Harry Guardino

Although Gary's Old Towne Tap is under new ownership, the gang at Cheers intends to reinvigorate its war of practical jokes against the rival pub. Alas, Gary's taciturn owner (Harry Guardino) doesn't find the pranks very funny -- but then, not too many mobsters are known for their sense of humor. Senator John Kerry appears as himself in the opening scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The focus in this episode is on Mort Metzger (Ron Masak), sheriff of Cabot Cove, Maine, and a close personal friend of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). When Metzger jails a young man named Bradley (David Lansbury) on a drunk driving charge, he refuses to drop the matter despite the power and influence wielded by Bradley's ambassador father Chandler Hellman (Jack Colvin). Subsequently, Bradley turns up dead, whereupon the vengeful Hellman pulls just the right strings to bring Metzger up on a murder charge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Novelist/journalist Pete Hammill was responsible for the screenplay of the two-part TV movie The Neon Empire. Ray Sharkey stars as a Bugsy Siegel-like New York gangster. It is Sharkey's dream to turn the sleepy Nevada town of Las Vegas into the gambling capital of the world. Part One, running 105 minutes details Sharkey's "blueprinting" of his vision. In the concluding 85-minute chapter, having transformed sedentary little Las Vegas, Nevada, into a gambling mecca, Sharkey finds that his ambitions have made him a pariah to his New York mob colleagues. Linda Fiorentino, Gary Busey, Dylan McDermott and Martin Landau costar in this "a clef" drama. Neon Empire premiered over the Showtime Cable Network; later on, both portions of the film were melded into one three-hour "special." Neon Empire was first telecast on the Showtime Cable network on December 3 and 4, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) arrives in San Francisco to attend the wedding of her niece Victoria Brandon (Genie Francis) to a handsome but rather secretive young man named Howard Griffin (Jeff Conaway). Her first meeting with Howard occurs under strange circumstances, as he scrambles over her table at a nightclub, dressed in female drag--after having stumbled across the body of club owner Al Drake (Martin Landau). Naturally, Howard is accused of the murder, obliging Jessica to investigate the situation herself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This sequel to Every Which Way But Loose finds Philo Beddoe (Clint Eastwood) on the road, orangutan companion Clyde in tow, as he makes his way as a bare-knuckle fighter. The action begins with Philo punching out a new victim while Clyde relieves himself on the seat of a police car, setting the tone for the rest of the story. From there, Philo and Clyde return home, where Philo, who still lives with Ma (Ruth Gordon), is offered a contest with Jack Wilson (William Smith), the Mafia-sponsored East Coast bare-knuckle champ. Philo inadvertently saves Wilson's life, but then the Mafia kidnaps his girlfriend (Sondra Locke) to force him to go ahead with the match. Philo and Wilson team up to battle the Mob, but somehow they end up fighting anyway in a grueling climactic sequence. Country music, bikers, the Mafia, an orangutan, pick-up trucks, defecation jokes, fighting, drinking, and swearing -- it's all here in this lowbrow comic stew. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

A piece of made-for-television hack work that suddenly became sort of topical 23 years later, with the attacks on the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Evening in Byzantium was a two-part made-for-TV feature based very loosely on Irwin Shaw's best-seller. The book involved intrigue and romance at the Cannes Film Festival, but the television producers evidently thought that this did not justify a two-night prime time movie event, so they added a story about Middle Eastern terrorists using the Cannes Film Festival as part of a larger plot to attack the West. Glenn Ford plays Jesse Craig, a down-on-his-luck producer with a film project in mind involving terrorists, who goes to Cannes to raise money and finds himself dealing with his ex-wife (Shirley Jones) and romancing Erin Gray. But before too long, he uncovers a plot by real terrorists to replace commercial airliners in flight (blowing them out of the sky and taking over their authorized flight paths) with specially converted airliners and bomb targets in the United States. Also on hand is Vince Edwards, playing an actor with a radical political agenda, who is alarmed that Ford's proposed film parallels his own terrorist plans; Michael Cole as Ford's associate; Eddie Albert and Gloria De Haven as a couple with ties to the movie business; Harry Guardino as a skeptical American security officer; and Marcel Hillaire as the French police inspector trying to unravel the terrorists plans. It's all very silly, though played very sincerely by most of the cast, and none of the plot described is less plausible than the notion that Glenn Ford and Erin Gray could ignore the 36-year difference in their ages. Evening in Byzantium was originally shown in August of 1978 as part of the syndicated Operation Prime Time programming series, intended to compete with the three networks. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Contract on Cherry Street represented Frank Sinatra's TV movie debut--an event deemed worthy of a TV Guide cover story. Sinatra plays NYPD veteran Deputy Inspector Frank Hovannes, in charge of a special unit set up to battle organized crime. The murder of Hovannes' partner, coupled with departmental restrictions and legalities, leads the Inspector to organize a semi-vigilante group with three other like-minded officers. They murder an underworld honcho, in hopes of triggering a mob war that will result in the decimation of every gangster in the Big Apple. Edward Anhalt's script for Contract on Cherry Street can't make up its mind whether to emulate The Godfather or Kojak. Sinatra's own Artanis Productions was responsible for this film, so any praise or blame must ultimately fall upon Ol' Blue Eyes' shoulders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally titled Giving Birth, Having Babies was the first of three pilot films for a TV series that eventually appeared under the title Julie Farr MD. In omnibus fashion, the film focuses in on four couples and their reactions to impending parenthood. Essentially, this is a feature-length "commercial" for the Lamaze method of natural childbirth. Adrienne Barbeau plays Lamaze-class supervisor Allie Duggin, while the mommies-to-be are portrayed by Karen Valentine (as tennis pro Beth Paterno), Jessica Walter (as middle-aged Sally McNamara), Linda Purl (as teenager Laura Gorman) and Vicki Lawrence (as unwed mother Grace Fontrell). Having Babies was originally telecast October 17, 1976. It was followed by Having Babies II in 1977, Having Babies III in 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jessica Walter guest stars as Maggie Jarris, the wife of former Mob bookkeeper Ben Jarris (Harry Guardino). Slated to testify against her husband's criminal bosses, Maggie is forced to adopt several alias and move from one "safe house" to another to avoid being murdered. Placed in charge of Maggie's safety is detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden), who in so doing becomes a marked man himself! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ex-crime reporter turned novelist Raymond St. Ives (Charles Bronson) is drawn back into the world of his former profession by wealthy Abner Procane (John Houseman). St. Ives is hired to locate a stolen set of ledgers that, if made public, could trigger an all-out mob war. Amazingly, St. Ives fails to recognize who his real friends and enemies are in the course of his investigation, and it takes all his mental and physical resources to keep from being exterminated. One of the characters who isn't all that she seems is sexy Janet Whistler (Jacqueline Bisset). While the "main" cast is serviceable, the lineup of future stars in minor roles (Daniel J. Travanti, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Englund, Michael Lerner) is fascinating. Based on The Procane Chronicle, a novel by Oliver Bleeck. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime comedy, a gullible private volunteers to become the subject of numerous military biological and chemical weaponry experiments. Later he becomes so messed up that he is forced into early retirement. He then decides to use some of the experimental gases to rob banks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide