Barry Oringer Movies
- 1992
Hypnotic regression prompts a pair of sisters to recognize that they've been abducted by aliens. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Crenna, Mare Winningham, (more)
- 1984
After a long separation, a young girl finds her mother (Loni Anderson) and is surprised to find that she's working as a high-class call girl. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loni Anderson, Paul Sorvino, (more)
- 1983
Arthur Hailey's novel Hotel had already served as the inspiration for a 1967 theatrical film when this TV pilot came along on September 21, 1983. Bette Davis stars as Laura Trent, the entrenched owner of the Hotel St. Gregory (moved from the novel's New Orleans to San Francisco, to allow for location filming at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel). In true Love Boat fashion, Ms. Trent and hotel manager Peter McDermott (James Brolin) oversee four separate plot strands. A hooker (Morgan Fairchild) is raped in the hotel by a bunch of preppies who'd hired her for "just talk". A neurotic aspiring singer (Erin Moran) tries to interrupt the act of the hotel's lounge entertainer Mel Torme (himself). A very-married lady (Shirley Jones) checks in to conduct an illicit affair. And a feisty young woman (Connie Sellecca, a regular on the subsequent series) shows up unhired as McDermott's assistant manager. The Hotel series ran from 1983 to 1988, during which time an ailing Bette Davis was replaced by Anne Baxter; in the early 1990s, reruns of the series popped up rather incongruously on cable's E! Entertainment Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Another two-part TV movie from the pen of novelist Sidney Sheldon, Rage of Angels stars Jaclyn Smith as attractive lawyer Jennifer Parker. While working as assistant D.A., Parker is targeted for persecution by organized crime, but she perseveres and emerges as one of the most successful defense attorneys in America. She is, however, not quite so lucky in matters of the heart, becoming simultaneously entangled with charismatic mob lawyer Michael Moretti (Armand Assante) and married U.S. Senate aspirant Adam Warner (Ken Howard). Serving up everything but the kitchen sink in plot complications and sinister conspiracies, Rage of Angels was telecast on February 20 and 21, 1983, garnering excellent ratings and an Emmy award for musical composer Billy Goldenberg. The film spawned a two-part sequel in 1986, Rage of Angels: The Story Continues, again with Jaclyn Smith in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
The hustler in Hustler of Muscle Beach is fast-talking New York promoter Nick Demec (Richard Hatch). Hoping to cash in on the bodybuilding craze, Demec stages a muscleman -- and musclewoman -- contest in Venice, CA (where the film was shot). The hero's get-rich-quick scheme gets him into hot water when he selects a most unusual candidate for his protégé. Several real-life male bodybuilders appear onscreen, including Franco Columbu and Frank Zane, but the film's ad campaign focused on the bikini-clad female contestants. Hustler of Muscle Beach was first broadcast May 16, 1980, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The demolition of a real-life amusement park in Norfolk, Virginia was excuse enough for The Death of Ocean View Park. Factual footage of the park's destruction is blended into a fictional plotline by screenwriters John Furia Jr. and Barry Oringer. Mike Connors, Diana Canova, Perry Lang, Caroline McWilliams and James Stephens are among a group of funfair revellers who attend OceanView Park on the Fourth of July. It isn't long before Mother Nature puts on a real fireworks display-a devastating hurricane. Made for television, Death of Ocean View Park premiered October 19, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
A Mob trial in Boston ends abruptly in a mistrial thanks to a couple of bribed jurors. Does this mean that the Mob wants defendant Mario Dracus (Frank De Kova) to go free? Not quite: still worried that he intends to turn on them, Dracus' former associates plan to murder him before he ever gets the chance. Already on the case because of the jury-tampering angle, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is now faced with the daunting task of keeping Dracus alive--and expediting a retrial that will send him to prison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Where do dreams end and reality begins? That's the question facing research scientist Lloyd Bridges in the made-for-TV Deadly Dream. Each night, Bridges suffers nightmares, in which he is on trial for his life before a mysterious tribunal. The whys and wherefores of Bridges' torment are revealed bit by bit throughout the film's 73 minutes. The Deadly Dream was the September 25, 1971 installment of ABC's Movie of the Week anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
The first appearance of Bette Davis in a made-for-television film has an evil mastermind (Davis) plotting against a CIA agent (Robert Wagner) for control of a deadly submarine. Aired in 1971, Madame Sin was the most expensive TV movie of the time. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1970
This TV movie stars Suzanne Pleshette as the embittered widow of a research scientist. Seeking justice, she conceals her identity and goes after the professor (Ed Nelson) she holds responsible for her husband's "accidental" death. Pleshette launches an affair with the professor in order to get the goods on him, but she genuinely falls in love and comes to believe in his innocence. But the professor knows all too well that her husband's demise was no accident. Adapted from a novel by Leonard Lee, Along Came a Spider ran 73 minutes when it was first telecast in February of 1970; it was expanded to 92 minutes when released theatrically abroad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
As "Tom Anderson", Kimble (Richard Kimble) finds himself sharing a freight car with a seriously wounded man named Bantam (Edward Asner). Kimble helps Bantam make his way to a remote mountain cabin, only to find out that his companion is the head of a bank-robbery gang, and that the cabin is the gang's hideout. Further complications arise when Bantam's cronies return, threatening dire consequences if their boss refuses to turn over the loot from their last job--which Bantam claims to have lost. Worse still, the gang is holding a widow (Georgann Johnson) and a lawman (James Broderick) hostage, forcing Kimble to give up his own escape plans until he can figure out a way to rescue his fellow captives. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
As "Ben Lewis", Kimble (David Janssen) eludes a police dragnet and escapes to the Northwest. But "escape" turns out to be a relative term when Kimble is waylaid by John Mallory (Laurence Naismith), a hermit who dropped out of civilization back in 1953--and who, desperate for companionship, holds Kimble prisoner with a pair of snarling German Shepherds. Ultimately, however, Kimble must rely upon Mallory and another recluse, female sculptor Andrea Cross (Antoinette Bower) to slip through the fingers of the Law in the final scene. This episode was directed by series regular Barry Morse, aka "Lt. Gerard." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Adopting the alias "Tom Barrett", for the second time this season, Kimble journeys to the small Mexican town of Puerta Banales. Here he is blackmailed into acting as assistant for Dr Frederick Howell (Arthur Hill), who with his loyal secretary Reina (Carol Lawrence) is battling an outbreak of meningitis. Meanwhile, local police sergeant Rodriguez (Carlos Romero), certain that he's seen Kimble somewhere before, places Howell's clinic under surveillance. What Rodriguez doesn't realize--but Kimble does, eventually--is that the real villain of the piece is the "humanitarian" Howell, presently conducting an unholy experiment to test out a new serum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
The fourth season of The Fugitive begins with the series' first color episode, as Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), wrongfully accused of murder, continues his search for the One-Armed Man who killed his wife--even as the relentless Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse) steps up his efforts to recapture Kimble. On this occasion, Kimble is using the alias "David Morrow" as he arrives in Arizona, where Sheriff Prycer (Arch Johnson) is waiting to arrest him. Though Kimble eludes the trap, Prycer's deputy Steel (Mark Richman) is certain that he has wounded the fugitive and disobeys the Sheriff's orders to give up the chase. Meanwhile, Kimble has taken refuge in an Indian school, where he finds a kindred spirit in lonely teacher Annie Johnson (Hope Lange). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
The difficulties faced by drug addicts attempting to kick their habits provide the basis of this gritty, realistic drama that was filmed at a real rehab house in Santa Monica, California. The story centers on Zankie (Alex Cord), an ex-con who is having trouble following the strict rules of the house. Soon he finds himself involved in an affair with another inmate, an ex-hooker (Stella Stevens). She is only supposed to monitor and assist with his recovery, not get emotionally involved. When Zankie gets into a fight with another patient (Chuck Connors) both he and the girl leave the center. Soon after leaving, he begins looking for more drugs and dies of an overdose in a cheap hotel. The ex-hooker then returns to the rehab house to resume her own treatment. Synanon, the model for the rehab-house of this 1965 feature, was a large ex-addict-run (and ex-con-run) enterprise which expanded its operations steadily over the next decade. It was famous for its harsh "tough-love" policies and its high success rate and would have continued its high-profile role in the rehab industry except that it became embroiled in several scandals in the late 1970s, effectively closing its doors well before the Reagan era. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmond O'Brien, Chuck Connors, (more)
- 1962
This classic Greek tale of a friendship that overcomes even death makes for an interesting sword-and-sandal saga, with Guy Williams in the role of Damon. An apt choice since Williams is himself an expert swordsman, as partially demonstrated in his role as Zorro on American television (1957-59). Pythias (Don Burnett) has been caught plotting the assassination of King Dionysis I of Syracuse (Arnoldo Foa). Before his execution, Dionysis grants Pythias leave to put his affairs in order because Damon volunteers to stand in his stead if Pythias does not come back to face the executioner. Damon's act is considered foolish. He was safe, why should Pythias come back? But the two are devotees of the Pythagorean mysteries, and their faith in brotherly love goes beyond self-interest. When Pythias does return in the allotted time, King Dionysis is impressed enough to have a change of heart. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Burnett, Guy Williams, (more)
