Phyllis Davis Movies
In the original box-office smash Under Siege, action hero Steven Seagal played Casey Ryback, a U.S. Navy SEAL who saved the world from nuclear destruction by outsmarting and killing off terrorists who had commandeered a submarine. In this sequel, Seagal's Ryback character does the same sort of thing aboard a train. Ryback now has retired from the Navy and is taking his niece Sarah (Katherine Heigl) on a vacation. They board a train traveling through the Rocky Mountains. Criminal mastermind Travis Dane (Eric Bogosian) is using the train as a control center in his effort to kidnap a top-secret government outer space super-weapon. Dane built the weapon but then was fired by the government before it was deployed. He has hooked up with shadowy Middle Eastern terrorists who have offered him $1 billion to use the satellite to blow up the Eastern seaboard by targeting a secret nuclear reactor underneath the Pentagon. Dane shows the Pentagon that he's got control of the weapon by blowing up a Chinese chemical plant. Officials can't stop him because they can't locate his headquarters. As long as the train keeps moving, his location can't be fixed. Ryback learns of the plot and enlists a porter named Bobby (Morris Chestnut) to help him in his battle. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Seagal, Eric Bogosian, (more)
- 1990
- R
Erik Estrada stars as an arms dealer, smuggling weapons from China to South America, who's being pursued by a pair of sexy female secret agents. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erik Estrada, Dona Speir, (more)
- 1988
Magnum (Tom Selleck) is anxious to get all his friends involved in his latest venture, a tourist business called The Great Hawaiian Adventure Co. Unfortunately, the detective's pals all have other things on their mind. T.C. (Larry Manetti), for example, is pursuing a romance with Magnum's perennial nemesis, "reformed" call girl Cleo (Phyllis Davis). And on a more serious note, T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) is worried about his son Bryant (Shavar Ross), whose ties with a teenage gang have gotten him into trouble with the authorities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
When Robin Masters' latest manuscript is stolen, Magnum teams with "old school" private eye Luther Gillis (Eugene Roche) to retrieve the document. The two detectives also try to find out who has attempted to murder Higgins (John Hillerman)--and worse, has done harm to Higgins' beloved Dobermans Zeus and Apollo. Curiously, the case's progression of events closely adheres to the plotline of Robin's unpublished novel, suggesting that someone has a very compelling reason to prevent the book from hitting the shelves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In the concluding half of Magnum, P.I.'s final episode, Magnum (Tom Selleck) wrestles with the prospect of returning to active Naval service even as he lays a trap for the man who assaulted his former girlfriend Linda (Patrice Martinez). He also receives word that his daughter Lily, presumed murdered in an earlier episode, is still alive. Elsewhere, the impending marriage of Rick (Larry Manetti) and Cleo (Phyllis Davis) hits a few prenuptual snags, while T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) is unexpectedly reunited with his ex-wife Tina (Fay Hauser). And last but not least, the mystery of Robin Masters' true identity is finally solved...maybe. One of the highest-rated "finales" in network TV history, this episode leaves enough dangling plot strands to suggest that the producers had an elaborate "reunion" movie in mind. We're still waiting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Magnum, P.I. wraps up its eight-year run with a two-part final episode (originally telecast in a single two-hour timeslot). In Part One, Magnum returns to his home town for a family reunion, where his paternal grandfather (Howard Duff) offers to reinstate him as a Naval officer. But before Magnum can say "yes" or "no", he is summoned back to Hawaii by former girlfriend Linda Lee Ellison (Patrice Martinez), who insists that someone is stalking her. Upon his return, Magnum receives some startling information about his daughter Lily, whom he had presumed to be dead. Meanwhile, Rick (Larry Manetti) nervously prepares to marry the estimable Cleo Mitchell (Phyllis Davis). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Filmed in black-and-white, this episode is both an homage to and a spoof of The Maltese Falcon and other "hard-boiled detective" movies of its ilk. In 1941 San Francisco, cynical gumshoe Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) tries to solve the murder of the much-despite publishing baron William Tyler Maxfield. Along the way, he meets the other Magnum, P.I. regulars, recast as "film noir" stereotypes. The story comes to a climax with obligatory revelation scene, in which Magnum gathers all the suspects together in the same room--and is HE surprised by the outcome! Only at the very end do we discover precisely why and how Magnum has been transplanted to another time and another place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Already laid up with a sprained ankle, Magnum (Tom Selleck) braces himself for more pain when call girl Leslie Emory (Candy Clark), who'd given him plenty of trouble during a previous assignment, sashays back into his life. Insisting that she's given up her former profession and gone straight, Leslie asks Magnum to locate her missing sister Patty (Cindy Fisher), who is still a "working girl." Before long, Magnum finds out that his injured ankle is the least of his problems! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Anxious to become an "official" detective rather than a mere private eye, Magnum hires on as security chief at the ritzy Hawaiian Gardens Hotel. His first assignment--which may also turn out to be his last--is to prevent a notorious cat burglar from plying his trade at an international convention of jewelry designers. Magnum finds his efforts complicated by a pair of very sexy call girls who are marching to the tune of their own drummers. Candy Clark and Phyllis Davis make their first series appearances as flashy good-time girls Leslie and Cleo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
In this Civil-war era western set in a Missouri mining town, respectable women and floozies join forces to keep renegade Union soldiers from destroying their community. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- R
Loosely based on former policeman Joseph Wambaugh's humorous novel, The Choirboys determinedly explores the stunted interior lives of a large crew of callous, bigoted L.A. policemen. These men get together to lend one another emotional support. However, the means they choose for this do not enhance their sensitivity or their judgement. When one of them has a really bad day, he asks his buddies to come to "choir practice," and they get together for alcoholic benders of fairly epic proportions. When one of them accidentally shoots a homosexual teen cruising a city park, everyone (including higher-ups) gets called on to help with the cover-up. The Choirboys, which was a critical and box-office failure, had an impressive cast list, including such well-known performers as Blair Brown, James Woods, Randy Quaid, Lou Gossett Jr., Perry King and Charles Durning. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Durning, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
In Night Train, also known as Train Ride to Hollywood Harry Williams, head singer for Bloodstone, a modern rock group, is hit on the head and imagines he's back in the Hollywood of the 1930s. On a coast-bound train, Williams rubs shoulders with reasonable facsimiles of such long-gone greats as Gable, Bogart and Laurel and Hardy. Among the impressionists roped into this patchwork epic are Guy Marks and Bill Oberlin, whose costumes are at least as funny as their lines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Love, Willis Draffen, (more)
- 1974
The guest-star cast in this episode is studded by several seasoned movie-western veterans, including Jim Davis, Noah Beery Jr and Harry Carey Jr.--not to mention comparative newcomer Sam Elliott. The plot involves a rodeo rider whose biggest professional rival is his own brother. It so happens that the brothers are also rivals in love, both vying for the attentions of the same woman--who is married to one of them. Inevitably, murder gallops into the rodeo ring, and that's when Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) become involved in the intrigue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Buck Henry team up again (after collaborating on The Graduate and Catch-22) for this adaptation of Robert Merle's best-selling adventure novel concerning dolphins who become pawns in a plot to kill the president. George C. Scott plays Dr. Jake Terrell, a researcher who, along with his wife Maggie (Trish Van Devere), is investigating dolphin intelligence, believing they have the capability of speech. Harold DeMilo (Fritz Weaver), in charge of a major corporation, sponsors their work. But undercover work by government agent Curtis Mahoney (Paul Sorvino) reveals that DeMilo is working with a right-wing group planning to kidnap the dolphins and use them to blow up the presidential yacht. Jake and Maggie have to race against time to save both their dolphins and the president. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Trish VanDevere, (more)
- 1973
- R
After female prisoners arrive at an island prison full of male convicts, they are brutalized and fight back in an attempt to set up a more democratic system. This exploitative drama includes performances of Tom Selleck and Roger E. Mosley of television's Magnum P.I. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- R
In this women's prison exploitation item from director Michel Levesque (Werewolves on Wheels), sexy Phyllis Davis stars as Sugar, framed for drug possession and sent to a Costa Rican sugar plantation. There, Sugar encounters sadistic guards including The Hills Have Eyes' James Whitworth and a mad scientist (Angus Duncan) who injects the inmates with hallucinogens. The usual violence and copious nudity are on display for devotees. Blaxploitation fans will recognize prisoner Ella Edwards from Detroit 9000 and Timothy Brown from The Dynamite Brothers Co-writer Stephanie Rothman later directed Terminal Island, also starring Davis. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Enemy agents hope to persuade defecting cabinet official Victor Dorman (David Frankham) to return to his own country--or, failing that, they plan to have him killed. For this purpose, the bad guys engage the services of Nicholas Blok (Eric Braeden), a coldblooded troubleshooter who specializes in abduction and assassination. Blok endeavors to force his prey into the open by kidnapping Dorman's daughter Katrina (Dinah Anne Rogers)--and he has no intention of allowing FBI Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to get in his way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- NC17
After nearly a decade as one of America's most successful independent filmmakers, legendary sexploitation auteur Russ Meyer first reached out for the brass ring of major studio success with this frantic cult favorite, once described by Meyer and screenwriter Roger Ebert as "the first exploitation-horror-camp-musical." Kelly McNamara (Dolly Read), Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers), and Petronella Danforth (Marcia McBroom) are the three members of an all-girl rock band called "the Kelly Affair" who pull up stakes for Hollywood in search of stardom; they're accompanied by their manager, Harris Allsworth (David Gurian), who also happens to be Kelly's boyfriend. Kelly has an aunt in Hollywood, fashion mogul Susan Lake (Phyllis Davis), who takes Kelly under her wing and informs her she's entitled to a share of a recent family inheritance, much to the chagrin of Susan's lawyer, the shifty Porter Hall (Duncan McLeod). Susan arranges for Kelly and her bandmates to attend a wild party thrown by Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell (John La Zar), a flamboyant and very successful record producer; Z-Man renames the band "the Carrie Nations," signs them to a record deal, and they're one of the biggest acts in America practically overnight. However, Harris is pushed out of the picture as the band's manager by Z-Man, and as Kelly's boyfriend by actor and gigolo Lance Rocke (Michael Blodgett), sending Harris into a deep depression even after he becomes the new boy-toy of adult film star Ashley St. Ives (Edy Williams). Meanwhile, Petronella finds love with law student Emerson Thorne (Harrison Page) until her head is turned by heavyweight boxing champion Randy Black (Jim Iglehart), and Casey explores her sexual boundaries with Roxanne (Erica Gavin), a beautiful lesbian designer. This nonstop train of decadence, drugs, and betrayal finally comes off the rails during a drug-fueled orgy at Z-Man's mansion, which erupts into violence when the rock mogul's darkest secret is revealed. Featuring one-hit wonders the Strawberry Alarm Clock, supporting performances by Meyer regulars Charles Napier and Haji, and a bit part from future blaxploitation icon Pam Grier, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls proved to be Meyer's biggest box-office success, though after his next film (The Seven Minutes) bombed at the box office, he returned to independent production in 1973. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, (more)
Jack Ryan (Ryan O'Neal) is a cucumber picker who is fired after a fight with a Mexican-American (Victor Paul) co-worker. He finds work on a ranch owned by Ray Ritchie (James Daly). Soon his private secretary Nancy (Leigh Taylor-Young) is after Jack. She spends her free time in pursuit of hedonism and reckless pleasure by fornicating on tombstones and breaking hearts as well as windows. Sam Mirakian (Van Heflin) is the motel owner whose lonely resident (Lee Grant) makes a play for Jack. She ends up killing herself and Nancy ends up killing someone else for sheer pleasure. This forgettable and pointless movie -- one critic described it as "a rancid piece of trash" -- is O'Neal's big-screen debut. Some nudity required an "R" rating. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Leigh Taylor-Young, (more)
- 1969
In a rare dereliction of duty, veteran officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) allows a traffic violator to go free so that he and Jim Reed (Kent McCord) can answer an emergency call. This failure to follow proper procedure comes back to haunt Malloy when the freed violator turns out to be a prime suspect in several armed robberies. Further vexing Pete and Jim is a false-alarm murder threat that pulls them away from more important duties. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Singing stars from two very different generations appear in Live A Little, Love A Little. Elvis Presley plays Greg, a photographer who divides his time working for a skin magazine and a conservative newspaper. Rudy Valle plays Penlow, the veteran newspaper publisher. Lansdown (Don Porter) is the publisher of a girly magazine as Greg tries to work for both without the other finding out. Greg falls in love with a fashion model (Michele Carey) in this situation comedy that even die-hard Elvis fans have a hard time swallowing. By this time, Elvis planned to fulfil his remaining movie obligations and return to the stage, as his 1960s film career had failed to take on the dramatic seriousness he desperately sought. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Michele Carey, (more)
- 1966
The most interesting aspect of The Swinger is the name of the character played by Ann-Margret: the former Ann Margaret Olsson essays the role of Kelly Olsson. A naive small-town girl, Kelly aspires to become a writer in the Big City. When her stories are rejected because they aren't exciting and provocative enough, she decides to do some hands-on research by posing as the titular "swinger." She is so successful at this subterfuge that Hefner-like publisher Anthony Franciosa makes it his mission in life to reform the "fallen" Kelly. Didn't they do this one in the 1930s as Theodora Goes Wild, with Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Anthony Franciosa, (more)
- 1966
The 100th episode of Petticoat Junction finds Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) in the town of Pixley, ostensibly looking for a job but actually loafing about as usual. However, Joe does manage to increase his "riches"--or so he thinks--when the Bradley's dog digs up a tin can full of money. Future Vega$ costar Phyllis Davis shows up, appropriately enough, as a scantily clad showgirl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
