Hayden Rorke

In this comedy, a revival of the popular TV-series from the mid-60s, the wedded bliss of astronaut Tony Nelson and his magical djin and wife Jeannie is endangered when Jeannie desires to become more independent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

At last the secret has been revealed! Prime-time network programming is determined by a chimpanzee! That's the premise of Disney's The Barefoot Executive, a highly amusing spoof of the TV bizz. Kurt Russell plays a page boy at a bottom-rated TV network. Stuck with his girl friend's (Heather North) pet chimp, Russell discovers that his hairy friend has a genuine gift for picking hit TV series. Appointed head of programming, Russell keeps the fact that the chimp is doing all the work hidden from the public. But when his former boss Joe Flynn and his rival John Ritter find out, all heck breaks loose (we'd say "all hell", but this is a Disney flick). A strong supporting cast of comic "regulars"-Wally Cox, Harry Morgan, Alan Hewitt, Hayden Rorke et al.--keeps The Barefoot Executive moving at a fast clip ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Four of I Dream of Jeannie opens with the episode "U-F-Oh Jeannie", in which the magical titular heroine Barbara Eden and her astronauts friends Tony (Larry Hagman) and Roger (Bill Daily) skirmish with a family of gun-totin' hillbillies. In the subsequent "Djinn Djinn Go Away", we are introduced to Jeannie's troublesome magical dog, who has a bad habit of making himself invisible after wreaking havoc. Also: Joe Flynn, late of McHale's Navy, plays the no-nonsense replacement of Tony's psychiatrist nemesis Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke) in "Dr. Bellows Go Sane"; "The Biggest Star in Hollywood" features guest appearances by several of the regulars from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, as well as that series' producer George H. Schlatter; and still one year away from becoming the "new Darrin" on Bewitched, Dick Sargent shows up in "Jeannie for the Defense". The season's liveliest episode is the two-part "The Case of the Vanishing Master", wherein enemy agents plant a lookalike for Tony Nelson in his home, causing no end of mischief when the phony Tony tumbles onto Jeannie's secret identity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

I Dream of Jeannie switches from black and white to color as the series enters its second season, enabling magical heroine Jeannie (Barbara Eden) to convey her various mood swings via the color of the smoke emanating from the bottle where she resides. Otherwise, it's the mixture as before: Astronaut Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman) does his best to hide the fact that a genuine genie is living on his property; Tony's buddy Roger (Bill Daily) continues to try to capitalize on Jeannie's unique skills in order to fatten his bank account; and base psychiatrist Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke) is more determined than ever to prove that the strange occurrences in the Nelson household are proof that Tony is a few bricks shy of a full load. This season, the long-suffering Bellows is given an equally long-suffering wife named Amanda, played by skilled comic actress Emmaline Henry). The season opener "Happy Anniversary" features Michael Ansara, then the husband of series star Barbara Eden, as the Blue Djinn, who first trapped Jeannie in her bottle 2500 years ago. Other guest stars include Paul Lynde as a confused IRS agent in "My Master the Rich Tycoon"; veteran Hollywood musical arranger Frank DeVol in "My Master, the Great Caruso"; Butch Patrick, fresh from two seasons of The Munsters, as Dr. Bellows' bratty nephew in "My Master the Author"; and a cameo appearance by series creator Sidney Sheldon's longtime friend Groucho Marx in "Greatest Invention in the World". Also, this season features the series' first two-part episode, "The Girl Who Never Had a Birthday", in which Jeannie is in danger of disappearing forever because of the dilemma elucidated in the episode's title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having crash-landed on a deserted island, astronaut Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman) wonders if he'll ever be rescued. He doesn't have to wonder long; discovering a strange-looking bottle, Tony uncorks the vessel and releases a sexy female genie (Barbara Eden) who has been trapped therein for 2500 years! "Jeannie" promptly arranges for Tony to be located by the air force search copters, and before long he has been whisked back to his home base in Cocoa Beach, Florida--with Jeannie, vowing eternal devotion to her new "master", dutifully following along. Thus begins the first season of I Dream of Jeannie, filmed in black and white so that Jeannie's magical powers will register better on the small screen. In the first four episodes, Karen Sharpe is seen as Tony's fiancée Melissa, the daughter of base commander Gen. Wingard Stone (Philip Ober). Thanks to the mystical machinations of the jealous Jeannie, Melissa has soon exited the scene, just as Tony's subsequent lady friends will be scared off in future episodes. Frustrated that his life is now in the hands of a capricious sprite, Tony at first tries to convince base psychiatrist Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke) that there's a genuine genie in his house. Alas, Tony not only fails to make his case, but he convinces Dr. Bellows that he's crazy, a plot development that will dictate the action of many an episode to come. As it turns out, the only other person who is aware of Jeannie's true identity is Tony's astronaut pal Roger Healy (Bill Daily), who stumbles onto the secret in the episode titled "The Richest Astronaut in the World". Roger's efforts to capitalize upon Jeannie's peculiar talents will, of course, cause nothing but trouble for himself and Tony. Appearing in several episodes during Season One is veteran movie villain Barton MacLane as bombastic air force general Martin Peterson. The season I Dream of Jeannie ends with "I'll Never Forget What's Her Name", wherein Tony develops partial amnesia, which enables him to remember everything and everybody EXCEPT Jeannie! (Incident, if Jeannie appears most modestly garbed than usual in several episodes, it is because star Barbara Eden was pregnant at the time). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama tells the true story of one of Broadway's most successful madams in the 1920s. It is loosely based on the autobiography of Polly Adler. The story begins when young Polly is seduced and raped at her job by the sweatshop foreman. When her uncle, with whom she lived, learns of the act, he blames her and tosses her out. She then moves into an apartment owned by a racketeer. It is he who encourages her into her "helping" profession when he gives her money for bringing her pals to a gangster party. Soon she is beginning to build up her own clientele. As her business prospers, she begins to choose nicer locations. Her tiny cathouse becomes a haven for sleazy politicos, mobsters, and businessmen. The madame herself has a passionate romance with a young songwriter and she helps his career. He does not know of her vocation and she eventually breaks up with him to keep his reputation intact. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Meredith Willson's second Broadway hit (the first and biggest was The Music Man) proved a lucrative vehicle for the equally unsinkable Debbie Reynolds. Based on a true story, the film casts Debbie as hoydenish Molly Brown, who wangles her way into Denver High Society when she marries "overnight millionaire" Johnny Brown (Harve Presnell). When the local social arbiters give Molly the brush-off, she pulls off a coup by bringing a representative of European royalty, Prince Louis de Laniere (Vassili Lambrinos) into the Colorado community. Her admiration for the prince causes a rift in her marriage; it takes the sinking of the Titanic--wherein Molly heroically commandeers one of the lifeboats and is responsible for rescuing several of the passengers--to bring Molly and Johnny together again. While the energetic performances of such songs as I Ain't Down Yet and Belly Up to the Bar Boys are to be cherished, the real highlight of The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a society ball which ends up in a pie fight between the Denver "elite" and Molly's rambunctious mining-town cronies. Treated condescendingly by the critics, the film struck a responsive chord with audiences to the tune of a $7.5 million gross. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Youngblood Hawke (James Franciscus) is a Kentucky truck driver who comes to New York City to make it as a writer. He meets editor Jeanne Green (Suzanne Pleshette), who sees talent in Hawke's work. Jeanne falls for the handsome Kentuckian and helps him put together a book deal. His first book is only moderately successful, but his confidence is lifted when veteran actress Irene Perry (Mary Astor) wants to make his story into a Broadway play. Hawke soon discovers he is desired by many women, and the heartbroken Jeanne takes a job at another publishing company. His second book makes Hawke the toast of the town and the New York social elite. When Hawke has an affair with the married socialite Frieda Winter (Genevieve Page), her husband Paul (Kent Smith) discovers his wife's infidelity and sets out to ruin Hawke's career. His third book bombs, Frieda's son kills himself over his mother's affair, and Hawke's financial fortune takes a severe nosedive. He returns to Kentucky to work on his next book, but he contracts pneumonia before realizing that Jeanne is the woman he really loves. Good supporting performances from Werner Klemperer, Don Porter, Eva Gabor, and Edward Andrews along with the principle characters make this sentimental melodrama a success. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This amusing romantic comedy concerns Dr. Gerald Boyer (James Garner), a successful gynecologist with a wife and two children. Wife Beverly (Doris Day) focuses on maintaining the household and watching the kids. One of Gerald's patients, Mrs. Fraleigh (Arlene Francis), overhears Beverly talking up a new product she's discovered called 'Happy Soap' - whose manufacturer just happens to be Mrs. Fraleigh's father-in-law, Old Tom Fraleigh (Reginald Owen). She introduces Beverly to him; hugely impressed, the old man offers her $80,000 a year to pitch a new product called "Happy Soap." Beverly's career takes her away from her family responsibilities and causes a series of comedic commotions for Gerald and the kids. He comes home from work one morning and accidentally drives his convertible into a freshly dug swimming pool ordered by Beverly without his knowledge. The furious physician throws a bevy of boxes of Happy Soap into the pool, causing the house to be engulfed in suds by morning (which the kids mistake for snow). The family maid Olivia (Zasu Pitts) is nearly driven crazy with the events and has many harried scenes of comedic frustration. Directed by Norman Jewison, this thouroughly engaging comedy was written by Larry Gelbart and Carl Reiner. Reiner provides the screenplay for the feature which turned out to be the last film appearance of Zasu Pitts. With her passing marked the end of a long and successful career as a comedic and well respected actress that began in 1917. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

For a family picture, not to mention a story that later became the old-fashioned-values-affirming series The Waltons, Spencer's Mountain sure has a lot in it about sex. Henry Fonda gives an interesting portrayal in one of his more unusual roles, as Clay Spencer, the hard-drinkin', hard-livin', hard lovin', hard-cussin' patriarch of a fiercely independent Wyoming family living in the Grand Tetons. When he's not resisting the encroachment of organized religion on his daily life (he believes in God, but doesn't want others to tell him how to do that, or how to show respect to the Lord), he's busy trying to finish the house he promised his wife (Maureen O'Hara) to house their constantly growing brood, and trying to help his eldest son, Clayboy (James MacArthur) -- who's going to be the first Spencer to get past high school -- prepare for college and manhood, while temptation in the form of Claris Coleman (Mimsy Farmer) and Minnie-Cora Cook Kathy Bennett comes his way. There's also a good bit of human drama here, and some especially finely nuanced performances by Donald Crisp and Lillian Bronson, as Fonda's aging parents. Between their work, the CinemaScope photography, the gorgeous Wyoming locations, and a good basic story, this is a surprisingly engrossing comedy-drama of a kind that probably could not be made today, even with a top-name cast. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

This third film version of the lachrymose Fannie Hurst novel Back Street stars Susan Hayward as Rae Smith the role previously essayed by Irene Dunne (in 1932) and Margaret Sullavan (in 1941). In both earlier films, Rae Smith sacrifices 28 years of her life to her married lover, who can never get a divorce and who compels Rae to squirrel herself away in a shabby back-street apartment. In contrast, Susan Hayward's Rae Smith is a fiercely independent fashion designer, whose fidelity to the very married John Gavin doesn't retard her livelihood in the least. Vera Miles makes a meal of her supporting role as Gavin's shrewish, alcoholic wife. Though cinematographer Stanley Cortez does his utmost, he can't completely hide the fact that Hayward is at least ten years older than her costars, making her seem more of a doting aunt than the "other woman" (the film might have been more effective had Hayward and Miles switched roles). Its plot inconsistencies and logic lapses notwithstanding, Back Street proved to be another hit for producer Ross Hunter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Frank Capra's last feature film, Pocketful of Miracles is a Technicolor remake of his 1933 film Lady for a Day. A barely recognizable Bette Davis plays Apple Annie, the besotted, unkempt, rag-clad street vendor who controls the activities of all the beggars on Broadway. Apple Annie is the pet of Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford), a tough but basically kind-hearted gangster who believes that Annie's apples bring him luck. One morning, Annie fails to show up at her usual corner. That's because she is sitting disconsolate in her squalid shack, contemplating suicide. The reason: Annie has received a letter from her daughter Louise (Ann-Margret, in her screen debut). Annie has been supporting Louise's high-priced European education, leading the girl to believe that she, Annie, is a high-society dowager. Now Louise is returning home with her wealthy fiance Carlos Romero (Peter Mann) in tow, and it looks as though Annie's cover will be blown to bits. Partly out of sympathy, but mostly because of his superstitious belief in the power of Annie's apples, Dave the Dude arranges with his Broadway cohorts to "doll up" Annie so that she can pass as a woman of means, then stage-manages a huge, expensive reception for Louise and her beau. The complications that ensued in the original 1933 version of Lady for a Day exercise their prerogative once more, with a few added plot twists to pad out Glenn Ford's screen time. Cutting through the sentimental goo like a machete is Peter Falk, who is hilarious as Dave the Dude's sarcastic bodyguard. Evidently, Falk was one of the few actors on the set of Pocketful of Miracles with which Capra remained sympatico throughout shooting. In his autobiography (a not altogether reliable tome), Capra insisted that Pocketful of Miracles was ruined by Glenn Ford's autocratic and self-serving on-set behavior, and by Ford's demand that his current lady friend Hope Lange be (mis)cast as brash nightclub chirp Queenie Martin. As usual, Capra was not telling the whole story: at 63, he was beginning to lose his grip on his movie-making skills, allowing every scene to run well past its value and concentrating on cute isolated "bits" rather than the story at hand. Way too long at 136 minutes (Lady for a Day ran but 90), Pocketful of Miracles still has a lot going for it, especially the glowing performance of Bette Davis and the basic, foolproof Damon Runyon story on which it is based. While it disappointed at the box office, Miracles has since its release become a Christmastime TV perennial, seldom failing to draw big ratings numbers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this emotional romance, the young backwoods girl Tammy lives in a houseboat on the river. She is very sad because she hasn't heard from her college-student boyfriend in ages. Determined to be near him, she cruises her boat down to his university and enrolls. To pay expenses she gets a job. Her new boss is pleased and ends up borrowing Tammy's boat for a short vacation. She then gives the girl an expensive necklace. Tammy soon finds herself pursued by a handsome professor. Later, the niece of Tammy's boss becomes worried at her wealthy aunt's mysterious disappearance and organizes a search party. When she sees Tammy wearing her aunt's necklace, she assumes the worst and has the girl arrested. Later the conniving niece has her aunt tried for mental incompetence. Fortunately, Tammy's pleas are heard by the compassionate judge, her boss is deemed sane, and peace is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide