Barry Cahill Movies

Based on Charles McCarry's 1979 novel The Better Angels, Wrong is Right is set in a near future in which violence has become something of a national sport and television news has fallen to tabloid depths (a significantly bigger stretch in 1982, when the film was released.) Star Sean Connery plays Patrick Hale, a globe-trotting reporter with access to a staggering array of world leaders. As the film opens, he has ventured to the Arab country of Hegreb to interview his old acquaintance, King Ibn Awad (Ron Moody). Awad has learned that the President of the United States (George Grizzard) may have issued orders for his removal; as a result, Awad is apparently making arrangements to deliver two mini-nuclear devices -- each about the size of a small suitcase -- to a terrorist, with the intention of detonating them in Israel and the United States, unless the President resigns. In the intricate plot that unfolds, nothing is quite the way it seems, and Hale finds himself caught between political leaders, revolutionaries, CIA agents and other figures, trying to get to the bottom of it all. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Sam (Robert Ito) finds it impossible to believe that his friend Steve Yomoshira (Bill Saito), a kind and gentle man, had gone berserk and killed a police officer before taking his own life. The subsequent autopsy reveals that Steve suffered from radiation poisoning, possibly connected with a covert Army experiment to determine a man's ability to withstand torture. With the help of Quincy (Jack Klugman), Sam sets about to learn the truth about this questionable procedure--and in the process, to clear Steve's name for the sake of his widow (Nobu McCarthy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? has been presented often as a stage play by amateur theatrical groups. Evangelist-turned-actor Marjoe Gortner plays Teddy, a cracked Vietnam vet who holds the denizens of a Texas roadside diner hostage at gunpoint. Candy Clark plays Cheryl, his zoned-out hippie girlfriend. After nearly two hours of tension, Gortner is overpowered and things return to normal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While Walton's Mountain is abuzz with news about the Nazi invasion of Norway and Denmark, a family of German immigrants arrive to visit their American relative, Mrs. Brimmer (Nora Marlowe). Jumping to the "obvious" conclusion, Elizabeth (Kami Cotler) is convinced that the Mountain is being invaded, and soon rumors are flying about the hapless German visitors. A combination of unfortunate coincidences and blind bigotry results in a near-tragedy for all concerned. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In one of his first acting roles, Arnold Schwarzenegger is typecast as professional bodybuilder Josef Schmidt. Anticipating Arnold's earliest, villainous film appearances, Schmidt is dangerously sensitive to criticism of his chosen profession--a sensitivity that leads inexorably to murder. Who'd have thought back in 1977 that Schwarzenegger would one day forsake the Streets of San Francisco to take up residence in the gubernatorial mansion in Sacramento? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Previously seen in timeslots ranging from 90 minutes to two hours, Quincy M.E. settles into its standard one-hour format with this episode. While vacationing in the resort town of Paradise, Quincy (Jack Klugman) is approached by young Jessica Casey (Hilary Thompson), whose alcoholic father John is serving jail time for his ex-wife's murder. Jessica is convinced that Quincy has come to town to reopen the manslaughter case in which her dad was involved--and once he begins to figure out that John Casey is the victim of a conspiracy, Quincy decides to play along with the anxious girl. Unfortunately, he meets resistance from the local sheriff (Pernell Roberts), who seems to have reasons of his own for keeping the case closed. Jamie Lee Curtis appears in a bit role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of the series' fifth-season opener, the 4077th has moved out, leaving Hawkeye (Alan Alda) behind to complete an extremely delicate operation. With a reported advance of Chinese troops in the offing, B.J. (Mike Farrell) and Margaret (Loretta Swit) volunteer to stay behind as Hawkeye's assistants--and as moral support when the shooting starts. The question now is: Will the rest of the M*A*S*H unit return in one piece? Originally telecast as a 60-minute "special," "Bug Out" has since been reedited as two half-hour episodes for syndication purposes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

As is customary, Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) are faced with a baffling mystery which they must unravel in the episode's alotted sixty minutes. The game is afoot the moment that the skeleton of a former convict is found during an excavation on Alcatraz Island. There's only one problem: this particular convict was supposed to have escaped from "The Rock" in the 1950s--and in fact, is still purportedly sending letters to his family! Featured in the cast are two seasoned veterans of radio's Golden Age: Paul Stewart and Virginia Gregg. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

During a practice drill designed to teach the emergency squad various methods of handle chemical spills, a fireman falls into a trench filled with deadly sulfur trioxide. Elsewhere, a woman tries to force Dr. Morton (Ron Pinkard) to violate his ethics involving presciption drugs, a man has a heart attack on the way to the station, and a hiker requires an air rescue when he is stranded on a Catalina Island cliff. And in a lighter moment, John (Randolph Mantooth) and Roy (Kevin Tighe) think they've found a buyer for their 1932-vintage fire engine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Writer-director Jack Hill (Spider Baby, Switchblade Sisters) managed to beat Death Wish to the screens by a year with this violent tale of a citizen touched by crime and deciding to fight back. Her little 11-year old sister is a hopeless addict, the police can't help, and poor Nurse "Coffy" Coffin (Pam Grier) has no choice but to take the law into her own hands. Posing as a Jamaican prostitute, Coffy infiltrates the lairs of pimp King George (Robert DoQui) and kingpin pusher Vitroni (Allan Arbus). Eventually, after her childhood sweetheart is beaten into a coma and she finds out her politician-lover (Booker Bradshaw) is involved, Coffy kills everyone with a shotgun. However, by having a black woman named Coffy get injected with a sugar mixture (the crooks think it's heroin), one can only imagine the filmmakers cackling about Coffy with cream and sugar. In fact, the original ad line promised "Coffy...she'll cream you!" ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Posing as an elderly and very grouchy English professor, Ironside (Raymond Burr) infiltrates a convalescent home where many strange deaths have occurred. To lure the killer out of hiding, Ed (Don Galloway) and Fran (Elizabeth Baur) impersonate Ironside's grown children, carefully dropping hints that they'd be better off if "dad" was no longer alive. Without giving away the ending, it can be noted that Ruth Roman delivers an outstanding performance as a grim-visaged nurse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ironside (Raymond Burr) invests in a play staged by an avant-garde theater troupe. When one of the actresses dies of a heroin overdose during rehearsal, the Chief takes it upon himself to find the killer, prevent further murders--and, incidentally, protect his investment! Featured in the cast is Sally Struthers, whose career was then just taking off thanks to her exposure on the new CBS sitcom All in the Family. This episode was filmed at the old Pasadena Playhouse, onetime training ground of series star Raymond Burr. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Among the assignments tackled by mobile officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) during today's shift is to stop a would-be suicide. Also, the duo goes after a gang of drag racers who've turned the streets of LA into their own personal racetrack, and a group of thieves who specialize in swiping radios. All this activity pales in comparison with Jim and Pete's most formidable task, to determined the veracity of a bomb threat--and ultimately, to locate the bomb. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi