Joseph Newman Movies

Lonely spinster Martha (June Lockhart) and taciturn coffin maker Luke (John Anderson) meet each other via a mail-order lonely hearts club. Agreeing to wed Luke sight unseen, Martha subsequently discovers that she is her new husband's second wife; it seems that wife number one died under very mysterious circumstances. Thus, when Luke begins spending an inordinate amount of time puttering in his cellar, Martha's suspicions are aroused -- and before long suspicion gives way to terror...and desperation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Married to a middle-aged tightwad named Henry (George Kennedy), the promiscuous Eva (Lola Albright) yearns for the day that she can separate her husband from his money so that she can run off with her latest boyfriend. Enter George (Barry Nelson), who claims to be the gas man in order to gain access to the Martin home. Eva figures out that George isn't what he pretends to be, but that hardly matters: the handsome stranger has come up with a perfect plan to get ride of Henry. Only at the last minute does George reveal his true identity -- and by this time it is too late for both Henry and Eva. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Written by Earl Hamner, Jr., this late Twilight Zone episode shows evidence of production difficulties and post-production tampering, as indicated by the curious repetition of several key scenes and the decision to dub the voice of child actress Mary Badham (of To Kill a Mockingbird fame) with that of adult actress June Foray. Whatever the case, this is the story of Sport (Badham) and Jeb (Tim Stafford), two wealthy southern kids who would give anything to escape their parents' constant quarrelling. While lolling near the swimming pool in their suburban backyard, the kids are astonished when a Huck Finnish young boy suddenly emerges from the water and beckons them to dive in. They do so, resurfacing in an idyllic backwoods setting, populated by disenfranchised children and presided over by benevolent "earth mother" Aunt T (Georgia Simmons). With the telecast of "The Bewitchin' Pool" on June 19, 1964, the five-year saga of Twilight Zone came to an end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marion Brown (Teresa Wright) of Cleveland, OH, travels to Newark, NJ, there to meet and murder Bernice Brown (Jean Hale). It seems that Marion has discovered that her traveling-salesman husband (Dan Duryea) is a bigamist, and she is determined to knock off not only his "second" wife but also his "third" spouse, Lucille (Linda Lawson). Making matters worse for the peripatetic Mr. Brown is the fact that every time Marion strikes, he loses yet another source of income to feed his gambling habit...but the absolute worst is still to come. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Elderly eccentric Emmy Rice (Ruth McDevitt) is charmed by the attentions of her much-younger gentleman caller, a fellow named Gerald Musgrove (Roddy McDowall). This is quite agreeable to Musgrove, a safecracker who has hidden 100,000 dollars in stolen money in Emmy's voluminous collection of old magazines. His scheme is to persuade Emmy to name him sole beneficiary in her will, allowing him to "inherit" the magazines without arousing suspicion. Of course, the plan also requires Musgrove to murder Emmy; trouble is, there are some people in this world who simply can't be murdered. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Victor Jory stars as veteran police officer Paul Reardon, who vows to avenge the murder of his rookie-cop son, Philip (Peter Brown). Although ordered by the higher-ups to lay off, Paul is determined to bring drug kingpin Herbie Lane (Lawrence Tierney), the man responsible for Peter's death in a shoot-out, to justice. In fact, Paul will go to any length to settle accounts with Herbie -- even if his efforts kill both men. This 300th episode of Alfred Hitchcock's popular TV anthology is also the final episode of the series' eighth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the tradition of his earlier Alcoa/Goodyear Theater episode "Eddie," Mickey Rooney delivers a tour de force solo performance in the Twilight Zone playlet "The Last Night of a Jockey." Barred from the track for life, crooked jockey Grady (Rooney) boozily expresses the wish to escape his sordid surroundings and become a truly "big man." His wish is granted by his lookalike alter ego (also Rooney), but there's a heavy price to be paid at fadeout time. The first Twilight Zone to be produced by William Froug, "The Last Night of a Jockey" was originally broadcast October 25, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sounding something like a standard '40s police story, this talkative but interesting murder mystery stars David Janssen of TV's The Fugitive series. Janssen plays Tom Alder, a gumshoe looking into the murder of the secretary of a shady Hollywood film star when he discovers that the murder is linked to the disappearance of an heiress. The heiress had a run-in with a sexually warped individual who later became a certain film star. Now Alder's problem is to investigate the link further -- even after he discovers that he himself has a connection to the story through someone he met in Tokyo during the Korean War. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this western, an idealistic and naive rookie cavalry officer is assigned to work with a cruel captain. He immediately gets on the crabby captain's bad side by trying to restart an affair with his ex-sweetheart. The woman is engaged to another who ends up getting killed by the Indians. This rookie, blaming himself for distracting the slain officer with his overtures to the officer's fiance, volunteers to act as a decoy to lure the renegade Apaches into a trap. It works, but many soldiers die. After the skirmish, the rookie has become a seasoned officer prepared to take his duties seriously. Back at the fort, he bids farewell to the woman as she begins her long journey back east. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This remake of the 1932 version of the popular jungle adventure features UCLA basketball ace Denny Miller in the title role. His Jane is played by Joanna Barnes. An all-around low-budget effort from MGM, the film is largely comprised of footage from King Solomon's Mines. The film also recycle's the famed Tarzan yell made famous in Johnny Weissmuller's films. This is by and large considered the worst of the Tarzan films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Victor Mature, in one of his last leading man performances, plays Hank Whirling, the owner of a financially shaky circus who is trying to get back on his feet, despite cutthroat competition from a rival organization. He also has a younger sister (Kathryn Grant) to watch out for. After arranging for a bank loan, he discovers that he's got two new members of "management" to contend with: persnickety bank officer Randy Sherman (Red Buttons), who is put there to safeguard the loan, and press agent Helen Harrison (Rhonda Fleming), who is hired by Sherman to help get the Whirling Circus some publicity. Hank can't abide the presence of either of them, or, more to the point, the idea of sharing his authority, though Randy means well and Helen is very good to look at and does know her job. The circus owner can barely take the time to deal with either of them, however, with shows to give and an apparent saboteur at work, who grows bolder with each passing day and finally starts getting people killed. In the course of trying to save the show, aerialist Zack Colino (Gilbert Roland) commits himself to a headline-making publicity stunt -- covered heavily by television news as well -- that Helen merely rattles off without thinking, of walking a wire across Niagara Falls. Colino also figures heavily in the denouement, a tense chase under the big top that develops as the man responsible for the train wrecks, escaped animals, fires, and other sabotage is identified and goes on the run. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Pill poppin' truckers provide the focus of this anti-drug drama. Much of the story centers upon an investigator for the US Food and Drug Department who has been assigned to stop all truckers from taking amphetamines while they drive. The drivers take the pills to help them stay awake on long-hauls. Unfortunately, the "speed" is also causing major accidents. The investigator goes undercover as a driver to help find the main drug pushers. En route he falls for a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, he finds that she is one of the biggest pushers in the country. Though the film's original intent was very serious, it has become popular with fans of campy or cult films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide