Sam Jaffe Filmography

On the Line

Actors: David Carradine, Scott Wilson, Victoria Abril, Sam Jaffe

Synopsis: Essentially a tale of romance mixed in with a dash of politics, this engrossing story involves Engracia (Victoria Abril), a young Mexican prostitute working just south of the border with the U.S., and two American border guards who are among her clients: Mitch (Scott Wilson), a tough Read More

Adventure 1: Trailers on Tape

Synopsis: Wanna see a movie in 3 minutes? Then Adventure 1: Trailers on Tape is right up your alley. Here is a collection of some of Hollywood's finest "trailers" -- not the mobile-home variety, but instead those "previews of coming attractions" reels that have whetted viewers' appetites over the past six Read More

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

Actors: George Stevens, Jr., George Stevens, Montgomery Clift, Brandon de Wilde, Fred Astaire, James Dean, Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Katharine Hepburn, Rock Hudson, Sam Jaffe, Jean Arthur

Synopsis: The man who assembled the remarkable documentary George Stevens: A Filmaker's Journey had the benefit of knowing the subject intimately: the film was written, produced and directed by George Stevens Jr. Utilizing pristine-quality filmclips and interviews, Stevens Jr. details Stevens Sr.'s rise Read More

West of Hester Street

Synopsis: Though most Jewish immigrants came to the U.S. via ports on the east coast, this video tells the story of those Jews who moved away from the major centers of New York, Baltimore, and Boston. Galveston, Texas was chosen by American Jewish leaders as a new port of entry in an attempt to combat Read More

Gideon's Trumpet

Actors: Henry Fonda, John Houseman, José Ferrer, Fay Wray

Synopsis: In the tradition of his earlier work in Grapes of Wrath and Twelve Angry Men, Henry Fonda played another social-protest role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV presentation Gideon's Trumpet. Clarence Earl Gideon (Fonda) is a poor, ill-tempered Florida handyman who is arrested for petty larceny in Read More

Battle Beyond the Stars

Actors: Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard, John Saxon, Darlanne Fluegel

Synopsis: Produced by Roger Corman and scripted by John Sayles, Battle Beyond the Stars is a cheerfully blatant imitation of The Seven Samurai (or at least the American remake The Magnificent Seven). A peaceloving planet is attacked by malevolent aliens. The powers-that-be hire a group of mercenaries Read More

Kojak: Tears for All Who Loved Her

Synopsis: Crocker (Kevin Dobson) is assigned to investigate the murder of mob boss Robert Austin (Fred Beir). In the course of events, the detective finds himself falling in love with Austin's beautiful widow Carol (Jennifer Warren). What he doesn't know is that Carol herself is the murderer--and is Read More

Columbo: Forgotten Lady

Synopsis: This 2-hour TV movie stars Janet Leigh as a onetime musical star who dreams of a comeback. Leigh's autocratic and much-older husband Sam Jaffe refuses to finance her re-entry into show business. Leigh responds by killing Jaffe and placing the blame elsewhere. The plan almost works....and then Read More

S.W.A.T.: Omega One

Actors: Steve Forrest, Rod Perry, Robert Urich, Mark Shera, James Coleman

Synopsis: A group of radical student protestors intend to stage a spectacular demonstration against the use of bacteriological weapons. In preparation, they steal a cache of high-powered weapons. The next step: taking over a nuclear reactor and grabbing several hostages. The SWAT team must defuse the Read More

The Streets of San Francisco: Mister Nobody

Synopsis: In one of his last TV roles, Sam Jaffe guest stars as Alex Zubatuk, a retired cobbler. When Zubatuk comes forth and confesses to a killing, detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) are reluctant to take the old man at face value. And for good reason: what the viewer knows (but Read More

Enemies

Actors: Sam Jaffe, Ned Glasser

Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster?

Synopsis: Ernest Borgnine plays alcoholic vagabond Sam Hill in this pilot film for a potential western detective series. Sam Hill is appointed sheriff of a one-horse town, then promptly becomes mixed up in a murder case. The victim was a preacher who was collecting $10,000 to build a new church; the money Read More

Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?

Synopsis: This comedy murder mystery and pilot for a series that never materialized, has Ernest Borgnine as western sheriff Sam Hill, who has a whole lot of trouble on his hands when he discovers the dead body of the town's newly arrived minister. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide Read More

The Tell-Tale Heart

Synopsis: Steve Carver directs Sam Jaffe in Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale of man who kills his torturous boss and stores the body within the bowels of his own house. Once the deed is done, the young man is driven into madness by his crime, and imagines -- or does he? -- the persistent beating of his Read More

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Actors: Ian Weighall, Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jaffe, John Ericson

Synopsis: Bedknobs and Broomsticks was produced several years after Walt Disney's death and released in the fall of 1971. As it turned out, Bedknobs was frequently compared to Mary Poppins -- probably thanks to several striking similarities between the two productions, notably the presence in the cast of David Tomlinson Read More

The Old Man Who Cried Wolf

Actors: Edward G. Robinson, Sam Jaffe

Synopsis: An unusually popular ABC Movie of the Week, The Old Man Who Cried Wolf stars Edward G. Robinson as an elderly shopkeeper who witnesses the killing of his oldest friend (Sam Jaffee). Unfortunately Robinson can convince no one--not the police, his own family nor even those closest to Read More

The Dunwich Horror

Actors: Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell, Ed Begley, Sr., Sam Jaffe, Donna Baccala

Synopsis: With a style and tone that wreaks of the late '60s, this cheap-looking adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story plays like an obvious reference to the battle between the establishment and the counterculture. The film stars Dean Stockwell as Wilbur Whateley, a brooding young man who makes a connection Read More

Quarantined

Actors: Gary Collins, John Dehner, Sharon Farrell

Synopsis: Quarantined is set in a clinic maintained by a famous family of physicians. Dr. John Dehner and his son Dr. Gary Collins struggle to control a widespread cholera epidemic. One plot complication involves a testy movie star (Sharon Farrell), who refuses treatment when she exhibits the symptoms of Read More

Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion

Synopsis: This jungle adventure is comprised of two episodes from the 1966-69 TV show. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

The Great Bank Robbery

Actors: Zero Mostel, Kim Novak, Clint Walker, Claude Akins, Akim Tamiroff

Synopsis: In this western comedy, a bogus evangelist and his assistant travel to the town of Friendly and endeavor to rob the West's purportedly most unrobbable bank. Unfortunately, they are not the only bandits planning to rob the bank. Their rivals in robbery include a Mexican bandido and his dullard son. Read More

Night Gallery [TV Series]

Actors: Tom Bosley, Joan Crawford, Richard Kiley

Synopsis: In the two-hour pilot film for the subsequent TV "occult" anthology, series creator Rod Serling hosts three macabre short stories, introducing each with a framed portrait in a nocturnal art gallery. The first story stars Roddy MacDowall as a covetous nephew who murders his uncle, suffering the Read More

La Bataille de San Sebastian

Actors: Anthony Quinn, Anjanette Comer, Charles Bronson, Sam Jaffe, Silvia Pinal

Synopsis: In this French/Italian co-production set in Mexico in 1746, Alastray (Anthony Quinn), a gunman on the run from the law, happens upon a Franciscan priest, Father Joseph (Sam Jaffe), while in flight. Father Joseph shows mercy on the fugitive and allows Alastray to stay with him, but when the locals Read More

A Guide for the Married Man

Actors: Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, Inger Stevens, Sue Ane Langdon, Claire Kelly

Synopsis: Ed Stander (Robert Morse), with the help of an all-star cast, teaches Paul Manning (Walter Matthau) the fine art of philandering in A Guide for the Married Man. Paul, happily married to sexy Ruth (Inger Stevens), has no burning desire to cheat, but Ed makes the prospect sound very attractive. Read More

Bonanza: The Emperor Norton

Actors: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Sam Jaffe, Parley Baer

Synopsis: Joshua Norton was a real-life character in 19th century San Francisco, formerly a man of wealth who in middle age declared himself "Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico", even going so far as to purchase a resplendant uniform (complete with plumed hat) for the occasion. Amused by Read More

Ben Casey: Season 04

Actors: Vince Edwards, Sam Jaffe, Bettye Ackerman, Harry Landers, Nick Dennis

Ben Casey: Season 03

Actors: Vince Edwards, Sam Jaffe, Bettye Ackerman, Harry Landers, Nick Dennis

Ben Casey: Season 02

Actors: Vince Edwards, Sam Jaffe, Bettye Ackerman, Harry Landers, Nick Dennis

The Untouchables: Augie

Synopsis: Having been on the side of the law as one of the original "Untouchables" in the series' two-part pilot film, Keenan Wynn returns in the despicably villainous role of Augie "The Banker" Ciamino. Terrorizing his fellow Italian immigrants into submission, Ciamino forces them to set up small stills in Read More

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Greatest Monster of Them All

Synopsis: Once one of the biggest names in Hollywood, horror-movie star Ernest Von Kroft is now regarded as a pathetic has-been by everyone -- except, apparently, low-budget producer Hal Ballew (Sam Jaffe). With Ballew's sponsorship, Von Croft stages a comeback in a new vampire movie, only to discover on Read More

Ben Casey: Season 01

Actors: Vince Edwards, Sam Jaffe, Bettye Ackerman, Harry Landers, Nick Dennis

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Ikon of Elijah

Synopsis: Cypriot shopkeeper Carpius (Oscar Homolka) falls in love with the beautiful Elptheria (Danielle de Metz), promising to give her anything her heart desires. To demonstrate the length and breadth of his devotion, Carpius sneaks into a monastery in search of the rare Ikon of Elijah, which he plans to Read More

Ben-Hur

Actors: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith

Synopsis: This 1959 version of Lew Wallace's best-selling novel, which had already seen screen versions in 1907 and 1926, went on to win 11 Academy Awards. Adapted by Karl Tunberg and a raft of uncredited writers including Gore Vidal and Maxwell Anderson, the film once more recounts the tale of Jewish Read More

The Barbarian and the Geisha

Actors: John Wayne, Eiko Ando, Sam Jaffe, So Yamamura, Norman Thomson

Synopsis: John Wayne's only collaboration with director John Huston turned out to be a major career misstep for both men. Barbarian and the Geisha is the true story of Townsend Harris (Wayne), who in 1856 was appointed the first American consul to Japan. Headquartered in Shimoda, Harris discovers that the Read More

Les Espions

Actors: Curd Jürgens, Gerard Sety, Véra Clouzot, Sam Jaffe, Peter Ustinov

Synopsis: Filmed in 1955, Les Espions (The Spies) was based on Midnight Patient, a novel by Egon Hostowsky. The scene is a rundown sanitarium, which is subtly but thoroughly taken over by a ruthless gang of international spies. One of the new "patients" is purportedly the inventor of a new nuclear explosive Read More

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Actors: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray

Synopsis: All of Washington, D.C., is thrown into a panic when an extraterrestrial spacecraft lands near the White House. Out steps Klaatu (Michael Rennie, in a role intended for Claude Rains), a handsome and soft-spoken interplanetary traveler, whose "bodyguard" is Gort (Lock Martin), a huge robot who Read More

I Can Get It for You Wholesale

Actors: Susan Hayward, Dan Dailey, George Sanders, Sam Jaffe, Randy Stuart

Synopsis: Money, romance, betrayal, double-dealing -- who knew making dresses could be so interesting? Harriet Boyd (Susan Hayward) is a fashion model who has landed plenty of work with a Seventh Avenue dress-making concern. However, Harriet knows that she can't be a model forever, so she is trying to turn Read More

The Asphalt Jungle

Actors: Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, James Whitmore, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe

Synopsis: The Asphalt Jungle is a brilliantly conceived and executed anatomy of a crime -- or, as director John Huston and scripter Ben Maddow put it, "a left-handed form of human endeavor." Recently paroled master criminal Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe), with funding from crooked attorney Emmerich Read More

Under the Gun

Actors: Richard Conte, Audrey Totter, John McIntire, Sam Jaffe, Shepperd Strudwick

Synopsis: Richard Conte plays a big-city racketeer whose luck runs out on him. He is sent to a Southern prison, but vows to be out and about before long. Applying a little psychology and a lot of cynicism, Conte manages to pull off his escape by firing only one shot. He wheedles his way into becoming a Read More

Rope of Sand

Actors: Burt Lancaster, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Sam Jaffe

Synopsis: Producer Hal Wallis evidently hoped to recapture the magic of his earlier Casablanca with 1949's Rope of Sand. To that end, he hired three of Casablanca's supporting players: Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, and Peter Lorre. This time, Henreid is the villain, a sadistic police inspector named Paul Read More

The Accused

Actors: Loretta Young, Robert Cummings, Wendell Corey, Sam Jaffe, Douglas Dick

Synopsis: The Accused is a mystery melodrama with a predictable plot involving blackmail, attempted rape and murder. Loretta Young stars as Wilma Tuttle, a prim and proper college professor who unwittingly arouses the libido of student Bill Perry (Douglas Dick). When Perry tries to rape Wilma under cover of Read More

Gentleman's Agreement

Actors: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm, June Havoc

Synopsis: Adapted by Moss Hart from the novel by Laura Z. Hobson, this film stars Gregory Peck as recently widowed journalist Phil Green. With a growing son (Dean Stockwell) to support, Green is receptive to the invitation of magazine publisher John Minify (Albert Dekker) to write a series of hard-hitting Read More

13 Rue Madeleine

Actors: James Cagney, Annabella, Roland Belanger, Richard Conte, Frank Latimore, Walter Abel

Synopsis: This film is not only a revealing glimpse into the workings of the O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services) during WW II, but it is also a full-fledged spy thriller. An excellent cast includes James Cagney, Karl Malden, E.G. Marshall, and Red Buttons. Cagney stars as an O.S.S. training officer, bent Read More

Stage Door Canteen

Actors: Cheryl Walker, William Terry, Marjorie Riordan, Lon McCallister, Margaret Early

Synopsis: This star-studded musical drama was largely financed by Theatre Guild, with all proceeds going to various wartime fundraising concerns. Most of the story takes place at the Stage Door Canteen, a Manhattan-based home away from home for soldiers, sailors and marines (the real-life Canteen on 44th Read More

Gunga Din

Actors: Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Sam Jaffe, Eduardo Ciannelli, Joan Fontaine

Synopsis: Though Rudyard Kipling's poem Gunga Din makes a swell recital piece, it cannot be said to have much of a plot. It's simply a crude cockney soldier's tribute to a native Indian water boy who remains at his job even after being mortally wounded. Hardly the sort of material upon which to build 118 Read More

Lost Horizon

Actors: Ronald Colman, Edward Everett Horton, H.B. Warner, Jane Wyatt, Sam Jaffe, John Howard, Margo

Synopsis: It took British author James Hilton six weeks to write his visionary novel Lost Horizon. It took director Frank Capra two years-and half of his home studio Columbia's annual budget-to bring it to the screen. After a lengthy preamble, inviting audiences to imagine their own ideas of Utopia, the Read More

We Live Again

Actors: Anna Sten, Fredric March, Jane Baxter, C. Aubrey Smith, Ethel Griffies, Sam Jaffe

Synopsis: We Live Again was based on Tolstoy's Resurrection; the title was changed upon producer Sam Goldwyn's theory that it meant the same thing as Resurrection and was easier to understand. The film was meant as an introductory showcase for Goldwyn's latest discovery, Russian actress Anna Sten. The Read More

The Scarlet Empress

Actors: Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser, Maria Sieber

Synopsis: Of the two 1934 film versions of the life of Russia's Catherine the Great, Josef von Sternberg's The Scarlet Empress was the most opulent and exotic. Marlene Dietrich plays the German-born Catherine, who is required to marry Russia's mad Grand Duke Peter (Sam Jaffe, decked out in a Harpo Marx Read More