Anthony Costello Movies
- 1982
A pair of murders occur within a few days of each other, but there seems to be no relation between the two deaths. At least, that's what the authorities believe until Quincy (Jack Klugman) finds a common factor: both victims were killed by the same handgun, which had been stolen from its original owner nearly five years before. Embarking upon another in a long line of crusades, Quincy endeavors to change the current firearm laws which allow unlicensed gun sales to proceed without any legal checking system. The episode's shattering climax was obviously inspired by the equally powerful finale of the classic 1974 TV movie The Gun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
A piece of made-for-television hack work that suddenly became sort of topical 23 years later, with the attacks on the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Evening in Byzantium was a two-part made-for-TV feature based very loosely on Irwin Shaw's best-seller. The book involved intrigue and romance at the Cannes Film Festival, but the television producers evidently thought that this did not justify a two-night prime time movie event, so they added a story about Middle Eastern terrorists using the Cannes Film Festival as part of a larger plot to attack the West. Glenn Ford plays Jesse Craig, a down-on-his-luck producer with a film project in mind involving terrorists, who goes to Cannes to raise money and finds himself dealing with his ex-wife (Shirley Jones) and romancing Erin Gray. But before too long, he uncovers a plot by real terrorists to replace commercial airliners in flight (blowing them out of the sky and taking over their authorized flight paths) with specially converted airliners and bomb targets in the United States. Also on hand is Vince Edwards, playing an actor with a radical political agenda, who is alarmed that Ford's proposed film parallels his own terrorist plans; Michael Cole as Ford's associate; Eddie Albert and Gloria De Haven as a couple with ties to the movie business; Harry Guardino as a skeptical American security officer; and Marcel Hillaire as the French police inspector trying to unravel the terrorists plans. It's all very silly, though played very sincerely by most of the cast, and none of the plot described is less plausible than the notion that Glenn Ford and Erin Gray could ignore the 36-year difference in their ages. Evening in Byzantium was originally shown in August of 1978 as part of the syndicated Operation Prime Time programming series, intended to compete with the three networks. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1977
When three of his fellow private eyes lose their licenses, Jim (James Garner) risks his own to help them. It turns out that the P.I.'s have been victimized by a "mystery woman" (Katherine Charles) working for a huge detective agency which is determined to eliminate all competition--even if means committing murder. To get even with the villains, Jim and his friends stage an elaborately preplanned break-in at the impenetrable Waterbury Building, an undertaking that bears a startling resemblance to the Watergate burglary, right down to a cameo appearance by an ersatz "Deep Throat". Simon Oakland) makes his first series appearance as detective Vern St. Cloud. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Vacationing in a small town (actually Lake Arrowhead, California), a frantic James Franciscus shows up at the local police station, declaring that his wife has disappeared. Franciscus imperiously demands that easygoing police inspector Jack Klugman drop everything and find his missing spouse. Within a few days, a woman claiming to be the wife shows up-but Franciscus insists that he's never met the woman before. What's going on here, and why does Klugman seem so calm and collected. First telecast March 5, 1976, One of My Wives is Missing was based on the Robert Thomas novel Trap for a Single Man. The book had previously been filmed for TV in 1970 as Honeymoon with a Stranger, and would be remade in 1984 as Vanishing Act. One would think that, with three versions of the Thomas story floating about, virtually everyone in the audience would be privy to that clever twist ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
It seems that even before Dennis Rodman, the Chicago basketball world was plagued with showboaters who thought that they were the center of the universe. In this episode of The Bob Newhart Show, Anthony Costello is cast as Dwayne Granger, aka "The Duke of Dunk," a star basketball player. Upset that Dwayne's monumental ego has resulted in a drop in morale and a long losing streak, the team's coach goes to Bob for help. Written by Douglas Arango and Phil Doran, "Duke of Dunk" originally aired on January 31, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette, (more)
Private eye Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman) is dedicated to his job, but his dedication does not make him happy or powerful in his personal life, and his wife (Susan Clark) is cheating on him. Aging actress Arlene Iverson (Janet Ward) hires Harry to find her trust-funded daughter Delly (Melanie Griffith), distracting Harry from his marital problems as he tracks the lascivious runaway teen to Florida. In the Keys, Harry has an affair of his own with Paula (Jennifer Warren), and he succeeds in locating Delly, even as he learns that finding her is only the beginning of a much larger case. As the "accidental" deaths multiply, Harry discovers that everyone has his or her own motives and that he cannot do much to stem the tide of deep-seated depravity. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, (more)
- 1973
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Ironside (Raymond Burr) has degenerated from a respected law enforcement officer to a seedy skid-row bum, apparently because 10-year-old murder witness Jerry Abbott (Lee H. Montgomery) was killed while in the Chief's protective custody. What even Ironside's loyal assistants are unaware of is that little Jerry is still alive, and that the Chief is only posing as a derelict to flush out the murderer. The situation reaches the crisis stage when two attempts are made on Ironside's alive--and the Chief can't summon the aid of his associates without blowing his cover. This episode features two original songs by David and Marty Paich: "Street Song", peformed by Carol Carmichael; and "Way Up Here", sung by Marty Paich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Stuart Rosenberg's taut police thriller, based on the Martin Beck novel by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahlöö, concerns a serial killer who is targeting bus riders. When a bus full of innocent commuters are killed on a San Francisco street, Jake Martin (Walter Matthau) is assigned to track down the killer. Jake has a personal stake in the killings because his partner was one of the victims. Teamed up with new partner Leo Larsen (Bruce Dern), Jake investigates the back alleys of San Francisco to find the serial killer. The trail leads to a tour of the underbelly of the city's gay subculture. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, (more)
- 1973
In the first half of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), Chief Ironside is assigned to protect little Jerry Abbott, an autistic 10-year-old who has witnessed a murder. Not long afterward, the newspapers are reporting that Jerry himself has been killed--and that Ironside, tortured by guilt, has quit the force, crawled into a booze bottle, and ended up a derelict on Skid Row. But is this grim situation everything it appears to be? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Two TV films were shown during the 1973-1974 season dealing with the emotional and legal ramifications of rape. While the Elizabeth Montgomery vehicle A Case of Rape was closer to Real Life, Cry Rape! also had a lot going for it. Andrea Marcovicci stars as Betty Jenner, whose world is rent asunder when she falls victim to a rapist. Equally as humiliating as the violation itself is the aftermath; Betty must withstand the adversarial questions of the police on the case, and then must relive her nightmare in court. Filmed in a semidocumentary fashion, Cry Rape! veers dangerously close to discouraging any woman from reporting sexual assault, inasmuch as it demonstrates the step-by-step process by which the accuser often ends up the accused. Only its contrived melodramatic conclusion robs the film of its verisimilitude. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This episode may remind some viewers of the much-later theatrical feature Fargo--minus the grim humor, of course. Hoping to escape from an unhappy marriage, wealthy executive Alan Graves (Michael Graves) fakes his own kidnapping. Graves plans to collect $200,000 in ransom money from his hated father-in-law, then run off to New York with his mistress Dana Evans (Karen Carlson). Not surprisingly, things go horribly wrong for Graves long before the FBI catches up with him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Racketeer Rudy Walden (Peter Mark Richman) has managed to corrupt several members of a college basketball team, bribing them to shave points and "fix" certain games. By the time the FBI has gotten wind of Walden's activities, star player Billy Blaik (Anthony Costello) has been added to his list of potential accomplices. Before the story reaches its climax, the villains have resorted to kidnapping--with murder the next item on the menu. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
Among a cliquish set of country club doctors and surgeons, it seems that sleeping around is the norm. Early in the film, however, one husband murders his promiscuous wife (Dyan Cannon) while she is in bed with a rather unlikely adulterer. The various alliances and rivalries in this close-knit community are further stressed as the murderous husband uses his knowledge of the community for a wide-ranging blackmail scheme. While the police investigate, the doctors who do open-heart surgery on their patients experience heart-rending situations themselves. The film has a large and distinguished cast of actors, including Richard Crenna, Dyan Cannon, Caroll O'Conner, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Hackman, John Colicos, Diana Sands and Janice Rule. The story is based on Doctors' Wives by Frank G. Slaughter. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dyan Cannon, Richard Crenna, (more)
This grim historical drama from director Martin Ritt was loosely based on real-life events. Richard Harris stars as James McParlan, an operative for the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1876. The Pinkertons have been hired by a major coal company to infiltrate and expose an underground terrorist organization, the "Molly Maguires," operating within the impoverished mining communities of Pennsylvania. As most of the miners are Irish, the recently emigrated McParlan is selected to pose as a new worker just arrived in the area. He quickly wins the trust and loyalty of the local terrorist leader, Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery), as well as the affection of his landlord's beautiful daughter, Mary Raines (Samantha Eggar). As it becomes clear that the group he's supposed to betray is protesting truly wretched working conditions, the lawman's loyalties become divided between the law and his fellow countrymen. The Molly Maguires (1970) was Oscar nominated for Best Art and Set Direction. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Richard Harris, (more)
An international collection of second-string actors grace the cast of this bargain-basement Sergio Leone knock off. Terence Stamp stars as Azul, the son of evil Mexican bandit Ortega (Ricardo Montalban). Although Azul is a mean, low-down, varmint like Ortega's three other sons, there is a slight glimmer of goodness in his soul since he is adopted. He proves it when he kills one of his brothers who was attempting to rape beautiful Texan maid Joanne (Joanna Pettet). Renouncing his adopted family and claiming a new moniker by the name of Blue, he helps Joanne and her father on their farm, and soon Blue and Joanne are in love. Remorseful at the loss of Blue, Ortega tracks him down to regain his love. Instead, Blue rejects him, and Ortega, humiliated and disgraced by his son's rejection, gathers together an army in order to return to wreak revenge upon the Texans. Now Blue must organize the Texans into a fighting force to face the bandit army of his father. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terence Stamp, Joanna Pettet, (more)
Rambling along at its own measured pace, Will Penny is a vivid western character study, completely dominated by the rapport between stars (Charlton Heston) and (Joan Hackett). Heston plays Will Penny, an aging and impoverished cowboy. With his cohorts Blue (Lee Majors) and Dutchy (Anthony Zerbe), the trio sets out to find employment before winter sets in. Their job search is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Preacher Quint, a vicious Bible-thumping bandit (Donald Pleasance) and his moronic, sadistic sons. Dutchy gets wounded in the fight and Blue stays with him in a small town nearby to nurse him back to health. Will gets a job on a ranch, and though he is supposed to keep squatters off the land, he can't kick out Catherine (Joan Hackett) and her little son (Jon Gries). She herself is en route to join her husband, an Oregon farmer. Despite her wedding vows, Catherine finds herself drawn to Penny -- who makes no unwarranted move towards the woman, but is equally attracted to her. Then the murderous Quint and his sons reappear to exact their revenge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, (more)
