Veronica Hamel Movies
Long before she showed up on the cover of TV Guide, Temple University graduate Veronica Hamel was a frequent visitor to that magazine's back cover, as a model in many a cigarette and cosmetic advertisement. The sloe-eyed, brunette actress began playing speaking parts on TV in 1975; that same year, she had an opportunity to co-star on Charlie's Angels, but turned the role down, obliging producer Aaron Spelling to cast Jaclyn Smith instead. In 1981, Hamel was cast as hard-driving public defender Joyce Davenport, the lover (and later wife) of police captain Frank Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti), on the weekly Hill Street Blues. She remained with the series until it left the air in 1987. The intensely dramatic roles played by Veronica Hamel in recent years are reflected by the titles of her made-for-TV starring films: Deadly Medicine (1991), The Baby Snatcher (1992), The Conviction of Kitty Dodds (1993), A Child's Cry for Help (1994) etc. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1975
Two stories, which don't quite combine, thread through this short first film of director Howard Goldberg. In one story, a nymphomaniac tells of her past and the treatments she has received for her condition. In another, a Jewish mobster tells how he came to be a criminal, along with other reminiscences of his life. One highlight of the film is its final dance sequence. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Azito, Brother Theodore, (more)
- 1975
Crime doesn't take a holiday on Christmas Eve, and detectives Kojak (Telly Savalas) and Stavros (Demosthenes) have plenty to keep them busy. For starters, there's a gun-wielding man on the loose, determined to kill his cheating wife--and anyone else who gets in his way. At the same time, Stavros tries to help a young girl search for her boyfriend, who is likewise heavily armed and very dangerous. Keep an eye out for two future stars, John Larroquette and Edward James Olmos), in very minor roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Paul Bartel rips off his own Death Race 2000 in this mindless car-crash saga, containing more twisted metal than a bombed-out steel mill. The nominal storyline concerns an illegal auto race from Los Angeles to New York that promises the winner 100,000 dollars. David Carradine is Coy "Cannonball" Buckman, the race leader who drags his girlfriend, Linda (Veronica Hamel), along for the ride. Cade Redman (Bill McKinney) tools around in a loud red Trans Am, while Cannonball's nemesis barrels along in a big, black Plymouth, trying to outsmart Cannonball at every turn and exit ramp. The pile-ups keep building, and the cameos (Roger Corman, Martin Scorsese, Sylvester Stallone, Joe Dante, Paul Bartel) keep coming, but Cannonball must make it to New York to collect his winnings. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Bill McKinney, (more)
- 1976
Jim's former girlfriend Karen Stiles (Susan Strasberg) sweet-talks the detective into delivering a briefcase full of escrow papers to a real estate office. Only when it is too late does Jim (James Garner) discover that he has been conned into transporting $100,000 worth of counterfeit money. And that's not all: Karen may also be involved in a diamond-fencing operation. The stakes are suddenly raised when Karen is kidnapped by her confederates--but who, exactly, is double-crossing whom? This is the final episode of The Rockford Files' second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Tom Poston returns in the role of Bob's prankish college chum Cliff Murdock, aka "The Peeper." Arriving in Chicago, an uncharacteristically somber Cliff announces that his wife has left him. Bob invites Cliff to make the Hartley's home his own -- and, as usual, he does. Some of the outtakes for this episode are funnier than the episode itself, and that's saying a lot. Future Hill Street Blues co-star Veronica Hamel appears as Rosemary. Written by Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses, "Peeper-Two" originally aired on February 28, 1976, as the final episode of The Bob Newhart Show's fourth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette, (more)
- 1976
Jim Rockford's old Army buddy Al Brennan (Ned Beatty) asks Jim (James Garner) to help Marcy Brownell (Veronica Hamel) locate her missing sister. What Jim doesn't know is that the mercenary Al is using him to pull off an elaborate swindle. The key player in this sordid little drama is an ill-tempered gent named John Stabila (Paul Stevens)--and the "Maguffin" on this occasion is a missing Shan-Yin vase, valued at around three million dollars! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The formal title for this TV mini-series was Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue, just in case you might mistake it for William Makepeace Thackeray's 79 Park Avenue. Originally presented in three parts, this adaptation of the Robbins best-seller stars Lesley Ann Warren as Marja Fludjicki, a Depression-era tenement girl who is accused of murdering her drunken stepfather. Part One details how Marja's "crime" was justifiable; she'd been raped by the bounder. Parts Two and Three would trace Marja's progress from teenaged prostitute to elegant, high-priced Park Avenue Madam--and mob mistress. Forced by circumstance into a life of prostitution, Marja marries Las Vegas high-roller Ross Savitch (Marc Singer). Ross is bumped off by the Syndicate, leaving Marja in the lurch. Marja rebounds from tragedy to become a federal witness against the Mob. 79 Park Avenue was first telecast on October 16, 17, and 18, 1977. Though all the names are changed, it isn't hard to discern the Bugsy Siegel story in this video equivalent to eating a whole box of chocolates in one sitting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The Gathering stars Ed Asner as an ill-tempered executive who long ago walked out on his family. Just before Christmas, Asner is told that he has only a few weeks to live. He confides this information to his estranged wife Maureen Stapleton, who suggests that he call his four adult children (Gail Strickland, Gregory Harrison, Rebecca Balding, Lawrence Pressman) together for one last reunion. He agrees on the proviso that they not be told of his imminent death. Of the four offspring, Asner is most trepidatious about seeing Harrison, who was virtually disowned when he moved to Canada during the Vietnam War. But The Gathering is a Christmas movie, and does its best to stay heartwarming. Made for TV and first shown December 4, 1977, The Gathering was the pilot for a potential series--(presumably one without Ed Asner, unless his character suddenly experienced a miracle cure). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
The most surprising aspect of the made-for-TV Ski Lift to Death is that it wasn't produced by Irwin Allen. Two ski-lift gondolas derail, hanging perilously close to destruction. Among the passengers are a former gangster and the hit man assigned to kill him. Also on board are a pair of champion skiiers who've been linked in a publicity-generated romance. Real-life ski champ Suzy Chaffee plays Maureen; the rest of the cast includes such TV stalwarts as Deborah Raffin, Howard Duff, Don Galloway, Don Johnson, Veronica Hamel and Clu Gulager. Ski Lift to Death was originally telecast March 3, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Irwin Allen's second water-logged disaster film picks up where The Poseidon Adventure left off; Salvagers Michael Caine, Karl Malden and Sally Field enter the Poseidon to take what they can, unaware that evil salvager Telly Savalas and his henchmen lie in wait. When an explosion rocks the ship, the enemies find themselves trapped inside in a battle for survival both against nature and themselves. The good guys pick up some survivors along the way, including Peter Boyle as a stereotypically hot-headed Italian, Mark Harmon as the All-American boy next door, and Slim Pickens as the ship's wine steward in what may be one of the most poorly-written parts of all time. Field looks good in the water, and Caine is charming despite a lack of material, but the merits end there. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Sally Field, (more)
- 1979
Ed Asner dominated the proceedings of the 1977 TV movie The Gathering; inasmuch as Asner's character died at the end of that film, he is absent from the 1979 sequel The Gathering, Part 2. Said sequel could certainly have benefitted from Asner's presence, no matter how illogical that presence might have been. In Part 2, widowed Maureen Stapleton gathers her family together for the first Christmas after the death of her husband. She is being wooed by handsome industrialist Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and the family (Rebecca Balding, Gail Strickland, Bruce Davison et.al.) isn't all that keen on this contingency. Even more so than the first film, The Gathering, Part 2 has the smell of a pilot. It was originally networkcast on December 17, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
After producer Irwin Allen highlighted the dangers of fire in the Towering Inferno and the dangers of water in the Poseidon Adventure, he is back to fire again but this time it is within the earth, at least for awhile. This fairly routine disaster film is set on a resort island with a volcano that is beginning to rumble. Stars include a long list of names: Paul Newman is Hank, the savvy oil driller who gets people to safety even against their will, Jacqueline Bisset is the woman he is interested in, William Holden, Eddie Albert, Barbara Carrera, Veronica Hamel and several others play individuals trapped on the island. Hank convinces some people to follow him to the highest part of the island as the volcano gets set to blow its top. They encounter several dangerous situations after the dormant volcano wakes up but nothing quite like the non-stop, action filled, death-defying scenes from the explosion of volcano movies that hit the screens in 1997: Dante's Peak, Volcano, Eruption, Volcano: Fire in the Mountain, and a few more from around the world. They formed a virtual 1997 "ring of fire." ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
- 1980
The hustler in Hustler of Muscle Beach is fast-talking New York promoter Nick Demec (Richard Hatch). Hoping to cash in on the bodybuilding craze, Demec stages a muscleman -- and musclewoman -- contest in Venice, CA (where the film was shot). The hero's get-rich-quick scheme gets him into hot water when he selects a most unusual candidate for his protégé. Several real-life male bodybuilders appear onscreen, including Franco Columbu and Frank Zane, but the film's ad campaign focused on the bikini-clad female contestants. Hustler of Muscle Beach was first broadcast May 16, 1980, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
This is the made-for-TV version of the romantic drama that chronicles the exploits of a group of glamorous women caught up in the entertainment industry. This version contains material author Jacqueline Susann omitted from her original novel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
"Let's be careful out there..." So ends each roll call session at the Hill Street station house. As the cops and detectives head out to the streets, Captain Frank Furillo begins the delicate balancing act of providing enough protection for the law-abiding citizens without inciting the neighborhood gangs and local criminal elements who are openly hostile towards any police presence. Yet as dangerous as his inner city precinct can be, Furillo's biggest battles often involve protecting his own cops from the Public Defender's office, self-serving bureaucrats, and even each other.
- Starring:
- Daniel J. Travanti, Michael Conrad, (more)
- 1983
Veronica Hamel makes the first of several 1980s breaks from her Hill Street Blues image in the made-for-TV Sessions. Hamel plays Leigh Churchill, the sort of high-cost, high-class call girl who seemingly exists only on screen. As of late, Leigh's professional calls have been fewer and farther between, an occupational hazard in a business where youth is a vital success factor. Leigh's professional eclipse is mirrored by several crises in her personal life, involving her live-in boyfriend, her judgmental father, and her sympathetic kid sister. Jeffrey DeMunn co-stars as a good-hearted doctor who offers to take Leigh away from "all this." Originally aired September 26, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Adapted from the phenomenally popular best-seller by Jeffrey Archer, the three-part, seven-hour CBS miniseries Kane & Abel is the tale of two tycoons -- one a self-made man, one born into wealth -- who both came into the world on the very same day. The illegitimate son of a Polish baron, Abel Rosnovski (Peter Strauss) is forced to fend for himself from childhood. Escaping from Siberia during WWI, Abel emigrates to America, where he builds up a multimillion-dollar hotel business. Meanwhile, Boston brahmin William Lowell Kane (Sam Neill) is carefully groomed to take his place in both society and the financial world, succeeding on both counts in the banking business. Though Abel and Kane might have become friends in any other circumstances, an accidental slight on Kane's part earns him the undying enmity of a vengeful Abel -- and thus is set in motion a tense, feud-driven power struggle that will consume both their lives for the next 25 years. Filmed on-location in Canada, England, and France, Kane & Abel originally aired from November 17 to 19, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Strauss, Sam Neill, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
After 20 years of marriage, Steve Giardino (Alan Alda) and his wife Jackie (Ann-Margret) agree to a divorce in this situation comedy. The focus is on both of them as they suffer through matchmaking, blind dates, and their new life as eligible singles. Donna (Mary Kay Place) is Jackie's friend, while Mel Arons (Hal Linden) is the confidante of the vain but likeable Steve. Steven worries that he will never find anyone decent to date until he meets the pretty Dr. Kay Hutton (Veronica Hamel). Jackie is enamored with a sculptor (John Shea) before his glaring faults become too much for her. While Jackie's new relationship is on the outs, Steve prepares for a new life with Kay. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1989
Based on a novel by David Morrell, the made-for-TV Brotherhood of the Rose is unabashedly old-fashioned escapist espionage fare. Peter Strauss and David Morse play polar-opposite CIA agents, code names Romulus and Remus. Their superior-and father figure-is crusty CIA official Robert Mitchum. Though Romulus and Remus are devoted to Mitchum, he is only concerned with the greater good of the service-a philosophy that has become despotic over the years. Now Mitchum has determined that Romulus is expendable. Escaping from CIA assassins, Romulus and Remus stumble into a vast rule-the-world conspiracy called The Brotherhood of the Rose. Filmed in New Zealand, this was originally a long miniseries broadcast in two parts, on January 22 and 23, 1989 - and then edited down to feature length. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
The four-part British miniseries Pursuit, based upon Robert L. Fish's novel of the same name, was first telecast in the United States as the two-part "movie special" Twist of Fate. Bruce Greenwood essayed the leading role of Helmut Von Schraeder, an ex-S.S. officer on the run after conspiring to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. Undergoing plastic surgery, Von Schraeder assumed the new identity of Jewish concentration camp survivor Daniel Grossman. And as if that wasn't unbelievable enough, "Grossman" went on to a colorful career as an Israeli freedom fighter. The huge multinational cast included British film and TV stalwart Ben Cross and American leading lady Sarah Jessica Parker. Though made for British television, Pursuit did not air in that country until 1990, a full year after its American debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Cross, Veronica Hamel, (more)
- 1990
The acting of its stars saves She Said No from the "lurid dreck" category. Judd Hirsch is a successful but utterly amoral attorney who rapes Veronica Hamel. She sues, but he uses his legal expertise to walk free. Then Hirsch turns around and sues Hamel for slander (or for libel, depending on whether you believe the ads or the synopsis)--to the tune of ten million dollars! The lizardlike lawyer comes acropper when he forgets the unwritten rule of jurisprudence and acts as his own attorney. Lee Grant plays the DA on the case, who was denied the opportunity to retry Hirsch and is smarting for a chance to show the creep up. She Said No is better written than it deserves to be by Michael O'Hara. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
