Cameron Mitchell Movies
The son of a Pennsylvania minister, actor Cameron Mitchell first appeared on Broadway in 1934, in the Lunts' modern-dress version of Taming of the Shrew. He served as a bombardier during World War II, and for a brief period entertained thoughts of becoming a professional baseball player (he allegedly held an unsigned contract with the Detroit Tigers until the day he died). Mitchell was signed to an MGM contract in 1945, but stardom would elude him until he appeared as Happy in the original 1949 Broadway production of Death of the Salesman. He re-created this role for the 1951 film version, just before signing a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. Throughout the 1950s, Mitchell alternated between likeable characters (the unpretentious business executive in How to Marry a Millionaire [1952]) and hissable ones (Jigger Craigin in Carousel [1956]); his best performance, in the opinion of fans and critics alike, was as drug-addicted boxer Barney Ross in the 1957 biopic Monkey on My Back. Beginning in the 1960s, Mitchell adroitly sidestepped the IRS by appearing in dozens of Spanish and Italian films, only a few of which were released in the U.S. He also starred in three TV series: The Beachcomber (1961), The High Chapparal (1969-1971), and Swiss Family Robinson (1976). Mitchell spent the better part of the 1970s and 1980s squandering his talents in such howlers as The Toolbox Murders, though there were occasional bright moments, notably his performance as a neurotic mob boss in 1982's My Favorite Year. A note for trivia buffs: Cameron Mitchell also appeared in the first CinemaScope film, The Robe (1953). Mitchell was the voice of Jesus in the Crucifixion scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1993
In this taut drama, a couple's road trip turns deadly when they are ambushed by three fugitive cons trying to stay away from a police roadblock. They take the car off the road and end up speeding right into a very deep abandoned mine. They must then somehow make it through many confusing tunnels. Unfortunately, it's not that simple because something evil is lurking in the darkness, and it doesn't like visitors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
This performance video features LeVar Burton, Ruby Dee and Cameron Mitchell reading great poems by Tennesee Williams, James Dickey and others. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1990
A vengeful Arab terrorist abducts the daughter of the President during a Beverly Hills shopping spree, and now only Hack Stone, a former Green Beret and current martial arts instructor can save her. This campy low-budget actioner chronicles shows how he does it. Complicating matters is the fact that the lead terrorist wants revenge upon Stone, whom he blames for the death of his family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Vigilantism proves to be the only form of justice left to a man when he must avenge a drug lord's terrible crime. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Pretty young Barri Murphy witnesses a gangland rubout, compelling her to head for the hills. The killers want to silence Barri for keeps, not only because of what she's seen but because of possible retaliation. You see, the victim was Barri's boyfriend. The fox-and-hounds pursuit ends up in Texas, allowing for mucho car chases and smashups. No doubt about it: Action USA delivers what the title promises. PS: Are you surprised that Cameron Mitchell and William Smith are in the cast? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barri Murphy, William Hubbard Knight, (more)
- 1989
This documentary presents interviews and clips with some of cinema's best loved cult figures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Cameron Mitchell seems to have spent the better part of the 1980s starring in films about African revolutions. The plot of Killers is set in motion by a military coup, toppling a decent regime and installing a vicious dictator. Most of the action takes place in the jungle, and much of it is filmed with a vertigo-inducing hand-held camera. As is often the case in films like these, the audience has trouble determining who the true heroes and villains are until about ten minutes before the end. Killers also stars Alicia Hammond and Robert Dix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In this actioner, a small town mayor kills a young girl, stashes her corpse in a junk yard and figures that no one will be the wiser. He then continues his reign of terror on his town until a vengeful mercenary shows up to stop him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
A sprawling adaptation of the same-named novel by David Nevin, the three-part CBS miniseries Dream West starred Richard Chamberlain as colorful, controversial American explorer John Charles Fremont (1813-1890). The story detailed the visionary (and occasionally mercenary) Fremont's lifelong war against shortsided authority figures, beginning with his early skirmishes with the "brass" as an Army officer. In 1842, Fremont embarked upon his greatest adventure, heading an expedition to map the Oregon Trail -- the first step towards opening the entire North American continent to free and unimpeded exploration. His mission pitted Fremont against hostile Indians, the Mexican army, and the U.S. government itself. Along the way, he crossed paths with scores of historical figures, including Kit Carson, Jim Bridge, John Sutter, and President Abraham Lincoln. Alice Krige, Richard Chamberlain's vis-à-vis in the earlier Wallenberg: A Heroes' Story, co-starred as Jessie Benton, the headstrong senator's daughter who became Fremont's wife. Running seven hours in all (plus commercials), Dream West was originally telecast from April 13 to 15, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This low-budget, supernatural, tongue-in-cheek story is about an ancient Egyptian princess out to maintain her immortality. Nefratis (Michelle Bauer) has two problems: her tomb has been desecrated, and she needs some special amulets (now in California) that are used in the rituals of human sacrifice to keep herself alive. After she kills the professor responsible for the sacrilege committed against her tomb, the professor's son David Manners (Richard Alan Hench) and his friend Helen (Susan Stokey) set out to solve the mystery behind the murder. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, John Carradine, (more)
- 1985
Robert Ginty, star of James Glickenhaus's The Exterminator (1980), returns for a similar outing in the 1985 actioner Mission Kill. He plays Cooper, an explosives expert summoned by a Green Beret friend Harry (Cameron Mitchell), on a mission to smuggle arms into the (fictional) South American country of Santa Maria. The picture co-stars Merete Van Kamp and Harry Darrow. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ginty, Merete Van Kamp, (more)
- 1985
The setting is New Orleans, where a prominent jazz musician is killed onstage in full view of a nightclub audience. It turns out that the victim was done in by a rare South American poison. So what does all this have to do with Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury? Well, it seems that a similar murder with the same weapon occurred in one of Jessica's mystery novels--a most embarrassing turn of events, especially since Jessica was in the audience at the time of the real murder! B-picture icons Robert Clarke and Jackie Joseph show up in supporting roles in this episode, which also boasts an unusually strong (for 1985!) cast of prominent African American actors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
This video consists of eighty-five minutes worth of violence and gore from horror film excerpts. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1984
It's an old story, but Go For Gold is told with conviction and sincerity. James Ryan plays a young college athlete, destined for Olympic stardom. For all the adulation, Ryan feels unfulfilled by his accomplishments. It all boils down to whether or not Ryan will choose Happiness over Fame. Cameron Mitchell has an effective--and, for a change, non-villainous--supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This pseudo-documentary on the life of President John F. Kennedy stars Robert Hogan as the President, James F. Kelly as Robert Kennedy, and Kenneth Mars as Lyndon Johnson, and includes some actual documentary footage intercut with the major dramatic events in Kennedy's Presidential career. Because the depictions of the Kennedys are not as strong as the real-life brothers, the actual footage and the factual accounting of well-known events are more convincing than the fictionalized time inventing private conversations in the Oval Office or elsewhere. Robert Guillaume as Martin Luther King, Jr. in the segment on the Cuban missile crisis presents a dignified and noble portrayal of the slain religious leader, and his performance stands out against the more mediocre portrayal of the private personae of the assassinated Kennedys. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hogan, James F. Kelly, (more)
- 1983
An Arab sheik and his tribe wage war on 2 American oil riggers in the Middle East in this action adventure film set in 1908. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1983
This two-part TV movie was originally titled Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues. A follow-up to Rogers' phenomenally successful 1980 made-for-TV The Gambler, the film charts the further adventures of frontier "plunger" Brady Hawkes (played by Rogers, of course). Also making a return appearance is Bruce Boxleitner as Brady's bucolic protégé Billy Montana. This time around, Linda Evans guest-stars as sexy bounty hunter Kate Muldoon, who helps Brady rescue his kidnapped son. When this second Gambler film was first telecast on November 28 and 29, 1983, it proved to be even more popular than the first, leading to still more sequels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Craig has a psychic link to Keith, and travels from his home in the United States to Hamburg, Germany, after telepathically sensing details of his brother's gruesome crimes. After bludgeoning an aging boxer (Cameron Mitchell) to death, Keith -- who can also sense his brother -- traps Craig by telling the dead fighter's daughter, Christine (Sarah Langenfeld), where he is. Naturally, Craig and Christine begin an affair, only to have Keith drug Craig and murder Christine after his impotence prevents him from raping her. Craig ends up in jail for the murder and Keith continues his bloody killing spree until Craig's girlfriend (Penelope Milford) shows up from America. And that's when the film starts getting extremely nasty. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Moriarty, Penelope Milford, (more)
- 1981
Magnum is hired to protect a prize racehorse named Norman, who has been receiving kidnapping threats.. It so happens that the horse's owner, Adelaide Malone (Christine Belford), is the niece of Charles Cathcart (Cameron Mitchell), a former military officer who saved Magnum's life in Vietnam, at great personal cost to himself. Not only is Cathcart deeply disappointed that Magnum chose to leave the Navy, but he is also dead set against the detective carrying out his assignment with Norman. As it turns out, Adelaide is a more likely abduction candidate than her horse--and what's the deal with those two lawyers with the same name? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
This goofy sci-fi/horror nonsense plays like '50s-style alien-invasion schlock with a dollop of '80s-style blood and gore. The invasion -- such as it is -- is perpetrated on various backwoods hunters and campers by a scarcely-seen alien that looks like a menacing Star Trek guest star in a glam-rock outfit. The alien's rather simple frontal attack employs an arsenal of toothy, pulsating frisbees that glow in the dark and glom onto the necks and backs of various flannel-clad denizens of the woods. That's about it... oh, and there's a few reliable character actors on hand to spout silly dialogue. Jack Palance plays a crusty hunter who fancies the alien stuffed and mounted, not caring that it plans to do the same to him (now there's a trophy); Martin Landau turns in an eye-rolling performance as the local lunatic, whose paranoid ravings presage those of his character in the feature film The X-Files. Also known as It Came Without Warning. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Martin Landau, (more)
- 1980
In this drama, a famous criminologist draws from his amazing bag of scientific and technical tricks to locate a psycho-killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
