Frank Cady Movies

Hearts of the West (British title: Hollywood Cowboy) stars Jeff Bridges as Lewis Tater, a 1930s-era aspiring novelist who harbors dreams of becoming the next Zane Grey or Peter B. Kyne. He arrives in Nevada to seek out the correspondence school that has "graduated" him. After learning that he's been taken to the cleaners by crooks, he stumbles onto a threadbare film-unit grinding out "B" westerns. He is given a job by unit manager Kessler (Alan Arkin), then falls in love with spunky script girl Miss Trout (Blythe Danner). With the help of crusty stunt man Howard Pike (Andy Griffith), Tyler fends off the correspondence-school crooks who want the money that he has accidentally stolen from them. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In $1,000,000 Duck, the titular duck is exposed to radiation and begins laying golden eggs, which brings it under the scrutiny of the treasury department, the FBI, and a gang of comic-opera crooks. The cast includes Disney perennials Dean Jones and Joe Flynn, with Sandy Duncan taking over the part usually assumed by someone like Michele Lee or Stefanie Powers. $1,000,000 Duck was directed by Vince McEveety. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The merriment continues unabated as Green Acres enters its sixth and last season, with city slickers Oliver and Lisa Douglas (Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor) no more successful at managing a rural farm than they'd been in season one. New to the cast is Judy McConnell as Darlene Wheeler, the latest of handyman Ed Dawson's (Tom Lester) girlfriends; and, during the first few episodes of the season, little Victoria Meyerink as the Douglases' youthful house guest Lori Baker. Also, Fran Ryan replaces Barbara Pepper in the role of Doris Ziffel, co-owner of the celebrated Arnold the pig. In other developments, women's lib comes to Hooterville, with typical 1970-era chauvinistic results; Oliver and Lisa run against each other for the office of mayor; the Douglas farm plays host to a war hero who happens to be a duck; and, in the very last episode filmed (though not the last to be shown), the citizenry of Hooterville decide to secede from the state -- and appoint Oliver as their king! The two final sixth-season episodes were intended as spin-offs for a pair of new (and ultimately unsold) series. "Hawaiian Honeymoon" introduces Don Porter as Bob Carter, owner of the Moana Rexford Hotel, and Pamela Franklin as his daughter Pam. And "Ex-Secretary" was designed as a potential vehicle for Elaine Joyce, in the role of Oliver Douglas' former legal secretary Carol Rush. ~ Rovi

Although Petticoat Junction's already sagging ratings had dropped precipitously upon the death of star Bea Benaderet in the fall of 1968, the series still maintained enough of a viewership to warrant a seventh and final season, which commenced in September of 1969. Edgar Buchanan is now top-billed as Uncle Joe Carson, the delightfully shiftless owner of Hooterville's Shady Rest Hotel. June Lockhart, introduced in season six as Dr. Janet Craig, is now afforded second billing in the series' opening credits; alas, talented though Lockhart may be, she was unable to replace the late Bea Benaderet in the hearts of the series' staunchest fans. With Uncle Joe's niece Betty Jo (Linda Kaye Henning)'s recent marriage to crop duster Steve Elliott (Mike Minor) and the birth of little Kathy Jo Elliott (now played by Elna Hubbell), Betty Jo's sisters Billie Jo (Meredith Mac Rae) and Bobbie Jo (Lori Saunders) are seriously contemplating matrimony -- which is not only the logical course of events, but also a blatant bid by the series' producers to generate audience interest by holding out the promise of two more onscreen weddings. Billie Jo's erstwhile beau Jerry is played by Greg Mullavey, who later became the real-life husband of Meredith Mac Rae (just as Linda Kaye Henning and Mike Minor were husband and wife offscreen). As for Bobbie Jo, she is courted by the terminally shy game warden Orrin Pike (Jonathan Daly). And in another domestic development, Petticoat Junction this season serves up the obligatory (in 1970) "women's lib" episode, "Susan B. Anthony, I Love You," which though lightly amusing, seems deliberately calculated to enrage contemporary feminists! Even though the romantic entanglements of the Bradley girls did not significantly improve the ratings of Petticoat Junction, the series might have survived for another season had it not been cut short by CBS as part of the network's ongoing efforts to "de-ruralize" its target audience. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Returning from their Hooterville holiday, Granny and Elly May arrive in Beverly Hills to discover that both Mr. Drysdale -- and Elly's pet bear -- are nowhere to be found. It seems that Drysdale, with bear in tow, had set out for Hooterville to meet the Clampett ladies, unaware that his car carried a generous supply of Granny's white lightning. And now, the bemused banker is languishing in a rustic jail, arrested for vagrancy and bootlegging. "Drysdale and Friend" originally aired on January 1, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"Granny Goes to Hooterville" was the first of several "crossover" episodes in which the cast of The Beverly Hillbillies commingled with the cast of Petticoat Junction. Preparing to pay a visit of "great medical importance" to Hooterville, Granny is delayed by the possibility -- an extreme remote possibility -- that Jed is about to marry Jane Hathaway. Petticoat Junction regulars Edgar Buchanan and Frank Cady appear in their customary roles of Uncle Joe Carson and Sam Drucker. "Granny Goes to Hooterville" was originally telecast on October 30, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Once again, the casts of The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres converge for a "very special" holiday episode. In Hooterville for Christmas, Granny continues to romantically pursue hapless storekeeper Sam Drucker (Frank Cady, while Elly May is courted by Eb Dawson (Tom Lester). And back in Beverly Hills, Jed, Jethro, and Mr. Drysdale babysit Elly's pet bear. Also in the cast are Petticoat Junction co-stars Edgar Buchanan, Linda Kaye (Betty Jo), Meredith MacRae (Billie Jo), Lori Saunders (Bobbie Jo), and Mike Minor (%teve Elliot), who sings "One Day at a Time." "Christmas in Hooterville" was logically telecast on December 25, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While Granny is visiting her friends in Hooterville, Jethro and Jed are forced to fend for themselves in the kitchen. Constitutionally incapable of cooking an edible meal, Jethro finally breaks down and hires Maria Antonini (Maria Mirka), a delectable Italian cook who speaks no English. This "crossover" episode features three regulars from the TV sitcom Petticoat Junction: Linda Kaye (Betty Jo Bradley), Mike Minor (Steve Elliot), and Frank Cady (Sam Drucker). The second chapter in a three-part story arc, "The Italian Cook" first aired on November 6, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although Bea Benaderet is still billed as the star of the first few episodes of Petticoat Junction's sixth season, it was purely a gesture of kindness and sentiment on the part of producer Paul Henning. Everyone in the cast knew that Benaderet was mortally ill with cancer, but this tragic information was largely withheld from the public under the actress' death on October 13, 1968. Her last series "appearance" -- which consists of a telephone voice-over -- occurs in the episode "The Valley Has a Baby," in which Benaderet's character Kate Bradley offers best wishes to her daughter Betty Jo (Linda Kaye Henning) and son-in-law Steve Elliott (Mike Minor) when their first child, Kathy Jo Elliott, is born (the infant is played this season by unbilled twin babies Barbara and Heather Whiter).
With Benaderet's departure, Edgar Buchanan is elevated to top billing in the role of lazy Uncle Joe Carson, now forced by circumstances to take over ownership of Hooterville's Shady Rest Hotel. In hopes of replicating the warm rapport between Benaderet and Buchanan, the producers introduce a new, strong-willed female character, Dr. Janet Davis (June Lockhart), in the episode "The Lady Doctor." Not unexpectedly, Janet has a tough time winning over the chauvinist males of Hooterville -- especially Uncle Joe -- but the three Bradley daughters take to Janet as if she were their surrogate mother (which, in a sense, she is!). Although Bea Benaderet's death unavoidably casts a pall over Petticoat Junction's sixth season, there are a number of very worthwhile episodes. Irene Ryan crosses over from The Beverly Hillbillies in her familiar Granny role in two chucklesome outings, "The Valley Has a Baby" and "A Cake From Granny" (which also features another Hillbillies regular, Nancy Kulp as Jane Hathaway). Veteran film favorites Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen appear as themselves in an amusing episode wherein the two actors attend Hooterville's long-overdue premiere of their silent starring feature film Wings. And in "Billie Jo and the Big Big Star," guest star Rich Little delivers dead-on impressions of Petticoat Junction regulars Edgar Buchanan and Byron Foulger (introduced this season in the role of timorous train conductor Wendell Gibbs). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Gnome-Mobile was Walt Disney's first all-out fantasy since Mary Poppins. Walter Brennan stars in a dual role, as kindly lumber tycoon D. J. Mulrooney and the irascible (and much tinier) 943-year-old gnome Knobby. Mulrooney likes Knobby and his fellow gnomes, but the feeling isn't reciprocal, since Knobby considers Mulrooney a threat to his beloved forest. Meanwhile, the tycoon's vice-president Ralph Yarby (Richard Deacon), hearing his boss' claims that he's been consorting with gnomes, decides that the old guy is insane and has him committed. Rescued by his grandchildren Rodney (Matthew Garber) and Elizabeth (Karen Dotrice), D.J. seeks out Knobby and Knobby's own grandson Jasper (Tom Lowell), who are hiding somewhere in the woods with gnome-king Rufus (Ed Wynn, in his final film role). There follows an amusing rite of passage wherein Jasper becomes engaged to gnomette Shy Violet (Cami Sebring), leading to a happy ending for all concerned. The film's title refers to D. J. Mulroney's precious 1930 Rolls Royce, which is "adopted" by the gnome population. Gnome-Mobile is a virtual inventory of Disney's most beloved trademarks, ranging from excellent miniature and special-effects work (including the producer's newest innovation, audio-animatronics) to a zany slapstick car chase. Walt Disney did receive a producer credit on this film, which was actually made in 1966 - the year of his death - and released nationally in 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season three of Green Acres begins as attorney Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert) is nominated for the political post of state senator. Alas, this dream come true is destined to become as much a comic nightmare as city slicker Oliver's efforts to become a successful farmer in the bucolic community of Hooterville. Likewise doomed to failure is Oliver's attempt to improve the local telephone service; by season's end, our hero returns to his usual routine of accepting calls by climbing a nearby telephone pole and tapping into the party line. In another episode, Oliver's glamorous wife, Lisa (Eva Gabor), harks back to World War II, when she and her husband first met. Lisa is also the center of attention in the episode in which one of her Hungarian relatives moves into the farm and makes life even more miserable for poor Oliver. In other season-three developments, handyman Ed (Tom Lester) falls in love and elopes, but soon returns to the Douglas farm a single man. Carpenters -- and twin siblings -- Alf and Ralph Monroe (Sid Melton, Mary Grace Canfield) dissolve their partnership just as they are finally poised to finish building the Douglases' bedroom. Lisa saves herself and her husband from bank robbers by serving up her notorious indigestible hotcakes. And Arnold the pig, the pampered, TV-watching pet of neighboring farmers Fred and Doris Ziffel (Hank Patterson, Barbara Pepper), is whisked off to Hollywood, where in a two-part story he is groomed for film stardom. This particular escapade brings the third season of Green Acres to a close, with the promise of even more rustic zaniness to come in season four. ~ Rovi

Just as Jeannine Riley was replaced by Gunilla Hutton in the role of Billie Jo Bradley at the beginning of Petticoat Junction's third season, Hutton herself is replaced in the same role by Meredith Mac Rae at the outset of season four. However, the rest of the series' familiar cast remains intact: Bea Benaderet as widowed hotel owner Kate Bradley, Edgar Buchanan as Kate's lovably lazy uncle Joe Carson, and Linda Kaye Henning and Lori Saunders as Billie Jo's sisters (and Kate's daughters) Betty Jo and Bobbie Jo. In another cast change, Elvia Allman succeeds Virginia Sale in the role of Selma Plout, Kate Bradley's perennial social rival; likewise, Lynette Winter takes over for Susan Walther as Selma's daughter Henrietta. And on a sadder note, Smiley Burnette makes his final series appearance as Charley Pratt, brakeman of the Hooterville Cannonball, in the episode "That Was the Night That Was"; Burnette died just before filming for the season wrapped, on February 16, 1967. The fourth-season cast alteration that had the longest-ranging effect on Petticoat Junction occurs in the second episode of the season, in which handsome young crop duster Steve Elliott (Mike Minor) crash-lands his plane just outside Kate Bradley's Shady Rest Hotel. For the rest of season four, all three of Kate's daughters (not to mention Henrietta Plout!) would vie for Steve's affections -- though as it turns out the following season, Betty Jo has had the inside track all along. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi