TV Vampire

 

 

 (imdb)

VAMPIRE-1979-Architects John (Jason Miller) & Leslie (Kathryn Harrold) Rawlins design and build a huge cross to help revitalize a section of San Francisco. Unfortunately, it seems they have disturbed the tomb of a vampire. Enter Count Anton Voyteck (Richard Lynch), a mysterious guy who's romancing Leslie's lawyer friend (Jessica Walter). Voyteck leads them to some underground ruins that house lost art. Voyteck is arrested but later released and he visits Leslie who he seduces, but it's obvious he's a vampire. Later John finds Leslie dead, her body mutilated. It's blamed on a serial killer but John suspects Voyteck. He also comes to believe Voyteck is a vampire but he cracks up and is put in a mental ward. 

When Voyteck visits John he plans to kill him but he's interrupted by Mr. Kilcoyne (E.G.Marshall), a pipe smoking retired detective who'd been hanging around unnoticed. It turns out Kilcoyne, like John, believes Voyteck was also responsible for some grisly murders that he and his partner investigated in the '30's. He believes his partner who became a priest trapped Voyteck underground (at the cost of his own life) and the construction let him escape. The duo hunt for him.

 It's mostly a lot of talk but seems to set up for a sequel or TV series (?). Joe Spinell is in one scene. Directed by E.W. Swackhamer, at the time a busy TV director.

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Senator Billy Jack

BILLY JACK GOES TO WASHINGTON-1977-In this whack job of a movie Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin) is given full pardon by a governor (Dick Gautier) and made a state senator after the incumbent (Kent Smith in his last role) dies. It's really just a phony ploy by a powerful industrialist (Sam Wanamaker) but of course it backfires and Senator Jack with the help of his wife (Laughlin's real life wife Delores Taylor) wants to build a children's camp on land designated for a nuclear power plant. Later Billy is framed by senator Paine (EG Marshall). He almost gives up but the words of Thomas Jefferson and a walk around DC change his mind. He creates a filibuster in Congress and almost dies. Later Paine admits he's a corrupt bastard and Jack and his unreal world live happily ever after. Since this movie is a mess the vice president of the US (Pat O'Brien) does a lot of narration. 

Director,/co-writer/co-producer/star Laughlin blamed the failure of the film on a government conspiracy. Another sequel THE RETURN OF BILLY JACK began filming in 1986 but was never finished.

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