Murray Matheson Movies

The expensive face of the title belongs to Sylvia Kristel, who actually levies a price of $2.5 million upon the fictional cosmetics firm of Glamour Inc. Ms. Kristel's story is but one of the many intrigues within the hallowed halls of Glamour. Tony Curtis stars as the company's CEO, beset with infighting, intrigue and infidelity. Lee Grant costars as a rival cosmetics exec, while Gayle Hunnicutt is Curtis' far from loving young wife. Based on Lois Wyse's novel Kiss, Inc., Million Dollar Face was purportedly the pilot film for an unsold TV series, though one wonders if Tony Curtis would have stuck it out after what he had to put up with in this first (and last) episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of "Greetings from Earth", six Terrans from the 13th Colony (formerly known as Earth) are released from suspended animation when their drifting space station is discovered. Upon awakening, the six become obsessed with the notion that the Galactica is part of the hated Eastern Alliance, which brought about the destruction of Earth several centuries before. Adama (Lorne Greene) begins to wonder if the newly revived travellers are whom they claim to be when they demand to be taken to the planet Paradeen--lest they all perish. Originally telecast as a two-hour "special", "Greetings from Earth" has since been reedited as two one-hour episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This speculative made-for-TV drama examines the courtship and early marital life of Mary and Joseph before the birth of their remarkable son, Jesus. The film is also known as the Beginning Was Love. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The SWAT team scours the city in search of an elusive assassin named Bravo (Christopher George). Although under normal circumstances the situation would be tense, indeed (the life of a prominent senator is at stake), and on this occasion the team is racing against time in more ways than one: Unbeknownst to himself, Bravo has contacted a deadly and highly contagious disease. Comedienne Rose Marie makes the first of several guest appearances as Hilda. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Samantha once again finds herself in the position of saving the 2,000-year-old marriage between her mother Endora and her father, Maurice. This time, the couple is squabbling over Maurice's attentions (and intentions) toward his pretty young secretary, Abigail Beecham (Janine Gray). Sam's announcement that she is going to have another baby has the positive effect of ending the hostilities, but for how long? Written by Richard Baer, "Samantha's Good News" originally aired on April 10, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Touted by 20th Century-Fox as a follow-up to their enormously successful The Sound of Music, Star! reteams that earlier film's leading lady Julie Andrews and director Robert Wise. Andrews plays legendary musical comedy star Gertrude Lawrence, while Daniel Massey appears as Lawrence's friend, co-worker and severest critic Noel Coward (Massey's real-life godfather). The film jumps back and forth in continuity at times, its transitions bridged by fabricated newsreel footage; essentially, however, William Fairchild's script traces Lawrence's progress from ambitious bit actress to the toast of London and Broadway. Her success is offset by a stormy private life, which is given some ballast when she falls in love with an American financier (Richard Crenna). The film is way too long for its own good, though the musical set pieces -- especially the Andrews-Massey duets -- are superb. Julie Andrews welcomed the chance of playing a character as far removed from her goody-two-shoes heroine in Sound of Music as possible; Gertrude Lawrence was temperamental, sarcastic, profane and at times self-destructive, and Andrews makes a meal of the role. Unfortunately, Andrews' fans, conditioned by the Fox publicity machine to expect a continuation of Sound of Music, rejected her outright in this "new" characterization. Star! was a huge box-office bomb, so much so that Fox desperately attempted a shortened re-release under a misleading new title, Those Were The Happy Times. They weren't: it remained a financial disaster, though it has developed a loyal cult following in recent years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While pulling off an art heist, Robert Dewey (J.D. Cannon) is forced to knock out a museum executive. Convinced he has killed the man, Dewey may have no qualms about killing again. The FBI must stop Dewey before he manages to murder Helen Meade (Antoinette Bower), the woman who unwittingly messed up his meticulous escape plan. The highlight of this episode is a high-speed chase on a motorcycle (which, of course, was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company, the longtime sponsor of The F.B.I.). Watch for future Mod Squad star Peggy Lipton in a bit role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Assault on a Queen is a complex, exciting crime-caper film in which a gang of clever mercenaries try to rob the famous luxury liner, the Queen Mary. Mark Brittain (Frank Sinatra) is hired by wealthy Italian adventuress Rosa Lucchesi (Verna Lisi) and her German partner-in-crime, Eric Laufftiauer (Alf Kjellin) to refurbish a WWII German U-Boat and use it to hold the entire ship hostage while it is robbed. Scriptwriter Rod Serling does his best with an interesting, but rather implausible premise, and director Jack Donohue gets above-average performances from his cast of veteran character actors, including Richard Conte and Reginald Denny, but Frank Sinatra is not particularly believable as an action hero. The true star of the show is the terrific color photography of the magnificent ocean liner by William Daniels and a musical score by Duke Ellington. While Assault on a Queen fails to generate much suspense, fans of Frank Sinatra should enjoy this, although it fails to reach the level of fun and excitement of his excellent Ocean's 11. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

In this suspenseful thriller, a man is sentenced to ten years in a mental institution for the criminally insane after murdering his wife. In the hospital, the man's doctor slyly tells him about an esoteric law that will allow the patient a new trial if he can escape and stay out of the hospital for two full weeks. Naturally, the patient promptly escapes and ends up staying in the home of a woman whose husband is out of town. She is unhappily married and begins feeling drawn to the fugitive killer. Later the man begins to get suspicious when he discovers a corpse near the house. He trips and tumbles down a flight of stairs. When he regains consciousness, the body has vanished. The police eventually find it, and the woman blames the death on the fugitive. Fortunately, the pressure is too much and the woman finally admits that she and the doctor have been having a passionate affair and that they engineered the whole set up to frame the patient for the death of her husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This episode marks a rare joint appearance by John Cassavetes and his wife, Gena Rowlands. Married to Charles Justin (Murray Matheson), an elderly diamond merchant, young Diana Justin (Rowlands) decides to finance a stage play with her husband's money -- and hires an ex-lover of hers, actor Lee Griffin (Cassavetes), for the leading role. Not surprisingly, Diana and Lee are soon plotting Charles' murder, with a key element of the plot being Lee's impersonation of Charles while pulling off a lucrative business transaction in Europe. What Lee doesn't know is that the late Mr. Justin had performed one last act of retribution before shuffling off his mortal coil. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi