In a high-profile kidnapping case that crosses international borders, whom would you trust for a rescue mission?
You answered, “Dallas supporting cast member Morgan Brittany,” too, right? Well, we’re 14.3% correct; she’s part of Stunt Seven.
In John Peyser’s slimly plotted but convivial made-for-CBS movie alternately known as The Fantastic Seven (I guess “magnificent” was taken?), actress Rebecca Wayne (Elke Sommer, The Wrecking Crew) is abducted from a film shoot. She’s taken to the sovereign state of Freeland, which exists as a few wooden structures on stilts in international waters. Mastermind and contemporary pirate Boudreau (Patrick Macnee, A View to a Kill) demands a $10 million ransom within 72 hours … or Rebecca dies.
The movie studio doesn’t want to front the funds for Rebecca’s release, but justifiably: because her last two pictures fizzled. And no U.S. government agency will claim jurisdiction due to Freeland’s establishment in lawless international waters. You know what that means: Stuntpeople, assemble!
Sheet of sandpaper-voiced stuntman Hill Singleton (Christopher Connelly, Strike Commando) spends two-thirds of Stunt Seven recruiting six others to form an extraction team. He starts by skydiving so he can parachute down to a hang-gliding pal: “Horatio! Have I got a crime for you!” Next thing you know, Hill and Horatio (one-and-doner Brian Brodsky) scale the FBI building in daylight — no worries; it’s Saturday — to break in and steal the highly confidential Freeland file, unmistakably labeled and in the open on an agent’s desk.
Joining the crew are an explosives expert (a pre-typecast Christopher Lloyd in a cowboy hat), a weapons specialist (Olympic gold medalist Bob Seagren), a kung-fu bartender (Soon-Tek Oh, Collision Course), a good swimmer (the aforementioned Brittany) and another good swimmer (Juanin Clay, WarGames). Barely planned, the actual reconnaissance operation is as easy as counting to the titular number while blindfolded. The end! What’s our next assignment?
Clearly, Stunt Seven intended to kick-start a weekly series, which I would have watched since director Peyser (The Centerfold Girls) packs this 90-minute outing with action aplenty. Biplanes! Sharks! Bar brawls! Diving! Scuba diving! Cadillac driving! Truck driving! Fisticuffs! Explosions! Whistling lessons!
All stunts were performed by such fall-guy brand names as Dar Robinson, Dick Warlock, Buddy Van Horn and Dick Durock. Some of their stunts also were performed by an 8-year-old me and the next-door neighbor kids the afternoon after this aired, and we thought we’d be cool by jumping from a tree. —Rod Lott