Michael Burns Movies

Someone in the SFPD must go undercover with a group of Vietnam war resisters to ferret out a murderer. Given a choice between middle-aged Mike Stone (Karl Malden) and youthful, shaggy-haired Steve Keller (Michael Douglas), the authorities opt for Keller. Posing as an anti-war activist, Keller tries to find out who killed a rather notorious Marine deserter...and why. Featured in the cast are two actors who'd essayed villainous Streets of San Francisco roles in the past, Don Stroud and Michael Burns. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A bounty hunter holds dear the memory of his son who was killed by outlaws several years before. One day he kills a crook and then takes in his son, who swears vengeance upon his adopted father. This western chronicles their adventures together. The bounty hunter is happy with his new charge and so retires to resume his previous profession as a horse breeder. Things go well until the town sheriff is shot and the breeder's adopted son blames the crime upon him. But he is innocent and so rides out to prove it. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this adventure, a stereotypical hippie couple hitchhikes around California and meets various odd people ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Returning to college to take a Psychology course, Shirley (Shirley Jones) makes the acquaintance of 19-year-old Paul Bruner (Michael Burns), who mistakes her maternal kindness for true love. Before long, the moonstruck Bruner is ardenty courting the nonplussed Shirley--and he won't take no for answer. In desperation, Shirley enlists the aid of Paul's parents (played by former Dick Van Dyke Show regular Anne Morgan Guilbert and future Three's Company costar Norman Fell) to help her let the boy down gently...with surprising results. Song: "Brown Eyes". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A spinster goes to extraordinary lengths to assuage her loneliness in Robert Altman's 1969 drama. Wealthy Frances Austen (Sandy Dennis) conducts herself as if she were older than she actually is, but when she spies a blond youth (Michael Burns) sitting alone in a rain-swept Vancouver park, she takes him to her apartment. Apparently mute, the boy accepts Frances's ministrations, content to have a bed of his own and to listen to her talk, even if he has to come and go through his window after she locks his bedroom door at night. But when he leaves his bed empty on the night that Frances attempts to seduce him, the boy soon learns who is in control of their relationship and how far Frances will go to keep it that way. This film began Altman's 1970s effort to experiment with established movie genres: in this case, the Gothic thriller. Making the most of Frances's creepy apartment, cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs zooms in to symbolic details of Frances's life and zooms out to reveal her unnerving isolation in her own space. Altman maintains an awareness of the world outside Frances and the boy through mobile visuals and snippets of other conversations whenever either is in public, signaling the emphasis on the periphery that marked his future films, while underlining Frances's and the boy's estrangement from "normal" life. Too odd, distant and, well, cold, That Cold Day in the Park flopped. Producer Ingo Preminger claimed that if he had seen That Cold Day in the Park, he never would have hired Altman to direct his next film: the 1970 smash hit MASH. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Harley Garnett (Michael Burns), a wealthy but seriously disturbed young man, murders socialite Karen Blakely (Brooke Mills) when she spurns his advances. Garnett commits his crime on government land, bringing the FBI into the investigation. Noticing that the murder follows the same M.O. as one committed several years earler, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) begins to wonder if Everett Giles, currently serving a life sentence for the previous crime, is guilty after all. Cast as the sullen, embittered Giles is a young Harrison Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

O'Farrell (Bob Hope) is a navy sergeant who tries to boost the moral of the men by bringing in a shipment of beer. When the beer turns up missing, he calls an all-out search for the suds. In the process, O'Farrell captures a Japanese submarine single-handedly and tries to pilot the boat to safety. Phyllis Diller stars as the nurse who does absolutely nothing for troop moral in this uneven and poorly conceived comedy. Gina Lollobrigida and Jeffrey Hunter also star in the feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

A prime early example of how to make a truly worthwhile TV movie, Stranger on the Run is a tough, minimalist western in the tradition of the theatrical oaters of director Anthony Mann (one of whose favorite actors, Dan Duryea, has a supporting part in Stranger). Michael Parks is painfully convincing as a sadistic 1880s railroad detective who has a curious notion of fun and games. Upon catching drifters who hitch rides on the trains in his Southwestern jurisdiction, Parks allows the "criminals" one hour head start in the desert, with horse and supplies; then he and his deputies track the men down and kill them. Parks' latest victim is hard-bitten ex-convict Henry Fonda, who has come to town to deliver a message to his cellmate's sister. Fonda proves to be more of challenge than Parks is accustomed to, a fact that gives this brutal little tale its teeth. Anne Baxter costars in this superior TV-movie outing. Stranger on the Run's multilayered teleplay is by Reginald Rose. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This episode is set in a remote Oregon community plagued by a drought that has dragged on for over three months. A local religious sect headed by Adam MacDonald (John Anderson) has managed to incur the wrath of some bigoted townsfolk, who go out of their way to torment and persecute McDonald and his flock. But the case doesn't attract the attention of the FBI until a hate-maddened extortionist threatens to burn down the sect's settlement--an act which would also spell disaster for everyone else in the region. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this western, an ex-officer for the confederate Army becomes a Texas cattle rancher. He and his fellow ranchers are dismayed when they learn that the coming railroad intends on bypassing their ranches. The rancher then leaves his land to begin fighting the railroad. Meanwhile the railroad executives have hired Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Calamity Jane to defend their decision against the rancher and his guerrilla gang. When the marauders are finally surrounded by the Army and it looks as if they will die, the three western legends suddenly ride in to save them. They then all band together to convince the railroad that the Texas ranchers desperately need their services. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

At the urging of her boyfriend, Mark (Jack Cassidy), pretty young Charlotte Jameson (Hazel Court) accepts the marriage proposal of her wealthy old boss, Howard Rutherford (Ernest Truex). Inasmuch as Howard has been told he has only a year to live, Mark figures he won't have to wait long to cut himself in on Charlotte's inheritance. Unfortunately for Mark, Howard does not die -- and in fact lingers on for over two decades. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this satirical costume fantasy, a clumsy no-talent genie ends up chastised by the genie king and given one last chance to prove himself. If he fails, he will end up a mere mortal. The hapless genie then heads for Baghdad astride a talking horse to try to become the Wizard of Baghdad. In that capacity, he must ensure that a princess and prince get married so they can rule the great city together. Their union has been prophesied. Unfortunately, an elderly sultan, who will inherit the city should they fail, tries to keep the prophecy from coming true. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi