Kenneth Mars Movies

In an entertaining animated children's film for the youngest moppets only (no adult double takes here) a red, white, and blue rabbit miraculously appears to save the day like "Superhare." When not zooming about on roller skates, his special powers lie hidden in a mild-mannered alter ego named Rob Rabbit (voice of Barry Gordon). Rob is a normal bunny until one day some friends are threatened by a crashing boulder at a picnic. At that moment he is transformed into the "American Rabbit" and saves them. Then a crickety old rabbit overflowing with wisdom comes to tell him that his destiny is to go forth and conquer evil. So Rob heads out to conquer, first getting a job playing at the Panda-Monium piano bar in the city in order to support himself. There he tackles a nasty gang of jackal bikers that appear again and again in different contexts. They finally burn the bar to the ground, and so the die is cast and the gauntlet thrown down to the floppy eared super-rabbit. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Chevy Chase added a classic comic hero to the film landscape with Fletch, one of his few truly popular star vehicles in a famously misguided post-Saturday Night Live career. Chase plays Irwin M. Fletcher, known to everyone as Fletch, a Los Angeles Lakers-loving investigative reporter with a gleeful disdain for deadlines and a knack for pushing the buttons of his frustrated editor (Richard Libertini). He's also known for donning numerous disguises and assuming zany false identities to help gain information. While pursuing an ongoing story about a powerful drug dealer who operates from Venice Beach, he comes across an intriguing offshoot in which he becomes intimately involved. Aviation executive Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) has an unusual proposition for Fletch: If Fletch agrees to an elaborate plan to kill him, for reasons Stanwyk refuses to divulge beyond explaining that he has bone cancer, Fletch will walk away with a healthy sum of money and a plane ticket to Brazil. Curious yet suspicious by profession, Fletch begins investigating Stanwyk's true motives, which leads him through numerous misadventures. Among them are a visit to a stuffy country club; a high-speed car chase with an unwitting passenger; repeat encounters with Stanwyk's wife (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), although she may not be his only one; and a trip to Provo -- that's Utah, not Spain. Inspired by a novel of the same name by Gregory McDonald, Fletch went from thriller to comedy as it was adapted into a vehicle for Chase. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is among those in attendance at a literary awards convention when murder strikes. The victim is a novelist who had showed up toting a rather volatile unpublished manuscript. Although Jessica is not among the suspects, one of her close friends is under suspicion, obliging her to do her trademarked surreptitious snooping. Unfortunately, this is a particularly difficult case, inasmuch as virtually everyone else at the convention had a motive for murder--and the clues are not only plentiful, but wildly contradictory! Ron Masak, later seen on Murder She Wrote in the semi-regular role of Sheriff Mort Metzger, is here cast as Lieutenant Meyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Samantha Eggar guest stars as psychic Laura Bennett, who has been experiencing eerie visions of her own murder. Though skeptical about Laura's ability to foretell the future, Magnum agrees to provide protection to the woman, while simultaneously attempting to collect his fee from a shifty previous client (Kenneth Mars). Need we add that both of Magnum's seemingly unconnected missions are inextricably linked together by episode's end? Meanwhile, Higgins (John Hillerman) becomes more insufferable than usual as he tries to put together a fundraising variety show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This colorful spoof of pirate movies had all the makings of a classic farce and yet sank straight to Davy Jones' locker at the box-office, for despite it's all-star international cast of famous comedians, and despite the fact that it was largely co-written by "Monty Python"-veteran Graham Chapman and former "Fringie" Peter Cook, the darned thing just wasn't funny. The sketches center around the core story of the dread pirate Yellowbeard's quest for a fabulous treasure, the map for which is tattooed on the head of his prissy son, who wants nothing to do with ships and pirate shenanigans. This was the final film of bug-eyed, beloved comedian Marty Feldman, who died of heart-failure before production finished. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Mel (Vic Tayback) must undergo minor surgery for a deviated septum. While at the hospital, Mel wonders if it might be worth it to have a full-scale nose job--an idea which gives pause not only to the doctor (Kenneth Mars), but also to Mel's waitresses. And by the way, take a close look at that old picture of Mel's "father". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rick (Larry Manetti) falls in love with Sara Clifford (Judith Chapman), whom he meets while walking along the beach--and who abruptly disappears just as she and Rick are getting acquainted. Investigating, Magnum (Tom Selleck) is informed by Higgins (John Hillerman) that Sara Clifford committed suicide way back in 1946--and that practically everyone in Hawaii is familiar with the story of this tragedy. Is Rick's dream girl a ghost--or an impostor? The answers lies with a female novelist who happens to share a common bond with the unfortunate "Woman on the Beach." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "before" version of Patty Duke is obese and slovenly. Emerging from a "fat farm," the "after" version of Patty Duke discovers that her husband (Bradford Dillman) has been playing the field while she's been trying to shed her excess poundage. Duke then takes up with a handsome artist (Art Hindle), who gives her new incentive to lose weight, even though he's made it clear that her physical appearance isn't all that important to him. His jealousy aroused, Duke's hubby tries to win her back, but she soon learns that he hasn't really changed a bit. The made-for-TV Before and After was initially broadcast October 5, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The toothsome singing duo, Donny and Marie Osmond, head for Hawaii in this comedy. The trouble begins when Marie acquires a lovely necklace without realizing that it is coveted by a group of thieves. An enigmatic woman is also after the necklace. Mayhem, music, and sibling rivalry ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Private eye Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman) is dedicated to his job, but his dedication does not make him happy or powerful in his personal life, and his wife (Susan Clark) is cheating on him. Aging actress Arlene Iverson (Janet Ward) hires Harry to find her trust-funded daughter Delly (Melanie Griffith), distracting Harry from his marital problems as he tracks the lascivious runaway teen to Florida. In the Keys, Harry has an affair of his own with Paula (Jennifer Warren), and he succeeds in locating Delly, even as he learns that finding her is only the beginning of a much larger case. As the "accidental" deaths multiply, Harry discovers that everyone has his or her own motives and that he cannot do much to stem the tide of deep-seated depravity. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

The second made-for-TV movie based on Charles Moulton's classy comic-strip heroine Wonder Woman, The New Original Wonder Woman was the one that "sold", resulting in a popular and durable weekly series. Replacing Cathy Lee Crosby, who'd starred in the disastrous 1974 adaptation of Wonder Woman, is the statuesque Linda Carter. Having dwelled exclusively among females on Paradise Islandsince 200 BC, immortal Amazonian princess Diana comes in contact with the real world for the first time in her life when US Army Major Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) crash-lands on the island during WWII. Falling in love with Steve, the Princess assumes the identity of mousy, bespectacled Diana Prince and returns with him to the mainland. Every so often, and unbeknownst to Steve, Diana occcasionally transforms herself into the scantily clad superheroine Wonder Woman (golden lasso, magic belt and bracelets, the whole bit) in order to save the world from the Nazi menace. On this occasion, Wonder Woman does her thing in order to prevent the Nazis from destroying the prototype of a revolutionary new bombsight. First telecast on November 7, 1975, The New Original Wonder Woman was seen on ABC; by the time the Wonder Woman series proper ran its course on September 11, 1979, the property had switched networks to CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While the Watergate scandal filled the headlines, Alan J. Pakula's 1974 thriller took its inspiration from the conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination. Journalist Joe Frady (Warren Beatty) misses witnessing the assassination of a senator at Seattle's Space Needle, but his newswoman former girlfriend Lee Carter (Paula Prentiss) was there. Even after a government commission concludes that it was a freak lone assassin, Lee tells Joe that she fears for her life since other witnesses keep dying. After she too turns up dead, Joe investigates, travelling to the small town where another witness has mysteriously expired. Stumbling on a corporate identity for the killers, Joe decides to dig deeper by infiltrating the Parallax Corporation as one of their hired assassins. As Joe becomes increasingly isolated in his assumed identity, he discovers what Parallax is all about -- but Parallax knows all about Joe too. Made between Klute (1971) and All the President's Men (1976), The Parallax View was the second film in Pakula's "paranoia" trilogy; it proved too dark even for a 1974 audience that embraced such other challenging films of that year as The Godfather, Part II and Chinatown, making The Parallax View the sole flop of Pakula's trilogy. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide