Paul Collins Movies

The British Woman to Woman was the third film version of the war-horse stage play by Michael Morton. Hollywood's Douglass Montgomery plays David, a Canadian officer attached to the British secret service. Unhappily married to "ice princess" socialite Sylvia (Adele Dixon), David throws himself wholeheartedly into his espionage activities. While on a life-and-death mission in Paris, he falls in love with cabaret dancer Nicolette (Joyce Howard). Forced to evacuate Paris when the Nazis march in, David is unaware that Nicolette is pregnant. Years later, David searches desperately for Nicolette and the child he never knew, unaware that both are living in London. Will a happy ending follow? Well? best to wait until the final fadeout to be sure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lorna Doone is based on the oft-filmed novel by Richard D. Blackmore. Set in 17th century Scotland during the reign of Britain's Charles II, the story concerns young Lorna (Barbara Hale), a member of a much-hated landowning family. Lorna falls in love with a humble villager (Richard Greene), who like the rest of community has suffered under the rule of the despotic Doones. The villagers revolt against their oppressors, but when it is revealed that Lorna is not a genuine Doone, she is able to marry her low-born swain. Star Barbara Hale was pregnant throughout the filming of Lorna Doone; thus it can be said that the film "co-starred" her son, future actor William Katt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pet project of Walt Disney's since 1939, this animated version of James M. Barrie's Peter Pan reached full fruition in 1953. Eschewing much of Barrie's gentle whimsy (not to mention the more sinister aspects of the leading character), Disney and his staff fashioned a cheery, tuneful cartoon extravaganza, which cost $4 million and reaped several times that amount. The straightforward story concerns the Darling family, specifically the children: Wendy, Michael and John. Wendy enjoys telling her younger siblings stories about the mythical Peter Pan, the little boy who never grew up. One night, much to everyone's surprise, Peter flies into the Darling nursery, in search of his shadow, which Wendy had previously captured. Sprinkling the kids with magic pixie dust, Peter flies off to Never-Never Land, with Wendy, Michael and John following behind. Once in Peter's domain, the children are terrorized by Captain Hook, who intends to capture Peter and do away with him.

After rescuing Indian princess Tiger Lily from Captain Hook, Peter must save the children, not to mention his own "Lost Boys," from the diabolical pirate captain. In addition, he must contend with the jealousy of tiny sprite Tinker Bell, who doesn't like Wendy one little bit. Breaking with several traditions, Peter had been played by a girl in all previous incarnations, Tinker Bell had always been depicted by a shaft of light, etc ... this "Disneyized" version of Peter Pan may not be authentic James Barrie, but it has never failed to enthrall audiences of all ages. Adding to the fun are the spirited voiceover performances by Bobby Driscoll (Peter), Hans Conried (Captain Hook and Mr. Darling), Kathryn Beaumont (Wendy) and Bill Thompson (Smee), and the sprightly songs by Sammy Cahn, Sammy Fain, Ollie Wallace, Erdman Penner, Ted Sears, Winston Hibler, Frank Churchill and Jack Lawrence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Young divorced mother Kate Nelligan refuses to go into a panic when her six-year-old son disappears. She manages to maintain an even emotional keel even when detective Judd Hirsch unearths several clues which point to sexual molestation. After several false leads, the truth is revealed. We won't divulge the ending, but we will note that we found it pretty hard to swallow-especially when compared to the actual case upon which Beth Gutcheson's novel and screenplay were based. Despite its cop-out denouement, Without a Trace deserves to take its place among such superior missing-children dramas as the made-for-TV Adam and Just Another Missing Kid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Upon learning that a beloved old vaudeville-movie theater is slated for demolition, Bull (Richard Moll) lodges a protest by shackling himself to the theater's door. It turns out that both Harry (Harry Anderson) and Mac (Charlie Robinson) also have a vested interest in the theater's survival. For Harry, the old buidling harbors many pleasant entertainment memories of his youth. And as for Mac, he puts forth the startling revelation that he made his singing debut at the theater as a member of a teenage R&B group called the Starlites! Watch for veteran kiddie-show host and cartoon voiceover specialist Vance Colvig as a derelict. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The true story of American turncoat John Walker, Jr. is related blow-by-blow in this made-for-TV movie. Powers Boothe stars as Walker, a Navy petty officer who spends half of his career selling secrets to the Soviets. At first the soul of discretion, the hard-drinking, philandering Walker eventually becomes careless enough in his activities to arouse the suspicions of his in-the-dark wife Barbara (Lesley Ann Warren). With the skill and aplomb of the true sociopath, Walker also manages to convince his own son (Andrew Lowry) to join the "family business." The spy ring is ultimately smashed through the joint efforts of the FBI and Walker's embittered ex-wife. Based on the books Family of Spies by Pete Earley and I Pledge Allegiance by Howard Blum, Family of Spies: The Walker Spy Ring was originally telecast in two parts on February 4 and 6, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The directorial debut of producer Irwin Winkler, Guilty by Suspicion is a sobering account of one movie executive's woes in dealing with the political fallout from the McCarthy Era Hollywood blacklist. Robert De Niro stars as David Merrill, a film director in the 1950s whose obsession with his burgeoning career has estranged him from his wife Ruth (Annette Bening) and their son. When he returns from a trip to Paris, Merrill is surprised when told by his boss, Darryl F. Zanuck (Ben Piazza) that he's been summoned to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which is investigating Communist ties to Hollywood. Although Merrill once attended a meeting years before, he's not a Communist, and he refuses to help the committee wreck the career of his friend Bunny Baxter (George Wendt). Merrill becomes blacklisted, unable to find work even in menial positions or under assumed names as the editor of a B-movie or the director of a low-budget Western. Reconciled with his family, Merrill caves in and agrees to testify, but as he prepares to "name names," his conscience plagues him. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Neil Simon forgoes his typical urban East Coast kvetchers and replaces them with sunny Californian kvetchers in The Marrying Man, a film which became a beacon of gossip in 1991 due to the alleged shenanigans of stars Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger), who fell in love during production. Simon based his script on a true story concerning the love affair between shoe tycoon Harry Karl and actress Marie (The Body) McDonald during the 1950s. Married to each other four times, McDonald still managed to carry on an affair with mobster Bugsy Siegel. In this Simon-ized version, Baldwin plays Charley Pearl, a sharp and handsome Hollywood millionaire, engaged to Adele Horner (Elisabeth Shue), the daughter of dyspeptic movie studio executive Lew Horner (Robert Loggia). The day before their wedding, Charley heads off to Las Vegas for a bachelor party, and in a sleazy casino on the outskirts of town, he sets his eyes on sexy singer Vicki Anderson (Basinger) and falls for her hard. He wants her immediately and even though she warns him she's the property of Bugsy Siegel (Armand Assante), he crawls into her bedroom window to be with her. Caught with his pants down by Siegel, Bugsy, instead of killing him, forces him to marry Vicki ("I was about to dump her anyway," he says). But after their marriage, Charley and Vicki discover they're more attracted to the danger of their relationship than in each other. Charley's friends -- Phil (Paul Reiser), Sammy (Fisher Stevens), Tony (Peter Dobson), and George (Steve Hytner) -- form a Greek chorus commenting on the crazed love affair and are reportedly inspired by Phil Silvers, Sammy Cahn, Tony Martin, and Leo Durocher. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this suspense drama, a lawyer finds out more than she wanted to know about her friends and lovers. T.K. Katwuller (Barbara Hershey) is a lawyer with a firm command of her career but an unstable hold on her private life; she's more single than she'd like to be, and she's become romantically involved with one of her clients, Steven Seldes (J.T. Walsh), a real estate agent. When T.K. bumps into her college roommate Ellie (Mary Beth Hurt), she discovers that Ellie is Steven's wife, which T.K. hardly regards as welcome news. T.K. then learns that Steven has been accused of financing porn movies dominated by underage actors; after an angry confrontation, she bitterly breaks off the affair. The next day, Steven turns up murdered, and T.K. discovers that Ellie is the prime suspect. She agrees to handle Ellie's case, and Ellie is acquitted. However, T.K.'s conversations with police detective George Beutel (Sam Shepard) begin to plant a seed of doubt in her mind about Ellie's innocence. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-TV comedy, a self-made man (Jack Lemmon) tries to teach is idle son (Jonathan Silverman) and greedy wife a lesson by giving away his hard-earned wealth. However, the plan doesn't go quite as smoothly as expected. Released on video under the title Father, Son and the Mistress. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

When a TV producer strikes up a romance with an old flame, a star in his new TV series, their relationship is threatened by mysteries she won't explain to him. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

The ghost of Frank Capra must have smiled when he saw Dave, an amusing and effective update of one of Capra's favorite themes -- the scrupulously honest little guy who becomes a force for good against a corrupt system. Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) runs an employment agency and seems to genuinely enjoy finding work for people who need it. He also bears a striking resemblance to the president of the United States, Bill Mitchell (also played by Kline) and occasionally gets work as a Bill Mitchell impersonator. One day, Dave gets a call from the Secret Service -- for security purposes, they want to hire him to act as a decoy for an upcoming appearance by the president. All goes well, but later that evening President Mitchell suffers a massive stroke while in bed with his mistress. Wanting to keep the matter a secret, two of the president's top advisors appeal to Dave to stand in as Bill Mitchell until he regains his health. One of the men behind this scheme, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella), hopes to use Mitchell's absence to promote his own right-wing political agenda, but after a few weeks "in office," Dave decides it's time to promote some changes of his own that will help increase employment and keep homeless shelters open. Dave also finds himself growing fond of Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver), the President's wife, while Ellen sees in Dave the idealism her husband left behind years ago. Dave features numerous cameo appearances by politicians, Washington insiders, and journalists; Oliver Stone also appears to explain a conspiracy theory regarding sudden changes in Bill Mitchell's behavior. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Crash-landing on a tiny moon, Sisko, Kira, Bashir, and Kai Opaka find themselves smack in the middle of a penal colony and an ongoing war. The combatants are the Ennis and their centuries-old enemies, the Nol-Ennis. The catch: none of the soldiers can ever be killed, dooming the opponents to a conflict that may well last for all eternity. Scripted by Richard Dannus and Evan Carlos Sommers from a story by Hilary J. Bader, "Battle Lines" was originally telecast April 24, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide