Zolya Talma Movies
- 1969
A private delegation of Chinese and American diplomats has convened in a secret Scandanavian location to negotiate the release of several American POWS. Providing security at the meeting is Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr), who finds himself matching wits--and witticisms--with his cagey Chinese counterpart Hsai Hsu Mak (Khigh Dhiegh) as the two men try to find a potential murderer in their midst. Meanwhile, Ironside's aide Mark (Don Mitchell) falls in love with female Chinese delegate Mei Noyen (Cecile Ozorio) (one of the few instances of an interracial romance on 1960s television). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
It's Christmastime, and Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) enter into the spirit of things by playing Santa for the impoverished Ward family--with the curmudgeonly Malloy agreeing to put up half the money for a toy dump truck. But it's back to business as usual when the cops chase after the perpetrators who have stolen the Wards' car. Elsewhere, Jim and Pete break up a domestic quarrel and haul in a driver who has indulged in too much "Yuletide cheer." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
W.W. Jacobs' Grand Guignol classic The Monkey's Paw had previously been filmed as a theatrical feature in 1933 when this updated version was presented on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. While on vacation in the Bahamas, Paul and Anne White (Leif Erickson, Jane Wyatt) attend a party where the guests are cruelly mocking a wizened gypsy woman (Zolya Talma). Defiantly, the old crone brandishes a tiny, severed monkey's paw, which Paul immediately identifies as a good-luck charm. Indeed, when the gypsy gives the monkey's paw to Mr. White, she informs him that the shriveled artifact will grant him three wishes -- but the third wish will be for death. A young Lee Majors appears as the Whites' son, Howard, whose grisly demise looms large over the story's heart-pounding climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leif Erickson, Jane Wyatt, (more)
- 1963
A Mexican honeymoon turns into a nightmare when Laura Needham (Eileen O'Neill), the young wife of tourist Mark Needham (Peter Graves), is murdered. The police suspect that the crime was committed by wealthy businessman Theodore Bond (Albert Salmi), but they lack the evidence to make an arrest. Taking matters into his own hands, Mark vows to bring the elusive Bond to justice -- but it is another tourist couple, Louise and Alex Trevor (Sarah Marshall, Ed Nelson), who finish what Mark has started. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Albert Salmi, (more)
The title is Black Orchid, but the leading lady is a rose--florist Rose Bianco, played by Sophia Loren. Newly widowed, Rose holds herself responsible for the death of her husband, a well-known gangster. Anthony Quinn plays a widower who falls in love with Rose, much to the dismay of his daughter (Ina Balin), who fears that Quinn will be destroyed as thoroughly as Rose's first husband. All ends happily after Rose and her new beau align to find her unhappy runaway son (Jimmy Baird). Black Orchid tries too hard to be a "slice of life;" perhaps it might have fared better with a cast of unknowns, but then who'd go to see it? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, (more)
Scripted by famed playwright Tennessee Williams, The Rose Tattoo stars Anna Magnani as Serafina Delle Rose, a Sicilian woman who now lives in the American South. As the film opens, she is still mourning the death of her beloved husband, constantly telling herself stories of their time together. Her fragile emotional existence is shattered when she discovers that her husband had been carrying on with another woman. Luckily, Serafina also meets truck driver Alvaro Mangiacavallo (Burt Lancaster) around this time, and their tentative romance may help her through this troubling time. Williams wrote the script for Magnani, who was awarded an Oscar for her work in the film. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster, (more)
