Annette Claudier Movies
- 1985
- R
It's hard to be critical of an exploitation film that revels so gleefully in its awfulness. To begin with, we're presented with dazed, glassy-eyed heroine Judy Landers, whose condition is readily explained by a bout with amnesia brought on by the brutal murder of her mother at the hands of a sleazy villain, Ray Sharkey. She is sent to the prison-like Ashland Mental Hospital for therapy, at first blissfully unaware of the diabolical mind experiments being performed on the all-female patients in the title dungeon by leering mad doctor Mary Woronov (who's done more than her share of leering in films of this type). Sharkey's not out of the picture -- he's lurking about the grounds, hoping to wring some secrets from our heroine about the documents he tried to obtain from her poor mom. The usual women-in-prison accouterments abound, from glue-sniffing lesbians to lecherous guards. The exploitation elements seem somewhat restrained (Landers doesn't even get her hair mussed) and they make the film look more like a sleazy made-for-TV movie with a few nude scenes thrown in for spice. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Sharkey, Judy Landers, (more)
Based on the popular television series created by Rod Serling, this film of horror and the supernatural tells four separate stories--each by a different director: John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller. In one, a bigot is taught a lesson when he is transported to experience the lives of three different victims of prejudice and intolerance. Another takes a trip to an old-age home where the arrival of a special man turns some of the residents into youthful people once again. In the third, a woman befriends a timid young child who turns out to be a maniacal brat with bizarre powers. The final segment shows how a man with an aversion to flying has a rough time when he panics and then sees a strange creature on the wing outside his window seat. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, Jeff Bannister, (more)
Savannah Smiles is a sweet little film that proved a surprising hit on the Saturday matinee circuit. Mark Miller and Donovan Scott play a pair of good-natured escaped convicts who cross the path of precocious runaway Bridgette Andersen. When Andersen explains that she's hit the road because her wealthy parents neglect her, Miller and Scott decide to hold the kid for a huge ransom. You and I both know that the crooks will turn soft before the end, and return Andersen to her folks without a dollar changing hands, but even predicting the film's outcome cannot diminish its charm. Star Mark Miller, who also scripted Savannah Smiles, is the father of actress Penelope Ann Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Miller, Donovan Scott, (more)
Doc Levy (Roy Scheider) is an American secret agent who has been running interference between the U.S. government and escaped Nazi war criminal Szell (Laurence Olivier). Believing that Doc has stolen a valuable cache of gems, Szell emerges from his South American hiding place and heads for New York. He has Doc killed, then kidnaps Doc's in-the-dark brother, Babe (Dustin Hoffman). Repeating the phrase "Is it safe?" over and over, Szell, a onetime concentration camp dentist, tries to extract information from Babe by performing sadistic "oral surgery" upon him. Babe, who still doesn't know about the gems, escapes, breaking his own self-imposed rule of nonviolence to defend himself against his pursuers and gearing up for sadistic revenge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, (more)
- 1959
Gary Cooper plays a frontier doctor with a checkered past who works in a rowdy Montana mining camp. Cooper falls in love with Maria Schell, a young Swiss girl whom he has treated for shock after she was the victim of a holdup. He finances Schell's grubstake, which makes her rich. When Schell's unscrupulous partner Karl Malden tries to have his way with the girl, Cooper kills Malden. Sentenced to an immediate hanging, Cooper is saved when Schell offers to give the town her valuable mine. A surprise hit in 1959, The Hanging Tree was based on an award-winning novel by Dorothy M. Johnson. The film not only yielded a hit theme song by Mack David and Jerry Livingston, but also served as the film debut of George C. Scott, who plays Cooper's doctor predecessor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, (more)
