Jack Cassidy Movies
Handsome, blond, and suave entertainer Jack Cassidy was the star of many Broadway musicals during the '50s and '60s. He also played supporting roles in films and on television. He first appeared as a dancer on the Great White Way at age 15 in Something for the Boys. In television, he guest starred on many shows and was a co-star on the short-lived sitcom He & She in 1967. In film he is best remembered for his portrayal of John Barrymore in W.C. Fields and Me (1976). Sadly, it was his final film role -- that year he was burned to death when his Los Angeles apartment caught fire. He had apparently fallen asleep while smoking a cigarette in bed. At the time, he was married to actress Shirley Jones. Cassidy is the father (by first marriage to actress Evelyn Ward) of singer/actor David Cassidy -- who became a teen idol appearing on the sitcom The Partridge Family in the '70s and went on to have a successful stage career -- actor/singer Shaun Cassidy and, by his second wife, Jones, actor Patrick Cassidy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1977
Terry Kiser is Benny and Tim Thomerson is Barney, two undercover cops operating in Vegas. So as not to attract attention to their sleuthing, Benny and Barney pose as nightclub entertainers. The case of the moment is the rescue of a kidnapped singer, which B and B pull off successfully within the allotted 76 minutes. Real-life Las Vegas "regulars" Rodney Dangerfield, Marty Allen, George Gobel and Bobby Troup pop up in cameo roles. Seemingly filmed during everyone's lunch hour, Benny and Barney: Las Vegas Undercover was the pilot for a never-sold TV adventure series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
When a British lord and jewel thief arrives in America, the thief becomes a murder suspect. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1976
Now You See Him was one of the more popular installments in the Columbo TV series. Jack Cassidy guest stars as "The Great Santini," master magician. Encumbered by a blackmailer, Santini decides to bump the fellow off. But he can't possibly be the guilty party--because, you see, he was on stage performing his famous "water tank" trick at the time of the murder. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) performs a few dextrous tricks of his own to wangle a confession out of Santini. Bob Dishy, Robert Loggia and Nehemiah Persoff co-star in this February 29, 1976 Columbo offering. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
When an international financier is killed in a strange fashion, a female homicide detective investigates. (AKA Death Among Friends) ~ All Movie Guide
- 1975
Canadian actress Kate Reid plays a lady p.i. in Death Among Friends. Kate is hired to solve the murder of a multimillionaire financier. As tipped off by the title, she need look no farther than the dead man's circle of friends. Refreshingly, both the heroine and her police contact, John Anderson, are well into middle age, rather than being depicted as mindless hunks of cheese- and beefcake. Intended as the pilot for a weekly series, Death Among Friends was first telecast May 20, 1975. The film was later syndicated as Mrs. R-Death Among Friends. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this thriller, an enigmatic phantom lives in the dank tunnels running beneath the ramshackle back lot of a former movie lot. When prospective buyers endeavor to purchase the property, the furious phantom goes on the rampage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Two giants of American humor, Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman, collaborated for this stage comedy (a major success on Broadway when it was first staged in 1929) about a young tunesmith's struggle to succeed in the dog-eat-dog world of Tin Pan Alley. An up-and-coming songwriter (Tom Fitzsimmons) arrives in the big city hoping to make good, and is soon befriended by a veteran composer (Jack Cassidy) whose career isn't what it used to be. The kid looks like he may have a solid career ahead of him, but he soon attracts the attentions of a brass-hearted dame (Susan Sarandon) who wants to take him for his future fame and wealth. This production of June Moon (created for PBS, where it first aired in 1974) features a top-notch supporting cast, including Kevin McCarthy, Estelle Parsons, Austin Pendleton, Marshall Efron, Lee Meredith, and one of Broadway's greatest composers, Stephen Sondheim, in a rare acting role as a fellow Tin Pan Alley melody maker. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Time for Love, aka New Kind of Love, was the pilot for an unsold anthology series. The throughline of the anthology was to have been "Opposites Attract," to which many viewers added, "Yeah? And then what?" The two stories comprising the pilot both trod the tired old "Shy and Nonshy" route. In one story, conservative junior executive John Davidson falls for swinging convention hostess Lauren Hutton. In the other, timid teacher Bonnie Bedelia is enchanted by rock star Chris Mitchum, who is trying to escape his screaming fans. Time for Love was the brainchild of Stirling Silliphant, one of the most prolific and successful writers of TV's so-called Golden Age. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Once again, the IMF agents must break the bank of a popular casino to bring down a master criminal. In this case, the villain is Syndicate chieftan Orin Kerr (Orin Kerr), who controls not only the casino but the entire resort town where it is located. The IMF's mission is twofold: Hit both the casino's gaming tables and its vault simultaneously. Originally broadcast on February 19, 1972, "Casino" was written by Walter Brough and Howard Berk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1972
In this made-for-TV comedy, the writer for a hit TV show learns that the lead actress is about to marry the show's wealthy sponsor, thus putting him (and the rest of the show's cast and crew) out of a job. To get his revenge, he writes her into a kidnaping scheme -- and then turns it into fact. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Jack Cassidy guest-stars as O'Casey, a shiftless dreamer whose get-rich-quick schemes have brought nothing but grief for his wife (Diane Baker) and daughter Cassie (Lisa Gerritsen). When O'Casey hatches a duplicitious scheme to sell and reclaim a race horse, Hoss Cartwright takes it upon himself to reform the ne'er-do-well, and to simulatenously restore Cassie's faith in her dad. Portions of David Rose's background music were later adapted for the series' classic 1972 episode "Forever." Written by old Hollywood and network-radio hand True Boardman, "Cassie" was originally shown on October 24, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1971
Looking more like a unmade bed than one of the world's greatest homicide detectives, Lt. Columbo is still the best man to solve the mysterious death of a popular mystery writer. Though he quickly finds the culprit, the killer has devised airtight alibis and Columbo must use all of his considerable faculties to trick him into a confession. Steven Spielberg's direction coupled with Steven Bochco's deft writing and Peter Falk's flawless portrayal of the laid-back gumshoe, makes "Murder by the Book" one of the series' finest episodes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk
- 1970
Jack Cassidy guest stars as George Dinsdale, Darrin's newest client. An unregenerate playboy, Dinsdale falls in love with Samantha's lookalike cousin, Serena, and refuses to believe that Sam and Serena are not one in the same. Before she is able to straighten out this mess, Sam is obliged to briefly transform Dinsdale into a parrot. Scripted by John L. Greene, "A Chance on Love" made its first network appearance on March 19, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, (more)
- 1970
Charley (Dan Blocker) is the kindly but simple-minded blacksmith who sends a year's earnings back East for a mail-order bride. When he and the town turn out for the woman's arrival at the train station, he is embarrassed when she never appears. The saddened giant plans to leave town. The townspeople recruit the new saloon-girl Sadie (Nanette Fabray) to pose as the bride-to-be so the residents will retain the services of the blacksmith. Jim Backus is the sheriff who runs for mayor. Wally Cox plays Mr. Bester, the henpecked husband of his harridan wife (Marge Champion). Mickey Rooney, Stubby Kaye, Iron Eyes Cody and Jack Cassidy also appear in this western comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Blocker, Nanette Fabray, (more)
- 1969
In this comedy western, a town rallies together to help a heart-broken blacksmith find new love after his mail-order-bride is a no show. They end up pairing him with a dance hall girl. The story is also called Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Mistaking Samantha for her lookalike cousin Serena, a jealous witch named Brunhilde (Barbara Morrison) zaps Sam back to 1868 New Orleans. Unable to remember who she really is, Sam will remain spellbound in the past until she willingly kisses a mortal. Jack Cassidy guest stars as Southern "gentleman" Rance Butler, who ends up challenging Darrin to a duel. Also in the cast is Isabel Sanford of Good Times fame as family retainer Aunty Jenny. Written by Ed Jurist, "Samantha Goes South for a Spell" first aired on October 3, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
- 1965
The photographer is Arthur Mannix (Jack Cassidy); the undertaker is Hiram Price (Harry Townes). Both men supplement their incomes by moonlighting as professional hitmen -- and both work for the same gangster boss. The "fun" begins when Arthur is ordered to bump off Hiram, and vice versa...leading to a bizarre set of circumstances that neither one of our "heroes" could ever have anticipated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Cassidy, Harry Townes, (more)
- 1965
Still under the spell of the James Bond movie they've just seen, Lucy (Lucille Ball) and the countess (Ann Sothern) spot a pair of sinister-looking men at a restaurant. Jumping to the conclusion that the two men are enemy spies, the ladies trail them to a deserted warehouse, with a reluctant Mooney (Gale Gordon) in tow. This broad spoof of the mid-'60s "spy craze" features Jack Cassidy as a bearded gentleman who talks into a Man From U.N.C.L.E.-style miniature phone ("Napoleon who? You've got the wrong number!") and is capped by Lucy's hilarious imitation of Carol Channing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Jack Cassidy, (more)
- 1964
A full year before the debut of Warner Bros.' TV series The FBI, a pilot of sorts was filmed under the title FBI Code 98. Jack Kelly heads the cast of this Dragnet-style docudrama, wherein the action is underlined by William Woodson's stentorian off-camera narration. The main plot concerns a disgruntled mad bomber, who uses his heightened knowledge of electronics to stay one step ahead of detection. The all-Warner-contractee cast includes Maverick's Kelly, Ray Danton, Andrew Duggan, Philip Carey, William Reynolds (later a regular on The FBI), Peggy McCay and Merry Anders. Originally intended as a TV special, FBI Code 98 was released theatrically instead. The film was produced by Stanley Niss, the author of the book on which the screenplay was based. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Kelly, Ray Danton, (more)
- 1962
George Cukor directed this sanitized version of Irving Wallace's tawdry best-seller concerning a survey of the sexual habits of American women. Psychologist George C. Chapman (Andrew Duggan) arrives in a Los Angeles suburb with his assistant Paul Radford (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) in tow. They are looking for volunteers for their sex survey, and four women raise their hands: Sarah Garnell (Shelley Winters) is a middle-aged woman who is having an affair with young theater director Fred Linden (Ray Danton); Teresa Harnish (Glynis Johns) is a happily married woman who becomes attracted to brawny football player Ed Kraski (Ty Hardin); Naomi Shields (Claire Bloom) is an alcoholic nymphomaniac who takes up with an unsavory jazz musician; and Kathleen Barclay (Jane Fonda) is a young widow who thinks she is frigid -- that is, until Radford makes her his personal project. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Shelley Winters, (more)
Having made a bundle on their 130-episode package of Mr. Magoo TV cartoons, the folks at UPA studios decided to star Magoo in a 60-minute musical version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. First telecast over the NBC network on December 18, 1962, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol deftly uses the device of depicting Magoo as a famous Broadway star, returning to the stage to essay the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge. This "framing" device has, unfortunately, been eliminated from currently available TV and video versions of this hour-long animated special. Still, Magoo has plenty of time to shine as Scrooge, a role ideally suited for the character's crotchety demeanor and comic nearsightedness. The five original songs by Jules Styne and Bob Merrill are wonderful-far more so than the disposable score of the 1970 live-action Christmas Carol musical adaptation Scrooge. The principal voices are provided by Jim Backus as Magoo, Jack Cassidy as Bob Cratchit, Royal Dano as Marley's Ghost, and Joan Gardner, Morey Amsterdam and Paul Frees. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol served as the pilot for the 1964 animated anthology series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, wherein Magoo essayed such literary roles as Friar Tuck, Gunga Din, and all seven of Snow White's dwarves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
The only film directed by sometime actor and producer William Alland, Look in Any Window is an uninspired melodrama that relied on the star power of teen heartthrob Paul Anka to attract the younger set when it was released in 1961. Anka plays Craig Fowler, a disturbed kid whose main pleasure and pursuit in life is donning a mask and peeking into windows in his neighborhood. Craig's missing pistons are attributed to his dysfunctional family; his mother (Ruth Roman) favors the bottle over him, and his parents' marriage has gone down the tubes. As a host of unsavory characters wanders in and out of his life, it is obvious that Craig has a few reasons for being slightly wacko. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Anka, Ruth Roman, (more)
