Robert Stack Movies
The son of a wealthy California businessman, Robert Stack spent his teen years giving skeet shooting lessons to such Hollywood celebrities as Carole Lombard and Clark Gable; it was only natural, then, that he should gravitate to films himself after attending the University of Southern California. At age 20, he made his screen debut in Deanna Durbin's First Love (1939) in which he gave his teenaged co-star her very first screen kiss. Two years later he appeared opposite his former "pupil" Carole Lombard in the Ernst Lubitsch classic To Be or Not to Be (1942). After serving with the navy in WWII he resumed his film career, avoiding typecasting with such dramatically demanding film assignments as The Bullfighter and the Lady (1951), The Tarnished Angels (1957), and John Paul Jones (1959). He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as a self-destructive alcoholic in Written on the Wind (1956). In 1959 he gained a whole new flock of fans when he was cast as humorless federal agent Elliot Ness in TV's The Untouchables, which ran for four seasons and won him an Emmy award. He continued playing taciturn leading roles in such TV series as Name of the Game (1969-1971), Most Wanted (1976-1977), and Strike Force (1981), and from 1987 to 2002 was the no-nonsense host of the TV anthology Unsolved Mysteries. Not nearly as stoic and serious in real life, Stack was willing to spoof his established screen image in Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979) and Zucker-Abraham-Zucker's Airplane! (1980). The warmer side of Robert Stack could be glimpsed in the TV informational series It's a Great Life (1985), which he hosted with his wife Rosemarie, and in his 1980 autobiography, Straight Shooting. Though film appearances grew increasingly sporatic through the 1990s, Stack remained a familiar figure to television viewers thanks to syndicated reruns of Unsolved Mysteries well into the new millennium. Memorable film roles in 1990s included lending his voice to Beavis and Butthead Do America (1996) and appearing as himself in the 1999 comedy drama Mumford. In October of 2002 Stack underwent successful radiation treatment for prostate cancer. On May 14, 2003, Robert Stack's wife Rosemarie found the actor dead in their Los Angeles home. He was 84. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Robert Stack hosts this documentary about Raymond Lee Washington, 60's radical and founder of the revolutionist club, the Crips. The program features an interview with original Crips member Gregg "Batman" Davis in an effort to shed light on Washington. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Karl Hirsch directs this irrepressibly dumb buddy flick about pot, farts, and the CIA. Waylon (Corin Nemec) and Buzz (David Faustino) are a lifelong pals and lifelong losers; at the film's outset, they are canned from yet another job. After deciding to inaugurate their newly-unemployed status by looking for some women, they run into a couple of comely lasses (Caroline Keenan and Danielle Harris) who challenge them to do one thing right: to cross town and pick them up a particular snack-treat. A simple task, but then, they're simple guys. They end up breaking into a convenience store and get locked in. In the basement, they discover a huge pot-farming operation and proceed to smoke a lot of weed. This raises the ire of Fievel Tenenbaum (Maurice Chasse), a high school biology teacher-turned-ganja-growing gangsta and the Gooch (Robert Stack), a loose-cannon CIA operative who has gone a little funny in the head. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corin Nemec, David Faustino, (more)
- 2000
This is one episode in the multi-part Lords of the Mafia series about organized crime all over the world, originally shown on Court TV and PBS. Hosted by actor Robert Stack, this episode takes a look at the rise and fall of New York's Lucchese crime family and considers the activities of New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stack
- 2000
Lords of the Mafia: Sicily one in a series of videos that trace the history of organized crime. This edition concentrates on Toto Riina who was known as "The Beast." Riina, seeing the amount of wealth to be amassed in drug trafficking, engineers the deaths of his rivals and eventually becomes the head of La Cosa Nostra. The film also documents the steps taken by government officials to shut down this powerful crime boss. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stack
- 2000
Originally aired on PBS and hosted by Robert Stack, this edition to the popular Lords of the Mafia series offers a comprehensive examination of the Russian Mafia, which grew notoriously stronger after the decline of Communism. Among the other editions included in the series are Lords of the Mafia: New York, Lords of the Mafia: Britain, and Lords of the Mafia: Sicily. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Like the other titles in the popular Lords of the Mafia series, Lords of the Mafia: New Orleans was originally aired on PBS and Court TV. This edition explores the life and activities of Carlos Marcello, the infamous leader of New Orleans' mob; some individuals believe he may have played a role in the assassination of JFK. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 2000
This comprehensive examination of the Mexican Mafia originally aired on both Court TV and PBS. The production details the activities of Amado Carlos Fuentes, leader of the biggest organized crime faction in Mexico. Other titles in the series include Lords of the Mafia: New York, Lords of the Mafia: New Orleans and Lords of the Mafia: Britain, among others. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Actor Robert Stack narrates this look at some of the gangs currently operating in the Los Angeles, CA, area. During one segment, a member of the "Crips" talks about the drugs, turf wars, graffiti, and crimes that are a frequent part of gang life. In fact, many violent crimes are committed in L.A. by the "Crips," "Bloods," and Vietnamese gangs, especially in southern and central L.A. communities. Viewers will learn how wearing the right colors on the streets of L.A. and other big cities can help or hinder a gang member's survival. This program reflects on how forces like inadequate education, unemployment, drug addiction, and homelessness can play critical roles in determining which young people get the chance to reach adulthood in neighborhoods dominated by gangs.
~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Lords of the Mafia: Japan takes a comprehensive look at an area some don't consider when thinking about the stereotypically Italian- and New York-based Mafia -- Japan. This edition of the popular Lords of the Mafia series delves into the legendary yakuza. Not just a subject of kung fu films, the yakuza have one of the most compelling, if deadly, histories of all of the world's mobs. This production was originally aired on PBS and Court TV. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Like the other titles in the popular Lords of the Mafia series, Lords of the Mafia: Britain was originally aired in collaboration with PBS and Court TV. This edition offers a comprehensive examination of the legendary British mob, particularly in regards to the Kray brothers and the infamous neo-Nazis. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Lawrence Kasdan wrote and directed this comedy about a young psychologist named Mumford (Loren Dean), who arrives in a small town and sets up a practice. Mumford's style is short on analytic mumbo-jumbo and long on practical advice, and he soon finds that he has a long list of satisfied clients in his new home town, including many of the city's most prominent citizens. Mumford's advice also helps love bloom among the city's single residents. However, the city already had a psychologist, Ernest Delbanco (David Paymer), who is quickly losing business to Mumford. So Ernest starts asking questions: who is this Mumford, and just what are his qualifications? Mumford's supporting cast includes Ted Danson, Martin Short, Alfre Woodard, Hope Davis, Jason Lee, and Pruitt Taylor Vince. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loren Dean, Hope Davis, (more)
- 1999
- Add From Russia to Hollywood: The 100-Year Odyssey of Chekhov and Shdanoff to QueueAdd From Russia to Hollywood: The 100-Year Odyssey of Chekhov and Shdanoff to top of Queue
Michael Chekhov and George Shdanoff were Russian expatriates who came to Hollywood and became two of the best known and most influential acting coaches in the film industry; Chekhov was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in Spellbound, and as a teacher he and his associate Shdanoff helped guide the careers of Leslie Caron, Patricia Neal, Gregory Peck, Rex Harrison, Marilyn Monroe and Clint Eastwood. From Russia to Hollywood provides a glimpse into their lives and careers as Chekhov flees Russia for Germany after the Communist government expresses its displeasure with his productions for the Moscow Art Theater (Stanislavsky considered Chekhov a genius, but the government considered him ideologically unsound). When the Nazis began to rise to power, Chekhov relocated to the United States, where he taught acting when not busy with his own career on the stage and screen. Here, several of Chekhov and Shdanoff's better known students discuss their work and how their teachings effected a generation of Hollywood actors. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1996
- PG13
- Add Beavis and Butt-Head Do America to QueueAdd Beavis and Butt-Head Do America to top of Queue
This is a full-length cartoon movie featuring the dim-witted obnoxious loser teens, Beavis and Butt-head. They are obsessed with sex, TV, heavy-metal rock 'n roll, sex, coolness and sex, in that order. The trouble begins when the couch-potato duo's beloved television disappears (they assume it was stolen). In the course of trying to get another TV, they get involved in a major arms-smuggling scheme and are chased all over the U.S. by mobsters and lawmen alike. In one of the movie's highlights, Butt-head tries to get Chelsea Clinton to go to bed with him. Apparently he believes that since they both wear braces, she will naturally want to have sex with him. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Judge, Cloris Leachman, (more)
- 1993
This 30-minute cartoon special was originally part of Cinar's The Real Story of. . . anthology, wherein the histories of such popular songs as "O Christmas Tree" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" were recounted in a highly fanciful fashion. The song in question this time is "Baa Baa Black Sheep", the origin of which is restaged in the fashion of a "True Crime" yarn. The toughest convict in Muttonville Prison, Baa Baa manages to bust out of the joint, whereupon he sets up a profitable wool racket. Robert Stack provides the voice of Lt. Littleboy, who has made it his mission in life to bring Baa Baa to justice, while Shelley Long is heard as Baa Baa's moll, "The Dame." Directed by award-winning animator and documentarian Gerald Potterton and originally telecast in Canada, Baa Baa Black Sheep made its first US appearance on January 1, 1994, courtesy of the HBO cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stack, Shelley Long, (more)
- 1991
Renowned sports announcer Curt Gowdy's distinctive voice provides the blow-by-blow for this star-studded, big-game hunting video. Viewers follow Peter Fonda, Robert Stack, and Fess Parker as they track dangerous big game with big guns through the tall grasses of the African plains. The video offers the opportunity to feel the tension of the life-and-death struggle of predator and prey from the comfort of one's own sofa as Fonda, Stack, and Parker stalk the wildest of the wild animals. Readers might also be interested to know that this 31-minute video is a "Burt Reynolds Pick." ~ Sean Hurley, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Nearly three decades after the cancellation of the original Untouchables TV series, Robert Stack reprises his role as gangbuster Eliot Ness, who returns from retirement to hunt for the killer of a former colleague and finds himself caught in a war between rival mob kingpins in 1947 Chicago. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
