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| Seventies & Eighties Made-For-TV Movies - F | 
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THE F.B.I. STORY - THE FBI VERSUS ALVIN KARPIS, PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE
1974
100 min.
Robert Foxworth, David Wayne, Kay Lenz, Gary Lockwood, Anne Francis, Harris Yulin, Chris Robinson, Eileen Heckart.
Directed by Marvin Chomsky.
Depression-era desperado Karpis (Foxworth) is hounded by J. Edgar Hoover (Yulin), who made a personal crusade of
catching the crook. Automatically recreated dramatization in the old Warner Bros. pseudo-newsreel gangster style.
Average. Retitled THE F.B.I. STORY - ALVIN KARPIS.
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD IN HOLLYWOOD
1976
100 min.
Jason Miller, Tuesday Weld, Julia Foster, Dolores Sutton, Suzanne Benton, Michael Lerner, Tom Ligon, John Randolf.
Directed by Anthony Page.
Fitzgerald's Hollywood career, his marriage to the ill-fated Zelda (Weld is super), his affair with Sheilah Graham
(Foster). A brilliant career made fuzzy by Miller's gloomy performance and James Castigan's muddled script, giving the
viewer not much more than a broken-spirited and rather abusive alcoholic. A good opportunity passed up. Average.
THE FACE OF FEAR
1971
72 min.
Elizabeth Ashley, Ricardo Montalban, Jack Warden, Dane Clark, Burr DeBenning, Charles Dierkop. Directed by George
McCowan.
A young schoolteacher raised in Idaho learns she's to die of leukemia, journeys to San Francisco, eventually pays to be
killed, then discovers she won't die. A very entertaining suspense film with wry humor, two well-drawn (for TV)
characterizations, and believable dialogue. Adapted by Edward Hume from E.V. Cunningham's novel SALLY. Above average.
THE FACE OF RAGE
1983
100 min.
Dianne Wiest, George Dzunzda, Graham Beckel, Jeffrey DeMunn. Directed by Donald Wrye.
Rape victims come face-to-face with their attackers in an experimental therapy program. Hard-hitting, surprisingly
honest film co-written by Wrye and patterned fictionally after the acclaimed TV prison documentary SCARED STRAIGHT.
Above average.
THE FACTS OF LIFE GOES TO PARIS
1982
100 min.
Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Nancy McKeon, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, Frank Bonner, Roger Til. Directed by Asaad Kelada.
The hit TV series thinly stretched to feature-length status with diminishing results despite a well-primed laugh track
responding to the work of six writers. For diehard fans only. Average.
FALCON'S GOLD
1982
90 min.
Simon MacCorkindale, John Marley, Louise Vallance, George Touliatos, Blanca Guerra, Jorge Reynaldo, Roger Cudney.
Directed by Bob Schulz.
Fantasy adventure pitting the good guys against the bad guys in a jungle search for an ancient golden treasure with
mysterious hidden powers. Loosely based on Arthur Conan Doyle's CHALLENGER'S GOLD and crossbred with RAIDERS OF THE
LOST ARK, this colorful tale was announced as the first movie made for pay-TV. Average.
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
1982
101 min.
Martin Landau, Robert Hays, Charlene Tilton, Dimitra Arliss, Ray Walston, Peg Stewart. Directed by James L. Conway.
Amateurish retelling of the Edgar Allan Poe mystery thriller, filtered shamelessly through the Classics Illustrated
mill -- cardboard sets as well as acting included. Below average.
FALLEN ANGEL
1981
100 min.
Dana Hill, Melinda Dillon, Richard Masur, Ronny Cox, David Hayward, Virginia Kiser, Shelby Leverington. Directed by
Robert Lewis.
Calculating drama about a child pornographer (Masur) who entices kids to pose for him. This not unexpectedly got a huge
rating on its premiere, but less predictably won an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Drama Special. Average.
FAME IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
1966
100 min.
Tony Franciosa, Jill St. John, Jack Klugman, George Macready, Lee Bowman, Susan Saint James, Jack Weston, Robert
Duvall, Nanette Fabray. Directed by Stuart Rosenberg.
Big-time magazine writer Dillon investigates the death of a call girl; the trail leads to various businesses and
criminal types. Remake of CHICAGO DEADLINE features good cast and performances, uneven direction, pacing, and overall
point of view. Later spawned a TV series. Average.
THE FAMILY KOVACK
1974
78 min.
James Sloyan, Sarah Cunningham, Andy Robinson, Tammi Bula, Richard Gilliland, Renne Jarrett, Mary La Roche. Directed by
Ralph Senesky.
Drama concerning the sort of efforts of a closely knit clan to prove their oldest son innocent of bribery. Serviceable
vehicle with a competent cast that might have made a TV series but didn't; should not be confused with THE FAMILY
HOLVAK, which did. Average.
THE FAMILY MAN
1979
100 min.
Edward Asner, Meredith Baxter Birney, Anne Jackson, Paul Clemens, Mary-Joan Negro. Directed by Glenn Jordan.
A happily married executive is torn between his infatuation for a beautiful young woman and his love for his wife and
family. Daytime soap opera with a prime-time cast. Average.
THE FAMILY NOBODY WANTED
1975
78 min.
Shirley Jones, James Olsen, Katherine Helmond, Woodrow Parfrey, Claudia Bryar, Ann Doran. Directed by Ralph Senensky.
An impoverished minister and his wife struggle to provide a home for their large brood of racially mixed, adopted
children. Winning story tends to get cutesy, but stable performances keep it in line. Based on Helen Doss' best seller.
Average.
FAMILY REUNION
1981
200 min.
Bette Davis, J. Ashley Hyman, David Huddleston, John Shea, Roy Dotrice, David Rounds, Kathryn Walker, Roberts Blossom,
Roberta Wallach, Jeff McCracken, Ann Lange, Paul Rudd. Directed by Fielder Cook.
A schoolteacher, put out to pasture after 50 years, sets out to rediscover her far-flung family with a neighborhood
youngster in tow (played by Davis's own grandson in his screen debut). Enough family characters are introduced to keep
a prospective series going for years, but all eyes are firmly on Davis, especially when she uncovers sinister familial
doings. Above average.
THE FAMILY RICO
1972
73 min.
Ben Gazzara, Sal Mineo, Jo Van Fleet, James Farentino, Sian Barbara Allen, Dane Clark, Leif Erickson, Jack Carter.
Directed by Paul Wendkos.
Solid adaptation of the Georges Simenon novel concerning torn loyalties of an organized crime leader. Good cast working
with fairly realistic material. Above average. Filmed before as THE BROTHERS RICO.
A FAMILY UPSIDE DOWN
1978
104 min.
Fred Astaire, Helen Hayes, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Patty Duke Astin, Pat Crowley, Brad Rearden, Gary Swanson. Directed by
David Lowell Rich.
Astaire and Hayes are the main attraction in this otherwise run-of-the-mill telefilm about an aged couple whose lives
are thrown into turmoil when one suffers a heart attack, forcing them to become dependent on their grown children.
Calculating sentiment and simplified solutions, but the cast, led by Astaire's Emmy-winning turn, is highly effective.
Average.
FANFARE FOR A DEATH SCENE
1964
73 min.
Richard Egan, Burgess Meridith, Viveca Lindfors, Telly Savalas, Tina Louise, Edward Asner. Directed by Leslie Stevens.
Special agent Egan hunts for a vanished physicist whose secret formula is sought by the enemy. Atmospheric but standard
spy tale spiked by New Orleans jazz with trumpeter Al Hirt. Average.
FANTASIES
1980
100 min.
Suzanne Pleshette, Barry Newman, Robert Vaughn, Patrick O'Neal, Madlyn Rhue, Allyn Ann McLearie, Peter Bergman, Stuart
Damon, John Gabriel, Robin Mattson, Robert S. Woods. Directed by William Wiard.
Somebody's systematically knocking off the stars of a late-night soap opera (played by real daytime soap stars) and the
show's creator Pleshette fears she may be next. An offbeat but flaccid whodunit. Average.
FANTASY ISLAND
1977
100 min.
Ricardo Montalban, Bill Bixby, Sandra Dee, Peter Lawford, Carol Lynley, Hugh O'Brian, Eleanor Parker, Victoria
Principal, Dick Sargent. Directed by Richard Lang.
Dreams come true for a mysterious millionaire Montalban's glamorous island paradise, where for $50,000 each, guests can
live out their treasured fantasies. Derivative idea spawned the hit series. Below average.
THE FAR PAVILLIONS
1984
108 min.
Ben Cross, Amy Irving, John Gielgud, Omar Sharif, Rossano Brazzi. Directed by Peter Duffell.
This romance set against the splendors of inscrutable India which photographs beautifully, but unfortunately the sight
of blue-eyed Irving as a bronzed Indian princess is wildly incongruous. Still, escapists may take this Taj Mahal
Harlequin romance to their hearts. Average.
FARRELL FOR THE PEOPLE
1982
100 min.
Valerie Harper, Ed O'Neill, Gregory Sierra, Eugene Roche, Judith Chapman, Steve Inwood, Kene Holliday, Dennis Lipscomb,
Richard T. Herd. Directed by Paul Wendkos.
Harper's eager to make it as a prosecutor by taking on the case of an ex-con accused of murder and his celebrity author
sponsor. This failed pilot built itself around the real-life case of convict Jack Henry Abbott and writer Norman Mailer.
Average.
FAST FRIENDS
1979
100 min.
Carrie Snodgrass, Dick Shawn, Edie Adams, Michael Parks, Jed Allen, Mackenzie Phillips, Vivian Blaine. Directed by
Steven Hilliard Stern.
Far from engrossing drama about a divorcee's struggle to make it on her own in the broadcasting game. Average.
FATHER FIGURE
1980
95 min.
Hal Linden, Timothy Hutton, Jeremy Licht, Martha Scott, Cassie Yates. Directed by Jerry London.
A widower tries to establish a relationship with two sons from whom he has been separated for five years. Affecting
drama written by William Hanley from Richard Peck's novel. Above average.
FEAR NO EVIL
1969
98 min.
Louis Jordan, Bradford Dillman, Lynda Day, Marsha Hunt, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Carroll O'Connor. Directed by Paul Wendkos.
An antique mirror is actually the entrance to another supernatural world. A scientist (Dillman) buys it; after he dies
in an accident, his fiancee learns it can bring him back. Good cast in a moderately inventive examination of magic.
Fairly offbeat, above average.
FEAR ON TRIAL
1975
100 min.
George C. Scott, Willam Devane, Dorothy Tristan, John Houseman, Judd Hirsch, Lois Nettleton, Milt Kogan, Ben Piazza.
Directed by Lamont Johnson.
Superb drama about the blacklisting and subsequent libel trial of 1950s broadcaster John Henry Faulk. Scott etches
another memorable portrait as attorney Louis Nizer; Devane is equally as fine as Faulk. David Rintels won an Emmy for
his teleplay. Above average.
FEMALE ARTILLERY
1973
73 min.
Dennis Weaver, Ida Lupino, Sally Ann Howes, Linda Evans, Albert Salmi, Anna Navarro, Nina Foch. Directed by Marvin
Chomsky.
Boring adventure with comedy undertones features Weaver as a man on the run from a gang, hiding stolen money with a
female wagon train, who, in turn, steal it from him to force him to lead them to a nearby fort. Laughable resolution,
negligible suspense, adequate performances. Average.
THE FEMINIST AND THE FUZZ
1970
73 min.
Barbara Eden, David Hartman, Farrah Fawcett, Jo Anne Worley, Harry Morgan, Julie Newmar, Roger Perry, Penny Marshall.
Directed by Jerry Paris.
Contrived comedy throws two stereotypes -- a male chauvinist cop and a Women's Libber -- together as San Francisco
roommates with typical TV style resolution of initial differences. Average.
FER-DE-LANCE
1974
100 min.
David Janssen, Hope Lange, Ivan Dixon, Jason Evers, Ben Piazza, Charles Robinson. Directed by Russ Mayberry.
Suspense tale about a submarine wedged below the sea, terrorized from within by deadly snakes. Ridiculous story and
characters, with creepy crawlers, for those that like that kind of thing. Below average.
THE FIGHTER
1983
96 min.
Gregory Harrison, Glynnis O'Connor, Pat Hingle, Steve Inwood, Susan Kellerman, Justin Lord. Directed by David Lowell
Rich.
Predictable boxing film -- long a movie staple -- with Harrison as an unemployed mail worker who straps on the gloves
for the bucks. Average.
FIGHTING BACK
1980
100 min.
Robert Urich, Art Carney, Bonnie Bedalia, Richard Herd, Howard Cosell, Simone Griffeth, Steve Tannen, Bubba Smith, The
Pittsburgh Steelers. Directed by Robert Lieberman.
The story of Rocky Bleier, who overcame near-crippling war injuries in Vietnam to become a pro football great. Average.
FINNEGAN BEGIN AGAIN
1985
105 min.
Mary Tyler Moore, Robert Preston, Sam Waterston, Sylvia Sidney, Giancarlo Esposito. Directed by Joan Micklin Silver.
One of the best made-for-cable films that doesn't try to overextend itself and instead utilizes characters that work
well on a small screen. Moore plays an unfulfilled middle-aged schoolteacher involved in an affair with a married
mortician; Preston is a 65-year-old surly newspaperman saddled with a sick older wife and a demotion to the lonely
hearts column. Of course, they eventually meet in this charming romance directed by Joan Micklin Silver (BETWEEN THE
LINES, CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER). Above average.
FIRE!
1977
100 min.
Ernest Borgnine, Vera Miles, Patty Duke Astin, Alex Cord, Lloyd Nolan, Neville Brand, Gene Evans. Directed by Earl
Bellamy.
A mountain community is threatened by a forest fire started by a convict to cover his escape from a chain gang.
Carefully structured suspense in the familiar Irwin Allen style. Average.
A FIRE IN THE SKY
1978
150 min.
Richard Crenna, Elizabeth Ashley, David Dukes, Joanna Miles, Lloyd Bochner, Andrew Duggan. Directed by Jerry Jameson.
Disaster flick about a comet hurtling toward Phoenix, Arizona, is blessed with striking special effects and miniature
work to offset the tedium of the multicharacter plot. Average.
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN
1981
100 min.
Ron Howard, Buddy Ebsen, Julie Carmen, Rossie Harris, Michael Conrd, Ed Brodow, Gary Graham, Will Hare. Directed by
Donald Wrye.
A crusty old-timer is joined by a young land-speculator in his fight to hold onto the property the Army wants for a
missle base. John Sacret Young's script was based on Edward Abbey's 1962 book. Average.
FIREBALL FORWARD
1972
100 min.
Ben Gazzara, Eddie Albert, Ricardo Montalban, Dana Elcar, L. Q. Jones, Anne Francis. Directed by Marvin Chomsky.
Adequate WW2 story by Edmund North has Gazzara assuming command of a "hard luck" division in France with the usual
subplots (a traitor in the ranks, female journalist, etc.) Holds its own. Could have been a theatrical movie; in fact,
some of the combat footage is from PATTON (which North co-wrote). Above average.
FIREHOUSE
1972
73 min.
Richard Roundtree, Vince Edwards, Andrew Duggan, Richard Jaeckel, Val Avery, Paul Le Mat. Directed by Alex March.
A tense situation develops when, after the death of a fireman, a fire station accepts a black rookie (Roundtree) as a
probational replacement. Resolution barely makes it, thanks to an unusually fine combination of stock footage and
studio work. Pilot for a short-lived TV series. Above average.
FIRST AFFAIR
1983
100 min.
Loretta Swit, Melissa Sue Anderson, Joel Higgins, Kim Delaney, Amanda Bearse, Robin Morse. Directed by Gus Trikonis.
Romantic nonsense for soap wallowers. College freshman Anderson seduces English professor Swit's husband after being
hired as their baby-sitter. Below average.
THE FIRST 36 HOURS OF DR. DURANT
1975
78 min.
Scott Hylands, Lawrence Pressman, Katherine Helmond, Dana Andrews, Renne Jarrett, Michael Conrad, Peter Donat, David
Doyle. Directed by Alexander Singer.
Idealistic surgeon Hylands, during his first hectic 36 hours on call, confronts the realities of medical ethics with
a life and a career at stake. Not bad, although the AMA might argue both the point and Stirling Silliphant's script.
Average.
THE FIRST TIME
1982
100 min.
Susan Anspach, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Peter Barton, Edward Winter, Michael McKenzie, John Anderson, Krista Errikson,
Harriet Nelson. Directed by Noel Nosseck.
A desperate mother clashes with her teenaged daughter over their sexual mores, and can't understand why the youngster
has run off with her boyfriend while she herself is looking for someone to bed down with. Average.
FIRST, YOU CRY
1978
100 min.
Mary Tyler Moore, Anthony Perkins, Richard Crenna, Jennifer Warren, Florence Eldrige, Don Johnson. Directed by George
Schaefer.
A well-intentioned and well-received but curiously unenthralling dramatization of news correspondent Betty Rollin's
book about her mastectomy, providing Moore with her first meaty dramatic role. Average.
FIVE DESPERATE WOMEN
1971
73 min.
Robert Conrad, Anjanette Comer, Bradford Dillman, Joan Hackett, Denise Nicholas, Stefanie Powers. Directed by Ted Post.
Forced character-study thriller has five female graduates of Brindley College reunited on a rented island mansion
stalked by a mental hospital escapee. Typical new-dangers-every-second approach can't hide the formula plot. Average.
THE 500 POUND JERK
1972
73 min.
James Franciscus, Alex Karras, Hope Lange, Howard Cosell, Victor Spinetti, Claudia Butenuth. Directed by William
Kronick.
Odd mixture of comedy and realism in a lumpy tale of an Olympic weight-lifter falling in love with a Soviet athelete.
Average.
THE $5.20 AN HOUR DREAM
1980
100 min.
Linda Lavin, Richard Jaeckel, Nicholas Pryor, Pamela McMyler, Mayf Nutter. Directed by Russ Mayberry.
Blue-collar drama, not dissimilar to NORMA RAE, about a divorced mother determined to get a higher-paying factory job on
the traditionally all-male assembly line. Predictable at every turn. Average.
THE FLAME IS LOVE
1979
100 min.
Linda Purl, Shane Briant, Timothy Dalton, Richard Johnson, Joan Greenwood, Paul Lavers. Directed by Michael O'Herlihy.
Florid romantic melodrama about an American heiress' encounters with love and intrigue in Paris while traveling to
England to marry her sweetheart at the turn of the century. Perfunctory acting mars the filming of Barbara Cartland's
popular novel. Average.
FLAMINGO ROAD
1980
100 min.
John Beck, Christina Raines, Howard Duff, Morgan Fairchild, Kevin McCarthy, Barbara Rush, Mark Harmon, Stella Stevens,
Mason Adams. Directed by Gus Trikonis.
Fair remake of the Joan Crawford oldie about the haves and have-nots in a small Florida town into which an attractive
carnival drifter stumbles. The TV series spun off from this version. Average.
FLATBED ANNIE & SWEETIEPIE: LADY TRUCKERS
1979
100 min.
Annie Potts, Kim Darby, Harry Dean Stanton, Arthur Godfrey, Rory Calhoun, Billy Carter. Directed by Robert Greenwald.
Like the title says with Potts and Darby as a pair of resourceful women acting like a pair of good old boys to keep
their expensive rig out of the clutches of repossessors as well as hijacked. Average.
FLESH AND BLOOD
1979
200 min.
Tom Berenger, Mitchell Ryan, Suzanne Pleshette, John Cassavetes, Kristin Griffith, Denzel Washington. Directed by Jud
Taylor.
The rise and fall of a young street tough who becomes a heavyweight contender. Based on Pete Hamill's best seller,
spiced with an incest supblot, and stunningly filmed by Vilmos Sigmond. Above average.
FLIGHT #90: DISASTER ON THE POTOMAC
1984
100 min.
Richard Masur, Stephen Macht, Dinah Manoff, Donnelly Rhodes, Barry Corbin, Jamie Rose. Directed by Robert Michael Lewis.
Fairly engrossing dramatization of the fatal 1982 plane crash in Washington, D.C. A disaster movie that relies more on
tension than familiar TV faces, and that gives it an edge. Average.
FLIGHT TO HOLOCAUST
1977
100 min.
Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Desi Arnaz Jr., Sid Caesar, Rory Calhoun, Lloyd Nolan, Paul Williams, Fawne
Harriman. Directed by Bernard Kowalski.
Professional troubleshooters involved in freeing the passengers of a private plane that crashed and lodged in the side
of a skysraper. Contrived disaster rescue tale with several second-generation film personalities competing with
ludicrous special effects. Below average.
FLOOD!
1976
100 min.
Robert Culp, Martin Milner, Barbara Hershey, Richard Basehart, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, Cameron Mitchell, Eric
Olson, Teresa Wright. Directed by Earl Bellamy.
Cynical helicopter pilot Culp is pressed into reluctant service when a small town is devastated by a flood after a
faulty dam bursts. Irwin Allen's first made-for-TV disaster movie, slick and predictable. Average.
FLY AWAY HOME
1981
Bruce Boxleitner, Tiana Alexandra, Michael Beck, Brian Dennehy, Lynne Moody, Olivia Cole, Edward Winter, Keye Luke.
Directed by Paul Krasny.
Writer-producer Stirling Silliphant's ambitious but unrewarding pilot for a weekly series about the Vietnam War as
viewed by a combat camerman and his cynical boss, head of the Saigon news bureau. Average.
FLYING HIGH
1978
97 min.
Kathryn Witt, Pat Klous, Connie Sellecca, Marcia Wallace, Jim Hutton. Directed by Peter Hunt.
Middling comedy about airline stewardesses aloft and aground that spawned a brief series. Average.
FOOTSTEPS
1972
73 min.
Richard Crenna, Joanna Pettet, Forrest Tucker, Clu Gulager, Ned Beatty, Allen Garfield. Directed by Paul Wendkos.
OK study of monstrous Paddy O'Connor (Crenna) arriving at a success-starved college as an assistant football coach,
determined to eliminate all the opposition. Good performances by the entire cast, interesting point of view. Above
average. Also titled: NICE GUYS FINISH LAST.
FOR LADIES ONLY
1981
100 min.
Gregory Harrison, Patricia Davis, Dinah Manhoff, Louise Lasser, Lee Grant, Marc Singer, Viveca Lindfors, Steven Keats.
Directed by Mel Damski.
A struggling young actor takes a job as a male go-go dancer when he fails to achieve his initial goal. Ronald Reagan's
daughter, Patricia Davis, makes her TV move debut here, and Dinah Manoff costars with her mother, Lee Grant (although
they share no scenes). Average.
FOR LOVERS ONLY
1982
100 min.
Deborah Raffin, Andy Griffith, Gary Sandy, Sally Kellerman, Katherine Helmond, Robert Hegyes, Gordon Jump, Jane
Kaczmarek. Directed by Claudio Guzman.
A drydocked LOVE BOAT with an unending parade of derivations on the familiar bringing-lovers-together-and-fullfilling-
their-fantasies ploy. Below average.
FOR THE LOVE OF IT
1980
100 min.
Deborah Raffin, Jeff Conaway, Barbi Benton, Don Rickles, Adam West, Tom Bosley, William Christopher, Norman Fell, Henry
Gibson, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Pat Morita, Jack Carter, Gil Lamb, Eddie Quillan, Lurene Tuttle. Directed by Hal Kanter.
Madcap tale of a model and a lovestruck medical student, who find themselves pursued by a motley assortment of villains
and government agents. Packed with stunts, sight gags, familiar TV faces, and frantic dialogue. Average.
FORBIDDEN LOVE
1982
100 min.
Yvette Mimieux, Andrew Stevens, Lisa Lucas, Dana Elcar, Jerry Houser, Randy Brooks, Lynn Carlin, Hildy Brooks, John
Considine. Directed by Steven H. Stern.
Tiresome older woman/younger man affair involving the same old pretty people who don't seem to have to work for a
living. Below average.
FORCE FIVE
1975
78 min.
Gerald Gordon, Nick Pryor, James Hampton, Bradford Dillman, David Spielberg, Leif Erickson. Directed by Walter Grauman.
Hard-nosed veteran cop Gordon heads a special undercover squad of ex-cons to fight street crime using their specialized
skills. It's THE DIRTY DOZEN minus seven in mufti. Below average.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
1969
72 min.
Robert Horton, Sebastian Cabot, Jill St. John, Eric Pohlmann, Dudley Foster, Clive Graham. Directed by Roy (Ward) Baker.
The so-called cynical exploits of an American forced to work for the British secret service in a devious plan to have
himself exchanged for a former Russian defector jailed in England. If you miss one minute of the pilot, you'll probably
be lost. Sequel to THE SPY KILLER. Average.
FOREVER
1978
100 min.
Stephanie Zimbalist, Dean Butler, John Friedrich, Beth Raines, Jordan Clarke, Diana Scarwid. Directed by John Korty.
Romantic drama about a teenage girl's first real love, adapted from Judy Blume's starry-eyed novel by A.J. Carothers.
Average.
THE FORGOTTEN MAN
1971
73 min.
Dennis Weaver, Anne Francis, Lois Nettleton, Andrew Duggan, Pamelyn Ferdin, Percy Rodrigues. Directed by Walter Grauman.
A North Vietnam escapee returns home and finds his wife remarried, his business sold, and his daughter adopted.
Location-shot, film soft-pedals its anger. Good performances. Average.
FORTRESS
1985 - Australia
105 min.
Rachel Wood, Sean Garlick, Rebecca Rigg, Robin Mason, Marc Gray, Beth Buchanan, Asher Keddie, Bradley Meehan. Directed
by Arch Nicholson.
Dim-witted made-for-HBO movie set in Australia, where Ward plays a schoolteacher who, along with nine cherubic tykes,
is abducted by gunmen and spirited away to the outback. What happens there won't surprise anyone who's read or seen
LORD OF THE FLIES. More Linda Blair than Rachel Wood material. Below average.
THE FORTY-EIGHT HOUR MILE
1970
97 min.
Darren McGavin, William Windon, Kathy Brown, Carrie Snodgress. Directed by Gene Levitt.
A private-eye's unusual assignment leads to a tragic resolution involving two women in love with the same man.
Excellent performances, offbeat point of view. Strung together from two episodes of THE OUTSIDER. Above average.
FOSTER AND LAURIE
1975
100 min.
Perry King, Dorian Harewood, Talia Shire, Jonelle Allen, Roger Aaron Brown, Victor Campos. Directed by John Llewellyn
Moxey.
True-life story of two N.Y.C. cops killed in a brutal ambush by a militant extremist group attempting to terrorize the
Police Department. More than a simple cop movie, this concentrates on characterization and the personal relationship
between Italian Rocco Laurie (King) and his black partner, Gregory Foster (Harewood). Excellent performances. Above
average.
FOUND MONEY
1983
100 min.
Dick Van Dyke, Sid Caesar, Shelley Hack, Christopher Murney, William Prince, Ron Frazier, Barton Heyman. Directed by
Bill Persky.
A thoughtful little satire that winningly teams two comedy greats. Van Dyke is an NYC bank executive, forced into early
retirement, who uses a new computer to clean out dormant accounts and donate the cash anonymously to deserving citizens;
Caesar is a fired bank guard who goes along until he sees how it's affecting the population. Written by Michael Fairman
and Richard Sanders (both of WKRP fame), who gave themselves amusing cameos. Above average.
FRANCIS GARY POWERS: THE TRUE STORY OF THE U-2 SPY INCIDENT
1976
100 min.
Lee Majors, Nehemiah Persoff, Noah Berry Jr., William Daniels, Lew Ayres, Brooke Bundy, Jim McMullen, Biff McGuire,
James Gregory. Directed by Delbert Mann.
Docu-drama about the pilot shot down over Russia during a spy mission. Majors does yeoman work as Powers, depicting
the anguish he undergoes at the hands of Russian interrogator Persoff, excellent in his role. Despite its familiarity,
the story should have been more engrossing. Average.
FRANKENSTEIN
1973
130 min.
Robert Foxworth, Susan Strasberg, Bo Svenson, John Karlen, Heidi Vaughn. Directed by Glenn Jordan.
This version of the movieland monster who refuses to stay buried and dead is rather like the British Hammer films,
only without as much violence. Beautiful sets and costumes, a lot of fatuous mumbo jumbo about the ethics of scientific
experimentation, some good acting, but unfortunately, a dearth of chills. Average.
FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY
1973
200 min.
James Mason, Leonard Whiting, Michael Sarrazin, David McCallum, Jane Seymour, Michael Wilding, Margaret Leighton, Ralph
Richardson, Agnes Moorehead, John Gielgud, Tom Baker. Directed by Jack Smight.
Epic retelling of Mary Shelley's frightmare with a brilliant Christoper Isherwood screenplay; not quite the letter of
the novel, but competes favorably with the immortal Karloff movies on the theme by sheer spectacle. The creature,
played stunningly by Sarrazin, is not the traditional stitched-together ogre, but a dashing Victorian rogue who
proceeds to physically degenerate while various psychological avenues are explored. Marvelous cast in this thinking-
man's horror movie. Above average.
FREEDOM
1981
100 min.
Mare Winningham, Jennifer Warren, Tony Bill, Roy Thinnes, Peter Horton, Eloy Phil Casados, J. Pat O'Malley. Directed by
Joseph Sargent.
A rebellious teenager takes off on a solitary journey through the backroads America after being given her freedom by
her family -- and comes to understand the true meaning of having a home. Winningham gives another winning performance
and sings six original songs written by Janis Ian. Above average.
FREEDOM ROAD
1979
200 min.
Muhammad Ali, Kris Kristofferson, Ron O'Neal, Barbara-O Jones, Edward Herrmann, John McLiam, Ernest Dixon. Directed by
Jan Kadar.
Lumbering adaptation of the sprawling Howard Fast novel about an ex-slave's rise to U.S. Senator in Reconstruction
Days, hampered by the nonacting of Ali in the crucial lead. Ossie Davis provides dignified narration to Kadar's last
film. Average.
FRIENDLY PERSUASION
1975
100 min.
Richard Kiley, Shirley Knight, Clifton James, Michael O'Keefe, Kevin O'Keefe, Tracie Savage, Sparky Marcus. Directed by
Joseph Sargent.
Picturesque, well-acted drama about a gentle Quaker couple who risk their lives to help a pair of runaway slaves
seeking freedom. Kiley and Knight compare admirably to Gary Cooper and Dorothy McGuire, who starred in the 1956 film
classic. Retitled EXCEPT FOR THEE AND ME. Above average.
FRIENDSHIPS, SECRETS AND LIES
1979
100 min.
Cathryn Damon, Shelley Fabares, Sondra Locke, Tina Louise, Paula Prentiss, Stella Stevens, Loretta Swit. Directed by
Ann Zane Shanks and Marlena Laird.
Seven college sorority sisters relive the past when a baby skeleton is discovered as the old house on campus is razed.
Uninspired telling of Babs H. Deal's novel, THE WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN, with an all-female cast and virtually
all-female production crew. Average.
FROM A FAR COUNTRY: POPE JOHN PAUL II
1981
100 min.
Cezary Morawski, Sam Neill, Chistopher Cazenove, Warren Clarke, Lisa Harrow, Maurice Denham, Kathleen Byron. Directed
by Krzyszof Zanussi.
An earnest, somber -- and boring -- drama tracing the life of the man who would become Pope, from his boyhood through
WW2. Ironically, its premeire coincided with the December 1981 crisis in Poland. Average.
FUGITIVE FAMILY
1980
100 min.
Richard Crenna, Diane Baker, Eli Wallach, Don Murray, Ronny Cox, Mel Ferrer, William Kirby Cullen. Directed by Paul
Krasny.
Drama about a government witness who is forced to take his family into hiding after testifying against a syndicate
boss. Average.
FUN AND GAMES
1980
100 min.
Valerie Harper, Cliff DeYoung, Max Gail, Jobeth Williams, Peter Donat, Art Hindle, Michael Nouri. Directed by Allan
Smithee.
Sexual harassment on the job is faced obliquely and patly in this drama, from which the director withdrew his name,
leaving credit to the prolific and pseudonymous Smithee. Average.
FUTURE COP
1976
78 min.
Ernest Borgnine, Michael Shannon, Jon Amos, John Larch, Herbet Nelson, Ronnie Clair Edwards. Directed by Jud Taylor.
A boisterous veteran cop and his robot partner, programed to be the perfect policeman, team up to track a gang of car
thieves. Borgnine's blustering and Shannon's affability make the silly premise bearable if not workable -- though it
subsequently became a series. Average.
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Made-For-TV-Movies - E
