Michael Connors Movies
Born Krekor Ohanian, American actor Mike Connors was born and raised in the heavily Armenian community of Fresno, California. He studied law at UCLA, but distinguished himself in sports (he'd gotten in on a basketball scholarship). While in the Air Force, Connors switched his career goals to acting on the advice of producer/director William Wellman, who'd remembered Connors' college athletic activities. Hollywood changed young Mr. Ohanian's last name to Connors, and since this was the era of "Rocks" and "Tabs" it was decided that the actor needed a suitably rugged first name. So Connors spent his first few acting years as Touch Connors, a nickname he'd gotten while playing college football. His first picture was the Joan Crawford vehicle Sudden Fear (1952) but handsome hunks were a glut on the market in the early '50s, so Connors found himself in "B" pictures, mostly at bargain-basement American International studios. Renaming himself "Mike," Connors was able to secure the lead role as an undercover agent on the 1959 detective series Tightrope. The series was a hit but was dropped from the network due to complaints about excessive violence, though it cleaned up in syndication for years afterward. After a few strong but non-starring roles in such films as Good Neighbor Sam (1963) and Where Love Has Gone (1964), Connors landed the title role in Mannix (1967), a weekly TV actioner about a trouble-prone private eye. For the next eight high-rated seasons, Connors' Joe Mannix was beaten up, shot at, cold-cocked and nearly run over in those ubiquitous underground parking lots each and every week. The series ran in over 70 foreign countries, allowing Connors a generous chunk of profits percentages in addition to his lofty weekly salary-- which became loftier each time that the actor announced plans to retire. Mike Connors has starred in the 1981 series Today's FBI and filmed a cop-show pilot titled Ohanian (playing a character with his own real name), but nothing has quite captured the public's fancy, or been as lucrative in reruns, as Connors' chef d'ouevre series Mannix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1965
A pair of American Allied fliers (Michael Connor and Robert Redford in his second feature film appearance) are shot down in a small German village near the end of WW II and end up captured and held prisoner in the wine cellar of a lonely old man (Alec Guiness). The old man likes having the two around and so endeavors to keep them in his cellar even though the war is over. The two remain there for seven years and while they wait, the old man regales them with tales of a wonderful Nazi world. The strange plot of this comedy is based on a novel by Robert Shaw. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Connors, Robert Redford, (more)
- 1953
Dan Duryea essays a rare sympathetic role in the Columbia programmer Sky Commandos. At first glance, however, Duryea seems to be the villain. Cast as a martinet air force officer, he drives his men mercilessly, earning the enmity of practically everyone under his command. But through a series of flashbacks, the audience learns that the officer is actually a sensitive, honorable man, who goes through hell whenever one of his "boys" is killed. In one of her last major film roles, Frances Gifford plays a savvy female war correspondent -- while in one of his first roles, Touch Connors (later known as Mike Connors) portrays Duryea's hotheaded co-pilot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Duryea, Frances Gifford, (more)
- 1966
Outbound from a small town recently besieged by Indians, a stagecoach carries several diverse characters. They include rummy sawbones Josiah Boone (Bing Crosby), dance-hall girl and prostitute Dallas (Ann-Margret), embezzling bank clerk Gatewood (Robert Cummings), pregnant army officer's wife Lucy Mallory (Stefanie Powers), policeman Curly (Van Heflin), and several others. En route, the drunken Doc Boone is forced to sober up and deliver Lucy's baby, and the travelers are joined by Ringo (Alex Cord), an outlaw falsely accused of killing his own father and brother. Despite being arrested by Curly, Ringo helps fight off Indians and falls for Dallas. Once the coach reaches its destination, Luke Plummer (Keenan Wynn) and his two sons, the real killers of Ringo's family, shoot Gatewood for his stolen loot and wound Curly. A showdown between the Plummers and Ringo is inevitable. Famed painter Norman Rockwell, who rendered cast portraits for the film's closing credits sequence, appears in a brief cameo. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Red Buttons, (more)
- 1972
Dr. Calvin Crosse (Philip M. Thomas) is a doctor just out of medical school, and he has moved to a small New England town to set up a medical practice. He's black, however, and the townspeople are pretty bigoted. Things don't look too good. The sheriff (Peter H. Clue) of the town started a whole wave of trouble when he infected his wife, long ago, with syphilis. The disease spread to their unborn daughter. Now grown, and very contagious, the daughter (Josie Johnson) has been having group sex with the town's young people in order to pay the old man back for his crimes. The doctor has to treat her victims and track down the disease's source. Vietnam Veteran Bill Waco (Harlan Cary Poe) assists him in this. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1958
American-International's Suicide Battalion was filmed virtually simultaneously with the studio's Jet Attack; both films were originally released on a double bill. Michael Connors plays Lt. Matt McCormick, who leads the eponymous battalion on a suicide mission in the Philippines during WW II. Their objective: to destroy valuable American documents, left behind when the area was evacuated just before the Japanese takeover. Before long, only two of the volunteers are left alive to complete the mission -- and they're none too fond of each other. Hawaiian entertainer Hilo Hattie unexpectedly shows up as the proprietress of a native saloon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Connors, John Ashley, (more)
- 1958
This video offers a double dose of war dramas. The first Suicide Battalion chronicles the courage of two GIs who risk everything to cross enemy lines and bring back secret documents from an outpost overrun by the enemy. The second Hell Squad follows the exploits of five Yankee soldiers who must make their way through the vast North African desert and survive constant attacks from the Nazis, desert raiders, and other foes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Review what happened to Armenia between the genocide attempt and the arrival of the Soviets. ~ All Movie Guide
Swamp Diamonds is the family-trade title for the sweaty Roger Corman crime melodrama Swamp Women. Policewoman Carole Mathews dons her torpedo bra and tight jeans to infiltrate a dangerous all-female criminal gang, currently serving time in a Louisiana Prison. The ladies escape and head to the swamp, where they've hidden a fortune in diamonds. Along the way, they kidnap geologist Touch Connors (later known as Mike Connors). For a while, it looks as though the girls will get away with their perfidy and Connors will end up as alligator bait, but Mathews saves the day. The supporting cast of Swamp Diamonds is a roll-call of 1950s "tough broads": Marie Windsor, Beverly Garland, Susan Cummings, Jil Jarmyn. Watch for Jonathan Haze, future star of Little Shop of Horrors, and Ed Nelson, future talk-show host and politician, in minor roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Windsor, Carole Mathews, (more)
- 1953
U.S. security agent John Ireland suspects that someone is smuggling atomic devices into America. When he makes his report, Ireland is assured by his superiors that nothing untoward is going on. In fact, the higher-ups have had the wool pulled over their eyes by a clever Communist saboteur, who is assembling a super-bomb, with plans to detonate the doomsday weapon somewhere in the States. If we had to have cold-war thrillers, replete with Commie bad guys wearing baggy suits and calling everyone "Comrade", it's too bad that all of these films weren't as entertaining as Columbia's The 49th Man. The original story was written by Ivan Tors, later the producer of such classic TV series as Science Fiction Theater and Sea Hunt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ireland, Richard Denning, (more)
- 1956
The Day the World Ended was filmmaker Roger Corman's modest entree into the realm of science fiction. The film begins at "The End"--or rather, the years following an all-out atomic war. A group of survivors find refuge in a well-protected valley owned by Maddison (Paul Birch) and his daughter Louise (Lori Nelson). Conflicts of a romantic nature erupt among Louise and her two erstwhile suitors, gun-wielding Tony (Touch--later Mike--Connors) and geologist Rick (Richard Denning), but these are shunted aside when it develops that the valley is infested with mutated, radioactive animals. Before long, a few similarly mutated human beings begin wandering into view (one of these is played by Jonathan Haze, the future star of Corman's Little Shop of Horrors). Carefully staying within its limited budget, The Day the World Ended is a well-crafted, thought-provoking apocalyptic fable. The film was inadequately remade in 1966 as Year 2889. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, (more)
- 1979
The demolition of a real-life amusement park in Norfolk, Virginia was excuse enough for The Death of Ocean View Park. Factual footage of the park's destruction is blended into a fictional plotline by screenwriters John Furia Jr. and Barry Oringer. Mike Connors, Diana Canova, Perry Lang, Caroline McWilliams and James Stephens are among a group of funfair revellers who attend OceanView Park on the Fourth of July. It isn't long before Mother Nature puts on a real fireworks display-a devastating hurricane. Made for television, Death of Ocean View Park premiered October 19, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die was the original network title for the 1976 TV movie also known as Ohanian. Mike Connors plays Ohanian, an Armenian-American ex-cop who runs a charter boat service. He's pulled back into the investigation game when one of his old friends is killed in Hawaii by a foreign assassin. The Killer Who Wouldn't Die was the two-hour pilot for an unsold series starring Mike Connors. Had it been picked up, undoubtedly much would have been made by the publicity mills that Ohanian was Connors' real last name--just as we were constantly reminded that Sanford was the actual moniker of comedian Redd Foxx. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on the Holy Scriptures, with additional dialogue by several other hands, The Ten Commandments was the last film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The story relates the life of Moses, from the time he was discovered in the bullrushes as an infant by the pharoah's daughter, to his long, hard struggle to free the Hebrews from their slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. Moses (Charlton Heston) starts out "in solid" as Pharoah's adopted son (and a whiz at designing pyramids, dispensing such construction-site advice as "Blood makes poor mortar"), but when he discovers his true Hebrew heritage, he attempts to make life easier for his people. Banished by his jealous half-brother Rameses (Yul Brynner), Moses returns fully bearded to Pharoah's court, warning that he's had a message from God and that the Egyptians had better free the Hebrews post-haste if they know what's good for them. Only after the Deadly Plagues have decimated Egypt does Rameses give in. As the Hebrews reach the Red Sea, they discover that Rameses has gone back on his word and plans to have them all killed. But Moses rescues his people with a little Divine legerdemain by parting the Seas. Later, Moses is again confronted by God on Mt. Sinai, who delivers unto him the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile, the Hebrews, led by the duplicitous Dathan (Edward G. Robinson), are forgetting their religion and behaving like libertines. "Where's your Moses now?" brays Dathan in the manner of a Lower East Side gangster. He soon finds out. DeMille's The Ten Commandments may not be the most subtle and sophisticated entertainment ever concocted, but it tells its story with a clarity and vitality that few Biblical scholars have ever been able to duplicate. It is very likely the most eventful 219 minutes ever recorded to film--and who's to say that Nefertiri (Anne Baxter) didn't make speeches like, "Oh, Moses, Moses, you splendid, stubborn, adorable fool"? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, (more)
- 1955
Twinkle in God's Eye, Mickey Rooney's second personal production for Republic Pictures, is at the very least an improvement upon the first (The Atomic Kid). More subdued than usual, Rooney stars as Rev. Macklin, a greenhorn clergyman who tries to spread the Good Word to a rowdy western town. Intending to rebuild a church recently destroyed by Indians, Macklin faces tough opposition from the local gambling hall owner (Hugh O'Brian), not to mention a trigger-happy outlaw (Don Barry). Using faith rather than fisticuffs, the reverend manages to win over his opposition, beginning with golden-hearted dance hall gal Laura (Colleen Gray). Though certain latter-day wiseguys have drubbed Mickey Rooney for this very mild western drama, Twinkle in God's Eye is more entertaining than its reputation would indicate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Coleen Gray, (more)
- 1962
In hiding ever since his gang was wiped out in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Bugs Moran (George J. Wilke) is surprised when he is visited by a dead man. Actually, Eddie O'Gara (Michael Connors) is very much alive; it's just that everyone assumed he'd been killed by his fellow hoodlums when he dropped out of sight three years ago. Though Moran dismisses O'Gara as a two-bit punk, he is most receptive when Eddie comes up with a plan to put Bugs back on top again. Meanwhile, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) searches high and low for both Moran and O'Gara, certain that at least one of them will be mad enough at their former enemies to help the Feds smash the Chicago Underworld once and for all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In this drama, a crack team of G-men face danger and death as they attempt to gather evidence on a crime lord. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- R
This uneasy mix between a slasher film and a police story focuses on a series of murders in a luxury Manhattan apartment building and the main suspect in the case, an eccentric doorman (Ian McShane). The chief detective sent to unravel the crimes, Lt. Dinardo (Mike Connors) is involved with Kate (Anne Archer), an undercover cop who installs herself in the apartment building to lure the killer into action. This makes the lieutenant particularly interested in the outcome of Kate's ploy. Although potentially prone to high suspense and dramatic turns, the story is not quite as tension-filled (or gory) as its outlines suggest. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Connors, Anne Archer, (more)
- 1957
Advertised as an out-and-out horror picture, Voodoo Woman is more of a "greed and revenge" melodrama than anything else. Mad scientist Dr. Roland Gerard (Tom Conway) squirrels himself away in the jungle, hoping to create a race of super-beings. What he comes up with is a passel of hideous-looking female monstrosities, one of whom is played by ace monster creator Paul Blaisdell (who, last time we looked, was a guy). The film goes off on a slightly different tangent when mercenary murderess Marilyn Blanchard (Marla English) invades Dr. Gerard's private domain. It is inevitable that Gerard will transform Marilyn into a monster, leading to a lively if barely credible finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marla English, Tom Conway, (more)
- 1964
Based on the novel by Harold Robbins, comes this family drama from director Edward Dmytryk. Adapted for the the screen by John Michael Hayes, the film follows the events that befall Luke Miller (Michael Connors) when he discovers that his daughter, Danielle (Joey Heatherton), has been arrested for murdering his ex-wife Valerie's (Susan Hayward) new lover. As Danielle's trial unfurls, and the sordid events of the family's past are brought into the open, Luke is forced to address and relive several of the painful events that led to the family's present state. Also starring Bette Davis as Valerie's mother and a pre-Star Trek DeForest Kelley, Where Love Has Gone netted Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, the songwriters behind the film's title song. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Bette Davis, (more)
