Mike Lane Movies
Character actor, onscreen from the '50s. ~ All Movie Guide- 1993
- PG13
The search for Ali Baba's fabulous lost treasure provides the framework for this adventure. The seekers are a notorious arms smuggler and beautiful woman who endure many dangers in pursuit of their desired goal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Somewhere amid the filmmakers' attempts to disorient the viewers of this film with the old movie-within-a-movie trick, it would seem they also got themselves completely lost in the process. The story opens with a false start, depicting an elderly woman being stalked by a faceless maniac (actually a scene from a retired special-effects artist's demo reel). The "real" story begins as the man's daughter (horror's head-spinning sweetheart Linda Blair) is waylaid by a band of hooligans en route to her dad's mountain cabin. This incurs the wrath of Blair's mutant brother, who lives in a hidden compartment within the cabin. As if that weren't enough, even more monsters from Blair's gnarled family tree show up for a lightning bonus round -- including Tab Hunter as a homicidal plastic surgeon. All is revealed (sort of) as yet another movie-within-a-movie, clear evidence of a writer in way over his head. Cable TV prints actually contained an additional twist ending, apparently for no reason whatsoever. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Blair, Tab Hunter, (more)
This lifeless action feature finds mafia hitman Carmine Longo (Mike Lane) seeking vengeance against the Zebra Force led by Cougar (Timmy Brown). Frank Barnes (Jim Mitchum) joins the group when his Zebra Force buddy is killed. Lindsey Crosby (son of Bing) plays a police sergeant, and Frank Sinatra, Jr. appears briefly as the mob lawyer Kozlo. Only those interested in the offspring of aging or dead performers could find anything of interest in this film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Mitchum, Mike Lane, (more)
- 1983
- R
Set in a future time after a nuclear holocaust, survivors battle each other over water, a key to both power and life in this low-budget, damp version of a Mad Max world. Stryker (Steve Sandor) joins forces with Delha (Andrea Savio) when she makes a decision to share her colony's fresh water supply with the neighboring settlements. Stryker's decision to throw in with Delha leads to some chug-along car chases, as his arch-nemesis Kardis (Michael Lane) has opposite views on the use of water. A smattering of beautiful women in a minimum of clothing, a tribe of lovable dwarfs, and a few requisite battle scenes fill in the time between chases. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Sander, Andrea Savio, (more)
- 1976
- PG
In this post Vietnam War actioner, a group of veterans, former members of a crack guerrilla team, decide to reteam and use their specialized skills to fight organized crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
After the success of his three Billy Jack films, actor, director, and screenwriter Tom Laughlin decided to expand his range a bit with this Western, which was adapted from Goyokin, a popular Japanese samurai film. However, since Finley (Laughlin's character here) is trained in martial arts and often defends himself (and others) by violence, while frequently espousing a nonviolent philosophy, it could be said that this wasn't much of a stretch for the once and future Billy Jack. Don Santiago (Richard Angarola) is a vicious man who helps provoke an Indian massacre that will allow him to steal the Indians' land and claim it as his own. However, his son-in-law, Finley (Tom Laughlin), is an expert hand with both guns and swords and will not allow him to push around the peace-loving Indians or fellow settlers of the West. The supporting cast features Ron O'Neal and Barbara Carrera, who received a Golden Globe nomination for her work in this film. As with his first two films, Tom Laughlin directed The Master Gunfighter but didn't take screen credit, in this case listing the director as Frank Laughlin, who happened to be Tom's son. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Laughlin, Ron O'Neal, (more)
- 1973
Season Three of Emergency begins as the emergency ward of Rampart Hospital is filled to overflowing with the victims of a bloody motorcycle-gang rumble (among the cyclists is singer Ron Townson of The 5th Dimension). Meanwhile, paramedic John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) desperately tries to call in an injury report, only to be stopped in his tracks as another paramedic unit monopolizes the same radio frequency--and the delay turns out to be fatal. Elsewhere, an artist is trapped in his own sculpture; and a child turns up drunk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), Ironside (Raymond Burr) works in concert with attorney Ken Klaven (Cameron Mitchell) to secure the release of Walter Booth (William Campbell), whom the Chief had sent to prison on a manslaughter charge seven years before. Though now convinced of Booth's innocence, Ironside encounters a great deal of trouble persuading the DA's office. The Chief's only hope is to force a young woman to come forward with testimony she'd withheld during the original trial--but there are mysterious forces who are determined to silence both Ironside and his witness for keeps! Prominent in the supporting cast is Geraldine Brooks, who had played the sniper responsible for the Chief's confinement to a wheelchair in the original 1967 Ironside pilot film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
In the first half of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), Ironside (Raymond Burr) begins to question his judgment in a manslaughter case which occurred seven years ago. At the time, the Chief rammed through the conviction of chief suspect Walter Booth (William Campbell). Now armed with new evidence, Ironside works hand and glove with Booth's attorney Ken Klaven (Cameron Mitchell) to secure the man's release--despite the formidable opposition of the DA's office, which is determined to keep Booth behind bars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
In still another virtuoso Mission:Impossible guest appearance, Anthony Zerbe is cast as heroin supplier Reese Dolan. It is up to the IMF to locate Dolan's source of raw opium, and to put him out of business permanently. Step Number One: The IMF agents must convert a tiny speck of land off the Georgia coastline into the African island where Dolan plans to set up shop. First broadcast on December 18, 1971, "The Connection" was scripted by Edward J. Lasko andKen Pettus, from a story by Lasko. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1970
- R
A mid-life crisis takes a strange turn in this horror movie. The terror begins when a city couple decide to escape the hub-bub and crime and start new lives in the husband's great-grandfather's mansion located in the isolated North Woods. They are not there long before the wife finds herself tempted by a dashing ghost. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
The aristocratic Deverall family engages the services of Paladin (Richard Boone) to save the life of wealthy, arrogant young Pierre Deverall (Ed Nelson). Although he has been accused of murder and sentenced to hang, Deverall is smugly certain that his "good name" will prevent his execution. But Paladin doubts this, especially considering Deverall's very close association with a notorious outlaw (or group of outlaws) known as The Black Handkerchief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In dire need of money after being robbed, Bart (Jack Kelly) hires on as boss of a cattle drive. His employer is Abigail Allen (Patricia Breslin), a wide-eyed, seemingly helpless blonde. It is only after two of the drovers die within the first two days of the drive that Bart realizes he's been hoodwinked--and that Abigail is nothing more nor less than a scam artist. Watch for a young Robert Conrad, just before Warner Bros. elevated him to stardom on TV's Hawaiian Eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
This is one of the more off-beat entries into the Frankenstein sub-genre, in that it features the original Creature, Boris Karloff (who really hams it up) playing the disfigured grandson of the famed mad baron in a style that combines gothic horror with the awe and fear created by the newly dawned atomic age. The story begins in the title year and finds Victor the III living in the ancestral castle and strapped for the cash he needs to resurrect his grandfather's experiments. He needs a fortune because this time he wants to use atomic power to bring the monster to life. To scare up the needed cash, he lets a television crew come to his famous digs to shoot a show. He ends up getting a lot more than money from the cast and crew and eventually he succeeds in creating a brand-new Creature. Unfortunately, the monster proves to be as volatile as his predecessors, and tragedy for both master and creature ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Tom Duggan, (more)
- 1957
In this western, a sheriff attempts to exact his revenge against the desperadoes who cost him his job. The former lawman successfully gets rid of the bad hombres and clears his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. makes the first of several guest appearances as Dandy Jim Buckley, a gentleman gambler best described as "Bret Maverick without scruples." After they're both tossed off a riverboat, Jim and Bret (James Garner) head to Deadwood in hopes of getting even with bare-knuckle boxer Battling Krueger (Pat Comiskey), the man responsible for their ignominious plight. Our heroes end up wagering heavily on a boxing match between Krueger and brawny backwoodsman Noah Perkins (Mike Lane)--but when Noah fails to show up for the bout, the hapless Bret ends up in the ring. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An obviously ailing Humphrey Bogart made his final screen appearance in The Harder They Fall. Adapted from a novel by Budd Schulberg, the film is a thinly disguised a clef account of the Primo Carnera boxing scandal. Bogart is cast as unemployed newspaperman Eddie Willis, who sells his soul down the river when he signs on as press agent for slimy fight manager Nick Benko (Rod Steiger). It is Willis' job to stir up publicity for Benko's newest protégé, Argentinian boxer Toro Moreno (Mike Lane). Benko's boy quickly rises to the top of his profession, though everybody but Toro knows that all the fights have been fixed. Upon learning that Benko intends to bilk Toro of his earnings, Willis regains his integrity, tells the wide-eyed young pugilist the truth, then sits down to write a searing expose of the fight racket. Jan Sterling costars as Willis' estranged wife, while real-life boxers Jersey Joe Walcott and Max Baer are suitably cast as Toro's trainer and ring opponent, respectively. There is also a heartbreaking cameo appearance by ex-fighter Joe Greb, cast as a punchdrunk skid row bum. The Harder They Fall originally went out with two different endings: in one, Eddie Willis demanded that boxing be banned altogether, while in the other, Willis merely insisted that there be a federal investigation of the prizefighting business. The videotape version contains the "harder" denouement, while most TV prints end with the "softer" message. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, (more)
