David Janssen Movies

Harry Walker (David Janssen) is a helicopter traffic reporter in Salt Lake City who's never quite gotten over the time he spent flying during World War II -- a former combat pilot, he sees the world passing him by amid complacency and his own life reduced to boredom and bittersweet nostalgia for the best of times, when he was working for a cause that mattered (and there were causes that mattered). He chances on a brutal armored car robbery and helps the police give chase, and suddenly finds himself in the thick of the action when the robbers -- who have taken a woman hostage -- switch from a getaway car to a chopper. And when the getaway chopper tries to ram him, that's all it takes to get Walker into a cross-country aerial pursuit into the Utah desert in a duel to the death. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

When the blame of murder is placed on his friend, a private detective attempts to clear his reputation in a small cattle community. ~ Rovi

The Longest Night is a harrowing made-for-TV movie based on a real-life kidnapping. Sallie Shockley is abducted from the home of her parents and held for ransom. Her captors entomb her in a box buried several feet underground, with an air hose as her only conduit to the outside world. As the police close in on the kidnappers and search for the girl, she desperately tries to stave off hysteria and to prevent the cutting off of her air supply. She is rescued comparatively early in the storyline, which then switches to the trackdown of the culprits. The Longest Night effectively conveys the claustrophobic atmosphere of the story, even though it runs out of gas before the end. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this French crime thriller, you can leave the mob, but the mob won't leave you. Louis (Jean Yanne) has retired to a Thailand plantation with an Asian wife and child. Back in Marseilles, however, because a no-holds-barred gang war has broken out, Louis' large collateral family is wiped out, and he is family are slated for destruction. Hit-men are sent, and they kill his wife, but fail to get Louis. Now incensed, he returns to Marseilles to set these people straight. They confuse him with a policeman (Sterling Hayden) who is escorting Louis' daughter to Paris, and though they kill his daughter, Louis is able to get through the airport and into town. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Counterfeit Green is a jerrybuilt "TV movie" made up of two episodes of the TV series O'Hara, US Treasury. David Janssen stars in this Jack Webb-produced effort as Jim O'Hara, special agent for five different treasury branches. O'Hara is on the prowl for (what else?) clever counterfeiters. In one episode, a compulsive gambler uses a million bucks in funny money for one last "killing"; in the other, a counterfeiter banks on his charms to finagle a lonely widow into transporting his illegal cargo. O'Hara, US Treasury ran for one season, from September 17, 1971 to September 8, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When a gangster takes control of the city, a U.S. Treasury agent works to stop the illegal activities. ~ Rovi

Will David Janssen never stop being a fugitive? In the made-for-TV Night Chase, he's a Los Angelino on the lam after shooting his wife's lover. Believing he's killed the man, Janssen boards Yaphet Kotto's taxi and orders Kotto to head for Mexico. The film's level of suspense holds up until the end, when the logic holes begin widening. Night Chase went into production with the more appropriate title The Man in the Back Seat. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this tense and suspenseful science fiction thriller, Charles Keith (Gregory Peck) is the ground commander in Houston who monitors the space mission of three astronauts. Buzz (Gene Hackman), Jim (Richard Crenna) and Clayton (James Franciscus) have their lives put in jeopardy when the oxygen supply in the space capsule drops. Ted Dougherty (David Janssen) is sent to try and rescue the doomed astronauts. When it becomes clear there is not enough oxygen, it is suggested that one of the men commit suicide to allow the other two to live. Jim, the unit commander, makes an excuse to spacewalk. Under the guise of making repairs, he cuts himself loose from the life line and drifts away into the cold darkness of space. Russian cosmonauts race against time to try and save their American counterparts. An Oscar-winner for "Best Special Visual Effects," the film also picked up nominations for "Best Cinematography" and "Best Sound." It was later retitled Space Travelers. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The Green Berets is an exciting war film that was lambasted by critics who at the time of its release opposed the war in Vietnam. Wayne's role is similar to his part in The Longest Day (1963), but it was evident to the worldwide public that the same bravado that flew well in World War II crash-landed in 1968 in the wake of a very different war and political time. Wayne plays the hard-nosed rough-and-ready Colonel Mike Kirby who heads a courageous bunch of tough-as-nails Green Berets determined to capture an important enemy general. They are accompanied by a skeptical reporter who soon becomes a gung-ho red-white-and-blue patriot as the Colonel and the others lecture and show him why they must defeat the "commies." Interestingly, despite the massive anti-war sentiments of the times, the film grossed over $11 million at the box-office and is especially notable for the fine battle scenes. The film also features the hit song "Ballad of the Green Berets," sung by Sgt. Barry Sadler. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

LAPD detective Sgt. Tom Valens (David Janssen) is a ten-year veteran of the force who has had more than his share of hard luck lately -- his marriage is a wreck, and he hasn't fully recovered from a serious wound suffered in the line of duty a year ago. He and his partner, Sgt. Ed Musso (Keenan Wynn), are working a stakeout one night at the Seascape Apartments, in hope of catching a killer who has already claimed three victims in that part of the city, when he confronts a man seemingly trying to sneak off the premises. The man tries to run, stops when ordered but starts to pull a gun, and Valens shoots him dead. The deceased turns out to be Dr. James B. Ruston, a well-known humanitarian and pillar of the community -- worse yet, the police can't find any trace of the gun Valens says he saw Ruston pull. Valens' nightmare builds gradually, as he's first assigned to a desk, then hung out to dry by an indifferent coroner (Carroll O'Connor) at an inquest, suspended from the force, and then indicted for manslaughter by a crusading prosecutor (Sam Wanamaker) with a personal ax to grind. Villified in the press and by protesters in the street, Valens has few even slightly sympathetic ears around him -- his partner, his captain (Ed Begley Sr.), and his soon-to-be-ex-wife (Joan Collins) -- and even fewer allies. The one attorney (Walter Pidgeon) with enough juice to fight the case on an even footing with the DA says he would only plead him guilty and try for a deal, based on his understanding of the law and of juries; and the one public pundit (Steve Allen) who takes his part is doing so for the most cynical of reasons. Valens realizes that the only way to save himself is to first prove that the so-called victim wasn't quite the candidate for sainthood that he seemed -- why did he run? -- and to find the missing gun. To do all of that, he's got to confront the victim's aggrieved patients (Lillian Gish), his alcoholic widow (Eleanor Parker), and his employees (Stefanie Powers), all of whom have every reason to hate Valens. He starts to dig into the doctor's finances and finds some anomalies that no one can explain (or wants to look at -- they'd rather hang Valens), and as he puts together the pieces of the puzzle, helped by a sympathetic tenant at Seascape (George Grizzard), Valens finds himself pursued by the doctor's thug of son and his friends with mayhem on their minds -- and someone else with a deadlier agenda. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Switching from black and white to color for its fourth and final season, The Fugitive otherwise follows the patten established during its first three years on the air. Wrongly condemned to death for the murder of his wife, Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) has managed to escape custody, and is presently travelling all over the country, assuming innumerable aliases and tackling a variety of odd jobs, all the while searching for the real murderer, a one-armed criminal named Fred Johnson (Bill Raisch). Meanwhile, police lieutenant Philip Gerard (Barry Morse), from whom Kimble had escaped during a train wreck, persists in his own lonely mission, to track down and recapture the fugitive doctor. Though enough evidence has surfaced to indicate that Kimble was telling the truth about the One-Armed Man, and despite his own gut feelings about the whole affair, the duty-bound Gerard is still determined to see that "justice" is served and that Kimble will be shipped off to Death Row. Throughout Season Four, the distance between Kimble and Fred Johnson, and between Gerard and Kimble, continues to narrow, leading inexorably to the now-legendary two part series finale, in which Kimble, learning that Johnson has been arrested in LA on a separate crime, agrees to surrender to Gerard. Unfortunately, Johnson escapes, and for a while it looks as though Kimble's goose is cooked. Instead, Gerard is persuaded to allow Kimble to chase after Johnson himself, in hopes of extracting a confession. The climax finds Kimble and Johnson perilously perched on a high water tower in a deserted amusement park. Johnson confesses to the murder, but before he can repeat his confession to Gerard, he falls to his death. Has Kimble finally run out of options? Don't be too sure. . . Originally telecast on August 29, 1967, The Fugitive's final episode was seen by 72 percent of all American viewers, establishing a ratings record that would remain unbroken for the next thirteen years! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season Three of The Fugitive finds the title character, Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), still at large and on the run with a death sentence hanging over his head. Innocent of the murder of his wife, Kimble hopscotches from one community to another, assuming a vast array of identities and taking on a multitude of odd jobs as he searches for the genuine murderer, known only as the One-Armed Man. Dogging Kimble's trail at every turn is relentless police lieutenant Philip Gerard (Barry Morse), from whom the fugitive had escaped during a train wreck. The season opener "Wings of an Angel" features a guest performance by Sue Randall, best remembered for her portrayal of schoolteacher Miss Landers on Leave It to Beaver; ironically, Diane Brewster, who had appeared on Beaver as Miss Landers' predecessor Miss Canfield, continues to make sporadic flashback appearances on The Fugitive in the role of Kimble's soon-to-be-murdered wife Helen. And in the two-part "Landscape with Running Figures", Barbara Rush appears as Marie Gerard, wife of the tireless Lt. Gerard; in characteristic fashion, Kimble puts his freedom on the line to save Mrs. Gerard's life--while, equally in character, Gerard refuses to give up the chase. Subsequent third-season episodes are distinguished by such familiar TV personalities as William Shatner James Doohan, DeForest Kelley (none of whom appear in the same episode, worse luck!), Larry Blyden, Marion Ross, Norman Fell, Lee Meriwether, Wayne Rogers and Steven Hill. And in the episode "Wife Killer", the viewer is afforded a rare full-face glimpse of the elusive One-Armed Man, aka Fred Johnson (Bill Raisch). Tumbling from its second-season perch as America's 5th most popular series, The Fugitive didn't even make the "Top Thirty" during Season Three, suggesting that audiences were growing as weary of the search for the One-Armed Man as Richard Kimble had become. However, the show's viewership would increase immensely during its fourth and last season, a fact attributable to its switchover from black and white to color, and especially its highly anticipated final episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This was the first film directed by dancer and choreographer Gower Champion, already experienced at directing television and theatrical productions by the early '60s. The routine romantic comedy, somewhat bogged down by the children it features, is centered on overwrought actress Janice Courtney (Debbie Reynolds). She has had it with paparazzi and publicity campaigns and escapes to the Connecticut countryside for a little R & R. At that point, a half-dozen youngsters intrude into her life after they are abandoned by their ne'er-do-well guardians, and though she is anything but enthusiastic, Janice takes them under her frayed wings. The local pastor, Rev. Jim Larkin (Cliff Robertson) has something to do with that, and ultimately, more than a little something to do with Janice's personal life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi