Sonny Grosso Movies

The true story of Jane Alexander, founder of Citizens Against Homicide, an activist group that works to help families in search of justice. Jane (Ally Sheedy) had a successful career and a happy marriage to Tom (Sean Patrick Flanery). But her perfect life came to a sudden end when her aunt becomes the victim of a brutal homicide. When Detective Jack Morris (Meat Loaf) reveals to Jane that the killer is none other than her husband Tom, her shock is compounded when Tom cleans out their bank account and vanishes without a trace. In the 13 years that follow, Jane and her best friend (Nia Peeples) devote every waking minute to tracking Tom down, and ensuring that justice is served. Based on the memoir Citizen Jane: A True Story of Money, Murder, and One Woman's Mission to Put a Killer Behind Bars by author James Dalessandro. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Arnold Vosloo, Michael Ironside, and Ben Cross headline this action thriller following an anti-terrorism squad on their mission to prevent Russian gangsters from detonating a nuclear bomb in Vienna. Shortly after being hijacked by Russian terrorists, a passenger ferry sinks into the Finnish Sea. Upon unearthing evidence of nuclear materials in the debris, the elite AT13 squad launches a worldwide hunt to track down the responsible parties. Following the trail of evidence to the Austrian capitol, the top-secret unit learns that the same terrorists who blew up the ferry off the coast of Finland have now planted a nuclear bomb somewhere in Vienna. Now, unless the can locale and dismantle the warhead in time, the entire city will be destroyed, and millions of lives will be lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The first of the PAX Network's several TV-movie adaptations of the novels of Mary Higgins Clark, Pretend You Don't See Her begins when real estate agent Lacey Farrell (Emma Samms) witnesses a murder. Not long afterward, Lacey is placed in the Federal Witness Protection program, along with her spunky young niece Bonnie (Kim Poirier). Danger rears its ugly head when professional hit man Curtis Caldwell Blake (Hannes Jaenicke) gloms onto Lacey's new identity. Will detective Ed Sloan (Beau Starr) be able to rescue her in time, or is it up to Lacey to extricate herself from this perilous dilemma? Former police officer Sonny Grosso of The French Connection fame functioned as the film's co-executive producer and research consultant. A British/German/Canadian co-production, the Toronto-filmed Pretend You Don't See Her made its American TV bow on January 12, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The third in a series of PAX Network films based on the suspense novels of Mary Higgins Clark, Haven't We Met Before? straddles over 100 years in its depiction of a truly unstoppable serial killer. Under hypnosis, mental patient Stephen Koenig (Page Fletcher) suggests that he is responsible for a series of recent brutal murders. He also offers a bizarre defense, claiming to be the reincarnation of a 19th century man wrongly sentenced to the gallows on the testimony of a beautiful woman -- whom, Koenig insists, has also been reincarnated, in the form of law-school student and part-time waitress Emily Watson (Nicollette Sheridan). It is up to dedicated detective Jack Cobel (Anthony Lemke) to uncover the true story -- and to rescue Emily, with whom he has fallen in love, from the wrath of a murderer who may well be several centuries old. Mary Higgins Clark's Haven't We Met Before? made its American TV bow on March 23, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This made-for-cable docudrama stars Penelope Ann Miller as the infamous Mary Kay Letourneau, the married-with-children Seattle schoolteacher who made national headlines when she had an affair with one of her sixth-grade students, 13-year-old Vili Fualaau (Omar Anguiano). Landing in jail on a statutory rape charge, and ultimately bearing Fualaau's baby, Letourneau is released with a warning to stay away from her youthful inamorta. But she is unable to do so, and the result is another out-of-wedlock baby by the same young man. The teleplay, by Julie Herbert, suggests that Letourneau's inability to control her emotions and impules stemeed from her relationship with her mother, a woman who regarded any sign of affection as a form of weakness. Ultimately, however, Mary Kay Letourneau remains an enigma, and it is up to the viewer to determine whether her behavior was motivated by true love or by a psychotic need for "approval". The Mary Kay Letourneau Story: All American Girl debuted over the USA network on January 18, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Still recovering from a breakdown caused by the death of her son two years earlier, Menly Nichols (Kelly McGillis) convalesces in the old mansion where her husband Adam (Cotter Smith) grew up. The emotionally fragile Menly is having difficulty enough adjusting to her somewhat dank surrounding when she begins to be haunted by an eerie, faraway voice. Could the sounds be merely a manifestation of her trauma and guilt feelings--or are they caused by the ghost of her son, desperately trying to contact her? Whatever the case, trouble clearly lies ahead for both Menly and her baby daughter Hannah--and that trouble may or may not be linked with a murder case for which Adam has been hired as attorney for the defense. Based on the novel by (who else?) Mary Higgins Clark, this filmed-for-TV gothic melodrama made its CBS network debut on November 19, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pee-wee Herman, the effervescent man-child created by actor Paul Reubens during his years with the Groundlings comedy troupe, was the star of the delightfully "retro" CBS kiddie show Pee-Wee's Playhouse. Each week (beginning Saturday, September 13, 1986), the titular hero whisked the viewers to puppetland, a magical world filled with anthropomorphic furniture, talking animals, and some of the zaniest human characters this side of the Milky Way. Joining Pee-Wee in his surrealistic adventures were Lynne Stewart as Miss Yvonne, "the most beautiful lady in Puppetland"; John Paragon as Jambi, a disembodied genie head who grants Pee-Wee one wish per week; Gilbert Lewis and later William Marshall as the King of Cartoons, who showed vintage animation clips on his own portable projector; Shirley Stoler and Suzanne Kent as Pee-Wee's neighbors Mrs. Steve and Mrs. Rene; and Gregory Harrison as Conky, a frequently malfunctioning robot. Prominent amongst the very animated inanimate objects in Pee-Wee's oddly shaped (but warmly inviting) playhouse were Chairry the Chair, Globey the Globe, a bunch of talking flowers, the all-purpose Magic Screen, and even a chatty floor named Floory. And there was a veritable honor roll of puppet and marionettes characters, ranging from Countess the Cow to red-headed troublemaker Randy. Oh, and let's not forget such peripheral personalities as the Dinosaur Family, the Ant Farm, and Penny (all depicted via stop-motion animation), and, during season five, a Spanish-speaking cartoon superhero named El Hombre. In addition to the above-mentioned "regulars," Pee-Wee's Playhouse featured a number of stellar performers on their way up. Laurence Fishburne was seen as rope-twirlin', knee-slappin' Cowboy Curtis, Phil Hartman showed up as crusty Captain Carl, Law & Order's S. Epatha Merkerson popped in as Reba the Mail Lady (replacing Johann Carlo, who during the series' first season was cast as trumpet-blowing mail carrier Dixie), and future leading lady Natasha Lyonne was Opal, one of the many children who congregated at the Playhouse each week. And speaking of children, the kids at home were invited to join in on the fun by "screaming real loud" whenever anyone spoke the Secret Word of the Day. The bulk of the series' 45 half-hour episodes -- which featured everything from indoor luaus to sleepovers to space travel -- were filmed during the first three seasons, with seasons four and five yielding only a handful of new installments. Contrary to popular belief, Pee-Wee's Playhouse was not canceled by CBS in the summer of 1991 due to adverse publicity involving Paul Reubens' private life; rather, Reubens himself had already made the decision to pull the plug on the show at the end of season five. The recipient of no fewer than 22 Emmy nominations, Pee-Wee's Playhouse has also been voted one of the Top 25 Cult Shows by TV Guide -- and like most cult shows, it entertained on two levels, as nonstop fun for the kiddies and sly satire for adults. To quote Jambi the Genie, "Mekka-lekka-hi, mekka-hiney-ho!" ~ Rovi

The made-for-TV A Question of Honor was based on Point Blank, a novel by former cop Sonny Grosso and Philip Rosenberg. Ben Gazzara plays Joe DeFalco, a 15-year veteran of the NYPD who'd like to end his career in a blaze of glory. This leads him to act upon a tip intended for another officer, which will enable him to arrest a notorious dope dealer named Danzie (Paul Sorvino). Unbeknownst to DeFalco, Danzie is working hand-in-glove with the Feds in an effort to weed out crooked cops. Before he can absorb what's happening, DeFalco is being blackmailed to do Danzie's "dirty work." This is a tale of misguided ambition: DeFalco's lust for fame and fortune, and the Feds' overzealous desire to uncover police corruption-which, at least according to the events depicted herein, has the effect of forcing honest cops into dishonesty. Both the novel and the film were based on an actual incident, which culminated in the 1972 suicide of DeFalco's real-life counterpart. A Question of Honor debuted on April 28, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Contract on Cherry Street represented Frank Sinatra's TV movie debut--an event deemed worthy of a TV Guide cover story. Sinatra plays NYPD veteran Deputy Inspector Frank Hovannes, in charge of a special unit set up to battle organized crime. The murder of Hovannes' partner, coupled with departmental restrictions and legalities, leads the Inspector to organize a semi-vigilante group with three other like-minded officers. They murder an underworld honcho, in hopes of triggering a mob war that will result in the decimation of every gangster in the Big Apple. Edward Anhalt's script for Contract on Cherry Street can't make up its mind whether to emulate The Godfather or Kojak. Sinatra's own Artanis Productions was responsible for this film, so any praise or blame must ultimately fall upon Ol' Blue Eyes' shoulders. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young NYPD detective learns (the hard way) about the politics that govern a big-city police department. He kills a lady-detective/colleague whose undercover garb concealed her profession and he gets caught up in a department cover-up. ~ Rovi

Originally made as a television pilot for a series that never panned out, Mr. Inside, Mr. Outside focuses on two New York cops (Hal Linden, Tony LoBianco). The pair work together to thwart a gang of diamond smugglers, with one going undercover while the other remains on the outside. ~ John Bush, Rovi