Dana Elcar Movies

A Gunfight was the first mainstream American film to be produced by an Indian tribe -- specifically, the Jicarilla Apaches of New Mexico. Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash star as Will and Abe, two long-in-tooth gunfighters with nary a dime between them. Although Will and Abe are fast friends, they agree to a winner-take-all showdown, selling tickets to the momentous event. The townspeople are certain that Will is going to win the shootout, but he knows that it would be a fatal mistake to underestimate Abe. Standing on the sidelines is Will's wife Nora (Jane Alexander), who seems curiously disinterested in the outcome, even though she may become a widow before the day is over. Despite the financial input of the Jicarilla tribe, A Gunfight has nothing to do with Indians; perhaps the tribe just wanted to put together a good, old-fashioned western, sans any social commentary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from Mary-Lou Weisman's book Intensive Care, this made-for-television movie stars Liza Minnelli (in her first TV appearance) as a woman who must remain strong and contend with her son's muscular dystrophy and all the problems within the family that accompany the illness. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

On her deathbed, mean-spirited millionairess Lily Tomlin has her will amended so that her soul will pass into the body of young, healthy Victoria Tennant. Thanks to a mix-up in transmutation, Tomlin winds up instead trapped in the body of upright (and uptight) attorney Steve Martin. The plot involves the fragility of male-female relationships, the importance of making commitments, and the antics of goofy guru Richard Libertini. As ridiculous as it sounds, All of Me is completely credible, thanks to Steve Martin's remarkable "body language" when conveying the notion that he's two different people with two different sets of emotions and gestures. Though the circumstances of the plot won't allow Martin to connect with the lovely Tennant, in real life things were different: the two costars were married shortly after filming wrapped. Phil Alden Robinson and Henry Olek adapted the script from Ed Davis' novel Me Too. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Created by Stephen J. Cannell, the weekly, hour-long crime series Baretta rose from the ashes of 1973's Toma, a short-lived weekly based on the exploits of David Toma, a real-life undercover cop with a penchant for elaborate disguises. For the "new" series, only two vestiges of the original Toma remained: Lead character Tony Baretta was an undercover detective, and he revelled in adopting bizarre costumes and eccentric "alternate" personalities. Otherwise, the two characters could not have been further apart. Remaining faithful to its source, Toma featured a tough but compassionate New Jersey cop who, though he preferred to buck the system and argue with his superior officers when pursuing a case, generally played by the rules; he also had a loving wife and two darling children, and lived in a modest but comfortable and well-appointed home. Conversely, Tony Baretta was a logical extension of Robert Blake, the bantam-cock actor who played the role. Like Blake, the streewise Baretta was fiercely, almost violently independent, bending and breaking the rules whenever possible and making no secret of his disdain for the by-the-book instincts of his superiors. And if Toma was diligent in his pursuit of lawbreakers, Baretta was downright savage; one suspects that he would have blown them to bits had he possessed the appropriate hardware. Also, unlike family man Toma, Baretta was single and a loner, his one bid for domestic bliss having been destroyed when his erstwhile fiancée was killed in the very first episode. Almost as if he was doing penance for allowing himself to be happy, Baretta lived in a rundown flophouse, managed by disheveled former cop Billy Truman. Outside of Billy and his pet cockatoo Fred, Baretta had no close friends: Certainly there was no love lost between himself and his commanding officer Insp. Shiller (Dana Elcar), while Tony's favorite street informant Rooster (Michael D. Roberts) was not exactly the sort of fellow one could call a bosom companion. Baretta was unceremoniously tossed into ABC's Friday-night schedule beginning January 17, 1975, as a midseason replacement for the canceled Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Clearly, the network felt that the series was expendable, inasmuch as it was slated opposite NBC's ratings magnet Police Woman. Within a few weeks, however, Baretta developed a respectable following, most of which was engendered by press reports of star Robert Blake's tiltings with the "suits" (his word for network executives) over the series' violence quotient and overall authenticity. By the time the series had completed its inaugural 12-episode run, Baretta was a shoo-in for renewal -- and Robert Blake had earned enough clout to start calling the shots so far as program content and casting choices were concerned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this first episode of Baretta, gonzo undercover cop Tony Baretta sets up a phony numbers bank to trap prominent mobster Frank Cassell (Joseph Mascolo). In his off hours, Baretta romantically pursues the lovely Sharon Fowler (Madlyn Rhue), whom he wants to marry despite her protests that living together is the way to go. Tragically, their relationship is literally terminated when Sharon is killed by Cassell's hired thugs. Throwing "police procedure" in the wastebasket, the grieving Baretta vows to take his own personal revenge against Cassell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Future Rocky supporting player Burt Young guest stars as Willy, the mentally challenged friend of undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake). Though he'd like to spend more time with Willy, Baretta must first solve a series of bizarre burglaries. As the evidence mounts up, Baretta comes to the uncomfortable conclusion that Willy himself may be involved in the crimes. The title of this episode refers to the song heard during the credits of Baretta, sung by Sammy Davis Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Baretta (Robert Blake) is marked for death after fatally wounding a drug pusher named Coppelli (Joe Stefano). It turns out that the dead man had a teenaged brother named Niki (John Friedrich), an unbalanced youth with a psychotic dedication to family honor. As Niki moves in for the kill, Baretta, not wishing to shed any more blood, attempts to deflect the boy from his murderous plans. ~ 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

Undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) may be at home on the Mean Streets, but he is totally out of his element amongst the rich and privileged. Nonetheless, Baretta is forced to "invade" an upscale village community, in search of a missing heiress. One thing is certain to the hero: Bad guys are bad guys, no matter how much they have in their bank accounts. With this episode, Season One of Baretta came to an end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

According to police records, paroled female convict Virginia Marriott (Ann Coleman) has committed suicide. Thus, when Virginia's parole officer sees the girl, very much alive, wandering near the harbor, he is amazed. But not for long: The officer is promptly murdered, bringing maverick undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) into the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Self-reliant 14-year-old Coley (Kevin Burchett) inherits a valuable gold mine from his otherwise luckless father. Having spent most of his life being rejected by the adult world, Coley suddenly finds himself in the middle of a custody tug-of-war between his long-estranged mother Margaret Claybourne (Patricia Smith) and his greedy uncle Caleb Melton (Dana Elcar). The Cartwrights' efforts to help the boy choose between his mother and uncle are stymied by the fact that Coley hates both potential guardians with equal fervor. Originally telecast on April 20, 1969, "Speak No Evil" was written by B.W. Sandefur and Norman Katkov. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As if in some way Billy Wilder sensed that Buddy Buddy would ultimately turn out to be his final feature film, Wilder lets loose scatter-shot stingers at a wide range of pop-culture targets -- from sex clinics, to 60 Minutes, to movie references, to disco, to Betamax video recorders. Based on Francis Veber and Edouard Molinaro's L'emmerdeur (known in the United States as A Pain in the A. . .), Buddy Buddy concerns the unlikely pairing of a gruff hitman and a suicidal klutz. Walter Matthau plays a professional killer going by the name of Trabucco, who is on his way to rub out gangster Rudy "Disco" Gambola (Fil Formicola), set to testify against the mob. As Trabucco heads off to a hotel across the street from the courthouse where he plans to set his hit, he runs into the depressed Victor Clooney (Jack Lemmon), who laments the fact that his wife has left him for the head of a weird Californian sex clinic. Trabucco keeps walking and sets up his rifle in a hotel room. He is disturbed by Victor trying to hang himself in the adjoining hotel room and tries to prevent him from killing himself by restraining him, but Victor breaks loose and climbs onto the ledge of the hotel window. To get Victor to come back in, he agrees to drive him to the clinic to see his wife. The two go to the clinic where Victor's wife Celia (Paula Prentiss) informs Victor that she is in love in the head of the clinic, quack Dr. Zuckerbrot (Klaus Kinski). When Victor finds out that Celia is filing for divorce, he heads back to the hotel to kill himself, with Celia and Dr. Zuckerbrot in pursuit. Arriving at the hotel, they plan to inject Victor with a sedative but stick Trabucco with the needle instead. Trabucco reveals to Victor his assignment to kill Rudy, and Victor tries to help him with the killing. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide