John Ericson
- 1989
- R
In this actioner a tough Vietnam vet must get his group of crack commandos back together and return to the jungle after an ambassador's wife is kidnapped and taken deep into the Laotian jungles by a crazed drug czar. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Revenge and violence are the key motifs in this action film by Philippine director Cirio Santiago). Vince (Richard Young) is a Vietnam vet who has been a shade too brutal in his handling of some petty thieves. His actions rankle the murderous minds of the thieves, and they exact revenge by blowing up Vince's pleasure boat with his wife and child on board. Now fueled with hatred, Vince not only goes after the killers, but with the help of a military friend, he determines who it was that supplied the technical, explosive know-how to the punks who blew up the boat. It seems Vince had an enemy during the Vietnam war who is in league with the murderous thieves. Once the two sides have been defined, a kind of mini-war results. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Young, John Ericson, (more)
- 1985
Over the protests of several local residents, shady tycoon Henderson Wheatley (John Ericson) intends to build a high-rise hotel in Cabot Cove. During excavation, a set of bones comes to surface, supposedly belonging to Revolutionary war hero Joshua Peabody. Almost immediately, those who oppose the hotel insist that the land be consecrated as a national monument, while others insist that those aren't Peabody's bones at all. Whatever the case, it soon develops that the centuries-old remains are those of a murder victim--and before long, Wheatley himself is murdered. William Windom makes his first series appearance as Dr. Seth Hazlitt, an old friend of heroine Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury)...and a likely suspect in the killing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
It's off to Wilson County, Texas for the A-Team, at the behest of young businesswoman Jackie Taylor (Janice Heiden). It seems that Jackie is being forced to marry Calvin Cutter (John Ericson), her late husband's former partner--and the man whom Jackie suspects of murdering her dad. In order to effect the team's traditional last-minute rescue, a flustered Face (Dirk Benedict) is forced to don wig and gown and substitute for the bride (and guess who pops out of the wedding cake)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- PG
In this uninspired attempt at teen comedy, Tim (Michael Biehn) has returned home in disgrace as far as his dad is concerned -- he was expelled from his military academy. The next thing Tim knows he is fighting off a gang of bikers that are terrorizing the high schoolers, and worse yet, he is falling for "The Bull's" girlfriend Angie (Patti D'Arbanville). The Bull (Tony Rosato) whose name belies, of all things, an okay guy underneath all that leather and severely mangled diction, is the leader of the bikers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Biehn, Patti D'Arbanville, (more)
- 1978
In this horror film, a sinister mortician has other plans for his customers besides the customary burial. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- PG
This low-budget horror anthology from Oklahoma presents a quartet of eerie tales, told by a strange mortician (Ivor Francis) to a young man on the run from his lover's irate husband (John Ericson). The tales involve a crotchety old woman whose hatred of children sparks an attack from a group of homicidal kids; a "Spy vs. Spy" detective story; a foul-tempered curmudgeon who gets his violent comeuppance in a grim variation on "A Christmas Carol"; and a serial killer with a penchant for photography a la Peeping Tom. Young Ericson's sins are not forgotten either, as we learn at the film's creepy climax. A passable home-grown omnibus, comparable with the similarly themed Chillers or Screams of a Winter Night. Released to video as House of the Dead. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ericson, Charles Aidman, (more)
- 1976
- R
A handful of women learn how to serve up both sex and violence in this wartime action drama. During World War II, American officer Maj. Stony Stonewall (John Erickson) has been given a difficult assignment -- military intelligence has discovered a number of top Japanese leaders will be meeting on an island in the Philippines for a secret strategy session, and it's his job to infiltrate the island and kill as many of the Japanese brass as possible. Stonewall isn't sure how to get a battalion of soldiers on the island without tipping his hand, so he comes up with a different plan -- there's a brothel for Japanese officers on the island, so why not fill it with prostitutes sympathetic to the Allied cause? Stonewall recruits tough-as-nails convict Rose (Nory Wright), Sonya (Liza Lorena), who was raped by Japanese troops, mob-connected streetwalker Cindy Lee (Lynda Sinclaire) and Anna (Johanna Raunio), who has learned she doesn't have long to live. The women are given a crash course in guerilla military skills and sent to the island as sex workers, waiting for their opportunity to exact revenge against the Japanese leaders. Hustler Squad was a rare English language directorial credit from Philippine filmmaker Cesar Gallardo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In one of his last TV roles, Sam Jaffe guest stars as Alex Zubatuk, a retired cobbler. When Zubatuk comes forth and confesses to a killing, detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) are reluctant to take the old man at face value. And for good reason: what the viewer knows (but the detectives don't) is that the meek, self-deprecating Mr. Zubatuk is taking the rap to protect the grandson of his best friend Victor Karlinsky (Victor Karlinsky). The real killer is played by prolific character actor Zooey Hall, here billed as David Z. Hall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Having portrayed a career criminal who embarked upon a robbery spree for the sake of her young son in an earlier FBI episode, Penny Fuller essays a similar role herein as female crime boss Della Marot. In an abrupt about-face, Della informs her fiancee that she's going to quit the rackets in order to be a "real mom" to her young daughter. But she may not get the chance: Not only is the FBI breathing down Della's neck, but she also faces the wrath of her former Mob associates. Featured as Della's preteen daughter Cindy is Erin Moran of Happy Days fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
The Bounty Man is Clint Walker, back in the saddle some nine years after the cancellation of his TV series Cheyenne. Walker is hired to bring in his quarry dead or alive, and in the past has had no qualms about choosing the latter option. Now he is in competition with hard-bitten Richard Basehart in tracking down a young murderer (John Ericson)--and now he begins to ask himself questions about the morality of his profession. Though there's no authentication of this opinion, The Bounty Man sure looks like a series pilot. It was originally telecast October 21, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Bedknobs and Broomsticks was produced several years after Walt Disney's death and released in the fall of 1971. As it turned out, Bedknobs was frequently compared to Mary Poppins -- probably thanks to several striking similarities between the two productions, notably the presence in the cast of David Tomlinson, the use of two cockney children as central characters, and the inclusion of sequences that combine animation and live-action. Set in wartime England, Bedknobs stars Angela Lansbury as Eglantine Price, a would-be witch who hopes to use her newly acquired conjuring powers to forestall a Nazi invasion. Saddled with three surly kids who've been evacuated from London, Lansbury wins over her charges by performing various and sundry feats of magic. And, yes, she manages to foil a few Germans along the way. The film's most famous episode is an elaborate undersea fantasy, which combines animation with live-action on a gargantuan scale, dwarfing all previous Disney sequences along these lines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, (more)
- 1970
Tina Louise guest stars as Candy, a pretty cocktail waitress who hitches a ride from Ironside's aide Mark (Don Mitchell). What Mark doesn't know is that Candy is the accomplice of a wanted criminal, and that she is looking for a fall guy to take the rap for a recent robbery. The trouble really begins, however, when Candy unexpectedly grows fond of her "patsy" Mark--just as her partner-in-crime returns to the scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
The Money Jungle is an innovative mystery concerning some greedy oil companies in competition to secure off-shore drilling rights. Detective Blake Heller (John Ericson) is the hard drinking sleuth hired by the oil companies to try and keep the proceedings above board. He contends with a group that opposes the proposal and later finds there are elements against him in the very organization that hired him. Blake goes to local police lieutenant Dow Reeves (Nehemiah Persoff) when geologists start dropping like flies after being gunned down. Comedian Don Rickles stars in the straight role of crooked oilman Harry Darkwater in this offbeat detective story. Lola Albright croons two songs in her role as a gold-digging nightclub singer who turns out to be the ex-wife of one of the oil barons and owns lots of stock in the company. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ericson, Lola Albright, (more)
- 1968
The FBI launches a search for Curtis Stone (Roy Poole), a sleazy extortionist who preys upon the families of servicemen. There is someone else anxious to catch up with Stone: Sgt. Paul Devlin (John Ericson), whose wife committed suicide while he was in Vietnam. Holding Stone responsible for his wife's death, Devlin is determined to mete out his own brand of retribution--and Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is equally determined to prevent the embittered Devlin from becoming a murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
National Intelligence Agent Dan Street (Richard Egan) is on the trail of some stolen laser rubies. It is assumed the agents will come after the raygun itself for their evil purposes. Count Romano (Michael Ansara) is the swimsuit-import mogul who tries to keep his head from going under while working for the enemy agents. The key to the mystery lies with Dutch (John Ericson), a Korean War veteran who fell into the hands of the brainwashing communists. Patricia Owens is Dan's love interest in this plodding suspense film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Egan, Patricia Owens, (more)
- 1968
A veteran cast gives the 1968 cheapie The Bamboo Saucer what little credibility it has. In his last role, Dan Duryea plays the head man of an expeditionary force in search of a missing UFO. Since the craft was last sighted in the mountains of Red China, the search takes on political significance. Duryea's American team is eventually forced to align itself with a similarly-purposed group of Soviet researchers (this being a 1968 film, the real bad guys are the Red Chinese). Lois Nettelton has some wonderfully campy moments as a Russian scientist. Bamboo Saucer was produced by Jerry Fairbanks, of "Speaking of Animals" and "Crusader Rabbit" fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Duryea, John Ericson, (more)
- 1967
Visiting the Blackwell farm, Joe Cartwright is aghast to learn that his friend Tom Blackwell (Jason Evers) has turned to crime. Enter a gang of outlaws, who hold Joe, Blackwell's wife Ellie Sue (Elizabeth Rogers) and the couple's son captive, thereby forcing Mrs. Blackwell to tend to the injuries of wounded outlaw boss Wade Hollister (John Ericson). Joel Murcott wrote the teleplay for this nail-biting drama. "Journey to Terror" was first telecast on February 5, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1965
Operation Atlantis is the American title for this obscure Italian spy flick. John Ericson is the token American "name" star, playing a Bond-like secret agent. Ericson is sent to Africa to investigate recent sabotage attacks. He runs up against a modern-day Captain Nemo, operating from an underwater nerve center. Maria Granada costar as the obligatory love interest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
While posing as "Ben Horton", Kimble (David Janssen) is hired by Norma Sessions (Angie Dickinson) to look after her brother Leslie (Robert Duvall), a reclusive, embittered invalid. Someone getting through to the truculent Leslie, Kimble wins the man's trust and friendship. Meanwhile, Norma and her boyfriend Lars (John Ericson) hatch a scheme to murder Leslie for his insurance money--and pin the blame on Kimble. (Trivia alert: David Janssen and Angie Dickinson later costarred in the highly regarded 1977 TV movie A Sensitive Passionate Man, while Dickinson and Robert Duvall had both previously appeared in the 1963 Gregory Peck vehicle Captain Newman, M.D.). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Tony Randall has the showcase of a lifetime in the marvelous George Pal production The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao. We first see Randall as Dr. Lao, an enigmatic Chinese medicine-show impresario. The doctor brings his travelling show into the frontier town of Abalone, which is chafing under the oppression of land-hungry Clint Stark (Arthur O'Connell). Newspaper editor Ed Cunningham (John Ericson) is conducting a campaign of words against Stark, but he is no match for the land baron's money, power, and hulking henchmen. Nonetheless, Cunningham continues his crusade, all the while attempting to romance icy young widow Angela Benedict (Barbara Eden). All of this is observed with bemusement by Dr. Lao, who has already established himself as a man of many talents by alternating between pidgin-English and eloquent articulation, depending on the circumstances. Each of the townspeople--including the three already mentioned--learn a great many truths about themselves when they attend Dr. Lao's unusual circus. In the course of straightening out everyone's problems, Lao metamorphoses into (1) Merlin the Magician, (2) Pan, (3) Medusa, (4) The Abominable Snowman, (5) Apollonius of Tyana and (6) a Talking Serpent. The combined talents of Randall, puppeteer Pal and make-up wizard William J. Tuttle (who won two Special Oscars) resulted in this captivatingly unique entertainment experience. Curiously, Tony Randall is not fond of Seven Faces of Dr.Lao, and refuses to be interviewed on the subject. Perhaps he was unhappy that much of the philosophy dispensed in the original Charles G. Finney novel The Circus of Dr. Lao was weeded out of Charles Beaumont's script....or perhaps he just didn't like having his head shaved for the part. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Randall, Barbara Eden, (more)
