Romo Vincent Movies

This spoof makes fun of a certain famous German shepherd movie star from the 1920s. The mayhem begins when the head honcho of a financially struggling studio turns a lost dog into a legend. The story features a number of old stars making cameo appearances. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Tara Nicole (Holly Near) is an 18-year-old girl from a wealthy family. She rebels against her parents by taking up with a rock band lead by Bogart (Jordan Christopher). Singer Lou Rawls and Roddy McDowell make up part of the band, whose members end up seducing the young teen and her mother Astrid (Jennifer Jones). Tara's mom makes her first and last jump from an airplane with a faulty parachute and her father (Charles Aidman) is found hanging from the diving board poolside. The band manages to wreck Tara's life in this implausible feature. Holly Near would go on to become a feminist folk singer and begin a series of college tours in the 1970s, promoting peace. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

LAPD detective Sgt. Tom Valens (David Janssen) is a ten-year veteran of the force who has had more than his share of hard luck lately -- his marriage is a wreck, and he hasn't fully recovered from a serious wound suffered in the line of duty a year ago. He and his partner, Sgt. Ed Musso (Keenan Wynn), are working a stakeout one night at the Seascape Apartments, in hope of catching a killer who has already claimed three victims in that part of the city, when he confronts a man seemingly trying to sneak off the premises. The man tries to run, stops when ordered but starts to pull a gun, and Valens shoots him dead. The deceased turns out to be Dr. James B. Ruston, a well-known humanitarian and pillar of the community -- worse yet, the police can't find any trace of the gun Valens says he saw Ruston pull. Valens' nightmare builds gradually, as he's first assigned to a desk, then hung out to dry by an indifferent coroner (Carroll O'Connor) at an inquest, suspended from the force, and then indicted for manslaughter by a crusading prosecutor (Sam Wanamaker) with a personal ax to grind. Villified in the press and by protesters in the street, Valens has few even slightly sympathetic ears around him -- his partner, his captain (Ed Begley Sr.), and his soon-to-be-ex-wife (Joan Collins) -- and even fewer allies. The one attorney (Walter Pidgeon) with enough juice to fight the case on an even footing with the DA says he would only plead him guilty and try for a deal, based on his understanding of the law and of juries; and the one public pundit (Steve Allen) who takes his part is doing so for the most cynical of reasons. Valens realizes that the only way to save himself is to first prove that the so-called victim wasn't quite the candidate for sainthood that he seemed -- why did he run? -- and to find the missing gun. To do all of that, he's got to confront the victim's aggrieved patients (Lillian Gish), his alcoholic widow (Eleanor Parker), and his employees (Stefanie Powers), all of whom have every reason to hate Valens. He starts to dig into the doctor's finances and finds some anomalies that no one can explain (or wants to look at -- they'd rather hang Valens), and as he puts together the pieces of the puzzle, helped by a sympathetic tenant at Seascape (George Grizzard), Valens finds himself pursued by the doctor's thug of son and his friends with mayhem on their minds -- and someone else with a deadlier agenda. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

This episode was designed as a lead-in for the CBS special Lucy in London, which aired on October 24, 1966. Having entered the winning jingle for the Arf Arf Dog Food company, Lucy (Lucille Ball) wins first prize: An all-expense-paid trip to London. This being her first overseas flight, Lucy is understandably nervous, which results in a truly bumpy ride for her unwilling travelling companion--Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon). Pat Priest of The Munsters fame is seen as a harried stewardess. The opening "conveyor belt" gag was written by longtime I Love Lucy scriveners Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr., who also penned the script for the Lucy in London special. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Garner plays a man who awakens in Central Park with no memories at all. This drama chronicles his search for his identity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After being humiliated in front of General Peterson (Barton MacLane) once again--he could have sworn he saw an elephant in Tony's bedroom!--Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke) is more determined than ever to prove that something very, VERY strange is going on in the Nelson household. To this end, he persuades Tony (Larry Hagman) to let him move in as a house guest for a "few" days. Of course, Jeannie (Barbara Eden) must keep herself scarce during Bellows' stay, but this task proves to be more than the capricious genie can handle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a hapless Army sergeant's plans to marry are temporarily delayed after he accidentally ends up launched into space with a chimpanzee. Upon his return, he is a changed man and is ultimately sent to prison after he threatens to go public with the mix-up. Meanwhile, suave Sgt. Donovan, Deadhead's double, takes his place at the altar. To stop him, Deadhead breaks out of prison and becomes his old self again just as he arrives at the honeymoon suite. Naturally he wins his rightful bride and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This filmization of Neil Simon's first Broadway hit was adapted for the screen by Norman Lear. Once we get past the illogical casting of middle-aged Frank Sinatra and twentysomething Tony Bill as brothers, we're home free. Sinatra, a swinger supreme, uses his New York apartment as a harem of sorts for his legion of lady friends. Bill, wishing to break loose from his protective parents (Lee J. Cobb and Molly Picon), moves in with older brother Sinatra, hoping to emulate his sibling in the sex department. Sinatra teaches Bill the tricks of the trade--to his everlasting regret, since Bill soon wins such prizes as Jill St. John and Barbara Rush away from Sinatra. The third act finds Sinatra behaving more like a parent than his parents, steering Bill on the straight and narrow and finally settling down with Rush. Also appearing in Come Blow Your Horn is singer Phyllis McGuire (an offscreen Sinatra vis-a-vis), Dan Blocker, and, in the uncredited role of a wino, Dean Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Frank Capra's last feature film, Pocketful of Miracles is a Technicolor remake of his 1933 film Lady for a Day. A barely recognizable Bette Davis plays Apple Annie, the besotted, unkempt, rag-clad street vendor who controls the activities of all the beggars on Broadway. Apple Annie is the pet of Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford), a tough but basically kind-hearted gangster who believes that Annie's apples bring him luck. One morning, Annie fails to show up at her usual corner. That's because she is sitting disconsolate in her squalid shack, contemplating suicide. The reason: Annie has received a letter from her daughter Louise (Ann-Margret, in her screen debut). Annie has been supporting Louise's high-priced European education, leading the girl to believe that she, Annie, is a high-society dowager. Now Louise is returning home with her wealthy fiance Carlos Romero (Peter Mann) in tow, and it looks as though Annie's cover will be blown to bits. Partly out of sympathy, but mostly because of his superstitious belief in the power of Annie's apples, Dave the Dude arranges with his Broadway cohorts to "doll up" Annie so that she can pass as a woman of means, then stage-manages a huge, expensive reception for Louise and her beau. The complications that ensued in the original 1933 version of Lady for a Day exercise their prerogative once more, with a few added plot twists to pad out Glenn Ford's screen time. Cutting through the sentimental goo like a machete is Peter Falk, who is hilarious as Dave the Dude's sarcastic bodyguard. Evidently, Falk was one of the few actors on the set of Pocketful of Miracles with which Capra remained sympatico throughout shooting. In his autobiography (a not altogether reliable tome), Capra insisted that Pocketful of Miracles was ruined by Glenn Ford's autocratic and self-serving on-set behavior, and by Ford's demand that his current lady friend Hope Lange be (mis)cast as brash nightclub chirp Queenie Martin. As usual, Capra was not telling the whole story: at 63, he was beginning to lose his grip on his movie-making skills, allowing every scene to run well past its value and concentrating on cute isolated "bits" rather than the story at hand. Way too long at 136 minutes (Lady for a Day ran but 90), Pocketful of Miracles still has a lot going for it, especially the glowing performance of Bette Davis and the basic, foolproof Damon Runyon story on which it is based. While it disappointed at the box office, Miracles has since its release become a Christmastime TV perennial, seldom failing to draw big ratings numbers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This movie is ideal for those in the mood for something steamy, overwrought and wonderfully trashy. Billed as a mystery, it centers on hapless Joan Crawford as a wealthy gambler's widow who exchanges the lights and excitement of Vegas for the anticipated serenity of the isolated beach house that she leased sight unseen. Unfortunately she soon discovers that she gets a lot more than she bargained for when she learns that the previous tenant, fell or was pushed off a balcony to her death. She also finds herself contending with a handsome and persistent beach-bum gigolo. Though she knows he is a bum in more ways than one, she cannot help but fall in love with him. Unfortunately, she stumbles across the deceased tenant's diary and learns the ugly truth, forcing her to choose between self-preservation and unbridled passion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It doesn't take long for old-time-radio fans to figure out that The Naked Jungle is a film version of the classic Carl Stephenson nailbiter Leiningen Versus the Ants. Charlton Heston plays South American plantation owner Christopher Leiningen, who spends most of the film preparing for the hellish onslaught of deadly soldier ants. The original story concentrated solely on Leiningen; the film version hokes things up a bit by bestowing upon the hero a gorgeous mail-order bride, played by Eleanor Parker. No matter: the climactic insect invasion is well worth the wait, utilizing the Paramount Pictures optical-effects department to the nth degree. The Naked Jungle also offers excellent supporting work from Abraham Sofaer, Douglas Fowley, and William Conrad, who also acted in several of the radio adaptations of the Carl Stephenson yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frightening though the prospect may sound, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis appear in Technicolor and 3-D in the musical comedy Money from Home. Cashing in on the success of Guys and Dolls, the script is based on a Damon Runyon story. Martin plays gambler Honey Talk Nelson, whose "markers" have been called in by gangster boss Jumbo Schneider (Sheldon Leonard). In need of money in a hurry, Honey Talk tries to honey-talk his gawky assistant-veterinarian cousin Virgil Yokum (Jerry Lewis) into "fixing" the outcome of an upcoming Maryland steeplechase competition. Along the way, Virgil is forced to impersonate British jockey Bertie Searles (Richard Haydn), and also gets mixed up with a visiting Arab potentate (Romo Vincent) and his harem. Pat Crowley and Marjie Millar fulfill the leading-lady obligations, while Dean Martin gets to sing three songs, one of them co-written by Guys and Dolls composer Frank Loesser. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jon Hall is right in his element in the Columbia low-budgeter Hurricane Island. Hall plays Captain Carlos Montalvo, second-in-command to Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon (Edgar Barrier). Engaged in a search for the Fountain of Youth, Montalvo gets mixed up with lady buccaneer Jane Bolton (Marie Windsor) and Indian princess Okahia (Jo Gilbert). The villains, who lurk at every plot turn, are thwarted in a climactic hurricane, chiefly comprised of stock footage from earlier films (a specialty of producer Sam Katzman). Hurricane Island is in and out in 71 breezy minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide