Robert Tessier Movies

In this futuristic film, law and order are things of the past as cops are driven off of the crime-infested streets. It is up to a group of vigilantes to set things straight. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

In this comedy, a wealthy teen convinces a burglar to kidnap him so he can get his family's wayward attention. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

In this supernatural thriller a group of parapsychology students and their instructor explore the elusive, bizarre world of dreams in a supposedly haunted house built over a deep mine shaft. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Betsy Russell takes over as part-time prostitute Molly Stewart in this disappointing sequel to the surprisingly good Angel (1984). Old pals Rory Calhoun and Susan Tyrrell are along for the search for the killer of the cop who saved Molly's life in the first film, joined by street magician Johnny Glitter (Barry Pearl). More brutal and hard-edged than the original, this installment is just another violent action movie, despite some slick camerawork and a fast pace. One peculiar touch is the frequent use of Bronski Beat's savage dance hit "Why?" which, although it has appropriately exciting music, it concerns gay-bashing and has no relation whatsoever to the storyline. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Magnum's latest client is a little Vietnamese street kid named Tran Quoc Jones (Ronald Harrah III). An illegal alien, the boy has come to Hawaii in search of his missing dad, an American G.I. Can it be that Magnum's friend T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) is the man Tran Quoc seeks? And why has pompous politician Dick Hasley (Rick Lenz) chosen to exploit the child's plight as a means of publicizing his campaign? The answers, of course, are not immediately forthcoming--in fact, it will require a murder for the truth to be revealed! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This week the A-Team shows up in New York, where they champion the cause of a group of Delancy Street shopkeepers who are being terrorized by a vicious protection racket. The team quickly discerns that the man behind the racket is a flamboyant nightclub owner, which of course obligates our heroes to adopt some equally flamboyant disguises. Originally scheduled to air on March 22, 1983, this episode is capped by one of the best-choreographed fight scenes in A-Team history. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This is an unusual entry in the knights-in-armor genre. Set in medieval England, the film follows the exploits of a young swordsman, Talon (Lee Horsley). Working as a mercenary knight, Talon possesses a unique three-bladed sword which fires its two extra blades when he touches a button. By chance, Talon learns that he is a prince who has forgotten his royal heritage. Using his sword and his wiles, he attempts to regain control of his kingdom, which has been taken over by a sadistic tyrannical knight and an evil sorcerer. In doing so, he can save a princess who has been taken hostage by the usurpers. Comedy is interspersed with gory and licentious drama throughout the film, which was directed and written by Albert Pyun. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Burt Reynolds and director Hal Needham team up for the fourth time, this time bringing an all-star cast of characters on a cross-country car race in the vein of 1976 release The Gumball Rally. The police are the least of the Cannonballers' worries as they push the pedal to the metal in a race from Connecticut to California. Reynolds stars as J.J. McClure, a speed-loving racer disguised as an ambulance driver to outsmart the police. He is paired up with Dom Deluise, who plays his dimwitted sidekick Victor and who, on occasion, dons the suit of Captain Chaos. Rat Packers Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. join the lineup as Ferrari-driving priests, while martial arts expert Jackie Chan takes on one of his first U.S. film roles driving a souped-up Subaru. Among the many other stars are Roger Moore doing a parody of his 007 character, complete with secret devices and weapons, Farrah Fawcett as Pamela, a woman McClure and Chaos pick up, and Jamie Farr as a deranged Islamic sheik. Jack Elam joins the cast as a crazed proctologist along for McClure's ambulance ride, and Needham makes a cameo as a patient. ~ Rachel Koetje, Rovi

This action drama based around a construction site was a star vehicle for television actor Lee Majors between his two series gigs on The Six Million Dollar Man (1974-78) and The Fall Guy (1981-86). Majors stars as Mike Catton, a former well-regarded construction site foreman who became afraid of heights following a serious accident. When his friend Big Lew (George Kennedy) is killed while trying to rush the completion of an office skyscraper in an effort to beat a greedy bank's threatened foreclosure, Mike goes to work for Big Lew's daughter Cass (Jennifer O'Neill), recruiting a team of top workers to finish the job. Steel (1980) became an infamous picture due to the death of stunt man A.J. Bakunis, who died during the film's production trying to regain his former world's record for the longest stunt fall. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

The presence of Paul Lynde, in a small role, reveals more about the quality and tone of this film than the three top names. A farce with plenty of slapstick, it offers Kirk Douglas as a road agent dealing with a naive hero (a young Arnold Schwarzenegger) who is seemingly out of western serials in the '40s and a beautiful, sexy saloon girl (Ann-Margret). The silly jokes are the point, not the plot, though Needham includes some impressive stunts. Some of the most notable draw blatantly on Warner Brothers roadrunner and Daffy Duck cartoons; notably, the film came from Columbia, not Warner. The film's attempt at satire is too heavy-handed to have bite. ~ Bill Wu, Rovi

Italian schlock-master Luigi Cozzi (billed as Lewis Coates here) directed this low-budget Star Wars rip-off in 1978, right when the sci-fi craze was hitting audiences on a world-wide scale. The story begins familiarly enough, with a huge spaceship tracking through an extremely colorful space scene while under attack by some kind of unknown and deadly force resembling a lava lamp. Being no match for the '60s acid-flashback rays, they manage to jettison a few escape pods just before being blown to kingdom come. Fast forward now to the other end of the galaxy, where we find the best smugglers in town -- gorgeous Stella Star (Caroline Munro) and space-pimp Akton (Marjoe Gortner) -- outrunning a band of cops on their tail. Eventually, they're caught, taken into custody, and sentenced to intense Labor Camps, where Stella is forced to wear a skimpy Barbarella-like outfit by the extreme, merciless guards. A break-out ensues, and in the intense laser shoot-out, Stella manages to escape, only to be captured again by the semi-green-skinned Thor (Robert Tessier) and his annoying southern-drawled robot, Elle (voiced by genre veteran Hamilton Camp). Brought in front of the Emperor of the Galaxy (Christopher Plummer) and reunited with Akton, the sexy duo find themselves suddenly in charge of finding Prince Simon (David Hasselhoff). Thus begins the heroes' amazing adventure through space and time as they search for Hasselhoff and end up fighting Amazons, Cavemen, and the Evil Count Zarth Arn (Joe Spinell) along the way. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

James Fenimore Cooper's frequently filmed 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans was given the TV-movie treatment late in 1977. Steve Forrest stars as frontier-scout Hawkeye, with Ned Romero and Don Shanks as, respectively, his Indian companions Chingachgook and Uncas. At the height of the French and Indian war in Canada, Hawkeye and friends agree to escort a small group of British settlers-including Alice and Cora Munro (Jane Actman and Michele Marsh), daughters of the Fort William Henry commander, through unfriendly territory. Their hopes for a safe trip are thwarted by the treacherous Magua (Robert Tessier), who has cast his lot with the French. This fourth film version of the Cooper novel was originally telecast November 23, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Claude Lelouch's Another Man, Another Chance is set in 1870. Fleeing from the Franco-Prussian war, Jeanne (Genevieve Bujold) and boyfriend Francis (Francis Huster) escape to the American west. Their course does not run smooth, and soon Jeanne is left alone to care for her baby. Meanwhile, American veterinaran Jimmy (James Caan), an absolute stranger to Bujold, endures his share of woes, not least of which is the rape and murder of his wife by desperadoes. Inevitably, Caan and Bujold meet and fall in love. Having already suffered the death of Huster, Jeanne tries to dissuade Jimmy from his single-minded pursuit of his wife's murderers. This character conflict determines the outcome of the film's final scenes. Another Man, Another Chance was distributed in the US by United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi