Eric Mason Movies

Starring Dean Stockwell and Charles Dierkop, Banzai Runner concerns a modern-day phenomenon, common among the very rich. Each year, an every-man-for-himself race is staged in the desert, with fat-cat motorists driving the custom cars at supersonic speed up and down the supposedly deserted highway. During one of these contests, a policeman is killed. With no witnesses, it's up to the cop's brother (Stockwell) to see that justice is done. He accomplishes this by assuming a false identity and joining the race. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Roger Moore took a brief vacation from playing James Bond in this witty adventure drama. Rufus Excalibur ffolkes (Moore), who for some reason prefers not to capitalize his last name, is a scuba-diving adventurer for hire with a sharp mind, a quick wit, a fondness for cats, and a certain distrust of women. When terrorist Lou Kramer (Anthony Perkins) takes over an oil drilling platform in the North Sea and threatens to blow it sky high if his demands are not met, ffolkes is called in by Admiral Brinsden (James Mason) to foil Kramer's scheme before it's too late. ffolkes, also released as North Sea Hijack and Assault Force, was based on the novel Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer by Jack Davies, who also penned the screenplay ("Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer," incidentally, are the code names for the ship, drilling rig, and platform seized by Kramer in the film). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An ostracized teen (Suzanne Ling) gains revenge on her tormentors with the help of her murderous pet tarantulas. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Following his successful foray into swashbuckler comedy with The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, director Richard Lester made what has proved to be one of the few quality films from the disaster craze that dominated filmmaking in the mid-'70s. Juggernaut is the pseudonym of a madman (Freddie Jones) who plants several steel drums aboard a luxury liner and calls the company's officials once the boat has put out to sea, demanding a large sum of money in exchange for instructions on how to defuse bombs inside the drums. Anthony Hopkins plays one of the company officials whose wife and children are aboard the ship, Omar Sharif is the ship's captain, Shirley Knight is a passenger who is also his mistress, and Richard Harris and David Hemmings are two members of the bomb disposal team, which is helicoptered onto the ship to defuse the explosives. As in many of Lester's best works, humor pops up in unexpected places; particularly memorable are Harris as the weary but wisecracking top dog among the explosives experts and Lester regular Roy Kinnear as a bumbling entertainment director desperately trying to distract the apprehensive passengers. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

In this horror sequel from the director of Count Yorga, Vampire, a member of an American voodoo cult revives the fanged Prince Manuwalde (William Marshall), only to become his slave. Manuwalde then puts the bite on various victims, but finds himself fixating on pretty Lisa (Pam Grier), a voodoo princess whom he believes can finally put his soul to rest. Lynne Moody, Nicholas Worth, and Bernie Hamilton are among the familiar cast, but the various occult trappings seem somewhat out of place in the modern Los Angeles setting and the production values are pretty shabby. Blaxploitation and camp fans should still find it mildly amusing, however, and Shakespearean actor Marshall is a lot of fun as the obsessive vampire. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

In the second episode of the six-part story "The Sea Devils," the Master (Roger Delgado) has broken out of prison and headed out to the high seas. Here he hopes to summon a race of bipedal earth reptiles called the Sea Devils. The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) must prevent these creatures from helping the Master eliminate all human life on earth -- though, at present, he isn't quite sure what is going on beneath the waves. Originally shown on March 4, 1972, "The Sea Devils, Episode 2" was written by Malcolm Hulke. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of the six-part story "The Mind of Evil," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Jo (Katy Manning) head to Stangmoor Prison to see the Keller Machine, a new rehabilitation aid. Alas, the deployment of the machine causes several other observers to literally die of fright. Somehow, this phenomenon is related to an upcoming World Peace Council -- and somewhere in the background lurks the Doctor's perennial nemesis, the Master. Written by Don Houghton, "The Mind of Evil, Episode 1" first aired on January 30, 1971. Originally filmed in color, this episode currently exists only in a black-and-white version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This story of Cold War double-crossing finds British secret agent Manston (Craig Stevens) trying to break up a group of Russian agents who return defectors to Moscow for brainwashing. When a Russian ballerina defects to Germany, Manston goes after the head of The Limbo Line in an effort to stop the group from kidnapping the defectors. Acting against the orders of his boss, Manston is faced with killing the communist leader of the movement in Germany or allowing the dancer to be turned over for interrogation and reprisals for her political beliefs. Matters are further complicated when Manston finds himself falling for the ballerina. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The first season of Mission: Impossible came to a close with the April 22, 1967 episode "The Psychic." Some valuable NATO secrets have been appropriated in a hostile corporate takeover by ruthless industrialist Alex Lowell (Barry Sullivan). The IMF heads to South America, where Lowell has relocated in hopes of selling the documents to the highest bidder. With Cinammon posing as a psychic, the other IMF agents lure Lowell into a cleverly rigged high-stakes poker game. Written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Baltar, "The Psychic" marked Steven Hill's final appearance as IMF head Dan Briggs.
~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted by Robert Bolt and Constance Willis from Bolt's hit stage play, A Man for All Seasons stars Paul Scofield, triumphantly repeating his stage role as Sir Thomas More. The crux of the film is the staunchly Catholic More's refusal to acknowledge King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw)'s break from the church to divorce his first wife and marry Anne Boleyn (an unbilled Vanessa Redgrave). Sir Thomas willingly goes to the chopping block rather than sacrifice his ideals. Director Fred Zinnemann retains the play's verbosity without sacrificing the film's strong sense of visuals. The impeccably chosen cast includes Wendy Hiller as Sir Thomas' likably contentious wife Alice, John Hurt as the deceitful Richard Rich (More's put-downs of this despicable character provide some of the film's biggest laughs), Orson Welles as a dour Cardinal Woolsey, Leo McKern as the ambitious Thomas Cromwell, and Susannah York as More's daughter Margaret. The "Common Man," an important bridging-the-scenes character in the original play, is removed from the film version, which does just fine without him. A Man for All Seasons won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, as well as seven British Film Academy awards. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this WWII drama, James Mason plays naval commander Richard Heritage, who is distracted from his duties by a beautiful young woman who is secretly in cahoots with Nazi spies. By accident, Heritage lets her discover the sailing dates of American warships. The mistake costs the U.S. Navy a war ship and costs Heritage his post. After his court-martial, he sets off to find the girl who tripped him up and discovers that she has been killed. With the help of Laura Verity (Joyce Howard), he uncovers the Nazi spy ring, which is being operated under the guise of a British theatrical agency in the seaside town of Blackpool. The head of the outfit is master spy Christopher Child (Tom Walls), a fearsome villain. Heritage hopes to redeem himself and win the heart of Laura by defeating Child and his schemes. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi