Walter C. Dallenbach Movies
- 1995
The detectives spring into action when a 12-year-old is killed in a bombing at a renovation site. As usual, there is a plethora of suspects, but Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Chris Noth) pay special attention to antagonistic contractor Arthur "Buzz" Palley (Robert John Burke). Either Palley is the guilty party, or someone hated the man so much that they were willing to commit murder. The key to the solution is a taped telephone conversation, which Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) brings into play even though it has already been ruled as inadmissible evidence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
First telecast May 16, 1977, Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn is the gender-switch follow-up to the 1976 TV movie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway. While Dawn concentrated on the sordid descent of a young girl into crime and prostitution, Alexander devotes its time to the exploits of a teenaged boy (Leigh J. McCloskey), whose character was introduced in the earlier film. A former Oklahoma farm boy, Alexander takes to the streets of LA, where he becomes a hustler and gigolo. After falling in love with Dawn (Eve Plumb), Alexander strives to escape his dead-end world and begin life anew. Director John Erman uses moody overtones to capture the darkness and despair of Alexander's life. Erman, an accomplished director of television movies, also directed the highly-acclaimed, touching AIDS drama, An Early Frost. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This heist film stars Stella Stevens as a robber who enlists her friends--a trapeze artist and a magician's aide--to help her make off with $500,000 in casino cash. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stella Stevens, Stuart Whitman, (more)
- 1976
Though there's no love lost between Jim Rockford (James Garner) and fellow ex-convict "Joey Blue Eyes" DiMinna (Michael Ansara), Beth (Gretchen Corbett) persuades Jim to come to Joey's aid when the man is victimized by a crooked corporation. DiMinna owns a small restaurant which the corporation dearly covets, and the powers-that-be are not above extortion and physical violence--mostly directed at Joey's daughter Paulette (Suzanne Charney)--to get what they want. Figuring that it takes a crook to catch a crook, Jim stage-manages an elaborate swindle to foil the villains...with peril-prone Paulette at the center of things again. Appearing as loan shark Bert Striker is James Luisi, who later joined the Rockford Files cast in the role of antagonistic police detective Doug Chapman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Jim Rockford's old Army buddy Al Brennan (Ned Beatty) asks Jim (James Garner) to help Marcy Brownell (Veronica Hamel) locate her missing sister. What Jim doesn't know is that the mercenary Al is using him to pull off an elaborate swindle. The key player in this sordid little drama is an ill-tempered gent named John Stabila (Paul Stevens)--and the "Maguffin" on this occasion is a missing Shan-Yin vase, valued at around three million dollars! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
In stark contrast with Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner), fellow officer Ed Wells (Gary Crosby) has no time for "teamwork" with his partner Officer Brady (Hank Brandt); indeed, Ed prides himself on the fact that he and Brandt choose to work independently. This attitude proves disastrous when Wells runs up against a well-armed homeowner who mistakes the officer for a burglar. Perhaps coincidentally, this episode represents a rally of "second-generation" Hollywood talent: in addition to semiregular Gary Crosby, who of course was the son of Bing Crosby, the supporting cast features Deanna Martin, the daughter of Dean Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
The station house receives an urgent radio call from an unidentified officer--which is abruptly cut off after he says "shots fired." The radio dispatcher quickly sets up a roll call to determine the officer's identity, and by episode's end Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) is among the cops who have gathered to defuse a hostage situation in a parking garage. Elsewhere, Malloy's partner Jim Reed (Kent McCord) has gone undercover to smash up a gang of thieves who prey on pizza delivery drivers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- PG
In this violent and blood-soaked horror outing, the kindly host of a popular kiddie show has a secret life as the psycho avenger of children's rights who murders the parents who abuse them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
