Alvin Ganzer Movies

Shortly after being involved in a hit-and-run outside of Danny's bar, stewardess Robbie Parker is found murdered. Quincy (Jack Klugman) becomes involved in the situation for two reasons: Danny (Val Bisoglio) may be facing charges for serving Robin too many drinks, and the dead woman was a friend of Quincy's current amour Janet Martin (Renne Jarrett). Conducting an investigation, Quincy figures out that Robbi has had extensive plastic surgery as part of an effort to completely change her identity--and that her past was strange and sordid indeed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) again matches wits with erudite master thief Arthur Justin, whom he sent to prison in the second-season episode "Shell Game". On that occasion, Justin had been played by Sorrell Booke; this time, the role is handled by Dan O'Herlihy. Determined to have his revenge on Ironside, Justin draws up elaborate plans for a spectacular art heist, dropping tantalyzing clues all along the way--and never revealing that he ultimately plans to "hijack" Elizabeth Van Deering (Skye Aubrey), the current sweetheart of Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this lightweight comedy, David McCallum stars as Stanley Thrumm, a retiring British tour guide who strikes it rich one night in a casino on the Riviera. He's not sure that he wants to take the cash back to England, because he'll have to pay taxes on it, so he decides to put it in a Swiss bank account. But Carla Moretti (Sylva Koscina), an apparently helpful woman whom he has met, has designs on the loot, and she enlists her ex-husband in an effort to get it. Thrumm takes his winnings on a roundabout trek to Switzerland while Carla and her husband pursue, and the result is a long car chase with many comic diversions and a lot of Alpine scenery. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Narrative takes a back seat to music in this loose remake of Girl Crazy, as Harve Presnell plays a footloose young millionaire who meets perky Connie Francis and hatches a scheme to save her father's failing Nevada ranch by turning it into a resort for people waiting out their quickie Las Vegas divorces. This was an early musical vehicle for then-Broadway star Presnell, who would gain notoriety with film fans years later as a character actor in Fargo, Patch Adams, and Saving Private Ryan. Besides, how often do you get to see a musical that features Louis Armstrong, Liberace, Herman's Hermits, and Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. moved from Tuesday evenings to Mondays with its January 11, 1965, episode "The Deadly Decoy Affair." UNCLE agents Solo and Illya, together with their superior Alexander Waverly, attempt to escort captured THRUSH agent Egon Stryker (Ralph Taeger) to Washington. To prevent THRUSH from intervening, Waverly arranges for a look-alike decoy to pose as Stryker. In an unforeseen complication, innocent secretary Fran Parsons (Joanna Moore) is accidentally handcuffed to the real Stryker just before Solo and Illya leave Grand Central Station. "The Deadly Decoy Affair" was written by Albert Aley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first Lost in Space episode comprised entirely of "new" footage, with no stock shots from the original pilot film, is also the first to feature a guest star--in this case Warren Oates, cast as cowboy-turned-astronaut Jim Hapgood. Like the Robinson family, Hapgood has been stranded in space, all because he'd overshot a scheduled landing on Saturn fifteen years earlier. However, Hapgood's space vessel is still functioning, which is more than can be said for the Jupiter 2. Treacherous Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris) does his "best" to get into Hapgood's good graces, the better to be taken back to Earth--without the Robinsons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Long before he was "humanized" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Love Boat, Gavin McLeod was cast as the villainous Hong Kong-based black marketeer Mr. Cleveland. Preparing to auction off a rare coin containing microfilmed military secrets to the highest bidder, Cleveland comes under the scrutiny of UNCLE agents Solo and Illya. This week's "innocent bystander," who helps the UNCLE men foil Cleveland, is feckless American tourist Bernie Oren; also in the cast are Karen Sharpe as Heavenly Cortelle and Richard Kiel (aka "Jaws" in the James Bond films of the 1970s) as Merry. First telecast March 15, 1965, "The Hong Kong Shilling Affair" was written by Alan Caillou. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During Ben Cartwright's absence, a woman named Jennifer (Suzanne Lloyd) shows up at the Ponderosa, claiming to be Ben's new wife-and she has a marriage license to back up her claims. The Cartwright boys soon determine that Jennifer has been fleeced by a con artist who has been posing as their father. Determined to reclaim the woman's money and reputation, the brothers head to Crater Plains to confront the imposter-little realizing that they're riding into a neat little ambush. Future Batman star Adam West is seen as Frank Milton, while others in the cast include John McIntire (Sheriff Mike Latimer), William Mims (Ed Bailey), Hank Worden (Old Miner), Mickey Simpson (Miner), Herb Vigran (Bartender) and Clarence Straight (Driver). Written by Richard Newman, "The Bride" was originally telecast on January 21, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

First telecast January 22, 1960, this Twilight Zone episode was adapted by Rod Serling from the famous radio play by Lucille Fletcher. In the original radio version, the protagonist was a young man named Ronald Adams, played by Orson Welles. Deducing that TV viewers would be more emotionally affected by a woman in distress, Serling rewrote the main character as Nan Adams, with Inger Stevens filling the role. While making a cross-country motor trip, Nan is terrified by the repeated appearances of a shabby-looking hitchhiker (Leonard Strong) who shows up at every turn and who seems to be beckoning her to. . .what? Classic line: "I believe you're. . .going my way." Listen for Eleanor Audley, in the climactic telephone-call sequence -- she also provided the voice of the wicked queen in the Disney theatrical feature Sleeping Beauty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode was based on an earlier Rod Serling TV play, in which a losing baseball team was saved by a 70-year-old pitcher. In the Twilight Zone version of this yarn, the old man was transformed into a muscular robot named Casey (Robert Sorrell), who comes to the rescue of the cellar-dwelling ball club skippered by Mouth McGarry. Winning game after game, Casey ultimately comes acropper when he suddenly develops human emotions -- and an unwillingness to see anyone lose a ball game! When first filmed in mid-1959, "The Mighty Casey" starred Paul Douglas as Mouth McGarry. Unfortunately, Douglas was in the last stages of the devastating illness that would kill him, and the producers were uncomfortable with his appearance on the screen. After Douglas' death, the episode was refilmed with Jack Warden as McGarry, with Alvin Ganzer taking over the directorial reins from Robert Parrish. "The Mighty Casey" finally aired June 17, 1960, as the next-to-last Twilight Zone of the 1959-60 season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though produced on a shoestring, Country Music Holiday has a lot more going for it than most popular-music melanges of the 1950s. Ferlin Husky stars as Verne Brand, a talented hillbilly warbler who is discovered by fast-talking Sonny Moon (Jesse White). Verne's rise to the top of country-western fame is compromised by the machinations of a predatory Hungarian lass (Zsa Zsa Gabor) who owns 50 percent of the boy's contract. The film boasts some of the strangest casting of any film of its era: Rocky Graziano, for example, costars as a savvy record-company executive, while Patty Duke is seen as Ferlin Husky's kid sister! In addition to Husky, Country Music Holiday offers such rural favorites as June Carter, The Jordanaires, Drifting Johnny Miller, Lonzo & Oscar, the La Dell Sisters and Bernie Nee. In comparison, the strip-joint comedy team of Al Fisher and Lou Marks seems as sophisticated and urbane as Noel Coward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide