Frank Parker Movies
- 1981
An airliner crashes into the icy waters of Santa Monica Bay, killing several passengers. Investigating, Quincy (Jack Klugman) comes to the conclusion that many of the victims died needlessly, due to an insufficient supply of inflatable lifeboats. Thus begins another crusade for the feisty medical examiner, as he lobbies for stronger safety measures during over-the-water airline flights--and as usual, he meets with stiff opposition from the insensitive powers-that-be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The fourth Airport film may be the silliest of them all, as George Kennedy returns, this time co-piloting with Alain Delon. The plane is on its way to the Moscow Olympics, has a bomb on board, and gets fired upon with missiles that necessitate flying upside-down. A look at the cast list resembles a bad episode of Fantasy Island, but it's always fun to see shameless touches like casting Mercedes McCambridge (Johnny Guitar) as the coach of the Soviet team. If you don't understand the significance of that choice, you may find this film more tedious than laughable, but fans of bad movies will have a field day, as Jimmie Walker, Charo, and -- oddly enough -- Bibi Andersson rub shoulders with high-altitude disaster. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, (more)
- 1979
Fred Astaire guest stars as Chameleon, an intergalactic con artist on the run from the Boralean's Nomen henchmen. Hoping to find refuge on Galactica, Chameleon poses as Captain Dmitri--the long-lost father of Lt. Starbuck (Dirk Benedict). But others on board are doubtful of "Dmitri's" claims. . .and the Nomen are rapidly approaching. "The Man With Nine Lives" was later combined with the Battlestar Galactica episode "Baltar's Escape" and reissued as the two-hour "TV movie" Space Prison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, (more)
- 1979
Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) is charged with the murder of rival Viper pilot Ortega (Frank Ashmore). With the full weight of evidence against him, Starbuck finds few that are willing to believe his protestations of innocence. One of those few, however, is his best friend Apollo (Richard Hatch), who doggedly sets about to prove that the authorities have arrested the wrong man--and in the process, Apollo uncovers an unusually vicious blackmail scheme. "Murder on the Rising Star" was later combined with the Battlestar Galactica episode "The Young Lords" and reissued as the two-hour "TV movie" Murder in Space. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, (more)
- 1978
After Grand Prix driver and self-avowed "health nut" Kevin Bannon dies in car crash, Quincy (Jack Klugman) performs an autopsy and discovers that the victim's body was riddled with amphetamines. Having been assured by car mechanic Chick Thomas (Simon Oakland]) that Kevin never took a drug in his life, Quincy believes that the man was murdered. Also taking a vested interest in the case is spunky insurance investigator July Fellner (Cassie Yates). This episode was originally scheduled for October 5, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The Coroner's Office is in a bit of a quandary when Quincy (Jack Klugman) does not show up for work. In his absence, celebrated pathologist Dr. Hiro (Yuki Shimoda) prepares to perform an autopsy on a woman who may have been hiding contraband (namely, stolen gems) on her body. When the "corpse" turns up to be very much alive, Dr. Hiro launches an investigation--and if Quincy's colleagues thought that Hiro would be any easier to deal with than our harranguing hero, they are sorely mistaken. (Incidentally, this is the only Quincy, M.E. episode in which star Jack Klugman does not appear). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This forgettable comedy finds Joe Lightcloud (Elvis Presley) as a mixed-blood Indian with strong ties to his tribe and his father Charlie (Burgess Meredith). Joe tries to get government assistance for the tribe in exchange for permitting the local congressman to graze cattle on Indian land. Maime (Quentin Dean) is the object of Joe's affection, but they are under the watchful eye of her mother Glenda (Joan Blondell), who owns the local saloon. The Jordanaires back up Elvis on a few songs, most notable being "U.S. Male" by guitar-great Jerry Reed. By this time, Elvis was extremely tired of churning out movies with such dismal scripts. Later in 1968, he would make a triumphant return to live performing with his NBC television special which featured Jerry Reed's "Guitar Man." Elvis was playing out the string of films set up by his controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker, who never wanted Elvis to be considered as a serious dramatic actor. Parker even went so far as to take Elia Kazan to task for even mentioning such an idea. It was such thinking that prompted the King Of Rock & Roll to return to the stage once again after an eight-year hiatus. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith, (more)
This jerry-built Allied Artists musical is also known as Showtime, Fresh From Paris. The film's plot is constructed around a single evening's performance at Hollywood's Moulin Rouge (don't expect the level of nudity you'd see in real Parisian show). Forrest Tucker plays a threadbare entrepreneur who wants to open up his own dinner theatre. His "angel" is Lloyd Corrigan, ostensibly an eccentric millionaire but actually merely eccentric. The singing Whiting sisters-Margaret and Barbara--slightly overshadow the film's "official" leading lady Martha Hyer. Most of the onstage acts are surprisingly tame, notably the Sportsmen Quartet. Filmed in a fast five days, Paris Follies of 1956 could not help but make back its cost within a week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forrest Tucker, Margaret Whiting, (more)
