Rod Taylor Movies

Hell on Frisco Bay is a slam-bang return to the sort of gangster fare turned out by the yard at Warner Bros. in the 1930s. Alan Ladd plays ex-cop Steve Rollins, who serves five years on a manslaughter rap. Upon his release, Rollins dedicates himself to finding the real killer. He soon learns that the man responsible for the frame-up was Victor Amato (Edward G. Robinson), the crime kingpin who rules the roost on the docks of San Francisco. Hoping to keep the heat off his operation, Amato "invites" Rollins to join his gang. Had Rollins accepted at this point, the film would have been over; instead, he doggedly pursues the gang boss with the help of such allies as cast-off gangster moll Kay Stanley (Fay Wray) and police lieutenant Dan Bianco (William Demarest). Amato is so desperate at one point that he orders the murder of his own nephew; surely a man with this sort of temperament is doomed to a horrible demise, and that's just what happens. Joanne Dru costars as Rollins' estranged wife Marcia, who believes in her husband but doesn't relish the notion of his being shot full of holes by Amato's goons. At the time of the film's release, the critics went overboard in their approval of Edward G. Robinson's full-blooded reprisal of the sort of role which made him famous (Robinson himself hated the part, but needed the work). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rod Taylor and Britt Ekland lend their talents--and a measure of box-office insurance--to the Spanish Hot Spot. The film is set on the Riviera, where passions run high and the money flows like water. Two lovers intend to top off their vacation on the Cote D'Azur with a daring robbery. Their target: a very wealthy, very nasty tycoon. But the tycoon has a virtual army of henchman, meaning that the plot will not be resolved any sooner than the film's allotted running time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set during the time of the brilliant Queen Elizabeth I of England, this adventure tale is loosely based on the exploits of Sir Francis Drake (Rod Taylor). He was one of the Queen's leading commanders in the battles with Spain over the gold of the New World. Drake is shown wearing several hats, so to speak. He is a pirate who has no problems about raiding Spanish gold arsenals. He is a military commander who plans and executes naval battles with the Spanish armada -- and wins. He is a diplomat who knows how to maneuver in courtly circles -- but that does not stop him from trashing a Spanish-backed plan to assassinate the Queen. Although this costume drama by Rudolph Maté is not without a few minor flaws, Drake's adventures should entertain most audiences, especially the younger set. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Jaclyn Smith trades the flimsy costumes of Charlie's Angels for the pink pillbox hat and white gloves of the former First Lady of the Land in the made-for-TV Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. The daughter of socialites "Black Jack" Bouvier (Rod Taylor) and Janet Lee (Claudette Nevins), Jackie spends her early adulthood at the posh Newport estate of her stepfather, Louis Auchincloss (Donald Moffat). In 1953, 24-year-old Jackie marries Senator John F. Kennedy (James Franciscus), himself a child of privilege. The film follows the King and Queen of "Camelot" through Kennedy's 1960 election as President, the tragedy of Jackie's highly publicized miscarriage in the summer of 1963, and the JFK assassination in the fall of that year. All things considered, Jaclyn Smith does a pretty creditable job capturing the "public" Jackie Kennedy, even if the "private" Jackie remains as elusive as she was in real life. (Sidebar: Though "Camelot" is heard on the soundtrack, the real Jackie Kennedy would later note that it was not her husband's favorite song, never mind the legend-weavers in the Kennedy camp). Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was first broadcast October 14, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sean Patrick Flannery and Rod Taylor star in this horrific tale of a small town overrun by a conspiracy of flesh eating ravens. Middletown sheriff Wayne Merkle (Flannery) has grown used to the quiet life over the years, and like the other citizens of his bustling community he could have never suspected what horrors were about to unfold during his last day before moving to the city with his pretty new bride Cynthia (Kristin Booth). The first sign that something was amiss in the skies over Middletown occurred when outcast farmer Clyde (Stephen McHattie) was attacked. But the locals have all grown tired of Clyde's bizarre exploits over the years, so when he comes into town claiming that he was attacked by ravens most folks simply laugh him off. Their guffaws soon turn to blood-curdling screams, however, when the local girl's soccer team comes under attack and the citizens are forced to barricade themselves in the town diner. While Sheriff Merkle and his good friend Doc (Taylor) do their best to board up the diner and ensure the safety of the citizens, they quickly discover how futile their efforts were when the flesh-eating fowls make quick work of the flimsy shelter. It seems that local farmer Oskar (John Ralston) has been hiding some particularly unsettling developments from his fellow townspeople as of late, leaving the average citizens easy pickings for the razor-talon terror that circles above. As the day turns to night and the jet-black feathers of death become indistinguishable from the darkened sky, the few remaining survivors will wage one last, desperate stand against the army of merciless killers that circle overhead. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Robert Newton repeats his Treasure Island role as Long John Silver in this Australian adventure film--and if anything, Newton is even more out of control this time around than he'd been in the earlier picture. Paying only lip service to the Robert Louis Stevenson original, the film is made up of several marginally related episodes. In the first, Silver rescues a governor's daughter, managing to save the day and crooked line his own pockets in the process. In the second, Long John quells a mutiny and prevents his young friend Jim Hawkins (Kit Taylor) from having to walk the plank. And in the third, Long John and Jim arrive at Treasure Island, where they're forced to duke it out with the minions of Silver's old enemy Mendoza (Lloyd Burrell). Connie Gilchrist costars as Purity, Long John's on-and-off pubkeeper sweetheart. Long John Silver was later sliced up into three separate half-hours and released to TV as part of the 26-episode Long John Silver TV series, which of course also starred Robert "Arr, matey!" Newton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is in Ireland, staying at a bed-and-breakfast at Ballynook Castle. Rumor has it that the castle is haunted by the ghost of a murdered woman, and the locals are convinced that the spirt is responsible for the death of a kitchen worker. Suspecting that the victim was murdered by "live" culprits who are searching for a hidden treasure, Jessica follows a trail of clues that may well lead her into a death trap! Rod Taylor and Fionnula Flanagan, both of whom had appeared in previous episodes filmed in Ireland, show up here in different roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this exciting action thriller, an artistic widow fights to stay alive after her husband, a Marine who had discovered that the military was well aware that it was placing defective parts in its helicopters, is mysteriously murdered. Believing that the widow, a metal sculptress, has the damning evidence, the killers take off after her and her little son. None of them realizes that she too was a Marine and is more than capable of defending herself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Big business dealings, competition, and TV ratings wars are satirized in this biting comedy. Stuart Sain is an egotistical, over-ambitious Jewish executive. He works for Fielding, a company like Nielsen which uses small boxes to garner TV ratings statistics. Stuart is married to Cary, a psychologist. In the opening scenes, the GPN, which has been number 1 for over 10 years, is opening it's new season of drug oriented TV shows. After watching a televised special about Fielding, Sain gets mad and his promotion prospects are grim. He leaves his company and accepts a public relations position from Rachel Rowen, the pc head of PBT, the public television network. Rachel, like her commercial competitors is totally obsessed with being number 1. Her network does seem to be garnering a huge share of Fielding ratings. That may have something to do with the fact that their boxes are malfunctioning. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Featured performances by American performers Adam West (best known in the U.S. as television's "Batman") and Rod Taylor distinguish this Yugoslavian action film about partisans. Anna is a Jewish girl who hopes to rescue her grandfather from the concentration camps. She encounters an Austrian soldier (West) whom she knew before the war. He wants to help her, but she will not allow it, knowing the danger involved. During their meeting the partisans attack, and she helps her friend escape then opts for joining the partisans rather than hiding out with the other Jews in her area. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Conceived as a Gone With the Wind for the CinemaScope generation, Raintree County wasn't quite as successful as its role model, but it still proved a moneyspinner for MGM. Elizabeth Taylor stars as a spoiled Southern belle who falls in love with pacifistic Indiana youth Montgomery Clift. Though Clift is engaged to Eva Marie Saint, what Taylor wants, Taylor gets, and she isn't above using the dirtiest of deceptions to win Clift's affections. When the Civil War break out, Clift, a staunch abolitionist, joins the Union, much to the dismay of true-to-Dixie Taylor. While Clift is off fighting the war, Taylor descends into a depression that deepens into insanity. At war's end, Clift tries to come to terms with Taylor's lunacy for the sake of their child. But the strain proves too much for both of them, leading to an operatic climax which curiously segues into a happy ending (happy for some of the characters, anyway). If Montgomery Clift's performance--and appearance--seems to fluctuate wildly throughout the film, it is because he was involved in a serious auto accident during shooting, one that left both physical and emotional scars from which he never completely recovered. The 187-minute Raintree Country (reduced to 168 minutes after its initial roadshow engagements) was adapted by Millard Kaufman from the best-selling novel by Ross Lockridge, Jr. (whose own life story was infinitely more tragic than anything in his book). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though the fact was played down by the Universal-International publicity department, Step Down to Terror (aka The Silent Stranger) is a remake of the 1943 Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece Shadow of a Doubt. Charles Drake plays Johnny Williams, a psychotic serial killer who returns to his hometown to visit his mother (Josephine Hutchinson) and widowed sister-in-law Helen (Colleen Miller), both of whom are ignorant of his criminal past. Johnny hopes to settle down and start life anew, but Helen, her suspicions aroused by visiting detective Mike Randall (Rod Taylor), discovers the truth about her beloved brother-in-law. Failing to talk Helen out of turning him in, Johnny methodically plots her murder. Will Randall show up in the proverbial nick of time? Shadow of a Doubt was remade again, under its original title, as a 1991 TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide