Virgil Vogel Movies
Virgil Vogel enjoyed a half-century-long career in the movie industry, starting out in the editing department at Universal as an assistant in his early twenties and eventually becoming a successful director. Vogel's early credits as an editor include Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, the Frank Sinatra vehicle Meet Danny Wilson, and the Tony Curtis costumer Son of Ali Baba. By the second half of the decade, he was working on such top studio releases as This Island Earth and Orson Welles' Touch of Evil (the editing of which became a major source of contention between Welles and the studio). In 1956, tired of editing, he earned his directorial debut on the sci-fi horror film The Mole People (1956), a silly but extremely popular and profitable release, and he also closed out the Ma and Pa Kettle series with The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm (1957), having edited the preceding movie in the series. Over the next few years, he handled the direction on such modest (if popular) programmers as The Land Unknown and Invasion of the Animal People (a Swedish-made science fiction film that had many hauntingly eerie and beautiful sequences), while also working increasingly in television, principally for Universal's Revue TV division, on series such as Mike Hammer, Overland Trail, and Wagon Train, and later on series such as Bonanza, Burke's Law, Honey West, Dan August, and The Streets of San Francisco. His 1970s credits included many detective and action series, among them Cannon, Police Story, and Joe Forrester, as well as the occasional science fiction-oriented show such as The Six Million Dollar Man and The Man From Atlantis. Vogel's career in the 1980s brought him to such series as Knight Rider, Magnum P.I., and Miami Vice, while in the 1990s he worked on Walker, Texas Ranger, among other series. Vogel retired in the mid-'90s and passed away in 1996. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1992
A gangster's reputation as a tough guy is put severely to the test when he discovers that he has been made guardian to his dead sister's children. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Desperado was the first of several made-for-TV movies revolving around the exploits of itinerant cowboy Duell McCall (Alex McArthur). This time around, McCall finds himself in the middle of a deadly feud in a small mining town. As the only honest man in the territory (comparatively speaking), our hero is ripe for a double-cross. Framed for the murder of Sheriff Whaley (Robert Vaughn), McCall is forced to wander the wild frontier in search of the one man who can clear him. Written by Elmore Leonard, this sagebrush Fugitive first aired April 27, 1987. Designed as the pilot for a weekly series, Desperado instead spawned a cluster of feature-length sequels, produced between 1987 and 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Magnum (Tom Selleck) can't believe his eyes and ears when Higgins (John Hillerman) abruptly leaves the Masters Estate after being fired for embezzling funds. What Magnum doesn't know is that Higgins is on a covert mission for the British Secret Service to squash a renegade guerilla group. In his efforts to find out why Higgins is behaving so strangely, Magnum is continually flustered by Higgins' replacement, birdbrained actress Ginny Malcolm (Darleen Carr). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
This sci-fi police drama is an episode from the short-lived television series and follows the exploits of a black-clad G-man who rides a specially designed gadget filled motorcycle to help him rid the country of crime. This time he and his Street Hawk take on a powerful drug lord. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1984
In this stock, low-budget occult horror film, a tiny 2-inch-high Aztecan idol is stolen from a professor and ends up in the experimental hands of three high-school students who use it in some creative attempts to get in touch with the spirit world. Things start to go wrong when a cemetery worker dies during one of these spirit sessions, and everything goes wrong after the Aztecan god possesses the body of a young man who steals the idol for his own purposes. Special effects create the appropriate flying objects and body bulges where needed, and makeup is grotesque enough by anyone's standards, but these pluses cannot erase the lack of interesting characters or situations or the uninspired acting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Stokey, Warren Lincoln, (more)
- 1983
In search of lost treasure, international adventurer Sam Hunter (William Lucking) crash-lands his plane on the Robin Masters estate. Magnum (Tom Selleck) quickly deduces that the crash was no accident, and that someone wants Hunter dead. He also has the eerie feeling that he's met Hunter before. . .perhaps during his tour of duty in Cambodia. In the course of events, Sam has an akward reunion with his ex-wife Jenny (Joanna Kerns), and a deadly encounter with the drug-dealers responsible for his forced landing. This episode was intended as the pilot for a series starring William Lucking--which, though it did not make a network sale in its original form, was later recast and retooled as the popular adventure weekly Airwolf. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Eugene Roche makes his first appearance as Luther H. Gillis, a seedy "old school" private eye from St. Louis. Arriving in Hawaii on a missing-persons case, Luther manages to drag Magnum (Tom Selleck) into the proceedings--and as a result, both men are suspected in the murder of a drug dealer whose body is found in a cheap motel room. Along the way, it turns out that the person Luther is looking for his own daughter Nancy (Melora Hardin), who may not be the helpless kidnap victim she's supposed to be. In an amusing break from Magnum, P.I tradition, this episode is alternately narrated by both Thomas Magnum and Luther H. Gillis, in each man's unique style and P.O.V. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Magnum (Tom Selleck) agrees to escort Rick's 22-year-old sister Wendy (Alice Wright) on a seemingly harmless evening of sightseeing. But though Rick (Larry Manetti) is convinced that Wendy is a sweet, innocent lass, she quickly proves otherwise by behaving in as wild and reckless a manner as humanly possible. Ultimately, Wendy turns up murdered--and a vengerful Rick holds Magnum entirely responsible. Entertainer Carol Channing appears as herself in this episode, which also marks the first appearances of Kathleen Lloyd and Elisha Cook Jr. in the respective recurring roles of Deputy DA Carol Baldwin and shady businessman Ice Pick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
John Hillerman once again hams it up in a dual role, appearing in his traditional characterization as Jonathan Higgins and also as another of Higgins' half-brothers, a Northern Irish cleric named Father Paddy McGuinness. Convinced that Higgins' former Royal Army commander Allistair ffolkes (Richard Johnson) has stolen a sacred religious artifact during a recent search for IRA weaponry, Father Paddy has hatched an "eye for an eye" scheme to force ffolkes to give the item back. Even with all this going on, Magnum is determined to earn his money from his current client, an enigmatic boxer named Clarence (Lee Canalito) who thinks that his wife Angie--aka "Legs"--is cheating on him. Series creator Donald P. Bellisario plays a bit role in this final episode of Magnum, P.I.'s third season. ~ 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
Beulah Land is an edited, movie-length version of the three-part TV miniseries adaptation of Lonnie Coleman's multi-part novels. The film is set in the Old South, with a time span ranging from 1827 to the postwar Reconstruction Era. Lesley Ann Warren stars as Sarah Kendrick, young belle of the Beulah Land plantation, who finds herself in love with a "damn Yankee." Sarah must also contend with a weakling brother (Paul Rudd) and a former slave (Dorian Harewood) who demands freedom as a right rather than a privilege. Beulah Land took forever to get before the cameras due to protests from black historical organizations; when it was finally telecast on October 7-9, 1980, NBC conducted a low-pressure ad campaign, as though the network was still fearful of stepping on toes despite the testimonial of a black Yale history professor, who commended the production for its "special sensitivity." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lesley Ann Warren, Michael Sarrazin, (more)
- 1980
Portrait of a Rebel: The Remarkable Mrs. Sanger was written by Blanche Hanalis, a specialist in turning out quality teleplays with a feminist slant. Bonnie Franklin stars as pioneering birth-control advocate Margaret Sanger, who in the early part of the 20th century conducted a 25-year battle to have her views legitimized by the puritanical, male-dominated medical establishment. The film covers the years 1912 through 1917, starting with Sanger's work as a New York City public health nurse. Appalled by the deaths brought about by self-induced abortions, Sanger campaigns to enlighten uneducated "lower-class" women in the proper methods of birth control, eventually opening her own clinic. Her efforts are rewarded with public scorn, attacks from various censorship advocates (her informational pamphlets are deemed "pornographic") and frequent jail terms. In order to spice up an already fascinating story, the film places undue emphasis on the brief romance between Ms. Sanger and British sexual-liberation guru Havelock Ellis (Richard Johnson). Portrait of A Rebel might make a piquant double feature with the 1995 cable-TV Margaret Sanger biopic, which starred Dana Delany. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In this made-for-TV "roman a clef", Joe Don Baker stars as Tommy Vanda, a Hoffa-esque labor leader. Told in flashback, the film recounts Vanda's humble beginnings on the Chicago docks, where he gains fame and notoreity amongst his coworkers and his bosses by spearheading a wildcat strike. Rising to top dog of the Cartage Union, Tommy doesn't care whon he has to crush on the way up the ladder. Inevitably, Tommy's peccadilloes catch up with him, resulting in federal charges, an arrest, and (remember who he's supposed to be) a mysterious disappearance in the night. Written by Ernest Tidyman of The French Connection fame, Power was telecast in two two-hour installments by NBC on January 14 and 15, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Fourteen-year-old Jake Wrather (Larry B. Scott) is third baseman for his sandlot ball team -- and in the absence of an adult supervisor, he also runs the team. The parentless Jake lives with his uncle Lenny (Glynn Turman), an easygoing musician who works nights. In fact, Lenny works too many nights to please the local Social Services people, who may very well revoke his custody of Jake. Meanwhile, Jake's team must come up with an adult manager or lose its standing. That's right, folks: Uncle Jake finds himself in charge of the team -- and never mind that he doesn't quite subscribe to Jake's philosophy that "winning is the only thing there is." ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry B. Scott, Glynn E. Turman, (more)
The longest (26-1/2 hours), most expensive ($25 million) and most complicated (four directors, five producers, five cinematographers, almost 100 speaking parts, several hundred extras) project made for television up to that time, Centennial was shown in two- and three-hour installments over a period of four months. An adaptation of James Michener's best-selling novel, it told the story of the settling of the American West by looking at the founding of the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado, from the settling of the area in the late 18th century to the present. Emmy-nominated for film editing and art direction, it boasts of sterling performances from Richard Chamberlain as frontiersman Alexander McKeag, Robert Conrad as the French-Canadian trapper Pasquinel, and a surprisingly powerful performance from former football star Alex Karras as compassionate but iron-willed immigrant farmer Hans Brumbaugh. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden) is none too thrilled when his daughter Jeannie (Darlene Carr) falls in love with charismatic but recklessly irresponsible motorcycle cop Larry Wilson (played by superstar-in-the-making Don Johnson). This plot device ultimately links up with a second storyline, involving a gang of criminals who use motorcycles to make their getaways. Future Little House on the Prairie regular Alonzo Dean Butler plays a minor role in this episode, which was originally scheduled to air on October 14, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Charles Martin Smith and Don Johnson highlight the cast of this TV movie about a prostitute-stalking serial killer plaguing the Old West. Johnson and Smith play tough lawmen who set out to capture the murderer. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Bill Bixby earned an Emmy nomination for his chilling yet pathetic performance as Eric Doyle, a mild-mannered loser who is fascinated by police procedure. Rejected when he tries to join the San Francisco police force, Doyle vows to prove his worth by turning vigilante. Donning an authentic-looking cop's uniform, Doyle sets about to methodically--and savagely--wipe out all criminals who have managed to slip through the fingers of the legal system. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Previously seen on Streets of San Francisco as a Latino cop determined to purge his old barrio neighborhood of drug pushers, A Martinez appears in this episode in the radically different role of a hapless illegal alien named Rudy Costa. During a raid by immigration officials, a security guard is murdered, and Costa is fingered as the killer. As they pursue the fugitive Costa, Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) uncover evidence that their quarry may have been framed. Much of this episode was filmed on location in Napa Valley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
In an intriguing change of pace, gimlet-eyed SFPD detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden) dons the greasepaint, red nose and floppy shoes of a circus clown. It's all part of an undercover assignment to ferret out the murderer of two retired circus riggers whose deaths occur just before a gala Big Top performance at San Francisco's Cow Palace. Featured in the cast as "Sparky" is former Sugarfoot star Will Hutchins, who in real life had retired from acting to pursue a career as a professional clown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Hardbitten, hard-driving San Francisco police detectives Mike Stone (Karl Malden) and Steve Keller (Michael Douglas) may have finally met their match in the form of brash, bullying New York cop Bert D'Angelo (Paul Sorvino). Having arrived in the Bay Area to track down a runaway informant who may have set up his ex-partner for murder, D'Angelo breaks as many rules as humanly possible--but withal, he earns the grudging respect of his SFPD counterparts. Originally telecast on March 4, 1976, this episode was rather blatantly designed as the pilot for the weekly Streets of San Francisco spinoff Bert D'Angelo, Superstar, which had launched its single-season run some two weeks earlier on February 21. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
After two weeks' pre-emption due to the 1976 Winter Olympics, Streets of San Francisco returned to ABC's Thursday schedule with a typically perplaxing case for SFPD detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas). Four judges have been murdered, and in each case an obsolete pamphlet on disbarrment proceedings is found near the body. Halfway through the story, the audience discovers that the culprit is the demented son of a disbarred lawyer, who intends to get even with the "bleeding hearts" who ruined his father--but how long will it be before the Law is able to end this bizarre vendetta. Jean Hagen, best remembered as the screechy-voiced movie queen in Singin' in the Rain, makes one of her final appearances in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
The two-part opener of Streets of San Francisco's fifth and final season marks a major transition, as SFPD homicide detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden) loses his longtime partner Steve Keller (Michael Douglas) and gains a new one, athletic young inspector Dan Robbins (Richard Hatch). But before Keller can leave the force to launch a teaching career, he and Stone are faced with the daunting task of rescuing a busload of jurors who have been kidnapped by a "family" of dangerously misguided revolutionaries, who demand the release of their imprisoned cohorts. This two-parter is clearly inspired by the Patty Hearst kidnapping, with former Partridge Family regular Susan Dey delivering a shockingly powerful performance. As a publicity ploy, the season opener features fourteen guest stars, including Marion Ross (then appearing regularly on Happy Days, Barry Sullivan, Dick Van Patten, Norman Fell and Doris Roberts--not to mention such stars-to-be as Anthony Geary and Ron Glass. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
