Will Gill, Jr. Movies
Originally made for television, this prison drama centers on a hard-core convict who for the past decade has been the king of the other prisoners. Just before he is to be paroled, a young inmate challenges him. This creates considerable tension until he learns that he and the youth are related by more than mere circumstance. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1988
- R
A transit engineer and his family must face the gargantuan task of moving from New Jersey to Boise, Idaho in this lively comedy starring Richard Pryor. It all begins after he gets a really great job out West. Unfortunately, his family is less than thrilled with the prospect. The furniture movers, who prove to be crooks, and their crazy neighbors conspire to make matters all the worse. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Beverly Todd, (more)
This high-tech spin on the slasher genre pits a group of sex-obsessed teens spending the night in a shopping mall against the mall's marauding robotic security guards -- whose programming turns homicidal after a bolt of lightning scrambles their control circuits. Director Jim Wynorski cut his exploitation teeth working for Roger Corman's legendary "B"-movie factory New World Pictures in the '70s and '80s, and this film's comic early scenes contain homages to that outfit's heyday -- with humorous cameos from Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov (reprising their characters Paul and Mary Bland from Bartel's Eating Raoul) and the ubiquitous Dick Miller. The majority of the film, however, is essentially a teens-in-jeopardy story, with the lethal bots unleashing their amped-up arsenal and bringing the victims to nasty ends amid buckets of gore -- such as the unforgettable moment when one woman's head is targeted by one of the droids and blown up like an overripe melon. (The shot is repeated during the end credits.) ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, (more)
- 1985
Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) and David (Bruce Willis) are hired by a collection agency to go after a deadbeat debtor named Roy Hirsch. Not long afterward, the detectives come across Hirsch's dead body--which promptly disappears. What does the mystery Man With the Mole have to do with all this? The final episode of Moonlighting's first season, "The Murder's in the Mail" features the series' first "aside" to the audience, wherein David sly breaks down the forth wall and directly addresses the viewer; it is also the LAST time that the series would ever feature a climactic pie fight! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1983
George (Sherman Hemsley) and his poker buddies leave their usual weekly mess behind, resulting in a few sharp words from George's long-suffering housekeeper, Florence (Marla Gibbs). Fed up with her complaining, George bets Florence a week's vacation (with pay) that he can get her full day's cleaning done in three hours. Perhaps George should have watched all those old two-reel comedies in which Andy Clyde and Hugh Herbert made similar bets -- with similarly disastrous results. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, (more)
- 1982
In this first episode of a two-part story, both George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) and his messenger, Ed (Will Gill Jr.), are brutally beaten up by a tough street gang. Making things all the more depressing is the fact that the gang is comprised of teenaged girls. Irwin Keyes makes a return appearance as George's erstwhile bodyguard, Hugo. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, (more)
- 1979
Struck down by a drunken driver, Jim (James Garner) ends up in the hospital. Under heavy sedation, he sees--or thinks he sees--Dr. Lee Yost (John Considine) harvesting organs from a donor. Trouble is, the donor isn't quite dead yet. After regaining consciousness, Jim is unable to get anyone to believe what he saw, so he makes it his personal mission to dig deeply into the career (and personality) of the aforementioned Dr. Yost. What he discovers not only places Jim's life in jeopardy but also the life of Yost's faithful secretary Sorel Henderson (Jesse Welles)--who, unbeknownst to herself, has been set up as the "good" doctor's next organ donor. This is the final episode of The Rockford Files' fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1978
Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.) decides to open up a roadside restaurant with a chance acquaintance named Vinnie Whithead (Ken Lynch). From the outset of this enterprise, Rocky can't help but notice that an elderly man is watching every move he and Vinnie make. . .and no sooner has the restaurant opened than someone breaks into the joint. Investigating, Jim (James Garner) discovers that Vinnie is a retired mob boss, and that his trail has been dogged for the last 50 years by retired federal officer Eddie LaSalle (Victor Jory). Somehow, all this is tied in with a lawsuit brought about by Bruce Woodstock (Jess Nadelman), a total stranger who has managed to fall off the roof of Jim's trailer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
Evidently inspired by the TV miniseries Roots, Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) is convinced that he is a descendant of none other than King Solomon. And how did this "revelation" come about? Well, it seems that Fred shelled out big money (a whole 25 dollars) to a family-tracing service -- who told him that he is the ancestor of a famous Jewish historical figure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
