Richard Kiel Movies

Considered by many to be one of the worst films ever made, Eegah! is the story of a gigantic Neanderthal who has managed to survive into modern times living in California's Mojave desert, and who falls in love with and kidnaps the teenage girl who discovered him in a cave. A handsome young man (Arch Hall, Jr., the director's teenage son) proves to be her savior and while he and his rock & roll band play, the police shoot the caveman to bits. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hearing tales of a legendary giant who lives on Thunder Mountain, some kids go up the mountain to see for themselves. They discover the giant (Richard Kiel, who also co-wrote the film and was executive producer) and persuade him to shave off his beard and come out of hiding. However, a crooked carnival owner soon hears of him and has his own plans for the giant. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

This unappealing suspense film stars Ronald Foster and Erika Peters as a couple who arrive at a decrepit old mansion only to find that the previous occupants -- a group of circus freaks -- have yet to vacate the premises. Worse, it seems that the mischievous tenants are quite adamant about defending their territory against all outsiders while waiting for their keeper to return, and their methods of dissuading unwanted guests apparently include murder. This is a passable spook-house exercise, with lots of severed limbs flung at the hapless protagonists and and a silly cop-out ending, but the use of actual circus freaks as the villains (probably a cost-saving measure for the filmmakers) is more than a little disconcerting. The circus giant is played by a young Richard Kiel. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The steely-mouthed Jaws, a character previously featured in the James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, receives a thinly-veiled reincarnation in this picture, rechristened Golob and again played by the inimitable Richard Kiel. With the help of several companions, including a robotic dog, Golob struggles to foil the world domination plans of a megalomaniacal scientist named Graal (Ivan Rassimov). ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

After appearing in cameos in the first two Aces Go Places movies, it was only a matter of time before cult filmmaker Tsui Hark took a turn in the director's chair himself, and the result is a spectacularly silly send-up of the spy genre and one of the series' best installments. King Kong (Sam Hui) is kidnapped in Paris by a British agent called James (Jean Marchent) who wants to recover one of the stolen crown jewels, the Star of Fortune. For some reason, the jewel is hidden at the headquarters of the Hong Kong police, meaning that King Kong will have to steal the jewel without the knowledge of his best friend, bald detective Albert Au (Karl Maka). Albert and his wife, the fiery Superintendent Ho (Sylvia Chang), have a new baby in their house, but their tempestuous relationship produces as many fireworks as ever, with Albert ready to walk out and King Kong using the situation to his advantage by setting Albert up on a date so he can pull off the heist. Eventually, of course, King Kong realizes what the duplicitous James is up to and joins his friend in bringing the bad guys to justice. Peter Graves and Richard Kiel show up to add to the fun, and there are numerous jabs at various genre clichés to go alongside the series' usual blend of action, slapstick, and interpersonal conflict. Purists should note that the dubbed English version on Thorn-EMI is missing approximately 12 minutes and loses a great deal in the translation. The next installment, 1986's Aces Go Places IV, would be helmed by Ringo Lam. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Producer and director Otto Preminger reportedly experimented with LSD in the late 60's, which inspired him to make this notorious comedy in which Jackie Gleason plays Tony, a mid-level gangster and former hired killer not very happy with his life. He bickers a lot with his wife Flo (Carol Channing) and isn't sure what to make of his daughter Darlene (Alexandra Hay), especially since she started dating a hippie named Stash (John Phillip Law). Two of Tony's superiors, Angie (Frankie Avalon) and Hechy (Cesar Romero), order him to get arrested, go to prison and once behind bars whack "Blue Chips" Packard (Mickey Rooney). Though he's not pleased with the idea, Tony grudgingly goes along, but once inside, he's accidentally dosed with LSD by counterculture activist the Professor (Austin Pendleton). His consciousness expanded by his trip, Tony leaves his violent lifestyle behind him and with the Professor's help plans an escape after turning the entire prison population on to acid. Certainly your only opportunity to see Groucho Marx play a character named "God," not to mention a supporting cast that includes Slim Pickens, Peter Lawford, George Raft, Frank Gorshin and Arnold Stang, Skidoo is also remembered as the film in which Harry Nilsson sang all the credits. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Kolos (Richard Kiel) is a space alien sent to Earth in this low-budget science fiction story. His mission is to make duplicates of the world leaders in an effort to take over the world. Government agents Glenn Martin (George Nader) and Gale Wilson (Barbara Nichols) are called on to stop the scheming alien. Watch for Hugh Beaumont (best known as Ward Cleaver in the television series Leave It To Beaver) in his last screen role. Kiel would gain fame as the villainous character known as Jaws in several James Bond spy thrillers in the 1970s. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this fun-filled adventure-fantasy, a rookie knight embarks upon a valiant quest to save a princess who has been captured by a malicious magician. Along the way he must battle the usual assortment of dragons, ogres and other mythical beings. He is assisted by a good witch who gives him a magic sword. Unfortunately, the magic fails and suddenly he must find his own magic from within. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This parody takes a poke at Cold War espionage films as it tells the tale of two Red spies who sneak into the U.S. and onto a Western dude ranch with an infectious bunny. It is hoped that the little hopper will cause a deadly epidemic. Once on the ranch, the Soviet agents finds themselves surrounded by similarly disguised agents from all over the world. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Everybody knows the "punchline" of this classic Twilight Zone episode, but that doesn't make this entry any less entertaining. Told in flashback (a last-minute decision, judging by the original script), this is the story of the Kanamints, a race of giant space aliens who arrive on Earth, ostensibly on a mission of goodwill. The Kanamints offer all manner of scientific advancements; all they ask in exchange is that the earthlings trust them without question. Meanwhile, a team of scientists, headed by Dr. Chambers (Lloyd Bochner), work day and night to translate a Kanamint book, the title of which is, of course, "To Serve Man." Richard Kiel, the 7-foot-plus actor who gained fame as "Jaws" in the James Bond series, appears as the Kanamint leader (though his voice is dubbed by Marvin Miller. Scripted by Rod Serling from a short story by Damon Knight, "To Serve Man" was originally telecast March 2, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Trying to recreate the screwball comedy success of his collaborations with Peter Bogdanovitch, actor Ryan O'Neal headlined this sporadically funny mixture of light farce and social satire. O'Neal stars as Bobby, an intellectual English professor who leaves his job when his father Jack (Jack Warden) appeals to him for help. A garment manufacturer, Jack is in serious debt to humongous loan shark Eddie (Richard Kiel), and he desperately needs his business to provide the capital to pay Eddie back. Completely by accident, Bobby invents the solution to his dad's problem: see-through denim blue jeans with strategically placed holes in the rear that expose one's backside. The fickle public goes mad over the "sexy" new style, and the money starts flowing in, but Bobby exacerbates his father's problems greatly when he falls for and begins dating the amorous Lira (Mariangela Melato), whose husband is none other than Eddie. So Fine was the feature directorial debut of popular Blazing Saddles (1974) writer Andrew Bergman, who would wait eight years before getting behind the camera again with the much more successful The Freshman (1990). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide