Julie Adams Movies
A former secretary, Julie Adams inaugurated her film career in a series of slapped-together westerns starring James Ellison and Russell Hayden. She billed herself under her real name of Betty Adams until she was signed by Universal in 1949; she then became Julia Adams, which was modified to Julie by the early 1950s. Fans of the 1953 horror film Creature From the Black Lagoon tend to believe that Julie became a leading lady on the strength of her role in this film as the imperiled--and fetchingly underclad--heroine. In fact, she had been cast in good parts as early as 1950, notably the wealthy fiancee of newly blinded GI Arthur Kennedy in Bright Victory (1951). Curiously, some of her largest roles of the 1950s, in films like The Private War of Major Benson (1955) and Away All Boats (1956), were her least interesting. She cut down on her film appearances in the early 1960s to concentrate on television, a medium that permitted her to hold out for meatier acting assignments. Though she still tended to be cast in such negligible roles as the star's wife in The Jimmy Stewart Show (1971), Julie was proud of her many powerful guest-star appearances on dramatic programs: she was particularly fond of her performance as a middle-aged pregnant woman on a 1969 installment of Marcus Welby MD. Julie Adams was at one time married to actor/director Ray Danton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1999
Though their latest slide has thrust Quinn (Jerry O'Connell) and Maggie (Kari Wuhrer) headlong into a raging battle, Rembrandt (Cleavant Derricks) and Colin (Charlie O'Connell) apparently emerge from the experience with no difficulty whatsoever. Once the four travelers are reunited, Quinn and Maggie suddenly begin to grow older and sicker, ending up on the verge of death. While the two afflicted Sliders are quarantined in the Chandler Hotel, Remmy and Colin are confronted on the street by a spectral figure (David Dukes) who claims to be Thomas Mallory, Quinn and Maggie's son from a parallel universe. These curious events lead to an extremely grim prognosis for all four of the principal characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
It is Veronica Hamel's show all the way in the fact-based CBS TV movie The Conviction of Kitty Dodds. Driven to desperation by her abusive policeman husband Charlie (Mark Rolston), Kitty Dodds (Hamel) ends up killing him and is sent to prison for life. Managing to escape from behind bars, Kitty starts life anew in a faraway town, where she marries gentle, warmhearted Chuck Hayes (Kevin Dobson), who knows nothing of her previous life. Ultimately, Kitty's past catches up with her and she is arrested again. Though shocked at the revelation of his wife's history, Chuck labors tirelessly with Kitty and her attorneys to get her sentence reduced on the basis of the terrible treatment afforded her by her deceased first husband. Covering a timespan of 12 years (though the characters don't seem to age very much!), The Conviction of Kitty Dodds originally aired on November 2, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Two men, a fisherman and banker, have both died of carbon monoxide poisoning while sailing in the waters around Cabot Cove. At first this seems to be merely a coincidence--but then the fisherman's daughter gains access to her father's logbooks and charts. Suddenly, a link develops between the two men, forged by an illegal sale of surplus defense-corporation components--and Jessica (Angela Lansbury) begins to take interest in the situation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Cabot Cove has been chosen as the location for the pre-Broadway staging of a new play starring David North (Peter Donat), a prominent actor who is emerging from a 10-year retirement. No sooner have rehearsals started than a murder occurs, with North's business manager Eric Benderson (Bradford Dillman) as the victim. Needless to say, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is determined to find out "who done it"--and this time, there are plenty of subtle pop-cultural clues at hand, thanks to the cunning of screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
We're back in Cabot Cove for this episode, in which Jessica's friend Dr. Seth Hazlitt (William Windom) is facing a malpractice suit. It seems that the family of the late owner of Cabot Cove's computer company died of bleeding ulcers while under Seth's care. However, there is something about this death that doesn't quite add up, and Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is determined to find out what that is--while clearing Seth's name, of course. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
The community players of Cabot Cove have chosen to stage a play about a 17th century witch who had placed a curse on the town just before her execution. Cast in the lead role is Mariah Osborne (Mary Crosby), a newcomer to the town. Before long, strange things begin happening, convincing the townsfolk that Mariah is not merely acting, but is in truth the reincarnation of the notorious witch. Assisting Jessica (Angela Lansbury) in her investigation of the inevitable murder is the town's new deputy Dave Anderson, played by Louis Herthum--who in his previous series appearance was known as "Deputy Andy Bloom." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Originally prepared for European release under the title Catchfire, Backtrack wasn't given a wide distribution until 1991, and then only to capitalize on the Oscar win of Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster. In Backtrack, Foster plays a youngish innocent who witnesses a mob hit. Professional assassin Dennis Hopper is contracted to silence Foster for keeps. Instead, he falls in love with her. Directed by star Hopper, Backtrack has some of the feel of his earlier, better Easy Rider: the cast is populated by such old Hopper chums as Dean Stockwell, Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci, Bob Dylan, Vincent Price and Julie Adams; and, like Easy Rider, it looks as though the story was improvised during filming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, (more)
- 1991
Murder She Wrote enters its eighth season with a revised production staff and a new central location (New York City rather than fictional Cabot Cove, Maine), but with the same popular star, Angela Lansbury, as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher. Having been contracted to teach a college criminology course in the Big Apple, Jessica leaves Cabot Cove behind to search for a midtown Manhattan apartment. She gets one, only to find that the previous tenant, an antique dealer, had been murdered--and that someone has broken into the place in search of...what? To help Jessica solve the mystery, her old Cabot Cove cohort Seth Hazlitt (William Windom) pays a timely visit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
The ladies of Cabot Cove are enchanted by a newcomer to the community, handsome gym instructor Wayne Bennett (Jason Beghe). Especially fascinated by Bennett is Eve Simpson (Julie Adams), who naturally is an old friend of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). When Bennett's onetime partner, con artist Fred Kepper (Hugh O'Brien), turns up dead in Eve's bedroom, Jessica can't bring herself to believe that her friend had anything to do with this awkward turn of events--and as always, Jessica knows best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Up for re-election as mayor of Cabot Cove, Sam Booth (Richard Paul) figures that his staunch anti-development platform will enable him to easily defeat his pro-development opponent. Unfortunately, Sam's campaign is seriously compromised when a strange woman shows up in town and accuses the confirmed-bachelor mayor of being the father of her five children! While Sam tangles with this embarrassing turn of events, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) temporarily takes his place as the mayoral candidate--just in time to solve yet another murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In an episode clearly inspired by Peyton Place, a former student of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) scandalizes the town of Cabot Cove when she publishes a thinly-disguised "roman a clef" titled "The Sins of Castle Cove." The locals aren't too happy that their personalities and peccadilloes have been woven into the plotline of the book--and at least one person is willing to commit murder to suppress the novel's publication. Can it be that Jessica will find a clue to the killer within the pages of the book in question? Julie Adams, Gloria DeHaven, Kathryn Grayson and Ruth Roman return as Cabot Cove's four most garrulous gossips. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this dreadful low-budget horror film, a small town is up in arms over the arrival of a Satanic heavy-metal band called Black Roses to play at the local high school. The parents are right to be concerned, for the band has made a deal with the Devil and turns the teens into zombies who murder their parents. Reactionary and poorly-made, this comes off as a teen horror movie aimed at old people who think rock music is a menace. Julie Adams and Ken Swofford show up, but the 3-D video box is more interesting than the movie. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Martin, Ken Swofford, (more)
- 1988
It is said that the infamous Revolutionary War traitor Bendedict Arnold once stayed in a now-dilapidated Cabot Cove house. When the house's owner dies, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is named executor of the will. This proves to be a formidable task when rumors begin spreading that a valuable treasure--so valuable that someone is willing to commit murder--has been hidden somewhere in the house. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Sheriff Amos Tupper (Tom Bosley) is understandably distressed when Audrey Martin (Antoinette Bower), the wife of Amos' bucolic deputy Jonathan Martin (Rick Lenz), apparently commits suicide. Further investigation reveals that Audrey was murdered, at which point Amos discovers that the seemingly harmless Jonathan was carrying on extramarital affairs with several of Cabot Cove's most eligible middle-aged ladies! With the help of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), Amos tries to determine if one of Jonathan's conquests could also be a murderess. Among the suspects in this episode are two of Angela Lansbury's former MGM colleagues, Gloria DeHaven and Kathryn Grayson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Having agreed to submit to a genetic research project headed by Dr. Paul Flynn (Lane Smith), cancer victim Cindy Oliver (Kate Linder) leaves Flynn's hospital--and promptly dies. Soon thereafter, several other people who'd come in contact with Cindy also turn up dead. Investigating, Quincy (Jack Klugman) comes to the sobering conclusion that Dr. Flynn's experimental cancer-cure serum has spawned a mutant respiratory virus--which is not only fatal, but may also be unstoppable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Performing an autopsy on a man in his eighties, Quincy determines (Jack Klugman) that the victim was physically abused before his death--possibly by his own son-in-law. Subseqeuntly, another old person shows up with similar symptoms, suggesting to Quincy that there may be a link between the two cases. Ulitmately, the crusading coroner unearths a rather nasty scheme cooked up by a nefarious nephew against a pair of elderly ladies (one of whom is played by 97-year-old Estelle Winwood, who when this episode was filmed had been a stage and screen star for over seventy years). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The "Greatest Heroes of the Bible" series brings you this view of Moses as the liberator of the Jewish people. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1977
Quincy (Jack Klugman) investigates when Frank Daniels, star football player for the Arroya Junior College Bears, dies after being tackled. The autopsy determines that Frank succumbed to a brain cyst that was suddenly activated during the tackle--and Quincy is worried that the dead man's brother Steve, likewise a football phenom, may also suffer from the same genetic defect. Unfortunately, Steve's father Walter (Eugene Roche) refuses to even consider withdrawing his surviving son from an upcoming championship game...regardless of the potentially tragic consequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- Add Six Characters in Search of an Author to QueueAdd Six Characters in Search of an Author to top of Queue
Directed by Stacy Keach, this 1976 made-for-television movie features a performance of Nobel Prize-winner Luigi Pirandello's fantastical drama Six Characters in Search of an Author. Starring Andy Griffith, the play takes place on the set of a made-for-television adaptation of Pirandello's The Rules of the Game and finds the cast and crew questioning their reality when six strangers magically appear. Also starring John Houseman, Julie Adams, Beverly Todd, and James Keach, the program was released as part of Kultur's Broadway Theatre Archive series. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1975
The scene is a high-rise hotel in midtown San Francisco. Confronted by mobsters who are angry because he refused to throw a fight, an aging boxer manages to beat up two of his assailants and throw the third out the window to his death! Arriving on the scene to investigate the killer, Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) conduct a room-by-room search for the fugitive boxer, who is now on the run from cops and crooks alike--and is presently hiding in the same room with a pair of adulterous lovers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
"Alice" was the pseudonymous name of the teenaged author who wrote the book upon which this above-average TV movie was based. Jamie Smith-Jackson portrays a shy, slightly overweight high schooler who is so anxious for acceptance that she falls in with the drug crowd. In a methodical, almost casual matter, we see how Alice descends into a nether world of pushers, pimps and prostitution. Perhaps to make the point that this could be the story of any impressionable youth, few of the characters are identified by name: Julie Adams plays "The Mother," William Shatner "The Professor," Andy Griffith "The Priest," and so on. Filmed in a cinema-verite fashion, Go Ask Alice makes excellent use of relatively unfamiliar Los Angeles locations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
A rancher sets out to find the party responsible for killing his son and kidnapping his daughter. He enlists an arrogant professional tracker to help him in his search. Ernest Borgnine and Sammy Davis, Jr. star in this made-for-television western. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1971
With a barrage of cinematic distancing devices at hand (flashbacks and flash-forwards, super-imposed titles, missing frames, projectionist cue-marks placed in the wrong locations in a film reel), Dennis Hopper concocts a hallucinatory acid-trip concerning an American movie company making a western in Peru. In a remote mountain village in Peru, a Hollywood film company wraps up shooting a western and returns to California. Staying behind is a young stunt man, Kansas (Dennis Hopper). In the village, he takes up with the resident whore, Maria (Stella Garcia). At this point, the film flash-forwards to Kansas being crucified by the villagers. Back in the old time frame, the Peruvians decide that they want to make their own movie. Not having the necessary film equipment, but plenty of local raw material, the villagers construct the needed cameras, microphones, and sound recorders out of bamboo, and although the equipment is faked, the villagers substitute real, bloody violence for the make-believe violence of Hollywood. During this eruption of violence in the Peruvian village, the local priest (Tomas Milian) blames Kansas for the carnage. The priest decides that movies are the root of all worldly evil and convinces the villagers to seize Kansas. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Stella Garcia, (more)
- 1969
Neil Kriton (Michael Tolan), a respectable businessman, is none too pleased when his black-sheep younger brother Ricky (Scott Marlowe) shows up, begging for a job. Neil relents and finds employment for Ricky, despite the reservations of Neil's wife Denise (Julie Adams) and sister-in-law Lori Donna Baccala). Perhaps the elder Kriton would have been wise to heed the warnings of the women in his life: Ricky happens to be a fugitive from the FBI, wanted for hijacking and attempted murder--and he has no intention of reforming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
