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| Seventies & Eighties Made-For-TV Movies - C | 
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CAGNEY & LACEY
1981
100 min.
Loretta Swit, Tyne Daly, Joan Copeland, Al Waxman, Ronald Hunter, Yvette Hawkins. Directed by Ted Post.
Two women undercover cops crack a tough murder case involving a Hassidic diamond broker. An intelligent script and
interesting relationship of the female police partners make this something more than just another cop show. Pilot to
the hit series. Above average.
CALAMITY JANE
1984
100 min.
Jane Alexander, Frederic Forrest, David Hemmings, Ken Kercheval, Walter Olkewicz, Talia Balsam. Directed by James
Gladstone.
Jane's exceedingly plain Jane is the centerpiece of this spirited feminist outlook of the Old West. No way will this
ever be confused with the Doris Day musical version. Written by Suzanne Clauser. Above average.
CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH
1981
100 min.
Robert Hays, John Dehner, Henry Jones, Gene Evans, Ken Curtis, Victor Mohica, Cliff Osmond. Directed by Jack B. Hively.
A "Classics Illustrated" look at Bret Harte's THE LUCK OF ROARING CAMP and THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT as revisited by
an adult (Hays), now working for Captain John Sutter. Average.
THE CALIFORNIA KID
1974
78 min.
Martin Sheen, Vic Morrow, Michelle Phillips, Stuart Margolin, Nick Nolte, Janit Baldwin. Directed by Richard Heffron.
Taut, well-made thriller in which psychotic small town sheriff Morrow, who delights in punishing speeders by running
them off hairpin mountain curves, is forced into a high-speed auto duel with Sheen, the hod-rodding brother of one of
the victims, played by Sheen's real-life brother Joe Estevez. Script by Richard Compton. Above average.
CALL HER MOM
1971
73 min.
Connie Stevens, Van Johnson, Charles Nelson Reilly, Jim Hutton, Gloria DeHaven, Corbett Monica. Directed by Jerry Paris.
A fraternity house takes on a waitress as housemother and finds itself (and the entire college) in the center of an
intense Women's Lib controversy. Needs a better script. Average.
CALL TO DANGER
1973
74 min.
Peter Graves, Stephen McNally, Diana Muldaur, Ina Balin, Michael Ansara, Clu Gulager, Tina Louise. Directed by Tom
Gries.
An undercover investigator for the Justice Department must rescue an important witness kidnapped by the Mob. Grows
increasingly implausible as the plot unwinds. Average.
CALL TO GLORY
1984
98 min.
Craig T. Nelson, Cindy Pickett. Directed by Thomas Carter.
Slow-moving pilot for a TV series centering on a dedicated U.S. Air Force colonel (Nelson) and his family. You get a
flavor of life in the turbulent early 1960s, but political issues are merely skimmed over while family melodrama rules.
Below average.
CALLIE & SON
1981
150 min.
Lindsay Wagner, Jameson Parker, Dabney Coleman, Andrew Prine, Michelle Pfieffer, James Sloyan. Directed by Waris
Hussein.
A rags-to-riches story of a woman's climb to wealth and power in Texas and her obsessive love for her teenaged son.
Overlong, with a hint or two of kindness; written by best-selling author Thomas Thompson. Average.
CAN ELLEN BE SAVED?
1974
78 min.
Leslie Nielsen, John Saxon, Michael Parks, Louise Fletcher, Kathy Cannon, Rutanya Alda, Bill Katt, Kathleen Quinlan.
Directed by Harvey Hart.
Exorcism movie in which Saxon is hired by the parents of Cannon to save her from a fanatical religious commune. An
unspectacular deprogramming drama that unfolds in totally predictable fashion. Below average.
CANNON
1970
100 min.
William Conrad, Vera Miles, J.D. Cannon, Lynda Day, Earl Holliman. Directed by George McCowan.
An overweight private-eye hired by the wife of an old friend to investigate her husband's murder; the case becomes
linked to small-town corruption. Too many subplots make for confusion after the halfway mark. Above average; pilot for
TV series.
CAPTAIN AMERICA II: DEATH TOO SOON
1979
88 min.
Reb Brown, Len Birman, Connie Selleca, Katherine Justice, Christopher Lee. Directed by Ivan Nagy.
The second of two attempts to make a small-screen superhero out of Reb Brown is marginally better than the first,
thanks primarily to the presence of Christopher Lee as an archvillain threatening to spread a plague with a drug that
accelerates the aging process. Below average.
CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS
1977
110 min.
Karl Malden, Fritz Weaver, Neville Brand, Fred Gwynne, Johnny Doran. Directed by Harvey Hart.
OK redo of the Kipling classic, with the focus back on Captain Disko Troop (Malden) where it belongs. Young Kahn makes
the rich kid an obnoxious snip. Montalban takes the old Spencer Tracy role which, without Tracy's overpowering
presence, is cut down to size. Adaptation by John Gay. Average.
CARPOOL
1983
100 min.
Harvey Korman, Ernest Borgnine, Peter Scolari, T.K. Carter, Stephanie Faracy, Chuck McCann, Graham Jarvis. Directed by
E.W. Swackhammer.
Lackluster comedy about a group of computer-matched carpoolers who stumble across a million dollars and then have to
fight not only each other but gangsters and crooked cops to see who keeps the cash. Average.
A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY
1983
100 min.
Helen Hayes, Bernard Hughes, Jameson Parker, Season Hubley, Swoosie Kurtz, Stephen Macht, Beth Howland, Maurice Evans,
Brock Peters. Directed by Robert Lewis.
Miss Marple returns -- delightfully played by Helen Hayes -- to unmask the murderer of a retired British officer (Evans)
at a posh resort in the Bahamas. Script by Sue Grafton and Steve Humphrey. Above average.
CARTER'S ARMY
1969
72 min.
Stephen Boyd, Robert Hooks, Susan Oliver, Roosevelt Grier, Paul Stewart, Moses Gunn, Richard Pryor. Directed by George
McCowan.
A Southern Army captain is handed a company of all blacks with no prior combat experience to defend a dam during WW2.
Cliched, despite good cast (including young Pryor). Below average.
A CASE OF RAPE
1974
100 min.
Elizabeth Montgomery, William Daniels, Cliff Potts, Rosemary Murphy, Ronny Cox, Patricia Smith. Directed by Boris Sagal.
A middle-class housewife (Montgomery) reports being raped and finds that her ordeal has only begun, as the personal
humiliations from police, medical personnel, and the courts, and the waning trust from her husband (Cox) make her feel
that she is the guilty one. Sensitively handled by Montgomery and director Sagal, but the script, written by Robert E.
Tompson, keeps veering toward the melodramatic. Above average.
A CASE OF LIBEL
1983
90 min.
Ed Asner, Daniel J. Travanti. Directed by Eric Till.
A hard-hitting courtroom drama based on a play that was in turn based on Louis Nizer's best-selling memoirs. A slimy
newspaper columnist (Travanti) is more interested in a juicy story than the truth and a dedicated liberal attorney
(Asner) gets his day in court against him. Average.
CASINO
1980
100 min.
Mike Connors, Barry Van Dyke, Gene Evans, Hedley Mattingly, Gary Burghoff, Joseph Cotten, Lynda Day George, Robert
Reed, Barry Sullivan, Sherry Jackson. Directed by Don Chaffey.
A recycling of Blake Edwards' old MR. LUCKY series and a pilot for a prospective new series starring Connors as the
owner of a luxurious hotel/gambling place. Edwards is billed as creative consultant. Average.
THE CAT CREATURE
1973
72 min.
Meredith Baxter, David Hedison, Gale Sondergaard, Stuart Whitman, Keye Luke, John Carradine, Peter Lorre, Jr. Directed
by Curtis Harrington.
Script by Robert Bloch and good direction combine in an unusual horror tale of a cat goddess possessing victims to gain
access to a gold amulet. Good suspense, above average.
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
1984
144 min.
Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones, Rip Torn, Kim Stanley, Penny Fuller. Directed by Jack Hofsiss.
This disappointing cable adaptation uses a tougher, smarter version of Tennessee Williams' play that brings homosexuality
into a clearer light. Its main attraction is Lange, who gives a wildly stylized but very fiery performance as Maggie.
After two-and-a-half hours, you're likely to become as itchy as Maggie herself. Average.
THE CATCHER
1971
100 min.
Michael Witney, Jan-Michael Vincent, Tony Franciosa, Catherine Burns, David Wayne, Mike Kellin, Anne Baxter. Directed
by Allen H. Miner.
A Seattle policeman and a Harvard grad join forces in locating fugitive runaway husbands and missing children throughout
the U.S. Good locations are the main asset in an otherwise unmemorable drama. Average.
CAVE-IN!
1983
100 min.
Dennis Cole, Susan Sullivan, Ray Milland, Leslie Nielsen, Julie Sommars, James Olson, Lonny Chapman, Sheila Larkin.
Directed by Georg Fenady.
Disaster master Irwin Allen literally scraped bottom with this one, sending a tour party of familiar TV faces into a
cavern with an escaped con and trapping them all in not one but TWO cave-ins. This one gathered dust on the shelf for
more than four years before bieng foisted on viewers. Below average.
CELEBRITY
1984
313 min.
Michael Beck, Joseph Bottoms, Ben Masters, James Whitmore, Hal Holbrook, Karen Austin, Tess Harper, Dinah Manoff, Debbie
Allen, Ned Beatty, Jennifer Warren, Claude Akins. Directed by Paul Wendkos.
Trashy TV melodrama at its near-best, spanning twenty-five years in the lives of three high school friends who gain fame
and fortune respectively as a movie star, a journalist, and a faith healer -- and a dark secret that links them together.
Average.
THE CHADWICK FAMILY
1974
78 min.
Fred MacMurray, Kathleen Maguire, Darlene Carr, Jane Actman, Stephen Nathan, Lara Parker. Directed by David Lowell Rich.
Undistinguished soap opera, with MacMurray moving from the dad of "My Three Sons" to the patriarch of a clan consisting
of wife Maguire, three daughters, one son, two sons-in-law, and the Chinese boyfriend of the youngest girl. Average.
THE CHALLENGE
1982
73 min.
Scott Glenn, Toshiro Mifune, Donna Kei Benz, Atsuo Nakamura, Calvin Young. Directed by John Frankenheimer.
An entertaining but sometimes pretentious actioner, with American boxer Glenn becoming involved in a conflict between
brothers Mifune and Nakamura over the rights to family swords. Scripted by John Sayles and Richard Maxwell. Exteriors
are mostly in Kyoto; may be of interest to Japanophiles.
THE CHALLENGERS
1969
100 min.
Darren McGavin, Sean Garrison, Nico Minardos, Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Farley Granger. Directed by Leslie Martinson.
Top professional racing drivers competing for Grand Prix; off track, for the same girl. Embarrassing script. Below
average.
CHAMPIONS: A LOVE STORY
1979
100 min.
Shirley Knight, Tony Lo Bianco, James Vincent McNichol, Joy LeDuc, Jennifer Warren, Richard Jaeckel. Directed by John
A. Alonzo.
Teenagers, trying out for the national figure skating championships, fall in love; not unlike ICE CASTLES. Well written
by John Sacret Young, photographed by Alonzo, acted -- and skated. Above average.
CHARLESTON
1979
100 min.
Delta Burke, Jordan Clarke, Richard Lawson, Lynne Moody, Patricia Pearcy, Martha Scott, Mandy Patinkin. Directed by
Karen Arthur.
Unfortunate clone of GONE WITH THE WIND even has a pouty, self-centered Southern belle who looks like Vivian Leigh.
Produced, directed, and written by women, but offers no insights -- feminist or otherwise -- on familiar material.
Below average.
CHARLIE AND THE GREAT BALLOON CHASE
1981
100 min.
Jack Albertson, Adrienne Barbeau, Slim Pickens, Moosie Drier, John Reilly, Pat Cooper, Ann Seymour, Bert Freed.
Directed by Larry Elikann.
Lighthearted family fare about a youngster who helps his retired granddad fulfill a dream of a transcontinental trip in
a hot-air balloon. Average.
CHARLIE COBB: NICE NIGHT FOR A HANGING
1977
100 min.
Clu Gulager, Ralph Bellamy, Stella Stevens, Blair Brown, Pernell Roberts, Christopher Connelly, Tricia O'Neil. Directed
by Richard Michaels.
Lighthearted Western has Gulager, a resourceful private eye of the 1870s, battling those with evil plans for Ms. Brown,
believed to be the long-missing daughter of wealthy rancher Bellamy. Average.
CHARLIE'S ANGELS
1976
78 min.
Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Jaclyn Smith, David Doyle, Diana Muldaur, Bo Hopkins, David Ogden Stiers, John
Lehne, Tommy Lee Jones. Directed by John Llewellyn Moxie.
Three attractive female detectives use their wiles to con the killer of a wealthy wine grower into revealing the
whereabouts of the body. Featherweight cop-show-with-a-twist that snowballed into one of the most popular TV series of
the late 70s and began the Farrah Fawcett-Majors phenomenon. Average.
CHICAGO STORY
1981
100 min.
Vincent Baggetta, Dennis Franz, Kene Holiday, Jack Kehoe, Craig T. Nelson, Kristoffer Tabori, Gail Youngs. Directed by
Jerry London.
Pilot to the series, interwining lawyer, cop and doctor concepts, created and written by Eric Bercovici and directed by
his SHOGUN associate. Intelligent drama has an innocent man charged with the sniper-wounding of a 10-year-old girl in a
park. Above average.
CHIEFS
1983
200 min.
Charlton Heston, Keith Carradine, Brad Davis, Wayne Rogers, Billy Dee Williams, Paul Sorvino, Stephen Collins. Directed
by Jerry London.
Fascinating miniseries set in the Deep South, where murders and cover-ups seem to go hand in hand. Working on several
different levels, it spans four decades and offers a shrewd appraisal of the seemy side of politics and how it can
impede due process of the law. Above average.
THE CHILD STEALER
1979
100 min.
Beau Bridges, Blair Brown, Cristina Rains, David Groh, Eugene Roche, Marj Dusay. Directed by Mel Damski.
Well-acted drama about a young mother who battles to get her children back after her former husband kidnaps them.
Script by Sue Milburn. Above average.
THE CHILDREN NOBODY WANTED
1981
100 min.
Frederic Lehne, Michelle Pfeiffer, Matt Clark, Barbara Barrie, Noble Willingham. Directed by Richard Michaels.
True-life drama of a young man's crusade to provide a family life for homeless youngsters. Average.
THE CHILDREN OF AN LAC
1980
100 min.
Shirley Jones, Ina Balin, Beulah Quo, Alan Fudge, Ben Piazza, Lee Pal, Kieu Chinh, Vic Diaz. Directed by John Llewellyn
Moxie.
The story of three women (among them Ina Balin in her own real-life role) who try to evacuate hundreds of Vietnamese
orphans just before the fall of Saigon. Lovely performance by veteran actress Quo, Blanche Hanalis wrote the teleplay
from Balin's story. Above average.
THE CHILDREN OF DIVORCE
1980
97 min.
Barbara Feldon, Lance Irwin, Stacey Nelkin, Billy Dee Williams, Olivia Cole, Zohra Lampert, Christopher Ciampa, Stella
Stevens, Fritz Weaver, Greg Mullavey, Carmine Caridi, Mary-Robin Redd, Carmen Zaputa. Directed by Joanna Lee.
Drama about the impact of divorce on youngsters in three socially different families, writtin by director Lee. Average.
CHINA ROSE
1983
100 min.
George C. Scott, Ali MacGraw, Michael Biehn, Denis Lill, David Snell, James Hong. Directed by Robert Day.
American businessman Scott and Chinese-speaking guide MaGraw search for his long-lost son who disappeared during the
Cultural Revolution in China. Good premise bludgeoned by miscasting, and unnecessary star-power. Average.
THE CHOICE
1981
100 min.
Susan Clark, Mitchell Ryan, Jennifer Warren, Largo Woodruff, Paul Regina, Kathleen Lloyd, Lisa Jane Persky. Directed by
David Greene.
Sudsy drama about a mother and daughter who both must make a decision about the latter's abortion. Average.
CHOICES OF THE HEART
1983
100 min.
Melissa Gilbert, Martin Sheen, Mike Farrell, Helen Hunt, Peter Horton, Rene Enriquez, Pamela Bellwood. Directed by
Joseph Sargent.
The story of Jean Donovan, the lay missionary killed in El Salvador in 1980 with three American nuns. Gilbert emerges
as a young actress of depth here. Script is by John Pielmeier, author of Broadway's "Agnes of God." Also titled IN
DECEMBER THE ROSES WILL BLOOM AGAIN. Above average.
CHRISTMAS LILIES OF THE FIELD
1979
100 min.
Billy Dee Williams, Maria Schell, Fay Hauser, Judith Piquet, Hanna Hertelendy, Lisa Mann. Directed by Ralph Nelson.
A joyous followup to Nelson's Oscar-winning original of 15 years earlier, with Homer Smith turning up at the chapel
he built in the Arizona desert and being conned once again by Mother Maria -- this time to put up an orphanage and
kindergarten. Above average.
A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE IN CAUFIELD, U.S.A.
1977
100 min.
Mitchell Ryan, Kurt Russell, Andrew Prine, John Carradine, Karen Lamm, Melissa Gilbert. Directed by Jud Taylor.
Coal miners trapped by an underground explosion on Christmas Eve. Mild drama by Dalen Young, taken from real life, but
plays in standard TV fashion like a roadshow WALTONS -- right down to the off-camera narration by a younger member of
the family and the final shot of their home with the lights going out. Average. Retitled THE CHRISTMAS COAL MINERS
MIRACLE.
A CHRISTMAS WITHOUT SNOW
1980
100 min.
Michael Learned, John Houseman, Romon Bieri, James Cromwell, Valerie Curtin, Ruth Nelson, Beah Richards. Directed by
John Korty.
A heartwarming story, written by Korty, about a newly divorced woman's involvement in the lives of her fellow church-
choir members as they struggle to meet the demands of their perfectionist director. Above average.
CINDY
1978
100 min.
Clifton Davis, Charlaine Woodard, Scoey Mitchell, Mae Mercer, Nell-Ruth Carte, Alaina Reed. Directed by William A.
Graham.
Original musical updates Cinderella story to Harlem during WW2; delightful concoction from MTM team with a multi-
talented black cast. Above average.
THE CITY
1971
100 min.
Anthony Quinn, Skye Aubrey, E. G. Marshall, Robert Reed, Pat Hingle, John Larch, Kaz Garas, Peggy McCay. Directed by
Daniel Petrie.
Unengrossing drama of a veteran Albuquerque mayor solving urban problems. Unconvincing situations, some pale
performances; pilot for the short-lived TV series. Below average.
THE CITY
1977
78 min.
Robert Forster, Don Johnson, Ward Costello, Jimmy Dean, Mark Hamill, Susan Sullivan. Diected by Harvey Hart.
Police drama with cops Forster and Johnson searching for a psychotic with a deadly grudge against a country singer.
Below average.
CITY IN FEAR
1980
150 min.
David Janssen, Robert Vaughn, Perry King, William Prince, Susan Sullivan, William Daniels, Mickey Rourke. Directed by
Allan Smithee.
A psycho-on-the-loose story, with Janssen (in his last role) as a burned-out columnist and Vaughn as a circulation-
hungry publisher who wants him to turn the killer into Page One news. Janssen's seldom been better; the pseudonymous
director Allan Smithee is actually Jud Taylor. Script by Albert Ruben. Above average.
CLASS OF '63
1973
74 min.
Cliff Gorman, Joan Hackett, Ed Lauter, Colby Chester, Graham Beckel. Directed by John Korty.
A college reunion provides the subtle setting for a sad tale of a dissolving marriage and bittersweet romance;
unresolved ending. Full-blooded characters in an absorbing, realistic melodrama by Lee Kalcheim. Above average.
A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER
1970
100 min.
Hal Holbrook, E. G. Marshall, Joseph Campanella, Jack Albertson, Pat Hingle, Mike Kellin, Jeff Corey. Directed by
James Goldstone.
The son of a retiring U.S. Senator risks his political career in forthright determination to influence public opinion
on air pollution. Some good dialogue, acting. Pilot for the short-lived "The Senator" segment of THE BOLD ONES. Above
average.
CLIMB AN ANGRY MOUNTAIN
1972
97 min.
Fess Parker, Barry Nelson, Joe Kapp, Stella Stevens, Marj Dusay, Clay O'Brien. Directed by Leonard Horn.
Great location shooting (Northern California) enhances this likable drama pitting a tough sheriff (Parker) and a N.Y.
cop against a fugitive Indian holding the sheriff's son hostage. Above average.
THE CLONE MASTER
1978
100 min.
Art Hindle, Robyn Douglass, Ed Lauter, Ralph Bellamy, John Van Dreelen, Mario Roccuzo. Directed by Don Medford.
A biochemist clones himself thirteen times and sends the copies out to fight evil wherever it might exist. Pilot to a
series that itself failed to get cloned. Average.
COACH OF THE YEAR
1980
100 min.
Robert Conrad, Erin Gray, Red West, Daphne Maxwell, Ed O'Bradovich, Ricky Paul, Alex Paez. Directed by Don Medford.
An ex-pro-football star, wounded in Vietnam, volutneers to coach a ragtag team of young incorrigibles from his
wheelchair. Conrad gives another strong performance in this busted pilot. Above average.
COCAINE AND BLUE EYES
1983
100 min.
O. J. Simpson, Cliff Gorman, Candy Clark, Eugene Roche, Maureen Anderman, Cindy Pickett, Tracy Reed, Keye Luke.
Directed by E. W. Swackhamer.
In this failed pilot, the Juice is a private eye in San Francisco who uncovers a drug-dealing operation while
searching for a dead client's girlfriend. Average.
COCAINE: ONE MAN'S SEDUCTION
1983
100 min.
Dennis Weaver, Karen Grassle, David Ackroyd, Pamela Bellwood, James Spader, Jeffrey Tambor, Richard Venture. Directed
by Paul Wendkos.
Weaver gives a devastating performance as a successful real estate agent who develops a cocaine habit during a
temporary business slump and soon finds his career, marriage and life endangered. Script by Barry Scheider and David
Goldsmith, however, veers toward the melodramatic. Average.
CODE NAME: DIAMOND HEAD
1977
78 min.
Roy Thinnes, France Nuyen, Ward Costello, Zulu, Don Knight, Ian McShane, Eric Braeden, Dennis Patrick. Directed by
Jeannot Szwarc.
Undercover agent Thinnes scours Honolulu to find master spy McShane, hired by a foreign power to steal the formula for
a deadly toxic gas. Assembly-line spy thriller hidden in exotic locales. Below average.
CODE NAME: HERACLITUS
1967
100 min.
Stanley Baker, Leslie Nielsen, Jack Weston, Sheree North, Signe Hasso, Kurt Kasznar, Ricardo Montalban. Directed by
James Goldstone.
A dead man is "rebuilt" to become a Cold War agent. Slick thriller crawling with spies, counterspies and a gum-chewer
named Gannon (Baker) who may or may not have come in from the cold. Stitched together from CHRYSLER THEATRE shows.
Above average.
CODE RED
1981
74 min.
Lorne Greene, Andrew Stevens, Sam J. Jones, Julie Adams, Martina Deignan, Joe Maross, Robert Alda, Burr DeBenning.
Directed by J. Lee Thompson.
The pilot of Irwin Allen's adventure series about a family of big city firefighters. Average.
COFFEE, TEA OR ME?
1973
73 min.
Karen Valentine, John Davidson, Michael Anderson Jr., Louise Lasser, Lou Jacobi, Erica Hagen. Directed by Norman Panama.
Decent comedy features Valentine as a busy airline stewardess who, through odd circumstance, has two husbands in
separate continents. The weak resolution is its only liability. Above average.
THE COLD ROOM
1984 - Great Britain
95 min.
George Segal, Amanda Pays, Renee Soutendijk, Warren Clarke, Anthony Higgins. Directed by James Dearden.
A rebellious college girl reluctantly accompanies her estranged writer-father to East Berlin and finds she's entered a
time warp, with a hidden dissident in a secret room next to hers and the Gestapo nipping at her heels. Confused,
lackadaisical adaptation of Jeffrey Caine's psychological thriller. Made for cable. Average.
COLLISION COURSE
1975
100 min.
Henry Fonda, E.G. Marshall, Lucille Benson, Lloyd Bochner, Ward Costello, Andrew Duggan, Russell Johnson, John Larch,
John Randolph, Barry Sullivan, Richard Loo. Directed by Anthony Page.
Fonda is General Douglas MacArthur and Marshall is President Harry Truman in Ernest Kinoy's dramatic reconstruction of
events surrounding their clash over methods to end the Korean War. A talky, static blend of fact and speculation. Average.
THE COMEBACK KID
1980
100 min.
John Ritter, Susan Dey, James Gregory, Doug McKeon, Jeremy Licht, Rod Gist. Directed by Peter Levin.
This romantic comedy with a heart features Ritter as a luckless big-league ballplayer who is talked into coaching a
gang of underprivileged kids. Sort of a genteel BAD NEWS BEARS. Average.
THE COMEDY COMPANY
1978
100 min.
Jack Albertson, George Burns, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Herbert Eldeman, Joyce Van Patten, Susan Sullivan, Michael Brandon,
Abe Vigoda. Directed by Lee Phillips.
Drama about the efforts of an ex-vaudevillian to keep his failing nightclub alive as a showcase for aspiring comices.
Average.
COMING OUT OF THE ICE
1982
100 min.
John Savage, Willie Nelson, Ben Cross, Francesca Annis, Frank Windsor, Peter Vaughn. Directed by Waris Hussein.
Cold retelling of the Victor Herman story, with Savage as a young Herman who suffered through nearly 20 years of torture,
starvation and brutality in Siberia in the late 1930s. Willie Nelson turns up briefly (and somewhat jarringly) as a
fellow prisoner and illustrates with ease what makes his screen personality unique. Average.
COMPANIONS IN NIGHTMARE
1968
99 min.
Melvyn Douglas, Gig Young, Anne Baxter, Patrick O'Neal, Dana Wynter, Leslie Nielsen. Directed by Norman Lloyd.
A renowned psychiatrist (Douglas) invites a hand-picked group of professionals to participate in a group therapy
experiment, unaware the group includes a dangerous psychotic. Performances can't hide the film's contrived posturing.
Average.
COMPUTERCIDE
1982
100 min.
Joseph Cortese, Tom Clancy, Susan George, David Huddleston, Donald Peasance. Directed by Robert Michael Lewis.
Lighthearted drama about THE FINAL EYE (the title when filmed in 1977), the last private eye on earth in the mid-1990s
unraveling a mystery in a utopian village where a noted scientist has vanished. A busted pilot that gathered dust on a
shelf for a number of years -- with good reason. Below average.
THE CONCRETE COWBOYS
1979
100 min.
Jerry Reed, Tom Selleck, Morgan Fairchild, Claude Akins, Gene Evans, Roy Acuff, Barbara Mandrell. Directed by Burt
Kennedy.
Lighthearted mystery adventure about a couple of yahoos in Nashville who find themselves embroiled in an intricate
blackmail scheme. Leisurely pace and amiable acting nearly cancel each other out. Average.
CONDOMINIUM
1979
195 min.
Barbara Eden, Dan Haggerty, Steve Forrest, Ralph Bellamy, MacDonald Carey, Dane Clark, Ana Alicia, Linda Cristal,
Elinor Donahue, Don Galloway, Pamela Hershey, Arte Johnson, Jack Jones, Dorothy Malone, Nehamiah Persoff, Stuart
Whitman. Directed by Sidney Hayers.
Condo sun-and-fun lovers' carefree life (and between-the-sheets activities) are threatened by a killer hurricane. Based
on John D. MacDonald's best-selling novel.
CONFESSIONS OF A MARRIED MAN
1983
100 min.
Robert Conrad, Jennifer Warren, Mary Crosby, Ann Dusenberry, Lance Guest, John Shepherd, Don Gordon. Directed by Steve
Gethers.
A loving husband and father, facing a mid-life crisis, leaves his family for a younger woman. Average.
CONGRATULATIONS, IT'S A BOY
1971
73 min.
Bill Bixby, Diane Baker, Jack Albertson, Ann Southern, Karen Jensen. Directed by William Graham.
Fairly entertaining vehicle for Bixby as a swinging bachelor confronted by a young man who claims to be his son.
Average.
CONTRACT ON CHERRY STREET
1977
150 min.
Frank Sinatra, Harry Guardino, Martin Balsam, Henry Silva, Verna Bloom, Michael Nouri, Martin Gabel. Directed by
William A. Graham.
Sinatra's first TV-movie (and first role after his seven-year "retirement") has him well cast as an NYC police officer
who takes on organized crime in his own fashion after his partner is gunned down. Aces to this fine thriller, adapted
by Edward Anhalt from Philip Rosenberg's book. Above average.
COOK & PEARY: THE RACE TO THE POLE
1983
100 min.
Richard Chamberlain, Rod Steiger, Diane Venora, Michael Gross, Samm-Art Williams. Directed by Robert Day.
The struggles of two famed explorers as they trekked through the Arctic wasteland, each claimng to have reached the
North Pole first. Low-key performances by the two leads and starkness of the terrain make for relatively sluggish
going. Average.
COOL MILLION
1972
100 min.
James Farentino, John Vernon, Barbara Bouchet, Jackie Coogan, Christine Belford, Lila Kedrova, Patricia O'Neal.
Directed by Gene Leavitt.
An international troubleshooter must locate the genuine heiress of a $50 million fortune when her father dies under
mysterious circumstances. Fantasy-world entertainment; the pilot for the short-lived series. Retitled MASK OF MARCELLA.
COPACABANA
1985
100 min.
Barry Manilow, Annette O'Toole, Estelle Getty, Joseph Bologna, Andra Akers. Directed by Waris Hussein.
Even those who are not fans of Manilow will be tapping their toes to this 1940s-style musical that captures the studio-
bound charm of the old 20th Century Fox musicals. Despite the less-than-breathtaking performances by leads Manilow and
O'Toole, you'll be glad to find out how Lola the Copa showgirl lost her faithful piano-playing swain to a bullet from a
psychotic gangster. Average.
COP ON THE BEAT
1975
78 min.
Lloyd Bridges, Pat Crowley, Dane Clark, Jim Backus, Dean Stockwell, Della Reese, Janis Paige, Tom Drake, Edie Adams,
Don Stroud, Hari Rhodes. Directed by Virgil W. Vogel.
Bridges is Joe Forrester, a veteran plainclothes cop who voluntarily returns to uniform duty on his old beat to help
solve a series of robbery-rapes in the rundown neighborhood. This evolved from TV's POLICE STORY and served as a brief
series for the always reliable Bridges. Average.
THE COPS AND ROBIN
1978
100 min.
Ernest Borgnine, Michael Shannon, John Amos, Carol Lynley, Natasha Ryan, Philip Abbot, Terry Kiser. Directed by Allen
Reisner.
The premise that began with FUTURE COP (with the same stars) and continued in the brief series that followed was given
another shot here, with an aging street cop and his partner, a robot programmed to be the perfect policeman, assigned
to protect the younger daughter of a woman stalked by mobsters. Average.
COTTON CANDY
1978
100 min.
Charles Martin Smith, Clint Howard, Rance Howard, Lesley King, Kevin Lee Miller. Directed by Ron Howard.
Ron Howard directed (and co-wrote with brother Clint) this featherweight story about high school students wo form a
rock 'n' roll bnd in the 1950s. Average.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
1975
100 min.
Richard Chamberlain, Tony Curtis, Trevor Howard, Louis Jordan, Donald Pleasence, Taryn Power. Directed by David Greene.
Lavish costume drama with Chamberlain quite all right as a swashbuckling Edmond Dantes and Curtis as the villainous
Mondego. Sidney Carroll's adaptation of Dumas holds its own against its many predecessors. Average.
THE COUNTRY GIRL
1981
137 min.
Faye Dunaway, Dick Van Dyke, Ken Howard. Directed by Bernie Dodd.
An effective, adeptly acted TV version of the famous Clifford Odets play that won Grace Kelly an Oscar in 1954. Dunaway
skillfully portrays the ultimate backstage wife who patches up her husband's tattered ego and prepares him for a
comeback. Average.
COUNTRY GOLD
1982
100 min.
Loni Anderson, Earl Holliman, Linda Hamilton, Cooper Huckabee, Dennis Dugan, Lee Richardson. Directed by Gilbert Cates.
All About Eve with a Nashville touch, as a country singer is "befriended" by a young woman. Cameos by country stars Mel
Tillis, Barbara Mandrell, Stella Parton, Box Car Willie, The Bellamy Brothers and others. Average.
THE COUPLE TAKES A WIFE
1972
73 min.
Bill Bixby, Paula Prentiss, Valerie Perrine, Nanette Fabray, Robert Goulet, Myrna Loy, Larry Storch. Directed by Jerry
Paris.
A good cast works wonders with an old-style situation: the Hamiltons (Bixby and Prentiss) decide to take on a "second
wife," enabling Mrs. Hamilton to continue her professional career. Written by Susan Silver. Above average.
THE COURAGE AND THE PASSION
1978
100 min.
Vince Edwards, Desi Arnaz, Jr., Don Meridith, Trisha Noble, Linda Foster, Robert Hooks, Monty Hall. Directed by John
Llewellyn Moxey.
Pilot about pilots who test jets and bring their personal problems to C.O. Edwards, who put this one together in hopes
of having another hit series. Average.
THE COURAGE OF KAVIK, THE WOLF DOG
1980
100 min.
Ronny Cox, John Ireland, Linda Sorenson, Andrew Ian McMillan, Chris Wiggins. Directed by Peter Carter.
Uninspired, Canadian-made boy-and-his-dog tale that won't do preteen viewers any harm. Average. Also known as KAVIK,
THE WOLF DOG.
COVER GIRLS
1977
78 min.
Jayne Kennedy, Cornelia Sharpe, Don Galloway, Vince Edwards, Sean Garrison, George Lazenby. Directed by Jerry London.
Two fashion models combine photo assignments with work as espionage agents. It's CHARLIE'S ANGELS minus one, a
rock-bottom rip-off that proves, as Red Skelton once said, "Imitation isn't the sincerest form of flattery, it's
plagiarism." Below average.
COWARD OF THE COUNTY
1981
100 min.
Kenny Rogers, Frederic Lehne, Largo Woodruff, Mariclare Costello, Ana Alicia, Noble Willingham. Directed by Dick Lowry.
Clyde Ware's script, based on the lyrics of one of Rogers's hit songs, has Kenny as a small-town Southern preacher
whose nephew is deemed a coward because he refuses to join the Army during WW2. Average.
COWBOY
1983
100 min.
James Brolin, Annie Potts, Ted Danson, Randy Quaid, George DiCenzo, Michael Pataki. Directed by Jerry Jameson.
A disillusioned teacher forsakes the big-city ghetto for a cattle ranch in this by-the-numbers contemporary Western.
Average.
THE CRACKER FACTORY
1979
100 min.
Natalie Wood, Perry King, Peter Haskell, Vivian Blaine, Juliet Mills, Marian Mercer. Directed by Burt Brinckeroff.
Wood shines as a suicidal suburban housewife who's in and out of the asylum throughout this Richard Shapiro adaptation
of Joyce Rebata-Burditt's novel. Above average.
THE CRADLE WILL FALL
1983
100 min.
Lauren Hutton, Ben Murphy, James Farantino, Charlita Bauer, Carolyn Ann Clark, Joe Ponazecki, Elvera Roussel, Peter
Simon, Jerry ver Dorn. Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey.
Gimmicky suspense drama involving lawyer Hutton, her doctor/lover Murphy, sinister gynecologist Farentino and various
members of the long-running daytime soap THE GUIDING LIGHT, with only so-so results. Based on the novel by Mary Higgins
Clark.
CRASH
1978
100 min.
William Shatner, Adrienne Barbeau, Eddie Albert, Brooke Bundy, Christopher Connally, Lorraine Gray, George Maharis,
Artie Shaw. Directed by Barry Shear.
Another plane goes down with a flight manifesto of TV familiars. This time the tale is based on fact (and covered
similarly in the TV movie THE GHOST OF FLIGHT 401): dramatizing the jetliner disaster in the Florida Everglades in Dec.
'72 and the rescue of 73 passengers. Average.
CRAWLSPACE
1971
74 min.
Arthur Kennedy, Teresa Wright, Tom Harper, Eugene Roche, Dan Morgan. Directed by John Newland.
A retired couple living in New England take in an odd young man to fill their need for a son; he takes up residence in
the house's cellar. A definitely offbeat combination of character study and psychological thriller. Adapted by Ernest
Kinoy from Herbert Lieberman's novel. Above average.
CRAZY TIMES
1981
98 min.
Michael Pare, David Caruso, Roy Liotta, Talia Balsam, Annette McCarthy, John Aprea, Sandra Giles, Bert Remsen. Directed
by Lee Philips.
A nostalgic but rather charmless look at three teenage buddies who share the good times of 1955. Average.
CRIME CLUB
1973
73 min.
Lloyd Bridges, Paul Burke, Cloris Leachman, Victor Buona, Barbara Rush, David Hedison, William Devane. Directed by
Lowell Rich.
Forgettable mystery with Bridges using the resources of a government-related super-crime organization to determine the
cause of death of a friend's son. Average.
CRISIS AT CENTRAL HIGH
1981
125 min.
Joanne Woodward, Charles Durning, Henderson Forsythe, William Russ, Calvin Levels. Directed by Lamont Johnson.
A dramatic recreation of events surrounding the 1957 integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, with
a stunning, Emmy-nominated performance by Woodward as teacher Elizabeth Huckaby, who found herself at the center of the
tumult. Richard Levinson and William Link based their teleplay on Mrs. Huckaby's journal. Above average.
CRISIS IN MID-AIR
1979
100 min.
George Peppard, Karen Grassle, Desi Arnaz, Jr., Don Murray, Martin Milner, Fabian Forte, Michael Constantine, Greg
Morris. Directed by Walter Grauman.
An overage air traffic controller is accused of responsibility for a midair collision. A timely topic unfortunately run
off the TV disaster drama assembly line. Average.
CRISIS IN SUN VALLEY
1978
100 min.
Dale Robinette, Taylor Lacher, Bo Hopkins, Tracy Brooks Swope, John McIntire, Deborah Winters. Directed by Paul Stanely.
Predictable adventure tale dealing with a stalwart sheriff and his deputy in a sleepy ski resort who first emerged in
THE DEADLY TRIANGLE. The middling action feature actually combines two individual pilot films strung together in hopes
of sparking some interest in a series to have been called STEDMAN. Average.
THE CRITICAL LIST
1978
200 min.
Lloyd Bridges, Melinda Dillon, Buddy Ebsen, Barbara Parkins, Robert Wagner, Ken Howard, Louis Gossett, Jr., Richard
Basehart. Directed by Lou Antonio.
Two pilot films combined in search of a series for Bridges as a hospital director whos tribulations appeared to have
been recycled from Dr. Gillespie's files of yore. Bridges is earnest and properly concerned, but the movie is average
and overlong.
THE CROOKED HEARTS
1972
74 min.
Rosalind Russell, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ross Martin, Maureen O'Sullivan, Kent Smith, Michael Murphy, Penny Marshall,
Dick Van Patten. Directed by Jay Sandrich.
Members of a lonely-hearts club are stalked by a mysterious con-artist supposedly involved with the disappearances of
wealthy widows. Good cast, good comedy. Russell's last film; script by A. J. Russell from Colin Watson's MISS
LONELYHEARTS 4122. Above average.
CROSSCURRENT
1971
73 min.
Robert Hooks, Jeremy Slate, Robert Wagner, Carol Lynley, Simon Oakland, Jose Ferrer, John Randolph. Directed by Jerry
Thorpe.
Two cops in San Francisco go after the murderer of a cable car passenger. Good cast helps OK thriller; also known as
CABLE CAR MURDER.
CROSSFIRE
1975
78 min.
James Farentino, John Saxon, Patrick O'Neal, Pamela Franklin, Ramon Bieri, Herb Edelman, Lou Frizzell. Directed by
William Hale.
Undercover cop Farentino infiltrates underworld to learn the source of laundered money being used to corrupt city
officials. Fairly conventional and muscular. Average.
CRUISE INTO TERROR
1978
100 min.
Dirk Benedict, Frank Converse, John Forsythe, Lynda Day George, Christopher George, Ray Milland, Hugh O'Brian, Stella
Stevens. Directed by Bruce Kessler.
Shipboard terror involving an ancient sarcophagus and some evildoers among the all-star roster. Below average.
CRY OF THE INNOCENT
1980
105 min.
Rod Taylor, Joanna Pettet, Nigel Davenport, Cyril Cusack, Walter Gottell, Jim Norton. Directed by Michael O'Herlily.
Better-than-average TV movie written by Frederick Forsyth about an ex-Green Beret (Taylor), now an insurance exec,
who sets out after those responsible when he discovers that the plane crash that killed his family was no accident.
Above average.
A CRY FOR HELP
1975
78 min.
Robert Culp, Elaine Heilvail, Ken Swofford, Julius Harris, Chuck McCann, Michael Lerner. Directed by Daryl Duke.
Cynical radio show host Culp rebuffs a phone-caller threatening suicide, then suspects she may have been serious and
frantically tries to locate her with the help of his listeners. Neat initial concept is frittered away in a standard
rescue drama. Average.
A CRY FOR LOVE
1980
100 min.
Susan Blakely, Powers Boothe, Gene Barry, Edie Adams, Lainie Kazan, Charles Siebert, Herb Edelman, Patricia Barry.
Directed by Paul Wenkos.
An amphetamine addict and a divorced alcoholic meet, fall in love, and try to save each other from self-destruction.
Literate drama adapted by Renee Taylor and Joseph Balogna from Jill Schary Robinson's autobiographical best-seller,
BEDTIME STORY. Above average.
CRY FOR THE STRANGERS
1982
100 min.
Patrick Duffy, Cindy Pickett, Lawrence Pressman, Claire Malis, Brian Keith, Robin Ignacio, Jeff Corey, Taylor Lacher.
Directed by Peter Medak.
Who's stalking the visitors to a scenic Northwest vacation seaport village? It won't be much of a secret to mystery
devotees. Below average.
A CRY IN THE WILDERNESS
1974
78 min.
George Kennedy, Joanna Pettet, Lee H. Montgomery, Colin Wilcox-Horne, Roy Poole, Liam Dunn. Directed by Gordon Hessler.
Bitten by a rabid skunk, farmer Kennedy has himself chained inside his barn to protect his family from his future
madness., and then discovers that a flood is coming. Kennedy manipulates the audience's terror quotient, while Pettet,
as his young, helpless wife, handles the hysteria factor. Average.
CRY OF THE INNOCENT
1980
105 min.
Rod Taylor, Joanna Pettet, Nigel Davenport, Cyril Cusack, Walter Gottell, Alexander Knox. Directed by Michael
O'Herlihy.
An aging former Green Beret vows to find the reason for a plane crash that killed his family as they vacationed in Ireland
in this original Frederick Forsyth suspenser scripted by Sidney Michaels. Above average.
CRY PANIC
1974
78 min.
John Forsythe, Earl Holliman, Ralph Meeker, Anne Francis, Claudia McNeil, Norman Alden. Directed by James Goldstone.
Forsythe plays a salesman caught in a personal nightmare after he accidentally kills a drunk with his car, and the body
has disappeared. Modest little suspense drama. Average.
CRY RAPE
1972
73 min.
Andrea Marcovicci, Peter Coffield, Greg Mullavey, Joseph Sirola, James Luisi, Anthony Costello, Lesley Woods. Directed
by Corey Allen.
Two stories in one: first, the problems, indiginities and frustrations in reporting rape to the authorities; then,
standard cops-chasing-suspects fare. Uneven but well done. Average.
THE CURSE OF KING TUT'S TOMB
1980
100 min.
Eva Marie Saint, Robin Ellis, Raymond Burr, Harry Andrews, Angharad Ress, Wendy Hiller, Tom Baker, Barbara Murray,
Patricia Routledge. Directed by Philip Leacock.
Sinister doings about some Egyptian diggings and the discovery of the Tutankhamen burial site. Paul Scofield narrates.
Average.
CURSE OF THE BLACK WIDOW
1977
100 min.
Tony Franciosa, Donna Mills, Patty Duke Astin, June Lockhart, June Allyson, Sid Caesar, Vic Morrow, Roz Kelly, Jeff
Corey. Directed by Dan Curtis.
Chiller about the search for an elusive killer whose victims are wrapped in a spider-like web. Looks like Curtis had
this script left over when his KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER series was cancelled. Average. Retitled: LOVE TRAP.
CUTTER
1972
73 min.
Peter DeAnda, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Webber, Barbara Rush, Janet MacLachlan. Directed by Richard Irving.
Location shooting in Chicago can't help this laughable black detective story with DeAnda starring as a private eye
searching for a missing pro football quarterback. Average.
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Made-For-TV-Movies - B
