Murphy Cross Movies
- 1994
Alyson Hannigan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) guest stars as pregnant teenager Cassie Peters. At first willing to give up her baby daughter for adoption, Cassie abruptly changes her mind and runs away with the child, breaking the hearts of adoptive couple Lydia and Ben Feldman (Murphy Cross, Michael Flynn). Assigned to watch over Cassie and her daughter, Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) are told by Angel of Death Adam (Charles Rocket) that the baby is seriously ill--and that Cassie must decide for herself what is best for the child, without heavenly intervention. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the made-for-television thriller Victim of Love, a psychologist (JoBeth Williams) falls in love with a widowed professor (Pierce Brosnan), who happens to also be having an affair with one of her patients (Virginia Madsen). When Williams discovers that Brosnan is not only the man responsible for her patient's emotional turmoil, but also that he murdered his wife in order to be with Madsen, the therapist is thrown into a world of danger. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Based on a series of Rolling Stone articles by Aaron Latham, this romance was set in the world of L.A.'s hip fitness scene. Rolling Stone reporter Adam Lawrence (John Travolta) comes to L.A. to write a story about a prominent businessman who's been arrested for drug dealing (shades of the John DeLorean scandal). He's also decided to research a piece on the exercise fad and how health clubs have become the "singles bars of the '80s." His boss (real-life Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner as himself) OK's the project. At a club called The Sports Connection, an incognito Adam meets the regulars, including promiscuous Linda (Laraine Newman), airhead Sally (Marilu Henner) and aerobics instructor Jessie (Jamie Lee Curtis), a former Olympic swimmer. Adam and Jessie begin a romance, but it ends when she discovers that he's there to trash her and the club in print. Conflicted, Adam wrestles with publishing the story, but the final decision isn't his. A director of sincere, sober dramas, James Bridges was an odd choice to helm the romantic Perfect (1985), widely considered one of the decade's notorious cinematic misfires. Bridges had enjoyed much greater success with his previous collaboration with Travolta, Urban Cowboy (1980). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Jamie Lee Curtis, (more)
- 1984
The Night Court staff can't understand why bailiff Bull (Richard Moll) has been acting like a zombie lately. Turns out that Bull has been losing sleep taking care of a baby which was "temporarily" dropped off at his apartment by a not-so-neighborly neighbor. Once the truth is known, everybody in the courtroom becomes a surrogate mommy or daddy--at least until the end of the episode. D.D. Howard makes the first of two appearances as Charly Tracy, temporary replacement for departed court clerk Lana Wagner (Karen Austin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Murphy Cross reprises her role as Judy, the blind girl whom Louie (Danny DeVito) dated in the earlier fifth-season episode "The Shloogel Show." The good news is that Judy is undergoing an operation to restore her sight. The bad news, so far as Louie is concerned, is that Judy is undergoing an operation to restore her sight. It's a situation right out of Charlie Chaplin: Will Judy still be as fond of Louie when she looks down and gazes upon his homely mug for the first time? ~ All Movie Guide
- 1982
Having made the big move from ABC to NBC, Taxi opens its fifth season with a "Shloogel." And what's a shloogel? Well, it's what newlyweds Latka (Andy Kaufman) and Simka (Carol Kane) call a "group blind date" back in their own country. And it's quite an experience for the folks at the Sunshine Cab Company, as Alex (Judd Hirsch) is paired up with a woman (Carlene Watkins) with whom he'd like to spend the rest of his life (or so he thinks); Tony is teamed with a "dream girl" who proves to be a nightmare (Anne de Salvo); Louie (Danny DeVito) finds out that his blind date (Murphy Cross) is genuinely blind; Elaine (Marilu Henner) is attracted to a gormless nerd (Wallace Shawn); and Reverend Jim (Christopher Lloyd) ends up with actress Marcia Wallace (as herself) -- and celebrates the occasion by singing his own special version of the Bob Newhart Show theme! Although the characters don't know it yet, this episode will prove to have a far-reaching influence on the rest of season five. ~ All Movie Guide
This family classic is adapted from the Broadway musical, which was based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie. During the Great Depression in New York City, a plucky red-haired scrapper named Annie (Aileen Quinn) is the voice of hope for her fellow orphans who live under the supervision of drunken floozy Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett). Annie's spirit is fueled by the belief that her real parents dropped her off at the orphanage with a half of a locket, promising to return for her with the other half. One day, the dingy orphanage is visited by the sophisticated Grace Farrell (Ann Reinking), personal secretary to conservative politician Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney). In order to improve his image, Grace brings Annie to the Warbucks estate for a weeklong visit. Annie quickly wins the hearts of servants and politicians alike, eventually even bringing her song of hope, "Tomorrow," to President Roosevelt in Washington. Warbucks and Grace even go so far as to perform a public search for Annie's parents, creating an opportunity for Miss Hannigan, Rooster (Tim Curry), and Lily (Bernadette Peters) to scam their way to the reward money. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, (more)
- 1980
Adapted from the Judith Krantz novel of the same name, the CBS miniseries Scruples zeroes in on a trendy, upscale Beverly Hills boutique. The guiding force behind the Scruples shop is beautiful Billy Ikelhorn (Lindsay Wagner), who, though born into grinding poverty, had risen to the uppermost rungs of L.A. society by virtue of her marriage to millionaire Ellis Ikelhorn (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.). When her husband dies after a long illness, Billy compensates for her grief by becoming a Boadicea of the fashion industry. Her personal and professional life is entangled with those of her closest associates, fashion photographer Spider Elliott (Barry Bostwick) and designer Valentine O'Neill (Marie-France Pisier). Originally telecast in six two-hour episodes on February 25, 26, and 28, 1980, Scruples proved popular enough to warrant a 1981 TV-movie sequel, starring Shelley Smith as Billy, Dirk Benedict as Spider and Olga Karlatos as Valentine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Wagner, Barry Bostwick, (more)
