Leigh Christian Movies
- 1987
Arrested on a robbery-murder charge, Wally Grimes (J.E. Freeman) beats the rap due to lack of evidence. In the midst of his efforts to nail Grimes and send him to death row, Hunter (Fred Dryer) finds time to rekindle his romance with former girlfriend Terri (Leigh Christian), who, unbeknownst to the detective, has been targetted for assassination by a Colombian drug dealer. Ultimately, Terri is gunned down--and the vengeful Hunter is convinced that Grimes is responsible! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Pia Zadora stars in an over-cooked melodramatic adaptation of the 1946 James M. Cain novel that is every bit as smutty and sleazy as Zadora's vampish character of Kady. The location of the novel has been switched from Appalachia to the barren lands of Arizona and Nevada in 1937. Stacy Keach plays Jess Tyler, a desert hermit who has spent years guarding an abandoned silver mine. Suddenly, Jesse is confronted by his very grown-up and sexy daughter, who, when she was a baby, had been taken away from him by his wife, Belle (Lois Nettleton). Kady, it so happens, hasn't come home for a family reunion -- she has just been dumped by a rich young man who is the father of her illegitimate child and whose family owns the very silver mine that Jess is guarding. Kady hopes to use her feminine wiles to seduce Jess and reopen the mine and extract the money from the earth that she feels is due her from the family. As if his seductive daughter walking around bare-breasted in front of him isn't enough, Jess must also deal with the sudden return of his older daughter, Janey (Ann Dane), who appears with Kady's son; Belle, who comes back to Jess dying of tuberculosis; and Moke Blue (James Franciscus), the man who stole Belle away from Jess years ago. Also squeezing his way into Jess's shack is Wash Gillespie (Edward Albert), the father of Kady's child, who now wants to marry her. Butterfly also features Orson Welles as Judge Rauch. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stacy Keach, Pia Zadora, (more)
- 1979
In the first episode of a two-part story, Jim (James Garner) is hired by his ex-con pal Eddie Lopresti (George Loros) to locate Brian Charles, the missing business manager of rock star Tim Richie (Kristoffer Tabori). Ostensibly, Eddie is doing this on behalf of Richie, who needs backup during a messy palimony trial; but in fact, Eddie is less interested in impressing the singer than in declaring his love for gorgeous music journalist Whitney Cox (Marcia Strassman). Whatever the case, Jim soon finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue involving crooked business dealings, drugs, and the Mob--and worse, there's someone out there who is willing to kill both Jim and Eddie to get them off his (or her?) back. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Jim (James Garner) tries to determine if the murder of a crooked business manager is somehow tied in with the messy "palimony" trial involving rock star Tim Richie (Kristoffer Tabori) and his scorned lover Diane Bjornstrom (Leigh Christian). Meanwhile, ex-con Eddie (George Loros), the man who brought Jim into the case, continues to moon over his not-so-secret love, music journalist Whitney Cox (Marcia Strassman). With mobsters and drugs involved, it's a safe bet that Jim is going to endure a few lumps before everything (or almost everything) is straightened out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Delta County USA was the feature-length pilot film for a proposed prime-time serial. The titular county is an old, hidebound Southern community, harboring ever so many dark secrets. The dramatic tension of the film is manifested in the lack of understanding between the older citizens and the young set. Jim Antonio heads the cast as "Jack the Bear," who's smarter than the av-er-age...you know. Delta County USA was initially telecast May 20, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
TV reporter Paula Hughes (Leigh Christian) and her cameraman George Antonio (Peter Palmer) insist upon accompanying the men of Squad 51 as they go about their emergency rounds. This week's caseload includes an unconscious landslide victim, a teenager bitten by a snake, a dangerous tar fire, and a man trapped under a blazing fuel truck. And as if this wasn't enough to keep them busy, the squad must also rescue an amateur stuntman whose attempt to negotiate an I-beam goes horribly awry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Roy (Kevin Tighe) reluctantly serves as nursemaid for some plants cultivated by a "matron" who turns out to be much younger than he expected. More seriously, the Ramparts team performs emergency field surgery on a man with a live grenade imbedded in his abdomen, and on another man who has swallowed his dental plate. Also, the doctors and paramedics team up to break down the resistance of a family of religious zealots, who refuse to allow their daughter to receive medical treatment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
One of the best of the early-1970s Disney farces, The World's Greatest Athlete stars Jan-Michael Vincent in the title role. A "wild boy" living off the land in the jungles of Africa, Vincent is discovered by coaches Tim Conway and John Amos. Cursed with a last-place college athletic lineup, Conway and Amos hope that Vincent will pull them out of their years-long slump. And he does, but not before several Disneyesque slapstick highlights, not to mention a handful of amusing special-effects gags (at one point, Conway is shrunk to mouse size by witch doctor Roscoe Lee Browne). Despite its formidable lineup of comedians-Conway, Billy DeWolfe, Nancy Walker, Vito Scotti et. al.--The World's Greatest Athlete's funniest line goes to guest star Howard Cosell! The script is the handiwork of Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, late of That Was the Week That Was and Get Smart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Conway, Jan-Michael Vincent, (more)
When a Cape Kennedy space mission is interrupted by terrorists, Senator Stockwell (John Carter) turns to a massive computer for an analyzed report of which secret agents to trust with the case. The electronic brain suggests the Doll Squad, a crack team of highly trained female spies who are as beautiful as they are deadly. Their leader, Sabrina Kincaid (Francine York), is sent to round up the girls, but there's a mole in the Senator's organization, and the first two agents she contacts are murdered. Intelligence reports reveal that the head of the terrorist operation is Eamon O'Reilly (Michael Ansara), an ex-government agent and Sabrina's former lover. O'Reilly sends a carrier pigeon to the Senator with instructions to send back secret nuclear weapon plans, and threatens national disaster if he refuses. The mole is rooted out and the location of O'Reilly's secret island hideout is discovered, so Sabrina rounds up the rest of the Doll Squad and the ladies charter a boat. Once on shore, the girls are kidnapped, and O'Reilly explains his nefarious plans to Sabrina: He is going to spread bubonic plague across the civilized world and rule what is left with supreme power. But if she so desires, he'll inoculate her with the antidote and she will reign by his side as Queen. The Doll Squad fights back, using an arsenal of secret weapons, plastic explosives, and their own seductive charms to defeat O'Reilly's henchmen and save the world. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- PG
A few treasure-seekers try their luck on a tropical island and find a lost--well undocumented, anyway--civilization that has interesting marine capabilities and an unusual way of life. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1956
British sailors John Mills and Richard Attenborough would like to take Neopolitan lass Lisa Gastoni out on a date. But Gastoni can't leave the house unless her baby brother tags along. During a rowdy evening on the town, Mills is forced to sneak the infant on board his ship. When Gastoni and Attenborough arrive to claim the kid, they find that the ship has already sailed. Essentially a British Abbott & Costello picture, Baby and the Battleship manages to deliver a sufficient supply of hearty chuckles. The film was based on a somewhat subtler novel by Anthony Thorne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Richard Attenborough, (more)
