Christopher Connelly Movies
Christopher Connelly left his hometown of Wichita at an early age to become an actor. Signed to a 20th Century Fox contract in 1961, he was shunted away to supporting and peripheral film roles. Throughout his TV career, he labored in the shadow of actor Ryan O'Neal, whom he closely resembled. Once O'Neal was firmly established as Rodney Harrington in the prime-time TV soap opera Peyton Place, Connelly was brought in to play Rodney's younger brother, Norman, a role he remained with until the series' cancellation in 1969. And when Peter Bogdanovich's theatrical feature Paper Moon was spun off into a TV series in 1974, Connelly was cast as con artist Moze Pray -- the character played in the original by Ryan O'Neal. Occasionally shedding the "O'Neal clone" onus, Connelly was seen as Henry in the phenomenally popular family film Benji (1974) and as Ben Driscoll in the TV miniseries The Martian Chronicles (1980). He also showed up in such inexpensive action films as Stunt Seven (1979) and Return of the Rebels (1980). Christopher Connelly's last TV appearance was, again, as Norman Harrington in the 1988 pilot film Peyton Place: The Next Generation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1987
Django was a successful and highly influential "spaghetti western," spawning over 30 pseudo-sequels that borrowed the name and the main character's bloodthirsty ways, but Django 2: Il Grande Ritorno (aka Django Strikes Again) was the first follow-up to feature Franco Nero reprising the title role from the original film, and the only one made with the participation of the director of Django, Sergio Corbucci (though only in an advisory capacity.) In this story, Django (Franco Nero) has spent a decade in a monastery, trying to live down his violent past as a gunman. However, Django is forced to renounce his vows when word gets back to him that a villainous slave trader, Orlowsky (Christopher Connelly), has kidnapped his daughter. Enraged and determined to bring the abductors to justice, Django digs up his old Gatling gun (literally - he had buried it in a graveyard, under a headstone with the name "Django" on it) and once again begins cutting a swath through the countryside as he seeks to free his daughter. Django 2: Il Grande Ritorno also starred Donald Pleasence, William Berger and Robert Posse; some prints are missing a five minute prologue sequence. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Franco Nero, Donald Pleasence, (more)
- 1987
- R
In this low-budget, Rambo-esque actioner, a Vietnam vet re-enters the Southeast Asian jungles to complete some unfinished business. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Reb Brown, Christopher Connelly, (more)
This convoluted actioner is set in beautiful Cancun, Mexico and centers upon a voracious gigantic one-eyed shark, stolen diamonds, a sunken ship, a murdered brother and corporate villains. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1987
- PG
A World War II-era college student must journey to Africa both to find his missing archaeology professor and search for the treasured mines of Kilimanjaro. He is followed by natives as well as scheming Chinese and Nazis. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- 1986
- R
This enjoyably sleazy action film stars Fred Williamson as Jake Turner, a burglar who also happens to be an ex-con and a former Green Beret. When Turner's drug-addicted wife dies, he begins murdering the dealers and mobsters whom he holds responsible, including genre favorite Joe Spinell (Maniac). Turner does a bit more traveling than the usual revenge-movie hero, spilling blood in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Italy as well as Los Angeles. Christopher Connelly co-stars with crime-movie veterans Val Avery and Cameron Mitchell. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fred Williamson, Sandy Cummings, (more)
- 1985
- R
Fred Williamson stars in this gritty action film as an L.A. detective named Thomas Fox, hired by a wealthy industrialist (Christopher Connelly) to find his missing niece (Donna Owen). Fox follows the girl all over Europe -- including a stop at the Cannes Film Festival -- and brings her back home, only to discover that her fate involves drugs, pornography, and other sordid doings. This is one of those movies where absolutely everyone is corrupt except for the shining hero, who has to kill the entire cast to get out alive. Despite the change in the character's name, this might as well have been a sequel to Williamson's "Jesse Crowder" films of the '70s (No Way Back and Death Journey). Lela Rochon and Arlene Golonka co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fred Williamson, Christopher Connelly, (more)
- 1985
In this actioner, a band of Vietnam veterans return to the jungle to save their leader from a POW camp. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1985
In this drama, set twenty years after the original saga, a woman comes to the tumultuous New England village to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her mother and discovers that the town's most respected citizens have been keeping a series of dark, disturbing secrets. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1983
One of many post-apocalyptic science-fiction films which poured out of Europe in the wake of George Miller's Mad Max, this film stars Stefania Girolami as Anna, who runs away from her wealthy but obnoxious family into the surrealistic biker gangland of the Bronx. There, she meets Trash (Marco de Gregorio), part of a gang called The Riders, and soon falls in love with him. Problems arise when Anna's father (Enio Girolami), president of the evil Manhattan Corporation, sends in a psychopath named Hammer (Vic Morrow) to stir up trouble among the rival gangs, including a black club led by Ogre (Fred Williamson) and a rollerskating group led by Golem (Luigi Montefiori). Castellari's direction is surprisingly stylish and exciting, but all of the hyper-macho posturing eventually grows tiresome for anyone over fifteen. Still, undemanding viewers will have a good time, as the action keeps coming fast and furious, laced with suitably hardbitten dialogue by director Enzo G. Castellari, Elisa Livia Briganti and Dardano Sacchetti. A minor classic of testosterone cinema, followed by several sequels starting with Fuga dal Bronx (1983). ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vic Morrow, Christopher Connelly, (more)
- 1983
In this sci-fi film, the lost continent of Atlantis rises in the Bahamas. The new surface dwellers aren't too friendly as they wage war on the locals. ~ Rovi
- 1982
When a Hollywood sex symbol is kidnapped for ransom, the daredevil team, The Fantastic Seven, head to Miami where the filming occurred. ~ Rovi
- 1982
- PG
Against the wishes of both families, a poor boy (Matt Dillon) and a wealthy banker's daughter (Cindy Fisher) elope, only to discover that their immaturity and incompatibility may be the downfall of their relationship. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Cindy Fisher, (more)
- 1982
In this routine action-adventure film patterned after the trend-setting Raiders of the Lost Ark, a GI is requested by the Allies in World War II to come back to the Philippines after the war has ended and find the Golden Cobra, a sacred image worshipped by the Awoks (predating George Lucas' Ewoks by one year). When he does return, the ex-GI, Bob (David Warbeck), is not alone. He has two allies in the form of June (Almanta Suska) and her uncle (Alan Collins), who are searching for June's twin sister, April, lost in the jungle many years earlier. Anyone who has seen Raiders is likely to stay one step ahead of the action. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Warbeck, Christopher Connelly, (more)
Christopher Connelly (Trauma) plays an archaeologist who desecrates the tomb of a 5,000-year-old god of cruelty and evil, and is temporarily blinded by lasers from a blue stone in the wall. Meanwhile, a sightless old woman gives his daughter, Susie (Brigitta Boccoli), an identical stone -- the Evil Eye -- in a town square. Back in New York, Susie's eyes start glowing blue as she plays with her brother, Tommy (Giovanni Frezza), and her babysitter, Jamie Lee (Cinzia De Ponti). Everything goes haywire after that. The apartment security guard plunges to his death in an elevator shaft, a cobra shows up in the living room and gets lodged in Susie's esophagus, and her mother's friend, Luke (Carlo De Mejo), turns to sand. It seems that the evil god is using Susie as a vessel to open a rift in the space-time continuum. Before too long, Susie and Tommy are jetting back and forth through the rift to Egypt, Jamie Lee has disappeared, and Susie's mother seeks out a man named Adrian Marcato (see Rosemary's Baby) to exorcise the demon. That night, the stuffed birds which he keeps in his store come to life and attack him, rending his flesh as he dies screaming. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Connelly, Martha Taylor, (more)
- 1981
Mary Beth Allen (Barbara Eden), the widow of a member of the long-defunct Eagle Rock Rebels motorcycle gang, supports herself by running a small campground. Unfortunately, the future of this enterprise is endangered by the arrival of several young punks who have been scaring off the customers and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Riding to the rescue are Mary Beth's old pals, the ex-members of the Rebels, who have gathered at the camp for their 25-year reunion. Along the way, Mary Beth falls in love with the Rebels' now middle-aged leader, Sonny (Don Murray). The fun to be had in this made-for-TV movie is seeing such sitcom stalwarts as M*A*S*H's Jamie Farr and Soap's Robert Mandan in black leather jackets astride their souped-up Harleys. Return of the Rebels made its CBS network bow on October 17, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
- PG
In this sci-fi film, a spaceship crash lands in the Midwest and strands an alien family. A gentle innkeeper takes in the marooned group. Except for their green chimpanzee that eats light bulbs, the aliens look like normal humans. Unfortunately, the family is pursued by a government agent determined to see that the aliens don't intermingle with the humans. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burl Ives, Christopher Connelly, (more)
In this 3 1/2-hour TV miniseries, adapted from the book by Ray Bradbury, space pioneers must travel from earth to the red planet to found a new colony. Rock Hudson, Roddy McDowall and Bernadette Peters star in the 1980 film. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson
- 1979
One of two 1979 TV pilot films concerning the exploits of crimefighting movie stuntmen (the other was Stunts Unlimited), Stunt Seven was telecast May 30, 1979. Christopher Connelly heads the cast as ace stunter Hill Singleton. His six-person "team" includes Skip (Christopher Lloyd), Elena (Morgan Brittany), Wally (Bob Seagren), Kenny (Soon Teck Oh), Horatio (Brian Brodsky) and Dinah (Juanin Clay). This time around, "Stunt Seven" must rescue sexy movie star Elke Sommer from the clutches of a well-guarded modern pirate. The fact that the villain is played by Patrick MacNee of Avengers fame should tip one off that Stunt Seven was conceived with tongue firmly in cheek. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1978
- PG
When his father does not return from the Norse colony in Vinland (Greenland) for years and years, warrior son Thorvald (Lee Majors) organizes an expedition to find him. He and his co-commander Ragnar (Cornel Wilde) arrive and swiftly discover that King Eurich (Mel Ferrer) and his company were abducted by Native Americans and taken to neighboring lands. With the help of a friendly tribal princess, and the comical assistance of the Norse shaman "Death Dreamer" (Jack Elam), Thorvald is able to locate and battle the tribesmen for the life of his father. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lee Majors, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1978
Originally made for television and based on true events from 1972, the story concerns an airline crash in the Everglades and the courageous adventures of the 73 survivors. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- 1977
The cast of the sitcom F-Troop stars in this comic western about the people of St. Joseph, Missouri and their exasperation with the community's most famous resident--Mark Twain (Christopher Connelly). ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- 1977
Nice Night for a Hanging was the feature-length pilot film for the never-sold TV series Charlie Cobb. Clu Gulager stars as Cobb, a private detective operating in the Old West. Our hero comes to California at the behest of a powerful rancher (Ralph Bellamy), and is hired to locate the rancher's long-lost daughter, who was kidnapped in infancy. Cobb runs into resistance from several unsavory characters who have their eyes on his client's fortune. Produced by Columbo creators Richard Levinson and William Link, Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a Hanging premiered June 19, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
Several deaths have occurred at Valleyview Sanitarium--which in and of itself is not unusual, in that most of the patients are very old and very ill. Even Quincy (Jack Klugman) is persuaded that the recent, slightly mysterious death of an elderly man was simply a coronary rather than foul play. But when a much-younger patient dies under similar circumstances, Quincy changes his mind and launches an investigation--and in the process confronts a self-styled "Angel of Mercy" who is practicing wholesale euthanasia. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
The cast of the popular old TV series Peyton Place reunite when Allison MacKenzie and Rodney Harrington are found dead. Other than that, and a decade's worth of gossip, nothing much has changed there. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.