half-hour episodes, and also spawned the high-rated 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Zunar J5/90 Doric 4-7, also known as Jake, is an alien cat who crash-lands on earth. He heads off to the nearest scientist to find gold ($120,000 worth!) in order to repair his spaceship. Jake reveals that he can predict the winners in sporting events and soon the military is trying to track him down. The plot becomes more complicated when a wacky veterinarian inadvertently puts Jake into a deep sleep; now he must hide the alien cat from government authorities. The Cat from Outer Space was written by cartoonist Ted Key, who also wrote other Disney family fare, including Gus and The $1,000,000 Duck. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide