Peggy Webber Movies

Many of those viewers who admire her will tell you that Peggy Webber is almost too good an actress for her own good, at least in terms of getting recognition for herself. A chameleon-like presence on-screen, Webber melts into her roles so well that she can often be overlooked by less perceptive viewers, in terms of her range and depth. Webber was the daughter of a wildcat oil driller, born in Laredo, TX, and began her career at age two and a half, performing during intermissions in silent movie theaters in the second half of the 1920s. She broke into radio in 1936, at age 11, and became one of the busier actresses in the medium. It was partly because of her work in radio that Orson Welles chose Webber for the role of Lady McDuff in his film of Macbeth (1948). Film credits were rare and unusual for her, however, so busy was she in the new medium of television, where she became a writer and producer early on and won one of the earlier awards ever given in the small-screen medium, in 1947, for her anthology series Treasures of Literature. Jack Webb used her on the Dragnet radio show and she made the transition to television with him, remaining as part of his stock company right through the late-'60s incarnation of the series. Two of her finest performances were in the episodes "Homicide -- The Student" and "The Joyriders," in which she played a teacher and a harried mother. Webber was still doing voice work in the early twenty first century. She was married for many years to actor Sean McClory, who was just as busy a character actor on television and in movies as she was on radio and television. Her biggest movie role was in Jack Arnold's anti-war science fiction drama The Space Children (1958), as the mother of two children who have come into contact with an alien intelligence. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
1982  
 
With great reluctance, Quincy (Jack Klugman) sets out to prove that wealthy Powell Dixon (George Gaynes) was murdered by his wife Jeannina (Ina Balin), who has a history of mental problems. What makes this particular case so difficult is that Jeannina and Quincy had been lovers back in their medical-school days. Things takes a wild and unexpected turn when Jeannina herself is apparently murdered--the first of several baffling events which culminate in a startling climactic twist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1977  
 
Though they have proven their courage and grit on many an emergency call, paramedics Roy Desoto (Kevin Tighe) and John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) look forward to giving a safety demonstration on TV with a mixture of fear and loathing. The main problem is that our heroes have no time to prepare for their appearance, due to a number of urgent calls to the station house. This week's case roster include a child who has swallowed an illegal pesticide, and a heart patient trapped on a stalled ferris wheel--not to mention a wholly unanticipated emergency in front of the TV cameras. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1976  
 
With the help of storekeeper Ike Godsey (Joe Conley), Jason (Jon Walmsley) organizes a big dance for the people of Walton's Mountain. Unfortunately, the festivities coincide with the appearance of a mysterious nocturnal prowler, who holds the populace in a grip of terror. Clearly, the prowler is someone whom everyone knows--but who is he, and what does he want? Fear not, ladies and gentlemen: what begins as a "scare" piece ends with another lesson in tolerance and understanding. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1973  
 
Working out of the West Valley Division in this episode, Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) join forces with a police helicopter unit. In the course of events, the two cops take to the air to chase after a spectacularly reckless motorcyclist, as well as other assorted traffic violators. Featured in the cast are Peggy Webber, a longtime stalwart of the "Jack Webb stock company", and ace stuntwoman Regina Parton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1971  
 
Cynical police officer Ed Wells (Gary Crosby) trusts no one, and holds fellow cop Jim Reed (Kent McCord) in contempt for Reed's more optimistic outlook on life. By episode's end, however, Wells learns the hard way that Reed may be a lot more on target about humanity than he is. Along the way, however, there are several police calls that sorely try Reed's sunny disposition, including a woman who is nearly killed by her drunken husband, and an escaped mental patient who holds his nephew hostage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1958  
 
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For reasons best known to local TV programmers, the modest shocker The Screaming Skull was telecast on what seemed to be a daily basis in the 1960s. The hero-villain is Eric (played by John Hudson, who later billed himself as William Hudson), the husband of neurotic millionairess Jenni Peggy Webber. By strategically placing miniature skulls all over the house, Eric hopes to drive Jenni into madness so that he can take control of her fortune. The police suspect that Mickey the gardener Alex Nicol, who also directed the film) is the man behind the campaign of terror, but the truth finally surfaces in the last reel, wherein Eric gets what's coming to him-and more besides. Perhaps it's worth noting that the 10-minute abdridgement of Screaming Skull, made available to the 8-mm home movie market in the 1970s, is just as entertaining as the full-length feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John HudsonPeggy Webber, (more)
1958  
 
Dave Brewster (Adam Williams) arrives to take his new job as an electronics technician at a top-secret Air Force base in California. With him are his wife Anne (Peggy Webber) and their two children, Bud (Mikel Ray) and Ken (Johnny Crawford), who are all apprehensive about this sudden transplant, as well as the spartan existence that all of the families live under. No sooner do they arrive, however, then Bud and Ken see a strange light in the sky pointing to the beach, and soon after that seem to be receiving increasingly powerful -- and detailed -- telepathic communications from an unseen source. The boys are drawn, along with the children from the other families, to a lonely cave near the beach, where an alien presence, in the form of a huge (and ever-growing) brain, has hidden itself. At first, it uses the children to try and persuade the more reasonable of the parents that their project -- a missile called The Thunderer, which will place a hydrogen bomb in orbit, capable of being used on any target in the event the United States is threatened -- is too dangerous to complete. But the parents aren't prepared to listen, either because they don't understand the danger, or because they genuinely believe in the conduct of the Cold War, as in the case of Hank Johnson (Jackie Coogan); or because they're too angry and belligerent, like Joe Gamble (Russell Johnson), who is at a dead-end in his job and has taken to alcoholism and abusing his wife (Jean Engstrom) and stepson (Johnny Washbrook). As the launch approaches and the children's entreaties are ignored, the alien takes more direct action with their help, and they soon find a potential ally in in Dr. Wahrman (Raymond Bailey), the inventor of The Thunderer, who is also the only man on the project smart enough to realize that he may not have all the answers. But the military head of the project (Richard Shannon) is stil prepared to launch The Thunderer, regardless of its inventor's doubts. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Adam WilliamsPeggy Webber, (more)
1957  
 
Fos Capper (Andrew Duggan) wants to marry Flora Stancil (Peggy Webber), but her brutish brother Ben (Robert F. Simon) refuses to give permission: after all, if Flora leaves home, who could Ben find to do all his chores for free? So determined is Ben to break up his sister's romance that he tries to provoke Capper into a gunfight. Knowing Ben's reputation as a dirty fighter, Matt (James Arness) tries to intervene, but things take a surprising turn just before fadeout time. This episode is based on the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of June 17, 1956. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1956  
 
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Director Alfred Hitchcock lets us know from the outset that The Wrong Man is a painfully true story and not one of his customary fabricated suspense yarns, through the simple expedient of walking before the camera and telling us as much (this introductory appearance replaced his planned cameo role as a nightclub patron). The real-life protagonist, musican Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero, is played by Henry Fonda. Happily married and gainfully employed at the Stork Club, Balestrero's life takes a disastrous turn when he goes to an insurance office, hoping to borrow on his wife's (Vera Miles) life insurance policy in order to pay her dental bills. One of the girls in the office spots Balestrero, identifying him as the man who robbed the office a day or so earlier. This, and a few scattered bits of circumstantial evidence, lead to Balestrero's arrest. Though he's absolutely innocent, he can offer no proof of his whereabouts the day of the crime. Lawyer Frank O'Connor (Anthony Quayle) does his best to help his client, but he's up against an indifferent judicial system that isn't set up to benefit the "little man". Meanwhile, Balestrero's wife becomes emotionally unhinged, leading to a complete nervous breakdown. As Balestrero prays in his cell, his image is juxtaposed onto the face of the actual criminal-who looks nothing like the accused man! Utilizing one of his favorite themes-the helplessness of the innocent individual when confronted by the faceless bureaucracy of the Law-Hitchcock weaves a nightmarish tale, all the more frightening because it really happened (the film's best moment: Fonda looking around the nearly empty courtroom during his arraignment, realizing that the rest of the world cares precisely nothing about his inner torment). Hitch enhances the film's versimilitude by shooting in the actual locations where the real story occured. His only concession to Hollywood formula was the half-hearted coda, assuring us that Mrs. Balestrero eventually recovered from her mental collapse (she sure doesn't look any too healthy the last time we see her!) Watch for uncredited appearances by Harry Dean Stanton, Bonnie Franklin, Tuesday Weld and Charles Aidman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Henry FondaVera Miles, (more)
1955  
 
Investigating a missing-persons report, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) are handed a clue when a ring worth $1500 shows up in a pawn shop. At this point, the missing man, Garfield Hunt (James Stone) resurfaces. It turns out that Hunt had been fleeced by a pair of clever con artists, and had hocked the ring so his wife would not find out he had lost all his money. Ultimately, the detectives catch up with the crooks--or do they? Peggy Webber, a charter member of the "Jack Webb Stock Company", shows up as a lachrymose drunk. Based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of February 8, 1955, this episode is currently available in several public-domain VHS and DVD collections. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1954  
 
In one of the best-remembered of the original black and white Dragnet episodes, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate a series of robberies occuring within a ten-block area. Only after the stolen goods begin turning up abandoned or in trash cans do the detectives realize that they're looking for a kleptomaniac. The trail of clues leads to Mrs. Virginia Sterling (Peggy Webber), an otherwise respectable citizen with suffering from a serious mental aberration. The original radio version of this classic episode was heard on October 11, 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1953  
 
Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) begin by investigating a series of truck hijackings, and end up with a strange case of "in-law trouble" on their hands. The perpetrator turns out to be truck driver, who had turned to crime merely to prove to his mother-in-law that he wasn't a failure. Perennial Dragnet stock-company players Peggy Webber and Vic Perrin are in fine form in this episode, which was based on the same-named radio broadcast of August 23, 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1952  
 
Based on a radio episode which first aired on November 9, 1950, this classic Dragnet TV episode finds Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and his temporary partner Sgt. Ed Jacobs (Barney Phillips) investigating the disappearance of a newborn baby. It turns out that the infant was stolen by Mrs. Roberta Salazar (Peggy Webber), whose own baby had recently been stillborn. Mrs. Salazar's poignant closing scene is a superb blend of actress Peggy Webber's brilliant performance and Jack Webb's unusually sensitive direction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1951  
 
Minister Sterling Hayden is able to tend to the needs of his flock, but can do nothing for his alcoholic wife. She kills herself, whereupon the anguished minister turns his back on his calling. He ends up a skid-row derelict and is thrown into the drunk tank. An elderly preacher (Ludwig Donath) takes it upon himself to regenerate the dissipated Hayden. He succeeds with the help of his blind daughter (Viveca Lindfors), who falls in love with the ex-minister. Journey Into Light unfortunately compromises its compelling storyline by moving at a snail's pace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Sterling HaydenViveca Lindfors, (more)
1951  
 
Submarine Command reunites the romantic leads from Sunset Boulevard, William Holden and Nancy Olsen. Holden is cast as Commander White, who during an enemy attack orders that his submarine dive to avoid destruction. Though his action saves his crew, it results in the death of the machine-gunner left topside during the attack. With the exception of vindictive chief torpedo-man Boyer (William Bendix), no one holds White to task for his decision -- save for White himself, who is plagued with guilt and doubt ever afterward. Helping to alleviate White's self-flagellation is his fiancee Carol (Olsen). The thrill-packed climax finds White's submarine engaged in a sabotage action against communist forces off the coast of Korea. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
William HoldenNancy Olson, (more)
1948  
 
Shakespeare's tragic tale of the rise and fall of ambitious 12th-century Scottish warrior MacBeth has proven irresistible to filmmakers. Orson Welles was so anxious to transfer the play to the screen that he acceded to the demands of his parent studio, Republic pictures, that he shoot his version of MacBeth in 23 days on standing B-western sets. The result may not be the best-ever cinematic MacBeth, but it's certainly one of the most moody and atmospheric. Director Welles naturally casts star Welles in the title role, with his old radio colleague Jeanette Nolan as Lady MacBeth (her highly stylized performance has been unfairly castigated by purists, but we defy you to take your eyes off her). Dan O'Herlihy plays MacDuff, Roddy MacDowell is Malcolm, and Edgar Barrier the unfortunate Banquo. Erskine Sanford, William Alland and Gus Schilling, veterans all of Welles' masterpiece Citizen Kane, are also prominently featured, as is Welles' daughter Christopher (as one of MacDuff's murdered children). The severe cutting of the original text is compensated for by the addition of a new character, the "Holy Father" (played in Boris Karloff-style makeup by Alan Napier), whose potted Shakespearian speeches help to bridge several continuity gaps. Highlights include MacBeth's tremulous sighting of Banquo's ghost, an extended monologue in which only MacBeth's head is illuminated, and the synthesizer-like interpolations of the three ubiquitous witches. Welles had originally instructed his actors to deliver their dialogue in a thick Scots burr, but this proved so incomprehensible to preview audiences that Republic ordered the film to be completely redubbed. The original, fully restored version of MacBeth (as opposed to the 89-minute general release cut) was made available on videocassette in the mid-1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Orson WellesJeanette Nolan, (more)
1946  
 
In this comedy, a spoiled, temperamental and filthy rich aunt is committed to an asylum by her nephew after he learns that she has willed her fortune to her dog. Fortunately, the aunt escapes and is sheltered by the family of a poor barber. It is the barber's daughter that soothes the savage breast of the irritable aunt and turns her into a caring person. The family then helps her to prove her competence. They are richly rewarded for their kindness. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Beverly SimmonsFay Holden, (more)
1946  
 
Teenaged Junior (Scotty Beckett) gets into trouble when he tries to bring a gun to school. To explain why he's packing a rod, Beckett fabricates a story involving his parents Bill (Dennis O'Keefe) and Constance (Helen Walker). To hear Junior tell it, once upon a time Bill was a telephone lineman who made the chance acquaintance of the eloping Constance. Both parties were forcibly detained by fleeing criminal Carter (Tom Powers), who shepherded hero and heroine to the home of Petrucie (Charles Judels). Here Bill overpowered Carter, winning Constance's love in the process. His tale told, Junior explains that he's carrying a gun to arrest his principal-who happens to be Carter! As a result of the boy's prevarications, his parents and the principal end up in jail, but are rescued when Junior solves the 15-year-old mystery that prompted his incredible tale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Dennis O'KeefeHelen Walker, (more)

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