Richard Gilliland Movies

With the Jerry Zucker-Jim Abrahams-David Zucker team absent, this sequel to the cash-cow 1980 spoof Airplane once again finds garrulous man-with-a-past Ted Striker (Robert Hays) compelled to take over the controls of crippled aircraft, all the while trying to patch up his relationship with stewardess Elaine (Julie Hagerty). This time, the first passenger space shuttle is launched into orbit -- and takes off for the moon - but the on-board computer malfunctions and sends the craft hurtling toward the sun, threatening the lives of everyone on board. Lloyd Bridges and Peter Graves return from the first Airplane, while William Shatner, Chad Everett, Sonny Bono, Raymond Burr and Chuck Conners join the cast, as they too lampoon their established images. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) receives word that her husband Curt, reported killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, is actually alive and living in Florida. Rushing to her husband's side, Mary Ellen is shocked when Curt claims not to recognize her--and even more so when, after admitting that he is indeed her husband, he urges her to divorce him, explaining that the war has left him only "half a man." How will this disturbing turn of events affect Mary Ellen's relationship with Jonesy (Richard Gilliland), the new man in her life? And back on Walton's Mountain, Erin quits her job in a huff when the Jonesy is promoted over her just because he's a man. Scott Hylands appears in this episode as Curt Willard, replacing former series regular Tom Bower for the first (and last) time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this disaster movie, eight people stranded on a bridge find their lives jeopardized after a collision has caused the unstable structure to collapse. One of the eight is a bank robber on the lam. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Life in the Pink is the syndication title of the pilot film for the TV series Operation Petticoat. Based on the 1959 movie of the same name, the series detailed the adventures of a jerry-built submarine in World War II. In the pilot, the sub's crew rescues five Army nurses from a remote Pacific isle. The ladies return the favor by virtually taking over the sub, eventually painting it pink. While this TV movie does not follow the film version scene for scene, it resurrects some of the earlier picture's best gags, including the torpedoing of a jeep. John Astin both directed this film and starred as the sub commander. Way down the cast list as a nurse was Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Tony Curtis, who costarred with Cary Grant in the original Operation Petticoat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although it remained a rotating component of The NBC Sunday Mystery Movie (along with Columbo, McCloud, Quincy, M.E., and Lanigan's Rabbi), McMillan and Wife underwent quite a few remarkable changes for its sixth and final season on the air. To begin with, the series' title has been shortened to McMillan, reflecting the departure of star Susan Saint James. It is explained that the actress' character, Sally McMillan, has been killed in a plane accident, leaving her husband, San Francisco police commissioner Stewart "Mac" McMillan, a widower. Evidently this tragedy had occurred quite some time before the beginning of season six, given that Mac is showing no signs of grief and has even begun seeing other women. Also missing is Nancy Walker as Mac's housekeeper Mildred; her replacement is Martha Raye, playing Mildred's sister Agatha. And while John Schuck is still on hand as Mac's police assistant Charles Enright, Charles has been promoted from sergeant to lieutenant, his customary duties taken over by Sgt. Steve Dimaggio, a new character played by Richard Gilliland. Likewise new to the series are Gloria Stroock as Mac's secretary Maggie, and Bill Quinn in the recurring role of Chief Paulsen. The first of the season's six 90-minute episodes is "All Bets Off," in which Mac tries to track down some diamonds stolen from his current girlfriend in Las Vegas. In "Dark Sunrise," Mac, presumed killed in an explosion, uses his "death" to cover his tracks while investigating the matter. "Phillip's Game" pits Mac against an egotistical hit man who brazenly announces his crimes before committing them. In "Coffee, Tea, or Cyanide?," Mac investigates as several passengers die mysteriously during a cross-country flight. "Affair of the Heart" finds Mac crossing swords with an attractive deputy DA (Stefanie Powers). And in the series' final episode, "Have You Heard About Vanessa?" Mac reconstructs the events leading up to the suicide of a model (Joanna Cameron) who seemed to have everything. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The last gasp of gimmick-horror auteur William Castle (who produced and co-wrote), Bug is an entertaining throwback to the mutant-monsters-amok theme of the 1950s (themselves throwbacks of another kind) that he found so profitable. The film stars Bradford Dillman as a kinder, gentler mad scientist who discovers the presence of a bizarre strain of mutant cockroach emerging from the earth after a severe earthquake. Although larger than the average beetle, the most disturbing aspect of the critters is their innate ability to ignite fires with their bodies -- a talent dramatically revealed after a few of the bugs crawl up a vehicle's tailpipe. When Dillman discovers that the creatures possess a group intelligence, he attempts to train and breed them -- which proves to be less than a good idea. In Castle's heyday, this would have proven an ideal theme for one of his patented gimmicks (perhaps having little rubber bugs drop from the ceiling onto unsuspecting patrons at appropriate moments), but director Jeannot Szwarc (who later helmed Jaws 2 and the hankie-fest Somewhere in Time) plays the story straight, with remarkably chilling results. This is also remarkably violent for a mainstream PG film (particularly in the scene where Bad Seed Patty McCormack's hair is ignited by the six-legged arsonists) with a downbeat ending typical of many horror movies of the '70s. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide