Al Ruscio Movies
Al Ruscio has been playing character roles since his film debut in Al Capone (1959). His wife, Kate Williamson, and his daughter, Elizabeth Ruscio, are also actors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1959
Rod Steiger is the screen's first "method mobster" in the title role of Al Capone. The film traces Big Al's progress from a torpedo in the hire of Chicago gangster Johnny Torrio (Nehemiah Persoff) to Capone's takeover of the Windy City's bootlegging operations, and his ultimate downfall at the hands of the IRS. Rod Steiger delivers every line with maniacal gusto, as though it will be his last; sometimes he sounds like Frank Gorshin doing a Rod Steiger impression, but for the most part it is a dynamite performance. Featured in the cast are Murvyn Vye as Bugs Moran, Joe De Santis as Big Jim Colosimo, Lewis Charles as Hymie Weiss, Robert Gist as O'Banion, and James Gregory and Martin Balsam as composite characters, respectively based on honest Chicago cop John Siege and duplicitous newspaper reporter Jake Lingle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Steiger, Fay Spain, (more)
- 1960
Jack Weston guest stars as Ciro Terranova, a neurotic gangster who takes over New York's wholesale produce business. Any wholesaler who refuses to purchase Terranova's artichokes at twice their value is roughed up or worse, and of course Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is unable to persuade any of the victims to testify against the mob. Meanwhile, the tight-fisted Terranova has troubles of his own whe such rival thugs as Frankie Yale (Al Ruscio) and Felix Burke (Robert Ellenstein) muscle into his territory. Ultimately, Ness sends fellow Untouchable Enrico Rossi (Nick Georgiade) undercover in an effort to play one side against the other, culminating in a near-surrealistic showdown at a Halloween party. This episode was originally listed in TV Guide as "Murder by Contract". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Among the most popular TV Western series ever, Bonanza starred Lorne Green as Ben Cartwright and Michael Landon, Dan Blocker and Pernell Roberts as his sons Little Joe, Hoss and Adam. In this episode, "The Last Viking," aired in 1960, a friend of Ben, Gunnar Borgstrom, arrives to visit the Cartwrights en route to Canada. However, Ben is upset to find his pal is traveling with a gang out outlaws -- and becomes even more upset when Little Joe and his sweetheart are kidnapped by the fiends. Neville Brand appears as a guest star. This show is available on DVD as part of a five-episode box set. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1961
Jeff Morrow guest-stars as legendary Apache chief Cochise, who despite his avowed peaceful stance has sworn vengeance against Cavalry captain Moss Johnson (DeForrest Kelley). While Johnson takes refuge at the Ponderosa, Ben Cartwright, surrounded by a batallion of Cochise's deadliest warriors, is determined to learn the true story behind the Apache leader's vendetta. Fueling the crisis is a seriously injured Adam, and Johnson's ever-increasing hysteria. Written by Elliot Arnold, "The Honor of Cochise" first aired October 8, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1962
In his second Untouchables appearance, Lee Marvin is disturbingly convincing as Victor Rate, a brilliant psychopath in cahoots with narcotics kingpin Arnold Stegler (Victor Jory). A cool customer who gets his kicks by deliberately placing himself in dangerous situations, Rate has no qualms about gunning down a government agent in broad daylight, then loading 50,000 pounds of opium onto a truck while the terrified witnesses look on in amazement. To bring this human monster to justice, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) employs the services of a movie cameraman, a professional lipreader...and Arnold Stegler, who in a futile effort to get himself off the hook ends up signing his own death warrant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
In one of the few "procedural" dramas presented on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, the health officials and police department of Los Angeles race against time to prevent an anthrax epidemic. They must also keep secret the fact that they've found a disease-ridden corpse, lest they throw the city into a panic. Dedicated young health official Dr. Dana (Michael Parks) joins forces with older colleagues Dr. Oliver (Charles McGraw) and Deputy Sheriff Judd (Berkeley Harris) to pinpoint and isolate the source of the anthrax -- strenuously battling bureaucracy and red tape every inch of the way. "Diagnosis: Danger" was intended as the pilot for a weekly series starring Michael Parks, but the project failed to find a sponsor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles McGraw, Michael Parks, (more)
- 1963
Pursued into the desert by bandits, Paladin (Richard Boone) encounters a poverty-stricken, weak-willed Mexican potter named Machado (Al Ruscio) and his beautiful but bitchy young wife Sabina (Patricia Medina). Deeply resenting both her husband and her standard of living, Sabina harbors dreams of wealth and luxury--and becomes convinced that Paladin will lead her to those intangibles. First, however, the three wanderers must survive their inevitable showdown with those bandits. ~ 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
- 1968
In this drama, a man marries into a closely knit sect of Russian Christians called Dukhobors, but when an outbreak of violence occurs along with his arrival, he is blamed for it. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Ace Jones (Nick Adams) is a ex-stockcar racer who finds himself in need of repairs on his truck. The garage is owned by a young widow Sandy (Jeannine Riley), whose husband was killed in a racing accident at the local track. He gets a job as a mechanic helping the veteran wrench-man Toad (Vaughn Taylor) and eventually takes over the racetrack. Two of his friends are the victims of sabotage and lose their lives in a fiery crash. Ace decides to leave the life in the fast lane behind and settle down with Sandy. This was the last film for the late Nick Adams, whose once-promising career made him the talk of Hollywood akin to his buddy James Dean. Adams was best known as Johnny Yuma on the television series "The Rebel." Plagued by personal excesses, he will be remembered just as much for what he could have done in cinema as what he left behind. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Adams, Jeannine Riley, (more)
- 1975
In this first episode of Baretta's second season, undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) goes after heroin dealers who are trafficking in a very pure, and very lethal, grade of the addictive drug. Singer-composer Paul Williams, who co-wrote the script, guest stars as a music emporium owner who sidelines as a dope pusher -- and who is unwittingly doling out the deadly "horse." Edward Grover joins the cast as Lt. Hal Brubaker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Edward Grover, (more)
- 1976
After volunteering to participate in a prison medical project, inmate Victor Bruno (Giovanni Vari) escapes from custody to get even with the man who framed him. Only after Victor dies is Lt. Kojak (Telly Savalas) alerted to the fact that the escaped convict was injected with a deadly virus. Unfortunately, Dominic Bruno (Joseph Hindy) is determined to carry out his brother Victor's vendetta--and in the process, he is slowly spreading the fatal virus throughout Manhattan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Despite his animosity towards his former parole officer Marcus Hayes (Louis Gosset Jr. in his first series appearance), Jim (James Garner) agrees to take a case on Hayes' behalf. Jim is to investigate the possibility of criminal involvement in the high-stakes bidding for a valuable pro-basketball franchise, ostensibly to help out Hayes' employer, Athletics commissioner Martin Eastman (David White). It turns out, however, that Eastman never hired Hayes...and with the commissioner turns up murdered, Jim begins to wonder what exactly his old "friend" Marcus is really up to. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Determined to avenge the death of his brother, racketeer Hackford (Jack L. Ging) recruits teenager Billy Sherbak Jr. (Barry Miller) to do his dirty work. Hackford knows that even if Billy is arrested, he will serve a light sentence because he's a minor. After two men are killed, Billy is charged with both deaths--but Kojak (Telly Savalas) is certain that at least one of the killings was committed by someone else. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Attending a group therapy session, Jim (James Garner) and Angel (Stuart Margolin) make the acquaintance of former mental patient Mary Jo Flynn (Joanne Nail). Insisting that her life is in danger because she has met a government spy who was being held against his will in a psychiatric hospital, Mary Jo has trouble convincing Jim of her plight--until he, too, finds himself up to his neck in peril. It all has something to do with a Chilean military coup, and a crisis of loyalty within a mob family...and this being The Rockford Files, the estimable Angel (Stuart Margolin) is mixed up in the intrigue! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- PG
This documentary presents biblical and non-biblical information about the birth of Christianity, and the mystery behind Jesus Christ. The four different versions of the gospels are recreated in dramatizations of Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The video also investigates the shroud of Turin, which is said to be the burial cloth of Jesus, found after His resurrection. ~ Cecilia Cygnar, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Rubinstein, John Anderson, (more)
This sequel to Every Which Way But Loose finds Philo Beddoe (Clint Eastwood) on the road, orangutan companion Clyde in tow, as he makes his way as a bare-knuckle fighter. The action begins with Philo punching out a new victim while Clyde relieves himself on the seat of a police car, setting the tone for the rest of the story. From there, Philo and Clyde return home, where Philo, who still lives with Ma (Ruth Gordon), is offered a contest with Jack Wilson (William Smith), the Mafia-sponsored East Coast bare-knuckle champ. Philo inadvertently saves Wilson's life, but then the Mafia kidnaps his girlfriend (Sondra Locke) to force him to go ahead with the match. Philo and Wilson team up to battle the Mob, but somehow they end up fighting anyway in a grueling climactic sequence. Country music, bikers, the Mafia, an orangutan, pick-up trucks, defecation jokes, fighting, drinking, and swearing -- it's all here in this lowbrow comic stew. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, (more)
- 1981
For years, Tony Banta (Tony Danza) has driven a cab to finance his dream -- that of being a champion boxer. Also, for years Tony has spent more time flat on his back than in the center of the ring. Now, the time has come for Tony to give up his dream -- or at least, that is the conclusion of his friends, his doctor, and the boxing commission. Will Tony listen to this advice, or will his pride score a knockout over common sense? ~ All Movie Guide
The videotaped TV movie The People vs. Jean Harris premiered May 7, 1981-five weeks after the outcome of Jean Harris' trial. Ellen Burstyn plays Jean, the 57-year old headmistress of a Virginia girl's school. Jean was also the longtime lover of Scarsdale Diet author Dr. Herman Tarnower. On March 10, 1980, Jean was arrested for the murder of Dr. Tarnower. She never denied her guilt, but insisted that the court hear out her reasons. Those reasons form the dramatic core of this two-part, four-hour film (its second half was aired May 8, 1981). Martin Balsam and Peter Coyote co-star as, respectively, the defense and prosecuting attorneys. It was difficult for contemporary reviewers to assess The People vs. Jean Harris, since it wasn't completed until virtually the eve of its television premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Burstyn, Martin Balsam, (more)
- 1982
Sitcom stalwart Valerie Harper trades jokes for the judiciary in Farrell: For the People. Valerie stars as New York attorney Elizabeth Farrell ("All she wants to be is a DA", declared the TV Guide ad copy, "but her toughest case is being a woman!"), whose case load runs the gamut from rapists to killers. This TV movie borrows a page from current events by fictionalizing the notorious Norman Mailer/Jack Henry Abbott contretemps. Farrell takes on an ex-convict who has become a best-selling author thanks to the intervention of the Manhattan intellectual elite--and whose latest creative achievement is murder. Farrell: for the People was the pilot for a projected TV series, but the central character was too bland and confining for Valerie Harper's talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- R
After being kicked off the force, Stoney Cooper (Wings Hauser) turns private detective for special cases; one involves tracking down a serial killer noted for carving X's into the forehead of each woman he kills. While Cooper is on the case, he's harassed by an old job partner (Lincoln Kilpatrick) and his ex-wife (Joyce Ingalls). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wings Hauser, Joyce Ingalls, (more)
- 1984
A gangland boss is killed in what seems to be a bungled holdup, but both Hunter (Fred Dryer) and the Mob suspect that a professional hit man was responsible. If he wants to avert an all-out gang war, Hunter must locate the only witness to the crime, a woman named Sandy Newton (Mary-Margaret Humes), who has completely disappeared from view. Ultimately figuring out who ordered the "hit", Hunter calls in favors from his own mob-connected family to prevent any further bloodshed--and to save Sandy in the bargain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Elderly screenwriter Martin Lamm (Jon Lormer) hopes that his latest script, all about the old and disenfranchised people living in his tacky beachfront neighborhood, will be made into a movie. When Martin's calls to the major studios go unanswered, he advertises for the assistance of "angel" -- that is, a wealthy benefactor who is willing to bankroll his film. Misunderstanding Martin's request, genuine angels Jonathan (Michael Landon) and Mark (Victor French) fly to the old man's rescue...with unexpected results. The incomparable Stella Stevens guest stars as Mark's improbable love interest! ~ All Movie Guide
- 1984
This evening's cases involve a porno filmmaker and a blind shoplifter. But most of the attention is focused on court bailiff Bull (Richard Bull), who is depressed because a charitable organization has refused to let him do volunteer work. It seems that Bull's fearsome appearance might scare off potential contributors! The rest of the gang do what they can to lift Bull's spirits, but it's a real uphill climb. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In order to bring loan shark Jack "The Ripper" Lane (Wings Hauser) out in the open, the A-Team opens its own Irish pub, The Naked Lady. Disguised as pub owner Sean O'Shay, Hannibal (George Peppard) is apparently killed on orders from Lane, but it's actually a clever ploy to get inside the head villain's mansion (who'd suspect a corpse in a coffin?). Featured as the traditionally imperiled heroine is a pre-Northern Exposure Janine Turner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
