Lynda Day Movies
- 1971
William Conrad stars as corpulent private eye Frank Cannon in this 2-hour pilot for the subsequent Cannon series. He responds to a plea for assistance from ex-flame Vera Miles (an actress who was in practically every pilot film made between 1965 and 1975). She is the prime suspect in the murder of her husband, and has also become the target of vicious anonymous phone calls. Cannon's investigation unearths a hotbed of small-town corruption. Cannon was first telecast March 26, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Conrad
- 1970
House on Greenapple Road was an off-length TV movie (135 minutes instead of the usual 100), first telecast on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on January 11, 1970. Christopher George heads a stellar cast as Lt. Dan August, probing a homicide case in suburbia. The accused, a meek clerk (Tim O'Connor), had plenty of motive to kill his faithless wife (Janet Leigh). Only there's no weapon...and no corpse. After a series of revelatory flashbacks, August deduces that there may be a lot more people and issues involved than a missing housewife. Audience response to House on Greenapple Road was positive enough to spin off into a Dan August TV series. But Christopher George was too busy to be involved, so the role of August went to a fellow who wasn't working all that often; a guy named Burt Reynolds, or something like that. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John Wayne toplines this biography of the cattle owner John Simpson Chisum, a controversial figure who was the most powerful man in New Mexico during the Wild West era. A founder and prominent citizen in the town of Lincoln, Chisum is slow to act when ruthless land baron Lawrence Murphy (Forrest Tucker) moves in on several local businesses and takes them over. By the time Chisum and his ally, fellow rancher Henry Tunstall (Patrick Knowles), decide to go to the law, Murphy's already bought and paid for influence there, as well. The only recourse left to the cattlemen is to take Murphy on in all-out range war that embroils everyone in the county, including Tunstall's hand Billy the Kid Bonney (Geoffrey Deuel) and his comrade Pat Garrett (Glenn Corbett). Screenwriter and producer Andrew J. Fenady based the script for Chisum (1970) on his own short story, a very loosely fact-based account of Chisum, Billy the Kid and their involvement in the Lincoln County wars. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, (more)
- 1970
A Federal agent is seriously injured at the US/Canadian border when exiled Mafia functionary Peter Tenny (Christopher George) sneaks back into the contry. Though his main scheme is to regain control of his criminal activities, Tenny is also determine to prove that a trusted relative (Mark Richman) has been embezzling Mob funds. Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) hopes to use this "blood feud" to the Feds' advantage--provided that everyone stays alive long enough to be arrested. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Richard Alan Simmons, scriptwriter of Fear No Evil, evidently held fond memories of the old British chiller Dead of Night (a cornucopia of inspiration for programs like The Twilight Zone). The "Mirror Sequence" in the earlier film was gussied up for the basic plotline of this 1969 TV-movie. Bradford Dillman purchases an antique mirror, which turns out to be the portal for a supernatural world. Upon Dillman's death, his fiancee (Lynda Day) discovers that the mirror might be able to bring back her lost lover. Fear No Evil did so well in the overnight ratings that it spawned a sequel, 1970's Ritual of Evil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Originally telecast on May 26, 1968 as Bonanza's 300th episode, "The Stronghold" finds Joe Cartwright and Ponderosa hand Candy chasing Josh and Mike Farrell (Michael Witney and Paul Mantee), the two men who swindled them out of a herd of cattle. Joe and Candy catch up with the duplicitous brothers at their hideout in Arizona, where a deadly game of cat-and-mouse ensues. The only hope for a happy ending lies with the Farrells, who are slowly but surely growing sick of each other's company. "The Stronghold" was written by John Hawkins and W.R. Burnett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1968
Having played various crime victims in previous F.B.I. episodes, Lynda Day does an about-face as the villainess of the piece. The actress is cast as go-go dancer Joyce Carr, who after skipping Federal parole assists her two male accomplices as they murder her soldier husband for his insurance. Inspector Erskine must put a stop to Joyce's activities before another hapless GI (played by Patrick Wayne) falls victim to her deadly scam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Escaped killer George Bellamy (Bradford Dillman) covers his tracks by setting a series of forest fires. Bellamy's strategy is to throw the FBI off the trail; while they're searching for an unknown arsonist, he will be able to flee the country. It is up to Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to capture Bellamy before he sparks a final conflagration that will kill thousands of innocent people. Filmed on location in Angeles National Forest, this episode benefits from the strong supporting performances of TV stalwarts Lynda Day and Charles Grodin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Using the alias "Gene Tyler", Richard Kimble takes a brief respite from his search for the One-Armed Man by attending a baseball game--where, unfortunately, he witnesses the kidnapping of Nadine Newmark (Lynda Day), daughter of publishing mogul Andrew Newmark (Martin Balsam) (No, this 1967 episode isn't based on the Patty Hearst abduction, which was still seven years in the future). The kidnappers demand that Newmark pony up a $2 million ransom, and that Kimble deliver the money. Thus, Kimble is once again trapped between a rock and a hard place: If he refuses to make the drop, Newmark will have him arrested--and if agrees, he'll be killed on the spot. Featured as one of the villains is former "Bowery Boy" Gabe Dell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Richard Macklin (Henry Silva), a criminal on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, has managed to elude capture in a spectacular shootout in a hospital parking lot. Worse still, Macklin has taken nurse Carol Grant (Lynda Day) hostage--and he has no intention of ever setting her free. This episode marks a rare TV appearance by Lynn Bari, who achieved fame in the 1940s by playing the perennial "other woman" in a wide variety of 20th Century-Fox films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
In this drama, a troubled 17-year old socialite runs away from her home in New York to Rio. There she falls for a troubled architect. The architect, devastated since his girlfriend was killed, is unable, or unwilling to speak. The girl tries to help him by suggesting he see a psychiatrist, but he, believing that she only wants him to rejoin the fast life, refuses. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher George, Lynda Day, (more)
