Michael Dudikoff Movies
Though few familiar with buff skull cracker Michael Dudikoff would be shocked to hear that the handsome action star got his start in modeling, the fact that he previously studied child psychology might come as a surprise to those who think brawn overpowers brain. The Redondo Beach, CA, native was born to a Russian father in early October of 1954, and although Dudikoff isn't fluent in his native tongue, his father did teach him to speak a little Russian. Studies in child psychology preceded work as a model for the handsome young hopeful, and in 1978, he got his big break when cast in a supporting role on the wildly popular television drama Dallas. In the years that followed, Dudikoff appeared in both Happy Days and Gimme a Break!, and in 1980 the young rising star made his feature debut in The Black Marble. Small roles in Tron (1982) and Uncommon Valor (1983) found his action chops developing nicely, and after having a wild time in Bachelor Party (1984), Dudikoff had his breakthrough role in the 1985 martial arts action film American Ninja. Though the part was originally intended for film star Chuck Norris, Dudikoff made the role his own, to the delight of action fans worldwide. Though the requisite sequels came fast and furious, it was roles in such small-scale actioners as Platoon Leader (1988, directed by Chuck Norris' brother Aaron) and Midnight Ride (1990) that kept his name alive in the lucrative low-budget action market. Though Dudikoff's 1993 series Cobra would only hold out for one season, his average of two films per year would find him doling out the punches well into the new millennium. The late '90s found Dudikoff teaming with B-movie maestro Fred Olen Ray for a series of small-scale punishers, and in 2002, Dudikoff appeared opposite Treat Williams in Jim Wynorski's Gale Force. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Renegade L.A. detective Sam (Treat Williams) takes a role as a cast member in a reality TV show where he leads a quartet trying to find ten million dollars in buried cash. But Jared (Michael Dudikoff) secretly lands his violent militia on the island in an effort to slay the cast and steal the money. And Jared is successful: Thanks to a corrupt producer, the renegade mercenaries find the cache of cash and start off with it, but Sam and his intrepid, unarmed teammates interrupt them before they can depart. An explosion-filled chase across the island winds up with the good guys trapped by the heavily armed bad guys, and it looks like the game is over for the TV show survivors. However, Mother Nature, in the guises of a hurricane and tidal wave, has other ideas. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
Ed Raymond's science fiction disaster film Black Horizon concerns a group of astronauts who become stranded in space when a meteor strikes the space station onto which they have docked. They must escape before the limited amount of oxygen they have left disappears. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Ice-T, (more)
Incompatible fugitive recovery agents, the flighty Jersey Bellini (Michael Dudikoff) and his more serious-minded female partner, B.B. (Lisa Howard), have, for the last time, ticked off mobster Wald (Tony Curtis) by apprehending his rather inept henchmen just as they are about to commit a robbery or kill one of Wald's enemies. That's when Wald turns their fate over to the ruthless Crazy Carlos (Steve Bacic), with the intention of having Bellini and B.B. killed. But the hapless bounty hunters keep having good luck just when they need it most. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Lisa Howard, (more)
- 1998
In this drama, Ben O'Connor (Lee Majors) is a retired Secret Service agent who uses his skills as a poker player to win a fortune in Las Vegas. O'Connor decides to use his newly won wealth to bankroll a nightclub with two of his best friends, and when the son of a fellow Secret Service operative (Michael Dudikoff) comes aboard to help, O'Connor and company soon have one of the most successful nightspots around. However, their success soon attracts the sort of attention they neither want or need, and soon the "musketeers" are doing battle with mobsters who want to turn the club into a gambling den. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Majors, Michael Dudikoff, (more)
In this suspense drama, Michael Dudikoff plays a lawyer who becomes romantically involved with a married woman (Marlee Matlin). When a confrontation turns violent, the lawyer accidentally kills the cuckolded husband in self-defense; the late husband was a millionaire, and now his wife has now taken possession of his fortune. But does she truly love the lawyer, or was he merely being used as part of a clever scheme to get her hands on the money? The supporting cast includes Sophie Lorain and Steven Morgan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Sophie Lorain, (more)
- 1998
Vince Connors (Michael Dudikoff) is an Air Force test pilot who has been helping to perfect the Mach 2 fighting jet, a state-of-the-art weapon which incorporates special stealth technology which makes the plane invisible to both radar and the human eye. However, a band of Libyan terrorists have somehow gotten wind of the new jet, and in a daring raid they steal the Mach 2. Connors and his partner Jannick (Gary Hudson) are quickly sent on a secret emergency mission to recover the Mach 2, where Connors discovers that the terrorists are not his only enemies. Black Thunder also features Frederic Forrest, Nancy Valen, and Richard Norton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1996
US Marshal Mickey Dane is sent back to his native Prague to investigate the assassination of a Cuban UN ambassador. The prime suspect is professional hit woman Simone Rosset, the lesbian co-owner of a posh restaurant there. The other owner is Simone's girl friend. Mickey catches Simone, but then she escapes. He and his partner CIA-agent Alex Reed, catch her again and take her into the countryside until they can sneak her back into the States. As time passes, Mickey begins suspecting that she is innocent of the crime. Simone swears that she has retired and hasn't left the Czech Republic in over five years. Finally convinced, he and she head back for Prague only to find themselves even more deeply entangled in a complex conspiracy, treachery and violence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Randy Travis, (more)
In this thriller laced with comedy, Jersey Bellini (Michael Dudikoff) is a bounty hunter who has just been given a new assignment -- capture Izzy (Freddy Andreiuci), a car thief who has jumped bail and is on the run. Bellini tracks down Izzy, only to discover that a fellow bounty hunter from the same agency (and Bellini's former girlfriend), B.B. (Lisa Howard), has found him first. Bellini and B.B. are bringing Izzy in, using the car Izzy just stole, but when the two get into an argument, Izzy uses the opportunity to escape. Before long, they notice a strange noise coming from the trunk, which turns out to be a woman's voice. The car Izzy stole belonged to Deimos (Benjamin Ratner), a mobster who kidnapped the girl when she witnessed a murder he committed. B.B. lets the girl stay at her apartment while they decide what to do, but Deimos' men find Izzy and discover the girl is gone; now they need to find her -- and take care of anyone she's spoken with. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
In this thriller, an undercover spy attempts to stop terrorists from staging a coup on the government of a country that is a major supplier of the world's oil. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
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The fourth (and final!) entry in this kick-boxing series, sees the return of Michael Dudikoff as the leading foot flinger. Here a scheming sheik trains a bevy of ninja marauders that he's hoping can help him in his plan to hold the world ransom by holding hostage none other than the city of New York. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, David Bradley, (more)
- 1991
She sure did. Susan Lucci brings her daytime-drama flailing gestures to the prime time TV-movie scene in this melodramatic farrago. She plays a married woman who for the first and only time in her life succumbs to the charms of another man. Accused of murder, Lucci's only alibi is her adulterous liaison. Trouble is, she can provide no proof that the affair--or her lover--ever existed. The publicity people did their best to suggest that The Woman Who Sinned was reminiscent of Fatal Attraction, simply because both films involved a clandestine love affair and a psycho killer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Lucci, Tim Matheson, (more)
- 1990
Filmed in 1985 but not released until 1990, this film tells of a woman who flees from her husband and hitches a ride with a passing stranger. It turns out that the stranger (Mark Hamill) is a psychotic serial killer who likes to take Polaroids of his victims and then keep their eyeballs. The woman's husband, a cop, realizes who the stranger really is and sets out to rescue his wife. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1987
American Ninja 2: The Confrontation spotlights Michael Dudikoff and Steve James as a pair of combustible U.S. Army Rangers. Dudikoff and James are ordered to find out why so many Marine guards have been disappearing from their posts at the US Embassy in a mythical Carribean country. Turns out that villain Gary Conway has been kidnapping the Marines and forcing an abducted engineer to reprogram the captive Leathernecks so that they'll join Conway's army of zombielike assassins. Naturally, the scientist has a beautiful daughter (Michelle Botes) whom Conway uses as leverage. Battling not only Conway's minions but the corrupt local authorities, martial arts experts Dudikoff and James effectively lay waste to the villain's previously impenetrable stronghold. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, (more)
- 1986
Produced in the Autumn of the Golan-Globus collaboration, Avenging Force serves as a vehicle for American Ninja costar Michael Dudikoff. Cast as a retired secret service agent, Dudikoff runs up against a sinister right-wing political organization called the Pentangle. He comes to the aid of his best friend Steve James, a black political candidate who has become a target for the Pentangle's henchmen. Impressed by Dudikoff's martial arts skills, the Pentangle leaders try to convince him to join their cause-and to ensure his cooperation, they kidnap his little sister Alison Gereighty. Avenging Force concludes with a violent Enter the Dragon-style mano y mano squareoff between Dudikoff and the Pentangle flunkeys. The film's finale is "open" enough to allow for a sequel, which has yet to appear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, (more)
Sort of a triple-threat Bad Seed with a more overtly violent streak, this film tells the tale of trio of cherubic youngsters whose births all coincided with a solar eclipse, which somehow initiated a kind of time-release evil reaction that reaches its climax on the kids' tenth birthday, causing them to transform into miniature homicidal psychopaths. These darling little tykes then proceed to beat dad's brains out with a baseball bat, gun down their teacher, and otherwise beat, stab and strangle anyone who even looks cross-eyed at them. They also seem to be strangely fond of leering at naked teenage girls... or maybe that's just the director's favorite pastime. Produced in 1980, this proto-slasher opus was shelved for six years, then released to video to capitalize on the already-waning trend of Friday the 13th sequels and their hellish offspring. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Strasberg, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1981
A young girl's dangerous dance with dieting leads to near disaster in this exceptional made-for-television drama. In one of the earliest treatments of the subject, Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as Casey Powell, the quiet daughter of an overbearing mother and milquetoast father. Feeling pressure to be the good girl of the family after her troublesome older sister gets pregnant, Casey retreats into her secretive world of self-starvation. When arguing fails to produce results, her parents (Charles Durning and Eva Marie Saint) send her to a hospital where she meets a spunky fellow patient (Melanie Mayron) and a caring therapist (Jason Miller). Casey's road to recovery is not as simple as merely eating though, and she and her family realize that together they must confront the deeply-rooted familial issues that lay at the heart of Casey's affliction. Jennifer Jason Leigh is utterly compelling in the lead role. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
Adapted for the screen by novelist Joseph Wambaugh himself, The Black Marble stars Robert Foxworth as a burned-out, hard-drinking cop who is teamed with idealistic lady officer Paula Prentiss. These two polar opposites wade their way through a seamy urban world of corruption and hopelessness. The film is peppered with supporting players, of which include Harry Dean Stanton, James Woods, John Hancock and Barbara Babcock. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Foxworth, Paula Prentiss, (more)
When a military psychiatrist falls for a general's daughter, a dark conspiracy threatens to swallow up everyone involved in this action thriller from American Ninja director Sam Firstenberg. She may be the woman of his dreams, but unfortunately for military psychiatrist Bill Turner (Michael Dudikoff), Marine sergeant Randi Stewart (Brooke Theiss) is also the daughter of General Gordon Stewart (Dan Hedaya). As Dr. Turner's relationship with his new patient begins to reach well beyond the typical doctor/patient bond, he soon discovers that she is involved in a far-stretching political conspiracy but cannot tell if she is the victim or the perpetrator. Despite his reluctance to delve deeper and find the truth about Sergeant Stewart, Turner has already gone too far, and it's only a matter of time before he too is drawn in to a conspiracy and forced to struggle for survival. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff
Fire captain Jack Thomas (John Bradley) has his hands full when greedy developer Wendell Mays (Tom Arnold) arranges for his industrial refinery near the city to catch fire and explode for the insurance money. Not only are Thomas' firemen overtaxed and his veteran hero (Michael Dudikoff) in grave danger, but the nearby hospital is inadequate to handle the disaster, leaving the head doctor (Amanda Pays) to cope with internal politics as well as internal medicine. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- R
Michael Dudikoff, Gabrielle Miller, and Brennan Elliott star in this thriller about a federal agent who is assigned to get the inside scoop on a dangerous terrorist group. In order to blend into their ranks, he's forced to fake his own death and make friends with the group's deadly but charismatic leader. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Brennan Elliott, (more)
When terrorists hijack an airborne passenger jet containing the Vice President of the United States and a devastating amount of poison gas, it's up to an expert hostage negotiator to save the day. A veteran of the Gulf War, he has developed numerous skills for dealing with enemies such as these. Highly derivative of such big-league actioners as The Rock, Air Force One and Executive Decision, this low-budget knock-off does have a few well-done action scenes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Paul Winfield, (more)
In this high-flying action adventure, courageous American fighter pilots head skyward in hopes of preventing Arab rebels from terrorizing the nation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Tone-Loc, (more)
After the success of shock-jock Howard Stern's Private Parts, shock-TV host Jerry Springer made his own foray into celluloid. Fictionalizing only the name of his television show (what is normally called the The Jerry Springer Show, is now called "The Jerry Show"), Springer plays himself as a man who fronts a chair-throwing, dog-and-pony trash TV strip which gets high ratings in the backwoods, armpit communities of America. The story revolves around two sets of guests coming to Los Angeles to be on the show. First, the Zorzak family has slutty 19-year-old Angel (Jaime Pressly), sleeping with her stepdad (Michael Dudikoff). When her mom (Molly Hagan) finds out, she seeks revenge by sleeping with Angel's fiancé, Willie (Ashley Holbrook). The second group consists of Starletta (Wendy Raquel Robinson), who caught her man, Demond (Michael Jai White), sleeping with her best friend, Vonda (Tangie Ambrose). This makes all of them perfect for stardom on The Jerry Show. As all these guests arrive for their big day on national television, more chaos ensues with Springer getting propositioned by Angel and her mother. Even crew members show their stripes by getting involved in the sexual escapades with the guests. The whole scenario is finally brought to a knockdown, gender-bending finale live on national television -- right where it belongs. ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Springer, Jaime Pressly, (more)
- 1998
- R
Michael Dudikoff stars in this action thriller in which Syrian sailors hijack a state-of-the-art Russian submarine that features among its arsenal a doomsday weapon that could wipe out half the planet. Can submarine demolitions expert Zach Silver and the crew of the U.S.S. Springfield take back the sub and dismantle this super-powerful weapon before it's too late? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
