John Durren Movies

In this made-for-TV "roman a clef", Joe Don Baker stars as Tommy Vanda, a Hoffa-esque labor leader. Told in flashback, the film recounts Vanda's humble beginnings on the Chicago docks, where he gains fame and notoreity amongst his coworkers and his bosses by spearheading a wildcat strike. Rising to top dog of the Cartage Union, Tommy doesn't care whon he has to crush on the way up the ladder. Inevitably, Tommy's peccadilloes catch up with him, resulting in federal charges, an arrest, and (remember who he's supposed to be) a mysterious disappearance in the night. Written by Ernest Tidyman of The French Connection fame, Power was telecast in two two-hour installments by NBC on January 14 and 15, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Another of the many Arthur Hailey literary properties which were transformed into TV miniseries in the 1970s, the five-part, ten-hour Wheels took place in Detroit sometime in the late 1960s. Rock Hudson starred as Adam Trenton, executive in charge of project development at the fictional auto-manufacturing firm of National Motors. Ambitious and ruthless, Adam let nothing stand in the way of his development and production of a new, youth-marketed car known as the Hawk. Meanwhile, Adam's bored and neglected wife Erica (Lee Remick, who earned an Emmy nomination for her performance) drifted into an extramarital affair and a brief "career" as a shoplifter. Eventually, Adam himself acquired a mistress, who in turn fell in love with Adam's son Kirk (James Carrol Jordan). As if things couldn't get any seamier, Kirk's brother Greg (Howard McGillin) was plagued by a blackmailer, while crooked car dealer Smokey Stevenson (played by miniseries stalwart Anthony Franciosa) cooked up a sinister deal that threatened to destroy National Motors. Originally telecast from May 7 to 15, 1978 on NBC, Arthur Hailey's Wheels posted such disappointing ratings that, when it was later rebroadcast, the property was whittled down from ten hours to four -- with episodes three and four summarily dropped from the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Radar (Gary Burghoff) becomes convinced that he will attract women if he gets a tattoo. The rest of the camp forms a protective circle around Radar, hoping to prevent him from defiling his innocent young epidermis. But Radar is determined, and soon he is sporting a beauty of a skin decoration--but things aren't quite what they appear to be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kojak (Telly Savalas) is one of several authority figures who dismiss the claims of Julie Winston (Brooke Adams), a young and friendless newcomer to the Big Apple, when she insists that she has been threatened by a "dead" man. According to Julie, her tormenter was a known felon who had previously been reported killed in a house fire. By the time the police realize that Julie was telling the truth, it is too late for the unfortunate girl--whereupon a guilt-stricken Kojak vows to avenge Julie's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For better or worse, The Gumball Rally was the catalyst for a short-lived cycle of "illegal cross-country race" flicks. As thick-headed cop Roscoe (Norman Burton) does his best to stop the titular rally, a vast and varied contingent of contestants prepare to burn rubber from New York to California. The best-looking of the racers is played by top-billed Michael Sarrazin; Franco, a delightfully narcissistic Italian road jockey played by Raul Julia, also competes. Producer/director Chuck Bail was formerly a stunt coordinator, which helps to explain the incessant car crashes and near-misses in the film. Surprisingly, the doggedly low-budget Gumball Rally was produced by First Artists, a company formed by such major stars as Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, and Steve McQueen for the purpose of creating "prestige" film fare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"The Mansion" is a huge estate in which vices of all sorts are bought and sold. With the Syndicate holding the Mansion in an iron grip, the police have been unable to shut the place down. Hoping to succeed where his colleagues have failed, Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) gains entrance to the Mansion by posing as a gangster on the lam. Sondra Blake, the then wife of series star Robert Blake, is one of the supporting players in this tension-packed episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tony Curtis stars as the feared leader of "Murder Incorporated" in this underworld drama based on the life of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter. Lepke began his criminal career as a petty thief in his teens; a stretch in prison taught him the finer points of life on the wrong side of the law. After getting out of jail, Lepke and his pal Gurrah Shapiro (Warren Berlinger) join a gang who hire themselves out as strikebreakers, and the vicious but clever Lepke soon rises through the ranks. Lepke makes powerful friends with mob kingpins "Lucky" Luciano (Vic Tayback) and Albert Anastasia (Gianni Russo), and when high-ranking but deranged gangster "Dutch" Schultz (John Durren) announces he's going to kill District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey (Richard C. Adams), Lepke is chosen to rub "Dutch" out. Lepke handles the assignment well, and he's able to strike up a deal with the various Mafia families -- he'll form a separate organization to handle executions and assassinations, and he'll hire out his services to any mobsters who need it, provided the mob bosses approve the killings. Between "Murder Incorporated" and a drug ring operated with Luciano, Lepke has become a wealthy and important man in the underworld, but ironically he finds soon himself himself investigated by the man whose life he unwittingly saved -- Dewey. Lepke also features comedian and impressionist Vaughn Meader as the voice of Walter Winchell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This quirky psychological thriller involves a quintet of weird kids who stumble into the luxurious winter retreat of a wealthy patriarch (Gene Evans) and his arrogant guests. Little do the effete vacationers realize that the children are escapees from an asylum for the criminally insane -- a fact they realize only after their doom has been sealed. The only known film from director Sean MacGregor (released theatrically as People Toys), this is a seldom-seen but thoroughly satisfying horror sleeper with a sardonic sense of morality, taking great delight in knocking off Evans' circle of decadent snobs in graphic and innovative ways (one guest is joined in the bath by piranhas; another is pummeled with chains in a creepy still-photo montage). Known also to some drive-in venues as The Horrible House on the Hill, no doubt as part of a double-bill with Wes Craven's Last House on the Left. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Kimble (David Janssen) continues his westward journey to California in the company of the redoubtable Sister Veronica (Eileen Heckart). Along the way, the mismatched pair runs afoul of some motorcycle punks, and have another run-in with crooked Chuck Mathis (Albert Salmi), during which they find a new ally in the form of Chuck's sister-in-law Janet (Ruta Lee). Throughout this picaresque adventure, Kimble tries to figure out a way to persuade Sister Veronica from renouncing her vows and turning her back on the Church--while simulatenously avoiding arrest at every turn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this WW II drama, a unit of paratroopers attempt to a colleague after he is captured by the Japanese during a mission in Burma. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide