John McLiam Movies
He was born John Williams, but there already was a John Williams in show business (several of them, in fact), so the Canadian-born actor selected John McLiam as his professional moniker. McLiam's man-on-the-street countenance could be molded into a vast array of characterizations, ranging from a cockney low-life (My Fair Lady) to a Southern redneck (Cool Hand Luke). The actor's bland normality was a key factor in his being cast as real-life murder victim Herbert Clutter in 1967's In Cold Blood. John McLiam accepted more TV guest-star assignments than can possibly be listed here; he was also a regular on the weekly series Men From Shiloh (1970) and Two Marriages (1983). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1990
The Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker story was a "natural" for TV-movie adaptation, and Fall From Grace more than fills the bill. Bernadette Peters heaps on makeup by the trowel as Tammy Faye, the wife of televangelist Jim Bakker (here played with boyish fanaticism by Kevin Spacey). The Bakkers build up their "PTL" organization ("Praise the Lord") into a massive empire encompassing millions of dollars in donations, a cable-TV network, valuable land holdings and a garish religious theme park, Heritage USA. A North Carolina newspaper rocks the boat by investigating inequities in the Bakkers' financial setup. The whole enterprise falls apart when it's discovered that Jim has siphoned off funds to cover up an extramarital affair. Telecast in the spring of 1990 to coincide with the beginning of Jim Bakker's long, long prison sentence, Fall From Grace tries to be fair...for at least fifteen minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
While studying the culture of the primitive Mintakans, a group of Federation anthropologists are injured in a reactor explosion. Rushing provisions to the anthropologists, Captain Picard unknowingly violates the Prime Directive. As a result, he is feted as a God by the Mintakans, who prepare the hapless Deanna Troi as a sacrifice. First telecast October 21, 1989, "Who Watches the Watchers" was written by Richard Manning and Hans Beimler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This family drama centers on an Irish brood in which the father and his two sons work as prizefighters. Both the boys are quite talented, but each has chosen a dramatically different means of exploiting their talent. With help from his father, the youngest boy is working for the Olympics. The eldest has involved himself with corrupt promoters. This naturally creates considerable conflict within the family ranks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Craig Sheffer, (more)
- 1987
Based on the book My 30 Years in Hoover's FBI by William G. Sullivan and William S. Brown, this made-for-cable biopic stars Treat Williams as the infamous Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The scene is a small town in Idaho where corruption is a way of life. The outraged populace have voted in a "reform" mayor, but he soon dies mysteriously--and when the mayor's father demands an investigation, he too turns up dead. Unfortunately for the villains, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) happens to be in town on personal business--and wherever Jessica Fletcher shows up, someone is going to end up doing the "perp walk". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this lively comedy, an animal behaviorist is out studying wolves and she finds a young man who has been raised by the wild canines. Intrigued, she takes him back to the city to tame him. Later she learns that Bobo, as she calls him, is the long-missing heir to $30 million. His sudden reappearance causes his low-life brother Reggie to have apoplexy and he does everything he can to keep Bobo from becoming civilized and claiming his rightful fortune. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howie Mandel, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
- 1986
Believing that her father plans to sell a briefcase full of government secrets to the KGB, Paula Anderson (Moya Kordick) steals the briefcase herself and hides out at Silver Creek Retirement Home, where she has befriended a sprightly senior citizen named Bernie Greene (Lew Ayres). It is up to the A-Team to convince Paula that her father isn't a traitor and to retrieve the briefcase before the Russians catch up to the girl. As it turns out, it is Bernie and his fellow "Grey Team" oldsters who save the day. Although this was intended to be The A-Team's final episode, it was ultimately telecast in the next-to-last slot, followed several months later by "Without Reservations". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Based on a true story, the made-for-television Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story is the tale of a Washington, DC-based Vietnam veteran (Martin Sheen) who fights for America's homeless by staging hunger strikes and battling with various government agencies, eventually winning the attention of several city officials. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1985
An unconscious Mark (Victor French) is hurtled "forward into the past" as the result of a traffic accident. Ending up in the West of his childhood, Mark comes faces to face with his own younger self (Sean de Vertich), who lives on his grandfather's ranch. Not long afterward, our misplaced celestial hero is enmeshed in an effort to save his family's ranch from foreclosure. In many ways, this episode harks back to another Michael Landon-Victor French collaboration...something about a little house on the prairie. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1983
Margaret (Loretta Swit) has a new phonograph but no records. Charles (David Ogden Stiers) has a huge record collection, but a lousy phonograph. Obviously, one of these people is going to try to curry favor with the other--and B.J., caught in the middle of the intrigue, tries to play both ends down the middle. Meanwhile, Col. Potter (Harry Morgan) must confront the possibility that his old WW1 buddy, Col. Woody Cooke (John McLiam), is a dangerously incompetent military leader. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Dempsey is the TV biopic of boxer William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, a.k.a. Manassa Mauler. The film opens in Utah in 1911, where the teenage Dempsey works out in hopes of cracking the big time. Eight years later, Dempsey enters into his famous bout with reigning champ Jess Willard. From 1919 through 1926, Dempsey is heavyweight champion; he also carries on a wild and profligate private life, including an expensive marriage to--and even more expensive divorce from--silent film star Estelle Taylor (Victoria Tennant). Sally Kellerman co-stars as the first of Dempsey's five wives. Dempsey star Treat Williams was trained by Al Silvani, who worked with Stallone on the earliest Rocky epics. Scripted by Edward di Lorenzo, Dempsey premiered on September 28, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Magnum (Tom Selleck) comes to the aid of the LaSalle sisters (Mildred Natwick, Martha Scott), a pair of seemingly helpless little old ladies who are about to be evicted by a nasty slum lord. At the same time, he continues his search for the person who has been systematically robbing the Day-N-Dark convenience stores. It is only after Higgins (John Hillerman, who'd known and loved the LaSalles in their show-business days, organizes a charity bingo game on the ladies' behalf that Magnum begins to discern a link between the elderly "girls" and the robberies. And how does ex-ballplayer Johnny Wells (John McLiam) figure into all this? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- PG
Based on Kate Chopin's moving novel The Awakening, and set in the early 1900s, this drama chronicles the struggle of a young wife to escape the oppressing conventions of society and live life to the fullest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The fact-based TV movie The Ambush Murders was adapted from a book by Ben Bradlee Jr. Dorian Harewood plays an African-American political activist who is loyal to his ideals and faithful to his friends and family. After two white policemen are killed, Harewood is charge with the crime. 49 months and two mistrials later, Harewood remains in prison. When lawyer James Brolin offers his services, Harewood doesn't trust him any more than any of the other self-serving white attorneys who've "helped" him in the past. But Brolin digs a little deeper than his predecessors, uncovering facts and evidence that may at long last spring his client. Ambush Murders was first telecast January 5, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
First Blood is the Sylvester Stallone film that unleashed "Rambo" onto an unsuspecting world. Wandering into a small, hostile town, ex-Green Beret John Rambo (Stallone) is targeted for persecution and abuse by potbellied Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy). When he can stand no more, Rambo goes bonkers, killing a deputy and heading into the surrounding hills, armed to the teeth. Only after Rambo has picked off practically every law enforcement officer within a radius of 50 miles do the local authorities bring in his former commanding officer, Trautman (Richard Crenna), for advice. Trautman's response -- that the locals had better get a lot of body bags ready -- is hardly encouraging. First Blood proved to be one of Stallone's biggest non-Rocky hits. Kirk Douglas had originally been cast as Trautman, but he quit the project when the producers refused to cave in to his demand that Trautman kill Rambo in the finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, (more)
- 1981
In her first TV-movie appearance, Genevieve Bujold plays Elizabeth, an attractive heiress from the North who becomes the second wife of aristocratic Creole plantation owner Charlie Beaufort (Chad Everett) in the mid-19th century. As the new "Mistress of Paradise," Elizabeth immediately finds herself fending off the amorous advances of neighboring plantation master Buckley (Anthony Andrews). Worse still, the heroine begins to suspect that the official story of the death of the first Mrs. Beaufort may not be entirely true. Brazenly borrowing story elements from both Gone With the Wind and Jane Eyre, the Mississippi-filmed Mistress of Paradise debuted October 4, 1981, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Historically, most multiple-personality cases have been women. Based on the autobiographical book by Henry Hawksworth, The Five of Me centers on a rare male victim of this bizarre syndrome. David Birney plays Hawksworth, who for his first 36 years lived with four separate personalities. When a fifth manifested itself, the other four displayed reactions ranging from petulant to sadistic. Dee Wallace co-stars as Hawksworth's wife Ann ("Ann is married to five men!" screamed the insensitive ad copy for this film). Made for television, The Five of Me was first broadcast on May 12, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Muhammad Ali made his TV-movie dramatic debut in this adaptation of Howard Fast's novel Freedom Road. Though some of the names are changed, the story concerns the true-life efforts of senators Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens to bring political order and racial equality to the post-Civil War South. Ali is cast as Gideon Jackson, an ex-slave who is elected to the U.S. senate during the Reconstruction Era. Interestingly enough, the character upon whom Jackson is based was depicted as the villain of D.W. Griffith's 1915 Civil War epic Birth of a Nation. Just as Griffth offered his own biased slant on the facts, so too did Fast rewrite history to promote his own political ideology. As for Muhammad Ali, his performance is no threat to Olivier, but he acts with sincerity and a commendable lack of bravado. Made for TV, Freedom Road represented the final film effort of Czechoslovakian director Jan Kadar. It was first telecast in two parts on October 29 and 30, 1979, an event that warranted a cover story in TV Guide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) lands a teaching job in an isolated rural community ruled by religious zealot Miss Peel (Anita Dangler). Declaring that education is the tool of Satan, Miss Peel rallies the townsfolk in opposing the school, going so far as to spread malicious lies about Mary. As it turns out, however, Miss Peel's violent opposition to book learning stems from a shameful secret -- shameful to her, that is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1977
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Mary Ingalls (Melissa Sue Anderson) is in dire need of a life-saving operation. Lacking the necessary funds, Mary's father, Charles (Michael Landon), signs up for a high-paying -- and highly-dangerous -- new job. Working shoulder to shoulder with his neighbor Mr. Edwards (Victor French), Charles becomes a "powder monkey," part of a team blasting a tunnel for the railroad. Inevitably, disaster befalls Charles and Edwards in the form of a sudden cave-in. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1977
Delta County USA was the feature-length pilot film for a proposed prime-time serial. The titular county is an old, hidebound Southern community, harboring ever so many dark secrets. The dramatic tension of the film is manifested in the lack of understanding between the older citizens and the young set. Jim Antonio heads the cast as "Jack the Bear," who's smarter than the av-er-age...you know. Delta County USA was initially telecast May 20, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Unlike the 1935 film version of Jack London's 1897 novel Call of the Wild, which devoted most of its running time to a romance between Clark Gable and Loretta Young, this 1976 TV-movie version wisely remains faithful to the source. The star is a magnificent dog--part St. Bernard, part German shepherd--which is kidnapped from its home in California and spirited away to the Yukon. The dog is sold to two greenhorn prospectors (John Beck and Bernard Fresson) who name the animal "Buck". Though faithful to his new masters, Buck shows inclinations of succumbing to the "call of the wild" and running off into the woods at any moment. James (Deliverance) Dickey adapted the London novel for this TV version, which was filmed in the Sierra Madres and the Grand Tetons. Call of the Wild premiered on May 22, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A rancher, a rustler, and a regulator face off in Arthur Penn's eccentric western. As a cover for their horse thievery, a gang of Montana rustlers, led by the laid-back Tom Logan (Jack Nicholson), buys a small farm adjacent to the ranch of their latest target/nemesis, Braxton (John McLiam). When the gang leaves Tom on the farm and heads to Canada for another score, Tom takes a shine both to farming and Braxton's rebellious, strong-willed daughter, Jane (Kathleen Lloyd). The slightly loco Braxton, however, hires the psychopathic regulator Lee Clayton (Marlon Brando) to root out the rustlers. With a series of unorthodox methods (and costumes), Clayton hunts down Logan and his gang one by one, even after Braxton fires him, but Logan isn't about to let Clayton (or Braxton) make him obsolete. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, (more)
Based on a novel by H. G. Wells, a group of bloodthirsty, oversized creatures (including rats, chickens, wasps, and worms) have taken over a remote island after ingesting a mysterious growth known as "Food of the Gods." It is up to an unusual group of people to put an end to this animal threat. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, (more)
- 1975
- PG
During the Prohibition era, Walker (Burt Reynolds) and Kibby (Gene Hackman) run a liquor smuggling operation in Mexico; they team up with Claire (Liza Minnelli), a cabaret entertainer who has an "in" with several big-time nightclub owners. Complications ensue when both men fall in love with Claire, and she can't make up her mind between them. Escaping both the law and a murderous gang of rival crooks, the threesome set sail on a small boat called the "Lucky Lady." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Liza Minnelli, (more)
