Maria O'Brien Movies

Like its theatrical-feature precursor Not Without My Daughter, the made-for-TV Desperate Rescue is based on a true story, though it would appear that several liberties have been taken. Mariel Hemingway plays a young mother whose daughter Lindsay Haun is abducted by Andrew Masset, Mariel's Jordanian ex-husband. Masset takes the girl back to his native Jordan, beyond the reach of the US authorities. Denied aid and comfort by the American government, Mariel takes matters into her own hands, hiring ex-Delta Force commandos Clancy Brown, Jeff Kober and James Russo to muscle their way into Jordan and rescue Lindsay. Based on an article by David Halevy and Neil C. Livingstone, Desperate Rescue premiered January 18, 1993: its title at that time was Desperate Rescue: The Cathy Mahone Story. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though based on fact, the two-part TV movie False Arrest plays more like one of those Linda Blair "babes in prison" flicks. Donna Mills plays Joyce Lukezic, a well-off Phoenix businesswoman/homemaker accused of murder. She knows, and we know, that she didn't do it. The double homicide was the handiwork of her sleazy husband Robert Wagner, who works diligently behind the scenes to make certain his wife is convicted. And with the "guilty as charged" verdict, he leaves Joyce high and dry at the end of part one. Part two of False Arrest was telecast three days later, with Joyce fending off hostile and sexually abusive inmates, courting a nervous breakdown, and battling to have her conviction overturned. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When a single mother comes in to help take care of a man's ill wife, he becomes interested in her for more than the care she is rendering. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

This episode focuses on Lt. Carl Reese, the police-inspector friend of Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) who is played on a recurring basis by Johnny Seven. Shortly after five pounds of heroin disappears while in the custody of Reese and his partner Don Borden (Sandy Ward), Borden is killed in a mysterious accident. Now Reese himself is suspected of collaborating with the drug dealers, and a swift conviction would seem to be a foregone conclusion. Despite the formidable opposition of the DA's office, Ironside is determined to clear Reese's name. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Through the invention of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), a Latin instrumental band fronted by a blind musician cuts a demo record at Manhattan University. Before long, the band is being offered a prestigious contract by a record company--but a mobster makes a count-offer that would be unhealthy to refuse. This, coupled with the murder of a petty crook from the band leader's past, prompts Jessica to take more than an academic interest in the situation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this routine spoof of government and media foibles, Sunny (Goldie Hawn) is an ordinary cocktail waitress, someone who graduated in the top 75% of her class. When she dramatically prevents the assassination of a visiting dignitary, an Emir (Richard Romanus) from an Arab country. the event puts her dead center at a whirlwind of media attention, and she gets her a job in the protocol department of the government -- nothing that cocktail waitressing can really prepare one to do. Sunny's nemesis is the evil Mrs. St. John (Gail Strickland) who does not appreciate her inane blunders, and with a few cohorts, she schemes to ship Sunny off to join the Emir's harem, in exchange for a military base in his country. The daffy ex-cocktail waitress is not also blind and deaf, and before long, she suspects that something underhanded is in fact, underfoot. Now she has to find out what it is and how to stop it. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A drug-dealing lawyer is murdered by mobsters, who go to great lengths to make his death look like an accident. When this fails, the killers blackmail the son of Dr. Gilbert Moore (Harry Townes) in order to force Moore to "rig" the autopsy of the dead man. Needless to say, the beleagured doctor is an old and trusted colleague of medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman), who ends up putting in a lot of overtime to save Moore from disgracing himself and to bring the murderers to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An amiable con man pulls a scam on the corrupt leader of a fund-raising campaign for a major charity in this lively drama. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The American beauty-contest ritual is skewered by screenwriter Jerry Belson and director Michael Ritchie in Smile. The film takes place during an annual pageant in Santa Rosa, CA. The event is supervised by local mover and shaker Brenda DiCarlo (Barbara Feldon), to whom the contest is the most important thing on earth. Nothing -- not even the violent backlash of her neglected husband, Andy (Nicholas Pryor) -- is allowed to interfere with her pet project. Choreographer Tommy French (Michael Kidd), outwardly nasty and cynical, takes money out of his own pocket to insure the safety of the contestants as they parade down a rickety stage runway; chief judge "Big Bob" Freelander (Bruce Dern) discovers that his son is a budding voyeur, information which leads to a silly "politically correct" consequence; and the various contestants scheme to upstage one another through a variety of means (one girl puts Vaseline on her teeth to assure a gleaming smile). Among the contestants are such stars-to-be as Colleen Camp, Denise Nickerson, Annette O'Toole, and Melanie Griffith. Though not a hit itself, Smile has developed a fervent cult following, which led to a Broadway musical version of the property in 1986, with songs by Marvin Hamlisch. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The popular Australian comic strip The Wonderful World of Barry McKenzie was first brought to the screen in this raunchy 1972 romp. Barry Crocker plays the title character, a carefree Aussie cowboy with an inordinate fondness for beer and "Sheilas". Touring England as a stand-up comic, Barry runs across several odd characters, including addlepated discipline freak Dennis Price. Also on hand is Barry McKenzie cocreator Barry Humphries, appearing in drag as Dame Edna Beveridge, a character who would bring Humphries worldwide fame and fortune in the 1990s. Director Bruce Beresford, who went on to such loftier efforts as Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies and Crimes of the Heart, breezes through his scatalogical material with the abandon of a schoolboy scribbling naughty words on the sidewalk. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This insipid science fiction musical concerns a group of students paying their way through school by forming a pop band. The group is led by Olivia Newton-John, and organist Vic Cooper has invented an instrument called the "tonaliser." The sonic vibrations from the invention causes an extra-terrestrial (Roy Dotrice) to beam up the group to entertain the Alphoid population. The film title refers to the group name. Newton-John would go on to a successful singing and acting career, most notably in the 1978 musical Grease. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

When an overprotective mother discovers that her son has joined the United States Air Force against her wishes, she soon ends up training right alongside him in this lighthearted tale of motherly love starring Hector Elizondo I Dream of Jeannie's Barbara Eden. When mother shoes up in training camp to run the gamut with her patriotic son, the aspiring military man is embarrassed to no end. Thankfully for both mother and son, the pair is able to come to a tentative understanding that allows both to pursue their own dreams on their own terms. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi