Walter Mirisch Movies

Season two of the TV western The Magnificent Seven: The Series begins as the previously wide-open town of Four Corners is (ostensibly) provided with official law-and-order with the arrival of federal marshal Walter Bryce (Peter Firth). Reluctantly, Judge Travis (Robert Vaughn) orders the seven honest mercenaries who have been keeping the peace to disband. The group's leader, reformed gunslinger Chris Larrabee (Michael Biehn) reluctantly goes along with Travis--but secretly continues to convene with his six companions in order to be at the ready in case their services are required (which of course they are, week after week after week). In other developments, the youngest of the Seven, callow Easterner J.D. (Andrew Kavovit), begins a romance with the hoydenish Casey (Dana Barron)--the series' second such coupling, the first being the unspoken but obvious attraction between Chris and lovely widowed newspaper editor Mary (Laurie Holden). Also, smooth-talking con artist Ezra (Anthony Starke) purchases a saloon, only to find himself in direct confrontation with his own mother, the redoubtable Maude (Michelle Phillips); unabashed womanizer Buck (Dale Midkiff) finds himself facing the prospect of fatherhood when his Mexican sweetheart Inez (Fabiana Udenio) turns up pregnant; the taciturn Vin (Eric Close) enters into a potentially dangerous liason with the long-suffering wife (Kathryn Morris) of a brutish wagonmaster; ex-slave Nathan (Rick Worthy) tries to clear his father of a murder charge in the death of their former master; and defrocked priest Josiah (Ron Perlman) continues delivering dark prognostications of events to come. In the series finale, Chris finally learns the whole truth behind the slaughter of his family when a former flame (Kay Lenz) rides into Four Corners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season One of the TV western The Magnificent Seven: The Series begins with a 2-hour opener, set in the early 1870s, which details how seven "fast guns" were united under the guidance of reformed gunslinger Chris Larrabee (Michael Biehn) to protect a peaceful Seminole Indian tribe from being slaughtered by an insane ex-Confederate officer and his band of brigands. Reportedly, one of the Seven was to have been killed in the pilot and replaced by actor Francis Riley as Irish expatriate Darragh O'Malley, but the producers were so impressed by the chemistry among the leading actors that it was decided to keep the original cast intact. Once their job is done, Chris and his companions--tactiturn ex-bounty hunter Vin (Eric Close), ladies' man Buck (Dale Midkiff), defrocked priest and "mad prophet" Josiah (Ron Perlman), cynical Southern con-man Ezra (Anthony Starke), former slave Nathan (Rick Worhty) and Eastern-born naïf J.D. (Andrew Kavovit)--are invided by Judge Orin Travis (Robert Vaughn) in remain a team in order to safeguard the town of Four Corners from any and all outlaws, killers and other miscreants. Travis is willing to tolerate the the Seven's unorthodox (and sometimes downright) unethical methods, so long as they get results. Likewise grateful for the Seven's presence is Travis' widowed daughter Mary (Laurie Holden, editor of "The Daily Clarion", as well as local cowgal Casey (Dana Barron). In the course of the season's 10 episodes, our heroes rescue a group of "working girls" from their brutal overseer, redeem of professional safecracker, help Mary's son (Justin Travis) overcome a traumatic experience, and contend with the arrival of Ezra's equally larcenous mother (Michelle Phillips). Also, Chris is given an important lead to the man he holds responsible for the murder of his wife and child; an evil land developer (Tim Thomerson) shows up to gyp the locals out of their property; and in the season's final episode, the Seven square off against a corrupt sheriff (Cliff DeYoung) who is running an illicit prison camp and exploiting the convict labor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though tenuously based on fact, High Midnight is the sort of TV movie that could only have been made in the fuzzy-headed 70s. David Birney is a blue-collar type whose wife and daughter are killed in a no-knock drug bust. Nasty narcotics officer Michael Connors refuses to admit that he's made a mistake. Connors tries to cover up his own ineptitude, and eventually targets Birney for elimination. With the help of sympathetic cop Christine Belford, Birney avenges his family's murder. It's not likely that a TV movie in which a narcotics cop is the villain will get much play in the 1990s, but High Midnight is a nonetheless fascinating time capsule. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture (as well as four other Oscars), In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town, Gillespie instinctively puts him under arrest as a murder suspect. Tibbs reveals himself to be a Philadelphia police detective; after he and Gillespie come to a grudging understanding of one another, Tibbs offers to help in Gillespie's investigation. As the case progresses, both Gillespie and Tibbs betray a tendency to jump to culture-dictated conclusions. Still, the case is solved thanks to the informal teamwork of the two law officers. Based on the novel by John Ball, In the Heat of the Night inspired two sequels, both starring Poiter as Virgil Tibbs. In 1987, a TV series version of In the Heat of the Night appeared, with Carroll O'Connor as Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Tibbs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Just because The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming was vastly overrated by contemporary critics does not make it any less amusing. The story gets under way when a Soviet submarine accidently gets lodged in a sandbar on the coast of a New England town. In his feature film debut, Alan Arkin plays the sub's second-in-command, who is ordered by commander Theodore Bikel to free up the sub and skeedaddle before an international incident erupts. Hoping to secure a power boat to tug the sub out to sea, Arkin and his men call upon vacationing TV writer Carl Reiner, passing themselves off as Norwegians. When this ruse fails, Arkin is reluctantly compelled to force Reiner at gunpoint to fetch his motorboat, while gentle-natured Russian sailor John Philip Law is left behind to guard Reiner's wife Eva Marie Saint and pretty neighbor girl Andrea Dromm (yes, love blooms). The plot thickens when the locals, notably bullnecked sheriff Brian Keith and superpatriot Paul Ford, spread the word that the Russians have "invaded" their little community. Several slapstick complications later, the Russians and the locals face each other down in the center of the village, weapons at the ready. Fortunately, World War 3 is averted when the Russians and the villagers band together to rescue young Johnny Whittaker from falling to his doom. Enormously popular upon its first release, The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming still works on a slick sitcom level. The film was based on a novel by Nathaniel Benchley, the son of humorist Robert Benchley and the father of Jaws author Peter Benchley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the two-character play by William Gibson, Two for the Seesaw was unnecessarily expanded for the film version. Robert Mitchum plays an Omaha businessman, newly arrived in New York. Though unhappily married, Mitchum is averse to asking for a divorce. This state of affairs gets dicey when Mitchum falls in love with Bronx-born professional dancer Shirley MacLaine. Once he does get a divorce, Mitchum, nervous about making any new commitments, fails to tell MacLaine. Though they remain fond of one another, Mitchum and MacLaine finally realize that any future relationship will do more harm than good for both of them. The original Broadway production of Two for the Seesaw starred Henry Fonda and Anne Bancroft; by the time the film was made, Fonda was feuding with playwright Gibson and Bancroft was filming The Miracle Worker, so Mitchum and MacLaine were substituted. She is ideally suited to her role, but he seems ill at ease playing an indecisive jerk. Two for the Seesaw is at its best when concentrating on the minimalist text of the original play; the inclusion of secondary characters and location photography adds little to the project. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai (1954) is westernized as The Magnificent Seven. Yul Brynner plays Chris, a mercenary hired to protect a Mexican farming village from its annual invasion by bandit Calvera (Eli Wallach). As Elmer Bernstein's unforgettable theme music (later immortalized as the "Marlboro Man" leitmotif) blasts away in the background, Chris rounds up six fellow soldiers of fortune to help him form a united front against the bandits. The remaining "magnificent six" are played by Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Horst Buchholz, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, and (the one that everybody forgets) Brad Dexter. Though jam-packed with action, William Roberts's screenplay pauses long enough to flesh out each of its characters, allowing the audience to pick their own favorites. The Magnificent Seven was followed by three sequels, not to mention dozens of imitations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This undistinguished murder muddle by director Michael Curtis involves an artist and his alcoholic psychologically disturbed wife -- who disappears one day. John Hamilton (Alan Ladd) has retreated to the New England countryside to pursue a potential career as an artist, but his wife Linda (Carolyn Jones) wants to go back to New York. She is observed as being both drunk and a little strange, while John is clearly the anchor in the relationship. When Linda disappears, John is immediately suspected of doing away with his troublesome wife, and so a net of suspicion and circumstantial evidence closes in ever-tightening circles around him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Anthony Mann's final foray into the western genre is a disturbing examination of man's baser instincts, rising in intensity to the level of Shakespearean tragedy. The film begins as seemingly naive Link (Gary Cooper) leaves his family to take a train to Fort Worth. Also on the train is saloon singer Billie Ellis (Julie London), who is compelled by con man Sam Beasley (Arthur O'Connell) to cheat Link out of his money. But the con comes to naught when the nefarious Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb) and his gang rob the train. Link takes Billie and Beasley to Tobin's cabin, where it is revealed the mild-mannered Link is Tobin's nephew and a former member of his cutthroat gang. Dock Tobin draws up a plan to rob a bank which the outlaws find agreeable, but they're reluctant to have Link rejoin their group. Soon it becomes apparent why they feel this way; when Link rejoins his old gang, his shy demeanor falls away and his outlaw instincts rise to the surface. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Joel McCrea essays the title role in this moody little western. McCrea is a Union officer wounded in battle, who joins up with a wagon train heading westward. He is ostracized by those passengers who'd fought on the Confederate side, though leading lady Virginia Mayo welcomes his presence. McCrea redeems himself in the eyes of the ex-Confederate homesteaders when he acts as mediator in a range dispute with a land baron (Barry Kelly)--who happens to be McCrea's own half brother. Tall Stranger is based on a novel by the prolific Louis L'Amour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cashing in on the popularity of TV's Davy Crockett and the jukebox favorite "Yellow Rose of Texas", Allied Artists came up with the CinemaScope biopic The First Texan. The title character is Sam Houston, played with rugged assuredness by Joel McCrea. The film begins when Houston leaves Tennessee for Texas, where at first he keeps to himself and avoids politics. As events overwhelm him, however, Houston evolves into the territory's most conspicuous patriot. His efforts to thwart Mexican general Santa Ana's efforts to recapture Texas for Mexico culminate in the battle of the Alamo, which is recreated in brisk, economical fashion. Somewhat perversely, Davy Crockett is reduced to a bit part in The First Texan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed around the same time as Gunfight at the OK Corral, Wichita is a more modest--and to some, more entertaining--slant on the Wyatt Earp legend. Joel McCrea does his usual smooth, underplayed job as Earp, who aims to bring law and order to the wide-open cow town of Wichita. His least popular move is to take away the guns of everyone in town, no matter how important. Only when town banker McCoy (Walter Coy) is hit with a personal tragedy does Earp's no-guns edict begin to make sense. Linking the episodic storyline is an offscreen ballad, sung High Noon style by Tex Ritter. Interestingly, Joel McCrea would later star in the 1959 TV western Wichita Town--though not, of course, as Wyatt Earp (Hugh O'Brien was busy with that character on another network!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide