Christopher Cary Movies
This 90-minute special brings together three of the most world-renowned Jewish Cantors, or choir leaders, for a memorable evening of spiritual and secular vocal music. Originally aired on PBS stations, Cantors: A Faith in Song features Alberto Mizrahi, Naftali Hershtik, and Benzion Miller, backed by a choir of 16 singers and an orchestra of over three dozen. Yiddish folk music and traditional Cantorial songs mix with more secular selections. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
A government worker (Tom Bosley) informs several diner patrons of a $4 million treasure he stole from a group of Libyans and then hid, but dies before uttering more than a few clues. What follows is a mad dash for the cash. As part of the film's promotion, the sponsors offered $1 million to the first person to correctly guess the location of the loot. (The winner, Alesia Jones, was selected from over 300,00 entries.) ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Deezen, Wendy Sherman, (more)
- 1986
- PG
In this spy caper, KGB agent Peter Hubbard (Michael Billington) has stolen some classified information on the U.S. government's aerospace program and is ready to pass the material on to the KGB. The trouble is that the KGB suddenly try to kill him before he can deliver. The U.S. then comes after him for the names of his contacts, and Hubbard finds himself in jeopardy on all sides. Hide-and-seek games follow, with the usual chases and action scenes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Billington, Denise Du Barry, (more)
- 1985
- R
While the first Missing in Action film told of a rescue mission by ex-POW Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris), the second concerns his original stay in a Vietnamese prisoner camp. The camp is governed by the crazed Colonel Yin (Soon-Teck Oh), who forces the POW's to grow opium for French drug runners and tries to get them to admit to and sign a long list of war crimes. Braddock must escape the camp and liberate his fellow prisoners to have any hope of surviving. The third installment in the series, Braddock: Missing in Action 3, was released three years later. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Soon-Teck Oh, (more)
This is an unusual entry in the knights-in-armor genre. Set in medieval England, the film follows the exploits of a young swordsman, Talon (Lee Horsley). Working as a mercenary knight, Talon possesses a unique three-bladed sword which fires its two extra blades when he touches a button. By chance, Talon learns that he is a prince who has forgotten his royal heritage. Using his sword and his wiles, he attempts to regain control of his kingdom, which has been taken over by a sadistic tyrannical knight and an evil sorcerer. In doing so, he can save a princess who has been taken hostage by the usurpers. Comedy is interspersed with gory and licentious drama throughout the film, which was directed and written by Albert Pyun. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, (more)
- 1979
When Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.) wins a free trip to Hawaii, Jim (James Garner) tags along, only to cross the path of his former Army commander John "Howling Mad" Smith (Ken Swofford). Before Jim quite knows what has happened, Smith has gotten him involved in a CIA operation designed to break up a spy ring. Unfortunately, old "Howling Mad" has neglected to inform Jim of all the dangers inherent in this assignment, and as a result our hero is beaten, robbed, drugged and kidnapped--and that's all during the first half hour. Fortunately, through the sort of incredible coincidence that could only happen on network television, Jim's policeman pal Dennis Becker (Joe Santos) shows up in Hawaii just in time to lend a helping hand. This was the last Rockford Files episode to be filmed, though not the last to be telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
This bush-league Eyes of Laura Mars stars Deborah Raffin as a model with a "sixth sense." First she senses that an airline is to be bombed--a premonition which comes true. Then she senses that the bomber knows who she is and plans to kill her. Unfortunately, Raffin has the usual TV-movie precognitive skills which allow her to see what's going to happen, but which prevent her from determining who's going to do it. Mind over Murder was directed by Ivan Nagy, better known for his highly publicized involvement in the Heidi Fleiss scandal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
J. Lee Thompson directs Charles Bronson in this strange western variation on Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Bronson plays a man named James Otis, who is disturbed by dreams of a giant white buffalo. He returns to the west under his new name --Wild Bill Hickok. Amongst his travels, he meets Chief Crazy Horse (Will Sampson), who is roaming the plains in an obsessive search for the giant white buffalo that killed his young daughter. Chief Crazy Horse wants to slay the beast in revenge for his daughter's death, and Wild Bill Hickok teams up with him to hunt down the giant white buffalo. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Jack Warden, (more)
- 1977
While in the middle of delicate negotations to ransom the fabled Borland Diamond from a gang of thieves, Jim ( is pestered by the Wronko family, an annoying pack of tourists from Peru, Indiana who have parked their RV next to Jim's trailer. The Wronkos end up in the thick of things when one of the thieves stashes the diamond in Jim's barbecue grill. Unaware of the danger they're bringing upon themselves, the tourists steal the grill and high-tail it to California--with both hero and villain hot on their trail! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Planet Earth was the second of three look-alike attempts by Star Trek maven Gene Roddenberry to launch a futuristic TV series for the 1970s (the first was 1973's Genesis II, and the third was 1975's Strange New World). John Saxon stars as Dylan Hunt, who awakens from suspended animation in the year 2133. The "big war" has come and gone; one of the few surviving pockets of 20th-century civilization is the city of PAX. This 2-hour pilot film details Hunt's adventures in this Brave New World when he is captured and enslaved by a society run by women. He is rescued by the scientists of PAX, presumably as a means of getting Roddenberry's series off the ground. But except for this film, first aired April 23, 1974, Planet Earth never got into orbit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Lloyd Bridges' gloriously unconvincing German accent is but one of the guilty pleasures of Death Race. Set during the African campaign of World War 2, this made-for-TV nailbiter pits Nazi general Bridges against wounded American pilot Roy Thinnes. Manning the controls of a tank, Herr Bridges intends to blast Thinnes into eternity-but it ain't gonna be that easy. Billed third as "Stoeffer" is Eric Braden, who under his given name of Hans Gudegast was one of the stars of a previous desert-war TV series, The Rat Patrol (1966-68). Death Race first plotted its course on November 10, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- PG
The British fleet is enroute to North Africa to engage the Germans, and the best port for them to use is Tobruk. There, they have problems: Germans occupy Tobruk, and have fortified it with devastating heavy artillery which would prevent a British landing. The original scheme for sabotaging the guns, by using British commandos planted behind the lines as prisoners of war, has gone awry. Posing as a Nazi officer, the man who was to lead the attack (Richard Burton) arrives at the rendezvous point, but all he finds are genuine prisoners of war, all of them sick, accompanied by their medics who are pacifists. A great many British lives hang in the balance, and a failure here could affect the outcome of the entire Second World War. Somehow, he must make use of these unlikely recruits to carry out the raid. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- PG
James Garner is so good as Raymond Chandler's philosophical gumshoe Philip Marlowe that you forget he's totally wrong for the part. Based on Chandler's The Little Sister, Marlowe involves the detective's efforts to locate the missing brother of Orfamay Quest (Sharon Farrell). He follows the clues to two men who deny any knowledge of the brother's existence. Since both men soon find themselves on the wrong end of an ice pick, Marlowe deduces that there's more to this caper than a mere missing-person case. The plot thickens as more "dramatis personae" are added to the intrigues, including TV star Gayle Hunnicutt, Hunnicutt's gangster boyfriend H.M. Wynant and stripper Rita Moreno. A pre-stardom Bruce Lee shows up as a karate-happy thug who lays waste to Marlowe's office shortly before suffering a spectacular demise. It is preferable to view Marlowe in videocassette or theatrical form; the commercial TV print cuts so much out that viewers are left with virtually nothing but protection leader and a few close-ups of James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, (more)
- 1966
With this episode, the off-and-on romance between Gidget (Sally Field) and her classmate Mel (Robert Beach) takes center stage. Gidget enjoys going on dates with Mel, except for the fact that Mel's dad Tony (Herb Voland) insists upon tagging along. Not wishing to hurt Tony's feelings, Gidget must come up with a clever and tactful way to tell the old guy to get lost! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
