Joan Vohs Movies

Family Affair takes a serious turn in this episode featuring future Brady Bunch costar Eve Plumb as Eve Bowers, a seriously ill classmate of six-year-old Buffy (Anissa Jones). In her typically naïve, well-meaning fashion, Buffy falsely raises Eve's hopes by claiming that her Uncle Bill (Brian Keith) will be able to find a doctor who can cure the girl. Ultimately resigned to the sad truth, Bill arranges for Eve to have the best "Early Christmas" party ever...knowing full well that she will probably not make it until Christmas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Entering a school art exhibit, Cissy (Kathy Garver) sets about painting a picture she calls "Members of the Family." Among those caricatured in the early stages of the painting are Cissy, Buffy (Anissa Jones), Jody (Johnnie Whitaker) and Uncle Bill (Brian Keith)--but not Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot), who feels terribly hurt over his apparent exclusion. Incidentally, the artwork seen in this episode was actually done by series regular Kathy Garver). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kaye Stevens guest-stars as nightclub singer Julie Madden, another of Bill's many lady friends. As a favor to Bill, Julie agrees to give singing lessons to Buffy, who hopes to join her school glee club. Alas, poor, tone-deaf Buffy has what could be described as "Van Gogh's ear for music". Kaye Stevens sings "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You", while series regular Johnnie Whitaker (Jody) performs "Every Boy Should Be President", a fascinating preview of Whitaker's song renditions on his later series Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A man claiming to be Australian Bishop Arthur Mallory (Vaughn Taylor) arranges a reunion between orphanage alumnus Carol Delaney (Rebecca Welles) and her millionaire grandfather Charles Burroughs (Carl Benton Reid. Shortly thereafter, Burroughs is murdered and Carol is arrested for the crime. While preparing Carol's defense, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) unearths some disturbing information about the so-called Bishop. This episode is based on a 1936 novel by Earl Stanley Gardner, which was previously adapted (and considerably rewritten!) as a 1937 theatrical feature with Donald Woods as Mason. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a dying outlaw confesses to a crime for which Jedd Ferris (Richard Crane) has been sentenced to jail, Bret (James Garner) sets upon the task of securing Jedd's release. Trouble is, Jedd's wife Martha (Joan Vohs) is coveted by a tough customer named Ben Maxwell (Richard Webb), who will stop at nothing to make certain that Jedd remains behind bars. The first Maverick episode directed by series "regular" Douglas Heyes, "The Long Hunt" is a particular treat for fans of 1950s TV science-fiction shows, inasmuch as Richard Webb, aka "Captain Midnight", is cast as the bitter enemy of Richard Crane, aka "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, a white man kills an Apache Chief and starts a war. This time the Apaches choose an interesting way to exact their revenge: they will dress up as federal soldiers and sneak into the fort. The problem is that they must attack a supply column in order to get the uniforms. They do so and massacre the soldiers. Unfortunately, one escapes and is able to warn the fort of the impending attack. The Apaches soon find themselves gallantly marching right into a deadly massacre. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Vic Barron (Mark Stevens) is an ex-detective from San Francisco whose career is ruined and family is destroyed because of his dedication to his job. Three years before, he'd been close to breaking a gang with ties to some very powerful people. Then they tried to kill him by bombing his car; he was permanently disfigured, and his wife and child died in the blast, and then he was set up with planted money and sentenced to prison. Now he's out, and he's no longer a cop, but that won't stop him from finishing his last case or finding the man who planted the bomb. Neither his former friends on the force (who know he was innocent) nor the "persuasive" efforts of Roxey (Skip Homeier), a psychopathic strong-arm man, can get him to change his mind or his plans. Vic thinks he knows one of the men responsible, Tino Morelli (Douglas Kennedy), but it turns out that Morelli's been hiding out in Alaska, just as desperate in his desire not to be found as Vic has been to get revenge, and hiding from the same man. No sooner does the ex-cop come to appreciate this fact then he is set up for another fall -- this time for murder. But in the process, he finally figures out who was behind the destruction of his family; and he finds some things in life worth living for, if he can manage to stay alive to enjoy them. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Though both Edward G. Robinson and Paulette Goddard were at career low points when they filmed Vice Squad, both actors were too professional to give anything less than their very best. Robinson plays Captain Barnaby of the titular squad, who during a routine day at the station takes charge of a case involving the killing of a patrolman. Barnaby holds Jack Hartrampf (Porter Hall), a witness to the murder, in protective custody. Hartrampf had been making a clandestine meeting with a pretty young lady, and is afraid to tell the police what he knows for fear of losing his reputation and getting the girl involved in the mess. With the help of Mona (Goddard), head of the so-called escort bureau who arranged the tryst, Barnaby is able to follow the trail of clues to bank robbers Barkis (Edward Binns) and Pete (Lee van Cleef). There's many an additional complication -- including a kidnapping and a false arrest -- before Barnaby is able to call it a day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the early 1940s, producer Hal Roach turned out several entertaining and profitable "streamliners" (each running approximately 45 minutes) about an army recruit with a photographic memory and his long-suffering sergeant. William Tracy portrayed Private (and later Sergeant) Doubleday, while Joe Sawyer was his topkick Sgt. Ames. In 1951, Hal Roach Jr. decided to revive the series, but only two 6-reel films resulted. The first, As You Were, finds Doubleday re-enlisting, much to the consternation of the bombastic Ames. This time both men find themselves at odds with their new "fellow" sergeant, lovely WAC Joan Vohs. Like its sequel Mr. Walkie Talkie, As You Were was released by Lippert Films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

County Fair is an amiable racetrack drama starring Rory Calhoun. A veteran horse trainer, Calhoun has developed a somewhat unsavory reputation. He redeems himself by arranging for near-impoverished matron Florence Bates to win an important race. It's all for the love of a good woman--in this case, Bates' niece Jane Nigh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ronald Reagan plays a George Petty-type magazine illustrator who creates a "perfect girl" from a composite of the features of several models. While relaxing at the beach, Reagan meets a lovely young schoolteacher (Virginia Mayo) who is the living image of his imaginary girl. Sensing a terrific promotional angle, Reagan ingratiates himself with the girl and attempts to secure her services for a series of cheesecake poses. The film leads to a courtroom conclusion wherein Mayo must strut around in a bathing suit to win her case. Girl from Jones Beach is worth the admission price alone just to hear Ronald Reagan pose as a Czechoslovakian immigrant--complete with accent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the better Universal "budget" musicals of the postwar era, Yes Sir, That's My Baby serves as an excellent showcase for Donald O'Connor. The timely script concerns the problems facing ex-GIs as they adjust to marriage, parenthood, and (thanks to the GI Bill) college life. William Waldo Winfield (O'Connor) is among the new collegiates who are frustrated by a campus rule barring married men from playing on the football team. This rule is the handiwork of spinsterish psychology professor Boland (Barbara Brown), who is in cahoots with the male students' wives. Solving everything is crusty biology prof Jason Hartley (Charles Coburn), whose long-ago reluctance to exchange wedding vows is the cause of Professor Boland's vendetta. As Donald O'Connor's wife, Gloria de Haven is very pretty and modestly talented. Featured in the cast as one of the football players is Joshua Shelley, who shortly thereafter was blacklisted from films because of his allegedly left-of-center political views. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide