Joan Blackman Movies

Ray Davies, leader of the group The Kinks and one of the most well-respected songwriters in the history of British rock, made his directorial debut with this film produced for British television. A man (played by Kenneth Colley) boards a commuter train and reads his newspaper, glancing at a story in which a man who looks just like him is wanted for a brutal rape. As the miles roll by, he wonders about the fate of his missing daughter (Dominique Barnes) and the sad state of his relationship with his wife (Valerie Holliman). He also banters with an attractive women (Gretchen Franklin) sitting nearby, watches a group of businessmen cheerfully singing about their careers, and observes a group of older people wondering what became of their lives and the world they once knew. Davies himself has a small role as a singer in a tube station (he wrote several original songs for the project). Also, keep an eye peeled for Tim Roth in a small role as a punk rocker. As a bonus, the DVD release also features eight music videos by The Kinks, including concept videos for "Come Dancing," "Predictable," and "State of Confusion," and live clips of the band performing earlier hits such as "Lola," "You Really Got Me," and "Celluloid Heroes." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A gripping exercise in body horror and social paranoia, prolific Canadian director David Cronenberg's debut feature offers a startling look at modern isolationist society with a parasitic twist. When a scientist experimenting with a new form of organ transplants kills a young female resident of a fortress-like apartment complex before subsequently committing suicide, the investigation into her death leads to a frightening discovery. Originally conceived by the misguided scientist in a bid to aid organ transplant, an overzealous parasite quickly escapes into the complex in search of a host. One by one, the unsuspecting residents fall prey to the parasite, and the result is an aggressive horde of sex maniacs who will stop at nothing to satisfy their primal lust and pass the infection on through sexual contact. When the resident doctor learns the sinister truth behind the malevolent creation, only one man stands between an apartment complex overflowing with id-driven zombies and the outside world. Will he be able to stop the rapidly spreading parasite before it escapes into society, or is it only a matter of time until he, too, falls prey to its rapturous effects and gives in to the temptations of the flesh? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two guys looking for a good time find more than they bargained for in this low-budget action story laced with comedy. Chris Dixon (Alan Vint) and his brother Wayne (Jesse Vint) are originally from Chicago, but when the two are scheduled to go into the Army together, they decide to spend their last two weeks before reporting for boot camp drifting through the South, chasing girls, drinking beer and raising a little hell. After picking up a pretty hitch-hiker, Jenny Scott (Cheryl Waters), who has tired of small-town life and has eyes for Chris, a busted fuel pump strands the brothers in Macon, Georgia, where Sheriff Reed Morgan (Max Baer, Jr.) makes it clear they're not welcome to spend the night. Meanwhile, a pair of ex-cons on a crime spree have arrived in Macon, and they ransack Morgan's house and murder his wife while the sheriff is picking up his son Luke (Lief Garrett) from military school. When their car breaks down again, Chris, Wayne and Jenny spend the night in a nearby barn; what they don't know is they've ended up on the sheriff's property, and when he comes home and discovers his house is a crime scene, he assumes the worst after he finds Chris and Wayne. Max Baer, Jr., who plays Sheriff Morgan, also produced Macon County Line and co-wrote the screenplay; the movie was a major box-office success on its original release in 1974 and sparked a new career behind the camera for the former Beverly Hillbillies star. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Vic Powers (Lloyd Bridges) leads a specialized rescue unit known as the Flying Fish. When an American economics professor is kidnapped by a malevolent Latin American dictator, the call goes out to recover the victim. The unit is equally adept in or out of the water. Ricardo (Nico Minardos) is the resident beachcomber recruited to provide the team with valuable information vital to recovering the missing professor. The specialized unit travels by air, land and sea to meet their objective and races against time to avoid an international incident that could tip the balance of power in favor of the dictator. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Former convict Trace Cordell (Tony Young) is back in town, and everyone lets him know he's not welcome. Particularly displeased with Trace's return is banker Paul Dorn (John Conte), who'd been crippled by Trace and is now married to the ex-convict's former girl friend Clara (Joan Blackman). The Cartwrights become involved when Dorn tries to use his considerable clout to have Cordell removed from the scene-permanently. Written by Ken Pettus and Frank Chase, "The Return" first aired May 2, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Former TV leading man Richard Chamberlain plays a young lawyer about to take on an important murder case. He is shepherded through this big break by veteran attorney Claude Rains. The client is the disreputable Nick Adams, who seems determined to sabotage his own case. But a last-minute scrap of evidence saves the day and establishes Chamberlain's reputation. Based on a novel by Al Dewlen, Twilight of Honor was released in Britain as The Charge is Murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Great Impostor is the true story of chameleonlike Canadian Ferdinand Waldo DeMara Jr., well-played by Tony Curtis. Unable to decide what he wants to do with his life, DeMara goes about pretending to be other people, hoping to eventually "find himself." He poses as a Harvard professor, a Trappist monk, a prison warden, and a navy physician, and manages each time to get away with the artifice. The film wavers uncertainly between tense drama and frothy comedy, with comedy finally winning out. Karl Malden co-stars as Father Devlin, the young DeMara's spiritual advisor, while Joan Blackman is the nominal (and hardly visible) heroine. The real Ferdinand DeMara (if indeed there was a real Ferdinand DeMara) can be seen in a supporting role in the 1960 melodrama The Hypnotic Eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a space alien's fascination with Earthlings gets the better of him, he breaks one of his planet's laws and speeds off to visit the blue planet. Once there the alien (Jerry Lewis) encounters a nice family who kindly take him in. The father is a news commentator. Ironically, just prior to meeting the visitor, he had just aired a piece in which he derided all notions of extraterrestrial visits. In exchange for having them teach him about human ways, he uses his many fantastic powers to help them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Springdale, NE, bank is held up and robbed by a well organized gang. One of the members is Eddie Campbell (Robert Vaughn), a onetime resident of the town and orphan who was brought up in part by Ben Cutler (Fred MacMurray), an ex-lawman-turned-rancher. While pursuing the robbers, the town marshal, Hiram Cain (Emile G. Meyer), is shot dead by Campbell, who in turn is wounded and captured by Cutler. The town council appoints Cutler as temporary marshal, and the prosecution seems like an open-and-shut case -- he begins to see signs of trouble when his own daughter Laurie (Joan Blackman), who was raised with Campbell and was once his sweetheart, refuses to believe that he's guilty of the crime. Ben's fiancée, Ruth (Maggie Hayes), also feels the boy deserves leniency, but the real trouble starts when Campbell's attorney, William Selby (Edmon Ryan), shows up; he first tries to compromise the jury pool by ingratiating himself with the asking the townspeople what we would now call "push" questions, about Campbell's being an orphan and a hard-luck case all of his life, under the guise of building his case. He's also just clever enough at the trial to shake the testimony of the five other witnesses to the shooting, but Cutler's testimony is enough to put the jury into the guilty column. Then Campbell starts working on the sympathy of Laurie and the townspeople who've been persuaded by his lawyer -- it's also been a long time since there's been a capital case like this in the state, and Cutler discovers that the townspeople and even the law may not be as ready to execute a killer as common sense says they should be. Cutler's and Ruth's romance is jeopardized, and he is pushed to the point of resigning when matters come to an explosive head. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide