Paul Fix Movies

Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) is startled when his former lover Aurora (Ana Alicia), whom he assumed to be dead, turns up very much alive on the Celestra, the Galactica support vessel helmed by Commander Kronus (Paul Fix). Urged on by Aurora, who claims that Kronus is a cruel dictator, Starbuck joins Apollo (Richard Hatch) in fomenting a mutiny against the Commander. But is Kronus truly as villainous as Aurora claims? "Take the Celestra" was later combined with the Battlestar Galactica episode "The Long Patrol" and reissued as the two-hour "TV movie" Space Casanova. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Louise Lasser, who wrote the script, stars in this made-for-TV comedy as a flaky New Yorker who finds romance with a staid computer salesman when the two are thrust together on a cross-country trip. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Long before Dr. Richard Kimble's one-armed man, there was Dr. Sam Sheppard's "curly-headed man." On July 4, 1954, Dr. Sheppard's wife was found murdered in their Cleveland home. Sheppard, the prime suspect, insisted that he'd seen a man with curly hair fleeing from his home. No matter: he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. His road to salvation was paved by columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, who revealed that the presiding judge was convinced of Sheppard's guilt before the trial even started. Further revelations proved that Sheppard's trial was, in the words of one Federal Court, a "mockery of justice." After 10 years, thanks to the efforts of attorney F. Lee Bailey, an embittered Sheppard was set free. But Sheppard, who'd had a reputation as a "short fuse" even before his wife was killed, was unable to adjust to freedom, nor was his reputation restored in the eyes of those who still believed him guilty. After a disastrous second marriage, Sheppard tried to eke out a living as a professional wrestler. He died in 1970 at the age of 46. The 150-minute TV movie Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case does not presume to decide the guilt or innocence of Sheppard; rather, it traces the disintegration of an already troubled man, as well as his infamous "trial by publicity". George Peppard stars as Sam Sheppard, while Walter McGinn plays F. Lee Bailey and Nina VanPallandt is seen as Sheppard's second wife Ilse Brandt. Guilty or Innocent originally aired on November 17, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The plot of this episode is feuled by a deadly battle of wits between a 12-year-old girl named Julie Todd (Kim Richards) and phony doctor William F. Dunson (Peter Haskell). Julie knows that Dunson, whose real name is James Cooper, has murdered her mother in order to gain access to a fortune hidden on the dead woman's property. In her relentless efforts to expose the killer, Julie may well be impeding the efforts of Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) to investigate the same murder--and in the process, may also be signing her own death warrant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), the Walton men have gathered at the home of Grandpa Walton's elderly sister Martha (Beulah Bondi), whom the government has evicted in so as not to impede construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Although certain authorities have promised to reconsider the eviction, certain others go back on their word--and now the Waltons and the Feds are facing each other down, both sides fully armed. As the lone voice of reason in this standoff, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) does his best to avoid unnecessary bloodshed...only to be the first one caught in the crossfire! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A former friend betrays a legendary outlaw in Sam Peckinpah's final Western. Holed up in Fort Sumner with his gang between cattle rustlings, Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson) ignores the advice of comrade-turned-lawman Pat Garrett (James Coburn) to escape to Mexico, and he winds up in jail in Lincoln, New Mexico. After Billy theatrically escapes, inspiring enigmatic Lincoln resident Alias (Bob Dylan) to join him, the governor (Jason Robards Jr.) and cattle baron Chisum (Barry Sullivan) requisition Garrett to form a posse and hunt him down. Rather than flee to Mexico when he can, Billy heads back to Fort Sumner, meeting his final destiny at the hands of his friend Pat, who, two decades later, is forced to face the consequences of his own Faustian pact with progress. With a script by Rudolph Wurlitzer, Peckinpah uses the historical basis of Billy's death to eulogize the West dreamily yet violently as it is desecrated by corrupt capitalists. Both Pat and Billy know that their time is passing, as surely as Garrett's posse knows that they are participating in a legend. Using familiar Western players like Slim Pickens and Katy Jurado, Peckinpah underscores the West's existence as a media myth, and he even appears himself as a coffin maker. Just as the bloodletting of Peckinpah's earlier The Wild Bunch (1969) invoked the Vietnam War, the casting of Kristofferson and Dylan alluded to the chaotic late '60s/early '70s present; the counterculture has little place in a corporate future. Also like The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett was truncated by its studio; the cuts did nothing to help its box office. Key scenes, particularly the framing story of Garrett's fate, have since been restored to the home-video version. In this director's cut, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid stands as one of Peckinpah's most beautiful and complex films, killing the Western myth even as he salutes it. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Venerable character actor Paul Fix guests in this episode as Wade Tillman, a self-styled septugenarian Robin Hood. Outraged at the isurmountable medical bills facing himself and his fellow nursing-home residents, Tillman resorts to robbery and extortion to buck the system. Within its usual "cops and robbers" framework, this episode makes a strong case for the rights and dignity of senior citizens in an increasingly youth-oriented society. Featured in the cast are such familiar Hollywood "seniors" as John Qualen, Ruth McDevitt, and 89-year-old Burt Mustin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Giant Flesh-Eating Rabbits Ravage American Southwest After Scientist Slips Up! Such is the plot of this unintentionally campy horror outing. The trouble begins when a researcher's experiment to use hormone injections to control Arizona's burgeoning rabbit population goes terribly awry, causing the cuddly rodents to grow to enormous proportions. In order to facilitate their growth, the rabbits need extra protein, and what better source than the relatively slow-moving human population that surrounds their huge subterranean lairs? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this western, an outlaw anxiously awaits the arrival of his betrothed, who is under the false impression that her fiancé is worth a fortune. Unfortunately, the fellow has earned nothing during his stint in the West. Desperate to keep her, he begins plotting the theft of a Mexican bandit's loot. But before he can, he will need a Gatling gun. He knows a man who has one, but the gun owner refuses to part with it unless the outlaw agrees to find him a woman. The outlaw then kidnaps a likely candidate from a stage coach. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize that the woman is a colonel's wife. Later as he is hauling his heavy gun, he runs into the colonel who is looking for his missing wife. A shoot out ensues and things look bleak for the outlaw until the colonel's wife intervenes and suggests to her husband that since he is about to retire, he ought to allow the fellow to take the chance and try to pull off the heist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Zabriskie Point, director Michelangelo Antonioni's only American film, is an unusual, visually stunning examination of youthful rebellion against the Establishment. The film, initially presented in quasi-documentary style, presents a group of college activists discussing key issues of their political agenda. Mark (Mark Frechette) steals an airplane and flies over a desert where he meets Daria (Daria Halprin). She is the pot-smoking secretary to businessman Lee Allen (Rod Taylor), while he is a rebel searching for a worthy cause. In the midst of the arid surroundings, Mark and Daria fall in love. Antonioni's nonrealistic approach to American counterculture myths, his loose and sluggish narrative, and the dialogue (credited to Fred Gardner, Sam Shepard, Tonino Guerra, Clare Peploe, and Antonioni) caused Zabriskie Point to be poorly received when it was first released. The score features songs from Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Kaleidoscope, The Rolling Stones, John Fahey, The Youngbloods and Patti Page. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

After pulling off a jewel heist, four thieves headed by John Elgin (Steve Ihnat) escape to a ghost town in the desert. It isn't hard for Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to follow the criminals' trail, but arresting them is another matter: The thieves have rounded up eight townspeople as hostages. When all is said and done, the fate of the prisoners is in the hands of a youngster named Josh Cobb (Clint Howard), who happens to own a ham radio--and knows how to use it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carri Sturgis (Jewel Blanch), a young friend of Ben Cartwright's adopted son Jamie, lives in terror under the cruel supervision of her Aunt Vella (Madeleine Sherwood) and Uncle Gifford (William Bramley). Inasmuch as the couple hates children, Jamie can't understand why they so desperately desire custody of Carri. Before long, the truth is revealed: The girl is heir to her late grandfather's gold mine. Also in the cast are Paul Fix as Buford and Peggy Rea as Clara. Written by B.W. Sandefur, "For a Young Lady" initially aired on December 27, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide