Rene Enriquez Movies
- 1989
- Add Full Exposure: The Sex Tape Scandal to QueueAdd Full Exposure: The Sex Tape Scandal to top of Queue
Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal was advertised as being inspired by "today's headlines", though most of those headlines were generated by TV tabloid shows. In her first TV movie, dethroned Miss America Vanessa Williams plays a hooker who specializes in S & M. She videotapes her kinky sexual liaisons, then blackmails the participants. When a mystery killer begins bumping off some of Williams' female compatriots, assistant D.A. Lisa Hartman (we missed that election) is called in on the case. Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal was mercifully buried in the ratings by its powerhouse competition: the premiere telecast of Lonesome Dove. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Frank McBain (Gary Busey) is a cop who earned the nickname of "bulletproof" from the dozens of shootings he has survived over his career. He is called on to retrieve a tank held by communists across the border of Mexico. The enemies are cardboard caricatures of Arabs, Russians, and Mexicans led by the evil Colonel Kartiff (Henry Silva). Darlanne Fluegel co-stars with Juan Fernandez and Rene Enriquez in this forgettable feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Darlanne Fluegel, (more)
- 1987
The last of the four Perry Mason movies telecast in 1987, The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel rounds up veterans Raymond Burr (as Mason) and Barbara Hale (as Della Street), with comparative newcomers William Katt (as Paul Drake Jr.) and David Ogden Stiers (as the "Hamilton Burger"-style prosecutor). The accused murderer in this outing is Susan Wilder, a reporter for a sleazy tabloid. The victim is the rag's hateful publisher, Robert Guillaume. Other suspects include Guillaume's ex-lover, and a banker who was ruined by the tabloid's half truths. Unlike most of the Perry Mason TV movies of the 1980s, The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel doesn't play fair with the audience; vital clues and character motivations are withheld from the viewer, robbing us of the pleasure of trying to second-guess the methodical Mr. Mason. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1986
A sprawling adaptation of the same-named novel by David Nevin, the three-part CBS miniseries Dream West starred Richard Chamberlain as colorful, controversial American explorer John Charles Fremont (1813-1890). The story detailed the visionary (and occasionally mercenary) Fremont's lifelong war against shortsided authority figures, beginning with his early skirmishes with the "brass" as an Army officer. In 1842, Fremont embarked upon his greatest adventure, heading an expedition to map the Oregon Trail -- the first step towards opening the entire North American continent to free and unimpeded exploration. His mission pitted Fremont against hostile Indians, the Mexican army, and the U.S. government itself. Along the way, he crossed paths with scores of historical figures, including Kit Carson, Jim Bridge, John Sutter, and President Abraham Lincoln. Alice Krige, Richard Chamberlain's vis-à-vis in the earlier Wallenberg: A Heroes' Story, co-starred as Jessie Benton, the headstrong senator's daughter who became Fremont's wife. Running seven hours in all (plus commercials), Dream West was originally telecast from April 13 to 15, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
Made for television, Hostage Flight fomented a well-publicized controversy when first aired by NBC on November 17, 1985. On a domestic flight headed for Detroit, 65 passengers are held hostage by four international terrorists. The demands of the hijackers are simple: Release their imprisoned leader or the hostages will be executed one by one. Only after innocent blood is shed do the outraged passengers form a united front to rebel against their captors, and, ultimately, to take justice in their own hands. The film's original ending found the passengers, having staged their own "trial" of the hijackers, doling out punishment in a gruesome manner (and a highly unlikely manner, given the limited head-space on a typical jetliner). This denouement proved too horrifying for the NBC executives, who demanded that a modified ending be filmed (though the original climax was shown when the film was released outside the United States). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
In yet another slick, formulaic Charles Bronson vengeance film (they would continue until the actor was in his mid-70s, still playing the morally insulted friend/husband/lover), Bronson is Holland, an assassin for hire who has just come out of retirement to finish off a Guatemalan thug by the name of Moloch (Joseph Maher). Moloch tortures and terrorizes the good guys and is protected by a misguided American government agency -- though nothing can stop Holland once he starts killing his way to the chief villain. No one except the wife of one of Moloch's victims -- and perhaps a few viewers now and again -- raises any questions about Holland's trail of corpses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Theresa Saldana, (more)
- 1983
Choices of the Heart (aka In December the Roses Will Bloom Again) recounts the life and death of Irish lay missionary Jean Donovan. Together with three American nuns, the 27-year-old Donovan (here played by Melissa Gilbert) was murdered in El Salvador in 1980. Constructed in a complex flashback-flashforward style, the film shows how Donovan went from a selfish, materialistic girl to a champion of human rights. Martin Sheen plays the priest who is instrumental in Donovan's turnaround. The increasing demand for the US to withdraw its support of El Salvador's military-oriented government is a secondary but vital ingredient to the full dramatic impact of this made-for-TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Martin Sheen, (more)
This gripping, emotional story of a roving photographer's transformation from a neutral artist with a camera to an involved human rights activist with a camera begins in Chad, travels to Nicaragua in the early 1980s, and ends when the Nicaraguan dictator Somoza takes off for the palm trees and beaches of Florida. Nick Nolte brilliantly interprets his role as the photographer Russell Price, and Joanna Cassidy is Claire, the radio journalist he meets while in Chad, along with her lover, Time Magazine reporter Alex (Gene Hackman), who ends up opting for a plush job as a TV anchorman and a quiet life on Long Island. When Alex leaves, Claire heads off to the next hot spot, Nicaragua, and Russell decides to tag along -- not because he is that interested in Nicaragua, but because he is interested in Claire. Once in the war-torn, Central American country, it does not take Russell long to see the vast difference between the corrupt, U.S.-backed dictatorship and the struggling guerrilla forces who have been fighting for a decade already. As his eyes are opened, he and Claire decide to go along with the rebels and film their fighting behind the lines. During one battle, the much-venerated rebel leader is shot dead, and Russell reluctantly agrees to fake a photo of the man as though he were still living, so as not to demoralize the army that looks up to him for leadership. The photo appears in the news around the world and causes such a furor that Alex shows up to demand an interview with the leader for national American television. It is on the way to this supposed interview that Alex leaves the car for a moment and is senselessly shot and killed by a government soldier, the whole episode filmed for the world by Russell's camera. This outrage (which actually occurred when journalist Bill Stewart was inhumanly shot by a Somoza soldier in full view of the video camera) soon makes global news and helps to hasten the overthrow of the corrupt dictatorship. Meanwhile, Russell has new issues to consider once his camera has become an "active" and not a "passive" observer of political unrest. René Enriquéz who plays the dictator Somoza in this film is a native Nicaraguan, related to a newspaper reporter killed by Somoza's government. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1981
Virtually overnight, the remote Mexican village of San Remos has become a religious shrine thanks to the "sacred relics" unearthed by a young woman named Jacinta (Eugenia Wright). People from all over the world are crowding into the tiny community, hoping to be cured of catastrophic illnesses by Jacinta and her holy artifacts. At the request of Archbishop Vallejo (Rene Enriquez), Quincy (Jack Klugman) and Sam (Robert Ito) join an international medical team to determine if the ancient religious icons are genuine--and the results are quite astonishing for all concerned. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
"Let's be careful out there..." So ends each roll call session at the Hill Street station house. As the cops and detectives head out to the streets, Captain Frank Furillo begins the delicate balancing act of providing enough protection for the law-abiding citizens without inciting the neighborhood gangs and local criminal elements who are openly hostile towards any police presence. Yet as dangerous as his inner city precinct can be, Furillo's biggest battles often involve protecting his own cops from the Public Defender's office, self-serving bureaucrats, and even each other.
- Starring:
- Daniel J. Travanti, Michael Conrad, (more)
- 1980
The hospital where Quincy (Jack Klugman) works is in full security-lockdown mode when President Sarejo (Rudy Solari), a Latin American dictator, is rushed to the emergency room for a serious operation. It soon becomes apparent that a group of radicals has also arrived in Los Angeles, possibly planning to assassinate the ailing leader. But before this can happen, two members of the President's cabinet die of apparent heart failure--whereupon Quincy swings into action to determine if the deaths were mere happenstance, or the result of a vast and insidious conspiracy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1980
In this made-for-TV farce, the urban phenomenon of the traffic jam and the effect it has on the lives of the participants is examined. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- 1980
As made obvious by its title, this TV movie was an attempt to revive the once-popular private eye series Cannon, which ran from 1971 to 1976. Emerging from self-imposed retirement, corpulent gumshoe Frank Cannon (William Conrad) investigates the death of an old friend who formely worked for the CIA. Officially, the death has been ruled a suicide, but Cannon, as usual, has his doubts. Also mixed up in the intrigue is Cannon's former sweetheart and a Hughes-like millionaire. First telecast November 1, 1980 on CBS, The Return of Frank Cannon did not result in a weekly series, but William Conrad was able to find solace in his starring role on the subsequent weekly Nero Wolfe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
A series of tornadoes hits the Cincinnati area just as a pair of Japanese radio executives are being given a guided tour of WKRP. A bad situation gets worse when a window blown loose by the heavy winds knocks Andy (Gary Sandy) unconscious--but fortunately, Jennifer (Loni Anderson) is at the ready with a most intriguing rescue method! Series regulars Tim Reid (Venus) and Jan Smithers (Bailey) do not appear in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The longest (26-1/2 hours), most expensive ($25 million) and most complicated (four directors, five producers, five cinematographers, almost 100 speaking parts, several hundred extras) project made for television up to that time, Centennial was shown in two- and three-hour installments over a period of four months. An adaptation of James Michener's best-selling novel, it told the story of the settling of the American West by looking at the founding of the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado, from the settling of the area in the late 18th century to the present. Emmy-nominated for film editing and art direction, it boasts of sterling performances from Richard Chamberlain as frontiersman Alexander McKeag, Robert Conrad as the French-Canadian trapper Pasquinel, and a surprisingly powerful performance from former football star Alex Karras as compassionate but iron-willed immigrant farmer Hans Brumbaugh. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
- 1977
When an heiress is falsely accused of the murder of her husband, she is assisted by two crafty criminal lawyers. ~ Rovi
- 1977
Just prior to her Three's Company superstardom, Suzanne Somers played the lead in the made-for-TV meller It Happened at Lakewood Manor. Boiled down to basics, this is a rehash of Jaws, with ants (!) substituting for sharks (the film's video release title, in fact, was Ants). A summer resort full of special-guest-star tourists is besieged by battalions of killer ants. Robert Foxworth, Myrna Loy, Lynda Day George, Bernie Casey, Barry Van Dyke and Brian Dennehy are among those on the little critters' menu. First telecast December 2, 1977, It Happened at Lakewood Manor was subsequently retitled Panic at Lakewood Manor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1976
In this unsold TV-series pilot film, six former circus performers pool their individual talents for a daring daylight jewel heist. Ostensibly nothing more than common thieves, the six protagonists are actually acting from the noblest motives. If they are able to swipe a rare Latin American artifact known as "The Mask of the Sun" from a Washington D.C. embassy, they will (hopefully) be able to ransom a group of American medical missionaries who have been sentenced to a firing squad. Victor Buono stars as Sebastian, the leader of the co-ed criminal team. High Risk originally aired over ABC on May 15, 1976, in tandem with another "busted pilot," Panache. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1976
Unlike the 1935 film version of Jack London's 1897 novel Call of the Wild, which devoted most of its running time to a romance between Clark Gable and Loretta Young, this 1976 TV-movie version wisely remains faithful to the source. The star is a magnificent dog--part St. Bernard, part German shepherd--which is kidnapped from its home in California and spirited away to the Yukon. The dog is sold to two greenhorn prospectors (John Beck and Bernard Fresson) who name the animal "Buck". Though faithful to his new masters, Buck shows inclinations of succumbing to the "call of the wild" and running off into the woods at any moment. James (Deliverance) Dickey adapted the London novel for this TV version, which was filmed in the Sierra Madres and the Grand Tetons. Call of the Wild premiered on May 22, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Private eye Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman) is dedicated to his job, but his dedication does not make him happy or powerful in his personal life, and his wife (Susan Clark) is cheating on him. Aging actress Arlene Iverson (Janet Ward) hires Harry to find her trust-funded daughter Delly (Melanie Griffith), distracting Harry from his marital problems as he tracks the lascivious runaway teen to Florida. In the Keys, Harry has an affair of his own with Paula (Jennifer Warren), and he succeeds in locating Delly, even as he learns that finding her is only the beginning of a much larger case. As the "accidental" deaths multiply, Harry discovers that everyone has his or her own motives and that he cannot do much to stem the tide of deep-seated depravity. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, (more)
- 1975
This ABC Afterschool Special presentation is a sequel to the 1972 episode Santiago's Ark. Once again, the focus is on 11-year-old Santiago (Ruben Figueroa), a resident of Spanish Harlem who possesses an endless supply of energy and an extremely vivid imagination. This time around, Santiago has been chosen as his school's delegate to the Young America Continental Congress. Only one problem: the Congress is being held in Los Angeles -- and Santiago has no way of getting there. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Ruben Figueroa, Marc Johnson, (more)
- 1975
Brilliantly constructed in semi-documentary fashion, Katherine is the story of how a young upper-middle-class girl gradually radicalizes into a violence-prone revolutionary. The story is related in flashbacks sparked by "interviews" with Katherine (Sissy Spacek), her troubled parents (Art Carney, Jane Wyatt) and her radical mentor (Henry Winkler). After the idealism is knocked out of her by her horrendous experiences in the American South and in South America, Katherine matriculates into one of the most militant members of a Weatherman-like student organization. The film's tragic ending is both startling and inevitable. Originally telecast in a two-hour slot on October 5, 1975, Katherine was later syndicated in a 78-minute version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Art Carney, (more)
- 1975
Given the title Foster and Laurie and the added fact that the protagonists are two cops, one might deduce that this TV movie was the pilot for a potential series. Not this time: The two leading characters are killed almost before the opening credits fade! In flashback, the film traces the law-enforcement careers of African American Gregory Foster (Dorian Harewood) and Italian American Rocco Laurie (Perry King). Friends as well as partners, Foster and Laurie endeavor to improve community relations in their crime-ridden Lower East Side precinct--which results in their being murdered by three militant extremists, who hope to intimidate the rest of the force (at the time the film was made, this motivation for the crime was still pure speculation). The killings have the opposite effect, as the rest of department rallies against its enemies, inspired by the memory of their fallen comrades. Foster and Laurie was based on the book by Al Silverman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
