Edward Albert Movies

Released in some areas as Violent Journey, The Fool Killer is a bloody melodrama, combining various aspects of the western and horror genres. In one of his last screen appearances, Henry Hull plays Dirty Jim Jelliman, who relates the spine-chilling story of "the fool killer" to wide-eyed orphan George Mellish (Edward Albert). Said killer is an axe-wielding psycho whose mission in life is to purge the world of people whom he considers to be mental midgets. Shortly afterwards, the impressionable George crosses the path of an intense young man named Milo Bogardus (Anthony Perkins). Is it only coincidental that a rash of axe murders coincides with Milo's arrival in a small community? Based on a novel by Helen Eustis, The Fool Killer was not given a general release until four years after its completion, thanks to tangled legal problems. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted by Jay Presson Allen from the French farce by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Gredy, Forty Carats is a standard-issue sex comedy elevated by the performances of its stars. Fortyish Realtor Ann Stanley (Liv Ullman) finds herself attracted to Peter Latham (Edward Albert) - a man literally half her age. After a summer fling in Greece, Ann and Peter come to a parting of the ways, and that, Ann supposes, is that. Imagine her surprise when Peter comes to visit her back in New York. Though at first dismissed as a fortune hunter, Peter turns out to a financial whiz with a lot more in the bank than his lady friend. Both Ann's mother (Binnie Barnes, whose husband Mike Frankovich produced the film) and daughter (Deborah Raffin) are delighted at the prospect of Ann's romance with Peter -- the only one unsure is Ann herself. Lending his considerable comic expertise to Forty Carats is Gene Kelly as Liv Ullman's ex-husband-who also takes a liking to the personable Edward Albert and encourages the May-December romance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Killer Bees a made-for-TV thriller, directed by Curtis Harrington, is the story of a strong willed woman with a curious power. Madame von Bohlen (Gloria Swanson) matriarch of a family and controller of the family wine business rules her family with an iron hand. What is becoming increasingly obvious, after a series of mysterious bee attacks, is that she also has psychic control over a swarm of bees that reside in her vineyard. This silly, fun thriller has a great cast including Kate Jackson, Craig Steven and Edward Albert, and they all seem to be having as much fun with their roles as Gloria Swanson. Swanson attacks her role with the same feline energy that make her a star. She is outstanding as the controlling, iron-willed woman who will stop at nothing to get her way. A fun time is had by all in this outlandish, well-acted thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

In this crime drama a safe cracker comes out of retirement to pull off one last caper. The Germans behind the theft are planning to steal $1 million; unbeknownst to the safe cracker, they are also planning to kill him afterward. As soon as he finds out, he begins plotting his revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

An ambitious musical adaptation of Michel Déon's best-selling novel, Un Taxi Mauve is set in Ireland during a time in which the nation announced it would no longer demand income taxes of artists, bringing a steady stream of creative bohemians to the Emerald Isle. Novelist Philippe (Philippe Noiret) is a French novelist recently relocated to Ireland, where makes friends with Jerry (Edward Albert), an American expatriate who left his home after the death of his girlfriend. Philippe and Jerry become chummy with Taubelman (Peter Ustinov), who is looking after Anne, a beautiful young woman who cannot speak. Jerry becomes infatuated with Anne, while Philippe tries to win the heart of Sharon (Charlotte Rampling), Jerry's sister. Fred Astaire also appears as Dr. Scully, an American physician who has come to Ireland to live out his final years.
~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Anna Sewell's 1906 novel Black Beauty was given its most elaborate and thorough filmization to date in this five-part TV presentation. The scene has been shifted from England to Maryland, but otherwise Sewell's story about 13 years in the life of the beautiful and headstrong colt Black Beauty remains intact. In part one, telecast January 31, 1978, we see how Black Beauty is raised from a foal by the family of farmer Tom Gray (Martin Milner). When Tom suffers a stroke, his wife (Eilleen Brennan) sells both farm and colt. Filmed in Kentucky, Black Beauty was narrated throughout its run by David Wayne. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The producers of The Greek Tycoon insisted that their film was not based on any "actual persons, living or dead." Yeh, right. Anthony Quinn stars as Greek shipping-magnate Theo Tomassis, who becomes the second husband of socialite Liz Cassidy (Jacqueline Bisset). It seems that Liz is the widow of young, charismatic American president James Cassidy (James Franciscus), who was felled by an assassin's bullet. When Tomassis marries the former Mrs. Cassidy, it is over the strident protests of his former love, Paola Scotti (Luciana Paluzzi), not to mention the millions of American who consider Liz to be an icon. Too long at 106 minutes, The Greek Tycoon was nonetheless expanded to 112 minutes for home video. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the best-selling novel by Anton Myrer, the three-part NBC miniseries The Last Convertible chronicles the lives of five former Harvard roommates, all of whom share the titular Packard automobile. Beginning with the quintet's graduation in 1944, the teleplay by Philip de Guere, Stephen McPherson, and Clyde Ware covers an eventful 30 years, during which time the male protagonists all take turns romancing resident heroine Chris Farris (Deborah Raffin). Perry King is top-billed as Russ Currier, with Bruce Boxleitner as George Virdon, Edward Albert as Ron Dalrymple, John Shea as Terry Garrigan, and Michael Nouri as Jean des Barres. An Emmy nomination was bestowed upon Pete Rugolo's musical score. Originally telecast from September 24 to 26, 1979, The Last Convertible was, incredibly, intended as the pilot for a weekly series, though one would assume that the story possibilities had been pretty much exhausted during the inaugural six hours. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pia Zadora stars in an over-cooked melodramatic adaptation of the 1946 James M. Cain novel that is every bit as smutty and sleazy as Zadora's vampish character of Kady. The location of the novel has been switched from Appalachia to the barren lands of Arizona and Nevada in 1937. Stacy Keach plays Jess Tyler, a desert hermit who has spent years guarding an abandoned silver mine. Suddenly, Jesse is confronted by his very grown-up and sexy daughter, who, when she was a baby, had been taken away from him by his wife, Belle (Lois Nettleton). Kady, it so happens, hasn't come home for a family reunion -- she has just been dumped by a rich young man who is the father of her illegitimate child and whose family owns the very silver mine that Jess is guarding. Kady hopes to use her feminine wiles to seduce Jess and reopen the mine and extract the money from the earth that she feels is due her from the family. As if his seductive daughter walking around bare-breasted in front of him isn't enough, Jess must also deal with the sudden return of his older daughter, Janey (Ann Dane), who appears with Kady's son; Belle, who comes back to Jess dying of tuberculosis; and Moke Blue (James Franciscus), the man who stole Belle away from Jess years ago. Also squeezing his way into Jess's shack is Wash Gillespie (Edward Albert), the father of Kady's child, who now wants to marry her. Butterfly also features Orson Welles as Judge Rauch. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Based on a novel by James Hardiman, this routine haunted-house scenario is enhanced a bit by its lush Eastern setting. The story opens in an elaborate Kyoto abode, wherein a cuckolded samurai brutally murders his wife and her lover before committing ritual seppuku. Their restless spirits remain trapped in the house until the present, where the story continues with an American couple (Edward Albert and Susan George), the house's newest owners, whose minds soon begin to fall under the ghosts' powerful psychic influence. After the arrival of a family friend, visiting diplomat Doug McClure, a curious re-enactment of the original tragedy unfolds, and even the intervention of a Buddhist monk (Henry Mitowa) fails to dispel the evil. The filmmakers seem more concerned with the sex than horror, as indicated by frequent nudity (particularly from George) and numerous sweaty clinches, paying short shrift to the great potential offered by the Asian setting -- an aspect only hinted at in the Buddhist exorcism scenes. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Blood Feud was a two-part TV drama, originally presented as an "Operation Prime Time" special. Robert Blake is disturbingly convincing as labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, engaged in a decade-long war of words with attorney (and later attorney general) Robert F. Kennedy. Cotter Smith makes his TV debut as Kennedy, a role he'd repeat on future occasions. Thoroughly compelling when sticking to the facts, the drama falls apart whenever indulging in flight of fanciful speculation (Sample: two of Hoffa's lieutenants watch the live telecast of Lee Harvey Oswald's murder, then celebrate the fact that Oswald will never be able to reveal their complicity in the JFK assassination!) Blood Feud was syndicated to local TV stations beginning April 24, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Angela Lansbury's former MGM colleagues Van Johnson and June Allyson are prominently featured in this episode. A double-dealing businessman is killed when he is run over by a remote-controlled station wagon. Suspicion immediately falls upon the victim's disgruntled former partner, an oddball inventor--who happens to be a neighbor of our gal Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). Can it be that the death car's curious license plate number will turn out to be a clue? (Well, maybe not.) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Unknowingly, a group of computer-hacking teens tamper with a federal system program in what they think is an innocent enough game of strategy. After they begin relaying deadly instructions, they find it is not merely a virtual game they are playing. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi