''Stunts Unlimited'' is a 1980 American

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

about

stunt performers A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs stunt, daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as op ...

directed by

Hal Needham Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American Stunt performer, stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in film ...

Plot

A group of professional stunt performers is hired by a former U.S. Intelligence agent to retrieve a stolen weapon from a dangerous arms dealer.

Cast

* Chip Mayer as Matt Lewis * Susanna Dalton as C.C. Brandt * Sam J. Jones as Bo Carlson *

Glenn Corbett Glenn Corbett (born Glenn Edwin Rothenburg; August 17, 1933 – January 16, 1993)"CORBETT Obituary — Corbett, 59, starred in 'Route 66,' Wayne films." ''San Antonio Express-News'' January 18, 1993. Web. May 29, 2012. Document #0F22314D ...

as Dirk Macauley * Linda Grovenor as Jody Webber *

Alejandro Rey Alejandro Rey (February 8, 1930 – May 21, 1987) was an Argentine-American actor and television director. Career Early work Rey was born in Buenos Aires and studied acting under Hedwig Schlichter and Milagros de la Vega. He became known as ...

as Fernando Castilla *

Stefan Gierasch Stefan Gierasch (February 5, 1926 – September 6, 2014) was an American film and television actor. Personal Gierasch was a native of New York and studied at The Actors Studio. Gierasch was married 33 years to actress Hedy Sontag at the time o ...

as Axel Kalb * Victor Mohica as Joe Tallia * Lina Raymond as Cora *

Alfie Wise Alfie may refer to: Theatre and film * ''Alfie'' (play), a 1963 play by Bill Naughton * ''Alfie'' (1966 film), a film based on the play starring Michael Caine * ''Alfie'' (2004 film), a remake of the 1966 film * ''Alfie'' (2013 film), an Indi ...

as Tom *

as H.N. * Arthur Weiss as Fall Director * Richard Ziker as The Star *

John Larroquette John Bernard Larroquette (; born November 25, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' (1984–1992; 2023–2025) for ...

as Leading Man *

Linda McClure Linda is an English feminine given name, derived from the Spanish word , meaning "pretty." Linda may also refer to: Names * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) ...

as 1st Assistant Director * Victoria Peters as Rhea * Peaches Pook as Waitress *

Sandy Lang Alexander Lang (1864 – 8 November 1901) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a full back. He came to Burnley from Padiham in 1885 and was one of the club's regular full-backs, operating on the left or right side, as well as bein ...

as 2nd Assistant Director *

Graydon Gould Graydon may refer to: * Graydon (name), a list of people with the name Places * Graydon Hall, neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada * Graydon Hill, Edmonton, future neighbourhood in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada * Graydon Springs, Missouri, unin ...

as Western Director *

Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Co ...

* Nicholas David as Fred * Danny Rogers as Fire Stuntman *

Alan Gibbs Alan Timothy Gibbs (born 1939) is a New Zealand-born businessman, entrepreneur and former public servant. During the 1960s and 1970s, Gibbs was involved in manufacturing and investment banking, before overseeing the corporatisation of New Zeal ...

as Rider #1 * Monty Laird as Pistol Stuntman * Mickey Gilbert as Horse Rider *

Walter Wyatt Walter Wyatt (July 20, 1893 – February 26, 1978) was an American lawyer, who served as the twelfth Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Wyatt received his LL.B. from the University of ...

as Rider #2 *

Stan Barrett Stan Barrett (born June 26, 1943) is an American Hollywood stuntman, stunt coordinator actor, and former stock car racing driver. His biggest act was however outside the movie world. On December 17, 1979, he attempted to break the land speed reco ...

as Tower Stuntman * Charles Picerni as Air Stuntman * Stefan Gudju as Gate Guard * Maureen Cavaretta as Trapeze Lady #1 * Vicki Mathaway as Trapeze Lady #2 * Charles A. Tamburro as Bunker Guard * Jophery C. Brown as Roving Guard *

Richard Lapp Richard Lapp was Archdeacon of Cork from 1688 until 1690. Lapp was born in Bandon, County Cork and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He held incumbencies at Templequinlan and Rathclarin. He was also Prebendary of Templebryan in Ross Ca ...

as Minor Role

Production

The title of the film is an homage to the real company Stunts Unlimited, a stunt group formed by Hal Needham, Glenn Wilder, and Ronnie Rondell in 1970.

Broadcast and reception

The TV movie was broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

at 9:30 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...

on January 4, 1980, as the pilot for a proposed series, but the series was not picked up.
Upon the film's broadcast, the staff of ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' wrote that "the idea is ingenious" and "it ought to be a series". The pilot had a Nielsen TV rating of 12.3 and was viewed in 9,380,000 homes.https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Other-Documments/Panorama-TV/Panorama-TV-1980-04.pdf

References

External links

* {{Hal Needham 1980 television films 1980 films 1980 action films American Broadcasting Company original films American action television films Films about arms trafficking Films about stunt performers Films directed by Hal Needham Films scored by Barry De Vorzon Paramount Television Television pilots not picked up as a series 1980s English-language films English-language action films