Rodopho (Rudy) Acosta Movies

Fran (Elizabeth Baur) discovers that her cleaning lady Rosita (Maria-Elena Cordero) is an illegal alien, smuggled into the country by the minions of a shady "employment agency". Convinced that the smugglers have killed her sister, Rosita is prepared to turn herself in and reveal all. But those responsible for her sibling's death aren't about to let that happen--and unless Ironside (Raymond Burr) can save her, Rosita will be the next victim. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ironside (Raymond Burr) and his team are assigned to escort Soviet spy Hruska (Diana Hyland) to Mexico to exchange for an American scientist (John Archer) held by the Russians. En route, Ironside and Hruska a kidnapped by a gang of Mexican activists. As Ed (Don Galloway) struggles to stall the Russian officials, Ironside endeavors to formulate a plan of escape--all the while becoming increasingly fond of his beautiful prisoner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although the characters' names were changed, The Great White Hope was a thinly veiled account of the trials and tribulations of boxer Jack Johnson, based on the play by Howard Sackler and directed by Martin Ritt. James Earl Jones stars as boxing great Jack Jefferson, who defeats Frank Bardy Larry Pennell in a Reno, Nevada bout to become the world's first black heavyweight champion. After crossing a state line with his white girlfriend Eleanor (Jane Alexander in her feature debut), however, Jack is arrested and tried under the miscegenation-barring Mann Act. Found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison, Jack escapes and leaves the U.S., but he's dogged by his now bad reputation and can't get honest work as a fighter. Offered his freedom from criminal charges if he'll agree to a fixed fight in Cuba that will restore the title to a white contender, Jack refuses and Eleanor commits suicide, their life on the run overwhelming her. Jack finally accepts the bout in Havana, but he fights his opponent with everything he's got. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Flap is marginally significant as the only Western ever directed by Britain's Sir Carol Reed. Anthony Quinn is top-billed as Flapping Eagle, a modern-day Native American stuck on a squalid reservation. Though liquored up most of the time, Flapping Eagle undergoes an eleventh-hour social awakening. Making certain that the media is notified, he hijacks a train and heads for Phoenix, demanding full restoration of rights for his people. Played uneasily for laughs, Flap tries to make up for its shortcomings with a 1970s-style tragic ending, but by that time most of the audience has given up. The working title for Flap was Nobody Loves Flapping Eagle, which was closer to the name of source material, Clair Huffaker's novel Nobody Loves a Drunken Indian. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Nehemiah Persoff makes his second Mission: Impossible guest appearance, this time in the role of corrupt Latin American official Phillipe Pereda. Planning to loot his country's treasury of $40,000,000, Pereda intends to pin the blame on the country's honest president, De Varo (Rodolfo Acosta). The IMF is assigned to destroy Pereda by stealing back the money--from a high-tech safe which is controlled by sound waves and requires perfect pitch to open. Originally broadcast April 6 1969, "The Vault" was scripted by Judy Burns from a story by Burns and John Kingsbridge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this adventure, Pat Morrison (Burt Reynolds) leads a group of World War II veterans back to the Philippines in search of gold hidden prior to the Japanese invasion. A professional tennis player (Anne Francis) hires Morrison because her aging father's health won't permit him to make the trek. Their moves through the jungle terrain are monitored by villains who covet the riches, hoping Morrison and company will do all the work before they step in and steal the loot. Unclear is the reason the woman's father was dismissed from the army during the war in the Pacific, as well as the motives for the recovery and his absence from the expedition. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this adventure, a commercial plane crashes in a remote South American jungle. All but one of the passengers survive. Unfortunately, he was the sheriff in charge of taking a dangerous criminal to the executioner. During the excitement of the crash, the prisoner killed the lawman. Among the other survivors is a famous singer, a washed-up funnyman, a mentally ill teacher, and a writer looking for his sister who married a missionary and is now living in the jungle. Amazingly, she is rumored to live fairly close to the crash sight. The survivors manage to make it to the isolated village where she resides. There the writer learns that his sister's husband has gone insane and that she is dead. The megalomaniacal missionary now believes himself king of the natives and is preparing the author and a few others to become human sacrifices when a neighboring tribe intervenes and saves them. The amiable natives then take the survivors back to the wreckage where navy rescue helicopters are preparing to land. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The first of two sequels to The Magnificent Seven (1960), this bloody western featured only Yul Brynner from the original picture's all-star cast. Once again, the residents of a pastoral Mexican village become enslaved by a maniacal brute, this time the insane rancher Lorca (Emilio Fernandez), who has corralled a small army of 50 gunmen to intimidate the citizenry into building a church in memory of his son. Chico (now played by Julian Mateos), an original member of the seven gunslingers from the first film, hears of the villagers' plight and sends for Chris Adams (Brynner), who rounds up another lucky seven shootists from various places of ill-repute (including prison). The new bunch, which now includes Warren Oates and Claude Akins, storms the storm, intending to restore order. This film was, in turn, followed by a pair of further sequels, Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969) and The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Clint Howard is the center of attention on this Bonanza episode as impressionable young Michael Thorpe. When his father Evan (Simon Scott) is seriously wounded, Michael takes literally the words of Ponderosa ranchhand Lijah (Rodolfo Acosta), who mournfully declares that "Only God" can save Evan now. The boy sets off on a trek into the mountains to search for God-and believes he has gazed upon the face of the Almighty when he meets fugitive mountainer Tom Caine (Leif Erickson). Originally shown on December 19, 1965, "All Ye His Saints" was written by William Blinn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Filmmaker George Stevens chose Monument Valley, Utah for his exterior sequences in The Greatest Story Ever Told, this ($20 million) adaptation of Fulton Oursler's best-selling book. The "Greatest Story" is, of course, the life of Jesus Christ, played herein by Max Von Sydow. The large supporting cast includes Dorothy McGuire as Mary, Claude Rains as Herod the Great, Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas, Charlton Heston as John the Baptist, Donald Pleasence as Satan (identified only as "The Dark Hermit"), David McCallum as Judas Iscariot, Sidney Poitier as Simon of Cyrene, Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate and Martin Landau as Caiaphas. Even Robert Blake as Simon the Zealot, Jamie Farr as Thaddaeus, and motorcyle-flick veteran Richard Bakalyan as Dismas, the repentant thief, are well-suited to their roles. Originally roadshown at 260 minutes, Greatest Story Ever Told was later available in a 195-minute version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Guest star Henry Jones plays a flamboyant eccentric who imagines himself to be King Arthur. Wearing full armor, "Arthur" rescues Adam Cartwright from stagecoach bandits. When Adam is accused of masterminding the holdup, he finds that no one believes his wild yarn about a "knight in shining armor"-and before long, virtually everyone in the cast is convinced that Adam has gone off the deep end. Also appearing are Robert Sorrells as Cyril, Charles Watts as Sheriff Munsey, Zeme North as Phoebe and Rodolfo Acosta as Juan. Written by Robert V. Barron, "A Knight to Remember" was originally shown on December 20, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Filmed in panoramic Cinerama, this star-studded, epic Western adventure is a true cinematic classic. Three legendary directors (Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall) combine their skills to tell the story of three families and their travels from the Erie Canal to California between 1839 and 1889. Spencer Tracy narrates the film, which cost an estimated 15 million dollars to complete. In the first segment, "The Rivers," pioneer Zebulon Prescott (Karl Malden) sets out to settle in the West with his wife (Agnes Moorehead) and their four children. Along with other settlers and river pirates, they run into mountain man Linus Rawlings (James Stewart), who sells animal hides. The Prescotts try to raft down the Ohio River in a raft, but only daughters Lilith (Debbie Reynolds) and Eve (Carroll Baker) survive. Eve and Linus get married, while Lilith continues on. In the second segment, "The Plains," Lilith ends up singing in a saloon in St. Louis, but she really wants to head west in a wagon train led by Roger Morgan (Robert Preston). Along the way, she's accompanied by the roguish gambler Cleve Van Valen (Gregory Peck), who claims he can protect her. After he saves her life during an Indian attack, they get married and move to San Francisco. In the third segment, "The Civil War," Eve and Linus' son, Zeb (George Peppard), fights for the Union. After he's forced to kill his Confederate friend, he returns home and gives the family farm to his brother. In the fourth segment, "The Railroads," Zeb fights with his railroad boss (Richard Widmark), who wants to cut straight through Indian territory. Zeb's co-worker Jethro (Henry Fonda) refuses to cut through the land, so he quits and moves to the mountains. After the railway camp is destroyed, Zeb heads for the mountains to visit him. In the fifth segment, "The Outlaws," Lilith is an old widow traveling from California to Arizona to stay with her nephew Zeb on his ranch. However, he has to fight a gang of desperadoes first. How the West Was Won garnered three Oscars, for screenplay, film editing, and sound production. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Slated to be hanged for murder, Texas teenagers Bobby Olson (Andrew Prine) and James Horton (Jerry Summers) manage to escape. After an unexpected confrontation with Olson in the desert, Paladin (Richard Boone) offers to help Sheriff Backwater (Robert Gist) bring the two young fugitives in. What Paladin hadn't counted on is the fact that he will also have to protect Olson and Horton from the vengeance of their victim's brother, a notorious gunfighter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi