Barry Shear Movies
Barry Shear began directing live TV shows when the medium was still in its swaddling clothes. Shear confined himself to the 21-inch arena until 1968, when he directed his first theatrical feature, the entertaining if vastly overrated speculative melodrama Wild in the Street. He functioned as both producer and director on two of his four big-screen efforts, The Todd Killings (1971) and Across 110th Street (1972). After The Deadly Trackers, Shear returned to his forte, television. Working primarily for Universal Studios, Barry Shear turned out individual episodes of such weekly series as Night Gallery and Name of the Game; he also directed many a feature-length TV pilot, some of which were spun off into series (Strike Force, The San Pedro Bums etc.), but most of which (Jarrett, Keefer) never progressed past the first installment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1984
In this stock, low-budget occult horror film, a tiny 2-inch-high Aztecan idol is stolen from a professor and ends up in the experimental hands of three high-school students who use it in some creative attempts to get in touch with the spirit world. Things start to go wrong when a cemetery worker dies during one of these spirit sessions, and everything goes wrong after the Aztecan god possesses the body of a young man who steals the idol for his own purposes. Special effects create the appropriate flying objects and body bulges where needed, and makeup is grotesque enough by anyone's standards, but these pluses cannot erase the lack of interesting characters or situations or the uninspired acting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Susan Stokey, Warren Lincoln, (more)
- 1980
In this made-for-TV "roman a clef", Joe Don Baker stars as Tommy Vanda, a Hoffa-esque labor leader. Told in flashback, the film recounts Vanda's humble beginnings on the Chicago docks, where he gains fame and notoreity amongst his coworkers and his bosses by spearheading a wildcat strike. Rising to top dog of the Cartage Union, Tommy doesn't care whon he has to crush on the way up the ladder. Inevitably, Tommy's peccadilloes catch up with him, resulting in federal charges, an arrest, and (remember who he's supposed to be) a mysterious disappearance in the night. Written by Ernest Tidyman of The French Connection fame, Power was telecast in two two-hour installments by NBC on January 14 and 15, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
This made-for-TV espionage thriller was approximately fourteen years too late for TV's "spy cycle". Dale Robinette plays a Bondlike secret agent, while Ralph Bellamy is the "M" counterpart. Robinette is assigned to solve the mystery of several UFO sightings in Utah. The instigator turns out to be an eco-villain (Patrick MacNee), who threatens to destroy the ozone layer unless he's paid one billion dollars within 48 hours. When Billion Dollar Threat failed to yield a weekly TV series, its producers revamped the project--and the result was the equally unsuccessful Once Upon a Spy (80). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1978
Ku Klux Klan members are convicted thanks to the work of an undercover informant assisting the FBI in the 1960s. ~ Rovi
- 1978
Originally made for television and based on true events from 1972, the story concerns an airline crash in the Everglades and the courageous adventures of the 73 survivors. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- 1978
Also known as Behind the Lines, Keefer was a bargain-counter Casablanca geared to fans of TV's Cannon. William Conrad stars in this busted pilot as the proprietor of a Lisbon bar during World War II. As we've all learned from Hollywood movies, Lisbon is a veritable hotbed of wartime intrigue, meaning that Keefer is also active in the local branch of the OSS. His job: Destroy a German radar base. Keefer looked and sounded a lot like the mid-1950s TV series Foreign Intrigue, which likewise was inspired by Casablanca. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
Five California party dudes (Chris Murney, Stuart Pankin, John Mark Robinson, Darryl McCullough and Jeff Druce) come upon a derelict boat on the beach at San Pedro, California. They decide to use the vessel as their home, and also as headquarters for an erstwhile fishing business. Before long, our five heroes are called upon to rid the vicinity of a gang of waterfront hoodlums. Even though the basic concept hadn't worked as It's a Man's World back in 1962, ABC thought enough of San Pedro Bums to turn it into a weekly series, with four of the TV movie's five original leads (Jeff Druce was replaced by Christopher DeRose). To take the onus off the word "bum," ABC redubbed this Aaron Spelling/Douglas Cramer project as The San Pedro Beach Bums. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
In this police drama, a heroic cop finds himself feeling terribly guilty after his partner is gunned down. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1976
In this drama, a man leaves his wife to join the circus. Many years later, he bumps into a pretty teenage girl who turns out to be the daughter he never knew existed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1976
In a rare dramatic appearance, Desi Arnaz Jr. appears as B.J. Palmer, the lead singer of a popular rock group. When the group's avaricious manager David Breen (Conrad Janis) is bludgeoned to death, B.J. is convinced that he himself is the guilty party. After all, the troubled young singer suffers from congenital insanity--or at least, that is what he has been led to believe by certain other parties! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Originally made as a pilot for a failed television pilot, this action crime drama centers on the exploits of a special strike force that is comprised of a Federal agent, a state trooper (an early appearance by Richard Gere, and a New York City police officer who bust up a ring of drug dealers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1975
Paul Michael Glaser is Starsky, David Soul is Hutch in this TV movie pilot for the extraordinarily popular 1970s cop series. The two charismatic undercover cops go after a team of syndicate hit men. Then they go in the opposite direction (but only temporarily) when they discover that they're the ones who'll be "hit." S and H's supervisor (Bernie Hamilton) isn't around for the pilot, but Antonio Fargas shows up as street snitch Huggy Bear. While this first Starsky and Hutch adventure is only so-so, the rapport between the two leads sold the series, which lasted from 1975 through 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1974
It is hardly a fond reunion when Ironside (Raymond Burr) is summoned to his home town by a letter from his former high school classmate Alice Schmidt (Fay Spain). Upon his arrival, the Chief learns that Alice never wrote the letter--and that her husband John has been murdered. When another member of the Class of 1940, Dick Gillis (William Bryant), likewise turns up dead, Ironside follows a trail of clues leading to an accidental killing that occurred 34 years earlier...thereby setting himself up as the murderer's next victim! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1973
Glenn Ford is Jarrett, a former boxer with an artistic streak. He becomes a private detective, specializing in cases that will allow him to breath the rarefied air of art galleries and museums. Anthony Quayle is Jarrett's "Moriarity," a wealthy art collector who will stop at nothing to build up his collection. Jarrett was written to accommodate a younger actor, but the producers owed a commitment to Glenn Ford. As a result, the storyline, involving the search for some rare scrolls, became an endurance test for both the venerable Mr. Ford and the audience. To be fair, the star does manage to handle the glib dialogue well (when he's not out of breath). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Anthony Quayle, (more)
- 1973
- PG
Based on filmmaker Samuel Fuller's short-story "Riata," this extremely bloody, excessively violent and long-running western centers on a vengeful sheriff's search for the murderous bank robbers who slaughtered his family. Originally Fuller was the director for the film, but severe artistic differences between himself and the film's star Richard Harris forced the studio execs to put in a new director, Barry Shear. They also dumped the million dollars worth of footage Fuller shot and started from scratch. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Across 110th Street is a violent urban thriller about a corrupt, older white cop (Anthony Quinn) and an honest, young African-American cop (Yaphet Kotto) chasing three robbers-cum-murderers who ran away with $300,000 that belonged to the Italian mob. The police must find them before the sadistic Mafia henchman Nick D'Salvio (Anthony Franciosa) reaches them first. The film has reached a cult status; the title song, performed by Bobby Womack, was later used in Jackie Brown, Quentin Tarantino's extended homage to the crime flicks of the 1970s. ~ Yuri German, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
- 1972
A Short Walk to Daylight was one of the first TV movies to exploit the popularity of the theatrical feature The Poseidon Adventure (72). Eight people are trapped in a New York subway when an Earthquake rocks the surface. In darkness, the all-TV cast struggles to make its way to the upperworld. The tie-in with Poseidon was solidified by the print ads for this film, which showed the cast members sloshing about in a flooded subway tunnel. A Short Walk to Daylight was partially filmed on location in the Big Apple. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
Gun and the Nun is made up of snippets from several episodes of the 1971-73 TV series Alias Smith and Jones. Most of this 73-minute ersatz feature is comprised of an hour-long episode titled "The Reformation of Harry Briscoe," in which reformed outlaws Hannibal "Smith" Heyes (Pete Duel) and Kid "Jones" Curry (Ben Murphy) join a search for $30,000 in stolen money. One of the participants is a nun, Sister Isabel (Jane Merrow), who probably isn't all she seems. Con man Harry Briscoe is played by J.D.Cannon, who in earlier episodes of Alias Smith and Jones (represented in flashback form in Gun and the Nun) passed himself off as a government agent. The Gun and the Nun was prepared as a CBS Late-Night movie, then was withdrawn when the entire Alias Smith and Jones series went into syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
The first of two efforts by Universal to launch an Ellery Queen TV series in the 1970s, Don't Look Behind You stars Peter Lawford as intellectual private eye Ellery Queen. Based on the novel Cat of Many Tales, the film finds Queen investigating a series of murders. The male victims were strangled with blue cords, the females with pink ones. In addition, the killer is working his (or her) way down the age scale, knocking off older people first. E.G. Marshall and Stefanie Powers are among the special guest suspects, while Harry Morgan is on hand as Ellery's police-inspector father. The best scene, involving a flooded apartment house, has very little to do with the mystery at hand. Originally telecast November 11, 1971 (after several months on the shelf), Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You failed to yield a weekly series; a 1975 "Ellery Queen" pilot film starring Jim Hutton was, however, more successful. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
- R
Also known as A Dangerous Friend, this real-life-based drama tells of a young man with a penchant for sex and violence. In addition, he seems to possess a kind of mental control over a group of peers who protect the charismatic murderer from authorities. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- 1971
William Shatner guest stars as Don Brand, a hard-nosed parole officer with an obsessive hatred of drug pushers. When Brand's life is threatened, he insists that a paroled dope dealer is responsible--even though he has many, many other enemies. Ironside (Raymond Burr), however, suspects that Brand is his own worst enemy, and that he may be using phony death threats to railroad an ex-con back into prison. This final episode of Ironside's fourth season also marks the last appearance of series regular Barbara Anderson (Eve Whitfield). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1969
In the two-hour pilot film for the subsequent TV "occult" anthology, series creator Rod Serling hosts three macabre short stories, introducing each with a framed portrait in a nocturnal art gallery. The first story stars Roddy MacDowall as a covetous nephew who murders his uncle, suffering the consequence of being possessed by a family painting. The second story stars Joan Crawford as a blind, thoroughly despicable millionairess who purchases the eyes of down-and-out Tom Bosley in order to enjoy 12 precious hours of sight. The final tale involves a Nazi war criminal (Richard Kiley), who attempts to evade his pursuers by escaping into a painting in a museum. The middle sequence is by far the best, directed with youthful bravado by 21-year-old Steven Spielberg. An uneven package, Night Gallery was nonetheless infinitely superior to the series that followed, which suffered from too much network and studio interference and not enough Rod Serling. The Night Gallery pilot was first telecast November 8, 1969; the series ran from 1970 through 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1969
In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), Ironside steps up his efforts to locate the kidnapped daughter of his former sweetheart Barbara Richards (Barbara Rush). Complicating the Chief's investigation is Barbara's husband Vic (Philip Carey), who can't get over the fact that his wife was in love with Ironside during a period of amnesia. Meanwhile, an ill-tempered rural lawman (Slim Pickens) also does his best to thwart Ironside's efforts to rescue the kidnap victim, lest all the credit for cracking the case go to an "out-of-towner". Featured in the supporting cast are such impressive talents as Dane Clark and Cloris Leachman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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