Kenneth Tobey
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Tobey was an American
stage, television, and film actor
.
, Tobey was headed for a law career when he first dabbled in acting at the University of California
Little Theater. That experience led to a year-and-a-half of study at New York's
Neighborhood Playhouse
, where his classmates included fellow University of California at Berkeley Alumni Eldred Gregory Peck
, Eli Wallach
and Tony Randall
. Throughout the 1940s, Tobey acted on Broadway
and in stock; he made his film debut in a 1943 short, The Man of the Ferry. He made his Hollywood film debut in a Hopalong Cassidy
Western, and went on to appear in scores of features and on numerous television series. He was a sentry guard who was dressed down by General Savage (played by Gregory Peck) in Twelve O' Clock High. A brief comedy bit in I Was a Male War Bride
caught the attention of director Howard Hawks
, who promised to use Tobey in something more substantial.
, playing Captain Patrick Hendry, a United States Air Force
pilot and leader of the arctic polar station's dogged defense against the movie's title character, as portrayed by James Arness
. That role led to other sci-fi film roles in the 1950s, usually cast in the role of a military man, particularly The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
(1953), and It Came from Beneath the Sea
(1956).
series Biff Baker, U.S.A.
an espionage drama starring Alan Hale, Jr.
He appeared too in the 1954-1955 CBS legal drama
, The Public Defender
, starring Reed Hadley
. He guest starred in three episodes of NBC
's western
anthology television series
, Frontier
. His Frontier roles were Wade Trippe in "In Nebraska" (1955) and as Gabe Sharp in "Out from Texas" and "The Hostage" (1956). In 1955, he also portrayed legendary frontiersman Jim Bowie
on ABC
's Davy Crockett, a Walt Disney
Production starring Fess Parker
in the title role. After Bowie's death at the Battle of the Alamo
, Tobey played a second character, Jocko, in the two final Crockett episodes.
Thereafter, he appeared in the syndicated
series Sheriff of Cochise
starring John Bromfield
. In 1957, he co-starred with John Wayne
and Maureen O'Hara
in John Ford
's The Wings of Eagles
.
In 1957, Tobey launched his own television series The Whirlybirds
, a successful syndicated adventure
produced by Desilu Studios, in which he played the co-owner of a helicopter
charter service. It was a major hit in the U.S. and abroad, with 111 episodes filmed through 1959. It remained in syndication worldwide for many years.
In 1960, he guest starred in the episode "West of Boston" of the NBC western series, Overland Trail
starring William Bendix
and Doug McClure
.
In 1978, he appeared as Captain Gordon Trigg, captain of the Washington State ferry MV Klickitat, in the two hour Emergency!
episode "The Most Deadly Passage."
opposite Sammy Davis, Jr.
in the musical version of Clifford Odets
' play Golden Boy
. He became a semi-regular on the NBC series I Spy as the field boss of agents Robinson and Scott. Chris Nyby, director of The Thing, was often director of these episodes. Tobey continued to work in features and television through the 1970s and 1980s, appearing in such movies as Billy Jack
, Walking Tall
, and Airplane!
.
, the war movie MacArthur
where he portrayed Admiral Halsey, and the comedies Big Top Pee-wee
, and Gremlins 2: The New Batch
.
, who considered Tobey a good-luck charm. Two appearances on the sit-com Night Court
came the same way, through fans of his work. Along with other character actors who had been in 1950s sci-fi and horror movies (John Agar, Robert O. Cornthwaite, Gloria Talbott, etc.), Tobey starred in a spoof originally titled Attack Of The B Movie Monster. In 2005, Anthem Pictures released the completed feature version on DVD under the new title, The Naked Monster
. Tobey's scenes were actually shot in 1985, but this posthumously became his final released film credit. Tobey made a memorable appearance in the 1994 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
episode "Shadowplay" as Rurigan, an alien who recreated his dead friends as holograms, and frequent appearances on L.A. Law
as a judge.
Tobey died of natural causes in 2002 in Rancho Mirage, California at age 85. He was cremated.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage, television, and film actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early years
Born in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Tobey was headed for a law career when he first dabbled in acting at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
Little Theater. That experience led to a year-and-a-half of study at New York's
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Neighborhood Playhouse
Neighborhood Playhouse
The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is an actor training school at 340 East 54th Street in New York City, generally associated with the Meisner technique of Sanford Meisner.-History:...
, where his classmates included fellow University of California at Berkeley Alumni Eldred Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
and Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
. Throughout the 1940s, Tobey acted on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and in stock; he made his film debut in a 1943 short, The Man of the Ferry. He made his Hollywood film debut in a Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of popular short stories and twenty-eight novels based on the character....
Western, and went on to appear in scores of features and on numerous television series. He was a sentry guard who was dressed down by General Savage (played by Gregory Peck) in Twelve O' Clock High. A brief comedy bit in I Was a Male War Bride
I Was a Male War Bride
I Was a Male War Bride is a 1949 comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan.This film was based on I was an Alien Spouse of Female Military Personnel Enroute to the United States Under Public Law 271 of the Congress, a biography of Henri Rochard, a Belgian who...
caught the attention of director Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
, who promised to use Tobey in something more substantial.
The Thing from Another World
In 1951, Tobey was cast in Hawks' production The Thing from Another WorldThe Thing from Another World
The Thing from Another World , is a 1951 science fiction film based on the 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell . It tells the story of an Air Force crew and scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight a malevolent plant-based alien being...
, playing Captain Patrick Hendry, a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
pilot and leader of the arctic polar station's dogged defense against the movie's title character, as portrayed by James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
. That role led to other sci-fi film roles in the 1950s, usually cast in the role of a military man, particularly The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a...
(1953), and It Came from Beneath the Sea
It Came from Beneath the Sea
It Came from Beneath the Sea is an American science fiction film produced by Sam Katzman and Charles Schneer for Columbia Pictures, from a script by George Worthing Yates designed to showcase the special model-animated effects of Ray Harryhausen. It was directed by Robert Gordon and stars Kenneth...
(1956).
Television
Tobey appeared in the episode "Counterfeit Plates" of the 1952-1953 CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
series Biff Baker, U.S.A.
Biff Baker, U.S.A.
Biff Baker, U.S.A. is an American crime drama television series that aired on CBS from November 6, 1952, to March 26, 1953 starring Alan Hale, Jr. as Cold War spy Biff Baker.-Synopsis:...
an espionage drama starring Alan Hale, Jr.
Alan Hale, Jr.
Alan Hale, Jr. was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Skipper on the popular sitcom Gilligan's Island. Hale was the lookalike son of popular supporting film actor Alan Hale, Sr....
He appeared too in the 1954-1955 CBS legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
, The Public Defender
The Public Defender (TV series)
The Public Defender is a half-hour 69-episode television dramatic series starring Reed Hadley as Bart Matthews, an attorney for the indigent. The series aired on CBS from March 11, 1954 to June 23, 1955, a season and a half.-Premise:...
, starring Reed Hadley
Reed Hadley
Reed Hadley was an American movie, television and radio actor.Reed Hadley was born Reed Herring in Petrolia in Clay County near Wichita Falls, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one sister, Bess Brenner. He was reared in Buffalo, New York...
. He guest starred in three episodes of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
anthology television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, Frontier
Frontier (1955 TV series)
This program should not be confused with Frontiers , the British program Frontier , Frontier Justice , Frontier Circus, or Frontier Doctor....
. His Frontier roles were Wade Trippe in "In Nebraska" (1955) and as Gabe Sharp in "Out from Texas" and "The Hostage" (1956). In 1955, he also portrayed legendary frontiersman Jim Bowie
Jim Bowie
James "Jim" Bowie , a 19th-century American pioneer, slave trader, land speculator, and soldier, played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Davy Crockett, a Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
Production starring Fess Parker
Fess Parker
Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Walt Disney 1955-56 TV mini-series and as TV's Daniel Boone from 1964-70...
in the title role. After Bowie's death at the Battle of the Alamo
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar . All but two of the Texian defenders were killed...
, Tobey played a second character, Jocko, in the two final Crockett episodes.
Thereafter, he appeared in the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
series Sheriff of Cochise
Sheriff of Cochise
Sheriff of Cochise , renamed U.S. Marshal , is a 58-episode syndicated western-themed crime drama set in Arizona and starring John Bromfield as law enforcement officer Frank Morgan. In the first two seasons, Morgan was sheriff of Cochise County...
starring John Bromfield
John Bromfield
John Bromfield was an American film and television actor.Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion in college. He served in the United States Navy. In 1948, he twice harpooned a whale in the documentary film Harpoon...
. In 1957, he co-starred with John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
in John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
's The Wings of Eagles
The Wings of Eagles
The Wings of Eagles is a 1957 Metrocolor film about Frank "Spig" Wead and US Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is a tribute to Wead from his friend, director John Ford....
.
In 1957, Tobey launched his own television series The Whirlybirds
Whirlybirds
Whirlybirds is an American drama television series....
, a successful syndicated adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
produced by Desilu Studios, in which he played the co-owner of a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
charter service. It was a major hit in the U.S. and abroad, with 111 episodes filmed through 1959. It remained in syndication worldwide for many years.
In 1960, he guest starred in the episode "West of Boston" of the NBC western series, Overland Trail
Overland Trail (TV series)
Overland Trail is a short-lived American Western series which aired on NBC from February 7 to June 6, 1960. The series starred William Bendix and Doug McClure,-Synopsis:...
starring William Bendix
William Bendix
William Bendix was an American film, radio, and television actor, best remembered in movies for the title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story and for portraying clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley...
and Doug McClure
Doug McClure
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
.
In 1978, he appeared as Captain Gordon Trigg, captain of the Washington State ferry MV Klickitat, in the two hour Emergency!
Emergency!
Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
episode "The Most Deadly Passage."
Broadway
In 1964, he began a long run on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
opposite Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
in the musical version of Clifford Odets
Clifford Odets
Clifford Odets was an American playwright, screenwriter, socialist, and social protester.-Early life:Odets was born in Philadelphia to Romanian- and Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Louis Odets and Esther Geisinger, and raised in Philadelphia and the Bronx, New York. He dropped out of high...
' play Golden Boy
Golden Boy
Golden Boy is a drama by Clifford Odets. The play was initially produced on Broadway by The Group Theatre in 1937. Odets' biggest hit was made into a 1939 film of the same name, starring William Holden in his breakthrough role, and also served as the basis for a 1964 musical.-Plot:It focuses on Joe...
. He became a semi-regular on the NBC series I Spy as the field boss of agents Robinson and Scott. Chris Nyby, director of The Thing, was often director of these episodes. Tobey continued to work in features and television through the 1970s and 1980s, appearing in such movies as Billy Jack
Billy Jack
Billy Jack is a 1971 action film. It is the second, and highest grossing, in a series of motion pictures centering on a character of the same name, played by Tom Laughlin who also directed and co-wrote the script. Filming began in Prescott, Arizona, in fall 1969, but the movie was not completed...
, Walking Tall
Walking Tall
Walking Tall is a 1973 semi-biopic of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker as Pusser...
, and Airplane!
Airplane!
Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical comedy film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and released by Paramount Pictures...
.
Other films
He also co-starred in such horror films as The HowlingThe Howling (film)
The Howling is a 1981 werewolf-themed horror film directed by Joe Dante. Based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, the screenplay is written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless...
, the war movie MacArthur
MacArthur (film)
MacArthur is a 1977 American biographical war film directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Gregory Peck in the eponymous role as American General Douglas MacArthur.-Plot:...
where he portrayed Admiral Halsey, and the comedies Big Top Pee-wee
Big Top Pee-wee
Big Top Pee-wee is the 1988 American family comedy sequel to the 1985 film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, Penelope Ann Miller, Valeria Golino, and Kris Kristofferson. The original music score is composed by Danny Elfman. The film is marketed with the tagline...
, and Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American horror comedy film, and the sequel to Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker...
.
Later years
In his retirement years, he frequently received acting jobs from people who had grown up on his 50s sci-fi films, particularly Joe DanteJoe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
, who considered Tobey a good-luck charm. Two appearances on the sit-com Night Court
Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
came the same way, through fans of his work. Along with other character actors who had been in 1950s sci-fi and horror movies (John Agar, Robert O. Cornthwaite, Gloria Talbott, etc.), Tobey starred in a spoof originally titled Attack Of The B Movie Monster. In 2005, Anthem Pictures released the completed feature version on DVD under the new title, The Naked Monster
The Naked Monster
The Naked Monster is a 2005 American ultra low-budget science fiction and horror comedy film written by Ted Newsom and directed by Newsom and Wayne Berwick as an homage to and spoof of the "giant monster-on-the-loose" films of the 1950s...
. Tobey's scenes were actually shot in 1985, but this posthumously became his final released film credit. Tobey made a memorable appearance in the 1994 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
episode "Shadowplay" as Rurigan, an alien who recreated his dead friends as holograms, and frequent appearances on L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
as a judge.
Tobey died of natural causes in 2002 in Rancho Mirage, California at age 85. He was cremated.
Partial filmography
- I Was a Male War BrideI Was a Male War BrideI Was a Male War Bride is a 1949 comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan.This film was based on I was an Alien Spouse of Female Military Personnel Enroute to the United States Under Public Law 271 of the Congress, a biography of Henri Rochard, a Belgian who...
(1949) (uncredited) - Twelve O'Clock HighTwelve O'Clock HighTwelve O'Clock High is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force who flew daylight bombing missions against Nazi Germany and occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II. The film was adapted by Sy Bartlett, Henry King ...
(1949) (uncredited) - Kiss Tomorrow GoodbyeKiss Tomorrow GoodbyeKiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a 1950 film noir starring James Cagney, directed by Gordon Douglas and based on the novel by Horace McCoy. The film was banned in Ohio as "a sordid, sadistic presentation of brutality and an extreme presentation of crime with explicit steps in commission."Supporting Cagney...
(1950) - The Thing from Another WorldThe Thing from Another WorldThe Thing from Another World , is a 1951 science fiction film based on the 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell . It tells the story of an Air Force crew and scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight a malevolent plant-based alien being...
(1951) - Angel Face (1952)
- The Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a...
(1953) - Ring of FearRing of Fear (film)Ring of Fear is a 1954 film starring Clyde Beatty and Mickey Spillane as themselves. With a deranged killer on the loose in his circus, lion tamer Beatty calls in mystery writer Spillane to solve the case.-Cast:*Clyde Beatty as Himself...
(1954) - Down Three Dark StreetsDown Three Dark StreetsDown Three Dark Streets is a 1954 documentary-style film noir, starring Broderick Crawford and directed by Arnold Laven. The screenplay was written by Gordon and Mildred Gordon, based on their novel Case File FBI.-Plot:...
(1954) - Davy Crockett, King of the Wild FrontierDavy Crockett, King of the Wild FrontierDavy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier is a 1955 live-action Walt Disney adventure film starring Fess Parker as Davy Crockett. This film is an edited compilation of the first three stories from the Disney television series Davy Crockett :...
(1955) - Colonel Jim BowieJim BowieJames "Jim" Bowie , a 19th-century American pioneer, slave trader, land speculator, and soldier, played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo... - Rage at DawnRage at DawnRage at Dawn is a 1955 American Western film by RKO Pictures starring Randolph Scott and Forrest Tucker, and featuring Denver Pyle, Edgar Buchanan, and J. Carrol Naish...
(1955) - It Came from Beneath the SeaIt Came from Beneath the SeaIt Came from Beneath the Sea is an American science fiction film produced by Sam Katzman and Charles Schneer for Columbia Pictures, from a script by George Worthing Yates designed to showcase the special model-animated effects of Ray Harryhausen. It was directed by Robert Gordon and stars Kenneth...
(1955) - The Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, is a 1955 novel about the American search for purpose in a world dominated by business. Tom and Betsy Rath share a struggle to find contentment in their hectic and material culture while several other characters fight essentially the same battle,...
(1956) (uncredited) - The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) - Anthony Murphy, Confederate engineer
- The Search For Bridey Murphy (1956)
- The Wings of EaglesThe Wings of EaglesThe Wings of Eagles is a 1957 Metrocolor film about Frank "Spig" Wead and US Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is a tribute to Wead from his friend, director John Ford....
(1957) - Gunfight at the O.K. CorralGunfight at the O.K. CorralThe Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...
(1957) - Cry Terror! (1958)
- Seven Ways from SundownSeven Ways from SundownSeven Ways from Sundown is a 1960 Western film about an inexperienced Texas Ranger, played by Audie Murphy, who is sent to bring in a dangerous, if charming, outlaw played by Barry Sullivan. It is based on the novel of the same name by Clair Huffaker, who also wrote the script...
(1960) - X-15X-15 (film)X-15 is a 1961 dramatic aviation film that presents a fictionalized account of the X-15 research rocket plane program, the test pilots who flew the aircraft and the associated NASA community that supported the program. X-15 starred David McLean, Charles Bronson, Mary Tyler Moore , Kenneth Tobey and...
(1961) - 40 Guns to Apache Pass40 Guns to Apache Pass40 Guns to Apache Pass is a 1967 Western film directed by William Witney and starring Audie Murphy. It was Murphy's last starring film and the final film of Robert E. Kent Productions.-Plot:...
(1967) - A Time for KillingA Time for KillingA Time for Killing is a 1967 Western film started by Roger Corman but finished by Phil Karlson, and starring Glenn Ford, George Hamilton and Inger Stevens....
(1967) - Billy JackBilly JackBilly Jack is a 1971 action film. It is the second, and highest grossing, in a series of motion pictures centering on a character of the same name, played by Tom Laughlin who also directed and co-wrote the script. Filming began in Prescott, Arizona, in fall 1969, but the movie was not completed...
(1971) - Ben (1972)
- The CandidateThe Candidate (1972 film)The Candidate is a 1972 American film starring Robert Redford. Its themes include how the political machine corrupts. There are many parallels between the then-recent 1970 California Senate election between John V. Tunney and George Murphy; however, Redford's character Bill McKay is a political...
(1972) - Walking TallWalking TallWalking Tall is a 1973 semi-biopic of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker as Pusser...
(1973) - Dirty Mary, Crazy LarryDirty Mary, Crazy LarryDirty Mary, Crazy Larry is a cult 1974 car chase film starring Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke, and Vic Morrow. The film was directed by John Hough...
(1974) - Baby Blue Marine (1976)
- MacArthurMacArthur (film)MacArthur is a 1977 American biographical war film directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Gregory Peck in the eponymous role as American General Douglas MacArthur.-Plot:...
(1977) - Hero at LargeHero at LargeHero at Large is a 1980 comedy film starring John Ritter and Anne Archer. The film was written by former Disney screenwriter, AJ Carothers and directed by Martin Davidson. The original music score was composed by Patrick Williams.-Plot:...
(1980) - Airplane!Airplane!Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical comedy film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and released by Paramount Pictures...
(1980) - The HowlingThe Howling (film)The Howling is a 1981 werewolf-themed horror film directed by Joe Dante. Based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, the screenplay is written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless...
(1981) - Strange InvadersStrange InvadersStrange Invaders is a spoof science-fiction film made in 1983, as a tribute to the 1950s films, but most notably The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It stars Paul Le Mat, Nancy Allen and Diana Scarwid...
(1983) - GremlinsGremlinsGremlins is a 1984 American horror comedy film directed by Joe Dante, released by Warner Bros. The film is about a young man who receives a strange creature—called a Mogwai—as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. It was followed by a sequel,...
(1984) - Big Top Pee-weeBig Top Pee-weeBig Top Pee-wee is the 1988 American family comedy sequel to the 1985 film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, Penelope Ann Miller, Valeria Golino, and Kris Kristofferson. The original music score is composed by Danny Elfman. The film is marketed with the tagline...
(1988) - The Sheriff - FreewayFreeway (1988 film)-Plot summary:Sarah 'Sunny' Harper becomes a witness to the work of a spree killer, shooting people on the freeway. First protected by a former cop named Frank Quinn, she later joins him trying to find the killer....
(1988) - Gremlins 2: The New BatchGremlins 2: The New BatchGremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American horror comedy film, and the sequel to Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker...
(1990) - Honey, I Blew Up the KidHoney, I Blew Up the KidHoney, I Blew Up the Kid is the 1992 sequel to the 1989 film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Directed by Randal Kleiser and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Robert Oliveri and Amy O'Neill, who reprise their roles as Wayne, Diane, Nick, and Amy Szalinski...
(1992) - Single White FemaleSingle White FemaleSingle White Female is a 1992 American erotic thriller based on John Lutz's novel SWF Seeks Same. The film stars Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh and is directed by Barbet Schroeder.-Plot:...
(1992) - The Naked MonsterThe Naked MonsterThe Naked Monster is a 2005 American ultra low-budget science fiction and horror comedy film written by Ted Newsom and directed by Newsom and Wayne Berwick as an homage to and spoof of the "giant monster-on-the-loose" films of the 1950s...
(2005)