Sam Melville Movies
American actor Sam Melville is best known for his television work on such series as The Rookies (he played Officer Mike Danko), The Scarecrow and Mrs. King (as Mr. King), and Gunsmoke as a regular guest star. Melville also appeared in a couple of films from the late '60s through the late '80s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1989
- R
Steve Railsback, the star of the cult favorite The Stunt Man, carries the ball in Assassin. Railsback plays a CIA agent, assigned to protect a senator. When the politician is killed, the principal suspect is Our Hero. Left to his own devices, Railsback unearths one of those government conspiracies so beloved of quickie filmmakers. While the plot of Assassin is as full of holes as the senator, the action highlights are fine and dandy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
A family inherits an old, broken down mansion and when they move in, discover that not only does a gang of malicious teens hang out there, but so does the angry spirit of a deceased actor, and they are in for a battle in this horror film. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Breznahan, Jill Whitlow, (more)
- 1985
Wrestler Hulk Hogan asks his old Vietnam buddy B.A. (Mr. T. to help him keep the Venice Boys' Center free from criminal infiltration. This proves difficult when the Kotero crime family takes an unhealthy interest in one of the Center's young charges, whose late father had hidden a huge amount of stolen money just before his demise. In addition to Hulk Hogan, the A-Team is abetted by a whole slew of popular pro wrestlers, including Big John Studd and "Gorgeous" Bobby Heenan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The seventh and final season of The Dukes of Hazzard goes "forward into the past", flashing back eight years to reveal how Duke cousins Bo (John Schneider) and Duke (Tom Wopat) came into possession of their precious souped-up Dodge Charger, the "General Lee". Rescuing a battered black vehicle from a junkyard, the boys fix up the car and paint it orange in order to enter a high-stakes race--and hopefully, save Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) from being evicted by Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke). Unfortuantely for everyone concerned, the "General Lee" had a previous life as a getaway car for a particularly vicious gang of gold thieves! Country star Janie Fricke guests in this episode, which was directed by series regular Tom Wopat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Female army corporal Charlotte Brown (Lauren Chase) hires the A-Team to investigate the murder of her brother Paul at the hands of illegal arms dealers. Imagine the team's surprise when Charlotte betrays them to their nemesis, Col. Decker (Lance LeGault). When it turns out that Charlotte had done this because Decker had promised to catch her brother's murderer, the Team decides to ( a ) rescue Charlotte and solve the mystery themselves, and ( b ) play Decker for a sucker by staging a fake attack on a National Guard outpost, using little more than a record of movie sound effects. And as a bonus, Murdock (Dwight Schultz) imagines that he is a TV set, spewing out ersatz sitcoms! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Five years ago, a million dollar robbery was pulled off, and the money disappeared from view. Now, a flood has washed ashore some of that money, and the Dukes are on the trail for the rest of the loot. Assisting Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) is Luke's Marine buddy Phil Ackley (Richard Hill), who may or may not be pursuing his own agenda. This week's "celebrity speed trap" victim is Roy Orbison, who performs his hit song "Pretty Woman". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
One of several syndicated TV miniseries of the 1980s, Roughnecks was part of the same "Golden Circle" project that previously yielded the multipart Wild Times. The title refers to a group of two-fisted oil wildcatters, among them self-made millionaire Paul Marshall (Steve Forrest), his lifelong pal and business partner, Plug Champion (Harry Morgan), and up-and-coming young "roughneck" O'Dell Hartman (Sam Melville). Avoiding the temptation of carbon-copying such previous oil-drilling movies like Boom Town, Flowing Gold, and Tulsa, this two-parter devoted much of its screen time to the hero's efforts to help Marshall's former sweetheart Ida McBride (Vera Miles) save her ranch by bringing in a valuable methane well. In most local markets, Roughnecks was telecast the third week of August (usually the 15th and 16th of that month) in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Bo (John Schneider) and Duke (Tom Wopat) join forces with Texas Ranger Jude Emery (John Shearin) to capture "Snake" Harmon (Sam Melville), an outlaw race driver who traffics in contraband critters. Pursuing their quarry into the dismal reaches of Yuchee Swamp, our heroes try to catch a Snake by thinking like a Snake--with fascinating results. Featured in the cast is former pro football player and future Hollywood stuntman Ben Davidson. This episode was intended as the pilot for a weekly spinoff series starring John Shearin, which alas never came to be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Jan-Michael Vincent plays a self-destructive beach bum to whom surfing is a Zen experience. We first meet Vincent in the devil-may-care 1960s, in the company of his carefree buddies William Katt and Gary Busey. The boys reunite ten years later, after one has served time in Vietnam. The beach is still there, the waves still break upon the shore, and towards the end of the film, the characters become people that we truly care about. Barbara Hale, the real-life mother of costar William Katt, makes a piquant supporting appearance. Cut from 129 minutes to 104 for its pay-cable release, Big Wednesday is also known as Summer of Innocence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, (more)
- 1971
Produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, The Rookies was the pilot film for the popular early-1970s cop series of the same name. The story centers upon the training of three young rookie cops, played by Michael Ontkean, Georg Stanford Brown and Sam Melville. Darren McGavin is their tough-talking, golden-hearted superior officer. When the Rookies series proper debuted in 1972, Ontkean, Melville and Brown were retained in the cast, but Darren McGavin was replaced by Gerald S. O'Loughlin. Also replaced was Jennifer Billingsley as Sam Melville's wife; the new "Jill Danko" was Kate Jackson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Ontkean, Georg Stanford Brown, (more)
- 1970
Making her second Bonanza appearance, Mercedes McCambridge is cast as wealthy widow Matilda Curtis, who helps Ben Cartwright establish a free school for the children of Ponderosa's employees and tenant farmers. When the schoolmaster is murdered, troublesome student Billy Burgess (a pre-Partridge Family David Cassidy) angrily confesses to the crime. To save Billy from being hanged, Matilda insists that he be placed in her custody without the formality of a court trial. But Ben, unconvinced by Billy's confession, demands that the boy get his day in court-even if it may cost him his life. Comedian Foster Brooks, aka "The Lovable Lush", plays the stone-sober role of Judge Rogers. Originally telecast on February 15, 1970, "The Law and Billy Burgess" was written by Stanley Roberts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) is a self-made Boston millionaire who masterminds a bank heist in hopes of leaving it all behind. Tired of being part of the Establishment, he has hopes of pulling off the caper and flying to Rio. Erwin Weaver (Jack Weston) leads the cast of crooks who never actually meet Crown but manage to pull off the robbery without a hitch. Crown deposits 3 million in a Swiss bank account, pays off the crooks, and waits for the insurance company to repay the bank for the loss. Eddy Malone (Paul Burke) is the savvy detective who helps insurance investigator Vicky Anderson (Faye Dunaway) find the mastermind behind the heist. Thomas Crown Affair became one of the first films to employ many split-screen images throughout its running time, as devised by editor Hal Ashby. Michel Legrand's score was nominated for an Academy Award, and the song The Windmills Of Your Mind, written by Legrand with Alan and Marilyn Bergman took home the coveted Oscar. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, (more)
John Sturges directed this sequel to his Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which is more of a melancholy character study than an action Western. The Edward Anhalt screenplay (based on Douglas D. Martin's Tombstone's Epitaph) traces Wyatt Earp's (James Garner) moral decline from a lawman with high ideals to a mean-spirited vigilante bent on personal revenge. Ironically, Doc Holliday (Jason Robards), an admitted lawless gambler, reacts to Earp's vengeful turnabout by becoming the moral force that Earp has rejected. When Earp's brothers are killed by goons employed by Ike Clanton (Robert Ryan), Earp becomes obsessed with vengeance and organizes a posse to track down the killers. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
- 1967
As "Tom Anderson", Kimble (Richard Kimble) finds himself sharing a freight car with a seriously wounded man named Bantam (Edward Asner). Kimble helps Bantam make his way to a remote mountain cabin, only to find out that his companion is the head of a bank-robbery gang, and that the cabin is the gang's hideout. Further complications arise when Bantam's cronies return, threatening dire consequences if their boss refuses to turn over the loot from their last job--which Bantam claims to have lost. Worse still, the gang is holding a widow (Georgann Johnson) and a lawman (James Broderick) hostage, forcing Kimble to give up his own escape plans until he can figure out a way to rescue his fellow captives. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
General Burkhalter sets up a trap whereby a security leak is traced to Stalag 13. This gives Burkhalter enough ammunition to replace Klink with a tougher and more efficient camp commandant. It is up to Hogan to discredit the replacement and ferret out the "mole" within his own ranks. Familiar Hanna-Barbera voice-over actor John Stephenson, a frequent Hogan's Heroes guest star, is here cast as Major Kohler. Written by Laurence Marks, "Information Please" first aired on December 23, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, (more)
