Marie Windsor Movies

Stanley Kubrick was one of the most acclaimed and controversial filmmakers of his generation, but he was also an intensely private man who rarely gave interviews and produced most of his films under a shroud of secrecy, which tended to foster a great deal of rumor and speculation about his working methods. Jan Harlan, who worked as Kubrick's assistant and executive producer on several projects (and was also his brother-in-law), directed this documentary, which offers a rare in-depth look into Kubrick's career as a filmmaker, structured around interviews with a number of actors, writers, technicians, composers, friends, and family who speak on the record about his relentless perfectionism, his creative vision, his life both on and off the set, his relationships with actors, his unrealized projects, and his importance and influence as an artist. Among those who share their thoughts in Stanley Kubrick -- A Life In Pictures are actors Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Malcolm McDowell, Peter Ustinov, and Keir Dullea; writers Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Herr; special effects artist Douglas Trumbull; composers Wendy Carlos and Gyorgy Ligeti; filmmakers Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Paul Mazursky, and Sydney Pollack; and Kubrick's spouse Christiane Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick -- A Life In Pictures was originally produced as a television project, to be aired in three parts, though the project was shown in its entirety at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The scene is a small town in Idaho where corruption is a way of life. The outraged populace have voted in a "reform" mayor, but he soon dies mysteriously--and when the mayor's father demands an investigation, he too turns up dead. Unfortunately for the villains, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) happens to be in town on personal business--and wherever Jessica Fletcher shows up, someone is going to end up doing the "perp walk". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this pilot film for an unsuccessful TV series, a scientist and his android creation battle against nefarious government forces. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

This adventure is set in the South Pacific and chronicles the struggles of a group of airplane passengers to survive after their jet crashes upon a lonely island. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord) is intrigued and Officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) is irritated by the voice of the new police dispatcher. Though she comes across as sexy and alluring, the newcomer is also rather confusing: it seems that no one can understand what she's saying or where she's sending them. Tonight's case log marks the return of police informer TeeJay (Robert Donner), who leads the cops to arrest a gunman at a movie studio; and a radical terrorist seems to be building up quite an illegal arsenal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It's an unhappy birthday for Officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) when he forgets to renew his driver's license. As a result, Malloy's partner is forced to take the wheel of Adam-12 for the first time--and both men are nervous over the prospect. This episode's case log includes a fatalistic bank robber, an infant abandoned in a trash can, a drug dealer who sells his wares from an ice cream truck, a man who is burglarized by his neighbors, a woman who commits murder as an "anniversary present", and an baby abandoned in a trash can. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It was supposed to look like a suicide, but the death of a government contractor on a ski-lift near Denver was actually the handiwork of enemy spy Glen Parmenter (Barry Morse). In order to ensnare Parmenter, Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) poses as drug-addicted government employee, willing to be "corrupted" into handing over top-secret information to the Other Side. Managing to infiltrate Parmenter's mountain-cabin headquarters, Erskine finds out that the female of the species--namely Elaine Ross (Victor Shaw)--can be just as deadly as the male in the espionage business. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Virginia City is held in a grip of terror by the vicious family of condemned killer Harry Lassiter (Jack Chaplain. Cold-blooded matriarch Ma Lassiter (Marie Windsor) promises to kidnap one citizen per day until Harry is set free. Things get personal for the Cartwrights when Little Joe is among those abducted by Ma's murderous brood. In addition to guest-star Marie Windsor, another film noir stalwart, John Hoyt, is seen as Major Sutcliffe. First broadcast on December 5, 1965, "Five Sundowns to Sunup" was written by William L. Stuart. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Many viewers avoided Mail Order Bride upon its first release, assuming (thanks to MGM's shoddy promotional campaign) that the picture had been slapped together to capitalize on the popularity of Beverly Hillbillies star Buddy Ebsen. In truth, the film is an engaging and involving western drama, with Ebsen playing a character far removed from Jed Clampett. The mail order bride in question is not for Ebsen but for the wild young frontiersman in his charge (Keir Dullea). It is Buddy's hope that the girl will tame the boy (the son of an old friend) and give him some sense of responsibility. Lois Nettelton is the proper young lady who fills the bill. In the closing scenes, director Burt Kennedy restages the climactic shootout from 1962's Ride the High Country, which Kennedy scripted. Mail Order Bride is not only a satisfactory vehicle for Buddy Ebsen, but it also allows him an opportunity to sing the title song. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Those ever-sneaky Martians are at it again in this sci-fi horror outing that closely resembles Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This time, the crafty invaders are in the process of making exact doubles of an entire town and then killing the original models. The terrifying facts are discovered by a scientist working at Cape Canaveral who is trying to figure out why a recent Martian probe simply exploded after landing on the Red Planet. The fellow has been in Florida working on the project for so long that his wife in California is about to divorce him. Wanting to save his marriage and see his family, he goes home and suddenly ends up fighting for not only his own life, but for all Humanity. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In yet another high-stakes poker game, Bart (Jack Kelly) wins part ownership of Diamond Jim Malone's gambling casino. Unfortunately, our hero also "wins" a certain Lucky Matt Elkins (Dan Haggerty), who has been blackmailing Diamond Jim (Robert J. Wilke) and doesn't intend to let up now that the casino is under new management. Film-noir stalwart Marie Windsor heads the supporting cast of this episode, which in some sources is listed as having originally aired on March 4, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ira Levin wrote the stage comedy Critic's Choice as a good-natured retort to a comment made by critic Walter Kerr. In his essay How Not to Write a Play, Kerr noted that the worst possible scenario would involve a drama critic forced to review a play written by his wife (we should mention that Kerr's own wife was noted playwright Jean Kerr). Levin utilized this very scenario, and the result was a Broadway hit. Less successful artistically was the 1962 film version, though with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball as stars, the film couldn't help but clean up at the box office. Hope portrays theatrical critic Parker Ballantine, while Lucille Ball plays his wife Angela. Feeling "useless," Angela writes a play as a lark, then is amazed when it is optioned by a major producer. Parker does his best to get out of the responsibility of reviewing the play (which very well may be as bad as he thinks it is), but cannot escape the responsibility. Much of the verbal wit of the Levin original is sacrificed in favor of one-line quips; there is also an overabundance of gratuitous slapstick during a little-league game and the climactic "opening night" sequence. Still, Hope and Ball work together well as always. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

High-fashion diva Flavia Halliday (Marie Windsor) humiliates her husband Charles (John Conte) on network television by flatly refuting Charles' announcement that he has sold their firm's name to another company. For Charles, this is the last straw: He demands a divorce, but Flavia merely laughs at him. Subsequently, Flavia is poisoned, and as she dies in the arms of her companion Leona (Dorothy Neumann) she accuses Charles and his mistress Hope (Leslie Parrish) of killing her! Can Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) neutralize the power of a deathbed statement to clear Charles and Hope of murder? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi