Michael Pataki Movies
American actor Michael Pataki's first film credit was 1958's Ten North Frederick. In the early phases of his career, Pataki was reminiscent of a young Rod Steiger; in point of fact, he played the 25-year-old version of the Steiger character in the made-for-TV The Movie Maker (1965). His later television work included the weekly series Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (1974), as Sand's brother Charlie; Spider-Man (1977), as Captain Barbera; and Phyl and Micky (1980), as Soviet consular official Vladimir Jimenko. The Slavic nature of the last-named role was typical of the sort of characters Pataki played in the 1980s, which included Nikoli Koloff in Rocky IV (1985) and Rocky V (1990). Additionally, Pataki is among those lucky thespians who played guest spots on both the original Star Trek and its 1987 grandchild Star Trek: The Next Generation. On the production side, Pataki was director of the soft-core sex farce Cinderella and the low-budget scarefest Mansion of the Doomed (both 1977), and served as producer of the 1981 TV adaptation of Broadway's Pippin. More recently, Michael Pataki was heard as "The Sewer King" on the animated TVer Batman: The New Adventures (1992). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1996
First telecast November 4, 1996, this Deep Space Nine episode was a harkback to the classic 1967 Star Trek installment "The Trouble with Tribbles." Charlie Brill, a holdover from the original episode, reprises his role as renegade Klingon agent Arne Darvin, who sets the plot in motion by hurtling the Defiant and its crew some 105 years into the past. Upon getting their bearings, the crew finds themselves on board the original Enterprise, where they come face to face with James T. Kirk, not to mention thousands and thousands of those pesky and prolific Tribbles, one of which has been booby-trapped. "Trials and Tribble-ations" was scripted by Ronald D. Moore and Rene Echevarria from a story by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Critics were somewhat amused when this made-for-TV movie first aired over CBS on February 21, 1996. They could understand why someone would want to make a biopic about notorious "Hollywood madam" Heidi Fleiss (here played by Tricia Leigh Fisher)--but of what possible dramatic value was a film about Heidi's father, California consulting pediatrician Paul Fleiss? Well, that question was sufficiently answered throughout the film's 90 minutes, told largely in flashback from the point of view of Dr. Fleiss, portrayed by Michael Gross. According to Karol Ann Hoeffner's teleplay, Fleiss was a good, caring, almost saintly family man, whose misguided liberal sympathies led him to excesses of self-indulgence when it came to raising his children. So far as as the spoiled and pampered Heidi is concerned, Dr. Fleiss doesn't believe in discouraging her on any issue, including sex--and this, coupled with the neurotic attitudes of Heidi's repressed, high-strung mother Elissa (Cindy Pickett) led the girl into her life's work, using sex for profit while remaining coolly detached from her work and using her associates and customers rather than ever allowing them to use her. That Heidi is clearly the villain of the piece is made obvious not only by actress Fisher's vitriolic performance, but also by the dramatic core of the story, in which Dr. Fleiss ends up being charged with fraud when Heidi pressures him into signing a highly suspicious bank loan application. The sweeping inaccuracies in The Good Doctor: The Paul Fleiss Story evidently didn't hurt its ratings, nor did the film lack viewers when it was subsequently rerun on cable TV under the title The Making of a Hollywood Madam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Aging and infirm negotiator Admiral Mark Jameson (Clayton Rohner) is transported by the Enterprise to the planet Mordan IV to negotiate a hostage crisis. En route, Jameson miraculously becomes younger and younger. The Admiral's wife Ann (Marsha Hunt) reveals the secret behind Jameson's incredible rejuvenation, while the hostile ruler of Mordan IV, motivated by an as-yet-unexplained vendetta, plans a deadly "reception" for the esteemed visitor. First telecast February 13, 1988, "Too Short a Season" was written by Michael Michaelian and D.C. Fontana. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this graphically violent exploitation film, an insane colonel tests out his newly invented virus, HV8-B, designed to significantly alter the behavior of convicts serving life sentences. As soon as they are injected, the unwilling subjects become mad-killers. Later they become slimy walking corpses in various states of decay, constantly oozing highly contagious bodily fluids that infect the whole cellblock. Soon the uninfected inmates begin to riot. Now only wrongly-imprisoned Vietnam-vet Dennis Cole can stop the crazed colonel from turning them into killer zombies. Meanwhile, blonde biochemist Tanya works to find a vaccine to stop the terrifying erosion of humanity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon
- 1986
An exciting climax at a gymnastics competition highlights this sports-themed drama. Steve (Olympic champion Mitch Gaylord) finds his hopes for a successful career are in doubt when his family relationships suddenly fall apart. He and his father are continually at odds while his younger brother and mother can do nothing about it. Gymnast Julie Lloyd (Janet Jones) arrives on the scene and a romantic liaison with Steve is in the works. A big championship competition looms ahead on the horizon as both Steve and Julie prepare for a final challenge. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mitch Gaylord, Janet Jones, (more)
- 1984
Originally made for television, this story concerns a champion rodeo rider (Lee Majors) and his romance with a Russian ballerina (Leslie Wing) who is trying to defect. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1984
This R-rated gem is about an author who produces a novel with characters inspired by real-live Hollywood stars. When the book is turned into a film, the producers throw a party and invite all the films' real-life "characters" to celebrate its release and learn that they are featured in the film. All's well until a body turns up in the author-party host's swimming pool. However, there are plenty more bodies to be seen in this one--the kind with hearts still beating--because this comedy is loaded with nudity. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Colbert, Veronica Hart, (more)
- 1983
For several years, George and Louise Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford) have been financing the education of Jimmy Townsend, the foster son they've never met. Imagine their surprise when "little" Jimmy turns out to be a middle-aged man with an apparent larcenous streak. Former Saturday Night Live regular Garrett Morris makes his first series appearance as Jimmy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, (more)
- 1983
In this drama, an ex-con's joy at being released is squashed when he returns home to find that his family has moved away and left no forwarding address. Fortunately, a neighbor lady knows where they are. Unfortunately, she doesn't trust him so he must work hard to show her that he has changed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Laverne's new boyfriend (Larry Breeding) makes his living as a glamour photographer. Jealous over the fact that her beau spends all his working hours with gorgeous models, Laverne (Penny Marshall) tries to invade the glamour world herself--and ends up strutting down the runway of a major fashion show with a balky "Liberty Bell" hat on her head! This episode was dedicated to guest star Larry Breeding, who had died in an auto accident several months before the episode's first telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This made-for-television movie is a filmed version of the Bob Fosse musical hit of the same name. William Katt stars in the title role of this fictionalized story of Pippin, the son of Charlemagne who sets out to find meaning in life and discovers his true self along the way. Ben Vereen appears in his Tony Award-winning role. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Terror at Alcatraz indeed! This 1982 TV movie is comprised of two never-shown pilot episodes for the short-lived TV series Fitz and Bones, which was telecast for a couple of months in 1981. Tom and Dick Smothers star as Fitz and Bones, a TV news team with a penchant for getting involved in causes. The main plotline concerns an old man (Tom Ewell) who, disgusted at the ill treatment afforded the elderly in the United States, begins bombing several San Francisco landmarks, including Alcatraz--hence the barely relevant title. A secondary plot (remember that this is a cobbled-together TV movie) concerns a shooting at San Francisco International airport, where the target may have been either the President or a notorious mob boss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Taking over for Gary Cooper, Lee Majors stars as Marshal Will Kane in this made-for-TV movie set a year after the original High Noon ends. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Lee Cantrell (Joe Penny) is a half-Asian, half-Anglo assistant district attorney in San Francisco. By day he helps to prosecute criminals through the justice system, but at night he straps on his samurai sword and does battle with the underworld in his own way. His main enemy is a power-crazed businessman who has built an "earthquake machine" with which he intends to destroy San Francisco. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1979
It's Airplane on the rails in the made-for-TV Disaster on the Coastliner. A crazed engineer holds his employers responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter. He gets even by setting two passenger trains on an irrevocable collision course. Salvation comes from a most unexpected corner in this otherwise thoroughly predictable disaster flick. The requisite all-star cast includes Mike Connors, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Fuller, Pat Hingle, E. G. Marshall, Yvette Mimieux and William Shatner. Disaster on the Coastliner premiered October 28, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Albert (Matthew Laborteaux), the Ingalls' foster son, is frustrated by his efforts to trace his family tree as part of a school project. Equally frustrated is Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), who, in attempting to legally adopt Albert, is stymied by the sudden arrival of the boy's natural father (Michael Pataki). In the climactic scene, Albert pulls off a cruel but necessary deception to rid himself of the father who had long before deserted him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Sue Anderson heads the cast of the made-for-TV The Survival of Dana. Dana Lee (Anderson) is a basically decent high school girl who suffers severe culture shock when her family moves to another town. A victim of oppressive peer pressure, Dana begins hanging around the "wrong crowd." Despite the affluence of their parents, these aimless kids get their kicks out of petty crime-and before long, there's nothing petty about their activities. Marion Ross, Robert Carradine Talia Balsam and Frederic Forrest costar in The Survival of Dana, which debuted May 29, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Producer/director Mel Stuart, who'd previously worked with David L. Wolper on the historical-recreation series Appointment with Destiny, applies the same docudrama techniques to the feature length Ruby and Oswald. Framed in the form of a documentary, the film recounts the days just prior to the Kennedy assassination, then traces the events leading to the fatal confrontation between Jack Ruby and Lee Harvey Oswald. There is a smattering of "conspiracy" speculation, but the script generally sticks to the known facts. The dramatized recreations are interspersed with actual footage of the dark days in November, including JFK's funeral. Made for TV, Ruby and Oswald has been rereleased as Four Days in Dallas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Taking a breather from his usual horror and science-fiction endeavors, producer/director/writer Dan Curtis reminisces about his childhood in When Every Day Was the Fourth of July. Set in Bridgeport, Connecticut in the 1930s, the film concentrates on attorney Dean Jones and his 9-year-old daughter Katy Kurtzman. Responding to Katy's fervent pleas, Jones takes on the case of mute handyman Geoffrey Lewis, who has been accused of murder. Curtis would follow this ficitionalized flashback with his 1981 production The Long Days of Summer. Made for television, When Every Day Was the Fourth of July first aired March 12, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
This four-hour TV movie is one more of novelist Harold Robbins' "guess who everyone is supposed to really be?" wallowfests (with nary a Jolly Roger in sight). The "pirate" is Baydr (Franco Nero), an anti-Semitic Lebanese oil sheik, who, unbeknownst to himself, is actually an Israel-born Jew fathered by Ben Ezra (Eli Wallach). Baydr marries a haughty American WASP, Jordana (Anne Archer as a blonde), whom he meets at JFK's 1960 presidential campaign, and fathers a son by her. Meanwhile, Leila (Olivia Hussey), one of Baydr's two daughters from a prior marriage, trains to become a PLO terrorist and plots to kidnap Jordana and her son by Baydr. The modern viewer is luckier than those poor TV fans of 1978 who had to sit through two nights of this nonsense: the currently available syndicated version of Harold Robbins' The Pirate (retitled simply The Pirate) runs a mere 150 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
This episode was originally seen in most markets on a Saturday night, rather than the customary Sunday-evening Alice timeslot. The plot finds the irascible Mel (Vic Tayback) suddenly and inexplicably demonstrating warmth and affection towards Alice (Linda Lavin) and Tommy (Philip McKeon). Such is Mel's curious behavior that Alice suspects the worst when he invites her to have dinner with his "family". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
