Lindsay Wagner Movies

Claude Akins appears as Jason Peale, a glib con artist with an ego as big as all outdoors. Peale's latest scam involves poses as an elusive, Howard Hughes-like tycoon in order to sell bogus stock. Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) makes it his mission to nip Peale in the bud, with or without the assistance of the man's gullible victims. Featured in the cast is a pre-Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner and a pre-Alice Vic Tayback. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This filmization of John Jay Osborn Jr.'s novel Paper Chase ended up one of the surprise hits of the 1973-74 movie season. Timothy Bottoms stars as the Minnesotan Hart, a brilliant but naive first-year student at the Harvard Law School. Like most of his fellow aspiring attorneys, Hart is in fearful awe of his demanding, ego-deflating instructor, Professor Kingsfield (John Houseman). He is not so much intimidated by Kingsfield, however, as to resist falling in love with the professor's pretty daughter (Lindsay Wagner). An eminent theatrical and film producer, John Houseman won an Oscar for his first important film role (no, it wasn't his first film role ever; he'd played an unbilled cameo in 1964's Seven Days in May), launching Houseman on a latter-day acting career wherein he spent most of his time playing variations of Kingsfield. Houseman also recreated the role for a Paper Chase TV series, which first ran on CBS, then on public television, then on the Showtime pay cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Stephen J. Cannell-produced detective series The Rockford Files was introduced as a 90-minute NBC TV movie on March 27, 1974. James Garner starred as Jim Rockford, an ex-convict turned private detective. Recently exonerated and released from jail, where he had been serving time for a crime he did not commit, Rockford dedicated himself to re-opening "closed cases," digging up new evidence to prove that the authorities had been wrong with the original verdict, thereby belatedly serving the cause of justice. This penchant frequently put Jim at odds with his friend Detective Dennis Becker (Joe Santos), but made him very popular with his clients. Though he generally charged a daily fee of 200 dollars plus expenses, Jim was nearly always broke due to his occasional willingness to accept a case gratis, or because of duplicitous clients or heavy fines for "bending" the law. Thus, he lived in a ramshackle trailer with his dad Joseph "Rocky" Rockford (played in the 90-minute pilot by Robert Donley), a retired trucker. For his first case, Rockford set out to prove that the death of a skid-row derelict was actually murder. To help him in his investigation, Rockford called upon his former cellmate Angel Martin (Stuart Margolin), who, unlike Jim, actually had been a crook and still retained several embarrassing criminal associates. When the weekly, one-hour series version of The Rockford Files premiered on September 13, 1974, Garner, Santos, and Margolin were still in the cast, but Noah Beery Jr. had replaced Robert Donley as Jim's dad Rocky. Also added to the cast at this time were Gretchen Corbett as Jim's attorney girlfriend Beth Davenport, who helped him gather evidence and sometimes brought worthy clients to his attention; and Tom Atkins as Dennis Becker's boss Lt. Alex Diehl, who could not entirely dissuade himself from the belief that Rockford had deserved his prison time and was still on the wrong side of the law. Beginning with the series' third season, Diehl was replaced by Lt. Doug Chapman, played by James Luisi. Although Rockford was regularly beaten up for his troubles, habitually lied to by his clients, and damaged materially in the course of his investigations (his battered car and his tiny living quarters seldom survived an episode without being given a going-over), Jim managed to keep his sense of humor, cynical and jaundiced though it was. In real life, star James Garner had a predilection for performing his own stunts, leaving him with a multitude of injuries that were ultimately a factor in his abruptly leaving the series just before the end of its sixth season (accordingly, the show was prematurely canceled by NBC on July 25, 1980). Even so, Garner returned to star in nine Rockford Files TV movies produced between 1994 and 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The friends and family of young Aura Lee Benton (Melissa Greene) are shocked when the girl dies from a heroin overdose--especially since they know full well that Aura Lee never did drugs. Jim (James Garner) is hired by the dead girl's coworker Sara Butler (a pre-Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner) to uncover the truth behind the tragedy. The detective methodically follows the trail of clues to a powerful senator (Robert Webber)--who promptly commits suicide, sending Jim right back to Square One! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a woman moves into a Victorian home, she finds a dress that, when worn, delivers her back in time in this made-for-television adventure adapted from David William's novel, Second Sight. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the Judith Krantz novel of the same name, the CBS miniseries Scruples zeroes in on a trendy, upscale Beverly Hills boutique. The guiding force behind the Scruples shop is beautiful Billy Ikelhorn (Lindsay Wagner), who, though born into grinding poverty, had risen to the uppermost rungs of L.A. society by virtue of her marriage to millionaire Ellis Ikelhorn (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.). When her husband dies after a long illness, Billy compensates for her grief by becoming a Boadicea of the fashion industry. Her personal and professional life is entangled with those of her closest associates, fashion photographer Spider Elliott (Barry Bostwick) and designer Valentine O'Neill (Marie-France Pisier). Originally telecast in six two-hour episodes on February 25, 26, and 28, 1980, Scruples proved popular enough to warrant a 1981 TV-movie sequel, starring Shelley Smith as Billy, Dirk Benedict as Spider and Olga Karlatos as Valentine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lindsay Wagner stars as Callie, who battles her way up the ladder from waitress to fabulously wealthy Texas socialite. The price for her success is her son Randy, played by Jameson Parker. Though wielding great power, Callie is nearly powerless in her efforts to keep Randy away from beautiful young schemer Michelle Pfeiffer. The film's many intrigues result in a sensational murder trial. Made for TV, Callie and Son was originally seen October 13, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bionic Woman star Lindsay Wagner is here cast as Joanne Tilford, who six years after attempting suicide, is discharged from an upscale mental clinic. Returning home to care for her husband Howdy (Gerald McRaney), who has suffered a heart attack, Joanne soon discovers that her role in the Tilford family unit has been usurped by housekeeper Louise Lowry (Barbara Babcock), who regards herself as the "second mother" to Joanne's children. Adding to the heroine's woes are her brother Everett (Richard McKenzie) and sister-in-law Rita Jean (Barbara Cason), who fully expect that the still-fragile Joanne will suffer a mental relapse at any moment. Officially based on Zoe Sherburne's novel Stranger in the House, this made-for-TV film also bears a passing resemblance to the 1958 theatrical feature Home Before Dark. Watch for Peter Billingsley, then best known as Messy Marvin on a series of popular TV commercials and soon to be the star of A Christmas Story, in the role of Joanne's son. Memories Never Die made its CBS network bow on December 15, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

The Tucson Police Department are astounded by a criminal psychiatrist who captures crooks by using her training. ~ All Movie Guide

This is a tepid film aimed at youngsters and focusing on the warped Martin Steckert (Richard Harris), an escaped convict, and little Martin (Justin Henry), the boy he takes hostage. Steckert uses a ruse to escape from prison when his parole is denied, and once safely on the outside, he kidnaps Martin and heads for an isolated spot along a lake that he himself visited as a little boy. Aside from the developing relationship between the two Martins, not expressed in any great depth, there is the inexplicably fired-up pursuit of Martin by Lt. Lardner (James Coburn) and the psychobabble of Dr. Mennen (Lindsay Wagner), in pursuit of Martin's motivating demons. Martin's encounter with ex-lover Karen (Karen Black) does not reveal very much, and in the end, viewers may be left wondering about everyone's motivation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this family drama, adoptive parents engage in a legal battle with the biological mother of their child. The mother had been a teenager when she gave up her baby. Now she wants her back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide