James Callahan Movies

Diana Ross plays the magnificent, tragic song stylist Billie Holiday, who while writhing in a strait jacket in a prison cell, awaiting sentencing on drug charges, reflects on her turbulent life. Raped in her youth by a drunk (Adolph Caesar), then compelled to work as a domestic in a Harlem whorehouse, Holliday is encouraged to try for a singing career by the bordello's pianist (Richard Pryor). She rises as high as it is possible to go in the white-dominated show business world of the 1930s, but can't handle the pressure and turns to narcotics. The film takes several liberties with the 44-year existence of "Lady Day." Among the Billie Holiday standards performed by Ross are "My Man," "I Cried for You," "Lover Man," "Them There Eyes," and the title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

She Waits, directed by Delbert Mann, an above average, frightening made-for-TV horror film tells the very familiar story of a young couple who move into a old house only to find out that they are being haunted by the ghost of the man's ex-wife, who gradually takes possession of the young wife. Laura (Patty Duke) must fight for her life and her happy marriage to Mark (David McCallum) despite great odds and family secrets. There is nothing new or different about this story, but the veteran casts including Beulah Bondi, Lew Ayres and Dorothy McGuire all give good performances in this good, plausible horror film which covers very old territory with skill and energy. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Travis Logan, D.A. is a TV pilot film, originally telecast in March of 1971. Vic Morrow heads the cast as Logan, while Hal Holbrook earns "special guest star" billing as a clever murderer. Logan is prepared to go around with Holbrook's defense team when they try to cop an insanity plea. But a little ardent sleuthing reveals a vital trip-up clue in the form of a shotgun pellet. Though Travis Logan, D.A. did not result in a series, its pilot film was far and away superior to most one-shot of its ilk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This routine western finds Gannon (Tony Franciosa) as a lone drifter on the Kansas plains. He never looks for any trouble because trouble always manages to find him. Gannon takes on a young Eastern dude named Jess (Michael Sarrazin) and teaches him the ropes of being a cowboy. The two end up in conflict with the widow Beth (Judy West) when she desires to erect a barbed wire fence to corral the cattle. The widow also wishes to corral Gannon before he is befriended by Mattie (Susan Oliver), the local hooker with a heart of gold. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Erkine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and Rhodes (Stephen Elliott) give chase when Hanna Crandall, a key government witness against a Red spy ring, escapes FBI surveillance and boards a train bound for Canada. A pair of Communist assassins are also trailing Hanna, and are on the verge of silencing her for keeps when they are interrupted by Richard Lenk (James Callahan), a fellow passenger who takes a liking to Hanna, unaware that she is in dire peril--at least at first. Virginia Christine, best known to TV addicts as "Mrs. Olsen" in a series of popular coffee commercials, delivers a surprising characterization in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Glenn Madison (Steven Hill), a war hero with political ambitions, is rescued from a plane crash by Richard Kimble (David Janssen). Normally, this would make Kimble a hero, but both he and Madison are anxious to keep the rescue a secret from the public--Kimble because he is a fugitive from justice, and Madison because his travelling companion was his mistress Pat Haynes (Jessica Walter). But Madison's vengeful wife Claire (Nancy Wickwire) doesn't intend to let her husband, or Kimble, off the hook so easily. ~ Hal Erickson, 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

Poetess Emily Eubanks (Fintan Meyler) hires Paladin (Richard Boone) to locate her missing fiance, a troubled musician named Albert (James Callahan). At last report, Albert was hiding somewhere in San Francisco's rough-and-tumble Barbary Coast saloon district. As Paladin grimly makes his way through a hotbed of debauchery, his trail is diligently dogged by sweet little Emily, who is determined to "rescue" her sweetheart whether he wants to be rescued or not. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Prior to carrying out the orders of her boss Morley Thielman (George Neise) by placing a briefcase containing $100,000 in a train station locker, Janice Wainwright (Elaine Devry) stops at the office of Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), informing the lawyer that she thinks Thielman is being blackmailed. Janice's last stop is in Las Vega to meet Thielman's ex-wife--but instead, she is arrested and charged with her boss' murder. In his efforts to defend Janice, Perry must discredit the testimony of witness Fred Carlyle (James Callahan), who insists that he saw Janice's distinctively shapely silhouette through the shades of Thielman's window just before the murder. This episode is based on a 1960 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a man serves five years in the state pen for armed robbery. Upon his release, the man is anxious to retrieve the $260,000 in loot he hid before he went to jail. Unfortunately, he is still pursued by both the police and his former gang mates. He ends up severely beaten, robbed, and ultimately cheated by his own lover. Despite these set-backs, the fellow remains content because he now has the love of his former partner's widow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Having ended its 11-year run at 20th Century-Fox, the "Charlie Chan" series set up shop at Monogram with the singularly uninspiring Charlie Chan in the Secret Service. Sidney Toler returns as the famed oriental detective, who, per the title, is now a government agent. His first assignment is to solve the murder of an inventor and recover the victim's secret plans. Two reels into the picture, all action grinds to a halt as Chan wearily interrogates the suspects. The identity of the murderer might have caught some filmgoers by surprise in 1944, but seasoned mystery fans will beon to the game the minute the culprit is introduced. The one saving grace of Charlie Chan in the Secret Service is the stereotypical but undeniably funny comedy relief of Mantan Moreland, making his first appearance as pop-eyed chauffeur Birmingham Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide