Anne Whitfield Movies

In this conservative drama, a family begins to fall apart after each member succumbs to the many temptations of modern life. They are only saved by turning back to their church. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

While Captain Stanley is on vacation, his replacement is Captain Robertson (John Anderson), a hardbitten veteran firefighter who sees no value whatsoever in the Paramedic program. Tonight's emergencies include a young asthsma victim (Lee H. Montgomery) trapped in a drain, a berserk biker (Sid Haig), and an old man (Burt Mustin) whose chair has caught fire. And on a lighter note, Dr. Early (Bobby Troup) keeps mixing apples with oranges--and doesn't like it a bit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Neither his parents nor the emergency staff of Rampart Hospital can figure out why a young boy is apparently choking to death. In other cases, a youngster dives off a roof, and a blind grandfather is trapped in a house fire with his infant grandson. And in the episode's obligatory humorous subplot, John (Randolph Mantooth) vows to be 100 percent honest for the rest of his life after a slight prevarication results in a brush with death (so to speak). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dr. Brackett (Robert Fuller suspects that a boy whom the paramedics have rescued from a deep hole is the victim of child abuse. The problem now is to convince the Court, a task made difficult by the hotshot attorney (Richard Jaeckel) hired by the boys' parents. Meanwhile, the station adopts a stray dog named Boot, who turns out to be a literal lifesaver. John Travolta makes his first network TV appearance as an imperiled hiker in this episode . ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

That grand old barnstormer Henry Jones guests in this episode as a garrulous wino named Harry Craig. While Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) are investigating a murder, Harry staggers forward to declare that he can identify the killer. There's only one problem: In addition to being a boozehound, Harry is also one of the most notorious liars in Los Angeles County. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When Jimmy Price (Jim Brown) wins an upset victory for sheriff, he becomes the first black man ever to hold the job (or any elective office) in anyone's memory in his rural southern county. He also sets off an ominous rumblings as the entire county seems split apart by his presence -- Mayor Parks (Fredric March) offers him the support of his office, but many whites aren't prepared to accept a black man as sheriff, while most of the whites that can accept him aren't saying so too loudly; a lot of older black residents, remembering decades of Jim Crow laws that only lately disappeared, are more confused than encouraged by Price's victory, while younger, more radical black citizens like George Harvey (Bernie Casey) have little use for Price's straight-arrow personality; they expect him to show them favoritism, and when he doesn't, they suspect him of being an nothing but a white man in black skin. Even Price's own wife (Janet MacLachlan) wonders if the cost of his being sheriff is too high. He finds himself alone, walking a tightrope between all of the forces pulling at him, and then the whole situation threatens to explode when he arrests the good-for-nothing son (Bob Random) of a wealthy man from the next county, who has killed a child while driving drunk. Soon the local klavern of the Ku Klux Klan is planning a meeting, and a lynch mob seems to be gathering across the county line to break the prisoner loose and take care of the sheriff. Price finally gets some unexpected help from his embittered predecessor, John Little (George Kennedy) -- Little would like nothing more than to sulk over losing his longtime job, but with his wife's coaxing he realizes that he can't let Price fail without the risk of destroying everything he worked for years to build. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

On the testimony of five different eyewintesses, Sgt. Ed Brown is arrested for the beating death of a bookie. Naturally, Ed is innocent, but is unable to prove that he was vacationing alone at a mountain retreat at the time of the killing. With time running out for the wrongfully accused detective, Ironside (Raymond Burr) launches a no-holds-barred investigation of his own. This episode was cowritten by series regular Don Galloway, who of course plays Ed Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mobile officer Pete Malloy (Kent McCord) is a bit tired of his partner Jim Reed (Kent McCord) extolling the joys of married life. In fact, Jim is more determined than ever to remain a bachelor after he and Pete are summoned to break up a rather vicious domestic dispute. Elsewhere, the two officers arrive at the scene of a car crash where a woman has been pinned under her vehicle, and chase down the perpetrators of a liquor store robbery. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Scheming Harvey Scott (Tom Tully) has managed to regain control of his mining company while his nephew Rick (Henry Brandt) was in Acapulco, recuperating from an accident. To make certain that Rick doesn't return to the States to restake his claim on the company, Harvey orders his nephew's lovelorn niece Joanna (Anne Whitfield) to keep him occupied in Mexico. Eventually Rick tumbles to this scheme and heads to LA for a showdown. But when Harvey is killed, Rick is nowhere to be found--and Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) finds himself defending poor Joanna on a murder charge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Victor Buono, who skyrocketed to stardom by virtue of his work in the title role of the earlier Untouchables episode "Mr. Moon", returns to the series in a different characterization. This time Buono is cast as Parnise Surigao, whose booming bootlegging operation is cutting into the profits of Frank Nitti's operation. To put it mildly, Nitti (Frank Nitti) is displeased, and orders an all-out war against Surigeo--who proves nearly impossible to bump off. After an innocent bystander is killed in the crossfire, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) vows to end the war and put both sides out of business, using a "straw man" subterfuge to accomplish his goal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Howard Duff guest-stars as Sam Clemens, who in the days before his fame and fortune as "Mark Twain" could be found working as a reporter on the Virginia City Enterprise. The Cartwrights come to Clemens' assistance when the young journalist endeavors to expose an illegal collusion between Judge Yerrington (John Litel) and a powerful railroad executive. Featured in the cast are Dorothy Green as Minnie andAnn Whitfield as Rosemary. Written by Harold Shumate and first broadcast October 10, 1959, "Enter Mark Twain" might prove an interesting comparison to the 1972 Bonanza episode "The 26th Grave," in which Sam Clemens is also a central character. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

White Christmas, Paramount's belated follow-up to the 1942 hit Holiday Inn, was the studio's first VistaVision production. A veritable warehouse full of oldie-but-goodie Irving Berlin tunes are woven into the film's simplistic plotline, along with a handful of new songs, of which "What Can You Do With a General?" is the least memorable. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye (replacing an ailing Donald O'Connor) play nightclub entertainers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, while Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are cast as singing-sister act Betty and Judy. The foursome travel to Vermont to visit Bob and Phil's WII commanding officer, General Waverly (Dean Jagger, who looks and sounds like Dwight D. Eisenhower!), who now runs a rustic old inn. Discovering that the general is in dire financial straits, the four entertainers secretly make plans to bail the old guy out with a big musical show, enlisting the aid of Bob and Phil's army buddies. Corny in the extreme, White Christmas evidently struck a responsive note with film fans; it was the high-grossing picture of 1954, and a decade later proved to be a ratings bonanza when it was given its network-TV premiere. Of the four stars, Crosby comes off best, especially when singing the title song at the beginning and end of the film; Kaye is a bit overshadowed this time out, though he's quite funny camping it up in a "drag" version of Irving Berlin's "Sisters." Still a big favorite on the home-video circuit, White Christmas may not be the best Bing Crosby musical on the market, but it's certainly one of the most heartwarming. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi