John Harkins Movies
Supporting actor, onscreen from the late '60s. ~ All Movie Guide- 1990
The 1990 made-for-cable remake of Graham Greene's This Gun for Hire stars Robert Wagner as a professional assassin who is tricked into killing a politician who he thought was a New Orleans gangster. On the run, the assassin takes a stripper as a hostage; she happens to be the fiance of the FBI agent on his trail. The assassin and the stripper fall in love and manage to outwit the FBI and police. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Wagner, Nancy Everhard, (more)
- 1990
Single mother Maria Bryce (Season Hubley) moves into Cabot Cove with her son Kevin (Jonathan Brandis), where she lands a steady but low-paying job. While struggling to make financial ends meet, Maria must also contend with her lecherous landlord. When the landlord is murdered, Maria is accused of the crime--but her new friend Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) isn't so sure that the cops have nabbed the guilty party. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Rachel Sands (Rosemary Dunsmore), a schizophrenic undergoing experimental treatment at a pharmaceutical clinic, is accused of murdering one of her doctors after going off her medication. McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) is convinced that Rachel is innocent--especially after a second murder takes place at the clinic. By episode's end, both McCall and Hunter (Fred Dryer) have discovered that the killings had nothing to do with mental illness...and everything to do with the World's Oldest Motive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on the stories by Tama Janowitz, this film follows the relationships and problems of a group of artists struggling to survive in New York City. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernadette Peters, Nick Corri, (more)
- 1988
This courtroom drama was inspired by the notorious Scopes trial of 1925 concerning the teaching of Darwinism in public schools. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Rampage delves into the subject of legal insanity, so often the default defense in modern-time gruesome crime trials. Alex McArthur plays an outwardly normal guy who goes on incredible killing and mutilating sprees until (and even after, when he escapes for a short time) he's captured. When he comes to trial, the liberal DA (Michael Biehn) is torn between his own leftist leanings and the reality of the heinous crimes for which the accused is being tried. He must argue for the death penalty. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Biehn, Alex McArthur, (more)
- 1986
A sprawling adaptation of the same-named novel by David Nevin, the three-part CBS miniseries Dream West starred Richard Chamberlain as colorful, controversial American explorer John Charles Fremont (1813-1890). The story detailed the visionary (and occasionally mercenary) Fremont's lifelong war against shortsided authority figures, beginning with his early skirmishes with the "brass" as an Army officer. In 1842, Fremont embarked upon his greatest adventure, heading an expedition to map the Oregon Trail -- the first step towards opening the entire North American continent to free and unimpeded exploration. His mission pitted Fremont against hostile Indians, the Mexican army, and the U.S. government itself. Along the way, he crossed paths with scores of historical figures, including Kit Carson, Jim Bridge, John Sutter, and President Abraham Lincoln. Alice Krige, Richard Chamberlain's vis-à-vis in the earlier Wallenberg: A Heroes' Story, co-starred as Jessie Benton, the headstrong senator's daughter who became Fremont's wife. Running seven hours in all (plus commercials), Dream West was originally telecast from April 13 to 15, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Tony Richardson, who in his days of prominence directed the Oscar-winning Tom Jones (1963), demonstrated in 1986's Penalty Phase that the intervening years did not dim his talent in the least. Peter Strauss stars as a liberal judge, in the midst of a re-election campaign. Strauss has been under fire from his enemies for being too soft on criminals. He intends to prove otherwise while presiding over the case of a vicious mass murderer and rapist (Richard Chaves). Shortly after a guilty verdict is reached, Strauss is tipped off anonymously that the defendant right's may have been violated during interrogation. While the jury enters "the penalty phase" wherein they must decide on proper punishment, Strauss undergoes a profound moral dilemma: Should he honor the letter of the law, thereby incurring public wrath and losing all hopes for being re-elected? Scripted by former lawyer Gail Patrick Hickman, the made-for-TV Penalty Phase was originally telecast November 18, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
No sooner have David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) been hired to handle security at SRT Industries than they're fired by Brian and Vivian Baker (Cotter Smith, Lenore Kasdorf), the brother-sister team who run the firm on behalf of their father Carl (Bill Morey). The reason for the dismissal? Someone has managed to smuggle SRT's industrial secrets to a competitor right under the detectives' noses. Maddie suspects that someone is using a professional medium to read the minds of the SRT employees in order to siphon off their secrets. She's right--but there are a couple of other flies in the ointment as well! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Originally made for television, a psychotic blackmails his beloved by demolishing areas of the city until she goes out with him. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
Director Alan Parker tackles this adapation of William Wharton's novel, which retains much of the source material's texture and complexity. Matthew Modine is Birdy, who comes back from Vietnam mentally shattered and deludes himself into thinking that he is a bird, an animal that has obsessed him since childhood. Birdy is confined to a military hospital, where he spends his time sitting naked in his room, not acknowleding anyone, moving and acting like a parakeet. His best friend Al (Nicolas Cage), also a wounded Vietnam vet, visits Birdy every day, determined to bring him back to reality. Birdy is occasionally disjointed but enriched by strong performances from Modine and Cage and a number of hard-to-forget moments. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, (more)
- 1984
The title of The Seduction of Gina is the most tawdry of come-ons: this TV movie was better served (though perhaps not as attractive to the casual viewer) under its original title, Another High Roller. Gina (Valerie Bertinelli), married to a feckless intern, is shy and withdrawn. Upon receiving a $30,000 inheritance, Gina decides to vacation in Tahoe. While at the casino's gaming tables, Gina finds she really enjoys gambling. As the evenings wear on, she also discovers that she can't stop; she has been "seduced" by the gambling bug. In keeping with the film's steamy title, Seduction of Gina was advertised with the full-page image of Valerie Bertinelli in the arms of Michael Brandon, who plays the casino's lawyer (and Gina's erstwhile lover). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie Bertinelli, Michael Brandon, (more)
- 1984
Attack on Fear was based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of newspaper articles by Dave and Cathy Mitchell. Paul Michael Glaser and Linda Kelsey play the Michaels, who labor away at a tiny California daily. Upon hearing of iniquities at the famed Santa Monica drug-rehab center Synanon, the Michaels begin publishing their evidence. Despite legal pressure from Synanon and bizarre anonymously mailed threats, the Mitchells' story results in a major investigation of the revered institution. Completed in 1982, the made-for-TV Attack on Fear was not telecast until October of 1984, and then only after (presumably) being reshaped to satisfy Synanon's battery of attorneys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
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Fifteen years after the cancellation of the tongue-in-cheek spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., stars Robert Vaughn and David McCallum were reunited in this made-for-TV movie. It all begins when Janus (Geoffrey Lewis), a former agent for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (aka U.N.C.L.E.) joins forces with the evil rival agency T.H.R.U.S.H. Stealing the new H975 atomic bomb, Janus threatens to detonate the device unless a 350-million-dollar ransom is paid. But there is another condition: The ransom money must be delivered in person by Janus' old enemy, retitled U.N.C.L.E. operative Napoleon Solo (Vaughn), now a big-business executive. Despite never having heard of Napoleon Solo, U.N.C.L.E.'s new top agent, Benjamin Kowalski (Tom Mason), offers Solo the job, which he accepts, if only because he needs some quick cash. Deciding that the combined forces of Janus and ex-T.H.R.U.S.H. leader Justin Sepheran (Anthony Zerbe) may be a bit much for him -- after all, he is 15 years older -- Solo asks for, and receives, the assistance of his former partner, Illya Kuryakin (McCallum), now a prominent dress designer. Also figuring into the plot is Andrea Markovich (Gayle Hunnicutt), a Russian ballerina who may or may not be one of the villains. Despite some cute in-jokes and bantering byplay, this TV movie bears less resemblance to Man From U.N.C.L.E. than it does to the James Bond films, perhaps because writer/executive producer Michael Sloan reportedly only watched a handful of the original series' episodes before embarking on this project. One nice touch is the casting of former Avengers star Patrick Macnee as Solo and Illya's new superior, Sir John Raleigh. Originally telecast April 5, 1983, on CBS, The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E. (subtitled "The 15 Years Later Affair") failed to deliver sufficient ratings to warrant the planned revival of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The third installment in the haunted-house saga discards any pretense of being based on actual events in order to provide the requisite cheap thrills sought by audiences during the short-lived 3-D revival of the early '80s. When a skeptical reporter (Tony Roberts) with a penchant for debunking phony psychic hoaxes moves into the Long Island house to disprove its nightmarish legend, he and his family are set upon by all manner of supernatural beasties. Many such manifestations leap wildly out at the screen to fully exploit the 3-D effect, making the cheap gags all too obvious in the "flattened" video and cable prints (often released under the title Amityville 3: The Demon). Remarkably violent for a PG-rated film (those with an intense fear of fire might want to fast-forward through Candy Clark's death scene), Amityville 3-D has a certain cheesy appeal for anyone who likes touring Halloween spook-houses. Look closely to spot a young Meg Ryan in a small doomed-teen role. This 3-D version was followed by even more sequels, including Amityville: The Evil Escapes, Amityville 1992: It's About Time, The Amityville Curse, and Amityville: A New Generation. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Roberts, Tess Harper, (more)
- 1983
Set in 1940, the fourth episode of the seven-part, eighteen-hour miniseries The Winds of War finds American troubleshooter Cmdr. "Pug" Henry (Robert Mitchum) heading to England on a secret mission for President Roosevelt. Here he is reunited with his secret love, Pamela Tudsbury (Victoria Tennant) and later has a tense showdown with Winston Churchill (Howard Lang) over policy matters. Barely escaping the Nazi bombs during the first London blitz (a spectacular sequence), Henry survives to fly in a retaliatory raid over Germany--while both the women in his life (the other being his long-suffering wife Rhoda [Polly Bergen]) wait and worry. The Winds of War was adapted by Herman Wouk from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This story about an elderly couple who start a large controversy when everyone learns they plan on committing suicide stars James Stewart as the retired Teddy Dwyer, and Betty Davis is his wife Mini Dwyer. When Mini learns she is terminally ill with a blood disease, the couple decide to end their lives peacefully, at the same time. Mini's mistake was to finally tell her daughter Ruda (Melinda Dillon), and from there, the news eventually leaks out and gets passed on to the media. Right of Way tries to balance precariously between a serious theme and a light-hearted couple, as Teddy continues engrossed in his books and Mini in her long-practiced art of making specialty dolls, with their housecats all around them. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, James Stewart, (more)
- 1982
Inasmuch as Mark Twain thoughtlessly neglected to mention all the "secret adventures" of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn in his own books on these colorful characters, this CBS TV movie performed a public service by taking up the slack. According to Rascals and Robbers, Hannibal's own Tom (Patrick Creadon) and Huck (Anthony Michael Hall in his first important role) enabled a slave to purchase his sister's freedom, saved an entire town from a confidence scam, came to the rescue of a failing circus, and foiled a particularly scurrilous villain, "in between" their more familiar exploits up and down the Mississippi. A strong supporting cast helps to make this film palatable for Twain purists. Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn originally aired on February 27, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
In this made-for-TV thriller, a luckless, cynical San Diego gumshoe is hired to look into the mysterious disappearance of a crime lord's wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Angie Dickinson, (more)
- 1982
- PG
Tony Bill directed this sentimental weepie starring Dudley Moore as California politician Patrick Dalton. When Nicole (Katherine Healy), the daughter of the well-to-do Charlotte Dreyfus (Mary Tyler Moore) asks to work for his campaign, Patrick initially turns her down. But when he discovers that she is dying from leukemia, Patrick is determined to make her final days happy ones. Along the way, Patrick and Charlotte have an affair and they take Nicole on a dream trip to New York City. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dudley Moore, Mary Tyler Moore, (more)
- 1981
Lindsay Wagner stars as Callie, who battles her way up the ladder from waitress to fabulously wealthy Texas socialite. The price for her success is her son Randy, played by Jameson Parker. Though wielding great power, Callie is nearly powerless in her efforts to keep Randy away from beautiful young schemer Michelle Pfeiffer. The film's many intrigues result in a sensational murder trial. Made for TV, Callie and Son was originally seen October 13, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Incensed over the bad theatrical reviews doled out by critic John Bowman (John Harkins), Bobby (Jeff Conaway) writes a scathing letter to Bowman's newspaper -- then decides that it wouldn't be prudent to mail the missive. But Louie (Danny DeVito) finds the letter and ships it off to Bowman, leading to a citywide "cause celebre" in which dozens of frustrated actors rally around Bobby as their hero. All well and good -- until Bowman shows up to review Bobby's one-man show. ~ All Movie Guide
In this legal drama from director Sydney Pollack, Sally Field stars as Megan, an ambitious newpaper reporter who, based on information from FBI investigator Rosen, played by Bob Balaban, writes a scathing article that implicates Gallagher, a reclusive business-owner played by Paul Newman, in the recent disappearance of a labor leader. When Gallagher confronts Megan and sets her straight, the two team together to prove his innocence and have a few romantic interludes along the way. Wilford Brimley and Melinda Dillon also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Sally Field, (more)
- 1980
Tenspeed and Brown Shoe was a "cult" comedy adventure series created by Stephen J. Cannell, which ran from January to June of 1980. Ben Vereen played E. L. "Tenspeed" Turner, a silver tongued African-American con artist. Jeff Goldblum costarred as staid stockbroker Lionel Whitney, whom Tenspeed nicknamed "Brown Shoe." This oil-and-water combination teamed up to form a detective agency. Just how this came about is explained in the 2-hour pilot for Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, which aired on January 27, 1980. In addition to uniting the stars, the pilot's storyline included a murdered gang leader, a Marathon Man style ex-Nazi diamond fence, and a suitcase full of hot mob money. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
The issue of forced school busing is explored with an unfortunately heavy hand in All God's Children. Richard Widmark plays a judge who is tortured with guilt after a school bus is stolen. The robbery was a prank, committed as a reaction to the judge's ruling that selected black students must be bused to white schools, and vice versa. The vehicle was appropriated by two high schoolers, one black, one white. The film's tension arises from the fact that a burned-beyond-recognition body was found in the wreckage; the families of both boys wait in anguish to discover the identity of a victim, while the rest of the community threatens to erupt into violence no matter what the outcome of the autopsy. All God's Children was first telecast April 20, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
