Harry Townes Movies
Wiry-featured American actor Harry Townes usually played informers, small-time crooks, wrong-headed military officers or duplicitous businessmen. His acting career began while he was attending the University of Alabama; chancing upon a Birmingham performance by a touring stage company of Richelieu starring Walter Hampden, Townes impulsively decided to become a performer himself. Within three years, Townes had worked in a New England stock company and was costarring in a travelling production of that old theatrical warhorse Tobacco Road. After two decades of stage performances, Townes came to Hollywood to appear on NBC television's Matinee Theatre, averaging some 18 TV performances per year thereafter. His personal favorite TV assignment was GE Theatre's Christmas offering The Other Wise Man, although Twilight Zone fans would argue in favor of Townes' role as a petty con artist endowed with the ability to change his facial features in the 1959 episode "The Four of Us are Dying." Harry Townes' film credits include The Mountain (1956), The Brothers Karamazov (1958), Sanctuary (1961) and The Warrior and the Sorceress (1974). His one recurring TV role was as Russell Winston on the 1986-87 season of Knots Landing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Versatile character actor Harry Townes is afforded a rare top-billed assignment in Operation Manhunt. Townes is cast as the real-life Igor Gouzenko, who while working as a code clerk in the Soviet embassy in Ottawa was instrumental in smashing a Red spy ring operating in Canada. The film recounts Gouzenko's disillusionment with the Communist party line, his decision to cooperate with federal officials, and the efforts by the KGB to put him out of the way permanently. Operation Manhunt was produced by Matty Fox, the head of Motion Pictures for Television, and was originally intended for a simultaneous theatrical and TV release. The story of Igor Gouzenko was previously dramatized on a bigger-budgeted scale in 20th Century-Fox's The Iron Curtain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Townes, Irja Jensen, (more)
- 1956
One of Dodge's finest citizens is shot down in cold blood on Front Street. Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) soon discovers that he himself was the intended target, and that the killing was masterminded by an old enemy. But as the story unfolds, it turns out that there's a third man involved in the conspiracy. One of several episodes directed by frequent John Wayne collaborator Andrew McLaglen, "Spring Term" is based on the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of June 13, 1953. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
To fully enjoy the rugged outdoors adventure The Mountain, one must accept the notion that 55-year-old Spencer Tracy and 25-year-old Robert Wagner are brothers. Tracy plays veteran mountain guide Zachary Wheeler, who is coaxed out of retirement when a passenger plane crashes on high mountain. He decides it isn't worth risking his life to recover the bodies of the passengers, but hot-headed younger brother Chris (Robert Wagner), hoping to claim the victims' valuables, talks Zachary into accompanying him to the mountaintop. After their treacherous upward journey, the brothers discover that one of the passengers, a Hindu girl (Anna Kashfi), is still alive. Zachary wants to bring her back to safety, but the greedy Chris would rather abandon her and make off with the valuables. It is, inevitable, then, that not everyone involved is going to get off the mountain alive. A worthwhile character study enhanced by superb location photography, The Mountain is compromised by its overreliance on phony-looking studio "exteriors". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, (more)
- 1956
A stalwart of the radio anthology circuit, the classic suspense tale "The Creeper" is given its first TV treatment on this episode. The title character is a serial strangler who preys upon helpless women. Terrified at the prospect of being the next victim, Ellen Grant (Constance Ford) locks her apartment door and refuses to come out. Before long, however, salvation seems to be at hand, as a locksmith shows up to fix Ellen's door so that no one -- but no one -- will be able to break in. At least, that's what Ellen thinks until the very last, horrifying minute of this macabre little playlet. "The Creeper" was re-filmed for the 1985 revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, with Karen Allen as the protagonist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
District attorney Martin Ross (Royal Dano) is running for governor. To help Martin's chances, his mentally disturbed brother Richard (Harry Townes) murders Martin's opponent. As tough as it is for Martin to cover up Richard's "indiscretion," it gets even tougher when another man (Robert Ellis) is arrested for the crime -- and Martin is obliged to force a confession from him! A young Inger Stevens figures into the proceedings as Martin's anguished wife Laura. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Two years before Hitchcock terrified audiences with the shower scene from Psycho, audiences recoiled at the shower scene in this dark and decidedly twisted psychological thriller. The tale of terror centers on an exotic dancer (Anita Ekberg) who is terrorized by a knife-wielding homicidal maniac. She is cut up but not seriously hurt as her step brother bursts into the bathroom and shoots the killer before he finishes. Unfortunately, the slasher escapes. Time passes, and while the physical wounds, heal, the psychic wounds continue to haunt the poor dancer, who must go to a psychiatrist for help. When a reporter hears about the case, he suspects the work of a serial killer and starts investigating. He finds that each of the killer's victims are given a horrifying sculpture of a woman screaming. Meanwhile, the girl's doctor finds himself falling in love with her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Ekberg, Philip Carey, (more)
- 1958
"The Bostonian" is Henry Prince (Harry Townes), who with his wife Gloria (Constance Ford) has journeyed west to seek his fortune. Almost immediately upon arrival in Nevada, Prince incurs the wrath of greedy cattleman Clint Bryant (Joe Bryant) by purchasing a valuable and much-coveted piece of property. Paladin (Richard Boone), who to no one's surprise also has roots in Boston, comes to Prince's defence when Bryant decides to declare all-out war on the hapless Easterner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is intrigued when he receives a $2500 check from one Lucille Allred (Anna Lee), with no explanation why. Contacting Lucille's husband Bernard (Neil Hamilton), Perry is told that the woman has run off with another man. The situation becomes even more vexing when Bernard turns up murdered, not long after being in a highly suspicious car accident which also involved his business associate Bob Fleetwood (Harry Townes). Now Perry will be able to earn that $2500 as defense councel for Lucille Allred, who has been charged with her husband's murder. In an interesting bit of casting, Yvonne Craig appears as Bernard Allred's stepdaughter, some nine years before Ms. Craig and Neil Hamilton respectively played Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) and her dad Commissioner Gordon on TV's Batman. This episode is based on a 1947 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov is given a Hollywood screen treatment by producer Pandro S. Berman and director Richard Brooks. Yul Brynner plays Dmitri Karamazov, a callous Russian officer who cuckolds his domineering father (Lee J. Cobb) with the old man's mistress Grushenka (Maria Schell). Richard Basehart is Dmitri's intellectual brother Ivan, while William Shatner is the pious Alexey Karamazov; both men eventually enjoy the attentions of the willing Grushenka. The Karamazovs' half-brother is Smedyakov (Albert Salmi), an epileptic whose purpose in the story is clarified after the family patriarch's murder. It is now part of Hollywood folklore that Marilyn Monroe fought long and hard to be cast as the enigmatic Grushenka. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Maria Schell, (more)
- 1959
This was the first film directed by Paul Stanley, and its theme of second-generation Puerto Ricans living in New York's Spanish Harlem would be picked up again in 1961's smash success, West Side Story. Miguel Estrada (John Saxon) was a member of a local gang before he went to prison for a year, and now that he is out he wants to walk the straight-and-narrow. His attempts at getting away from the life that binds him to the gangs are not anything his father can understand, and the gangs are not going to let him just walk away. At one point, he is forced into a knife fight with a gang member. A counterpoint to Miguel's dilemma is found in Sarita (Linda Cristal), a local "hostess" who prefers single bliss to marriage and its problems. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Linda Cristal, (more)
- 1959
Originally under the sponsorship of the Alcoa company, One Step Beyond began its three-season "journey into the unknown" with this eerie episode, which like all subsequent episodes is based on a documented instance of paranormal activity. Virginia Leith (best remembed as the title "character" in the 1963 horror epic The Brain That Wouldn't Die is cast as newlywed bride Sally Conroy, who with her husband Matt arrives at the vacation resort where they plan to spend their honeymoon. Even though she has never been to this resort in her life, Sally recognizes everyone and everything there. Gradually, and to his mounting horror, Matt realizes that his new wife has been possessed by a malevolent spirit--and may never return to normal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Once seen in childhood, the January 1, 1960 Twilight Zone episode "The Four of Us Are Dying" can never be forgotten. Set in a surrealistic New York City (replete with flashing neon signs and forced-perspective streets), the story concerns one Arch Hammer (Harry Townes), a two-bit hood gifted with the ability to change his facial features. In rapid succession, he assumes the personalities of two recently deceased individuals -- jazz musician Johnny Foster (Ross Martin) and murdered gangster Virgil Sterig (Phillip Pine) -- for his own financial and sexual gain. But Arch comes to grief when, pursued by Sterig's killers, he transforms his face into that of punkish prizefighter Andy Marshak (Don Gordon). Enchancing the episode's dramatic clout is a brilliant performance by Beverly Garland as a nightclub singer and a driving musical score by Jerry Goldsmith. "The Four of Us Are Dying" was written by Rod Serling from a story by George Clayton Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Townes, Ross Martin, (more)
- 1960
Crippled farmer Tom Edwards (Harry Townes) holds Ben Cartwright responsible for the accident which destroyed the use of his legs. Edwards' bitterness is fueled by his hired hand Ezekial (Claude Akins), who while plying Tom with liquor is also methodically cheating him out of his life savings. It turns out that Ezekial has another reason for his Iago-like treachery: He, too, despises the Cartwrights, and is determined to use Tom as his instrument for revenge. Dianne Foster costars as Tom's wife Joyce. Written by Halsted Wells, "The Mill" was originally seen on October 1, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1960
While driving toward a secret rendezvous, adulterous couple Gerald Simms (Harry Townes) and Frances Hiller (Randy Stuart) accidentally strike a boy on a bicycle. Afraid that their illicit romance will be revealed, the couple speeds off without providing assistance to the dying boy. Exactly one year after the tragedy, Gerald turns on his office dictaphone, only to hear the sounds of pain and anguish--and at the same time, Frances is haunted by grotesque noises in her own home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
In big trouble after delivering some "hot" money, Lucy Stevens (Connie Hines) fakes her own suicide by driving her empty car into the ocean. She then assumes the identity of her own (fictional) cousin, Carole Morgan, and assumes that her problems are over. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) enters the scene when the body of Marjorie Ralston (Mary Webster) is found in the wreckage of the "empty" car and Lucy is charged with her murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Combining elements from William Faulkner's novel Sanctuary, its sequel Requiem for a Nun, and a stage adaptation of Requiem for a Nun by Ruth Ford, director Tony Richardson's film is set in 1920s Mississippi and recounts the story of Temple Drake (Lee Remick), a young, lustful white woman who falls for a man who rapes her, only to marry another when she is told that her lover has died. The story is told as a flashback in an attempt to explain what led to the film's present, in which a black maid is on trial for the murder of Temple's baby. This was Richardson's first film made for a studio; he agreed to make Sanctuary to fund his next film, A Taste of Honey. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Remick, Yves Montand, (more)
- 1961
One of the best of the "existential" Twilight Zone episodes, Charles Beaumont's "Shadow Play" begins in a courtroom, where Adam Grant (Dennis Weaver) is convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to the electric chair. Shouting "It's happening all over again!", Grant insists that his trial, conviction, and execution are all part of a recurring nightmare -- and that when he dies, the world around him and all its occupants will likewise cease to exist. Originally telecast May 5, 1961, "Shadow Play" was one of the few "vintage" episodes that would be remade for the revived Twilight Zone TV series of the late 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Weaver, Harry Townes, (more)
- 1962
Once again, the loyalties of the Cartwright clan are divided by the ongoing Civil War. Confederate sympathizer Judge Terry (Harry Townes) hopes to use the Cartwrights' influence to become the governor of Nevada. As a byproduct of this political finagling, Joe Cartwright falls in love with the Judge's daughter Morvath (Joyce Taylor), infuriating-and ultimately alienating-his brother Adam, who remains faithful to the Union Cause. Weaving throughout the proceedings is celebrated British secret agent Bill Stewart (Barry Kelly). The fact-based teleplay for "The War Comes to Washoe" was written by Alvin Sapinsley; the episode originally aired on November 4, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1963
Show business agent Janice Brandt (Anne Baxter) all but abandons her client list to advance the career of young actor Larry Duke (George Segal), with whom she has fallen in love. Janice's alcoholic husband, Ed (Harry Townes), objects to this situation, expressing his displeasure by striking out at his wife -- who manages to knock Ed unconscious. In a panic, Janice tells Larry what she has done...whereupon Larry calmly suggests that she finish the job and murder Ed, and thus finally be rid of him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Baxter, George Segal, (more)
- 1963
En route to Death Row after being wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife, Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) escapes his captor Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse) in a spectacular train crash. For the next four TV seasons, Kimble will live the life of The Fugitive, travelling from town to town, state to state, in search of the "One-Armed Man" who actually murdered Mrs. Kimble. In this first episode of Season One, Kimble, using the alias James Lincoln, lands a job as a bartender in Tucson. Soon he becomes deeply involved in the plight of the bar's piano player Monica Welles (Vera Miles), who is being tormented by her brutish husband Ed (Brian Keith), a wealthy and politically powerful rancher. Establishing the pattern followed by virtually every subsequent Fugitive episode, Kimble places his own freedom (and life) in jeopardy by coming to Monica's rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In a depature from the usual Perry Mason format, Perry (Raymond Burr) flies to Europe as a personal favor to his old friend Frederic Ralston II. Arriving in Switzerland, Perry is asked to check up on Greta Konig (Susanne Cramer), the German nightclub singer who wants to marry Ralston's son Freddy (Fred Vincent), a lieutenant in the Army Engineer Corps. Instead, the lawyer ends up investigating two mysterious deaths, both linked to a treasure hidden by Nazis at the bottom of a Swiss lake during WW2. Future Hogan's Heroes costar Werner Klemperer appears as the local detective on the case, while Jim Davis, aka "Jock Ewing" on Dallas, is one of the victims. Inasmuch as Perry is literally "flying solo" in this episode, neither Della Street (Barbara Hale) nor Paul Drake (William Hopper) appear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Based on eyewitness testimony, a nasty old man named Justin Briggs (John Anderson) is convicted of the murder of one Eddie Fry--who is not only very much alive, but is actually fugitive Richard Kimble (David Janssen). Now miles away from Briggs' town, Kimble could conceivably keep quiet and avoid arrest by allowing Briggs to be executed. Instead, Kimble's essential decency gets the better of him, and returns to reveal that reports of his death were highly exaggerated. Unfortunately, by this time Briggs himself has been killed while trying to escape--and his hotheaded son Roy (David Macklin) is determined to get even with Janice Cummings (Dianne Foster), whose testimony sent his dad to prison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
The seventh volume in a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology series focuses on a surveillance system, popular throughout the globe, which is actually the product of alien technology. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
