James Griffith Movies

Pregnant Toronto-based performance artist Stephanie (portrayed by a very pregnant Valerie Buhagiar) accidentally sets labor into motion after a rather rambunctious round of lovemaking with her current boyfriend, Ian (Tom Melissis), whose unsure whether or not he's the baby's dad, but is willing to take on the job if he is. In her resultant giddiness, Stephanie proceeds to gather all of her closest friends and family -- and all their problems and neuroses -- for the much-anticipated event. Included in the birthing party are Anita (Debra McGrath), Stephanie's high-strung older sister and ex-friend of Stephanie's midwife, Julia (Angela Gei); Jack (Karl Pruner), Anita's husband and corporate lawyer big shot, who is beginning to have concerns about his marriage; food photographer and official birth documentarian Gary (Colin Mochrie), who was also a lover of Stephanie's and also wishes to be the baby's father; Dani (Barbara Radecki), who dislikes children and is only present because of a drunken oath she made to Stephanie; and Azaan (Derwin Jordan), Stephanie's neighbor and frequent artistic partner. As Julia arrives on the scene and sets up a birthing tub in the middle of Stephanie's expansive loft, each participant does what he or she can to help the expectant mother comfortably give birth while trying to deal with his or her own personal crises. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Huckleberry Finn joins Tom Sawyer and Jim, a runaway slave, as they escape down the Mississippi River on a raft. ~ All Movie Guide

Fed up with low-quality television programs, John (Randolph Mantooth) stays up all night--for several consecutive nights--to develop his own TV game show. Back on the job, John joins Roy (Kevin Tighe) in treating an ex-jazz singer who may have heart problems. Other emegencies on tonight's docket include a tightrope walker who is trapped between two tall buildings, and a multiple-injury incident caused by a careless driver. This final episode of Emergency!'s sixth season is also the series' last hour-long episode; thereafter, the program would resurface in the form of six movie-length "specials", spread out over the next two years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously seen on Streets of San Francisco as a Latino cop determined to purge his old barrio neighborhood of drug pushers, A Martinez appears in this episode in the radically different role of a hapless illegal alien named Rudy Costa. During a raid by immigration officials, a security guard is murdered, and Costa is fingered as the killer. As they pursue the fugitive Costa, Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) uncover evidence that their quarry may have been framed. Much of this episode was filmed on location in Napa Valley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having lived most of his life on a farm, Johnny Johnson (Mitch Vogel) sets out to experience what the world has to offer. Mr. Edwards (Victor French) tags along to make sure that Johnny doesn't get in over his head. Even so, Johnny succumbs to the charms of a young barmaid named Mimi (Jane Alice Brandon) -- losing his heart and most of his money in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A septet of settler's children find themselves orphaned and alone following a disaster on the Oregon trail. This fact-based, family-oriented adventure chronicles their cross-country odyssey as they make their way westward. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The doctors at Rampart set their sights on a diabetic patient who, intentionally or otherwise, repeatedly forgets to take his insulin shots. Another crisis situation arises from a frantic phone call from an anonymous woman who claims to have overdosed on drugs. Elsewhere, the team attempts to rescue some valuable horses from a burning stable; a hostage in a bank robbery is given medical treatment literally "under the gun"; and fireman Chet Kelly (Tim Donnelly) tries his hand at guitar playing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vincent Edwards, four years removed from Ben Casey, enters another branch of the healing profession in the made-for-TV Dial Hot Line. Edwards plays Matt Lincoln, a community psychiatrist who is patched into a "hot line" telephone for those troubled souls unable to afford therapy. This TV movie involves three of Lincoln's call-in patients, including one potential suicide. Also featured was future Laugh-In regular Chelsea Brown as Tag, a member of Lincoln's staff. Dial Hot Line later matriculated into the brief Matt Lincoln TV series, with both Vincent Edwards and Chelsea Brown retained from the pilot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Baltic freedom fighter Nikolai Kurzon (Bob Tiedemann) has been kidnapped by Colonel Alex Stahl (Steve Ihnat), leader of the secret police in Kurzon's homeland. To rescue both Kurzon and his thousands of followers, the IMF must make it appear that Stahl has sold out his government. To accomplish this, Cinnamon poses as an astrologer with a remarkable record of accurate predictions. Much of the action takes place on an airplane that, to all appearances, is doomed to crash with Stahl aboard. Originally telecast December 3, 1967, "The Astrologer" was written by James F. Griffith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Model Sharon Camody (Mary Ann Mobley) has an excellent chance of being hired as the spokeswoman for White Snow Soap--so long as she is able to keep her unsavory past a secret from the public. Unfortunately, Sharon is targetted for a shakedown by blackmailer Ed Grover, who subsequently turns up murdered. Convinced that he has killed Grover with his bare hands, Sharon's ex-boxer boyfriend Duke (Paul Lukather) confesses his "crime" to Perry Mason (Raymond Burr)--who is subsequently faced with an ethical dilemma when derelict Jake Stearns (James Griffith) is arrested for the crime. In order to clear Jake, Perry may be forced to turn his own client Grover over to the authorities...a move that will not only ruin Grover's life but Sharon's as well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The action in A Big Hand for the Little Lady centers around a high-stake poker game. The participants include some of the wealthiest men in the West (among them Jason Robards Jr., Kevin McCarthy, Charles Bickford and Paul Ford). Into this rarefied atmosphere trudges impoverished farmer Henry Fonda, who despite the protests of his wife Joanne Woodward plunks down his last dollars to join the game. Halfway through the proceedings, Fonda falls ill. With quiet desperation, Woodward sits down daintily at the table and says in a firm voice, "Gentlemen, how do you play this game?" End of story? Not by a long shot! This O. Henry-style shaggy dog story is based on a Dupont Show of the Week TV presentation Big Deal at Laredo. Keep an eye out for two movie veterans in bit parts: silent screen comic Chester Conklin and 1930's leading lady Mae Clarke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This exploitation film delivers the typically sadistic and fast-paced action expected from cult director Russ Meyer. Alex Rocco stars as veterinarian Corey Maddox, whose wife is raped by a motorcycle gang. The three hoods are led by Brahmin (Stephen Oliver), who was a Section 8 in Vietnam. They kill an old man and terrorize his wife Ruby (Haji) until she gets away and joins up with Maddox. Together, the two of them hunt down the gang. Brahmin shoots one of them himself, Ruby knifes another, and Maddox blows Brahmin to pieces with dynamite during a standoff at an abandoned mine. The rape scenes are brutal, though not explicit, and Meyer (who appears briefly as the local sheriff) leavens the film with enough campy humor to make it inoffensive. It would have been odious in other hands, but Meyer is somehow able to present scenes in the worst possible taste and still leave viewers smiling. He made better films than this one, but it is still superior to most similar efforts of the time. Coleman Francis and George Costello also appear. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide