Robert Bray Movies

Handford's Point is a compilation of several late-1960s episodes of the TV series Lassie. These episode were made at a time that Lassie has divested herself (or himself, but that's another story) from both Tommy Rettig and Jon Provost. Thus it is Robert Bray as forest ranger Corey Stewart who handles the human end of the drama. Stewart's crisis this time is personified by two troublesome would-be conservationists. The ranger must convince the twosome to stop their obstructive antics and allow a recreation center to be built on Handford's Point. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this heartwarming adventure, Lassie runs around in the historic Southeast and helps all those she encounters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

While on maneuvers near the site of Custer's Last Stand, a modern-day Army tank crew encounters evidence that they have travelled back in time. This evidence is largely gleaned from the crew's knowledge of the events leading up to the Custer debacle. The climax is inevitable -- but fascinating nonethless. The cast of this Twilight Zone episode includes such series-TV stalwarts as Ron Foster, Randy Boone, Warren Oates, Robert Bray, and Greg Morris. Written by Rod Serling, "The 7th Is Made up of Phantoms" initially aired on December 6, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Gathering of Eagles stars Rock Hudson as a colonel in the peacetime Strategic Air Command. His devotion to his duty as a wing commander takes a toll on his men, his marriage, and his own well-being. It is to Hudson's credit that he was willing to put his image on the line with this essentially unsympathetic characterization, and a tribute to his underrated ability as an actor that he compels us to care for him. Popular British leading lady Mary Peach makes a rare Hollywood appearance as Hudson's English wife. An unexpected bonus to A Gathering of Eagles is a semicomic musical piece, "The SAC Song," by dilettante satirist Tom Lehrer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Forest ranger Jim Mallory (Brian Keith) and his wife, Linda (Patricia Breslin), have adopted a girl named Ann (Claudia Cravey), carefully shielding from her the knowledge that her real father killed her real mother just before committing suicide. A blackmailer threatens to tell the girl the truth about her natural parents unless he is paid off. The situation worsens when the blackmailer's accomplice turns up murdered -- and Jim is suspected of the crime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Susan Glaspell's famous short story and one-act play Trifles is the source of this episode, in which Millie Wright (June Walker) is arrested for the murder of her husband. When Millie is released for lack of evidence, two of her neighbors, Sarah (Ann Harding) and Mary (Frances Reid), try to find out what really happened to the late Mr. Wright. They uncover some disturbing evidence -- but are forestalled from informing the authorities upon uncovering some even more disturbing evidence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The death of accused bank robber Arnold Mathias (Ron Nichols) during a prison break has revived interest in the robbery which allegedly netted Mathias 500,000 dollars -- but which has never been officially solved. Shortly after Mathias' death, a man identifying himself as novelist Henry Taylor (Robert Bray) pays a visit to bank president William Spengler (Bob Sweeney), hoping to get the full story of the robbery. In the course of events, Spengler makes a startling revelation -- but nowhere near as startling as the one made by "Henry Taylor" in the final scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Action director John Sturges had a few good films behind him (Bad Day at Black Rock, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral) and a few more to come (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven) when he put together this colorful story of wartime romance. In addition to his talents as a director, this saga of an American Captain stationed with his Allied command in Burma during World War II is helped by a stellar cast. Frank Sinatra is Captain Tom Reynolds who is supposed to be battling the Japanese in Burma but gets side-tracked when his unit and his Kachin allies are attacked by Chiang Kai-shek's forces. In supporting roles are Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen (about to make his mark on the big screen), Gina Lollobrigida, Peter Lawford, Brian Donlevy, and several others. After General Chiang's attack, Captain Reynolds leads the remainder of his men into Nationalist Chinese territory for a fast retaliation -- basically a wholesale slaughter. He is called on the carpet for this action later, and his would-be love, Carla Vesari (Lollobrigida) is suddenly faced with a decision to stay with her current man (Paul Heinreid) or take off for the unknown USA with the American Captain. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Never Love a Stranger--especially if it's young hoodlum Frank Kane (John Drew Barrymore). When it is discovered that his natural parents were Jewish, Kane is removed from the Catholic orphanage that has been his only home. Seething with resentment, he vows to succeed at gangsterdom. He rises spectacularly to the top before his inevitable downfall-and has a high old time doing so. The basis for Never Love a Stranger was a Harold Robbins novel, which obviously drew upon actual people and events; it's quite entertaining to guess who the fictionalized characters are supposed to be. Of the stellar supporting cast, Robert Armstrong is a standout as a soft-spoken gunman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A fine cast highlights this entertaining British mystery derived from The Unholy Night (1929). The plot concerns a reunion of World War II spies at the home of distinguished Col. Price (Donald Wolfit). The veterans are murdered one by one by a traitorous former Nazi in their midst. Anton Diffring and Karel Stepanek co-star with Christopher Lee, who plays Neumann, a Jewish doctor. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

John Steineck's novel The Wayward Bus was retranslated into pop-entertainment terms for the screen. Most of the story takes place on the charter bus owned by driver Rick Jason. Travelling slowly through a treacherous California mountain region, the passengers -- including Jason's spiteful, alcoholic wife Joan Collins-- undergo a variety of life-altering experiences. The journey has its most profound effects upon an iconoclastic travelling salesman (Dan Dailey) and lonely stripper (Jayne Mansfield). This is one instance in which the oblong CinemaScope lens is inappropriate to the intimacy of the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Steel Jungle is the prison where most of this film takes place. Perry Lopez heads the cast as two-bit bookie Ed Novak, who goes to jail rather than squeal on his Syndicate higher-ups. Novak's silence exacts a toll on his wife Frances (Beverly Garland), who is expecting a child. The longer he remains in prison, the more Novak becomes aware that the mob has deserted him--and the more he's willing to spill what he knows. Fellow prisoner Steve Marlin (Ted De Corsia) intends to see that Novak keeps his mouth shut permananently. Produced independently, The Steel Jungle was distributed by Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide