Wings Hauser Movies
The years of struggle and near-starvation for actor Wings Hauser began paying off when, in 1977, he was cast as Greg Foster on the daytime drama The Young and the Restless. Fans of the series may remember that, at the time, the actor billed himself as J.D. Hauser. In the 1982 movie melodrama Vice Squad, Hauser forever sealed his cinematic future by playing the most scurrilous, hate-inducing bad guy this side of Richard Widmark. While he'd occasionally show up in a sympathetic role, Hauser spent most of his time "down and dirty" in "B" actioners and direct-to-video flicks. A much pleasanter chap in his TV appearances, Hauser has been seen on two TV sitcoms, 1986's The Last Precinct (as Lt. Hobbs) and the long-running Roseanne (as the Conners' off-and-on next-door neighbor). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1967
In this WW II drama, a tough-as-steel Medal of Honor-winning Marine finds himself training recruits on a stateside base and waiting for his wife to bear their first child. Unfortunately, he feels bad about being home when so many other soldiers are dying in the Pacific Theater and so asks to be sent there. He becomes an officer and is assigned to command a regiment on the front line. Unfortunately, once there, he finds himself nearly paralyzed by fear and indecision until a much tougher sergeant reminds him what he is really made of. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chad Everett, Marilyn Devin, (more)
- 1976
In search of a courier for stolen diamonds, undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) boards a cross-country bus. The problem: Baretta has no idea what the courier looks like. A bigger problem: The bus is being closely followed by the mastermind of the diamond heist, who intends to exact a horrible revenge from his double-crossing henchmen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Edward Grover, (more)
- 1977
Ostensibly a six-hour miniseries adaptation of Bert Hirschfield's novel Aspen, the program actually used only the title of the Hirschfield work; the plot proper was lifted from another novel by a different author, Bart Spicer's The Adversary. Set in the titular Colorado ski resort in the 1960s, the story line incorporated equal amounts of sex, greed, ambition, and murder, with the trial of accused rapist-killer Lee Bishop (Perry King) at the center of the storm, and the efforts by a gangster to grab up the local land, coupled with the amorous misadventures of a jet-setting glamour girl, taking up the slack whenever the plot threatened to lag. Despite a huge and varied cast, Sam Elliott emerged as the star of the proceedings in the role of straight-arrow attorney Tom Keating. Originally shown by the NBC network from November 5 to 7, 1977, Aspen was rebroadcast under the more lurid title The Innocent and the Damned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Elliott, Perry King, (more)
Thoroughly disillusioned by the Vietnam War, John, a journalist (Michael Moriarty), turns to heroin smuggling. Acting as John's go-between is the equally burnt-out Ray (Nick Nolte), who delivers the narcotics stateside to the journalist's wife, Marge (Tuesday Weld). Soon, however, Ray and Marge are on the lam, chased down by the minions of crooked narcotics agent Antheil (Anthony Zerbe). Who'll Stop the Rain? was based on Robert Stone's award-winning novel Dog Soldiers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld, (more)
- 1981
Frustrated by the lack of progress and apparent indifference of the authorities, Magnum (Tom Selleck) conducts his own investigation of the murder of his friend, a former surfing champ. While the leading suspects are a troubled Vietnam veteran (Wings Hauser) and a notorious (and notoriously elusive) drug pusher, Magnum comes to the conclusion that a third party is the true culprit. Appearing as Sgt. Jordan is Vic Morrow, onetime star of the popular TV war drama Combat, which also featured Magnum, P.I.'s casting director Jack Hogan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Michael Morgan stars as a teen obsessed with losing his virginity, and who gets his wish with Joan Collins, the mother of one of his best friends. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, Michael Morgan, (more)
When pimp Ramrod (Wings Hauser) is wanted by the police for murder, an undercover detective, Tom Walsh (Gary Swanson), enlists the aid of prostitute Princess (Season Hubley), a loving mother struggling to support her kid, to help capture the fiend. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Season Hubley, Gary Swanson, (more)
- 1982
A drug-running biker gang is the target of a San Francisco police detective who was rendered deaf by the gang. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1983
In a rare television appearance, Dorothy McGuire plays a farm widow who has been impoverished by the siphoning of her water supply. A nearby big-city aqueduct has priority over water rights, leaving the rural outskirts virtually dry. Attempting to bring her cause to the forefront, McGuire dynamites the reservoir, half-hoping that she'll be "martyred" in the process. When she fails to arouse public support, she targets the local power plant for her next blast (Don't look for this film to be rebroadcast in the light of more recent bombing tragedies). Assistant DA Victoria Racimo, who as an orphaned Indian girl had been virtually raised by McGuire, decides to challenge the water-department bureaucracy on McGuire's behalf. Filmed on location in Utah, Ghost Dancing was a winner of the ABC Theatre Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Ted Kotcheff continues his First Blood fervor with Uncommon Valor. Gene Hackman stars as Cal Rhodes, a former Marine Colonel who has been getting the run-around for ten years from the government concerning the disappearance of his son and his buddies - all Marines who enlisted years prior and served in Vietnam. Rhodes' son was last seen in Laos, where he was fighting in the war and captured as a POW. When word gets back to Rhodes that the men may still be alive and held in prison camps, but the government still has the men listed as missing in action, Rhodes decides to take matters into his own hands. Contacting an old friend, oil baron MacGregor (Robert Stack), Rhodes is granted financial backing to form his own incursion force. He assembles a crack team of men, puts them through an intensive period of training. and heads back with them into the Laotian jungles to search for the MIAs. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Robert Stack, (more)
- 1983
- R
After being kicked off the force, Stoney Cooper (Wings Hauser) turns private detective for special cases; one involves tracking down a serial killer noted for carving X's into the forehead of each woman he kills. While Cooper is on the case, he's harassed by an old job partner (Lincoln Kilpatrick) and his ex-wife (Joyce Ingalls). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wings Hauser, Joyce Ingalls, (more)
A muscular pair of Yankee brothers visit a backwater Georgia town and end up involved with rednecked mutant zombies. The campy horror begins when brother Mike suddenly disappears. Puzzled brother Josh, with the help of Sheriff Will Stewart and schoolmarm Holly begin a desperate search. Unfortunately more trouble ensues when they find that toxic waste has transformed their normally peaceable neighbors into scary monsters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins, (more)
- 1984
A fashion designer vows revenge on the man responsible for ruining her brother's reputation over 14 years ago. (AKA Sweet Revenge) ~ All Movie Guide
Inspired by the Herman Melville novel Billy Budd, writer Charles Fuller created the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Soldier's Play, which he then adapted into this film drama in 1984, for socially conscious, liberal director Norman Jewison. In the racially-divided 1940s, Fort Neal, Louisiana, is a military base where black soldiers are sent not to fight in WWII but to play baseball against other armed forces teams. The murder of a black sergeant, Waters (Adolph Caesar) brings an investigator, Captain Davenport (Howard E. Rollins, Jr.) to the base. Davenport, the first black officer that most of the men have ever met, suspects that a pair of white men were responsible for Waters' death, but his probe reveals that nearly everyone, regardless of skin color, had ample reason to kill the loathsome but pitiable Waters. The cast of A Soldier's Story features early supporting performances from several African-American actors who would go on to greater prominence, including Denzel Washington, David Alan Grier, and Robert Townsend. The film was nominated for three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Caesar) and Best Adapted Screenplay. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Adolph Caesar, (more)
- 1984
The made-for-TV Code of Honor covers a time span of over a dozen years. Merritt Butrick plays Captain Paul Dennison, whose career-and life-is unfairly snuffed out by fellow officer Joseph Cheever (Kevin Dobson). Fourteen years later, Cheever, now a highly decorated and universally respected major, comes face to face with Dennison's revenge-seeking sister (Kelly McGillis). Failing to recognize the girl, Cheever tries to make love to her--a fatal mistake. Code of Honor was originally telecast October 31, 1984 under the title Sweet Revenge; its production title was For the Love of a Soldier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Dobson, Kelly McGillis, (more)
- 1984
Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) butt heads with Jimmy Jo Walker (Wings Hauser), a sadistic bounty hunter who has a bad habit of beating criminals to death before hauling them in. Walker's latest target is a murder suspect which Hunter has been pursuing--and when it becomes obvious that the police detective is crimping his style, the brutal bounty hunter adds McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) to his list of potential victims. Needless to say, this situation will not be resolved with a calm, level-headed discussion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Hannibal (George Peppard) is reunited with his old flame Dana (played by Toni Hudson, real-life wife of A-Team costar Toni Hudson), who is the mother of race-car driver Kid Harmon (Ken Clandt). Naturally, Harmon is in dire need of assistant from Hannibal and the rest of the A-Team; one of his racetrack rivals, Kyle Ludwig (Wings Hauser), is the nephew of a vicious gangster, and as such will resort to any means necessary to win an upcoming race. In his efforts to thwart Ludwig, Hannibal becomes a hero to Dana's son--which arouses the jealousy of Dana's current husband Jack (Stuart Whitman), whose anger nearly scuttles the Team's mission. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Ann Blyth guest stars as Franchesca Lodge, an old friend of mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). Recently married to a much-younger man named Scott (Stacey Nelkin), Franchesca has been terrorized of late by what seems to be the ghost of her first husband. Since Franchesca has had a history of mental problems and profound lapses of memory, the authorities doubt her "haunting" story--and when her second husband is murdered, those same authorities jump to the conclusion that Franchesca has gone completely insane and committed murder. Jessica of course refuses to believe this, and thus does the sleuthing commence! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The made-for-TV The Long Hot Summer was based on the 1958 theatrical film of the same name-which, in turn, was based on two William Faulkner short stories. Don Johnson plays Ben Quick, a Southern drifter who is under suspicion as a "barn burner." Ben secures a job at the Mississippi mansion of town-boss Will Varner (Jason Robards). Varner's daughter Noel (Judith Ivey) and daughter-in-law Eula (Cybill Shepherd) vie for the handsome Ben's attention, while the patriarch's weakling son Jody (William Russ) seethes. When a few local barns are burned, Ben is the primary suspect-and no one is more suspicious than Noel. A murder trial and lynch mob both figure into the second half of the two-part The Long Hot Summer; the film originally aired October 6 and 7, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
- 1985
In order to bring loan shark Jack "The Ripper" Lane (Wings Hauser) out in the open, the A-Team opens its own Irish pub, The Naked Lady. Disguised as pub owner Sean O'Shay, Hannibal (George Peppard) is apparently killed on orders from Lane, but it's actually a clever ploy to get inside the head villain's mansion (who'd suspect a corpse in a coffin?). Featured as the traditionally imperiled heroine is a pre-Northern Exposure Janine Turner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In this action movie an investigative journalist joins a survivalist camp and finds himself in danger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
- Add Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling to QueueAdd Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling to top of Queue
Popular African-American comedian Jo Jo Dancer is severely burned while free-basing cocaine. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. While hovering between life and death, Dancer flashes back to his childhood, when he grew up in a brothel. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. Dancer decides to become a comic, but has a great many difficulties rising to stardom until he begins making scatological comments about race relations. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. As he rises to fame, Jo Jo has problems controlling his drug addiction and womanizing. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists.....Well, you've caught on by now. If one were able to excise the excruciatingly boring "introspection" scene, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling would stand as an excellent testimonial to Richard Pryor's cutting-edge comic brilliance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Debbie Allen, (more)
- 1986
Street gang member Jeff (Adam Baldwin) leaves the organization, seeking out a quieter existence. Meanwhile, gang leader Cinco (Danny De La Paz) and his minions have taken over the local high school, dispensing drugs with impunity. When Cinco is arrested, a rumor spreads that he's been sold out by Jeff. In the ensuing hostilities, Jeff's girlfriend (Deborah Foreman) is beaten and bloodied. A showdown is inevitable, and, per the film's title, it takes place just after the last school bell has rung. Filmed in 1984, 3:15 - The Moment of Truth wasn't released until 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Baldwin, Deborah Foreman, (more)
- 1986
In this pilot film for the short-lived satirical TV series The Last Precinct, a group of misfit police-academy rejects are given one final opportunity to distinguish themselves in the field of law enforcement when they are assigned to the LA's seediest and most woebegone precinct, the 56th. Under the diligent but ineffectual leadership of Captain Rob Wright (Adam West), these losers-in-blue immediately ingratiated themselves to their higher-ups by stealing a sheriff's drug-sniffing dog, which leads them to the headquarters of a drug ring--and possible redemption if they can make an arrest without killing themselves in the process. Inasmuch as Stephen J. Cannell was the prime instigator of The Last Precinct, NBC had such high hopes for the property that the network scheduled its two-hour premiere on January 26, 1986, right after the Super Bowl telecast. But to no avail: Though picked up as a weekly series, The Last Precinct was mustered out after only six episodes. ~Saw Film/Marsh/Marrill/TV Guide/Internet/Expert ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
