David Wayne Movies
The son of an insurance salesman, David Wayne attended Western Michigan University. While working as a statistician in Cleveland, Wayne became attracted to the local theatrical activity. Auditioning for a Shakespearean repertory company, he won the role of Touchstone in As You Like It, which he performed before an audience for the first time at the 1935 Cleveland Exposition. In 1938, he made his first New York stage appearance in Escape This Night. Classified 4F at the outbreak of World War II, Wayne volunteered for the ambulance corps, subsequently serving as a Red Cross driver in North Africa. His theatrical career really began to pick up steam after the war: cast as Og the Leprechaun in the 1947 musical hit Finian's Rainbow, he became the first actor ever to win a Tony Award. The following year, he created the role of Ensign Pulver in Mister Roberts, and in 1955 he was seen as Okinawan interpreter Sakini in Teahouse of the August Moon.While all of his major stage roles went to other actors in the film versions, Wayne enjoyed a substantial movie career of his own. Though he made his screen debut in 1947's Portrait of Jennie, Wayne was given "and introducing" billing in the Tracy/Hepburn comedy Adam's Rib (1949), in which he played capricious composer Kip Lurie. After playing Joe, cartoonist Bill Mauldin's mud-caked infantryman, in Universal's Up Front (1951), Wayne spent most of his screen time at 20th Century-Fox, where, among other things, he did two co-starring stints with Marilyn Monroe (1952's We're Not Married, 1953's How to Marry a Millionaire), played theatrical impresario Sol Hurok in Tonight We Sing (1953), starred as a tragedy-plagued small-town barber in the underrated Wait Till the Sun Shines Nellie (1953) and portrayed schizophrenic Joanne Woodward's long-suffering husband in Three Faces of Eve (1957). One of Wayne's co-stars during his Fox years was Una Merkel, who once remarked "I loved David Wayne. I think he's one of the finest actors we have. He's so good they don't know what to do with him."
One place where they evidently did know what to do with Wayne was television, where he worked steadily from 1948 onward. Besides playing such prominent personages as Andrew Carnegie, Mark Twain and even "Old Scratch" (in a 1961 telecast of The Devil and Daniel Webster), he appeared in classic individual episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Twilight Zone, played "special guest villain" The Mad Hatter on Batman, and was a regular on the weekly series Norby (1955), The Good Life (1973), Ellery Queen (1975, as Inspector Queen), Dallas (1978), and House Calls (1980). In addition, Wayne appeared with New York's Lincoln Center Repertory, and was one of the hosts of the NBC weekend radio potpourri Monitor. Curtailing his activities in the late 1980s, David Wayne retired altogether in 1993, after the death of his wife of 51 years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the Glitter Palace was the first made-for-TV movie in which lesbianism was a crucial plot factor. Chad Everett stars as a defense lawyer and erstwhile detective, whose gay client is Barbara Hershey. She is on trial for murdering her slimy blackmailer (played by that master of sliminess, Anthony Zerbe). Among Hershey's lesbian friends are Salome Jens and Diana Scarwid, who may know more than what they're telling Everett. Just because In the Glitter Palace was a groundbreaker in regards to its subject matter doesn't make it a better movie; strip away the "relevance," and you've got just another by-rote whodunit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chad Everett, Barbara Hershey, (more)
Written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Adam's Rib is a peerless comedy predicated on the double standard. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play Adam and Amanda Bonner, a husband-and-wife attorney team, both drawn to a case of attempted murder. The defendant (Judy Holliday) had tearfully attempted to shoot her husband (Tom Ewell) and his mistress (Jean Hagen). Adam argues that the case is open and shut, but Amanda points out that, if the defendant were a man, he'd be set free on the basis of "the unwritten law." Thus it is that Adam works on behalf of the prosecution, while Amanda defends the accused woman. The trial turns into a media circus, while the Bonners' home life suffers. Adam's Rib represented the film debuts of New York-based actors Jean Hagen, Tom Ewell, and David Wayne (as Hepburn's erstwhile songwriting suitor), and the return to Hollywood of Judy Holliday after her Born Yesterday triumph. One of the best of the Tracy-Hepburn efforts, it inspired a brief 1973 TV series starring Ken Howard and Blythe Danner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, (more)
- 1957
One of the best of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents half-hours personally directed by Hitchcock himself, "One More Mile to Go" opens with a bitter argument between Sam Jacoby (David Wayne) and his wife Martha (Louise Larabee). Although the viewer is witnessing the quarrel from behind a window and thus can't hear the particulars, the results are all too visible -- impulsively grabbing a fireplace poker, Sam bludgeons his wife to death. A few moments later, the anguished accidental murderer has stuffed his wife's body in the trunk of his car, and has driven off to dispose of the body. Unfortunately, Sam's progress is repeatedly interrupted by a friendly but diligent motorcycle cop (Steve Brodie), who warns Sam to fix his faulty tail-light. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Made up to look like a septuagenarian, Henry Winkler plays Benedict Slade, a Scrooge-like miser living in a tiny New England town during the Depression. Slade goes Scrooge one further by repossessing items from a poor farm couple and an orphanage on Christmas eve. While reading a copy of Dickens' The Christmas Carol in his home, Slade is visited by his own set of Spirits Past, Present and Future, including his Hell-dwelling late business partner (Kenneth Pogue). Lensed in Canada, this made-for-TV film premiered the week before Christmas of 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on a story by Paddy Chayefsky, this is the tale of a man who is being forced to retire from his job, at the age of 65, and decides to fight back. Impersonating the head of the company, he sets out to convince them to get rid of their outmoded retirement policy and gives a creditable speech on the dignity of man, gaining national attention. This movie features good performances, but it will probably be remembered more for the bit part played by a young Marilyn Monroe as the boss' secretary. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, (more)
- 1973
This episode stars David Wayne as a reclusive, ill-tempered tycoon. While he doesn't suffer fools (or anyone else) very well, Wayne is devoted to his collection of valuable books. When one of his rarest volumes disappears from a supposedly impervious glass-enclosed case, troubleshooting detective Banacek (George Peppard) is called onto the case. George Lindsey, best known as Goober on The Andy Griffith Show, co-stars as the local constabulary. The Greatest Collection of Them All was the January 10, 1973, installment of the TV series Banacek. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
The locale of Anna Sewell's 1906 novel Black Beauty was changed from England to Maryland in this five-part TV miniseries. Still, the script adheres to the basic chronology of the Sewell original. In Part One the wife of incapacitated farmer Tom Gray sells the frisky colt Black Beauty. In Part Two, first telecast February 1, 1978, Beauty does the "Lassie" bit by rescuing her new master (Cameron Mitchell) from a storm and locating a doctor for her expectant mistress (Diane Ladd). This episode ends with Beauty facing certain death, first from a fire, then from a fever. The remaining three 60-minute episodes of Black Beauty were broadcast on February 2, 3 and 4, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
This colorful musical comedy was obviously inspired by the success of Broadway's South Pacific. Army Captain Bill Willoby (William Lundigan) is ordered to make sure that his men do not fraternize with the girls at a South Sea island base. His mission is forgotten when he himself falls in love with Diana Forrester (Jane Greer), the daughter of a local missionary. The fun begins when a native girl (Mitzi Gaynor) is offered to the captain as a goodwill gift by island chieftain Jilouili(!) Naturally, there's a major breakdown in protocol, quite similar to the one found in John Patrick's 1954 Broadway hit Teahouse of the August Moon. Featured in the cast as a woman-hungry lieutenant is Jack Paar, which is why this film got so much TV play in the 1960s. The incidental songs in Down Among the Sheltering Palms were written by Harold Arlen and Ralph Blane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Lundigan, Jane Greer, (more)
- 1975
Ellery Queen (also known as Too Many Suspects) was the 78-minute pilot film for a TV series based on the fictional intellectual author/sleuth created by cousins Frederick Dannay and Manfred Lee. Jim Hutton plays Ellery (the tenth actor to do so on screen!), while David Wayne is his police inspector father. The plot, set in 1947 Manhattan, involves the murder of a fashion model. Fifteen minutes before the fade-out, Ellery turns to the audience, presents the clues, and asks us to solve the murder--a cute if unnecessary trick, since Ellery's got the case all worked out and the killer is no surprise to anyone who's watched TV murder mysteries in the last 25 years (the actor in question has said "I did it!" so often that it's a wonder he can walk the streets without being apprehended). Ellery Queen was a pet project of the TV writing team of Richard Levinson and William Link (of Columbo) fame. After the subsequent Queen TV series expired after a single season, Levinson and Link revived the notion of a murder-solving novelist and changed the gender of the protagonist--and the result was Murder She Wrote. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
- R
In this slapstick chase-adventure, some unlikely heroes try to outwit each other for possession of a huge stash of cash hidden on the train they are all riding together. The comedy is a little uneven here or at least not to everyone's taste, and the pace is fast-forward frantic. Josef (Ed Lauter) and Georgiana (Pamela Stephenson) manage to break into her father's estate and swipe $5 million in cash from the safe, with plans to spirit the money across country on a train. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael O'Keefe) is a con man being chased by irate women on a roller derby team who have reason to be angry with him. He zips into a second-hand clothing store and dons the disguise of an army uniform, hoping to board a train for New York unnoticed. But when an officer gets suspicious at the station, Michael retorts that he is escorting a nearby coffin -- a coffin that actually contains the stolen $5 mil. The thieves are also nearby, but for reasons of their own, they go along with Michael's charade. Along for the ride are a neurotic woman (Beverly D'Angelo), an eccentric train conductor (David Wayne), a stowaway Vietnam defector, a blond woman of the underworld, a nymphomaniac, and briefly, a crafty con man (Louis Gosset Jr.). From that point onward, episodic vignettes are tossed here and there as the train moves ever closer to New York, and the protagonists try to outmaneuver each other for the money. Viewers may note that along for his fourth cinematic ride is Jim Carrey in a bit part. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael O'Keefe, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
- 1954
Hell and High Water brings an intriguing Cold War slant to a standard submarine melodrama. Richard Widmark plays a soldier-of-fortune sub commander who agrees to sell his services to noted atomic scientist Victor Francen and his assistant (and daughter) Bella Darvi. Francen intends to prove that the Communists intend to launch a nuclear attack on Korea from an Arctic island, then blame the attack on the United States. Widmark frankly doesn't give a fig about politics, but he is won over by the sincerity of Francen and his idealistic cohorts, and by the beauty of Ms. Darvi. Before the Reds' evil intentions can be thwarted, however, Widmark must face down a Communist Chinese submarine loaded with highly volatile atomic weaponry. The special effects are very impressive, especially for a mid-1950s 20th Century-Fox production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Widmark, Bella Darvi, (more)
A remake of 1933's The Greeks Had a Word for Them, as well as a retread of 20th Century-Fox's favorite plotline, How to Marry a Millionaire was the first Hollywood comedy to be lensed in Cinemascope. Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe play three models of modest means who rent an expensive Manhattan penthouse apartment and pose as women of wealth. It's all part of a scheme hatched by Bacall to snare rich husbands for herself and her roommates. The near-sighted Monroe is wooed by an international playboy, but ends up settling for the tax-dodging fugitive (David Wayne) who owns the girls' apartment. The knuckle-headed Grable goes off on an illicit weekend in the mountains with a grouchy married executive (Fred Clark), but falls instead for a comparatively poor--but very handsome--forest ranger (Rory Calhoun). And Bacall very nearly lands an aging millionaire (William Powell), but has a sudden attack of conscience and opts instead for the supposedly poverty-stricken chap (Cameron Mitchell) who has been pursuing her since reel one. It turns out that she has actually landed one of the richest men in New York--and upon learning this, our three luscious heroines faint dead away. Before the opening credits roll in How to Marry a Millionaire, we are treated to a "live" orchestral rendition of Alfred Newman's "Street Scene" overture, conducted by Newman himself. In addition to its being the first wide-screen comedy, Millionaire was also the first-ever presentation of the weekly NBC series Saturday Night at the Movies, premiering on the small screen on September 23, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, (more)
Academy Award nominee Paul Winfield stars alongside young Jeff East in this 1974 musical adaptation of Mark Twain's classic Huckleberry Finn. East plays the title character, a whip-smart lad who heads off on a journey down the mighty Mississippi along with his pal Jim (Winfield). The film also stars Harvey Korman and David Wayne. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1974
One of Mark Twain's best-loved stories becomes a screen musical in this family-friendly adaptation. Mischievous Huckleberry Finn (Jeff East) is a 15-year-old boy who has long had a difficult relationship with his often violent father. When Dad tried to kidnap him, Huck decides to run away from home, and heads out of town on a raft. Huck is soon joined by Jim (Paul Winfield), a runaway slave who is no more eager to see his master than Huck is to see his father. As the two friends make their way down the Mississippi, they're faced with a variety of challenges and adventures, including a run-in with a pair of shabby but dignified actors, The King (Harvey Korman) and The Duke (David Wayne). Produced in association with Reader's Digest magazine, which in 1973, scored a box-office hit with a musical version of Twain's Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn featured original songs by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who also wrote the songs for a handful of Disney hits, including Mary Poppins. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff East, Paul Winfield, (more)
- 1973
In the first half of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), Chief Ironside is assigned to protect little Jerry Abbott, an autistic 10-year-old who has witnessed a murder. Not long afterward, the newspapers are reporting that Jerry himself has been killed--and that Ironside, tortured by guilt, has quit the force, crawled into a booze bottle, and ended up a derelict on Skid Row. But is this grim situation everything it appears to be? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Ironside (Raymond Burr) has degenerated from a respected law enforcement officer to a seedy skid-row bum, apparently because 10-year-old murder witness Jerry Abbott (Lee H. Montgomery) was killed while in the Chief's protective custody. What even Ironside's loyal assistants are unaware of is that little Jerry is still alive, and that the Chief is only posing as a derelict to flush out the murderer. The situation reaches the crisis stage when two attempts are made on Ironside's alive--and the Chief can't summon the aid of his associates without blowing his cover. This episode features two original songs by David and Marty Paich: "Street Song", peformed by Carol Carmichael; and "Way Up Here", sung by Marty Paich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Adapted for television by Robert Hartung from the play by Barrie Stavus, Lamp at Midnight deals with the 16th-century conflict between the Catholic Church and Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. After exhaustive research, Galileo (played by Melvyn Douglas) concludes that the Aristotelean concept of the Universe is incorrect. It is Galileo's contention--like Copernicus before him--that Earth is not the center of the universe, but merely another planet, revolving around the sun. This theory is considered heresy by the Church, and before long Galileo is dragged before Cardinal Bellarmin (George Voskovec), leader of the dreaded Court of the Inquisition. Also in the cast of this impressively mounted production are David Wayne, Kim Hunter, Hurd Hatfield, and, as Pope Urban VIII, Michael Hordern. Originally telecast April 27, 1966, the videotaped Lamp at Midnight was the final presentation of Hallmark Hall of Fame's 15th season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Earl Hamner Jr. of The Waltons fame cowrote the teleplay for Lassie: The New Beginning with Jack Miller. The venerable female collie is now owned by two orphan children (Shane Sinutko and Sally Boyden). She accompanies the kids on a hazardous journey from Arizona to Southern California in search of their only living kin. You won the bet--Lassie does rescue the children in the (ta da!) nick of time. John McIntyre and Jeanette Nolan costar in this 100-minute TV movie. Lassie: The New Beginning was first telecast in two parts on September 17 and 24, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Reilly, Lee Bryant, (more)
- 1951
It took nerve for director Joseph Losey to attempt a remake of Fritz Lang's classic chiller M, but by and large Losey was up to the challenge. David Wayne steps into the old Peter Lorre role as the compulsive child-murderer who is tracked down and then placed on trial by the criminal underworld. Whereas the original was set in Berlin, the remake takes place in Los Angeles. Syndicate chieftain Marshall (Martin Gabel) organizes his fellow crooks in order to bring "M" to justice, thereby keeping the police off their own backs. Found guilty by his "peers" and sentenced to death, "M" makes an impassioned plea for his life, explaining that he is unable to stop himself from committing his unspeakable crimes. Filmed just before Joseph Losey was banned from Hollywood in the wake of the communist witch-hunt, M features such fellow blacklist victims as Howard da Silva, Luther Adler and Karen Morley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Wayne, Luther Adler, (more)
- 1978
Didi Conn, who skyrocketed to fame thanks to Saturday Night Fever (77) and You Light Up My Life (78), did nothing for her career with the made-for-TV Murder at the Mardi Gras. Conn plays a loopy young Philadelphia waitress who witnesses a murder during the New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration, but can't get anyone to believe her. The murderer, who is disguised variously as a large pink rabbit and a headless gorilla, spends most of "Fat Tuesday" pursuing poor Didi Conn up street, down alley, and around the other costumed revellers. With an all-TV cast, it's hard to tell at first whodunit--since all the actors have played the mystery killer at one time or another in their careers. The biggest mystery is the participation of director Ken Annakin, who surely does not list Murder at the Mardi Gras on the same resume as his earlier Swiss Family Robinson, The Longest Day, and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In one of the series' best episodes, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) and Sheriff Tupper (Tom Bosley) are taking a bus trip from Cabot Cove to Portland, Maine, when the vehicle makes a stopover at a roadside inn. Before long, one of the other passengers--a bank robber recently released from prison--turns up murdered. As it happens, practically everyone on the bus except Jessica and Tupper had a powerful motivation...and this may well be one of those rare instances in which the Most Likely Suspect turns out to be the guilty party after all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1950
In this musical comedy with dramatic touches, Jack and Molly Moran (Dan Dailey and Betty Grable) are a show business couple who, after hosting their own radio show, have just been given a deal to star in a TV series. They're also thrilled to discover that Molly is expecting a baby, but their joy turns to sorrow after she loses the child in an auto accident, and her doctors tell her that she may not be able to conceive again. When they see how happy their friends Walter and Janet Pringle (David Wayne and Jane Wyatt) are with their five children, the Morans decide to adopt, but they discover that show people are not generally regarded as fit parents, regardless of their success or stability. However, good fortune eventually shines on Jack and Molly, as they find themselves with not one but two adopted tykes, and a big surprise around the corner. My Blue Heaven marked the film debut of musical star Mitzi Gaynor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, (more)
This anthology film assembles five respected directors and a top-notch cast to bring a handful of stories by the great American author O. Henry to the screen. In The Cop and the Anthem, a tramp named Soapy (Charles Laughton) tries to get arrested so that he can spend the winter in jail, only to find that is not as easy as it used to be. Marilyn Monroe appears in this episode as a streetwalker. The Clarion Call features Dale Robertson as Barney, a cop forced to arrest an old friend, Johnny (Richard Widmark). Anne Baxter stars in The Last Leaf as Joanna, an elderly woman who sees her own illness reflected in the fall of the autumn leaves; she's convinced that when the last leaf drops from the tree outside her window, her life will go with it. The Ransom of Red Chief concerns Sam (Fred Allen) and Bill (Oscar Levant), two novice kidnappers who kidnap a child, only to discover that his parents don't want him back -- and after a few hours with the brat, they find out why. And The Gift of the Magi tells the story of a pair of cash-strapped newlyweds, Della (Jeanne Craine) and Jim (Farley Granger), who struggle to get each other the perfect Christmas gift, with unexpected results. John Steinbeck narrates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe, (more)
- 1957
This semicomic Playhouse 90 episode was based on a true case history, as related in The 50 Minute Hour, a book by psychologist Dr. Robert Lindner. Although Donald O'Connor receives top billing in the role of Lindner's counterpart Robert Harrison, the real star of the proceedings is David Wayne as atomic physicist Kirk Allen. Unbeknownst to his friends and colleagues, the outwardly sane and secure Dr. Allen has for many years been "embarking" upon imaginary visits to another planet. At first this mental abnormality harms no one, but when Allen begins acting strangely on the job, the Pentagon begins to suspect that he is a security risk. Under psychological counseling, Allen reveals his "secret life"--and provides surprisingly accurate extraterrestrial charts as "proof" that he is truly out of this world. Actor Burgess Meredith codirected The Jet-Propelled Couch with James Clark. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald O'Connor, David Wayne, (more)
