Andrew Stevens Movies

Assigned to the Northeast Division, Officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord) try to trap a young cyclist who has been terrifying a suburban neighborhood. Other assignments involve a restaurant robbery, and an illegal attempt to bury a family pet in a residential area. The supporting cast includes former Family Affair child star Johnnie Whitaker and future TV-miniseries leading man (and prolific producer-director) Andrew Stevens. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though not officially acknowleged at the time of its telecast, the made-for-TV movie The Last Survivors was a rehash of the 1957 theatrical feature Abandon Ship; both in fact were based on the same true story. A typhoon at sea has sunk a ship, leaving Alexander Holmes (Martin Sheen) as the highest ranking officer to survive. Commandeering a crowded lifeboat, Holmes must face the fact that the tiny vessel is in danger of floundering itself--and there's another typhoon on the way. Thus is Holmes forced to "play God", decided who among the passengers will allowed to remain in the lifeboat, and who will be cast overboard. Broadcast by NBC, The Last Survivors debuted on March 4, 1975. ~Saw Film/TV Guide/Marrill/Internet/Expert ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This heist film stars Stella Stevens as a robber who enlists her friends--a trapeze artist and a magician's aide--to help her make off with $500,000 in casino cash. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Dutch cult director Rene Daalder's fascinating debut was this unfairly neglected and richly idea-laden political allegory set in an American high school. Derrel Maury stars as David, a new student at Central High School who is shocked at the degree of control wielded by several preppie thugs who run the school with an iron fist. Though accepted into this circle given his connections to one of its members, Mark (Andrew Stevens), David loses favor with Mark's friends when he also begins spending time with the school's social outcasts. The worst is still to come, however, when David threatens the pecking order by foiling the thugs' attempted gang rape of a female student and has his leg crushed for his efforts. Eventually, the crippled David politicizes the underclass to fight their oppressors, and all three are killed by falling (from political power, the analogy clearly suggests). Daalder then takes the film in a different direction, with the newly liberated student body becoming an oppressive force themselves, and David enraged to the point of mass murder, deciding to wipe out the entire school. Stirred to action, it is up to the formerly apolitical Mark and Teresa to stop him. Daalder shrinks the entire political spectrum into the crucible of what seems on the surface to be a standard exploitation film. There are representatives of the extreme left, extreme right, disaffected center, intellectual bourgeoisie, and so forth, and all are nicely sketched without sacrificing the film's visceral appeal. Beyond the portraits, however, Daalder also skillfully shows the transitions which occur in many political movements, notably those which start as populist and develop into oppressively hierarchical castes. Perhaps disheartened by the failure of Massacre at Central High at the box office, Daalder did not direct again for nearly two decades, but returned with two more conceptually challenging (if equally unsuccessful) genre films, Hysteria and Habitat, in the mid-'90s. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

After several years of marriage, suburban housewife Andrea Fleming (Susan Blakely) realizes that she has never truly been happy. This is particularly galling in that Andrea's repressive mother (Joanne Linville) instilled within her the desire to find the "secret of happiness" before reaching adulthood--but never told her how to go about this. Upon her mother's death, Andrea is possessed by desires she can neither understand nor control, and begins seeking out the aforementioned "secret" by promiscuously embarking upon several casual affairs. Star Susan Blakely also wrote and performed the theme music for Secrets, which was first telecast by ABC on February 20, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Produced for the syndicated "Operation Prime Time" series, The Bastard is the first of John Jakes' "Kent Family Chronicles" (followed by The Rebels and The Seekers). Presented in two parts, the story begins in 1771, with 17-year-old French commoner Philippe Charboneau (Andrew Stevens) discovering that he is the illegitimate son of a British Duke. He goes on a long journey, girdling several countries, to claim his birthright, with his mother (Patricia Neal) along for the ride. Settling in America in 1772, our hero--now known as Phillip Kent--becomes involved with the American Revolution. The all-star cast includes Buddy Ebsen, Barry Sullivan, Harry Morgan, Lorne Greene, Donald Pleasence, Tom Bosley (as Ben Franklin), William Shatner (as Paul Revere) and William Daniels (as Samuel Adams). Distributed nationally beginning May 22, 1978, The Bastard was re-titled Kent Family Chronicles in the more conservative TV markets. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this television remake of the classic 1937 film, two ghosts come back to haunt Cosmo Topper. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Rebels was the second "Operation Prime Time" miniseries to be based on author John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles (the first was The Bastard). The saga of Philip Kent (Andrew Stevens), illegitimate son of a British blueblood, picks up with Kent fighting in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Part One of this two-part endeavor busies itself with setting up characters, places and events; Part Two finds Kent and his pal Judson Fletcher (Don Johnson) teaming up to prevent the assassination of General George Washington (Peter Graves). The enormous all-star cast includes Richard Basehart, Doug McClure, Joan Blondell, Tom Bosley, Macdonald Carey, Robert Vaughan, William Daniels and Nehemiah Persoff; William Conrad does off-screen duty as narrator. The Rebels was syndicated to local TV stations beginning the week of May 14, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set in the '30s, Mountie Millen (Lee Marvin) is assigned to track down accused murderer Johnson (Charles Bronson), who has escaped in the high passes of the Canadian Rockies. Johnson, a trapper, has extensive knowledge of wilderness living, but Millen has the resources of the Canadian police at his beck and call. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Underpublicized and underappreciated, the US ice hockey team heads for the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York. Driven a manner than can be described as merciless by coach Herb Brooks (Karl Malden), the team has learned how to swallow months of defeat and disappointment press on to success. The result: A stunning victory over the high-profile Russian and Finnish skating teams. Actual scenes from the Olympic finals are seamlessly blended with recreations of the event in this made-for-TV movie. Miracle on Ice costars Andrew Stevens as team captain Mike Eruzione. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This made-for-television drama chronicles an atypical May-December romance involving a twenty-something doctor and a middle-aged woman. The two soon fall passionately in love and this causes a little friction between the woman and her full-grown daughters. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Charles Bronson at 63 or so, continues his vigilante persona in this run-of-the-mill crime drama about a Richard Speck-style killer who knifes young nurses to death. There is no doubt that the film exploits both the heinous, 1966 Speck murder of eight nurses in Chicago and an audience's willingness to go along with the Bronson character, Leo Kessler, when he uses illegal means to entrap criminals. The captured killer, Warren Stacey (Gene Davis) manages to go free because of red tape and the need to wait for the outcome of his insanity plea. When he returns to his murderous predilection, Kessler takes action to permanently stop him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Based on the novel by Jackie Collins, the steamy ABC TV minseries Hollywood Wives began its three-evening run on February 17, 1985. Advertised with the teaser "If you think nothing can shock you anymore," part one got things up and running by introducing the central players, among them Elaine Conti (Candice Bergen), the ruthlessly ambitious wife of B-list movie star Ross Conti (Steve Forrest), and the promiscuous Gina Germaine (Suzanne Somers), who hopes to emerge from her famous hubby's shadow by pursuing her own screen career. The most realistic aspect of the series is the fact that the actors playing the male stars and producers are all considerably older than the women portraying their "trophy" wives. In part two of the miniseries, Elaine continues wheeling and dealing to advance the career of her husband, a fading matinee idol. Meanwhile, the craven Gina tries to sleep her way into a major role in the latest epic directed by Neil Gray (Anthony Hopkins). And Karen Lancaster (Mary Crosby), a second-generation celebrity, embarks upon a romantic misadventure that may have consequence for her celebrated father and mother -- not to mention nominal heroine Elaine. In the miniseries' third and final part, Elaine throws a huge Hollywood party to advance the career of her aging movie-star husband Ross. The site of the party is the home of established film favorite George Lancaster (Robert Stack), whose daughter, Karen (Mary Crosby), has made no secret of her intention to steal Elaine's hubby away from her. Frances Bergen, real-life mother of star Candice Bergen, is seen as George Lancaster's missus, Pamela. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi