Don Stroud Movies
The son of entertainer Clarence Stroud, Don Stroud made his first film appearance in the 1967 Diabolique clone Games (1967). Handsome and solidly built, Stroud has prospered in meaty second-lead and character roles. Most frequently cast as a short-fused detective, Stroud was seen on television as Sgt. Mike Varrick on Kate Loves a Mystery (1979), as Captain Pat Chambers on Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1984-87) and as Captain Lussen on the 1989 syndicated revival of Dragnet. Don Stroud has remained active into the 1990s, frequently in such instant-videocassette fare as Carnosaur 2 (1995). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The title character of this Alex de la Iglesia film made her first appearance in David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990) and was originally played by Isabella Rossellini. Rosie Perez takes over the role in this blend of black comedy, graphic sex and violence, voodoo, and weirdness. Perdita Durango is pure trash, a fact she establishes at the film's beginning. Her adventures begin when she hooks up with Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem), a sleek, black-clad, sexually adventurous practitioner of Santeria who routinely kills, robs banks, and steals corpses from graves for his cannibalistic blood-soaked rituals. Santos (Don Stroud) is a pedophile and a crime boss. He hires Romeo to steal a truck filled with human fetuses that are slated to be used for cosmetic experiments. Romeo accepts but feels he must make a human sacrifice before he goes. This bothers Perdita not a bit and she even picks out a pair of blonde teens for the ritual killing. The two crooks kidnap the kids, ritually feather them, sexually abuse them, and are preparing to kill them when Romeo's cheated partner shows up with policemen. The crooks and their prey manage to escape, but the scheme to commandeer the truck gets botched and an ensuing shootout between Santos' men and DEA agents goes wrong. Santos loses many men and swears revenge upon Romeo and Perdita, who continue on their journey with their two doomed victims. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosie Perez, Javier Bardem, (more)
- 1996
Delenn is kidnapped by renegade mebers of the Nightwatch. Her captors threaten to kill Delenn unless the Minbari forces leave immediately. It is up to Sheridan and Garibaldi to devise a ruse that will enable them to rescue their comrade without depleting their defenses. This episode is highlighted by a B5 ceremony honoring the recent war dead, and by a surprise "cosmetic change" at the end of the story. First seen in America during the week of April 8, 1996, "Ceremonies of Light and Dark" was written by J. Michael Straczynski. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, (more)
The dinosaurs are back, and they're getting hungrier by the minute in this sequel to the terror tale Carnosaur. There's been a call for help from a secret underground military facility deep in the Nevada desert, so a rescue team led by Maj. McQuade (Cliff De Young) and trouble-shooter Reed (John Savage) is sent out to investigate. When they arrive, the facility's staff are all dead -- the only living person they can find is a lost, disoriented teenager named Jesse (Ryan Thomas Johnson) who is wandering through the flats. As they investigate, McQuade and Reed make two terrifying discoveries. A cache of high-grade plutonium has been stored there, but the containment is faulty, and a cloud of deadly radiation is slowly but surely being released. To make matters worse, the Army had found a number of dinosaur eggs during a dig and had stashed them at the Nevada facility...and the radiation has caused them to hatch, with a pack of hungry velociraptors patrolling the area as a result. Carnosaur 2 also stars Don Stroud, Rick Dean, and Arabella Holzbog. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Savage, Cliff De Young, (more)
- 1994
Garibaldi tries to interfere when an old friend prepares to participate in the "Mutai", a deadly nonhuman Martial Arts combat. Elsewhere, Ivanova comes to grips with her father's death with the help of Rabbi Koslov (Theodore Bikel). Fans of Harlan Ellison will enjoy the fleeting in-joke involving Ivanova's reading preferences, while boxing devotees should take note of the name of the character played by guest star Greg McKinney. Originally telecast on May 25, 1994, TKO was written by Lawrence G. DiTillio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael O'Hare, Claudia Christian, (more)
- 1993
Two men, a fisherman and banker, have both died of carbon monoxide poisoning while sailing in the waters around Cabot Cove. At first this seems to be merely a coincidence--but then the fisherman's daughter gains access to her father's logbooks and charts. Suddenly, a link develops between the two men, forged by an illegal sale of surplus defense-corporation components--and Jessica (Angela Lansbury) begins to take interest in the situation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Sully (Joe Lando) is beaten up by a band of scurrilous buffalo hunters, hired to clear the land on behalf of the incoming railroad. Though paralyzed, Sully vows to wreak vengeance against his attackers and to stem their slaughter of the local bison herds. Meanwhile, a slick con artist, posing as a railroad advance man, is busily swindling the citizens of Colorado Springs out of their hard-earned property. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Lando, Chad Allen, (more)
- 1991
A mysterious priest proves himself a master of martial arts in this LA-set chop-socky adventure. As the story begins, he is a gentle fellow who attempts to fight the bad-guys with peace and love. When that fails, he resorts to stronger methods and nunchakus whirl, feet and fists fly, and criminals hit the ground. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
When private detective Mike Hammer (Stacy Keach) is blamed for a Las Vegas murder, he sets out to prove his innocence and meets a lovely woman along the way. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1986
The made-for-TV Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer was so named for two reasons. For one, this 1986 production appeared after two previous "Hammer" TV movies and a brief weekly series. For another, star Stacy Keach was returning to American television after a British prison term for possession of narcotics. Keach settles into the Hammer role as though he'd never left, taking on the assignment of protecting the young daughter of a movie star (Lauren Hutton). The child is kidnapped right under Mike's nose, and while trying to retrieve her, Hammer discovers that there's a lot more to the case that either the movie actress or the authorities have told him--including a Deep Dark Secret that reaches back to the jungles of VietNam. As with the Mike Hammer series itself, Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer seems to owe more to Ross ("Lew Archer") McDonald than to Spillane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The scene is New Mexico, where evil towing-service operater Tyler (Don Stroud) is using the most vicious means imaginable to drive his chief competitor, the Corson Garage, out of business. Tyler, it seems, is in league with drug dealer Zuniga (Carlos Romero), and is using the towed cars to smuggle narcotics out of Mexico. But fear not--the A-Team is on its way to save the day. Among the many schemes cooked up by our heroes is an elaborate eavesdropping ruse in which Murdock (Dwight Schultz) hides under the hood of a car! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In this comedy, Gidget, the all-American surfer girl, has grown up, married Moondoggie, and become a travel agent. She and he, who have been married for seven years, are experiencing marital problems due to their careers and monetary pressure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In one of the series' best episodes, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) and Sheriff Tupper (Tom Bosley) are taking a bus trip from Cabot Cove to Portland, Maine, when the vehicle makes a stopover at a roadside inn. Before long, one of the other passengers--a bank robber recently released from prison--turns up murdered. As it happens, practically everyone on the bus except Jessica and Tupper had a powerful motivation...and this may well be one of those rare instances in which the Most Likely Suspect turns out to be the guilty party after all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) go undercover to find out why a seemingly insignificant accountant has been murdered gangland-execution style in the small resort town of Campo Alto. It turns out that the dead man was using an alias--and that he was somehow connected with the town's richest and most powerful citizen, Raymond Bellamy (Stuart Whitman). Doing everything he can to impede the two detectives' progress is town sheriff Johnson (Don Stroud), who like everyone else in the vicinity seems to be harboring a terrible secret. Oh, and did we mention that series star Stepfanie Kramer gets to show off her singing talents again? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer: More Than Murder was first telecast January 26, 1984, two days before the premiere of the Mike Hammer series proper. Stacy Keach stars as Spillane's bare-knuckled, chain-smoking private eye, with Lindsay Bloom costarring as his curvaceous secretary Velda. In More Than Murder, Mike's longtime friendly enemy, police captain Chambers (Don Stroud), is wounded during a drug-bust at a poker game. Circumstantial evidence suggests that Chambers himself was in cahoots with the dope dealers. It's up to Mike Hammer to get his longtime antagonist off the hook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stacy Keach, Don Stroud, (more)
- 1983
The A-Team sneaks into a small and remote town, there to attend the funeral of a fellow Vietnam veteran. They soon discover that their friend was murdered by members of the vicious Watkins family, who also hold the townsfolk in a grip of terror. Thus the team's mission is twofold: To seek revenge for their pal's death, and to end the Watkins' reign of fear once and for all. This is the final episode of The A-Team's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This drama is adapted from the true story of Barbara Graham, a woman sentenced to die in the mid-1950s after she allegedly committed a murder during a robbery. Graham pleaded innocent until the day she died in the San Quentin gas chamber. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In the conclusion of The Dukes of Hazzard's two-part Season Three opener (originally telecast as a single two-hour "special"), Duke cousins Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) have had a falling out over Diane Benson, the gorgeous owner of the Carnival of Thrills. What's more, Bo intends to defy the wishes of Luke, Daisy (Catherine Bach) and Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) and drive the "General Lee" in a treacherous jump over 32 cars. Enter insurance inspector Zimbra (Vernon Weddle) with the disturbing news that four men have tried the same jump in the past three months, with catastrophic results--and it looks as though someone is deliberately sabotaging the stunt, with Bo neatly set up as the next victim! This episode was originally filmed for the series' second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Season Three of The Dukes of Hazzard begins with the first episode of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour "spectacular"). After the star driver of the Carnival of Thrills is seriously injured while making a dangerous jump over 32 cars, carnival owner Diane Benson (Robin Mattson) hires Bo Duke (John Schneider) to take the man's place. Inevitably, Bo falls in love with Diane, thereby causing major friction between himself and cousin Luke (Tom Wopat). That there is something more for Bo to worry about than family trouble is indicated by the lurking presence of a nasty character named Carl (Don Stroud). This episode was originally filmed for the series' second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
A nuclear-powered transcontinental train provides the setting for this television pilot from the mystery series Supertrain. The story concerns a shady agent who becomes the prime target for murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Kim Basinger was best known as a model when she starred in the made-for-TV Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold. She plays a green-as-grass Texas teenager who wins a beauty contest. Armed with nothing more than delusions, Basinger heads to Hollywood to become a star. As given away by the film's title, Ms. Basinger ends up as posing au naturel. While it received surprisingly good review in 1978, Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold is no more artistically advanced than those Kroger Babb VD exploitation movies of the 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Basinger
- 1976
In this unsold TV-series pilot film, six former circus performers pool their individual talents for a daring daylight jewel heist. Ostensibly nothing more than common thieves, the six protagonists are actually acting from the noblest motives. If they are able to swipe a rare Latin American artifact known as "The Mask of the Sun" from a Washington D.C. embassy, they will (hopefully) be able to ransom a group of American medical missionaries who have been sentenced to a firing squad. Victor Buono stars as Sebastian, the leader of the co-ed criminal team. High Risk originally aired over ABC on May 15, 1976, in tandem with another "busted pilot," Panache. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Lloyd Bridges stars as plainclothes policeman Joe Forrester. When a gang of robber-rapists besiege his old beat, Forrester voluntarily returns to uniform duty. He hopes that his presence will encourage the frightened residents to help bring the gang to justice, but the most immediate results of Joe's return are several attempts on his life. Eddie Egan, the real-life model for The French Connection's Popeye Doyle, appears in a small role. First telecast as a 90-minute installment of Police Story on May 6, 1975, Return of Joe Forrester led to a weekly Joe Forrester series, which ran from September 1975 to August 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Someone in the SFPD must go undercover with a group of Vietnam war resisters to ferret out a murderer. Given a choice between middle-aged Mike Stone (Karl Malden) and youthful, shaggy-haired Steve Keller (Michael Douglas), the authorities opt for Keller. Posing as an anti-war activist, Keller tries to find out who killed a rather notorious Marine deserter...and why. Featured in the cast are two actors who'd essayed villainous Streets of San Francisco roles in the past, Don Stroud and Michael Burns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
An all-star "disaster" flick set in an elevator: is there no limit? This made-for-TVer top-bills James Farentino as a bank robber suffering from claustrophobia. Fleeing from his latest crime, the criminal is forced to take an elevator, populated with the likes of Roddy McDowall, Craig Stevens, Teresa Wright, Myrna Loy and Carol Lynley. Naturally, the elevator stalls between floors, high above ground level. The Elevator debuted as an ABC Movie of the Week on February 9, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
With only fragmentary evidence at their disposal, Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) search for the person who raped and murdered a young waitress. Meanwhile, the killer (Don Stroud) and his reluctant accomplice (Charles Martin Smith) are holed up in the home of two innocent bystanders (Ida Lupino, Patricia McCormack). Seen briefly as the murder victim is starlet Cheryl Stopplemoor, soon to achieve stardom as one of Charlie's Angels using her married name, Cheryl Ladd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
