Chris Robinson Movies

This socially-conscious drama claims to provide an examination of the problems inherent in teen-age marriages. It centers on a 17-year-old girl who marries a much older medical student. Her parents are terribly upset, but her former boyfriend nearly goes berserk with jealousy. One day she innocently accepts his invitation to meet him on an empty sound stage at his father's studio. He attacks and attempts to rape her. Fortunately, her husband finds out about the meeting and in a nail-biting climax stalks the would-be rapist from a narrow catwalk high above until he can stop the killer in the film's shocking conclusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Monte Hellman (who would later direct a young Jack Nicholson on two low-budget westerns) earned his low-budget wings on Filmgroup's bizarre fusion of hostage/crime thriller and big-rubber-monster flick -- a quirky juxtaposition employed to similar effect 35 years later in From Dusk Till Dawn. The story begins with a team of gold thieves hiding out in a ski resort cabin after a heist, taking two people hostage as they prepare to smuggle their loot across the Canadian border -- unaware of the giant, icky-looking spider-monster lurking in a nearby cave, which preys on anyone unlucky enough to stumble near its lair. The film's woodland exteriors add a richness lacking in the typical dusty desert settings of this film's genre contemporaries. The cobwebby monster is played by Chris Robinson, later the star of General Hospital. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Talented action film director William Witney shows the depth of his skills in turning this one-week-in-production wonder into a passable, entertaining, one-hour western. The focus of attention is a trial in a town with no respect for the law, where the federal judge (Hugh Marlowe) valiantly tries to buck the current and carry on according to normal standards. At issue is the murder of the brother of a prominent, despotic land baron. The accused is an impoverished Mexican (John Alonso) who is not going to get acquitted unless the real murderer can be found. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this western, originally designed as the pilot of a television show that never made it to air, a self-designated preacher desires to control the Big Sag territory of Montana. To do this, he must first force two newly arrived Texans off of their land. Meanwhile, the preacher's wife knows that he is too yellow-bellied to actually do the dirty deed. She sends their lovely daughter to town with a note for the owner of the local saloon. During the journey, the girl is caught in a big storm. She weathers it out with the Texan's son. Naturally the two fall in love, but this does not stop the girl from continuing on to deliver the note to the lecherous proprietor who immediately begins making a play for the innocent young girl. His lasciviousness pushes his alcoholic wife over the brink and in a jealous rage she fatally shoots him. It is then revealed that the greedy saloonkeeper has hired a gunslinger. The gunslinger ends up killed by the preacher, who then officiates the wedding ceremony for his daughter and his rival's son. Afterward he solemnly swears to never again use a gun. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When his car runs out of gas on an oceanside road, Manuel Sanchez (Christopher Dark) shows up at the beach house owned by Karen Wilson (Inger Stevens), begging Karen to look after his girlfriend while he goes for gas. Not believing Manuel's story, Karen refuses -- and shortly afterward, Manuel's sweetheart is beaten to death. Suspecting that the killer is one of her neighbors, Karen ends up seeking protection from her friends, a group of handsome surfers. But as it turns out, Karen's fate rests in the hands of Manuel Sanchez -- who may be disinclined to accept such an "honor." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When the Americans capture the village of Beauville, Saunders (Vince Morrow) grants permission to Pvt. Paul Villers (Chris Robinson) to search for his father, whom he hasn't seen since childhood. Catching up with the elder Villers (Will Kuluva), Paul finds that his dad is the town's physician. He also discovers to his chagrin that the "good " doctor is harboring a dark secret. Canadian comic actress Fifi D'Orsay plays it straight as the wife of the local Resistance leader. (Note: in the closing credits, Paul and Emile Villers are incorrectly billed as "Villette"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this realistic, nonexploitative drama, a high school athlete confesses his life story to a priest. The story is told in flashback. First he is seen as a top football player hoping for a scholarship so he can go to school and get away from his alcoholic father and his hard-working mother. The trouble begins when he is caught swimming in the school pool after hours and put on probation. Though he is love with one girl, he dates another, more wealthy girl. The affair goes well until they are caught in bed by her parents. Later he is falsely accused of participating in a robbery and gets expelled. The lonely youth then takes a 14-year-old slut to a secret hiding place in the church for a quick liaison. But he cannot go through with it because he is disgusted with himself. Instead he goes to confession. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The second season of 12 O'Clock High opened with a shocker of an episode, in terms of killing off a central character. That simply wasn't done on television in those days, even in a series set in wartime. In the pre-credit sequence of the first episode, "The Loneliest Place In The World" -- which was also one of the best-written shows of the entire series -- the plane on which Brigadier General Frank Savage is the pilot and mission commander, returning from a bombing raid, is shot down. We never see the general, who had been played in the first season by Robert Lansing, but are told that he has also been wounded -- and we are told later that only one man, navigator Alex ("Sandy") Kominsky (Chris Robinson), got out alive before it crashed, and that the Germans are burying the general with full military honors. Season two established Paul Burke as the star of the series, in the role of Colonel Joseph A. Gallagher, the new commander of the 918th Heavy Bombardment Group -- Frank Overton returned in the recurring role of Major Harvey Stovall, Barney Philips was back as Doc Kaiser, Andrew Duggan was back as Major General Britt, Gallagher's immediate superior, and Paul Newlan was back as Lieutenant General Pritchard, Britt's commanding officer. The second season generally featured more combat-oriented scripts, and the same level of acting with perhaps more intensity on the part of the performers. There were a few improbabilities in the stories, such as "Big Brother", in which Gallagher ending up landing at a desert base commanded by his infantry officer brother (played by Jack Lord). And the caliber of the guest stars was usually a bit lower than it had been in the first season. Chris Robinson was pushed heavily as a co-star in several scripts that played off of his character's rebel nature. Several episodes also played off of Gallagher's relationship with his father, established early in the season as a lieutenant general who has more or less run out his string, reduced to administrative functions and no chance of further promotion -- one episode ("Grant Me No Favor") dealt the efforts of the elder Gallagher (Barry Sullivan) to get his son a brigadier general's star as compensation for his own career dead-end. As with the first season, the second focused heavily on the psychology of the air officers, but had fewer espionage-related stories, and more that focused more precisely on combat operations. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Set in South Africa during 1941, this war drama chronicles the battle waged by British troops trying to defeat the invading Italian army. Grossly outnumbered, a courageous British lieutenant enacts a daring and potentially catastrophic scheme. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hogan plots to kidnap General Burkhalter as part of a hostage swap that will free Underground leader Hans Wagner (Chris Robinson). Unfortunately, things go awry, and it is Klink who ends up kidnapped. Worse still, negotiations for the release of Wagner fall through when Gestapo decides that Klink is eminently expendable. Also appearing are Ann Prentiss (sister of Paula Prentiss) as Ilse and Dick Wilson ("Mr. Whipple" of TV commercial fame) as Captain Gruber. Written by Bill Davenport, "The Missing Klink" first aired on January 4, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Travis Logan, D.A. is a TV pilot film, originally telecast in March of 1971. Vic Morrow heads the cast as Logan, while Hal Holbrook earns "special guest star" billing as a clever murderer. Logan is prepared to go around with Holbrook's defense team when they try to cop an insanity plea. But a little ardent sleuthing reveals a vital trip-up clue in the form of a shotgun pellet. Though Travis Logan, D.A. did not result in a series, its pilot film was far and away superior to most one-shot of its ilk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ricardo Montalban heads a team of undersea explorers dealing in below-the-surface scientific research. At the moment, a mysterious pollutant is killing all the fish off the coast of a fictional East African nation. The cause is a sunken ship that is leaking a deadly nerve gas. Montalban must race to neutralize the gas before mustache-twirling villain Jose Ferrer grabs the toxic fuel for his own evil purposes. Montalban's team includes a beautiful woman (Kate Woodville), who exists solely for the benefit of wetsuit-watchers in the audience. Filmed as the pilot for a TV series, The Aquarians was produced by Ivan (Sea Hunt) Tors in Florida and the Bahamas. It has also been telecast under the alternate title Deep Lab. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although the actors and character names aren't the same, Sweet Rachel was the pilot film for the TV series Sixth Sense. Alex Dreier plays a paranormal researcher whose patient, Stefanie Powers, suffers from disturbing ESP flashes. The source of these ghoulish images is a psychic murderer, who uses mind control to kill his female victims. Sutton Roley has directed tight, fascinating TV-movie horrors in the past; this isn't one of them. When Sweet, Sweet, Rachel became Sixth Sense, Alex Dreier was replaced by the younger, handsomer Gary Collins (A TV announcer-turned-actor replaced by an actor-turned-announcer. The mind boggles). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide