Dick York Movies

My Sister Eileen is a Technicolor, musicalized remake of the 1942 comedy of the same name. It is not, however, the film version of the 1949 Broadway musical Wonderful Town, which was also based on the 1942 film. Adapted from the short stories of Ruth McKinney, the film stars Betty Garrett as aspiring writer Ruth Sherwood, and Janet Leigh as her gorgeous sister Eileen. Moving from Ohio to New York, the girls take up residence in a basement apartment, which seems to be a gathering place for every eccentric character in the Big Apple. Ruth tries to get her stories published, but handsome editor Bob Baker (Jack Lemmon) doesn't buy anything until Ruth stops trafficking in fiction and begins writing about her own experiences. Most of those experiences are predicated on the misadventures of would-be actress Eileen, who has an uncanny knack for attracting strange men--not to mention a whole heap of trouble. Dancer/choreographers Bob Fosse and Tommy Rall costar as a timid soda jerk and wise-guy reporter, respectively, but their "roles" are merely excuses for a steady stream of flashy musical numbers, penned by Jule Styne and Leo Robin. Even Jack Lemmon gets to sing in this sprightly film, which compares quite favorably to all the My Sister Eileen adaptations which went before and were still to come. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this frantic service comedy, a group of bored-to-tears American GI's stationed at a medical facility in France would like nothing more than to have a big party to let off steam -- except for the possibility of having a big party with some of the nurses they work with. However, it seems that the nurses are officers and the GI's are enlisted men, which means the Army forbids them to socialize, and Capt. Locke (Ernie Kovacs), the camp's Commanding Officer, is not a man to bend the rules. But Private Hogan (Jack Lemmon) is not the sort of guy to let the rules get in the way of a good time, and with the help of Yancy Skibo (Mickey Rooney), a sergeant with a talent for scaring up needed supplies, and Mme. LaFour (Jeanne Manet), a local hotel manager with a soft spot for making money off American servicemen, Hogan hatches a plan to make his dream a reality. Hogan's lady friend, Lt. Betty Bixby (Kathryn Grant), isn't quite as convinced as her beau on the potential success of this scheme. Operation Mad Ball was the first directorial effort from former actor Richard Quine, and afforded Jack Lemmon his first starring role; Blake Edwards also contributed to the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The once-scandalous autobiography of Frank Harris was the source of the fascinating "adult" western Cowboy. Jack Lemmon plays Harris, who when first the audience meets him is a citified desk clerk in a frontier hotel. Harboring romantic notions of the West, Harris prevails upon hard-living, hard-drinking trail boss Tom Reece Glenn Ford to take him along on Reece's next cattle drive. In the months that follow, Harris' idealized notions of the West are cruelly dispelled, though he eventually becomes accustomed to the rough-and-tumble life on the trail and to the curious cameradie between the drovers. The film's most talked-about scene finds a group of cowboys planting a rattlesnake in one of their comrade's blankets as a joke; their regretful but oddly detached reaction when the bitten man dies speaks volumes about the Real West. Also memorable is the performance of Brian Donlevy as Doc Bender, an ageing gunfighter who can't stand the notion of becoming an anachronism. One of the more unorthodox westerns of the 1950s, Cowboy is also one of the best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Botany teacher Norman Logan (Dick York) is surprised to find that his bank account is short 200 dollars. Reporting this loss as an error, Norman confronts officious clerk Mr. Tritt (Philip Coolidge), who insists that the bank never, but never, makes a mistake. To prove Tritt wrong, and to extract a personal vengeance, Norman decides to get his money back by way of a nocturnal robbery -- with the "dusty drawer" of the title figuring prominently in the outcome of the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Reynolds stars as Fitzgerald, a WWII army lieutenant with an unusual and most unwelcome gift. Much to his dismay, Lt. Fitzgerald can stare into the faces of his fellow soldiers and determine who among them will die in combat. Begging to be transferred, Fitzgerald finally gets his wish, but that's not the end of the story. The stellar supporting cast includes Dick York as Captain Riker, Barney Phillips as Capt. Gunther, Warren Oates as a jeep driver, and future director Paul Mazursky (in the first of his three Twilight Zone appearances). Written by Rod Serling, with a musical score by old CBS radio hand Lucien Moraweck, "The Purple Testament" originally aired February 12, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Evolution vs. Creationism argument is at the center of the Jerome Lawrence-Robert E. Lee Broadway play Inherit the Wind. Lawrence and Lee's inspiration was the 1925 "Monkey Trial," in which Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes was arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution in violation of state law. Scopes deliberately courted arrest to challenge what he and his supporters saw as an unjust law, and the trial became a national cause when The Baltimore Sun, represented by the famed (and atheistic) journalist H. L. Mencken, hired attorney Clarence Darrow to defend Scopes. The prosecuting attorney was crusading politician William Jennings Bryan, once a serious contender for the Presidency, now a relic of a past era. While Bryan won the case as expected, he and his fundamentalist backers were held up to public ridicule by the cagey Darrow. In both the play and film versions of Inherit the Wind, the names and places are changed, but the basic chronology was retained, along with most of the original court transcripts. John Scopes becomes Bertram Cates (Dick York); Clarence Darrow is Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy); William Jennings Bryan is Matthew Harrison Brady (Fredric March); and H. L. Mencken is E. K. Hornbeck (Gene Kelly). Dayton, Tennessee is transformed into Hillsboro -- or, as the relentlessly cynical Hornbeck characterizes it, "Heavenly Hillsboro." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Timid Julie Barton (Carolyn Kearney) is attacked in her home by a masked intruder while her husband is working late. Questioned by the police, Julie can only remember that her assailant wore a torn leather glove (in fact, she tore it herself). Upon fingering the most likely suspect in a lineup, Julie is shocked when her mild-mannered husband, Tom (Dick York), jumps up and viciously beats the suspect. It isn't long before Julie learns that this is isn't the first time that Tom has lost his temper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Suffering under the tyranny of his nasty boss, Sylvester Tupper (Wendell Holmes), investment broker Herbert J. Wiggam (Dick York) devises a scheme to get even -- and to make a profit in the bargain. Together with two other disgruntled employees, Wiggam steals a 565,000-dollar bond that has been delivered to the office. Alas, although the trio successfully pulls off the heist, the valuable bond is lost -- and for a while, it looks like only the office cleaning lady will profit from the amateur crooks' bumbling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Maurice Evans makes his first series appearance as Samantha's father, powerful warlock Maurice. Paying a surprise visit to Sam, Maurice is delighted that his daughter has gotten married. But he is somewhat less than delighted to learn that his new son-in-law is a mere mortal. Such is the extent of Maurice's rage that even the outspoken Endora is at a loss for words, but only temporarily. Written by Fred Freeman and Lawrence J. Cohen, "Just One Happy Family" was originally broadcast on November 19, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Larry Tate sees Samantha go into an obstetrician's office, he jumps to the obvious conclusion. Before long, Larry has convinced Darrin that Sam is pregnant. Little does Larry realize that soon he will be hearing that proverbial patter of little feet. Irene Vernon appears as Mrs. Tate, a role later filled by Kasey Rogers. Written by Danny Arnold, "...and Something Makes Three" originally aired on December 3, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Samantha is nervous at the prospect of meeting Darrin's parents (Mabel Albertson and Robert F. Simon) for the first time. When dotty old Aunt Clara makes a surprise visit, Sam is nearly driven over the edge. How will Sam be able to hide the fact that she's a witch with Clara inadvertently casting spells at every opportunity? Written by Bernard Slade, "Samantha Meets the Folks" was first telecast on December 17, 1964. When the episode was rerun on January 27, 1966, new footage was added to frame the action as a flashback. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in black-and-white, the first season of Bewitched got under way just after the wedding of Darrin and Samantha Stephens (Dick York and Elizabeth Montgomery). The first major crisis in the marriage arises when "Sam" calmly informs her ad executive hubby, Darrin, that she is a witch -- "a genuine, broom-flying, cauldron-stirring witch" -- and proceeds to prove it by moving objects through the air and casting spells with the twitch of her nose. A mere mortal, Darrin is clearly taken aback by this revelation, but he loves Sam and is determined to make the marriage work. There is one condition, however: Sam must keep her powers a secret from others, and she must never use witchcraft in her everyday wifely activities. Though Sam does a good job with the first part of the condition (despite the suspicions of her snoopy next-door neighbor Gladys Kravitz [Sandra Gould]), she oftens finds that there is no alternative but to use her powers whenever Darrin gets into a mess, usually in connection with his job at the ad firm run by the bombastic Larry Tate (David White). Among the supporting characters making their first appearances in season one are Sam's witch mother, Endora (Agnes Moorehead), who detests Darrin and uses every power at her command to sabotage the marriage; Endora's husband, Maurice (Maurice Evans), an elegant warlock with a mercurial temperament; Sam's befuddled Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne), whose application of witchcraft is eccentric and misguided, to say the least; George Tobias as the obstreperous Gladys Kravitz's laid-back husband, Abner; and Irene Vernon as Larry Tate's good-natured wife, Louise. Guest stars this season include Adam West, Arte Johnson, Raquel Welch, Shelley Berman, June Lockhart, and, as a nervous driving instructor, Paul Lynde, two years before he became a Bewitched semi-regular in the role of Sam's prankish Uncle Arthur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide