CALLING HOMICIDE

Bill Elliott, Myron Healey, James Best

CALLING HOMICIDE (1956). Written and directed by Edward Bernds.

Detective Lt. Andy Doyle (Bill Elliott) goes into action when another cop is killed by a car bomb. The dead man had said he was beginning an investigation but offered no details aside from the name of a woman whose battered body is then found at the bottom of a cliff. This takes Doyle and Det. Sgt. Mike Duncan (Don Haggerty) to a school for models, owned by Allen Gilmore (Thomas Browne Henry of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers) and run by Darlene Adams (Jeanne Cooper), with Tony Fuller (Lyle Talbot) another executive. Doyle is convinced that the seemingly proper modeling agency is just the front for more felonious activity, but also has to ponder which of several people might be behind the murders. Other suspects include Benny (John Dennis), a handyman with the agency; Jim Haddix (Myron Healey of Panther Girl of the Kongo), the ex-boyfriend of the female victim and a former stuntman; and Donna (Kathleen Case) his fiancee and another model.  

Suspects? Thomas Browne Henry, Lyle Talbot, Jeanne Cooper

This is the third of five films starring Bill Elliott as an L. A. police detective. Bernds' flavorful script plays out like an especially good episode of Law and Order (sans the prosecutors) with lots of intriguing developments and twists. A sudden murder in a bar is especially good. The cast, including James Best as another young cop anxious to make an impression, is game, with Talbot particularly notable as the generally drunk Fuller and the ever-reliable Jeanne Cooper saucy as the modeling school operator who knows more than she's telling. Myron Healey also has one of his best roles as the executive who also may have too many secrets. Almira Sessions is fun as a peppery housekeeper who brooks no nonsense, not even from cops. Edward Bernds also directed High School Hellcats and many others. 

Verdict: Like a superior episode of a snappy TV detective show. ***. 

STATE TROOPER

Don Haggerty and Rod Cameron

STATE TROOPER (1956). Half-hour TV series. 

State Trooper starred Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, the chief investigator for the Nevada State Troopers. In some episodes he was advised or assisted by Don Haggerty (of King of the Rocket Men) as Sheriff Elder and Robert Armstrong (of King Kong fame) as Sheriff Andy Anderson. The series lasted for three seasons and amassed 105 episodes, all of which are available on DVD. The stories ranged from chases after escaped convicts to missing persons cases to classic, complicated murder mysteries which sometimes sent Blake way outside of his normal stomping grounds. The show was slick, fast-paced and entertaining. Cameron was perfect as Blake, a strong but sympathetic character who could be as tough as nails when he had to be but also had a soft and fair side to him. If you were going to be arrested, you wanted the arresting officer to be Blake, as he'd ferret out the truth if anyone could. 

Faith Domergue

The most memorable episodes of the series include: "From Here to Molokai" --  a fugitive is accused of murder in Hawaii; "Boulder Joe's Bottle House" -- an old, retired safecracker is forced to do a job (with Jeanne Cooper); "The Last Stage" -- a hotel's prop stage coach is actually robbed (with Doris Packer); "Cinder Jungle" -- a railroad robbery leads to the murder of a sympathetic cop; "Diamonds Come High " -- a series of diamond robberies (with Doris Singleton); "No Blaze of Glory" -- a store owner's wife is caught in a blaze (with Vivi Janis and Frank Ferguson); "Safe on a Boat" -- a robbery of a casino's safe during a honeymoon boat trip; "Fury on Freemont Street" -- an intense woman (Virginia Christine) is supposedly scared of her ex-con ex-husband. 

Constance Ford

A passenger disappears from a charter boat in "The Talking Corpse" with Craig Stevens and Jeanne Cooper (again). Rod goes undercover to investigate thefts of mine ore and finds a nasty foreman and a trampy wife in "The Fancy Dancers of Steptoe Valley." Rod investigates what caused a stampede that killed a blind woman in "The Sound of Death" with Laurie Mitchell. In "Dancing Dowager" a con woman thinks Rod is rich and tries to fleece him. In "Cable Car to Tombstone" a man (Dennis Moore) falls off of the Hoover dam and a cop (Ross Elliott) is accused. In "Sweetheart of Sigmund Kaye" a young woman (Norma Eberhardt) with a fiance (Corey Allen) reports her parents missing after quite a long time. In "The Case of the Happy Dragon" the twenty-year-old corpse of a Chinese woman is stolen from a funeral home and ransomed. In "Stay Lost, Little Girl" an old man hires a private eye to find his missing niece, but she may not want to be found. "And Baby Makes Two" features a wonderful Constance Ford in a dual role of a Vegas showgirl and her lookalike involved in a casino robbery.

Norma Eberhardt and Corey Allen 

Other guest-stars on the show include Bart Burns, Paul Langton, Patrick O'Neal, Walter Reed, Andrea King, Virginia Gregg, Joan Taylor, Angie Dickinson, Joi Lansing, Faith Domergue, Robert Vaughn, Douglas Fowley and even Joan Crawford's brother Hal Le Sueur. State Trooper presented satisfying mini-dramas of good and evil and often featured lively fight scenes, interesting characters, and exciting chases. The episodes rarely went below a B+ in quality. 

Verdict: Good cop show with an excellent, perfectly-cast Cameron. ***. 

KING OF THE ROCKET MEN

The Rocket Man takes to the air

KING OF THE ROCKET MEN (12 Chapter Republic serial/1949). Director: Fred C. Brannon. 

Jeffrey King (Tristram Coffin) is the director of security for a group called Science Associates, and also happens to be a rocket propulsion expert. When a series of scientists are killed in "accidents" Jeff helps Professor Millard (James Craven) fake his own death so that he can work in secret against the person responsible. Millard creates an atomic-powered rocket suit that Jeff (and at one point Millard) wears as "Rocket Man." His opponent is the mysterious Dr. Vulcan, whom both Jeff and Millard suspect is one of the members of the Science Associates board. 

Mae Clarke and Don Haggerty

King of the Rocket Men is the first of three Republic serials -- four if you count Commando Cody, the serial/TV series -- that use the rocket man suit and feature a flying hero who has various identities. This serial is exciting and suspenseful as our hero dodges a river of lava in a cave (chapter six) and other dastardly traps. The cliffhangers generally aren't that inventive, but there is still a lot of action and fun. The climactic chapter features Dr. Vulcan unleashing his "decimator" and practically destroying Manhattan, wherein stock footage from the old disaster flick Deluge -- still impressive -- comes in. Jeff's partner is Burt Winslow (House Peters Jr.) and both men suspect the other of being in league with Vulcan at various points during the serial. 

Tristram Coffin

Other cast members include Mae Clarke, famous for Frankenstein and the grapefruit scene in Public Enemy, who plays feisty reporter Glenda Thomas. At 39 Clarke was older than the typical serial heroine or female colleague. Don Haggerty makes an impression as the persistent thug Dirken who works for Dr. Vulcan. Stanley Wilson's music score keeps things hopping, and everything moves at a very swift pace. Tristram Coffin was offered a very rare leading role in this serial; he appeared in a number of previous serials in supporting or villainous roles. Coffin amassed 260 credits, and appeared in numerous movies and TV shows such as the "Country Club Dance" episode of I Love Lucy. 

Verdict: Great fun for serial devotees. ***.