Leo GordonFilmography

Alienator

Actors: Jan-Michael Vincent, John Phillip Law, Ross Hagen, Dyana Ortelli, Jesse Dabson

Synopsis: There's not much doubt this film's a direct descendant of Schwarzenegger's Terminator classic, though it's certainly a distant descendant. Here a fugitive from a far-away planet escapes execution in a hijacked spaceship and crashes on the planet Earth where he's befriended by some young campers Read More

Big Top Pee-Wee

Actors: Paul Reubens, Kris Kristofferson, Valeria Golino, Penelope Ann Miller, Susan Tyrrell

Synopsis: Paul Reubens's followup to the box-office hit Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is just as outrageous and cartoonish, though not as good. This time, child-man Pee-Wee runs a colorful farm, chock full of talking animals and outsized produce. On the morning after a tornado of Wizard of Oz dimensions, Pee-Wee Read More

Saturday the 14th Strikes Back

Actors: Jason Presson, Ray Walston, Avery Schreiber, Patty McCormack, Julianne McNamara-Zeile

Synopsis: The sequel to Saturday the 14th, this horror-comedy traces the adventures of nice-guy teen Eddie Baxter (Jason Presson) as he saves the world from the brink of supernatural destruction. After moving into a decrepit, inherited mansion with his family -- a collection of oddballs who eat nothing but Read More

The Garbage Pail Kids Movie

Actors: Anthony Newley, MacKenzie Astin, Katie Barberi, Ron MacLachlan, Kevin Thompson

Synopsis: Sometimes kids like to do things to gross out or shock their parents. This is only natural, but many companies exploit this tendency by creating toys to appeal to that childish joy in the disgusting. In the late '80s, a new kind of bubblegum card, the Garbage Pail kids, featuring caricature Read More

Moonlighting: Cool Hand Dave, Part 2

Synopsis: In this conclusion of a two-part story, David (Bruce Willis) attempts to escape from a chain gang in order to be reunited with his pregnant sweetheart Maddie (Cybill Shepherd, who is represented only by her voice in this episode). It looks like David's only hope for freedom is to follow the Read More

Magnum, P.I.: The People vs. Orville Wright

Synopsis: Rick (Larry Manetti) is arrested for the murder of a hit man who had been hired to kill the missing Ice Pick (Elisha Cook Jr.). Though Magnum (Tom Selleck) would like to prove his friend's innocence, this may be an impossible task: Rick has already signed a full confession. The ending of this Read More

Bog

Actors: Gloria de Haven, Aldo Ray, Marshall Thompson, Leo Gordon, Glen Voros

Synopsis: A cheesy rubber-suit monster flick from Wisconsin -- where they should know a thing or two about cheese. When a lazy local begins fishing with dynamite in scenic Bog Lake, something a bit larger pops to the surface: a green, bug-eyed mutant "were-fish," awakened from decades-long sleep, which Read More

Fire and Ice

Actors: Susan Tyrrell, Maggie Roswell, William Ostrander, Stephen Mendel, Clare Nono

Synopsis: Ralph Bakshi's last stab at epic fantasy takes place shortly after the Ice Age. The evil queen Juliana (voice of Eileen O'Reill) plots to conquer the world and raises her son Nekron (Sean Hannon) as a master of sorcery and arcane mental powers. Together the two conquer the Ice Kingdom, and from Read More

Rage

Synopsis: Husband, father, rapist. All three succinctly describe the character portrayed by David Soul in the made-for-TV Rage. Though he would seem to be a hopeless case, Soul is subjected to prison therapy sessions, on the theory that he might be curable. As the sessions continue under the guidance of Read More

Little House on the Prairie: The King Is Dead

Actors: Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson, Matthew Laborteaux

Synopsis: A slick sports promoter (Ray Walston) convinces Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen) that he has genuine talent as a wrestler. It is all part of a scheme to bilk the citizens of Walnut Grove by staging a rigged wrestling match. Things get really sticky when, consumed by gambling fever, Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor Read More

The Dukes of Hazzard: Deputy Dukes

Synopsis: Bo and Luke Duke (John Schneider and Tom Wopat) find themselves actually working alongside Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best) for a change in this episode from the long-running action- comedy series The Dukes of Hazzard. However, the Duke boys quickly discover Read More

The Dukes of Hazzard: The Meeting

Synopsis: Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) picks up a fast $10,000 by renting the Hazzard County Jail to mob kingpin Big Jack Bender (Paul Lambert), who intends to use the facilities for a secret Appalachin-style gangster conference. Noticing the amount of "artillery" in the cars parked around the jailhouse, Bo Read More

The Rockford Files: Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs, Part 2

Synopsis: In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single "TV movie"), glamorous socialite Kendall Warren (Lauren Bacall) insists upon helping Jim (James Garner) track down the mysterious assailant who has been trying to kill her--and to find out why she has been thus targetted. This Read More

The Rockford Files: Black Mirror, Part 1

Synopsis: In the first half of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour "TV movie"), Jim (James Garner) tries to save Dr. Megan Dougherty (Kathryn Harrold), a blind psychologist, from a mysterious stalker. There's a strong possibility that Megan's tormentor is one of her own patients, but Read More

The Rockford Files: Black Mirror, Part 2

Synopsis: In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour TV movie), Jim (James Garner) is frustrated in his efforts to protect blind psychologist Megan Dougherty (Kathryn Harrold) from a dangerous stalker--mainly because Megan refuses to violate doctor-patient Read More

The Rockford Files: Heartaches of a Fool

Synopsis: In the opening episode of The Rockford Files' fifth season, Jim Rockford (James Garner) wants to know why his dad Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.), temporarily employed as a delivery driver, was forced off the road and his cargo--consisting of breakfast sausages--was hijacked. The main culprit would seem to Read More

The Shootist

Actors: John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, Bill McKinney, James Stewart

Synopsis: About ten minutes into The Shootist, Doctor Hostetler (James Stewart) tells aging Western gunfighter John Bernard Books (John Wayne), "You have a cancer." Knowing that his death will be painful and lingering, Books is determined to be shot in the line of "duty." In his remaining two months, Books Read More

Nashville Girl

Synopsis: A Kentucky-born maiden realizes her dream of becoming a country music star, but finds that along the way, her single-minded determination has caused her to lose things far more precious than fame or money when she gets involved with corrupt music executives who are really only interested in Read More

Adam-12: G.T.A.

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: The initials in the episode's title stand for "Grand Theft Auto", and that particular crime is what occupies the time of Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner). Several older automobiles have been stolen over a short period of time, and the two cops figure that the Read More

Adam-12: Gus Corbin

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: A young Mark Harmon appears as Gus Corbin, a rookie cop with whom veteran mobile officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord) is temporarily teamed. It is Reed's responsibility to show Gus the ropes and teach him to look after himself on the job. Unfortunately, the overeager rookie turns out to be an habitual Read More

Adam-12: Suspect Number One

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: Former B-western leading man Donald Barry guest stars as Charlie Bishop, an ex-convict who has ended up on skid row. Relaying a message to Officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner), Charlie begs to sent back to prison--and indicates that he will go to any lengths to land behind bars. Malloy and his Read More

The Barbary Coast

Actors: Michael Ansara, Dennis Cole, Lynda Day George, William Shatner

Synopsis: The made-for-TV Barbary Coast is a tongue-in-cheek western in the Maverick tradition, produced by a former writer-director of that series, Douglas Heyes. Dennis Cole plays Cash Conover, a San Francisco saloonkeeper of the 1870s. William Shatner co-stars as Jeff Cable, an undercover policeman who Read More

The F.B.I.: Diamond Run

Synopsis: Laurence Luckinbill is cast as novice diamond smuggler James Danzer, who while eluding the FBI searches high and low for a buyer to take some stolen gems off his hands. In the course of events, Danzer kidnaps a blind woman named Claire (Elizabeth Ashley). Unless Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Read More

Adam-12: Trouble in the Bank

Synopsis: Adam-12 moved from a Wednesday to a Tuesday-night timeslot with this episode, in which an out-of-uniform Jim Reed (Kent McCord) drops off a deposit at a bank--only to be taken hostage by a desperate pair of robbers. When the crooks find out that Reed is a cop, they hope to use him to bargain for Read More

My Name Is Nobody

Actors: Henry Fonda

Synopsis: Spaghetti-Western star Terence Hill achieved international fame with 1974's My Name Is Nobody. A soldier of fortune, Nobody (Hill) is hired to gun down veteran outlaw Jack Beauregard (Henry Fonda). Before long, however, Nobody and Beauregard are bosom companions. When Beauregard announces his Read More

Adam-12: Vendetta

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: Israeli-born actor Nehemiah Persoff guests in this episode as Angelo Covelli, an immigrant Italian tailor. Signor Covelli has been acting strangely of late, arousing the interest of Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner). The two mobile cops are aware that Angelo's brother Read More

Adam-12: Hot Spell

Synopsis: During a particularly oppressive heat wave, Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) answer several "routine" calls which yield surprising results. In one instance, a report of a theft culminates in a drug bust--and in another, a neighbor's complaint results in the capture Read More

The Streets of San Francisco: The Thirty-Year Pin

Synopsis: The premiere episode of Streets of San Francisco follows veteran SFPD detective lieutenant Mike Stone (Karl Malden) in his grim search for the killer of his old friend Officer Gus Charnovski (Edmond O'Brien), who was shot three days before his retirement after 30 years on the force. Stone's Read More

Adam-12: Million Dollar Buff

Synopsis: Veteran movie heavy (and prolific screenwriter) Leo Gordon guest stars as Jennings Thornton, a wealthy "police buff" who proves to be a pain in the neck for Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner). Not only is Thornton convinced that he is better a catching crooks than the Read More

Adam-12: Log 165: Once a Cop

Synopsis: Comedian Shelley Berman) guest stars as a crooked Hollywood agent who is running a scam with a sexy starlet (Katie O'Price). There is also a third player in this intrigue, a tough customer named Jack Donahue (Leo Gordon). Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) are Read More

You Can't Win 'Em All

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson, Michele Mercier, Patrick Magee, Fikret Hakan

Synopsis: As the Ottoman Empire collapses throughout Turkey in 1922, a number of adventurers from all over the world sign on to protect the locals from thieves and marauders--for a hefty price. Two such mercenaries are Adam Dyer (Tony Curtis) and Josh Corey (Charles Bronson), who are hired by provincial Read More

Buckskin

Actors: Barry Sullivan, Joan Caulfield, Wendell Corey, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Russell

Synopsis: Chaddock (Barry Sullivan) is the straight-shooting marshall of Gloryhole, Montana. Wealthy rancher Rep Marlowe (Wendell Corey) practically owns the town by way of his gambling saloons, shady land deals and hired guns who intimidate the law-abiding citizens. Sheriff Tangley (Lon Chaney Jr.) calls Read More

Bonanza: Blood Tie

Actors: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Robert Drivas, Conlan Carter

Synopsis: In the town of Smithville, Joe Cartwright's life is saved by Tracy Blaine (Robert Drivas), who then manages to sweet-talk his way into a job at the Ponderosa. Neither Joe nor the rest of the Cartwrights are aware that Blaine has formulated a diabolically clever scheme to rob Ben Cartwright, a Read More

Devil's Angels

Actors: John Cassavetes, Beverly Adams, Mimsy Farmer, Maurice McEndree, Salli Sachse

Synopsis: Big bad bikers butt heads with a small-town sheriff in this bargain-basement sleaze-fest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Hostile Guns

Actors: George Montgomery, Yvonne De Carlo, Tab Hunter, Brian Donlevy, John Russell

Synopsis: U.S. Marshal Gid McCool (George Montgomery) leads a wagon train of convicted felons to Huntsville prison in this routine western. The only female among the crooks is the dancehall girl Laura Mannon (Yvonne De Carlo), McCool's former flame. When McCool cannot be swayed from completing his lawful Read More

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Actors: Jason Robards, Jr., George Segal, Ralph Meeker, Jean Hale, Clint Ritchie

Synopsis: Schlockmeister Roger Corman produced this graphically violent chronicle of the Chicago gangster wars of the 1920s and the events that lead to the bloody title showdown between rival mobsters Al Capone (Jason Robards) and Bugs Moran (Ralph Meeker) that marked a brutal end to a terrifying era. Fred Steiner Read More

Beau Geste

Actors: Guy Stockwell, Doug McClure, Leslie Nielsen, Telly Savalas, David Mauro

Synopsis: Christopher Wren's classic adventure story is brought to the screen for the third time in this version, which featured several popular television stars of the day. Beau Geste (Guy Stockwell) is forced to take the blame for a crime he didn't commit in order to protect the good name of his family; Read More

Tobruk

Actors: Rock Hudson, George Peppard, Nigel Green, Guy Stockwell, Jack Watson

Synopsis: Arthur Hiller directed this exciting World War II drama starring Rock Hudson as Major Donald Craig of the British North African Army. In 1942, Craig is captured by the Vichy French, rescued by Palestinian Jews, and taken to the headquarters of Col. John Harker (Nigel Green). Harker explains that Read More

The Night of the Grizzly

Actors: Clint Walker, Martha Hyer, Keenan Wynn, Nancy Kulp, Kevin Brodie

Synopsis: A small town is terrorized by a grizzly bear in this uninspired western. Jim Cole {Clint Walker} must defend his inherited property from the designs of his greedy, land-grabbing neighbor Jed Curry (Keenan Wynn). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide Read More

L'Arme à Gauche

Actors: Lino Ventura, Sylva Koscina, Alberto de Mendoza, Leo Gordon

Synopsis: A veteran sea captain (Lino Ventura) is blamed for the disappearance of a ship when the vessel is hijacked by gunrunners. Mrs. Osborne (Sylva Koscina) is a pretty American widow who helps the accused captain search for the missing ship. Leo Gordon plays the menacing heavy, Morrison, and co-stars Read More

Bonanza: The Flannel-Mouth Gun

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Earl Holliman

Synopsis: Held in thrall by a gang of rustlers, the local cattleman's association hires a professional gunman named Simmons (Robert Wilke) to deal with the outlaws. The Cartwrights vote against engaging the services of Simmons, fearing that he will cause more harm than good. Their predictions apparently Read More

The Girls on the Beach

Actors: Brian Wilson, Martin West, Noreen Corcoran, Peter Brooks, Michael Love

Synopsis: The Beatles are coming! The Beatles are coming! Or so the members of the Alpha Beta sorority who are trying to raise $10,000 during Spring Break to save their sorority house believe. When the Fab Four do not show, the ingenious girls must create a passable imitation by imitating them themselves. Read More

The Bounty Killer

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Dan Duryea, Rod Cameron, Audrey Dalton, Richard Arlen

Synopsis: Dan Duryea plays a Western bounty hunter, expert in his job, but ill at ease with his conscience. He is shunned by the "good" townsfolk until they need him to track down and kill a criminal; the gratitude doesn't last long, and it's back to outcast status for Duryea. At one juncture, the Read More

Kitten With a Whip

Actors: Ann-Margret, John Forsythe, Peter Brown, Patricia Barry, Richard Anderson

Synopsis: An aspiring senator finds himself in deep trouble when he tangles with a sultry teenage girl gone bad in this campy drama. Ann-Margret stars as Jody, a tough customer who escapes from reform school by stabbing a matron and attempting to burn down the building and then takes refuge in a house owned Read More

McLintock!

Actors: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Yvonne De Carlo, Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers

Synopsis: George Washington McLintock (John Wayne) has a saddlebag full of trouble. The owner of the largest ranch in the territory, which also includes a mine and a lumber mill that he built up himself, should be a happy, fulfilled man, but he isn't. His wife, Katherine (Maureen O'Hara), walked out on him Read More

Kings of the Sun

Actors: Yul Brynner, George Chakiris, Shirley Ann Field, Richard Basehart, Brad Dexter

Synopsis: In this historical adventure saga, Balam (George Chakiris) is the son of the ruler of the Mayan people; when his father is killed in battle, Balam succeeds his father as King and leads his followers out of Mexico to a coastal region. The Mayan's new home, however, is already the province of a Read More

The Haunted Palace

Actors: Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney, Jr., Frank Maxwell, Leo Gordon

Synopsis: The Haunted Palace is a witches' brew of stories written by Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft--with the fine hand of sinister scenarist Charles Beaumont stirring the pot. Vincent Price plays two roles this time: A New England doctor burned as a sorcerer in 1745, and the dead man's great-grandson Read More

The Terror

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight, Dick Miller, Dorothy Neumann

Synopsis: In this horror chiller, an intriguing, beautiful woman (Sandra Knight) keeps re-appearing to early 19th-century Lt. Duvalier (Jack Nicholson), and he is led to a castle where he finds an imposter of Baron Von Leppe (Boris Karloff). He becomes trapped in the ancient castle and tries to make sense Read More

Bonanza: The Boss

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Carroll O'Connor

Synopsis: A decidedly pre-All in the Family Carroll O'Connor stars as freight line owner Tom Slayden. Using underhanded and monopolistic tactics, Slayden has managed to crown himself the unofficial boss of Virginia City. The Cartwrights become mixed up with the ruthlessly ambitious Slayden when one of his Read More

The Andy Griffith Show: High Noon in Mayberry

Actors: Leo Gordon

Synopsis: Andy learns to his chagrin that ex-convict Luke Comstock (Leo Gordon) is coming back to Mayberry. Inasmuch as Andy was responsible for sending Luke to jail, everyone in town fears the worst-none more so than Barney, who organizes local lunkheads Gomer Pyle and Billy Ray Belfast (Dub Taylor) into a Read More

Bonanza: The Deadly Ones

Actors: Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Will Kuluva

Synopsis: Will Kuluva guest-stars as General Diaz, a self-styled Mexican patriot who raids gold shipments in order to finance his campaign against the Emperor Maximillian. Taking the Cartwrights hostage, Juarez forces Ben to assist in the robbery of a gold wagon. At first hostile towards Diaz, Ben comes to Read More

Tower of London

Crew: Screen Story, Screenwriter

Actors: Sandra Knight, Vincent Price, Michael Pate, Joan Freeman

Synopsis: Roger Corman's stripped-down remake of Universal's 1939 period classic elevates that film's supporting player Vincent Price to the starring role, essayed in the original by Basil Rathbone. Price chews scenery as hunchbacked mad monarch Richard III, who ascends the throne through murder (including Read More

The Nun and the Sergeant

Actors: Robert Webber, Anna Sten, Leo Gordon, Hari (Harry) Rhodes, Robert Easton

Synopsis: In this war drama set during the Korean War, a grizzled GI must undertake a potentially suicidal mission. He decides not to waste his best soldiers and instead chooses from amongst his very worst. He then attempts to train them. His methods are harsh, and his men hate him. Secretly, they conspire Read More

Tarzan Goes to India

Actors: Jock Mahoney, Leo Gordon, Mark Dana, Feroz Khan

Synopsis: One of a seemingly endless production of Tarzan movies -- still going strong decades later-- this tale by director and co-scripter John Guillermin places the hero in India. Tarzan (Jock Mahoney) is still physically musclebound, but his speech and attitude reflect more of his noble British origins Read More

The Intruder

Actors: William Shatner, Frank Maxwell, Beverly Lunsford, Robert Emhardt, Jeanne Cooper

Synopsis: The Intruder was not only Roger Corman's most daring and unusual film, but a unique movie in the history of cinema, as one of the few theatrical feature films to deal with school desegregation in the South. William Shatner gives the performance of a lifetime as Adam Cramer, a sly, rabble-rousing Read More

Have Gun, Will Travel: The Last Judgment

Synopsis: Riding into a dusty Arkansas town, Paladin is greeted with the spectacle of a man chained in the street. The hapless prisoner turns out to be Dr. Simeon Loving (Donald Randolph), accused of murder by self-appointed "hanging judge" Elroy Greenleaf (Harold J. Stone). At the risk of his own neck Read More

Maverick: Diamond Flush

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: Whenever the betwiching Roxane Berard guest-stars on Maverick, there's bound to be some elegant larceny, with at least one member of the Maverick clan ending up the victim. In this particular episode, Berard is cast as Danielle de Lisle, an apparent damsel in distress who asks Beau Maverick (Roger Read More

Maverick: The Deadly Image

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: Jack Kelly plays a dual role in this episode, as frontier gambler Bart Maverick and his exact lookalike, vicious outlaw Red Claxton. Mistaken for Claxton, who has been systematically stealing army payrolls, Bart is arrested and thrown in the stockade. Sentenced to hang, our hero must somehow break Read More

The Cat Burglar

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: Cat Burglar is an unofficial reworking of 1953's Pickup on South Street. Burglar Jack Hogan steals a briefcase which, unbeknownst to him, contains a valuable secret scientific formula. The owner of the briefcase was on the verge of selling the formula to an unnamed (but somewhat slavic-sounding) Read More

Valley of the Redwoods

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: John Hudson, Lynn Bernay, Ed Nelson, Michael Forest, Robert Shayne

Synopsis: Weakly etched characters are one of the problems in this simple story of three thieves on the run. Wayne (John Hudson), Jan (Lyn Bernay), and Dino (Ed Nelson) try pulling off a heist of a lumber company's payroll, and everything seems to go wrong right from the beginning, in spite of Dino's Read More

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Across the Threshold

Crew: Screen Story

Synopsis: Hubert Wintor (George Grizzard) can't persuade his widowed mother, Sofie (Patricia Collinge), to lend him any money. However, Hubert is more successful talking Sofie into attending a séance staged by a suspicious-looking medium named Irma (Barbara Baxley). In the course of the séance, a voice from Read More

The Untouchables: Head of Fire, Feet of Clay

Synopsis: Nehemiah Persoff, who appeared in the premiere Untouchables episode as mob accountant Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik, returns to the series in the role of crooked gambler Johnny Fortunato. Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is reunited with his former school chum Frank Barber (Jack Warden), now the owner of Read More

Maverick: A Bullet for the Teacher

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: Beau (Roger Moore) finds himself in the middle of some deadly intrigue (not to mention a bitter family feud) when he wins half-ownership of the Golden Wheel Casino. Shortly after this windfall, Bart's new partner Rand Storm is shot and killed in self-defense by dance-hall gal Flo Baker (Kathleen Read More

Maverick: Mano Nera

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: In New Orleans during Mardi Gras, Bart (Jack Kelly) witnesses the murder (or more accurately, the execution) of a wine merchant named Agostino (Joe Garcio). But when he tries to report the crime, Bart is accused of being the murderer himself. It soon develops that the killing was ordered by the Read More

Have Gun, Will Travel: The Sanctuary

Synopsis: En route to Monterey, Paladin (Richard Boone) is detained by a group of men who let him pass only when satisfied that he has never heard of someone named Vernon Good. Upon arrival, Paladin is met by an ill-tempered priest (Albert Salmi)--and by Vernon Good (John Mauldin), who has taken refuge in Read More

Noose for a Gunman

Actors: Jim Davis, Lyn Thomas, Ted de Corsia, Barton MacLane

Synopsis: Jim Davis was light-years away from his role as Larry Hagman's dad on Dallas when he starred in Noose for a Gunman. In this 1960 B oater, Davis is a gunslinger who is appointed town marshal to clean out the criminal element. It isn't long before Davis is kicked out of town on a trumped-up murder Read More

The Untouchables: The St. Louis Story

Synopsis: Behind his respectable veneer as owner of the posh Jockey Club, Dink Conway (David Brian) is actually in charge of all organized crime in St. Louis. Backed up by his top gun Whitey Deering (Leo Gordon), Conway forces all the other hoods in town to play ball with him--and systematically bumps off Read More

Maverick: According to Hoyle

Synopsis: Diane Brewster makes her first appearance as Samantha Crawford, a larcenous lass who proves to be quite a handful for Bret Maverick (James Garner). Claiming to be the daughter of George Cross (Tol Avery), who once lost a great deal of money to Bret, Samantha charms our hero into player poker with Read More

Perry Mason: The Case of the Dangerous Dowager

Synopsis: Wealthy widow Matilda Benson (Kathryn Givney) rules over her children like a dowager empress, threatening to cut them out of her will for the slightest infraction. Even so, the children can't help but get involved with crooked gambler Danny Barker (Robert Strauss), who ends up murdered after Read More

Maverick: The Strange Journey of Jenny Hill

Synopsis: This episode is essentially a showcase for singer Peggy King, who receives a rare "guest star" billing in the opening credits (Ms. King had risen to fame as vocalist on George Gobel's popular comedy-variety series). While searching for a fugitive outlaw, Bret Maverick (James Garner) crosses the Read More

Have Gun, Will Travel: The Fifth Man

Synopsis: Deranged killer Bert Talman (Leo Gordon) escapes from prison and murders four people in the town of Yucca Bend. Curious as to why Talman has remained in the vicinity instead of making a break for full freedom, Paladin (Richard Boone) learns that the most recent murder victims were four of the five Read More

The Jayhawkers

Actors: Jeff Chandler, Fess Parker, Nicole Maurey, Henry Silva, Herbert Rudley

Synopsis: Set in the Kansas territory during the middle of the 19th century, this is a visually evocative but conventional western. The story deals with Darcy (Jeff Chandler), a ruthless man, one of the raiders known as "Jayhawkers" who wants more than what life is willing to offer. Starting out as Read More

Attack of the Giant Leeches

Crew: Screenwriter

Synopsis: This hysterical drive-in favorite pits a community of swamp-dwelling yokels against the silliest-looking monsters since the shag-rug aliens of The Creeping Terror. Despite the strange sucker-marks found on a dead trapper's blood-drained body, and a man's story of seeing his unfaithful wife and her Read More

The Wasp Woman

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Susan Cabot, Barboura Morris, William Roerick

Synopsis: This goofy but entertaining horror cheapie from producer-director Roger Corman and company involves the efforts of a questionable scientist working for cosmetics magnate Susan Cabot, who is developing a new rejuvenating beauty cream derived from an enzyme secreted by wasps, intended to make women Read More

Bonanza: Death on Sun Mountain

Actors: Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Barry Sullivan

Synopsis: Ben Cartwright finds out that Mark Burdette (Barry Sullivan) and Early Thorne (Leo Gordon) have been illegally slaughtering the antelope on the Paiute Indians' property, then selling the meat to the miners at an exorbitant price. To thwart the two poachers and protect the Indians' food supply, Ben Read More

Escort West

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Victor Mature, Elaine Stewart, Faith Domergue, Reba Waters

Synopsis: This trite, low-budget western stars Victor Mature as Ben Lassiter, a former Confederate soldier who is traveling to the Western U.S. with his daughter Abbey (Reba Waters) just after the Civil War. Their journey is interrupted by a group of Union soldiers on patrol and the recent war casts its 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 Notorious Mr. Monks

Synopsis: In this dark drama a hapless hitchhiker takes a ride with a drunk driver who takes him to his house. There he meets the driver's wife and murder ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Disneyland: Tales of Texas John Slaughter: Ambush at Laredo

Synopsis: In the second episode of Walt Disney's 17-part miniseries Tales of Texas John Slaughter, newly installed Texas ranger Slaughter (Tom Tryon) has succeeded in rounding up the last members of Frank Davis' outlaw gang. Unfortunately, Davis (Robert Middleton) has been released on bail and has fled to Read More

Ride a Crooked Trail

Actors: Audie Murphy, Gia Scala, Walter Matthau, Henry Silva, Joanna Moore

Synopsis: Audie Murphy heads the cast of the better-than-usual oater Ride a Crooked Trail. It all begins when gunslinger Joe Maybe (Murphy) is mistaken for a famed U.S. marshal. This wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that Joe has already drawn up plans to rob the town's bank with his cohort Sam Teeler Read More

Disneyland: Tales of Texas John Slaughter: Texas John Slaughter

Synopsis: Of the many TV miniseries produced by Walt Disney for his various weekly anthologies of the '50s and '60s, only Tales of Texas John Slaughter came close to matching the "Davy Crockett" programs in popularity and longevity. Based on fact, the 17-episode saga of Texas Ranger-turned-rancher John Read More

Maverick: Shady Deal at Sunny Acres

Synopsis: In one of Maverick's all-time greatest episodes, Bret (James Garner) is cheated out of $15,000 by "respectable" banker John Bates (John Dehner). Since Bret is unable to reclaim the money through legal means, his brother Bart (Jack Kelly) devises an elaborate sting operation to beat Bates at his Read More

Maverick: Plunder of Paradise

Synopsis: Widow Grace Wheeler (Joan Weldon) tells Bart (Jack Kelly) and his friend Big Mike (Leo Gordon) about a gold mine in Mexico. She even offers to guide them South of the Border and lead them to the treasure's hiding place. Unfortunately, the Mexican government is also interested in laying claim to Read More

Apache Territory

Actors: Rory Calhoun, Barbara Bates, John Dehner, Carolyn Craig, Thomas Pittman

Synopsis: A wandering cowboy endeavors to save a wagon train from an Apache attack in this western that is based upon a Louis L'Amour novel. The settlers are frightened and flee. They all end up dead, but for one little girl, whom the cowboy saves. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Quantrill's Raiders

Actors: Steve Cochran, Leo Gordon, Diane Brewster, Gale Robbins, Will Wright

Synopsis: The oft-told tale of controversial Southern-sympathizing outlaw Quantrill is recounted again in this low-budget western. Leo Gordon, possessor of one of the meanest faces in the movies, plays Quantrill, but top billing is bestowed upon Steve Cochran as Westcott, a Confederate officer assigned to Read More

Hot Car Girl

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Richard Bakalyan, June Kenney, John Brinkley, Robert Knapp, Jana Lund

Synopsis: In this violent drama, a young juvenile delinquent gets into more trouble when he gets involved with a gang that steals auto parts and resells them on the black market to pay for their beer parties. It looks as if he might actually turn his life around after he meets a good-hearted woman, when he Read More

The Cry Baby Killer

Crew: Screen Story, Screenwriter

Actors: Harry Lauter, Jack Nicholson, Carolyn Mitchell, Brett Halsey, Lynn Cartwright

Synopsis: This odd drama features Jack Nicholson, then only 21-years old, in his first feature film. He plays a young delinquent who thinks he may have killed one of the two thugs who were pursuing him. He hides out in a local drive-in where he takes three hostages and barricades himself and them in a Read More

Circus Boy: Season 02

Actors: Mickey Braddock, Noah Beery, Jr., Robert Lowery, Leo Gordon, Billy Barty, Olin Howlin, Eddie Marr, Guinn Williams

Have Gun, Will Travel: Winchester Quarantine

Synopsis: Paladin (Richard Boone) intervenes when he witnesses a gang of toughs harrassing Joseph Whitehouse (Anthony Caruso), a missionary-educated Cherokee who owns a thriving cattle ranch. Investigating the situation, Paladin learns that Whitehorse and his wife Martha (Carol Thurston) have been targeted Read More

Baby Face Nelson

Actors: Mickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric Hardwicke, Christopher Dark, Leo Gordon, Anthony Caruso

Synopsis: Fittingly directed by Illinois native and bad-guy filmmaker Don Siegel, this action-packed film stars Mickey Rooney as the unflinching, trigger-happy member of the infamous Dillinger gang that besieged the Midwest circa 1933. Rooney is Lester "Baby Face Nelson" Gillis and Carolyn Jones his gun Read More

Lure of the Swamp

Synopsis: Based on a novel by Gil Brewer, Lure of the Swamp top-bills Marshall Thompson as a Florida swamp guide. Thompson is hired by mysterious stranger Willard Parker, who intends to a hide a large sum of money somewhere in the deepest recesses of the swamp. It later turns out that Parker is a bank Read More

The Restless Breed

Actors: Scott Brady, Anne Bancroft, Jay C. Flippen, Rhys Williams, Jim Davis

Synopsis: Another of director Allan Dwan's underrated but well-crafted westerns of the 1950s, The Restless Breed stars Scott Brady as a young gunslinger who lives for revenge. When Brady's father is killed by gun runners, he pursues the villains across the Mexican border. Gang leader Jim Davis, beyond the Read More

Man in the Shadow

Actors: Jeff Chandler, Orson Welles, Colleen Miller, Ben Alexander, Barbara Lawrence

Synopsis: Man in the Shadow is a better-than-usual Albert Zugsmith production starring Jeff Chandler as the newly appointed lawman in a corrupt southwestern town. A Mexican laborer has been murdered, a crime which powerful land baron Orson Welles wants the sheriff to ignore. Chandler bucks Welles' wishes Read More

Pay the Devil

Black Patch

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: George Montgomery, Diane Brewster, Thomas Pittman, Leo Gordon, House Peters, Jr.

Synopsis: George Montgomery both produced and starred in the psychological western Black Patch. Written by character actor Leo Gordon (who also appears on screen), the story revolves around one-eyed marshal Clay "Black Patch" Morgan (Montgomery). The marshal is delighted to find out that his old buddy Hank Read More

Maverick [TV Series]

Synopsis: Created by Roy Huggins and debuting September 22, 1957 on ABC, the weekly, hour-long Maverick started out as a relatively straightforward western series with a slight twist: The main characters were professional gamblers rather than lawmen or gunslingers. James Garner and Jack Kelly starred Read More

The Tall Stranger

Actors: Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Barry Kelley, Michael Ansara, Whit Bissell

Synopsis: Joel McCrea essays the title role in this moody little western. McCrea is a Union officer wounded in battle, who joins up with a wagon train heading westward. He is ostracized by those passengers who'd fought on the Confederate side, though leading lady Virginia Mayo welcomes his presence. McCrea Read More

Maverick: War of the Silver Kings

Synopsis: The premiere episode of Maverick opens with a characteristic grace-note from director Budd Boetticher, in which Bret Maverick (James Garner) rides into the town of Echo Springs, caked with trail dust and dressed in seedy "cowboy" clothes--only to re-emerge a few moments later as the well-groomed Read More

Seventh Cavalry

Actors: Randolph Scott, Barbara Hale, Jay C. Flippen, Jeanette Nolan, Frank Faylen

Synopsis: Though the film's title may suggest otherwise, Seventh Cavalry takes place after Custer's Last Stand. Randolph Scott stars as Cavalry officer Tom Benson, who is branded a coward after supposedly deserting at the Little Big Horn. Benson hopes to redeem himself by personally leading a burial detail Read More

Johnny Concho

Actors: Frank Sinatra, Keenan Wynn, William Conrad, Phyllis Kirk, Wallace Ford, Christopher Dark

Synopsis: Coadapted by David Harmon from his own TV play, the psychological western Johnny Concho stars Frank Sinatra as the title character, a callow young punk who lives off the reputation of his gunslinger brother. Most of the townsfolk consider Johnny to be nothing more than a cowardly bully; only Mary Read More

Great Day in the Morning

Actors: Virginia Mayo, Robert Stack, Ruth Roman, Alex Nicol, Raymond Burr

Synopsis: When gold is discovered in the Colorado Territory at the start of the Civil War, Confederate Owen Pentecost (Robert Stack) and Union agent Stephen Kirby (Alex Nicol) battle with each other in a struggle to obtain the most gold to give to their respective armies. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide Read More

The Man Who Knew Too Much

Actors: James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda de Banzie, Bernard Miles, Daniel Gélin, Ralph Truman

Synopsis: The debate still rages as to whether Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much is superior to his own original 1934 version. This two-hour remake (45 minutes longer than the first film) features more stars, a lusher budget, and the plaintive music of Bernard Herrmann (who Read More

Gunsmoke: Hack Prine

Synopsis: Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) welcomes his old friend Hack Prine (Leo Gordon) to Dodge City. What Dillon doesn't know is that Hack is now a hired killer--and his latest assignment is to gun down Matt, so that Dolph Trimble (George D. Wallace) can help his outlaw brother Lee (Hal Baylor) bust Read More

The Conqueror

Actors: John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendáriz, Agnes Moorehead, Thomas Gomez

Synopsis: In the historical epic The Conqueror, John Wayne stars as Temujin, better known as Genghis Khan. Red-haired Susan Hayward costars as Bortai, the Tartar princess whom Temujin claims as the spoils of battle. Eventually, Bortai's hatred for her captor metamorphoses into love, while Temujin's hordes Read More

Circus Boy: Season 01

Actors: Mickey Braddock, Noah Beery, Jr., Robert Lowery, Leo Gordon, Billy Barty, Olin Howlin, Eddie Marr, Guinn Williams

Red Sundown

Actors: Rory Calhoun, Martha Hyer, Dean Jagger, Robert Middleton, Grant Williams

Synopsis: Strong acting and direction overcomes the more cliched aspects of Red Sundown. It all begins when gunslinger Alec Longmire (Rory Calhoun), weary of living up to his reputation, decides to hang up his firearms and start life anew as a cowpuncher. Before long, however, Alec is obliged to strap on Read More

The Steel Jungle

Actors: Perry Lopez, Beverly Garland, Walter Abel, Ted de Corsia, Kenneth Tobey

Synopsis: The Steel Jungle is the prison where most of this film takes place. Perry Lopez heads the cast as two-bit bookie Ed Novak, who goes to jail rather than squeal on his Syndicate higher-ups. Novak's silence exacts a toll on his wife Frances (Beverly Garland), who is expecting a child. The longer he Read More

Seven Angry Men

Actors: Raymond Massey, Debra Paget, Dennis Weaver, Jeffrey Hunter, Larry Pennell, Leo Gordon

Synopsis: In Seven Angry Men, Raymond Massey stars as controversial 19th-century abolitionist John Brown, a role he'd previously essayed in 1940's Santa Fe Trail. Without glossing over Brown's murderous fanaticism and cold-bloodedness, the film manages to invoke a degree of sympathy for the man, whose Read More

Soldier of Fortune

Actors: Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Gene Barry, Alex D'Arcy

Synopsis: The first of two Clark Gable films produced by 20th Century-Fox, Soldier of Fortune casts Gable as an American mercenary, running a successful smuggling operation in and out of Hong Kong. Gable is hired by Susan Hayward, who hopes to locate her missing husband, photographer Gene Barry. Upon Read More

Man With the Gun

Actors: Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling, Karen Sharpe, Henry Hull, Emile G. Meyer

Synopsis: The Man with the Gun in this well-paced western is played by Robert Mitchum. A notorious gunslinger, Mitchum has been hired by a group of concerned citizens to restore law and order to the wide-open town of Sheridan City. Before long, however, Mitchum holds the community in a grip of terror Read More

Robbers' Roost

Actors: George Montgomery, Richard Boone, Sylvia Findley, Bruce Bennett, Peter Graves

Synopsis: The 1955 western Robbers' Roost was the second film version of the venerable Zane Grey yarn. George Montgomery stars as a taciturn outlaw who lands an honest job on the spread managed by physically disabled Bruce Bennett. When Bennett's sister Sylvia Findley is kidnapped by crooked Richard Boone Read More

Santa Fe Passage

Actors: John Payne, Faith Domergue, Rod Cameron, Slim Pickens, Irene Tedrow

Synopsis: In this western, a man is falsely accused of betraying a wagon train to the Apaches and is punished by his employers, but not fired. His boss gives him a second chance and the man is assigned to make sure that an arms shipment makes it safely through the Indian land. The woman who owns the Read More

Riot in Cell Block 11

Actors: Neville Brand, Emile G. Meyer, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, Robert Osterloh

Synopsis: The best film of Don Siegel's career to date, this surprisingly intelligent B-picture describes the dramatic arc of an organized rebellion at Folsom prison. The inmates, who are sick of living conditions which include rundown cells, brutal guards, dreadful food, and the presence of the seriously Read More

Sign of the Pagan

Actors: Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance, Ludmilla Tcherina, Rita Gam, Jeff Morrow

Synopsis: Jeff Chandler may be the top-billed star of Sign of the Pagan, but the film belongs to Jack Palance, cast as no less than Attila the Hun. As Attila's hordes advance upon Rome, noble centurion Marcian (Chandler) mounts a counteroffensive. Alas, the Scourge of God cannot be stopped by weaponry or Read More

The Yellow Mountain

Actors: Lex Barker, Mala Powers, Howard Duff, William Demarest, John McIntire

Synopsis: Lex Barker trades his Tarzan loincloth for buckskins in the Universal western Yellow Mountain. Barker stars as gold prospector Andy Martin, who has a serious falling out with his partner Pete Menlo (Howard Duff) over the affections of pretty Nevada Wray (Mala Powers). But Andy and Pete patch up Read More

The Bamboo Prison

Actors: Robert Francis, Dianne Foster, Brian Keith, Jerome Courtland, E.G. Marshall

Synopsis: American POWs struggle to escape from a North Korean camp. While this is basically a remake of Stalag 17, it does feature interesting scenes of a North Korean brainwashing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Tennessee's Partner

Actors: John Payne, Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, Coleen Gray, Anthony Caruso

Synopsis: Another winning collaboration between producer Benedict Bogeaus and director Allan Dwan, Tennessee's Partner is the third film version of the same-named Bret Harte story. The plotline is motivated by the curious friendship between slick gambler Tennessee (John Payne) and gunslinging Cowpoke Read More

Ten Wanted Men

Actors: Randolph Scott, Jocelyn Brando, Richard Boone, Alfonso Bedoya, Donna Martell

Synopsis: Randolph Scott is tall in the saddle once more in the Scott-Brown production Ten Wanted Men. The star is cast as John Stewart, who attempts to establish law and order on his vast Arizona spread without resorting to violence. Less peacefully inclined is Stewart's chief rival Wick Campbell (Richard Read More

City of Bad Men

Actors: Jeanne Crain, Dale Robertson, Richard Boone, Lloyd Bridges, Carole Mathews

Synopsis: Unlike many westerns, City of Bad Men is placed within a specific historical time frame. The scene is Carson City, Nevada, in the year 1897. As the city prepares itself for the much-ballyhooed prizefight between Gentleman Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons, soldier-of-fortune Brett Stanton (Dale Robertson Read More

Hondo

Actors: John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Ward Bond, Michael Pate, James Arness

Synopsis: Hondo is so "perfect" a John Ford western that many people assume it was directed by John Ford--or at the very least, Andrew McLaglen. Actually the director was suspense expert John Farrow, who worked with the "Duke" only twice in his career (the second film was an oddball war drama, The Sea Chase Read More

China Venture

Actors: Edmond O'Brien, Barry Sullivan, Jocelyn Brando, Leo Gordon, Richard Loo

Synopsis: In late 1944, an American guerilla unit led by Capt. Matt Reardon (Edmond O'Brien) learns that a Japanese plane carrying Admiral Amara (Philip Ahn) has crashed in China, in warlord-held territory. Reardon and his men are placed under the command of Naval Intelligence officer Commander Bert Read More

All the Brothers Were Valiant

Actors: Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, Ann Blyth, Keenan Wynn

Synopsis: Previously adapted to film in 1923, Ben Ames Williams' rousing sea adventure All the Brothers Were Valiant was given the prestige MGM treatment in 1953. Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger star as seafaring siblings Joel and Mark Shore. When Mark disappears during a whaling expedition, Joel and his Read More

Gun Fury

Actors: Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Philip Carey

Synopsis: Originally shot in 3-D, Gun Fury opens with wealthy rancher Ben Warren (Rock Hudson) and his fiancée Jennifer Ballard (Donna Reed) aboard a stagecoach bound for California. Having recently fought in the Civil War, Ben is looking forward to returning to a peaceful life with his soon-to-be wife. Read More