Simon Oakland Movies

The deaths of two teenagers alert Quincy (Jack Klugman) to the perils of deceptively harmless "lookalike drugs", which can be legally sold over any pharmacy counter. The crusading coroner is determined to ban these drugs and to punish those merchants who sell them to underaged customers. Unfortunately, neither the law nor human nature can be changed so easily--and it looks as though future tragedies are a foregone conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

No sooner has Jim (James Garner) arrived in Newark than he is robbed of his watch, wallet, luggage, and return plane ticket. The culprits are a couple of minor-league crooks who hope to break into the Big Time through the auspices of Jim's friend, reformed mobster Beppy Conigliaro (Simon Oakland). Female impersonator Jim Bailey appears as himself in this sequel to the 5th season episode "he Jersey Bounce", with Greg Antonacci and Gene Davis making return appearances as Eugene Conigliaro and Mickey Long. Both this episode and its predecessor were written by David Chase, who later parlayed his fascination with New Jersey mobsters into the groundbreaking cable-TV series The Sopranos. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It's a veritable Old Home Week on The Rockford Files, with return visits from Jim's fellow P.I. Vern St. Cloud (Simon Oakland), nerdish detective-wannabe Freddie Beamer (James Whitmore Jr.), and last but not least, the impossibly handsome and insufferably lucky private detective Lance White (Tom Selleck). It all begins when Freddie crashes a testimonial ceremony for the Detective's Association, only to stumble upon the dead body of keynote speaker Senator Arnold B. Sanota. In their efforts to clear Freddie of murder charges, Jim (James Garner) and Lance (Tom Selleck) literally fall over themselves--though Lance always seems to land on his feet with nary a hair out of place, much to Jim's dismay and disgust. Meanwhile, there's a seemingly separate intrigue afoot involving Vern St. Cloud's son Larry (played by Tom Selleck's future Magnum P.I. costar Larry Manetti). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Quincy (Jack Klugman) and Sam (Robert Ito) come across a human skull while travelling through the desert. With the help of forensic artist Lynn Peters (Zohra Lampert), Quincy concludes that the skull is that of a controversial labor leader who had mysteriously vanished a few years back (guess which famous person was the inspiration for this episode: and we always thought that he wound up as an off-ramp of the Jersey Turnpike). This places our hero--and his friends--in danger at the hands of the mob boss who has risen to labor-union prominence during his missing predecessor's absence. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Jim Rockford (James Garner) and rookie private eye Richie Brockelman (Dennis Dugan) continue to investigate the suspicious death of their mutual mentor Joe Tooley. When the trail of clues leads to crooked computer-company CEO Garth McGregor (Jackie Cooper), he uses his influence to frame the two detectives and force them to take it on the lam. Ingredients essential to the outcome of the story are an underground storage silo, a conspiracy involving a corrupt congressman, and a wild helicopter-chase finale. This final episode of The Rockford Files' fourth season served to introduce the character of Richie Brockelman, who was subsequently spun off into his own TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Kojak (Telly Savalas) is one of several authority figures who dismiss the claims of Julie Winston (Brooke Adams), a young and friendless newcomer to the Big Apple, when she insists that she has been threatened by a "dead" man. According to Julie, her tormenter was a known felon who had previously been reported killed in a house fire. By the time the police realize that Julie was telling the truth, it is too late for the unfortunate girl--whereupon a guilt-stricken Kojak vows to avenge Julie's death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Black Sheep Squadron is the 2-hour pilot film for the TV adventure series Baa Baa Black Sheep. Robert Conrad stars as real-life World War II ace Gregory "Pappy" Boyington. Ever at odds with his superiors, the highly decorated Boyington quits the Flying Tigers, finagles a major's commission, and organizes his own squadron of misfits and screw-ups, which he dubs the Black Sheep Squadron. In true buck-the-establishment fashion, Pappy's boys prove to be better and braver pilots than practically anyone else in the whole durned Marine Corps. Among the Black Sheep are such personable young performers as James Whitmore Jr., Dirk Blocker (son of Dan Blocker) and John Larroquette. Originally titled Baa Baa Black Sheep when it first aired on September 21, 1976, Black Sheep Squadron was later syndicated as Flying Misfits. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Debuting Friday, September 13, 1974 on ABC, the weekly, hour-long sci-fi/fantasy series Kolchak: The Night Stalker was spun off from two well-received feature length entries from the same network's Movie of the Week: The Night Stalker (1971) and The Night Strangler (1973). Starring in both these made-for-TV offerings was Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak, a fly-by-night newspaper reporter who'd stumbled onto proof of actual paranormal and supernatural activity (a vampire terrorizing Las Vegas in Night Stalker, a werewolf decimating Seattle in Night Strangler), only to have his stories suppressed and himself bullied into silence by nervous police officials and politicians who didn't want to scare away tourists and merchants. By the time the Kolchak series proper began, the title character (still played by McGavin) had been effectively blacklisted by every major publisher in the US, and was forced to work for the Chicago-based Independent News Service, a seat-of-the-pants operation edited by Tony Vincenzo (another carryover from the movie versions). Having likewise been exiled from the higher journalistic circles thanks to Kolchak's "unbelievable" news scoops, Vincenzo harbored a grudge against our hero, but kept him on the payroll all the same. As for Kolchak, he was determined to regain his credibility by filing a story about the Supernatural that could be proven beyond doubt--and of course, he was always foiled when the evidence "mysteriously" vanished at the end of each episode. Making matters worse, Kolchak couldn't even post a "normal" news story, since bizarre and unexplainable things kept happening around him wherever he went. Other regulars included Jack Grinnage as Ron Updike, Independent News' fledgling society reporter who yearned to break into the "big time" and was willing to stab Kolchak in the back to get what he wanted; and Ruth McDevitt as the service's advice columnist Miss Emily Cowles, the only person whom Kolchak could rely upon when things got rough. As for the series' various ghosts, monsters, vampires, mummies and lycanthropes, they were seldom seen full-face but instead lurked in the shadows, in the tradition of the classic Val Lewton "psychological horror" epics of the 1940s (Trivia note: among the series' writers was a young Robert Zemeckis). Although the series enjoyed the built-in following of viewers who'd loved The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler, Kolchak: The Night Stalker languished in the ratings opposite such competition as Police Woman and The Rockford Files. Even if the series had been a hit, however, it would have been scuttled by a lawsuit instigated by Jeff Rice, author of the novel upon which the original Night Stalker was based, who insisted he had not given anyone permission to turn his property into a weekly series. Some thirty years after its cancellation on August 30, 1975, Kolchak: The Night Stalker was revived by the X-Files team under the simplified title Night Stalker, with Stuart Townsend as Carl Kolchak. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Best of the Safecrackers is an ersatz movie made up of a two-part installment from the Toma TV series. Tony Musante stars as Dave Toma, a real-life Newark police detective. Toma is a master of disguise, and this time around he poses as a bank robber. He joins the gang of ace safecracker William Daniels, an untrustworthy sort who may tumble to Toma's pose at any moment. Once he's in the bank that's to be robbed, Toma becomes cut off from headquarters and is unable to tip them off to the location of the heist. Best of the Safecrackers originally aired February 1 and 8, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Night Strangler is the sequel to the enormously successful 1972 TV movie The Night Stalker. Darren McGavin returns as seedy reporter Carl Kolchak, who previously ran into conflict when Las Vegas authorities refused to acknowledge Kolchak's uncovering of a modern-day vampire. Now he's in Seattle, on the trail of a mysterious strangler who drains the blood of his victims. Kolchak's quest takes him to a hidden underground city beneath Seattle and the bizarre residents therein. Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz) is seen briefly as an expert on alchemy; John Carradine also makes cameo. The success of this telemovie and its predecessor inspired a brief 1974 TV series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, also starring McGavin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this gritty and violent period drama set in the depths of the Great Depression, Lee Marvin stars as "A No. 1", the acknowledged King of the Hoboes. A No. 1 is famous among his fellow tramps for his ability to catch a ride on any train, no matter how risky the hop or dangerous the guards. He acts as a sort of mentor for Cigaret (Keith Carradine), a young hobo who brags that some day he'll surpass A No. 1 in his accomplishments. But neither has had the courage to ride a train guarded by Shack (Ernest Borgnine), an unusually sadistic railroad cop who will brutally beat or even murder any man who tries to catch a ride on his train. A No. 1 is determined that no one, not even Cigaret, is going to deny him his title, so taking his life in his hands, he and Cigaret hop a ride on Shack's train, and they are soon bearing the full brunt of his violent nature. Emperor of the North features superb location photography by Joseph F. Biroc and a fine supporting cast, including Charles Tyner, Simon Oakland, Elisha Cook Jr., and Sid Haig. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi