Warren Vanders Movies

In this documentary, the legends, facts and folklore about the dreaded "Bermuda Triangle," which lies between Bermuda, Miami and Puerto Rico, are recounted. Based in some small part on the book by Charles Berlitz, it tells of lost squadrons of airplanes, boats, and mysterious electronic disturbances. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The Walnut Grove schoolchildren put together a stage production in which snooty Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim) lands the leading role. Meanwhile, another student, Ginny Clark (Rachel Lonaker), hopes to use the play to help her widow mother, Della (Kay Peters), a faded debutante, get back into the higher rungs of Walnut Grove society -- and by extension, to land a new husband. A crisis arises when Ginny sells her beautiful long hair so that she can afford to buy Della a new dress -- whereupon Della jumps to the conclusion that her daughter has stolen the money. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bob Dalton (Robert Conrad) leads his notorious gang of outlaws into the town of Coffeyville, Kansas, in an attempt to rob two banks simultaneously. The only thing that stands in their way is former gunman Will Spence (Richard Widmark) and the courage of the townspeople, led by town marshal Charles Connelly (Gene Evans), in defending themselves. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

This episode offers the viewer a glimpse of two stars in the making: Jill Clayburgh and Suzanne Somers). Clayburgh plays Marilyn Polanski, a model whom Jim Rockford (James Garner) meets while working for Ginny Nelson (Somers), the "widow" of a man (Fred Beir) reported killed in a plane crash. It turns out that Ginny's husband Steve is still alive, and up to his neck in an insurance swindle. And as luck (?) would have it, Marilyn is the only eyewitness when Jim is kidnapped by the minions of two shady characters who have a vested interest in maintaining the illusion of Steve's demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a retired Navy cook lives his dreams. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Despite the fact that most of the westerns made at this time (early '70s) were "deconstructionist" westerns, which either spoofed or subverted the themes of this genre, occasionally a traditional western got filmed. The Revengers is a traditional western. John Benedict (William Holden) returns to his ranch, only to find all his cattle stolen and his family murdered. He vows to exact revenge on Tarp (Warren Vanders), the varmint who did this to him. He recruits a treacherous gang of convicts, bribing the warden for their release, and makes his move. When the attack fails, the convicts aren't interested in making another try. Instead, they shoot him and, leaving him for dead, head off to follow their own concerns. On her way to a new landholding, Elizabeth (Susan Hayward) stumbles upon the injured man, and nurses him back to some semblance of health. She begs him to drop his revenge plan, but he resumes his quest, receiving unexpected help along the way from Hoop (Ernest Borgnine), one of the renegade ex-convicts. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Italian director Tonino Valerii recreates a fistful of JFK conspiracy theories in Western settings with this bizarre look at the assassination of President James Garfield in 1890 Dallas. Granted, the assassination really occurred in Washington in 1881, but Valerii and screenwriter Massimo Patrizi don't let their allegory be ruined by facts. Anyway, it's a well-made film, with cinematography by Stelvio Massi and a suitably stentorian soundtrack by Luis Enrique Bacalov, but its appeal is probably limited to fans of Euro-oaters. Giuliano Gemma, Fernando Rey, and Van Johnson star, while genre enthusiasts will recognize veterans Frank Brana and Antonio Casas. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This forgettable comedy finds Joe Lightcloud (Elvis Presley) as a mixed-blood Indian with strong ties to his tribe and his father Charlie (Burgess Meredith). Joe tries to get government assistance for the tribe in exchange for permitting the local congressman to graze cattle on Indian land. Maime (Quentin Dean) is the object of Joe's affection, but they are under the watchful eye of her mother Glenda (Joan Blondell), who owns the local saloon. The Jordanaires back up Elvis on a few songs, most notable being "U.S. Male" by guitar-great Jerry Reed. By this time, Elvis was extremely tired of churning out movies with such dismal scripts. Later in 1968, he would make a triumphant return to live performing with his NBC television special which featured Jerry Reed's "Guitar Man." Elvis was playing out the string of films set up by his controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker, who never wanted Elvis to be considered as a serious dramatic actor. Parker even went so far as to take Elia Kazan to task for even mentioning such an idea. It was such thinking that prompted the King Of Rock & Roll to return to the stage once again after an eight-year hiatus. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This typical western tale of beleaguered townsfolk mustering up the courage to fight the villain that controls their town with an iron fist features atypically bloody violence. Supposedly the top peacekeeper in the frontier town of Jericho, Sheriff Alex Flood (Dean Martin) is actually a ruthless bully and racketeer who owns or profitably intimidates every enterprise in Jericho with the help of his henchmen, including the Yarbrough (Slim Pickens). That is, every business except the lucrative stagecoach line run by the widow Molly Lang (Jean Simmons) and Hickman (John McIntire). Predictably, Flood wants command of the stage business, too, but Lang resists him, even when threatened with bodily harm. Tough gambler Dolan (George Peppard), a former marshal, rides into town intending to work for Lang as a driver, but when he learns of the tension between Lang and Flood he backs off, not wanting any trouble. However, when Yarbrough is caught by Lang trying to sabotage a coach on her property, the thug savagely beats her, forcing Dolan to get involved. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Written by Paul Schneider, "Ride the Wind" was Bonanza's first two-part story. Ben Cartwright is willing to provide Charles Ludlow (Victor Jory) with money to help finance the new Pony Express service, but isn't keen on allowing his son Joe to join Ludlow's riders. Nor is the Paiute Indian tribe amenable to allowing the Pony Express to go across their land. Exacerbating the problem is Ludlow's assistant, Curtis Wade (Rod Cameron), who hopes to make a name for himself as an Indian fighter. The story is sufficiently exciting to make one forget that the real Pony Express had been disbanded some three years before the events depicted in this episode. Part One of "Ride the Wind" first aired on January 16, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

IMF agents Rollin and Cinnamon are assigned to an Iron Curtain nation, where they hope to retrieve a reel of recording wire containing details of an enemy chemical-warfare project. To avoid detective, Rollin poses as dockworker, while Cinnamon impersonates a news photographer. Finding the reel is the "easy" part: The problem now is to get the wire out of the country, which is festooned with agents from a variety of unfriendly countries. Written by Ellis Marcus, "A Spool There Was" first aired on November 12, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sylviane Margolle is cast as Claudine, a wide-eyed French teenager who wants more than anything to be a nurse for the Americans. When King Company arrives in her village, Claudine insists upon helping every solider whom she thinks needs help. Most of the guys find the girl to be a harmless nuisance, but Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow) is a little more forceful in his attitude, rudely rebuffing Claudine and telling her to get lost. This serves only to convince the girl that Saunders needs her help most of all--and accordingly, she redoubles her efforts to win him over. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide