Don Taylor Movies

Ghost of a Chance is a failed TV pilot starring Redd Foxx and Dick Van Dyke. Foxx is a piano player accidentally killed by hard-hearted narcotics officer Dick Van Dyke. Since he's died before his scheduled time, Foxx is sent back to earth, where he helps Van Dyke track down genuine criminals. Naturally, Foxx is endowed with supernatural abilities, including a penchant for disguise. Ironically, Dick Van Dyke's son Barry had starred in another unsold pilot in 1981, also titled Ghost of a Chance and also dealing with a misplaced spirit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a man who is unjustly imprisoned escapes, and soon the manhunt is on. After a stranger (John Ethan Wayne) buys two horses at an auction in Tucson, he stops to water them on the property of rancher Ben Robeson (Ernest Borgnine). The unscrupulous rancher sees an easy mark, so he accuses the stranger of stealing the horses from his stables and ultimately gets him thrown in jail for three years. Determined to get revenge against the rancher, the stranger escapes with justice on his mind. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The story of Olympic downhill racer Bill Johnson is related in this made-for-TV biopic. Future ER star Anthony Edwards plays Johnson, who while growing up in Oregon was known far and wide for his capacity as a troublemaker. After several brushes with the law (one landing him behind bars), Johnson straightens out and flies right when he develops an interest in skiing. Dennis Weaver co-stars as Johnson's supportive dad. Going for the Gold was first telecast May 18, 1985, less than a year after Johnson's Gold Medal win at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a true story (it says here), He's Not Your Son is another variation on the old "switched at birth" plot device. Donna Mills and Ken Howard play Kathy and Michael Saunders, who are forced to face the possibility that their new baby may not be their new baby. It's a possibility that the hospital made a mistake, and that the Saunders infant was switched with the newborn son of Holly and Ted Barnes (Ann Dusenberry, John James). The ramifications of this error result in emotional disaster for both couples. Twin babies Drew and Preston James play the child in question. Filmed on location in Dallas, the made-for-TV He's Not Your Son debuted October 3, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this made-for-television romantic comedy, a book editor (Tim Matheson) falls for a co-worker (Kate Jackson) and has difficulty balancing his career with his love life. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Signal 7 is cab-driver jargon; if you want to know what it means, please treat yourself to this breezy low-budget effort. Shot on location in San Francisco, the film concentrates on the exploits of cabbies Speed (Bill Ackridge) and Marty (Dan Leegant). Their day-to-day adventures and misadventures are punctuated by their reactions to various large and small crises, and their oft-elucidated hopes of becoming actors. Lensed on videotape, Signal 7 was transferred to 35-millimeter stock for its theatrical showings. Given the fact that it sounds as though the actors were making it up as they went along, we shouldn't be too taken aback that Signal 7 was dedicated to pioneer improv filmmaker John Cassavetes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Purportedly based on a true story, this made-for-TV drama was filmed on location at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The focus is on two highly competitive jet pilots, Major Jay Rivers (Barry Bostwick) and Major Phil Clark (William Devane). Unable to leave their rivalry on the ground, Rivers and Clark attempt to "work out" their differences thousands of feet in the air during "Operation Red Flag", a war-games exercise simulating actual combat conditions. As the tension mounts above the clouds, the story periodically cuts away to the two combatants' earthbound--and long-suffering--spouses (Joan Van Ark, Eve McVeigh. Former test pilot Chuck Yeager functioned as technical advisor on Red Flag: The Ultimate Game, which made its CBS network bow on October 3, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The USS Nimitz, a modern-day nuclear-powered aircraft carrier captained by Kirk Douglas, passes through a time warp and finds itself at Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941. Douglas is all for preventing the infamous Japanese attack by unleashing the 1980s technology at his disposal. But wait--if history is inviolate, what will happen to future events if the attack doesn't come off? For nearly two hours, pros and cons are volleyed back and forth by Douglas, by ambitious senator Charles Durning, and by concerned observer Martin Sheen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Gift was a Christmas 1979 TV-movie offering based on the semi-autobiographical book written in 1973 by Pete Hammill. Gary Frank plays the Hammill counterpart, a Brooklyn-born sailor about to be shipped off to the Korean War. Frank decides to use his 3-day pass to discover if his girl friend really loves him, if he can communicate at last with his troublesome parents, and if he can get his own life together before being sent into battle.
Julie Harris plays Frank's mother, while Glenn Ford portrays Frank's pugnacious, one-legged Irish dad. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Satan's son comes of age in this horror sequel. Shortly after the events of The Omen, a pair of anthropologists uncovers an ancient crypt that depicts the face of the Antichrist -- that of Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor), recently orphaned scion of a wealthy industrialist. Before they can warn the world of the child's evil lineage, both men are buried under tons of rubble. Seven years later, 13-year-old Damien attends military school alongside his cousin, Mark (Lucas Donat), and spends lots of time with his adoptive parents, Uncle Richard (William Holden) and Aunt Ann (Lee Grant). After the boy's Great Aunt Marion (Sylvia Sidney) tries to convince the Thorns that Damien is a malevolent influence on Mark, she dies suddenly, and, unbeknownst to the family, horrifically. Ravens, it seems, are the harbingers of Damien's power, and in addition to Aunt Marion, they visit a long procession of characters who get too close to Damien's true identity. The most horrible death is suffered by Joan Hart (Elizabeth Shepherd), an investigative reporter who's digging into the boy's life; she gets flattened by a truck after having her eyes devoured by those menacing birds. Meanwhile, executive Paul Buher (Robert Foxworth) climbs the corporate ladder at Thorn Industries and takes young Damien under his devil-worshiping wings. Sgt. Neff (Lance Henriksen), one of the boy's instructors, also helps initiate Damien. As the pile of bodies gets bigger -- and closer -- Uncle Richard begins to suspect the truth, and, like his brother before him, plot the death of Damien. The existence of another sequel, 1981's The Final Conflict, gives a good indication of the outcome. Although Damien: Omen II is his only Hollywood feature credit, Scott-Taylor appeared frequently in the theater and on television; he once even portrayed Damien's arch-nemesis, Jesus, on-stage. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

A Circle of Children is an A-number-one TV adaptation of Mary MacCracken's autobiographical book. Recently separated from her husband, Mary (Jane Alexander) doesn't want to be just one more wealthy, useless divorcee. She plunges into volunteer work at a school for autistic children, where her presence is resented by brilliant but testy special-ed teacher Rachel Roberts, who considers MacCracken merely a dilettante. Ms. MacCracken proves her worth--to the teacher as well as herself--through her efforts to communicate with an 8-year-old victim of autism (Matthew Laborteaux). This Emmy-winning film was followed up by the equally superb Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part Two (1978). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Big-game hunter David Farrow (Roy Thinnes) is hired to track down bank robbery suspect Clel Bocock (William Smith), who has escaped into the swamps of Louisiana. Complications arise when Farrow confronts Bocock's backwoods family and falls in love with the fugitive's wife, Mara (Sandra Dee). Originally intended for broadcast in 1968, The Manhunter was, for reasons unknown, consigned to the shelf until it was sold to British television, where it debuted in the spring of 1972. The film finally aired in America courtesy of the NBC network on April 3, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi