Georgia Simmons Movies

Billie is a screen version of Ronald Alexander's perennial stage favorite Time Out For Ginger. Patty Duke plays a tomboyish high schooler who excels in athletics but who continues to strike out socially. Jim Backus and Jane Greer perform yeoman service as Duke's parents, who wonder how long it's going to be before their daughter stops trying to be their son. Backus is particularly concerned because he's running for mayor on a platform of "male supremacy" (this is 1965, remember?). From time to time, Duke expresses her frustration in song: her big number finds her holding her gym shoes in one hand, a bottle of perfume in the other. Warren Berlinger also stars as Duke's long-suffering boyfriend. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Written by Earl Hamner, Jr., this late Twilight Zone episode shows evidence of production difficulties and post-production tampering, as indicated by the curious repetition of several key scenes and the decision to dub the voice of child actress Mary Badham (of To Kill a Mockingbird fame) with that of adult actress June Foray. Whatever the case, this is the story of Sport (Badham) and Jeb (Tim Stafford), two wealthy southern kids who would give anything to escape their parents' constant quarrelling. While lolling near the swimming pool in their suburban backyard, the kids are astonished when a Huck Finnish young boy suddenly emerges from the water and beckons them to dive in. They do so, resurfacing in an idyllic backwoods setting, populated by disenfranchised children and presided over by benevolent "earth mother" Aunt T (Georgia Simmons). With the telecast of "The Bewitchin' Pool" on June 19, 1964, the five-year saga of Twilight Zone came to an end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A seven year old and his mother cope with his father's death in an auto accident. His grieving mother is in denial, and the rush of well-meaning relatives fails to help the situation. The boy observes the reaction of adults to the death of his father, taking refuge in the world and games of children to escape the sadness. Mary (Jean Simmons) slowly accepts her husband's death and begins to adjust to the devastating loss. The story is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by James Agee. Robert Preston plays the friendly, ill-fated husband whose brother Ralph (Pat Hingle) is the local undertaker in this dramatic tear jerker. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The adaptation of Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of dirt-poor Dust Bowl migrants by 4-time Oscar-winning director John Ford starred Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, who opens the movie returning to his Oklahoma home after serving jail time for manslaughter. En route, Tom meets family friend Casey (John Carradine), a former preacher who warns Tom that dust storms, crop failures, and new agricultural methods have financially decimated the once prosperous Oklahoma farmland. Upon returning to his family farm, Tom is greeted by his mother (Oscar-winner Jane Darwell), who tells him that the family is packing up for the "promised land" of California. Warned that they shouldn't expect a warm welcome in California--they've already seen the caravan of dispirited farmers, heading back home after striking out at finding work--the Joads push on all the same. Their first stop is a wretched migrant camp, full of starving children and surrounded by armed guards. Further down the road, the Joads drive into an idyllic government camp, with clean lodging, indoor plumbing, and a self-governing clientele. When Tom ultimately bids goodbye to his mother, who asks him where he'll go, he delivers the film's most famous speech: "I'll be all around...Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat...Whenever there's a cop beating a guy, I'll be there...And when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build. I'll be there too." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though its title suggests yet another rip-off of It Happened One Night, Republic's Romance on the Run is more accurately classifed as a crime caper comedy. Private detective Barry Drake (Donald Woods) gives chase when jewel thieves Lily (Grace Bradley) and Cooper (Craig Reynolds) skip town and high-tail it to the sticks. Along the way, Drake begrudgingly accepts the help and advice of dizzy Dale (Patricia Ellis), with whom he falls in love (hence the film's title). Much of the film takes place in hillbilly country, with Drake and Dale running afoul of comic-strip hillbillies. Edward Brophy has a few choice moments as a dyspeptic gangster. Romance on the Run was directed by Gus Meins, a graduate of the "Our Gang" comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this backwoods musical, two feudin' families provide the basis of the action. The tale begins as the head of one family asks his son to marry the daughter of the other to bring peace. Unfortunately the son knows that it is his brother that really loves the girl and so takes off. The travelin' son has many adventures as he suffers from a rare condition that causes him to lose his memory every time he is struck upon the head. The only way he can regain it is to be splashed with water. While in one of his phases, he meets and falls in love with a young woman until he encounters water; he then forgets all about her and their romance. Romantic mayhem ensues until the whole mess is straightened out. Songs include: "If I Put My Heart in a Song," "Can't You Hear That Mountain Music?" "Thar She Comes," "Hillbilly Wedding," "Good Morning," and "Mama Don't 'Low No Bull Fiddle Playin' in Heah" ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide