James Stacy Movies
James Stacy had passed the quarter-century mark before deciding upon an acting career. In 1956, Stacy's James Dean-ish handsomeness landed him a part in a Pepsi-Cola commercial. Afterward, Stacy put together a portfolio and started making the casting rounds. Unfortunately, his difficult attitude managed to get him fired from his first film role in South Pacific (1958), and had his lines taken away from him in Sayonara (1957). His recurring appearances as Fred on TV's The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet started the ball rolling again, and by 1965 Stacy was Columbia Pictures' answer to Frankie Avalon, starring in such Beach Party rip-offs as A Swingin' Summer and Winter a Go Go. He also found time to marry actress Connie Stevens, only to lose her to singer Eddie Fisher. Stacy's second wife was Kim Darby. From 1968 through 1971, Stacy starred on the TV western Lancer. Two years after the series' cancellation, he was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, which cost him his left arm and leg. Courageously refusing to retire, he began appearing in roles specially written to accommodate his handicap. His comeback film was the 1975 Kirk Douglas western Posse, in which he was cast in the nonambulatory role of newspaper editor Hellman. In 1977, he starred in the TV-movie Just a Little Inconvenience, playing a double-amputee Vietnam veteran. And in Disney's 1982 fantasy film Something Wicked This Way Comes, Stacy plays a crippled, embittered bartender, who makes the mistake of his life when he wishes to be "whole" again. His last regular TV role was Rogosheske in the weekly cop series Wiseguy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1965
Featuring plenty of rock & roll, such artists as Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The Righteous Brothers and the Rip Chords, this fun-filled bit of fluff tells the story of a trio of teens who try to scare up summer cash by running a dance pavilion at a lakeside resort. Raquel Welch made her acting and singing debut in this film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stacy, William Wellman, Jr., (more)
In a semi-erotic film almost universally lamented, Bo Derek, last wife of the late John Derek (who wrote, directed, and photographed Bolero), plays Ayre, a virginal young woman who, on graduating from an exclusive British boarding school, is determined to find the right man for her first sexual encounter wherever he might be in the world. Rich enough not to venture forth alone, she brings along her friend Catalina (Ana Obregon) and the family chauffeur (George Kennedy). Ayre first travels to an Arab country where she meets an ideal lover, a sheik (Greg Bensen) who offers to deflower her but falls asleep almost immediately (he was, after all, reciting lines from this script). Giving up on the sheik, Ayre goes on to Spain, where she meets the toreador Angel (Andrea Occhipinti) who is even better than the sheik because he manages to stay awake. Unfortunately, after she has succeeded in her quest, the perils of Angel's profession are brought home when he is gored in a sensitive location -- the arena, of course. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bo Derek, George Kennedy, (more)
- 1966
Kirby (Jack Hogan) begins to question his priorities when he risks life and limb to make certain that a deadbeat soldier pays off a poker debt of several hundred dollars. The situation worsens when it becomes obvious that Kirby's debtor is willing to let his "buddies" die so that he can stay alive. Featured in the cast is future M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell, presciently cast as an Army doctor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
Double Exposure is a dull, predictable mystery thriller with a fine cast but hampered by a poor script and bad direction and production. A photographer (Michael Callan) begins to have a series of nightmares concerning bloody, gruesome murders. When those murders become reality, he is the prime suspect and must find the real killer. The cast including Joanna Pettet, James Stacy, Cleavon Little, Sally Kirkland and Seymour Cassel, makes the most of their underwritten and poorly developed characters, but producer/director/writer William Byron Hillman substitutes nudity and lurid, gory special effects for both plot and character. Viewers looking for an interesting thriller based on the same premise might enjoy The Eyes of Laura Mars, and not waste their time with this plodding rip-off. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
In F/X2: The Deadly Art of Illusion, Bryan Brown returns as movie special effects designer Rollie Tyler. Having barely escaped with his life after being duped and exploited by the villains in the first F/X, he isn't too eager to channel his talents into police work again. He'd much rather design harmless playthings for the kiddies. Still, detective Mike Brandon (Tom Mason) manages to convince Rollie to help the cops trap a dangerous voyeur. When Brandon is killed, Rollie suspects there's more to the story than meets the eye. With the aid of his old buddy Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy, likewise a veteran of the first F/X), Rollie uncovers a vast conspiracy involving both the police and organized crime. Of course, this compels Rollie to come up with a series of dazzling live-action special effects to confound the bad guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, (more)
- 1969
- PG
A trio of Las Vegas go-go dancers are pursued by a homicidal maniac in this suspenseful murder thriller. Alan Morris (Luke Askew) murders his wife when she seeks a divorce then goes after her three friends. Believing the women have turned his wife against him, Alan hunts down the dancers and kills one of them. A terrified Michele (Raquel Welch) flees to Los Angeles where she takes a job at a club called The Losers. She falls for the parking-lot attendant Joe (James Stacey) and romance blossoms between the two. Unfortunately, the vengeful husband Alan tracks her down and threatens to kill Joe before her eyes, but Michele is ready for him; she douses the killer with gasoline and lights a match. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raquel Welch, James Stacy, (more)
- 1962
Dr. Moody (Alan Baxter) prevails upon Paladin (Richard Boone) to locate Johnny Tully (James Stacy, the son of Moody's former sweetheart. Young Johnny is forsworn to shoot down Cardiff (Edgar Buchanan), the veteran gunslinger suspected of killing Johnny's father. It is up to Paladin to save Johnny from an early grave--or to prevent the boy from becoming a hard-bitten killer himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Heat of Anger is about a sharp female lawyer who defends a businessman charged with the murder of a blue-collar construction worker. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Actor James Stacy, who in real life lost and arm and a leg in a motorcycle accident, won an Emmy award for his performance as double-amputee Kenny Briggs in this made-for-TV movie. Disabled in Vietnam, Kenny is not only embittered by his plight, but also holds his best friend and fellow soldier Frank Logan (Lee Majors) responsible for the tragedy. In concert with Kenny's girlfriend, Nikki (Barbara Hershey), Logan tries to snap Kenny out of his self-pitying doldrums -- while Kenny himself struggles with physical rehabilitation, in hopes of returning to his favorite sport of skiing. Written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker (The President's Analyst), Just a Little Inconvenience debuted October 2, 1977, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Based on The Country of the Heart by Barbara Wershba, this cable-TV film concerns a young pianist (Christopher Gartin) who falls in love with an older musician (Jane Seymour). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Actor Sam Wanamaker directed this made-for-television drama about an abduction with a twist. When a disabled news vendor kidnaps a wealthy girl in an effort to get ransom money, he unexpectedly finds the emotionally disturbed young woman falling in love with him. The film was adapted from Oscar Saul's novel The Dark Side of Love. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1973
In this dark drama, filmed in the Mojave Desert, a conniving wife and her lover leave her husband, who broke his leg, alone in the desert to die. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Hill, Diana Muldaur, (more)
- 1971
"A computer can only give back what the human mind has put into it." So explained screenwriter James D. Buchanan when discussing the made-for-TV melodrama Paper Man. A group of five bright college students decide to take advantage of a computer glitch. Partly as a social experiment, partly as a prank, but mostly out of sheer boredom, the students feed phony data into the faulty computer, creating a human being who doesn't exist--complete with biographical background and credit-card history. Unfortunately, the computer spews forth the embodiment of Pure Evil--and by the end of the film, three of the five pranksters lie dead. An early example of the technothriller genre, Paper Man originally aired on October 12, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Appropriately enough, the 271st and final episode of Perry Mason concerns a murder which takes place during the filming of a TV show. No sooner has Perry (Raymond Burr) been able to establish the innocence of chief suspect Jackson Sidemark (Denver Pyle) than Sidemark himself is knocked off by the real killer (and wait until you see who THAT is!) Several members of the Perry Mason production staff, including executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson, appear in cameo roles, while series creator Erle Stanley Gardner shows up unbilled as a judge. Longtime fans of the series will enjoy the multitude of "inside" jokes in the script (including a barbed reference to the show's NBC competition Bonanza), but the best is reserved for last when Perry and his longtime courtroom adversary Hamilton Burger (William Talman) exchange words for the final time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Appearing in Santa Barbara with her Shakesperean acting troupe "A Company of Four", former Broadway star Ramona Carver (Virginia Field) is confronted by a man who claims to be the son she gave up for adotion. Whether or not this is good news to Ramona seems inconsequential when she accused of murdering an old enemy, ex-drama critic Ogden G. Kramer (Sherwood Keith). Originally hired to help Ramona locate her son, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) must now defend her life in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Kirk Douglas produced, directed, and starred in this cynical western concerning Howard Nightingale (Kirk Douglas) a United States marshal who uses the pursuit of an outlaw to further his political career. Nightingale organizes a posse to track down Jack Strawhorn (Bruce Dern), a notorious bank robber. But Strawhorn turns the tables on Nightingale, kidnapping him and holding him hostage. He then demands that the posse pay $40,000 for Nightingale's safe return. In order to raise the money to free Nightingale, the posse must become bank robbers themselves. Meanwhile, Nightingale tries to insinuate himself with Strawhorn and cut a deal for his freedom. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Bruce Dern, (more)
- 1983
- PG
- Add Something Wicked This Way Comes to QueueAdd Something Wicked This Way Comes to top of Queue
After a carnival comes to Green Town, the good citizens are compelled to follow their deepest desires, caught under the spell of the malevolent Dr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce) who can grant those desires on one condition: that the grantees will forever join his freak show. Dr. Dark is after two young boys from the town in particular, while others in the town would certainly be easy marks. The sour-faced, older schoolteacher (Mary Grace Canfield) wants to be a seductive young woman, Ed the bartender (James Stacy) would like to regain his lost left arm and leg, and the librarian (Jason Robards) worries about a wasted life spent only in books. As Dr. Dark works his own brand of voodoo, the citizens and the two boys -- as well as the whole carnival itself -- approach a final reckoning. Something Wicked This Way Comes was based on a Ray Bradbury novel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Robards, Jr., Jonathan Pryce, (more)
A young widow from Boston travels with her three children to Maine to enjoy their summer vacation. Margaret Carey (Dorothy McGuire) is helped by the friendly Osh Popham (Burl Ives), who finds the family a rent-free house vacated by a vacationing landowner. Daughter Nancy (Hayley Mills) catches the eye of a young schoolteacher, Digby (Michael J. Pollard). The owner of the summer house shows up from Europe unexpectedly, but keeps his identity a secret when he too falls for the young Nancy. The entire family gets to croon with Burl Ives in a folksy front-porch singalong. The townsfolk make the Careys feel at home to the point that they consider making the idyllic coastal town their permanent home. This Walt Disney film is lighthearted entertainment for the entire family. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, (more)
- 1972
James Stacy is cast as Peter Forrest, an AWOL Vietnam veteran determined to connect with the son that he's never seen. Resorting to kidnapping the boy, the increasingly unbalanced Forrest leads detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) on a frenzied chase. Also swept up in the melodrama is Forrest's ex-wife Joan (Linda Marsh), and Barney and Martha Reardon (Richard O'Brien, Nancy Wickwire), the kidnapped child's adoptive parents--and the only mother and father he has ever known. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this realistic, nonexploitative drama, a high school athlete confesses his life story to a priest. The story is told in flashback. First he is seen as a top football player hoping for a scholarship so he can go to school and get away from his alcoholic father and his hard-working mother. The trouble begins when he is caught swimming in the school pool after hours and put on probation. Though he is love with one girl, he dates another, more wealthy girl. The affair goes well until they are caught in bed by her parents. Later he is falsely accused of participating in a robbery and gets expelled. The lonely youth then takes a 14-year-old slut to a secret hiding place in the church for a quick liaison. But he cannot go through with it because he is disgusted with himself. Instead he goes to confession. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Laughlin, Stefanie Powers, (more)
- 1965
In this wintery version of a beach-blanket movie, a group of teens and their ski-bunnies attempt to turn the ski-lodge that one of them has inherited into an exciting music club for weathy kids. Unfortunately, there are those who want to see them fail. Songs include: "King of the Mountain," "Ski City," "Hip Square Dance" and "Do the Ski (with Me)." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stacy, William Wellman, Jr., (more)
