William Katt Movies
The son of actors Bill Williams and Barbara Hale, curly-haired leading man William Katt is fond of noting that he made his movie "debut" while residing in his mother's womb during filming of Lorna Doone (1951). After attending Orange Coast College, Katt pursued a career as a musician. He then made his formal acting bow in summer stock and small TV roles. Among Katt's film credits are the role of the high-school jock date of telekinetic wallflower Sissy Spacek in Carrie (1977), and one-half of the title role in Butch and Sundance, The Early Days (1979). From 1981 through 1983, Katt played the reluctant-superhero protagonist (originally named Ralph Hinkley, redubbed Ralph Hanley after the '81 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan) on TV's Greatest American Hero. Beginning in 1987, Katt played the recurring role of detective Paul Drake Jr. in the periodic Perry Mason TV movies, co-starring with his mother Barbara Hale, who resumed her "Della Street" characterization from the original 1961-66 Mason run. Katt also worked on the scripts of several of these latter-day Masons. More recently, William Katt was a regular on the 1991 Farrah Fawcett-Ryan O'Neal TV sitcom Good Sports. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideIn this chilling Canadian psycho-thriller a divorcee finds her life endangered when she returns to her hometown and finds herself the object of an unloved young boy's deadly obsession. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexandra Paul, Marc Marut, (more)
- Starring:
- Linda Gray, Brian Gaskill, (more)
In this quirky drama a trio involved in a self-contained world revolving around a remote tollbooth in the Florida Keys. Jack, an aspiring policeman, works in the tollbooth. There he dreams of his new career and of starting a new life in Miami with his high school sweetie Doris. She works at the Gator Gas fuel depot down the road. She daydreams about her estranged father Leon and takes care of her mother Lillian who suffers from chronic depression. When not caring for her mom, Doris sees Dash, a bait salesman. Leon suddenly returns. A new toll collector, Vic, comes to the booth. He is a suspicious character and soon the state police are carefully watching him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fairuza Balk, Lenny Von Dohlen, (more)
In this crime thriller, a pair of police detectives investigates a series of related killings. As the evidence mounts, it becomes chillingly apparent that one of the two gumshoes is the guilty party. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Season nine of Murder She Wrote comes to an end as famous romance novelist Sibella Stone (Carroll Baker) descends upon Cabot Cove, home turf of mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). It isn't long before Sibella's assistant is murdered, and at first it appears that the novelist herself was the killer's original target. But when Jessica probes into the situation, she discovers that the dead woman was having an affair with the husband of Sibella Stone's publisher...and there are several other people who would like to have seen the victim get knocked off. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this psycho thriller, Richard Sullivan is a mild-mannered, trusting ad-man who is tickled when his long lost cousin Harry suddenly shows up at his door. Harry is accompanied by Connie, his fiancee and the innocent Richard welcomes them into his happy home. Unfortunately, whereas Richard, his wife Kate and their son Alex live an idyllic existence, Harry and Connie's relationship is stormy and unstable. Connie constantly whines about wanting the perfect home, and both of them are intensely envious of the Sullivans. Their jealousy takes a darker turn when they try to become the Sullivans. First they begin undermining Richard and Kate's authority over Alex. Then Harry and Connie begin going through the couple's personal effects and files. Eventually, the spooky duo begins impersonating the Sullivans as much as they can. When Kate begins to get suspicious,the story takes a deadly turn for neither she nor Richard realize that they are dealing with cold-blooded, murderous psychopaths. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Harris, David Keith, (more)
A vacation in Scotland turns into hard work for Michael Cooper, a former Chicago policeman, when he runs into an engaging but nervous Englishman who appears as out of place as the American in a little Scottish fishing village. After the two become friendly, the ex-policeman learns the cause of the other man's nervousness: his daughter has been kidnapped by a criminal gang which is hoping to use her abduction in order to find the old man, who has been on the run from them for some time. Before long, Michael charges in to the rescue. This fairly tame action drama offers old-time fans of comic Norman Wisdom a chance to see him in a "straight" role. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Wisdom, William Katt, (more)
After two unsuccessful attempts to turn the House horror franchise into a collection of unrelated haunted-house stories (even ditching the House moniker prior to distribution of the third film, The Horror Show), the producers opted for a direct sequel (more or less) to the first film in the series. William Katt returns briefly for the role of Roger Cobb, the former beleaguered owner of a nightmarish fixer-upper filled to the brim with obnoxious demons. His part here amounts to little more than a cameo -- early in the film, Roger is killed in a nasty auto accident during a vacation with his new wife Kelly (Kerri Treas) and their 12-year-old daughter Laurel (Melissa Clayton). Kelly and Laurel -- who is now confined to a wheelchair -- try to begin their lives again at the family's summer house. Once there, Kelly is visited by visions of horrific events (including Roger's death) which become more frequent until she is forced to seek the aid of a shaman, who helps her to interpret them. The visions include a replay of the events which led to Roger's death, indicating the crash was no accident -- and revealing the identity of the party responsible. This installment marks a slightly more effective return to the comedy-horror formula that made House a surprise hit. Basically a distaff retread of that film, House IV benefits from its strong female heroine and more emotional involvement for the leads amid the barrage of slimy effects and over-the-top humor. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terri Treas, William Katt, (more)
This 1991erotic thriller revolves around a politician caught in a sexual cover-up that is reminiscent of the real-life 1987 Gary Hart/Donna Rice scandal. After city-council member Franklin Carlyle (William Katt) is mugged and stranded while checking out a redevelopment project in a downscale neighborhood, he is befriended by an alcoholic (Rick Dean) who introduces the politician to a local strip-bar. Carlyle becomes sexually involved with one of the dancers at the club (Maria Ford). This liaison horribly backfires when the woman is discovered murdered the morning after. As councilman Carlyle tries to hide his one-night stand with the slain stripper, the alcoholic begins to assume an increasingly menacing aspect. Interspersed with erotic dream fantasies and strip scenes, the thriller continues onward to its final--and cinematic--climax. This is the first release of director Dan Golden. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, Rick Dean, (more)
Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) comes to the defense of his secretary friend in this made-for-TV production. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
In 2099 America, after Armageddon, the government is being ruled by strict televangelists, and a bunch of freedom fighters are committed to overthrow the bible toters. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zach Galligan, Wayne Crawford, (more)
In this comedy, the members of the Shakers, an aspiring rock band, perform at a series of weird and wacky weddings. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, Joyce Hyser, (more)
William Katt, Catherine Oxenberg and Nia Peeples star in this comedy about an advertising agency who are about to lose their biggest client, the Saltaire Swimwear Company, until they come up with a brilliant idea -- create a swimsuit model talent search. Saltaire loves the idea and the media eats it up, but the contestants prove to be more trouble than anyone expected. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
In this entry in the long-running mystery series, Perry Mason must prove that the man whose murder conviction he upheld when he was an Appellate Court judge is really innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Raymond Burr, as ever, stars in this TV-movie continuation of the Perry Mason saga. Once more pulled out of semi-retirement, Perry takes on the case of a wealthy man (David Hasselhoff) accused of murdering his heiress wife. Of course, this has nothing to do with the Klaus von Bulow affair. As was customary in these latter-day Mason episodes, the bulk of the detective work is in the hands of Paul Drake Jr., played by William Katt--the real-life son of Mason's "Della Street," Barbara Hale. Lady in the Lake was one of two Perry Mason two-hour specials produced by Fred Silverman and Dean Hargrove in 1988; the other was subtitled The Case of the Avenging Ace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
William Katt plays Steve Shephard, a Vietnam Green Beret who has continued to fight on alone for 15years after the withdrawal of American forces. He's a renegade, seeking to avenge his fallen comrades and wearing spooky, white Kabuki-style makeup (hence the title) as he wages his one man war in a Vietnamese-Cambodian border area. As the film opens, the Pentagon receives a coded signal from Shephard that he's ready to come home. Ex-Green Beret Captain Walker (Wayne Crawford is dispatched with a team of vigilantes to find and return Shephard. The complication is that Walker and Shephard had clashed bitterly years earlier while in the same unit. White Ghost was filmed in Zimbabwe, doubling for the Southeast Asian locations. The film was planned for theatrical release by its original producers, but a merger with another company resulted in a direct-to-video release. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, Rosalind Chao, (more)
The Case of the Lost Love was the fourth of the Perry Mason TV movies of the 1980s. Raymond Burr plays Mason (you're surprised?), who while out of town at a lawyer's conference is reunited with Jean Simmons, his lady friend of 30 years past. Simmons has come up in the world, and is about to be nominated for the US senate. Unfortunately, her husband Gene Barry is accused of murdering a blackmailer. The lack of surprise in the denouement is compensated for by the pathos and emotionalism in the final scenes. Back from the previous Mason films is Barbara Hale as Della Street, and Hale's son William Katt as Paul Drake Jr. Despite stiff competition from the Audrey Hepburn-Robert Wagner TV movie Love Among Thieves, Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love swept the ratings when it premiered on February 23, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The last of the four Perry Mason movies telecast in 1987, The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel rounds up veterans Raymond Burr (as Mason) and Barbara Hale (as Della Street), with comparative newcomers William Katt (as Paul Drake Jr.) and David Ogden Stiers (as the "Hamilton Burger"-style prosecutor). The accused murderer in this outing is Susan Wilder, a reporter for a sleazy tabloid. The victim is the rag's hateful publisher, Robert Guillaume. Other suspects include Guillaume's ex-lover, and a banker who was ruined by the tabloid's half truths. Unlike most of the Perry Mason TV movies of the 1980s, The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel doesn't play fair with the audience; vital clues and character motivations are withheld from the viewer, robbing us of the pleasure of trying to second-guess the methodical Mr. Mason. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this entry in the long-running mystery series, Perry Mason takes the case of a publisher implicated in the strange murder of a horror novelist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this entry in the long-running mystery series, Perry Mason begins representing a friend of Della's after he is accused of murdering an old madam who is also his wife. As the intrepid attorney investigates, he soon exposes a multi-million dollar banking fraud. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A mild box-office hit for New World Pictures, this lightweight attempt at horror parody from Friday the 13th producer Sean S. Cunningham stars former Greatest American Hero William Katt as a best-selling pop-horror novelist (a la Stephen King) who suffers an insurmountable case of writer's block after separation from his soap-star wife (Kay Lenz) and the disappearance of their young son. Hoping to purge his personal demons by writing his Vietnam War memoirs, he moves into the massive mansion once occupied by his deceased aunt (who hanged herself in her bedroom), and finds himself surrounded by demons of a completely different kind. Katt takes the weirdness in stride, attempting to face down marauding monsters, interdimensional trap-doors and other supernatural horrors while concealing his predicament from the neighbors (except for a befuddled George Wendt, who tries gamely to play along with Katt's hare-brained monster-fighting schemes). Despite the filmmakers' admirable efforts to maintain the manic pace with multiple storylines, their attempt to bring all the plot elements together for the climactic payoff results in a jangled mess. Surprisingly entertaining when viewed as a live-action cartoon, but virtually impossible to take seriously as a horror film. Followed by three sequels. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, George Wendt, (more)
Following the excellent ratings response to the 1985 "reunion" special Perry Mason Returns, producers Fred Silverman and Dean Hargrove quickly assembled a second two-hour Mason TV movie in 1986. Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun finds Mason (Raymond Burr), now a judge, briefly stepping down from the bench to defend a nun (Michele Greene) accused of murder. The victim was a handsome priest, with whom the nun was allegedly conducting an affair. William Katt plays private detective Paul Drake Jr., who in the tradition of his late father tracks down clues on Mason's behalf--nearly losing his life at every turn. Case of the Notorious Nun was followed in short order by Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star (86). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is once more dragged out of retirement to defend a murder suspect. This time the defendant is an obnoxious actor (Joe Penny) who was seen by an audience of millions in the act of shooting a vitriolic TV talk show host (Allan Thicke). The actor claims the shooting was a prearranged publicity stunt, and that his gun was filled with blanks. Why, then, was the host stone cold dead when the cops arrived? Production sidelight: Allan Thicke, the "murdered" talk host in this made for TV movie, was in 1983 the real host of a failed talk show--a show produced by Fred Silverman, who also happened to be the producer of Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star.. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, (more)
















