Robert Webber Movies
Though born in close proximity to Hollywood, Robert Webber chose to head East to launch his acting career shortly after World War II. On Broadway from 1948, Webber made his film bow in 1950's Highway 501, playing the first of many villains. His career moved in fits and starts until he was cast by director Sidney Lumet as Juror Number 12 in the 1957 filmization of Twelve Angry Men. Webber flourished in the 1960s, mostly playing outwardly charming but inwardly vicious types; who could forget his torturing of Julie Harris in Harper (1966), grinning all the while and saying lines like "I just adore inflicting pain"? A personal favorite of director Blake Edwards, Webber was given roles of a more comic nature in such Edwards films as Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), 10 (1969), and S.O.B (1981). One of Robert Webber's better later roles was as the father of erstwhile private eye Maddie Ross (Cybill Shepherd) on the cult-favorite TV series Moonlighting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1950
Filmmaker Andrew Stone was always a staunch believer in realism at all costs. Thus it was that much of Highway 301 was lensed on a genuine (and very busy) interstate highway. Based on fact, the film recounts the bloody exploits of the notorious "Tri-State Gang," which preyed upon truck drivers. Gang leader George Legenza (Steve Cochran) will kill anyone who stands in his way--even his own henchmen. Before meeting his well-deserved demise, Legenza leads the authorities on a not-so-merry chase through Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. A few welcome comic moments are provided by Virginia Grey, playing the soap-opera-fan wife of one of the gang members. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, Virginia Grey, (more)
A Puerto Rican youth is on trial for murder, accused of knifing his father to death. The twelve jurors retire to the jury room, having been admonished that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Eleven of the jurors vote for conviction, each for reasons of his own. The sole holdout is Juror #8, played by Henry Fonda. As Fonda persuades the weary jurors to re-examine the evidence, we learn the backstory of each man. Juror #3 (Lee J. Cobb), a bullying self-made man, has estranged himself from his own son. Juror #7 (Jack Warden) has an ingrained mistrust of foreigners; so, to a lesser extent, does Juror #6 (Edward Binns). Jurors #10 (Ed Begley) and #11 (George Voskovec), so certain of the infallibility of the Law, assume that if the boy was arrested, he must be guilty. Juror #4 (E.G. Marshall) is an advocate of dispassionate deductive reasoning. Juror #5 (Jack Klugman), like the defendant a product of "the streets," hopes that his guilty vote will distance himself from his past. Juror #12 (Robert Webber), an advertising man, doesn't understand anything that he can't package and market. And Jurors #1 (Martin Balsam), #2 (John Fiedler) and #9 (Joseph Sweeney), anxious not to make waves, "go with the flow." The excruciatingly hot day drags into an even hotter night; still, Fonda chips away at the guilty verdict, insisting that his fellow jurors bear in mind those words "reasonable doubt." A pet project of Henry Fonda's, Twelve Angry Men was his only foray into film production; the actor's partner in this venture was Reginald Rose, who wrote the 1954 television play on which the film was based. Carried over from the TV version was director Sidney Lumet, here making his feature-film debut. A flop when it first came out (surprisingly, since it cost almost nothing to make), Twelve Angry Men holds up beautifully when seen today. It was remade for television in 1997 by director William Friedkin with Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, (more)
- 1959
A nurse (Jane Greer) suspects that something is amiss when her patient, a woman on the verge of recovery, suddenly dies. Nonetheless, the nurse marries the woman's widower, Gilbert Hughes (Jane Greer). Later on, she relates her suspicions to lawyer Paul Brett (Robert Webber), who informs her that no matter what she thinks about her husband, she cannot testify against him in court. Ultimately Hughes commits suicide and the nurse ends up marrying Brett -- then makes a startling confession. This episode was originally telecast under the title "A True Account." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Refusing to heed warnings that it is haunted, Andrew and Ellen Courtney (Robert Webber, Nancy Hadley) rent an old house on the New England coast. Before long, the Courtneys wish that they'd listened to those warnings: Andrew has been possessed by the ghost of a sadistic sea captain, who seems determined to destroy the couple's marriage in the nastiest possible way. This episode is a tour de force for veteran character actor Robert Webber), especially when his voice takes on the huskier, more sinister tones of the malevolent spirit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this war drama set during the Korean War, a grizzled GI must undertake a potentially suicidal mission. He decides not to waste his best soldiers and instead chooses from amongst his very worst. He then attempts to train them. His methods are harsh, and his men hate him. Secretly, they conspire to kill him and go AWOL as soon as possible. However, as soon as they cross enemy lines, they meet an injured American nun and her schoolgirls at the place they must blow up. Their hated, but experienced leader manages to help them all out of a potentially horrific situation thereby winning the respect of both the men and the young girls. The men become loyal to him. Only one remains rebellious. He attempts to rape one of the girls. Because the nun's injured leg grows worse, he allows the girls to take her to safety. He and his men then go on to succeed in their endeavors and they all become heroes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Webber, Anna Sten, (more)
- 1962
Saddled with paying huge alimony checks to his high-maintenance former wife, Edward Gibson (Robert Webber) seeks a legal method to rid himself of this burden. Enter Edward's pal Carl Seabrook (Jeremy Slate), who magnanimously offers to marry the ex-Mrs. Gibson himself -- for a 5,000-dollar fee. Little does Edward realize that he has been a "free man" for several hours...but, of course, Carl has known all along. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Out of favor with his client, the Holdwell Safe Corporation, ad executive Harrison Fell (Robert Webber) desperately concocts a spectacular publicity stunt to prove the efficiency of the new 801 Burglar-Proof Safe. To this end, he hires retired safecracker Sammy Morrissey (Paul Hartman) to attempt to rob the safe, offering the man a prize of 50,000 dollars. But Sammy balks at the prospect, arguing that he is now in another line of work...and despite his criminal past, no one can accuse Sammy of telling a lie, as proven by the ironic outcome of the episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Now travelling under the name "Sanford", fugitive Richard Kimble (David Janssen) takes a job at the Long Island estate of wealthy Harlan Guthrie (Robert Webber). It doesn't take Kimble long to figure out that Guthrie only married his long-suffering wife Ann (Peggy McCay) for her money, and that his new boss would rather dally with Ann's younger sister Carol (Pippa Scott). What no one knows is that Guthrie is planning to murder his wife--and pin the blame on Kimble. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
This routine tale of an aspiring actress on the verge of a sharp decline is directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and features Joanne Woodward in a skillful and engaging portrayal of Lila, the would-be thespian. The setting is a small town in the plains state of Kansas where Lila finds herself stranded when her job falls apart. Thanks to her friend Helen (Clair Trevor) she is not left out in the cold. Helen's household includes only one other person, her adult son Kenny (Richard Beymer) who is captivated by Lila, and the two have a brief, one-night stand. Kenny gets cold feet when it comes to commitment, spurring Lila to go out looking for any work at all. Her sleazy boyfriend-manager Ricky suggests stripping for the conventions that come and go, and Lila finds herself on the brink of a downhill slide. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanne Woodward, Richard Beymer, (more)
- 1963
Engineer Alan Maxwell (Cliff Robertson) is using his commercial radio station's antenna to probe into deep space in experiments of his own, in the course of which he makes contact with a being (William O. Douglas, Jr.) from the great nebula in the constellation Andromeda. Through an accident, the alien is transported to Earth, where its radioactive emanations prove lethal to all who come in contact with it. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1964
In Volume 44 of a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, an alien being comes to Earth to cut a deal with a scientist: if the human wills the spaceman all his emotions, the creature will give the professor the equations necessary to finish his invention. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1964
While visiting England, an American tourist (Robert Webber) is involved in an auto accident and suffers from amnesia. Upon his release from the hospital, he recuperates in a home paid for by a mysterious benefactor, where a dead body later appears in the shower. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Webber, Anthony Newlands, (more)
- 1964
In the eighth volume in a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, a bizarre experiment causes a psychiatrist and his unbalanced patient to swap identities. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton -- then Hollywood's most bankable couple -- appeared onscreen together for the third time in this romantic drama shot on beautiful locations along the Big Sur region of the California coastline. Laura Edwards (Elizabeth Taylor) is a free-thinking artist and Bohemian who is raising a her teenage son, Danny (Morgan Mason), conceived out of wedlock, on her own. Laura has issues with conventional teaching methods, and prefers to educate Danny about both intellectual and ethical matters on her own. However, Danny has become something of a problem, and child welfare authorities demand that Danny either be sent to school or become a ward of the state. Rather than send Danny to public school, Laura arranges for him to attend a private academy run by Dr. Edward Hewitt (Richard Burton), an Episcopalian minister. Edward is at first shocked by Laura's embrace of free love and rejection of conventional moral codes, but as he gets to know her better, he finds himself increasingly attracted to her, despite the fact he has a wife, Claire (Eva Marie Saint), and two children. Before long, Edward's desire overpowers his scruples and he begins an affair with Laura. Wracked with guilt over his infidelity, Edward confesses his indiscretion to Claire, which proves to have severe and unexpected consequences. While saddled with poor reviews upon its initial release, The Sandpiper did win an Academy Award for Johnny Mandel's theme song, "The Shadow of Your Smile." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, (more)
- 1965
This quirky melodrama opens with an automobile crash. The driver, Steve Mallory (George Peppard), comes out of unconsciousness with amnesia. As his memory slowly returns, he learns that he is a wealthy manufacturer of table china. His wife Alexandria (Elizabeth Ashley) wants to leave him, and his cousin Oliver Parsons (Roddy McDowall) wants Steve to sell him the family business. He also learns that the passenger in his car, a cocktail waitress named Holly Mitchell (Sally Kellerman), was killed in the accident. Her husband Lester (Arte Johnson) joins forces with Parsons to frame Steve and blame him for the accident, and Steve is arrested. Lester then kidnaps Alexandria and threatens to kill her in revenge for Holly's death. The film is based on a novel by Joseph Hayes. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Peppard, Elizabeth Ashley, (more)
Screenwriter William Goldman has claimed that Paul Newman agreed to do Harper, the film that established the grateful writer's career, only because he was working unhappily on Lady L. (1965) in Europe, and was looking for something as unlike that film as possible. He stars as Lew Harper, a hip L.A. private dick whose business has gotten so bad that he's re-using his coffee grounds. At the suggestion of his friend, attorney Albert Graves (Arthur Hill), the detective takes on the investigation of the disappearance of the wealthy husband of waspish cripple Elaine Sampson (Lauren Bacall). After finding a photograph of former actress Fay Estabrook (Shelley Winters), Harper locates the alcoholic actress in a bar, plies her with booze, and takes her home to search her apartment while she's unconscious. There he takes a call which leads him to another bar to meet Betty Fraley (Julie Harris), a singer with a heroin problem. To curtail his inquisitive behavior, some large and unpleasant gentleman beat him up outside the saloon. Hoping for sympathy from his soon to be ex-wife (Janet Leigh), who has just filed divorce papers, the weary detective is much more successful than he has any right to expect. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, (more)
Columbia Pictures tried to create a tongue-in-cheek American James Bond with this, the first of five motion pictures based on the character of Matt Helm, a spy created in a series of novels by Donald Hamilton. Dean Martin stars as Helm, a boozing, womanizing cad of a spy coaxed out of retirement by ex-girlfriend Tina Batori (Daliah Lavi). His mission: stop the evil Big O organization, whose leader, Tung-Tze (Victor Buono), schemes to sabotage an atomic missile and thus spark World War III. Producer Irving Allen had once been partners with Albert R. Broccoli in the British film production company Warwick Films, their alliance ironically disintegrating over the merits of creating a Bond series. When Broccoli's instincts proved correct, Allen attempted to create his own spy franchise with the Helm character. The sequels to The Silencers (1966) were Murderers' Row (1966), The Ambushers (1967), and The Wrecking Crew (1968). Allen unsuccessfully tried to resurrect the character as a TV movie, Matt Helm (1975). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, (more)
James Coburn stars in this comedy-melodrama as Eli Kotch, who uses his charm to obtain a parole from prison by having an affair with a female psychologist. Eli's plan upon getting out of jail is to rob a bank at the L.A. International Airport. The date of the bank robbery coincides with the arrival of the Russian premier, so that bank security will be minimal with the premier attracting most of the airport security forces. Harrison Ford appears in his film debut in the bit part of a bellhop. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Coburn, Camilla Sparv, (more)
- 1967
In this thriller, an assassin is lured out of retirement with an offer to kill a former gangster who is hiding out in Europe. With the help of an assistant, the killer travels to Paris and begins stalking his victim. He is further helped by a lovely drug addict who shows him the mark. He fulfils his mission, but then learns that he has killed the wrong man. Not long afterwards, both the gangster and the drug addict are killed. It is then that the hit man realizes that his assistant is behind the deaths and that he is next on the list. Much of the movie was shot on location in Europe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Webber, Franco Nero, (more)
- 1967
British director Alexander MacKendrick helmed this farcical romantic comedy set in Southern California. Carlo Cofield (Tony Curtis) is a footloose tourist who meets Laura Califatti (Claudia Cardinale) when she accidentally edges his car off the highway. Laura invites Carlo to her home; he seems interested in her, but discovers she's already involved with swimming pool magnate Rod Prescott (Robert Webber). The next day, Carlo hits the beach and nearly drowns in the ocean, until he's rescued by comely sky diver Malibu (Sharon Tate). Carlo blackmails Rod into giving him a job so he can stay in California and pursue a romance with Malibu, but he soon finds himself torn between her and Laura. Don't Make Waves also features a theme song by The Byrds. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
Director Robert Aldrich took what he considered a hopelessly old-fashioned script by Lukas Heller and Nunnally Johnson and fashioned The Dirty Dozen into one of MGM's biggest moneymakers of the 1960s--and the sixth highest-grossing film in the studio's history. Lee Marvin plays Major Reisman, assigned to coordinate a suicide mission on a French chateau held by top Nazi officers. Since no "normal" GI can be expected to volunteer for this mission, Reisman is compelled to draw his personnel from a group of military prisoners serving life sentences. This "dirty dozen" includes a sex pervert (Telly Savalas), a psycho (John Cassavetes), a retarded killer (Donald Sutherland), and the equally malevolent Charles Bronson, Trini Lopez, Jim Brown, and Clint Walker. On the dim promise of receiving pardons if they survive, the criminals undergo a brutal training program, then are marched behind enemy lines dressed as Nazi soldiers, the better to overtake the chateau and kill everyone in it--including the innocent wives and mistresses of the German officers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1968
Manon (Catherine Deneuve) is an amoral, free spirit who uses sex to surround herself in relatively luxurious surroundings. The mistress of a wealthy man, she meets a handsome young reporter (Sami Frey) on a flight from Hong Kong to Paris. She gives the older man the boot before slipping into a hot bathtub with her new love, the reporter. Her brother Jean-Paul (Jean Claude Brialey) puts out the word to rich men that his hot-to-trot sister is back in town. She willingly allows herself to be used for sex to justify her lifestyle. The reporter loses his job and Manon takes up with another wealthy client, seeing the reporter on the side. Men continue to fall for the beautiful, opportunistic Manon who is more interested in Mr. Right Now than Mr. Right. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Claude Brialy, (more)
Jack Ryan (Ryan O'Neal) is a cucumber picker who is fired after a fight with a Mexican-American (Victor Paul) co-worker. He finds work on a ranch owned by Ray Ritchie (James Daly). Soon his private secretary Nancy (Leigh Taylor-Young) is after Jack. She spends her free time in pursuit of hedonism and reckless pleasure by fornicating on tombstones and breaking hearts as well as windows. Sam Mirakian (Van Heflin) is the motel owner whose lonely resident (Lee Grant) makes a play for Jack. She ends up killing herself and Nancy ends up killing someone else for sheer pleasure. This forgettable and pointless movie -- one critic described it as "a rancid piece of trash" -- is O'Neal's big-screen debut. Some nudity required an "R" rating. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Leigh Taylor-Young, (more)
- 196z
In this French tragedy, a soldier, celebrating the liberation of France in 1944, sneaks into Germany to see his lady and ends up paying a terrible cost. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Although the characters' names were changed, The Great White Hope was a thinly veiled account of the trials and tribulations of boxer Jack Johnson, based on the play by Howard Sackler and directed by Martin Ritt. James Earl Jones stars as boxing great Jack Jefferson, who defeats Frank Bardy Larry Pennell in a Reno, Nevada bout to become the world's first black heavyweight champion. After crossing a state line with his white girlfriend Eleanor (Jane Alexander in her feature debut), however, Jack is arrested and tried under the miscegenation-barring Mann Act. Found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison, Jack escapes and leaves the U.S., but he's dogged by his now bad reputation and can't get honest work as a fighter. Offered his freedom from criminal charges if he'll agree to a fixed fight in Cuba that will restore the title to a white contender, Jack refuses and Eleanor commits suicide, their life on the run overwhelming her. Jack finally accepts the bout in Havana, but he fights his opponent with everything he's got. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, (more)
