Lynda Day George Movies
Actress Lynda Day George was quite busy on TV in guest-starring roles throughout the 1960s. Before she officially changed her professional name from "Day" to "Day George" -- to acknowledge her marriage to actor Christopher George -- Day George was a regular on The Silent Force, a 1970 Mission: Impossible clone. Ironically, one year later she was cast on the real Mission: Impossible as undercover operative Casey, a role she retained until the series' cancellation in 1973. While she has appeared in the occasional theatrical film, most of Day George's best work could be seen in such small-screen miniseries as Rich Man, Poor Man, Once an Eagle, and Roots. In the early '80s, Lynda Day George began turning down network roles to devote her energies to religious television, remaining active in this field long after the death of her husband in 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1985
Pamela Crane (Belinda Montgomery), the recenty widowed niece of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), goes on a relaxing ocean cruise in hopes of overcoming her husband's sudden death. This, however, proves impossible, as Pamela is systematically terrorized by the appearance of several personal artifacts which only her late husband could have known about. Can it be that Pamela's husband is still alive? That's the question Jessica hopes to answer as she unofficially takes over investigation of the case. (Incidentally, the full character name of Jessica's niece is Pamela MacGill Crane--and by a curious coincidence, the mother of star Angela Lansbury was character actress Moyna MacGill). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- R
In a conventional teen movie that condemns violence in the dialogue then supplies it in the action sequences, a young woman is gang raped and murdered in a California college town, sparking her brother Kevin (James Van Patten) to take up arms by night with a gang of like-minded vigilantes from his fraternity, brutally punishing any miscreants they catch in a criminal act. In the meantime, Kevin debates the issue of violent crime in the U.S. with his teachers and others during the day. As Kevin and his gang head toward a final, bloody confrontation with the low-lifes who murdered his sister, other scenes show the difference between his character, now violent, and the normal people he is supposedly protecting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernest Borgnine, Richard Roundtree, (more)
With a tagline that reads, "You don't have to go to Texas for a chainsaw massacre," this Spanish-Italian entry into slasher film territory went on to achieve a dubious distinction as one of the most tasteless films ever produced. The bloodshed opens in 1942 with a scene of a little boy axing his mother after her discovery of him piecing together a puzzle of a nude girl. Cut to 42 years later and the little ax-man has moved on to chainsaws as he begins buzzing coeds on the campus of a New England college. Police Lieutenant Bracken (Christopher George) and his partner arrive to investigate. They find a trail of dismembered bodies that happen to be missing some parts and a group of suspects including a shady dean of students (Edmund Purdom), an anatomy professor (Jack Taylor), and a monstrous caretaker (Paul Smith). Led by beautiful undercover cop Mary Riggs (Lynda Day-George) and student-stud Kendall (Ian Sera), the investigation leads everyone to the killer, who has just finished adding the final pieces to his human jigsaw puzzle. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher George, Edmund Purdom, (more)
- 1983
- R
In this murder mystery, a daughter begins to suspect that her father's death was not an accident after she observes her mother and a mortician during a seance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
H.B. Halicki, who wrote and directed the car chase classic Gone in 60 Seconds, returned with this action-comedy, in which Halicki claimed to have wrecked no fewer than 150 cars onscreen (a record confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records). Harlan Hollis (H.B. Halicki) is a former junkyard owner whose knowledge of cars has helped him to move up in the world, becoming a well-known auto stuntman and film director. However, Hollis has made an enemy of one of his partners in the movie game, and as he hits the road to attend a James Dean memorial festival in Indiana, Hollis discovers a number of people are out to kill him, using guns, automobiles, airplanes, and anything else that's handy. Can Hollis find out who's after him and turn the tables before his luck runs out? Along with those 150 cars, The Junkman stars Christopher Stone, Lynda Day George, and Freddy Cannon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- H.B. Halicki, Christopher Stone, (more)
- 1981
- R
Crown International's leading sleaze director, Hikmet Avedis (The Fifth Floor) was behind this bloody horror film. Greg and Christie are a young married couple who are investigating the mysterious death of Christie's father. Their search takes them to mortician Hank Andrews (Christopher George), who leads a Satanic cult along with his demented son Paul (Bill Paxton in an early role). However, even Christie's own mother (Lynda Day George) may be in on the series of embalming-needle murders surrounding the mortuary. This occasionally creepy chiller co-stars horror regulars Michael Berryman, Paul Smith, and Alvy Moore. Porn auteur Gary Graver (aka Robert McCallum) was the cinematographer. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary McDonough, David Wallace, (more)
- 1980
Middle-aged newlyweds Larry (John Saxon) and Barbara (Lynda Day George) spend their honeymoon at a palatial Caribbean mansion, unaware that it is inhabited by the vengeful spirit of a notorious voodoo witch queen who was murdered a century ago. The woman's evil spirit promptly begins precipitating a variety of violent deaths in accordance with a diabolical ritual intended to bring her back to life -- a process which is ultimately consummated by taking possession of George's body. Writer/director Herb Freed's good use of the tropical locations and a moody score by Pino Donaggio provide some interest, though the stilted dialogue and sluggish pacing defeat any real suspense. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Lynda Day George, (more)
- 1980
Nick (Mike Conners) is the owner of a luxury liner and casino which cruises its way to action and adventure for those on board. Lackluster direction by Don Chaffey is not aided by a cast including Gary Burghoff, Joseph Cotten, Lynda Day George, Bo Hopkins and Robert Loggia, who seem to all be slightly embarrassed to be in the film. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- R
Bert Convy is the lead fellow here who appears as a tennis pro who uses his fondness for matched points to his advantage as he plays stud-man to his wealthy female clients in order to gather funds enough for his own tennis club. This lame effort includes a cameo by tennis great Bjorn Borg and a lengthier appearance by the irrepressible Bobby Riggs. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1978
We'll confess not to having seen The Amazing Captain Nemo, principally because we can't find it anywhere. It's our loss, because it certainly sounds fascinating. Jose Ferrer stars as Nemo, the demented but essentially well-meaning technological genius created by Jules Verne in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In what seems to have been a one-time-only occasion, Ferrer costars with his namesake Mel Ferrer. Also in the star-heavy cast is Burgess Meredith as an eccentric professor and Lynda Day George as the all-around heroine. The film was largely photographed by Lamar Boren, the undersea expert responsible for the soggy cinematography of Creature from the Black Lagoon and Flipper. Given the cast and the director (Alex March), we suspect that The Amazing Captain Nemo was filmed for television, then deflected to theaters to make back its cost. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
This delightfully bad made-for-TV movie throws together an assortment of television stalwarts and movie has-beens for what is essentially a horror version of The Love Boat. The plot involves a vacation cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, during which some of the passengers find an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus in an underwater cavern. Instead of "wasting time" explaining what Egyptian ruins are doing so far from Northern Africa, the writers decide to make things easy by making the coffin's occupant none other than the Devil himself. This stirs things up a bit for the hapless vacationers -- particularly for the fire-and-brimstone preacher (John Forsythe) who happens to be aboard. Cheap, campy, and topped off with a ridiculous ending, the film, at least, is not as boring as most TV movies of the sort. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Killer ants ruin the summer holidays of vacationers visiting a posh summer resort in this horror movie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Just prior to her Three's Company superstardom, Suzanne Somers played the lead in the made-for-TV meller It Happened at Lakewood Manor. Boiled down to basics, this is a rehash of Jaws, with ants (!) substituting for sharks (the film's video release title, in fact, was Ants). A summer resort full of special-guest-star tourists is besieged by battalions of killer ants. Robert Foxworth, Myrna Loy, Lynda Day George, Bernie Casey, Barry Van Dyke and Brian Dennehy are among those on the little critters' menu. First telecast December 2, 1977, It Happened at Lakewood Manor was subsequently retitled Panic at Lakewood Manor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An interesting low-budget entry in the post-Jaws animals-run-amok genre (which also owes more than a little to Hitchcock's The Birds), this noisy, violent thriller features the prophetic premise of a widening gap in the ozone layer (thanks to human indulgences in hairspray and other aerosol products) which unleashes brain-frying radiation and causes assorted woodland creatures to go for the throats of unsuspecting Sierra backpackers. As if that weren't horrific enough, the poor kids are also placed in the position of defending themselves against a rampaging Leslie Nielsen -- whose hammy performance will probably have fans of the Naked Gun series and their ilk waiting for a punch line that never arrives. Perennial B-movie couple Christopher George and Lynda Day George round out the cast. Day of the Animals is also known as Something Is out There. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher George, Leslie Nielsen, (more)
- 1977
A kidnapping plot includes 5 women along with the last 2 games of the baseball World Series. ~ All Movie Guide
Aliens from Spaceship Earth is a "four-waller" documentary from the Chariot of the Gods? school of speculative filmmaking. Are there, or have their ever been, extraterrestrials in our midst? This program speculates that there are, and that such aliens have taken distinctly human form - that of Indian yogis and gurus, including Guru Maharaj Ji, Sri Sathya, Yoga Bhahan and Father Yod. The "aliens" in question, in other words, are spiritual guides on a long, introspective trek into the self, prompted and encouraged by the counterculture and drug-fueled experimentation of the late '60s. Folk-rock singer Donovan provides the soundtrack.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
More ambitious and expensive than ABC's first "novel for television" miniseries QB VII, the eight-episode, 12-hour Rich Man, Poor Man was the one that truly put the genre on the map, its phenomenal success in the ratings making possible the even more spectacular Roots. Adapted from the mammoth novel by Irwin Shaw, the miniseries covers the years from WWII to the 1960s, detailing the vacillating fortunes of the immigrant Jordache brothers. "Rich Man" Rudy Jordache (Peter Strauss) is determined to use his hard-earned education -- and his inherent ruthlessness -- to carve out a business and political empire not unlike that enjoyed by Joseph P. Kennedy and his progeny. "Poor Man" Tom Jordache (Nick Nolte), a quick-fisted hothead, goes an entirely different route, first as a professional boxer, then as a functionary of the evil gangster chieftain Falconetti (William Smith). Naturally, both brothers become entangled in romance along the way, with Julie Prescott (Susan Blakely) ending up as Rudy's benighted spouse. Originally telecast on February 1, 2, 9, 16, 23, and March 1, 8, and 15 in 1976, Rich Man, Poor Man earned 20 Emmy nominations and led to a weekly sequel, Rich Man, Poor Man -- Book 2, in the fall of 1976 (this version necessitated a title change for the original, which was rebroadcast as Rich Man, Poor Man -- Book 1 in the spring of 1977). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, (more)
- 1976
Mayday at 40,000 Feet is a regulation crisis-in-the-air TV movie distinguished by the accomplished direction of Robert (Hill Street Blues) Butler. David Janssen pilots a 747 chock full of guest stars, battling a snowstorm in order to find his way back to the airport. The plane develops engine trouble, threatening to dump its celebrity cargo in the icy drink. Adding to Janssen's growing list of problems is a maniac who goes on a shooting rampage in the first-class section. It's doubtful that anyone on November 12, 1976 stayed tuned to Mayday at 40,000 Feet upon discovering that its competition on another network was the John Travolta vehicle The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
In this mystery, twin gumshoes team up to expose a band of bogus spiritualists involved in murder . ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1975
The Trial of Chaplain Jensen is a fact-based TV movie starring James Franciscus. As Navy chaplain Jensen, Franciscus portrays the only US navy officer ever court-martialed on the charge of adultery. Lynda Day George is the woman who points the accusing finger at Jensen, while Joanna Miles plays his grimly supportive wife. Though a model of decorum compared to the TV movie fare to come as the 1970s progressed, The Trial of Chaplain Jensen was tagged with a "Parental Discretion Advised" label by a nervous ABC when it first shown on February 11, 1975. It's likely, however, that most viewers young and old were glued to the competing TV movie on NBC--the unforgettable Sarah T: Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Canadian actress Kate Reid plays a lady p.i. in Death Among Friends. Kate is hired to solve the murder of a multimillionaire financier. As tipped off by the title, she need look no farther than the dead man's circle of friends. Refreshingly, both the heroine and her police contact, John Anderson, are well into middle age, rather than being depicted as mindless hunks of cheese- and beefcake. Intended as the pilot for a weekly series, Death Among Friends was first telecast May 20, 1975. The film was later syndicated as Mrs. R-Death Among Friends. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this made-for-television disaster thriller, a carload rich commuters are held hostage by a trio of thugs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
The made-for-TV Barbary Coast is a tongue-in-cheek western in the Maverick tradition, produced by a former writer-director of that series, Douglas Heyes. Dennis Cole plays Cash Conover, a San Francisco saloonkeeper of the 1870s. William Shatner co-stars as Jeff Cable, an undercover policeman who works hand in glove with Conover to fight crime on the Coast. Conover and Cable team up with the lovely Cleo (Lynda Day George) to tackle a vicious mob, headed by one Diamond Jack Bannister (Michael Ansara). Throwing a bit of Wild Wild West into the stew, Cable pops up from time to time wearing disguises and sporting outrageous accents. First telecast May 4, 1975, Barbary Coast was the pilot for the short-lived TV series of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Lynda Day George is the American "name" star in this taped-in-London thriller. George plays an American tourist in England whose cousin has vanished. As time passes, she becomes fearful over her missing relative's safety. Not content with the seemingly poky progression of the police, George investigates on her own, finding more than she bargained for. Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are was telecast in September of 1974 on the late-night ABC Wide World Mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
A Beautiful Killing stars husband-and-wife actors Christopher and Lynda Day George as a team of married private eyes. The Georges' current assignment takes them to an exclusive health spa for women. A client has died suddenly--and there's evidence that she has been (to quote the press release for this 90-minute escapade) "literally blackmailed to death". A Beautiful Killing was originally telecast in January of 1972 on the ABC omnibus series The Wide World of Entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
