Jesse Bennett Movies
- 1999
Suggested by a real-life homicide case which occurred in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1986, the made-for-TV Murder at 75 Birch gets underway when the wife of dentist Rick Todson (Gregory Harrison) is killed. According to Rick, his late spouse Pat (Wendel Meldrum) had been murdered by a burglar, a story the police find hard to swallow. One person who is willing to stand by Rick is his sister-in-law Gwen (Melissa Gilbert)--and when Gwen's own husband Dave (Vyto Ruginis) dies in a car accident, she turns to Rick for comfort and solace. Ultimately Gwen falls in love with Rick, but their relationship begins to unravel after a series of strange incidents which suggest that the authorities' suspicions concerning Rick's involvement in his wife's death were not entirely groundless. Reaching a tense climax as Gwen and the police work together to crack the case, Murder at 75 Birch first aired February 9, 1999 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gregory Harrison, Wendel Meldrum, (more)
- 1993
- G
Goodbye Bird is the story of a boy accused by his principal of stealing her treasured talking parrot. With the help of a veterinarian, the boy attempts to discover the true identity of the thief. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cindy Pickett, Christopher Pettiet, (more)
- 1992
In this drama, a reporter attempts to protect her small son (the result of her brief tryst with a presidential candidate) from the prying eyes of a shady political advisor. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1989
The made-for-cable Incident at Dark River stars Mike Farrell as a working-stiff family man. When his daughter falls ill, Farrell discovers to his horror that the girl is suffering from toxic poisoning. A local battery factory has been polluting the area with its deadly waste, but when Farrell tries to take legal action, he finds that the law favors the factory. Albert Rubin's slowly paced script leans towards "bad guy vs. good guy" rather than shades of gray, but it successfully hits all the right emotional buttons. The presence of well-known environmentalist Mike Farrell in this sincere, medium-budget effort is a prime example of putting one's money where one's mouth is. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Victoria Principal plays the sightless but extremely independent wife of Stephen Macht, who is murdered by intruders in her presence (a harrowing sequence, even within TV standards). Though she could see nothing, Principal is counting on her sensory and olfactory reminiscences, as well as her own instincts, to help the police track down the murderer. Naturally, this results in the killer stalking the "helpless" Principal, who proves to be nothing of the sort. Victoria Principal not only starred in Blind Witness (working like a demon to make her blindness utterly convincing), but also functioned as the film's co-executive producer. This made-for-TV movie debuted on November 26, 1989, heralded by the requisite TV Guide cover story. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1989
The made-for-TV It Nearly Wasn't Christmas stars Charles Durning as the one and only Santa Claus--a role for which Durning evidently required no padding. The plot would have us believe that Santa is on the verge of cancelling Christmas (didn't know he could do that). The reasons are the usual: the holiday has become too commercialized, and people have become too self-centered. Santa's faith in humanity is renewed by a little girl (Risa Schiffman), who hopes that the Holiday spirit will be instrumental in reuniting her estranged parents. It Nearly Wasn't Christmas was syndicated to local TV outlets during the week of December 16, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1980
- PG
Could it be true? Is the U.S. government really hiding an alien spaceship in the mysterious Hangar 18? According to the producers at Sunn Classic Pictures, the answer is yes, and this sci-fi drama sets out to prove it. The trouble begins when an orbiting satellite runs into the UFO and it crashes. Inside are alien bodies, and the President, who is busy with his re-election campaign, is most eager to conceal them. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Darren McGavin, Robert Vaughn, (more)
