Polly Middleton Movies
- 1976
Season Six of Emergency! begins as paramedics John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) and Roy Desoto (Kevin Tighe) considering themselves lucky to have pulled duty at a football game at LA Coliseum. Alas, their enjoyment of the gridiron activity is constantly interrupted by emergency first-aid calls involving a choking spectator, an injured sidelines photographer, and a TV announcer (played by comedian Jack Carter) who suffers a heart attack. And outside the stadium, the emergency team deals with a man who has fallen into a tree (yes, into a tree). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Of the two rape-oriented TV movies of the 1973-74 season, A Case of Rape, first telecast February 20, 1974, is far and away the finer film (the other was the compelling but contrived Cry Rape). Elizabeth Montgomery stars as a housewife who is sexually assaulted not once but twice by a so-called family friend (Cliff Potts). The rape is only the beginning of a long cycle of humiliation and self-doubt: the investigating police are dismissive of Montgomery's charges, the female defense attorney (Rosemary Murphy) tries to put the victim on trial, and Montgomery's reputation and marriage (to Ronny Cox) are irrevocably damaged. Though things don't go well for her in the courtroom, Montgomery emerges from the experience a stronger and more self-reliant person, unwilling to allow herself to be destroyed by outside influences. Don't miss the final confrontation between raper and rapist after the trial--an underplayed but bone-chilling vignette. Had not Cicely Tyson sewn up the Emmy with The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Elizabeth Montgomery would certainly have copped the prize with A Case of Rape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Lloyd Nolan guest stars as Judge Harper, who during his long career on the bench has made a number of controversial decisions--none more so than when he sentenced a man named Holloway to a ten-year prison term for treason. When Holloway dies just before his parole, his son Joe (Jack Bender) vows to get even by murdering Harper. Taking a special interest in this cast is FBI Special Agent Chris Daniels, who as a young law student had always been skeptical about the motives behind Harper's verdict. A very young Audrey Landers makes her first major TV appearance in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
