Marilyn Jones Movies

This time we're off to the Canadian Rockies, where vacationer Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is stranded in a small town. At the same time, a bitter turf war has developed between a local Native American tribe and a powerful mining company. Not one but two murders result from this conflict, whereupon Jessica really cuts her vacation short to solve the mystery. The episode is distinguished by the presence of two leading Native American actors, Graham Greene and Ned Romero. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Block is the red-light district of Boston, and this grim and violent crime drama chronicles the experiences of a talented exotic dancer who hopes to become a star on the Block but instead finds herself caught between the attentions of a vice cop and a greedy land developer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) accuses the wife of a Palm Springs real estate developer of murdering her philandering husband. Shortly thereafter, the accused woman commits suicide, and her sister bitterly accuses Jessica of driving the woman to her death. Teaming up with police detective Hanna (Elliott Gould), Jessica tries to find out if she indeed condemned an innocent person--and in the process, the two sleuths search high and low for the $3 million allegedly embezzled by the murder victim. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The first TV movie to utilize the "new" drug of crack cocaine as a plot peg, Cracked Up stars James Wilder as a 17-year-old top student and athlete. Wilder and his best friend Rafael Sbarge make the fatal error of experimenting with Crack; while Sbarge is able to resist the drug's more debilitating effects, Wilder becomes a hopeless addict in a matter of minutes. Sbarge is forced to keep his friend's addiction a secret from Wilder's clergyman father, played by Ed Asner. But with Wilder stealing everything that isn't nailed down in order to feed his habit, it is only a matter of time before Asner will be forced to breach the communications gap between himself and his son. Cracked Up was originally an ABC Theatre of the Month presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When David (Bruce Willis) reveals that he was once married, Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) is determined to get the whole story on his mysterious "ex". Maddie's determination leads to a bizarre side trip to the funeral of David's former brother in law. The episode's dream sequence, filmed in Glorious Technicolor and featuring Sandahl Bergman as a vision of David's ex-wife, was choreographed by the great Stanley Donen in a manner reminiscent of his earlier work in Singin' in the Rain--and if Cybill Shepherd looks uncomfortable in this scene, it is because she fought against appearing in the fantasy dance, arguing that she had no place in David's imaginings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Given the credibility of the story and the sincerity of the players, it is surprising to learn that the made-for-TV Do You Remember Love? is not based on a true story. Joanne Woodward stars as a brilliant college professor and poet, struck down in her prime by Alzheimer's disease. Her husband Richard Kiley tries to cope, but is ultimately disheartened by Woodward's degenerating condition. Even sadder is the fact that Woodward, in her cogent moments, is fully aware that she is losing her ability to function. Written by Vickie Patek, this potentially depressing drama has a logically conceived uplifting finale. Do You Remember Love? was first telecast May 21, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While teaching a college investigation class, Magnum (Tom Selleck) tries to stem the alarming dropout rate by agreeing to take a case from one of his students on a pro-bono basis. At first, it appears that all Magnum has to do is locate the student's missing fiancee--but as the plot thickens, our hero becomes enmeshed in an entirely different mystery(or is it?) Guest star Tom Shadyac is better known for his latter-day accomplishments as a writer, director and producer on such Jim Carrey projects as Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, Liar Liar and Bruce Almighty. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This made-for-TV movie was initially shown under the title I, Desire. Coroner's aide David Naughton can't understand why one of the corpses under his care has been drained of blood. Doing a little detective work on his own, Naughton follows the trail of clues to sexy streetwalker Marilyn Jones. Could it be that this far-from-happy hooker is a vampire? Dorian Harewood costars as the detective on the case. I Desire originally aired November 15, 1982, two weeks too late for Halloween. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Steve McQueen's last film concerns a modern day bounty hunter who searches for bail jumpers. Based on real life bounty hunter Ralph "Papa" Thorson, the film details his exciting life, traveling from one city to another, trying to track down fugitives and continually risking his life in the process. Buzz Kulik directed the confusing mish-mash that, nevertheless, features stunt work that anticipates the Lethal Weapon series. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The 11th Victim was partially based on the activities of California's Hillside Strangler. Bess Armstrong stars as a Des Moines TV journalist whose younger sister, an aspiring actress, has entered a life of prostitution in Los Angeles. When the sister becomes the eleventh victim of a sex murderer, Armstrong conducts her own investigation into Hollywood's night world of commercial sex. Max Gail plays a sympathetic cop who tries to save her from becoming a victim herself. The 11th Victim had potential, but was defeated by the usual TV-movie budgetary restrictions and desire to exploit rather than explore a "hot" issue. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Soviets and Americans combine forces to save the world from a meteor in this science fiction disaster adventure. Bradley (Sean Connery) is an American scientist who teams up with Dubov (Brian Keith), and his translator-assistant Tatiana (Natalie Wood) later falls in love with Bradley. Hong Kong and New York are hit hard by tidal waves as the scientists race against time to prevent global disaster. Although a fine cast is assembled, nobody stands out, and the real star of the film is the special effects. This 18-million-dollar feature faced real economic disaster at the box office, although four engineers received an Oscar nomination for "Best Sound" for this forgettable film. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

James Garner is a nothing short of a delight in this western spoof that stands western clichés on their ears. The film takes place in the small western town of Calender, a town that experiences a gold rush when gold is discovered in an open grave by Prudy Perkins (Joan Hackett). As gold prospectors flood in and out of town, the Danby clan, anxious to take advantage of the situation (since their ranch blocks the main road out of town) levies a 20% tribute on every gold shipment that passes through. Three sheriffs have been dispatched by the Danbys, and they control the town. Into this situation, on his way to Australia, rides Jason McCullough (Garner). McCullough is an easy-going sort who just happens to be a crack shot. The town rapidly makes him sheriff. His first line of business is to break up a fight and to arrest Joe Danby (Bruce Dern) for murder. As McCullouch settles down in the Perkins boarding house, Pa Danby (Walter Brennan) plots to spring his son from jail. But when all his mechanizations fail to gain Joe's release, Pa Danby gathers together all the Danbys in the surrounding countryside to head into Calender to get rid of McCullough. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi