Howard Berk Movies

Arthur Penn takes a crack at subverting the espionage film genre in Target. Walter Lloyd (Gene Hackman) is a quiet and unassuming lumberyard owner in Dallas, Texas. Chris (Matt Dillon) has dropped out of college to pursue a career as a race car driver. But all mundane tasks come to an end when Walter's wife Donna (Gayle Hunnicutt) is kidnapped while on a European trip. Walter flies to Paris with Chris to see what can be done. Once in Europe, Chris is shocked to discover that his dad was once a top CIA agent. Together, the two visit all of Walter's old CIA contacts in an effort to locate Donna. Finally, Walter discovers that Donna has been kidnapped by a rogue spy seeking revenge for an incident that happened eighteen years earlier. Now Walter must apply his old and vicious CIA tricks to save his wife from an old and vicious CIA operative. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The made-for-TV Advice to the Lovelorn stars Cloris Leachman as a "Dear Abby" type newspaper advice columnist. Walter Brooke costars as her editor, who discourages her efforts to follow up her advice in person. But follow she does, trying to untangle the problems of guest stars Melissa Sue Anderson, Lance Kerwin, Desi Arnaz Jr. and Donna Pescow. She even finds time for a romantic episode with special guest star Paul Burke. Intended as the pilot for a weekly series, the 2-hour Advice to the Lovelorn was telecast November 30, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though there's no love lost between Jim Rockford (James Garner) and fellow ex-con Moss Williams (Eddie Fontaine), Jim agrees to help Moss locate his missing girlfriend Maria Heller (Mary Frann). What Williams doesn't tell Jim is that he isn't interested in Maria but in the girl's pearl necklace--and that Edgar Burch (M. Emmet Walsh) the "insurance agent" who talked Jim into taking the case, is a phony. Stuart Margolin makes his first series appearance as Jim Rockford's troublesome former cellmate Angel Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Once again, the IMF agents must break the bank of a popular casino to bring down a master criminal. In this case, the villain is Syndicate chieftan Orin Kerr (Orin Kerr), who controls not only the casino but the entire resort town where it is located. The IMF's mission is twofold: Hit both the casino's gaming tables and its vault simultaneously. Originally broadcast on February 19, 1972, "Casino" was written by Walter Brough and Howard Berk. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

William Windom makes a return visit to Mission: Impossible, again in a villainous characterization. This time, Windom is cast as Stu Gorman, a music-industry executive fronting for the Syndicate. To get the goods on Gorman, IMF agents Barney and Casey pose as blues singers--with Casey taking her part of the charade to dangerous extremes. This episode is highlighted by Greg Morris' rendition of "Judy's Gone Now", a song specially written for the series by Morris and Benny Golson. Scripted by Howard Berk and Orville H. Hampton from a story by Berk, "Blues" first aired on November 20, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Gregor Kamirov (Malachi Throne) has hired a double to pose as deceased East European premier Pavel Zagov. Having concealed Zagov's death from the public, Kamirov hopes to use the phony premier to install himself as dictator. In order to foil Kamirov's plans, Phelps must substitute a robot for the fraudulent Zagov. In the course of the action, Phelps impersonates a nightclub entertainer, while Paris adopts a dizzying array of master disguises. The supporting cast includes Lee Meriwether in her third appearance as IMF agent Tracey, and future MASH costar Larry Linville as Alexi Silensky. First telecast on November 23, 1969, "The Robot" was written by Howard Berk. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

During the twilight of World War II, American forces battle their German counterparts to find a noted Austrian atomic scientist who is marked for death. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Guy Madison has a high old time as a would-be feudal baron in the Wild West. No one is willing to stand up to Madison and his henchmen-no one, that is, except mild-mannered inventor Tom Bosley. It seems that Bosley has welded together a robot gunslinger, whom he calls "The Bang Bang Kid". Only trouble is, the "Kid" breaks down at the darnedest times. The film goes off in too many directions, but generally delivers the goods laugh-wise. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi