Gary Jochimsen Movies

Thanks to the carelessness of a cute little dog, newlyweds Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are killed in a freak auto accident. Upon arriving in the outer offices of Heaven, the couple finds that, thanks to a century's worth of bureaucratic red tape, they're on a long celestial waiting list. Before they can earn their wings, Davis and Baldwin must occupy their old house as ghosts for the next fifty years. Alas, the house is now owned by insufferable yuppies Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones. Horrified at the prospect of sharing space with these obnoxious interlopers, Davis and Baldwin do their best to scare O'Hara and Jones away, but their house-haunting skills are pathetic at best. In desperation, the ghostly couple engage the services of a veteran scaremeister: a yellow-haired, snaggle-toothed, profane, flatulent "gonzo" spirit named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). The problem: Beetlejuice cannot be trusted-especially when he falls in love with O'Hara and Jones' gloomy, black-clad teenaged daughter Winona Ryder. Beetlejuice producer David Geffen, director Tim Burton, and composer Danny Elfman were also involved in an animated TV-series spin-off. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

First telecast March 2, 1981, The Acorn People was adapted by director Joan Tewksbury from the book by Ron Jones. Ted Bessell plays a no-nonsense children's counselor who takes a job at a summer camp for severely handicapped children. The kids jokingly refer to themselves as "the acorn people"--a reference to the acorn necklaces that they've made for themselves, and to the fact that they'd never blossomed into full-grown "trees." Bessell is determined to remain detached from his charges, but with the help of nurse Cloris Leachman and assitant LeVar Burton, Bessell emerges from the two-week camp a compassionate, caring person, as fully concerned with the lives of the Acorns as the year-round staff. The Acorn People was filmed on location in Dallas, with several of the area's genuine handicapped children playing supporting roles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi