Vince Howard Movies

William Windom makes a return visit to Mission: Impossible, again in a villainous characterization. This time, Windom is cast as Stu Gorman, a music-industry executive fronting for the Syndicate. To get the goods on Gorman, IMF agents Barney and Casey pose as blues singers--with Casey taking her part of the charade to dangerous extremes. This episode is highlighted by Greg Morris' rendition of "Judy's Gone Now", a song specially written for the series by Morris and Benny Golson. Scripted by Howard Berk and Orville H. Hampton from a story by Berk, "Blues" first aired on November 20, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Murray Hamilton guest-stars as deranged nuclear scientist Dr. Jerome Cooper, who threatens to destroy an unspecified American city with a hydrogen bomb unless the President capitulates to his demands. Normally, the IMF would have no trouble defusing such a bomb; the problem here is to find out where the bomb has been planted--and the agents have only 15 hours to do so. Barbara Anderson again subs for series regular Lynda Day George as the resident female IMF agent. Scripted by Harold Livingston from a story by Livingston and Sheyrl Hendrix, "Ulitmatum" was originally broadcast on November 18, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Diana Canova guests as Maggie McCauley, former student of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) and now the producer of a TV police show. Shortly after a heated argument between Maggie and the network programmer who is planning to cancel the series, the programmer turns up murdered. With herself under suspicion, Maggie draws upon the deductive skills gleaned from her mentor Jessica to find the real killer. Actor-turned-network executive Dwayne Hickman is quite cleverly cast in this episode!. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During a non-stop flight to London, a valuable necklace is stolen and the courier hired to guard the necklace is poisoned. One of the passengers is Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), who of course offers her services to Scotland Yard as they try to retrieve the gems and catch the killer. Among the main characters in this melodrama are a famous actress, a taciturn former police officer, and a furtive-looking tourist couple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The duplicitous owner (James Coco) of a popular theme park engages Jessica (Angela Lansbury) to design a "house of horror". Shortly, thereafter, the owner is murdered in his underground office--an "impossible" crime, inasmuch as the office was securely locked from the inside. Inasmuch as the wife of investigating detective Lt. Donovan (James Stephens) is Jessica's niece Carol , it is perhaps a "given" that our heroine will take a hand in solving the murder. Incidentally, the two Donovan children are played by a very young Joaquin Phoenix (here billed as "Leaf") and his sister Summer Phoenix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Quincy (Jack Klugman) is an unwilling key player in an elaborate vengeance scheme concocted by arrogant paralegal Carl Norman (Jeff Pomerantz). After the 7-year-old granddaughter of law professor Henry Hillman (Lew Ayres) is kidnapped in broad daylight, Norman calmly walks into police headquarters and confesses to the crime, further demanding to be put on trial immediately. Using the flaws in the legal system to his advantage, Norman is supremely confident that he will not only be acquitted for the crime, but that he will be able to collect the ransom for the girl without running the risk of a future arrest--thanks to that all-too-familiar loophole known as "Double Jeopardy". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After burying his victim in an underground box with a limited air supply, a kidnapper rushes to the location where the ransom is to dropped--only to be killed in a car crash. Racing against time, the police desperately seek out clues as to the victim's whereabouts before his oxygen runs out. Joining the hunt is medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman), who hopes that a discarded piece of apple will provide enough forensic evidence to save a life. This is one of a handful of second-season Quincy, M.E. episodes deemed worthy of two network rerun showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At last the secret has been revealed! Prime-time network programming is determined by a chimpanzee! That's the premise of Disney's The Barefoot Executive, a highly amusing spoof of the TV bizz. Kurt Russell plays a page boy at a bottom-rated TV network. Stuck with his girl friend's (Heather North) pet chimp, Russell discovers that his hairy friend has a genuine gift for picking hit TV series. Appointed head of programming, Russell keeps the fact that the chimp is doing all the work hidden from the public. But when his former boss Joe Flynn and his rival John Ritter find out, all heck breaks loose (we'd say "all hell", but this is a Disney flick). A strong supporting cast of comic "regulars"-Wally Cox, Harry Morgan, Alan Hewitt, Hayden Rorke et al.--keeps The Barefoot Executive moving at a fast clip ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Generally cast as a villain in such series as the F.B.I., Richard Kiley is herein seen as the victim. Kidnapped by three homicidal extortionists, pediatrician Herbert Barth (Kiley) manages to break free and escapes into the wilderness. The rest of the episode is a variation on the old "Most Dangerous Game" theme, as Barth is hunted down like an animal by expert marksman James Vaughn (Jerry Ayres). This episode was filmed on location in the forests of Utah and Washington State. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

15 years after defecting to the Communists, disillusioned American atomic scientist John Streyer (Richard Kiley) secretly returns to the United States. Not surprisingly, Streyer's homecoming is greeted with outright hostility by former friends and loved ones--and worse, a Red assassin has surfaced with orders to kill him. Arthur Ward (Philip Abbott), the boss of FBI inspector Lew Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.), makes it his personal mission to locate Streyer before the killer does. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Washington DC for a secret meeting with a journalist who believes in his innocence, Kimble (David Janssen) saves the life of African ambassador Unawa (Ivan Dixon). Out of gratitude, Unawa allows Kimble to hide out in his country's embassy building, where the fugitive is protected by diplomatic immunity. Unforunately, Unawa's wife Davala (Diana Sands) is planning to turn Kimble over to the cops in a desperarte efforts to improve relations between her country and the U.S. Brock Peters rather surprisingly shows up unbilled in the role of an embassy servant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Because the producers couldn't get clearance to film on the real Golden Gate bridge, The Golden Gate Murders is enacted upon a distressingly unconvincing studio mock-up. The film itself is far better than its backdrop: David Janssen stars as a detective investigating the supposed suicide of a priest. Susannah York portrays a nun who is anxious to save the priest's immortal soul by proving that his fatal plunge into San Francisco Bay was murder, not suicide. A curious, chaste romance develops between cop and nun, which turns out to be more interesting at times than the case at hand. Golden Gate Murders was released theatrically as Specter on the Bridge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally and imprudently titled The Whorehouse Sting, this fact-based, made-for-TV melodrama casts Beau Bridges as federal agent Frank Powell, who makes it his mission to bring slick but deadly racketeer Oliver Sully (Harold Gould) to justice. This undertaking requires Powell and his fellow government functionaries to set up a phony San Francisco brothel (total price tag: $450,000), thereby setting the stage for an intricate extortion "sting". Putting her life on the line along with Powell is professional call girl Kathy Dunne (Farrah Fawcett), who agrees to pose as the brothel's madam. Laced with moments of unexpected humor and capped by an unexpected denoument, The Red-Light Sting debuted April 5, 1984, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide