Robert Trumbull
- 1994
A midtown auto accident leaves two people dead. The subsequent investigation reveals that one of the "victims," a woman, was placed in the driver's seat after the accident -- and that she was raped before she died. Ultimately, city councilman Spencer Talbot (Anthony Heald) is charged with the crime. He manages to beat the rap, but tireless Assistant D.A. Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) has another ace -- and another charge -- up his sleeve. This episode represents a reunion between former I'll Fly Away co-stars Sam Waterston and Regina Taylor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Two socialites find their view of the world changed when a young man takes advantage of their preconceptions in this thoughtful comedy-drama. Flan and Ouisa Kittredge (Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing) are a married couple who have built highly successful careers as art dealers catering to Manhattan's upper crust. The Kittredges are entertaining friends one evening when a young black man named Paul (Will Smith) appears at their door. Paul says that he's a close friend of their children, with whom he attended boarding school, and he's just been mugged and needs to get off the street for a moment. Flan and Ouisa invite him in, and they are immediately taken by Paul's intelligence and charm; he offers to prepare dinner, regales them with stories about his father, Sidney Poitier, and ends up spending the night at their apartment. However, the next morning Flan and Ouisa discover that they've been had; Paul is actually a con artist from the streets who has been pulling the wool over the eyes of many of their friends -- and his actions are beginning to have serious consequences. John Guare adapted the script from his own successful stage play; the supporting cast includes Ian McKellen, Mary Beth Hurt, Bruce Davison, and Heather Graham. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Will Smith, (more)
- 1993
A genetics researcher is found murdered in his trashed laboratory. At first, it appears that a militant animal-rights group was responsible for the killing. But the detectives and the lawyers unearth another possible avenue of prosecution when it is revealed that the dead woman's husband, Donald Walsh (John Cunningham), is a chronic philanderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- R
Anemic in its action sequences and main character -- a woman who has been raped once and decides to eliminate rapists with a newly-acquired handgun -- this film's vigilante justice is not much in the way of vigilante, or justice. Valarie (Denise Coward) is the rape victim who grabs her gun and hangs out at night spots just to catch would-be attackers and gun them down. Her series of killings is bandied about in the press as the "Dum-Dum" murders because of the bullets she uses, not as a comment on her mental acuity or lack thereof. Bored with her fiance, Valarie falls for the detective who is looking both for her rapist and the "Dum-Dum" killer at the same time. One might say he is in for a surprise. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denise Coward, Frank Runyeon, (more)
