James Luisi Movies

In exchange for clearing Duell McCall's name, the cowboy's assistance is needed in locating the murderer of the sheriff's wife. ~ Rovi

Gutsy ex-Marine Ellie DeWitt (Rebecca DeMornay) and bookish Bryn Mawr-graduate Janis Zuckerman (Mary Gross) have two things in common. Both are ardent supporters of the Reagan administration, and both aspire to a career in law enforcement. This is the unifying link that brings Ellie and Janis to the FBI training center in Quantico. Bucking male chauvinism and their own occasional loss of self-esteem, the ladies become top-notch federal agents. Except for a few cheap shots at the Republican Party, Feds is surprisingly reverent to such government institutions as the FBI. While this would be well and good in a straight drama, it's the kiss of death for a comedy -- if indeed, this is a comedy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Magnum (Tom Selleck) approaches his fortieth birthday with fear and loathing--mainly because he has just lost his lucky $2 bill. How will this catastrophe affect his investigation of arms-smuggling ring which moonlights as an extortion outfit? Also, will he be able to win a special surf-ski race? And as long as we're asking questions, what exactly is the connection between Magnum's current woes and the omnispresence of perky TV reporter Linda Lee Ellison (Patrice Martinez)? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally and imprudently titled The Whorehouse Sting, this fact-based, made-for-TV melodrama casts Beau Bridges as federal agent Frank Powell, who makes it his mission to bring slick but deadly racketeer Oliver Sully (Harold Gould) to justice. This undertaking requires Powell and his fellow government functionaries to set up a phony San Francisco brothel (total price tag: $450,000), thereby setting the stage for an intricate extortion "sting". Putting her life on the line along with Powell is professional call girl Kathy Dunne (Farrah Fawcett), who agrees to pose as the brothel's madam. Laced with moments of unexpected humor and capped by an unexpected denoument, The Red-Light Sting debuted April 5, 1984, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this made-for-TV comedy an unemployed stand-up comedian is tossed out by his girl friend and so gets a job driving a limo. He is still determined to win her back, and nothing, not even his inadvertent involvement with two hit men, will stop him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this drama, undercover investigators are recruited from the streets to prevent arms smugglers from getting their weapons to street gangs. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

An interesting, introspective variant on the '80s slasher formula, this low-key psychological thriller details the troubled life of obsessed movie junkie Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher), whose love of old movies extends far beyond his job at a film distributor's warehouse and endless late-night film screenings in his bedroom. His singular obsession eventually rounds the bend into psychosis after he crosses paths with a Marilyn Monroe look-alike (Linda Kerridge), who becomes the physical embodiment of his cinematic desires. When stood up on what he believed would be their first date, Eric becomes homicidally unbalanced, transforming himself into a gallery of classic movie characters -- including Dracula, The Mummy, Hopalong Cassidy, and Norman Bates -- and sets out to destroy his oppressors, starting with his crotchety wheelchair-bound Aunt Stella (Eve Brent Ashe), then targeting a boorish co-worker (a very young Mickey Rourke), and eventually working his way toward Kerridge. The film begins with a groovy concept, but loses something in the execution -- the horror and comedy elements fail to gel completely, and Christopher's performance is too creepy to generate much empathy. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Norma Rae finds Sally Field cast in the title role, a minimum-wage worker in a cotton mill. The factory has taken too much of a toll on the health of Norma Rae's family for her to ignore her Dickensian working conditions. After hearing a speech by New York union organizer Reuben (Ron Leibman), Norma Rae decides to join the effort to unionize her shop. This causes dissension at home when Norma Rae's husband, Sonny (Beau Bridges), assumes that her activism is a result of a romance between herself and Reuben. Despite the pressure brought to bear by management, Norma Rae successfully orchestrates a shutdown of the mill, resulting in victory for the union and capitulation to its demands. Based on a true story, Norma Rae is the film for which Sally Field won her first Oscar; an additional Oscar went to David Shire and Norman Gimbel for the film's theme song, "It Goes Like It Goes." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It's a veritable Old Home Week on The Rockford Files, with return visits from Jim's fellow P.I. Vern St. Cloud (Simon Oakland), nerdish detective-wannabe Freddie Beamer (James Whitmore Jr.), and last but not least, the impossibly handsome and insufferably lucky private detective Lance White (Tom Selleck). It all begins when Freddie crashes a testimonial ceremony for the Detective's Association, only to stumble upon the dead body of keynote speaker Senator Arnold B. Sanota. In their efforts to clear Freddie of murder charges, Jim (James Garner) and Lance (Tom Selleck) literally fall over themselves--though Lance always seems to land on his feet with nary a hair out of place, much to Jim's dismay and disgust. Meanwhile, there's a seemingly separate intrigue afoot involving Vern St. Cloud's son Larry (played by Tom Selleck's future Magnum P.I. costar Larry Manetti). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season six of The Rockford Files marks the return of James Garner as wryly humorous ex-con turned private eye Jim Rockford -- but not for long. Weary of the role, fed up by constant quarrelling with the production staff over story values and working conditions, and racked with pain from a variety of job-related injuries, Garner abruptly quit the popular series just before shooting wrapped. With no star, there was no Rockford Files, and the show was canceled -- leaving one announced episode, "Never Trust a Boxx Boy," uncompleted and abandoned. But before this could happen, the season opens with "Paradise Cove," highlighted by the much-publicized guest appearance of Mariette Hartley, who was then appearing with Garner in a series of popular camera commercials. (The warm rapport between the two actors was so persuasive that many viewers assumed they were married, prompting Hartley to half-seriously go around wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the message "I am not Mrs. James Garner!".) This is followed by the two-parter "Lions, Tigers, Monkeys, and Dogs," with guest-star turns by Hollywood icons Lauren Bacall and Dana Wynter. Other highlights during the series' final season are the return appearances of Tom Selleck as the insufferably lucky P.I. Lance White in "Nice Guys Finish Dead," James Whitmore Jr. as casually unscrupulous detective Fred Beamer in the same episode, and Rita Moreno in her Emmy-winning role as troublesome prostitute Rita Capkovic in "No Fault Affair." And speaking of Emmies, Rockford Files co-star (and occasional writer and director) Stuart Margolin this season walked home with his second gold statuette for his portrayal of Jim Rockford's delightfully untrustworthy former cellmate Angel Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Travolta played his first romantic lead in this drama about an ill-fated May-September romance. Trisha (Lily Tomlin) is a wealthy middle-aged housewife living in Southern California. Trisha's life has become dull and uneventful, and her long-term marriage to Stu (Bert Kramer) has gone stale. One day, a handsome young drifter named Strip (Travolta), nearly 20 years her junior, happens along the beach near Trisha's house. He finds Trisha attractive, and he approaches her. Soon the two have fallen into an affair, but while Trisha enjoys Strip's company and thinks that he's handsome, it's obvious that he's more interested in her than she is in him. Moment by Moment was written and directed by Jane Wagner, Lily Tomlin's longtime companion and frequent writing partner. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based loosely on the crimes of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, Killer's Delight tells the tale of a sadistic madman who travels the countryside violating and murdering every beautiful woman in his path. Once finished with his vile acts, the killer dumps his victim's bodies from busy overpasses as a means of taunting the police. Though he succeeds in eluding the authorities long enough to rack up a substantial body count, the killer finally begins to feel the heat when a small-town cop recruits a brilliant psychologist and a big-city detective in stopping the slaughter and making the streets safe again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Jim (James Garner) picks up his phone and hears a threat against his life: the caller, it turns out, has dialed the wrong number. The intended recipient of the threat is self-absorbed social climber Jay Rockfelt (John Pleshette), who in his eagerness to make an impression on the world has inadvertently insulted--and publicly humiliated--a notorious gangster. Though he has no vested interest in Jay's plight, Jim nonetheless tries to orchestrate a rescue when the bad guys (so bad that they even poison a harmless little dog!) kidnap Jay's sister. Rock star Rick Springfield appears as (Surprise! Surprise!) a rock star, whose number-one hit provides this episode with its seemingly nonsequitur title. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi