John Hillerman Movies
Natty, mellifluous character actor John Hillerman may have spoken on screen with a pure Mayfair accent, but he hailed from Denison, Texas. Hillerman first gained notice for his fleeting appearances in the films of Peter Bogdanovich: The Last Picture Show (1971), What's Up Doc (1973), At Long Last Love (1975). He was also a semi-regular for director Mel Brooks, prominently cast in Blazing Saddles (1975) and History of the World, Part I (1981). A veteran of dozens of television series, John Hillerman was cast as the insufferable criminologist Simon Brimmer on Ellery Queen (1975), the star's director (and ex-husband) in The Betty White Show (1975), and most memorably as the ultra-correct Jonathan Quayle Higgins II, major domo to never-seen mystery writer Robin Masters, on Magnum PI (1980-88). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Like its lively predecessor, The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), this mild comic send-up takes its characters and situations from the popular family sitcom of the 1970s, The Brady Bunch. Set in the '90s, it is filled with in-joke references to American pop culture. However, one need not be familiar with the original series in order to enjoy this film. Bad guy Trevor Thomas (Tim Matheson) is posing as supermom Carol Brady's long-dead first husband Roy Martin. He claims to have been amnesiac and made unrecognizable by plastic surgery after suffering disfiguring injuries, but in truth, he is on the hunt for a very valuable artifact, an ancient Chinese horse carving which Roy sent to his family from the field. Because of the family's sheer niceness, they could never imagine such deception, and husband Mike Brady (Gary Cole) welcomes him into their midst. This causes Roy no end of frustration, as not only must he live with this incredibly sweet and cheerful family while he searches for the carving, but he must endure having his ill-tempered sarcastic jibes go completely unrecognized. When Carol (Shelley Long) is kidnapped, the whole family goes a-hunting. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Long, Gary Cole, (more)
- 1992
The final episode of Murder, She Wrote's eighth season finds Jessica (Angela Lansbury) at the headquarters of a profitable toy company, there to supervise the design of a new board game based on her own mystery novels. Within what seems like minutes, the company's ruthless vice-president Meredith Delaney (Barbara Babcock) is murdered. Now Jessica finds herself in a real-life variation of her board game as she sifts through the suspects, which include the dead woman's husband, her much-younger lover, and an embittered designer. This episode is something of a family affair for star Angela Lansbury: it was written by her brother Bruce Lansbury, and features her nephew David Lansbury in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this entry in the continuing exploits of Sherlock Holmes, the great detective must track down his nemesis Professor Moriarty after the villain kidnaps Holme's brother Mycroft. The evil doctor is forcing his captive to decode highly classified military documents. The film is also called Hands of a Murderer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Woodward, John Hillerman, (more)
- 1989
In this comedy/drama, teen-aged Tony (Bentley C. Mitchum) has never known who is father is. Together with his best buddies Peter and Susan, he tracks down the clues he has as well as he can. Meanwhile, the twin brother of a Spanish priest has set out from where he lives in order to find his son, whom he has never met. (The priest and his twin are played by Christopher Mitchum.) The two search parties meet in the village where the priest lives, giving rise to all sorts of misunderstandings - for instance, that the priest was the father, and not his twin brother, whose existence no one else knows about. This leads to all sorts of trouble for the priest from his diocesesan bishop (Ernest Borgnine) and other priests. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Mitchum, Robi Rosa, (more)
Pierce Brosnan stars as adventurer Phineas Fogg in this adaptation of Jules Verne's classic story, in which to win a wager he must travel around the globe in 80 days or less. However, Fogg has been blamed for the theft of a large amount of money, and a detective (Peter Ustinov) is hot on his trail trying to catch him before he reaches the finish line. The supporting cast includes Eric Idle, Lee Remick, Roddy McDowall, and Christopher Lee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Eric Idle, (more)
In this detective yarn, an amiable investigator finds himself entangled with mobsters after he tries to help a woman who is apparently having a run of bad luck. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
It had been assumed by the producers of Magnum, P.I. that the series would be canceled at the end of its seventh season, thus a two-part finale was written in which the hero, Hawaii-based private eye Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck), was shot and killed, his soul ascending to heaven. However, the series was renewed for an eighth and final season -- which is why it is explained in that season's opener that Magnum was merely wounded, and that his journey to paradise was but a feverish nightmare! That said, the adventures of Magnum, his boss-by-proxy Higgins (John Hillerman), and his Navy buddies T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti), roll along in their customary thrilling and sometimes tongue-in-cheek fashion, until the end of the season -- which in this case is the climax of the series. On this occasion, the viewer finally learns the identity of Robin Masters, the elusive author for whom Magnum has been working the past eight years. And, among other things, Magnum is reunited with his long-estranged daughter, and decides to forsake civilian life for good and all to re-up with the Navy. (At least, that appears to be what happens. On this series, who can be certain?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, (more)
- 1987
One can only hope that the real-life marriage of actors Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry is more harmonious than the one depicted in the made-for-TV Assault and Matrimony. Tucker plays a meek New England accountant and Eikenberry portrays his nitpicking wife-who becomes even nitpickier when the couple purchases a historic home. When he's driven to distraction by Eikenberry's nagging, Tucker hatches a murder scheme. At the same time, she comes up with a plot to bump off her husband. Adapted from James Anderson's novel by John Binder, this frenetic farce first aired September 28, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Filmed in black-and-white, this episode is both an homage to and a spoof of The Maltese Falcon and other "hard-boiled detective" movies of its ilk. In 1941 San Francisco, cynical gumshoe Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) tries to solve the murder of the much-despite publishing baron William Tyler Maxfield. Along the way, he meets the other Magnum, P.I. regulars, recast as "film noir" stereotypes. The story comes to a climax with obligatory revelation scene, in which Magnum gathers all the suspects together in the same room--and is HE surprised by the outcome! Only at the very end do we discover precisely why and how Magnum has been transplanted to another time and another place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Angela Lansbury guest stars as crime novelist and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher in this crossover episode with Lansbury's own series Murder, She Wrote. When one of Robin Master's guests (Dorothy Loudon) is marked for murder, Magnum finds himself working with--and against--the redoubtable Ms. Fletcher to root out the killer. A man who likes to deal in facts and logical deductions, Magnum is continually flustered by Jessica's intuitive approach to crime-solving, much to the (presumed!) delight of the viewer. Ending on a cliffhanger, this episode was originally Part One of a two-part story which concluded with the Murder She Wrote episode "Magnum on Ice"; however, a new ending which neatly wraps up the storyline was filmed for the Magnum, P.I. syndication package. (Curiously, the story remains open-ended in the DVD version of "Novel Connection".) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This episode is the conclusion of a two-part "crossover" story, which began as "Novel Connection", an episode of Magnum PI. While in Hawaii to help one of her myriad of friends, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) crosses paths with freewheeling private detective Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Magnum's mysterious boss Jonathan Higgins (John Hillerman). Although he's reluctant to do so, Magnum accepts Jessica's help when he is accused of murdering a hit man whose target remains unknown--and then is tagged for a second murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Having moved from Thursdays to Saturdays to Tuesdays in previous seasons, Magnum, P.I. settles upon a Wednesday-night CBS slot for its seventh season on the air. While the show itself has been shifting about quite a bit of late, several things remain constant. Private eye Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) continues to work as security chief of the Oahu estate owned by celebrated (and never-seen) author Robin Masters, with Masters' stuffy manservant Higgins (John Hillerman) persisting in his efforts to get Magnum to behave himself and play by the rules. And as before, Magnum is frequently aided in his investigations by his Vietnam buddies T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti). Of the many season-seven episodes, several are standouts, notably "A.A.P.I.," in which Magnum and fellow gumshoe Luther Gillis (Eugene Roche) attend the 14th Annual Convention of Private Investigators, where they meet TV producer Stephen J. Cannell as security guard Ray Lemon, and Magnum semi-regular Elisha Cook Jr., normally cast as wizened underworld character Ice Pick, reprising his "Wilmer" role from the 1941 classic The Maltese Falcon! "Novel Connection" finds Magnum briefly teaming up with mystery writer Jessica Fletcher of Murder, She Wrote fame, with Angela Lansbury (who else?) guesting as Jessica. "Murder by Night" is the season's obligatory "homage" episode, set in the 1940s and filmed in the style of a black-and-white Bogart epic; "Solo Flight" is a reworking of season four's "Home From the Sea," with Magnum trapped in a perilous situation (his legs are caught under the wreckage of a plane), forcing him to relive past events in his mind, courtesy of excerpts from previous episodes. And in "Little Girl Who," Magnum discovers that he may have had a daughter with his first wife, Michele, a five-year-old girl named Lily Hue. Inasmuch as the producers were certain that Magnum, P.I. would be canceled at the end of its seventh season, a surrealistic two-part finale titled "Limbo" was conceived in which Magnum is shot dead, whereupon his soul ascends to heaven. Imagine their surprise when the series was renewed for an eighth year, requiring an extremely hasty "explanation" as to why the protagonist has suddenly returned to life! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, (more)
- 1986
John Hillerman once again essays a dual role, appearing in his usual guise as Jonathan Higgins, and as Jonathan's half-brother Don Luis Mongueo. Heir to the throne of Costa De Rosa, Don Luis may very well be in on a plot to assassinate the country's president Manuel Ibanez (Cesare Danova), who happens to be paying a visit to Robin's Nest just as Higgins is stage-managing an important chess tournament. Magnum (Tom Selleck) races against time to find out if Don Luis is truly the villain of the piece, or if some unknown party is the real culprit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Filmed on location, this first episode of Magnum, P.I.'s two-part Season Six opener (originally telecast in a single two-hour timeslot) finds Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Higgins (John Hillerman) journeying to London at the behest of their boss, novelist Robin Masters. As Higgins explains the duties of managing Masters' new British estate to caretaker Ian MacKerras (Peter Davison), Magnum looks an old war buddy, Geoffrey St. Clair. The detective has been plagued of late by eerie premonitiions suggesting that Geoffrey has met with disaster--and sure enough, no sooner has he arrived than Magnum is informed that Geoffrey has died. Against his better judgement, our hero finds himself falling in love with his unfortunate friend's widow Penelope (Francesca Annis). Meanwhile, Higgins braces himself for a visit with his father, whom he hasn't seen nor spoken to in over thirty years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In the conclusion of Magnum, P.I.'s two-part Season Six opener (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Higgins (John Hillerman) are still in London, still battling their inner demons. Having had premonitions of the death of his friend Geoffrey St. Clair, Magnum finds himself drawing ever closer to Geoffrey's widow Penelope--which opens the floodgates for even more disturbing visions of the past and the future when the detective discovers that his late friend had been a member of a gang specializing in political assassinations. Meanwhile, Higgins comes face to face with his stern, unforgiving father Albert (also played by John Hillerman), with whom he hasn't spoken since being expelled from Sandhurst in 1934. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Normally based in Hawaii, Magnum, P.I. launches its sixth season with a jaunt to Merrie Old England, where private detective Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) and his boss-by-proxy Higgins (John Hillerman) have been assigned to oversee the London estate owned by their mutual employer, the celebrated (and never-seen) author Robin Masters. Upon his return to Oahu, Magnum resumes his usual duties, acting as security at Masters' Hawaiian estate and accepting whatever "outside" P.I. jobs come his way. Season six has many highlights, among them the near-surrealistic episode "The Kona Winds," in which everybody in the cast behaves in a thoroughly unexpected manner -- including Magnum, who enters into an affair with a married woman. Another semi-fantasy installment, "Rapture," involves what appears to be a scuba-diving ghost. In "The Hotel Dick," Magnum leaves Masters' employ for a less glamorous job as house detective at the Hawaiian Gardens Hotel -- and in the course of events rather uncharacteristically admits to needing glasses to read. Gwen Verdon guest stars in "Going Home," in which Magnum returns to his hometown only to get enmeshed in a bitter feud. And in "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," Higgins is accused of theft and fired from the Masters estate -- but what appears to be happening, isn't. The season ends with "Photo Play," guest-starring Cassie Yates in the recurring role of photographer Sally Faraday, whose arrival in Hawaii proves disastrous for everyone within Magnum's circle of friends. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, (more)
- 1984
While teaching a college investigation class, Magnum (Tom Selleck) tries to stem the alarming dropout rate by agreeing to take a case from one of his students on a pro-bono basis. At first, it appears that all Magnum has to do is locate the student's missing fiancee--but as the plot thickens, our hero becomes enmeshed in an entirely different mystery(or is it?) Guest star Tom Shadyac is better known for his latter-day accomplishments as a writer, director and producer on such Jim Carrey projects as Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, Liar Liar and Bruce Almighty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
In the conclusion of Magnum, P.I.'s two-part Season Five opener, Magnum (Tom Selleck) doesn't know who to believe when twin sisters Diane and Deidre Dupres (both played by a pre-Basic Instinct Sharon Stone) accuse each other of having murderous intentions. Meanwhile, Higgins (John Hillerman) has managed to wriggle out of his engagement to Lady Ashley (Carolyn Seymour), but it may be more difficult to shed his other "fiancee" Agatha Chumley (Gillian Dobb). The climax of this episode is one of the most shocking in the series' history--and that's all you're going to get out of us! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Season five of Magnum, P.I. opens with the two-part episode "Echoes of the Mind," in which Hawaii-based private eye Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck), tackles a decade-old missing-persons case; this episode features an early guest appearance by Sharon Stone, and also serves to strengthen the relationship between Magnum's boss-by-proxy Higgins (John Hillerman) and Higgins' longtime lady friend Agatha Chumley (Gillian Dobbs). Subsequent episodes find Magnum dividing his time between his security duties at the lavish Oahu estate of elusive author Robin Masters (for whom Higgins also works as a manservant-of-all-trades) and his usual P.I. gigs in and around the rest of the island. In a surprise development, Magnum's old buddy Mac Reynolds (Bruce MacKay), presumed killed at the beginning of season three, suddenly reappears, apparently none the worse for wear. Before long, however, we learn that this Mac is actually a lookalike impostor, a con artist named Mac Bonnick. Among the season's best episodes is another of Magnum's genre spoofs, "Kiss of the Sabre," in which most of the series' characters show up in different guises in a fantasy sequence; this time it's a mystery novel, wherein Magnum morphs into dashing international investigator "Sebastian Sabre," with Higgins as his loyal servant "Boris," and Magnum's friends T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti) respectively cast as "Winston" and "Swift" (with the same jobs they hold down in real life!). Another top-notch episode, "Compulsion," finds British actor David Hemmings doing double duty as guest star and director. The season's final installment is a prison yarn, "A Pretty Good Dancing Chicken," based on a story by Anthony Pellicano, a genuine private detective and forensic expert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, (more)
- 1984
With the prize of $100,000 cash in a safe deposit box, viewers must solve the puzzle given the hints in the program as hosted by John Hillerman of "Magnum P.I." ~ All Movie Guide
- 1984
- R
In this inane teen comedy, a rafting competition is going to determine whether four friends will graduate or not (an interesting amendment to college practices), and up against their team is a group of offensive rich kids. Meanwhile, a band of expelled military rafters is out to thwart the race as a whole. Bob (Tim Matheson) of the aspiring group of graduates, and Heather (Jennifer Runyon), a convert from the military rafting side, are a hot item, as are many other couples, since sex seems to be the only known activity carried out on land. A game of charades with a dog -- in order to locate a hostage -- is the funniest sequence in an otherwise routine story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Jennifer Runyon, (more)
- 1984
Little Gloria...Happy at Last is the two-part TV adaptation of Barbara Goldsmith's 1980 best-seller. The film concerns the true-life custody battle over the daughter of millionaire Reggie Vanderbilt (Christopher Plummer) and his "child bride," Gloria Morgan (Lucy Gutteridge). When the over-imbibing Reggie dies, Gloria enjoys the high life as a wealthy widow, leaving her daughter in the care of her sister-in-law, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (chillingly portrayed by Angela Lansbury in her TV-movie debut). Gloria's personal income, predicated on the child's inheritance, is severely cut, whereupon Gloria sues the indomitable Vanderbilts for custody of her daughter. We won't tell you the outcome, but we can tell you that "Little Gloria," the ten-year-old focus of the custody fight, grew up to be the same Gloria Vanderbilt who went into the designer jeans business. Little Gloria...Happy at Last was originally telecast October 24 and 25, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Owing his life to washed-up pugilist Leon Platt (Denny Miller), T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) enters a bare-knuckle boxing match, intending to use the prize money to save Leon and his daughter Ima (a pre-Beverly Hills 90210 Shannen Doherty) from being tossed into the street. Figuring that T.C. hasn't got a chance, Higgins summons aid from Magnum--who happens to be several thousand miles away on assignment in his home town of Detroit. Even so, Magnum is able to save the day with the eleventh-hour assistance of two celebrity benefactors. And wait until you see what sweet little Ima Platt does to Higgins' prize dobermans Zeus and Apollo! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Tom Selleck returns as the title character in Magnum, P.I. as the Hawaii-based detective series enters its fourth season. The opening episode is the now-legendary "Home From the Sea," in which Magnum, stranded on the remnants of a surf ski in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, helplessly witnesses his whole life flashing before him. After surviving this ordeal, Magnum makes his first acquaintance with seedy, middle-aged "hard-boiled" private eye Luther H. Gillis (Eugene Roche), who in his typical take-charge fashion even provides voice-over narration for most of the story! On a more somber note, Magnum's friendship with his former Vietnam comrade in arms T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) takes a nosedive when T.C.'s footloose sister Wendy is murdered while on a date with our hero; this episode also introduces another recurring character, retired mob functionary Ice Pick Hofstetler, played by the great Elisha Cook Jr. Also making her first appearances this season is Kathleen Lloyd as assistant DA Carol Baldwin, a role played by Patricia McCormack during the previous season. Carol's function is similar to that of Higgins (John Hillerman), the snooty overseer of the estate where Thomas has been hired as security, to not-so-gently "persuade" Magnum to provide unofficial assistance in otherwise unsolvable cases. Among the guest stars appearing on Magnum P.I. during season four are Carol Channing, Leslie Uggams, Carol Burnett, Dick Shawn, and Patrick Macnee. The season closer, "I Witness," focuses on the King Kamehameha Club, co-owned by Magnum's never-seen boss, Robin Masters, and his war buddy Rick (Larry Manetti) -- and may be the only live-action TV episode in history to feature a talking pig as one of the villains! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, (more)
- 1983
John Hillerman once again hams it up in a dual role, appearing in his traditional characterization as Jonathan Higgins and also as another of Higgins' half-brothers, a Northern Irish cleric named Father Paddy McGuinness. Convinced that Higgins' former Royal Army commander Allistair ffolkes (Richard Johnson) has stolen a sacred religious artifact during a recent search for IRA weaponry, Father Paddy has hatched an "eye for an eye" scheme to force ffolkes to give the item back. Even with all this going on, Magnum is determined to earn his money from his current client, an enigmatic boxer named Clarence (Lee Canalito) who thinks that his wife Angie--aka "Legs"--is cheating on him. Series creator Donald P. Bellisario plays a bit role in this final episode of Magnum, P.I.'s third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
