Kaz Garas
Based on an actual incident at the University of Virginia Medical Center, this made-for-TV drama stars Melissa Gilbert and Rosanna Arquette as Sarah and Linda, two expectant mothers who give birth on the same day in the same hospital. It is not until 18 months after the two women had contentedly gone home with the babies that a DNA test proves the infants were switched at birth thanks to a hospital snafu. Although Sarah and Linda both elect to keep the babies that they've grown to love, they reach an unusual compromise that has profound (and not entirely positive) effects on their respective families and friends -- leading, inevitably, to a heated courtroom battle. Originally telecast by CBS under the title Two Babies: Switched at Birth on November 24, 1999, the film has since been released to video as Mistaken Identity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
- 1997
Everyone in the ER is on call after a devastating accident involving a police car and a school bus. Carol (Julianna Margulies) may lose her job thanks to the accusations of a drugged-up patient whom she found sprawled in the bathroom in a pool of blood. In trying to stem another patient's bleeding, Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) may have exposed him to AIDs. Greene's (Anthony Edwards) bedside manner deteriorates as his domestic problems increase. And Al (Michael Beach) is fired after revealing that he is HIV-positive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on a popular novel by Judith Krantz, this sudsy romantic drama features a prominent photographer who heads to Gay Paree, unaware that greedy family members are plotting to bilk her father out of his valuable ranch land. Love blossoms in the City of Light when she encounters a fellow picture taker. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Hartman, Cliff Robertson, (more)
- 1995
Joe Dante's original Piranha (1979) was a small gem, a clever parody of and homage to the numerous eco-kill pictures which followed in the wake of Jaws (1975). It featured a witty script by then little-known screenwriter John Sayles (Lone Star) and a great cast including Paul Bartel, Dick Miller, and Barbara Steele. This made-for-cable remake, however, is an abomination. It was as if director Scott Levy set out to make the original, scene-by-scene, only without benefit of a good cast and script. Screenwriter Alex Simon seems to have intentionally removed any trace of the sly, knowing humor of Sayles in favor of maudlin stock dialogue mouthed by mannequin-like drones. William Katt delivers a tedious performance which makes Bradford Dillman's work in the first Piranha look like art, and the sluggish Alexandra Paul's female lead is only a shadow of Heather Menzies, which is pretty difficult to imagine. The makeup by John Carl Buechler can't hold a candle to the craftsmanship of Rob Bottin's work in the original, either. About the only thing this disaster has going for it is a fairly interesting song called "Killer Mutant Piranhas," performed over the closing credits by Uncle Dog Food. The rest of the film is like watching a dull summary of the original rather than a real movie. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, Alexandra Paul, (more)
- 1993
- R
Director Cirio Santiago plays a cameo in his own Fast Gun. Contrary to expectations, the film is not a western but an espionager. An ex-CIA "spook" -- a man assigned to infiltrate enemy strongholds -- becomes unhinged when the department lets him go. Arming himself to the teeth, he takes over a small town. Only one man is willing to stand up to the former spy, and that man has a history of his own.Kaz Garas is the most recognizable name among the cast members of Fast Gun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Chronic gambler Jim Sullivan (Frank Marth) is in danger of losing the foster home that owns to gambling-ring kingpin Johnny Royce (Edward Winter). The A-Team agrees to help Sullivan, with Face (Dirk Benedict) posing as a notorious New Jersey hoodlum in order to infiltrate Royce's operation. Elsewhere, Hannibal (George Peppard) attempts to beat Royce at his own game with some "special" casino equipment--and even manages to bring the Army to the rescue by dangling a carrot (figuratively speaking, of course) in front of his perennial nemesis Col. Decker (Lance LeGault). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- R
In a story of one woman's revenge against a gang of brutal rapists, Carla Harris (Deborah Tranelli) makes Rambo look like the Easter Bunny. After her husband is killed when he comes to the aid of a woman under assault, Carla leaves New York City and goes to stay with her parents in California. A group of local men badger her for dates; when she puts them off with increasingly sharp comments, they plot an attack against her. Waiting until she is alone at home one night, the men subject her to gang rape and kill both her parents (and a repairman) when they return home unexpectedly. Carla then begins a series of bloody, revenge-motivated killings that eventually take her back to New York City for the final round of bullets. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Tranelli, Kaz Garas, (more)
- 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
- R
This action film about a Vietnam vet and his fight against corruption in a small town is a variation on Final Mission by Cirio Santiago. Deke Porter (Richard Hill) gets a call from Elaine, his good buddy Marty's wife, who tearfully asks him for help because Marty has died in an automobile accident. Once he arrives in town, Deke is set upon by the local citizens; marijuana growers who want their business kept quiet. After Elaine's house is burned down, Deke escapes and decides to call up reinforcements from his army days, and the combat begins. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Crofton Hardester
- 1984
Nervous Norman Willis (Mike Genovese) is an aptly named racketeer who becomes even more nervous than usual when he loses his "little black book", which contains evidence of all his crooked dealings. As it happens, the book is in the possession of Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach), who has picked it up by mistake while gathering together her little-theater rehearsal notes. Pursued by Nervous Norman's minions, Daisy hides out at the home of lovestruck deputy Enos (Sonny Stroyer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Taking over the Boars' Nest, a team of armed robbers take everyone in the establishment hostage, then post a fake evacuation notice to clear the rest of town. The crooks' plan is to heist an armored truck, and they don't plan to leave any witnesses behind. If they want to save their collective hides, captives Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle) and Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) must forget their feud long enough to formulate a plan of escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
A ship pulls into San Francisco with a most unsual cargo: a dog collar containing a fortune in diamond. Smuggler Paul Weber (George Dzundza) is determined to get his hands on those diamonds, even if it means committing murder at a high-profile dog show held at San Francisco's Cow Palace. This was the final episode of Streets of San Francisco to be filmed, but not the last one to be telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this adventure, the Amazon super-hero recovers stolen top-secret documents and brings a dangerous spy to justice. This was the pilot to the television series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
San Francisco is held in thrall by a professional arsonist who burns down businesses for insurance purposes. Detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) enter the story when one of the arsonist's assignments results in the deaths of two firefighters. A number of Streets of San Francisco "repeat offenders" make guest appearances in this episode, including Barry Sullivan and Kaz Garas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Several women have been strangled in the Bay Area--and the two chief suspects were spotted wearing uniforms of the U.S. Air Force. Going undercover as a USAF officer, Keller (Michael Douglas) tries to figure out which of the two suspects (Dennis Cole, Kaz Garas), both highly decorated colonels, is the guilty party...or if the actual culprit is someone else entirely. Most of this episode was filmed on location at Travis Air Force Base in California. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) must prevent grieving father Robert Hobbs (Ed Nelson) from taking the law in his own hands. Hobbs' son was murdered by Artis Pierce (Kaz Garas), who unfortunately was released on a technicality. Now nothing can stop Hobbs from exacting his own brand of vengeance--and making himself a murderer in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This sequel to the rampaging-rodent chiller Willard stars Lee H. Montgomery as young Danny Garrison, a neglected kid who finds a new little friend in Ben -- an intelligent rat whose furry minions managed to slaughter most of the cast of the previous film. Proving that one can't teach an old rat new tricks -- just variations on the old ones -- Ben displays his affection for Danny by directing his posse to off anyone who torments him... in the sweetest possible way, of course, since this is a PG-rated endeavor. This film's reputation was secured primarily by the inclusion of Michael Jackson's saccharine title tune, which seems to resonate more profoundly when regarded as a love song for a big greasy rat. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Montgomery, Joseph Campanella, (more)
- 1972
Officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord) goes undercover in hopes of smashing a particularly venal drug ring. He receives unexpected assistance from drug-addicted folksinger Kathy Royal, played by future General Hospital diva Leslie Charleson. Also in the cast is jazz musician-cum-actor Bobby Troup, who less than two weeks after this episode originally aired would emerge as a regular on another Jack Webb-produced series, Emergency! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Working undercover, Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway) infiltrates the gang responsible for the kidnapping of the daughter (Kay Lenz) of a famous movie actress (Barbara Rush). Curiously, in his efforts to secure the girl's release, Ed's boss Ironside (Raymond Burr) encounters a stunning lack of cooperation from both the victim's mother and her overbearing business manager (Richard Anderson). Meanwhile, Ed finds out that the kidnapping was an "inside job" and that the abductors have been given strict orders not to hurt the blindfolded girl--but one of the gang members (Kaz Garas) has other ideas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Ed Nelson guest stars as Vinnie Paquette, a war hero fallen upon hard times. Hoping to recapture some of his past glory, Vinnie gets mixed up in a high-stakes jewel robbery. This episode is capped by a thrilling helicopter chase, filmed high above California's Antelope Valley. Featured in the cast is Lee Meriwether, who'd been seen during the first season of The F.B.I as the erstwhile girlfriend of Inspector Lew Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
The City was the pilot film for the brief Anthony Quinn TV series Man and the City. Quinn joined such movie luminaries as Jimmy Stewart and Shirley MacLaine in migrating to the small screen for the 1971-72 season--unsuccessfully, as it turned out. He portrays Thomas Jefferson Alcala, the progressive mayor of an unspecified Southwestern city (the film was shot in Albuquerque). Future MASH regular Mike Farrell is also on hand as Mayor Alcala's conservative aide. The City finds Hizzoner tackling urban problems, a theme carried over to the Man and the City series itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- PG
In this romance, a composer and a French film star, both of whom are married to others, meet and fall in love while shooting a film in the United States. The two illicit lovers begin touring the country together and enjoying the sights with particular emphasis on Monument Valley and Las Vegas. The actress begins to feel guilty and confesses all to her husband on the phone. She and the composer then decide to end the affair. Later they reunite and decide that they will rendezvous in Nice. She goes there, but her lover never arrives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Annie Girardot, (more)
- 1968
In the opening episode of The F.B.I.'s fourth season, Inspector Lew Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and his assistant Tom Colby (William Reynolds) go undercover to trap master spy Lorenz Tabor (Louis Jourdan). Ingredients essential to the intrigue are a bus ticket, a cryptanalysis, and a dead man's hearing aid, which is actually a miniature "holding tank" for top-secret microfilm. Featured in the cast are Nancy Kovack, later the wife of symphony conductor Zubin Mehta, and future Hill Street Blues costar James Sikking. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Gilchrist (Stewart Granger) is a big-game hunter who loses his courage after his friend is killed by a charging elephant. Casey (Kaz Garas) is an American tourist who hires Gilchrist to guide him on a safari. Gilchrist refuses to take the job but elects to track down the animal in an attempt to regain his nerve. Instead, Casey gladly accompanies the guide on his quest to track down the animal. Face to face with the charging pachyderm Casey has the elephant in his sight, but realizes that Gilchrist is the one who must pull the trigger. The two men level their guns as the enraged elephant makes a final charge. The beauty of Kenya is captured in the outdoor scenes that include exotic wildlife in their natural environment in this routine jungle adventure. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kaz Garas, Stewart Granger, (more)
