Category Archives: Made for TV Movie

Tales from the Crypt: Two-Fisted Tales (1992)

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Most folks only know EC Comics for Tales from the Crypt — OK, maybe MAD Magazine — but the truth is, there were a ton of other titles that that venerable publisher released. Just in the horror realm, they also had the Vault of Horror (yes, there was an Amicus film with that title) and Crypt of Terror. But there was also Weird Fantasy, Weird Science, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories, Frontline Combat, Piracy, Weird Science-Fantasy and even the New Direction post-Comics Code books Impact, Valor, Extra!, Aces High, Psychoanalysis, M.D. and Incredible Science Fiction.

I was surprised that none of these other EC Comics had ever gotten a movie or series until I learned about Two-Fisted Tales.

Strangely enough, as Harvey Kurtzman was the editor of the book, these war stories didn’t always follow their title and often had a very anti-war prejudice. Kurtzman had been drafted in 1942 and knew the horrors of war firsthand. As he saw the other war comics on the news racks, he was upset by how much they glorified war. He saw no heroes in his stories, only people trapped in situations beyond their control. He would later comment in The Complete EC Library: Two-Fisted Tales Volume 1, “Nobody had done anything on the depressing aspects of war, and this, to me, was such a dumb—it was a terrible disservice to the children.”

I guess no one explained that to anyone who worked on this show.

In 1991, a TV pilot was put together by producers Joel Silver, Richard Donner and Robert Zemeckis. Other than using the logo and some of the art in the opening, that’s pretty much all that feels like the comic. Instead, this is very similar to Tales from the Crypt, with William Sadler played Mr. Rush, a violent man who connects all of the stories.

“Showdown,” written by Frank Darabont and directed by Richard Donner, is the story of a gunfighter’s last stand. “King of the Road,” written by Randall Jahnson and directed by Tom Holland, is about a drag racer’s past coming to haunt him. Brad Pitt appears in the one. And “Yellow,” written by Jim Thomas, John Thomas, A. L. Katz, and Gilbert Adler, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, is about a soldier who keeps letting down his military man father. It’s the best episode in here, with great acting by Kirk and Eric Douglas, Lance Henriksen and Dan Aykroyd.

Of the three, “Yellow” is the only one based on an EC Comics story, as it was taken from the first issue of Shock SuspenStories and was written by Al Feldstein and illustrated by Jack Davis.

Sadly, this was a letdown, and after one airing, the three episodes all appeared as part of Tales from the Crypt. I was always upset when the show didn’t use the material it was based on. This is really no different, but the last tale is tense and brutal, a rare Zemeckis-directed story that isn’t overly dependent on special effects.

CBS LATE MOVIE: Children of the Night (1985)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Children of the Night was on the CBS Late Movie on July 8, 1988.

“Don’t hide what you feel inside
Don’t let anybody stand in your way
Just let the music take you higher
Now are you ready to rock
Children of the night?”

Yes, that may be a Whitesnake song, but this TV movie prefers “Hell Is for Children.”

Kathleen Quinlan plays Dr. Lois Lee, the founder of Children of the Night, a non-profit organization that works to support youth who were involved in prostitution. She started as a college student who started to take sex workers into her home for protection and in the film, she runs into pimp Roy Spanish (Mario Van Peebles)  and they battle over one of his girls,  Valerie (Lar Park-Lincoln in her first movie).

Director Robert Markowitz made plenty of TV movies that played the CBS Late Movie, including the Maximilian Schell-starring The Phantom of the Opera. It was written by William Wood, whose career stretched back to the early 60s, Vickie Park and producer Robert Guenette, who directed some of my favorite BS movies, such as The Mysterious Monsters, The Man Who Saw Tomorrow and The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena.

Some of the girls in this include Marta Kober (Rad, Friday the 13th Part 2, Neon Maniacs), Sherri Stoner (who went on to write Animaniacs episodes), Helene Udy (My Bloody Valentine, The Incubus), Zoe Trilling (Night of the Demons 2, Amityville: The Evil Escapes) and Valerie Richards (Hard Rock Nightmare).

You can watch this on YouTube.

CBS LATE MOVIE: Deathtrap (1982)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Deathtrap was on the CBS Late Movie on May 29, 1987.

I definitely watched this on HBO and ten-year-old me was scandalized by the plot twist.

Playwright Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) has another failed play and tells his wife, Myra (Dyan Cannon), that he plans on inviting over a student, Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve), who has a good script. Then, he plans on killing the man and making the story all his own. A few moments after Sidney gets Clifford into Houdini’s Handcuffs, the young man is dead and Sidney is trying to get Myra to help him hide the body. But is it all as it seems? And why is psychic Helga Ten Dorp (Irene Worth) warning about the man in boots?

I’m going spoiler-free for this movie, directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Jay Presson Allen. It was based on Ira Levin’s play, and there’s a twist not in the original: the reveal of a kiss between two of the characters. Some say that scene may have cost the movie money in the homophobic 70s. In fact, the TV version doesn’t have the kiss, and instead, one man rubs another’s face.

Also, Michael Caine already did Sleuth, and here he is, doing it again.

You can watch this on Tubi.

CBS LATE MOVIE: Falcon’s Gold (1982)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Falcon’s Gold was on the CBS Late Movie on May 1 and August 26, 1987.

This played on the CBS Late Movie as Robbers of the Sacred Mountain, which is very much a “we have Raiders of the Lost Ark at home” title. Made for Showtime, this film was the very first TV movie produced for cable TV.

They say it’s based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Challenger’s Gold, but if Indiana Jones hadn’t been a hit, I doubt it would have been made.

Reporter Hank Richards (Simon MacCorkindale, Manimal) and Professor Christopher Falcon (John Marley) learn that a meteorite with cavite in it has crashed to Earth. If the wrong people find it, they could make a laser weapon. Joined by the professor’s granddaughter Tracey (Louise Vallance) and jungle guide B.G. Alvarez (Blanca Guerra, Santa Sangre), they head to South America to find a fertility idol, which ties into this, trust me, and leads to them battling the forces of Ivar Murdoch (George Touliatos).

This is the only movie that Bob Schultz directed, but he was a technical director on several TV shows like Three’s Company, The Ropes and the TV special Telly…Who Loves Ya, Baby? It was written by Olaf Pooley (Crucible of Horror, The Godsend) and Walter Bell.

If you want more Raiders ripoffs, let me know.

Murder, She Wrote S2 E2: Joshua Peabody Died Here… Possibly (1985)

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Season 2 of Murder, She Wrote is here, and this time, a cheap tycoon with many enemies is found dead on the construction site of his high-rise hotel.

Season 2, Episode 2: Joshua Peabody Died Here… Possibly (October 6, 1985)

Tonight on Murder, She Wrote…

They’re building a new hotel in Cabot Cove and just found a skeleton as they dig the foundation. That won’t be the last death.

Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury, and were they in any exploitation movies?

John Astin, Gomez Addams, plays Harry Pierce.

Tom Bosely is Sheriff Amos Tupper, continuing his will they or won’t they with Jessica. He’s up against Dr. Seth (William Windom) for her affection.

FBI Agt. Fred Keller is played by Chuck Connors, who was The Rifleman, but also was in Tourist Trap.

Henderson Wheatley is played by John Ericson, who was in The House of the Dead, Crash! and 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.

Wow! Meg Foster is in this! Those blue eyes! She plays Del Scott.

David Marsh? That’s Michael Sarrazin from The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, Eye of the Cat and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

Arthur Griswold is played by David Sheiner, who was also in The Gong Show Movie, The Stone Killer and They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!

Ken Swofford plays Leo Kowalski. He was Mayor Farnsworth in Black Roses and Weasel in Annie.

In the smaller roles, Deborah White plays Matty Marsh, Robin Bach is Ellsworth Buffum, Bobby Jacoby is Eric Marsh, Ed Morgan is Austin Bailey, Roger Price is Eli Harris, Barbara Ann Grimes is Sarah Harris, Jody Carter is Olive Newton, Sandra Hawthorne is Mavis Gillam and Bruce Lawrence is an earthmover driver.

What happens?

Sheriff Tupper and Dr. Seth argue over the body found in the grave — is it the Revolutionary War soldier Joshua Peabody. But then Henderson Wheatley, the developer of the new property, is killed. Who could it be? Probably the whole town, like antiques dealer David Marsh, who has been protesting this place. Or reporter Del Scott, who has the eyes of Meg Foster. And different folks who keep making injunctions to keep the new hotel from being built.

Who did it?

Del Scott. Just look at the eyes.

Who made it?

It’s directed by Peter Crane and written by Tom Sawyer, who wrote 24 episodes of this and produced 79.

Does Jessica get some?

No, but she’s back in Cabot Cove and can relax in her bath.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No. There’s too much that happens.

Was it any good?

Two dead bodies in the same grave! So yes.

Any trivia?

John Astin would play Harry Pierce three times.

Give me a reasonable quote:

Dr. Seth Hazlitt: Well, at least one good thing’s come out of all this… Now that we’ve proved those bones belong to Daniel Martin, we can forget all about this Joshua Peabody nonsense.

Jessica Fletcher: Oh, no, Seth Hazlitt, that’s going a bit too far.

What’s next?

Jessica’s niece, an actress in a daytime drama, becomes a suspect when the head writer for the show is murdered.

CBS LATE MOVIE: Hound of the Baskervilles (1972)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Hound of the Baskervilles was on the CBS Late Movie on Septeber 25, 1974 and December 14, 1976.

Director Barry Crain wasn’t just a TV director. He was also a bridge champion, an ACBL Grand Life Master that won so many points that whoever gets the most points in a year wins a title named for him.

Writer Robert E. Thompson was writing for TV as early as 1956. He also wrote the script for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

Using old horror movie sets, this film had Stewart Granger as Sherlock Holmes and Bernard Fox as Dr. Watson. As for the Sir Hugo Baskerville, William Shatner is ready to be Shatner.

This was intended to be part of a revolving door series of literary detectives, as they also made The Adventures of Nick Carter starring Robert Conrad and A Very Missing Person with Eve Arden as Hildegarde Withers. Ratings and reviews were not kind.

The real mystery? On July 5, 1985, Crane was “found bludgeoned shortly before 3 P.M. in the garage of his luxury town home in Studio City.” He had been attacked with a large ceramic statue and strangled with a telephone cord before being found naked and covered in bedsheets. It took 34 years for the killer to be found, as a fingerprint led to Edwin Jerry Hiatt pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2019, saying “Anything’s possible back then. I was big into drugs.”

You can watch this on YouTube.

CBS LATE MOVIE: Night of Terror (1972)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Night of Terror was on the CBS Late Movie on September 15, 1975 and August 3, 1977.

Linda Daniel (a super young Donna Mills, years before she was a star on Knots Landing and had her own eye makeup video, The Eyes Have It) is in the crosshairs of Brian (Chuck Connors), a killer who wants something that Manning (John Karlen) has but has no idea what it is. So instead, he’s coming after Linda and her roommate Celeste (Catherine Burns). He causes a car accident that kills Celeste — spoiler — and puts Linda in a wheelcahir and that’s still not enough.

Capt. Caleb Sark (Martin Balsam) puts her up in a beach safehouse, but if we know anything about killers after Wait Until Dark, we understand that there’s no stopping Brian from getting what he wants.

Director Jeannot Szwarc started his career on episodes of Ironside, It Takes a Thief and Alias Smith and Jones. His career would expand into TV movies and finally theatrical features like Bug, Jaws 2, Supergirl and Santa Claus: The Movie. He kept directing all the way to 2019, at the age of 82, working on episodes of Gray’s Anatomy, Castle and Bones. This was written by TV vet Cliff Gould and shot by Howard Schwartz, who won an Emmy for his work. He was the director of photography on shows like Cliffhangers!, The Incredible Hulk TV movie and theatrical releases including Futureworld and Batman: The Movie.

Shout out to Night Killer star Peter Hooten and Agnes Moorehead for showing up as Bronsky!

You can watch this on YouTube.

Tales from the Crypt S7 E13: The Third Pig (1996)

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The final episode of Tales from the Crypt was animated and directed by Bill Kopp and Patrick A. Ventura, with Kopp and Steven Dodd writing the script.

Hmm, Son of Dracula. Return of the Son of Dracula. The Son of Dracula’s Revenge? Is that all you can do? Vampire movies?! I’m afraid that’s not good enough. You’d have to be a bite more versatile to be on the fright-ing staff of Tales from the Crypt. Oh, hello creeps!

As you can see, we’ve got an opening for a story dead-itor. I’ve been conducting chop interviews all morning. No one seems to get what I’m looking for! Oh well, let’s see who’s next. (pulls a book closer to him) Interesting, a brother team. Grimm. I think I’ve heard of them. This has potential, boils and ghouls. It’s a twisted bit of gory-telling about three scare-acters you may recognize… at first. It’s called: “The Third Pig.”

You may have read the story of the Three Little Pigs, but these are different. There’s the intelligent Dudley (Cam Clarke), the aptly named Drinky (Brad Garrett) and the angry Smokey (Charlie Adler). Dudley lives in a sturdy house made of bricks, while his brothers live in a whiskey keg and a house made of cigarettes.

The Big Bad Wolf (Bobcat Goldthwait) blows two of their houses down, so Drinky and Smokey come to live with Dudley. They repay him by treating him horribly. Don’t get too used to them, as the wolf soon kills them and sets up Dudley, thanks to a wolf cop (Corey Burton) and judge (Jim Cummings). He’s sentenced to death by frying pan, but his fellow pigs come back from the dead as ghosts and show him how to combine their corpses to make a zombie Frankenswine. He gets his revenge, but feels as if he’s become as evil as the wolf. Well, the wolf comes back too and turns him into a sandwich.

Animated by Nelvana, which also produced the Tales from the Crypt Keeper kids cartoon, this series features the Crypt Keeper narrating the entire story and engaging in on-screen battles with some of the characters. This was initially planned as an episode of the children’s show, but it was rejected for being too violent.

This is the only episode not based on an EC Comics story.

Is that it? Not yet. Over the next few months, we’ll explore other EC Comics series that HBO aired, including Two Fisted Tales, Perversions of Science (based on the EC science fiction comics) and Weird World.

CBS LATE MOVIE: You’ll Never See Me Again (1973)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: You’ll Never See Me Again was on the CBS Late Movie on January 21, 1976, August 22, 1978 and July 4, 1978.

Many films have been made based on the stories of Cornell Woolrich: The Leopard Man, The Mark of the Whistler, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Phantom Lady, Rear Window, The Bride Wore Black, Seven Blood-Stained Orchids, Cloak and Dagger and I’m Dangerous Tonight are just a few. This is another, directed by Jeannot Szwarc (The Devil’s Daughter, Jaws 2, Bug, Somewhere In Time) and written by William Wood (Haunts of the Very Rich) and Gerald Di Pego (Sharky’s Machine).

Ned (David Hartman) and Vickie Bliss (Jess Walton) are newlyweds who get into an argument. He shoves her, she leaves, yelling, “You’ll never see me again.” He expects her back that night. She never comes home.

The next day, he goes to see her parents, Will (Ralph Meeker) and Mary Alden (Jane Wyatt). Strangely, he’s never met them before. Yet they can’t answer any of his questions, whether it’s about where their daughter is or about her childhood. Are they even her folks?

The cops start to get the idea that maybe Ned killed his wife. After all, he’s constantly going into a rage. However, the truth is that he blames himself for Vickie leaving. He’s their top suspect, so he has to escape custody and try to find the truth, kind of like he’s trapped in a giallo. The ending? Amazing.

Hartman would go on to host ABC’s morning news show Good Morning America, so for me, he was the man who told me my news before school. It’s disconcerting to see him screaming at people and getting into fights with the police.

In 1986, Juan Luis Buñuel, Luis’ son, directed a UK TV movie based on the same story.

You can watch this on YouTube.

CBS LATE MOVIE: The Missing Are Deadly (1975)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Missing Are Deadly was on the CBS Late Movie on May 21, 1976.

Directed by Don McDougall (the TV movies that made up Farewell to the Planet of the Apes, Forgotten City of the Planet of the Apes, Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge and two Kolchak episodes, “The Youth Killer” and “Legacy of Terror”) and written by TV veterans Michael Michaelian and Katharyn Powers, The Missing Are Deadly starts with Dr. Margolin (Ed Nelson) inviting his mentally disturbed son Jeff (Gary Morgan) to his lab, where he takes one of Dr. Durov’s (Leonard Nimoy) infected mice. Yes, the man who once was and would be Spock has been experimenting on infecting vermin with Mombasa Fever despite being told to stop doing exactly that. Now, Jeff has taken the disease into the wild, where the CDC has been hampered by a horrible President — oh wait, that’s real life — where the CDC and the scientists must stop the spread or multitudes will die.

David (George O’Hanlon Jr.) is Jeff’s brother and primary caregiver. He’s upset that dad is sending his brother to live at a new school instead of caring for him at home. Then again, Jeff thinks that he’s a robot named Gordot. Also: Jeff infects everyone around him, including Jeff’s girlfriend Michelle (Kathleen Quinlan) and troops from The Crazies have to be sent out to stop this plague.

Spock figures it out, Dr. Margolin lets Jeff stay home despite him almost killing most of the United States and this is ninety minutes of TV movie. José Ferrer shows up and Marla Gibbs is a nurse! As Jackée would say, “MAAAAARY!”

You can watch this on YouTube.