Robert Day Movies

A tribute to Hollywood's Tarzan as played by Johnny Weismuller, Gordon Scott and Ron Ely as well as all the of the accompanying Janes and chimps. ~ Rovi

In this touching family drama, a loving couple discovers they can no longer make babies so they provide a good home to unwanted children. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

"Not since Columbo has catching a killer been this clever!" That was the ad come-on for Diary of a Perfect Murder, a 1986 TV movie starring Andy Griffith as a homespun Georgia defense attorney. Griffith takes the case of a TV reporter (Steve Inwood) who has been accused of the murder of his ex-wife. In the tradition of Perry Mason, Matlock plays his cards close to the vest, then reveals the identity of the true murderer right in the courtroom. Sound familiar? It should: Diary of a Perfect Murder was the pilot film for Andy Griffith's still-running Matlock series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this made-for-TV drama, a Vietnam vet's family life is shattered when the child he fathered during wartime suddenly appears on his doorstep. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Filmed in Hong Kong, the made-for-TV China Rose stars George C. Scott as an American businessman. Scott arrives in Canton, China, trying to find out what has happened to his rebellious son, who was swept up in China's "cultural revolution". Ali MacGraw plays a freewheeling guide who falls in love with Scott while helping him locate his son. Together, Scott and MacGraw uncover what was described in the original ads as a "shocking secret". The long-in-tooth stars are not ideally suited to their roles in China Rose, but that's only one of the many problems plaguing this murky melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole is an unabashedly biased recreation of the controversy concerning the "conquering" of the North Pole. Robert E. Peary (Rod Steiger), a US Navy commander and shameless self-promoter, sets out through Arctic wastes in 1909 to discover the Pole, an expedition that many others have attempted but failed to complete. His principal rival is Dr. Frederick A. Cook (Richard Chamberlain), who insists that he'd already reached the Pole in 1908. Though the experts (and the US Congress) conclude that Perry was first, public opinion is firmly in Cook's corner--as is this TV movie. Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole fails to conclusively prove who did what (there were too many liberties taken by the script), though it did serve to briefly reopen the possibility that Cook was telling the truth. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

By the admission of its own producers, the made-for-TV Marian Rose White was "extremely loosely based" on a true story. The real Marian Rose White was a 1930s teenager who suffered from a congenital visual defect. This led to her being misdiagnosed as "feebleminded," and locked away in a Sonoma, California institution. Despite the entreaties of sympathetic staffers, Marian was forced to undergo a legally mandated sterilization--which her widowed, impoverished mother readily agreed to. Thirty years passed before this terrible wrong was addressed and Marian was allowed to re-enter society. For the purposes of this film, those three decades were telescoped into four years. The result is a sincere (if somewhat rushed) "injustice of the week" TV effort. Katherine Ross is top-billed as a compassionate nurse, while Valerie Perrine is cast as Marian's unfeeling mother. Marian Rose White is brilliantly essayed by Nancy Cartwright, who is best known today as the voice of cartoon character Bart Simpson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This 1981 motion picture follows in the footsteps of the first Christians, led by Peter and Paul, during three decades of evangelizing in the Mediterranean region. The 195-minute version of the original TV miniseries begins in Jerusalem four years after the death of Jesus Christ when Stephen, a disciple of the new religion, dies by stoning after Jews find him guilty of blasphemy. Among the Jewish accusers is Paul of Tarsus (Anthony Hopkins), a leader in the campaign against the Christians. However, when he reaches down for a stone to throw, he hesitates while other Jews carry out the sentence. Later, on his way to Damascus to root out Christians there, he is thrown from his horse. When he looks up, he sees a bright light and hears a voice -- the voice of the Christian God -- reproaching him for his persecution of the Jews. Paul then converts to Christianity and preaches on its behalf in Damascus, where authorities flog and jail him. He escapes and returns to Jerusalem. There, another Christian, Barnabas (Herbert Lom), introduces him to Peter (Robert Foxworth). At first, Peter suspects Paul is a spy. But after Paul persuades him that he has truly converted, the two men unite in their efforts to win souls to Christ. While Peter remains behind to labor in Jerusalem and other parts of Judea, then a Roman province, Paul goes north to preach in Antioch, Perga, Lystra, and other cities. However, because he converts Gentiles without requiring them to accept Jewish religious law and traditions, the Jerusalem branch of Christianity chastises him. Later, when Peter and others meet with Paul to strike a compromise, asking him to require Gentiles to accept a limited number of Jewish religious practices, Paul angrily rejects their proposal. Eventually, however, Paul and Peter reconcile and end up ministering in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero (Julian Fellowes). There, they become martyrs to their faith. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

John Hurt stars as John Merrick, the hideously deformed 19th century Londoner known as "The Elephant Man". Treated as a sideshow freak, Merrick is assumed to be retarded as well as misshapen because of his inability to speak coherently. In fact, he is highly intelligent and sensitive, a fact made public when one Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) rescues Merrick from a carnival and brings him to a hospital for analysis. Alas, even after being recognized as a man of advanced intellect, Merrick is still treated like a freak; no matter his station in life, he will forever be a prisoner of his own malformed body. Unable to secure rights for the famous stage play The Elephant Man, producer Mel Brooks based his film on the memoirs of Frederick Treves and a much later account of Merrick's life by Ashley Montagu. The film is lensed in black and white by British master cinematographer Freddie Francis. Though nominated for eight Academy Awards, the film was ultimately shut out in every category. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bess Armstrong is the anguished heroine of the made-for-TV Walking Through the Fire. A normal, healthy housewife and mother, Bess' world is shattered when she falls victim to Hodgkin's disease. Not only is her life threatened by this debilitating illness, but also the life of her unborn child. Walking Through a Fire was adapted by Sue Grafton from the autobiography by Laurel Lee. This David Susskind production first aired May 15, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this made-for-TV shocker, a young sorority pledge (Kay Lenz) gets even for being humiliated in a hazing prank. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Elizabeth Christman's novel A Nice Italian Girl was the source for the TV-movie Black Market Baby. Desi Arnaz Jr. plays a slick lothario who is paid by an illicit adoption agency to impregnate impressionable college student Linda Purl. The racketeers stand to make $50,000 by selling the baby to an anxious middle-aged couple. When Arnaz falls in love with Purl and tries to help her keep her baby, the crooks take swift and violent action. Originally titled A Dangerous Love, Black Market Baby was released theatrically overseas as Don't Steal My Baby--a title more appropriate to the overall tawdriness of the film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi