Dean Riesner

Dean Riesner

Dean Riesner (November 3, 1918, New Rochelle, New York – August 18, 2002, Encino, California) was an American film and television writer. Riesner's father, Charles Reisner, was a German American silent film director, and Dean began acting in films at the age of five as "Dinky Dean". His most notable role was in Charlie Chaplin's 1923 film The Pilgrim. His career at this young age ended because his mother wanted her son to have a real childhood. As an adult, his first job in films was as a co-writer of the 1939 Ronald Reagan movie Code of the Secret Service. Riesner won an Oscar for directing Bill and Coo (1948), a feature film with a cast of real birds, costumed as humans, acting on the world's smallest film set. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Riesner worked primarily in television, including writing for Rawhide and the "Tourist Attraction" episode of The Outer Limits, although he occasionally contributed to feature films like The Helen Morgan Story. In 1968 he landed a job working on the Clint Eastwood action film Coogan's Bluff, and this in turn would lead to him writing several other Eastwood features throughout the 1970s. Riesner helped pen the screenplays for two Eastwood films in 1971, Play Misty for Me and the original Dirty Harry. In 1973 he provided an uncredited rewrite for High Plains Drifter, and in 1976 he was one of the writers to draft The Enforcer, the third Dirty Harry thriller. That same year he provided the teleplay for NBC's highly rated miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, starring Nick Nolte. In 1979 he wrote an early draft screenplay for The Godfather Part III, but his script was discarded when Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo finally agreed to collaborate on a third entry in the series. Riesner continued to write into the 1980s, though most of his work from that period went uncredited. Those films include Das Boot, The Sting II, and Starman. Riesner died in 2002 of natural causes. He had been married to actress Maila Nurmi, better known as the horror hostess Vampira.

  • Title: Dean Riesner
  • Popularity: 4.687
  • Known For: Writing
  • Birthday: 1918-11-03
  • Place of Birth: New Rochelle, New York, USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Dinky Dean, Dink Dean, Dean Franklin, Charles Reisner Jr., Dean Reisner, Dinky Reisner, Dean E. Riesner
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Dean Riesner Movies

  • 1923
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    Hollywood

    Hollywood

    7 1923 HD

    Angela comes to Hollywood with only two things: Her dream to become a movie star, and Grandpa. She leaves an Aunt, a brother, Grandma, and her...

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  • 1923
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    The Pilgrim

    The Pilgrim

    6.8 1923 HD

    The Tramp is an escaped convict who is mistaken as a pastor in a small town church.

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  • 1950
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    The Traveling Saleswoman

    The Traveling Saleswoman

    4.5 1950 HD

    The daughter of a soap manufacturer heads to the wild and woolly west to sell her daddy's product.

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  • 1959
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    The Chaplin Revue

    The Chaplin Revue

    7.4 1959 HD

    Three Chaplin silent comedies "A Dog's Life", "Shoulder Arms", and "The Pilgrim" are strung together to form a single feature length film. Chaplin...

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  • 1921
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    Peck's Bad Boy

    Peck's Bad Boy

    3.5 1921 HD

    This portrayal of small town life before the War is based on a small boys determination to get to see the circus, over all obstacles. Escaped lions,...

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  • 1935
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    It's in the Air

    It's in the Air

    5 1935 HD

    Con men Calvin Churchill and Clip McGurk know how to fix a horse-race or boxing match. Calvin wants to go straight and win back his estranged wife,...

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  • 1950
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    Gunfire

    Gunfire

    5 1950 HD

    Tubercular Frank James has become a born again and retired from his career as an outlaw with his family but a look-a-like outlaw causes suspicion to...

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  • 1948
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    The Cobra Strikes

    The Cobra Strikes

    5 1948 HD

    A newspaper reporter investigates the near-fatal shooting of a medical scientist.

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  • 1936
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    Everybody Dance

    Everybody Dance

    6 1936 HD

    When her sister dies, a nightclub singer is left with her children. In order to raise the children properly, she leaves her singing career and takes...

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  • 2001
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    Play It Again: A Look Back at 'Play Misty for Me'

    Play It Again: A Look Back at 'Play Misty for Me'

    6.667 2001 HD

    Clint Eastwood tells us how he yearned to be a director from the time he was on "Rawhide" to finally obtaining the approval of his mentor, Don...

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  • 1948
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    Assigned to Danger

    Assigned to Danger

    5 1948 HD

    A gang of bank robbers is pursued by an insurance investigator.

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  • 1921
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    Grief

    Grief

    1 1921 HD

    Begins with a child-cast parody of "The Kid." The Adams portion finds the guy chased about town because they are looking for some crook in a gray...

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  • 1981
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    Das Boot

    Das Boot

    8.088 1981 HD

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  • 1971
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    Dirty Harry

    Dirty Harry

    7.5 1971 HD

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  • 1976
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    The Enforcer

    The Enforcer

    6.7 1976 HD

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  • 1968
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    Coogan's Bluff

    Coogan's Bluff

    6.337 1968 HD

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  • 1973
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    Charley Varrick

    Charley Varrick

    7.3 1973 HD

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  • 1983
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    The Sting II

    The Sting II

    4.6 1983 HD

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  • 1948
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    Bill and Coo

    Bill and Coo

    6.2 1948 HD

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  • 1948
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    Bill and Coo

    Bill and Coo

    6.2 1948 HD

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  • 1963
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    The Man from Galveston

    The Man from Galveston

    5.2 1963 HD

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  • 1967
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    Stranger on the Run

    Stranger on the Run

    5.4 1967 HD

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  • 1970
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    Lost Flight

    Lost Flight

    3.7 1970 HD

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  • 1987
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    Fatal Beauty

    Fatal Beauty

    5.5 1987 HD

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  • 1957
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    The Helen Morgan Story

    The Helen Morgan Story

    5.2 1957 HD

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  • 1940
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    The Fighting 69th

    The Fighting 69th

    5.4 1940 HD

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  • 1970
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    The Intruders

    The Intruders

    5.7 1970 HD

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  • 1976
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    The Keegans

    The Keegans

    1 1976 HD

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  • 1950
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    Operation Haylift

    Operation Haylift

    5 1950 HD

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  • 1983
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    Sudden Impact

    Sudden Impact

    6.5 1983 HD

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  • 1958
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    Paris Holiday

    Paris Holiday

    5.2 1958 HD

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  • 1942
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    Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die

    Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die

    5.4 1942 HD

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  • 1951
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    Skipalong Rosenbloom

    Skipalong Rosenbloom

    1 1951 HD

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  • 1950
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    I Shot Billy the Kid

    I Shot Billy the Kid

    4 1950 HD

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  • 1971
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    Play Misty for Me

    Play Misty for Me

    6.581 1971 HD

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  • 1940
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    A Fugitive from Justice

    A Fugitive from Justice

    3.5 1940 HD

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  • 1954
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    So You Want to Know Your Relatives

    So You Want to Know Your Relatives

    1 1954 HD

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  • 1987
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    7.6 1987 HD

    A series about the life, career and works of the movie comedy genius.

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5.9 1970 HD

    The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and several episode scripts were adapted from a...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    4.7 1970 HD

    Lancer is an American Western series that aired on CBS from September 1968, to May 1970. The series stars Andrew Duggan, James Stacy, and Wayne...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    6.7 1970 HD

    Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5.8 1970 HD

    Cheyenne is an American western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5 1970 HD

    "Bourbon Street Beat" is a private detective series produced by Warner Brothers Television which aired on the ABC network from October 5, 1959, to...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    6.4 1970 HD

    The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    7.1 1970 HD

    The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    7.6 1970 HD

    Nick Charles was a private detective who married the wealthy Nora and decided to settle down and leave the good life. Unfortunately for the couple,...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    4.8 1970 HD

    Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5 1970 HD

    Surfside 6 was an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered on a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E26

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5 1970 HD

    The Long, Hot Summer is an American drama series that was broadcast on ABC-TV for one season from 1965-1966. Created by Dean Riesner, The Long, Hot...

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  • 1970
    imgS2 E1

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    3.7 1970 HD

    The Restless Gun is an American western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5.4 1970 HD

    Lawman is an American western television series originally telecast on ABC from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring...

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  • 1970
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    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    4.8 1970 HD

    Sugarfoot is an American western television series that aired on ABC from 1957 to 1961. The series stars Will Hutchins as Tom Brewster, an Easterner...

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  • 1970
    imgS5 E26

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5.7 1970 HD

    Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a...

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  • 1970
    imgS3 E17

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    7.3 1970 HD

    This series chronicles the adventures--in the air and on the ground--of the men of the 918th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Eighth Air Force. First...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E12

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    7.845 1970 HD

    Based on the best-selling 1969 novel by Irwin Shaw, the series follows the divergent career courses of the impoverished German American Jordache...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E20

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    1 1970 HD

    Conflict is a 1956 ABC series that directly succeeded Warner Brothers Presents. It is most famous for having hosted the effective pilots of 77 Sunset...

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  • 1970
    imgS2 E17

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    7.8 1970 HD

    The Outer Limits is an anthology tv series of self-contained sci-fi-horror stories, sometimes with a plot twist at the end.

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  • 1970
    imgS8 E16

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    6.9 1970 HD

    When an assassin's bullet confines him to a wheelchair for life ending his career as Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside becomes a consultant to...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E4

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    3 1970 HD

    Two ambitious vice presidents become rivals when an imminent board room vacancy arises.

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E12

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    7.845 1970 HD

    Based on the best-selling 1969 novel by Irwin Shaw, the series follows the divergent career courses of the impoverished German American Jordache...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E4

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    3 1970 HD

    Two ambitious vice presidents become rivals when an imminent board room vacancy arises.

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E2

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5 1970 HD

    Government agencies investigate the mysterious disappearance of a powerful presidential adviser.

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E6

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    8.63 1970 HD

    Based on an autobiographical novel by German World War II photographer Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, Das Boot follows the lives of a fearless U-Boat...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E38

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    1 1970 HD

    The Case of the Dangerous Robin is an American crime drama series which aired in syndication from October 1960, to July 1961. The series stars Rick...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E26

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5 1970 HD

    The Long, Hot Summer is an American drama series that was broadcast on ABC-TV for one season from 1965-1966. Created by Dean Riesner, The Long, Hot...

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  • 1970
    imgS2 E25

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    4.7 1970 HD

    Lancer is an American Western series that aired on CBS from September 1968, to May 1970. The series stars Andrew Duggan, James Stacy, and Wayne...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E2

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow

    5 1970 HD

    Government agencies investigate the mysterious disappearance of a powerful presidential adviser.

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