Howard Platt Movies

Having been rejected by his "dream girl" Debbie (Annrae Walterhouse), Tommy (Philip McKeon) tries to polish up his social graces. To this end, he submits to dancing lessons, with Vera (Beth Howland) as his teacher. A few lessons later, and Tommy has again fallen in love--with the nonplussed Vera, who is old enough to be his...uh...well, she's old enough! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Peter Hyams made his feature-film directing debut with this clumsily paced crime film concerning two Los Angeles vice-squad detectives. Michael Keneely (Eliott Gould) is the swaggering non-conformist and Patrick Farrel (Robert Blake) is the cocky follower. The two cops live for their work and spend most of their time busting call girls, massage parlor employees, and homosexuals. Keneely and Farrel eventually come to the conclusion that every criminal act in Los Angeles is due to the efforts of crime lord Carl Rizzo (Allen Garfield). The boys begin to harass Rizzo to the point of distraction, but their singular attempts to arrest Rizzo cause them to become the targets of, not only the criminal population, but the police force as well. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Flying High was a Charlie's Angels of the airways. Pat Klous, Connie Sellecca and Kathryn Witt play three flight attendants for the fictional Sunwest airways. This TV movie (the pilot for the original series) traces their various seriocomic adventures in the sky and on land. Guest stars on this particular boarding are Marcia Wallace and Jim Hutton. Flying High was the pilot film for a sixty-minute weekly TV series, which ran--or flew--from September 1978 through January 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A wartime fling between an American GI and a Korean woman has resulted in an abandoned infant. The gang at the 4077th realize that the baby will be shunned by the Koreans for being "mixed." Thus it is that the M*A*S*H gang dedicates itself to the difficult task of finding a good and loving home for the little castaway. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Oliver Stone, the most outspokenly political American filmmaker of the 1980s and '90s, directs this epic-length biography of Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the U.S., who was re-elected by a landslide in 1972, only to resign in disgrace two years later. Taking a non-linear approach, Nixon jumps back and forth between many different periods and events, from Nixon's strict upbringing at the hands of his Quaker mother, through the many peaks and valleys of his political career, to his downfall in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The facts of his life are blended with supposition and speculation to create a portrait that is often critical of the man's policies but displays an unexpected compassion toward his failings as a human being. Anthony Hopkins stars as Nixon, Joan Allen plays his long-suffering wife Pat, Mary Steenburgen portrays his mother Hannah, Bob Hoskins is cast as J. Edgar Hoover, Powers Boothe plays Alexander Haig, Paul Sorvino portrays Henry Kisinger, and Ed Harris plays E. Howard Hunt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Michael Ritchie, better known for his gentle satires of American social institutions, enters Don Siegel territory in the unusual crime thriller Prime Cut. Lee Marvin is surly collection agent Nick Devlin, who is hired by Chicago racketeer Jake (Eddie Egan) to collect an overdue payment from Kansas cattle baron Mary Ann (yes, Mary Ann!) (Gene Hackman). When Devlin travels west to get Jake's money from Mary Ann, he finds the cattle king mixed up in complex drug deals and pimping wild women -- two of which are Poppy and Violet (Sissy Spacek and Janit Baldwin -- both in their film debuts). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Splitting up with her husband, Woodrow (Raymond Allen), after a row, Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) moves in with Fred and Lamont Sanford (Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson). Fred tolerates Esther's presence when he believes that she only intends to stay the night. But when it becomes clear that she plans to remain in the Sanford home for six months, the better to establish separate residency for a divorce, Fred schemes to bring Esther and Woodrow back together -- and out of his hair. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With Lamont (Demond Wilson) away on a fishing trip, Fred (Redd Foxx) seizes the opportunity to grab a quick buck by renting out Lamont's room. His new tenant is a lonely -- and very pregnant -- young woman. This being a 1970s sitcom, it must needs be that the woman will go into labor, with only Fred in the vicinity to help with the emergency delivery. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Fred (Redd Foxx) is the only eyewitness when burglars break into the home of his neighbor Julio Fuentes (Gregory Sierra), making off with Julio's pet goat. Fearing reprisals -- and, frankly, happy to see the goat gone -- Fred refuses to identify the crooks. Hoping to loosen Fred's tongue, Julio and Lamont (Demond Wilson) concoct an intricate reverse-psychology scheme. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) is delighted that his sister Frances (Mary Alice) has finally gotten married. His delight quickly evaporates when he meets his new brother-in-law Rodney Victor (Allan Drake, in his first series appearance). It seems that dear old Rodney is an inveterate gambler and a practical joker -- and worst of all, he's white. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A confirmed hit in its inaugural 14-episode season, the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son returned to its familiar Friday-night berth for a second batch of 24 episodes beginning September 15, 1972. In true "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" tradition, producer Norman Lear made virtually no changes in the series' winning format. Cantankerous junk dealer Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) was still umbilically joined to his cash-poor salvage business; Fred's son Lamont (Demond Wilson) was still seeking a way out of the family trade and into a more lucrative profession; and Fred continued to prevent Lamont from leaving by a variety of methods, primarily by staging highly suspicious "heart attacks." The only significant differences between Sanford's first and second seasons were manifested in the supporting cast. Hal Williams continued to make periodic appearances as police officer Smith (aka "Smitty"), albeit with a new partner, Officer Hopkins (Howard Platt), who was immediately nicknamed "Hoppy." The Sanfords' circle of friends was more or less solidified, with the departing Slappy White (as Melvin) replaced by Fred's somewhat shady crony Bubba Hoover (Don Bexley), and Lamont Sanford gaining a new chum in the person of reckless Rollo Larson (Nathaniel Taylor). More significant additions -- at least in providing grist for the comedy mill vis-à-vis Fred Sanford's endless personal insults -- included Gregory Sierra as the Sanfords' new neighbor and business rival, Puerto Rican junk dealer Julio Fuentes and especially LaWanda Page as Aunt Esther, Fred's contentious, Bible-thumping sister-in-law (Page was a slightly younger and more volatile replacement for Beah Richards, who had made a handful of appearances as Aunt Ethel). Also, Lynn Hamilton continued popping up from time to time as Fred Sanford's erstwhile fiancée, nurse Donna Harris. As with season one, some of the episodes seen during Sanford and Son's second season were adapted from scripts previously telecast on the series' British prototype Steptoe and Son, but these were fewer and farther between than in previous months. And also as with season one, Sanford sustained its enormous popularity, ranking as the second most popular TV series in America (another Norman Lear effort, All in the Family, was first). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season four of Sanford and Son was ushered in on Friday, September 13, 1974, with wonderful news for longtime fans of the series: after a well-publicized volley of recriminations between star Redd Foxx and the series' producers over Foxx's numerous (and somewhat bizarre) contractual demands, the actor was back to stay in the role of irascible Los Angeles junk dealer Fred Sanford. Before long, it was "business as usual," with Fred ruling the roost over his backyard junk business and his long-suffering son Lamont seeking out better means of making a living. Likewise, Fred resumed his ongoing war of words with his Bible-quoting, purse-swinging sister-in-law Esther (LaWanda Page), and his hot-and-cold engagement to nurse Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton). Having more or less replaced Fred as head of the Sanford household during the waning months of season three, Whitman Mayo was back as Fred's oldest friend Grady Wilson, though by the end of season four Mayo would himself temporarily exit the series to star in his own spin-off sitcom, the short-lived Grady. Other regulars returning to the Sanford fold during the 1974-1975 season were Hal Williams and Howard Platt as police officers Smitty and Hoppy, Don Bexley as Fred's shifty pal Bubba, Nathaniel Taylor as Lamont's crony Rollo, and Gregory Sierra as rival junk dealer Julio Fuentes. Only one character of significance joined the series during this season: Pat Morita as Japanese-American restauranteur Ah Chew. The return of Redd Foxx performed wonders for Sanford and Son's ratings. Ranked third among America's most popular series during season three, the program was restored to the coveted "Number Two" spot during season four. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi