Lee J. Cobb

Often trailers and coming attractions are of as much or more interest to viewers than the actual movie. Included here are some of the trailers and coming attractions seen in the Academy Award-winning Best Pictures from 1927's Wings to 1959's Ben Hur, also including The Bridge on the River Kwai, On the Waterfront, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Lost Weekend and others. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama a mobster kills a cop during a robbery. He finds himself pursued by the police, his gang, and the media. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Lee J. Cobb's last film is in this light romantic comedy starring Roger Moore as Michael Scott, an arms dealer who comes complete with a sophisticated playboy patter for the ladies. During war games, Michael attempts to sell weapons to NATO forces by trying to interest NATO general Steedman (Lee J. Cobb) in his wares. Opposing his sale is feminist reporter Julia Richardson (Susannah York), who is not impressed with either his job or his come-hither endearments. But, as happens to most movie feminists, she ends up putting her values on the back burner and she falls in love with Michael. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

No, nobody steals a skating rink in The Great Ice Rip-Off. The "ice" referred to in the title of this TV movie is a cache of diamonds, stolen by aging thief Gig Young and his entourage. Most of the story transpires during a bus ride from Seattle to San Diego, during which Young's various gang members come aboard with their share of the stolen booty. Lee J. Cobb plays one of the bus passengers, who happens to be an ex-cop with a suspicious nature. The climactic chase sequence in The Great Ice Rip-Off is handled con brio by director Dan Curtis--far removed from his earlier work on Dark Shadows. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Dr. Max is cut from the same cloth as The Last Angry Man. Lee J. Cobb stars as a taciturn elderly doctor who chooses to work in a dingy Baltimore neighborhood and minister to those far less fortunate than themselves. His refusal to succumb to the creature comforts of a more lucrative practice causes a great deal of friction between himself and his family. In traditional "movie of the week" fashion, however, the old medico proves to have a lot more sense than those around him. Dr. Max was first telecast April 4, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Novelist William Peter Blatty based his best-seller on the last known Catholic-sanctioned exorcism in the United States. Blatty transformed the little boy in the 1949 incident into a little girl named Regan, played by 14-year-old Linda Blair. Suddenly prone to fits and bizarre behavior, Regan proves quite a handful for her actress-mother, Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn, although Blatty reportedly based the character on his next-door neighbor Shirley MacLaine). When Regan gets completely out of hand, Chris calls in young priest Father Karras (Jason Miller), who becomes convinced that the girl is possessed by the Devil and that they must call in an exorcist: namely, Father Merrin (Max von Sydow). His foe proves to be no run-of-the-mill demon, and both the priest and the girl suffer numerous horrors during their struggles. The Exorcist received a theatrical rerelease in 2000, in a special edition that added 11 minutes of footage trimmed from the film's original release and digitally enhanced Chris Newman's Oscar-winning sound work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This romantic western drama, based on the best-selling novel by Marilyn Durham, stars Burt Reynolds as Jay Grobart, an outlaw married to an Indian woman named Cat Dancing. When Cat is raped and murdered, a distraught Grobart kills the man responsible for the crime; he soon pulls a robbery with the help of his friends Dawes (Jack Warden) and Billy (Bo Hopkins), and is now on the run from the law. While in transit, Grobart and his partners run across Catherine (Sarah Miles), a woman running away from her abusive husband Crocker (George Hamilton). Catherine is abducted by Dawes and Billy, but Grobart protects her from their violence and threats of rape. As Grobart and Catherine get to know each other, they find themselves falling in love, and despite his lawless past, she admires him for avenging the death of the woman he loved. Grobart, Catherine, and the men travel to the Indian village where Grobart lived with Cat Dancing and their son; however, Lapchance (Lee J. Cobb), a bounty hunter hired by Crocker, is on their trail to bring Catherine back to her husband. The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing was one of Burt Reynolds' first major starring roles after Deliverance elevated him to full-fledged film stardom following years in television and low-budget pictures. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In Lawman, Burt Lancaster is Jered Maddox, a dedicated marshal with an inflexible adherence to upholding the law at all costs. Riding into a nearby town to pick up a group of local carousers who, during a drunken spree, killed an old man, Maddox meets up with Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb). Bronson is the local town boss, and Maddox discovers that the men he is looking for work for him. Unlike most western heavies, Maddox, although he is powerful and unscrupulous, abhors violence. But violence is something Maddox cultivates. A major confrontation between the reluctant Bronson and the intransigent Maddox builds -- particularly when Maddox enlists the help of weak-willed local sheriff Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This violent western tale finds Macho (David Janssen) as a Union Army regular in a Confederate prison. He escapes by planting dynamite in the coffin of an executed officer, making his move when the coffin is being carried outside the gate. He returns to a small town where he waits for Duffy (Lee J. Cobb), who put Macho in jail years before. Newlyweds Alexandra (Jean Seberg) and David (Carradine) arrive in town, and David heads to the saloon. The drunken one armed Confederate Army veteran is killed by Macho when he becomes drunk and belligerent. Alexandra puts a price on Macho's head, hiring two killers to finish him off. Macho kills them both and rapes a beaten up Alexandra, who falls in love with her attacker. He also gets revenge of Duffy by stringing him up by the neck on the windmill in the town square. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Mackenna's Gold is a colorful, action-packed western feature with an all-star cast. Mackenna (Gregory Peck) has committed to memory the map that leads to some hidden Apache gold. The Indians now want the gold to finance their fight against the white men who invade their territory. Mexican bandit Colorado (Omar Sharif) wants the gold for himself, and the local preacher (Raymond Massey) and the editor of the newspaper (Lee J. Cobb) also get gold fever. Burgess Meredith plays the storekeeper and Edward G. Robinson is long-time town resident Old Adams. Everyone goes looking for the hidden treasure as the Indians dwindle their numbers with violent attacks. The search is monitored by U.S. calvary Sergeant Tibbs (Telly Savalas). Colorado captures Mackenna to lead him to the gold as death comes to those who show the most avarice. Music is provided by Quincy Jones. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Set in Sicily, this violent crime drama tells the tale of an Italian cop who heads to a small island town to look into the death of a construction supplier. Once there he is shocked by the influence the Mafia has over the people and even himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Clint Eastwood stars as Walt Coogan, an Arizona deputy sheriff who has been sent to New York City to extradite escaped killer James Ringerman (Don Stroud). On arrival, he's forced to wait by NYPD detective Lieutenant McElroy (Lee J. Cobb), who informs him that Ringerman is recovering from a bad acid trip at Bellevue Hospital. After briefly flirting with attractive probation officer Julie Roth (Susan Clark), Coogan heads for Bellevue, where he's able to con the hospital's staff into releasing the criminal. The cop and the fugitive are on the way to catch a flight back to Arizona, when Ringerman's hippie girlfriend Linny (Tisha Sterling) and a large accomplice spirit the killer away, leaving Coogan unconscious. Luckily, Julie is the girl's probation officer, and Coogan manages to get her address from the woman's files while getting to know her better. He tracks the girl to a popular psychedelic club, whereupon, deciding she likes the deputy, she takes him back to her apartment for further interrogation. The first in a series of films on which Eastwood would collaborate with director Don Siegel, it features a memorable scene in which a battle fought with billiard balls and cue sticks suggests the birth of a new martial art. Although its seemingly innocuous scenes of sex and violence drew criticism at the time, it served as the source for television's considerably more benign McCloud, starring Dennis Weaver as the laconic fish out of water. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide

Alex Segal directed this 1966 production of Arthur Miller's classic American play, Death of a Salesman. Lee J. Cobb stars as Willy Loman, the everyman who is suddenly faced with the glaring reality that he is past his prime and has begun living in a self-created fantasy world in which he is not obsolete. The performance also features James Farentino as Happy Loman, George Segal as Biff Loman, and a young, pre-fame Gene Wilder as Bernard. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide