Hugh Reilly Movies

1984  
 
Attack on Fear was based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of newspaper articles by Dave and Cathy Mitchell. Paul Michael Glaser and Linda Kelsey play the Michaels, who labor away at a tiny California daily. Upon hearing of iniquities at the famed Santa Monica drug-rehab center Synanon, the Michaels begin publishing their evidence. Despite legal pressure from Synanon and bizarre anonymously mailed threats, the Mitchells' story results in a major investigation of the revered institution. Completed in 1982, the made-for-TV Attack on Fear was not telecast until October of 1984, and then only after (presumably) being reshaped to satisfy Synanon's battery of attorneys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

 
1967  
 
This prescient episode costars Tom Skerritt, soon to appear as "Duke Forest" in the movie version of M*A*S*H, with Wayne Rogers, the future "Trapper John" in the M*A*S*H TV series. Skerritt is cast as John Rim, a fugitive from justice who is hiding in a Gulf Coast community where he is regarded as a local hero for rescuing a busload of children. When Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) shows up in search of Rim, is confronted by a wall of silence and hostility from the locals, who can't believe (or choose not to believe) that John Rim is a criminal. Meanwhile, John shows his true colors by attempting to seduce the wife (Katherine Justice) of his own brother Frank (Rogers). This is the first episode in which star Efrem Zimbalist Jr. dropped character at the conclusion to issue his monthly "Wanted by the FBI" bulletin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

 
1967  
 
Add Chuka to QueueAdd Chuka to top of Queue 
The title character (Rod Taylor) is a drifting gunslinger, who enters a Southwestern fort and immediately becomes embroiled with its commander (John Mills). In the end, the wanderer helps the fort guard against attacks from Indians. ~ John Bush, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Rod TaylorErnest Borgnine, (more)
 
1962  
 
Lassie's Great Adventure is the feature-film version of a three-episode cliffhanger, originally presented on the Lassie television series. It all begins when the faithful collie accompanies his master Timmy (Jon Provost) to the market. While nosing around the vegetables, Lassie wanders into a van, which is promptly locked up. By the time she makes her escape, Lassie is hundreds of miles from home. Meanwhile, Timmy never gives up hope that his beloved Lassie will eventually return. Written by Sumner Long, Lassie's Great Adventure (original title: Lassie's Odyssey) was first telecast February 18, 24, and March 4, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

 
1960  
 
The Oregon vacation results in Lassie separated from her owners and having adventures of her own. ~ Rovi

 Read More

 
1951  
 
Arthur Kennedy stars as a blinded war veteran struggling to adjust to his affliction in peacetime. He must overcome his pugnacious attitude towards any problem he can't think his way out of--and he must learn to temper his inbred racial prejudices. Peggy Dow plays the woman who loves Kennedy enough to be cruel to him during his bouts of self-pity. Refusing to lapse into sentimentality, Bright Victory, based on the novel by Bayard Kendrick, is one of the best of the "against all odds" films of the 1950s. Arthur Kennedy's performance won him the New York Critics' Circle award, but not the Oscar he so richly deserved. Trivia note: new Universal contractee Rock Hudson receives 18th billing for his bit role as a soldier in this film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Arthur KennedyPeggy Dow, (more)
 
1950  
 
One of the finest and most troubling films to come out of Universal-International, The Sleeping City tried to emulate some of the cinéma vérité elements of The Naked City (which had been produced at Universal's facilities). The producers got the permission of the city of New York to shoot at Bellevue Hospital, and, in exchange, opened the movie with a disclaimer spoken by star Richard Conte, stepping out of character to point out that nothing like the story in this movie ever happened at Bellevue and offering tribute to the actual hospital and its staff. That's the last reassuring moment that one will find in this eerie crime drama -- in the first six minutes, a young doctor taking a break from work is shot in the head, and the police can't find a clue even as to a possible motive. Inspector Al Gordon (John Alexander) decides that he has to put some men on duty at the hospital, and one of them is Fred Rowan (Richard Conte), a detective with experience as an army medic, masquerading as an intern. What Rowan finds is a high-pressure world in which interns are hopelessly squeezed for time, sleep, energy, and -- most of all -- money, and walk a fine line on the edge of personal and professional disaster. His roommate, Steve Anderson (Alex Nicol), seems especially desperate. The only relief from the bleakness and tension, on a personal level, comes from the attentions of Ann Shelton (Coleen Gray), the ward nurse in traumatics, where Fred is assigned, and the good-natured needling of Pop Ware (Richard Taber), an elevator operator who likes to take an avuncular interest in the interns around him. But before he can get too far in his investigation, potential witnesses start dying around Rowan , and one of his friends at the hospital is threatened. Soon the whole scheme and the motives for the murders suddenly become clear, along with Rowan's earlier failure to spot the clue he needed. He also suddenly recognizes the involvement of the people closest to him at the hospital, but before the squad can move, he also finds his own life at risk. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Richard ConteColeen Gray, (more)
 
1949  
 
In Johnny Stool Pigeon, the title character's name is really Johnny Evans (Dan Duryea). Evans is an imprisoned crook whose wife died as a result of a vicious narcotics ring. Federal agent Howard Duff works out a deal with Evans, who agrees to help the agent infiltrate the gang. After making connections up and down the West Coast, the gang is brought to heel by the combined efforts of Evans, the agent, and a reformed gun moll (Shelley Winters). Johnny Stool Pigeon was one of a group of intriguing Universal second features directed by future horror-film maestro William Castle between 1948 and 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Howard DuffShelley Winters, (more)