Ed Barth Movies
David Carradine and Kate Jackson spend most of their time peering over dashboards and revving up outboard motors in this extended chase film about moonshiners engaged in a frantic racing contest. Carradine is Harley Thomas, a Florida moonshiner who challenges Ralph Junior (Roger C. Carmel), the father of his girlfriend Nancy Sue Hunnicutt (Kate Jackson), to a competition to determine who can produce the most moonshine. Ralph Junior takes up the challenge and the two adversaries struggle to get the brew from their home stills to thirsty patrons without the cops or the mob trying to confiscate the firewater. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Kate Jackson, (more)
- 1976
More ambitious and expensive than ABC's first "novel for television" miniseries QB VII, the eight-episode, 12-hour Rich Man, Poor Man was the one that truly put the genre on the map, its phenomenal success in the ratings making possible the even more spectacular Roots. Adapted from the mammoth novel by Irwin Shaw, the miniseries covers the years from WWII to the 1960s, detailing the vacillating fortunes of the immigrant Jordache brothers. "Rich Man" Rudy Jordache (Peter Strauss) is determined to use his hard-earned education -- and his inherent ruthlessness -- to carve out a business and political empire not unlike that enjoyed by Joseph P. Kennedy and his progeny. "Poor Man" Tom Jordache (Nick Nolte), a quick-fisted hothead, goes an entirely different route, first as a professional boxer, then as a functionary of the evil gangster chieftain Falconetti (William Smith). Naturally, both brothers become entangled in romance along the way, with Julie Prescott (Susan Blakely) ending up as Rudy's benighted spouse. Originally telecast on February 1, 2, 9, 16, 23, and March 1, 8, and 15 in 1976, Rich Man, Poor Man earned 20 Emmy nominations and led to a weekly sequel, Rich Man, Poor Man -- Book 2, in the fall of 1976 (this version necessitated a title change for the original, which was rebroadcast as Rich Man, Poor Man -- Book 1 in the spring of 1977). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, (more)
- 1975
Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) investigates when the wife of a high-profile attorney is found murdered. It turns out that the dead woman was once a "lady of the evening" -- and that she made several enemies amongst the Syndicate while plying her trade. Hoping to trap the killers, Baretta enlists the aid of his elderly landlord, ex-cop Billy Truman (Tom Ewell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Dana Elcar, (more)
- 1975
This episode was designed as the pilot for a proposed Kojak spinoff, starring Vincent Gardenia) as Lt. Kojak's former NYPD colleague Vince LaGuardia. Now working in Las Vegas, LaGuardia alerts Kojak (Telly Savalas) of his plan to extradite an elderly counterfeiter (Jeff Corey) to Manhattan. When the old man suddenly dies in his jail cell, Vince suspects foul play and launches a search for an unknown hitman. All the while, the veteran cop endeavors to balance his professional life with his personal responsibilities as surrogate father to his nephew Nick (Mike Darnell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
First telecast April 4, 1963, this grim 60-minute Twilight Zone installment would seem to be more suited to Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Thriller. Martin Balsam stars as Martin Senescu, curator of a "chamber of horrors" wax museum. Upon learning that the museum is to be demolished, Martin takes his favorite wax statues -- those of Jack the Ripper, Henri "Bluebeard" Landru, and ax murderer Albert W. Hicks -- to his home, much to the dismay of his wife Emma (Maggie Mahoney). Not long afterward, two brutal murders take place -- and the evidence leads Martin to conclude that the culprits were his beloved wax figures. Though credited to Charles Beaumont, "The New Exhibit" was actually scripted by longtime Beaumont collaborator Jerry Sohl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Balsam, Will Kuluva, (more)
