David Hedison Movies

In this combination sequel and prequel to the surprise box-office success The Omega Code, one man becomes the leader of an evil empire that could destroy the world, and his brother must rise against him in the defense of good. Stone Alexander (played as a child by Gavin Fink) is a moody, dark-tempered child whose parents died shortly after he was born. The mother who adopted Stone died several years later while giving birth to another son, David, and Stone is unable to forgive his brother for unwittingly taking his mother from him. Stone goes so far as to attempt to murder David, and their father, prominent businessman Daniel Alexander (David Hedison), responds by shipping Stone off to military school. There, Stone falls under the tutelage of The Guardian (Udo Kier), an instructor at the school who is actually an emissary of Satan. While the enmity between Stone (played as a teenager by Noah Huntley) and David (played by Chad Michael Murray) cools a bit with time, Stone once again finds himself in a bitter rivalry with his brother when they both fall in love with the same woman, Gabriella (played as a teenager by Elisa Scialpi). Stone eventually wins Gabriella's hand and they marry, as Stone (played as an adult by Michael York) rises to power as the ruthless leader of the military arm of the European Union; David (played as an adult by Michael Biehn), meanwhile, becomes a powerful figure in American politics, and is elected to the office of Vice President. What neither David nor Gabriella (played as an adult by Diane Venora) fully understand is that, under the influence of The Guardian, Stone has taken on the role of the Antichrist, and he attempts to curry his brother's favor (and arrange events that will make David president) in a bid for world domination. When it becomes clear to David that the goal of his brother's campaign is to put the world in the power of Satan, David realizes America and its allies must join forces against Stone's troops in a battle in Megiddo, Israel -- predicted in the Book of Revelations as the place of the final battle of good versus evil. Megiddo: Omega Code 2 also features Franco Nero, R. Lee Ermey, and Gil Colon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Due to the fact that the French-Algerian War (beginning in 1954) brought down several governments and led to the creation of the Fifth Republic, a deeply divided France struggled over whether to retain Algeria as the southern outpost of France proper, and this conflict was never formally declared as a war. Feelings within France ran high over the conflict, as those who wished to retain the north African country in French hands viewed it not as a colony, but as part of France itself, and this lent ferocity to their actions; those who viewed it as a colony were puzzled by the whole affair and its divisive nature and were ashamed of their country's actions. Meanwhile, the Algerian freedom fighters themselves were deeply divided, with some merely wanting a "civilized" independence with good relations with France, and others wanting to punish their oppressors. Terrorism on both sides became commonplace, and the conflict is often considered to be France's "Vietnam." This documentary explores the conflict through the recollections of a some veterans living in Grenoble and uses their personal photographs with telling effect. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of Murder She Wrote's two-part Season Five finale, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is still contending with her witchy rival mystery writer Eudora McVeigh Shipton (Jean Simmons). Although the duplicitous Eudora confesses that she has stolen the notes for Jessica's latest novel, she denies that she tried to do her rival in with a poisoned apple--and even more emphatically denies murdering the detective who has trailed Eudora all the way to Cabot Cove. The two amateur sleuths decide to briefly bury the hatchet and solve the mystery...provided that Eudora can be trusted any farther than she can be thrown! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Timothy Dalton is better in Licence to Kill than in his first James Bond endeavor (The Living Daylights), but he still seems uncomfortable on the right side of the law. This time around, Bond is working on his own rather than on behalf of the British Secret Service. His American friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison), an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration, has been seriously injured by drug dealer Robert Davi, and 007 is out for blood. There is precious little time for the usual Bondian quippery and directorial campiness, resulting in a marked increase in bloodletting (including the "implosion" of secondary villain Anthony Zerbe). A climactic highway chase involving an oil tanker and a helicopter is stretched slightly beyond its value, but is still one of the best action setpieces in any Bond film. Licence to Kill was a refreshingly serious change of pace for the series, albeit one that tended to lessen Bond's box-office value. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode marks the first appearance of Calhoun Fletcher (Peter Bonerz), the troublesome--and trouble-prone--distant cousin of mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). At the behest of her Aunt Mildred (played in a delightful cameo by filmdom's former "Blondie" Penny Singleton), Jessica agrees to look up Calhoun in New Orleans, where the Mardi Gras celebration is in full swing. It turns out that Jessica's sleuthing talents are desperately needed: Cal has been accused of murdering a famous--and famously crooked--professional poker player. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Tunisia on a budget of 30 million dollars, the five-part, 12-hour miniseries A.D. was the final installment in a historical trilogy which included Moses the Lawgiver and Jesus of Nazareth. Covering the years 30 to 69 A.D., the teleplay, co-written by Anthony Burgess, chronicled the political intrigue which plagued the Roman Empire, with such key players as the emperors Tiberius (James Mason in his final role), Caligula (John McEnery), Claudius (Richard Kiley), and Nero (Anthony Andrews) calling the shots. Meanwhile, the death of Jesus Christ (played by Michael Wilding, son of Elizabeth Taylor) not only sparked a widespread monotheistic religious movement, but also resulted in devastating factionalism amongst the various Jewish sects of the era. Offsetting the true events are a number of fictional subplots, among them the romance between Jewish slave girl Sarah (Amanda Pays) and Roman soldier Valerius (Neil Dickson), and the tempestuous relationship between male and female gladiators, Caleb (Cecil Humphreys) and Corinna (Diana Venora). The huge cast included Ava Gardner, making her TV-movie debut as the scheming Agrippina. The winner of an Emmy award for Best Film Editing, A.D. was broadcast by NBC from March 31 through April 4, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This two-part TV movie was originally titled Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues. A follow-up to Rogers' phenomenally successful 1980 made-for-TV The Gambler, the film charts the further adventures of frontier "plunger" Brady Hawkes (played by Rogers, of course). Also making a return appearance is Bruce Boxleitner as Brady's bucolic protégé Billy Montana. This time around, Linda Evans guest-stars as sexy bounty hunter Kate Muldoon, who helps Brady rescue his kidnapped son. When this second Gambler film was first telecast on November 28 and 29, 1983, it proved to be even more popular than the first, leading to still more sequels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Roger Moore took a brief vacation from playing James Bond in this witty adventure drama. Rufus Excalibur ffolkes (Moore), who for some reason prefers not to capitalize his last name, is a scuba-diving adventurer for hire with a sharp mind, a quick wit, a fondness for cats, and a certain distrust of women. When terrorist Lou Kramer (Anthony Perkins) takes over an oil drilling platform in the North Sea and threatens to blow it sky high if his demands are not met, ffolkes is called in by Admiral Brinsden (James Mason) to foil Kramer's scheme before it's too late. ffolkes, also released as North Sea Hijack and Assault Force, was based on the novel Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer by Jack Davies, who also penned the screenplay ("Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer," incidentally, are the code names for the ship, drilling rig, and platform seized by Kramer in the film). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this exciting fantasy, a stunt pilot gets into a terrible accident and awakes to find himself imbued with the power to electrocute people by touching them. The trouble begins when he is abducted by an evil villain. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The cast of the popular old TV series Peyton Place reunite when Allison MacKenzie and Rodney Harrington are found dead. Other than that, and a decade's worth of gossip, nothing much has changed there. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Queen is a luxury cruise ship, "played" by the Queen Mary in this made-for-TV thriller. The villain has it in for one of the ship's millionaire passengers. Accordingly, he (or she-we're not telling) plans to destroy the vessel and everyone on board. The producer of this all-star disasterfest was-drum roll, please-Irwin Allen. TV movie "regulars" John Gay and David Lowell Rich served as scripter and director, respectively, for Adventures of the Queen, which first sailed into American homes on February 14, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this theatrically released episode from the TV series based on the popular feature film, Shaft, the tough New York detective must use all of his experience to solve the case and bring the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

One suspects that this episode was a case of combining business with pleasure for F.B.I star Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) On assignment for the FBI, Inspector Lew Erskine (Zimbalist) grabs his clubs and heads to an expensive golf course. The purpose: to trap a group of affluent thieves who have stolen a diamond worth $300,000. Featured in the cast is Quinn Redeker, who later forsook acting to become a screenwriter, sharing an Oscar for 1978's The Deer Hunter. Much of this episode was filmed on location at various golf clubs along the Monterey Peninsula. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide