Robert Walden Movies
The holder of a BA from New York's City College, actor Robert Walden began making the theatrical rounds in the early 1960s. Beginning with The Out-of-Towners (1970), Walden showed up in several film supporting roles, ranging from Donald Segretti in All the President's Men (1976) to a philosophical sperm (!) in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex... (1972). Having previously been a regular on the TV series The New Doctors (1972), Walden attained a measure of stardom as "Woodstein"-style investigative reporter Lou Rossi in the weekly Lou Grant (1977-82). Never one to back away from a creative challenge, Robert Walden signed on as co-star of the 1984 Showtime series Brothers, one of the first American sitcoms to feature openly gay characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Drawing inspiration from the intervention of a well-known American playwright, director Peter Masterson's adaptation of the stage play by JoAnn Tedesco (who also wrote the screenplay) takes viewers on an emotional rollercoaster ride as one man's support system struggle to save their friend from his own worst enemy - himself. Leopold De Angeli is a highly intelligent playwright who is personable, intuitive, and sharp as a tack when he's sober. But these days sobriety doesn't come often to Leopold, and his friends are getting concerned. Everyone can sense the disaster that's looming just over the horizon, yet by confronting their friend about his alcoholism, everyone in this well-meaning group will have to face up to their own inner demons as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Swanson, Olympia Dukakis, (more)
- 2001
The gay adult film industry is the backdrop for this drama focusing on Sean (Michael Cunio), a young gay man who is looking for a job in the movie business. While trying to rent a video of Citizen Kane, Sean accidentally brings home a video from Men of Janus Productions, an outfit that churns out hardcore porn movies with exclusively male casts, finding himself infatuated with Johnny Rebel (Scott Gurney), the film's hunky leading man. Sean lands a job with Men of Janus helping out the camera crew, but he soon finds himself serving a different function on the set -- he becomes the "fluffer," who helps the actors "warm up" for their sex scenes. Sean is more than happy to be working with Johnny, but he soon makes the surprising discovery that Johnny is straight and only appears in gay porn because he can make more money than in heterosexual sex films. What's more, Sean learns Johnny has a girlfriend, Babylon (Roxanne Day), who works as an exotic dancer and is not enthusiastic about her lover's current career. The Fluffer was written and co-directed by Wash West, who previously shot and directed several hardcore gay films himself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Gurney
In this suspense thriller, Mariel Hemingway plays Nova, a television gossip reporter. During a broadcast, she jokingly says that every good-looking man in Los Angeles is gay; a few days later, she's attending a concert by her mother, an aging rock star, and meets an attractive man named Nathan who wants to prove her theory incorrect. Nova and Nathan have a one-night stand, but he mysteriously disappears afterward -- which is particularly upsetting when Nova discovers she's pregnant. Nova decides to keep the baby, but while this would give her plenty to think about by itself, she soon has a lot more on her mind when a mysterious stranger begins murdering her friends, and a stalker begins following her, making her wonder if she could be next to die. Kiss of a Stranger also features Dyan Cannon, David Carradine, and Corbin Bernsen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariel Hemingway, Corbin Bernsen, (more)
- 1989
A murder case ignites the curiosity of Fr. Dowling and a nun who set out to solve the mystery against the wishes of his bishop and the FBI. ~ All Movie Guide
In this 1988 film, a young deaf woman realizes that the hamburger sold by a local meat market contains something other than beef. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The Case of the Lost Love was the fourth of the Perry Mason TV movies of the 1980s. Raymond Burr plays Mason (you're surprised?), who while out of town at a lawyer's conference is reunited with Jean Simmons, his lady friend of 30 years past. Simmons has come up in the world, and is about to be nominated for the US senate. Unfortunately, her husband Gene Barry is accused of murdering a blackmailer. The lack of surprise in the denouement is compensated for by the pathos and emotionalism in the final scenes. Back from the previous Mason films is Barbara Hale as Della Street, and Hale's son William Katt as Paul Drake Jr. Despite stiff competition from the Audrey Hepburn-Robert Wagner TV movie Love Among Thieves, Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love swept the ratings when it premiered on February 23, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Up-and-coming actress Nita Cochran (Alice Krige), who happens to be the niece of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), lands a plum role on a popular TV soap opera. Nita has been cast as a serial murderer--a fact that proves most unfortunate when an actual murder occurs at the TV studio. The victim was Nita's boss, who may or may not have been planning to abruptly write her off the show. . .but it soon develops that Nita was only one of several people with a strong motive. This episode represents the final TV appearance of Lloyd Nolan, whose well-known difficulty in memorizing lines is cleverly woven into the final scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In this made-for-TV film, Mike Farrell stars as an attorney who finds himself at the center of a surprise reunion with the veterans of his platoon from Vietnam, including Robert Walden and Edward Herrmann. The reunion stirs up painful memories and disturbing secrets for all involved. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1980
This made-for-TV historical drama chronicles the personal and professional lives of Colonel Tibbets and the airmen who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The story is based on a book by Gordon Thomas and Max Gordon Witts and also looks at the ways in which the aftermath of the bombing affected their lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1979
In this drama, a well-known actress goes home to attend her father's funeral and finds herself haunted by unhappy childhood memories. It is these dark reminiscences that force her to take an honest look at herself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariette Hartley, Collin Wilcox, (more)
The longest (26-1/2 hours), most expensive ($25 million) and most complicated (four directors, five producers, five cinematographers, almost 100 speaking parts, several hundred extras) project made for television up to that time, Centennial was shown in two- and three-hour installments over a period of four months. An adaptation of James Michener's best-selling novel, it told the story of the settling of the American West by looking at the founding of the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado, from the settling of the area in the late 18th century to the present. Emmy-nominated for film editing and art direction, it boasts of sterling performances from Richard Chamberlain as frontiersman Alexander McKeag, Robert Conrad as the French-Canadian trapper Pasquinel, and a surprisingly powerful performance from former football star Alex Karras as compassionate but iron-willed immigrant farmer Hans Brumbaugh. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Two men from widely opposite spectrums in life are trapped in the same dilemma. Highly respected police detective Dave Lambert (Barry Primus) and seedy informer Art DeVoe (Mills Watson) have both witnessed a cop killing--and the murderer has sent his minions forth to get rid of them both. Featured prominently in the supporting cast is Robert Walden, on the cusp of his stardom as gonzo reporter Rossi on Lou Grant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
When a billionaire checks into the hospital for a heart operation, he becomes the object of a massive terrorist attack, as they hold him for $10 million ransom. Complicating the problem is his absolute obsession with his privacy, a la Howard Hughes. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Celebrity psychic Roman Clementi (Robert Webber) gets Jim Rockford (James Garner) in plenty of hot water when he tells his followers that the detective has "inside information" concerning two missing persons, Alison Currie and Rick Richards. With public opinion against him and the police breathing down his neck, Jim tries to find out why Clementi has singled him out--and the trail of clues leads to a duplicitous record producer (Robert Walden), a drug ring and an $80,000 "prize." James Luisi makes his first appearance as Rockford's perennial nemesis Lt. Doug Chapman in this episode, which earned the coveted Edgar Allan Poe award for scriptwriter David Chase. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
In this sequel to Melvin Purvis, G-Man, Dale Robertson returns as the crime fighter, who must battle such notorious gangsters as Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1975
This two-hour pilot episode for S.W.A.T. originated as a special installment of the ABC police series The Rookies, explaining the omnipresence of that program's co-star Georg Stanford Brown in his familiar role of Officer Terry Webster. Essentially a peace-loving man and a firm believer in due process, Webster resents the apparently cold-blooded approach of Lt. Dan "Hondo" Harrison, head of the Special Weapons and Technical (SWAT) team. Trained to handle dangerous situations beyond the control of the regular police, Hondo and his men tend to shoot first and ask questions later -- a technique that proves quite effective in the chilling climax of this episode. For syndication purposes, the S.W.A.T. pilot was been divided into two hour-long segments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Georg Stanford Brown, Steve Forrest, (more)
- 1975
In the first of two Streets of San Francisco guest appearances, Pat Hingle plays Bert Morris, the sole witness to a jewel robbery. Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) take Morris into protective custody in hopes of capturing the thieves. There's only one problem: Morris is a pathological liar, and his false information ends up making a bad situation even worse--especially for his long-suffering spouse Jeannie (Nancy Olson). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this made-for-television disaster thriller, a carload rich commuters are held hostage by a trio of thugs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
