Anthony Eisley Movies
Long before there was an "Anthony Eisley", a darkly handsome young man named Fred Eisley could be seen as John Clinton on the 1953 Ezio Pinza TV vehicle Bonino. Eisley retained his given name while appearing as Johnny Cassiano in the Jack Webb-produced TVer Pete Kelly's Blue (1959), and was still Fred Eisley for his inaugural film appearances in The Young Philadelphians (1959) and The Wasp Woman (1960). He wasn't rechristened Anthony Eisley until September of 1959, when he was cast as private detective Tracy Steele on the Warner Bros. cop series Hawaiian Eye; he remained in this role until 1962, when he was replaced by Troy Donahue. Whatever fame he had achieved via Hawaiian Eye faded the moment he left the series, though he continued making supporting appearances in films ranging from Samuel Fuller's The Naked Kiss (1964) to the redoubtable Al Adamson's Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971). He also worked frequently for his old Pete Kelly's Blues boss Jack Webb, accepting guest spots in such series as Dragnet, Adam 12 and Emergency. From 1969 onward, Anthony Eisley was busiest on the daytime-drama circuit, playing Charles Diedrich on Bright Promise (1969-72) and Philip Dade on Capitol (1982-87). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An interesting bit of casting enlivens this psycho-thriller set in a California boarding house run by eccentric Karen Black with a rogue's gallery of bizarre tenants and more dark secrets than the Bates Motel. Tenants have a habit of disappearing rather abruptly from this particular residence -- but not without first signing over their Social Security checks to the landlady, netting her a tidy fortune. This leads to the inevitable visit from a federal agent (Arte Johnson), who begins an investigation into Black's shady affairs, and uncovers the true identity of the killer. Despite presenting Black as a blatant red herring from the outset, the filmmakers manage to provide a few interesting twists, though they eventually stray a bit too deeply into Psycho turf. A cast full of familiar faces (including Virginia Mayo, Martine Beswick and Michael Berryman) tends to counterbalance the occasional moments of sleaziness, but there is little originality to distinguish the film from standard slasher fare. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
A surprisingly slick flick from Emperor of Exploitation Fred Olen Ray, the story (which Ray co-wrote with T.L. Lankford, borrowing heavily from the director's earlier Biohazard) begins when a satellite carrying top-secret bio-engineered mutants plummets to Earth and disgorges its slavering contents in a scrap-yard outside Los Angeles. Hot on the beast's slimy trail are a pair of L.A. cops (Russ Meyer-veteran Charles Napier and the miscast Ann Turkel), who butt heads with their chief (Bo Svenson), the military, and the scientists who bred the monster -- until the inevitable confrontation, which features a no-holds-barred grudge match between the toothy slime-demon and a chainsaw-wielding Napier. Campy, fun performances by the talented leads (especially Julie Newmar as a psychic who assists the investigation) elevate this material far beyond the limitations of its hoary premise and Alien-esque monster. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Napier, Ann Turkel, (more)
- 1982
During a smog alert, an old man and a child, both residents of a sanitarium, die of respiratory ailments. Medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman) is convinced that the deaths were linked to a nearby oil refinery, which is polluting the air with sulfur emissions. His task now is to prove that the refinery executives have deliberately ignored official warnings to cut back on production during smog emergencies--and as usual, bringing the villains to justice is a lot easier said than done. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Accompanied by Coy (Byron Cherry) and Vance (Christopher Mayer), Enos picks up his footlocker at the bus depot. What Enos doesn't know is that the locker contains stolen emeralds--but a couple of crooks do know this, and they aren't above committing murder to get their hands on the gems. Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) gets in on the dirty doin's when he tries to claim the emeralds for himself so he can open up his own fast-food chain, "Fricasseed Pig." Featured as the bad guys are two former good guys from 1960s television: Brett Halsey (Follow the Sun) and Anthony Eisley(Hawaiian Eye). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A delightfully horribly sci-fi horror outing, Monster is the story of young people whose lives are placed in jeopardy by the presence of a gigantic prehistoric lake monster created from toxic waste. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
After several years of marriage, suburban housewife Andrea Fleming (Susan Blakely) realizes that she has never truly been happy. This is particularly galling in that Andrea's repressive mother (Joanne Linville) instilled within her the desire to find the "secret of happiness" before reaching adulthood--but never told her how to go about this. Upon her mother's death, Andrea is possessed by desires she can neither understand nor control, and begins seeking out the aforementioned "secret" by promiscuously embarking upon several casual affairs. Star Susan Blakely also wrote and performed the theme music for Secrets, which was first telecast by ABC on February 20, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- PG
While lost in space, a ship's crew battles its enemies. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Several deaths have occurred at Valleyview Sanitarium--which in and of itself is not unusual, in that most of the patients are very old and very ill. Even Quincy (Jack Klugman) is persuaded that the recent, slightly mysterious death of an elderly man was simply a coronary rather than foul play. But when a much-younger patient dies under similar circumstances, Quincy changes his mind and launches an investigation--and in the process confronts a self-styled "Angel of Mercy" who is practicing wholesale euthanasia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
A professional basketball team is taken hostage by a band of Middle Eastern terrorists. The captors refuse to let their captives go until the authorities meet their demands, including a large sum of money, an escape plane, and the release of all political prisoners throughout the world. It is up to the SWAT team to rescue the athletes and prevent a full-scale, Munich-like bloodbath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Forrest, Rod Perry, (more)
- 1974
Someone in the SFPD must go undercover with a group of Vietnam war resisters to ferret out a murderer. Given a choice between middle-aged Mike Stone (Karl Malden) and youthful, shaggy-haired Steve Keller (Michael Douglas), the authorities opt for Keller. Posing as an anti-war activist, Keller tries to find out who killed a rather notorious Marine deserter...and why. Featured in the cast are two actors who'd essayed villainous Streets of San Francisco roles in the past, Don Stroud and Michael Burns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Cindy Britton (Belinda Balaski), a teenaged girl from a small town, runs away from home. She ends up in the seedy Venice Beach district of Los Angeles, alone, hungry, and very frightened. Teaming up with a streetwise younger boy named Francis (Claudio Martinez), Cindy endeavors to survive her daunting new environment as best she can -- while the authorities conduct a frantic search for the girl. This Emmy-winning ABC Afterschool Special was filmed on location. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belinda Balaski, Claudio Martinez, (more)
- 1974
Newly paroled and working at a group home for convicts' children, ex-prisoner Carl Parkos (Paul Burke) receives word that his oldest son has been killed in a gang fight. It is up to Chief Ironside to prevent Parkos from exacting vengeance against the killer, not so much for Carl's sake as for the man's surviving son. Featured as one of the Parkos kids is juvenile actor Butch Patrick, late of The Munsters and Lidsville. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Elizabeth Ashley guest stars as Laura Keyes, who after suffering a heart attack crashes her car into Ironside's van. Laura is rushed to a hospital, where the doctors discover that the woman had had a bullet lodged near her heart for years. Ironside (Raymond Burr) is amazed to discover that, not only is Laura unconcerned about her wound, but she doesn't even remember being shot! His curiosity further aroused when Laura refuses to let the doctors remove the bullet, Ironside launches an investigation...and ends up reopening a cold murder case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Charles Cioffi and George DiCenzo are cast as brothers Vic and Dave, co-owners of a struggling trucking firm. Hoping for a quick financial turnover, the brothers make a deal with the Mob, offering to hijack their competitors' trucks for a share of the loot. Unfortunately, the Mob has a lengthy history of not playing fair. Curiously, though frequent F.B.I guest star Anthony Eisley is usually cast as Special Agent Chet Randolph, he is herein billed as "Agent Wright." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When a Cape Kennedy space mission is interrupted by terrorists, Senator Stockwell (John Carter) turns to a massive computer for an analyzed report of which secret agents to trust with the case. The electronic brain suggests the Doll Squad, a crack team of highly trained female spies who are as beautiful as they are deadly. Their leader, Sabrina Kincaid (Francine York), is sent to round up the girls, but there's a mole in the Senator's organization, and the first two agents she contacts are murdered. Intelligence reports reveal that the head of the terrorist operation is Eamon O'Reilly (Michael Ansara), an ex-government agent and Sabrina's former lover. O'Reilly sends a carrier pigeon to the Senator with instructions to send back secret nuclear weapon plans, and threatens national disaster if he refuses. The mole is rooted out and the location of O'Reilly's secret island hideout is discovered, so Sabrina rounds up the rest of the Doll Squad and the ladies charter a boat. Once on shore, the girls are kidnapped, and O'Reilly explains his nefarious plans to Sabrina: He is going to spread bubonic plague across the civilized world and rule what is left with supreme power. But if she so desires, he'll inoculate her with the antidote and she will reign by his side as Queen. The Doll Squad fights back, using an arsenal of secret weapons, plastic explosives, and their own seductive charms to defeat O'Reilly's henchmen and save the world. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- 1973
The Rampart emergency team try to save a suicidal youngster from leaping off an apartment ledge. Elsewhere, the paramedics rescue a man who has been trapped in a doughnut machine. And in what would normally be a less stressful moment, John (Randolph Mantooth) suffers from a terrible bout of stage fright when he appears on a live TV show. Jo Anne Worley makes a return visit as Maude Grayson, the "scream therapy" lady (at least, she does in the uncut network version of this episode). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A slapdash epic of bad filmmaking geared strictly toward drive-in audiences, Dracula vs. Frankenstein has gone on to achieve cult status thanks to its sheer ineptness and impressive cast. At an oceanside amusement park, Dr. Frankenstein (J. Carrol Naish) runs a house of horrors that serves as a cover for his more devious scientific experimentation -- work that requires the murderous deeds of his mute assistant Groton (Lon Chaney Jr.). After stealing the corpse of Frankenstein's monster, Dracula visits the doctor and makes him an offer he can't refuse: resurrect the monster so that Dracula can use the beast to carry out his plan to take over the world. At the same time, lounge singer Judith (Regina Carrol) arrives at the park against the advice of detective Martin (Jim Davis) to search for her missing sister. She is drugged in a bar and winds up in the care of kindly stud Mike (Anthony Eisley), who takes up the investigation with her. Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein and Dracula resurrect the monster and immediately send it to kill the doctor's old enemy (Forrest J. Ackerman). Judith and Mike encounter the monster and, after a narrow escape, they confront Dr. Frankenstein who is beheaded in the ensuing melee. Sgt. Martin arrives in time to kill Groton before he attacks Judith, but not before Dracula kills Mike and takes Judith captive. He ties her up in the lab and prepares to bite her, but the monster goes mad, leading to a ferocious battle. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- 1971
The case against a big-time racketeer may be dismissed because of a hung jury. Ironside (Raymond Burr) suspects that one of the jury members has been bribed to be the sole "holdout." With only 24 hours at his disposal, the Chief must find out which of the 12 jurors has been bought off--a difficult assignment in that the jury has been sequestered and is beyond his reach. This episode boasts a particularly strong supporting cast, including veteran Hollywood leading lady Marsha Hunt as a no-nonsense judge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
In a variation of Evan Hunter's famous novel King's Ransom (previously filmed by no less than Akira Kurosawa), outlaws Thorn and Bryan Hazard (Tom Skerritt, Fabian Forte) kidnap a girl whom they believe to be wealthy young Laura Singer (Susannah Darrow). Instead, they have abducted Karen Oliver (Sherry Boucher), the daughter of poverty-stricken Harry Oliver (Woodrow Parfrey). Will Oliver lose everything he owns trying to raise the $100,000 ransom, or will Laura's millionaire father Owen Singer (John Lasell) come through in a pinch? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Targetting a Chicago-based espionage ring, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) goes undercover, posing as an injured spy named Eric Cross. It is Erskine's goal to identity the ringleader of the spies, a person known only as "Constantine." In an ironic twist, the spy boss is revealed to be fatally ill and is written off as expendable--and as a result, Erskine must keep "Constantine" alive long enough to die in bed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When a group of young degenerates rape and kill his family, a vengeful man takes action. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Though he has been accused of killing his wife, mental patient Walter Carr (Earl Holliman)--who has no memory of the crime--is certain that she is still alive and that he has been framed for her murder. Escaping custody, Walter goes on a tortuous odyssey to find the truth, committing various small crimes along the way. As Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) pursues Walter, even he begins to wonder if his quarry is the victim of a miscarriage of justice. As it turns out, however, a murder has indeed been committed--and the killer is a lot closer than Walter ever imagined. Directed by series costar Philip Abbott, this is the final episode of The F.B.I.'s fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Posing as double agent William Howard (David Frankham), Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr heads to East Berlin, there to assist in the escape of Lisa Stone (Dana Wynter), the wife of US-based Communist spy John Buchanan (Alf Kjellin). Ostensibly, Lisa is heading to America to persuade her husband to defect. In truth, however, Lisa is a loyal Party member, whose "escape" has been carefully staged--and she intends to murder Buchanan the moment she catches up to him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The hunt for a gigantic African gorilla provides the basis for this adventure-fantasy. A circus manager leads the expedition right into a native ambush. The explorers are captured and slated to become human sacrifices when the towering title primate shows up and destroys everything. Fortunately, the explorers escape and find safety in an enormous cave that proves to be filled with priceless jewels. If the travelers can escape Gorga's wrath, they might find themselves wealthy men. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- R
Dr. Ralph Hayes (Alvy Moore) is a professor of paranormal studies who leads a group into the Louisiana swamp to investigate a string of murders. His student Tasha (Thordis Brandt) is the psychic whose powers have been inherited from her witch ancestors. Hayes believes that witchcraft is the reason behind the murders of the young women, and reporter Victor Gordon (Anthony Eisley) is out to cover the story. The trail eventually leads to Luther the Berserk (John Lodge) a sorcerer of incredible powers who, after drinking the blood of his victims, has the ability to raise the dead as his unholy army of the night. The efforts of the human researchers collide with the supernatural forces of evil in this terrifying feature. Veteran character actor Burt Mustin, who played Gus the fireman on the hit television show "Leave It To Beaver," plays the boatman. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lodge, Alvy Moore, (more)
