Robert Lansing Movies
Born Robert Brown, actor Robert Lansing borrowed his stage name from the capital city of Michigan. Lansing first appeared on Broadway in Stalag 17 (1951); throughout his film career he periodically returned to the New York stage, making his last such appearance in 1991. He made his film bow in 1959 with The 4-D Man, delivering one of the finest performances ever seen in a medium-budget science fiction film. His first TV-series stint was as detective Steve Carella in 87th Precinct (1961). In 1964, he was cast as Brigadier General Frank Savage in 12 O'Clock High. At the beginning of the series' second year, Lansing was written out of the program with startling finality, dying in an air crash in the second season's opening episode. Turning up none the worse for wear in the fall of 1966, Lansing starred in the short-lived espionage series The Man Who Never Was, essaying the dual role of secret agent Peter Murphy and millionaire Mark Wainwright. He then busied himself with film and stage work, returning to TV as Lt. Jack Curtis in Automan (1983) and as The Control in The Equalizer (1985-89). His last regular TV assignment was as Captain Paul Blaisdell in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1992-1994). In the series' last episode of 1994, Captain Blaisdell was forced to retire; mortally ill with cancer, he died three weeks before the airing of his final episode, which was dedicated to his memory. At one time, Robert Lansing was married to General Hospital star Emily McLaughlin; and from 1991 to 1993, he was president of The Players, a theatrical fraternal organization. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1992
Gerald S. O'Loughlin guest stars as Ben Oliver, a former Army buddy of Cabot Cove physician Seth Hazlitt (William Windom). Arriving in town to pay Seth a visit, Ben is clearly carrying around a great deal of emotional baggage. Subsequently, Ben's new boss is murdered, and Ben is implicated in the crime. Out of friendship for Seth, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) investigates the situation, but doesn't like what she finds out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This documentary is named for a play written by Maxwell Anderson, one of the giants of 20th century American theater. The film is an intimate portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Anderson, who was born in 1888 and educated at Stanford University before turning to journalism and then to the theater, where he left a lasting legacy. He penned such classics as "Key Largo," "The Bad Seed," "What Price Glory," "Anne of a Thousand Days," and "Both Your Houses." His dream was to write in verse because he was "weary of plays in prose that never lifted from the ground." After some initial failures, he did compose two successful dramas in verse of Elizabeth the Queen and Mary of Scotland. His crowning achievement came with the composition in verse of Winterset, a poetic tragedy set in contemporary America. The play won him the first New York Drama Critics Circle award in 1935. A verse play of a revisionist view of Richard III was published posthumously. This documentary is narrated by Robert Lansing, and features interviews with Burgess Meredith and Helen Hayes. His friend Ms. Hayes says it best when she proclaims her friend "an American master, a national treasure". ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Season One of Law & Order came to an end with this emotionally charged episode, in which police captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek) is himself a suspect in a conspiracy investigation. Cragen's longtime friend and colleague Peter O'Farrell (Robert Lansing), the NYPD's Chief of Operations, is suspected of laundering drug money. Reluctantly, the D.A.'s office pursues a possible link between O'Farrell's alleged crime and Cragen's supposed complicity. Series regular George Dzundza makes his final appearance as Detective Max Greevey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Long believed to be dead, bank robber Ned Jinks (Donnelly Rhodes) returns to Cabot Cove after twenty years in hopes of visiting his daughter Bonnie (Claudia Christian). Not only must Ned face the hostility of the local citizenry, but he is also slapped with a murder charge when one of his oldest enemies is knocked off. Exercising her prerogative as Bonnie's friend and neighbor, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) attempts to find out who is really the guilty party. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
"Hip" Catholic priest Sam Bottoms is asked by his monsignor to defend their faith on The Dick Cavett Show. While preparing for his appearance, however, Bottoms begins having doubts about his religious committment. Especially troublesome is his relationship with Renee Coleman, a brilliant student who doesn't believe in God. The Bottoms--Coleman story is paralleled with a series of flashbacks to the Stone Age (!), as caveman leader James Farkas tries to make sense of a mystical tree trunk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel Bottoms, Renee Coleman, (more)
- 1989
Six Million Dollar Man Lee Majors and Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner are reunited for the made-for-TV Bionic Showdown. Also on hand is Richard Anderson as Oscar Goldman, the government supervisor for both Majors and Wagner on their respective 1970s TV series. Something new has been added, however: Jeff Yagher appears as Goldman's nephew, while Sandra Bullock makes one of her earliest TV appearances as a 1989 model New Bionic Woman. The plot concerns a villainous cyborg, bent on destroying chances for World Peace (we need a cyborg for that?) Bionic Showdown clanked and clattered its way onto the TV screens of America on April 30, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A science project goes awry and the world is threatened by giant cockroaches in this horror outing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, (more)
Golden Globe winner Edward Woodward stars as private detective Robert McCall, a sophisticated former government agent atoning for the sins of his past by righting the wrongs of a flawed legal system in the groundbreaking hit suspense series The Equalizer. Follow this intense anti-hero in all 22 gripping first season episodes as he protects innocent people who feel they have nowhere else to turn. Following the clues each step of the way are some of Hollywood's hottest guest stars, including Luis Guzman (Out of Sight), Bradley Whitford (The West Wing), Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and Tony Shalhoub (Monk). Nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes, The Equalizer is a provocative, action-packed murder-mystery series you won't want to miss!
- Starring:
- Edward Woodward, Robert Lansing, (more)
Explore the Mississippi River with young Mark Twain. A shorter classroom version is also available. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1980
A virtual remake of Roger Corman's drive-in classic Attack of the Crab Monsters, this Florida-lensed cheapie is more than just a throwback to low-budget monster movies of the 1950s -- it's a throwback in every sense of the word. The claw-wielding killer crustaceans here are the product of a nuclear plant accident off the Florida coast, which causes crabs used in a nearby growth-research experiment to bulk up to the size of sport-utility vehicles. Strangely, there's only one mega-crab on display, and even that one's not visible until the film's climax. In the meantime, we're treated to dull scenes of the clawed critters scampering around in search of human meals. Star Robert Lansing had already garnered a bit of experience battling giant mutated animals in similarly ridiculous movies such as Empire of the Ants. Also released as Night of the Claw. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The initials in the title of this made-for-TV movie stand for "Security Hazard Expert"--an apt description for the heroine, sexy superspy Lavinia Kean (Cornelia Sharpe). Shuttling throughout Italy and Germany, Lavinia thwarts the villainous machinations of Italian blackmailer Cesare Magnanon (Omar Sharif). Anita Ekberg makes her much-heralded return to television in the role of Dr. Else Biebling. First telecast February 23, 1980, on CBS, S*H*E was written by Richard Maibaum, a veteran of the James Bond films, as the pilot for a weekly adventure series. Maibaum also scripted a followup, tentatively titled S*H*E II, which was abandoned when the proposed series failed to make a network sale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the '50s, Bert I. Gordon made a career out of sci-fi movies about gigantic mutated insects (Beginning of the End, Earth vs. the Spider), lizards (King Dinosaur, Serpent Island), and even people (The Amazing Colossal Man), and in 1977, he was still up to his old tricks with this picture, loosely adapted from a story by H.G. Wells. Marilyn Fryser (Joan Collins) is a less than scrupulous businesswoman who is trying to sell shares in a worthless Florida housing development to a group of naive souls. However, both Marilyn and her potential customers have bigger things to worry about than low property values, when they discover that a large stock of nuclear waste was dumped near the development site, and the result is a pack of gigantic mutated ants with a nasty disposition and a taste for human blood. The supporting cast features Robert Lansing, John David Carson, and Albert Salmi. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, (more)
- 1977
Deadly Triangle was intended as the pilot of a TV action series, to be called Steadman. Accordingly, the leading character is one Bill Steadman, played by Dale Robinette. A former Olympic ski champ, Steadman is now employed as a Sun Valley sheriff. The case at hand in this outing is the murder of a ski-team trainee. After attempting a second Steadman pilot, the producers gave up the ghost. Scripted by Carl (Jaws) Gottleib, Deadly Triangle was first broadcast May 19, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dale Robinette, Linda Scruggs, (more)
- 1976
Michael and Patricia meet in an unusual way – while he is on a date and is trying to retrieve his date’s car keys from a fountain. When Michael’s date abandons him, he hangs out with Patricia and these two nice young people soon find themselves falling in love. They decide to wed and hold the ceremony in Canada, where Michael’s family lives. Patricia’s parents, who have been on a lengthy cruise and have never met Michael, cannot attend, but they meet their new daughter-in-law soon afterward. While reviewing pictures from the wedding, Michael’s mother is shocked to discover that she knows Patricia’s father. Even more shocking is the revelation that Patricia’s father is also Michael’s father, the result of a one-night stand many years before, and that the happily married couple are therefore half-siblings. To make matters worse, it turns out that Patricia is pregnant. The rest of Bittersweet Love is taken up with Michael and Patricia deciding what they should do about this situation, as well as with reactions and advice from their family members. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lana Turner, Robert Lansing, (more)
- 1976
- R
A deranged plastic surgeon, who has probably murdered his wife and who definitely has murdered his daughter's boyfriend, is distressed when he learns of his father-in-law's will. Rather than leave any money to the transparently awful son-in-law, the man leaves his entire (very large) estate to the surgeon's daughter. The only problem is, the girl has run away. He hits on the scheme of re-creating his daughter face from the ruined features of a go-go dancer, and with her cooperation bilks the estate of several disbursements, growing increasingly deranged as time goes on. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lansing, Judith Chapman, (more)
- 1975
The second and last TV pilot film to bear the Crime Club title, the 1975 Crime Club once again involves a state-of-the-art crime solving organization whose members are professional investigators from various public and private sectors. The principal characters are a detective (Scott Thomas), a reporter (Eugene Roche) and a criminal lawyer (Robert Lansing). The crime in question in this pilot concerned a social outcast who seeks public notoriety by confessing to a series of grisly ice pick murders. The three protagonists combine their brain power to solve the case, but their efforts failed to convince any network to pick up the project. Crime Club joined its 1973 predecessor in Universal's syndicated package of made-for-TV movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Thomas, Eugene Roche, (more)
- 1972
Astronaut Monte Markham has been dispatched to the heavens on the first US space trip to Mars. When TV coverage is abruptly cut off, the official story reads that there's been a slight malfunction, and that Markham is heading home. Only space official Jackie Cooper and a handful of associates know the truth: Markham has died a horrible death on the surface of Mars. To save the space program (not to mention American morale), a look-alike--also played by Monte Markham--is paraded before the cameras as the "returning" hero. It's doubtful, however, that the subterfuge will work on the astronaut's suspicious wife (Susan Clark). The Astronaut originally aired January 8, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This crime drama is set on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai and follows the exploits of an undercover cop who involves himself in a drug-smuggling operation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Robert Lansing guest-stars as Dundee, an ex-convict determined to prove that he spent five years in prison as the result of a frame-up. Ben Cartwright's efforts to help Dundee adjust to his new-found freedom are thwarted by the coldness of Dundee's wife Elizabeth (Fionnula Flanagan), and the casual betrayal perpetrated by the man's so-called friends. Written by Don Ingalls, this episode was largely filmed on location at Sonora. "Heritage of Anger" was first broadcast on September 19, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1972
- PG
This action/comedy picture follows the adventures of a group of anti-war, anti-establishment guerillas, who come up with a scheme to destroy Fort Knox with an atom bomb. The most notable feature of this film is that it features Brandon de Wilde in his last performance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- PG
A captain convicted of deserting his cavalry (Bekim Fehmiu) is released to lead a band of deputized renegades. Together, the force must defeat a band of Apache braves. The film was released to video as Ride to Glory. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
The Grissom Gang is a remake of the notorious 1949 British melodrama No Orchids for Miss Blandish. Kim Darby plays a 1920s-era debutante who is kidnapped and held for ransom. Her captors are the Grissoms, a family comprised of sadists and morons, and headed by Ma Barker clone Irene Dailey. One of the Grissoms, played by Scott Wilson, takes a liking to his prisoner, which results in a bloody breakdown of the family unit. Both The Grissom Gang and the original No Orchids for Miss Blandish were inspired by the best-seller by James Hadley Chase, though neither film retains Chase's original ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Darby, Scott Wilson, (more)
