Lindsay Wagner Movies

Born in a tough Los Angeles suburb, actress Lindsay Wagner quickly became accustomed to having to work hard and fight harder for the things she wanted out of life. The blonde, 5'11" Wagner supplemented her modelling and singing income by teaching theater arts to schoolchildren. In 1971, she was signed to a $162-per-week contract at Universal Pictures, under whose auspices she played supporting roles in such TV series as The Bold Ones and Owen Marshall, M.D. and co-starred in the theatrical features Two People (1972) and The Paper Chase (1973). Though she received good reviews for her work in the last-named film (in which she was cast as the daughter of imperious law professor John Houseman), Lindsay was summarily dropped by her studio in 1975. At the same time, Universal executives were looking for a tall, athletic actress to play a "bionic woman" opposite Lee Majors in a special two-part installment of the weekly TV series The Six Million Dollar Man. Lindsay's contract was extended an extra few days to permit her to play the role of Jaime Sommers -- and when the two-parter was spun off into the Bionic Woman TV series in 1976, Lindsay, still bitter over her firing, demanded a then-staggering sum of $17,500 per program, and a percentage of the merchandising profits. After the cancellation of Bionic Woman in 1978, Lindsay kept her star shining brightly such made-for-TV movies as The Incredible Journey of Dr. Meg Laurel (1979), Callie and Son (1981), I Want to Live (1983), Convicted (1986), The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Dedrickson Story (1989), and I Want to Keep My Daughter (1995). She has also appeared in several TV-movie sequels to The Bionic Woman, including 1993's Bionic Ever After. In addition to maintaining her successful acting career, Lindsay Wagner has entered the booming instructional-video market with Lindsay Wagner's New Beauty: The Accupressure Facelift. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
1981  
R  
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Deke DaSilva (Sylvester Stallone) and Matthew Fox (Billy Dee Williams) are New York police officers specially assigned to a special multi-national team dedicated to tracking down terrorist Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer). Wulfgar planted a bomb in a London department store, killing several children and he is now an outcast, hunted by both the police and his fellow gang members. He has extensive plastic surgery and resumes his activities aided by Shakka (Persis Khambutta), a completely psychotic fellow outcast. Soon DaSilva and Wulfgar are engaged in a violent battle of wits as Wulfgar resumes his terrorist activities and threatens New York . This very effective thriller features a chilling performance by Rutger Hauer as the handsome, ruthless cold-blooded killer who charms women into helping him and then kills them. Sylvester Stallone gives an unusually understated emotionally vulnerable performance as a man trying to save lives while he saves his own marriage. The film makes excellent use of New York locales, particularly during a terrifying hijacking of a cable car where Wulfgar coolly decides which of the hostages will live or die. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Sylvester StalloneBilly Dee Williams, (more)
1981  
 
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

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1981  
 
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Stewart Raffill directs the high-action comedy caper igh Risk about a four-man band of theives trying to pull off the perfect crime. Stone (James Brolin), Tony (Chick Venera), Dan (Bruce Davidson), and Rockney (Cleavon Little) hire two inept airplane pilots and plot a major heist. The plan is to rob a mansion in South America belonging to the wealthy drug lord Serrano (James Coburn). After they break open his safe and steal five million dollars, they try to escape the jungle while being followed by the Columbian army and a group of bandits led by Mariano (Anthony Quinn). Ernest Borgnine appears in a brief cameo. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
James BrolinCleavon Little, (more)
1980  
 
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

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Starring:
Lindsay WagnerBarry Bostwick, (more)
1979  
 
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

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Starring:
Lindsay WagnerMarc Singer, (more)
1979  
 
This made-for-TV effort stars Lindsay Wagner as Meg Laurel, an orphan who graduates Harvard Medical School and returns to treat the sick in her Appalachian hometown in the 1930s. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

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1976  
 
A stock broker overcomes ennui and finds new meaning in his life when he becomes a long-distance runner. His new obsession has a bad effect on his marriage, but fortunately that is only temporary. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
James NaughtonLindsay Wagner, (more)
1975  
 
Jamie Somers, the "Bionic Woman" introduced on a 1975 episode of TV's Six Million Dollar Man, launched her own series with a two-part adventure. Part One was telecast as the January 11, 1976 installment of Six Million Dollar Man: in a comatose state, Jamie, the onetime fiancee of "bionic man" Steve Austin (Lee Majors), is rescued by emergency brain surgery. Retaining no memory of her relationship with Austin, Jamie starts a new life as a California schoolteacher. In Part Two, which served as the January 14, 1976 premiere of The Bionic Woman, we learn that Jamie, like Steve has been outfitted with electronic replacements for certain vital appendages: her legs, her right arm, her right ear. Moonlighting as a government agent, Jamie infiltrates the headquarters of evil businessman Dennis Patrick, who hopes to exploit her bionic accoutrements for his own nefarious purposes. In syndication, the two halves of the first Bionic Woman adventure were melded into one 2-hour TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1975  
 
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

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1974  
 
James Garner first assumed the bethumped mantle of Private Investigator Jim Rockford on March 27, 1974. The original Rockford Files TV movie, like the long running series that followed, starred Garner as an ex-con who only takes cases that the people have been unable to solve. Future Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner is the person retaining Rockford's service in this first adventure. She wishes Jim to investigate the death of her father, a skid-row derelict whose demise the police have written off as natural causes. Robert Donley plays Jim Rockford's father in the inaugural Rockford Files, a role that was filled by Noah Beery Jr. in the series proper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1974  
 
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

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1973  
R  
Evan Bonner (Peter Fonda) is a former solider who deserted the Army due to his growing opposition to the U.S. role in Vietnam. Having spent the intervening years drifting aimlessly, he has ended up in Marrakesh – where he has made the decision to return to the U.S. and turn himself in. Also in Marrakesh are a famous fashion model, Deirdre McCluskey (Lindsay Wagner), her live-in lover (and photographer) Ron, and her editor Barbara. This trip is experiencing considerable tension at the moment. They have finished their photo shoot and are ready to return to New York, but Ron has decided he wants to stay on in Marrakesh for the time being. Deirdre and Barbara board a train to Casablanca the next day, and Deirdre soon finds herself admitting that her relationship with Ron has petered out. She also admits that she would really like a few puffs of the local strain of marijuana; spotting Evan and recognizing him from the café, she decides to see if he has any but changes her mind when she sees that he is emotionally overwrought. Eventually, however, Evan strikes up a conversation with Deirdre, and they begin a halting relationship that grows in intimacy as they journey back to the United States. Deirdre tries to persuade Evan to give up his plans, and even says she will move her young son to Europe so that the three of them can live together. Evan and Deirdre’s son hit it off when they meet in New York, but even that is not enough to dissuade Evan from his plans. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Peter FondaLindsay Wagner, (more)
1973  
PG  
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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

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Starring:
Timothy BottomsLindsay Wagner, (more)
1972  
 
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

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1971  
 
Veteran movie heavy (and prolific screenwriter) Leo Gordon guest stars as Jennings Thornton, a wealthy "police buff" who proves to be a pain in the neck for Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner). Not only is Thornton convinced that he is better a catching crooks than the police, but he also somehow manages to keep one step ahead of Jim and Pete as they answer their calls. Featured in the cast as Jenny Carson is Gordon's real-life wife Lynn Cartwright, a familiar presence in such B-pictures as Cry Baby Killer and Viking Women and the Sea Serpent. Also, watch for a young, pre-Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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