''Captain America'' is a 1979 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, advent ...

loosely based on the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

character of the same name, directed by

Rod Holcomb Rod Holcomb is an American television director and producer, best known for directing the pilot and finale of '' ER''. He has directed episodes of numerous television series, including '' Quincy, M.E.'', ''The Six Million Dollar Man'', ''Battles ...

and starring

Reb Brown Common meanings * Johnny Reb, personification of a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War * Reb (Yiddish), an honorific title for a teacher People * Reb Anderson (born 1943), American Zen Buddhist teacher and writer * Reb Beach (born 1963), ...

. The film was followed by the sequel '' Captain America II: Death Too Soon'', also released in the same year. Although this series was shortlived, it influenced the comic books in a few way, such as Steve Rogers's choice of personal vehicles and his skill as a talented and educated artist in

penciling A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

illustration.

Plot

Steve Rogers (

) is a former Marine whose father is a 1940s government agent. His father's patriotic attitude earns him the nickname "Captain America". His father is later murdered. Rogers, now making a living as an artist and traveling the countryside in a

conversion van A conversion van is a full-sized cargo van that is sent to third-party companies to be outfitted with various luxuries for road trips and camping. It can also mean a full-size passenger van in which the rear seating have been rearranged for taxi ...

, is inspired by his father's story to sketch a superhero. He is critically injured from an attempt on his life that is set up to seem like an accident. He is administered an experimental serum called the FLAG formula, an acronym for "Full Latent Ability Gain" — a kind of "super-steroid" — which Rogers' father had developed from his own glands. The formula not only saves his life, but enhances his strength and reflexes. These new abilities inspire Dr. Simon Mills (

Len Birman Leonard Birman (born September 28, 1932) is a Canadian American actor, who began his career in Montreal. In his 45 years on stage, screen and radio, he has portrayed a wide variety of characters, including some choice roles in classical and conte ...

), the research biochemist and intelligence official behind FLAG who was once a friend of Steve's father, to recruit Steve and give him a costume based on his drawing. As Captain America, Steve's conversion van is re-configured so that it can launch a high-tech motorcycle. The bike features rocket thrust — a jet booster for rapid acceleration — and a stealth setting that reduces engine and road noise. In the sequel, '' Captain America II: Death Too Soon'' it also possesses a detachable wing resembling a hang glider that allows limited gravity-powered flight. In addition, the bike has a detachable round windscreen that becomes Rogers' shield when he goes on foot, resembling the comics' shield with the white stripes being transparent. It is bulletproof, and can be thrown as a returning weapon without having to be ricocheted off surfaces. It soon is revealed that the villain intends to threaten to destroy a community with a

neutron bomb A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the b ...

. Unfortunately, when Captain America stops the truck transporting it and diverts an exhaust into the trailer to subdue any guards inside, he finds out that villain himself was inside wearing a

deadman's switch A dead man's switch (see alternative names) is a switch that is designed to be activated or deactivated if the human operator becomes incapacitated, such as through death, loss of consciousness, or being bodily removed from control. Originally a ...

detonator to the bomb measuring his heartbeat and is seriously affected by

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

. As a result, Captain America and Dr. Mills have to apply emergency first aid and are successful in keeping the villain alive so that detonator could be safely removed in custody. In the final act of the film, Rogers decides to become the same Captain America as his father had been, donning a uniform identical to the one his father had worn: the "classic" Captain America uniform.

Cast

as Steve Rogers / Captain America *

as Dr. Simon Mills *

Heather Menzies Heather Menzies Urich (December 3, 1949 – December 24, 2017) was a Canadian–American model and actress, known for her roles as Louisa von Trapp in the 1965 film ''The Sound of Music'' and Jessica 6 in the TV series '' Logan's Run''. Ea ...

as Dr. Wendy Day *

Robin Mattson Robin Mattson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the daytime soap operas ''General Hospital'', '' Santa Barbara'', and ''All My Children''. Career Daytime television Mattson made her daytime debut as troubled teen Hope B ...

as Tina Hayden *

Joseph Ruskin Joseph Ruskin (born Joseph Richard Schlafman; April 14, 1924 – December 28, 2013) was an American character actor. Also appeared in several underworld character roles on the tv series The Untouchables (1959-1963) Early life Ruskin was born ...

as Rudy Sandrini *

Lance LeGault William Lance LeGault (May 2, 1935 – September 10, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known as U.S. Army Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s American television series ''The A-Team''. Early and personal life LeGault was born May 2, 193 ...

as Harley *

Frank Marth Frank Marth (July 29, 1922 – January 12, 2014) was an American film and television actor. He may be best known as a cast-member of ''Cavalcade of Stars'' (1949; 1950–1957), especially segments of ''The Honeymooners'', which later became a ...

as Agent Charles Barber * Steve Forrest as Lou Brackett *Chip Johnson as Jerry *James Ingersoll as Lester Wiant *Jim B. Smith as F.B.I. Assistant *

Jason Wingreen Jason Wingreen (October 9, 1920 – December 25, 2015) was an American actor. He portrayed bartender Harry Snowden on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1977–1979), a role he reprised on the continuation series ''Archie Bunker's Place'' ( ...

as Surgeon *

June Dayton June Dayton (born Mary June Wetzel; August 24, 1923 – June 13, 1994) was an American television actress who appeared in a variety of shows from the 1950s into the 1980s. Early life Dayton was born in Dayton, Ohio. She used her hometown of Da ...

as Secretary *Diana Webster as Nurse * Dan Barton as Jeff Hayden

Release

The film was released theatrically in Colombia in 1981.

Reception

The movie received a mixed reception from critics.

Adaptation of elements in other media

The elements of the TV movies were emulated in broad fashion in the ''Captain America'' comic book series. In issue #237, Rogers establishes himself as a commercial artist. Although his professional career has waxed and waned in its depiction, it is permanently established in later works like ''The Adventures of Captain America'' that Rogers was a Fine Arts student specializing in illustration in the 1930s, working in the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

Federal Arts Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administratio ...

before he was recruited into Project Rebirth. In issue #259, a young man that Captain America redeemed from associating with a criminal gang built a custom high-performance motorcycle in gratitude, which became a signature vehicle of the character for years. Apart from having considerable speed, the design is standard apart from its

American Flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...

paint motif. In issue #318, Rogers receives a specially customized conversion van courtesy of King T'Challa of

Wakanda Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther (comics), Black Pa ...

aka The Black Panther. The van has special communications equipment, an extendable

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

, a sleeping bunk when Rogers is travelling, a special frame so Rogers can launch from the van while riding his motorcycle, and has a special paint that can instantly change colors when Rogers desires it for stealth purposes.

References

External links

* * {{Rod Holcomb 1979 television films 1979 films 1979 action films 1970s English-language films 1970s superhero films Action television films Captain America films CBS network films Films directed by Rod Holcomb 1970s American films Live-action films based on Marvel Comics Television pilots not picked up as a series