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- 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
George Hamilton confounded his detractors by turning in a first-rate comic performance in Love at First Bite. Hamilton plays Count Dracula, who is evicted from his Transylvanian domicile when the Communist government decides to nationalize his castle. With faithful toady Renfield (Arte Johnson) at his side, Dracula heads for the Big Apple, where he finds the vampire pickings radically different from those on his home turf: for example, ol' Drac suffers the mother of all hangovers when his sinks his fangs into the neck of a wino. Klutzy Cindy Sondheim (Susan Saint James) falls in love with Dracula, not fully aware of his colorful background. But Cindy's stuffy fiance Dr. Jeff Rosenberg (Richard Benjamin), a descendant of Dracula's perennial foe Professor Van Helsing, knows what Dracula's up to and does his best to thwart the vampire's plan. This proves very difficult, since such time-honored remedies as the stake through the heart are frowned upon by the New York City authorities. So successful was Love at First Bite that Hamilton was encouraged to have a satiric go at another literary icon in 1982's Zorro, the Gay Blade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, (more)
- 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
- R
In this actioner, bounty hunter Sam Kellough, who is also an ex-cop, and an ex-ballplayer, is out to earn the $20,000 reward for the capture of Victor Hale, a psychotic killer wanted for beating a prison guard to death with a "riot glove." The villain is not as horrible as he seems. When the fugitive is not beating victims to a pulp, he is seen playing his guitar to impoverished children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Roosevelt Grier, (more)
- 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
- 1978
Deadly Dust began as the opening episode of the live-action TV series The Amazing Spider-Man. Nicholas Hammond stars as Peter Parker, who after being bitten by a radioactive spider is transformed into the web-slinging, wall-crawling Spider-Man (a character created for the Marvel Comics line by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). In his first TV adventure, Spider-Man is accused of stealing plutonium from a university lab, but the real culprits are terrorists who demand a one-billion-dollar ransom, lest they expose New York City to plutonium poisoning. Featured in the cast is Joanna Cameron, who'd once played a "super" character herself, a do-gooder named Isis, on Saturday morning TV. Deadly Dust was first telecast as a Spider-Man two-parter on April 5 and 12, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In this TV movie based upon the Marvel superhero, college student Peter Parker suffers a spider bite which turns him into the amazing webbed crime fighter. The plot finds a no-good scientist using mind power techniques in an attempt to pocket big bucks by extorting world leaders. this Swackhamer-produced tale presents some excellent special effects portraying the wall climbing Spider-Man. This was also the pilot for the Spider-Man TV series that would follow. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1977
Doc Baker (Kevin Hagen) wonders if he is truly cut out for his job after losing one of his patients, the husband of a pregnant woman (Collin Wilcox). Dolefully, Baker decides to relinquish his practice to the younger and seemingly more efficient Dr. Logan (Burr deBenning). But Doc's defection proves temporary when he is appalled by Logan's callous indifference toward the pregnant widow -- who has not only lost her husband, but two previous babies as well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1977
Terry Kiser is Benny and Tim Thomerson is Barney, two undercover cops operating in Vegas. So as not to attract attention to their sleuthing, Benny and Barney pose as nightclub entertainers. The case of the moment is the rescue of a kidnapped singer, which B and B pull off successfully within the allotted 76 minutes. Real-life Las Vegas "regulars" Rodney Dangerfield, Marty Allen, George Gobel and Bobby Troup pop up in cameo roles. Seemingly filmed during everyone's lunch hour, Benny and Barney: Las Vegas Undercover was the pilot for a never-sold TV adventure series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
While in the furniture shop for repairs, Archie's beloved easy chair is accidentally given to the wrong customer. Tracking down the precious piece of furniture, Archie discovers that the chair become the centerpiece of an avant-garde exhibition created by an artist named Lichtenrauch (Michael Pataki). Written by Mel Tolkin and Larry Rhine, this episode inadvertently anticipated the real-life honor bestowed upon Archie's celebrated chair, when it was enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution in 1978. "Archie's Chair" originally aired on January 15, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
When soldiers foolishly remove a stake from a mysterious Transylvanian grave, they release a vampire dog belonging to the Dracula clan. Also freed is Veidt-Smit (Reggie Nalder), an old servant of the Count himself, not quite a vampire, but immortal all the same: he can work in the daylight. Together, the blood-sucking dog and he go to the U.S. in search of Michael Drake (Michael Pataki), who is the last of the Dracula family line and who has no notion that there is anything strange in his family tree. Meanwhile, they are being followed by a Transylvanian vampire-hunter, Inspector Branco (Jose Ferrer) ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Pataki, Reggie Nalder, (more)
Stretching the Airport concept as far as it will go, this third film in the series sticks a jet full of old actors 50 feet underwater in the Bermuda Triangle. Oxygen (and credibility) grows short, and Jimmy Stewart plays an art collector targeted for a heist. Jack Lemmon is the unfortunate pilot, and Christopher Lee shows up along with Brenda Vaccaro, Joseph Cotten, and Olivia de Havilland. Jerry Jameson, auteur of The Bat People, was selected to helm this entry featuring that film's star, Michael Pataki. George Kennedy, the only man to appear in all four Airport films, is along for the ride as well. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, (more)
- 1976
After a two-week preemption for network Olympics coverage, Baretta returned on February 18, 1976 with this episode. The focus is on Billy Truman (Tom Ewell), the manager of the fleabag hotel that undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) calls home. The tension begins to mount when Billy is kidnapped, and the ransom demanded is the 500,000 dollars in stolen bonds that Baretta may have recovered after thwarting a robbery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Edward Grover, (more)
- 1976
Unlike the 1935 film version of Jack London's 1897 novel Call of the Wild, which devoted most of its running time to a romance between Clark Gable and Loretta Young, this 1976 TV-movie version wisely remains faithful to the source. The star is a magnificent dog--part St. Bernard, part German shepherd--which is kidnapped from its home in California and spirited away to the Yukon. The dog is sold to two greenhorn prospectors (John Beck and Bernard Fresson) who name the animal "Buck". Though faithful to his new masters, Buck shows inclinations of succumbing to the "call of the wild" and running off into the woods at any moment. James (Deliverance) Dickey adapted the London novel for this TV version, which was filmed in the Sierra Madres and the Grand Tetons. Call of the Wild premiered on May 22, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A mad surgeon finds himself up to his armpits in eyeballs after guilt prompts him to begin removing the eyes of abducted people in hopes of performing transplants on his daughter Nancy who lost her own in a traffic accident he caused. The real horror begins when the people he disfigured rise up from the dungeon where he keeps them captive to get revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- R
A trio of dangerous criminals meet their match at a private school for girls in this oddball mixture of sexploitation, action and comedy. Three patients from an institution for the criminally insane make a break and escape to the outside world -- Carl Clooney (Michael Pataki), a deranged nightclub comic and mimic, Dick Peters (Bob Minor), a disgraced big-league baseball player and serial rapist, and Bruce Wilson (Stephen Stucker), an unhinged gay fashion designer. Looking for a car and a place to hide, the escapees first take over the home of a half-witted cowboy and his sex-starved wife, but they soon end up at the Oxford Corrective Institute for Young Women, a private learning facility for obstreperous teenagers operated by strict disciplinarian Mr. Baxter (John Aldeman). It's semester break and only six of the students are left behind, and the criminals think they're in for some sadistic fun with the attractive young women, but what they don't know is that self-defense is part of the Oxford curriculum, and the gals are well versed in karate. Also titled Carnal Madness, Delinquent Schoolgirls marked the screen debut of comic and actor Stephen Stucker, who enjoyed overnight success as the sharp-tongued air traffic controller in Airplane!; his career was cut short by his premature death in 1986. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
