News

One of America's favorite families was the Cleavers on Leave It to Beaver. Centered around a boy named Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the wholesome series was just one of those charming things that has been passed down for generations. And star Jerry Mathers, who was 9 years old when the show began, has nothing but fond memories of his television parents. Mathers was speaking with People and shared stories about both Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley, who played Ward and June Cleaver on the series.

“They were really nice people,” Mathers told the publication. “Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley were wonderful to Tony and me. They were actually kind and caring to everyone.”Tony Dow played Beaver's older brother, Wally, who was often included in whatever Beaver was up to that episode. But for all the fun that Mathers had on set, he shared that Beaumont made sure the cast stayed...

Leave It to Beaver producers wanted to focus on the situation, not the comedy, according to Tony Dow, who played big brother Wally on the series. “If any line got too much of a laugh, they’d take it out,” Dow told AARP Magazine, per MeTV. “They didn’t want a big laugh; they wanted chuckles.”

“It's an honest show,” agreed Barbara Billingsley, who played June Cleaver. She told The Ledger-Star that “the situations are taken from real life, and we are not just trying for laughs. The laughs come naturally from the situations.”

“If you watch sitcoms today, a lot of them are what I call ‘joke shows,’ where people have setup, setup, joke,” Jerry “The Beaver” Mathers told For Women First. “And a lot of them really don’t have a lot of substance.”

But his sitcom was never a joke show, Mathers told the Television Academy. “Leave...

Before Harry Shearer was Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns or Waylon Smithers on The Simpsons, even before he was Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, he was nearly one of the stars of the classic sitcom, Leave It to Beaver. He was so close, in fact, that he was actually featured in the show’s original 1957 pilot.

It’s A Small World featured Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver and Jerry Mathers as the Beaver, but the pilot had some jarring alternative-universe casting as well. Wally and Ward Cleaver were played by different actors, and smart-ass kid Eddie Haskell went by a different name, Frankie Bennett. Simpsons voice maestro Shearer was Frankie, up to typical Haskell antics by tricking Wally and the Beaver into believing they’d get a free bicycle if they could save up 1,000 bottle caps. What a wise guy.

Producers decided to go in a different direction with Ward and Wally,...

There may be no more archetypical American family sitcom than "Leave it to Beaver." Even character names became archetypes, as "Ward Cleaver" instantly connotes a firm-but-fair perfect father, and a June Cleaver type would be assumed a wholesomely beautiful housewife and mother. Family problems, drawn from the writers' real lives, usually proved solvable, and the Cleaver clan generally provided the model of the family that the viewer would like to have.

As conventional as its drama may have been, the show did break new ground. It was the first prime-time series to specifically create a series finale episode, and said finale was also one of the earliest clip-show sitcom episodes. In the last episode, "Family Scrapbook," the Cleavers look at old stills from prior episodes and remember highlights from the show, including many of the major supporting characters, like Wally's obnoxious pal Eddie Haskell. Ward and June also finally revealed...

One of the unique aspects of the horror films produced by Val Lewton at Rko in the 1940s is the seriousness with which they discuss matters of mental illness. Even today, mental health issues are often tiptoed around, but in the forties, they were practically taboo. As discussed in previous entries in this column, Cat People (1942) is largely about repression and The Body Snatcher (1945) deals with guilt, paranoia, and psychopathy. The Seventh Victim (1943), one of the lesser-seen entries in the Lewton cycle, is about loneliness, the depression that stems from it, and suicidal ideation. It externalizes the inner struggles between the light and darkness that use the mind as a battlefield and demand a choice between life and death. Because of the unflinching way The Seventh Victim approaches the subject of suicide, this should be a considered a content warning for the discussion to come later. But first, some background on the film itself.

No matter how good a father is, they’re always going to have faults, quirks, and personality traits that get on our nerves as their children. A dad might be an incredible provider, but that could leave him emotionally unavailable when he gets home from a long day at work. Another dad might be nurturing and tender, but that leaves him bare when it’s time to lay down the hammer and bring some tough love to the family table.

There are no perfect dads, except if you combine all of the best traits of our favorite TV dads into one unrivaled super-dad! Examining fatherhood has always been an iconic part of watching television, with great dads setting the standard for their real-life counterparts all of the time. We’re going to compile all of the most vital parts of being a good dad, and manifest them through a combination...

Universal is headed back into an unknown empire of darkness with a new take on The Mole People, Deadline reports today. The new movie will remake the classic film from 1956.

Chris Winterbauer is writing the script, based on a pitch that Universal Pictures acquired from Winterbauer, with Robert Kirkman (“The Walking Dead”) producing the remake.

“In the new take, a woman travels to a town veiled in a conspiracy to rescue her grandchildren from their father. To do this, she must fight through hell in the underground tunnels where the Mole People reside.”

Deadline reminds, “In the 1956 original, archaeologists stumble into the underground lair of a race of darkness-dwellers who can see in low light and have no pigmentation after being out of the light for so long. The high priest who rules the small pocket of mole people is threatened by the newcomers and wants them dead.”

Robert Kirkman...

Ranking up there with “Ryan Coogler rebooting The X-Files” as one of the most unexpected pieces of news today is the announcement that The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman will be producing a remake of the 1956 horror film The Mole People (watch it Here) for Universal Pictures. Deadline reports that the project was pitched by Christopher Winterbauer, director of the HBO Max Original Moonshot, who will be writing the screenplay. The news is surprising because The Mole People isn’t exactly one of the most popular titles in the Universal library.

Directed by Virgil Vogel from a screenplay written by László Görög, The Mole People told the story of three archaeologists who come upon an unusual race of albino beings who shun all forms of light and have mutant mole men as their slaves. Because of their “magical cylinders of fire” (what we know as flashlights), these archaeologists are treated...

Editor’s note: Deadline originally posted this tribute on July 26 after Tony Dow’s family erroneously announced his death. The actor died Wednesday in hospice care.

Jerry Mathers is paying tribute to his Leave It to Beaver co-star, remembering Tony Dow as “not only my brother on tv, but in many ways in life as well.”

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

“It is with the utmost sadness I learned this morning of my co-star and lifelong friend Tony Dow’s passing,” Mathers wrote on Facebook. “He was not only my brother on tv, but in many ways in life as well. Tony leaves an empty place in my heart that won’t be filled. He was always the kindest, most generous, gentle, loving, sincere, and humble man, that it was my honor and privilege to be able to share memories together with for 65 years.

“Tony was so grateful...

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Tony Dow, the wholesome actor who portrayed “the perfect big brother” Wally Cleaver on the everlasting TV comedy Leave It to Beaver and its 1980s sequel, has died, his reps announced after a tumultuous day for his family. He was 77.

Dow died Wednesday morning with his family at his side at his home in Topanga. A post on his official Facebook page read: “We have received confirmation from Christopher, Tony’s son, that Tony passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey.”

The post continued: “We know that the world is collectively saddened by the loss of this incredible man. He gave so much to us all and was loved by so many. One fan said it best—’It is rare when there is a person who is so universally loved like Tony.

Tony Dow, the actor who personified the role of America’s big brother as the elder sibling Wally Cleaver on the TV classic sitcom Leave It to Beaver, died today. He was 77, and had been battling cancer.

His death comes a day after his passing was mistakenly reported by his management team and his wife.

A statement on his Facebook page now reads:

We have received confirmation from Christopher, Tony’s son, that Tony passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey. We know that the world is collectively saddened by the loss of this incredible man. He gave so much to us all and was loved by so many. One fan said it best—”It is rare when there is a person who is so universally loved like Tony.”

Our heart goes out to Tony’s wife, Lauren, who...

Tony Dow, the actor and director best known for playing the stalwart older brother Wally Cleaver to Jerry Mathers’ Beaver in the iconic series “Leave It to Beaver,” died Wednesday after it was incorrectly announced Tuesday that he had died. He was 77.

“We have received confirmation from Christopher, Tony’s son, that Tony passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey. We know that the world is collectively saddened by the loss of this incredible man,” read the statement on his official Facebook page.

His son Christopher said in the Facebook statement, “Although this is a very sad day, I have comfort and peace that he is in a better place. He was the best Dad anyone could ask for. He was my coach, my mentor, my voice of reason, my best friend, my best man in my wedding, and my hero.

Among TV dads, one name held up as a paragon of parenthood is Ward Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont), who dispensed love and wisdom to Wally (Tony Dow) and Theodore, aka the Beaver, from 1957 to 1963 on the classic sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Here are some of his best qualities from three of tonight’s six gems on Fetv. He’s Teachable In “The Perfect Father” (7/6c), Ward wants the boys and their pals to play at the house. But when he inserts himself into their basketball fun, the kids clear out — and Ward learns that keeping some distance can be a good way to stay close. He Puts the Boys First Ward cancels movie night with wife June (Barbara Billingsley) to help with homework. Somehow he ends up penning “Beaver’s Poem” (7:30/6:30c), which wins a school prize — whoops — but it’s the thought that counts! He’s Consistent...

Tony Dow, the actor who starred as Wally Cleaver on “Leave It to Beaver,” has once again been diagnosed with cancer. Dow’s wife, Lauren Shulkind, broke the news on the actor’s official Facebook page. The specifics of Dow’s cancer diagnoses were not disclosed.

“Dear friends and fans of Tony Dow, I have some very sad news to share with you,” Shulkind wrote on Facebook. “Unfortunately, Tony has once again been diagnosed with cancer. He is approaching this reality so bravely, but it is truly heartbreaking. We want to thank you in advance for your caring thoughts. Our Love, Lauren & Tony.”

Dow starred in the series regular role of Wally Cleaver on “Leave It to Beaver” for all six seasons of the show, which started its run on CBS before moving over to ABC. The show ran for 234 episodes between 1957 and 1963. Dow starred in the series opposite Jerry Mathers...

Errol Flynn goes to war! One of the last major direct-combat pictures to come out of Hollywood during the war, Raoul Walsh’s finely-crafted ode to the jungle fighters in Burma lets loose a powerful, almost frightening blast of anti-Japanese rage. Errol Flynn earned his pay slugging it out through the swamps, George Tobias provides the Brooklyn humor and Henry Hull the outrage over combat atrocities. And the English were none too happy either, claiming that the movie made it look as if America had done the heavy fighting in what was largely a Brit field of battle.

Objective, Burma!

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1945 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 142 min. / Street Date July 13, 2021 / 21.99

Starring: Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias, Henry Hull, Warner Anderson, John Alvin, Mark Stevens, Richard Erdman, Anthony Caruso, Erville Anderson, Hugh Beaumont, Douglas Henderson, William Hudson, Rodd Redwing, George Tyne.

Cinematography: James Wong Howe

Art...

Never heard of Wake Island? Its fall terrified Americans at Christmas of 1941. The war’s just begun, we’re definitely not winning, and the assignment was to make a movie about a tragic defeat that might be the first of many tragic defeats for the U.S.A.. Paramount’s careful morale-builder doesn’t exaggerate or sentimentalize the brutal fall of a tiny atoll in the Pacific, and stands as an example of filmmaking reaching for hope in the face of disaster.

Wake Island

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1942 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 88 min. / Street Date August 18, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston, Macdonald Carey, William Bendix, Albert Dekker, Walter Abel, Mikhail Rasumny, Rod Cameron, Bill Goodwin, Damian O’Flynn, Frank Albertson, Hugh Beaumont, Barbara Britton, Hillary Brooke, Dane Clark, Frank Faylen, Mary Field, Alan Hale Jr., Richard Loo, James Millican, Jack Mulhall, Keith Richards, Phillip Terry, Mary Thomas,...

Ken Osmond, who played obsequious troublemaker Eddie Haskell on TV’s Leave It to Beaver, has died, his manager confirms. Osmond was 76.

“He was an incredibly kind and wonderful father,” his son, Eric, said in a statement. “He had his family gathered around him when he passed. He was loved and will be very missed.”

The impact of his most famous performance can be measured by the fact that, for those of us of a certain age, if someone is described as an “Eddie Haskell”-type, we know exactly what is meant.

Appropriately, tributes poured in from across a broad spectrum. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Osmond “created a memorable character,” and Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach cited Eddie Haskell as one of his “all-time influences.”

The Haskell character was a troublemaking friend of Wally Cleaver (Tony Dow), the older brother of Theodore, aka the Beaver (Jerry Mathers). Hugh Beaumont...

James Stewart’s final western of the 1950s is a high-gloss family show with more than its share of spirited desperados and adventuresome women. But it’s really the split-up project that ended the productive Stewart-Anthony Mann filmmaking combo. The ‘folksy’ touches could only have come from Stewart himself, who hopefully didn’t show up to parties with his accordion in tow. Opposite Stewart as a ‘good bad guy’ is Audie Murphy, who rises to the standard set by his high-class co-star. If old-time railroads have appeal, this is the show for you: an un-billed co-star is the spectacular Denver and Rio Grande.

Night Passage

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date March 10, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Dianne Foster, Elaine Stewart, Brandon De Wilde, Jay C. Flippen, Herbert Anderson, Robert J. Wilke, Hugh Beaumont, Jack Elam, Olive Carey, Ellen Corby,...

Not enough love is set aside for this ambitious, under-budgeted Lost Civilization epic. John Agar and Cynthia Patrick find love in an ancient albino race that worships a Death Ray and enslaves a race of Subterranean Humanoid Underground Dwellers — Mole Men, what else? It’s unconvincing and the production lacks polish, but it’s also got clever story gimmicks and sympathetic monsters, so it gets a warm reception at CineSavant Central.

The Mole People

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1956 / B&W / 1.85:1 + 2:1 widescreen / 77 min. / Street Date February 26, 2019 / 27.99

Starring: John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Napier, Nestor Paiva, Phil Chambers, Rodd Redwing, Robin Hughes, Frank Baxter, Eddie Parker.

Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter

Film Editor: Irving Birnbaum

Mask Maker: Jack Kevan

Special Photography: Clifford Stine

Written by László Görög

Produced by William Alland

Directed by Virgil Vogel

“Mole Hole, Mole Hole — A land of renown!

Iraq is Up and Sumeria’s down!

Before February draws to a close, we have one more batch of horror and sci-fi home media releases coming our way, including the Oscar-nominated Border, which this writer loved. There are also a ton of great cult titles that are finally getting their dues this week, including Mausoleum, Invasion of the Blood Farmers, Wacko, Next of Kin, and for all you classic sci-fi fans, Scream Factory is showing some love to The Mole People as well, and if you missed it in theaters, The Possession of Hannah Grace comes home on Tuesday, too.

Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for February 26th include Willard (2003), Party Line, Bullitt County, Atone, and Battle for the Lost Planet/Mutant War.

Border

Tina (Eva Melander) is a border guard who has the ability to smell human emotions and catch smugglers. When she comes across a mysterious man (Eero Milonoff) with a smell that confounds her detection,...

From a lost age...horror crawls from the depths of the earth! Scream Factory proudly presents The Mole People on Blu-ray for the first time in North America on February 26th, 2019. Scream Factory's release presents the film in two aspect ratios (1.85:1 and 2.00:1) and comes complete with special features including new featurette, new audio commentary with Film Historians Tom Weaver and David Schecter and the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode of The Mole People.

John Agar (Attack of the Puppet People), Hugh Beaumont (Leave It to Beaver) and Nestor Paiva (Creature from The Black Lagoon) star as three archaeologists who discover the remnants of a mutant five-millennia-old Sumerian civilization living beneath a glacier atop a mountain in Mesopotamia.

The party of archeologists come upon an unusual race of albino beings who shun all forms of light and have mutant mole men as their slaves. Because of their "magical cylinders...

Before he played Ward Cleaver—a familiar face in living rooms across the Us from 1957–1963—on Leave it to Beaver, Hugh Beaumont portrayed

Dr. Jud Bellamin in The Mole People. Scream Factory will release the 1956 adventure horror film on February 26th, and we've been provided with full release dates for the new Blu-ray of the vintage creature feature.

From the Press Release: "Los Angeles, CA – From a lost age…horror crawls from the depths of the earth! Scream Factory proudly presents The Mole People on Blu-ray for the first time in North America on February 26th, 2019. Scream Factory’s release presents the film in two aspect ratios (1.85:1 and 2.00:1) and comes complete with special features including new featurette, new audio commentary with Film Historians Tom Weaver and David Schecter and the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode of “The Mole People.”

John Agar (Attack of the Puppet People), Hugh Beaumont (Leave It to Beaver...

Duck and Cover! And while you’re down there, enjoy a Flaming Atomic Cocktail! Loader, Rafferty & Rafferty’s influential documentary-satire uses authentic ’50s films and songs to illuminate the lies and myths about Cold War civil defense. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be like children in the face of a horror being characterized as an inconvenience to Americans insufficiently willing to Love the Bomb. And don’t forget to Sing: “Nobody’s worried ’bout the day my Lord will come, When he’ll hit, great God a-mighty, like an atom bomb!”

The Atomic Cafe

Blu-ray

Kino Classics

1982 / Color+B&W / 1:37 Academy / 88 min. / Street Date December 4, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur, Lloyd Bentsen, Richard Nixon,

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Hugh Beaumont, James Gregory, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nelson Leigh.

Archival Research: Pierce Rafferty, Nan Allendorfer, Victoria Peterson, David Thaxton, Jon Else, Margaret Henry, Richard Prelinger

Film Editors: Jayne Loader,...

Now it can be told! Or maybe, now it can’t be told? William Bradford Huie’s novel of creeping American ambition in Honolulu ends up as a tame vehicle for Jane Russell, who in one of her last big starring movies gives the Hawaiian scenery a run for its money. Raoul Walsh does well in the direction department, but the story has been cleaned up for Sunday School.

The Revolt of Mamie Stover

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1956 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 92 min. / Street Date July 17, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95

Starring: Jane Russell, Richard Egan, Joan Leslie, Agnes Moorehead, Jorja Curtright, Michael Pate, Richard Coogan, Alan Reed, Eddie Firestone, Jean Willes, Margia Dean, Sally Todd, Hugh Beaumont.

Cinematography: Leo Tover

Costumes: Travilla

Visual Effects: Ray Kellogg

Original Music: Hugo Friedhofer

Written by Sydney Boehm, from the novel by William Bradford Huie

Produced by Buddy Adler

Directed by Raoul Walsh...

The highway of Classic TV shows is littered with the bodies of young actors who were either discarded by the industry that represented the only life they knew, were taken advantage of by parents who exploited them and stole all their money, or simply couldn’t cope with an existence outside of the cameras. Somehow, though, Jerry Mathers, who on Leave It to Beaver was the one that everything was left to, came through it all completely unscathed. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Jerry, born Gerald Patrick Mathers on June 2, 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa, has actually been acting since the age of two when he was a child model for a department store ad. This was followed by a TV commercial for Pet Milk, and then roles in the feature films This is My Love (1954), Men of the Fighting Lady (1954), The Seven Little Foys...

It’s the great Anthony Mann-James Stewart western that Mann didn’t direct: Stewart goes it alone, over-filling a good western idea with ‘cute’ scenes and conservative messages Mann had no use for. But it’s an exciting picture, and one of co-star Audie Murphy’s best — and it’s the first feature in the splendid oversized format known as Technirama.

Night Passage

Blu-ray

Explosive Media (De)

1957 / color / 2:35 widescreen / 90 min. / available at Amazon.de / Die Uhr ist abgelaufen /Street Date August 10, 2017 / Eur 17,99

Starring: James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Dianne Foster, Elaine Stewart, Brandon De Wilde, Jay C. Flippen, Herbert Anderson, Robert J. Wilke, Hugh Beaumont, Jack Elam, Olive Carey, Ellen Corby, Chuck Roberson.

Cinematography: William Daniels

Film Editor: Sherman Todd

Original Music: Dimitri Tiomkin

Written by Borden Chase

Produced by Aaron Rosenberg

Directed by James Neilson

Universal-International didn’t spare the production values for their big-screen western Night Passage.

Kathryn Adams, an actress who appeared in such notable films as Alfred Hitchcock’s Saboteur and the Charles Laughton-starring The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and who retired from Hollywood upon her marriage to Leave It To Beaver‘s Hugh Beaumont, died October 14 at 96. Other film credits include 1939’s Fifth Avenue Girl, 1940’s The Invisible Woman and 1946’s Blonde For a Day. In 1942, she played Mrs. Brown, a young mother, in Hitchcock’s Saboteur. In 1942, Adams married…...

Val Lewton’s third horror film, The Leopard Man (1943) initially seemed promising. Based on Cornell Woolrich’s novel Black Alibi, it had more pedigree than Lewton’s previous movies. He reunited his previous team: director Jacques Tourneur, writer Ardel Wray, even Dynamite, the black leopard from Cat People. Forced again to film on the Rko lot, he sent Wray to photograph Santa Fe, New Mexico and crafted meticulous sets around her snapshots. Despite this attention to detail, The Leopard Man is one of Lewton’s weakest efforts.

The plot is simple enough. Nightclub entertainers James (Dennis O’Keefe) and Kiki (Jean Brooks) arrive in Santa Fe with a leopard in tow; Kiki’s rival Clo-Clo (Margo) scares the cat, which escapes into the city. The leopard kills a Mexican girl, sending the city into a panic. Several other women die, but James grows convinced that the leopard isn’t behind them.

The Lady Confesses

Written by Irwin Franklyn and Helen Martin

Directed by Sam Newfield

U.S.A., 1945

Vicki McGuire (Mary Beth Hughes) is resting at home one night, awaiting the return of her husband to be, Larry Craig (Hugh Beaumont), when who should appear at her door but Larry’s believed to be deceased former wife Norma (Barbara Slater). Stern in composure and unimpressed by Vicki, she storms off, warning the shell-shocked fiancée that no one else can have her husband. All the while Larry is hanging out at a club owned by Lucky Brandon (Edmund MacDonald), getting drunk silly. The evening grows ever more complicated when Norma’s body is later discovered in her apartment. The recently departed caused quite a stir during the few hours when she made her presence known, and now her demise is about to further stir the pot, especially with police captain Brown (Emmett Vogan...

Money Madness

Written by Al Martin

Directed by Sam Newfield

U.S.A., 1948

Steve Clark (Hugh Beaumont) arrives to town with a hefty sum of money acquired through clandestine activities as well as mounting pressure from former cohorts who want their share of the loot. In true con artist fashion the runaway begins a covert operation to protect what’s his. First, he temporarily stashes the cash in a safety deposit box. Second, he earns a job as a taxi driver, thus permitting him to easily and safely encounter a great number of new faces, any one of which might prove a useful pawn. Third, happenstance has it that he meets the lovely but distraught Julie (Frances Rafferty), a twentysomething single woman living with her bitter, cantankerous aunt. When she stumbles onto Steve, Julie is smitten by his smile, desire to support, and his willingness to see her freed from her aunt’s clutches.

The Blue Dahlia

Written by Raymond Chandler

Directed by George Marshall

USA, 1946

Three wartime veterans who served in the Navy return home to Los Angeles. They are Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) and his two faithful companions, Buzz (William Bendix) and George (Hugh Beaumont). After an early tussle at a diner in which Buzz shows some unfortunate signs of postwar anxiety, Johnny heads home to re-acquaint with his wife Helen (Doris Dowling), who is hosting a party. Much to Johnny’s chagrin, it is clear that one of the guests, Eddie Harwood (Howard Da Silva), owner of a luxurious club downtown called The Blue Dahlia, is having a fling with Helen. The wedded couple do not get along swimmingly, yet the revelation stings Johnny nonetheless. Shortly after Johnny walks out on her and meets a beautiful blonde named Joyce (Veronica Lake), Helen is found shot dead on her couch. Evidence points to Johnny as the culprit,...

Cinelinx rides high with the Wild Stallion DVD from Warner Archive!

The Set-up

A horse tracker (Ben Johnson) searches for a white stallion that he once owned as a child and now roams the hills on the western frontier. Also stars Edgar Buchanan, Martha Hyer, Hayden Rorke, and Hugh Beaumont.

Directed by Lewis D. Collins

A manufacture-on-demand DVD.

The Delivery

Modern film fans often downplay the value of most pre-1960 westerns, dismissing them as all the same. Of course, this is not the case; westerns were usually built around a charismatic actor or scenic locale, and their penchant for strong moral lessons gives each a distinctive personality.

Wild Stallion, a 1952 Monogram western, plays more like one of the live-action Disney dramas of the era than a standard western, which is actually part of the charm. There's a strong story here, even if there's a bit of wooden acting from some involved.

Sad news for "Leave It To Beaver Fans" as Frank Bank, who played "Lumpy," the neighbor and often times tormenting friend of young Theodore Cleaver, died. He was 71. Often accompanying the smarmy Eddie Haskell in scene, Lumpy Rutherford was one of this classic American TV sitcom's memorable characters. CNN reported that Frank Bank, who played Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford on "Leave It to Beaver" died Saturday, a day after he turned 71. No cause of death was given. The series - which aired from 1957 to 1963 - starred Jerry Mathers as Beaver Cleaver, Barbara Billingsley as mum June, and Hugh Beaumont as dad Ward, always being warned about some sort of trouble with the "Beaver." Ken Osmond starred...

Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.

This Week’s New Instant Releases…

Promised Lands (1974)

Streaming Available: 04/19/2011

Cast: Documentary

Director: Susan Sontag

Synopsis: Set in Israel during the final days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this powerful documentary — initially barred by Israel authorities — from writer-director Susan Sontag examines divergent perceptions of the enduring Arab-Israeli clash. Weighing in on matters related to socialism, anti-Semitism, nation sovereignty and American materialism are The Last Jew writer Yoram Kaniuk and military physicist Yuval Ne’eman.

Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)

Streaming Available: 04/19/2011

Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Gerald Alexander Held, Lena Stolze, Sunnyi Melles

Synopsis: Directed by longtime star of independent German cinema Margarethe von Trotta, this reverent...

You ever see those old movies or TV shows where the Dad, usually some Hugh Beaumont-type guy, always has to attend one of those boring conventions for whatever product he was selling? "Sorry honey, but I've got that water filter conference in Rolling Valley this weekend"! Now imagine that you're a guy so sheltered and boring that one of these conferences is the highlight of your life. Better yet...

Barbara Billingsley, who turned the character of sitcom mom June Cleaver in the long-running show Leave It To Beaver into a beloved pop culture icon, died earlier this week at age 94. Billingsley's warm and comforting touch epitomized a fantasy view of suburban life that never really existed: the neighborhoods were perfect, violence was non-existence, politics was never discussed and the greatest crisis might be Beaver's attempt to cover up a bad report card. Billingsley co-starred for six years with actor Hugh Beaumont as June's husband Ward. Tony Dow played older son Wally and Jerry Mathers played The Beaver. The show was so popular that it was revived in the 1980s with both actors playing characters who were now coping with the problems of approaching middle age. Billingsley also revived her role as June, but Beaumont had passed away before the new series went into production. Billingsley had initially been under...

Los Angeles, California (X17online) - Barbara Billingsley, best known for her role as June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver, passed away over the weekend at the age of 94. A family spokesperson confirms that the actress died of rheumatoid disease at her Santa Monica, California home. Billingsley, who played the Beaver's mom in the series from 1957 to 1963, co-starred alongside TV husband Hugh Beaumont ... who died back in 1982. Leave It To Beaver is currently in syndication. Courtesy: ABC America...

Sad news for Americans who grew up with iconic 1950's and 1960's American television show, "Leave it to Beaver." The ever cheerful mum who doled out advice and was always ready to smooth riffs and handle any crisis, June Cleaver, played by actress Barbara Billingsley, has died. The Associated Press reports Barbara Billingsley, died early Saturday at her home in Santa Monica. She had suffered from a rheumatoid disease. She was 94. The classically beautiful actress had roles on film and stage, but it was her big break as the always upbeat mother of two boys, Wally (Tony Dow) and the Beaver (Jerry Mathers), that catapulted her to stardom. Her husband Ward (Hugh Beaumont) would always get...

The Cleavers were the suburban family I grew up with on black-and-white TV, and Leave it to Beaver's Barbara Billingsley, who played June to Hugh Beaumont's Ward, was my idea of the perfect Mom. Well, she's gone, at 94. I can still hear her soft, high plaintive voice: "Ward, I'm worried about the Beaver." Here's the Lat and Nyt.

Barbara Billingsley, one of TV's "ideal" 1950s moms who portrayed the Beaver's mother on "Leave it to Beaver," died in Santa Monica, Calif. on Saturday. She was 94 and had suffered from a rheumatoid disease, according to a family spokesperson.

Beloved by a generation of Baby Boomers, who recall her as the even-keeled June Cleaver, Billingsley was the quintessential '50s mom. Along with such other primetime "moms" as Harriet Nelson and Donna Reed, she projected the era's ideal of suburban womanhood.

"Leave it to Beaver" ran from 1957-63. When the series ended, Billingsley retreated from show business, raising her two boys. She spoofed her good-mother image in "Airplane!" (1980) playing the Jive Lady. She reprised her June Cleaver role in the 1983 TV movie, "Still the Beaver." In 1997, she played Aunt Martha on yet another "Leave it to Beaver" production.

On "Leave It To Beaver," Billingsley starred along with Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow and Hugh Beaumont.

In the 1950s, television screens were very small and fuzzy. Viewers usually only saw a TV show episode only once. As a result, people making TV shows didn't have to pay attention to very small details because the home viewers would never see that level of detail.

Today, we have very big, high-definition television screens and can stop, rewind, and study any image that we see.

That's what someone at Shorpy did while watching a second season installment of Leave It to Beaver. In the episode, Ward (Hugh Beaumont) reads a letter from Beaver's (Jerry Mathers) principal, Mrs. Rayburn (Doris Packer). The letter is only onscreen for a few moments but it's long enough to be able to freeze the frame and read the contents. Not surprisingly, it's not exactly what Ward says.

The text of the letter essentially...

Hamsterdam, MD - News at 4:20. As part of the celebration for the upcoming season of Weeds, Glick University polled over 4,000 Americans about what TV News personalities they wanted to see get high during a broadcast.

Naturally there were ground rules including the disqualifications of news organizations that contain notorious on air potheads. This meant no votes were collected for the cast of The Daily Show, Colbert Report and Fox and Friends. You think Steve Doocey is sober? Hard to think that any of those folks have eyes that aren’t pied 24-7.

10, Bill O’Reilly (Fox News) had a lot of folks who reacted that it’d be like, “Dude, I’m getting high with dad.” Of course this initial elation is cut down with the horrifying fact of “Dude, I’m getting high with dad and it’s just not someone I need to party with.”

Rick Sanchez...

Some of the surviving members of Leave It to Beaver recently reunited at The Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles.

Those attending were Frank Bank (Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford), Jerry Mathers (Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver), Tony Dow (Wally Cleaver) and Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell). Barbara Billingsley (mother June Cleaver), who is now 94 years old, was not present.

Matt Hurwitz was the event's moderator. The actors discussed being cast on the show and their recollections of filming it. They also talked about the late Hugh Beaumont (dad Ward Cleaver), Richard Deacon (Lumpy's father), and directors Norman Tokar and Norman Abbott.

Dow recalled that, when the Still the Beaver reunion movie was being prepared, they tried to find Robert "Rusty" Stevens, who played Beaver's pudgy friend Larry Mondello. When the detective they hired went to his home, his wife answered. She wasn't...

"Leave It to Beaver The Complete Series Set" is due at the end of June from Shout! Factory. The DVD set is a 37-dvd entire-run package, restored/remastered. Americans who grew up with Theodore .Beaver. Cleaver and his family and his friends have a reason to celebrate. The iconic TV series in its entirety is back on DVD and remastered to bring all the fun home to share with a new generation. Face it, your kids need to meet Eddie Haskell! "Leave it to Beaver, the complete Series starring Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers is finally released in a 37-dvd box set featuring all 234 episodes beautifully restored and remastered, with extensive exclusive dvd bonus...

Americans who grew up with Theodore .Beaver. Cleaver and his family and his friends have a reason to celebrate. The iconic TV series in its entirety is back on DVD and remastered to bring all the fun home to share with a new generation. Face it, your kids need to meet Eddie Haskell! "Leave it to Beaver, the complete Series starring Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers is finally released in a 37-dvd box set featuring all 234 episodes beautifully restored and remastered, with extensive exclusive dvd bonus content This series was one of the most beloved family sitcoms in television history, and it reigns supreme in the pantheon of Americana. The show celebrated...

"Gee, Wally! It's hard to believe our show is half a century old and stuff!"

To celebrate the Cleavers anniversary, TV Land will be airing a 24-hour marathon of classic Leave It to Beaver episodes this weekend. The "Beaver-fest" kicks off on Saturday night at 8pm with the rarely seen 1957 pilot episode entitled "It's a Small World." The pilot isn't usually shown because if features Paul Sullivan (rather than Tony Dow) as Wally and Max Showalter (instead of Hugh Beaumont) as the boys' father, Ward. The series' first official episode from October 4, 1957 will air after the pilot at 8:30pm. Then at 9pm, TV Land will broadcast the series' final episode entitled "Family Scrapbook." In the finale, June finds an old photo album and reminisces about the Wally and Beaver's younger days.

Tomorrow morning, be sure to watch Good Morning America on ABC for a special reunion of the surviving cast.