Roger Kay Movies

A handful of strange creatures prove just how dangerous the imagination can be in the third American feature adapted from the popular Pokemon animated series. Prof. Spencer Hale is an archeologist studying ancient Pokemon when he uncovers a strange breed of "pocket monsters" called "Unown," whose bodies form runic symbols that resemble the letters of the alphabet. The Unown can read people's minds and transform their fantasies into reality, and when the professor mysteriously disappears, his young daughter Molly is given the materials (and the Pokemon) her father collected. As Molly plays with the Unown, her home is mysteriously transformed into a crystal fortress that expands to envelop the entire community of Greenfield, and a number of dangerous monsters are released from Molly's daydreams -- one of whom captures her mother and spirits her away. Realizing the crisis is the work of the Unown, legendary Pokemon-trainer Ash leaps into action to capture the creatures and teach Molly about the dangers of the Unown. Pokemon the Movie 3: Spell of the Unown was distributed with an accompanying short subject, Pikachu and Pichu, which finds the most popular Pokemon visiting the city with his new friend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Bernard Herrmann composed his final Twilight Zone musical score for the December 20, 1963 episode "Ninety Years Without Slumbering." Ed Wynn stars as septuagenarian Sam Forstmann, who resists his family's efforts to sell his precious grandfather clock. It seems that the clock began running on the day that Sam was born, and he is convinced that if its stops running, so will he. As originally conceived by George Clayton Johnson, this episode was to have had a "cyclical" ending, with Sam's death coinciding with the birth of his grandson. But as rewritten by Richard de Roy, "Ninety Years Without Slumbering" settled for a "happier" -- and weaker -- denouement. Watch for Dick Wilson, TV's "Mr. Whipple," as a moving man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This horror film is an updated remake of the 1919 classic tale of horror and domination. This time a deeply troubled woman must go to a spooky, ramshackle old manse after her car breaks down. The owner takes her in and then subjects her to numerous humiliating torments. Just before she is to die, the woman awakens from the nightmare and then remembers that she is in a mental hospital and that the sadistic host in her dream is really her doctor. Noted author Robert Bloch penned the script. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This episode could well have been inspired by the story of comedian Joe E. Lewis, whose throat was slashed during a vicious Chicago gang war in the 1930s. Cameron Mitchell guest stars as Johnny Pacheck, a comic working at the mob-controlled Mohawk club. Finding himself caught between bootlegger Big Jim Harrington (Ted De Corsia), who regards Johnny as his personal property, and Federal agent Elliot Ness (Robert Stack), who wrongly suspects Johnny of murder, the beleagured comedian makes several wrong decisions that could end up costing a lot of lives--including his own. Also in the cast are Phyllis Coates, onetime Lois Lane on Superman, as a duplicitous doxie, and veteran movie heavy Timothy Carey as a leering, ultra-sadistic hoodlum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode was written by W.R. Burnett of Little Caesar fame, so it shouldn't be a surprise that much of the story is told from the viewpoint of the nominal villain--in this case, dapper bank robber Larry "Ace" Banner (Dan O'Herlihy). As a clever as he is prolific, Banner is a master of disguise and psychology, frequently covering his tracks by preying on bankers who are even bigger crooks than he is. Unable to put the cuffs on Banner because bank robbery is not yet a Federal crime, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) must resort to other, more subtle methods to trip up the elusive thief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The greedy relatives of wealthy Daniel Reed (Edgar Stehli) want to have him committed to a mental institution, using as evidence the fact that he has been issuing $20,000 checks to strangers. Perry is hired by Reed's girlfriend Millie Foster (Kitty Kelly) to prevent the old man from being put away. Before long, however, Perry is defending Reed on a murder charge--and the victim is the recipient of all those checks, a slimy blackmailer named Maury Lewis (King Calder). In the course of events, Perry is amazed that each and every one of his legal moves has been anticipated by DA Hamilton Burger (William Talman); can it be that Burger has ordered Mason's office to be bugged? This final episode of Perry Mason's first season is based on a 1939 novel by series creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide