Bryan Russell Movies

This rambunctious Disney comedy was based on the novel By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman. Roddy McDowall plays Griffin, the very proper butler of Bostonian Bryan Russell. When Russell runs off to California during the 1849 gold rush, Griffin dutifully tags along. Master and butler team up with Shakespearean actor Richard Haydn, who owns a treasure map. Crooked judge Karl Malden (a master of many disguises), pilfers the map once Our Heroes reach San Francisco. While endeavoring to retrieve the valuable parchment, Griffin has any number of adventures, ranging from a bout of fisticuffs with ox-like Mike Mazurki to a romance with Russell's sister Suzanne Pleshette, a former debutante turned saloon singer. If Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin resembles an animated cartoon at times, credit should go to veteran Disney animator Ward Kimball, who provided the spirited cartoon transitions between scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

George Sidney's adaptation of the satiric Broadway musical smash by Michael Stewart, Charles Strouse, and Lee Adams -- about an Elvis Presley-inspired rock star, who is drafted into the army and who creates a near-riot in a small Midwestern town when he stops there for one last publicity junket -- takes good-natured swipes at popular culture, rock n' roll, and American family life. Dick van Dyke re-creates his Broadway role of Albert Peterson, a down-on-his-luck songwriter for the rock-n'-roll idol Conrad Birdie (Jesse Pearson). When Birdie is drafted into the army, Peterson is worried about his future as a songwriter. His secretary, Rosie (Janet Leigh in a brunette wig), with whom Albert has long been romantically attached, convinces Albert to write a farewell song for Birdie that he will sing on The Ed Sullivan Show to a specially selected fan. The lucky fan turns out to be Kim McAfee (Ann-Margaret) of Sweet Apple, Ohio. When Birdie arrives in this hick town, the population goes crazy and in the ensuing madness, Albert must deal with the celebrity-fawning population, Kim's manic father (Paul Lynde, also re-creating his Broadway role), and his own domineering mother (Maureen Stapleton), while he loses Rosie to the Shriners. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Filmed in panoramic Cinerama, this star-studded, epic Western adventure is a true cinematic classic. Three legendary directors (Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall) combine their skills to tell the story of three families and their travels from the Erie Canal to California between 1839 and 1889. Spencer Tracy narrates the film, which cost an estimated 15 million dollars to complete. In the first segment, "The Rivers," pioneer Zebulon Prescott (Karl Malden) sets out to settle in the West with his wife (Agnes Moorehead) and their four children. Along with other settlers and river pirates, they run into mountain man Linus Rawlings (James Stewart), who sells animal hides. The Prescotts try to raft down the Ohio River in a raft, but only daughters Lilith (Debbie Reynolds) and Eve (Carroll Baker) survive. Eve and Linus get married, while Lilith continues on. In the second segment, "The Plains," Lilith ends up singing in a saloon in St. Louis, but she really wants to head west in a wagon train led by Roger Morgan (Robert Preston). Along the way, she's accompanied by the roguish gambler Cleve Van Valen (Gregory Peck), who claims he can protect her. After he saves her life during an Indian attack, they get married and move to San Francisco. In the third segment, "The Civil War," Eve and Linus' son, Zeb (George Peppard), fights for the Union. After he's forced to kill his Confederate friend, he returns home and gives the family farm to his brother. In the fourth segment, "The Railroads," Zeb fights with his railroad boss (Richard Widmark), who wants to cut straight through Indian territory. Zeb's co-worker Jethro (Henry Fonda) refuses to cut through the land, so he quits and moves to the mountains. After the railway camp is destroyed, Zeb heads for the mountains to visit him. In the fifth segment, "The Outlaws," Lilith is an old widow traveling from California to Arizona to stay with her nephew Zeb on his ranch. However, he has to fight a gang of desperadoes first. How the West Was Won garnered three Oscars, for screenplay, film editing, and sound production. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Released in April of 1962 to take advantage of the new baseball season and the enthusiasm surrounding some of its better-known players, this sports-oriented children's story by Walter Doniger centers around some ill-advised bragging by a young Little Leaguer. Hutch Lawton (Brian Russell) has just told his friends that he and his Dad are good buddies with all-time baseball greats Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. This fib soon gets him in plenty of hot water as he is forced to search out his heroes at spring training in Florida and make a plea for help. Along with appearances by the Yankee's two top players are pitcher Whitey Ford and coach Ralph Houk. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Henpecked husband Leonard Thompson (Martin Balsam) shows up at funeral parlor, where he orders an expensive casket and makes arrangements for an even more expensive funeral. When asked who the "dear departed" is, Leonard replies that the future occupant of the casket has not died just yet. However, the funeral will go on as scheduled the following day...and Leonard will definitely be in attendance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide