John Rose Movies

Convicted murderer Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald had hoped that, by telling his side of the story to investigative journalist Joe McGinniss, the authorities would be persuaded of MacDonald's innocence. Instead, McGinniss ended up unswerving in his belief of MacDonald's guilt, and the result was the devastating best-seller Fatal Vision. In this two-part TV adaptation of McGinniss' book, Gary Cole plays MacDonald, a former Green Beret officer, while Frank Dent essays the role of McGinniss. MacDonald's wife and two children are brutally murdered in their Fort Bragg, North Carolina home on February 17, 1970. The prime suspect, MacDonald insists that the killings were committed by a gang of stoned-out hippies, a story that at first is accepted in toto by the doctor's father-in-law Freddy Kassab (Karl Malden). But after MacDonald is officially exonerated, Kassab notices several holes in his son-in-law's story, and becomes convinced that MacDonald was in fact the murderer. Through Kassab's persistence, as well as the uncovering of new forensic evidence, MacDonald is ultimately convicted for all three murders in 1979. Since the TV premiere of Fatal Vision on November 18 and 19, 1984, there has been a growing movement by MacDonald's sympathizers to discredit McGinniss' book and to retry the case--a movement that has been hampered time and again by MacDonald's own erratic behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In Randal Kleiser's telemovie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, Eve Plumb stars as Dawn, who leaves home at 15 for the glamour of L.A. Friendless, she is taken in by the smooth line of Swan (Bo Hopkins), who offers to be her protector. Before long, Dawn has become a streetwalker, with Swan taking a sizeable chunk of her earnings. She finds true friendship in the form of another runaway, male hustler Alex (Leigh McCloskey) -- whose own story would be delineated in a 1977 sequel, Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn. Having learned a lesson with its controversial airing of Born Innocent, NBC preceded the September 27, 1976, premiere of Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway with a "parental discretion" disclaimer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Leading man John Rose finds himself faced with a difficult moral decision when he must choose between following his draft-dodging friends to Canada and living under the stigma of cowardice or doing his patriotic duty and risking his life. Look closely and you'll spot Spalding Gray as one of the radicals. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of the three-part Mission: Impossible adventure "The Falcon," Phelps manages to rescue Prince Stephan (Joseph Reale), who has been imprisoned to force a marriage between his fiancee Princess Francesca (Diane Baker) and royal usurper General Sabattini (John Vernon). Meanwhile, the IMF agents keep the rightful heir to the throne, King Nicolai (Noel Harrison), under wraps, while Paris poses as Nicolai in order to throw the King's potential assassins off the track. But will the agents, including the lovely Tracey (Lee Meriwether) be able to rescue themselves before Sabattini wises up? Written by Paul Playdon, Episode Three of "The Falcon" first aired on January 18, 1970, as the final chapter of the series' last multipart story. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Written by Paul Playdon, "The Interrogator" opens as enemy submarines converged off the Atlantic Coast, poised to launch a nuclear attack against the United States. Racing against time, the IMF agents must persuade captured spy Novan Kruger (Henry Silva) to reveal his country's war plans. Utilizing a new and dangerous drug, the agents subject Kruger to a maelstrom of devilishly clever mind tricks to pry loose his secrets. First telecast on April 20, 1969, "The Interrogator" was the last episode of Mission: Impossible's third season, as well as the final joint series appearance of regulars Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi