Richard Shannon Movies

Though irrefutably guilty of murder, Carl Soddenberg (Crahan Denton) escaped the hangman's noose when he was declared insane. Now "cured", Soddenberg is release from a mental institution in the custody of Dr. Weiser (Richard Shannon). Paladin (Richard Boone) is hired to escort patient and doctor to Soddenberg's home town, but the vengeful relatives of one of Carl's victims don't intend to let that happen. Originally filmed for the series' fifth season and scheduled to air on May 26, 1962, this episode was withheld from view until March 9, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour was adapted by frequent Twilight Zone contributor Richard Matheson from his own novel. In his youth, Christopher Martin (Hugh O'Brian) drove the getaway car for a robbery committed by three of his friends. But Christopher panicked, driving off and leaving his pals to be arrested. Now happily married and holding down a responsible job, Christopher is terrified when one of his ex-pals calls him, telling him that he intends to spill the beans to Mrs. Martin (Gena Rowlands) before wreaking a terrible revenge. Will Christopher be able to fend off his former partner in crime without revealing his sordid past to his wife? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once again, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is called upon to defend an old war buddy on a murder charge. This time around, his client is Major Jerry Reynolds (Robert Rockwell), who is also the target of an investigation at Vandenberg Air Force Base concerning the mysterious crashes of several guided missiles. The murder victim was Captain Caldwell (Simon Oakland), who as chief investigator seemed to have a personal vendetta against Maj. Reynolds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ben Sutton (Richard Shannon) is having a high old time spending the royalties from his best-selling book, dealing with his experiences a Korean POW. In fact, Ben has apparently depleted his savings, else why would he be borrowing so much from the brother of his long-suffering wife Sylvia (Bethel Leslie)? As it happens, Sutton is being blackmailed by someone who knows that he is a fraud, and that the actual author of his book is recuperating in an Army hospital. Sylvia also knows that Ben is a phony--and as such, she is arrested when her husband is murdered. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must find out who else besides Sylvia knew Sutton's secret and was willing to kill him because of it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a routine, sometimes unintentionally funny drama about a man whose moral backbone straightens up as he sets his sights on capturing a gangster -- his own boss. Richard Widmark is Ralph Anderson, the petty criminal who returns to his hometown with his mob boss Victor Massonetti (Lee J. Cobb). Massonetti is running from the law and waiting for a plane to come and take him away to safety. His henchmen make the mistake of killing Ralph's father (Carl Benton Reid), who just happens to be the sheriff. That act turns Ralph around, and the plot thickens as he plans to capture Massonetti and his men in spite of the hindrance of his alcoholic brother (Earl Holliman) and the amorous attentions of his sister-in-law (Tina Louise). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Don't Give Up the Ship stars Jerry Lewis as a navy officer who is whisked away from his honeymoon by a senate investigating committee. The committee would like to know what happened to the U.S.S. Kornblatt, the battleship Lewis had commandeered during the War; the crew arrived home safely, but the battleship completely disappeared! Jerry suffers from a mental block concerning the Kornblatt, so the navy assigns a beautiful psychiatrist (Dina Merrill) to probe his subconscious. With the help of an ex-sailor from the Kornblatt (Mickey Shaughnessy), Jerry locates the wreckage of the ship, tracing the responsibility of its disappearance to the investigating committee chairman (Gale Gordon). Based on a true incident (!), Don't Give Up the Ship stands up today as one of Jerry Lewis' best films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This melodrama tells the tale of a great battle between the French Foreign Legion and the rebellious Arab tribe, the Tuaregs, who fight it out upon the blistering Sahara sands. Just before the Legionnaires embark upon their dangerous mission, the commander discovers that he is being cuckolded by his lieutenant. Because the mission is urgent, there is no time to fight over the commander's wife. Unfortunately, as they travel, the tension between the two mounts and they begin squabbling over how to plan the attack. Their inability to work together results in tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Vincent Price and Morey Amsterdam guest star in this episode, in which Paladin (Richard Boone) arrives in San Diego at the same time as a travelling Shakespearean troupe. The troupe's nervous manager Bellingham (Amsterdam) hires Paladin to protect leading man Charles Matthews (Price) and leading lady Victoria Vestris (Patricia Morison) from a rowdy saloon audience. Making Paladin's task tougher is the presence of a hotheaded gunslinger (Richard Shannon) who harbors a passion for the gorgeous Victoria. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dave Brewster (Adam Williams) arrives to take his new job as an electronics technician at a top-secret Air Force base in California. With him are his wife Anne (Peggy Webber) and their two children, Bud (Mikel Ray) and Ken (Johnny Crawford), who are all apprehensive about this sudden transplant, as well as the spartan existence that all of the families live under. No sooner do they arrive, however, then Bud and Ken see a strange light in the sky pointing to the beach, and soon after that seem to be receiving increasingly powerful -- and detailed -- telepathic communications from an unseen source. The boys are drawn, along with the children from the other families, to a lonely cave near the beach, where an alien presence, in the form of a huge (and ever-growing) brain, has hidden itself. At first, it uses the children to try and persuade the more reasonable of the parents that their project -- a missile called The Thunderer, which will place a hydrogen bomb in orbit, capable of being used on any target in the event the United States is threatened -- is too dangerous to complete. But the parents aren't prepared to listen, either because they don't understand the danger, or because they genuinely believe in the conduct of the Cold War, as in the case of Hank Johnson (Jackie Coogan); or because they're too angry and belligerent, like Joe Gamble (Russell Johnson), who is at a dead-end in his job and has taken to alcoholism and abusing his wife (Jean Engstrom) and stepson (Johnny Washbrook). As the launch approaches and the children's entreaties are ignored, the alien takes more direct action with their help, and they soon find a potential ally in in Dr. Wahrman (Raymond Bailey), the inventor of The Thunderer, who is also the only man on the project smart enough to realize that he may not have all the answers. But the military head of the project (Richard Shannon) is stil prepared to launch The Thunderer, regardless of its inventor's doubts. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Taciturn marshal-turned-bounty hunter Henry Fonda rides into a small town where greenhorn deputy Anthony Perkins is sole representative of the law. Sensing that the boy could use some seasoning, Fonda makes it his mission to teach Perkins how to protect himself against the criminal element. Though diametrically opposed in personality, the older Fonda and the younger Perkins find they are kindred spirits in their dedication to their work. Using the lessons taught him by Fonda, Perkins is able to prove his worth by taking on town hothead Neville Brand. Directed with a minimum of slack and flab by Anthony Mann, The Tin Star was later spun off into the TV series The Deputy, which starred Henry Fonda and Allen Case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this revisionist western, Captain George (Lloyd Bridges) is a cavalry officer of dubious principles who is given the assignment of escorting a tribe of Cheyenne Indians from the land of their birth to a government reservation. However, as the Cheyenne are en route to their new home, gold is discovered on the land, and suddenly a call goes up to relocate the Indians somewhere else. Tate (Rory Calhoun) is a cavalry scout with a conscience who is determined to see that the Cheyenne are treated fairly, protected from ruthless prospectors as well as hateful lawmen. Gloria Grahame and Vince Edwards highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ride a Violent Mile is an economically produced western with a Civil War background. Penny Edwards stars as Susan, a Union spy who poses as a dance-hall girl in a Confederate-friendly frontier town. Susan hopes to prevent the Mexican government from casting its lot with the South, and to do that she must halt a Confederate cattle drive. Enlisting the aid of boyfriend Jeff (John Agar), our heroine does her best to scare off the cattle. The heavy of the piece is sheriff Marshal Thorne (John Pickard), who turns out to be a secret operative for the Johnny Rebs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For reasons unknown, the change-of-pace Bob Hope vehicle That Certain Feeling is out of favor with many Hope buffs. Bob plays Francis X. Dignan, the overly neurotic "ghost" for popular comic-strip artist Larry Larkin (George Sanders). When Larkin's syndicate complains that his work isn't as amusing as it once was, he anxiously tries to hire back Dignan, who walked out on his boss over a petty disagreement. Dignan needs the money, but he'd rather do without the aggravation; this won't be easy, since Larkin is on the verge of marrying Dunreath Henry (Eva Marie Saint), Dignan's ex-wife. Enusing complications include the pompous Larkin's efforts to adopt a troublesome young boy (played by future "Beaver" Jerry Mathers) as a publicity stunt, and a wild night of drunken revelry which leads to the rekindling of Dunreath's affection for Dignan. The story comes to a raucous conclusion during a chaotic "Person to Person"-style interview show. Pearl Bailey adds spice to the program as a musical maidservant, while real-life cartoonist Al Capp (no stranger to "ghosts" himself) appears as himself. That Certain Feeling was based on The King of Hearts, a play by Jean Kerr and Eleanor Brooke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide