Lurene Tuttle Movies
Raised on a ranch near the Arizona border, American actress Lurene Tuttle took acting lessons in Phoenix while still a child. Feisty and naturally funny, she found work with Murphy's Comedians, a vaudeville troupe, then played traditional ingenues in a San Antonio stock company. Though she never appeared on Broadway, Tuttle was a busy stage actress throughout the '20s and '30s. When stock work dried up in the Depression, Ms. Tuttle entered radio, where she became one the busiest actresses in the business, playing everything from sugary high schoolers to hardbitten gun molls. Many of her fans feel that her best radio work was as Effie Perrine, the effusive and efficient secretary on The Adventures of Sam Spade, in which Howard Duff played private eye Spade. Concentrating on films and television as big-time radio faded, Tuttle played small character parts in several movies and was a regular on the TV sitcoms Life with Father, Father of the Bride and Julia. One of the actress' final performances was in the post-apocalyptic film drama Testament (1983), in which she was reunited with Leon Ames, her Life with Father and Father of the Bride costar. In private life, Lurene Tuttle was the wife of radio actor/announcer Mel Ruick, and the mother of musical comedy actress Barbara Ruick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1967
Joe Cartwright's impending marriage to the lovely Sally Cutler (Shirley Bonne) is threatened by the girl's unwanted suitor Horace (Beau Bridges), who is not only clumsy and inept, but also potentially dangerous. When Horace accidently strangles Sally to death, Joe swears vengeance. Ben tries to prevent his son from making a mistake he'll regret the rest of his life. Also appearing are Lurene Tuttle as Mrs. Cutler and Roy Roberts as Bristol. First shown on January 8, 1967, "Justice" was written by Richard Wendley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
The British title of Billy Wilder's classic comedy was Meet Whiplash Willie -- for, despite Jack Lemmon's star billing, the movie's driving force is Oscar-winning Walter Matthau as gloriously underhanded lawyer "Whiplash" Willie Gingrich. CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Lemmon) is injured when he is accidentally bulldozed by football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) during a Cleveland Browns game. Willie, Harry's brother-in-law, foresees an insurance-settlement bonanza, and he convinces Harry to pretend to be incapacitated by the accident. To insure his client's cooperation, Willie arranges for Harry's covetous ex-wife Sandy (Judi West) to feign a rekindling of their romance. Harry's conscience is plagued by the solicitous behavior of Boom Boom, who is so devastated at causing Harry's injury that he insists on waiting on the "cripple" hand and foot. Meanwhile, dishevelled private eye Purkey (Cliff Osmond) keeps Harry under constant surveillance, hoping to catch him moving around so the insurance company can avoid shelling out a fortune. Wilder and usual co-writer I.A.L. Diamond were at their most jaundiced and cynical here, even if, after a sardonic semiclimax, the last ten minutes succumb to the sentimentality that often marred Wilder's later movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, (more)
Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) is a typesetter at a newspaper who longs for a chance to be a reporter. Editor Beckett (Dick Sargent) gives Luther his big break and assigns him to spend the night in a house generally considered to be haunted. The situation allows a broad canvas for Knotts to react to sight gags with the special brand of eye-popping nervousness that made him a star. Former Playboy Bunny Joan Staley plays the pretty girlfriend of star reporter Ollie Skip Homeier. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Knotts, Joan Staley, (more)
- 1966
For reasons which he prefers to keep secret, wealthy industrialist Cameron Burgess (Paul Stewart) hires shady music promoter Clete Hawley (Richard Carlson) to groom a likable but untalented British rock singer named Sandy Chester (Martin Horsey) for superstardom. Soon afterward, Hawley is murdered, and Sandy is charged with the crime. Fortunately, Burgess is a client of Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), who agrees to defend the shaggy-haired suspect in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this religious movie, a married pair of television writers begin researching a script on restless teenagers and end up as born-again Christians. Meanwhile their own adolescent son runs away with a pregnant teen who is looking for the child's father. When she cannot, she tries to kill herself. Later, the son goes to a Billy Graham crusade with his dad, and he too is saved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Years ago, Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) had his heart broken by Mary Alice Perkins, who left him waiting at the altar and married another man. Now, Mary Alice is a widow, and Uncle Joe decides to begin corresponding with her again. Are there wedding bells in the offing, or is Joe setting himself up for another fall? Lurene Tuttle, previously seen on Petticoat Junction as sterm schoolmarm Adelaide "Genghis" Keane, is here cast as Widow Perkins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
After purchasing the diary of an alleged suicide victim at an auction, Della (Barbara Hale) is surprised when someone offers her $1000 for the book. Turning down the offer, the intrigued Della begins paging through the diary, ultimately arriving at the conclusion that its author did not kill herself, as originally reported. Della brings the diary to the attention of her boss Perry Mason (Raymond Burr)--thereby setting off a chain of strange and sordid events, culminating in Perry's defense of Josephine Kempton (Lurene Tuttle) on a murder charge. The "grinning gorilla" mentioned in the title is played by celebrated stunt man and simian impersonator Janos Prohaska. This episode is based on a 1952 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
To study the aging process of humans, Martin (Ray Walston) pushes his own age forward fron 450 to 850 years--thereby making himself seventy in Earth Years. In this guise, Martin takes a job as a night watchman, and subsequently comes to the rescue of two elderly sisters (Lurene Tuttle, Nydia Westman) who are in danger of losing all their possessions. Unfortunately, "Old Man Martin" also ends up with a stolen sapphire which proves impossible to dispose of no matter how hard he tries! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Hoping to coerce Tony (Larry Hagman) into marrying her, Jeannie pretends to accept Roger's marriage proposal. This makes it imperative for Jeannie to hide her true identity from Roger(Bill Daily). For this purpose, she "creates" a set of wealthy parents, who live in the house across the street from Tony--which she also conjures up out of thin air, leading to no end of complications for her long-suffering Master. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Mayberry's customary calm is disrupted when Walker's Department Store is plagued with a wave of thefts. To catch the shoplifter red-handed, Barney poses as a store mannequin, with hilariously chaotic results. Andy and Barney eventually trap the crook, but in doing so they risk public ostracization (tune in, and see why). This episode was written by Bill Idelson and Sam Bobrick. "The Shoplifters" made its network broadcast premiere on March 2, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In the final episode of Petticoat Junction's first season, Kate (Bea Benadaret) braces herself for a visit from her former schoolteacher Adelaide Keane (played by Benadaret's fellow old-time-radio veteran Lurene Tuttle), who was so stern and tough that she was known to one and all as "Genghis" Keane. But after having spent a lengthy vacation in Europe, Adelaide is no longer quite the tyrant that she used to be--in fact, she's a pussycat. Ken Osmond, the former Eddie Haskell on Leave It to Beaver, shows up in this episode as Billie Jo's (Jeannine Riley) current beau Harold, while Barbara Pepper makes her first appearance as Mrs. Ziffel (here named "Ruth" instead of "Doris"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In this crime drama, a bored, but seductive wife of a wealthy old ranch goes cruising for trouble and finds it when she picks up a hapless hitchhiker who soon falls under her sexy spell. Like a fly to a spider's web, he is drawn to her bedroom. Unfortunately, the old rancher sees him leaving and flies into a rage, killing his cheating wife. The crooked county sheriff is delighted by the events as he can now begin blackmailing the rancher. To cover for the crime, he arrests the poor drifter who doesn't even know the woman is dead. In the end, the rancher kills the sheriff and confesses all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Derek, Aldo Ray, (more)
- 1964
The debut episode of the mirthfully macabre sitcom The Munsters begins as Marilyn, the "normal" member of the monstrous Munster family of Mockingbird Heights (normal by our standards if not by theirs) is invited to a costume party held by the snobbish parents of her new boyfriend Tom Daly (Linden Chiles). Under these circumstances, Mr. and Mrs. Daly (Frank Wilcox, Mabel Albertson) have no way of knowing that the masqueraded Munsters bear close resemblances to such Hollywood horrors as the Frankenstein monster, Dracula and the Wolfman. The fun begins when Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne), seeing that Tom's father has unwittingly made himself up to look just like Herman, jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Daly isn't wearing any costume at all! With this episode, Beverly Owen makes the first of 13 appearances as Marilyn Munster, a role played for the remainder of the series by Pat Priest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Thanks to the curbstone advice of Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), Sarah Breel (Lurene Tuttle) is cleared of a shoplifting charge. Not long afterward, Sarah's niece Virginia (played by former child star Margaret O'Brien) tells Perry that she believes her aunt is involved in a jewel robbery--or at the very least, is covering for her no-good brother George. When George's partner Austin Cullins (Blair Davies) is murdered, Sarah is found near the scene of the crime with the murder weapon and a cache of jewels in her purse. Naturally, Perry agrees to handle Sarah's defense--a job that becomes doubly difficult when dear brother George turns up murdered as well. Keep at eye out for a pre-"Mr. Spock" Leonard Nimoy in a supporting role. This episode is based on a 1938 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Eddie (Ken Osmond) is convinced that he's too cool for the room when he moves out of his parents' house and into his own apartment. Before long, Wally (Tony Dow) is being regaled with Eddie's stories about his new-found independence, his posh living quarters, and his unlimited accessibility to pretty girls. Ward (Tony Dow) and June (Barbara Billingsley) are worried that impressionable Wally will want to follow Eddie's example -- but a visit to the fabled "bachelor pad," and a revealing conversation with the landlady, brings Wally down to Earth in a hurry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Osmond, Frank Bank, (more)
Ira Levin wrote the stage comedy Critic's Choice as a good-natured retort to a comment made by critic Walter Kerr. In his essay How Not to Write a Play, Kerr noted that the worst possible scenario would involve a drama critic forced to review a play written by his wife (we should mention that Kerr's own wife was noted playwright Jean Kerr). Levin utilized this very scenario, and the result was a Broadway hit. Less successful artistically was the 1962 film version, though with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball as stars, the film couldn't help but clean up at the box office. Hope portrays theatrical critic Parker Ballantine, while Lucille Ball plays his wife Angela. Feeling "useless," Angela writes a play as a lark, then is amazed when it is optioned by a major producer. Parker does his best to get out of the responsibility of reviewing the play (which very well may be as bad as he thinks it is), but cannot escape the responsibility. Much of the verbal wit of the Levin original is sacrificed in favor of one-line quips; there is also an overabundance of gratuitous slapstick during a little-league game and the climactic "opening night" sequence. Still, Hope and Ball work together well as always. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, (more)
In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock was already famous as the screen's master of suspense (and perhaps the best-known film director in the world) when he released Psycho and forever changed the shape and tone of the screen thriller. From its first scene, in which an unmarried couple balances pleasure and guilt in a lunchtime liaison in a cheap hotel (hardly a common moment in a major studio film in 1960), Psycho announced that it was taking the audience to places it had never been before, and on that score what followed would hardly disappoint. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (John Gavin). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits throughout this film. The first of a handful of sequels followed in 1983, while Gus Van Sant's controversial remake, starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche, appeared in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, (more)
- 1960
Sheriff Andy is coaxed into heading the fund-raising campaign for the children's charity established by Annabelle Silby (Lurene Tuttle), the wealthiest woman in Mayberry. Reasoning that charity begins his home, Andy scolds his son Opie for contributing a puny three cents to the charity. Andy soon discovers to his embarrassment that, in his own small way, Opie is actually the most charitable and generous person in town. First telecast November 28, 1960, "Opie's Charity" was written by Arthur Stander. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Lewis Martin (Wynn Pearce) considers himself lucky to be alive; he has been kidnapped, driven way in the country, and forced to get drunk, apparently as part of an elaborate frame-up. After his ordeal, Martin contacts Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), accusing his stepfather Judson Bailey (Bruce Gordon) of arranging the abduction in order to get Martin out of the way so that Bailey could take over the family business. Perry is asked to locate a photograph showing Bailey conspiring with the mysterious kidnapper--but the lawyer ends up defending Martin when Bailey turns up dead. H.M. Wynant makes his first appearance as Deputy DA Sampson, one of several temporary replacements for absentee series regular William Talman (DA Hamilton Burger). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The story of America's most notorious gangster mother is chronicled in this crime drama. The tale starts in Oklahoma during the Depression. It is she who encourages her sons to become criminals. So sage is her advice, that other infamous mobsters such as Dillinger, and Machine Gun Kelly come to her for advice. She and her outlaw progeny go on the lam until the police finally corner her in her richly appointed Florida hide-out. A bloody shoot-out ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
The much-despised Allan Sheridan (William J. Campbell) is going to need the $162,000 he is due to inherit: deeply in debt to several people, Sheridan had better pay up in a hurry if he doesn't want his list of enemies to increase. As it turns out, one enemy is more than enough to bludgeon Sheridan to death with an ashtray. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) enters the scene to defend the chief suspect, Sheridan's cousin Sarette (Lurene Tuttle) (who curiously was identified as the victim's aunt in the original TV Guide synopsis!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Beaver (Jerry Mathers) accidentally breaks his brother Wally's sports trophy, then messily tries to glue it back together. Surveying the damage, Ward (Hugh Beaumont) concludes that Beaver is jealous of Wally (Tony Dow) and broke the trophy on purpose. Utterly devastated that his dad won't believe otherwise, Beaver turns himself in at the local adoption agency, hoping for a quick change of parents! Famed radio actress Lurene Tuttle appears as agency head Mrs. Brady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rusty Stevens, Lurene Tuttle, (more)
- 1958
During a stopover in Wyoming, Paladin saves the life of Sheriff Owen Deaver (James Olson)--only to be arrested by Deaver for gunfighting in public. Paladin soon learns that the idealistic young sheriff is the son of an old friend, a legendary lawman. Educated in Philadelphia, Owen Deaver has returned to the west determine to rigidly adhere to the letter of the law as prescribed in the five law books which he has displayed in his office. Although Deaver's one-size-fits-all approach is effective, it has alienated him from everybody in town--including his own mother (Lurene Tuttle). It falls to Paladin to prove to the well-meaning but misguided Deaver that the administration of justice must sometimes be tempered with mercy...and common sense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
Another delightful entry in the Bell Science Series, The Unchained Goddess represents a felicitious collaboration between legendary Hollywood director Frank Capra and animation geniuses Shamus Culhane and William T. Hurtz. Appearing in live action, Dr. Research (Frank Baxter) and The Fiction Writer (Richard Carlson) set about to explain how weather is created, and how scientists have endeavored to predict and control it. They are aided by several animated character, foremost among them the beautiful but somewhat haughty Meteora, the Goddess of Weather (whose long gown rather resembles the funnel cloud of a tornado) and her subjects: Winds, Clouds and Rain. A copacetic blend of entertainment and education, The Unchained Goddess became standard fare on the high-school classroom circuit after its original 1958 telecast, and is still available on home video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dr. Frank Baxter, Richard Carlson, (more)
