Mike Farrell Movies

Kirby (Jack Hogan) begins to question his priorities when he risks life and limb to make certain that a deadbeat soldier pays off a poker debt of several hundred dollars. The situation worsens when it becomes obvious that Kirby's debtor is willing to let his "buddies" die so that he can stay alive. Featured in the cast is future M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell, presciently cast as an Army doctor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This sci-fi drama is set aboard a nearly derelict spaceship about to fail. With little remaining supplies and little oxygen, only a few of the crew will survive to make it back to Earth, leaving them to decide which of them must die. The film is also known as The Doomsday Machine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Together with Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and John Singleton's Boyz 'n the Hood, director Peter Bogdanovich's Targets is among the most impressive first features ever made. When Bogdanovich's cinematic mentor Roger Corman suggested that Bogdanovich might want to make his directorial debut, he offered to "donate" 20 minutes worth of footage of the Corman-directed The Terror and the services of Boris Karloff, who owed Corman two days' worth of work (at a cost of $22,000). Karloff became so caught up in the 29-year-old Bogdanovich's enthusiasm that he agreed to work an additional two days at a bare-minimum salary.

The script, by Bogdanovich and his then-wife, Polly Platt, was inspired by the 1966 shooting spree of Texas Tower sniper Charles Whitman. Karloff, as Byron Orlock, more or less plays himself: an aging horror star, consigned to low-budget drive-in fare. Unlike the workaholic Karloff, Orlock wants to retire from films, noting that his movies seem inconsequential in light of the real-life horrors occurring every day. As Bogdanovich, playing young-and-hungry director Sammy Michaels, desperately tries to convince Orlock to star in just one more picture, the film's attentions shift to Vietnam veteran Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly). An otherwise amiable, normal-looking lad, Bobby seems to harbor an inordinate fascination with guns, particularly high-powered rifles. One bright and sunny morning, Bobby suddenly and unexpectedly shoots and kills his wife, his mother, and an unlucky delivery boy. He leaves behind a note confessing to these crimes, noting that, while he fully expects to be captured, many more will die before the day is over. From this point onward, the film switches from Bobby's day-long bloodbath (from the vantage point of an oil storage tank, calmly picking off passing freeway motorists) to Orlock's grumbling preparations to make a personal appearance at a local drive-in movie.

Inevitably, Bobby also shows up at the drive-in, hiding himself behind the huge screen and shooting down the patrons as they sit complacently in their cars, watching the latest Byron Orlock film (actually The Terror, in which Karloff also starred). Once the reality of the situation sets in, panic ensues, leading to the ultimate confrontation between the escaping Bobby and the bewildered Orlock. ("Is this what I was afraid of?" Orlock ruefully exclaims as Bobby cowers at his feet.) The tension never lets up throughout Targets' jam-packed 90 minutes. The film was virtually thrown away by its distributor, Paramount Pictures, which was uncertain about packaging a film about a sniper in the wake of the King and Kennedy assassinations. Only when it was reissued to college campuses and film societies did Targets begin building up its much-deserved reputation. Though Targets was not, technically, Boris Karloff's last film, it serves as a worthy valedictory for this cinematic giant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Destiny of a Woman is comprised of vignettes from the Man and the City TV series, which ran for 13 weeks in the fall of 1971. Anthony Quinn plays Thomas Jefferson Alcala, the Mexican-American mayor of a large southwestern city (possibly Albuquerque). The bulk of Destiny of a Woman concerns a disturbed woman (Lois Nettelton) who kidnaps a baby. When an extortionist complicates the rescue, Alcala steps in. This "TV movie" made the network and syndication rounds long after Man and the City bit the desert dust. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Circuitously commenting upon the drug culture of the 1970s, this Bonanza episode probes the dangers of the onetime "wonder drug" morphine. Future MASH regular Mike Farrell is cast as Dr. Will Agar, who is revealed to be a morphine addict after he inadvertently causes the death of a young patient during routine surgery. Also in the cast are Gary Busey as Dr. Agar's hapless victim Henry Johnson, David Huddleston as Henry's father, Melissa Murphy as Agar's wife Nancy, and Mons Kjellin (the son of director Alf Kjellen) as Agar's son Chris. Written by Stanley Roberts and Jack B. Sowards, "The Hidden Enemy" first aired on November 28, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Louise Sorel plays a mild-mannered young woman saddled with a cruel and overbearing husband (John Vernon). Her slow, methodical solution to the problem is anything but mild. In hopes of permanently eliminating her domestic irritation, the harried Ms. Sorel creates far deeper problems for herself than she'd ever imagined. Don Stroud and a pre-MASH Mike Farrell costar in this taped suspenser. Nightmare Step was originally telecast on the late-night network anthology ABC Wide World Mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this murder mystery, a young model saw the crime, but is unable to get the authorities to believe her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The science of "cryogenics" forms the basis of the made-for-TV Live Again, Die Again. Donna Mills plays a young woman who dies of rheumatic fever. At her deathbed request, Mills' body is frozen, in hopes of reviving her in the future. Thirty years later, Mills awakens, returning to the not-so-open arms of her doddering husband (Walter Pidgeon), her spiteful daughter (Vera Miles) and her mixed-up son (Mike Farrell). No, this was not produced by Walt Disney Studios. Adapted by Joseph Stefano from a novel by David Sale, Live Again, Die Again first aired February 16, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Everybody knew that Maclean Stevenson would not return to M*A*S*H when the series inaugurated its fourth season in the fall of 1975; after all, Stevenson's character, Col. Henry Blake, had been abruptly killed off at the end of season three, so any sort of return was out of the question. It did, however, come as something of a surprise to the series' loyal viewers that another of the leading characters, irreverent surgeon Trapper John, was also missing from the fourth season roster. The reason? Actor Wayne Rogers, who'd played Trapper since the series' debut in 1972, had ankled the project in the middle of a contract dispute; he was tired of playing second fiddle to costar Alan Alda (aka Hawkeye Pierce), and wanted to spread his wings with a series of his own. Thus, season four opened with the first of M*A*S*H's one-hour "special" episodes, the better to establish the character of Trapper John's assistant, Capt. B.J. Hunnicut (Mike Farrell. More clean-cut and level-headed that the Rabelaisian Trapper, B.J. nonetheless proved to be every bit as capricious and irreverent as his predecessor, especially when cooking up schemes to embarrass the gimlet-eyed, humorless Frank Burns (Larry Linville and the chronically thin-skinned Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) As for Col. Blake's replacement, the series' producers decided not to emulate the youngish, laid-back Maclean Stevenson, and instead went with an older, more "Regular Army" character. Harry Morgan, who'd appeared as a guest star during M*A*S*H's third season, was added to the cast as crusty but lovable Colonel Henry Potter, an old Cavalry man who managed to maintain the dignity of the Service and the decorum of the O.R. without ever sacrificing his humanity or sense of humor. Potter also proved to be a "good fit" insofar as company clerk Radar O'Reilly was concerned. Without ever consciously or blatantly doing so, Potter and Radar fell into a warm father-son relationship, which would make Radar's inevitable exit from the series five seasons later all the more poignant. Another development within the M*A*S*H family was the ascention of actor Jamie Farr to full "series regular" status. Introduced as an intended one-shot during season one, Farr's character, cross-dressing Corporal Max Klinger (who of course donned women's clothing in hopes of being discharged from the Army on a Section 8) proved popular enough to warrant additional "guest" appearances, and by the time the 1974-75 season had rolled around, Farr was being billed at the beginning of each episode, rather than merely among the "featured" cast in the closing credits. The "look" of M*A*S*H continued to deepen and mellow during season four, with the "zany" and "serious" aspects achieving a more even balance, thereby lessening the need for that intrusive recorded laughtrack that CBS insisted upon (though the track would not disappear altogether for several seasons to come). This was also the year that the series briefly digressed from its standard format to offer a half-hour "documentary" episode, in which the staff of the 4077th were interviewed by a TV war correspondent (Clete Roberts). Shot in black-and-white, this episode closed out the series' fourth season in the spring of 1976. By that time, M*A*S*H had won the fifth of its Emmy awards, the prize going to Stanford Tischler and Fred W. Berger, who had written the 60-minute opener "Welcome to Korea". Unfortunately, though the series was still popular, it has slipped from fifth to 14th place in the overall ratings, thanks to CBS' misguided decision to move the series from Tuesday to Friday evenings opposite the NBC ratings-grabber Chico and the Man. At least CBS acknowledged its error early on; in December of 1975, M*A*S*H was shifted back to Tuesdays, where it would remain a fixture for the next two years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season six of M*A*S*H was noteworthy for yet another defection from its regular-cast ranks. Long dissatisfied with the artistic limitations of the role of obnoxious Major Frank Burns, actor Larry Linville followed the lead of his former M*A*S*H colleagues Wayne Rogers and Maclean Stevenson by leaving the series to pursue new projects. It was explained in the sixth season opener that Frank Burns had gone AWOL in reaction to marriage of his longtime paramour Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) to the dashing (but seldom-seen) Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott, and had been transferred to a stateside hospital. The series' producers were anxious to replace Frank Burns with a character who would remain an antagonist to the nominal "heroes," irreverent Army surgeons Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and B.J. (Mike Farrell). At the same time, it was acknowledged that the series' writers had painted themselves into a creative corner by depicting Burns as stupid and incompetent. His replacement would have to be an eminently qualified and undeniably brilliant surgeon, while at the same time boasting a prickly personality that would drive Hawk and BJ up a wall--and vice versa. Thus was born the character of Major Charles Emerson Winchester II (played by David Ogden Stiers), an aristocratic Boston Brahmin of vast knowledge and expertise, whose surgical skill approached genius, and whose arrogance and disdain for his colleagues would provide an amusing contrast to the casual, carefree slovenliness of the 4077th. Also avoiding the series' previous scripting boondoggle of making Frank Burns thoroughly unlovable, it was established early on that Charles Winchester had his compassionate, humane and even warm moments, despite his haughty, overbearing demeanor. Still in its winning Tuesday-night timeslot, M*A*S*H continued to rank highly in the ratings, though it would slip from fourth to eighth place during its sixth season. Also, this would be the first year since 1973 that M*A*S*H would not win at least one Emmy award, though it was honored with eight nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Now in its seventh season on the air, the irreverent military comedy series M*A*S*H continued to roll along like a well-oiled machine. The most significant change during season six, the introduction of the insufferable but brilliant surgeon Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester (David Ogden Stiers), had registered quite well with viewers and fellow cast members alike. Less successful had been the scripting decision of marrying off the 4077th's head nurse Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit) (who out of respect for changing attitudes toward gender stereotyping no longer bore the demeaning nickname "Hot Lips") to the handsome Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott, especially since viewers seldom saw Margaret's elusive husband. Thus, Penobscott was written out of the show via a quickie divorce at the end of the 1978-79 season. The season itself was distinguished by a number of memorable episodes, as well as a welcome revival of a "gimmick" that had registered well during season four: A "documentary"-style installment, filmed in black-and-white in the manner of a 1950s documentary, wherein TV correspondent Clete Roberts interviewed the men and women of the 4077th. This episode, "Our Finest Hour", was expanded to a full hour, the better to accommodate "flashback" excerpts featuring such long-departed M*A*S*H regulars as Wayne Rogers, Maclean Stevenson and Larry Linville. In another, even more ambitious "gimmick" episode, "Point of View," the action was seen entirely through the eyes of a seriously wounded GI. It was also during this season that reruns of M*A*S*H were telecast on CBS' daytime lineup. The following year, the series would enter local syndication, where it continued to run until well into the 21st century. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frank is Frank Miller (Art Carney), a 65 year old newspaper man. His letters are to his oldest son Richard (Mike Farrell), and they're decidedly on the vitriolic side. Frank, you see, was involuntarily retired from his job and replaced by a computer. But with the help and support of his wife Betty (Maureen Stapleton), Frank bucks the system and comes out on top. The script of the made-for-TV Letters from Frank was flexible enough to allow for a wide range of ages in the supporting cast, from seventysomething veterans Margaret Hamilton and Lew Ayres to 19-year-old relative newcomer Michael J. Fox (billed ninth, without the "J"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As a result of Klinger's Thanksgiving dinner, the 4077th is laid low with food poisoning. The only healthy staffers are Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and B.J. (Mike Farrell), who volunteer to pick up some much-needed antibiotics. On their way back to camp, the two doctors become hopelessly lost in what appears to be enemy territory--and find themselves face to face with an oddball from "the other side." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide