Ray Danton Movies
Handsome leading man Ray Danton trained for an acting career at Carnegie Tech. In films from 1952, Danton made an excellent impression as a hot-tempered Native American in Chief Crazy Horse (1954), but would not star in a film until Outside the Law (1956). Projecting an image of dangerous unpredictability, he was effectively cast in such roles as sex maniac Stan Hess in The Beat Generation (1959). During Hollywood's gangster cycle of the early '60s, Danton played the title roles in The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) and The George Raft Story (1960). As time went by, he began buoying his villainous characterizations with a wry sense of humor: Explaining his treachery to girlfriend Judi West in the 1965 Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV episode "The Discotheque Affair," Danton smoothly comments, "Darling, I forgot to tell you...I'm a cad." A more pleasant (but no less roguish) Danton was seen as one of the leads of the weekly Warner Bros. TVer The Alaskans (1959-1960). Unhappy at being typecast, Danton turned to directing in 1972 with the theatrical feature The Deathmaster. He later directed episodes of such TV weeklies as Cagney and Lacey, Fame, Quincy, and Dallas, and served a supervising producer of The New Mike Hammer (1984-1987). Ray Danton was married to Julie Adams, with whom he co-starred in Tarawa Beachhead (1958). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1978
During a shootout between the police and escaped murder suspect Billings (Dennis Madalone), Quincy (Jack Klugman) is caught in the crossfire and seriously wounded. As Quincy hovers between life and death in a hospital bed, his boss Dr. Astin (John S. Ragin) and police lieutenant Frank Monahan (Gary Walberg) struggle to solve the case that the medical examiner had been working on--which may ultimately prove that Billings has neither killed nor wounded anyone. Highlighting this unusal episode are several cleverly assembled "Rashomon"-style flashbacks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Flatfoot was also released as The Knock-Out Cop. By any name, this Italian crime meller stars Baldwyn Dakile as Bodo, a tough, no-frills police officer. Determined to bring a gang of drug smugglers to justice, Bodo is ordered to lay off by his superiors. It's not likely that he will obey orders, of this one can be sure. The larger-than-life escapades of the "flatfoot" are made palatable by director Stefano Steno's tongue-in-cheek approach to the material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Quincy (Jack Klugman) is under pressure from an insurance company to determine the time of death of a patient who drowned in a bathtub at the Thalep Clinic, an "alternative" health spa. In the course of his investigation, Quincy uncovers evidence of gross medical negligence--and also butts heads with shifty attorney Walter Kingman (Peter Mark Richman), who specializes in shielding the clinic from negative publicity. Originally scheduled to air on September 30, 1977, this is one of a handful of second-season Quincy,M.E. episodes to be afforded two network rerun showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
After burying his victim in an underground box with a limited air supply, a kidnapper rushes to the location where the ransom is to dropped--only to be killed in a car crash. Racing against time, the police desperately seek out clues as to the victim's whereabouts before his oxygen runs out. Joining the hunt is medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman), who hopes that a discarded piece of apple will provide enough forensic evidence to save a life. This is one of a handful of second-season Quincy, M.E. episodes deemed worthy of two network rerun showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Quincy (Jack Klugman) investigates when Frank Daniels, star football player for the Arroya Junior College Bears, dies after being tackled. The autopsy determines that Frank succumbed to a brain cyst that was suddenly activated during the tackle--and Quincy is worried that the dead man's brother Steve, likewise a football phenom, may also suffer from the same genetic defect. Unfortunately, Steve's father Walter (Eugene Roche) refuses to even consider withdrawing his surviving son from an upcoming championship game...regardless of the potentially tragic consequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Rugged Hollywood movie star Will Preston (Chuck Roberson), a longtime idol of Dr. Quincy (Jack Klugman), is found dead under mysterious circumstances. It might have been murder, and there is no shortage of suspects: prominent among the "possibilities" is a disgruntled stuntman and a pair of suspicious houseboys. Interfering with Lt. Monahan's investigation of the case, Quincy unearths forensic evidence that leads in a most startling direction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Our Man Flint had scored in 1966 as a high-gloss spy movie spoof starring James Coburn as Derek Flint, maverick operative of the Zonal Organization for World Intelligence and Espionage (or Z.O.W.I.E.). When the film spawned its inevitable TV-pilot spin-off, Ray Danton was Derek Flint and the project was shorn of all traces of humor or satire. Danton's Flint is just another well-tailored international gumshoe, assigned in the pilot film to rescue an oil company executive who has been kidnapped by a "liberation" movement in a mythical mideastern sheikdom. Our Man Flint: Dead on Target had so little to do with its source that the film was originally telecast under the pared-down title Dead on Target, with no hint of Flint until one tuned in the program. ABC evidently had no faith at all in the film; it was shunted away to a late-night slot on the network's anthology series Wide World Mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- R
A proud old Southern woman struggles to keep her popular diner afloat in this interesting character study. The little cafe is a popular community meeting place and its closing would create a great hole in the town. Though her devoted daughters assist, their help is not enough. Unfortunately, the woman refuses to ask for outside help. In desperation, the woman decides that she needs herself a "sugar daddy," and so heads for Miami. There she meets all kinds of men, ranging from a mental patient to a wealthy but married Texan. Unfortunately, she cannot raise the money she needs. Somehow, the money is raised at the last moment and her restaurant is finally saved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Bloom, Jana Bellan, (more)
- 1975
A young Indian brave who survived a massacre of his tribe by the U.S. Army, sets out to avenge their deaths and confronts a cavalry scout in the desolation of the desert. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1975
- PG
In this thriller, an innocent man is wrongfully committed to an asylum for the criminally insane. While there he learns how to tap into his psychic powers and to affect the lives of others via astral projection. These skills come in mighty handy after he is released and he heads out for revenge against those who framed him. This movie was originally filmed as The Kirlian Force. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Burke, Jim Hutton, (more)
- 1975
In this light-hearted (and slightly light-headed) episode, Angel (Stuart Margolin) prevails upon Jim (James Garner) to recover some money from gambler Tom "Chicken" Little. When Little turns up dead, Jim finds out that the man was involved in an elaborate swindle, and that the money Angel had been after actually belonged to Mob. The only way Jim can recover the cash and avoid being offed by the Mob himself is to stage a swindle of his own--and that's why the episode ends with a free-for-all at Angel's "funeral." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A psychopathic killer administers a series of death sentences to various pornographic models. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
This meandering, low-budget horror tale explores the vampiric origins of Hannah (Teresa Gimpera), once the wife of Louis VII, who rises from her crypt in the 20th century thanks to the meddling of an archaeologist (Andrew Prine) and his weird son (Mark Damon). Actually, it takes more than an hour for the filmmakers to get around to Hannah's awakening and remarkably brief reign of terror; the interim is wasted with a silly subplot involving a "Wild Man" who dispatches several superstitious villagers to ensure the vampire queen's safety. The film's atmosphere benefits from exotic locations (the film was originally produced in Turkey, then augmented with new footage by U.S. distributors), but the threadbare production values make for tedious viewing. Also known as Hannah, Queen of the Vampires and Vampire Woman. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Several familiar faces dot the cast of the made-for-TV Runaway! The scene is a treacherous mountainside, where several skiers have come to...well, ski. The mountain can only be reached by train-and that train is the "runaway" of the title. Just so no one would miss the point, the film was retitled Runway Train when released theatrically abroad. Ben Johnson, Ben Murphy, Ed Nelson, Darlen Carr, Lee H. Mongomery, Martin Milner, Vera Miles, Ray Danton and Bing Russell (Kurt's dad) are among the rescuers and rescuees. Runaway! first aired September 29, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
A decidedly pre-Naked Gun Leslie Neilsen guest stars in this episode as veteran cop John T. Connor. Upon learning that he has a terminal illness, Connor vows to murder the slick racketeer whom he has been unsuccessfully trying to put behind bars for the past eighteen months. Thus are Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) forced into the uncomfortable position of saving a notorious criminal from one of their own colleagues. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Hildegarde Withers, the schoolteacher/sleuth created by Stuart Palmer, was the central character in a series of RKO "B" films of the 1930s. Television tried to revive Hildegarde in the unsold pilot film A Very Missing Person, starring Eve Arden as a distressingly updated Ms. Withers and James Gregory as long-suffering Inspector Piper. Hildegarde and Piper join forces to ascertain the whereabouts of a runaway girl (Skye Aubrey), whose disappearance is connected with a murder. A Very Missing Person was one of three pilots for the proposed "rotating" series The Great Detectives, wherein the adventures of Hildegarde Withers would alternate with those of Sherlock Holmes and Nick Carter. None of the three components made it any farther than the pilot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
A charismatic long-haired vampire finds himself becoming a guru for a gang of Southern California flower children in this hippie-dippy horror movie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
After spending some time in prison, a love-lorn country singer finds some heaven-sent help that turns his life around. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1971
Banyon is an A-number-one detective yarn set (very accurately) in the 1930s. Robert Forster, emulating John Garfield in virtually every scene, plays private eye Miles C. Banyon. Right now he's in dutch because a beautiful young woman has been found murdered--and Banyon's gun was the murder weapon. This state of affairs plunges the detective into a maelstrom of deceit and double-cross involving (among many elements) a Winchell-style radio commentator (Jose Ferrer), a paroled big-time gangster, a scar-faced assassin, and a Nazi Bund camp. Once he solves the main mystery, Banyon is faced with the unhappy Maltese Falcon task of exposing a close friend as a murderer. First telecast March 15, 1971, Banyon spawned a brief TV series one year later, with Robert Forster still in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Forster, Darren McGavin, (more)
In this drama, a bisexual teacher has an identity crises after he begins working at a private girls' school. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Suzanne Pleshette guest stars as Temple Alexander, a beautiful con artist who has targetted wealthy winery owner Harlan Franciscus (Gene Raymond) as her latest patsy. While romancing Harlan in preparation of fleecing him, Temple ends up genuinely falling in love with the man. This proves problematic when two of Temple's former accomplices catch up with her--and one of them plans to get even for an earlier double-cross. Cast as Franciscus' ill-mannered son is Larry Linville of M*A*S*H fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Judith Coleman (Victoria Shaw), recently widowed friend of Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr), is being plagued by weird phone calls, strange disembodied voices, and mysterious "accidents". Can it be that Judith has been driven insane by her husband's death? Ironside doesn't think so; he is convinced that someone is trying to drive the woman crazy--but who, and why? This episode boasts a particularly strong supporting cast of reliable "heavies" and eccentric character players. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- R
As Brazilian saboteurs attempt to take over a rich industrialist's ore mines, mercenary Ray Danton arms the miners to stop the saboteurs. ~ All Movie Guide
