Hartley Silver Movies
- 1999
Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) has been plagued with nightmares involving his own father and his sometimes colleague Sgt. Dornan (Richard Gant). Sorenson (Rick Schroder) must determine if the police officer who shot a drug dealer acted properly. Ex-cop Gotelli (Carmine Caridi) solicits the squad's help investigating a shady insurance client -- who promptly turns up dead. And as the episode hastens to its conclusion, there is the disturbing possibility that Sipowicz will fall off the wagon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
The Bundy family heads to the polls for the first time ever to cast their first votes ever. And what is the issue that has got them so aroused? Well, it seems that someone is proposing a two-cent beer tax--or maybe it's a two percent beer tax, depending on which part of the episode you're watching. And if they can't defeat this tax, there's a viable alternative, involving looting and pillaging. . .and maybe drinking. Real-life KNBC reporter Cynthia Allison appears as herself, while Married. . .With Children cocreator Ron Leavitt and executive producer Larry Jacobson make cameo appearances. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1991
Pink Lightning is a 1991 Fox Network TV movie set in the California of 1962. Five typically blinkered 60s ladies come of age in a male-dominated society. As sarcastically pointed out by TV critics in 1991, the five girls are conveniently compartmentalized into stereotypes: Nice Girl, Beautiful Girl, Bright Girl, Hot-to-Trot Girl and Married Girl; the marriage of the last one is the centerpiece of the film. The girls are portrayed (in no particular order) by Sarah Buxton, Martha Byrne, Jennifer Blanc, Jennifer Guthrie and Rainbow Harvest. Pink Lightning concludes with a pointed put-down of male superiority, which is supposed to make the silly proceedings leading up to the event (including a Thelma and Louise style drive down a deserted highway) seem profound. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sarah Buxton, Martha Byrne, (more)
- 1989
As Night Court launches its seventh season, Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson) invites his father Buddy (John Astin) to move with him after Buddy is released from a mental institution. The arrangement soon proves to be more than Harry can handle--and Buddy's not so keen on living outside the "system" either. Meanwhile, slimy prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) conspires with shady real-estate agent Mark Colson (Charles Levin) to get their mitts ona rent-controlled Park Avenue apartment owned by an elderly gent (King Moody) who presumably isn't long for this world. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1989
The kids' grandparents Ed (Gordon Jump) and Kate (Betty McGuire) decide to give Mike (Kirk Cameron), Carol (Tracey Gold) and Ben (Jeremy Miller) $5000 each. The money was supposed to be part of the kids' inheritance, but Ed and Kate are anxious to find out how their grandchildren will handle so large a sum. Typically, Ben goes on a wild spending spree--but less typically, Mike and Carol display a hitherto unsuspected streak of generosity. This episode marks the second appearance of Mike's down-and-out friend Fred (Carmen Filpi). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello not only starred in the delightfully "retro" Back to the Beach, but also served as executive producers. Appropriately set 25 years after such drive-in faves as Beach Blanket Bingo, the film finds Frankie and Annette as husband and wife, living far from the surf 'n' sand in Ohio. Heading to California to visit their daughter Lori Loughlin, Frankie and Annette are appalled to learn that she has been keeping time with punker Tommy Hinkley. In time-honored fashion, our hero and heroine set about to make the beach safe for funlovers everywhere by driving out Hinkley's unsavory pals. Along the way, Frankie nearly bollixes up his marriage by dallying with Connie Stevens-one of several pop-culture icons appearing in Back to the Beach, including Don Adams, Bob Denver, Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Dick Dale & the Del-Tones , Stevie Ray Vaughan, and even Pee-wee Herman! Back to the Beach is fun for a while, but its six-person writing team can't figure out a logical way to wind it all up. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, (more)
- 1986
- R
Columbia Pictures spent as estimated $8 million dollars on this laughless sex comedy that crashes and burns before ever leaving the ground. Two bumbling boneheads who are kicked out of flying school decide to remain airborne by becoming stewardesses. Bathroom humor, sight gags, and the prerequisite nudity are the lowlights of this forgettable film. The only interest is the appearance of former Playboy bunny Yuliis Ruval. This dog makes Porky's seem like Shakespeare. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brett Cullen, Mary Cadorette, (more)
- 1986
Somewhere in the Deep South, young singer Matt Burns (Brian L. Green) has been arrested for the murder of local bully Ed Bonner (Jeffrey Osterhage), son of the town's most influential citizen (Stuart Whitman). Innocent bystanders to this developing drama are Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) and her friend and fellow writer Ames Caulfield (Craig Stevens), one of whose former students happened to be Matt's mother. At the request of Matt's girl friend (and the dead man's sister) Linda (Cindy Fisher), Jessica does her best to prove Matt's innocence--while an angry lynch mob begins to swarm around the town jail. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
This campy drama, set in the 1940s, was inspired by a hit song by Barry Manilow. It tells the tale of an aspiring songwriter, Lola, a showgirl, and the sleazy owner of the Copa. Tragedy ensues as the two men duel over Lola's love. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1984
Jose Ferrer guest stars in this episode--but not for long!--as a famed hypnotist known as The Amazing Cagliostro. As a publicity stunt, Cagliostro shepherds a group of six journalists behind locked doors, then hypnotizes them en masse. The act comes to an abrupt conclusion when Cagliostro is stabbed to death in full view of the journalists--who, being hypnotized, can remember nothing about the crime! Jessica (Angela Lansbury) of course figures that at least one person in the room was sufficiently conscious to commit the murder, and she's determined to find out which one. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Clint Eastwood's first comedy feature proved to be one of his most profitable vehicles. Eastwood plays Philo Beddoe, a bare-knuckle boxer who travels from fight to fight in a beat-up truck, accompanied by his "pal" Clyde, a orangutan with a mean right hook, and his human buddy Orville (Geoffrey Lewis). During a stopover, Philo meets and falls in love with would-be country & western singer Lynn Halsey-Taylor (Sondra Locke). After a while, she wants to break off the relationship, but he doesn't -- a shaky plot peg upon which to hang several reels' worth of zany car chases and confrontations with such opponents as a gang of bikers and a battalion of hostile lawmen. Adding to the fun is Ruth Gordon as Eastwood's don't-mess-with-me octogenarian mother, and Beverly D'Angelo as an ace sharpshooter. The enormous box-office success of Every Which Way But Loose yielded an equally wacky -- and equally lucrative -- sequel, Any Which Way You Can. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, (more)
