Katherine Justice Movies

In the first episode of a two part story, Hunter (Fred Dryer) comes home to find the body of a murdered woman sprawled over a chair in his living room. Almost immediately thereafter, the corpse disappears--and with it all evidence of the killing. Though he doesn't know it at first, Hunter has unearthed a hotbed of intrigue involving a mysterious beauty, a Russian defector, and ruthless special agents from an unidentified Federal agency. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this standard romantic drama slated for TV movie channels, Valentine (Karen Black) is dissatisfied in her marriage to a racecar driver (Tony Lo Bianco) and begins a romantic liaison with a student at the community college she attends. Her husband has also been unfaithful, and his indiscretions are what prompt her own behavior. Since her marital woes continue, Valentine leaves home, gets a job as a waitress at a local nightclub, and ponders her future as nothing right now seems certain. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

An airliner crashes into the icy waters of Santa Monica Bay, killing several passengers. Investigating, Quincy (Jack Klugman) comes to the conclusion that many of the victims died needlessly, due to an insufficient supply of inflatable lifeboats. Thus begins another crusade for the feisty medical examiner, as he lobbies for stronger safety measures during over-the-water airline flights--and as usual, he meets with stiff opposition from the insensitive powers-that-be. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this thriller a federal officer acts upon his suspicion that the recent death of his predecessor was part of a conspiracy to kill a presidential candidate. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Frasier the Sensuous Lion would seem to have been conceived as a racy "answer" to Disney's sugary-sweet animal comedies. The talkative title character is befriended by zoologist Marvin Feldman (Michael Callan). When Frasier's loquaciousness becomes public knowledge, Feldman tries to save the lion from being commercially exploited by a sleazy California wildlife preserve. The film's supporting cast includes such TV perennials as Frank De Kova ("Wild Eagle" on F Troop) and Malachi Throne ("Noah Bain" on It Takes a Thief). Frasier's innuendo-laden dialogue is supplied by, of all people, Victor Jory. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Limbo was one of Hollywood's first big-studio films to concentrate on how Vietnam affected the families of the combatants. Kathleen Nolan, Kate Jackson and Katherine Justice play three service wives living at a Florida Air Force Base. Their husbands have all been called to active duty in Vietnam, and all have either been captured or are MIAs. Avoiding the propagandistic stance of most war films of its period (and of such World War II films as Tender Comrade), Limbo manages to accurately convey the churned-up emotions of women who love their husbands and their country, but do not love what husbands are expected to do on behalf of that country. Before it is overwhelmed by soap opera suds, the film (scripted by Joan Micklin Silver and James Bridges, both on the verge of bigger things) makes several cogent points about personal relationships in the face of national crisis. Limbo has also been released as Chained to Yesterday and Women in Limbo. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Produced in Europe, Impulsion barely made a dent in American moviehouses. We couldn't find any references to the film at all until it popped up on commercial television in the 1980s. It certainly sounds worth our while, what with a cast that includes Alejandro Rey, John Anderson, and Katherine Justice. The plot deals with crimes of passion amongst the jet set, crimes which turn out to have widespread ramifications, even among the less privileged classes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The FBI is summoned to a ranching community to investigate a possible Civil Rights violation. Sheriff William Temple (James Olson) has been accused of excessive brutality and attempted murder by Peter Griffith (Bill Hickman), who has been arrested for smuggling illegal aliens. Faced with overwhelming evidence, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) has no choice but to place Temple in custody--but Erskine can't shake the feeling that the sheriff is being framed by his longtime enemy, rancher Cliff Wyant (J.D. Cannon). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Senator William J. Tadlock (Kirk Douglas) enlists the help of veteran scout Dick Summers (Robert Mitchum) to lead a wagon train of settlers from Missouri to Oregon in this plodding, routine western. A scared settler accidently shoots an Indian boy who is mistaken for a wolf, prompting Summers to order newlywed triggerman Johnny Mack (Michael Witney) to be hanged to avoid an Indian attack. Sally Field appears in her first big-screen role as the slatternly Mercy McBee. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Prescription: Murder, a 1967 TV movie, represents the first appearance of Peter Falk as the rumpled but crafty detective Columbo. Gene Barry plays a distinguished doctor whose happiness is thwarted by his drunken wife (Nina Foch). Barry is in love with a pretty actress (Katherine Justice), and to smooth the path of his romance he murders his wife and arranges the evidence to pin the blame elsewhere. Enter Columbo, who seems to be slow on the uptake but who in fact is suspicious of the doctor's story. Snooping, prodding, puttering, and forever stopping at the doorway with the inevitable "just one more question," Columbo gets to the truth by playing a psychological trick on Barry, with the grudging cooperation of Barry's mistress. Written by Richard Levinson and William Link, Prescription Murder began life as a Broadway play in the late 1950s, starring Thomas Mitchell in the Columbo part (with a different character name), Joseph Cotten as the devious doctor, Agnes Moorehead as the victim and Patricia Medina (Mrs. Cotten) as the mistress. It would be adapted into a one-hour special on NBC in 1961 (with Bert Freed as the disheveled detective) before finally hitting weekly-series paydirt with Peter Falk in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi