Ron Pinkard Movies

Police officer Brian Taggart (Jack Kehoe) is targetted by the Internal Affairs division after an attempt to capture a gang of bank robbers goes awry, resulting in the needless death of a hostage. Charged with use of excessive force, Taggart begs Quincy (Jack Klugman) to defend him before the Police Hearing Board. Though none too keen on "cleansing" a loose-cannon cop against whom the evidence is apparently insurmountable, Quincy agrees to do what he can--if he can. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Frequent Mission:Impossible villain John Vernon makes a return appearance in "Movie," this time as mob-connected Hollywood mogul Norman Shields. In order to wrest the Syndicate's financial records from Shields, Phelps poses as Theo Dane, the courier brother of mob financier Benjamin Dane (David Brian). But the more fascinating masquerade is pulled off by IMF agents Barney and Mimi Davis (Barbara Anderson), who respectively impersonate a director and an actress while purportedly filming a recreation of a murder committed by Shields (shades of "The Murder of Gonzago" in Shakespeare's Hamlet!) Scripted by Anthony Bowers, Arthur Weiss, and Stephen Kandel, from a story by Bowers, "Movie" first aired on November 4, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two police officers have been wounded, and suspicion falls on a band of militants who summoned the officers to a remote location with a phony call for help. Investigating the incident, Officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord) learns to his dismay that the brother of one of the suspects is a close friend of his. Featured in the supporting cast as Officer Barrett is future Emergency! regular Ron Pinkard. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bill Bixby sheds his "lovable sitcom hero" persona in the role of smooth-talking psychopath Tom Dayton. Seven years after killing the fiancee of Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway), Dayton is delcared to be "safe" by the authorities and is given his freedom. But Ed is convinced that Dayton's pathological hatred for female authority figures will soon resurface and tragedy will result unless the man is put out of commission permanently. This final episode of Ironside's third season features a flashback sequence in which Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) is able to move around without his wheelchair--presumably to squash the then-prevalent rumor that star Burr was genuinely paralyzed from the waist down! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While performing a show at a Federal penitentiary, the Partridges are approached by convict Hank (Stuart Margolin), who claims to have written some poems that he hopes the family will set to music. It turns out that Hank will go to any extreme to get the poems performed, even faking a measles epidemic to "quarantine" the family behind prison walls. As it happens, however, Hank is a complete phony: the actual author of the poems is tough cell-block leader Max (Ronald Feinberg), who would just as soon crack a few skulls rather than reveal his artistic aspirations! Songs: "Singing My Song" and "Only a Moment Ago". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Responding to a call from a concerned neighbor, Officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Martin Milner) come upon a particularly heinous example of child neglect. A six-year-old girl has been left alone in her home for several days--and her baby brother is dead, drowned in a bathtub. The question: Where is the mother...and what could she possibly have been thinking when she abandoned her children? Future Emergency! regular Ron Pinkard appears as a police photographer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When his girlfriend is murdered in Golden Gate Park, Mark (Don Mitchell) is bound and determined to take the law in his own hands to catch the killer. As a result, Mark is himself held for murder when the chief suspect turns up dead. In his efforts to clear, Mark, Ironside (Raymond Burr) instills in his hotheaded associate a new and daunting respect for "due process." Former Dobie Gillis star Dwayne Hickman turns up in a supporting role, as does future Kung Fu and Kill Bill leading man David Carradine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi