Albert Paulsen Movies

While attending the opening ceremonies of a Naval museum named in his honor, Rear Admiral Burgess McKenzie (Albert Paulsen), an old comrade in arms of medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman), suddenly drops dead. Peforming the autopsy, Quincy discovers that a microchip has been implanted in the Admiral's body, suggesting that he might have been involved in treasonous activities. The plot thickens when several people demand that Quincy turn over the corpse and the chip--including three ladies all claiming to be McKenzie's widow. This semicomic episode is capped by a supremely silly but highly appropriate punchline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When an "ancient" mummy goes under the X-Ray machine, it turns out that the wrapped-up corpse has been dead only a few weeks--and that a fortune in jewels has been stashed on the body. U.S. Customs agents Brice (John Karlen) and Niven (Edward Grover) consult medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman), who puts the pieces together and determines that the mummy was being used in a smuggling operation headquartered in Cairo. Before the intrigue plays itself out, several other people have died at the hands of a group of Nazi war criminals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Conspirators was one of four Columbo feature-length TV specials irregularly scheduled during the 1977-1978 TV season. The titular conspirators are Irish political terrorists, funded by Americans. Clive Revill is an Irish poet who murders an arms dealer (Bernard Behrens) while the poet is gunrunning to his compatriots in Ireland. The murderer is certain that he's thoroughly covered her tracks--until Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) shambles onto the scene. Columbo: The Conspirators was filmed at a time when Peter Falk was insisting that he would hang up the lieutenant's raincoat for good; no way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joseph Hindy guest stars as Vince Pomerantz, a veteran New York cop with a serious gambling problem. Faced with ever-mounting debts, Pomerantz decides that the only way to save himself is to go "on the take." Unfortunately, he is now indebted to a mobster who demands that Vince square himself immediately--by murdering Lt. Kojak's (Telly Savalas) assistant, Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson). Featured in the cast is a pre-Who's the Boss? Judith Light. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Audiences loved him as a Berber sheik in the historical saga The Wind and the Lion, so who better to play a Saudi Arabian minister of state who wants to make peace with Israel during the Arab oil embargo of 1976 than Sean Connery? Connery plays Khalil Abdull-Muhsen, a peace-mongering diplomat who wants to sign a mutual assistance pact with Israel and sell Saudi oil to needy nations at cost. The object of his pipe-dream plan is to free those needy nations from the East-West conflict. Unfortunately, the world is not ready for such starry-eyed idealism, and before you can say "Tiger in your tank," Khalil finds himself the victim of choice for a network of Arab terrorist groups. The terrorists clearly have the pick of the litter at the casting office, for Khalil finds himself pursued by the frisky and beautiful Bryn Mawr graduate and cool-as-a-cucumber terrorist Nicole Scott (Cornelia Sharpe). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In his TV dramatic debut, Ben Vereen stars as legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. The teleplay dramatizes a single incident in 1931, when Armstrong, still struggling for recognition, was playing a small Chicago bistro. Local gangsters catch Louis' act and offer him a huge salary increase to move to their nightspot, but our hero doesn't want to get anywhere near organized crime. Alas, Louis' white manager Red Cleveland (Red Buttons) is not above taking a bribe to frame Armstrong on a phony marijuana charge, thereby forcing the trumpeter into the hands of the Mob. But Louis emerges triumphant through the simple expedient of retreating to Europe, where superstardom is at last bestowed upon him. Louis Armstrong-Chicago Style originally aired January 25, 1976, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Norman Lloyd directed this televised production of Jean Renoir's World War II-era play. Taking place backstage at a theatrical performance in Nazi-occupied France, Carola is a tale of passion and intrigue that involves a beautiful stage actress and her emotional and psychological struggles over a Nazi officer, whom she is entangled in an affair with, and a Resistance leader whom she is hiding. Featuring Leslie Caron as Carola, the play also stars Mel Ferrer, Albert Paulsen, Michael Sacks, Carmen Zapata, and Anthony Zerbe. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

The IMF has a mere 48 hours to prevent an elusive enemy assassin from striking again. Posing as a drug-addicted defector, Phelps gains the confidence of the shadowy killer's contact man Eric Bergmann (Albert Paulsen). Also crucial to the success of the IMF is "guest" agent Valerie, played by Jessica Walter). Though the identity of the assassin has been revealed in other sources, it will remain a secret in this synopsis. Written by Paul Playdon, "Orpheus" was origianlly telecast on March 1, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this badly misconceived pseudo-biography of the legendary Cuban revolutionary -- played, incredibly, by Omar Sharif -- Che Guevara takes up the cause as a rebel fighter under the direction of Fidel Castro, played -- also incredibly -- by Jack Palance. Guevara, a young Argentine doctor, proves his worth under the heat of guerilla warfare and, gaining the respect of his men, becomes the leader of a patrol. Castro is impressed by Guevara's tactics and strict discipline and makes him his chief advisor. When Castro defeats the Cuban dictator Batista after two years of fighting, Guevara, under Castro's nod, directs a series of massive reprisals -- but Guevara dreams of fermenting a worldwide revolution. After Castro backs down during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Guevara accuses Castro of being a Soviet dupe and leaves Cuba. Under disguise, Guevara lands in Bolivia, where he attempts to begin his dream of a worldwide peasant revolution, but the Bolivian poor will not follow his lead, and his band find themselves starving in the Bolivian jungle and pursued by the Bolivian army. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Determined to learn to read and write, middle-aged grocer Pedro (Albert Paulsen) makes a shambles out of Sr. Bertrille's convent classroom. Pedro also succeeds in driving a visiting bishop (Oliver McGowan), crazy, which bodes ill for the long-suffering Reverend Mother. Sr. Bertrille discovers that Pedro's sudden interest in literacy stems from his desire to write a love letter to his sweetheart. First broadcast on February 22, 1968, "Cyrano de Bertrille" was written by Paul Wayne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Blake Edwards directed this big-screen adaptation of the once-popular TV detective series Peter Gunn, which Edwards helped create. Peter Gunn (Craig Stevens) is a tough but polished private eye who fights crime with the help of friendly advice from an inside source at the police department, Lt. Jacoby (Edward Asner), no-nonsense nightclub owner Mother (Helen Traubel), and Gunn's best girl, Edie (Laura Devon). When a top crime boss is assassinated, Gunn is called in to investigate. Fusco (Albert Paulson) is a mobster poised to take over the city's criminal empire, and Daisy Jane (Marion Marshall) is a madame who thinks that Fusco pulled the trigger to further his own career. Jane wants Gunn to dig up the truth about Fusco, though Daisy Jane turns out to be the one with the biggest secret of all. Gunn retains Henry Mancini's memorable theme music from the original show, and brought back Craig Stevens, who played Peter Gunn on the original TV series, though Herschel Bernardi and Lola Albright were replaced as (respectively) Jacoby and Edie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In Southern California, Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and Rhodes (Stephen Brooks) go undercover as missile-plant works to plug up a security leak and capture an enemy spy. The situation becomes even more precarious when the Communist higher-ups arrange the "accidental" demise of one of their own agents to cover their tracks--and then formulate a plan to kill Erskine as well. In a plot device worthy of Alfred Hitchcock, the spies operate their network out of a local movie theater (which seems to run nothing but old Warner Brothers films!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide