Nicholas Hammond Movies

In the tradition of Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company and Growing Up Brady comes the telemovie Dynasty: the Making of a Guilty Pleasure: a slightly tongue-in-cheek docudrama that purports to tell the scintillating story behind the scenes of ABC's nine-season prime time soaper about the Carringtons and the Colbys. The feature (produced by ABC itself) reflects on the parent network's own lust after a serial drama in the face of drowning competition from Dallas. To solve this issue, producer Aaron Spelling (here played by Nicholas Hammond) and show creators Richard and Esther Shapiro (Ritchie Singer and Pamela Reed) conceive of a modern American dress version of I, Claudius about the corrupting influences of wealth and power in the Reagan era. The suits devise the scheming character of Alexis Carrington Colby and bring Joan Collins (Alice Krige) in to play her as a kind of feminine equivalent of J.R. Ewing. The main thrust of the story involves the program's rise to one of the top-tiered series on television, followed by its inevitable fall when it disrespects and underestimates its regular audience. John Bart portrays John Forsythe, Melora Hardin plays Linda Evans, and Robert Coleby is Rock Hudson. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

After journeying back to 1986 and saving his father, Jack (Kent McCord), from certain death, John lands on Earth, where he is reunited with his terrestrial sweetheart, Caroline (Erica Heynatz). The alien Moya crew members are also kept busy, meeting with the understandably nervous Dignitaries of Earth. Naturally, things do not continue to flow along smoothly, placing John in the unenviable position of rescuing his home planet (which he no longer regards as his true home) from destruction. Several plot strands are tragically knotted together around D.K. (Murray Bartlett), the crew's new-found friend. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The second of two network-TV adaptations of Jules Verne's speculative 1868 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, this two-part ABC version originally aired on May 11 and 12, 1997, some two months after CBS's shorter -- and infinitely more faithful -- version. The year is 1886, and an unknown "creature" is terrorizing the high seas, causing merchant vessels to vanish without a trace. Enlisted by the U.S. government to find out what's really going on, oceanographer Pierre Arronax (Patrick Dempsey) and rough-hewn whaler Ned Land (Bryan Brown) set sail for uncharted waters. Ultimately, they are captured by the insane but honorably motivated Captain Nemo (Michael Caine), the inventor of the high-teach submarine Nautilus. This much can be found in the original novel. The rest of the film has less to do with Jules Verne than its does with the popularity of such theatrical features as Star Wars and Titanic, not to mention the then-prevalent specter of political correctness. Because he wants nothing more out of life than to slaughter whales, Verne's nominal hero Ned Land is transformed into the main villain -- while Pierre Arronax comes off none too sympathetically himself, depicted in an early scene as a wanton womanizer who sleeps with his own father's mistress. Also, a bit of gratuitous romance is thrown into the proceedings, with Captain Nemo suddenly acquiring a daughter, and another woman joining the storyline when the Nautilus makes a side trip to the lost city of Atlantis. Finally, what with Verne's good guys turning bad and Captain Nemo clearly certifiable, a new "hero" is introduced in the form of African-American crewman Cabe Attucks (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje). Oh, and did we mention that Nemo is actually a half-cyborg and a former Indian prince? This "new and improved" 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is only slightly less ridiculous than the 1916 silent film version, which also managed to add a love interest and a spectacular "flashback" sequence straight out of 1001 Arabian Nights. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The two-part Australian miniseries Frankie's House was based on photojournalist Tim Page's autobiography Page After Page. Set during the Vietnam war, the story recounted the adventures of Page (Iain Glen) and his erstwhile photographer partner. After numerous scrapes with death, Page managed to survive to tell his tale, but his partner was not so lucky, disappearing without a trace during a 1970 foray into Laos. The program's title referred to a brothel frequented by the principal characters. The two 120-minute episodes of Frankie's House were broadcast by Australia's ABC network in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this sequel to the 1987 actioner Black Cobra, Fred Williamson resumes his role as a tough-as-nails urban detective. The villain is a terrorist who'll kill anyone who impedes his escape. The terrorist breaks into a schoolroom full of children and holds the kids hostage. It's up to Williamson -- now saddled with an unwanted partner -- to eliminate the bad guy without taking the kids with him. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"Paradise" is actually Australia, where this made-for-TV adventure was filmed. Raquel Welch stars as a rich, spoiled socialite who is shipwrecked on a desert island. Her only companion is boozy, unkempt Aussie Jack Thompson. Before the film has a chance to turn into Lina Wertmuller's Swept Away (or even Gilligan's Island), Welch and Thompson are up to their necks in intrigue. Trouble in Paradise originally floated to shore on May 16, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this 1611 Shakespeare play, the magician Prospero (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) conjures a storm that drives a ship off course to his enchanted island, washing everyone ashore. The company includes King Alonso of Naples; his son, Ferdinand; Antonio, duke of Milan; and members of the king's court. Prospero caused the tempest so he could settle a score with one of the ship's passengers, his brother Antonio. Twelve years before, Prospero was Milan's ruler, but Antonio usurped his dukedom with the king's help. Antonio then set Prospero and his infant daughter, Miranda, adrift to die at sea. But with provisions secretly provided by a friend, Prospero and Miranda survived and reached the island. After the king's son, Ferdinand, separates from the others, Prospero's slave, a spirit of the air named Ariel (Duane Black), uses magic to lead Ferdinand to Miranda (J.E. Taylor), now a nubile 15-year-old. They fall in love. Meanwhile, another slave -- a half-beast, half-man known as Caliban (William Hootkins) -- gathers wood for Prospero, but curses his master, wishing him dead. Two of the king's company appear: the court jester, Trinculo, and the butler Stephano, who is drunk from wine from the barrel on which he floated ashore. They then conspire to kill Prospero and take over the island. Elsewhere, Ariel appears to Alonso and Antonio as a winged beast, a harpy, and reprimands them for their past ill treatment of Prospero. An entertainment then ensues for Miranda and Ferdinand to celebrate their betrothal, and Prospero thwarts the skulduggery of Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano. The wrongdoers repent, Prospero frees Ariel, and everyone returns to Italy aboard the ship, which was thought lost but is found to be seaworthy. Only Caliban remains on the island. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Throughout his life, Higgins (John Hillerman) has been taunted, bested and humiliated by his old boarding-school nemesis William Troubshaw (Paxton Whitehead). Now it seems that he has a chance to settle the score by squaring off against Troubshaw in a fencing match. But through a freak accident, Troubshaw is killed and Higgins is accused of his murder--and even more disturbingly, he seems unwilling to defend himself against the accusation. Former child star Patty McCormick (The Bad Seed) appears as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Carol Baldwin, a role played in subsequent episodes by Kathleen Lloyd). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Curse of the Rava was originally a 60-minute episode of the sporadically telecast series The Amazing Spider-Man. Nicholas Hammond stars as photojournalist Peter Parker, whose close encounter with a radioactive spider has turned him into a reluctant superhero. This time around, Parker/Spiderman must contend with a religious cult, a curse, and a "death symbol" which foolhardy curator Theodore Bikel has put on public display. Curse of the Rava was initially telecast on April 19, 1978. Later on, it was bracketed together with another Amazing Spider-Man episode, The Con Caper, and syndicated as a "feature film". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Spider-Man is on the case when government information is stolen. ~ Rovi

Deadly Dust began as the opening episode of the live-action TV series The Amazing Spider-Man. Nicholas Hammond stars as Peter Parker, who after being bitten by a radioactive spider is transformed into the web-slinging, wall-crawling Spider-Man (a character created for the Marvel Comics line by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). In his first TV adventure, Spider-Man is accused of stealing plutonium from a university lab, but the real culprits are terrorists who demand a one-billion-dollar ransom, lest they expose New York City to plutonium poisoning. Featured in the cast is Joanna Cameron, who'd once played a "super" character herself, a do-gooder named Isis, on Saturday morning TV. Deadly Dust was first telecast as a Spider-Man two-parter on April 5 and 12, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi