William H. BassettFilmography

Welcome to September

Actors: Victor Burke, Salli Saffioti, David Leisure

House of 1000 Corpses

Actors: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, Karen Black, Chris Hardwick

Synopsis: Taking his cue from such 1970s horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), animated rocker Rob Zombie goes celluloid with the throwback shocker House of 1000 Corpses. Running low on gas as they travel the highways of America in search of the ultimate Read More

Seduced by a Thief

Actors: Sean Young, Ron Perlman, Rick Peters, Edward Albert, John Saxon

Synopsis: Originally released to video as Night Class, this actioner stars Sean Young as Claire Sherwood, a sexy burglar who persuades unwitting security guard Jake Franklin (Rick Peters) to help her cronies knock over the hotel where Jake works. Suspected of being the thieves' inside man, Jake is fired Read More

Her Costly Affair

Synopsis: It's Fatal Attraction with a bit of gender and age fine-tuning in this made-for-TV melodrama. Bonnie Bedelia stars as Dr. Diane Weston, a professor in Shakespearean studies who has a brief fling with graduate student Jeff (Brian Austin Green). Once she has gotten over her attraction to Jeff, Diane Read More

Never Forget

Actors: Leonard Nimoy, Dabney Coleman, Blythe Danner

Synopsis: In this fact-based made-for-cable docudrama, Leonard Nimoy stars as Mel Mermelstein, a Nazi death camp survivor who wages a court battle against the revisionist Institute for Historical Review over their claims that the Holocaust never occurred. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide Read More

The Case of the Hillside Stranglers

Actors: Richard Crenna

Synopsis: Fact-based, made-for-television account of the hunt for a pair of serial killers who slaughtered ten women in the hillsides of Los Angeles between October 1977 and February 1978. (Alternate title: The Case Of The Hillside Stranglers) ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide Read More

Black Eagle

Actors: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Doran Clark, Bruce French, Vladimir Skomarovsky

Synopsis: Black Eagle takes as its inspiration Reagan-era cold war paranoia. After a renegade scientist goes AWOL, a top secret device is up for grabs. International intrigue ensues, with CIA agent Ken Tani aka Black Eagle and KGB operative Andrei, played by Jon Claude van Damme at the center. The picture Read More

Invaders from Mars

Actors: Karen Black, Hunter Carson, Timothy Bottoms, Laraine Newman, James Karen

Synopsis: Invaders from Mars, horror-film director Tobe Hooper's remake of the classic 1950's science fiction film, directed by William Cameron Menzies, centers on a young boy named David (Hunter Carson) who tries to stop an invasion of his town as aliens take over the minds of his parents George (Timothy Bottoms Read More

The Naked Cage

Actors: Shari Shattuck, Angel Tompkins, Lucinda Crosby, Christina Whitaker, Faith Minton

Synopsis: The Naked Cage offers a glimpse of the stark realities of prison life while at the same time acknowledging the issue of prison corruption. Young and naïve Michelle (Shari Shattuck) has just been thrown in the slammer for a bank heist she definitely did not commit. The inmates warn her about the Read More

The Tempest

Synopsis: In this 1611 Shakespeare play, the magician Prospero (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) conjures a storm that drives a ship off course to his enchanted island, washing everyone ashore. The company includes King Alonso of Naples; his son, Ferdinand; Antonio, duke of Milan; and members of the king's court. Read More

Creator

Actors: Jeff Corey, Peter O'Toole, Mariel Hemingway, John Dehner, Ellen Geer, Vincent Spano, Virginia Madsen, David Ogden Stiers, Rance Howard

Synopsis: This romantic, melancholy twist on the Frankenstein formula stars Peter O'Toole as Professor Harry Wolper, a lonely eccentric who has dedicated decades of research to cloning his long-dead wife Lucy from a culture of living tissue. To this end, he enlists the services of likeable Graduate Read More

The Karate Kid

Actors: Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove, Randee Heller, William Zabka

Synopsis: Newly arrived in California from New Jersey, teenager Daniel (Ralph Macchio) almost immediately runs afoul of karate-trained high school bullies. He is rescued by Japanese janitor Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), who agrees to teach Daniel how to harness karate for good instead of brutality. The Read More

Sam's Son

Actors: Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Timothy Patrick Murphy, Hallie Todd, Alan Hayes

Synopsis: This largely autobiographical story written and directed by Michael Landon stars Timothy Patrick Murphy as Gene Orowitz (Landon's real name was Eugene Orowitz), a frail teenager with a talent for throwing the javelin and a close relationship to his father Sam (Eli Wallach), the manager of a movie Read More

The Tragedy of King Richard II

Synopsis: Originally produced for television, this adaptation of William Shakespeare's historical tragedy stars David Birney as Richard II, who gains a fearsome enemy in his cousin Bolingbroke (Paul Shenar) when he seizes his land. Outraged Britons and rebellious Irishmen eventually turn against the king Read More

Old Boyfriends

Actors: Talia Shire, Richard Jordan, Keith Carradine, John Belushi, John Houseman

Synopsis: Noted screenwriter Joan Tewksbury made her directorial debut with this bittersweet comedy-drama. Diane Cruise (Talia Shire), a psychologist going through a severe depression, takes a long look at her life after attempting to commit suicide. Diane decides to pay a visit to her former boyfriends in Read More

Quincy, M.E.: By the Death of a Child

Synopsis: The new, pro-American president of the island nation of San Christos is on the verge of breaking off diplomatic relations with the U.S. At the core of the crisis is a new Diptheria vaccine produced in American and sent to the children of San Christos. It appears as though the vaccine is tainted Read More

Perfect Gentlemen

Actors: Lauren Bacall, Sandy Dennis, Lisa Pelikan, Ruth Gordon

Synopsis: We're not sure who the gentlemen are in this TV movie adaptation of Nora Ephron's Perfect Gentlemen, but there's no doubt as to the identity of the ladies. The plot revolves around three convict's wives. Sandy Dennis owns a bankrupt deli; Lisa Pelikan is pregnant and broke; and Lauren Bacall (in Read More

Return From Witch Mountain

Actors: Bette Davis, Christopher Lee, Kim Richards, Ike Eisenmann, Jack Soo

Synopsis: The Fury meets The Misadventures of Merlin Jones in this comic-book sequel to Disney's Escape to Witch Mountain. Reprising their roles as the psychic siblings from another world are Kim Richards as Tia and Ike Eisenmann as Tony. Their Uncle Bene (Denver Pyle) gives the kids a treat by letting them Read More

Beat the Turtle Drum

Actors: Melissa Sue Anderson, William H. Bassett

Very Good Friends

Actors: Melissa Sue Anderson, Katy Kurtzman, William H. Bassett, Pamela Nelson, Anne Seymour

Synopsis: Teenaged Kate (Melissa Sue Anderson) is deeply devoted to her younger sister, 11-year-old Joss (Katy Kurtzman). When Joss is killed in an accident, the grieving, embittered Kate begins to wonder if life has any meaning. The catalyst for Kate's ultimate consolation is the horse that was rented for Read More

Never Con a Killer

Synopsis: Filmed as the 72-minute pilot episode for the weekly ABC adventure series, The Feather and Father Gang, Never Con a Killer was held back from view until May 13, 1977, by which time the series proper had already been on for two months...and had already been canceled. Stefanie Powers and Harold Gould Read More

Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident

Synopsis: Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy is a TV dramatization of the notorious Cold War incident of 1960. The story is told from the point of view of Powers (Lee Majors), an American pilot who was shot down over Russia while taking photographs on behalf of the CIA. The event occurs just Read More

Lucky Lady

Actors: Gene Hackman, Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds, Geoffrey Lewis, John Hillerman

Synopsis: During the Prohibition era, Walker (Burt Reynolds) and Kibby (Gene Hackman) run a liquor smuggling operation in Mexico; they team up with Claire (Liza Minnelli), a cabaret entertainer who has an "in" with several big-time nightclub owners. Complications ensue when both men fall in love with Read More

The Streets of San Francisco: The Twenty-Five Caliber Plague

Synopsis: This episode is truly episodic, offering poignant and sometimes tragic vignettes occuring during a single San Francisco weekend. The catalyst for the the story is a .25 caliber pistol, hunting by both the police and the underworld alike. In the course of events, the pistol claims two victims: a Read More

1776

Actors: William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard, David Ford

Synopsis: The first independent production of former studio mogul Jack Warner, 1776 was adapted from the hit 1969 Broadway musical by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards. William Daniels, Ken Howard, and Howard Da Silva are among the many actors who recreate their Broadway roles. The story is set during the Read More

Bonanza: Decision at Los Robles

Actors: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, William H. Bassett, Joe de Santis

Synopsis: During a stopover in Los Robles, Ben Cartwright is assaulted and wounded by town boss John Walker (Emile Meyer. Forced to kill Walker in self-defense, Ben finds himself targeted for revenge by the despot's son Jed (William H. Bassett), who threatens to blow up the town unless the citizens deliver Read More

The Grasshopper

Actors: Jacqueline Bisset, Jim Brown, Joseph Cotten, Corbett Monica, Ramon Bieri

Synopsis: Christine (Jacqueline Bisset) is the young bank teller who is bored with her job and her husband. She leaves for Las Vegas where she scores a job as a chorus girl. The beautiful Christine does not have the talent to parlay the job into an upwardly mobile career. She marries an older man and Read More

I Dream of Jeannie: Jeannie for the Defense

Synopsis: Involved in a very minor traffic accident, Tony ends up in court, facing a lawsuit from the other driver (Kay E. Kuter), who is faking a variety of serious injuries in hopes of winning an enormous settlement. Despite a hostile judge (J. Pat O'Malley) and an incompetent defense attorney (a Read More

Bewitched: A Prince of a Guy

Actors: Elizabeth Montgomery, Agnes Moorehead, Erin Murphy, Diane Murphy, David White

Synopsis: The "Prince of a Guy" in this episode is none other than Prince Charming (William Bassett), whom little Tabitha has brought to life from her storybook. Upon meeting the handsome prince, Larry immediately hires him as a male model, which results in a dilemma when it turns out that imaginary Read More

I Dream of Jeannie: U-F-Oh Jeannie

Synopsis: In the opening episode of I Dream of Jeannie's fourth season, Jeannie (Barbara Eden) stows away when Tony (Larry Hagman) and Roger (Bill Daily) are assigned to test a top-secret NASA spacecraft, which is shaped like a saucer. Alas, the craft crashlands in hillbilly country, whereupon a couple of Read More

The Stratton Story

Actors: James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead, Bill Williams

Synopsis: Both Van Johnson and Gregory Peck were considered for the role of baseball star Monty Stratton in the 1949 biopic The Stratton Story before settling upon the real Stratton's own first choice, James Stewart. The film covers several years in the 1930s, as Texas farm boy Stratton rises from the Read More