Richard Long Movies

In this made-for-TV movie, six persons have won a cruise-ship vacation, but they find that the awards were just a trick to begin a killing game. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

The Big Valley was the last major successful network Western series of the 1960s, running four seasons, from 1965 through 1969; none of the others that came after it, Branded, Hondo, Lancer, etc., even came close to that kind of longevity. Most of its appeal, besides high production values, lay in its casting and the starring role played by Barbara Stanwyck (or "Miss Barbara Stanwyck" as she was referred to in the credits) as Victoria Barkley, the matriarch ruling over a huge ranch outside of Stockton, CA, and the San Joachin Valley. Stanwyck was also a partner in the series' production company, Four Star. The Big Valley opens in the year 1876, six years after the death of Victoria's husband, Thomas Barkley, who was shot to death amid a battle with the railroad, and in the first episode the railroad is once more trying to take the land of the homesteaders adjacent to the Barkley ranch. The series' model was very obviously Bonanza (along with elements of the movie Duel in the Sun), which, with a relatively inexperienced cast, was already a hit in its fourth season at the time this series was conceived. The sensibilities of the period being what they were, Victoria Barkley could not have produced four siblings from different husbands, as Lorne Greene's Ben Cartwright had by different wives on Bonanza -- but her offspring were still as varied as the Cartwright family. The Barkleys, in the opening, include three brothers, Jarrod (Richard Long), the oldest and the lawyer, mature and deliberative; Nick (Peter Breck), the ramrod of the ranch, bold but also very hot-tempered; and Eugene (Charles Briles), the youngest, who looks up to both of his brothers (who goes off to college and, after the first season, is never seen or mentioned again); and one daughter, Audra (Linda Evans), who is by turns spoiled and vulnerable, and solitary.

In the first episode, a mysterious young man named Heath (Lee Majors) arrives at the ranch, claiming to be Tom Barkley's illegitimate son -- which sends Nick into a rage that nearly has him killing the visitor, until he joins the Barkley brothers in defending their neighbors from the railroad. The Barkley ranch may not have been as big as the Ponderosa on Bonanza, but it was just as attractive to would-be interlopers and troublemakers, and across four seasons the series managed to put some fresh twists on a lot of Western conventions, mostly by virtue of what Stanwyck's presence allowed in the way of scripting. With more acting and filmmaking experience than the rest of the cast combined, she could put her own stamp and fresh, interesting interpretations on stories as old as the "Vanishing Lady" ("The Disappearance") -- the same story that inspired Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes -- and even prison stories ("Four Days to Furnace Creek") in later seasons. The other prime actor in the series was, oddly enough, Lee Majors, who, at the outset of his career, understood the notion of less being more. His approach to the role of Heath in the first seaon is reminiscent of Steve McQueen with a touch of James Dean and Dennis Hopper. Whereas Richard Long did his best with a role that was usually fairly dullish, Breck tended to overact in his role, which, when it wasn't very physical, tended to get difficult speeches that required more subtlety than he had as an actor. As for Linda Evans, she was so untrained as an actress that she was actually occasionally interesting to watch in her scattershot approach to the role, which, as a solitary romantic dreamer, lent itself to a certain amorphous quality. To the audience's relief, she also got better during the later seasons of the show and was a fully competent actress by the series' end.

The first season of the series was devoted principally to establishing who the Barkleys were, the dimensions of their 30,000-acre ranch (which, in addition to cattle, included a mine, timber, a vineyard, orange groves, and -- in keeping with the sensibilities of the mid-'60s -- included at least one black ranch hand), and establishing the characters' individual personalities. Stanwyck evidently believed that scarcity created demand, and in many of the episodes, her work was confined to no more than two or three major scenes, enough to keep audiences satisfied while not overexposing her on the small screen. By the end of the season, youngest son Eugene was gone from memory and Jarrod, Nick, Heath, and Audra were the focus of the series, along with Victoria. The series was the creation of renowned author A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman, and produced by Arthur Gardner, Arnold Laven, and Jules Levy. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Professional hitman Jim Derry (Richard Kiley) is contracted to bump off a bookie named Eddie Breech (Richard Long). But when Jim meets Breech's wheelchair-bound wife, Connie (Anne Francis), he takes pity on the woman and changes his mind. Generously, Jim offers to fake Breech's death so that Eddie and Connie can escape to Mexico and start life anew. Our hero's next step is to find a "replacement" corpse so it will appear that he has fulfilled his contract...only to find out that his grand gesture has been wasted on a master con artist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Awakening with "the grandaddy of all hangovers," David Gurney (Richard Long) is not amused when his wife Wilma (Shirley Ballard) emits a scream and insists that she'd never set eyes on David before. As the day progresses, it turns out that no one recognizes David, nor is their any record of his ever having existed -- and as a result of his "ravings," he is placed in a mental institution. Is David really crazy, or is his loss of identity merely a bad dream? Well. . .best to stick around until the very, very last scene. Written by Charles Beaumont, "Person or Persons Unknown" made its Twilight Zone bow on March 23, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Caught in a "goose-drownder" (a heavy rainstorm, that is), Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) and his friend Gentleman Jack Darby (Richard Long in his last Maverick appearance) seek shelter in a strange town occupied by only one man. Then the stagecoach arrives, carrying four passengers--one of them Bart's former lover Stella Legendre (Fay Spain). As the rain continues to fall, the little party finds itself held captive by the Arapaho Kid (H.M. Wynant), a notorious outlaw. Can this be a western variation of the classic Humphrey Bogart film Key Largo--and what is the significance of supporting actor Robert Nichols' character name "Red Herring?" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sam Peckinpah, future auteur of such classic cinematic shoot-em-ups as Major Dundee and The Wild Bunch, was coscripter of this wickedly ironic episode. Paladin (Richard Boone) is hired by Rod Blakely (Richard Long), an idealistic young man who was recently jilted by his fiancee, professional singer Faye Hollister (Joan Weldon). Insisting that Faye has been forced to marry ruthless rancher Peter Hollister (Denver Pyle) against her will, Blakely wants Paladin to fend off Hollister's hired guns so that he can have a brief heart-to-heart talk with Faye. As it turns out, however, Blakely and Hollister have fallen for a woman who is unworthy of both of them! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode marks the first Maverick appearances of urbane swindler Gentleman Jack Darby (Richard Long) and Southern-fried dance hall gal Cindy Lou Brown. Through a series of incredible plot convolutions, Cindy Lou helps Gentleman Jack switch places with Bart, so that Jack can abscond with $1000. But Cindy Lou has a change of heart, and decides to help Bart recover the loot. (Trivia alert: guest stars Richard Long and Arlene Howell were later reteamed on the Warner Bros. TV detective series Bourbon Street Beat). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A perennial favorite of the "Shock Theatre" TV circuit, House on Haunted Hill stars Vincent Price as sinister gent (you're surprised?) Frederick Loren, who resides in a sinister mansion on a sinister hill, where seven murders have occurred. He makes a proposal to several strangers, offtering $10,000 to anyone who can last the entire night. Loren festively gives each of his guests a tiny coffin containing a loaded handgun, designed to protect them from the spooks that emerge in the house over the course of the night. The picture hinges on its surprise ending, which packs in several by-now-familiar twists. When originally released to theaters, House on Haunted Hill was accompanied by one of those gimmicks so beloved of producer/director William Castle: the gimmick was "Emergo," and it involved a prop skeleton that "emerged" from the side of the screen at a crucial moment to frighten the audience. Like most of Castle's best films, House didn't really need the gimmick, but its presence added to the fun -- especially when second- and third-time viewers responded to "Emergo" by bombarding the skeleton with popcorn and empty soda bottles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this amiable imitation Guys and Dolls, Alan Reed plays a big-time 1920s gangster who is rubbed out by his enemies. In his will, Reed bequeaths his nightclub to chorus girl Lucy Marlow--which doesn't sit too well with Lucy's policeman boyfriend (Richard Long). Frankie Laine plays the tough-but-lovable nightclub manager who first squabbles with Marlow, then falls in love with her. To let us know that the story is all in fun and we shouldn't worry about the ultimate fate of hero and heroine, the film is related in flashback, narrated by Laine. He Laughed Last is directed by Blake Edwards in the buoyant spirit of Edwards' earlier musical-comedy collaborations with director Richard Quine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Six GIs stationed in Asia secretly photograph the arcane rituals of a group of cobra worshippers. At the climax of the ceremony, the cult members turn themselves into snakes. The high priestess catches the soldiers spying and throws a curse upon them. This off-beat horror film follows what happens to the men after that. Soon after they return to the US, the vengeful priestess follows them and people begin to die from snake venom poisoning, adding credence to the strange tale told by a surviving GI to the police, who become less skeptical as more evidence is unearthed. More trouble follows when the serpentine goddess falls for the ex-soldier's roomie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide