Joe Turkel Movies
- 1968
Although he does not believe that decorated Vietnam veteran David Larkin (Gary Collins) is guilty of murder, Ironside (Raymond Burr) is duty-bound to turn over evidence that secures the man's conviction in court. To save Larkin from the gas chamber, Ironside launches his own investigation, only to be hampered by the interference of Larkin's so-called "buddies"--not to mention the fact that all of the witnesses are being systematically bumped off. This is the final episode of Ironside's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
In his final Untouchables guest appearance, Jack Klugman is cast as Sollie Girsh, a distributor of illegal liquor who has figured out a clever scheme to keep operating right under the noses of the Feds. Using remarkable methods of persuasion, the deceptively mild-mannered Girsh has induced over 500 otherwise honest merchants and storekeepers to retail his whiskey, convincing every one of them that he is only looking out for their welfare. It takes some doing, but Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) finally persuades grocer Charley Tarasovich (George Voskovec), whose son has been killed in a drunk-driving accident, to work undercover in a sting operation to destroy Girsh's criminal network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Federal agent Elliot Ness ($Robert Stack) and gangster boss Vince Majeski (Claude Akins) are both very interested when fugitive hoodlum Johnny Meizo (Rip Torn) returns from Brazil. It seems that just before leaving the States, Meizo had stolen $200,000 of Majeski's money. On the lam from both the Feds and the Mob, Meizo hides out with his sister-in-law Doris (Virginia Christine) and her nephew Arnie (Tim Considine, taking time off from his regular TV duties on My Three Sons). Upon realizing that Arnie is becoming as cold-blooded as he is, Vince suddenly has an epiphany and tries to save the boy from a life of crime. A young Joyce Van Patten appears briefly as an ill-fated nightclub dancer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Even their fellow hoodlums are in mortal terror of the Purple Gang, a Detroit-based operation led by Eddie Fletcher (Steve Cochran). Now the Gang has come up with racket that surpasses all their previous achievements: namely, kidnapping other mobsters and holding them for ransom, knowing full well that their victims can't go to the police. But Fletcher sets the stage for his own inevitable downfall when his boys snatch Jan Tornek (played by a pre-Hogan's Heroes) Werner Klemperer), a minor functionary of the Capone gang who is presently under surveillance by Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) and the Untouchables. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Jack Klugman guest stars as Morton Halas, an unethical but supremely successful criminal lawyer whose services are highly coveted by the Underworld. Now Halas has taken Big Mike Probitch (George Tobias) on as a client--and Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) determined to put Probitch away, no matter how many legal loopholes Halas is able to pull out of thin air. As it turns out, rival gangster Larry Coombs (Martin Landau) succeeds where Ness has failed, filling Probich full of lead while his flunkey Whitey Metz (Gavin McLeod) stabs Big Mike in the back. Almost immediately, Coombs hires Halas to defend him in court--while Ness puts the screws on the sniveling Whitey, hoping to sweat out a confession that will send both Coombs and his "mouthpiece" to the Big House. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
