Estelle Winwood Movies

As penned by Neil Simon, this satire of movie mysteries is set in motion when several prominent detectives are invited to the mansion of the reclusive Lionel Twain (Truman Capote). In Ten Little Indians fashion, the gathered sleuths are locked into the forbidding mansion, and subject to various death-dealing devices. While struggling for their lives, the vainglorious gumshoes continue to try to one-up one another. Each character is broadly based on a famous literary detective: Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) is an aphorism-spouting Charlie Chan clone: Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith) are patterned on the protagonists of the Thin Man flicks; Milo Perrier (James Coco), a Hercule Poirot takeoff, stalks through the proceedings declaring "I'm a Belgie, not a Frenchie!"; Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) is Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade rolled in one; and Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) is a dottier variation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Best bit: a "conversation" between blind butler Jamessir Bensonmum (Alec Guinness) and deaf-mute maid Yetta (Nancy Walker). The fade-out gag of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson showing up late for Lionel Twain's party was edited from the theatrical version of Murder by Death, but was restored for TV. The film marked the big-screen directorial debut of Robert Moore, who'd previously directed several of Neil Simon's Broadway productions. Moore went on to direct another Simon spoof, The Cheap Detective (1978), before his untimely death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Theatrical producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) was once the toast of Broadway. Now he lives in his seedy office, cadging cash contributions from wealthy old ladies in exchange for sexual favors. Even worse, he's reduced to wearing a cardboard belt. Max's new accountant, Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), the soul of honesty, suggests that Max produce a hit to try to recoup his losses, but Max knows that it's too late for that. Offhandedly, Leo muses that, if Max found investors for a flop, he could legally keep all the extra money. Suddenly, Max's eyes light up -- and in that moment, Leo Bloom is gloriously corruptible. "I want everything I've ever seen in the movies!" cries Leo as Max embraces him. Together, Max and Leo conspire to select the worst play, the worst playwright, the worst director, and the worst actor to collaborate on their guaranteed flop. That play is Springtime for Hitler, "a delightful romp...with Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun." The playwright is Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars), an unreconstructed Nazi who, in drunken delirium, insists that Hitler was a better painter than Churchill -- "He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon, two coats!" The director is pompous transvestite Roger De Bris (Christopher Hewett), who is preparing to go to a costume party garbed as Marie Antoinette when Max and Leo come calling ("Max, Max, he's wearing a dress"). And the star, selected after extensive auditions, is hippie-freak Lorenzo St. DuBois (Dick Shawn) -- "L.S.D." for short.

At the end of several weeks, Max has sold 25,000 percent of the show; and, as a finishing touch, Max bribes the opening-night critics for a favorable review, knowing full well that such a gesture is the kiss of death. The curtains part, and Springtime for Hitler opens with perhaps the most tasteless production number in the history of films. At the end of this extravaganza, the audience sits in dumbfounded silence. Gleefully, Max and Leo repair to a corner bar to celebrate their failure. But then.... The first directorial effort of Mel Brooks, The Producers didn't do so well on its first release, but since that time it has taken its place as one of the all-time great movie comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this psychological thriller, Paul (James Caan) and Jennifer (Katherine Ross) are a pair of wealthy but blasé socialites with a sadistic streak. Lisa (Simone Signoret), an older woman from France, arrives at their door one day selling cosmetics; the couple invite her in, and when the conversation reveals that Lisa is believed to have psychic abilities, Paul and Jennifer ask her to arrange some "games" for their amusement. Lisa proceeds to set up several situations of simulated domestic discord that the couple can react to. The arrival of Norman (Don Stroud), a delivery boy, is Jennifer's cue to seduce him, just in time for Paul to arrive and shoot him in a fit of jealousy. Norman is then coated with plaster and placed in the corner, disguised as a work of art; however, Paul soon leaves on a business trip, and Jennifer discovers that Norman isn't dead after all. She panics and shoots Norman dead, only to discover that the previous murder was merely a "game" staged by Lisa. Jennifer, however, is having a very real nervous breakdown, which seems to be what Paul had in mind all along. But once Jennifer is committed to a mental hospital, Paul discovers that Lisa is not necessarily his ally in this increasingly dangerous game. Games was directed by Curtis Harrington, a one-time experimental filmmaker who previously helmed such horror cult movies as Queen of Blood and Night Tide. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Samantha's mother, Endora, and aunts, Enchantra (Estelle Winwood) and Hagatha (Reta Shaw), want to take baby Tabitha away to a school for witches. With nowhere else to turn, Sam begs her warlock father, Maurice, to prevent the ladies from carrying out their plans. They receive unexpected and utterly useless assistance from Darrin and Aunt Clara. Written by David V. Robison and John L. Greene, "Witches and Warlocks are My Favorite Things" first aired on September 29, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though he's most famous for his portrayal of Victor Laszlo in 1942's Casablanca, actor Paul Henreid took a few turns behind the camera as evidenced by this 1964 thriller starring Bette Davis as twins Margaret DeLorca and Edith Phillips. After landing the beau they both sought after by falsely claiming she was pregnant, Margaret lives a life of luxury as the wife of a wealthy man. Now, 20 years later, a broke and lonely Edith has returned for revenge. After killing the recently widowed Margaret, Edith assumes her identity with plans of living the life she feels she's deserved all along. But in order to pull it off, she'll have to play the role of Margaret connivingly enough to fool her servants as well as a local playboy and the police. Dead Ringer was remade in 1986 as Killer in the Mirror, a made-for-television movie starring Ann Jillian. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

In this fun-filled adventure-fantasy, a rookie knight embarks upon a valiant quest to save a princess who has been captured by a malicious magician. Along the way he must battle the usual assortment of dragons, ogres and other mythical beings. He is assisted by a good witch who gives him a magic sword. Unfortunately, the magic fails and suddenly he must find his own magic from within. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The final film of stars Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe is an elegy for the death of the Old West from writer Arthur Miller and director John Huston. Gable stars as Gay Langland, an aging hand traveling the byways and working at rodeos with his two comrades, Guido (Eli Wallach) and young Perce Howland (Montgomery Clift). The three men come up with a plan to corral some misfit mustangs and sell them for dog food, but Gay's new girlfriend Roslyn Taber (Marilyn Monroe), a high-minded ex-stripper who has just divorced her husband Ray (Kevin McCarthy) in Reno, is appalled by the plan. Although both Guido and Perce are also in love with Roslyn, she stands by Gay, sure that in the end he will do the right thing, even as he and his pals begin their planned roundup. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The first big budget Western to feature a black hero, this military courtroom drama from director John Ford starred his long-time stock player Woody Strode. When a cavalry commander and his daughter are discovered murdered, racism amidst the 9th Cavalry immediately leads to suspicions that Sergeant Braxton Rutledge (Strode), a black man, is responsible for the crime. Arrested by Lieutenant Tom Cantrell (Jeffrey Hunter), Rutledge escapes from captivity during an Indian raid but voluntarily returns to warn his fellow cavalrymen that they are about to face an ambush by hostiles, saving the detachment from certain doom. At first among those who accept Rutledge's probable guilt, Cantrell and his love interest Mary Beecher (Constance Towers) become two of the accused man's scarce defenders as he is put on trial and faces testimony from prejudiced "witnesses." ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Baby boomers who may not remember the plot particulars of Walt Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People nonetheless retain fond memories of Disney's publicity campaign, which included an episode of the producer's weekly TV series, wherein the actor playing leprechaun king Brian (Jimmy O'Dea) was passed off as a genuine little person. One look at Darby O'Gill itself and one is willing to believe Disney's subterfuge. The story, based on the writings of H.T. Kavanagh, involves one Darby O'Gill (Albert Sharpe) an Irish tall-tale spinner who works as a caretaker. On the night that he is replaced by a younger man (Sean Connery), Darby heads home to tell his daughter Katie (Janet Munro) that he has lost his job. En route, he stumbles into the underground leprechaun kingdom, thanks to the intervention of King Brian, who wants to save Darby the shame of telling his daughter about his job. Advised that he will never be able to leave the land of the leprechauns, Darby escapes, and Brian follows. Because he stays above ground until dawn, Brian loses his powers and becomes the property of Darby, who won't let the leprechaun go until he grants three wishes. Brian tricks Darby out of the first two wishes, but is honor-bound to grant the third: that Darby's daughter Katie be wed to the handsome new caretaker. Before this can happen, Katie is seriously injured. As she lies comatose, the Death Coach descends from the sky to gather her to the heavens. Darby rapidly alters his third wish and begs that he be taken in Katie's place. Brian saves Darby's life by tricking him into making a fourth wish, which immediately cancels the first three. The young caretaker wins Katie on his own merits, and Darby has a whole new slew of stories with which to regale the villagers. The principal drawing card of Darby O'Gill and the Little People is its special effects, the most famous of which finds a life-sized Darby O'Gill fiddling away as hundreds of tiny leprechauns dance about him. Even in this era of computerized "F/X," few films have been able to duplicate the sublimely convincing visual magic -- and the effortless charm -- of this 1959 Disney effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Four little old ladies become fascinated by Mr. O'Finn (Dennis Morgan), the homicide detective who is investigating a murder in a nearby apartment. Intently peering through a telescope to observe his every move, the ladies try to figure out a way to attract O'Finn's attention. Ultimately, they invite the detective over for tea -- where he discovers to his dismay that he may never be able to go home again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Van Johnson portrays a blind American writer living in London. Blessed with an acute hearing sense, Johnson overhears a kidnapping plot but neither his friends nor the authorities believe him, chalking up his story as the product of a writer's imagination. Disgruntled, Johnson vows to scuttle the kidnapping himself -- with the assistant of his fiancée Vera Miles. Despite his handicap, Johnson puts the pieces together using sounds as evidence and guidance. Ultimately Johnson finds his life in danger when he corners the criminal in a dark alley. 23 Paces to Baker Street was one of several ''50s 20th Century-Fox films shot on location in London to take advantage of Fox's "frozen funds" -- money earned by the studio in England which by law could only be spent in that country. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Glass Slipper is a charming retelling of the Cinderella story, eminently suitable for both kids and adults. Leslie Caron plays Ella, the plain-Jane stepsister of beautiful but mean-spirited Birdena (Amanda Blake) and Serafina (Lisa Daniels). While stepmother Widow Sonder (Elsa Lanchester) arranges wealthy marriages for her natural daughters, poor Ella hasn't got a chance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide