Maurice Marsac Movies

Dan Aykroyd must have practiced for months to perfect his Jack Webb inflections for Dragnet. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz's directorial debut (also written by Mankiewicz, along with Aykroyd, and Alan Zweibel) is a gentle spoof of the legendary '50s television police drama -- pitting '50s conservatism smack up against the attitudes of the '80s. Basically, the film is another 48 Hours or Beverly Hills Cop clone. Aykroyd stars as Joe Friday, the nephew of the original Friday. But with his brown suit, fedora, and lockjaw, he could just as well be the incarnation of Jack Webb. He is involuntarily assigned a smart alecky, street-wise partner, Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks), and they are appointed to investigate a series of religious cult murders in L.A. The two cops follow the trail to a phony televangelist, the Reverend Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer). From there, they are only at step away from uncovering an Orange County-based religious cult calling itself P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness and Normalcy). After sneaking into a secret ceremony, Friday falls in love with the sacrificial victim Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul). So much so that even after his superior Captain Gannon (Harry Morgan, reprising his role from the '60s revival of the Dragnet program) orders him off the case, Friday continues on, with the requisite car chases and crashes that usually climax any '80s cop movie or comedy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Much to the surprise of the Night Court staff, Dan Fielding's parents, whom he insisted were dead, show up in New York City, fresh from Paris, Texas. It quickly becomes obvious why Dan (John Larroquette) had tried to obliterate his parents' existence: Not only are they "trailer trash", but they're also Democrats! Cast as the elder Elmores (not "Fieldings", but "Elmores"--and Dan isn't really "Dan" either!) are real-life husband and wife John McIntire and Jeanette Nolan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The perfume business is dramatized in this soap opera-like made-for-television movie. Based on the novel by Meredith Rich, Genie Francis (who played the infamous Laura on General Hospital) stars as Tiger Hayes, a woman who decides to start her own fragrance company. Typical soap dramas abound in this two-part movie, which was the pilot for a short-lived television series. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Jaclyn Smith trades the flimsy costumes of Charlie's Angels for the pink pillbox hat and white gloves of the former First Lady of the Land in the made-for-TV Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. The daughter of socialites "Black Jack" Bouvier (Rod Taylor) and Janet Lee (Claudette Nevins), Jackie spends her early adulthood at the posh Newport estate of her stepfather, Louis Auchincloss (Donald Moffat). In 1953, 24-year-old Jackie marries Senator John F. Kennedy (James Franciscus), himself a child of privilege. The film follows the King and Queen of "Camelot" through Kennedy's 1960 election as President, the tragedy of Jackie's highly publicized miscarriage in the summer of 1963, and the JFK assassination in the fall of that year. All things considered, Jaclyn Smith does a pretty creditable job capturing the "public" Jackie Kennedy, even if the "private" Jackie remains as elusive as she was in real life. (Sidebar: Though "Camelot" is heard on the soundtrack, the real Jackie Kennedy would later note that it was not her husband's favorite song, never mind the legend-weavers in the Kennedy camp). Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was first broadcast October 14, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carl Reiner directs Steve Martin (who co-wrote the script with Carl Gottlieb) in this gag-laden comedy about an idiotic white man, raised by a poor family of black sharecroppers, who doesn't realize he's not black. Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) is told the horrible truth when he finds himself instinctively tapping his feet to an easy listening tune on the radio, instead of a low-down blues. His mother (Mabel King) tells him he's white and Navin takes to the road (in a World War II bomber helmet and goggles) to start a new life in St. Louis. A filling station owner, Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason), give Navin his first break, hiring him to pump gas. One day at the station, Navin has a brainstorm, concocting an invention called "The Opti-grab," a combination handle and nose-brace for eyeglasses. But Navin runs into trouble when a crazed killer (M. Emmet Walsh) picks out his name at random from the telephone book and tries to kill him. Navin escapes to a traveling carnival, where he wrangles a job as the "guess-your-weight" man. At the carnival, he discovers his sexual nature, thanks to stunt rider and S&M enthusiast Patty Bernstein (Catlin Adams). But Navin meets the beautiful Marie (Bernadette Peters) and he quickly falls in love. In the meantime, the "Opti-grab" has taken off and soon Navin is a millionaire. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Unicorn (Jean Claudio), a top enemy agent, is accidentally killed by his own comrades during a shootout. To fool the Other Side, the New Avengers arrange an elaborate hoax to make it appear as though Unicorn is still alive. Unfortunately, the villains have captured a foreign Prince in hopes of exchanging him for Unicorn--and the Prince has been wired to explode in case the exchange goes awry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the two-part story, a malfunctioning Soviet satellite has reactivated Russian "K" agents throughout France and England, transforming the agents into homicidal zombies. The New Avengers think they can rest easy upon confirming that all 250 K agents are dead--until they learn that there were actually 252. Once they have disposed of Number 251, our heroes must somehow prevent the last, unknown K agent from assassinating an equally unknown but very high-profile official, thereby launching World War 3. Parts one and two of K is for Kill were telecast in the US as a "feature film" on March 23, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jim (James Garner) is hired by a woman identifying herself as Karen Hall (Barbara Babcock), who claims to be researching the career of Alva Korper, a German film director notorious for his Nazi sympathies during WW2, and for his mysterious death in a suspicious car crash. It soon develops that "Karen Hall" is actually Korper's daughter, and she is one of several shady characters searching for a priceless 18th century painting stolen years earlier by the Germans. With Jim being pursued by everyone from ex-Nazis to French police detectives, and with no idea of what is really going on, he must turn to a college coed (Irene Tsu) majoring in "logic" to straighten things out. The title of this episode (directed by film star James Coburn) refers to the last-act expositional dialogue heard in every mystery story, usually delivered by the hero or (as in this case) the villain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Syndicate loan sharks Ollie Shanks (Paul Koslo) and Rudy Blake (Lou Antonio) must be intercepted before they can transfer $10 million from Hawaii to California. Assigned to put Shanks and Blake out of business, IMF agent Willy ends up being captured himself. As the villains inject Willy with near-fatal doses of truth serum, his fellow agents race against time to complete his mission before their cover is blown. Scripted by Jackson Gillis and Laurence Heath from a story by Gillis, "Double Dead" originally aired on February 12, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the sixth episode of a seven-part story arc, Samantha and Darrin arrive in Paris, only to face the wrath of Sam's father, Maurice. Incensed that the Stephenses did not pay him a visit in London, Maurice gets his revenge by sending Darrin to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Want to bet that this rash act will prove beneficial to Darrin's new client, European tour packager Henri Sagan (Maurice Marsac)? Written by Michael Morris, "Paris Witch's Style" first aired on October 20, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this syrupy comedy, a father attempts to reconnect with his troubled, estranged son, a philosophy professor. The chance at reconciliation comes when the son learns that his father, whom he hasn't seen in years is fighting a strange nameless movie disease in a French hospital. The young man's wife is not pleased. While aboard the jet, the son reflects upon his upbringing and the fights that would erupt between his mother, a fundamentalist Christian, and his father, an atheist. He remembers how his father turned to a free-spirited artist for comfort. Just before she left him, the artist gave the father a lovely poem. Later after his son became a teacher, the father decides to enter to piece in a poetry contest and wins $10,0000, which he plans to donate to his son's department. Unfortunately someone discovers that the artist's "original" poem is anything but and the father is publicly humiliated while his son is passed for promotion. Seeing how unhappy his son has become, the father decides to go to a church and pray for his son to get promoted. It works, but unfortunately a man had to die for the son to get it leaving the father to be wracked with guilt. Fortunately with the son's arrival comes the father's salvation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of Family Affair's two-part Season Four finale, Bill (Brian Keith) and the kids are so enchanted by their visit to Tahiti that they intend to remain there permanently--much to the dismay of Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot), who feels that the island's casual lifestyle may cause the family to disintegrate. But things begin to erode long before French thinks they will when Cissy (Kathy Garver) discovers that her new "dream boy", a tour guide named Mike (Michael Blodgett), is already married. But even though Cissy has been disillusioned, is this setback enough for Bill to abandon his own plans of settling in Tahiti--which include marriage with the alluring Janine (Danielle Aubrey? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide