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Maggie Thrett, the actress and singer who most memorably played Ruth in the “Mudd’s Women” episode of the original Star Trek, has died her family announced. She was 76.

“Mudd’s Women” is one of the most memorable episodes of the 1960s Star Trek, in no small part because it featured three stunningly beautiful women who seem to have strange powers over the male members of the Enterprise crew — except Spock, of course.

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022 Photo Gallery

The women are en route to a mining colony where they are to become wives for the wealthy but lonely men who mine precious dilithium crystals. Their secret is that they are made both beautiful and irresistible by taking a so-called “Venus” drug given to them by one of the series’ most memorable rascals, Harry Mudd (Roger Carmel).

Ironically, though Carmel was her neighbor, Thrett...

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Maggie Thrett, the actress and singer who portrayed one of the three glamorous humanoids who require pills to keep them from aging on the early Star Trek episode “Mudd’s Women,” has died. She was 76.

Thrett died Sunday of complications from an infection at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, family members told The Hollywood Reporter.

Thrett also starred as a flower child alongside Yvette Mimieux, Christopher Jones and Judy Pace in the sex revenge romp Three in the Attic (1968), a box office hit for indie distributor Aip. She and the film received a mention on a TV spot that played in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).

On “Mudd’s Women,” which premiered on Oct. 13, 1966, as the sixth episode of NBC’s Star Trek — it was shot as the series’ second installment — Thrett, with her long brown hair,...

Humble Marty Piletti finally gets to home video in its proper widescreen format. Paddy Chayefsky’s TV play-turned theatrical feature really shines in Kino’s new 4K remaster. The performances of Betsy Blair and especially Ernest Borgnine provide the gentle magic, as non-glamorous Bronx-ites learn that two lonely people can find romance. It’s a winning formula and a thoughtful meditation on social reality in the pursuit of happiness. With a new audio commentary by Bryan Reesman and Max Evry.

Marty

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1955 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen + 1:37 flat open matte / 90 94 min. / Special Edition / Street Date July 19, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Joe Mantell, Esther Minciotti, August Ciolli, Karen Steele, Jerry Paris, Frank Sutton, James Bell, Jack Klugman.

Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle

Art Directors: Ted Haworth, Walter Simonds

Editing Supervisor: Alan Crosland Jr.

Original Music: Roy Webb

Written by Paddy Chayefsky from his teleplay

Produced by Harold Hecht,...

Retro-active: The Best From The Cinema Retro Archives

Review – Naked City: The Complete Series

Rlj Entertainment / 6,063 minutes

By Harvey F. Chartrand

Naked City was like no other TV series before or since – Michel Moriarty, star of Law and Order, once told this reviewer.

Inspired by Jules Dassin's 1948 film of the same name, Naked City centers on the detectives of the NYPD’s 65th Precinct, but the criminals and New York City itself often played as prominent a role in the dramas as the series regulars. Like the film it was based on, Naked City (1958- 1963) was shot almost entirely on location. The first season ran as a half-hour show under the title The Naked City, starring James Franciscus and John McIntire playing, respectively, Detective Jimmy Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon—the same roles essayed by Don Taylor and Barry Fitzgerald in the film.

The Naked City also starred Harry Bellaver as Det.

Bid welcome to five westerns guaranteed to make one fall in love with the genre all over again. Each stars the ultra-virtuous man of the West Randolph Scott, pitted against some of the most colorful antagonists on the range: Richard Boone, Lee Van Cleef, Claude Akins. Indicator’s extras constitute the best collection of research materials ever assembled on the underrated director Budd Boetticher.

Five Tall Tales: Budd Boetticher & Randolph Scott At Columbia, 1957-1960

The Tall T, Decision at Sundown, Buchanan Rides Alone, Ride Lonesome, Comanche Station

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

Color / 1:85 and 2:35 widescreen / 380 min. / / Street Date May 28, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £42.99

Starring: Randolph Scott.

Leading Ladies: Maureen O’Sullivan, Karen Steele (2), Valerie French, Nancy Gates.

Noble Villains: Richard Boone, John Carroll, Craig Stevens, Pernell Roberts, Lee Van Cleef, Claude Akins.

Hopeful Sidekicks: James Best, James Coburn, Skip Homeier (2), Henry Silva, Noah Beery Jr., L.Q. Jones, Richard Rust.

By Hank Reineke

Though often dismissed as a low-budget “Made for TV” feature, director Franklin Adreon’s Cyborg 2087 enjoyed a brief theatrical run prior to its debut on broadcast television in March of 1968. In April of 1967 the film was packaged alongside such similarly low-budgeted, independent features as Death Curse of Tartu, Sting of Death, and even a second Adreon “time travel” themed film, Dimension 5. Though this somewhat lackluster film seemed destined for relegation to the late-night drive-in horror movie circuit, Cyborg 2087 nonetheless displayed some small measure of staying power. That same summer, Adreon’s film was still making the rounds of the secondary flea-pit theater circuit, sometimes serving as the under bill to Sidney J. Furie’s contemporary political thriller The Naked Runner featuring Frank Sinatra.

Though he had worked on serials and a handful of feature films in the early stages of his career, director Adreon was laboring...

Randolph Scott's final 'Ranown' western is a minimalist masterpiece, an unusually gentle story about a great westerner on a forlorn romantic quest. It's also a showcase for the underrated Nancy Gates and Claude Akins, and a pleasure to watch in wide, wide CinemaScope. Comanche Station All-region Blu-ray Explosive Media / Alive 1960 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 74 min. / Street Date July 22, 2016 / Einer Gibt Nicht Auf / available at Amazon.de/ EUR14,99 Starring Randolph Scott, Nancy Gates, Claude Atkins, Skip Homeier, Richard Rust. Cinematography Charles Lawton Jr. Film Editor Edwin H. Bryant Music supervisor Mischa Balaleinikoff Written by Burt Kennedy Produced and Directed by Budd Boetticher

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

One must be careful when ordering Blu-ray discs of Hollywood films from overseas. Foreign distributors license American movies that the studios won't release here, but sometimes they don't have access to good video masters. In a few cases the films being offered are simply being pirated.

Jean Simmons is the original frustrated Mad Housewife who runs away from a 'dream marriage' in search of something more fulfilling. Uncompromising, adult, and making use of an interesting cast. Plus, the soundtrack uses Michel Legrand's incomparable song "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" The Happy Ending Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 112 min. / Ship Date January 19, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Jean Simmons, John Forsythe, Shirley Jones, Teresa Wright, Nanette Fabray, Bobby Darin, Kathy Fields, Tina Louise, Dick Shawn, Lloyd Bridges, Karen Steele, Erin Moran. Cinematography Conrad Hall Original Music Michel Legrand, lyrics Alan & Marilyn Bergman Produced, Written and Directed by Richard Brooks

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

I looked at some of the poster artwork for The Happy Ending, and yes indeed, one of the main styles is indeed like the cover of this disc -- a photo of a rusty garbage...

Shirley Jones Movies: Innocent virgins and sex workers galore (photo: Shirley Jones and Burt Lancaster in ‘Elmer Gantry’) (See previous post: “Shirley Jones: From Book to Movies.”) I haven’t watched The Cheyenne Social Club (1970), a comedy Western directed by Gene Kelly, and starring 62-year-old James Stewart as a cowpoke who inherits an establishment that turns out to be a popular house of prostitution. Henry Fonda plays Stewart’s partner. And I’m sure Shirley Jones, as one of the sex workers, looks lovely in the film. Hopefully, director Kelly gave this likable, talented actress the chance to do more than just stand around looking pretty. But then again … For all purposes, The Cheyenne Social Club ended Shirley Jones’ film stardom; that same year she turned to TV and The Partridge Family. Jones would return to films only nine years later, as one of several stars (among them Michael Caine,...

Randolph Scott Westerns, comedies, war dramas: TCM schedule on August 19, 2013 See previous post: “Cary Grant and Randolph Scott Marriages — And ‘Expect the Biographical Worst.’” 3:00 Am Badman’S Territory (1946). Director: Tim Whelan. Cast: Randolph Scott, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Ann Richards. Bw-98 mins. 4:45 Am Trail Street (1947). Director: Ray Enright. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys. Bw-84 mins. 6:15 Am Return Of The Badmen (1948). Director: Ray Enright. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, Tom Keene aka Richard Powers, Robert Bray, Lex Barker, Walter Reed, Michael Harvey, Dean White, Robert Armstrong, Tom Tyler, Lew Harvey, Gary Gray, Walter Baldwin, Minna Gombell, Warren Jackson, Robert Clarke, Jason Robards Sr., Ernie Adams, Lane Chandler, Dan Foster, John Hamilton, Kenneth MacDonald, Donald Kerr, Ida Moore, ‘Snub’ Pollard, Harry Shannon, Charles Stevens. Bw-90 mins. 8:00 Am Riding Shotgun (1954). Director: André De Toth. Cast: Randolph Scott, Wayne Morris,...

Isn't there something kind of hot about a cowgirl? I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's the long hair spilling out from under the cowboy hat, or the way they can gaze out mysteriously from just under the brim. Maybe it's the jeans and the boots, or maybe it's the "southern belle" factor. The fact is that Megan Fox is the latest Western hottie to hit the screens, playing "Lilah" in Jonah Hex. She has her plusses and minuses; whenever she comes up in conversation among female friends, I usually explain how "plastic" she is, as if she's a manufactured pleasure-bot. But truthfully, she's pretty darn hot, with those pale blue eyes, raven hair, perfectly-shaped lips, and perfectly-shaped everything else. Clad in what looks like a cross between Stetson and Victoria's Secret, she is, indeed, the latest in a long line of hot movie cowgirls. Here are seven others.

Over the past couple of years, the indefatigable Iain Stott over at The On-Line Review has conducted several polls of film critics and film buffs (yours truly included). First he created a list of the 50 Greatest Films, which frankly, turned out pretty much the same as all the other polls of the 50 greatest films. So Iain started all over again, and sent out a new poll called Beyond the Canon. In this one, he gave us a list of films that were ineligible, films like Citizen Kane, Vertigo and The Rules of the Game that were already very well represented in the "canon." We could send in a ballot with anything we wanted, provided it did not appear on the ineligible list. That list turned out pretty well, but it still received some gripes from purists. So now Iain has gone still further and come up with a new poll,...