Dana Wynter Movies

Robin's Nest is turned over to a Hollywood production crew as a location for a movie starring Magnum's favorite actress Olivia Ross (Dana Wynter) and her perennial costar Jack Martin (Larry Pennell). So entranced is Magnum (Tom Welleck) by the glamorous Olivia that he is willing to endure multiple humiliations as Martin's stunt double. But he hadn't counted on risking his life to solve the mystery behind a "prop" gun which is loaded with real bullets--and which Olivia empties on the hapless Martin! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Throughout his life, Higgins (John Hillerman) has been taunted, bested and humiliated by his old boarding-school nemesis William Troubshaw (Paxton Whitehead). Now it seems that he has a chance to settle the score by squaring off against Troubshaw in a fencing match. But through a freak accident, Troubshaw is killed and Higgins is accused of his murder--and even more disturbingly, he seems unwilling to defend himself against the accusation. Former child star Patty McCormick (The Bad Seed) appears as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Carol Baldwin, a role played in subsequent episodes by Kathleen Lloyd). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single "TV movie"), glamorous socialite Kendall Warren (Lauren Bacall) insists upon helping Jim (James Garner) track down the mysterious assailant who has been trying to kill her--and to find out why she has been thus targetted. This case hits a snag when the most likely suspect, gangster Tommy Minnette (Carmine Caridi), ends up murdered himself. And what has become of Princess Irene (Dana Wynter), the woman who hired Jim to protect Kendall in the first place? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the best-selling memoirs of Lillian Rogers Parks, the NBC miniseries Backstairs at the White House traces over five decades of American political history as witnessed from the vantage point of the servants' quarters. Played by Tania Johnson as a teenager and by Leslie Uggams as an adult, Lillian Rogers Parks served for 52 years as a maidservant at the White House. Though crippled early on with polio, Lillian diligently and loyally stuck to her duties -- and her own rock-solid set of principles and ideals -- through eight highly different Presidential administrations, often (and occasionally reluctantly) acting as friend and confidante to the First Lady of the moment. The large and stellar cast included a number of top-rank film and TV actors, obviously having the time of their lives impersonating such presidents as William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and their respective wives. Also in the cast were several African-American veterans from the landmark TV miniseries Roots. Earning 11 Emmy Award nominations, the nine-hour Backstairs at the White House was seen in five installments from January 29 to February 19, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This sci-fi film chronicles the exploits of an incredibly strong android that is totally devoid of emotion. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Originally made for television, the story concerns an unemployed journalist (Charles Durning) who mediates a deal between jewel thieves and an insurance company. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Pattern of Morality is the syndicated title of the made-for-TV Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law. Arthur Hill stars as Owen Marshall, a crusading attorney, who defends hippie Bruce Davidson, accused of murdering a wealthy housewife. Though all characters and names are fictitious, the film was clearly inspired by the Tate-LaBianca killings of 1969. The supporting cast includes Joseph Campanella as the husband of the murdered woman, William Shatner as the DA, and Dana Wynter as the judge. First telecast September 12, 1971, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law served as a preview for the series of the same name, which premiered on September 16 and ran until August 24, 1974. Carried over the pilot film were Arthur Hill as Marshall and future producer/director Joan Darling as Marshall's secretary Frieda Krause. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a bisexual teacher has an identity crises after he begins working at a private girls' school. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Airport had enough plot and enough star power in its cast for three feature films, and it only encompassed about half of the complexity or characters found in Arthur Hailey's best-selling potboiler. Essentially built around 12 harrowing hours at a major Midwestern airport, the film had everything an audience of the period could have wanted -- suspense, romance, drama, and comedy -- all spread across a vast canvas. Mel Bakersfeld (Burt Lancaster) is the manager of Lincoln Airport, facing a night beset by the worst blizzard in a decade, a wife (Dana Wynter) who announces she wants a divorce, a primary runway blocked by an airliner stuck in a snowdrift, and a governing board ready to fire him. Bakersfeld's cynical, smooth-talking brother-in-law, Vernon Demerest (Dean Martin), won't let up on his criticism of the management at Lincoln, but he has his own problems as well, mostly in the form of a young stewardess, Gwen Meighen (Jacqueline Bisset), who is pregnant by him and whom he finds he genuinely loves. Add to that the presence of an old lady stowaway (Helen Hayes) and a mentally disturbed passenger (Van Heflin) carrying a bomb, and there's more than enough plot to keep viewers engrossed for two hours plus. Airport became one of the top-grossing movies of its era, racking up seven-digit box-office numbers and spawning an entire film genre -- the disaster movie. With Jean Seberg, George Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, Barry Nelson, and Maureen Stapleton filling out the rest of the leading roles, there was something for almost everyone in this film. The movie still has a lot to offer if only as a prime example of Hollywood at its most successfully glitzy, but, if possible, viewers should try and see the letterboxed version of Airport on DVD (released May 2001). ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In his TV-movie debut, Stewart Granger plays a philandering photographer whose wealthy wife, Lois Nettleton, catches him in an adulterous situation. Not wishing to give up his cushy life style, Granger rigs a fatal automobile accident for Nettleton before she begins divorce proceedings. She survives the crash, but suffers a loss of memory. Granger must now figure out how to eliminate her before her amnesia passes and she can finger him as her would-be killer. Filmed in Mexico, Any Second Now is highly recommended to anyone who hasn't seen the story before in its many previous incarnations. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Melvyn Douglas made his TV-movie debut in Companions in Nightmare. Douglas plays a famous psychiatrist who conducts a group-therapy session with several high-priced professionals. One of the patients turns out to be a murderer; the truth will come out, and it will be a shocker. Gig Young, Anne Baxter, Patrick O'Neal, Dana Wynter and Leslie Nielsen are among the special guest suspects (aren't they always?) Filmed late in 1967, Companions in Nightmare was first telecast on November 23, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a Yankee spy begins impersonating a dead man who looks just like him. In doing so he begins a fun-filled life as a jet-setting playboy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi