Craig Wasson Movies

In a rare dramatic appearance, Desi Arnaz Jr. appears as B.J. Palmer, the lead singer of a popular rock group. When the group's avaricious manager David Breen (Conrad Janis) is bludgeoned to death, B.J. is convinced that he himself is the guilty party. After all, the troubled young singer suffers from congenital insanity--or at least, that is what he has been led to believe by certain other parties! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Weary of the exigencies of life in the big city, Bob applies for a professorial post at a small-town college. The institute, located in Iowa, is essentially a farming college, so one can guess the direction of the episode's comic thrust. The supporting cast includes Tresa Hughes as Dr. Doctor (trivia note: Newhart played Major Major in the film version of Catch 22), Richard Libertini as Dr. Pitt, Craig Wasson as Chuck Morgan, Addison Powell as Dr. Scranton, and director James Burrows as a maintenance man. Scripted by Michael Zinberg, "Halls of Hartley" first aired on January 29, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Go Tell the Spartans is set in Vietnam during that period in which American troops were euphemistically termed "advisors". Reluctantly dispensing much of that advice is veteran American major Asa Barker (Burt Lancaster). Though he knows what works and what doesn't on the battlefield, Barker is obliged to carry out the go-nowhere policies of the American military brass. His current objective is a woebegone, barely crucial outpost, which he must defend with a handful of green soldiers and end-of-tether Vietnamese militiamen. True to his predictions, the outpost is overwhelmed by the Vietcong, who have something to fight about and are ruthless in their tactics. Before the relief troops can arrive, virtually everyone is senselessly killed, including Barker. The only survivor is Corporal Stephen Courcey (Craig Wasson), a willing draftee whose initial idealism dies along with his comrades. Wendell Mayes adapted Go Tell the Spartans from the novel Incident at Muc Wa by Daniel Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The ugly conflict between Irish and British forces in Northern Ireland provides the backdrop for this drama set in the early 1970s. Michael Flaherty (Craig Wasson) is an American of Irish descent who, after returning home from a tour of duty in Vietnam, is deciding what to do with his life. Since his childhood, Michael's grandfather Seamus (Sterling Hayden) has told him of his glorious younger days in Ireland, when he fought against the British with the Irish Republican Army. Michael decides to go to Belfast to help the battle for home rule, but he soon finds out that he's not welcomed by many of the locals. He's considered more important as a symbol than as a soldier or an activist -- so much so that the IRA plans to have him killed in a way that can be blamed on British forces in order to help elicit financial support from wealthy Americans. The Outsider was primarily filmed in Dublin, while several of the American sequences were shot in Detroit. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When Dr. Peter Fales's (Klaus Kinski) patients start getting annhilated by an unknown serial killer, he and his daughter Alison (Donna Wilkes) both come under suspicion. Part slasher film and part psychological thriller, Schizoid co-stars Marianna Hill as Julie, a syndicated "Dear Abby"-style columnist who also happens to be in one of Dr. Fales's therapy groups. After she receives several ominous letters she not only wonders if Dr. Fales might be behind the killings, she also starts to suspect her estranged husband. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Thornwell was based on a documentary directed by Harry Moses, which formed the nucleus of a 60 Minutes piece. Moses also directed this TV-movie dramatization of the incident, a truly shameful chapter in the history of the American military. James Thornwell (Glynn E. Turman), an African American soldier suspected in 1961 of being a spy, is subjected to an intense, painful, and humiliating interrogation. The Army's grilling tactics are within the accepted boundaries--until it is decided to use Thornwell as a guinea pig for the "mind-expanding" drug LSD. Once released, Thornwell suffers from mental and physical agony which he cannot fully comprehend, because he has no idea that he's been pumped full of the hallucinogenic drug. It is only 16 years later, thanks to the Freedom of Information act, that Thornwell learns what has been done to him. He is awarded a sizeable cash settlement by Congress, but Thornwell makes clear that this is inadequate compensation for two lost decades in a man's life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1981 John Irvin picture constitutes an adaptation of Peter Straub's colossal, bestselling novel. The central plot -- shared by both book and film -- revolves around the four elderly members of the Chowder Society (Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and John Houseman), who gather in each other's drawing rooms each winter to sip cognac and spin elaborate ghost stories. The four men also share a dark secret far more unsettling than fiction -- a secret which has literally come back to haunt them, as well as their own adult offspring. Each man is visited by a hideous specter bearing the likeness of a young woman (Alice Krige) they accidentally killed 50 years ago when spurning her mischievous sexual advances. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

It is Charles' (David Ogden Stier turn to handle the collection charities, an assignment he devoutly wishes to dodge. As he tries to pass his responsibilities along to others, things inevitable come full-circle back to him. And on a less amusing note, a GI (Craig Wasson) resents the fact that the North Korean soldier (Dereck Wong) who wounded him has been placed in the bed next to his. A morbid twist results in an outpouring of guilt feelings from a most unlikely source. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed on location in France, Italy, Greece, and Egypt, Innocents Abroad was adapted by Dan Wakefield from the 1869 book by Mark Twain. The Twain original was an amusing, semi-satiric account of the author's Grand Tour of Europe and the Holy Land in 1867. Most of the humor derived from the contrast between the iconoclastic Twain and the tacked-on "reverence" of his fellow tourists. The cast includes Craig Wasson as Twain, David Ogden Stiers as a ship's doctor, Barry Morse as Captain Duncan, and-best of all--Luigi Proiette as the glib, effusive tour guide. Innocents Abroad premiered May 9, 1983 on PBS' Great Performances series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Body Double, director Brian DePalma pays homage to the Alfred Hitchcock movies Vertigo and Rear Window, adding a few grotesque touches all his own. Craig Wasson plays Jake, a struggling actor who keeps losing jobs because of his claustrophobia. To make matters worse, his girlfriend has walked out on him, so he has no place to sleep. His pal offers him the use of his apartment for the evening. The apartment happens to be equipped with a huge picture window and telescope, enabling him to spy on his beautiful neighbor Gloria (Deborah Shelton) while she undresses. He also bears witness to her brutal murder. And then he meets a porn star (Melanie Griffith), who has just taken a job posing as the late Gloria. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The best of the Elm Street sequels, this creepy, surreal fantasy features terrific effects, a fine young cast, and an air of grim fatalism that sets it apart from its giggly successors. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, whose nightmare leads to a slashed wrist which looks suspiciously like a suicide attempt. She is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with a group of six other troubled teens who all dream about the same horribly burned man (Robert Englund) trying to kill them. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this picture, however, is the unexpected depth of sadness running through it. There are some achingly sweet moments in this otherwise frightening film which, though not disruptive, are impossible to analyze. The first and most bizarre of these is Heather Langenkamp's entrance, which inexplicably causes most viewers to get misty-eyed, and there are several similar scenes throughout the film. One answer can be found in the sensitive direction of Chuck Russell, who emphasizes the tragedy and utter hopelessness in these kids' lives and manages to wring some unexpectedly perceptive turns from his cast. This is a film in which a great deal of care was obviously lavished on individual scenes (the sets are outstanding) and performances. The results are well worth repeated viewings, and prove that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior films. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This is a Whodunit-type film, where someone is using a nasty pair of scissors to play a one-by-one elimination game with a troop of group-therapy patients. The group is made up of attractive women who soon realize that they could be next. ~ All Movie Guide