Linden Chiles Movies

The Two Million Clams of Cap'n Jack--actually $2 million dollars in engraved stock-certificate plates--are missing. The guard went into the special security elevator with the plates; moments later, the elevator arrived empty. Cap'n Jack (Andrew Duggan) is furious; detective Banacek (George Peppard) is curious. And he gets curiouser and curiouser as he interviews such suspects as Jessica Walter and Linden Chiles. This 90-minute episode of Banacek originally aired on February 7, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Venerable character actor Paul Fix guests in this episode as Wade Tillman, a self-styled septugenarian Robin Hood. Outraged at the isurmountable medical bills facing himself and his fellow nursing-home residents, Tillman resorts to robbery and extortion to buck the system. Within its usual "cops and robbers" framework, this episode makes a strong case for the rights and dignity of senior citizens in an increasingly youth-oriented society. Featured in the cast are such familiar Hollywood "seniors" as John Qualen, Ruth McDevitt, and 89-year-old Burt Mustin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1966, producer Frank Price came up with a TV series concept about a group of people lost on an uncharted island who are forced to carve out their own civilization. No, it wasn't Gilligan's Island, but a more serious endeavor titled Stranded. When the pilot episode didn't sell, Price put the idea on the back burner until 1969 when, in collaboration with writer Dean Riesner, he dreamed up the two-hour pilot film, Lost Flight. This time, an airliner captained by Steve Bannerman (Lloyd Bridges) crashes on a remote island in the Pacific. Among Bannerman's fellow castaways are Gina Talbot (Anne Francis), Merle Barnaby (Billy Dee Williams), Glenn Wallup (Ralph Meeker), Jonesey (Andrew Prine), Charlie Burnett (the character who gets killed off early, played by Michael-James Wixted), and, as the resident troublemaker, Eddie Randolph (Bobby Van). Given a one-shot telecast in early 1970, Lost Flight didn't fly as a series...nor did Price's like-minded effort, 1976's Stranded. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a situation drenched with irony, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) must prevent the murder of attorney Richard Bender, who at present is defending Arnold Toby (Linden Chiles), a mob boss whom the FBI has been trying to nail for five years. Bender's would-be assassin is Dennis Holland, who has a personal vendetta against the lawyer. Caught in the middle is Holland's employee Peter Zacharias (played by future Mary Tyler Moore Show costar Ed Asner), who has been set up as a fall guy for Bender's killing--and who is also the father of Arnold Toby's current girlfriend Carol (played by former Gilligan's Island regular Dawn Wells)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ed (Don Galloway) and fellow police officer Ray Leonard (Linden Chiles) are suspected of killing a dope peddler in cold blood. Even worse, Ray was driving the dead man's "business" car while moonlighting as a cabbie, suggesting that he himself was involved in drug-running. Though suspended from the force, Ed mounts his own investigation to clear himself and prove his colleague's innocence beyond all doubt. Featured in the cast are two craggy-faced gangster movie veterans, John Marley and Eduardo Ciannelli). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There may be blood in the streets when the chief of staff of the "Second Force", a paramilitary vigilante group ostensibly set up to fight crime, is murdered. Despite his distaste for the group's racist rantings, Ironside dedicates himself to solving the man's murder before the vigilantes begin exacting vengeance against their supposed enemies. In the course of events, the Chief uncovers the group's true motives--and they are not pure in any way, shape or form. TV talk show host Les Crane appears as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The beauty of classical music confronts the ugliness and treachery of war in this unusual drama. Lionel Evans (Charlton Heston) is the director of a well-respected symphony orchestra touring European concert halls in 1944. In the midst of one concert, the city where they are playing is attacked by German troops, and as Evans and his musicians try to escape, they are captured by Nazi soldiers led by Col. Arndt (Anton Diffring). Evans and the orchestra are taken to a castle where they are to bide their time before being executed; but it turns out that Arndt's superior, Gen. Schiller (Maximilian Schell), is a classical music buff. Schiller commands Evans and his symphony to prepare a special concert for the Nazis, but Evans realizes that the moment the concert is over, he and his musicians will be killed. The orchestra's performances, which include works by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, and Schubert, were performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Turncoat scientist Lawrence Underwood (Linden Chiles) manages to steal some top-secret documents from an atomic lab in Idaho. Picking up Underwood's trail, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) methodically tracks the man down. What Erskine doesn't know is that Underwood has been exposed to deadly atomic radiation--and is contaminating everyone with whom he comes in contact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dean Martin stars as an amiable gunrunner in the tongue-in-cheek western Texas Across the River. Martin teams up with fugitive from justice Alain Delon, a Spanish nobleman engaged to the beautiful Rosemary Forsyth. Amidst several Indian attacks, hairbreadth escapes and wild chases, Martin does his utmost to steal Rosemary away from Delon. If you were entertaining thoughts of taking this thing seriously, please bear in mind that Joey Bishop co-stars as a very urban-looking Indian. Watch for future character star Richard Farnsworth as a Native American medicine man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This soapy melodrama based on the novel by John O'Hara earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design. Suzanne Pleshette stars as Grace Caldwell, a newspaper heiress and nymphomaniac whose numerous dalliances threaten to destroy her wealthy Pennsylvania family's image. Taken on a vacation to the Bahamas by her widowed mother Emily (Carmen Mathews), Grace can't resist a tryst with a waiter, which causes Emily a fatal heart attack. Back home, Grace meets a new beau, Sidney Tate (Bradford Dillman) at a Christmas party. The gentlemanly Sidney wins Grace's heart and she marries him, promising to end her sexually wild ways. A few years later, however, Grace sleeps with a construction worker and the resulting scandal when her lover dies in a drunken car wreck leads Sidney to believe that Grace is also having an affair with an old friend, Jack Hollister (Peter Graves). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The debut episode of the mirthfully macabre sitcom The Munsters begins as Marilyn, the "normal" member of the monstrous Munster family of Mockingbird Heights (normal by our standards if not by theirs) is invited to a costume party held by the snobbish parents of her new boyfriend Tom Daly (Linden Chiles). Under these circumstances, Mr. and Mrs. Daly (Frank Wilcox, Mabel Albertson) have no way of knowing that the masqueraded Munsters bear close resemblances to such Hollywood horrors as the Frankenstein monster, Dracula and the Wolfman. The fun begins when Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne), seeing that Tom's father has unwittingly made himself up to look just like Herman, jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Daly isn't wearing any costume at all! With this episode, Beverly Owen makes the first of 13 appearances as Marilyn Munster, a role played for the remainder of the series by Pat Priest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Uncle Martin (Ray Walston) reads the mind of George, the dog owned by Tim's boss, and ascertains that the pooch is lovesick. The object of George's affections is Chloe, the dog next door, whose attractive owner Marsha Carson (Laura Shelton) despises all males thanks to an unhappy romance. In his efforts to bring George and Chloe together, Tim (Bill Bixby) also tries to turn the charm on Marsha--with interesting results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rod Serling adapted the teleplay for this Twilight Zone episode from a short story by Price Day, which first appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Decked out in coke-bottle glasses and greased-down hair, Theodore Bikel is malevolence personified as Oliver Crangle, a self-appointed "social conscience" who spends all his waking hours persecuting innocent people whom he has designated as evil. After casually ruining several lives, this Crangle declares that he has in his possession the means to shrink all evil people in the world to a height of two feet -- and that this metamorphosis will occur exactly at Four O'Clock. Appearing as Crangle's landlady is Moyna McGill, the actress mother of Angela Lansbury. "Four O'Clock" was first telecast on April 6, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide