Robert Wagner Movies
One of the precious few actors of the "pretty boy" school to survive past the 1950s, Robert Wagner was the son of a Detroit steel executive. When his family moved to Los Angeles, Wagner's original intention of becoming a businessman took second place to his fascination with the film industry. Thanks to his dad's connections, he was able to make regular visits to the big studios. Inevitably, a talent scout took notice of Wagner's boyish handsomeness, impressive physique, and easygoing charm. After making his unbilled screen debut in The Happy Years (1950), Wagner was signed by 20th Century Fox, which carefully built him up toward stardom. He played romantic leads with ease, but it wasn't until he essayed the two scene role of a shellshocked war veteran in With a Song in My Heart (1952) that studio executives recognized his potential as a dramatic actor. He went on to play the title roles in Prince Valiant (1954) and The True Story of Jesse James (1956), and shocked his bobby-soxer fan following by effectively portraying a cold-blooded murderer in A Kiss Before Dying (1955). In the early '60s, however, Wagner suffered a series of personal and professional reverses. His "ideal" marriage to actress Natalie Wood had dissolved, and his film career skidded to a stop after The Pink Panther (1964). Two years of unemployment followed before Wagner made a respectable comeback as star of the lighthearted TV espionage series It Takes a Thief (1968-1970). For the rest of his career, Wagner would enjoy his greatest success on TV, first in the mid-'70s series Switch, then opposite Stefanie Powers in the internationally popular Hart to Hart, which ran from 1979 through 1983 and has since been sporadically revived in TV-movie form (a 1986 series, Lime Street, was quickly canceled due to the tragic death of Wagner's young co-star, Savannah Smith). On the domestic front, Wagner was briefly wed to actress Marion Marshall before remarrying Natalie Wood in 1972; after Wood's death in 1981, Wagner found lasting happiness with his third wife, Jill St. John, a longtime friend and co-worker. Considered one of Hollywood's nicest citizens, Robert Wagner has continued to successfully pursue a leading man career into his sixties; he has also launched a latter-day stage career, touring with his Hart to Hart co-star Stefanie Power in the "readers' theater" presentation Love Letters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Nickelodeon network favorite Miranda Cosgrove stars in this horse-driven drama. When Hannah Mills takes on a school project photographing horses in the wild, she has no idea they are about to become her passion. Their graceful movements and flowing manes captivate her and soon the mustangs are her reason for living as she falls in with the ranch lifestyle. But what she's about to discover is going to put her and the ranchers in danger, because somebody else has their eyes on the horses. This is a story about the love between people and nature and the dangerous lines that are crossed when greed gets in the way. Wild Stallion also stars Danielle Churchran, Fred Ward, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Wagner. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miranda Cosgrove, Danielle Chuchran, (more)
- 2008
George Eads has a cameo in this episode in which a CSI team investigates a death at Charlie's house. The script was written by CSI: Crime Scene Investigation scribes Sarah Goldfinger and Evan Dunsky. ~ Bill Ecklund, All Movie Guide
- 2008
While Alan plans Evelyn's wedding, Charlie plans his next conquest -- his future stepsister (Jenny McCarthy) ~ Bill Ecklund, All Movie Guide
A young man learns something about making his fantasies into reality from an older man who has already been there in this coming-of-age drama. Cameron (Michael Angarano) is a teenage film buff living in Los Angeles who dreams of making movies himself someday, an ambition that doesn't impress his parents very much. Cameron doesn't have many friends beyond fellow outcast Murphy (Joshua Boyd), and wealthy and popular classmate Brett (Taber Schroeder) takes great pleasure in making Cameron's life miserable. A major film school in L.A. has announced a competition for young filmmakers, but while Cameron has talent and ideas, Brett has the money to buy film stock and rent equipment, and Cameron wonders if he stands any chance at all. One evening, while attending a screening of Orson Welles's Touch of Evil at a revival theater, Cameron sees an elderly man who shouts at the screen about his old pal Orson. Cameron is thus introduced to Flash Madden (Christopher Plummer), who worked as a lighting man during the Golden Age of Hollywood and really did work with some of the most respected names in the business, including Welles. While cranky Flash doesn't much care for Cameron at first, in time he sees a kindred spirit in the movie-mad teenager, and offers his technical know-how and sources of equipment to the would-be director. Flash also introduces Cameron to Mickey Hopkins (M. Emmet Walsh), a former screenwriter who helped script a number of silver screen classics but is now living in a shabby Old Folks home, and in Hopkins Cameron finds the inspiration for just the sort of movie he wants to make. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, Michael Angarano, (more)
- 2007
Alan and Charlie's father issues surface when Evelyn's new boyfriend (Robert Wagner) befriends them and takes them to Vegas on his private jet. ~ Bill Ecklund, All Movie Guide
- 2007
An argument with Charlie prompts Alan to take Jake and move in with Evelyn. ~ Bill Ecklund, All Movie Guide
A young baseball fan sets out on a cross-country quest to recover Babe Ruth's stolen bat and restore his father's good name in a computer animated family adventure that shows you're never too young to be a hero. Yankee Irving (voice of Jake T. Austin) may not be the best base-runner in his neighborhood, but his love of the game is about to lead him on the adventure of a lifetime when a legendary baseball bat is stolen from Yankee stadium on his father's watch. Now determined to get back the bat from the crooked security guard who swiped it (voice of William H. Macy) and place it back in the grip of the best hitter in baseball history, young Yankee is about to find out just what it's really like to walk out on the diamond to the sounds of a thousand cheering fans. Filmed under the title Yankee Irving and originally slated to be directed by the late Christopher Reeve, Everyone's Hero was completed by directors Colin Brady and Dan St. Pierre when Reeve passed away as the result of a heart attack in 2004, and features additional voice work by actors Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Patinkin, Raven, the late Dana Reeve, Rob Reiner, and Brian Dennehy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
Three kids have an unexpected adventure as they try to protect some rare birds in this comedy drama based on a book for young adults by Carl Hiaasen. Roy Eberhardt (Logan Lerman) is a 14-year-old boy whose family has moved so often he's literally lost count of the number of times he's changed schools in the last ten years. Roy ought to be used to being the new kid at school by now, but making the switch from the big sky of Montana to the Gulf Coast of Florida proves to be a major challenge. While Roy quickly becomes the target of school bully Dana Matherson (Eric Phillips), he's befriended by Beatrice Leep (Brie Larson), a spunky girl with enough nerve to stand up to Dana, and her brother Mullet Fingers (Cody Linley). Beatrice and Mullet share their big secret with Roy -- they have a hidden hideaway where they look after a flock of wild owls. The owls in question are on the endangered species list, but that's of little concern to Chuck Muckle (Clark Gregg), a top executive from the Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House chain, who is planning to build a new restaurant in the hollow where the owls nest. Roy, Beatrice, and Mullet are determined to find a way to save the owls, but Muckle and his right-hand man, Curly Brannitt (Tim Blake Nelson), are less interested in saving the birds than in turning a profit. The kids have a plan, however, and they uncover some evidence of interest to David Delinko (Luke Wilson), a well-meaning but slow-witted policeman investigating some dirty doings tied in to the pancake house. Hoot features a handful of new recordings from popular Florida musician Jimmy Buffett, who also helped produce the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Logan Lerman, (more)
- 2005
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A series of devastating storms are leveling major cities across the globe, and it's up to discredited scientist Faith Clavell (Shannon Doherty), dedicated storm chaser Tommy Tornado (Randy Quaid), and the FEMA head Judith Carr (Gina Gerson) to journey into the eye of the storm and find out just why mother nature has turned so violently on mankind in the shocking sequel to 2004's weather-gone-wild thriller Category 6: Day of Destruction. An unprecedented Category Six storm has leveled the Eiffel Tower and reduced the Great Pyramids to rubble, and as the pitch black funnel clouds lay waste to anything and everything in their path, three dedicated heroes attempt to discover whether the malevolent weather is the cause of global warming, or something far more sinister. When a vengeful gang of terrorists threaten to use the storms to their advantage by staging a large scale attack the likes of which the world has never seen, it seems as if it very well may be the end of the world. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Gershon, Cameron Daddo, (more)
Kevin VanHook's horror film The Fallen Ones concerns an archeologist who must battle a fallen angel who has come to Earth in order to reanimate a mummified giant and use him to take over the world. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2004
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Kilo was born into a life of crime. By the time he was an adult, he was a full-time dealer, and when he meets Sabeva, the daughter of a Colombian drug kingpin, he reaches the upper levels of drug trafficking. It is a dangerous business, however, and eventually Kilo ends up in prison. Still running his operation from inside of a cell, he is eventually offered a shady deal: his sentence will be suspended if he will murder a convicted child-killer. Now Kilo stands at a crossroads, unsure which actions will clear his conscience, end his sentence, or end his life. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Further cementing 2003 as the year of Ron Shelton cop movies, the director continued his vacation from the sports genre with Hollywood Homicide, a police comedy that comes right on the heels of Shelton's Dark Blue, a decidedly grittier cop thriller. The film stars Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett as LAPD homicide detectives Joe Gavilan and K.C. Calden, two cops with bigger dreams. Gavilan moonlights as a real estate agent, while Calden teaches yoga and yearns for a career on the big screen. When an entire hip-hop group is murdered on-stage, Gavilan and Calden are called in to handle the case. As their investigation progresses, they begin to suspect that the rappers were offed for attempting to get out of their recording contract with label head Sartain (Isaiah Washington). Along with Bruce Greenwood and Keith David, the supporting cast boasts a plethora of real-life musicians, including Dr. Dre, Gladys Knight, Dwight Yoakam, Master P, and Ronald DeVoe of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, (more)
Mike Myers' phenomenally successful spy spoof gains a few more characters, a slew of celebrity cameos, and even more free-associative laughs in this third installment of the popular franchise. Austin Powers in Goldmember continues the exploits of the swinging-'60s leftover, who, as the film opens, is busy critiquing a big-budget Hollywood production of his life story, replete with a 20-million-dollar star in the lead role and a slew of John Woo-style action scenes. But not far from the soundstage lurks arch nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers), who has opened up a talent agency representing some of the industry's biggest stars -- all the while channeling their profits into a diabolical world-destruction plan with the unfortunate code name Preparation H. Dr. Evil presents a distraction to Austin by kidnapping his similarly swingin' father, Nigel Powers, and transporting him back in time to 1975. Travelling there to save his father -- and in turn win back his dad's sometimes-errant affection -- Austin comes across the alluring superspy Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce Knowles). The three of them travel back to the present day, where they join forces to battle Dr. Evil and his posse of nefarious evil-doers, including the trusty clone Mini-Me (Verne Troyer); his snotty son, Scott (Seth Green); the inimitable Fat Bastard (Myers); and the eponymous new addition to the fold: the epidermis-obsessed, precious-metal-fortified Dutchman called Goldmember (Myers). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Myers, Beyoncé Knowles, (more)
The Retrievers stars Bettie White, Robert Hays, and Robert Wagner in the kid-friendly tale of a family who discovers a dog and her newborn litter of puppies. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hays, Mel Harris, (more)
An aging hipster finds that there may be more to life than good looks and fast cars in this introspective comedy from first-time director Danny Comden. Twenty-something Los Angeles womanizer Sol Goode (Balthazar Getty) has been gliding through life thanks to solid genes and a quick wit, but when his car is trashed and the shadow of eviction forces him to consider getting a real job, he slowly begins to realize that some soul searching is in order. Eschewing his unfulfilling ways in a bid to find true happiness, Sol finds himself increasingly attracted to his best friend Chloe (Katharine Towne), who is all too aware of Sol's loose interpretation of the word "relationship." Will Sol ever be able to convince Chloe that he has truly changed and his feeling for her are genuine, or will his past remain a roadblock to the only means of happiness he knows? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Balthazar Getty, Katharine Towne, (more)
- 2000
Originally titled Mercury Project, this made-for-cable thriller focuses on 17-year-old Todd Baker (Ryan Merriman) and his ex-astronaut grandfather, Gus Baker (Robert Wagner). Hoping to honor the memory of his late father, likewise a space explorer, Todd collaborates with Gus in restoring a Mercury Redstone Rocket (purchased from a junk heap for a mere $80,000) as a high school science project. When Todd grafts the Rocket to a Mercury 10 capsule found in a space museum, he brings down the wrath of the Feds, who inform him that he's committed an infinite number of security breaches. Denied permission to complete his project, our hero is nonetheless redeemed when a space shuttle crew is trapped hundreds of miles above earth...and only Todd's rebuilt rocket and capsule is capable of going to the rescue! About as credible as anything else on the ABC Family Channel ever since, Rocket's Red Glare debuted on August 27, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
In this made-for-TV movie, shown on the E! network, Richard Breggs (Harland Williams) is a super-swell guy. An aspiring actor, he drives a taxi so that he can afford to buy his girlfriend Maggie (Elizabeth Berkley) a set of window shades for their apartment. All is dandy until Richard's friend Nick informs him that his niceness is the source of his career problems, and that he'll only be able to get ahead as an actor if he becomes a class-A jerk. Richard decides to give Nick's advice a try, and four years later he wakes up with amnesia to discover that he's the star of a monstrously popular TV show called, appropriately enough, "Dick." Living in a mansion, he is informed by his butler Edward (Robert Wagner) that yes, he has become a bonafide schmuck. This news horrifies Richard, who sets about trying to find Maggie and mend his wicked ways. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harland Williams, Robert Wagner, (more)
After covering baseball in Bull Durham, basketball in White Men Can't Jump. and golf in Tin Cup, writer, director, and obvious sports fan Ron Shelton takes on the world of boxing in this comedy. Vince Boudreau (Woody Harrelson) and Cesar Sota (Antonio Banderas) are close friends and aspiring boxers struggling on the lowest rungs of the fight game. When a major boxing promoter needs to fill out the card for a heavyweight bout in Las Vegas, Vince and Cesar both get the call to head out to Sin City. But the excitement sours when they realize that there's a small problem: the promoter's schedule has the two pals fighting each other. Play It to the Bone also features Lolita Davidovich, Lucy Liu, Tom Sizemore, and Robert Wagner. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Banderas, Woody Harrelson, (more)
A technological nightmare becomes a terrifying reality in this sci-fi-thriller. When a group of computer experts and executives from a high-tech firm based in Seattle die suddenly and unexpectedly during a conference call, Samantha Craig (Janine Turner), a government agent who specializes in disease tracking, is brought in to investigate. Craig finds herself having to work alongside Dr. Nick Baldwin (Antonio Sabato Jr.), a local physician trying to live down a professional disgrace, and together they make a shocking discovery: a deranged genius has developed a computer virus that has evolved from destroying databases into an organic virus that can claim human lives. But who would create such a contagion, and how can it be stopped? Fatal Error also stars Robert Wagner and Malcolm Stewart. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- PG13
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Austin Powers -- fashion photographer, denizen of Swingin' London, international espionage agent, and bane of dental hygienists everywhere -- returns in his second screen adventure. Powers (once again played by Mike Myers), a 1960s superspy stranded in the 1990s, discovers that his nemesis, criminal genius Dr. Evil (also Mike Myers), has somehow stolen his "mojo" (the secret to his otherwise inexplicable sex appeal) and traveled back in time to the 1960s as part of his latest fiendish scheme. Powers must also travel back in time to retrieve it, but if Austin doesn't quite fit into 1998, he's been there just long enough not to fit in in 1968 anymore, either. Powers also discovers that Dr. Evil has new allies this time: Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), a clone of Dr. Evil one-eighth his size but just as nasty; Fat Bastard (Myers yet again), whose name describes him just fine; and vixenish assassin Robin Swallows (Gia Carides). Powers' lack of mojo also proves troublesome when he's paired with his new partner, saucy CIA operative Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham). Other characters returning from the first film include Elizabeth Hurley as Vanessa Kensington, Robert Wagner as Number Two, Michael York as Basil Exposition, Seth Green as Scott Evil, and Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me also includes cameo appearances from Tim Robbins, Jerry Springer, Woody Harrelson, and Burt Bacharach with his current songwriting partner, Elvis Costello. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Myers, Heather Graham, (more)
- 1999
A pair of grifters are drawn into a big con that may be more than they can handle in this sexy thriller. Maya (Bonnie Phillips) and her boyfriend Tony (Thomas Heinze) are a pair of con artists who've been working the same scam for some time; sexy Maya approaches wealthy-looking men in hotel cocktail lounges and persuades them to come up to her room. Tony lifts the men's wallets while Maya toys with them, and he copies the information from their credit cards; Tony returns the cards before the men are the wiser, and Maya conveniently loses interest before things can go too far with her marks. Maya and Tony are making a good living off their version of credit card fraud when Maya tries to pick up Pierce; as it turns out, Pierce is a con artist himself, but rather than turn the tables on the couple, he makes them an offer. Pierce is working with a woman who wants to divorce her rich husband; they need a woman who can seduce the heretofore faithful husband -- and do it on film. There's a big payday in store for the woman who can do the job, so would Maya be interested? The Hustle also stars Robert Wagner, Steven McHattie, and Benjamin Sadler. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bobbie Phillips, Thomas Heinze, (more)
Comedy and drama take turns in this period piece based on a novel by Mark Childress. Peejoe (Lucas Black), short for Peter Joseph, lives in a small Alabama town in 1965, at the height of the Civil Rights movement. He becomes involved with a group of black students protesting the town's racially segregated municipal swimming pool, leading to a protest that explodes into deadly violence. But Peejoe has gotten a crash course in standing your ground and following your own path from his free-spirited Aunt Lucille (Melanie Griffith), who has killed her abusive husband and is headed for Hollywood, where she's convinced that television stardom awaits her. Crazy in Alabama marked the directorial debut of actor Antonio Banderas; his supporting cast includes Cathy Moriarty, Elizabeth Perkins, Rod Steiger, Fannie Flagg, and Meat Loaf Aday. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melanie Griffith, David Morse, (more)
The doors are opened on a group of misfits living in a seedy motel on the edge of Los Angeles in the comedy No Vacancy. At the run-down Pink Motel, the owner (Joaquim de Almeida) is furious with his daughter when he finds out she's been sleeping with her boyfriend. This doesn't make her very different from most of the people staying at his establishment, where attractive young women wake up with men they don't recall meeting, sleazy guys cavort with hookers, and most of the tenants are ready to clobber each other. The cast includes Christina Ricci, Lolita Davidovich, Gabriel Mann, Steven Schub and Robert Wagner. No Vacancy was screened at the 1999 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Bollman, Lolita Davidovich, (more)
This thriller takes place in Blue Bay, Florida, where social-climbing guidance counselor Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon) is indifferent to teen-socialite Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards), who retaliates by accusing him of rape, an accusation that leads to his suspension by the school and a rejection from the country club. He can't afford a big attorney, so he hires shrewd Ken Bowden (Bill Murray), while Kelly's mom, Sandra Van Ryan (Theresa Russell), Sam's former lover, gets a platoon of top lawyers. Trailer-trash Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell) backs up Kelly's claim and additional plot twists and turns develop. The seldom-seen Carrie Snodgrass (Diary of a Mad Housewife) has a supporting role in this film. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, (more)
