Vaughan Taylor Movies
American actor Vaughn Taylor was trained as a certified public accountant at Northeastern University. While performing in college theatricals, Taylor entertained notions of a stage career; he won a scholarship at the Leland Powers School of Theatre, but his resources were so low that he had to sell his blood to blood banks to pay his expenses. Steady stock, tent-show, and radio work convinced Taylor that he'd made the right career move, and upon completing his Army duties in 1945, the actor took on the new challenge of live television. Taylor played so many TV roles that it is fruitless to try to list them, though the first "couch potato generation" might have affectionate memories of the actor as sharp-witted janitor Ernest P. Duckweather on the 1953 satirical puppet show Johnny Jupiter. (Taylor was replaced by Wright King when the series went from live to film). Taylor was also a prominent "summer repertory" actor on the prestigious anthology Robert Montgomery Presents from 1952 through 1954. The movies utilized Taylor's talents, often in roles as duplicitous executives or crooked business partners: he was the two-timing showman beheaded by magician Vincent Price in The Mad Magician (1954). Anyone who follows the reruns of The Twilight Zone will be more than familiar with the skill and range of Vaughn Taylor: he played bookworm Burgess Meredith's hardhearted boss in "Time Enough at Last," a crazed old conjurer in "Still Valley," an unctuous robot salesman in "I Sing the Body Electric" and a kindly wheelchair-bound gent who sells his kindness and becomes a killer in "The Self-Improvement of Salvatore Ross." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
For better or worse, The Gumball Rally was the catalyst for a short-lived cycle of "illegal cross-country race" flicks. As thick-headed cop Roscoe (Norman Burton) does his best to stop the titular rally, a vast and varied contingent of contestants prepare to burn rubber from New York to California. The best-looking of the racers is played by top-billed Michael Sarrazin; Franco, a delightfully narcissistic Italian road jockey played by Raul Julia, also competes. Producer/director Chuck Bail was formerly a stunt coordinator, which helps to explain the incessant car crashes and near-misses in the film. Surprisingly, the doggedly low-budget Gumball Rally was produced by First Artists, a company formed by such major stars as Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, and Steve McQueen for the purpose of creating "prestige" film fare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Sarrazin, Norman Burton, (more)
- 1973
Richard Widmark is Brock, a salty NYC cop who retires to a small town in California. Brock's plans to become a peaceful orange farmer are interrupted when his Native American ranch hand (Henry Darrow) is accused of murdering the local sheriff. Before long, Brock himself has been appointed sheriff, and has trouble adapting his big-city technique to the less hectic style of his adopted community. Brock's Last Case was supposed to be the pilot for a weekly series. As it turned out, the title was prophetic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In $1,000,000 Duck, the titular duck is exposed to radiation and begins laying golden eggs, which brings it under the scrutiny of the treasury department, the FBI, and a gang of comic-opera crooks. The cast includes Disney perennials Dean Jones and Joe Flynn, with Sandy Duncan taking over the part usually assumed by someone like Michele Lee or Stefanie Powers. $1,000,000 Duck was directed by Vince McEveety. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandy Duncan, Dean Jones, (more)
- 1970
In her third Bonanza appearance, Mariette Hartley is here cast as Jennifer, the daughter of Ben Cartwright's old friend Harry Carlis (John McLiam). Slated to be wed to influential banker Tuttle Ames (Burr DeBennings, Jennifer leaves her intended at the altar and makes a beeline to the Ponderosa, insisting that she's been in love with Ben all her life. Even though Ben refuses to marry the girl, the vengeful Ames does everything in his power to destroy the Cartwright's financial empire. B.W. Sandefur's script makes a passing reference to Ben's son Adam, who hadn't been seen on Bonanza for nearly five years when "Is There Any Man Here?" first aired on February 8, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1970
When school rules prohibit Uncle Bill (Brian Keith) from attending a father-and-son event, Jody (Johnnie Whitaker) is upset, regarding Bill as the only dad he has ever had. This sets Bill to worrying that the kids are losing all memory of their real father. To solve this problem, Bill packs the family up for a nostalgic return visit to their home town of Terre Haute, where a number of touching surprises await them. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
As part of a law-school assignment, Mark (Don Mitchell) writes a defense brief for convicted murderer Gerry Foster (James Wainwright), thereby reopening an old case in which Ed (Don Galloway) was the arresting officer. Mark begins to regret getting involved in the project when Foster declares that Ed framed him. Ed and Mark end up working in concert to determine the truth--and both men are astonished by what they find! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
After the intense bloodshed of The Wild Bunch (1969), this comic western fable took the opposite approach to director Sam Peckinpah's continuing examination of the end of the West. Left for dead by a couple of lizard-slaughtering desperados in the middle of the desert, prospector Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) is saved by his unexpected discovery of water "where there wasn't any." Hogue turns the water hole, felicitously located near a stagecoach route, into a thriving business, creating a rest stop for a never-ending series of parched travelers. On his occasional trips to the closest town, he meets chipper prostitute Hildy (Stella Stevens), who joins him in his oasis, completing Hogue's little paradise. But even though Hogue may be able to succeed and avenge himself against his original attackers, there is one thing that he cannot stop: progress. Completed before The Wild Bunch was released, and replete with comical and even musical interludes, Peckinpah's gently picaresque telling of Hogue's rise and fall stands in distinct contrast to the visual violence of its predecessor. The underlying message about the cost of modernity, however, equals The Wild Bunch in seriousness. The callous randomness of Hogue's fate is as shocking as the Bunch's final blaze of glory; as in Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller from the same period, a tool of "civilization" provokes a most uncivilized end for an Old West dreamer. Although the film was as light-hearted in approach as the 1969 smash hit revisionist western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Warner Bros. mishandled the release and it did barely any business; Peckinpah returned to his trademark gore in his next film, the controversial Straw Dogs (1971). Still, The Ballad of Cable Hogue is less an anomaly for a master of violence than an ironically charming chapter in Peckinpah's career-long elegy to the western. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Robards, Jr., Stella Stevens, (more)
This hilarious oater finds Jesse Heywood (Don Knotts) as a Philadelphia dentist who leaves his home to open a new practice on the western frontier. The hapless dentist is saved by the expert gun handling of Penny (Barbara Rhoades), a reformed bandit trying to earn a pardon by intercepting gun shipments to hostile Indians. After several more situations in which Penny saves the nervous newcomer, Jesse believes he has exceptional firearms prowess and believes himself to be a hero. Comedy ensues when the jumpy Jesse faces a bevy of bad men and nervously clutches a six shooter with a very unsteady hand. Penny has to help the pseudo-hero out of even more trouble before they can ride off together into the sunset. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Knotts, Barbara Rhoades, (more)
- 1968
Ace Jones (Nick Adams) is a ex-stockcar racer who finds himself in need of repairs on his truck. The garage is owned by a young widow Sandy (Jeannine Riley), whose husband was killed in a racing accident at the local track. He gets a job as a mechanic helping the veteran wrench-man Toad (Vaughn Taylor) and eventually takes over the racetrack. Two of his friends are the victims of sabotage and lose their lives in a fiery crash. Ace decides to leave the life in the fast lane behind and settle down with Sandy. This was the last film for the late Nick Adams, whose once-promising career made him the talk of Hollywood akin to his buddy James Dean. Adams was best known as Johnny Yuma on the television series "The Rebel." Plagued by personal excesses, he will be remembered just as much for what he could have done in cinema as what he left behind. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Adams, Jeannine Riley, (more)
- 1968
With Kate still out of town (Bea Benaderet is not in this episode due to illness), Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) takes charge of the Shady Rest Hotel. The first order of business is to remove Mr. Clayton (Vaughn Taylor), an elderly guest who has stayed at the hotel for ages but has never paid a bill. Unfortunately, Clayton incurs the sympathy of the townsfolk, who angrily turn against Joe--who, as a result, may very well leave Hooterville for good! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
A team of research scientists believe they have discovered a superior intelligence. Jim Tanner (George Hamilton) and his pretty partner Margery Lansing (Susan Pleshette) have discovered the entity through their work on human endurance. The Power is able to control the minds of others, but Jim can't substantiate his suspicions that the force comes from one of the members of the scientific staff. A series of murders has Jim under suspicion by the police, as he tries to uncover the identity of the killer. Yvonne De Carlo, Earl Holliman, and Miss Beverly Hills also star in this sci-fi mystery. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Hamilton, Suzanne Pleshette, (more)
- 1968
After a botched sales meeting and a run-in with Larry, Darrin is convinced that he's been hexed by Endora and retreats to his bedroom, utterly defeated. Enter prankish Uncle Arthur, who gives Darrin a lucky charm which will supposedly make him immune to witchcraft. Chances are that this is another of Arthur's practical jokes, but Darrin won't find that out for certain until it's too late. Written by Ed Jurist, "The No-Harm Charm" first aired on April 25, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
- 1967
Roy Thinnes was the star of this 1967-1968 science fiction series, about an Earth poised on the brink of alien takeover. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1967
While visiting the remote community of Olympus, Candy is accused of murdering the son of town boss A.Z. Wheelock (Arch Johnson). Things don't look very rosy for the Ponderosa ranchhand: Determined to see Candy hang, Wheelock has paid off both the district attorney and a drunken eyewitness. Arriving in town, Joe Cartwright tries to prove Candy's innocence, only to be arrested himself for murdering the sole witness. Also appearing are Barry Sullivan as Fully, Brooke Bundy as Mary Elizabeth, and Vaughn Taylor as Sheriff Henning. Originally titled "Judgement at Olympia", this episode was written by Walter Black, and made its network debut on October 8, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
Richard Brooks wrote and directed this stark black-and-white (with brilliantly evocative cinematography by Conrad Hall) study of two drifters who murder a family, based on Truman Capote's non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. The film takes place in Holcomb, Kansas, where four members of the Herbert Clutter family are roused from their sleep and brutally murdered. The killers, Perry Smith (Robert Blake) and Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson), are two ex-cons who plan to rob the Clutters of $10,000 kept in a safe in their home. But Dick and Perry find no safe and no $10,000 and end up leaving the murder scene with only $43. The police, led by Alvin Dewey (John Forsythe) of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, try to track down the killers. Meanwhile, Dick and Perry take off to Mexico, where Perry has fantasies of prospecting for gold. But when his dreams of prospecting come to naught, Dick insists that they return to the United States. Confident that they have left no clues, they cash bad checks, and the police track them down in Las Vegas. During questioning, their alibis are broken when they are separated and tell conflicting stories. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, (more)
- 1967
Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and Rhodes (Stephen Brooks) head to the Florida Keys, where Gloria Burnett is hiding in an abandoned house. Gloria is the only person who can identify her husband Charles (James Franciscus) and his accomplice Allen Cole (Hunt Powers) as the masterminds behind a thwarted kidnap attempt, and Charles is not about to let her tell anyone what she knows. Ratcheting up the melodrama is an oncoming hurricane that threatens to wipe out all of the principal characters in one fell swoop. Glen Campbell shows up as a philosophical guitar player. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Hoping to prepare Billie Jo (Gunilla Hutton) for a job as public stenographer, Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) encourages her to enroll in a secretarial school. To practice her typing skills, Billie types up a letter from her mom Kate (Bea Benaderet) that she finds lying around the house. Unfortunately, the letter is an extremely nasty and insulting one, and Kate had never intended for it to be delivered--but delivered it is, placing poor Kate at the mercy of Post Office bureaucracy as she tries to retrieve the embarrassing missive! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Newly arrived in Utah under the alias "Jim Corman", Kimble (David Janssen) meets unwed mother Ruth Simmons (Kim Darby), whose baby is seriously ill. In his efforts to treat the infant, Kimble meets strong opposition in the form of Ruth's father Joshua (Harry Townes), a religious zealot who objects to any sort of medical treatment. Adding to Kimble's burden of woe is an ambitious deputy named Pete (Tom Skerritt) who is using a team of bloodhounds to track down the fugitive. This episode was originally slated to air on October 11, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Grant (Ralph Bellamy) is a wealthy rancher who hires four mercenaries to retrieve his wife, Maria (Claudia Cardinale), from the clutches of the desperado Raza (Jack Palance) in this Western adventure set in 1917. Dolworth (Burt Lancaster) is a munitions expert who joins gunslinger Fardan (Lee Marvin), horse trainer Hans Ehrengard (Robert Ryan), and longbow master Jake (Woody Strode) when the men are offered 10,000 dollars apiece for the safe return of Grant's kidnapped wife. The cadre travels 100 miles into Mexico to retrieve the woman, whom they later discover wants to remain with Raza, but they decide to nab Maria anyway to make good on the money. Soon Fardan, Hans, and Jake are chased across the border by the enraged Raza and his equally deadly female accomplice Chiquita (Marie Gomez), while Dolworth stays behind to fight off Raza's Mexican banditos. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Direction (Richard Brooks), Best Screenplay (Brooks again), and Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, (more)
- 1966
- Add The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming! to QueueAdd The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming! to top of Queue
Just because The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming was vastly overrated by contemporary critics does not make it any less amusing. The story gets under way when a Soviet submarine accidently gets lodged in a sandbar on the coast of a New England town. In his feature film debut, Alan Arkin plays the sub's second-in-command, who is ordered by commander Theodore Bikel to free up the sub and skeedaddle before an international incident erupts. Hoping to secure a power boat to tug the sub out to sea, Arkin and his men call upon vacationing TV writer Carl Reiner, passing themselves off as Norwegians. When this ruse fails, Arkin is reluctantly compelled to force Reiner at gunpoint to fetch his motorboat, while gentle-natured Russian sailor John Philip Law is left behind to guard Reiner's wife Eva Marie Saint and pretty neighbor girl Andrea Dromm (yes, love blooms). The plot thickens when the locals, notably bullnecked sheriff Brian Keith and superpatriot Paul Ford, spread the word that the Russians have "invaded" their little community. Several slapstick complications later, the Russians and the locals face each other down in the center of the village, weapons at the ready. Fortunately, World War 3 is averted when the Russians and the villagers band together to rescue young Johnny Whittaker from falling to his doom. Enormously popular upon its first release, The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming still works on a slick sitcom level. The film was based on a novel by Nathaniel Benchley, the son of humorist Robert Benchley and the father of Jaws author Peter Benchley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, (more)
- 1966
A ricocheting bullet catches Little Joe Cartwright in his-er-nether regions. Seeking answers to his brother's non-fatal but certainly embarrassing injury, Hoss tries to communicate with world-weady female gunslinger Willie Mae Rikeman (Louise Latham) and her two uncontrollable sons Judd (Mark Slade) and Jeb (Robert Doyle. Both Cartwright boys emerge from the experience with a better appreciation of their own family. Written and directed by Herman Hoffman, "A Real Nice, Friendly Little Town" was first shown on November 27, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1966
In the second episode of a three-part story, Presidential emissary Jason McCord (Chuck Connors) has managed to disuade his former West Point comrade General Custer (Robert Lansing) from sparking an Indian war to further his own political ambitions. Shortly thereafter, Chief Crazy Horse (Michael Pate) arrives in Washington to plead for peace and fair treatment of his people from General Sheridan (John Pickard). Alas, Sheridan's philosophy is that the only good Indian is a dead Indian--and this time, Jason may not be able to prevent a bloodbath. Excerpts from "Call to Glory" were later combined with scenes from two other Branded episodes, "Fill No Glass for Me" and "Now Join the Human Race", to form the direct-to-video "feature film" Blade Rider: Revenge of the Indian Nations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
In the concluding episode of a three-part story, sinister forces have conspired against both General Custer (Robert Lansing) and Indian chief Crazy Horse (Michael Pate), making a final bloody confrontation at the Little Big Horn all but inevitable. Acting on behalf of President Grant, Jason McCord (Chuck Connors) has received evidence that Indian shaman Sitting Bull (Felix Locher) did not murder a crooked Indian agent as claimed. Racing against time, McCord hurries to convey this information to Custer--who has already gathered his 7th Cavalry for a rendezvous with destiny. Excerpts from "Call to Glory" were later combined with scenes from two other Branded episodes, "Fill No Glass for Me" and "Now Join the Human Race", to form the direct-to-video "feature film" Blade Rider: Revenge of the Indian Nations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
It is time again for Founder's Day in Mayberry, and on this occasion a mobile museum has arrived in town. Meanwhile, deputy Warren struggles to get the park's ornamental cannon in working condition, hoping to fire a salute in honor of the governor's visit. As an added plot complication, a gang of crooks has shown up in town, planning to take advantage of the excitement by staging a heist. Written by Jack Elinson, "The Cannon" originally aired on November 22, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Burns
