Don Medford Movies
- 1975
The Cut Man Caper originated as a 90-minute episode of the weekly TV anthology Police Story. Heading the cast is Robert Hooks as Ernie Tillis, a detective in the robbery-homicide division. On the trail of loan-company robbers, Hooks is forced to rely upon shifty informer Freddy (Lou Gossett Jr.). But the "snitch" is playing both ends down the middle-and he's also stolen the expensive miniature voice-transmitter entrusted to his care. The largely African American cast includes such old favorites as Scoey Mitchlll, Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques. Intended as the pilot for a spinoff series (which never materialized), The Cut Man Caper debuted October 28, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hooks, Godfrey Cambridge, (more)
- 1974
A young Harvey Keitel chews the scenery as Ernie Cahn, an arrogant hoodlum who aspires to emulate his movie idols Cagney, Bogart and Robinson. To this end, Ernie masterminds the biggest robbery of his career, first stealing explosives from a National Guard Armory, then hijacking an armored car. Needless to say, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) intends to show Ernie the error of his ways. Featured in the cast is former "Playboy" model and future action-film icon Claudia Jennings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Season Two of Streets of San Francisco opens with an episode focusing on Steve Keller (Michael Douglas), the young partner of veteran SFPD detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden). Forced to kill a robbery suspect, Keller finds his career on the line when the dead man's father (Michael Constantine) insists that his son was unarmed. This time, not even Stone can come to Keller's rescue unless a weapon is found--a prospect that grows dimmer as the story wears on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
The F.B.I. inagurates its ninth season (originally telecast in a 7:30PM Sunday timeslot, one half-hour earlier than its traditional 8 PM berth) with an all-points-bulletin manhunt for three clever ex-cons. The crooks have pulled off a $4,000,000 heist at an armored car firm, leaving Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) eating their dust. The only clues Erskine has to work on are eyewitness accounts of a blue pickup truck (a Ford, of course!) and a tiny sample of type-B blood. This episode marks the first appearance of Shelly Novack as Special FBI agent Chris Daniels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Singer Nancy Wilson guest stars as Darlene Clark, a nasty, selfish nightclub entertainer who incurs the wrath of her long-suffering manager Abel Norton (Hal Linden) by reneging on a promise to finance an operation for Norton's desperately ill son. Grieving over his boy's death, Norton exacts revenge by kidnapping Darlen's daughter Linda (Hal Linden)--forcing Darlene to do some serious soul-searching while the FBI canvasses Las Vegas in search of the missing girl. Future Magnum PI star Tom Selleck appears in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Vic Morrow heads the guest cast as Vic Tolliman, leader of a gang of thieves. Hijacking a gold shipment, Tollman and his henchmen are unaware that the gold has been mixed with deadly uranium. Per the episode's title, Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) have only twenty-four hours to track down the thieves before the entire Bay Area has been fatally contaminated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This infamously violent British Western stars Gene Hackman as Brandt Ruger, a wealthy rancher who goes away on a hunting trip with a group of friends. While he's gone, a thug named Frank Calder (Oliver Reed) kidnaps Melissa (Candice Bergen), Brandt's wife, under the mistaken impression that she's a schoolteacher and will be able to teach him to read. Despite being taken against her will, in time Melissa begins to develop feelings for Calder, who in his way cares for her more than her husband, who treats her like a possession. Melissa has fallen in love with Calder by the time Brandt returns. However, Brandt is enraged over the abduction of his wife, and sets out on a new hunting trip, with Calder and his men as his prey. Noted character actors G.D. Spradlin and L.Q. Jones round out the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Candice Bergen, (more)
Police detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) returns to finds himself in hot water with the police over his acceptance of help from a neighborhood anti-drug group. The group has done some things which are far from textbook legal, such as stealing and destroying a large shipment of drugs. Though they pulled off their robbery without loss of life, a corpse is found at the scene of the heist. Tibbs, now suspended from the force, uses their help to string together clues which enable him to break up a large drug ring. This is the third movie made starring Poitier and based on John Bail's novels In The Heat of the Night and They Call Me Mister Tibbs. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Barbara McNair, (more)
- 1970
In this made for TV movie meant to be the pilot for a big city newspaper series, a young reporter takes his job too much to heart when covering the story of a middle-aged businessman accused of murder when he kills a young man who was assaulting an old man. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1970
A Federal agent is seriously injured at the US/Canadian border when exiled Mafia functionary Peter Tenny (Christopher George) sneaks back into the contry. Though his main scheme is to regain control of his criminal activities, Tenny is also determine to prove that a trusted relative (Mark Richman) has been embezzling Mob funds. Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) hopes to use this "blood feud" to the Feds' advantage--provided that everyone stays alive long enough to be arrested. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is puzzled when Mary Cochella (Zohra Lampert), a woman of very modest means, is kidnapped. It turns out that Mary's abductors are using their victim to secure the cooperation of her husband Fred (Paul Picerni), a cashier at a big sports arena which has been targetted for robbery. Anne Francis appears as one of the kidnapper's wives, who suffers a sudden--and potentially fatal--attack of conscience. Also, watch for future Happy Days costar Erin Moran as the little girl who witnesses the kidnapping. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
The FBI is summoned to a ranching community to investigate a possible Civil Rights violation. Sheriff William Temple (James Olson) has been accused of excessive brutality and attempted murder by Peter Griffith (Bill Hickman), who has been arrested for smuggling illegal aliens. Faced with overwhelming evidence, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) has no choice but to place Temple in custody--but Erskine can't shake the feeling that the sheriff is being framed by his longtime enemy, rancher Cliff Wyant (J.D. Cannon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Gambling house operator Scott Rogers (Fred Beir) may have reason to regret his eagerness to buy his way into the Cosa Nostra. After his new Mob cohorts bump off an awkward witness to his criminal activities, Roberts finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation headed by Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.). As a result, the Mob has written off Rogers as "expendable"--placing Erskine in the position of having to keep the man alive long enough to testify in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
The murder of a stockbroker tips Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to Organized Crime's latest racket: obtaining valuable stock certificates which are then used as collateral for large Mob loans. At the center of this scheme is the beautiful but treacherous Meredith Schader (Michele Carey), who targets vulnerable male stockbrokers, pretends to fall in love with them, then blackmails them into doing the Mob's bidding. Meredith's latest victim is wealthy but lonely Val Palmer (Barry Nelson), who is blissfully unaware that he is being set up for the worst fall of his life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Harley Garnett (Michael Burns), a wealthy but seriously disturbed young man, murders socialite Karen Blakely (Brooke Mills) when she spurns his advances. Garnett commits his crime on government land, bringing the FBI into the investigation. Noticing that the murder follows the same M.O. as one committed several years earler, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) begins to wonder if Everett Giles, currently serving a life sentence for the previous crime, is guilty after all. Cast as the sullen, embittered Giles is a young Harrison Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) issues an A.P.B. for Ralph Stuart (Jeffrey Hunter), a Red agent wanted for murder and the theft of a secret rocket fuel formula. Meanwhile, the wounded fugitive hides out in the home of Allen Harmon (Al Freeman Jr.), whose life Stuart saved in Vietnam. Torn between two loyalties--to Stuart and to his country--Harmon may very well make the worst decision of his life. Cicely Tyson is prominently cast as Harmon's troubled wife Judy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
FBI Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) agrees to act as go-between for jeweler Victor Toler (played by eminent Shakespearian Maurice Evans), who wants to ransom a fortune in stolen diamonds. This requires the Inspector to take a crash course in the diamond business, the better to convince the villains that he is a genuine gem expert rather than a federal agent. Featured in the supporting cast is future Rookies star George Stanford Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Working undercover on an oil field in Texas, Colby (William Reynolds) is seriously injured in an assault that costs the life of another agent. Investigating, Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) runs up against a formidable foe in the person of powerful oilman Mitchell Flynn (James Franciscus). Having raised millions of dollars with his phony oil claims, Flynn has managed to cover his debts by blackmailing his cohorts into tapping the wells owned by his neighbors--and he's not above committing murder to cover his grimy tracks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Having played various crime victims in previous F.B.I. episodes, Lynda Day does an about-face as the villainess of the piece. The actress is cast as go-go dancer Joyce Carr, who after skipping Federal parole assists her two male accomplices as they murder her soldier husband for his insurance. Inspector Erskine must put a stop to Joyce's activities before another hapless GI (played by Patrick Wayne) falls victim to her deadly scam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The Fugitive wraps up its four-season run with Part One of the series' legendary final episode "The Judgment". Having learned that Fred Johnson (Bill Raisch), the elusive one-armed man who committed the murder for which Kimble was wrongfully condemned, has been arrested in Tucson, Kimble makes a beeline to the police station--followed closely by his own perennial pursuer Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse). But both men manage to elude capture: Kimble is alerted to Gerard's presence by longtime friend Jean Carlisle (Diane Baker), while Johnson is bailed out by an unknown benefactor. During a confrontation with blackmailing bailbondsman Art Howe (Michael Constantine), Johnson commits another murder and also learns the identity of the person who posted his bond--whereupon he heads for Kimble's home town of Stafford, Indiana. Before long, Kimble has caught up with Johnson...only to be apprehended by the relentless Gerard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In the conclusion of The Fugitive's celebrated series finale, wrongly convicted murderer Richard Kimble has been arrested by Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse) just moments before catching up with actual murderer Fred Johnson (Bill Raisch), aka "the one-armed man." It appears that Kimble has been betrayed by his own brother-in-law Fred Taft (Richard Anderson), but in fact the person most responsible for his capture--and Johnson's freedom--is a heretofore unknown witness to the murder of Kimble's wife, who for reasons of his own has remained silent all these years. The climax finds Kimble in hot pursuit of Johnson, who has climbed to the top of an amusement-park tower--while Gerard nervously waits at ground level to find out which of the two men is truly the guilty party. Ending with the now-famous words "Tuesday, August 29: The Day the Running Stopped", the second half of "The Judgment" set a record in 1967 as the highest-rated TV series finale in TV history--a record that would remain unbroken until the equally famous final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In the first episode of a two-part story, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) investigates the kidnapping of Bob Griswold (Dave Macklin), the long-estranged son of ex-convict Max Griswold (Arthur Hill). What Erskine doesn't know is that the boy has been abducted by one of Max's former prison buddies. The motivation: A three-million dollar robbery which the kidnapper wants Griswold to help mastermind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In the conclusion of a two-part story, the FBI continues to exert pressure on La Cosa Nostra, even while a bitter turf war between two mob families threatens to destroy the organization from within. Things come to head when gangland boss Leo Roland (Walter Pidgeon) orders the murder of potential federal witness Ed Clementi (Telly Savalas)--and picks Ed's own nephew to pull the trigger. Fans of The Godfather will appreciate the presence of Robert Duvall in a supporting role. Originally telecast March 12 and 19, 1967, the two parts of "The Executioners" were later combined and released theatrically overseas as Cosa Nostra, Arch Enemy of the FBI. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
