Robert Culp Movies
Robert Culp attended several West Coast colleges while training for a dramatic career. At 21, Culp made his Broadway debut in He Who Gets Slapped. Within six years, he was starring in his own TV Western, Trackdown. During the two-year run of this program, Culp began writing scripts, a habit he'd carry over to other series, notably The Rifleman and Gunsmoke. He made his first film in 1963, thereafter appearing sporadically on the big screen, most memorably as one of the four leads in the satirical Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1968). In 1965, Culp and comedian Bill Cosby were co-starred on the popular TV series I Spy. During the second of I Spy's three seasons, Culp made his directorial debut; he went on to helm episodes for several other TV programs, as well as the 1972 theatrical feature Hickey and Boggs, in which he was reunited with Cosby. He then essayed the semicomic role of CIA chief Bill Maxwell on the weekly TVer The Greatest American Hero (1980-1982), and played such film character roles as the President in The Pelican Brief (1993). Culp co-starred with Cosby for a 1994 I Spy TV-movie reunion. Married four times, Robert Culp's third wife was Eurasian actress France Nuyen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 2004
The perfect kidnapping scheme take a hilarious turn for the worse when a hapless repo man and his septuagenarian partner find a major league baseball player tied up in the trunk of their most recent acquisition in first-time feature filmmaker Eric Fleming's high-speed comedy of errors. Rick (Fleming) and the Colonel (Robert Culp) never intended to become kidnappers, but upon repossessing the car of two mob heavies and discovering prized pitcher James Maxwell (James Edson) in the trunk, it seems that they have earned the title whether they like it or not. Upon learning that Maxwell had racked up some serious gambling debts that didn't stand well in the eyes of the Mafia, Rick and the Colonel soon become convinced that now they too have incurred the wrath of the feared organized crime ring. With the World Series just days away and Maxwell poised to pitch in the all-important upcoming game, Rick and the Colonel, and Rick's young son, Buddy, make a deal with Maxwell to ransom the team and split the money so that everyone will get a cut and Maxwell will make it to the pitcher's mount before a replacement is named. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Fleming, James Edson, (more)
Jolly old Saint Nick goes from the nice list to the naughty list when an old wager runs up and his promise to be nice takes a backseat to his murderous impulses in this comic tale of terror from first-time director David Steiman. It turns out that the story of Santa Claus as we know it isn't quite the whole story, and instead of being a kind hearted gift-giver, Santa is actually a devilish life-taker. It was 1000 years ago that the cherubic devil lost a bet with an angel that forced him to play nice for an entire millennium. Though he remained true to his word and spread Christmas cheer for what secretly seemed like an eternity, Santa's patience has run dry with the expiration of the wager, and when this bet runs up the legend of kindly old Kriss Kringle will never be quite the same. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Goldberg, Douglas Smith, (more)
- 2003
While trying to escape his adoring fans, Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) experiences a horrifying vision: himself vanishing into nothingness after making contact with an as-yet-determined item. Soon afterward, Johnny meets a reclusive stranger, Jeffrey Grissom (Robert Culp), who has had a similar psychic vision -- and who promptly disappears as though he never existed. In his efforts to prove that Grissom is not a figment of his imagination (and, hopefully, to save himself from a similar fate), Johnny stumbles upon an elaborate governmental cover up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John L. Adams, Nicole deBoer, (more)
- 2001
A young writer finds his creative principles pushed to the breaking point in this drama, which updates the story of an acclaimed 19th century novel by Knut Hamsun. Charlie Pontus (Joseph Culp) is a gifted writer who has come to Los Angeles in hope of finding success in the film industry. However, he refuses to compromise his artistic ideals in the process and has had no luck in getting work. As a result, Charlie has fallen into dire straits; he's now homeless, sick, and hasn't eaten in days, while making one last desperate bid to sell his latest story to a disinterested studio chief (Robert Culp). As Charlie struggles to survive, he meets a beautiful woman, Ylayali (Kathleen Luong), who claims to be descended from Siamese royalty, though he discovers in time that her true story is a good bit less glamorous. Hunger was shown at the 2001 San Francisco Independent Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Culp, Kathleen Luong, (more)
Tom Selleck stretches his dramatic range by playing a liberal Democrat in this comedy-drama satirizing the underside of party politics. Governor James Pryce (Tom Selleck) is a well-respected politician with a strong reformist streak who is a shoo-in for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, thanks to a well-run primary campaign organized by his manager Lauren Hartman (Laura Linney), and the savvy speechmaking and moral support of his wife Jenny (Nancy Travis). Now Pryce has to pick a vice-presidential candidate, which proves to be not all that simple. Senator Parker Gable (Robert Culp) helped give Pryce his start in politics, and his wife Meg (Faye Dunaway), a Queen Bee on the Washington social scene, has asked Pryce to consider Gable as VP. Pryce believes Gable would be the right man for the job, but he's well known to chase anything in a skirt, and Pryce thinks his nomination would be a scandal waiting to happen. Besides Gable, the two most likely choices for Pryce's running mate are Senator Mitchell Morris (Bruce McGill), whose strong links to a number of corporate benefactors make Pryce nervous, and Senator Terrence Randall (Bob Grunton), whose outspoken support of campaign finance reform does not sit well with Shawna Morgan (Teri Hatcher), the fundraising expert who has been filling Pryce's war chest. Running Mates was produced for the TNT cable network, where it first aired on August 13, 2000; Gerald Rafshoon, the film's executive producer, has an inside perspective on Washington wheelings and dealings, having served as White House director of communications under President Jimmy Carter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Laura Linney, (more)
In this thriller, John McNamara (Michael Rooker) is an investigative reporter whose desire to root out a juicy story has not endeared him to many of the people he's written about, and he's lost a few jobs in the process. John wants to hold on to his latest job, but when he's assigned to write about a nuclear power plant that has recently opened, he discovers the plant's manager, Jake McCallum (Judge Reinhold), is the center of a web of corruption that has ensnarled the city's government -- including John's father (Robert Culp). Now John is determined to bring the story to the people, but McCallum's forces are just as determined to stop him. Newsbreak also stars Kelly Miller, Kim Darby, Greg Mullavey, and David Proval.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Rooker, Judge Reinhold, (more)
- 1997
In this opening episode of Law & Order's first (and thus far only) three-part story, a female Hollywood studio executive is found murdered -- and decapitated -- in New York City. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) head to Tinseltown to check out the suspects, among them the dead woman's abusive ex-husband, Eddie Newman (Scott Cohen), and shady personal trainer Evan Grant (Jeffrey D. Sams). Meanwhile, assistant D.A.'s McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Ross (Carey Lowell) work overtime to make sure that Briscoe and Curtis are not overstepping their jurisdictional bounds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this terrifying science fiction drama, a Marine platoon is assigned to a desert island, where as part of their mission they're told of a terrible secret. The government has not only been aware of visits by creatures from other worlds for years, they have several aliens in captivity and have been performing brutal medical experiments on them. One of the aliens escapes, however, and is now determined to get revenge on his tormentors. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sal Landi, Andrew Divoff, (more)
- 1994
Robert Culp guests in this episode as legendary former astronaut Ace Calvin. The hero-worshipping Hackett brothers hope to persuade Calvin to be the celebrity spokesman for Sandpiper Airlines. Imagine the siblings' dismay when "golden boy" Ace turns out to be an obnoxious, egocentric creep -- so much so that Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian (Steven Weber) are more than happy to palm the ex-astronaut off on their rival Roy (David Schramm). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Though not quite as bad as it might have been, the 1994 "reunion" TV-movie I Spy Returns was some distance removed from great. Written by Michael Norell, this two-hour film is set some 25 years after the conclusion of the original I Spy weekly series. Former secret agent Alexander "Scotty" Scott (Bill Cosby), now a romance-language professor at a tweedy California college, is aghast to learn that his feisty daughter Nicole (Salli Richardson) has signed up as a spy with Special Services. Making a beeline to the organization's director Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp), who'd once been his partner in the espionage business, Scotty demands that Nicole be bounced from the program. Kelly merely chuckles and replies that the girl couldn't be in safer hands: Her partner is the organization's most gifted and resourceful young agent-Kelly's own son Ben (George Newbern). Realizing that he will never be able to win an argument with his old pal Kelly, Scotty agrees to join Robinson in surreptitiously supervising Nicole and Ben as they head to Vienna to tackle their first assignment: Providing protection for defecting Russian scientist Cherbakov (Nikalous Parlya) and his wife (Lynsey Baxter). When they discover that their former adversary Baroodi (Jonathan Hyde) is also in Vienna, Kelly and Scotty take an active hand in matters-and the results are, if not hilarious, certainly diverting. The film's high points include the lengthy "bickering banter" exchanges between old pros Culp and Cosby. I Spy Returns originally aired as a "CBS Movie Special" on February 3, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Dissolute Civil War surgeon Doc Eli (Robert Culp) is now barnstorming with his own "Kickapoo Indian Miracle Elixir" medicine show. At first regarding Eli as a charlatan, Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) is forced to rely on his long-dormant surgical skills when Myra (Helene Udy) falls victim to an ovarian cyst. Similarly, Sully (Joe Lando) tries to "redeem" a disillusioned Cheyenne named Franklin (Pato Hoffman). As a bonus, two of the series' prominent supporting characters get engaged in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Lando, Chad Allen, (more)
- 1993
This video is volume four of a four-part series presented by PBS, featuring some of the greatest poets in the English language. In this final volume, selections are read from the pens of Shakespeare, Dryden, Hardy, Lawrence, Eliot, Parker, and Blake. Readings are presented by film celebrities Robert Culp, Ruby Dee, Henry Fonda, and Vincent Price. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Warren Oates was a well-respected American supporting actor who achieved his greatest success during the 1960s and 70s. He chiefly played villains and losers for such innovative directors as Sam Peckinpah. This documentary, narrated by his friend Ned Beatty gives a good picture of the actor as a man, since it was produced with the cooperation of his family. However, the producers were unable to secure rights to screen clips of many of his performance in his most significant films (e.g. Major Dundee and The Wild Bunch), so this tribute is somewhat incomplete. Nonetheless, the film is graced by interviews fellow actors such as Peter Fonda and Robert Culp who offer their insights and fond recollections. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Fonda, Stacy Keach, (more)
- 1991
This made-for-cable-TV film focuses on a police detective (Bruce Boxleitner) bored by life in the missing-persons bureau. While on the trail of a missing mother, however, he gradually realizes that the clues lead to a gruesome serial killer. The detective gains the reluctant help of a psychic (Laura Johnson) while tracking the murderer. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1991
This slick-looking but rather dreary science fiction twist on the vampire genre introduces a crash-landed alien who enters the aged, dying body of Max Page (Robert Sampson. Suddenly, Page's health takes an amazing U-turn. Max soon rises from his deathbed and checks out of the hospital with newfound vitality and a nagging thirst for the estrogen-laced blood of ovulating women (an original, if disgusting, twist on vampirism). Fearing for his family's safety, he flees for San Diego, stopping every other day to prey on more women, until he grows youthful enough to be played by another actor (Joseph Culp). Meanwhile, a gruff FBI agent (John Saxon, in a permanent state of gruff after a lifetime of cop roles) investigates. The one-note material is enlivened a bit by some familiar "B"-movie faces -- including the lovable Michael J. Pollard -- but very little is done with the premise of the alien's estrogen requirements, other than to show Max sniffing around in some rather inappropriate places. Adept "B"-movie buffs can spot Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon and his wife, actress Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, in cute cameos. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1990
This made-for-television film Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair chronicles the true story of the 1985 hijacking of an Italian cruise ship by a group of Palestinians. Voyage of Terror is primarily told through the viewpoint of Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer (Burt Lancaster and Eva Marie Saint), an elderly couple who happen to be on board during the hijacking, yet the film also follows the ordeals of other hostages and the terrorists themselves, who are led by Joseph Nasser in a compelling performance. Voyage of Terror was shot on the actual Achille Lauro cruise ship and was originally aired as a two-part mini-series. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Where Columbo (Peter Falk) goes, can murder be far behind? In Columbo Goes to College, the rumpled TV sleuth shows up on campus as a guest lecturer on criminology. His visit coincides with the machinations of two rich and arrogant frat boys (Justin Rowe and Cooper Redman) who utilize "remote control" to kill the professor who's threatened to expel them. In the tradition of Compulsion, the snide young killers flaunt their intellectual superiority before the seemingly ingenuous Columbo. No wonder these boys were on the verge of flunking out--they'd never bothered to check up on Columbo's previous track record for convictions. Outside of the novel setting, Columbo Goes to College is a by-rote rehash of an old formula; even Peter Falk seems bored. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
In this entry in the long-running mystery series, Perry Mason listens to the pleas of a 13-year-old girl and helps her father who was falsely accused of murdering a gambler. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
It's an unofficial I Spy reunion when Bill Cosby's former TV costar Robert Culp shows up as Cliff Huxtable's rambunctious old Navy buddy Scotty Kelly (a composite of the two actors' character names on the earlier series). Cliff and Clair (Phylicia Rashad) are startled by the changes wrought on Scotty's eating habits and personality: ever since undergoing quadruple-bypass surgery, he has been on restricted diet and is forbidden to lose his temper. Is this change for the better, or does Scotty's wife Jill (Ann Reinking) yearn for the "good" old days? Meanwhile, Theo and Cockroach nervously prepare to shave their heads (with disposable razors!) in order to appear in a music video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Angie Dickinson returns as a sexy Depression-era mother who joins forces with her equally attractive daughters for a crime spree through the South as they seek to avenge the death of her husband. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angie Dickinson, Robert Culp, (more)
