Stafford Repp Movies

Jeannie (Barbara Eden) gets into a legal jam when she tries to charge items at stores where she has no credit. Husband Tony (Larry Hagman) demands that Jeannie immediately go on a strict budget--an order that results in near-disaster when Tony brings visiting Russian cosmonaut Gregorian (Noam Pitlik) home to dinner. And this being a late-1960s sitcom, it is perhaps inevitable that a bunch of hippies are also worked into the story! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tongue-in-cheek humor prevails in Batman, a witty homage to the Dynamic Duo's exaggerated exploits. The Caped Crusaders (Adam West and Burt Ward) are called in as a last resort when the criminal masterminds of the millennium team up to conquer Gotham City by turning the U.N. Security Council into dehydrated dust; among the villains are the Joker (Cesar Romero), Catwoman (Lee Meriwether), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), and the Penguin (Burgess Meredith). The entire cast is excellent, particularly West and Ward, who distinguish themselves among a standout list with hilariously straight-faced performances. The film includes some truly memorable scenes, highlighted by a particularly tenacious shark with a vertical leap that would put Spud Webb to shame and a bomb on the waterfront with no place to explode (nuns, infants and lovebirds beware!). ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

A Very Special Favor stars Rock Hudson as a notorious romeo and Leslie Caron as a prudish psychiatrist. At the urging of Caron's lawyer father Charles Boyer, Hudson begins a seduction campaign. Caron resents this intrusion in her private affairs and builds up a wall of resistance against the ardent Mr. Hudson. Still, the film ends with Hudson and Caron happily married, with plenty of children underfoot and another one on the way. Roundly panned for its alleged smarminess in 1965, A Very Special Favor is offensive today not for its sex talk but for its "pregnant, barefoot, in-the-kitchen" mentality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode stars Jackie Cooper as Jonathan West, a pathetically unsuccessful ventriloquist. Unable to find work in any other profession, Jonathan turns to a life of crime -- with his sinister, cigar-smoking dummy Caesar acting as "mastermind." Featured in the cast as a malevolent youngster is Susanne Cupito, who grew up to become glamous TV star Morgan Brittany. First telecast on April 10, 1964, "Caesar and Me" was the only Twilight Zone episode to be scripted by a woman, Adele T. Strassfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There just isn't enough space in a single bathroom for the five members of the Carmichael-Bagley household, thus Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Viv (Vivian Vance) decide to install an extra shower. Neighbor Harry (Dick Martin) arranges for a plumber to do the job cheap, only to have the plumber quit in disgust over Lucy's constant meddling. Clearly, there is no other alternative for the girls than to finish the job themselves. This is the notorious episode in which Vivian Vance actually rescues Lucille Ball from drowning while the cameras are rolling! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

'Tis murder most foul when actor Franz Lachman (Jeff Morrow), starring in a stage production of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", is stabbed to death during Romeo's duel with Paris. There needs no ghost come from the grave to tell you that the police charge Steve Brock (Rex Reason), the actor playing Paris, with murder. In his efforts to save the star-cross'd Brock from the gas chamber, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) concludes that "the play's the thing," wherein he'll catch the conscience of the real murderer. Thus, Perry moves the trial to the scene of the crime--then asks the "Romeo and Juliet" troupe to re-enact the events leading up to the moment that Lachman shuffled off his mortal coil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this socially conscious drama, based on a true-story, a high school teacher gets in trouble for having his students write compositions describing their feelings about sex. He is suspended; his students unite to defend him. A confrontation with the prudish school board ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Southern sympathizer Fred Kyle (Cameron Mitchell arrives in Virginia City, hoping to raise money for the Confederate cause. Upon learning that the citizens' loyalties are evenly divided, Kyle attempts to stir up hostility for his own benefit. The Cartwrights become involved when Little Joe begins to be swayed by his longtime friend Kyle. Others in the cast are Stacey Harris as Regis, Howard Wendell as a mine owner, and Marianne Stewart as Lily. First shown on January 16, 1960, "House Divided" was written by Al C. Ward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Future Star Trek captain William Shatner stars as Don Carter, who is on his honeymoon with his perky young wife Pat (Patricia Breslin). Stranded in a small town while their car is being repaired, Don and Pat wander into a diner, where their attention is diverted by a curious fortune-telling machine. Out of amusement, they begin feeding coins into the machine -- and before long, Don has become "hooked" on the sinister device. Stafford Repp, who later played Chief O'Hara on TV's Batman, appears as a mechanic. Written by Richard Matheson, "Nick of Time" made its Twilight Zone debut on November 18, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The body of a woman who has been savagely beaten to death is found in a parked car. Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) focus their investigation on the most likely suspect, the woman's husband (Kevin Hagen). But the man protests his innocence, insisting that his wife was out with a girlfriend on the night of the murder--an alibi that proves to have more than its share of holes. Watch for Stafford Repp, aka "Chief O'Hara" on the original Batman TV series, in a small role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Grim, almost unbearably intense, I Want To Live is the story of the life and execution of Barbara Graham (Susan Hayward) a perjurer, prostitute, liar and drug addict. The product of a broken home, Graham works as a shill, luring gullible men into crooked card games. She attempts to go straight, marries the wrong man, and has a baby. When her life falls apart, she returns to her former profession and is involved in a murder. Despite her claims of innocence, she is convicted and executed. Robert Wise directs the uniformly fine cast with grim efficiency, telling Graham's story in a series of adroitly crafted scenes that won him a well-deserved Academy Award nomination. However, the film belongs to Susan Hayward who gives a intense, shattering performance without one false note. Her performance is so grimly focused that she is, at times, almost unbearable to watch. The final scenes, which lead up to Graham's execution, are exhausting in their emotional intensity as the audience is spared nothing of Graham's agony, despair and desperation when she finally loses the long battle to save her life. Whether one sees Graham as a murderer or a hapless victim of society, the power and relentless, sordid reality of her story leaves an indelible memory in the mind of the viewer. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

This drama is set inside a girl's reformatory. When one of the teens has a baby, the other girls rally together to conceal and care for the infant. The troubled young women soon become as a family until the guards discover the child and take it away. This angers the inmates who begin rioting and destroying their prison. During the scuffle, a young woman escapes and is able to join up with her lover. As they flee the police, their car crashes and both of them die. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide