Tom Mahoney Movies

In this drama, the career of an aspiring singer (John Savage) is threatened when he is drawn into the drug-smuggling organization run by his brother and his brother's seductive wife. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Someone has lost a bag containing $40,000 in Mel's Diner. Law-abiding Alice (Linda Lavin) decides that it's the decent thing to do to seek out the owner. Alas, Alice is the only one subscribing to this line of thinking: everyone else is dreaming of how to spend the dough. If this episode enjoyed a higher rating than usual, it was probably because it originally aired the same night as the legendary finale of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not only is Vera (Beth Howland) unlucky in love, but there's hardly any love to talk about. In the past three years, the guileless waitress has had three dates--and in only one instance did the guy show up. Compassionately, Alice (Linda Lavin) and Flo (Polly Holliday) join forces to set Vera up on a blind date...and the guy they manage to ensare for their friend is, to put it mildly, a real piece of work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Day or night, it's a hot and wild summer at Malibu Beach. When the sun is high, it's Dina's (Kim Lankford) job to patrol the area. Being the hot new lifeguard on duty isn't as easy as you'd think -- there's the older, muscle-bound beach idiot Dugan (Steven J. Oliver) continually lusting after her, while jerk kids fake drowning just to get her to save them. And who can forget that pesky bikini-stealing dog?!? Thankfully, when the moon comes up, it's time to party 1978-style. With her best friend Margie (Sherry Marks) in tow, the girls prowl the local disco pub and then end up back at the beach for some booze and boys. Meanwhile, best buds Bobby (James Daughton) and Paul (Michael Luther) trace their every step, looking for the perfect make-out. Filled with amazing '70s hair, rockin' Jeeps, and a non-stop soundtrack, Malibu Beach is the vacation spot you wish you could still jump in your van and head out to. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

The Skid Row derelicts that occupy most of the screen time in this uneven drama about the effects of alcohol addiction do nothing to gain an audience's sympathy. Sam (Donald Moffat) has kicked his habit and picked himself up out of the gutter only to find that no avenues are open to take him away from the gutter. Then he learns that his friend C.G. (Ralph Waite, also the director) is in trouble. As one sequence of aimless, drunken behavior follows another and the audience is regaled by C.G.'s commentaries delivered in an alcoholic stupor, it is hard to understand why Sam is teetering on the brink of sloshing around in this world again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Straight-laced Henry Winkler takes a night-shift job as a morgue attendant. Winkler falls under the spell of wheeler-dealer coworker Michael Keaton, whose catchphrase "Is this a great country or what?" is the clarion call for his many get-rich-quick schemes. His latest plan is to turn the morgue into a nocturnal brothel, for the benefit of anything-goes hooker Shelley Long-and incidentally, to line their own pockets. Director Ron Howard and his frequent scripters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel turn the potentially lurid story material of Night Shift into an endearing comedy, with winning performances from its three often miscast stars. Keep an eye out during one of the party sequences for Kevin Costner as a carousing college boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide