Bert Remsen Movies

Pork Chop Hill was based on the eyewitness essays of ex-soldier S. L. A. Marshall. The film is set during the Korean "police action." While diplomats argue pointlessly over the shape of the negotiation tables at Panmunjon, United Nations troops bleed and die. Lieutenant Gregory Peck leads a 135-man unit on the attack of the Chinese-held Pork Chop Hill. When reinforcements finally arrive, only 25 of Peck's men survive (and they aren't the usual survivors we've come to expect from earlier, cliché-ridden war films). Among the American troops are such dependable performers as Harry Guardino, Woody Strode, Rip Torn, Barry Atwater, George Peppard, Robert Blake and Martin Landau. Former cowboy-star Bob Steele also shows up briefly as an American general. According to director Lewis Milestone, Pork Chop Hill was cut by nearly twenty minutes because the wife of star Gregory Peck felt that her husband made his first entrance too late into the picture. True or not, the film does show signs of post-production tampering, with flashes of several excised scenes showing up under the main title credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Peter Falk guest stars as gangster Meyer Fine, a man who lives in mortal fear of sudden death. When a prominent young man commits suicide after losing heavily at Meyer's gambling house, a tough cop threatens to close Meyer down for good. To prevent this, Meyer murders the cop, only to incur the wrath of his fellow gangsters, who know they'll also suffer for the cop's death. Figuring he's a doomed man, Meyer wishes he could figure a way out of his dilemma -- a wish overheard by his loyal valet, John (Paul Hartman). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Young Elliot Gray (Scott Marlowe) and middle-aged Cyril Hardeen (Murray Matheson) are both in love with a girl named Enid Patterson (Joyce Meadows). Eventually, Enid chooses Elliot, whereupon Cyril challenges him to a fistfight. Showing up at the appointed time for the fistic duel, Elliot discovers that Cyril has hired a much-younger (and much-stronger) proxy -- but the biggest surprise of the evening awaits the bruised and battered Elliot when he returns home later that evening. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode marked the first of several Hitchcock contributions by future Columbo and Murder, She Wrote creators Richard Levinson and William Link. Steve Dunne plays a young man who suffers total amnesia after sustaining a blow to the head. Rummaging through his wallet, the man finds two possible clues to his true identity: a 1,000-dollar bill and a card bearing the name of Dr. Ralph Mannix (Hugh Marlowe). But when he catches up with Mannix, the doctor insists he has never met the man in his life -- though he makes a fateful suggestion as to how our hero can restore his memory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inasmuch as this episode was scripted by Robert Bloch, one shouldn't be surprised by its echoes of Bloch's suspense classic Psycho. The titular Annabel (Susan Oliver) is the former girlfriend of nerdy chemist David Kelsey (Dean Stockwell), who obsesses over the girl day and night. Having spent a great deal of money to purchase a "dream home" for Annabel and himself, David is startled to learn that the girl is now married and wants nothing to do with him. Refusing to believe that he has lost Annabel forever, David immediately goes into denial -- which in his case proves to be a lethal affliction. "Annabel" was adapted from a story by Patricia Highsmith, the author of another classic Hitchcock film, Strangers on a Train. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Moon Pilot is an engaging Disney sci-fi comedy that manages to shoot off a few neat and surprisingly satirical barbs at the hypertense US/Russia "space race" of the era. Tom Tryon plays an astronaut who is ordered to keep his upcoming moon flight a secret, even from his family. While on a plane, Tryon is approached by lovely Dany Saval, who seems to know all about the astronaut's hush-hush mission, and who warns him about possible defects in his spacecraft. Despite the diligence of his FBI guards, Tryon is confronted time and again by Saval, who eventually reveals herself to be a visitor from the planet Beta Lyrae. A friendly alien, Saval merely wants to offer Tryon a special coating formula that will safeguard his rocket. Enchanted by the girl, Tryon plays hookey on his guards to spend more time with her, leaving the FBI, NASA, the CIA and the local constabulary to chase their own tails. When his rocket is launched, Tryon discovers that Saval has stowed away. The two sing a romantic song about Beta Lyrae while mission control (personified by Brian Keith at his most bombastic) expresses confusion over the bizarre transmissions emanating from Tryon's capsule. The release of Moon Pilot was heralded by a "preview" on Disney's Wonderful World of Color TV series, titled "Spy in the Sky." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though he's most famous for his portrayal of Victor Laszlo in 1942's Casablanca, actor Paul Henreid took a few turns behind the camera as evidenced by this 1964 thriller starring Bette Davis as twins Margaret DeLorca and Edith Phillips. After landing the beau they both sought after by falsely claiming she was pregnant, Margaret lives a life of luxury as the wife of a wealthy man. Now, 20 years later, a broke and lonely Edith has returned for revenge. After killing the recently widowed Margaret, Edith assumes her identity with plans of living the life she feels she's deserved all along. But in order to pull it off, she'll have to play the role of Margaret connivingly enough to fool her servants as well as a local playboy and the police. Dead Ringer was remade in 1986 as Killer in the Mirror, a made-for-television movie starring Ann Jillian. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

In another flashback to his Army days, Rob (Dick Van Dyke) recalls how his marriage to Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) was very nearly canceled. It seems that there was a charity raffle, with Laura as first prize. The winner of the raffle is a handsome corporal named Clark Rice (Van Williams), with whom Laura is not entirely unacquainted. (Continuity note: Allan Melvin shows up in his usual recurring role of Sol Pomerantz -- only here he's identified as Sam Pomerantz.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The FBI swoops down when saboteur Maury Maddock (Mark Richman) attempts to blow up a Government warehouse full of supplies headed for Vietnam. Complicating the Feds' efforts is the curious behavior of Maury's fiercely loyal Japanese-born wife Akiko (Miiko Taka), who is totally unaware of her husband's criminal activities. Jason Evers appears as Special Agent Allen Bennett, a role later played on a recurring basis by Lew Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A boy yearns to fly in Robert Altman's whimsical youthquake parable. With the aid of seraphic Louise (Sally Kellerman), owlish Brewster (Bud Cort) constructs a pair of human-size wings in his Houston Astrodome nest to realize his dream. Meanwhile, conservative creeps, including a witchy "Star-Spangled Banner"-belting crone (Margaret Hamilton) and Brewster's skinflint boss (Stacy Keach), keep turning up dead covered with bird droppings; the Houston Establishment calls in blue-eyed, turtleneck-wearing "San Francisco super cop" Frank Shaft (Michael Murphy) to investigate. Brewster cooks his own goose, however, when he defies Louise's edict against sex and hooks up with Astrodome usher Suzanne (Shelley Duvall) after she impresses him (and saves him) by out-driving Shaft in her Road Runner. Despite her apparent sweetness, Suzanne ultimately will not compromise her comfortable home for flight with Brewster. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Memorably described by Pauline Kael as "a beautiful pipe dream of a movie," Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller reimagines the American West as a muddy frontier filled with hustlers, opportunists, and corporate sharks -- a turn-of-the-century model for a 1971 America mired in violence and lies. John McCabe (Warren Beatty) wanders into the turn-of-the-century wilderness village known as Presbyterian Church, with vague plans of parlaying his gambling winnings into establishing a fancy casino-brothel-bathhouse. McCabe's business partner is prostitute Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie), who despite her apparent distaste for McCabe helps him achieve his goal. Once McCabe and Mrs. Miller become successful, the town grows and prospers, incurring the jealousy of a local mining company that wants to buy McCabe out. Filmed on location in Canada, McCabe & Mrs. Miller makes use of such Altman "stock company" performers as Shelley Duvall, René Auberjonois, John Schuck, and Keith Carradine. The seemingly improvised screenplay was based on a novel by Edmund Naughton and the movie features a soundtrack of songs by Leonard Cohen. McCabe & Mrs. Miller joined such other Altman efforts as M*A*S*H, The Long Goodbye, and Thieves Like Us in radically revising familiar movie genres for the disillusioned Vietnam era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fuzz treads the line between raucous comedy and gut-churning melodrama. Based on an "87th Precinct" novel by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter), the film stars Burt Reynolds and Jack Weston as, respectively, detectives Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer. Their current assignment is to bring in Deaf Man (Yul Brynner), a mad bomber who has been targeting politicians. A subplot concerning a couple of punks who get their kicks by setting fire to sleeping winos is dramatically justified by the main storyline, but it was this element that caused a lot of trouble for the producers of Fuzz when a pair of real-life teenagers decided to imitate the film. On a lighter note, Raquel Welch co-stars as Detective Eileen McHenry, who is obliged to go undercover -- and under covers -- with fellow officer Bert Kling (Tom Skerritt). And as a bonus, viewers are treated to Burt Reynolds' first "drag" scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide