Laraine Stephens Movies
- 1980
In this made-for-TV "roman a clef", Joe Don Baker stars as Tommy Vanda, a Hoffa-esque labor leader. Told in flashback, the film recounts Vanda's humble beginnings on the Chicago docks, where he gains fame and notoreity amongst his coworkers and his bosses by spearheading a wildcat strike. Rising to top dog of the Cartage Union, Tommy doesn't care whon he has to crush on the way up the ladder. Inevitably, Tommy's peccadilloes catch up with him, resulting in federal charges, an arrest, and (remember who he's supposed to be) a mysterious disappearance in the night. Written by Ernest Tidyman of The French Connection fame, Power was telecast in two two-hour installments by NBC on January 14 and 15, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
For those of you who didn't get your T&A fill from the 1979 TV movie The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, we submit for your approval The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Part Two. The first film dealt with the selection and training of the famed pulchritudinous cheerleading lineup. The sequel finds the girls prepping for the Super Bowl and a hectic USO tour. Returning from the first film are Laraine Stephens as reporter Suzanne Mitchell, and several anonymous real-life members of the troupe. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Part 2 first jiggled its way into the hearts of televiewers on January 13, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
This exploitation film offers the "inside story" about those ever-popular star spangled gyrating, jiggling gals as a magazine reporter goes undercover and joins the team. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Originally made for television and based on true events from 1972, the story concerns an airline crash in the Everglades and the courageous adventures of the 73 survivors. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1975
In this detective adventure, the pilot episode for the short-livedTV series, suave Matt Helm gets involved with the smugglers who have been providing black market munitions to African mercenaries when he assigned to protect the life of a movie star. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Franciosa, Patrick Macnee, (more)
- 1974
Don Murray stars as slick network news producer William Martin in The Girl on the Late, Late Show. In addition to his administrative duties, Martin is a news reporter, and it is in this capacity that he investigates a series of Hollywood murders. The unifying link between the killings would seem to be faded movie queen Carolyn Parker (Gloria Grahame). Several Tinseltown veterans show up in key roles in this made-for-TV mystery, including Van Johnson, Cameron Mitchell, John Ireland, Walter Pidgeon and Frankie Darro. First telecast April 1, 1974, Girl on the Late, Late Show was designed as the pilot for a weekly Don Murray TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Laraine Stephens guest-stars as Eve Vayle, who masterminds the death of her mobster husband Johnny (Charlie Guardino) in order to steal the records of Syndicate boss Stanley Luchek (Ronald Feinberg). Though forced to hide from the mob, Eve hopes to eventually extort millions of dollars from Luchek and his family. In order to put both Eve and Luchek out of business, the IMF relies on one of its most time-honored ploys: The recreation of a dead man, fingerprints and all. Written by Howard Browne, "Boomerang" was originally telecast on January 12, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1973
Glenn Ford is Jarrett, a former boxer with an artistic streak. He becomes a private detective, specializing in cases that will allow him to breath the rarefied air of art galleries and museums. Anthony Quayle is Jarrett's "Moriarity," a wealthy art collector who will stop at nothing to build up his collection. Jarrett was written to accommodate a younger actor, but the producers owed a commitment to Glenn Ford. As a result, the storyline, involving the search for some rare scrolls, became an endurance test for both the venerable Mr. Ford and the audience. To be fair, the star does manage to handle the glib dialogue well (when he's not out of breath). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Anthony Quayle, (more)
- 1972
Created for the "dime novels" in 1886, scientific detective Nick Carter has been transferred to film and radio several times in the past six decades, though most of these projects have tended to update his adventures. 1972's made-for-TV Adventures of Nick Carter restores the "turn of the century" surroundings of the original stories. Robert Conrad (somewhat older than his literary counterpart) portrays Nick Carter, a New York private investigator hired to locate the missing wife of a wealthy "robber baron" playboy. He also devotes some time to locating the murderer of a close friend. Though hampered by a tight budget, the film does a nice job recreating a 19th century world of crooked cops, graft-greedy politicians, all-powerful plutocrats, raggedy paper boys and Lower East Side lowlifes. Adventures of Nick Carter was one of three pilots for a projected "rotating" series of TV detective shows based on famed literary sleuths; the other two series in this aborted project were to have spotlighted the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Hildegarde Withers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Conrad, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1972
Olivia De Havilland plays a middle-aged woman who has recently been released from a mental institution after suffering a breakdown. She insists one evening that she can hear the muffled scream of a woman emanating from beneath the ground. Since no one else can hear these screams, De Havilland is dismissed as a crank. But Ms. De Havilland is steadfast in her conviction that the screams are real, and to that end investigates on her own. She discovers--at the peril of her own life--that the screams are those of a woman buried alive at a construction site by her recluse husband. Losing credibility long before the denouement, The Screaming Woman is based on a vastly superior short story by Ray Bradbury, in which the protagonist is not an adult ex-mental patient but a precocious little girl with a reputation for lying. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Now that she is engaged to Tony (Larry Hagman), Jeannie (Barbara Eden) is determined to befriend the neurotic Amanda Bellows (Emmaline Henry),the wife of Tony's perennial nemesis Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke). Jeannie's first step is to present Amanda with a magical beauty cream which transforms the middle-aged psychiatrist's wife into a gorgeous young woman (played by Laraine Stephens). The plan backfires when Roger (Bill Daily) falls madly in love with the "new" Amanda, blissfully unaware of her husband's identity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Colonel Greg Brandon (Christopher George) is the commander of a B-17 fighter unit. His plan to send 1000 planes to bomb a strategic German airplane factory meets with continual rejection by everyone except General Palmer (J.D. Cannon). The tough-guy Colonel alienates himself to his men and superiors until his plan is approved. Royal Air Force Commander Hardwicke (Michael Evans) is sent to the United States to help train the pilots, and he clashes with the brazen Brandon. His girlfriend Gabrielle (Laraine Stephens) and Lieutenant Archer (Ben Murphy) are also alienated by the Colonel. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher George, Laraine Stephens, (more)
- 1968
The FBI launches a search for Curtis Stone (Roy Poole), a sleazy extortionist who preys upon the families of servicemen. There is someone else anxious to catch up with Stone: Sgt. Paul Devlin (John Ericson), whose wife committed suicide while he was in Vietnam. Holding Stone responsible for his wife's death, Devlin is determined to mete out his own brand of retribution--and Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is equally determined to prevent the embittered Devlin from becoming a murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Chance Buckman (John Wayne) heads a team of international trouble shooters who travel around the world to put out oil fires. The dangerous profession has taken a toll on the marriage between Chance and Madelyn (Vera Miles), who leaves when she can no longer endure the stress of saying goodbye and fearing she will never see him again. With his faithful assistant Greg (Jim Hutton), the team is ready at a moments notice to race anywhere to extinguish the flames of oil fires raging out of control. Greg eventually falls for Chance's daughter, Tish (Katherine Ross), who shares her mother's concern over the dangers the men endure. Hellfighters received technical advising from famed oil-well fighter Red Adair and his assistants who provided excellent and credible information for the film and the pyrotechnic team headed by legendary special-effects expert Fred Knoth. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Katharine Ross, (more)
- 1967
The directorial reins of 40 Guns to Apache Pass are in the expert hands of actionmeister William Witney, who helmed many of Audie Murphy's latter-day vehicles. Here Murphy plays a Cavalry captain who takes on the entire Apache nation virtually single-handedly. He is undermined by villainous Corporal Bodine (Kenneth Tobey), who runs a thriving business selling guns to the Indians. Michael Keep plays Apache leader Cochise, bringing a touch of humanity and dignity to his two-dimensional role. After wrapping up 40 Guns to Apache Pass, William Witney went into retirement, emerging every so often for "guest of honor" chores at the various western-movie conventions of the 1970s and 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Frank Sinatra took over the directors' chair for the first (and only) time in this unusual WWII drama. Lt. Kuroki (Tatsuya Mihashi) is the leader of a Japanese platoon stranded on a remote Pacific island, where with an iron hand he oversees the construction of a rescue ship. An American plane crash-lands on the island, leading to a skirmish between the two rag-tag legions; eventually, both sides call a truce, and medical officer Maloney (Sinatra) treats a Japanese soldier who was seriously wounded in the fighting. American commander Capt. Bourke (Clint Walker) and Lt. Kuroki come to an agreement -- they will work together to bring needed help to the island, but once either side's forces reach them, the fighting will pick up where it left off. None But the Brave was an international co-production of Artanis Productions (Sinatra's production company -- "Artanis" is Sinatra backwards), Warner Brothers, Tokyo Eiga, and Toho. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Clint Walker, (more)
- 1961
Mayfield High is holding an exchange dance with another school, and thus the Mayfield boys must choose the names of their dates from photographs deposited in a hat. Though Eddie (Ken Osmond) has drawn the picture of a gorgeous teenager named Gail Preston (Laraine Stephens), he talks Wally (Ken Osmond) into swapping dates with him. At first, Wally can't understand why Eddie would take a pass on a knockout like Gail, but he soon finds out -- Gail is at least two inches taller than Wally! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Bank, Ken Osmond, (more)
