Mel Stewart Movies

Loosely adapted from H.P. Lovecraft's Herbert West -- Re-Animator comes this sequel to one of the wildest, bloodiest, and funniest horror films to ever come down the pipe. Set eight months after the gruesome events of the first film, the follow-up opens with the demented Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) continuing to perfect his "re-agent" formula to regenerate dead tissue with the help of his ever-troubled assistant Dr. Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott). New characters include suspicious policeman Lt. Chapham (Claude Earl Jones) and Cain's old flame Francesca (Fabiana Udenio). Returning to Miskatonic Hospital after a short stint in the military, West and the reluctant, often unwitting Cain plan to create new life from a patchwork of body parts -- including the heart of Cain's beloved girlfriend. However, things quickly get out of hand thanks to the snooping of Lt. Chapham and the return of the evil decapitated Dr. Hill (David Gale) who wants revenge for his beheading. There's also the problem of West's dozens of oddball creations who want out of the dungeon they are trapped within. It all comes to a head as Cain and West resurrect their "bride" just as Dr. Hill literally flies in to take his vengeance with the help of West's freakish creations. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide

Although many genre filmmakers have managed to blend horror and humor with great success, movies employing this formula often run the risk of both elements canceling each other out, resulting in a horror comedy that is neither scary nor funny. Alas, Dead Heat is a textbook example of this kind of failure. It details the weird misadventures of a pair of mismatched L.A. cops -- the straitlaced and by-the-book Roger Mortis (Treat Williams) and wisecracking loose cannon Doug Bigelow (muscle-headed Saturday Night Live alum Joe Piscopo). Their quest is to reach the heart of a sinister crime ring that employs indestructible undead henchmen. In a strange twist, their inept handling of the case results in both cops -- first Williams, then Piscopo -- being killed in action and subsequently reanimated in a secret laboratory managed by the barely seen Vincent Price (whose walk-on role is more entertaining than the combined performances of the two leads). The potential for "splatstick" comedy in the mode of Evil Dead 2 or Peter Jackson's Bad Taste is defeated by two major obstacles: first, the painfully unfunny mugging of Piscopo, who was unwisely allowed to ad-lib much of his performance; and second, the MPAA's trimming of several minutes from Steve Johnson's sensational makeup effects in order to avoid the dreaded X rating -- including a clever scene involving a zombie go-go girl played by Linnea Quigley. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Suburban divorcee and part-time espionage agent Amanda King (Kate Jackson) is no longer merely a talented amateur as the tongue-in-cheek adventure series Scarecrow and Mrs. King enters its third season. Instead, Amanda has finished her training and is now a full-fledged operative for the top-secret organization "The Agency", making her not only the partner but the equal of seasoned spy Lee "Scarecrow" Stetson (Bruce Boxleitner). Amanda's promotion enables her boss Billy Melrose (Mel Stewart) to get over feeling guilty about dispatching her on life-threatening missions; it also infuriates sexy female spy Francine Desmond (Martha Smith), who is rather sweet on Stetson. One of the season's best episodes, "We're Off to See the Wizard", not only explains (at long last!) how Lee got his nickname "Scarecrow", but also won an Emmy Award for best musical scoring. Elswhere, Kate Jackson's former costar on The Rookies, Sam Melville, makes the first of a handful of appearances as Amanda's ex-husband Joe King in "The Wrong Way Home", while the guest-star cast of "Dead Men Leave No Tails" includes Nancy Boxleitner, the sister of star Bruce Boxleitner). And in "Reach for the Sky", Myron Natwick is introduced as Dr. Smyth, the shadowy top man at The Agency. When all is said and done, however, the season's most important episode is "All the World's a Stage", in which, after years of exchanging chaste kisses in the line of duty, "Scarecrow" and Mrs. King share their first real kiss--and it's a doozy!!!! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Two of Scarecrow and Mrs. King finds professional spy Lee "Scarecrow" Stetson (Bruce Boxleitner) and his talented-amateur partner Amanda King (Kate Jackson) travelling all over the world on dangerous espionage missions at the behest of "The Agency", with several episodes filmed on location in London and Munich. This season's episodes are executive-produced by Juanita Bartlett of Rockford Files fame, who may or may not have made the decision to depict Amanda as being more scatterbrained than usual. Despite her eccentric behavior, however, Amanda performs admirably when she enters the Agency's training program in hopes of becoming a full-fledged spy. Notably second-season episodes include "The Legend of Das Geisterschloss" which introduces Jean Stapleton in the recurring role of Mrs. Marple-like British secret agent Lady Emily Farnsworth; "Charity Begins at Home" wherein the expensive Porsche upon which "Scarecrow" has lavished so much love and attention in previous episodes is irreparably destroyed; and "Murder Between Friends", featuring Kate Jackson's former costar on The Rookies, Sam Melville, as the villainous Glen Tucker. The following season, Melville would return in the recurring role of Amanda's ex-husband Joe King. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nick Newell (Gary Coleman) doesn't like being called a "genius," but the word certainly fits. The 13-year-old is starting as a freshman at Brighton University, and he's excited to be in a class taught by his idol, famous astronomer Jason Mills (Robert Guillaume). He gets along great with his roommate, Steve (Dean Butler), and gains the friendship of a pretty co-ed named Julie (Kari Michaelsen). Unfortunately, Nick's brain power doesn't prepare him for the problems that arise from being younger than everyone else on campus. Anxious to make a good impression on Professor Mills, Nick tries too hard and only embarrassess himself, plus his grades are slipping for the first time in his life. Nick also develops a massive crush on Julie, who considers him more of a younger brother than a love interest. When Julie and Steve become interested in each other and Professor Mills criticizes an extra-credit project, Nick despairs and decides to take a bus back home. He's surprised to find out how much he's loved, though, when his friends follow and beg him to return. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide

The sequel to the popular 1979 TV movie And Baby Makes Six, Baby Comes Home reteams Colleen Dewhurst and Warren Oates as middle-agers who find themselves the parents of a newborn child. The first film dealt with the impact of the 47-year-old mother's unexpected pregnancy on her three grown children, as well as on her own well-ordered lifestyle. The sequel concentrates on the alienating effect that Dewhurst's affection towards her baby has on the rest of her family. Both And Baby Makes Six and Baby Comes Home were intended as pilot films for a weekly series, though one wonders if the ever-busy Colleen Dewhurst would have found the time to star in such a project. The point is a moot one: The series never sold. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Making its ABC bow on September 10, 1977, after two preview pilot episodes on April 24, 1976, and May 7, 1977, Tabitha was a spin-off of the popular fantasy sitcom Bewitched (previously seen on the same network from 1964 to 1972). The title character was the daughter of sexy witch Samantha Stevens and her mortal husband, Darrin Stevens. Tabitha was "born" on Bewitched in 1966 and later played by child actress Erin Murphy. Although by rights Tabitha Stevens should have been at most eleven years old when her own series debuted, she was redefined as a grown woman in her early twenties -- and accordingly, was played by adult actress Lisa Hartman. The 1976 pilot episode, which starred Liberty Williams, had Tabitha working as an editorial assistant at a trendy San Francisco magazine. In the series itself, Tabitha was employed as a production assistant on the L.A.-based talk show "The Paul Thurston Show." Though she kept her magical witch powers (inherited from mom Samantha) under wraps for the most part, Tabitha could and did conjure up a spell or two to get herself and her co-workers out of various jams. The supporting cast featured a pre-Vega$, pre-Spenser Robert Urich as the vainglorious, thick-witted Paul Thurston; Mel Stewart as Tabitha's boss, TV producer Marvin Decker; David Ankrum as Tabitha's younger brother, Adam, who, unlike his sister, had no magical powers, but who knew Tabitha's "secret," and did a good job keeping it; and Karen Morrow as Tabitha's Aunt Minerva, a flighty full-fledged witch who enjoyed casting spells on the doltish Thurston. Although Adam and Aunt Minerva were carryover characters from Bewitched, they were not played by the original actors. Conversely, Bewitched veteran Bernard Fox occasionally reprised his famous role as wacky Dr. Bombay, the witches' favorite general practitioner. Only 12 half-hour episodes of Tabitha were seen before ABC made the series vanish into thin air on January 14, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pair of blue-collar buddies use hypnosis to turn a wimpy boxer into a champ in this crime comedy, which reunites actor/director Sidney Poitier and comedian Bill Cosby, stars of the similarly themed Uptown Saturday Night. Clyde Williams (Poitier) and Billy Foster (Cosby) want to help raise funds to sustain the Sons and Daughters of Shaka Lodge, their local community group. Given that Clyde was trained as a hypnotist while in the military, the pair decide to con mobster Biggie Smalls (Calvin Lockhart) by placing a high-stakes bet on a boxing match and then using hocus-pocus to transform skinny underdog Bootney Farnsworth (Jimmie Walker) into a bruiser. When Biggie finds out about their ruse, he and his thugs move in to reclaim their money, setting the stage for further laughs and sleight-of-hand. With a supporting cast that includes Denise Nicholas and Lee Chamberlin as the protagonists' wives and Ossie Davis as an elder at their lodge, Let's Do It Again also reunited Good Times stars Walker and John Amos to the silver screen. Cosby and Poitier would return two years later with A Piece of the Action, though Lockhart, another veteran of Uptown Saturday Night, would sit out the final team-up. Hip-hop fans will note that Lockhart's character provided one of the aliases for slain '90s rap star Christopher Wallace, also known as the Notorious B.I.G. The soundtrack for Let's Do It Again featured Curtis Mayfield songs performed by the the Staple Singers. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

LAPD Officer Newman has not gotten the reputation of a straight arrow by avoiding conflict when fighting for right. In this police drama, his honesty is put to the test when he and his partner discover a international drug ring involving some of the department's highest ranking officers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When Howard's 22-year-old sister, Debbie (Heather Menzies), pays a visit, he panics, not wishing to reveal his swinging-bachelor lifestyle to his kid sister. Even worse, Debbie begins dating Jerry, bringing out the puritan in Howard's nature. As usual, Bob is caught in the middle of all this domestic intrigue. Also appearing is Mel Stewart as Dabney. Written by actor Frank Buxton, "Not With My Sister You Don't" originally aired on February 3, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This spy thriller from future Death Wish (1974) director Michael Winner stars Burt Lancaster as the enigmatic Cross, a CIA agent who has hired a government assassin, Jean Laurier (Alain Delon), to kill an Arab terrorist. Once they return home, Laurier is arrested by his superior, McLeod (John Colicos), who wants to know why Cross is still alive, as Laurier was ordered to kill him as well. Laurier doesn't think that Cross is guilty of the crime, but he relents and agrees to carry out the contract for a higher price. Cross, suspected of selling secrets to the Soviets, learns that his life is in danger and flees to Vienna, where he is aided by a former comrade-in-arms from WWII, the sympathetic KGB agent Sergei Zharkov (Paul Scofield). When Cross learns that his wife (Joanne Linville) has been murdered by McLeod, he returns to the U.S. and kills him, leading to a bloody final confrontation with a reluctant Laurier, who is shocked to discover that his lover (Gayle Hunnicutt) is in league with Cross. Scorpio (1973) was the writing debut of David W. Rintels, who went on to author several critically respected made-for-TV films. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Archie is delighted to learn that his black neighbors, the Jeffersons, are planning to move. During a farewell party at the Bunker household, Archie finds himself deep in conversation with Henry Jefferson's contentious brother George Jefferson. Amazingly, the two men find they have a lot in common -- especially their mutual disdain for those outside their respective races. This episode came about due to Mel Stewart's departure from All in the Family to star in another sitcom, Roll Out; it also served to introduce Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson, who would likewise eventually headline a sitcom of his own (bet you can't guess the title...). Written by Don Nicholl, "Henry's Farewell" was first broadcast on October 20, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide