Harry Lauter Movies

Superbeast was released on a double bill with Daughters of Satan. Both were filmed in the Philippines. In Superbeast an American doctor has been performing experiments on criminals deep in the Philippine jungle. Once the convicts have grown mad from the doctor's treatment, they are set loose in the jungle so that they can be hunted down by the project's financier. A woman pathologist gets wind of the project, and is held captive, slated for hunting. However, she turns the tables on both the doctor and the hunting financier. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In a reversal of the situation in the sixth-season episode "Encore," in which a gangster was persuaded that he had gone back in time from 1971 to 1937, the IMF must jump forward some 27 years in the seventh-season Mission:Impossible entry "Two Thousand." Vic Morrow guest-stars as master thief Joseph Collins, who has stolen 50 kg of plutonium. To find out where Collins has stashed the deadly material, the IMF contrives to convince Collins that he has been in hibernation until the year 2000 --- and that a nuclear holocaust has tranformed the US into a police state. Most of this episode was filmed on location in the ruins of a hospital leveled by the California earthquake of February 1971. Written by Harold Livingston, "Two Thousand" first aired on September 23, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Escape From the Planet of the Apes is the third in the series of films based upon the Planet of the Apes characters created by novelist Pierre Boulle. At the end of the second film, the centuries-in-the-future world colonized by simians was destroyed, but apes Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and Zira (Kim Hunter) were able to escape in the space vessel left behind by 20th century astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston). Cornelius and Zira pass through another time warp, finding themselves in the Earth of the 1970s. When they reveal their ability to speak, the apes are first treated as curiosities, then as threats when the government, believing the story that the Earth will eventually be inherited by monkeys, tries to prevent the birth of Zira's baby. They are ultimately given shelter by sympathetic circus owner Armando (Ricardo Montalban). This film was followed by the fourth "Apes" entry, 1972's Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bill Bixby sheds his "lovable sitcom hero" persona in the role of smooth-talking psychopath Tom Dayton. Seven years after killing the fiancee of Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway), Dayton is delcared to be "safe" by the authorities and is given his freedom. But Ed is convinced that Dayton's pathological hatred for female authority figures will soon resurface and tragedy will result unless the man is put out of commission permanently. This final episode of Ironside's third season features a flashback sequence in which Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) is able to move around without his wheelchair--presumably to squash the then-prevalent rumor that star Burr was genuinely paralyzed from the waist down! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) are duly impressed when a young civilian, Lauro Perez (A Martinez), performs an act of heroism by rescuing a man from a warehouse fire. Curiously, however, Lauro balks at being awarded with a police citation; indeed, he seems reluctant to even show his face after the rescue. Can it be that Lauro has something to hide--and if so, what? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sally Field had her first significant dramatic role in this "generation gap" TV movie. After a year's time in the world of hippies and drugs, Field returns home to the parents who'd all but booted her out. Mom and Dad (Eleanor Parker and Jackie Cooper) try their best to understand their wayward daughter, but still can't overcome their judgmental attitude. When Field's younger sister (Lane Bradbury) begins experimenting with drugs, her parents react with the same blind, close-minded rage that had driven Field away the year before. Realizing that she can never really come home, Field leaves once more, hoping that someday she and her parents can solve their problems without recriminations and screaming. Unlike other "youth" films of the 1970s, Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring refuses to take sides: Field's hippie lifestyle is shown to be just as shallow as her parent's suburban existence. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An insane, renegade cavalryman leads his vicious band of outlaws into a series of brutal raids against settlers and local Indians in this western. Fortunately, a former gunslinger and a brave Indian agent ride up to save the imperiled pioneers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this WW II drama, a unit of Marines have 96 hours to make it through the dense Philippine jungle and locate a Japanese-American girl who has information needed to plan the invasion of the Japanese-occupied island. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

No relation to the 1977 Barbra Streisand vehicle of the same name, the independent 1966 film For Pete's Sake top-bills none other than evangelist Billy Graham. This well-intentioned effort concerns a gas-station attendant (Robert Sampson), his wife (Pippa Scott) and son (Johnny Jensen). Barely eking out a living, the attendant must endure harassment from a local motorcycle gang. After attending a Billy Graham revival meeting, the attendant and his family decide to apply their new found religiosity in dealing with the nasty cyclists. A remarkably stellar cast -- including Sam Groom, Al Freeman Jr. and Terri Garr -- do their best to lend credibility to this farfetched fable. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this western, a cavalry sergeant is wrongly court-martialed. To reclaim his good name, he takes over a patrol that just lost its leader in an Indian attack. He leads the regiment to Fort Courageous, but is appalled to discover that the Indians attacked and massacred all but one of its inhabitants. The hardy little group must now fight the renegades on their own. The ex-sergeant plans a brilliant strategy that culminates in winning the Indian's respect. They leave the fort alone and peace is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this western a cowboy rides out for vengeance against the outlaws who brutally murdered his sister. But before he can exact vigilante justice upon the killers a wise old lawman manages to round up the gang and bring them to proper justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Martin (Ray Walston) gets mighty jealous when he sees Detective Brennan (Alan Hewitt) dallying with Mrs. Brown (Pamela Britton). To relieve the aggravation, Martin forces clouds of steam to spew out of his ears. When this "habit" causes him to dangerously dehydrate, Martin must repair the damage in a hurry--but how to avoid the prying eyes of Brennan, who is now confined to the house with a back injury? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Alarms start flashing all the way from California to Washington when Station 3, a top-secret, ultra-high-security research facility, is broken into -- and a group of flasks containing two deadly viruses, one of them (nicknamed "The Satan Bug") possibly unstoppable, are stolen. Counter-intelligence specialist Lee Barrett (George Maharis) is called in to work with the regular security and intelligence personnel in determining who has the deadly substances, and why. Working with him is Ann (Anne Francis), an old flame and the daughter of the man (Dana Andrews) handling this on behalf of Washington -- working against them are a pair of psychopaths (Frank Sutton, Ed Asner) reporting to a mysterious financier, Charles Reynolds Ainsley, who has an agenda he's keeping secret for now. And the sidelines are populated by a group of flustered scientists (Richard Basehart, Simon Oakland, Harold Gould) and administrators (John Larkin, John Anderson), one of whom knows a lot more than he's telling about why the Satan Bug was stolen. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi