Byron Morrow Movies

Loretta Young was originally to have starred in made-for-TV Dark Mansions, but she didn't like the script and passed up the project; her role was quickly filled by another Hollywood veteran, Joan Fontaine. Aaron Spelling and Douglas Cramer, the guys who brought you Love Boat, "go gothic" in this Seattle-based tale of the supernatural. While writing the history of a shipbuilding family, Linda Purl learns a little too much for her own wellbeing. Per the film's title, most of the story takes place in a haunted house-and it's a lulu. Michael York, Philip Drake and Melissa Sue Anderson costar. Dark Mansions was first telecast August 23, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James share star-billing with Jessica Lange in this uninspired comedy about three women who need a cash infusion. (Curtin and Saint James would later co-star in the popular sitcom Kate and Allie.) Jane (Saint James) is divorced and financially pressed to raise her children in the manner to which they were accustomed. Elaine's (Curtin) husband left with all their assets except for the house and car, and Louise's (Lange) antique store is going to go bust unless she gets rid of the red ink. After the three women share their angst, they hit on a scheme of robbing cash from the local shopping mall, a place they know quite well. That familiarity, it turns out, cannot guarantee success. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Season Six of The Rockford Files begins as Jim Rockford (James Garner) faces permanent expulsion from the community of Paradise Cove as the result of a damage suit instigated by vindictive neighbor C.C. Calloway (Leif Erickson). Court-appointed receiver Althea Morgan (Mariette Hartley) shows up at Jim's doorstep to inventory his possessions, the better to find out if he should be forced to liquidate everything he owns to pay the $35,000 demanded in the lawsuit. As if Jim's life isn't in enough turmoil, he must also deal with a mystery involving a fortune in buried bullion, and the reopening of a scandal dating all the way back to 1929. Inevitably, all of Jim's problems turn out to be inextricably linked--and the result may prove fatal for himself and the hapless Althea. Though obviously conceived to capitalize on the popularity of the then-current camera commercials costarring James Garner and Mariette Hartley, this episode is strong enough to stand on its own merits--and Ms. Hartley earned an Emmy nomination in the bargain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Because the producers couldn't get clearance to film on the real Golden Gate bridge, The Golden Gate Murders is enacted upon a distressingly unconvincing studio mock-up. The film itself is far better than its backdrop: David Janssen stars as a detective investigating the supposed suicide of a priest. Susannah York portrays a nun who is anxious to save the priest's immortal soul by proving that his fatal plunge into San Francisco Bay was murder, not suicide. A curious, chaste romance develops between cop and nun, which turns out to be more interesting at times than the case at hand. Golden Gate Murders was released theatrically as Specter on the Bridge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An autopsy performed by Quincy (Jack Klugman) determines that Mrs. Martha Steele (Karen Philipp) died of a cerebral hemmorhage, supposedly caused by an encounter with a burglar. But Quincy is certain that the brain damage occurred long before the burglary--and he suspects that Mrs. Steele was the victim of an abusive husband (played by Robert Colbert). Unfortunately, his investigation is dead-ended by the refusal of the Steeles' friends to discuss the matter or cooperate with the authorities. Incidentally, this is the episode in which we finally find out Quincy's first name (or at least, his first initial). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A piece of made-for-television hack work that suddenly became sort of topical 23 years later, with the attacks on the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Evening in Byzantium was a two-part made-for-TV feature based very loosely on Irwin Shaw's best-seller. The book involved intrigue and romance at the Cannes Film Festival, but the television producers evidently thought that this did not justify a two-night prime time movie event, so they added a story about Middle Eastern terrorists using the Cannes Film Festival as part of a larger plot to attack the West. Glenn Ford plays Jesse Craig, a down-on-his-luck producer with a film project in mind involving terrorists, who goes to Cannes to raise money and finds himself dealing with his ex-wife (Shirley Jones) and romancing Erin Gray. But before too long, he uncovers a plot by real terrorists to replace commercial airliners in flight (blowing them out of the sky and taking over their authorized flight paths) with specially converted airliners and bomb targets in the United States. Also on hand is Vince Edwards, playing an actor with a radical political agenda, who is alarmed that Ford's proposed film parallels his own terrorist plans; Michael Cole as Ford's associate; Eddie Albert and Gloria De Haven as a couple with ties to the movie business; Harry Guardino as a skeptical American security officer; and Marcel Hillaire as the French police inspector trying to unravel the terrorists plans. It's all very silly, though played very sincerely by most of the cast, and none of the plot described is less plausible than the notion that Glenn Ford and Erin Gray could ignore the 36-year difference in their ages. Evening in Byzantium was originally shown in August of 1978 as part of the syndicated Operation Prime Time programming series, intended to compete with the three networks. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this action film, motorcross racer J. W. Wyatt (Michael Parks) works to develop a high-performance motorcycle while pursuing a romance with the wealthy Chris Gentry (Susan Howard). ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Jim (James Garner) is summoned to the bedside of his old friend Eddie Marks (Howard Duff), who claims to be dying and desperate need of money for his medical treatment. Eddie begs Jim to get him access to high-stakes poker game presided over by Blast Gillette (George Memmoli) in order to acquire the necessary funds. Only after Jim has revealed the location of the big game does he discover that he's been scammed by Eddie, who robs the poker players in order to set up an even bigger scam involving a luxury liner. Left holding the bag for the robbery, Jim turns the tables on Eddie and his equally duplicitious daughter Christina (Joan Van Ark), aided and abetted by several cronies of the irrespressible Angel Martin (Stuart Margolin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Susan Clark won an Emmy for her performance as legendary woman athlete Babe Didrickson (1916-1956). The film starts in Port Arthur, Texas, with teenaged Babe depriving herself of a social life in order to excel at track and field. Her well-honed skills and fierce competitive spirit win Babe a slot at the Los Angeles-based 1932 Olympics. Able to excel in practically any sport, Babe becomes a pro golfer, tennis player and billiard champ. In 1940, she meets and marries roughhewn ex-wrestler George Zaharias (played by Alex Karras, Clark's real-life future husband), who becomes her mentor and manager. Despite the anticipated career and personal conflicts, George stays by Babe's side for the next sixteen years, ultimately buoying her spirits during her three-year ordeal with terminal cancer. Babe was adapted by Emmy nominee Joanna Lee from Babe Didrickson Zaharias' autobiography This Life I've Led. Footnote: for a glance at the real Babe Zaharias in action on the golf links, see the Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn vehicle Pat and Mike (52). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Working on behalf of Deputy DA Kimble, whom he has never met, Jim (James Garner) poses as a newspaper publisher to find out if the weekly poker game at an exclusive men's club is "fixed." What the detective doesn't know until after the game is that Kimble couldn't have been the one who hired him since Kimble has was murdered nearly three months ago. Assistant DA Kate Doyle (Blair Brown) asks Jim to stay on the case to expose both the crooked game and the killer...and, incidentally, to prove that the late Mr. Kimble was connected with the Mob. This is the only Rockford Files episode directed by series star James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode focuses on Lt. Carl Reese, the police-inspector friend of Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) who is played on a recurring basis by Johnny Seven. Shortly after five pounds of heroin disappears while in the custody of Reese and his partner Don Borden (Sandy Ward), Borden is killed in a mysterious accident. Now Reese himself is suspected of collaborating with the drug dealers, and a swift conviction would seem to be a foregone conclusion. Despite the formidable opposition of the DA's office, Ironside is determined to clear Reese's name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sam Greenlee's cult favorite novel of political unrest was brought to the screen in this drama, which also earned a small but loyal following. A congressman hoping to attract African-American voters during an election year decides to make political hay by pointing out that the Central Intelligence Agency has no black agents. Bowing to subsequent public pressure, the CIA admits a number of black applicants to their training program, but they purposefully make the process difficult and unpleasant enough to winnow out nearly all the African-American students. Dan Freeman (Lawrence Cook), a strong, intelligent but soft-spoken man, somehow makes it through the gauntlet to become the black CIA agent; however, rather than being given important field assignments, Freeman is put in charge of the agency's copying machines and gives tours of their facilities to give the offices a progressive front for visitors. After a few years, Freeman leaves the agency to move back to his hometown of Chicago and do work with the community...at least that's what he tells his superiors. In fact, Freeman has used his time at the CIA collecting information on how to launch a political revolution, and not long after he arrives in the Windy City, he begins recruiting an army of leftist radicals and black nationalists fed up with the system. With their help, Freeman launches the first stage of an armed revolt with the stated goal of bringing the white-dominated power structure to its knees. The Spook Who Sat by the Door was a rare feature directorial assignment for Ivan Dixon, best known as an actor (he played Sgt. "Kinch" Kinchloe on Hogan's Heroes), Dixon has an extensive resume of directorial credits, but primarily in episodic television. Spook is his second theatrical release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Earl Holliman plays one of two disreputable insurance agents involved in a deadly scam. A wealthy philatelist has been murdered, an 1850 Guyana stamp worth $300,000 has been stolen, and the crooks are trying to turn a huge profit on a counterfeit of the missing stamp. Also prominent in the proceedings is Jessica Walter, fresh from her bravura villainy in Clint Eastwood's Play Misty for Me. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide