Stewart Moss Movies

Having solved many another murder case in the past, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is finally given a crack at the JFK assassination! It seems that a Dallas private eye disappeared at the same time that Kennedy was shot, and now, thirty years later, there is positive proof that the P.I. was also murdered. Jessica suspects that the two killings may have been connected--and as a bonus, both may be linked to a current case that she is working on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Quincy (Jack Klugman) is the technical advisor on a movie which is dramatizing an infamous murder case involving onetime socialite Victoria Sawyer (Carolyn Jones). Noticing several discrepancies in the script, Quincy begins to doubt that Victoria was guilty of the murder for which she is currently serving in prison; he also fears that the real killer may still be alive and at large. But to prove his findings, he needs the cooperation of Victoria herself--cooperation that the woman absolutely refuses to give. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This box-office bomb is about some schemers' hell-bent efforts to raise the fated vessel from its murky grave when they suspect that there's a fortune in radioactive cargo aboard. To add a little excitement, a bunch of Russians decide they want to get there first. ~ All Movie Guide

Another of the many Arthur Hailey literary properties which were transformed into TV miniseries in the 1970s, the five-part, ten-hour Wheels took place in Detroit sometime in the late 1960s. Rock Hudson starred as Adam Trenton, executive in charge of project development at the fictional auto-manufacturing firm of National Motors. Ambitious and ruthless, Adam let nothing stand in the way of his development and production of a new, youth-marketed car known as the Hawk. Meanwhile, Adam's bored and neglected wife Erica (Lee Remick, who earned an Emmy nomination for her performance) drifted into an extramarital affair and a brief "career" as a shoplifter. Eventually, Adam himself acquired a mistress, who in turn fell in love with Adam's son Kirk (James Carrol Jordan). As if things couldn't get any seamier, Kirk's brother Greg (Howard McGillin) was plagued by a blackmailer, while crooked car dealer Smokey Stevenson (played by miniseries stalwart Anthony Franciosa) cooked up a sinister deal that threatened to destroy National Motors. Originally telecast from May 7 to 15, 1978 on NBC, Arthur Hailey's Wheels posted such disappointing ratings that, when it was later rebroadcast, the property was whittled down from ten hours to four -- with episodes three and four summarily dropped from the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mixing humor and melodrama, this curiosity has a husband-and-wife detective duo investigating Satanic goings on in an American suburb, all the while bickering about their in-laws and other domestic problems. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide

One of the least interesting efforts from American International Pictures, this dreary monster flick involves a scientist who is bitten by a rabid vampire bat while honeymooning in the desert, thereby transforming into a vampire-like creature (well, really more of a "were-bat") and setting out on nightly blood-drinking binges. He eventually puts the bite on his bride, and she undergoes a similar transformation. Apart from atmospheric photography, neat desert settings and some clever effects work from Stan Winston (mostly lost to sloppy editing), this dismal creature feature will probably lose viewers' interest long before the gory climax. Originally released as It Lives By Night. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) are obliged to track down a perpetrator who under normal circumstances might have been the heroine of the story. Refusing to believe that her baby was stillborn, young mother Barbara Talmadge (Kity Winn) goes on a desperate search for her child, who has been spirited away by a crooked adoption agency. By the time the hapless Barbara catches up with the unwitting couple who have adopted her baby, she has already committed murder--and is willing to kill again if necessary! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Considine does a cut-rate Vincent Price impersonation as the flamboyant Dr. Death, a thousand-year-old magician who has mastered he art of transferring souls from one body to another and thereby manages to perpetuate himself by jumping from one body to the next (which actually makes him more of a "Seeker of Bodies"). Apparently the Doc is a kindred spirit to the Alien, since his blood is a highly-corrosive acid that can strip flesh from bone, thus ensuring his personal safety. This is "Z"-grade fare that plays somewhat like a Herschell Gordon Lewis film, but without enough silliness to keep things amusing. The only point of interest keeping this film in circulation (mainly via late-night-cable) is the presence of sad-looking former Stooge Moe Howard in his last role as a perverted old man. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

George Kennedy plays a tough San Diego police sergeant who quits the force when his wife is killed. He becomes a priest, and is assigned to a parish in his old precinct. Champing at the bit, "Sarge", as the priestly Kennedy is known to his friends, offers his investigative talents to the local constabulary. Sarge gets down to business immediately by solving a tricky homicide case. Badge or the Cross was the pilot film for George Kennedy's subsequent TV series Sarge, which ran for a single season in 1971-72. The film was originally titled Sarge: The Badge or the Cross, and has sometimes been telecast simply as Sarge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Woe betide the criminal who ever makes the mistake of victimizing a friend of Chief Robert Ironside (Raymond Burr)! In this case, the friend is a fruit seller named Dora Copeland (Ann Doran). A syndicate of protection racketeers has swarmed into town in hopes of gaining control of San Francisco's produce market--and their first step is to blackmail Dora by framing a compromising situation involving her son Paul (Stewart Moss), a prominent attorney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The F.B.I. begins its fifth season as Federal Inspector Lew Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) persuades former counterespionage agent Anne Fraser (Diane Baker) to come out of retirement for one last assignment. Posing as lovers, Erkine and Anne hope to round up a spy ring specializing in blackmailing vulnerable diplomats--a task made difficult by the fact that the villains are protected by diplomatic immunity. In the original TV Guide ads for this episode, the producers shamelessly plugged their series' longtime sponsor by listing "The 1970 Fords" as "guest stars"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hogan and his crew enable war correspondent Walter Hobson (Richard Erdman) to escape to England. Unfortunately, Hobson chooses to honor Hogan by publishing an account of his underground exploits in an American newspaper. Though the article mentions no names, Gestapo officer Hochstetter puts zvei und zvei together and plants a spy among Klink's guards in order to get the goods on Hogan. Future Hill Street Blues regular James B. Sikking appears as Berger. Originally broadcast on November 30, 1968, "No Names Please" was written by Laurence Marks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide