Harold Sylvester Movies

Another of the many Arthur Hailey literary properties which were transformed into TV miniseries in the 1970s, the five-part, ten-hour Wheels took place in Detroit sometime in the late 1960s. Rock Hudson starred as Adam Trenton, executive in charge of project development at the fictional auto-manufacturing firm of National Motors. Ambitious and ruthless, Adam let nothing stand in the way of his development and production of a new, youth-marketed car known as the Hawk. Meanwhile, Adam's bored and neglected wife Erica (Lee Remick, who earned an Emmy nomination for her performance) drifted into an extramarital affair and a brief "career" as a shoplifter. Eventually, Adam himself acquired a mistress, who in turn fell in love with Adam's son Kirk (James Carrol Jordan). As if things couldn't get any seamier, Kirk's brother Greg (Howard McGillin) was plagued by a blackmailer, while crooked car dealer Smokey Stevenson (played by miniseries stalwart Anthony Franciosa) cooked up a sinister deal that threatened to destroy National Motors. Originally telecast from May 7 to 15, 1978 on NBC, Arthur Hailey's Wheels posted such disappointing ratings that, when it was later rebroadcast, the property was whittled down from ten hours to four -- with episodes three and four summarily dropped from the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Hardy Boys, Part 7 was first aired over the ABC TV network as "The Mystery of the African Safari." Joe and Frank Hardy (Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson), Franklin W. Dixon's famed teenaged sleuths, are dispatched to Africa by their investigator father Fenton Hardy (Edmund Gilbert). Things get ticklish when the Hardys both fall in love with professional hunter Trevor Masters' pretty daughter Sarah (Anne Lockhart). Originally telecast October 16, 1977, "The Mystery of the African Safari" also features Peter Bromilow and Harold Sylvester. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Part 2, Sounder was the sequel to the 1973 filmization of William H. Armstrong's novel Sounder, with the same scenarist (Lonnie Elder III) but with a different director (Graham) and releasing company (Gamma III). Still set amongst Depression-era black sharecroppers in Louisiana, Part 2 features Harold Sylvester and Ebony Wright stepping into the roles originated in first film by Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson. They're still struggling against poverty and prejudice, but have now been given a ray of hope by activist teacher Anzanette Chase (taking over from first film's Janet McLachlan). Her school is closed down by the white landowners, who don't want the "coloreds" to get too "uppity." The sharecroppers band together to build their own school, so that their children can learn to create a better world. Musician Taj Mahal is back from the first film, doubling in a supporting role and providing the musical score. Originally designed as a made-for-TV movie, Part 2: Sounder was redirected to theatres instead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide