Robert M. Leeds Movies

Log of the Black Pearl was the 2-hour pilot film for an unsold weekly TV adventure series. Kiel Martin plays a successful stockbroker who gives up his job when he inherits the Black Pearl, his grandfather's yacht. He becomes a soldier of fortune, willing to rent out the boat and his services when adventure calls. Ralph Bellamy plays Martin's crusty captain and Jack Kruschen is his first mate. His first (and last) assignment is to find a missing treasure before the villains can claim the booty. Loosely inspired by the old radio series Voyage of the Scarlet Queen, Log of the Black Pearl was co-produced by Jack Webb. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Several years before he turned to screenwriting--and winning an Oscar for his contributions to the 1978 film The Deer Hunter in the process--Quinn Redeker appeared in a guest role in this Adam-12 episode. Redeker is cast as Officer Charlie Burnside, a rogue cop who uses excessive brutality when dealing with suspects. Witnessing Burnside in the act, Officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord) reports him to the higher-ups--only to end up in hot water himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the fourth of five episodes filmed on location at Silver Dollar City in the Missouri Ozarks, Jane Hathaway and Jethro arrive in town to link up with the rest of the Clampett family. Succeeding where Granny has failed, Jane manages to find a potential husband for Elly May, a handsome young backwoodsman named Matthew Templeton. Roger Torrey, who had originally been the number one contender for the role of Jethro Bodine before Max Baer Jr. landed the part, appears as Matthew. "Jane Finds Elly a Man" was first telecast on October 15, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second of five episodes filmed on location at Silver Dollar City in the Missouri Ozarks, Granny tussles with her old rival Elverna Bradshaw (Elvia Allman), rekindling a long-standing feud. Meanwhile, back in Beverly Hills, Jethro transforms the mansion into a hippie commune. Rob Reiner appears as a bearded flower child named Mitch, while Shug Fisher makes the first of several series appearances as Silver Dollar City hotelier Shorty Kellems. "The Hills of Home" originally aired on October 1, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title character in this standard comedy about the foibles of military life is Archie Hall (Robert Mitchum), a puffed-up dandy whose strutting personality makes the other privates in a Civilian Pilot Training program absolutely certain he is a spy. They figure him for a multiple-star general, out to entrap a Japanese spy by the unlikely name of Cindy (France Nuyen). A series of enlisted men and officers contribute to the misadventures due to the misunderstanding, including comics like Don Knotts as Captain Little and Louis Nye as Private Sam Beecham. Jack Webb directs, and plays the role of Archie's sidekick. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A Marine drill instructor (d.i. for short), Sgt. Jim Moore (Jack Webb) is responsible for the rigorous training of his recruits. His already testy patience is tested that much more when a coddled private (Don Dubbins) joins his regiment. Jack Webb produced, directed and starred in the film. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

At the height of the popularity of his Dragnet TV series, producer/director/star Jack Webb struck a deal with Warner Bros. to direct several feature films--the first of which, but of course, was 1954's Dragnet. This time around, the "true story" in which "only the names are changed to protect the innocent" involves the murder of former syndicate member Dub Taylor. LAPD sergeants Joe Friday (Webb) and Frank Smith (Ben Alexander) follow the trail of evidence to shifty gangster boss Stacy Harris, who during most of the film is able to avoid arrest through legal loopholes. Richard Boone plays Captain Hamilton, while Ann Robinson, best known for her screaming and scurrying about in War of the Worlds, plays policewoman Grace Downey. Most of the rest of the cast is drawn from Webb's TV and radio stock company, including Virginia Gregg, who is quite good as the amputee wife of the victim, and Vic Perrin, who would later portray the voyeuristic serial killer in the 1967 TV movie version of Dragnet. Some sources list Cliff Arquette as being in the cast of Dragnet, playing his familiar Charley Weaver character, but we can't find him. Dragnet has often been derided because of Joe Friday's reluctance to honor the civil liberties of his suspects, but remember that this was 1954, long before the "You have a right to remain silent" era. Webb's terse, tightly edited, close-up-dominated TV technique translates surprisingly well to the big screen. At its worst, Dragnet falls victim to the corny overkill of the TV version: the subtle-as-an-earthquake musical cues, Friday and Smith's ubiquitous nods and exchanged glances, etc. Still, Dragnet was a satisfying and profitable feature film directorial debut for Jack Webb, whose subsequent efforts included Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), The DI (1957), 30 (1959) and The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Low-budget Realart Films managed to pick up an above-average property when it secured the screen rights to the Robert Abel play The Samson Slasher. Retitled Breakdown, the story concerns a heavyweight boxer, played by William Bishop. Framed for murder, Bishop is sent to prison, but is released after a few years on good behavior. Putting two and two together (no mean feat when you're wearing boxing gloves), Bishop surmises that the real killer is linked up in some way with his girl friend Anne Gwynne. Richard Benedict, a real-life boxer who turned actor in the mid-1940s, appears in the supporting cast as "Punchy." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Rodeo King and the Senorita stars Rex Allen (playing himself); it shouldn't be necessary to indicate which of the title roles he plays. In this Republic sagebrusher, Allen tries to determine whether or not a fatal accident was truly accidental. The victim's preteen daughter is Juanita Morales (Bonnie De Simone), the titular Senorita who now legally owns the Wild West show which employs singing cowboy Allen. With the help of heroine Janet Wells (Mary Ellen Kay) and sidekick Muscles Benton (Buddy Ebsen), Allen discovers who was behind the death of Juanita's father, and why. With such powerhouse villains as Roy Barcroft and Tris Coffin in the cast, the mystery is over almost before it begins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Allan "Rocky" Lane plays the title role in the Republic oater Wells Fargo Gunmaster. Lane is sent westward by his employers to stem a series of stagecoach holdups. To bring the crooks out into the open, Lane pretends to turn bandit himself. One by one, the minor crooks are bumped off as they try to fence their ill-gotten gains. By process of elimination, Lane is able to expose the mysterious mastermind behind the robberies. Featured in the cast of Wells Fargo Gunmaster are moppet performers Mary Ellen Kay and Michael Chapin, who'd soon be spun off into their own western series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Failing to make a dent in Hollywood, actress Constance Dowling was more successful in Italian films. Constance heads the cast of Stormbound as a plucky girl reporter. During torrential downpour, our heroine finds herself sharing a shack with notorious bandit Aldo Silvani-the very man she'd been sent to interview. The crook graciously gives Constance an exclusive story, then bids her adio. A heavily edited version of Stormbound was released in the US by Republic Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lawman Allan “Rocky” Lane is mistaken for a hired killer in this average western from Republic Pictures. Assuming the identity of his captive, Clune (Stuart Randall), when the latter is killed by mistake by fellow outlaw Murray (John Cason), Rocky learns that Murray’s cohort Leo Straykin (Roy Barcroft) has killed a rancher named Reynolds and is planning on robbing Josh Taylor (Forrest Taylor) and then sell him the dead man’s property. But Taylor arrives with his lawyer, Parradine (John Eldredge), and a surveyor, Bob Bennett (George Nader), one of whom is rumored to be Straykins’ boss. Playing along and keeping his cover despite unwanted interference from Nugget Clark (Eddy Waller), an old-timer he has befriended along the way, Rocky learns that not only is Parradine Straykin’s boss but young Bennett is actually Jack Reynolds, the vengeful son of the murdered rancher. The plot thickens with the arrival of Jack’s pretty wife Carol (Claudia Barrett) but Rocky and Nugget eventually bring the villains to justice. Rustler’s on Horeback marked the screen debut of 1950s matinee idol George Nader. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide