Frank Albertson Movies

This episode served as the pilot for Jim Nabors' starring series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. When Gomer joins the Marine Corps, Andy tags along to make sure that all goes well during his pal's first day at boot camp. Of course, the situation rapidly deteriorates as the feckless Pyle drives his new topkick, Sergeant Carter (Frank Sutton), crazy. Andy saves the day by leading Carter to believe that Gomer is related to celebrated Marine general Lucius Pyle. Viewers will quickly note that Frank Sutton uses a broad Southern accent as Carter, which he would summarily drop for the Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. series proper. Filmed in the late Summer of 1963, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. was withheld from view until May 18, 1964, when it aired as the final fourth-season episode of The Andy Griffith Show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this offbeat crime drama, Mafia boss Johnny Colini (Marc Lawrence) has run afoul of the law and is being deported back to his native Sicily. Colini is not at all happy about this, and after he saves the life of a young thug, Johnny Giordano (Henry Silva), he knows the perfect way for Giordano to pay him back. Colini teaches Giordano the fine art of being a hit man, then sends him to America as Johnny Cool, with a long list of people who he believes informed on him to the police. Johnny Cool begins knocking off Colini's old enemies with a brutal violence that betrays the cool detachment of his personality; along the way, he meets Dare Guinness (Elizabeth Montgomery), a beautiful but promiscuous woman with whom Johnny falls in love. Several gangsters wanting to stop Johnny Cool's reign of terror rough up Dare as a warning to the hit man, but this only serves to make him all the more bloodthirsty. Produced in part by Peter Lawford, Johnny Cool features an interesting variety of notables as Johnny's associates and victims, including Telly Savalas, Mort Sahl, Joey Bishop, Jim Backus, and Sammy Davis, Jr., who also sings the theme song. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

While on a driving tour of America with her parents (Michael Wilding, Anna Lee), young English girl Loren Saunders (Katherine Crawford) heads to her folks' rented station wagon to take a nap. Unfortunately, she gets into the wrong car, and awakens somewhere in Mexico -- where she witnesses a murder. Thus does Loren find herself the object of two desperate searches: one conducted by her frantic parents, the other by the murderers. This episode is based on Encounter with Evil, a novel by Amber Dean. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In yet another high-stakes poker game, Bart (Jack Kelly) wins part ownership of Diamond Jim Malone's gambling casino. Unfortunately, our hero also "wins" a certain Lucky Matt Elkins (Dan Haggerty), who has been blackmailing Diamond Jim (Robert J. Wilke) and doesn't intend to let up now that the casino is under new management. Film-noir stalwart Marie Windsor heads the supporting cast of this episode, which in some sources is listed as having originally aired on March 4, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Nightclub singer Crystal Coe (Polly Bergen) is less than thrilled when her former husband, Tony (Joe Maross), shows up. It seems that Tony has served a lengthy prison sentence for a crime that Crystal had committed. Now Crystal must find a way to divest herself of Tony for good -- never suspecting that in doing so, she will end up a very, very sorry young lady. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although his bootlegging operation has been smashed up and his boss Al Capone is in Federal Prison, Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon) still has plenty of crooked irons in the fire. One his most lucrative enterprises is a Hollywood-based extortion racket, designed to control exhibition prices for theater operators. Hoping to break Nitti once and for all, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) uses an old warrant against Nitti flunkey Sidney Rogers (Richard Anderson) as the first step in his plan. This final episode of The Untouchables' first season feature the last appearance of Anthony George as "Untouchable" Cam Allison--but if you think that the explosive climax marks the exit of the formidable Frank Nitti, guess again. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While Wally (Tony Dow) studies all weekend for a difficult history test, Eddie (Ken Osmond) and Lumpy (Frank Bank) scheme to use an easier (and less scrupulous) method, writing up crib sheets on the school's bathroom towel dispenser. Come the day of the test, and the "cheat sheets" are confiscated by the teacher. Hoping to avoid the consequences, Eddie and Lumpy point to Wally's high score and insist that he was responsible for writing up the crib notes! Carol Sydes (aka Cindy Carol) makes her first appearance in the recurring role of Alma Hanson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bette Davis guest stars in this episode, which was directed by her former Now, Voyager co-star Paul Henreid. Davis is cast as Miss Fox, a wealthy woman living in a luxury apartment. Taking a liking to elevator operator Eddie McMahon (James Congdon), Miss Fox hires him to walk her dog. Later on, Eddie approaches Miss Fox, asking for a generous loan. She refuses -- and shortly thereafter, she is brutally attacked on the street by an unseen assailant. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tennis player Walter Richmond (Robert Horton) finds a perfect doubles partner in the shapely form of attractive young widow Laura Gild (Betsy Von Furstenberg). As the two get to know each other better, the insatiably curious Walter begins asking questions about Laura's dear, departed husband. It would have been far better, however, if Walter had kept his curiosity to himself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Commercial artist James Vanning (Aldo Ray) and his friend, Dr. Edward Gurston (Frank Albertson), are on a hunting and fishing trip in Wyoming when they stop to help two men whose car has crashed. The pair, John (Brian Keith) and Red (Rudy Bond), turn out to be escaped bank robbers, on the run with 350,000 dollars in stolen cash after a clean getaway, and they don't plan on leaving any witnesses -- Gurston is shot dead by Red, using Vanning's hunting rifle, but Vanning survives by accident, knocked cold but alive. He awakens to discover the stolen money, accidentally left behind, and runs with it from the returning killers -- he gets away but loses the bag in the blizzard that hits. He manages to make it to the nearest town, but not before the doctor's body is found, with a bullet in it from Vanning's rifle. Now the prime suspect in the murder, Vanning takes it on the lam, hiding out for months -- unbeknowst to him, however, he's been under observation for most of that time by Ben Fraser (James Gregory), an investigator from the insurance company whose policy covered the bank that was robbed; and has been found by John and Red -- and all of them think that Vanning can lead them to the missing money. But John and Red are perfectly prepared to torture and even maim Vanning to get the money, and they get their chance when he lets his guard down one night to talk to Marie Gardner (Anne Bancroft), a young model he meets in a bar. He manages to get away from his captors after a fierce struggle and makes his way to her place; after convincing her that it's not the police he's running from (which is not entirely true), they take off together, with Fraser and the two hoods only a half-step behind, headed to Wyoming and the spring thaw so he can hunt for the bag and the missing money and prove his innocence. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

When he was first offered the film version of the best-selling Frederick Wakeman novel The Hucksters, Clark Gable turned it down, characterizing the book as "filthy and not entertainment." He finally agreed to star in the film after screenwriter Luther Davis' extensive laundering job. Gable plays Vic Norman, a radio advertising executive just returned from World War II. His wartime experiences have soured him on the phony aspects of his profession; nonetheless, he takes a job with the biggest and phoniest agency in town, headed by the glad-handing Kimberly (Adolphe Menjou). At Kimberly's recommendation, Vic takes over the Beautee Soap account, which brings him in close quarter's with Beautee's boorish head man Evans (Sidney Greenstreet). At their first meeting, Evans unexpectedly spits on his highly polished conference table. "Gentlemen," he growls, summing up his philosophy on advertising, "You have just seen me do a disgusting thing. But you will always remember it!" (Evans was based on George Washington Hill, the colorfully crude president of the American Tobacco Company). Vic's first assignment for Evans is to round up 25 high society women to sign testimonials for Beautee Soap. The least cooperative of the bunch is young widow Mrs. Dorrance (Deborah Kerr, in her American film debut), the stepdaughter of an American war hero. Attracted to Vic, Mrs. Dorrance signs the agreement, but breaks off her personal relationship with Vic when it appears as though he's making unsolicited advances towards her. The ever-demanding Evans then insists that Vic sign up two-bit comedian Buddy Hare (Keenan Wynn) for a radio program. Becoming more and more corrupt with each passing day, Vic obtains Hare's service at a rock-bottom price by blackmailing the comedian's agent (Edward Arnold), Vic's onetime close friend. A demo record is made of Hare and of nightclub singer Jean Ogilvie (Ava Gardner), who is in love with Vic but who eventually gives him up because of his apparent lack of scruples. Returning to the Beautee Soap headquarters, Vic watches dumbstruck as Evans smashes the demo record--then laughs uproariously, telling Vic that the contract is his, along with a $25,000 bonus. By this time, Vic is so disgusted with himself and with Evans' childish baiting tactics that he tells off the soap mogul in no uncertain terms, ending his tirade by dousing Evans with a pitcher of water. Having regained his integrity, Vic is now worthy of the love of Mrs. Dorrance, who has forgiven him his earlier misdeeds. As the film ends, she encourages Vic to use his advertising talents for something clean and honest (and, undoubtedly, starve to death in the process!) To mollify Madison Avenue, screenwriter Davis narrowed the attack on advertisers to one single radio sponsor; to please Gable, Mrs. Dorrance was changed from a still-married woman to a widow, while Vic Rodman is transformed from a "huckster" to an idealist who Does the Right Thing at the end. The Hucksters is one of Clark Gable's best postwar films, as well as one of the finest Hollywood satires of the rarefied world of advertising. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi