Jerry Douglas Movies

A few days in the life of a murderer go under the microscope in this offbeat and intense low-budget film noir, the first feature from director Allen Baron. Frankie Bono (Baron) is a hired killer from Cleveland who travels to New York City a few days before Christmas on an assignment. Bono, a bitter loner who has few friends and little use for relationships with others, has been brought to the Big Apple to rub out Troiano (Peter Clume), a second-rate mobster. After a less than pleasant encounter with Big Ralph (Larry Tucker), a rotund underground gun dealer, Bono begins casing out Troiano and discovers his target is out of town for a few days, giving him some time to kill. Bono bumps into a childhood friend who thinks he could use a friend and introduces Frankie to Lorrie (Molly McCarthy), but when she invites him to her flat for dinner, the evening doesn't go well and Bono feels more alienated than ever. While keeping tabs on Troiano, Bono runs into Big Ralph again, with consequences that put the hit man and his career in great danger. Blast of Silence features a distinctive and highly dramatic second-person narration read by Lionel Stander (whose name does not appear in the credits); the narration was written by the then-blacklisted Waldo Salt under the name Mel Davenport. Director Allen Baron originally cast Peter Falk as Frankie Bono, but ended up playing the lead after Falk dropped out to take a better paying role in the crime drama Murder Inc. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This Untouchables episode is the second of two unsold pilot films for the spinoff series The Seekers, starring Barbara Stanwyck as Lt. Agatha "Aggie" Stewart of the Chicago Bureau of Missing Persons. On this occasion, Aggie is determined to identify the "John Doe" whose body was recently fished out of Lake Michigan--especially after an expensive wreath is sent to the dead man's grave in Potter's Field. Tracing the teller's mark on the cash used to buy the flowers, Aggie locates one Claire Simmons (Sheree North), who has quite a story to tell. Meanwhile, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) and the Untouchables are hot on the trail of a criminal gang led by the Portuguese Brothers--never dreaming that his assignment and Aggie Stewart's search will soon merge into one single case. Edward Asner and Virginia Capers appear respectively as detective Frank Benton and Lt. Stewart's secretary Aggie, repeating their roles from the previous episode "Elegy". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There's no room for argument in the matter: the most disliked member of King Company is an obnoxious newcomer named Mason (Eddie Ryder). But the Germans don't know this, and when they take Mason prisoner, they're certain that Saunders (Vic Morrow) will try to rescue him. Even if Saunders cared anything about Mason (which he doesn't), he has been given orders indicating that the man is expendable. But as it turns out, there is one member of the platoon who is willing to put his life on the line to save the redoubtable Mason. This is the final episode of Combat's second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The IMF heads to London with instructions to identify the head of an espionage ring, a mysterious figure known only as K. To flush out their quarry, the agents enlist the unwitting aid of the beautirful and aristocratic enemy agent Lady Cora Weston (Jane Merrow). Maneuvering Lady Cora into a romantic triangle, Phelps and Paris nearly scuttle the mission when one of the men falls genuinely in love with the woman. The magnificent John Williams also appears as the cuckolded Lord Williams. First seen on February 22, 1970, "Lover's Knot" was written by Laurence Heath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In order to qualify for a top-secret assignment, Ironside (Raymond Burr) must first undergo an evaluation conducted by psychologist William Danner (Bradford Dillman). This involves a "stress test" to see how far Ironside can be pushed before he will break. Unfortunately, Danner has a hidden agenda which places Ironside in physical as well as emotional jeopardy--and worse still, it seems as if none of the Chief's assistants will be on hand to rescue him in the traditional nick of time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Marley essays another of his patented "mob boss" characterizations in this episode as a bigwig named Tully. Unfortunately, Tully is saddled with a hotheaded son who insists upon attempting to kill a federal witness. To take the heat off themselves, the mob insists that Tully's kid turn himself in to the FBI--but the kid is disinclined to follow orders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-TV pilot, a government agent must stop a rogue operative from releasing a lethal virus. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Police inspector Irene Elliott (Carol Rossen) is successful at her job, but less successful as a parent. As an act of rebellion, Irene's son Bob (Mark Wheeler) prowls around San Francisco, sticking up taxicabs just for kicks. But the "fun and games" are over for both Irene and Bob when, during one of the boy's holdups, an undercover cop is killed. This episode was written by Star Trek veteran D.C. Fontana. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, two dogged FBI agents are on the case to investigate one of the U.S.'s most infamous bank robberies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cover Girls isn't really a Charlie's Angels rip-off. Honest! Look: there are three girls in Charlie's Angels and only two girls (Jayne Kennedy and Cornelia Sharpe) in Cover Girls. Besides, the Angels are private eyes, working on behalf of boss John Forsythe; the Cover Girls are fashion models, doubling as secret agents on behalf of boss Don Galloway. Just because Cover Girls premiered on May 18, 1977, six months into Charlie's Angels' fabulous first season, doesn't mean that there was any conscious copycatting. Does it? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jim (James Garner) is hired by an insurance firm to "baby-sit" Frank Falcone (Hector Elizondo), an ex-cop who has struck it rich as a crime novelist. Falcone's career has inspired a movie, a TV show, and a line of toys, and now Jim must prevent the former cop from engendering negative publicity at an LA toy convention. But this may prove impossible, inasmuch as the loose-cannon Falcone is a trouble magnet--especially since he has decided to solve one last case that is guaranteed to bring down the full wrath of the Mob. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When an "I'm-just-makin'-money" developer plops his new ski lodge at the foot of a mountain, the locals warn him about snowslides. So it's not too long before a gigantic avalanche buries the lodge and all the snow bunnies in it. Rock Hudson plays the ski lodge owner and Mia Farrow is his couch-hopping wife in this disaster film. ~ All Movie Guide

When her adoptive mother Joan Crawford died in 1977, erstwhile actress/author Christina Crawford and her brother Christopher were left out of Joan Crawford's will, "for reasons which are well known to them." Industryites have suggested that it may have been this posthumous act of rejection rather than an alleged lifetime of parental abuse that inspired Christina Crawford to pen her scathing autobiography Mommie Dearest. The 1981 film version of this tome was evidently meant to be taken seriously, but the operatic direction by Frank Perry and the over-the-top portrayal of Joan Crawford by Faye Dunaway (whose makeup is remarkable) has always seemed to inspire loud laughter whenever and where-ever the film is shown. According to the film (and the book that preceded it), Joan Crawford was a licentious, child-beating behemoth, who stalked and postured through life as though it was one of her own pictures-more Strait-jacket than Mildred Pierce. This is the film with the notorious "wire coat hanger" scene, just in case you need a reminder. Surprisingly, one emerges from Mommie Dearest with more sympathy for the monstrous but intensely vulnerable Crawford than for her whining daughter (played as an adult by Diana Scarwid, and as a child by Mara Hobel). Our favorite scene: Joan Crawford dazedly replacing her ailing daughter in the cast of a daytime TV soap opera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide