George Savalas Movies

This made-for television version of the Lewis Carroll classic features an all-star cast. ~ Forest Ray, Rovi

The fifth and final season of Kojak (the original version, that is) begins with a typically brutal entry, "The Queen of Hearts Is Wild," in which smooth, cynical New York police detective Lt. Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) tries convince the girlfriend of one of his old enemies to provide eyewitness testimony concerning a cop killing. In subsequent episodes, Kojak goes after a psycho who believes himself to be under the influence of a bombastic talk show host (yes, they had those back in 1977 too!); Theo's loyal assistant Lt. Crocker (Kevin Dobson) falls in love with the daughter of a murdered mobster, and in a later episode is taken hostage by a prisoner he is escorting back to New York; Kojak impersonates a murdered private eye to solve the dead man's murder; the sister of Kojak's boss, Captain McNeill (Dan Frazer), is victimized by gamblers; and in the two-part "The Summer of '69," Kojak unearths evidence that the serial killer whom he thought he eliminated eight years earlier is still at large -- and that he might have shot down the wrong man. Appearing as guest stars in Kojak's terminal CBS season are such well-known performers as Armand Assante, Antoinette Bower, Danny Thomas, Priscilla Barnes, Sam Jaffe, and former ABC news anchorman Alex Dreier. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Question: "Who loves ya, baby?" Answer: "The whole world." By the time the gritty detective drama Kojak entered its third season in the fall of 1975, the series had been exported to dozens of countries outside the U.S., and star Telly Savalas had become an international celebrity. Savalas' portrayal of cynical, hard-boiled, lollipop-loving Lt. Theo Kojak was no longer just another TV job: he had become an icon. Likewise beloved the world over were the series' supporting characters, including Chief of Detectives Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer), Lt. Crocker (Kevin Dobson), and Detective Stavros (played by Telly Savalas' brother George Savalas, who beginning in season three is billed under his own name rather than his nom de screen, "Demosthenes"). Like the previous season, season three opens with a two-part drama, "A Question of Answers." And as in years past, a number of fascinating guest stars appear this season, beginning with a pre-Rocky Sylvester Stallone as a guilt-ridden cop who accidentally shoots a young boy in the line of duty. In later episodes, future Soap star Robert Mandan plays a vicious drug dealer; Eileen Brennan is seen in the story of a highly suspect religious-revival organization; John Larroquette shows up in the season's Christmas episode, "How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars"; former football star Rosey Grier appears in the later installment "Bad Dude"; and the season finale features the brilliant actress Diana Hyland, two years removed from her tragic early death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Having scored big with the public when he was introduced in the 1973 TV movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders, crafty, cynical, lollipop-sucking New York city police detective Theo Kojak is given his own weekly, one-hour series as Kojak launches its first season. As before, Telly Savalas essays the title role, though none of the Marcus-Nelson Murders supporting actors appear in the series proper. Reporting for duty, Kojak is pleased that his new boss is his former partner Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer), now chief of detectives. Friendship notwithstanding, McNeil intends to run a tight ship, and to see to it that Kojak plays by the rules -- just as Kojak is fully prepared to do things his way no matter what McNeil says! Also introduced in season one are Kojak's subordinates, plainclothes detective Lt. Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson) and Detective Stavros (played by Telly Savalas' brother George Savalas, here billed under his middle name "Demosthenes") In the opener, Kojak must defuse a tense hostage situation after a botched armored-car robbery (the chief heavy is played by none other than Harvey Keitel). Subsequently, Kojak reluctantly builds a case against a fellow cop who has murdered his wife's lover; tracks down a serial killer who seems to have returned to New York after a lengthy absence; races against time to clear the name of a deceased comrade-in-arms; holds up an urban development project in order to collar a perp; attempts to save his niece from being murdered on her wedding day by one of his old enemies; goes to elaborate lengths to convince others that he's "on the take" in order to flush out a dope dealer; matches wits with a brilliant criminal-justice student who believes he can commit the perfect crime; and grimly follows a trail of corpses to break up a smuggling ring. In addition to the aforementioned Harvey Keitel, the first-season guest-star lineup on Kojak includes such luminaries as Hector Elizondo, Yvonne Craig, Jackie Cooper, Tina Louise, Paul Michael Glaser, and John Ritter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The character of tough, sarcastic, lollipop-sucking New York City police detective Theo Kojak was introduced in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, a 1973 TV movie based on the novel by Selwyn Raab, which in turn was inspired by the real-life Wylie-Hoffert murder case of 1963 that ultimately led to the Supreme Court's Miranda decision in 1966. Telly Savalas, a busy, baldheaded character actor who had only occasionally received above-the-title billing in his long career, became an international superstar in the role of Kojak, which he carried over into a long-running CBS cop show. Debuting October 24, 1973, Kojak was set in Manhattan (though not filmed there until its fourth season), where hard-boiled, thoroughly incorruptible Lt. Theo Kojak took his marching orders from his former partner and longtime friend, 13th precinct Captain Frank McNeill (Dan Frazer). Although Kojak had a habit of bending the rules to suit his needs, he was much valued by McNeill and the force because he invariably got results. Kojak's associates and assistants included plainclothes detective Lt. Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson), Detective Stavros (played by the star's brother George Savalas, who during the series' first two seasons billed himself as "Demosthenes"), and detectives Rizzo and Saperstein (Vince Conti, Mark Russell).

Extremely popular with both civilians and law enforcement personnel -- and a veritable cornucopia of such quotable lines as "Who loves ya, baby?" -- Kojak lasted five seasons and 118 hour-long episodes before it was canceled by CBS and ended its run on April 15, 1978. Seven years later, Telly Savalas revived the character for the TV movie Kojak: The Belarus File, which was followed two years later by another feature-length endeavor, Kojak: The Price of Justice. And from November 4, 1989, through June 30, 1990, five two-hour Kojak episodes -- in which the title character had been promoted to inspector -- were telecast as part of the crime-anthology series The ABC Mystery Movie. This time around, Telly Savalas' co-stars included Andre Braugher as Detective Winston Blake, Charles Cioffi as Chief George "Fitz" Morris, Kario Salem as Detective Paco Montana, and the star's daughter Candace Savalas as Kojak's secretary Pamela. Kojak was revived for a third weekly series run in 2005, with Ving Rhames starring in the title role created by the late Telly Savalas. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This Italian crime melodrama was originally released as Citta Violenta. Charles Bronson stars as Jeff, an ex-convict living in New Orleans. Understandably, Jeff trusts no one but his curvaceous girl friend Vanessa (Jill Ireland). She is stolen away from him by Weber (Telly Savalas), the man who framed him on a murder charge. Jeff goes gunning after Weber, only to discover that his real enemy is within his own circle of intimates. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Anthony Quinn plays Matsoukas, a Greek/American ne'er do well, living in Chicago with his long-suffering wife Caliope (Irene Papas). When Matsoukas discovers that his son (Radames Pera) is dying, he decides that the boy needs to get out of the Windy City and recuperate in the more agreeable climate of Greece. All he needs is the money for the plane fare. One by one, Matsoukas' sources of income dry up until he is forced to fix a dice game in order to raise the cash. It is his wife who finally puts up the money by stealing from her own mother. Matsoukas makes the trip but realizes it would be better if he remain in Greece so as not to further humiliate the loyal Caliope. Inger Stevens co-stars as Quinn's mistress, while Sam Levene plays an old pal whose offer to put up the needed money evaporates when he suddenly drops dead. A Dream of Kings was adapted by Harry Mark Petrakis from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Posing as "Frank Whistler", Kimble (David Janssen) hitches a ride with a small-town minister--only to be involved in a car accident when the minister is accidentally shot and killed by young Gary Keller (Beau Bridges). Though Gary wants to turn himself in to the authorities, his domineering father Steve (Telly Savalas) refuses to let the boy jeopardize his future, so he manipulates the evidence to framed Kimble for the clergyman's death. Now all that remains is for Steve to track down and permanently silence the fugitive Kimble before the police catch up with him. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sidney Pollack marked his feature film directing debut with this taut suspense drama, based upon an actual incident reported in Time Magazine. Sidney Poitier stars as Alan Nuell, a student volunteer at a medical clinic in Seattle who answers the phone to find Inge Dyson (Anne Bancroft) on the other end. Inge, depressed about her life, has just taken an overdose of sleeping pills. With Inge slowly dying, Alan tries to keep her talking on the phone while the police try to trace the call and save her life. Inge tells Alan that she has decided to end it all because her husband has discovered that he is not the father of her son. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi