Jim BackusFilmography

The Enchanted Journey

Synopsis: An adventurous chipmunk sets out on a perilous journey to join his fellow chipmunks in nature and find his destiny in this animated tale of adventure featuring the voices of Orson Welles and Jim Backus. Enthralled with tales of the Great North Forest conveyed to him by friendly carrier pigeon Read More

Nobody's Boy

Columbia Pictures Cartoons Volume 5: Starring Mr. Magoo

Synopsis: Mr. Magoo stars in eight cartoons, including "Stage Door Magoo," "Magoo's Glorious July 4th," "Sloppy Jalopy," "Magoo's Homecoming," "Trouble Indemnity," "Fuddy Duddy Buddy," "Magoo's Masquerade" and "Magoo Saves the Bank." ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

Prince Jack

Actors: Robert Hogan, James F. Kelly, Kenneth Mars, Lloyd Nolan, Cameron Mitchell

Synopsis: This pseudo-documentary on the life of President John F. Kennedy stars Robert Hogan as the President, James F. Kelly as Robert Kennedy, and Kenneth Mars as Lyndon Johnson, and includes some actual documentary footage intercut with the major dramatic events in Kennedy's Presidential career. Because Read More

Slapstick of Another Kind

Actors: Jerry Lewis, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, John Abbott, Jim Backus

Synopsis: This dismal sci-fi comedy is based on a novel by Kurt Vonnegut and features Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn in dual roles as wealthy, respected parents who give birth to two gigantic, and ugly twins. The appalled parents try to keep them hidden away for they do not know that their "children" are Read More

The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island

Synopsis: The seven stranded castaways find comical chaos when an insane scientist, his trusty sidekick and the title basketball tricksters, playing robots visit their tropic island nest in this third in a series of made-for-television films based on the enduring early '60s sitcom. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Read More

There Goes the Bride

Actors: Tom Smothers, Twiggy, Martin Balsam, Sylvia Syms

Synopsis: Retrograde even at the time of its 1980 release, this filmed version of the mid-'70s play by the same title stars Tom Smothers as Timothy Westerby, the bumbling father of the bride, and his imaginary dance partner, Polly (Twiggy). Events of the chaotic wedding day are told in flashback as Westerby Read More

Columbia Pictures Cartoons Volume 7: Starring Mr. Magoo

Synopsis: More adventures of Mr. Magoo in this entertaining program. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Columbia Pictures Cartoons Volume 8: Starring Mr. Magoo

Synopsis: This collection of eight Mr. Magoo cartoons include titles like "Rockhound Magoo," "Gumshoe Magoo" and "When Magoo Flew." ~ All Movie Guide Read More

The Gossip Columnist

Actors: Steve Allen, Jim Backus, Jack Carter, Jayne Meadows, Martha Raye, Sylvia Sidney, Rip Taylor, Lyle Waggoner, Betty White, Dick Sargent

Synopsis: The Gossip Columnist is a rare one-part offering from Operation Prime Time, the TV-syndication service responsible for such miniseries as The Kent Family Chronicles. Fourth-billed Kim Cattrall plays the title character, journalist Dina Moran. Instructed by her boss (Dick Sargent) to take over the Read More

Columbia Pictures Cartoons Volume 1: Starring Mr. Magoo

Synopsis: A compilation of near-sighted antics by Magoo. Titles include "Barefoot Flatfoot," "Bungled Bungalow," "Destination Magoo," and others. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Columbia Pictures Presents UPA's Volume 2: Starring Mr. Magoo

Synopsis: Narrated by Mr. Magoo, aka Jim Backus, this collection of classic cartoons include titles like "Magoo Beats the Heat," "Magoo Breaks Par," and "Magoo Goes West." ~ All Movie Guide Read More

The Castaways on Gilligan's Island

Actors: Jim Backus, Bob Denver, Russell Johnson, Tina Louise, Natalie Schafer, Dawn Wells

Synopsis: Following the astonishing (and, to some, appalling) success of the 1978 TV movie Rescue From Gilligan's Island, most of the cast of the popular 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island were hired for two additional "reunion" films. The second, Castaways on Gilligan's Island, finds Gilligan (Bob Denver), the Read More

Seven from Heaven

Synopsis: In this action-packed drama, a beautiful singer decides to put her career on hold when her younger brother, who had a problem with drugs, is severely beaten by a gang of dope dealers. She assembles a group of seven beautiful crime fighters, and they hit the road in their customized van looking for Read More

Angel's Brigade

Synopsis: It's the ladies to the rescue in the low-budget actioner Angel's Brigade. Wearing form-fitting fatigues, the female stars play a team of highly trained avengers. Their mission: to wipe every drug dealer off the face of the earth. To accomplish this, they drive around in a custom-built van, decked Read More

C.H.O.M.P.S.

Actors: Wesley Eure, Valerie Bertinelli, Conrad Bain, Chuck McCann, Red Buttons

Synopsis: Brian Foster (Wesley Eure) is a young inventor who creates a mechanical dog as part of a home protection system. When he falls out of favor with his boss Ralph Norton (Conrad Bain), the boss' pretty daughter Casey (Valerie Bertinelli) uses her pull to save the company and Brian's job. Mr. Gibbs (Jim Backus Read More

The Rebels

Synopsis: The Rebels was the second "Operation Prime Time" miniseries to be based on author John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles (the first was The Bastard). The saga of Philip Kent (Andrew Stevens), illegitimate son of a British blueblood, picks up with Kent fighting in the Continental Army during the Read More

Rescue From Gilligan's Island

Actors: Jim Backus, Bob Denver, Russell Johnson, Natalie Schafer, Dawn Wells, Vincent Schiavelli

Synopsis: Eleven years after the network cancellation of Gilligan's Island, the crew and passengers of the ill-fated S. S. Minnow returned to the small screen in Rescue from Gilligan's Island. The cast remains the same, with one significant change. Bob Denver plays inveterate bumbler Gilligan, Alan Hale is Read More

Good Guys Wear Black

Actors: Chuck Norris, Anne Archer, Lloyd Haynes, James Franciscus, Dana Andrews

Synopsis: Chuck Norris plays John T. Booker, a Vietnam vet who finds out that several of his army buddies lost their lives in a mission that was intended to fail. Seeking answers, Booker quits his school-teaching job and tracks down the surviving members of his unit. One by one, his old friends are being Read More

The Magic Pony

Synopsis: Based on a folk tale from Russia, Magic Pony features several familiar faces. It centers around a youth (Johnny Whitaker, the perennial Disney favorite) who must save a magical kingdom from its evil overlord (Jim Backus, Mr. Howell from Gilligan's Island) and rescue the princess (Erin Moran Read More

What's New Mr. Magoo? [Animated Series]

The Feather and Father Gang

Actors: Stefanie Powers, Harold Gould, John Forsythe, Jim Backus, Frank Delfino

Synopsis: First telecast March 7, 1977, The Feather and Father Gang is the pilot episode for the weekly TV series of the same name. Stefanie Powers stars as Toni "Feather" Dalton, a clever female lawyer. Harold Gould co-stars as Feather's dad Harry Danton, a "reformed" con artist. Feather and Father work Read More

Never Con a Killer

Synopsis: Filmed as the 72-minute pilot episode for the weekly ABC adventure series, The Feather and Father Gang, Never Con a Killer was held back from view until May 13, 1977, by which time the series proper had already been on for two months...and had already been canceled. Stefanie Powers and Harold Gould Read More

Pete's Dragon

Actors: Helen Reddy, Jim Dale, Mickey Rooney, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters

Synopsis: Based on a story by Hollywood old-timers Seton I. Miller and S. S. Field, Pete's Dragon divides its time between its flesh-and-blood characters and an animated blue dragon. Pete (Sean Marshall), a lonely orphan boy in turn-of-the-century Maine, runs away from his abusive foster family. He stumbles Read More

The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon

Actors: Ike Eisenmann, Lance Kerwin, Jim Backus, Jerry Van Dyke, Jane Connell

Synopsis: Child actor Ike Eisenmann, a frequent participant in the ABC Afterschool Special offerings of the 1970s, plays the title role in The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon. Shorter in stature than most of his classmates in the sixth grade, young Duffy decides to purchase a somewhat mystical book Read More

Crazy Mama

Actors: Cloris Leachman, Stuart Whitman, Ann Sothern, Tisha Sterling, Jim Backus

Synopsis: Cloris Leachman stars as Melba, a woman with whom violence is a way of life, in Jonathan Demme's high-pitched "B"-movie Crazy Mama. The film spans three decades in the violent life of Melba, beginning in Jerusalem, Arkansas in 1932, when law enforcers kill her father (Clint Kimbrough), turning her Read More

The Return of Joe Forrester

Synopsis: Lloyd Bridges stars as plainclothes policeman Joe Forrester. When a gang of robber-rapists besiege his old beat, Forrester voluntarily returns to uniform duty. He hopes that his presence will encourage the frightened residents to help bring the gang to justice, but the most immediate results of Read More

Friday Foster

Actors: Pam Grier, Yaphet Kotto, Godfrey Cambridge, Thalmus Rasulala, Eartha Kitt

Synopsis: In this blaxploitation film, statuesque action star Pam Grier is cast as comic-strip heroine Friday Foster. A freelance photographer with an insatiable thirst for adventure, Friday unearths a conspiracy to assassinate several prominent black political leaders. The film also features Yaphet Kotto, Godfrey Cambridge Read More

Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

Synopsis: When a little girl questions her faith in Santa Claus, a concerned newspaper reporter renews her belief by explaining the true identity of old Saint Nick. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide Read More

The Girl Most Likely To...

Actors: Stockard Channing, Ed Asner

Synopsis: This TV movie stars Stockard Channing as an "ugly duckling" who is dumped on by everyone with whom she comes in contact. After her heart is broken by a callous campus jock, Stockard tearfully speeds off in her car and is involved in a serious accident. Plastic surgery is required, and when Ms. Read More

Miracle on 34th Street

Actors: Sebastian Cabot

Synopsis: The 1947 film comedy Miracle on 34th Street starred Edmund Gwenn as a bearded gentleman named Kris Kringle, who was convinced that he was the genuine Santa Claus. The earlier Miracle was good enough as it stood, so why remake it? Still, the full-color 1973 Miracle on 34th Street has the Read More

Now You See Him, Now You Don't

Actors: Joyce Menges, Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn, Jim Backus, William Windom

Synopsis: If anyone is interested in seeing what Kurt Russell used to do before transforming into Snake Plissken in Escape From New York, they can look no further than this labored Disney slapstick marzipan sequel to The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. Kurt Russell, once again, is Dexter Riley, a science major Read More

Mooch Goes to Hollywood

Synopsis: A pint-sized pooch with enormous Hollywood ambition wanders the streets of Hollywood and Malibu beach in search for her big break in this canine adventure for the entire family. After a pair of run-ins with Vincent Price and James Darren, Mooch sneaks into a major movie studio for a visit with Read More

Getting Away From It All

Synopsis: In this drama, two middle-aged businessmen decide to chuck it all and get back to the land. Unfortunately, they too soon discover that living a "natural" life isn't all it is cracked up to be; they return to the rat race from whence they came. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Magic Carpet

Synopsis: Susan St. James stars as Timothea Lamb, an American language student in Rome who hires on as a tour guide. For some reason, Timothea cannot help but get involved in the problems of her customers, notably a handsome "stowaway" who turns out to be a fugitive from the law. Filmed on location and Read More

I Dream of Jeannie: Help, Help, a Shark

Synopsis: Jim Backus guest stars as General Fitzhugh, who challenge his fellow officer General Schaeffer (Vinton Hayworth) to a game of pool. Unfortunately, Tony not only causes Schaeffer to lose the game, but also accidentally breaks the General's hand just before a rematch with Fitzhugh. If he wants to Read More

Uncle Sam Magoo

Synopsis: Kids and adults alike are provided with a version of American history by the popular '50s cartoon, Mr. Magoo. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide Read More

The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County

Actors: Dan Blocker, Nanette Fabray, Jim Backus, Wally Cox, Jack Elam

Synopsis: Charley (Dan Blocker) is the kindly but simple-minded blacksmith who sends a year's earnings back East for a mail-order bride. When he and the town turn out for the woman's arrival at the train station, he is embarrassed when she never appears. The saddened giant plans to leave town. The Read More

Mr. Magoo: Uncle Sam Magoo

Myra Breckinridge

Actors: Mae West, John Huston, Raquel Welch, Rex Reed, Farrah Fawcett

Synopsis: Gore Vidal's best-selling satiric novel gets an inarguably unique screen treatment in this off-center psycho-sexual farce. Fussy film buff Myron Breckinridge (Rex Reed) goes to Europe and gets a sex-change operation from a slovenly chain-smoking doctor (John Carradine) and returns to the United Read More

A Woman for Charlie

Synopsis: In this comedy western, a town rallies together to help a heart-broken blacksmith find new love after his mail-order-bride is a no show. They end up pairing him with a dance hall girl. The story is also called Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Wake Me When the War Is Over

Synopsis: In this post WW II comedy, a Nazi-hating German baroness takes care of a deluded American officer who thinks he is still at war. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Hello Down There

Actors: Tony Randall, Janet Leigh, Roddy McDowall, Jim Backus, Ken Berry

Synopsis: When irascible boss T.R. Hollister (Jim Backus) threatens to pull the plug on an underwater environmental living project, employee Fred Miller (Tony Randall) and his wife, Vivian (Janet Leigh), take their family down in the deep to live for 30 days. With all the modern conveniences of a home on Read More

Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?

Actors: Doris Day, Robert Morse, Terry-Thomas, Patrick O'Neal, Lola Albright

Synopsis: This light romantic comedy is set during the November 9th power outage of 1965 that darkened New York and much of the East Coast. Margaret (Doris Day) is a theater actress who storms out on her architect husband, Peter (Patrick O'Neal), when a pretty female reporter spends too much time Read More

Don't Make Waves

Actors: Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Webber, Joanna Barnes, Sharon Tate

Synopsis: British director Alexander MacKendrick helmed this farcical romantic comedy set in Southern California. Carlo Cofield (Tony Curtis) is a footloose tourist who meets Laura Califatti (Claudia Cardinale) when she accidentally edges his car off the highway. Laura invites Carlo to her home; he seems Read More

Hurry Sundown

Actors: Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Diahann Carroll, Faye Dunaway, Robert Hooks

Synopsis: Otto Preminger directed this star-studded adaptation of K.B. Gliden's novel about racial prejudice and emotional unrest in the Deep South. Henry Warren (Michael Caine) is a land owner obsessed with buying up all available land in a Georgia farming town. However, two parcels of land have escaped Read More

Gilligan's Island: Season 03

Synopsis: Season three of Gilligan's Island finds those seven stranded castaways still marooned on a tropical island, still making the best of things (it's an uphill climb!), and still seeking out any and all methods of escape. The only change during the third season is a cosmetic one; now, most of the 30 Read More

Mr. Magoo in the King's Service

Synopsis: The irrepressible Mr. Magoo (voice by Jim Backus) returns in three adventures that find him reprising Cyrano de Bergerac and Merlin. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

Fluffy

Actors: Tony Randall, Shirley Jones, Edward Andrews, Howard Morris, Ernest Truex

Synopsis: Fluffy the lion is featured in this comedy. He plays the subject of an ambitious experiment done by Daniel Potter (Tony Randall) -- a scientist trying to prove that even a wild animal like a lion can be made into a pet with proper training. Wherever he goes, Potter's ponderous pet incites mayhem Read More

Gilligan's Island: Season 02

Synopsis: Gilligan's Island enters its second season with two small but significant changes: the series, previously filmed in black and white, is now in color, and regulars Russell Johnson (the Professor) and Dawn Wells (Mary Ann), have been promoted to full starring status, right along with top-billed Bob Denver Read More

Billie

Actors: Patty Duke, Jim Backus, Jane Greer, Warren Berlinger, Billy De Wolfe

Synopsis: Billie is a screen version of Ronald Alexander's perennial stage favorite Time Out For Ginger. Patty Duke plays a tomboyish high schooler who excels in athletics but who continues to strike out socially. Jim Backus and Jane Greer perform yeoman service as Duke's parents, who wonder how long it's Read More

Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo: Mr. Magoo's Little Snow White

Mr. Magoo in Sherwood Forest

Synopsis: The near-sighted cartoon character Magoo inhabits the role of Friar Tuck in this animated version of the Robin Hood legend. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide Read More

Mr. Magoo [Animated Series]

Actors: Jim Backus

Gilligan's Island [TV Series]

Actors: Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jr., Tina Louise, Dawn Wells, Russell Johnson, Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer

Synopsis: No one liked Gilligan's Island but the public. Roundly condemned by critics as the worst sitcom in TV history when it first signed on the CBS schedule in the fall of 1964, the weekly half-hour series nonetheless struck a responsive chord with the viewing public, who were thoroughly amused and Read More

John Goldfarb, Please Come Home

Actors: Peter Ustinov, Shirley MacLaine, Richard Crenna, Jim Backus, Scott Brady

Synopsis: Politics and sports clash in this occasionally funny spoof centered around a downed U2 pilot and an extravagant oil sheik. John Goldfarb (Richard Crenna), a former football player, now pilot, sent on a reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union, is lost and crash-lands in the Middle Eastern Read More

Gilligan's Island: Season 01

Synopsis: The longest "three-hour tour" in history gets under way in the first season of Gilligan's Island. In the course of the season's 36 episodes, originally filmed in black and white, the viewer becomes intimately familiar with the famous seven stranded castaways: Skipper Jonas Grumby (Alan Hale Jr.) Read More

Mr. Magoo: Little Snow White

Synopsis: Mr. Magoo plays the seven dwarfs in this classic fairy tale. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Mr. Magoo: Man of Mystery

Synopsis: A classic collection of characters played by Mr. Magoo. Here he portrays Dr. Watson, Dr. Frankenstein, The Count of Monte Cristo and Dick Tracy. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Mr. Magoo: The Three Musketeers

Synopsis: Mr. Magoo plays in The Three Musketeers in this classic animated video. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Advance to the Rear

Actors: Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, Melvyn Douglas, Jim Backus, Joan Blondell

Synopsis: Union Colonel Brackenby (Melvyn Douglas) and his second-in-command, Captain Heath (Glenn Ford), attempt to command a rather inept cavalry unit during the Civil War. General Willoughby (Jim Backus) heads them out West on assignment rather than allowing them to foul things up where it counts. They Read More

Mr. Magoo's Storybook

Synopsis: Near-sighted Mr. Magoo stumbles through animated retellings of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Don Quixote and A Midsummer Night's Dream. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide Read More

Mr. Magoo: Don Quixote De La Mancha

Synopsis: More animated adventures with Mr. Magoo and his friends. Here he plays a famous knight in this classic tale. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Actors: Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Ethel Merman, Phil Silvers, Dick Shawn, Jimmy Durante, Buster Keaton

Synopsis: With this all-star Cinerama epic, producer/director Stanley Kramer vowed to make "the comedy that would end all comedies." The story begins during a massive traffic jam, caused by reckless driver Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante), who, before (literally) kicking the bucket, cryptically tells the Read More

My Six Loves

Actors: Debbie Reynolds, Cliff Robertson, Eileen Heckart, David Janssen, Hans Conried

Synopsis: This was the first film directed by dancer and choreographer Gower Champion, already experienced at directing television and theatrical productions by the early '60s. The routine romantic comedy, somewhat bogged down by the children it features, is centered on overwrought actress Janice Courtney (Debbie Reynolds Read More

The Wheeler Dealers

Actors: James Garner, Lee Remick, Phil Harris, Chill Wills, Jim Backus, Louis Nye, John Astin, Charles Watts

Synopsis: This comical farce is a lighthearted lampoon of Wall Street and the vibrant trading and selling on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Henry Tyroon (James Garner) is the chameleonic broker who changes his colors and ethical standards to fit every deal. Molly (Lee Remick) is the novice trader Read More

Johnny Cool

Actors: Henry Silva, Elizabeth Montgomery, Marc Lawrence, Richard Anderson, Telly Savalas, Jim Backus, Joey Bishop

Synopsis: In this offbeat crime drama, Mafia boss Johnny Colini (Marc Lawrence) has run afoul of the law and is being deported back to his native Sicily. Colini is not at all happy about this, and after he saves the life of a young thug, Johnny Giordano (Henry Silva), he knows the perfect way for Giordano Read More

Sunday in New York

Actors: Rod Taylor, Jane Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Robert Culp, Jim Backus, Jo Morrow

Synopsis: Playwright Norman Krasna adapted his hit Broadway sex farce for the screen under the direction of Peter Tewksbury. Adam Tyler (Cliff Robertson) is an airline pilot who rents a pricey Manhattan apartment and has the weekend off. His prim sister Eileen (Jane Fonda), shows up to visit, complaining Read More

The Beverly Hillbillies: The Clampetts Entertain

Synopsis: Jim Backus guest stars as Martin Van Ransohoff, chairman of the board of the Commerce Bank. Arriving in Beverly Hills to promote Mr. Drysdale for landing the Clampett account, Van Ransohoff insists upon meeting Jed Clampett, convinced that the hillbilly patriarch is some sort of financial genius. Read More

Operation Bikini

Actors: Tab Hunter, Frankie Avalon, Scott Brady, Jim Backus, Gary Crosby

Synopsis: This conventional wartime drama is comprised of an inexplicable mix of moods and genres as a U.S. submarine in World War II heads out to the island of Bikini in the South Pacific to destroy the remains of a sunken sister ship. The ruined ship has some delicate radar equipment on board that cannot Read More

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

Synopsis: Having made a bundle on their 130-episode package of Mr. Magoo TV cartoons, the folks at UPA studios decided to star Magoo in a 60-minute musical version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. First telecast over the NBC network on December 18, 1962, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol deftly uses the Read More

Critic's Choice

Actors: Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Maxwell, Rip Torn, Jesse Royce Landis

Synopsis: Ira Levin wrote the stage comedy Critic's Choice as a good-natured retort to a comment made by critic Walter Kerr. In his essay How Not to Write a Play, Kerr noted that the worst possible scenario would involve a drama critic forced to review a play written by his wife (we should mention that Read More

Zotz!

Actors: Tom Poston, Julia Meade, Jim Backus, Fred Clark, Cecil Kellaway

Synopsis: TV actor Tom Poston stars as Prof. Jonathan Jones in this early feature-film appearance, a standard comedy-fantasy oriented to the youngsters. The good professor has come into possession of "zotz," a coin that has three magical properties. It can either cause intense pain if its bearer points an Read More

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

Actors: Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Walter Slezak, Barbara Eden, Yvette Mimieux, Russ Tamblyn, Buddy Hackett

Synopsis: This long, 135-minute feature is divided into four different segments, three highlighting fairy tales and the first introducing the two Brothers Grimm. Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey) is the dreamer, and Jacob (Karl Boehm) is the practical one, and between them, some marvelous fairy tales develop. Read More

Boys' Night Out

Actors: Kim Novak, James Garner, Tony Randall, Howard Duff, Janet Blair

Synopsis: In this squeaky clean sex comedy (the sort that could only have been made in the early 1960s), Kathy (Kim Novak) is a sociology student preparing her doctoral thesis, "Adolescent Sexual Fantasies in the Adult Suburban Male." She poses as a call girl to gain perspective on the sexual attitudes and Read More

Maverick: Three Queen's Full

Synopsis: In this rollicking takeoff of the TV western series Bonanza, Jim Backus guest stars as wealthy rancher Joe Wheelwright, the owner of the vast Subrosa spread. Figuring that it is time his sons Moose (Jake Sheffield), Henry (Larry Chance) and Small Paul (Evan McCord) were married, Wheelwright hires Read More

The Horizontal Lieutenant

Actors: Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Miyoshi Umeki, Jim Backus

Synopsis: Although the talented cast in this uninspired comedy do the best they can with their lines, nothing quite brings The Horizontal Lieutenant to an upright, stand-up-and-take-notice presence. Paula Prentiss as Lt. Molly Blue and Jim Hutton as Lt. Merle Wye are once again paired, this time as officers Read More

Ice Palace

Actors: Richard Burton, Robert Ryan, Carolyn Jones, Martha Hyer, Jim Backus

Synopsis: Based on the Edna Ferber novel, this engrossing period piece covers the triumphs, tragedies, loves, and sorrows of a few generations of Alaskan settlers between the first World War and the granting of statehood in 1959. Zeb (Richard Burton) is a local despot whose tough personality dominates the Read More

The Untouchables: Star Witness

Synopsis: Jim Backus guest stars as William Norbert, a mob bookkeeper with a photographic memory. Tired of living on the wrong side of the law, Norbert wants to retire, but his boss Luigi Rinaldo (Marc Lawrence) refuses to let him--and is willing to bump off Norbert's entire family to ensure the man's Read More

The Jim Backus Show [TV Series]

Actors: Jim Backus, Nita Talbot, Bobs Watson

A Private's Affair

Actors: Sal Mineo, Christine Carère, Barry Coe, Barbara Eden, Gary Crosby

Synopsis: A trio of energetic young men try to put on a good show for their Army camp, in this lightweight comedy by Raoul Walsh. Luigi (Sal Mineo just risen to stardom), Jerry (Berry Coe), and Mike (Gary Crosby) are in boot camp when they are presented with a chance to represent their unit in competition Read More

The Big Operator

Actors: Mickey Rooney, Steve Cochran, Mamie van Doren, Mel Tormé, Ray Danton

Synopsis: Mickey Rooney plays labor racketeer Little Joe Braun in this fast-paced and surprisingly violent drama about one man's determination to clean up his union. Bill Gibson (Steve Cochran) is Little Joe's nemesis and is one of the men who can testify that he saw the labor boss in an incriminating Read More

The Wild and the Innocent

Actors: Audie Murphy, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland, Jim Backus, Sandra Dee

Synopsis: In this comical western, a curmudgeonly fur-trapper is hurt by an enraged bear and must send his nephew to town with his pelts so he can get much-needed supplies. En route, the young man passes a covered wagon and convinces the man who lives there to allow his daughter to travel with him. The two Read More

1001 Arabian Nights

Actors: Jim Backus, Kathryn Grant, Dwayne Hickman, Hans Conried, Herschel Bernardi

Synopsis: 1001 Arabian Nights was the first animated feature film produced by the "progressive" UPA cartoon firm. The studio had originally planned to feature its star attraction, the nearsighted Mr. Magoo, in an adaptation of Don Quixote scripted by no less than Aldous Huxley. But Columbia, UPA's Read More

Ask Any Girl

Actors: David Niven, Shirley MacLaine, Gig Young, Rod Taylor, Jim Backus

Synopsis: Viewers know they're in a 1959 comedy film early in the proceedings of Ask Any Girl, when secretary Shirley MacLaine is advised by her new supervisor Jim Backus to wear a sweater "a size too small." But she is a good girl: like Doris Day, she won't offer any carnal favors unless a wedding ring is Read More

The High Cost of Loving

Actors: José Ferrer, Gena Rowlands, Joanne Gilbert, Jim Backus, Edward Platt, Bobby Troup

Synopsis: After a string of such serious projects as The Shrike and I Accuse, director-star Jose Ferrer lightens up a bit with the frothy comedy The High Cost of Loving. Ferrer plays purchasing executive Jim Fry, who has doubts about his financial future when his company is taken over by a conglomerate. Read More

Macabre

Actors: William Prince, Jim Backus, Christine White, Jacqueline Scott, Susan Morrow

Synopsis: This first "gimmick" outing from horror producer William Castle is mainly distinguished by the clever ad campaign promising $1000 insurance for each patron (from Lloyds of London, no less!) against the possibility that they may die of fright during a screening of the film. (A similar gimmick would Read More

Columbia Pictures Cartoons Volume 10: Starring Mr. Magoo

Synopsis: Mr. Magoo stars in eight cartoons, including "Kangaroo Courting," "Magoo's Checkup," and "Love Comes to Magoo." ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

Top Secret Affair

Actors: Susan Hayward, Kirk Douglas, Paul Stewart, Jim Backus, John Cromwell

Synopsis: When an Army general is appointed to the sensitive diplomatic post that the powerful publisher of a prominent news magazine had hoped would go to a particularly qualified civilian, she launches a vitriolic campaign to discredit the general. First the publisher orders one of her cameraman to snap a Read More

The Amazing Colossal Man

Actors: Glenn Langan, Cathy Downs, William Hudson, James Seay, Larry Thor

Synopsis: A "Shock Theater" perennial since it was first released to television in the early 1960s (stretch-framed to pad out its running time), The Amazing Colossal Man is firmly in the "So Bad It's Good" category. While overseeing the atomic tests in the Nevada desert, Army colonel Glenn Langan is exposed Read More

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Actors: Van Johnson, Claude Rains, Kay Starr, Doodles Weaver, Stanley Adams

Synopsis: The Pied Piper of Hamelin was originally filmed as a television special, then released theatrically outside the United States. The story is the familiar one: the town of Hamelin, plagued by rats, hires a mysterious piper (Van Johnson) to rid the town of rodents. The piper does so, on the promise Read More

Eighteen and Anxious

Actors: Mary Webster, William Campbell, Martha Scott, Jackie Loughery, Jim Backus

Synopsis: In this teenage exploitation drama, a young woman secretly marries. The trouble begins after her husband is killed while drag racing. She bears his child, but she cannot prove that she was married. Caring nothing for the child, she spends her time hitting on a jazz trumpeter who takes her to Las Read More

Man of a Thousand Faces

Actors: James Cagney, Dorothy Malone, Jane Greer, Jim Backus, Robert Evans, Marjorie Rambeau

Synopsis: One screen legend tips his hat to another as James Cagney portrays horror film icon Lon Chaney in Man of a Thousand Faces. Joseph Pevney's bio-pic takes a somewhat whitewashed view of Chaney's career, but Cagney is nothing short of riveting in the lead. The film begins as Chaney, the son of two Read More

Magoo's Puddle Jumper

Gerald McBoing Boing On Planet Moo

Meet Me in Las Vegas

Actors: Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Agnes Moorehead, Lili Darvas, Jim Backus

Synopsis: A whole slew of guest stars makes Meet Me in Las Vegas a special treat for movie buffs. The central plot concerns wealthy rancher Chuck Rodwell (Dan Dailey), who takes a Vegas vacation with his mother (Agnes Moorehead). At the same time, ballerina Maria Corvier (Cyd Charisse) also arrives in Las Read More

You Can't Run Away From It

Actors: June Allyson, Jack Lemmon, Charles Bickford, Paul Gilbert, Jim Backus

Synopsis: You Can't Run Away From It is a musical remake of Frank Capra's Oscar-winning classic It Happened One Night, complete with same-named characters and word-for-word scene reconstructions. It all begins when spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews (June Allyson) is literally kidnapped from the altar by her Read More

The Naked Hills

Actors: David Wayne, Keenan Wynn, James Barton, Marcia Henderson, Jim Backus

Synopsis: The talented David Wayne is afforded a rare movie starring role in Allied Artists' The Naked Hills. Wayne plays prospector Tracy Powell, whose all-consuming lust for gold motivates the plot. Heading to California during the '49 Gold Rush to try his luck in the mineral-rich mountains, Powell is Read More

The Opposite Sex

Actors: June Allyson, Joan Collins, Dolores Gray, Jeff Richards, Ann Sheridan, Ann Miller, Leslie Nielsen, Harry James, Dick Shawn, Jim Backus

Synopsis: The Opposite Sex is an opulent musical remake of Clare Booth Luce's The Women (1939). June Allyson stars in the old Norma Shearer role, playing the virtuous wife who loses her husband to scheming Joan Collins (as the Joan Crawford character). At first agreeing to a divorce, June decides to win Read More

The Girl He Left Behind

Actors: Tab Hunter, Natalie Wood, Jesse Royce Landis, Jim Backus, Henry Jones

Synopsis: The peacetime draft is given the teen-idol treatment in The Girl He Left Behind. Hollywood hunk Tab Hunter is starred as a spoiled young man who is whipped into shape--and humility--by his two years of compulsory military service. Natalie Wood plays the girl who...well, look at the title. Read More

The Great Man

Actors: José Ferrer, Dean Jagger, Keenan Wynn, Julie London, Joanne Gilbert

Synopsis: Based on a novel by television producer Al Morgan, The Great Man is a Citizen Kane-style look at the private life of a public figure. The Great Man is a beloved radio and television personality who dies suddenly. Jose Ferrer (who also directed) plays a writer/commentator who has a chance to break Read More

Francis in the Navy

Actors: Donald O'Connor, Martha Hyer, Richard Erdman, Jim Backus, Clint Eastwood

Synopsis: Complaining that Francis the Mule was getting more fan mail than he was, Donald O'Connor bade adios to the "Francis" series with this 1955 entry. Once more, O'Connor plays Army lieutenant Peter Sterling, who heads to a navy base when it looks like his old pal Francis is about to be auctioned off Read More

The Square Jungle

Actors: Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine, Paul Kelly, Jim Backus, Leigh Snowden

Synopsis: The splendid physique of Tony Curtis is given generous screen exposure in the boxing melodrama The Square Jungle. Curtis plays Eddie Quaid, who turns to pugilism to bail his wino father (Jim Backus) out of jail. Gaining fame as "Packy Glennon," Quaid inevitably forgets the things in life that are Read More

Rebel Without a Cause

Actors: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Corey Allen, Sal Mineo, Dennis Hopper

Synopsis: This landmark juvenile-delinquent drama scrupulously follows the classic theatrical disciplines, telling all within a 24-hour period. Teenager Jimmy Stark (James Dean) can't help but get into trouble, a problem that has forced his appearance-conscious parents (Jim Backus and Ann Doran) to move Read More

Joan Davis Show

When Magoo Flew

Deep in My Heart

Actors: José Ferrer, Helen Traubel, Merle Oberon, Walter Pidgeon, Doe Avedon

Synopsis: Deep in My Heart is the MGM-ified biography of composer Sigmund Romberg, here played by José Ferrer. Evidently the scripters didn't feel that the life of Romberg (as set down by author Elliott Arnold, whose book was used as the film's basis) had enough drama to fill out two hours and ten minutes. Read More

Angel Face

Actors: Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman, Herbert Marshall, Leon Ames

Synopsis:
Jean Simmons' fascinating interpretation of an uncharacteristic role is the main drawing card of Otto Preminger's Angel Face. The daughter of Charles Treymayne (Herbert Marshall), who remarried a wealthy woman (Barbara O'Neil), Diane Treymayne's (Simmons) angelic countenance masks an unbridled Read More

I Love Melvin

Actors: Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Una Merkel, Richard Anderson, Jim Backus, Allyn Joslyn

Synopsis: Singin' in the Rain co-stars Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds were re-teamed in the ebullient little musical I Love Melvin. O'Connor plays Melvin Hoover, the hapless assistant to Look magazine photographer Mergo (Jim Backus). When he falls in love with chorus girl Judy LeRoy (Reynolds), Melvin Read More

Geraldine

Actors: John Carroll, Mala Powers, Jim Backus, Stan Freberg, Kristine Miller

Synopsis: Stan Freberg fans are advised to keep an eye open for the obscure Republic musical Geraldine. Freberg plays recording star Billy Weber, a devastating takeoff of "crying tenor" Johnnie Ray. Looking for a new song, Billy chances to hear an old folk tune, rearranged by college music professor Grant Read More

Here Come the Nelsons

Actors: Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson, David Nelson, Ricky Nelson, Rock Hudson

Synopsis: Fresh from radio and TV, "America's Favorite Family" stars in Here Come the Nelsons. That's right: this harmless little comedy is purely a vehicle for Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky. Since there must be a plot, the scriptwriters contrive to have Harriet uncharacteristically express jealousy over Read More

I Married Joan [TV Series]

Actors: Jim Backus, Joan Davis

Synopsis: Joan Davis and Jim Backus were the stars of the 1952-1955 sitcom I Married Joan,. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide Read More

The Rose Bowl Story

Actors: Marshall Thompson, Vera Miles, Richard Rober, Natalie Wood, Keith Larsen

Synopsis: Nancy Thorne, 1952's Tournament of Roses queen, makes an extended guest appearances in this Monogram "special." In her first important film role, Vera Miles plays Denny Burke, one of Thorne's attendants, whom stuck-up football hero Steve Davis (Marshall Thompson) mistakes for an heiress. Upon Read More

Androcles and the Lion

Actors: Jean Simmons, Alan Young, Victor Mature, Robert Newton, Maurice Evans

Synopsis: With George Bernard Shaw safely in his grave, RKO chief Howard Hughes had no qualms about twisting and bending Shaw's Androcles & the Lion to accommodate his own notions of entertainment. Happier, wiser heads prevailed before the Hughes-commissioned "Vestal Virgins" sequence, complete with Read More

Deadline U.S.A.

Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Ethel Barrymore, Kim Hunter, Ed Begley, Sr., Warren Stevens

Synopsis: An abundance of subplots are expertly woven together by screenwriter/director Richard Brooks in Deadline - USA. Humphrey Bogart stars as crusading editor Ed Hutcheson, whose newspaper is on the verge of closing thanks to the machinations of the mercenary daughter (Audrey Christie) of Mrs. Garrison Read More

Pat and Mike

Actors: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Aldo Ray, Jim Backus, William Ching, Sammy White

Synopsis: Pat (Katharine Hepburn), a college phys-ed instructor, enters into professional competition as a golf and tennis player. Mike (Spencer Tracy), a likeable but unscrupulous sports promoter, first attempts to bribe Pat to lose, but later becomes her manager. Pat performs brilliantly until her Read More

Don't Bother to Knock

Actors: Richard Widmark, Marilyn Monroe, Anne Bancroft, Donna Corcoran, Jeanne Cagney

Synopsis: Sex symbol Marilyn Monroe went dramatic in 1952's Don't Bother to Knock. Monroe plays Nell Forbes, a beautiful but suicidal young woman, recently released from a mental institution. She doesn't mention this on her resumé when she takes a baby-sitting job in a posh hotel. Jed Towers (Richard Widmark Read More

Above and Beyond

Actors: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, James Whitmore, Larry Keating, Larry Gates

Synopsis: Above and Beyond is the story of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, as told from the perspective of the man who flew the mission. Robert Taylor stars as Col. Paul Tibbetts, commander of the Enola Gay. Once selected for this extremely dangerous mission, Tibbetts must hand-pick a crew worthy of the Read More

Grizzly Golfer

Bright Victory

Actors: Arthur Kennedy, Peggy Dow, Julie Adams, John Hudson, James Edwards

Synopsis: Arthur Kennedy stars as a blinded war veteran struggling to adjust to his affliction in peacetime. He must overcome his pugnacious attitude towards any problem he can't think his way out of--and he must learn to temper his inbred racial prejudices. Peggy Dow plays the woman who loves Kennedy Read More

I Want You

Actors: Dana Andrews, Dorothy McGuire, Farley Granger, Peggy Dow, Robert Keith

Synopsis: Upon beginning production on his Korean-war drama I Want You, producer Sam Goldwyn lamented "I've just brought those boys back from the war, and now I have to send them out again!" Goldwyn, of course, was referring to his Oscar-winning "homecoming" drama Best Years of Our Lives. He'd hoped that I Want You Read More

The Iron Man

Actors: Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes, Stephen McNally, Rock Hudson, Joyce Holden

Synopsis: A remake of the 1931 film of the same name, Iron Man stars Jeff Chandler as up-and-coming boxer Cokie Martin. A relatively pleasant fellow outside the ring, Martin turns into a monster whenever he dons boxing gloves and trunks. As a result, he becomes "the man you love to hate" so far as the fans Read More

Hollywood Story

Actors: Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Richard Egan, Henry Hull, Fred Clark

Synopsis: Economically utilizing the Universal Studio itself as a "set," Hollywood Story is a murder mystery centered in the film capital. The story concerns a long-unsolved homicide case involving several silent-film stars (an echo of the William Desmond Taylor scandal of 1922). Producer Richard Conte Read More

The Man with a Cloak

Actors: Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, Leslie Caron, Joe de Santis

Synopsis: Set in 19th-century New York, this mystery begins when a Frenchwoman shows up at the home of one of Napoleon's former marshals. The alcoholic man is badly crippled and slowly dying, but this doesn't stop the forthright lady from pushing him to change his will to include his estranged grandson so Read More

M

Actors: David Wayne, Luther Adler, Howard Da Silva, Martin Gabel, Steve Brodie, Raymond Burr

Synopsis: It took nerve for director Joseph Losey to attempt a remake of Fritz Lang's classic chiller M, but by and large Losey was up to the challenge. David Wayne steps into the old Peter Lorre role as the compulsive child-murderer who is tracked down and then placed on trial by the criminal underworld. Read More

Half Angel

Actors: Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Cecil Kellaway, Basil Ruysdael, Jim Backus

Synopsis: Even at age 38, Loretta Young could successfully pull off her ingenue duties in the innocuous comedy Half Angel. Young plays Nora, a prim and proper nurse, engaged to the stuffy Tim (John Ridgely). Unbeknownst to both, Nora is a sleepwalker; during her nocturnal forays, the less-inhibited side of Read More

I'll See You in My Dreams

Actors: Doris Day, Danny Thomas, Frank Lovejoy, Patrice Wymore, James Gleason

Synopsis: The ultra-sentimental I'll See You in My Dreams is based on the life and work of composer Gus Kahn. The story is told from the point of view of Kahn' wife Grace, who was still alive when the film was made (Kahn died some ten years earlier). Danny Thomas stars as the prolific tunesmith, whose Read More

His Kind of Woman

Actors: Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Vincent Price, Tim Holt, Charles McGraw

Synopsis: His Kind of Woman directed by veteran John Farrow, is a convoluted mystery thriller which tries unsuccessfully to combine slapstick comedy with excessive violence, resulting in a film that depends more on stereotypes than on plot development. Nick (Raymond Burr), is a deported gang boss who needs Read More

Emergency Wedding

Actors: Larry Parks, Barbara Hale, Willard Parker, Una Merkel, Alan Reed, Sr.

Synopsis: 1950's Emergency Wedding is a remake of 1940's You Belong to Me. The later film stars Larry Parks, who'd had a bit role in the original. Parks plays wealthy Peter Kirk, a playboy, while Barbara Hale co-stars as female doctor Helen Hunt. When Peter marries Helen, it is a "given" that he'll stay Read More

Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town

Actors: Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Richard Long, Meg Randall, Gregg Martell

Synopsis: The second of Universal's "Ma and Pa Kettle" series, Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town stars, as ever, Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. This time, the Kettles win a letter-writing contest, which offers as first prize an all-expense-paid trip to New York City. Once in Manhattan, the huge Kettle brood Read More

The Killer That Stalked New York

Actors: Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, William Bishop, Dorothy Malone, Lola Albright

Synopsis: A married team of diamond smugglers enter New York to fence their purloined gems unaware that the wife is carrying the highly contagious, deadly smallpox virus. The crooks ensconce themselves in a hotel without realizing that the wife's every move is being monitored by a Treasury agent. The Read More

Customs Agent

Actors: William Eythe, Marjorie Reynolds, Griff Barnett, Howard St. John, Jim Backus

Synopsis: William Eythe is the Customs Agent in this brisk Columbia programmer. The plot finds Bert Stewart (Eythe) stationed in China, where he goes undercover to join a gang of dope smugglers. His plan is to stop the wholesale stealing of valuable streptomycin, which the crooks are peddling to drug Read More

A Dangerous Profession

Actors: George Raft, Ella Raines, Pat O'Brien, Bill Williams

Synopsis: The Dangerous Profession of the title is the bail-bond business. George Raft stars as Kane, a former cop turned professional bail-raiser. When one of his customers, robbery suspect Brackett (Bill Williams), is mysteriously murdered, Kane wants to know why. His reasons are twofold: he has an Read More

Father Was a Fullback

Actors: Fred MacMurray, Maureen O'Hara, Betty Lynn, Rudy Vallee, Thelma Ritter

Synopsis: First came 20th Century-Fox's Mother Was a Freshman; then, a few months later, the same studio's Father Was a Fullback. Fred MacMurray stars as college football coach George Cooper, whose team can't win a game to save its life. George finds some comfort in the arms of his wife Elizabeth (Maureen O'Hara Read More

Easy Living

Actors: Victor Mature, Lizabeth Scott, Lucille Ball, Sonny Tufts, Lloyd Nolan

Synopsis: No relation to the 1937 screwball comedy of the same name, Easy Living is a film about the world of professional sports. Victor Mature plays Pete Wilson, star halfback of the New York Chiefs. Well past his prime, Wilson would like to retire to a coaching job, but his rival Tim McCarr (Sonny Tufts) Read More

One Last Fling

Actors: Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Douglas Kennedy, Ann Doran, Ransom Sherman

Synopsis: Zachary Scott uncharacteristically plays for laughs in Warner Bros.' One Last Fling. Scott plays Larry Pearce, the dullish husband of Olivia Pearce (Alexis Smith). When Larry enters into a perfectly innocent business arrangement with gorgeous Gay Winston (Veda Ann Borg), Olivia misunderstands, as Read More

The Great Lover

Actors: Bob Hope, Rhonda Fleming, Roland Young, Roland Culver, Richard Lyon

Synopsis: In The Great Lover, Bob Hope plays "Boy Rangers" scoutmaster Freddie Hunter, who accompanies his young charges on a European tour. During the ocean voyage to the continent, Freddie falls under the influence of erudite cardsharp O. J. Dabney (Roland Young), who promotes a romance between Freddie Read More

Great Moments in History Series

Synopsis: Historical individuals are documented in this series as hosted by Arte Johnson and Jim Backus. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

The Best of Mister Magoo

Synopsis: The voice of Jim Backus accompanies the animated Mister Magoo in his comedy adventures "Bwana Magoo," "Bearfooted Flat Foot," "Destination Magoo" and "Bungled Bungalow" in this collection. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide Read More