Robert Webber Movies
Though born in close proximity to Hollywood, Robert Webber chose to head East to launch his acting career shortly after World War II. On Broadway from 1948, Webber made his film bow in 1950's Highway 501, playing the first of many villains. His career moved in fits and starts until he was cast by director Sidney Lumet as Juror Number 12 in the 1957 filmization of Twelve Angry Men. Webber flourished in the 1960s, mostly playing outwardly charming but inwardly vicious types; who could forget his torturing of Julie Harris in Harper (1966), grinning all the while and saying lines like "I just adore inflicting pain"? A personal favorite of director Blake Edwards, Webber was given roles of a more comic nature in such Edwards films as Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), 10 (1969), and S.O.B (1981). One of Robert Webber's better later roles was as the father of erstwhile private eye Maddie Ross (Cybill Shepherd) on the cult-favorite TV series Moonlighting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1979
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Jim (James Garner) has cooked up an elaborate sting operation to save the printing plant owned by the father of fellow private eye Richie Brockelman (Dennis Dugan) from the clutches of crooked sports promoter Coombs (Robert Webber). The scam is wide-ranging indeed, involving a travelling King Tut exhibition and a popular auto-racing track. While simultaneously endeavoring to pull off the con and preventing his "pal" Angel (Stuart Margolin from gumming up the works, Jim also finds himself falling in love with enigmatic co-conspirator Odette (Trisha Noble). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Students of the Paris music conservatory work at putting on an evening's entertainment in this musical comedy which has less of a lift than the dancers in some of the performances. While the students, of varying talent and origins, get their respective acts together, the mother (Leslie Caron) of one of them dallies with her daughter's boyfriend. Svelte and fit as the dancer she once was, the mother turns out to be the most talented of the lot -- though that is not a part of the storyline, just an observation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Caron, Robert Webber, (more)
Blake Edwards' 10 stars Dudley Moore as George, a Mancini-type songwriter. Approaching middle age, George feels as if life is passing him by, especially his sex life. Despite the presence of longtime lady friend Sam (Julie Andrews) in his life, he becomes obsessed from afar with Jenny (Bo Derek), who is engaged to be married. Following her to Mexico without her knowledge, George arranges a meeting with Jenny by saving the life of her fiancé, David (Sam Jones). Once he has made her acquaintance, George suddenly finds himself faced with the realities of embarking on such an affair. Beyond renewing the popularity of Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" and turning Bo Derek into a star, upon its release, 10 was one of the most financially successful Blake Edwards films in years. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, (more)
- 1979
Martin (Jean Rochefort) is a coward who is swept up in the revolt by French students in May, 1968 in this Gallic comedy of errors. He helps the rioters destroy his own auto as his wife and children watch the proceedings in disbelief. Martin wakes up in a student commune and sees the beautiful Eva Catherine Deneuve, and the smitten coward follows her to Amsterdam where she secures a job as a cabaret singer. When her jealous boyfriend comes calling, Martin runs back to Paris. He pretends to have amnesia to get out of trouble at home, but he finds she has taken another lover in his absence. Martin races back to Amsterdam and brings Eva back to Paris in hopes of marriage after her boyfriend dies. After the ceremony, Eva reveals she is married to the American businessman Charlie (Robert Webber). Martin accepts a position as a chauffeur, content to be Eva's lover during Charlie's frequent business trips. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Rochefort, Catherine Deneuve, (more)
- 1979
In this made-for-television drama, an older woman (Joanne Woodward), who fights to get by in her new career as a real estate agent, gets quiet revenge upon the street punks who slashed the tires of her car. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1979
When a woman being treated for an ulcer by Dr. Barri Stoddard (Frances Lee McCain), a practitioner of holistic medicine, suddenly dies, an outraged Quincy (Jack Klugman) prepares to expose and denounce Stoddard as a quack. He changes his mind when he meets Barri and falls in love with her, though he is still skeptical of the woman's "all-natural" medical methods. Ultimately, Quincy ends up crusading to keep Dr. Stoddard's clinic open despite mounting public pressure to close her down--and this requires him to expose the person who was actually responsible for the ulcer patient's death. This is the final episode of Quincy, M.E.'s fourth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
In the first half of a two-part story, greenhorn detective Richie Brockelman (Dennis Dugan) asks Jim (James Garner) to help get back the printing plant that has been swindled from Richie's father (Harold Gould) by sleazy sports promoter Harold Jack Coombs (Robert Webber). This undertaking requires an elaborate "sting" operation--so elaborate that Jim must hold auditions to pick the right con artists for the right job. This episode is essentially a promo for guest star Dennis Dugan's own series, Richie Brockelman: Private Eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cajun quarter-horse trainer Lloyd Bourdelle (Walter Matthau) struggles to eke out a decent living for himself and his three sons Buddy, Randy and Casey (Andrew A. Rubin, Stephen Burns and Michael Hershewe). Their prize horse is thoroughbred foal Casey's Shadow, named after the youngest son (Hershewe). The question is whether or not Lloyd, a life-long loser, can take advantage of the opportunity for bettering his lot afforded by Casey's Shadow. Alexis Smith co-stars as Sarah Blue, a wealthy woman who becomes Matthau's strongest ally when she offers to buy the horse rather than allow the vindictive Mike Marsh (Robert Webber) to destroy it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Alexis Smith, (more)
- 1978
- PG
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In Revenge of the Pink Panther, for the final time, the bumbling but impeturbable Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) maddens his long-suffering boss Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), sharpens his wits and martial skills with his manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk) and foils the bad guys without ever having a clue about what he is doing. In the story, Clouseau allows a gang of drug racketeers to believe that he has been assassinated and dons a series of disguises as he travels all over the world in order to apprehend the culprits. He is assisted by Simone Legree (Dyan Cannon), the former girlfriend of the drug-lord Douvier (Robert Webber). Though it received a very mixed reception from critics, this, the fifth of the Pink Panther series, did very well at the box-office. Sadly, it was actor Peter Sellers' final screen appearance before his death in 1980 (the later film, The Trail of Pink Panther was composed of outtakes from previous Pink Panther films). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, (more)
- 1977
The formal title for this TV mini-series was Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue, just in case you might mistake it for William Makepeace Thackeray's 79 Park Avenue. Originally presented in three parts, this adaptation of the Robbins best-seller stars Lesley Ann Warren as Marja Fludjicki, a Depression-era tenement girl who is accused of murdering her drunken stepfather. Part One details how Marja's "crime" was justifiable; she'd been raped by the bounder. Parts Two and Three would trace Marja's progress from teenaged prostitute to elegant, high-priced Park Avenue Madam--and mob mistress. Forced by circumstance into a life of prostitution, Marja marries Las Vegas high-roller Ross Savitch (Marc Singer). Ross is bumped off by the Syndicate, leaving Marja in the lurch. Marja rebounds from tragedy to become a federal witness against the Mob. 79 Park Avenue was first telecast on October 16, 17, and 18, 1977. Though all the names are changed, it isn't hard to discern the Bugsy Siegel story in this video equivalent to eating a whole box of chocolates in one sitting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Several deaths have occurred at Valleyview Sanitarium--which in and of itself is not unusual, in that most of the patients are very old and very ill. Even Quincy (Jack Klugman) is persuaded that the recent, slightly mysterious death of an elderly man was simply a coronary rather than foul play. But when a much-younger patient dies under similar circumstances, Quincy changes his mind and launches an investigation--and in the process confronts a self-styled "Angel of Mercy" who is practicing wholesale euthanasia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In this sardonic comedy, after an executive is killed in a mysterious automobile accident, the French offices of his multinational company is inundated with mysteriously threatening be-ribboned anti-capitalist tracts, delivered overnight to everyone's desks. Later, the executive's body is brought to company offices for an official wake -- only no one at the company has ordered that such a thing be done. A mysterious prankster, who is able to imitate the voice of the company's president, has arranged these things. When Americans from the head office get wind of these developments, they institute a search for the perpetrator which leads to mysterious subterranean passages under the company's skyscraper ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Yanne, Michel Piccoli, (more)
- 1977
- R
Loosely based on former policeman Joseph Wambaugh's humorous novel, The Choirboys determinedly explores the stunted interior lives of a large crew of callous, bigoted L.A. policemen. These men get together to lend one another emotional support. However, the means they choose for this do not enhance their sensitivity or their judgement. When one of them has a really bad day, he asks his buddies to come to "choir practice," and they get together for alcoholic benders of fairly epic proportions. When one of them accidentally shoots a homosexual teen cruising a city park, everyone (including higher-ups) gets called on to help with the cover-up. The Choirboys, which was a critical and box-office failure, had an impressive cast list, including such well-known performers as Blair Brown, James Woods, Randy Quaid, Lou Gossett Jr., Perry King and Charles Durning. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Durning, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
- 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
An expensive war epic, Midway emulates The Longest Day and Tora! Tora! Tora! in attempting to re-create a famous World War II battle from both the American and Japanese viewpoints. The 1942 battle of Midway was the turning point of the War in the Pacific; the Japanese invasion fleet was destroyed, and America's string of humiliating defeats was finally broken. Though the battle itself was sufficiently dramatic to fill two films, Midway also has plotline involving the mixed-race relationship between Ensign Garth (Edward Albert), son of Navy Captain Matt Garth (Charlton Heston), and Haruko Sakura (Christina Kokubo), a Hawaiian girl of Japanese descent. The real-life personages depicted herein include American Admirals Nimitz (Henry Fonda), Halsey (Robert Mitchum) and Spruance (Glenn Ford), and Japanese Admiral Yamamoto (Toshiro Mifune, his voice once again dubbed by Paul Frees, whom Mifune personally selected for the job). For its original road show release, Midway was offered in the "Sensurround" process, which electronically shook and vibrated the audience's chairs during the battle sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1975
A professional basketball team is taken hostage by a band of Middle Eastern terrorists. The captors refuse to let their captives go until the authorities meet their demands, including a large sum of money, an escape plane, and the release of all political prisoners throughout the world. It is up to the SWAT team to rescue the athletes and prevent a full-scale, Munich-like bloodbath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Forrest, Rod Perry, (more)
- 1975
Fashion model Margaux Adams (Doria Cook) places a frantic phone call to lawyer Beth Davenport (Gretchen Corbett)--and shortly thereafter turns up dead. At Beth's personal request, Jim (James Garner) agrees to investigate Margaux' murder, beginning with a visit to fashion designer Bob Coleman (Robert Webber). When Coleman is knocked off as well, Jim finds himself up against some decidedly unfashionable mobsters who have their dirty fingers in some industrial espionage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 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
- 1974
The two-hour final episode of Ironside's seventh season serves as the pilot film for the spinoff cop series Amy Prentiss. Jessica Walter plays the title character, a hardworking San Francisco police woman who aspires to the position of Chief of Police. Though up against a lot of resistance from the all-male establishment, Amy has a staunch supporter in the form of former chief Robert Ironside (Raymond Burr. Originally telecast as a single extended episode, "Amy Prentiss: AKA The Chief has been divided into a brace of one-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In the conclusion of Ironside's two-part Season Seven finale (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), new San Francisco police chief Amy Prentiss (Jessica Walter) runs up against a wall of hostility and resistance from the town's all-male establishment. Fortunately, Amy can count former chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) and his team among her supporters. But even Ironside may not be able to help Chief Prentiss as she is assigned a "make-or-break" murder case. This episode served as the pilot for the spinoff series Amy Prentiss, with supporting player Art Metrano retained in the series proper as Amy's aide Tom Pena. Johnny Seven, here seen in his standard Ironside role as Lt. Carl Reese, would join the Amy Prentiss cast as Detective Contreras, while the role of Joan, here played by Joan Pringle, would be taken over by Gwen Mitchell (Pringle would be compensated with a recurring Ironside role as the new wife of Chief Ironside's former bodyguard Mark Sanger [Don Mitchell]). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Made for television in 1974, a doctor (Melvyn Douglas) is accused of murdering his terminally ill wife. The defense receives a shot in the arm when a famed lawyer returns from retirement to help the case. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1974
This episode is truly episodic, offering poignant and sometimes tragic vignettes occuring during a single San Francisco weekend. The catalyst for the the story is a .25 caliber pistol, hunting by both the police and the underworld alike. In the course of events, the pistol claims two victims: a syndicate thug and an innocent little boy. It is up to Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) to prevent further bloodshed--hardly an easy task, considered that the pistol has already passed through too many hands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- R
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Wealthy Mexican Emilio Fernandez puts a million-dollar bounty on the head of Alfredo Garcia, who has seduced and knocked up Fernandez's daughter. Trouble is, Alfredo Garcia is already dead and buried. Barkeep Bennie (Warren Oates) is appointed by two of Fernandez's hit men (Robert Webber and Gig Young) to travel to the small town in whose cemetery Garcia is interred, planning to dig up the body and recover the head; along the way, he meets and falls for prostitute Elita (Isela Vega), who had become involved with Garcia. But these two fail to anticipate the arrival of fellow corpse-seekers, equally desperate to collect the bounty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Oates, Isela Vega, (more)
