Tom Reese Movies

Telly Savalas stars as the washed-up star of a Kojak-like TV series who agrees to investigate a real-life kidnapping case. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

This week, Jessica is in Hartford, Connecticut--in the vicinity of Trinity College, to be exact. While walking along minding her business, Jessica is witness to the slaying of Adam Cosgrove,who with his dying breath confesses that he is a professional hit man. Before long, Jessica finds herself sequestered in a government "safe house", along with a priest who isn't a priest, and several shady-looking gentlemen all named after American presidents. And that's not all: turns out that the "dead man" isn't quite dead after all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although it is far from a perfectly contrived drama, Defiance has its moments of high emotions and rising fear. Tommy (Jan Michael Vincent) takes up temporary housing in a New York neighborhood plagued by a violent gang, the Souls. Tommy is waiting for his next assignment as a seaman and though he tries to avoid the gang and his neighbors, it does not work. Soon he is single-handedly battling the Souls and not only changing their attitudes, but the attitudes of his previously intimidated neighbors as well. They quickly back him up as the one person who can make the neighborhood safe again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Director James Ivory has disowned this Hollywood drama, inspired by the Fatty Arbuckle/Virginia Rappe case and based on a satirical poem by Joseph Moncure March, which was heavily cut by American International Pictures from two hours to 90 minutes. The story concerns Jolly Grimm (James Coco), whose career as a famous silent film comic is coming to an end with the advent of talking pictures. He plans a last hurrah by making one more silent film and invites a collection of Hollywood big shots to his mansion in hopes of convincing one of them to distribute the picture. His mistress, Queenie (Raquel Welch), encourages him, but it quickly becomes apparent the film is a bomb. As Jolly Grimm keeps drinking, his mood becomes less jolly and more grim, particularly when movie star Dale (Perry King) starts getting quite familiar with Queenie. Meanwhile, young starlet Nadine (Annette Ferra), after finding her sister in bed with a guest, seeks out Jolly for solace. When Jolly tries to comfort her by kissing her full on the mouth, a drunken party guest, thinking Jolly is trying to seduce the girl, begins to beat Jolly senseless. Dale halts the fracas, but when Jolly doesn't thank Dale properly for saving him from a shellacking, Dale retreats with Queenie to the boudoir. Jolly, already keyed up to a dangerous level, awaits their emergence from the bedroom with a gun in his hand. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A two-bit criminal takes on the Mafia to avenge his brother's death in this drama based on a novel by Donald E. Westlake. Earl Macklin (Robert Duvall) is a small time criminal who is released from prison after an unsuccessful bank robbery only to discover that a pair of gunmen killed his brother. As it turns out, the bank that Earl and his brother hit was controlled by gangster Mailer (Robert Ryan). Macklin learns that he's on the mob's hit list as well, so he teams up with his old partner Cody (Joe Don Baker) to take on Mailer and his second in command, Jake Menner (Timothy Carey). The Outfit also features a top-notch supporting cast, including Karen Black, Sheree North, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Jaeckel, and Anita O'Day; Marie Windsor and Elisha Cook, Jr. also appear, 18 years after their memorable turn together in The Killing. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A prime early example of how to make a truly worthwhile TV movie, Stranger on the Run is a tough, minimalist western in the tradition of the theatrical oaters of director Anthony Mann (one of whose favorite actors, Dan Duryea, has a supporting part in Stranger). Michael Parks is painfully convincing as a sadistic 1880s railroad detective who has a curious notion of fun and games. Upon catching drifters who hitch rides on the trains in his Southwestern jurisdiction, Parks allows the "criminals" one hour head start in the desert, with horse and supplies; then he and his deputies track the men down and kill them. Parks' latest victim is hard-bitten ex-convict Henry Fonda, who has come to town to deliver a message to his cellmate's sister. Fonda proves to be more of challenge than Parks is accustomed to, a fact that gives this brutal little tale its teeth. Anne Baxter costars in this superior TV-movie outing. Stranger on the Run's multilayered teleplay is by Reginald Rose. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this well-regarded film noir thriller, Joe Barron (Glenn Ford) is a police detective whose wife Lisa (Elke Sommer) has inherited a stock portfolio from her father. Joe and Lisa go on a spending spree, but when their new holdings fail to pay dividends, Joe finds himself deep in debt. Dr. Horace Van Tilden (Joseph Cotten), a rich doctor who caters to high-society clientele, shoots an intruder in his home, and Joe is assigned to investigate; Joe discovers that Van Tilden has a lucrative sideline selling drugs, and that the shooting victim was actually an addict looking for dope. When Joe learns that Van Tilden keeps his drug money in a safe at home, he sees a way to finally pay off his debts, but his partner, Pete Delanos (Ricardo Montalban), gets wind of Joe's scheme and demands a cut of the action. Matters become more complicated for Joe when he learns that the man Van Tilden shot was married to Rosalie (Rita Hayworth), whom he loved many years ago. The Money Trap was directed by Burt Kennedy, who was best known for his witty and unconventional westerns. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Despite his dishonorable discharge from the Army, Jason (Chuck Connors) is asked to be sheriff in the small town where he has recently killed a gunslinger. It soon develops that Jason doesn't have much in the way of job security. In the past year alone, the town has had three other sheriffs--all of whom have been shot to death. Veteran western player Ben Johnson, some six years away from his Oscar-winning performance in The Last Picture Show, appears as Bill Latigo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker George Stevens chose Monument Valley, Utah for his exterior sequences in The Greatest Story Ever Told, this ($20 million) adaptation of Fulton Oursler's best-selling book. The "Greatest Story" is, of course, the life of Jesus Christ, played herein by Max Von Sydow. The large supporting cast includes Dorothy McGuire as Mary, Claude Rains as Herod the Great, Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas, Charlton Heston as John the Baptist, Donald Pleasence as Satan (identified only as "The Dark Hermit"), David McCallum as Judas Iscariot, Sidney Poitier as Simon of Cyrene, Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate and Martin Landau as Caiaphas. Even Robert Blake as Simon the Zealot, Jamie Farr as Thaddaeus, and motorcyle-flick veteran Richard Bakalyan as Dismas, the repentant thief, are well-suited to their roles. Originally roadshown at 260 minutes, Greatest Story Ever Told was later available in a 195-minute version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, the trouble begins when a rancher's mother and father are killed by a young outlaw and his family who want his land. The son returns the favor and slaughters them. As the father lies dying, he manages to hire three gunslingers to track the boy down. The boy is a good shot though and kills two of the hired guns and then flees into Indian territory. There he meets an old miner, his wife and their daughter. The remaining gunslinger finds him, but is taken prisoner by the miner. Later, the saucy wife makes a pass at the young man, but he rejects her. In retaliation, she frees the gunman, steals her husband's gold and takes off. She ends up being killed by the Indians. Meanwhile, the daughter, the miner, and the rancher's son are busy fighting off an attack of their own. They then ride off after the fleeing gunman whose horse is so laden down with gold that it collapses. This allows the son to shoot him dead. Afterwards, the son and the miner's daughter get hitched and live happily ever after. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Charles Bronson guest-stars as Harry Star, a halfbreed who is regularly subjected to the bigotry of the townsfolk. Feeling that Harry has been unjustly persecuted, Ben Cartwright hires the man as a ranchhand. What Ben doesn't know, but the audiences does, is that Harry is a member of a gang of horse thieves, who intend to exploit Ben's trust by pulling off an elaborate scam. Originally telecast on December 13, 1964, "The Underdog" was written by Donn Mullally. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Damon Runyon's story "Little Miss Marker" gets a mid-'60s update in this comedy. Steve McCluskey (Tony Curtis) is the manager of a nightspot in Lake Tahoe owned by Bernie Friedman (Phil Silvers). Steve is the kind of guy who has heard every sob story in the book and is not easily impressed, but his hard heart begins to soften a bit when he meets Penny Piper (Claire Wilcox), a young orphan girl with no one to turn to and nowhere to go. Steve grudgingly takes her in and soon grows fond of the tyke. Penny thinks that Steve needs to get married and settle down, so she starts playing Cupid, trying to set him up with pretty Chris Lockwood (Suzanne Pleshette). However, Steve is still reeling from his failed first marriage and isn't so sure that another trip to the altar would be good for him. The film's finale sends Steve on a wild chase through Disneyland. Forty Pounds of Trouble marked the feature directorial debut of Norman Jewison, who would go on to make In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof, and Jesus Christ Superstar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This is a straightforward, unexceptional story about a platoon of Marines taken out of battle in Korea for some R & R in Tokyo, and then sent back to the front lines again. The four men are stereotypes found in many war stories: the simpatico country boy, the intellect though not overtly so, a rich, suave type, and a hard-as-nails tough-guy leader. These four friends are first seen in combat situations, then encountering all sorts of misadventures in Japan before they have to push off to do battle again. This was the penultimate film of director Raoul Walsh (who also provided the story for the script), unusual because he started directing in 1915 -- his career spanned fifty years. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide