Fredd Wayne Movies

During a smog alert, an old man and a child, both residents of a sanitarium, die of respiratory ailments. Medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman) is convinced that the deaths were linked to a nearby oil refinery, which is polluting the air with sulfur emissions. His task now is to prove that the refinery executives have deliberately ignored official warnings to cut back on production during smog emergencies--and as usual, bringing the villains to justice is a lot easier said than done. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set amidst the tumult and grit of the inner city, this blaxploitation outing centers on the devious exploits of drug-dealing gangsters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Bernie Simmons (Charles Robbinson), onetime high school classmate of Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway) has gone on the run after being accused of assault. While investigating the case, Ed is reunited with his former sweetheart Ann Garfield (Ann Garfield), now a lonely widow. Inevitably, the couple's romance is rekindled, putting Ed on the spot when it turns out that Ann knows more about Bernie than she's willing to admit. This episode was originally scheduled to air on November 16, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story arc, Aunt Clara tries to magically summon an electrician to fix Samantha's lamp. As usual, however, Clara gets her wires crossed, and as a result the Stephenses play host to the spirit of Benjamin Franklin. Actor Fredd Wayne, then touring the country in his one-man show Benjamin Franklin, Citizen, is cast as old Ben. Written by James Henerson, "My Friend Ben" first aired on December 8, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Helen Gurley Brown's self-help best-seller was the nominal source for this Hollywood sex romp, directed by Richard Quine, co-scripted by Joseph Heller and David R. Schwartz, and starring Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. Tony Curtis plays Bob Weston, a writer for the scandal sheet "Dirt," who is working on an article on research psychologist Helen Gurley Brown (Natalie Wood) and her best-selling book Sex and the Single Girl. Bob needs to interview Helen, but she refuses to see him. Bob impersonates one of her neighbors, Frank Broderick (Henry Fonda), as a ruse in order to see her on the pretext of marital counseling. After several meetings, Bob attempts to seduce her; after they fall out of a boat and head back to Helen's apartment to dry out, Bob plies her with martinis. Rip-roarin' drunk, Helen confesses her love for Bob. He assures her it's fine, since he's not legally married, but Helen doesn't believe him and asks to meet his wife, Sylvia (Lauren Bacall). To fill up the breach, Bob mistakenly sends both his secretary, Susan (Leslie Parrish), and his ex-girlfriend Gretchen (Fran Jeffries) to see Helen -- both impersonating Sylvia. When the real Sylvia arrives at Helen's apartment with the two other women, Sylvia has her hapless husband Frank put in jail for bigamy. By this point, Helen has realized Bob's skullduggery and leaves town with her colleague Rudy DeMeyer (Mel Ferrer). Bob chases Helen onto the San Diego Freeway, where they also encounter Frank, who is being followed in a cab by Sylvia. A wild chase ensues as the bickering couples try to make it to their flights at the L.A. airport. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Sounding something like a standard '40s police story, this talkative but interesting murder mystery stars David Janssen of TV's The Fugitive series. Janssen plays Tom Alder, a gumshoe looking into the murder of the secretary of a shady Hollywood film star when he discovers that the murder is linked to the disappearance of an heiress. The heiress had a run-in with a sexually warped individual who later became a certain film star. Now Alder's problem is to investigate the link further -- even after he discovers that he himself has a connection to the story through someone he met in Tokyo during the Korean War. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In the concluding episode of the series' only two-parter, future director Sydney Pollack guest stars as Joe Culp, a sadistic cattleman bent upon lynching murder suspect (and sheepherder) Joselito Kincaid (Robert Carricart) just for the fun of it. Hired to bring Kincaid to trial, Paladin (Richard Boone) isn't about to let Culp have his way, but he is overwhelmed by the cattleman's vicious buddies, Roy Smith (James Best) and the Slimser brothers. Pummelled into unconsciousness, Paladin awakens with vengeance in his heart, determined to get even with the villains for what is done to the hapless Kincaid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This videotaped Twilight Zone episode is a variation on a most familiar theme. While in the hospital recovering from a nervous breakdown, dancer Liz Powell (Barbara Nichols) is tortured by a recurring nightmare. In this nocturnal vision, Liz is escorted by a mysterious nurse (Arline Sax) to "Room 22" -- the hospital morgue. The dream always ends as the nurse says insinuatingly, "Room for one more, honey." If all this sounds familiar, it may be because the basic story was used in the 1945 British horror film Dead of Night, which in turn drew its inspiration from an anecdote in Bennett Cerf's Famous Ghost Stories. Future Lost in Space regular Jonathan Harris also appears in "Twenty-Two," which was adapted for television by Rod Serling and was originally telecast February 10, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lloyd Nolan appears in this episode as the first of several actors who would portray notorious mob boss George "Bugs" Moran on The Untouchables (later Morans included Robert Wilke and Harry Morgan). To sway the outcome of a truckers-union election, Bugs kidnaps the son of union leader Larry Halloran (Jack Warden). When Halloran goes to the Untouchables for help, he is told that kidnapping is not yet a federal offense. Even so, the Feds have a plan to trap Moran: let Bugs win the election, the better to give him enough rope to hang himself. With Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) on assignment in Washington, the plan is overseen by his stalwart colleague Martin Flaherty (Jerry Paris). This episode was originally listed in TV Guide as "The Velvet Touch". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Taking a few small steps into her rented country house, Ruth Graham (June Vincent) prompty vanishes, never to be seen again. When Ruth's husband Fred (Edward Binns) reports her disappearance to the authorities, police lieutenant Barnes (Fredd Wayne) accuses him of murder. There is a trial and an acquittal, but neither Fred nor Barnes will be satisfied until the truth is revealed--which it is, sort of, once the history of the country house is fully researched. Series host John Newland takes an active part in the episode's finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the psychological WW2 drama Torpedo Run, Glenn Ford plays submarine commander Barney Doyle, who is obsessed with sinking a particular Japanese aircraft carrier. Several months earlier, the carrier had escaped destruction by shielding itself with a POW transport ship, which was sunk by Doyle's torpedoes. The sunken transport had been carrying Doyle's wife and daughter, captured in the Philippines. This tragically unavoidable incident has transformed Doyle into a modern Ahab, mercilessly driving the men under him towards the single goal of blowing the hated enemy aircraft carrier out of the seas. Finally, Doyle achieves his goal, and all is forgiven between himself and his crew, especially his second-in-command Archer Sloan ($Ernest Borgnine). Unfortunately, Doyle's sub was irreparably damaged in the attack, making it necessary for him to attempt an escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When her purse is stolen, Claire Olger (Patricia Hardy) is forced to hitch a ride from Michael Greeley. Unfortunately, Greeley (John Hubbard) has been drinking--and when he plows his vehicle into a truck, killing the other driver, he runs away, leaving Claire to take the rap. In his efforts to save Claire from charges of manslaughter and grand theft auto, Perry (Raymond Burr) locates the elusive Granger--who happens to be stone cold dead. Now Perry must defend his client on a charge of first-degree murder! A second killing further complicates this episode, which is based on a 1941 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide