Joan Collins Movies
British actress Joan Collins, daughter of a London theatrical booking agent, made her showbiz bow in a production of The Doll's House -- in a male role. She was 9 years old then, and it would be the last time there would be any doubt as to her gender. With the sort of glamorous countenance that prompted people to ask "why aren't you in movies?", Collins first appeared before the cameras in a small role as a beauty contestant in Lady Godiva Rides Again (1953). She made an auspicious American debut as an Egyptian temptress in Land of the Pharoahs (1955). This assignment led to a contract with 20th Century-Fox, where despite a few good dramatic parts (Girl on the Red Velvet Swing [1955] in particular) and an adroit comic characterization in Rally Round the Flag, Boys (1958), she was written off by critics as decorative but nothing more. She was perilously close to "perennial starlet" status in the 1960s, and by the 1970s was the uncrowned queen of "B" pictures. Offscreen she cut quite a swath through the tabloid headlines; if her autobiography, Past Imperfect is to be believed, she dallied with virtually every male actor in Hollywood except Wile E. Coyote. Her maturation from mere personality to superstar came about when she was cast in 1981 as glamorous and predatory Alexis Carrington on Dynasty. Despite professional and personal setbacks, Collins has managed to survive in an industry that swallows up lesser starlets on an average of ten per hour. Nor is Joan the only Collins with talent and charisma; her sister Jackie Collins is a highly successful romance novelist, whose books The Bitch and The Stud were turned into films, both starring sibling Joan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this drama, a woman struggles to rise to the top of the fashion industry, but as she does, her past business sins come back to haunt her. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, Timothy Dalton, (more)
- 1984
Season four of Dynasty found the series enjoying the peak of its popularity; after that, things could only go downhill -- and alas, they did. On the docket for this season are the Herculean efforts by Denver oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) to regain his financial empire after being systematically undermined by his vengeful ex-wife, Alexis (Joan Collins). Elsewhere, Blake's sexually confused son, Steven (Jack Coleman), vacillates between his long-suffering wife, Claudia (Pamela Bellwood), and his new boyfriend, Luke Fuller (William Campbell). Meanwhile, Blake's oversexed daughter, Fallon (now played by Emma Samms, taking over from Pamela Sue Martin), disappears, prompting her lovesick ex-husband, Jeff (John James), to embark upon a nationwide search, leaving his present spouse, Kirby (Kathleen Beller), in the lurch. New to the series in season five are Billy Dee Williams as Brady Lloyd, the record-executive husband of Blake's half-sister, Dominique (Diahann Carroll); Ali MacGraw as high-profile photographer Lady Ashley Mitchell, with whom Blake briefly dallies; and in his last TV role, Rock Hudson as millionaire horse breeder Daniel Reece, whom Blake's wife, Krystle (Linda Evans), takes up with in her hubby's absence. The most prominent of the series' newcomers is Catherine Oxenberg as Alexis' long-lost daughter Amanda. It is Alexis' engagement to Prince Michael of Moldavia (Michael Praed) that sets the stage for Dynasty's fourth-season cliffhanger finale: the infamous "Moldavian Massacre." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Forsythe, Linda Evans, (more)
- 1984
This drama offers a sordid behind-the-scenes look at the darker side of ballet as it chronicles the power struggle and deceit between the tyrannical owner of a prominent ballet company and a treacherous Russian ballerina. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1984
- Add Faerie Tale Theatre: Hansel and Gretel to QueueAdd Faerie Tale Theatre: Hansel and Gretel to top of Queue
The Grimms' grim tale of two crafty children who cross paths with an evil, gingerbread cottage-dwelling crone is the subject of this episode from the made-for-TV series Faerie Tale Theatre. Abandoned in the forest by their penniless father (well-known character actor Paul Dooley) and his new wife, siblings Hansel (Ricky Schroeder) and Gretel (Bridgette Anderson) come upon a lovely cottage made of gingerbread and candy -- but its inhabitant is far from sweet (Joan Collins, in a dual role as both the stepmother and the witch). ~ Carrie Downes, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Schroder, Bridgette Andersen, (more)
- 1984
Joan Collins and David Hasselhoff star in this made-for-TV comedy caper, in which a con artist who has just gotten out of jail. Curt Taylor (Hasselhoff) finds himself back in business when he becomes an assistant to glamorous film star Cartier Rand (Collins). Curt's primary interest in working with Cartier is the opportunity to get his hands on her world famous and highly-valuable collection of jewelry. In time, however, Curt finds himself attracted to Cartier, which will take a bit of explaining, since he informed Cartier's jealous fiancée that he was gay in order to win the job. The Cartier Affair also stars Telly Savalas, Charlies Napier, and Ed Lauter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1983
The ratings for Dynasty continued to soar as the nighttime soap opera pursued its fourth season on ABC. The big news this year is the return of Denver oil millionaire Blake Carrington's (John Forsythe) bisexual "black sheep" son Steven, formerly played by Al Corley but now portrayed by Jack Coleman. Reported killed in a horrible accident in Indonesia, Steven was saved by the Herculean efforts of a team of physicians -- including a plastic surgeon, hence his astonishing "new look." Steven spends most of the season enmeshed in a bitter custody battle with father Blake over little Danny, his son by wife Claudia (Pamela Bellwood). Meanwhile, Blake has plenty of non-custodial headaches thanks to his vengeful ex-wife, Alexis (Joan Collins), who succeeds in toppling his financial empire. Also showing up for the first time at the tail end of season four is African-American pop singer Dominique Deveraux (Diahann Carroll). And how does Dominique fit into the series' hitherto all-white shenanigans? Well, it seems that thanks to a long-ago indiscretion by Blake Carrington's father, Dominique is actually Blake's half-sister -- and like everyone else in the Carrington orbit, she has shown up to demand her share of the estate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Forsythe, Linda Evans, (more)
- 1983
To land a job as a sports reporter, a young woman must disguise herself as a man. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Joan Collins tops the cast of the made-for-TV The Making of a Male Model. No, silly: Joan doesn't play the title role. Rather, she is cast as the barracudalike owner of a top modelling agency, while Jon-Erik Hexum (at the time, a real-life male model) costars as a Nevada rancher whom Joan selects for stardom-or, if you prefer, hunkdom. Watch for Rosemary Stack, the wife of actor Robert Stack, in a juicy cameo as Collins' chief rival. Making of a Male Model was originally telecast October 9, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Michael Morgan stars as a teen obsessed with losing his virginity, and who gets his wish with Joan Collins, the mother of one of his best friends. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, Michael Morgan, (more)
- 1982
Ever climbing to the top of the ratings heap -- thanks largely to the introduction of the magnificently malevolent Alexis Carrington Colby (Joan Collins) in its second season -- Dynasty serves up even more soap opera skullduggery for its third year on the air. New to the proceedings is mysterious stranger Michael Torrance (Gordon Thomson), who by his own admission turns out to be Adam Carrington, long-lost son of Alexis and her former husband Blake Carrington (John Forsythe). Kidnapped in infancy, Adam has shown up at this critical moment to demand his rightful share of the Carrington millions, even as Alexis is scheming to financially ruin Blake and destroy the life of his current spouse, Krystle (Linda Evans). Also introduced during season three is Kirby Anders (Kathleen Beller), daughter of the Carringtons' butler, Joseph (Lee Bergere), who in effect becomes one of the family when she weds Alexis' stepson Jeff Colby (John James) -- who in turn has just divorced Blake's libidinous daughter, Fallon. Likewise appearing for the first time is Krystle Carrington's ex-husband, tennis pro Mark Jennings (Geoffrey Scott), who in future episodes would rescue mortal enemies Krystle and Alexis from a fiery demise -- then would himself be murdered mysteriously. Finally, season three marks the first appearance of Neil McVane (Paul Burke), an unscrupulous congressman who would ultimately emerge as a cross-dressing killer! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Forsythe, Linda Evans, (more)
- 1982
- R
In this sudsy drama, a Russian dancer defects and joins a London ballet school headed by a manipulative madam who uses the school as a front for her call-girl business. All of her employees are students whom she has forced to become prostitutes for prominent politicians. Meanwhile the administrator carries on an affair with her lead male dancer. The defector is so disgusted by the whole affair that she returns to the Soviet Union. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, Carol White, (more)
- 1982
In this Civil-war era western set in a Missouri mining town, respectable women and floozies join forces to keep renegade Union soldiers from destroying their community. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The pilot film for the ABC series of the same name, Paper Dolls concentrates upon two pretty teenagers: Taryn Blake (Daryl Hannah) and Laurie Caswell (Alexandra Paul). Prodded on by their ambitious mothers (played by Joan Hackett and Jennifer Warren) and further exploited by a ruthless agent (Joan Collins), the two otherwise normal girls are transformed into 2,000-dollar-per-day fashion models. Although the glamour and excitement of the modeling world is thrilling at first, both Taryn and Laurie suffer mightily at the hands of those older than themselves. To make matters worse, both girls are thoroughly ostracized by their fellow teens. First telecast May 24, 1982, Paper Dolls became a weekly series over two years later, by which time the original stars had been replaced by Nicollette Sheridan (as Taryn), Terry Farrell (as Laurie), Brenda Vaccaro (as Taryn's mother), and Morgan Fairchild (as Racine, the agent); only Jennifer Warren was carried over from the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daryl Hannah, Alexandra Paul, (more)
Things really begin to percolate in the second season of Dynasty with the introduction of the delightfully despicable Alexis Carrington (Joan Collins), the ever-scheming, ever-vengeful ex-wife of Denver oil millionaire Blake Carrington (John Forsythe). Showing up from gosh knows where as a witness for the prosecution during Blake's murder trial (he is of course cleared despite her), Alexis then sets about to get even with Blake for leaving her, and to undermine the influence of Blake's new spouse, Krystle (Linda Evans). Spitefully wedding Blake's business rival Cecil Colby (Lloyd Bochner), Alexis suddenly acquires the financial wherewithal to put her wicked schemes in motion when Cecil drops dead of a heart attack. Also introduced in season two is Dr. Nick Toscanni (James Farentino), the psychiatrist for Claudia Blaisdel (Pamela Bellwood), the mentally unbalanced mistress of Blake's bisexual son, Steven (Al Corley). No sooner has Dr. Toscanni joined the cast than he is seduced and bedded by Blake's predatory daughter, Fallon (Pamela Sue Martin), who is still the in-name-only wife of Cecil Colby's son Jeff (John James). Also making her first appearance this season is Krystle's avaricious niece Sammy Jo Dean (Heather Locklear), who goes on to marry Steven and bear him a child named Danny. When Alexis pays off Sammy to walk out on Steven, he weds the widowed Claudia on the rebound. By season's end, Steven had vanished into the wilds of Indonesia -- and soon word reaches the Carrington mansion that the family's "black sheep" has been killed in a horrible accident (wanna bet?). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Forsythe, Linda Evans, (more)
- 1979
Jake (Charles Grodin), an insurance investigator, is assigned to probe the killing of a wealthy businessman in Acapulco. To help him, he hires a beautiful New York model, Ellie (Farah Fawcett), to act as his wife, and they pretend to be tourists on vacation. Art Carney plays Marcus, a local detective who befriends Jake but gets him into various scrapes. Joan Collins also appears as the suspicious Nera. Sunburn was a made-for-TV movie which featured a pop-song soundtrack blaring from characters' tape recorders that included tunes by Herbie Hancock. The movie was based on the novel The Bind by Stanley Ellin. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1979
- R
In this drama, a black man fights for freedom from racial oppression in the troubled country of Rhodesia. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Robert Mitchum reprises his role as Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe from Farewell, My Lovely, in this misconceived remake of Howard Hawks's classic 1946 film -- transferring the setting from 1940s California to 1970s London. Marlowe is hired by a rich and dying General Sternwood (James Stewart) to find out who is blackmailing him. Marlowe then meets Sterwood's daughters -- the crazy and degenerate Camilla (Candy Clark) and the more even-tempered Charlotte (Sarah Miles). Opening up a can of worms, Marlowe unveils a collection of unsavory characters -- Eddie Mars (Oliver Reed), an inveterate gambler having an affair with Charlotte; Joe Brody (Edward Fox), Camilla's ex-lover; and Agnes (Joan Collins), a sexy bookstore clerk. The plot becomes even more chaotic when it is found that Camilla has been posing in the nude for pornographer Arthur Geiger (John Justin). When Geiger turns up dead, Camilla becomes implicated in Geiger's murder. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Mike Nolan (Darren McGavin) is a Beverly Hills resident whose divorce case -- blown by a hopelessly inept, possibly larcenous attorney (Dick Martin) -- has left him with no home, no job, and no assets, except for his car. And when the car is driven off by 16-year-old repo agent "Larry" (Denise Nickerson), Mike gives chase and finds himself hired by the brassy owner (Sylvia Miles) of the auto repossession company the girl works for. He and Larry are teamed together to go after a car being driven by luscious deadbeat Gloria Martine (Joan Collins), but before long Mike is up to his neck in trouble, not only fending off unwanted advances from Larry but trying for some extracurricular activity with Gloria. And that's not even taking into account the hoods, motorcyclists, and other irate citizens that he runs afoul of in his new "career". ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Joan Collins stars as Fontaine Khaled in this sleek and sleazy sequel to her sister Jackie Collins's The Stud. Fontaine is the owner of a high class London nightclub, but after having an extramarital affair, her marriage falls apart and she stands to lose her nightclub. As a result, she hits the jet-set circuit, plying her allure for erotic dividends. She also involves herself in smuggling and in rigged horse races, trying any means necessary to obtain the funding to rescue her beloved nightclub from foreclosure. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, Michael Coby, (more)
Jackie Collins wrote the best-selling novel The Stud. Her sister Joan Collins starred in the 1978 film version of The Stud. The producer on the film was Joan Collins' then-husband Ron Kass. Need we say more? Well, there is a plot, involving the insatiable Joan's sexual hold over a handsome nightclub manager Oliver Tobias. And there was a sequel, also written by Jackie and starring Joan, titled The Bitch. Need we say more now? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, Oliver Tobias, (more)
In the '50s, Bert I. Gordon made a career out of sci-fi movies about gigantic mutated insects (Beginning of the End, Earth vs. the Spider), lizards (King Dinosaur, Serpent Island), and even people (The Amazing Colossal Man), and in 1977, he was still up to his old tricks with this picture, loosely adapted from a story by H.G. Wells. Marilyn Fryser (Joan Collins) is a less than scrupulous businesswoman who is trying to sell shares in a worthless Florida housing development to a group of naive souls. However, both Marilyn and her potential customers have bigger things to worry about than low property values, when they discover that a large stock of nuclear waste was dumped near the development site, and the result is a pack of gigantic mutated ants with a nasty disposition and a taste for human blood. The supporting cast features Robert Lansing, John David Carson, and Albert Salmi. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, (more)
- 1976
Joan Collins guest stars as female undercover officer Lynn Stiles. Teaming up with Tony Baretta (Robert Blake), Stiles tries to nab a murderous pimp who covets full control of the city's prostitutes. In an incredibly suspenseful climax, Baretta is forced to place Stiles in grave danger for the sake of justice. Star Robert Blake's wife Sondra Blake appears as Candy Lee, a character she'd introduced in the first-season episode "The Mansion." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Edward Grover, (more)
- 1976
"An unprecedented cast brings to life the blockbuster book"--or so said the add copy for The Moneychangers, a four-part TV miniseries based on Arthur Hailey's novel, first telecast Dec 4-19, 1976. The drama's starting point is a power play between two bank officers, played by Kirk Douglas and Christopher Plummer. Social commentary is provided by an inner-city revolt against the bank's policies, while inside the bank's walls are played out brief scenarios of embezzlement, crooked deals, credit card counterfeiting and attempted murder. Ross Hunter coproduced the adaptation, imbuing each frame with the plush treatment that he'd previously lavished on his Doris Day and Rock Hudson vehicles. The Moneychangers originally ran 6 1/2 hours; it has been pared down to two-part movie length for subsequent syndicated telecasts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
This is not the same kind of film as the 1962 production, Tom Jones. In fact, it is a "nudie musical", as evidenced by the presence of singing star Georgia Brown in the dual role of Jenny Jones and Mrs. Waters. The project originated as a Las Vegas stage presentation, with Nicky Henson in the lead. The plot of the Henry Fielding novel about the "boy born to be hanged" is followed in spirit rather than to the letter, with busty Joan Collins thrown in like a lagniappe as a lady highwayman. Wandering through the proceedings are such English stalwarts as Trevor Howard and Terry-Thomas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicky Henson, Trevor Howard, (more)
