Cathy Lee Crosby Movies
Cathy Lee Crosby is the daughter of Hollywood actress Linda Hayes and Lawrence Welk Show announcer Lou Crosby. Crosby began her own showbiz career at five, appearing on her dad's local L.A. TV series, Crosbys' Calling. Like her sisters, Linda Lou and Lucinda Sue, Cathy Lee proved to be a superb athlete at an early age; before reaching the age of 21, she was a professional tennis player and recreational skydiver, windsurfer, and swimmer. Thus, she was uniquely qualified for the title role in the 1974 made-for-TV film The New, Original Wonder Woman. Intended as the pilot for a weekly series, Wonder Woman scored in the ratings, but was shot down by the critics; when a series did finally surface in 1976, Lynda Carter played the lead. Crosby cut her losses, made a few films in Europe (she is fluent in several languages), and returned to athletics. In 1980, she became one of the co-hosts of the popular "reality" TVer That's Incredible, a job she held down until 1984. Still hoping to be taken seriously as an actress, Cathy Lee Crosby made her off-Broadway bow in the 1988 production Almost Perfect; she has also remained active in a variety of charitable and prosocial organizations. Cathy Lee Crosby should not be confused with Live With Regis and Kathie Lee co-star Kathie Lee (Crosby) Gifford and she is not the daughter of Bing Crosby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Set within the popular bohemian coffee houses of the late '50s where beatniks gathered to recite poetry and perform, this sensationalistic detective drama centers upon the attempts of an insensitive police detective to catch an arrogant serial rapist, a rich young man who believes himself mentally superior and therefore beyond the law. His favorite victims are married women. When he learns that the detective is after him, the rapist targets the cop's wife. Later the poor wife discovers she's pregnant and cannot be sure who fathered her child. The film is alternatively titled This Rebel Age. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Cochran, Mamie van Doren, (more)
- 1959
Scripted in another era, the premise for this interesting though conventional drama defending a partially mixed marriage would not be as convincing a few decades later. Chuck Nelson (John Drew Barrymore) is a wealthy young man who travels South of the border and meets and then marries Ginny (Julie London). His new bride is a wonderful woman until Chuck's socialite mother (Agnes Moorehead) discovers that one of Ginny's grandparents was of African ancestry. The imperious mother-in-law lands the new couple in an embittered court battle as she makes every attempt to annul their marriage. Nat "King" Cole plays Ginny's uncle, and Anna Kashfi is Maria, her cousin. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie London, John Drew Barrymore, (more)
- 1959
This sexually explicit, low-budget film makes no pretensions about being anything other than offensive. There is no plot since none is especially necessary. Director Charles Haas (his last film was the following year), opens with a scene of sexually active men and women at a party. Then one of these women, Silver Morgan (Mamie Van Doren), is mistakenly accused of a crime and sent to an institution, run by Catholic nuns, for wayward young women. As it turns out, the inmates in the institution actually run it through sadistic means. One of them is even more seriously mentally disturbed than the others, and so the nuns welcome her as a novitiate, making even a non-Catholic viewer grimace. The content of this story, such as it is, is made all the worse by an accompanying disregard of the craft of filmmaking. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mamie van Doren, Mel Tormé, (more)
- 1960
An expose on campus sex provides the basis of this bizarre film made in 1960. A college professor is taking the survey which focuses upon the sexual habits of the students. Unfortunately, some people object and bring him up on charges of indecency. The film climaxes with his trial. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, (more)
- 1971
A killer is on the loose in the vacation paradise of Acapulco. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Several people in and around Rampart Hospital are felled by a potentially deadly virus--and the cause of it all may well be a woman with a pet monkey. Elsewhere, an injured man is stuck on a high scaffold; and a boy suffering from vertigo is trapped in a backyard treehouse. Featured in the cast are future That's Incredible cohost Cathy Lee Crosby, as well as Skye Aubrey, the daughter of TV and movie executive James Aubrey and actress Phyllis Thaxter. ~ 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)
- 1974
In this adventure, the Amazon super-hero recovers stolen top-secret documents and brings a dangerous spy to justice. This was the pilot to the television series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this theatrically released episode from the TV series based on the popular feature film, Shaft, the tough New York detective must use all of his experience to solve the case and bring the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- R
In this crime drama, a runaway girl from rural Montana heads for LA and ends up trapped within its darkest underbelly surrounded by crime, drugs, and sleazy people. Fortunately, her brother, a tough cowboy, comes to rescue her. But first he must find her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mitchum, Karen Lamm, (more)
When Fenton (Keenan Wynn), the preeminent citizen of Granger speaks, the town listens. The town's high-school boys' basketball team has had a losing season, and he wants the coach fired. What's more, he wants to select his replacement. After a computer search, he discovers that the Olympic track star Randy Rawlings has just the right qualifications. When Randy arrives, he discovers that this star athlete is a woman (Cathy Lee Crosby). However, she insists on her right to try and coach the boys, and she not only succeeds at that, but inspires the boys in other ways as well. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy Lee Crosby, Michael Biehn, (more)
- 1978
Also known as Behind the Lines, Keefer was a bargain-counter Casablanca geared to fans of TV's Cannon. William Conrad stars in this busted pilot as the proprietor of a Lisbon bar during World War II. As we've all learned from Hollywood movies, Lisbon is a veritable hotbed of wartime intrigue, meaning that Keefer is also active in the local branch of the OSS. His job: Destroy a German radar base. Keefer looked and sounded a lot like the mid-1950s TV series Foreign Intrigue, which likewise was inspired by Casablanca. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This well-acted but wildly disjointed sci-fi/horror film stars William Devane as a writer who takes a personal interest in a series of baffling decapitation murders in the L.A. area, all of which seem to indicate some kind of supernatural force at work. He is joined in his investigation by a TV reporter (Cathy Lee Crosby), while detective Dave Mooney (Richard Jaeckel puzzles over evidence that the killer may not even be human. Their subsequent monster hunt is both stylish and suspenseful but completely collapses at the end, trashing any attempt at explanation by revealing the murderer as a lumpy-browed alien brute with ill-fitting slacks and laser-beam eyes. After a tension-filled 80-minute set-up, the moronic climax brings the suspense to a jarring halt and was probably added late in the game by a lame-brained studio executive who decided in mid-production to change the killer into an alien. Directorial duties were originally assigned to Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), who bailed out early to be replaced by John "Bud" Cardos. Enough said. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Devane, Cathy Lee Crosby, (more)
- 1980
One of several syndicated TV miniseries of the 1980s, Roughnecks was part of the same "Golden Circle" project that previously yielded the multipart Wild Times. The title refers to a group of two-fisted oil wildcatters, among them self-made millionaire Paul Marshall (Steve Forrest), his lifelong pal and business partner, Plug Champion (Harry Morgan), and up-and-coming young "roughneck" O'Dell Hartman (Sam Melville). Avoiding the temptation of carbon-copying such previous oil-drilling movies like Boom Town, Flowing Gold, and Tulsa, this two-parter devoted much of its screen time to the hero's efforts to help Marshall's former sweetheart Ida McBride (Vera Miles) save her ranch by bringing in a valuable methane well. In most local markets, Roughnecks was telecast the third week of August (usually the 15th and 16th of that month) in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
World War III is an ambitious if unnecessarily protracted speculative TV movie. Set in a "future December," the film prophesies an American grain embargo levied on Russia. US President Rock Hudson is entreated by the Soviet higher-ups to drop the ban; meanwhile, a group of renegade Russian military officers begin sending expeditionary forces into Alaska. While the countdown to Doomsday begins, the film insists upon cutting back to several expendable romances in both the American and Soviet camps. Boris Sagal, the original director of World War III, was killed in a freak helicopter accident while on location. To make up for lost time, the production was moved to the soundstages of Zoetrope Studios and overseen by ultra-efficient TV director David Greene. Part Two finds novice American president Rock Hudson trying to effect an honorable peace with Soviet premiere Brian Keith. But insurgent military officers endeavoring to seize the Alaska Pipeline as a bargaining chip continue to escalate the hostilities. It develops that the fate of the world may rest in the hands of American colonel David Soul. Also appearing is Cathy Lee Crosby, endearingly miscast as an intelligence officer. A heart-stopping surprise twist brings World War III to a close. While the film has its moments of genuine suspense, one can't help but feel that World War III would have been better an hour or two shorter--or at least with a few of the subplot romances removed. Originally running four hours, World War III was telecast in two parts on January 31 and February 1, 1982.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
Comedian Charlie Barnette relates his perspective on college and what it takes to get through it. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In this drama, a nurse, interred in a Vietnamese prison camp for ten years, is finally released and goes home with her Asian son. There she finds difficulty adjusting to society and the fact that her husband has found a new life and a lover to boot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Robert Altman takes a scalpel to Hollywood ethics in the 1990s (or the lack thereof) in his acidic satire The Player, adapted from Michael Tolkin's novel. (Tolkin also wrote the screenplay.) The film concerns a sleek and smooth Hollywood studio executive who starts receiving death threats from a disgruntled writer because he has committed the ultimate Hollywood sin -- he promised the writer he would call him back and he never did. This is particularly ironic because the studio executive, Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins), is considered "writer-friendly," spending his days listening to pitches from such noted screenwriters as Buck Henry, who is pushing "The Graduate, Part II" and Alan Rudolph, who is hawking a Bruce Willis action film described as "Ghost meets The Manchurian Candidate." But The Player finds Griffin's comfortable life style in danger of collapse. He is trying to find a way to unload his girlfriend (Cynthia Stevenson) whose independence and intelligence make her a poor candidate for a trophy wife. More importantly, it seems that Larry Levy (Peter Gallagher), a slippery executive from Twentieth Century Fox, is angling for his job. And then there are those nasty postcards and faxes from a screenwriter threatening to kill him. Altman cast over 65 stars in cameo roles as texture for his scabrous tale. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, (more)
A woman who believes in a troubled child must go against the law in order to help her in this made-for-TV drama, inspired by a true story. Six-year-old Caitlin is a deeply disturbed child whose violent and disruptive behavior prevents her from attending school or day care with other youngsters. However, special-education teacher Maggie Barnard (Cathy Lee Crosby) senses that there is a great intelligence in Caitlin, and she believes Caitlin can be taught if someone can find out how to reach her. However, not everyone Maggie works with agrees with her assessment, and as she attempts to break through the walls of anger and abuse that surround Caitlin's mind, she must also do battle with a system that sometimes does more harm than good to kids. Based on a true story, Untamed Love also features John Getz, Gary Frank, and Frank Novak. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy Lee Crosby, Ashlee Lauren, (more)
- 1997
The parents of a healthy baby boy, Brian and Donna McDermott (Scott Reeves, Martha Byrne) are stunned and grief-stricken when the child vanishes. Making matters worse, the authorities are convinced that Brian and Donna are themselves responsible for their baby's disappearance. Perhaps those same authorities would be better served if they bothered to check out those somewhat shady employees at the local maternity hospital, notably duplicitous receptionist Joan Hollins (Cathy Lee Crosby) -- who in turn is very close with the attorney (Linda Gray) who represents an adoption services that provides newborn white infants to infertile couples...no questions asked. When the Cradle Falls originally aired March 4, 1997, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Reeves, Martha Byrne, (more)
- 1999
Jane Seymour stars in this made-for-TV drama as Rebecca Blake, a bookstore employee who lives contently in San Pedro, California with her construction-worker husband Joe (A Martinez). A chance meeting with a woman named Lynn Wyman (Cathy Lee Crosby), coupled with her recent nightmares and searing headaches (one of which has prompted a spectacular collapse at her local grocery store), lead Lynn to the inescapable conclusion that she is an amnesiac--and that she might be Abbie Stewart, who has another family in Fillmore County. Journeying to Abbie's hometown to learn the truth, our heroine is put off somewhat by the curiously mixed reaction of the man who might be her "other" husband, school principal Chase Stewart (Bruce Davison). The key to mystery may not be the surrealistic dreams experienced by Rebecca/Abbie, but instead that painful-looking gash in her head. Produced for the CBS network, A Memory in My Heart initially aired on March 2, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Craig Ferguson, best known to American audiences as Mr. Wick, the conniving boss who loves to fire people on The Drew Carey Show, co-wrote and starred in this mock-documentary about Crawford Mackenzie, Scotland's leading hairdresser. When Crawford receives an invitation to Los Angeles for the World Freestyle Hairstyling Championships, he eagerly hops the first flight to America, with a camera crew in tow to record his triumphant debut in the States. Once he arrives, he learns that he was invited to attend and observe but not to compete. Crawford is at first dejected, but he refuses to take the humiliation lying down; one way or another, Crawford is determined to show off his talents for the greater glory of Scottish hair styling. The supporting cast includes Mary McCormack, Sara Gilbert, Larry Miller, and Charles Napier; director Kevin Allen previously helmed the offbeat Scottish comedy Twin Town. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Ferguson, Frances Fisher, (more)
