Hal Lynch Movies
- 1973
With precious little time on their hands, the doctors at Rampart try to diagnose a mysterious ailment that has befallen a marijuana smoker. Elsewhere, the team rushes to a boat explosion; a worker is pinned to a wall by a semi; a boy falls in a gravel pit; and while trying to avoid running down a dog, a motorist and his son are seriously injured. No wonder John (Randolph Mantooth) is having so much trouble getting to sleep these days (actually, there are other reasons, but why give away too much of the plot?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- PG
If you want to know what The Wild Bunch would have looked like with Blake Edwards rather than Sam Peckinpah in the director's chair, we submit for your approval Wild Rovers. William Holden and Ryan O'Neal play a couple of shiftless ranch hands who impulsively decide to rob a bank. They manage to make off with the money, but also incur the wrath of their former boss Karl Malden, who sends his two sons Tom Skerritt and Joe Don Baker out to bring back Holden and O'Neal, preferably dead. The film's climax is surprisingly melancholy for an Edwards film, but one can't deny that the ending grows logically from the events leading up to it. Severely edited by its distributor Warner Bros, Wild Rovers doesn't make a lot of sense in its release version; the director's cut, incorporated 30 minutes' worth of extra footage, is fortunately available on video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Ryan O'Neal, (more)
- 1970
The FBI suspects a trucking firm of being the front for a sophisticated hijacking ring. To get to the truth, Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) goes undercover as a truck driver, while Colby (William Reynolds), posing as an ex-con, lands a job with the firm as dispatcher. Inevitably, Colby's cover is blown--but this may prove less dangerous to him than to the head hijacker (Edward Binns), who has been set up for murder by one of his own "pals". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
When Sheriff Walker (Stuart Randall) of Muddy Creek is murdered, Ben and Joe Cartwright volunteer to guard prisoner Luke Harper (Joe Don Baker). Fearful of retaliation from Harper's gang, the townspeople refuse to assist Ben and Joe, going so far as to desert the town. The only remaining citizens are Walker's widow (Ann Doran), an old man (Jon Lormer) and his grandson Tommy (played by future Bonanza regular Mitch Vogel, and town trollop Casey Collins (Jean Hale). Written by Alf Harris (and, possibly, inspired by such theatrical westerns as Stagecoachand Rio Bravo), "The Real People of Muddy Creek" first aired on October 6, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1968
Katherine Daly (Anne Baxter) is kidnapped from her own home by escaped robber-murderer Frank Padgett (Steve Ihnat). Heading to the Arizona desert with his captive, Padgett intends to force Katherine to guide him through the treacherous region to his getaway plane. Though Padgett has a considerable head start, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) hopes to rescue Katherine by relaying a coded radio message to her--if it isn't already too late. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Joe Cartwright is grief-stricken when his friend Steve Regan, leader of a miners' strike, is accidentally killed. Because the Cartwrights are major stockholders in the mining company, Joe feels partially responsible for Steve's death, and does what he can to help the man's widow Stephanie (Marj Dusay). Meanwhile, the corrupt mine officials, intending to break the back of the strike movement, hire a group of troublemakers to encourage further violence. First shown on April 7, 1968, "Commitment at Angelus" was written by Peter Germano. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1968
Star-in-the-making Robert Duvall appears in this episode as Joseph Troy, one of two fugitives who are hiding from the Feds in California's wine country. Biding their time until the heat is off, Troy and his partner George Wilson (Burt Brinckerhoff) make plans to pull off a bank heist during a local harvest celebration. But things take an unexpected turn when one of the two outlaws falls in love with Lisa Cintron (Diane Baker). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Senator William J. Tadlock (Kirk Douglas) enlists the help of veteran scout Dick Summers (Robert Mitchum) to lead a wagon train of settlers from Missouri to Oregon in this plodding, routine western. A scared settler accidently shoots an Indian boy who is mistaken for a wolf, prompting Summers to order newlywed triggerman Johnny Mack (Michael Witney) to be hanged to avoid an Indian attack. Sally Field appears in her first big-screen role as the slatternly Mercy McBee. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, (more)
- 1967
Rosie! is directly based upon Ruth Gordon's play A Very Rich Woman, which was itself based upon a French play by Philippe Heriat, but the indirect source for all three versions is Shakespeare's King Lear. Rosalind Russell has the Lear part, here transformed from a powerful king into a rich, madcap grandmother by the name of Rosie Lord. Unlike in Shakespeare, however, Rosie does not abandon her wealth voluntarily; instead, her viperish children make an assault on her in an attempt to claim their inheritance while Rosie is still alive. They succeed in getting her declared mentally incompetent and thrown into a grotesque asylum, an experience that is so traumatic that she nearly does go insane. Fortunately, Rosie's beloved granddaughter Daphne (Sandra Dee) is appalled at what has happened; she moves into high gear, contacting an ex-lover of Rosie's (played by Brian Aherne) who also happens to be a powerful and skilled attorney. A lengthy court battle ensues, with both sides determined to come out triumphant. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosalind Russell, Sandra Dee, (more)
- 1966
Bruce Dern guest stars as Hutch, the vicious leader of a motorcycle gang known as The Devil's Disciples. Abducting Richard Kimble (David Janssen), Hutch plans to use the fugitive as a fall guy in a scheme to murder the old man who was indirectly responsible for the death of a gang member. Kimble's only hope for escape is in the hands of cyclist Don (Lou Antonio) and his girlfriend Penny (Diana Hyland), who are slightly less sociopathic than Hutch. In addition to its "Hell's Angels" trappings, this 1960s time capsule also manages to weave the Vietnam War into the storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Outbound from a small town recently besieged by Indians, a stagecoach carries several diverse characters. They include rummy sawbones Josiah Boone (Bing Crosby), dance-hall girl and prostitute Dallas (Ann-Margret), embezzling bank clerk Gatewood (Robert Cummings), pregnant army officer's wife Lucy Mallory (Stefanie Powers), policeman Curly (Van Heflin), and several others. En route, the drunken Doc Boone is forced to sober up and deliver Lucy's baby, and the travelers are joined by Ringo (Alex Cord), an outlaw falsely accused of killing his own father and brother. Despite being arrested by Curly, Ringo helps fight off Indians and falls for Dallas. Once the coach reaches its destination, Luke Plummer (Keenan Wynn) and his two sons, the real killers of Ringo's family, shoot Gatewood for his stolen loot and wound Curly. A showdown between the Plummers and Ringo is inevitable. Famed painter Norman Rockwell, who rendered cast portraits for the film's closing credits sequence, appears in a brief cameo. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Red Buttons, (more)
- 1966
The title of this episode refers to the Virginia town which serves as the home of the FBI Training Academy. One of Quantico's most promising trainees is Charlie Hunter (Michael Callan), who'd grown up in a slum neighborhood with his mentally unbalanced cousin Willard Smith (Robert Walker Jr.). Upon learning that Willard is planning to blow up the Supreme Court Building with a homemade bomb, Charlie is faced with a dilemma that could cost him his career--to say nothing of his life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Sandy Kenyon is cast as Major Hans Kuehn, who has been assigned as Klink's new adjutant. The ruthlessly ambitious Kuehn may well mess up Hogan's plans to destroy a German mobile anti-aircraft battery. Hogan's dilemma this week is to simultaneously pull off the mission and discredit Kuehn. The script was co-written by Tom Adair and James Allardice, the man responsible for most of Alfred Hitchcock's droll opening comments on Hitch's weekly TV anthology. "The 43rd, a Moving Story" originally aired on February 25, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
- 1966
This episode is a virtual dry-run for the 1970s series Dallas, except that the question posed is not "Who Shot J.R.?" but instead "Who Killed J.K.?" There is no shortage of suspects when nasty oil tycoon Jerome Klee (Wendell Corey) is murdered, but the police finally settle upon Klee's foreman Allen Winford (James Best), who had been trying to prevent Klee from cheating an impoverished farmer named Jason Rohan (Paul Brinegar). Of course, Winford is innocent--else why would Perry Mason (Raymond Burr agree to take his case? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Hogan's efforts to blow up a strategic German bridge are foiled at every turn. Finally, he decides to destroy the target single-handedly -- using the enemy's own ammunition supplies. This is the episode in which the POWs form a human arrow without arousing the suspicions of the dumb Klink and the dumber Schultz. Written by Laurence Marks, "German Bridge Is Falling Down" made its first network appearance on October 29, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
- 1965
Now calling himself "Joe Taft", Kimble agrees to drive Peggy Franklyn (Suzanne Pleshette) and her daughter Nancy (Debi Storm) to California. What he doesn't know is that Peggy's ex-husband, biological scientist Dean Franklyn (Liam Sullivan), has not given his consent for the westward journey; even worse, Nancy has taken along a pet rabbit that her father has injected with a highly contagious strain of meningitis. Ultimately, Kimble must reveal his true identity--and risk immediate arrest--to save Nancy's life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
