Frank Collison Movies

Based on a story by Richard Lupoff (a short filmization of the same story earned an Oscar nomination for 1990), 12:01 centers on a member of the personnel department in a science lab, who discovers that the world has become somehow trapped in a strange time warp that causes the same 24-hour period to repeat itself. During the course of that endlessly repeated day, Barry Thomas, the only one who seems to be aware of what's happening, must somehow figure out how to put time back on its normal course and solve the murder of a physicist, Lisa Fredricks (Helen Slater) with whom he is infatuated. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The 1987 portmanteau comedy feature Amazon Women on the Moon lampoons several film genres in general and the 1954 sci-fi cheapie Cat Women of the Moon in particular. Other sketches in Amazon Women include an opening bit with Arsenio Hall; a vignette titled "Son of the Invisible Man" wherein a naked Ed Begley Jr. runs around in full view of the nonplussed supporting cast; the It's Alive parody "Hospital", which offers the spectacle of Michelle Pfeiffer giving birth to Mr. Potato Head; and a Siskel & Ebert takeoff, featuring Arche Hahn as a TV viewer whose entire life is given a "thumbs down." Directed by several hands, including Joe Dante, Carl Gottleib, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss, Amazon Women on the Moon also features a satire of the Kroger G. Babb school of "sex hygiene" exploitation cheapies, with syphilis victim Carrie Fisher being counseled by unctuous doctor Paul Bartel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a charming con man teams up with a boxer fallen on hard times in hopes of making some quick money. After doing time for selling art that turned out to be forged, Gabriel Caine (James Woods) and his partner Fitz (Oliver Platt) set their sights on a village called Diggstown; Fitz arrives first and takes several well-heeled locals in a high-stakes poker game, and then Gabriel follows to make a sporting proposition to John Gillon (Bruce Dern), the city's wealthiest citizen. Gabriel tells Gillon he has a boxer that can beat any ten opponents Gillon can line up, in the same day. Gillon takes the challenge and places a big enough wager to make matters even more interesting, but now Gabriel has to convince Honey Ray Palmer (Louis Gossett Jr.), a middle-aged former boxer who has been taken for a ride by Gabriel in the past, to go along with this scheme. In the meantime, Gabriel works out a deal with gangster Victor Corsini (Orestes Matacena) to back his bets while romancing Emily (Heather Graham), the sister of a large and ill-tempered fighter Gabriel met while behind bars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Enjoying astonishing (and well-deserved) popularity at a time in TV history when dramatic programs trafficking in "family values" were few and far between, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was also one of the last of that hardy breed known as the "TV Western." Set in Colorado Springs, CO, in the years just following the Civil War, the weekly, 60-minute series starred Jane Seymour as Michaela "Mike" Quinn, one of a handful of women doctors west of the Mississippi (or anywhere else!) during the second half of the 19th century. After the death of her father and medical partner, Dr. Mike left her hometown of Boston to set up practice in the hardscrabble village of Colorado Springs. Not surprisingly, she encountered much hostility and mistrust from the townsfolk, but gradually won them over not only because of her medical brilliance, but because she was almost unerringly "in the right" at all times. When one of her first patients, Charlotte Cooper (Diane Ladd), died of a snakebite, Dr. Mike inherited the woman's three children, who at the outset of the series ranged in age from 10 to 17. Oldest son Matthew Cooper (Chad Allen) grew up to become the town's sheriff, and later went off to study law; daughter Colleen (played by Erika Flores from 1993 to 1995, thereafter by Jessica Bowman) eventually followed Dr. Mike's footsteps by pursuing a medical career, and ultimately married her foster mother's young assistant, Dr. Andrew Cook (Brandon Douglas); and youngest Chandler boy, Brian (Shawn Toovey), got into many a scrape -- some of them near-fatal -- in the course of the series.

Also in the cast was Joe Lando as taciturn mountain man Byron Sully, who spent most of his time communing with nature (including his pet wolf) and commiserating with the local Cheyenne Indian tribe. In the early episodes, Sully was merely the man who owned the house rented by Dr. Mike and her "instant" family; later on, he and Mike fell in love, got married, and had a daughter named Katie. The huge, rotating cast of recurring characters included curmudgeonly (and, initially, downright nasty) storekeeper Loren Bray (Guy Boyd in the pilot episode, Orson Bean thereafter); Bray's sister-in-law, Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock), editor of the town newspaper; Grace (Jonelle Allen), a black woman who owned the town diner; telegraph operator Horace Bing (Frank Collison) and his bride, Myra (Helene Udy), a former saloon girl; Myra's ex-boss Hank (William Shockley), owner of the local "sporting house"; Rev. Timothy Johnson (Geoffrey Lower), who functioned as the town schoolteacher until Teresa Morales (played first by Michelle Bonilla, then by Alex Meneses) took over; Loren Bray's conniving buddy, barber Jake Slicker (Jim Knobeloch); Sully's old pal, wealthy ex-prospector Daniel Simon (John Schneider); and the much-maligned Cheyenne medicine man Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers), whose persecution at the hands of the U.S. military aroused the fire-breathing activism of pioneering feminist and humanitarian Dr. Mike.

Our heroine also fought tirelessly for the rights of blacks, Hispanics, battered wives and practically everyone else who suffered under the weight of bigotry and misunderstanding in the Old West. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was far and away CBS' most successful and beloved Saturday-night series throughout its five seasons on the air, and has remained an audience favorite on cable and in syndication. ~ All Movie Guide

No sooner has Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour) hung up her shingle in Colorado Springs than the community is hit with an influenza epidemic. Using Charlotte's (Diane Ladd) recently foreclosed boarding house as a temporary clinic, Dr. Mike does her best to treat the disease, but the isolated townsfolk still can't get over their mistrust of a woman doctor. Things get worse as more and more locals fall victim to the epidemic -- including Dr. Mike herself. This is the first "official" episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dissolute Civil War surgeon Doc Eli (Robert Culp) is now barnstorming with his own "Kickapoo Indian Miracle Elixir" medicine show. At first regarding Eli as a charlatan, Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) is forced to rely on his long-dormant surgical skills when Myra (Helene Udy) falls victim to an ovarian cyst. Similarly, Sully (Joe Lando) tries to "redeem" a disillusioned Cheyenne named Franklin (Pato Hoffman). As a bonus, two of the series' prominent supporting characters get engaged in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Her "romantic" experience gleaned from pulp magazines, Colleen (Erika Flores) develops a crush on Sully (Joe Lando) after he saves her life. Colleen then deliberately gets lost in the woods, hoping to be rescued again -- and nearly dies of frostbite. Meanwhile, Hank (William Shockley) foments racial animosity in town when he comes down with food poisoning and holds restaurant owner Grace (Jonelle Allen) responsible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kevin Rogers guest stars as David Watkins, a famed Civil War photographer. As the townsfok argue over who will be include and who will be left out of Watkins' proposed panoramic portrait of Colorado Springs, Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) comes to realize that the photographer is suffering from diabetes -- and refuses to have it treated, even though he is rapidly losing his eyesight. Meanwhile, the dying Mrs. Bing (Rosemary Murphy) staunchly opposes the marriage between her son Horace (Frank Collinson) and Myra (Helene Udy). This was the final episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sully (Joe Lando) is beaten up by a band of scurrilous buffalo hunters, hired to clear the land on behalf of the incoming railroad. Though paralyzed, Sully vows to wreak vengeance against his attackers and to stem their slaughter of the local bison herds. Meanwhile, a slick con artist, posing as a railroad advance man, is busily swindling the citizens of Colorado Springs out of their hard-earned property. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Irascible storekeeper Loren Bray (Orson Bean) holds his former son-in-law, Sully (Joe Lando), responsible for the early death of Loren's daughter Abigail. Thus, when he realizes that he still holds the mortgage to Sully's homestead -- now also the home of Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) -- Loren jumps at the chance to foreclose. The situation takes an unexpected turn when the vengeful Loren develops a potentially fatal hernia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a raid on Black Kettle's Cheyenne settlement, the imperious and sadistic General Custer (Darren Dalton) insists that Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) treat all of his injured soldiers before even looking at the more seriously wounded Indian prisoners. To make sure that Dr. Mike follows his orders, Custer threatens to execute captured Cheyenne medicine man Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers). Elsewhere, Loren (Alan Young), Horace (Frank Collinson), and Jake (Jim Knobeloch) display their hitherto untapped musical talents at Miss Olive's (Gail Strickland) new Hurdy Gurdy, and the relationship between Matthew (Chad Allen) and Ingrid (Jennifer Youngs) blossoms into romance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jane Wyman guest stars as Elizabeth Quinn, the wealthy Bostonian mother of Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour). Summoned to Colorado Springs by Sully (Joe Lando), the snobbish Elizabeth makes no secret of her disapproval of her daughter's profession and surroundings. The gap between mother and daughter is widened when Elizabeth refuses to provide the funds to transform an abandoned boarding house into a permanent medical clinic -- even after young Robert E. (Henry G. Sanders) is severely injured in a fire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sex and death are the main themes running through this thriller. Matt Dickson is a former hockey player turned L.A. cop. Since his wife left him he has become a hard-drinking carouser. Dickson is on the trail of Welton, a psychotic boxer, using the names of famous fighters for his aliases has left a grisly trail of dead women found in cheap motels throughout the city. He is assisted by Catherine Briggs, a journalist, who helps him see the connection between these murders and similar ones in the past. But Catherine is not only there to help Dickson. She is also there because of a recent one-nighter Dickson had with her sister. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide