Frederic Downs Movies

Larry Cohen wrote the screenplay to this updating of Mickey Spillane's notorious 1947 novel. Cohen was originally engaged to direct the film as well but was pulled from the director's chair after a week's worth of shooting because he had already run up the budget by $100,000; he was replaced by television director Richard T. Heffron. In this 1982 I, the Jury, Mike Hammer (Armand Assante) is a Vietnam veteran who wears hip duds and drives around in a bronze Trans Am in much the same way as Robert Mitchum's Philip Marlowe was refurbished for Michael Winner's re-make of The Big Sleep. After a cheesy rip-off of a James Bond-style credit sequence, the story kicks in. One-armed detective Jack Williams (Frederick Downs) is murdered. Jack was Hammer's best friend, and Hammer decides that he will become a one-man vigilante squad and seek vengeance on the person responsible for his death. He enlists the aid of his vivacious secretary Velda (Laurene Landon) and is also helped and hindered by police-chief Pat Chambers (Paul Sorvino). Hammer latches on to the killer's trail, then the film veers in a radically different direction from the book, introducing government conspiracies and mind-control techniques by the CIA and the Mafia. Also introduced is Hammer's love interest Charlotte Bennett (Barbara Carrera), an administrator of a kinky sex clinic (depicted as a psychiatrist in the original novel). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

It's still the same old story...but what a story. This umpteenth filmization of the classic Mark Twain novel stars Ron Howard as Huck and Donny Most as Tom Sawyer. After faking his own murder to escape his brutish Pap (played by Howard's real-life father Rance), Huck and fugitive slave Jim (Antonio Fargas) fashion a raft and head off down the Mississippi. The darker elements and sociological commentary of the Twain original are carefully excised from this version, the better to allow more time for the antics of those "royal" rapscallions, the King (Jack Elam) and the Duke (Merle Haggard). Mark Twain himself makes a guest appearance, in the person of Royal Dano. Filmed along the Sacramento River in California (a frequent movie "stand-in" for the Mississippi), Huckleberry Finn was first broadcast March 25, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Walton (Ralph Waite) is accused of stealing some valuable silver goblets from wealthy neighbor Mrs. Claybourne (Diana Webster). Her evidence? Well, for starters, John is the only visitor that Mrs. Claybourne has had in weeks--and even more damning, he has suddenly and inexplicably come into a large sum of money. Too angry and proud to defend himself, John is on the verge of a lengthy jail term until the truth is revealed in a surprising fashion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The first independent production of former studio mogul Jack Warner, 1776 was adapted from the hit 1969 Broadway musical by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards. William Daniels, Ken Howard, and Howard Da Silva are among the many actors who recreate their Broadway roles. The story is set during the first Continental Congress, when the Declaration of Independence was drafted by such founding fathers as John Adams (Daniels) and Benjamin Franklin (Da Silva). The script attempts to "humanize" these remote historical figures by contemporizing them -- particularly the character of Ben Franklin. Blythe Danner's character of Martha Jefferson is expanded for the film version to allow for an elaborate outdoor production number. After 1776, Warner made only one more film, the 1972 "grunge Western" Dirty Little Billy. On an added note: the picture was originally rated G with its theatrical running time of 141 minutes. It was later expanded to 166 minutes; the added scenes caused the MPAA to re-rate it PG (for language) in 1992. Both versions are available on video. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Once again, Lisa (Eva Gabor) decides to surprise and please her husband by becoming the quintessential "handy housewife." More specifically, Lisa has made her mind up to become the world's best lady carpenter. To do this, she dons form-fitting overalls and begins her education under the far-from-expert tutelage of Alf and Ralph Monroe (Sid Melton, Mary Grace Canfield). Not surprisingly, Lisa's hubby Oliver (Eddie Albert) will be somewhat less than thrilled with the results. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After delivering a herd of cattle to the town of Sand Dust, Joe and Hoss Cartwright, together with ranchhand Candy and local girl Valerie Townsend (Davey Davidson), are eyewitness to a fatal shooting. When the brothers of accused killer Billy Slader (Michael Blodgett) threaten to permanently silence all four witnesses, Sheriff Dunkel (Robert McQueeney) puts them under protective custody, leading to several unexpected plot complications. Frederick Down and Bill Fletcher are cast as the homicidal Slader siblings, while Russ Conway is seen as Judge Wheeler. Written by Eric Norden, "False Witness" first aired October 22, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two law-abiding citizens pose as ne'er-do-wells on choppers in this Sixties biker flick. The Hellcats are an outlaw motorcycle gang who spend their days swilling beer, looking for kicks and supporting their nomadic lifestyle by acting as drug mules for a small but powerful crime syndicate. An undercover cop was on the verge of infiltrating the Hellcats when the mobsters found him out and had him murdered; the late detective's fiancée Linda (Dee Duffy) meets his brother, former Army sergeant Monte (Ross Hagen), and they decide to pick up where he left off by posing as bikers and joining the gang to ferret out the killers. Monte and Linda soon discover that while the men do most of the carousing in the Hellcats, it's the biker mamas who do most of the work in transporting heroin, and Linda forms a dangerous alliance with Shelia (Sharyn Kinzie), the brains of the drug-running outfit to maintain her cover. Meanwhile, Monte finds Shelia is falling for his moody charm, despite Linda's clear disapproval. Del "Sonny" West, a member of Elvis Presley's "Memphis Mafia," appears in the supporting cast as a biker named Snake. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Bank teller Lee Remick is accosted in her garage one dark night by asthmatic psycho Ross Martin. He forces her to go through with an elaborate robbery scheme, threatening to kill Lee's teen-aged sister Stefanie Powers if the police are summoned. FBI agent Glenn Ford suspects that something is amiss and advises Lee to play along with Martin, hoping in this way to capture this dangerous criminal with a minimum of bloodshed. Unfortunately, Martin is as clever as he is deadly, always managing to stay one step ahead of Ford. The now-famous climax of Experiment in Terror finds the feds closing in on Martin during a crowded night baseball game at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Experiment in Terror is based on the Gordons' novel Operation Terror. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi