Leigh Vance Movies

Although Baretta entered its 4th season with strong ratings and an excellent timeslot (Wednesday evenings, just after the ABC ratings powerhouse Charlie's Angels and opposite such "soft" competition as NBC's Big Hawaii), things went downhill fairly rapidly thereafter. Perhaps the character of maverick undercover cop Tony Baretta had worn out its welcome, or perhaps viewers were growing weary of publicity surrounding the never-ending hostilities between series star Robert Blake and the network "suits." In addition, Blake was himself getting tired of the weekly series grind, and his lack of enthusiasm might have begun showing up on screen. Whatever the case, Baretta didn't even crack the "top 25 program" ratings during the 1977-78 season. ABC responded to this viewer dropoff with more than the usual quota of pre-emptions, and in February of 1978 the series lost its Wednesday-night berth to the more successful Starsky and Hutch. Relocated to Thursday evenings opposite CBS' unassailable Barnaby Jones, Baretta limped onward toward its inevitable cancellation, though ABC opted to rerun the series as part of the network's late-late-night manifest until the fall of 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Created by Stephen J. Cannell, the weekly, hour-long crime series Baretta rose from the ashes of 1973's 'Toma, a shortlived weekly based on the exploits of David Toma, a real-life undercover cop with a penchant for elaborate disguises. For the "new" series, only two vestiges of the original Toma remained: Lead character Tony Baretta was a undercover detective, and he revelled in adopting bizarre costumes and eccentric "alternate" personalities. Otherwise, the two characters could not have been further apart. Remaining faithful to its source, Toma featured a tough but compassionate New Jersey cop who, though he preferred to buck the system and argue with his superior officers when pursuing a case, generally played by the rules; he also had a loving wife and two darling children, and lived in a modest but comfortable and well-appointed home. Conversely, Tony Baretta was a logical extension of Robert Blake, the bantam-cock actor who played the role. Like Blake, the streewise Baretta was fiercely, almost violently independent, bending and breaking the rules whenever possible and making no secret of his disdain for the by-the-book instincts of his superiors. And if Toma was diligent in his pursuit of lawbreakers, Baretta was downright savage; one suspects that he would have blown them to bits had he possessed the appropriate hardware. Also, unlike family man Toma, Baretta was single and a loner, his one bid for domestic bliss having been destroyed when his erstwhile fiancee was killed in the very first episode. Almost as if he was doing penance for allowing himself to be happy, Baretta lived in a rundown flophouse, managed by a dishevelled former cop Billy Truman. Outside of Billy and his pet cockatoo Fred, Baretta had no close friends: Certainly there was no love lost between himself and his commanding officer Insp. Shiller (Dana Elcar), while Tony's favorite street informant Rooster (Michael D. Roberts) was not exactly the sort of fellow one could call a bosom companion. Baretta was unceremoniously tossed into ABC's Friday-night schedule beginning January 17, 1975, as a midseason replacement for the cancelled Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Clearly, the network felt that the series was expendable, inasmuch as it was slated opposite NBC's ratings magnet Police Woman. Within a few weeks, however, Baretta developed a respectable following, most of which was engendered by press reports of star Robert Blake's tiltings with the "suits" (his word for network executives) over the series' violence quotient and overall authenticity. By the time the series had completed its inagural 12-episode run, Baretta was a shoo-in for renewal--and Robert Blake had earned enough clout to start calling the shots so far as program content and casting choices were concerned. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Michael Caine stars as an espionage agent whose young son is kidnapped. Complicating matters is the fact that the kidnappers (John Vernon and Delphine Seyrig) are Caine's own colleagues. They want to secure Caine's aid in rounding up a diamond smuggling ring, and they don't care who they have to hurt to do so. He agrees to go along, all the while searching for his missing son. Janet Suzman co-stars as Caine's estranged wife, who is compelled to join him in his search. Helmed by veteran filmmaker Don Siegel, The Black Windmill is based on Seven Days to a Killing, a novel by Clive Egleton. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Imprisoned mobster Gunther Schell (H.M. Wynant) is the only person who knows where a stolen cache of money is located. Before the IMF can reach Schell, he is sprung from jail by a mob-controlled "underground railroad", which specializes in robbing its clients before smuggling them out of the country. To put both Schell and the "underground" out of business --- and, incidentally, to recover the stolen millions --- Jim Phelps poses as a wanted murderer. Peter Mark Richman also appears in this episode as criminal mastermind Hargreaves. Originally aired on October 28, 1972, "Underground" was written by Leigh Vance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though Roger Moore was born in England and established himself as star of the British TV series The Saint, Crossplot represents Moore's very first British theatrical film. He stars as an advertising executive swept up in a plot to murder a visiting African statesman. Lensed in "swinging" London, the film is "mod" to an almost depressing degree, obscuring what is at base a solid espionage thriller. Moore ultimately thwarts the villains by decoding a message secreted in a crossword puzzle -- hence the film's title. A climactic shootout in Hyde Park tops this dry run for Roger Moore's subsequent stint as James Bond. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Steed is held on suspicion when several secrets are smuggled out of a tightly secured communications facility. While Steed is under "house arrest" at the luxurious digs of his superior Mother (Patrick Newell, making his series debut), Tara tries to trap the real traitor. She is "assisted" by an incredibly incompetent operative named Watney (Dinsdale Landen). Written by Leigh Vance, "All Done with Mirrors" first aired in England on November 13, 1968, and in America on December 2 of that year. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Lion hunters beware! Chief M'Gobo is watching and waiting to throw a deadly voodoo curse upon anyone who harms his sacred cats. Don't believe us? Just watch what happens to a thoughtless British big game hunter in this horror outing. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This engaging children's musical finds Billy Bowles (Tommy Steele) as an A & R talent co-ordinator who has grown up as an orphan. He returns every Saturday to play with the orphans in the place he grew up. The sentimental Billy arranges a recording session and a benefit performance to help the institution. He gathers a bevy of song and dance professionals in the spirit of Andy Hardy and puts on a show the kids will never forget. Billy steals the show with his inspired hoofing and crooning. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This is a routine tale about the vice squad versus pornographer and blackmailer Augie Cortona (Terence Morgan). After the petty criminal gets out of prison, he discovers his old partners in crime are not interested in him anymore, and the prostitution ring he once bossed is controlled by someone else. His solution is to set up a fake photographer's and model's studio during the day that becomes a place where porno photo men can do their work at night, as call girls engage in their trade with unsuspecting customers. The photographs bring in extra lucre through a blackmail scheme -- Cortona makes the hookers' clients pay to keep their activities quiet. As he is building up this racket, a gangland boss is out to get him -- and so is the vice squad. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This fast-paced, standard crime story about a caper gone awry is directed by Rilla Wolf and stars Terence Morgan as Dominic, a petty crook with minor crimes on his agenda until he sees a chance for a big haul. Dominic's associates include tough guy Pready (John Crawford) and Edward (Dennis Price), a crooked gambling boss who Dominic helps by introducing innocent victims into his con game. One day Dominic hooks up with Fina (Yoko Tani) the naive daughter of an ambassador who just happens to let slip that a whole lot of cash is stashed away in their embassy's safe. Dominic's charms work wonders, and before long Fina agrees to help in a robbery of the embassy's holdings. At that point, careful planning and a good safecracker (William Hartnell) make it seem like everything will go off without a hitch. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Under the stress of wartime privations, a young Austrian boy is beaten by his Father, who threatens to sell his dog, a St. Bernard, to the butcher to help pay for food for the family. A kindly veterinarian and spinster finally take a hand in rectifying the situation. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi