Richard Kiel Movies
We shouldn't say it, but...at seven foot two, American actor Richard Kiel was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Making the cast-call rounds while working as a nightclub bouncer, Kiel began picking up bit roles in the early '60s. He was the misleadingly altruistic alien in the classic 1962 Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" (you'll remember that climactic line "It's a cookbook!") and was less prestigiously starred in that masterpiece of bad cinema, Eegah! (1962). Ambling through a series a tough-lug and town-bully roles, Kiel attained full stardom as the menacing, steel-dentured Jaws in the the 1977 James Bond flick The Spy Who Loved Me. So well-received was this appearance that the scriptwriters contrived to bring Jaws back from the dead in the next Bondfest, Moonraker (1979), wherein Kiel becomes a good guy before the end and even gets a girlfriend. In 1992, Richard Kiel turned producer/director (in addition to starring) with the appropriately titled The Giant of Thunder Mountain, a "four waller" which was released on a city-by-city basis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1964
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
- Starring:
- George Nader, Barbara Nichols, (more)
Country and western star Ferlin Husky plays a backwoods yokel who inherits a Las Vegas saloon staffed by barmaid Mamie Van Doren. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Ex-football star Paul Crewe (Burt Reynolds) ends up in a prison run by sadistic sports-nut Warden Hazen (Eddie Albert). Strong-armed into forming an inmate football team, Crewe manages to instill an esprit de corps previously lacking in the prisoners' lives. Besides, they now have the chance to beat the guards' football team, headed by the hissable Capt. Knauer (Ed Lauter). Hazen orders Crewe to throw the match; otherwise, Crewe will never get the pardon he's been promised. The football game that follows consumes nearly a third of the picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Basil Rathbone, Estelle Winwood, (more)
- 1967
Having escaped the clutches of mad scientist Vito Scotti in the previous week's episode "Case of the Missing Monkee," the Monkees find themselves at the mercy of another demented doctor in "I Was a Teenage Monster." This time, the boys are hired by Dr. Mendoza (John Hoyt), who wants them to teach his Monster (a pre-James Bond Richard Kiel) how to dance and sing. When the boys are unable to do so, the Doc prepares to transfer their musical talents into the Monster, with the assistance of his giggling assistant Groot (Byron Foulger). Songs: "Your Auntie Grizelda", "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day", and the series' theme tune. Originally seen on January 16, 1967, "I Was a Teenage Monster" was written by Dave Evans, Gerald Gardner, and Dee Caruso, from a story by Evans. ~ Hal Erickson, 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
- Starring:
- Mischa Terr, Arch Hall, Jr., (more)
In this off-beat sci-fi adventure an astronaut must make a forced landing upon a remote asteroid. His ship is damaged and he must breathe the planet's atmosphere. Soon he begins shrinking and once he gets down to six inches discovers the place populated by diminutive people who have turned the flying rock into a ship. He soon joins forces with the little people to defeat the monstrous solarites, terrifying creatures out to eat them. The leader of the wee-folk is Francis X. Bushman who was once a popular romantic lead in silent movies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- PG
Tapping into one of the favorite subjects of Chinese cinema, War of the Wizards tells the tale of Tai, a young fisherman (Charles Lang) who accidentally dredges up a magical Golden Vessel that functions like the Horn of Plenty -- it grants wealth whenever the fisherman needs it. Along with this precious object, Tai finds a Bamboo Book with valuable secrets written inside. Soon the fisherman is fending off assaults from villains and evil wizards alike, though he cannot resist the final "assault" -- he falls in love with two sisters and marries one while keeping the other as a concubine. Unknown to Tai, the sisters are the front line of offense for their Aunt, a sorceress of black-magic who steals the Golden Vessel and then wants the Bamboo Book as well. In the last 40 minutes, the action builds to a climactic confrontation between the sorceress, her bodyguard (Richard Kiel), and Tai, who has acquired magic powers by flying to Fairy Mountain on the back of a Phoenix. Although told at the maturity level of a young child, the themes of magic and sorcery, of wizards who are both good and evil and can call on special powers when they are in combat, are among the oldest and most popular of Chinese mythologies. For most Western audiences though, this film will seem like a Walt Disney feature gone mad. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Kiel, Charles Lang, (more)
Though not Ian Fleming's most famous James Bond novel, 1962's The Spy Who Loved Me was distinguished by the unique device of telling the story from the heroine's point of view; in fact, Bond doesn't make an appearance until the book is two-thirds over. This would hardly work in the film world's Bond franchise, so the original austere plotline of the novel was eschewed altogether in favor of a labyrinthine story involving outer-space extortion. The leading lady, a "hard-luck kid" in the original, is now sexy Russian secret agent Barbara Bach, who joins forces with Bond (Roger Moore, making his third appearance as 007) to foil yet another megalomaniac villain (Curt Jurgens), who plans to threaten New York City with nuclear weaponry. Beyond the eye-popping opening ski-jump sequence, the film's best scenes involve seven-foot-two Richard Kiel as steel-toothed henchman Jaws. Fifteen scriptwriters worked on The Spy Who Loved Me; only two were credited, including Bond-film veteran Richard Maibaum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, (more)
- 1962
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
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bochner, Richard Kiel, (more)
- 1978
- PG
In this broad, occasionally slapstick comedy, Dewey and Wallace (Tim Conway and Chuck McCann) are small-town lawmen who are trying to find out where some thieves have hidden their money. With the help of the governor of their state, they are able to enter the prison where the thieves are incarcerated, posing as convicted criminals in the hopes of getting the information from them. When the governor dies without informing anyone of the ruse, they are trapped in prison, as no one else knows their true identity. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Conway, Chuck McCann, (more)
- 1990
- PG
Professional wrestlers Peter Paul and David Paul star in this muscle-bound comedy about two slowwitted truck drivers who are hired to transport a heap of toxic waste across the country to Los Angeles. Along the way, the boys run into a 16-year-old girl genius who is on the run from a secret government research center because she holds plans for a mysterious secret weapon. With government agents in pursuit, the two lunkheads and the teen prodigy have to make it to L.A. with their toxic waste and avoid being captured by amoral government forces. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Paul, David Paul, (more)
