Henry Brandon Movies

Faye Dunaway portrays the Argentinian title character in this four-hour TV biopic. The story traces Evita's rise to power from humble origins; she establishes herself as a radio and film actress, then meets and marries powerful politico Juan Peron (played by James Farentino, a last minute replacement for Robert Mitchum). Peron's iron-fisted rule of Argentina allows Evita to become a political power in her own right. At first she is widely beloved as a "woman of the people", but gradually many of her followers are disillusioned by her use -- and misuse -- of her authority and her influence over Peron. After Evita dies, she is all but canonized by the Faithful, and it becomes more difficult than ever to separate fact from legend. Evita Peron was clearly produced to capitalize on the Broadway musical hit Evita, though the script takes great pains not to copy its theatrical inspiration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the family film When the North Wind Blows, an old trapper flees into the woods of Alaska after accidentally wounding his friend's son. Once he's in the wilderness, he befriends a family of snow tigers and protects them from various other hunters and trappers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Friendly Middle Eastern potentate King Selim (Lloyd Battista) has been imprisoned by his lookalike brother Prince Samandal (also Lloyd Battista), the better to usurp Selim's throne and hand over the kingdom to enemies of the West. To rescue Selim and restore the status quo of his country, the IMF must throw a good scare into Samandal. Posing as a doctor, Phelps uses all the medical trickery at the IMF's disposal to accomplish his task. Michele Carey guest stars as female IMF agent Lisa, here impersonating an actress named Irina. Originally broadcast December 7, 1969, "The Brothers" was scripted by Leigh Vance, from a story by Robert C. Dennis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Saunders (Vic Morrow) and his men are assigned to capture a farmhouse guarded by a squadron of teenage German soldiers. Though reluctant to kill the youngsters, Saunders may be forced to do so because of the obstreperous behavior of the squadron's idealistic leader (Peter Haskell). The sergeant's only hope to accomplish his mission and avoid unnecessary bloodshed is to persuade the German commander of the futility of his stubbornness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The premiere episode of F Troop explains how Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), the last and least descendant of a proud military family, came to be known as "The Scourge of the West." Near the end of the Civil War, Union private Parmenter is sent out to pick up the laundry for General Grant. En route, Wilton's sneeze is mistaken for an order to mount a charge against the Confederates--and as a result, he finds himself a much decorated hero, bound for his first command at Fort Courage, somewhere in Kansas. The clueless Captain Parmenter is unaware that the Fort is actually the personal domain of the entrepreneurial Sergeant O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and his partner-in-crime Corporal Agarn (Larry Storch), who connive to keep Wilton in the dark about their many crooked business activities--and to convince the new commander that the hopeless misfits of F Troop are actually an expert tean of Indian fighters! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Volume 31 of a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, a human disguises himself as an evil alien to gather intelligence data. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

One of director John Ford's least characteristic films, it derives from the latter part of his career, when the director's belief in the myth of the West had faded, and he was beset by failing health and personal problems. In the cynicism of its humor, the director seems be to taking a page from the work of his friend Howard Hawks. James Stewart stars as Guthrie McCabe, the marshal of a Texas town who spends most of his time in front of the local saloon, where he gets 10 percent of the action, in addition to favors from its owner, Belle Aragon Anelle Hayes. Based on his knowledge of the Commanche tribe, his friend, cavalry officer Jim Gary (Richard Widmark), asks him to help the army to recover long-missing white captives. Despite his initial reluctance, the ability of the opportunistic McCabe to neogotiate a lucrative per capita deal for his recovery of the captives, in addition to his desire to evade the marital intentions of Belle, seal the deal. Even after interviewing the captives' desperate relatives, the hardened McCabe is unmoved, although he believes their chance of ever seeing their relatives again as they once knew them is remote. However, as events unfold, the all-knowing marshal find he has a few things to learn. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide

Made as low-budget fodder for the Southern drive-in circuit, this action crime drama centers on two smugglers of drugs and illegal aliens who work out of the swamps of southern Florida. They use Seminole Indian guides to help them and things work well until one of the gang members rapes an Indian girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When Cecil B. DeMille was set to direct a re-make of his 1938 swashbuckler The Buccaneer and suddenly became ill, his son-in-law, Anthony Quinn, jumped into DeMille's jodhpurs. In this version, Yul Brynner plays the starring role of debonair pirate Jean Lafitte, who is contacted by General Andrew Jackson (Charlton Heston) to come to the aid of the United States when the British attack New Orleans during the War of 1812. Lafitte immediately falls in love with Annette Claiborne (Inger Stevens), the daughter of William Claiborne (E.G. Marshall), the first governor of Louisiana. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Frank Freeman Jr., son of the longtime head of Paramount Pictures, made his debut as producer with the opulent but empty Omar Khayyam. Cornel Wilde stars as the legendary Persian poet, here depicted as not only a philosopher but a scientist, politician and great lover. As the Persians gear up for war against the Byzantines, Omar occupies his time by romancing Sharain (Debra Paget), the favorite wife of the Shah (Raymond Massey). He also does his best to foil a plan by Hasani (Michael Rennie), leader of the Cult of Assassins, to murder the royal family. While many of the characters and events are based on fact, it is difficult to believe the story or the dialogue for more than ten minutes at a stretch. Singer Yma Sumac, then famous for her four-and-a-half octave vocal range, is somehow woven into the proceedings. When Omar Khayyam laid an egg at the box-office, a Hollywood wit, taking into consideration the Southern heritage of Frank Freeman Jr., assessed the results as "A loaf of bread, a bottle of coke and you-all." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Arizona, Paladin (Richard Boone) crosses the path of Calvary major Wilson (Warren Stevens), who claims to have attended West Point at the same time that Paladin left that institution in disgrace. Hired to escort Wilson and his troops to locate the elusive Maricopa chief Gerada, Paladin is told that the Cavalry wants to sign a peace treaty with the hostile Indian leader. But it soon becomes obvious that the mission is being fueled by a bad case of "gold fever"--and for a while, it looks as though Paladin will not emerge from this adventure alive. The part of Gerada is played by Berlin-born character actor Henry Brandon, previously seen as the sinister Scar in the classic John Ford western The Searchers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bandido is set during the Mexican civil war of 1916. Robert Mitchum stars as a sleepy-eyed soldier of fortune who finds himself in the middle of the fracas. At first refusing to take sides, Mitchum eventually casts his lot with insurrectionist Gilbert Roland. On the opposite side of the fence is gun-runner Zachary Scott, whose attractive wife Ursula Theiss has a yen for Mitchum. Lensed on location in Mexico, Bandido offers little in the way of provocative plotting or clever dialogue, but it definitely delivers the goods so far as action and adventure are concerned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide