William Douglas Lansford Movies

Made for television, Sniper originally aired under the title The Deadly Tower. In vivid, sweat-inducing detail, the film recreates the horror of August 4, 1966, when outwardly normal student Charles Whitman climbed to the tower of the University of Texas and began firing his rifle on the passersby below. 13 people were killed and 34 wounded before Whitman himself was killed by courageous police office Ramiro Martinez. Filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this docudrama stars Kurt Russell as Whitman, Richard Yniguez as Ramirez, and Ned Beatty as Alan Crum, a reluctant bystander who became an equally reluctant hero when pressed into service by Ramirez. The Deadly Tower first aired October 18, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The centerpiece of this episode is an allegedly haunted house, where over the course of many years several people have mysteriously vanished. The niece of the San Francisco police commissioner makes a bet that she can spend one night in the house--whereupon she disappears as well. Investigating the phenomenon is Chief Ironside...or at least, he WAS investigating the pheonomenon before he also turns up missing! This convoluted tale of spectral intrigue was directed by Don Weis, whose previous forays into the "old dark house" genre include The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After accidentally knocking her down with the van, a guilt-ridden Mark (Don Mitchell) befriends an elderly woman named Melissa Babcock (Juanita Moore). It is just possible, however, that the accident was no accident: Ms. Babcock has a reputation for staging phony injuries in order to collect huge insurance settlements. But is the old lady the real villain of the piece? Former Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In regular Chelsea Brown appears as Melissa's daughter Andrea. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"The Big Cube" of the title is slang for a sugar cube dipped in LSD, which is omnipresent throughout the movie. Adriana Roman (Lana Turner) is a famous actress who is retiring from the stage to marry wealthy Charles Winthrop (Dan O'Herlihy), a situation that displeases Winthrop's daughter Lisa. While hanging out at a nightclub called "Le Trip,"Lisa is shown the bizarre effects that LSD-laced sugar cubes can have when added to a drink. She also meets Johnny Allen, a drug dealer who, once he learns that Lisa comes from money, is anxious to marry her. While Adriana and Winthrop are away, Lisa and Johnny hold a wild drug and sex party at her home. When her father walks in on it, he forbids Lisa's marriage. Soon thereafter, Winthrop drowns at sea, but Adriana follows his orders that Lisa will be disinherited if she marries Johnny. The two plot their revenge by lacing Adriana's sleeping pills with LSD, to the point that she goes mad and is committed to an asylum. Lisa and Johnny marry, but when Johnny takes Lisa's best friend to bed, Lisa regrets her actions. She tells Frederick Lansdale, a playwright friend of her stepmother's, what she has done. He has the notion of writing a play based on Adriana's experiences, and convincing Adriana to play the lead role. Amazingly, going through this experience cures Adriana – just as Lansdale hoped it would. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Ben's longtime unofficial ward Davy (Lou Antonio), a Ute Indian, tries to rejoin the tribe that had exiled him years earlier. Davey's re-entry into the culture of his ancestors is complicated when he falls in love with Bright Moon (Cherie Latimer), the daughter of Chief Lone Spear (Arnold Moss), and the intended bride of White Wolf (Ned Romero). The resultant inter-tribal bitterness and dissension enables a group of bigoted white men to sabotage a crucial treaty negotiation. Written by William Douglas Lansford and Richard Wendley, "In Defense of Honor" was originally slated to air on March 31, 1968, but was moved to April 28 due to coverage of President Johnson's refusal to run for another term. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi