Marj Dusay Movies

Although the title sounds like one of the Pixies' more uplifting songs, Chronicle of Corpses is actually a cultivated psychological Gothic thriller. Set in the 19th century, the story takes place at the Elliott family estate, where someone or possibly something has been picking off the members of the household. At a loss over what to do about -- excepting, most obviously, putting the place up for sale and leaving the neighborhood -- the estate's remaining inhabitants cope in the ways they know best: drinking, eating, and coupling in excess. All sorts of sordid things occur and even more sordid relationships are revealed: in addition to the dodgy doings between patriarch Mr. Elliott and his brother-in-law, Elliott's wife is having her way with the stable boy, his son is an alcoholic, and his mother is insane. Touted one of the Top Ten Films of 2001 by both the New York Times and the Village Voice, A Chronicle of Corpses was screened at the 2002 Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

In this throwback to films noir of the 1940s, Jack Morrisey (Denis Leary) is a pianist and songwriter who has been touring the club circuit with his lady love, Vicky (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). Jack and Vicky have talent, but they haven't gotten the breaks; they're stone broke and at the end of their collective rope when Eddie (Michael Badalucco), a private eye who knows Jack, makes the couple an offer. Fred Moore (Terence Stamp), a very wealthy man who is something of a fan of Jack's music, is attracted to Vicky. Fred's money and property are, for legal reasons, primarily in the name of his wife, who wants a divorce. If Eddie can provide hard evidence that Fred is cheating on his wife, she'll stand to keep most of his money in a divorce, and Eddie will be kicked back a good chunk of change. Eddie, in turn, will be more than happy to share his wealth with Jack and Vicky, if Vicky would be willing to seduce Fred for the purposes of creating blackmail photos. Though she was a major star in Latin America, this was only the second English language film for Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, after her appearance alongside Keanu Reeves in A Walk in the Clouds. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on a true story, I Can Make You Love Me: The Stalking of Laura Black largely takes place in California's Silicon Valley, where Virginia transplant Laura Black (Brooke Shields) is employed by a major high-tech firm as a computer specialist. Upset by the unsolicited advances of nerdish coworker Richard Farley (Richard Thomas), Laura files a complaint with her bosses, but finds it is difficult to get anyone to believe her: The delusional Farley has already spread the word about his "relationship" with Laura, and has even written to her parents about their "romance." Eventually Farley's ruse is exposed, and he is fired from his job--and Laura manages to get a restraining order against him to avoid dealing with him outside the workplace. It is at this point that harassment degenerates into all-out violence, with Farley triggering an all-out climactic bloodbath. Produced for the CBS TV network, the film first aired February 9, 1993; since that time, I Can Make You Love Me has been seen on cable television under the title Stalking Laura. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Bankses' veddy proper butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell) falls in love with Karen Caruthers ( played by future Wayans Bros. regular Anna Maria Horsford), who has led him to believe that she is a maid in the new neighbor's house. Once Geoffrey discovers that Karen is actually the house's wealthy owner, he is reluctant to marry "above his station" and does everything he can to sabotage his budding romance. Meanwhile, Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) is worried that Philip (James Avery) may be simultaneously losing all his hair and all his business. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama a Florida newspaper owner's daughter gets involved with her daddy's biggest competitor who uses her to help destroy her father's business. Trouble ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Alan Rudolph directed this offbeat, boy-meets-girl romance in which boy dies, dead boy meets dead girl, dead boy loses dead girl, and dead boy tries to find dead girl again. The tale begins is a small Pennsylvania town, where Mike Shea (Timothy Hutton) dreams of escaping small town life and moving to California with his girlfriend Brenda (Mare Winningham). But Brenda leaves him with his motor running and Mike takes off alone. On the way, he rescues a woman and her children from an icy river but perishes himself. He finds himself in Heaven, where he is greeted by Aunt Lisa (Maureen Stapleton), who explains the rules and regulations. Once in the ethereal realm, Mike falls in love with a heavenly lass with flaxen locks named Annie (Kelly McGillis). But their love is torn asunder because Annie has not yet earned her wings on Earth; she must leave on a tour of duty and put in time inhabiting a human body. Mike is beside himself in despair, but the heavenly powers, in the form of Emmett (Debra Winger), chain-smoking and sporting an orange crewcut like a ghostly Laurie Anderson, offer him a deal. Mike can return to Earth, but only on the stipulation that neither he nor Annie will remember each other. They then have thirty years in which to find one another again. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The "Cliff Hangers" television series provides this film featuring a photojournalist who searches for the men who killed her reporter brother just before he revealed a conspiracy on an international level. ~ Rovi

While renovating her new apartment in an old Victorian mansion, Quincy's girlfriend Jenny Drake (Marj Dusay) unearths the mummified remains of two women. Later on, two other female corpses are found within the same walls. After a thorough examination, Quincy (Jack Klugman) concludes that three of the women died of natural causes--but that the fourth was murdered. Our hero's subseqent fact-finding misison brings him in close contact with the truly bizarre residents of the crumbling old mansion (and any resemblance to Hitchcock's Psycho is undoubtedly purely intentional). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Another of the many Arthur Hailey literary properties which were transformed into TV miniseries in the 1970s, the five-part, ten-hour Wheels took place in Detroit sometime in the late 1960s. Rock Hudson starred as Adam Trenton, executive in charge of project development at the fictional auto-manufacturing firm of National Motors. Ambitious and ruthless, Adam let nothing stand in the way of his development and production of a new, youth-marketed car known as the Hawk. Meanwhile, Adam's bored and neglected wife Erica (Lee Remick, who earned an Emmy nomination for her performance) drifted into an extramarital affair and a brief "career" as a shoplifter. Eventually, Adam himself acquired a mistress, who in turn fell in love with Adam's son Kirk (James Carrol Jordan). As if things couldn't get any seamier, Kirk's brother Greg (Howard McGillin) was plagued by a blackmailer, while crooked car dealer Smokey Stevenson (played by miniseries stalwart Anthony Franciosa) cooked up a sinister deal that threatened to destroy National Motors. Originally telecast from May 7 to 15, 1978 on NBC, Arthur Hailey's Wheels posted such disappointing ratings that, when it was later rebroadcast, the property was whittled down from ten hours to four -- with episodes three and four summarily dropped from the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Canadian wilderness provides the backdrop of his high-flying adventure that follows a bush pilot and a runaway orphan as they try to survive after an emergency landing. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this Counterculture vs. Establishment romance, Frank Harmon (William Holden) is a middle-aged businessman, recently divorced and a bit bitter about the state of his life and the world in general. One morning, he discovers a pretty, hippie-esque girl who calls herself Breezy (Kay Lenz) asleep on his front porch. Frank asks her to leave and she politely follows suit; she forgets her guitar, however, and returns the next day to retrieve it. Breezy also asks Frank if he would be so kind as to let her take a bath; he agrees, and even lets her sleep at his house that night. A few days later, Breezy turns up at again at Frank's doorstep, with a cop in tow -- after being arrested for vagrancy, she told the police that she lived here with her uncle Frank. Frank plays along and, against his better judgment, agrees to let her stay with him. After spending some time together, Frank and Breezy begin opening up to each other, discussing their feelings on a variety of issues. A friendship grows between them that, in time, becomes a love affair, but Frank's friends find fault in his new romance, and he breaks it off -- a decision he comes to regret. This was the first film Clint Eastwood directed in which he did not star, something he would not do again until Bird in 1988. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Ross Martin essays the title character in this, the 200th episode of The F.B.I.. Martin is cast as George Barrows, also known as "the wizard" because of his uncanny genius for plotting intricate acts of larceny. Fresh from an embezzlement scheme that has netted him $800,000, Barrows barely pauses for breath as he plunges into a major heist that will reap millions. Can Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) outthink the "Wizard", or has he met his match at last? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi