Joan Freeman Movies
While still of high-school age, Joan Freeman was signed to a 20th Century-Fox contract, which yielded little more than a secondary role in the 1959 Clifton Webb vehicle The Remarkable Mrs. Pennypacker and the recurring part of waitress Elma Gahringer on the weekly TV adaptation of Bus Stop (1961). Free-lancing after 1962, Freeman was seen in films ranging from Ray Milland-directed sci-fier Panic in the Year Zero (1962) to The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963). She is the only actress outside of Yvonne Craig to play romantic scenes opposite both Elvis Presley (Roustabout) and Don Knotts (The Reluctant Astronaut). As a character player in the 1970s and 1980s, Freeman was featured in such scarefests as Friday the 13th: the Final Chapter (1984). Actress Joan Freeman's credits are often confused with those of the director of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
- R
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Hockey-masked killer Jason Vorhees returns to terrorize a lakeside family and their rowdy teen neighbors in this fourth installment of the long-running slasher series. After the events of Friday the 13th, Part 3, Jason's seemingly lifeless body is brought to the morgue, where horny attendant Axel (Bruce Mahler) is trying to score with foxy Nurse Morgan (Lisa Freeman). The pair quickly meet a grisly end. Meanwhile, at Crystal Lake, estranged wife Mrs. Jarvis (Joan Freeman) and her kids -- young Tommy (Corey Feldman) and teenaged Trish (Kimberly Beck) -- find their quiet invaded by a group of hard-partying kids moving into the rental house next door. The youngsters include curious virgin Sara (Barbara Howard), hot-to-trot Samantha (Judie Aronson), and nebbish Jimmy (Crispin Glover). Tommy, a monster makeup enthusiast, enjoys watching the scantily clad young ladies through his window, while Trish toys with the idea of joining in their revelries. Also lurking around the area is Rob (Erich Anderson), who claims to be hunting bear but actually has mysterious ties to the events of Friday the 13th, Part 2. As the house full of teens begins to pair off -- aided by the addition of local twins Tina (Camilla More) and Terri (Carey More) to the mix -- an unseen killer begins to pick them off one by one. The bloodshed climaxes with a tense showdown in which Tommy disguises himself as a bald, lumpy boyhood version of Jason in hopes of distracting the relentless psychopath who hunts him. Feldman would return for a cameo in Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning, only to be replaced by another actor in a grown-up version of the role. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Crispin Glover, Kimberly Beck, (more)
Jinxed is an apt name for this disastrous project which, sadly, turned out to be Don Siegel's final film. The film takes place in Reno, where blackjack dealer Willie Brodax (Ken Wahl) becomes an innocent victim of a broken-down gambler named Harold Benson (Rip Torn). Such is Willie's luck that when he sees Benson sit down at his blackjack table, he realizes that he will soon be out of a job. Benson is also giving his girlfriend Bonita Friml (Bette Midler) a difficult time. When she notices Willie and sees how Bensen is putting him through the wringer, she begins to fall for him and gets him involved in a scheme to kill her boyfriend. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Ken Wahl, (more)
- 1979
Season Five of Quincy, M.E. begins with a typically perplexing case for police medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman). Performing an autopsy on a teenage girl, Quincy finds that the girl succumbed to a disease more commonly found in old people. After the victim's boyfriend dies in a similar fashion, Quincy determines that both were heavy drug users--and that the marijuana they'd been smoking had been treated with chemical designed to stimulate plant growth (the resemblance to the controversial defoliant Paraquat was clearly not coincidental). Determined to prevent any further damge, Quincy goes after Ralph Peters (Gary Wood), publisher of the magazine which advertised the deadly stimulant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Impressive production values can't disguise the painfully dated premise of this TV movie which stars Robert Foxworth as an over-stressed advertising executive whose doctor prescribes a lengthy period of rest and recuperation. Foxworth decides to voyage to Hawaii -- where his grandfather once worked as a missionary -- and soon finds himself the victim of an island curse which the natives first placed upon his grandfather, who then passed it to his son, and so on... until, before he can say "Larry Talbot," Foxworth begins developing an unsightly hair-growth issue by the next full moon. Despite the exotic setting and a rather daring abundance of skin for a TV movie, this is a stodgy and completely unnecessary throwback to low-grade monster films of yore, complete with slow-dissolve transformations and rubber-teeth monster effects. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Flying in the face of his police training, Officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) takes an intensely personal interest in the search for a missing six-year-old girl. Catching up with a suspected child molester, Pete reacts violently when the prisoner makes a snide remark. Now Malloy is facing charges of using excessive force--and a depraved criminal may go free as a result. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
During an outing in the park, Buffy (Anissa Jones) and Jody (Johnnie Whitaker) see a mother bird shooing her children out of the nest. Somehow this causes the twins to worry that their Uncle Bill (Brian Keith) will be lonely and miserable when they, too, "leave the nest." Clearly, there is only one solution to this future dilemma: The kids must play matchmaker between Bill and their pretty teacher Ms. Berry (Joan Freeman). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
The must-be-seen-to-be-believed Fastest Guitar Alive offers singer Roy Orbison in his one and only movie starring role. Orbison plays Johnny Banner, a Confederate Spy who keeps a rifle hidden in his guitar. While on an espionage mission with partner Steve (Sammy Jackson), Johnny discovers that the war is over, and that now he and Steve are considered outlaws. Their many subsequent adventures include their involvement with dance-hall gals Flo (Maggie Pierce, co-star of the infamous TVer My Mother the Car) and Sue (Joan Freeman). Indicative of the general tone of seriousness in this film is the presence of veteran comedian Ben Lessy as a most urban-looking Indian. Though silly in the extreme, Fastest Guitar Alive is at least superficially better than most of the youth-oriented Sam Katzman productions of the period. And besides, you wouldn't want to pass up an opportunity to see Roy Orbison in his performing prime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Orbison, Sammy Jackson, (more)
- 1967
A gang of outlaws, led by the sadistic Dibs (Richard Jaeckel), descends upon the Ponderosa. The crooks are determined to retrieve $60,000 in stolen money from their duplicitous partner Don Buckler (Ron Hayes), now wounded and under the care of the Cartwright boys. Eve McVeigh appears as housekeeper Harriet Guthrie, temporary replacement for the Cartwrights' longtime servant Hop Sing, while Joan Freeman is cast as Kelly. First shown on October 15, 1967, "Night of Reckoning" was written by Walter Black. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
Roy Fleming (Don Knotts) is signed on to the space program at NASA by his father Buck (Arthur O'Connell), a gung-ho former World War I vet who is trying to make something out of his son. Roy becomes a janitor who is afraid of heights and mistaken for an astronaut through a series of comedic mishaps. (Jesse White) plays Roy's boss Donelli, with (Leslie Nielsen) as space hero Major Gifford. Knotts uses his patented brand of nervousness to perfection in this lighthearted situation comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Knotts, Leslie Nielsen, (more)
- 1965
Two aging bronc-busters (Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda) make their meager money by breaking wild horses. They dream of better days--possibly retiring to some island paradise--but they never put any money in the bank because they spend it all on booze and girls. They think their no-dough days are done until they acquire a wild drunkard horse which they enter in a bucking contest--no one can ride the wild, hiccupping nag. This is a pretty funny '60s western-style comedy. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1965
When her husband Booth (Steve Cochran) is murdered, Hallie Shannon (Joan Freeman) is convinced that her former sweetheart Joe Cartwright committed the dirty deed so that Joe and Hallie could be together again. Unfortunately, Booth's twin brother Buck (also Steve Cochran) is of the same opinion-and Buck has a notoriously itchy trigger finger. Joe's troubles are compounded when Hallie herself turns up dead. This episode posted the series' highest ratings of the season when it originally aired on March 28, 1965. "The Trap" was written by Ken Pettus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
Charlie Rogers (Elvis Presley) is a coffeehouse singer who joins a financially troubled carnival in Roustabout. He is hired by owner Maggie Morgan (Barbara Stanwyck) and soon catches the eye of his pretty female co-worker Cathy Lean (Joan Freeman). Cathy's irate father Joe (Leif Erickson) clashes with Charlie when he tries to romance his daughter, but Charlie's singing helps bring in the much-needed money for the failing carnival and keeps the wolves from the big tent show. A disagreement has Charlie joining another carnival before things are smoothed out. Watch for Raquel Welch and Terry Garr in bit parts. Presley delivers 11 songs, the highlight being the Mike Leiber/Jerry Stoller tune"Little Egypt". ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck, (more)
- 1964
In Volume 35 of a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, a two-dimensional alien finds himself transported to Earth. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1963
- NR
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This slapstick comedy is a hilarious spoof on "Around The World In 80 Days." The grandson of the celebrated Phinius Fogg makes a bet with his cohorts at the London Explorers Club that he can complete the journey. Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe are the dedicated servants who accompany the explorer along with his pretty girlfriend Amelia (Joan Freeman). The group must earn money to live on along the way as the wager was made with the provision young Fogg bring no money. Curly Joe fights a Sumo wrestler in Japan for prize money. In a hilarious scene, the Stooges observe a Japanese trio of Stooges acting like their American counterparts and walk away shaking their heads in disbelief over the slapstick behavior. The group races against time to complete the journey and collect on the bet. Longtime Stooge associate Emil Sitka appears as a butler in the exclusive blue blooded club. Directed by Moe's son-in-law Norman Maurer, this may be the funniest of all the Stooges films from the 1960s. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moe Howard, Larry Fine, (more)
- 1962
Ray Milland both starred in and directed the morose, minimalist sci-fier Panic in the Year Zero! (original title: Panic in Year Zero!). En route from Los Angeles to a vacation in the mountains, Harry Baldwin (Milland), his wife, Ann (Jean Hagen), and his teen-aged children, Rick (Frankie Avalon) and Karen (Mary Mitchell), are appalled to see a mushroom cloud forming over the L.A. skyline. With the highways clogged by panicking motorists, Milland and his family decide to head to the shelter of their fishing spot, there to wait until more news about the nuclear disaster is available. Everywhere they drive, however, the family is confronted by rampaging looters, heavily armed survivalists, and doped-up motorcycle punks. Attempting to remain calm and collected in the face of Armageddon, Milland ends up as violent and animalistic as everyone else. Though it avoids proselytizing for the most part, Panic in the Year Zero! does fall back on the old reliable "The Beginning" fadeout title. The most powerful aspect of the film is the "normalcy" of Milland's family: we are made to feel throughout that what happens to them could very well happen to us, and how then would we react? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, (more)
- 1962
This children's movie details the adventure of a boy (Kevin Corcoran) who tries to unravel the secrets of the Mooncussers, a group of pirates who destroy ships by guiding them onto rocks with a fake lighthouse. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Young and wealthy Jennifer Wakely (Joan Freeman) is heartbroken when boyfriend Brad Shelby (Bob McQuain) dumps her to marry the older and wealthier Madelon Haines (Jennifer Howard). As if this wasn't bad enough, Jennifer is told that she has lost all her money and possessions, save for a worn-out race horse named Tiger Lil. Subsequently, Brad purchases the horse for far more than it is worth, but Jennifer angrily rejects this apparent act of charity--and as a result, she finds herself the chief suspect when Brad is murdered. In order to clear the girl's name, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) may have to get some new evidence straight from the horse's mouth...so to speak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Roger Corman's stripped-down remake of Universal's 1939 period classic elevates that film's supporting player Vincent Price to the starring role, essayed in the original by Basil Rathbone. Price chews scenery as hunchbacked mad monarch Richard III, who ascends the throne through murder (including the Duke of Clarence's wine-vat drowning), torture (lovely Sandra Knight gains a few inches on the rack), and elaborate deception. Bloody events and plot twists notwithstanding, this low-budget outing is painfully threadbare for a period piece, even in comparison to Corman's Edgar Allan Poe films for AIP from the same period. The film's saving grace is found in Price's manic performance, which ranks among the horror legend's most flamboyant. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Michael Pate, (more)
Rock Hudson stars in this frothy romantic comedy as filthy-rich American Robert Talbot. Talbot owns an Italian villa, where he traditionally stays only one month out of the year (September), but when Talbot suddenly decides to show up in July, Talbot's major overseer Maurice (Walter Slezak) is shocked out of his skin to see him -- it seems that Maurice has turned Talbot's villa into a hotel for the remaining eleven months of the year. But it's July in Italy, and love is in the air, and Talbot becomes distracted by the beautiful Lisa (Gina Lollobrigida) and soon he is trying to prevent her from marrying another man. Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin (in his first screen role) play young guests of the villa. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, (more)
- 1959
Based on a successful stage play, The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker loses in this adaptation to film by becoming more serious than an all-out farce. The setting is the end of the 1800s and the intrepid Pennypacker (Clifton Webb) runs a sausage company with two thriving plants in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. He shuttles back and forth between the cities and with equal aplomb, between two households. He maintains one wife (Dorothy McGuire) and eight children in one city, and another wife (Jill St. John) and nine children in the other. When one of the Mrs. Pennypackers finds out about his deception, the unruffled businessman sees no reason for her emotional reaction. Victorian inhibitions and rigidities are set against ultra-modern thinking, embodied in the people the bigamist admires -- like Darwin, the feminists (!), and free-thinkers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, (more)
- 1956
Teenage Rebel was the misleadingly lurid title bestowed upon this film version of Edith R. Sommer's Broadway play A Roomful of Roses. Ginger Rogers heads the cast as Nancy Fallon, a divorcee who has trouble communicating with 15-year-old daughter Dodie (Betty Lou Keim). Left in the custody of her father, Dodie feels as though her mother has deserted her. The situation doesn't improve very much when Nancy marries Jay (Michael Rennie), providing her daughter with another excuse for resentment and petulance. The responsibility for resolving this dilemma is laid at the feet of Jay's young son Larry (Rusty Swope). Teenage Rebel represents the film debut of Warren Berlinger, superbly repeating his stage role as one of Keim's school chums. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Michael Rennie, (more)
- 1951
Pistol Harvest starred RKO's "house cowboys" Tim Holt and Richard Martin. In this one, the two heroes are accused of killing their boss. They are saved from the hangman's noose when two other guys are arrested, but Holt feels as though justice is still not being served. On their own, Holt and Chito set about to track down the genuine killer. Joan Dixon, whose previous RKO endeavor was the tense film noir Roadblock, trods a more virtuous path as Tim Holt's romantic interest. Pistol Harvest was budgeted at $93,000, an indication that even a "B" western was a costly proposition in the postwar years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Holt, Joan Dixon, (more)
