Suzie Kaye Movies

This drama centers on life in a small college. The hero is a folk singer from the backwoods. Because he saved the dean's daughter from a car accident, he received a scholarship. The school rebel uses the folk singer to entice students into attending his rally on free speech. The folk singer rallies back and punches the radical in the nose. He then allows the dean to tell the student body the reasons why they don't need more radical ideas concerning freedom. Songs include "C'mon, Let's Live a Little," "Instnat Girl," "Baker Man," "What Fool This Mortal Be," "Tonights the Night," "For Granted," "Back-Talk," "Over and Over," "Let's Go Go," and "Way Back Home." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) investigates the kidnapping of Bob Griswold (Dave Macklin), the long-estranged son of ex-convict Max Griswold (Arthur Hill). What Erskine doesn't know is that the boy has been abducted by one of Max's former prison buddies. The motivation: A three-million dollar robbery which the kidnapper wants Griswold to help mastermind. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this beach romp, a surfin' lothario falls in love with a bikini-clad beauty, but she doesn't dig him until he dons glasses and poses as his bookish brother, Herbert. Music is provided by the Gentrys, the Toys, the Animals, and the Castaways. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Cosmos 1, an interstellar spacecraft, is heading to its home base after a long mission when it receives a distress call from its sister ship, Cosmos 3. Some of the ship's Centaurian crew -- members of a once proud race who are now subservient to humans from the fleet's home world -- have rebelled. Cosmos 3 crashes on Solarius, an unexplored planet in a young star system, leaving behind five survivors, among them the Lt. Anderson and Zenda, human/Centaurian couple. The Cosmos 1, under the command of Admiral King (Wendell Corey), makes the three month journey to Solarius at the speed of light, during which, because of the time paradoxes involved in light-speed travel, 18 years elapse on the planet. A landing party led by First Officer Scott (Keith Larson) begins searching for the wrecked ship and any survivors, and discover that this is a tropical world, beautiful and dangerous, filled with exotic birds and flowers, huge lizards and snakes, deadly insects and other animals, and crystaline pools and boiling pits. Meanwhile, Linda (Irene Tsu), a young Centaurian from Cosmos 1, gets lost in the jungle and is rescued by Tang (Robert Ito), a young man living in the primordial forests -- she discovers that he is a Centaurian and the son of Anderson and Zenda. The two are attracted to each other, even as the crew of the Cosmos 1 is trying to rescue her and keep themselves alive. A conveniently timed volcanic eruption forces the issue of how far the admiral can carry this mission. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Romeo and Juliet is updated to the tenements of New York City in this Oscar-winning musical landmark. Adapted by Ernest Lehman from the Broadway production, the movie opens with an overhead shot of Manhattan, an effect that director Robert Wise would repeat over the Alps in The Sound of Music four years later. We are introduced to two rival street gangs: the Jets, second-generation American teens, and the Sharks, Puerto Rican immigrants. When the war between the Jets and Sharks reaches a fever pitch, Jets leader Riff (Russ Tamblyn) decides to challenge the Sharks to one last "winner take all" rumble. He decides to meet Sharks leader Bernardo (George Chakiris) for a war council at a gymnasium dance; to bolster his argument, Riff wants his old pal Tony (Richard Beymer), the cofounder of the Jets, to come along. But Tony has set his sights on vistas beyond the neighborhood and has fallen in love with Bernardo's sister, Maria (Natalie Wood), a love that, as in Romeo and Juliet, will eventually end in tragedy. In contrast to the usual slash-and-burn policy of Hollywood musical adaptations, all the songs written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim for the original Broadway production of West Side Story were retained for the film version, although some alterations were made to appease the Hollywood censors, and the original order of two songs was reversed for stronger dramatic impact. The movie more than retains the original choreography of Jerome Robbins, which is recreated in some of the most startling and balletic dance sequences ever recorded on film. West Side Story won an almost-record ten Oscars, including Best Picture, supporting awards to Chakiris and Rita Moreno as Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita, and Best Director to Robbins and Wise. Richard Beymer's singing was dubbed by Jimmy Bryant, Natalie Wood's by Marni Nixon (who also dubbed Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady), and Rita Moreno's by Betty Wand. The film's New York tenement locations were later razed to make room for Lincoln Center. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi