Joel Colodner Movies

In another case "ripped from today's headlines," a trail of gruesome clues leads to the conclusion that a newborn infant has been killed. The main suspects are a pair of college-student lovers, who insist that the child was stillborn -- and besides, both have an airtight alibi. Once the case finally gets to court, the Defense plays mercilessly upon the heartstrings of the jury. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When a couple tries to adopt a child, they run into red tape because the foster child asserts that her natural father molested her. ~ Rovi

Murder Ordained is the true story of a crime of passion in Emporia, Kansas. Terry Kinney plays the reverend Tom Bird, whose wife Sandy (Annabella Price) was found dead in 1983. At first, it seems as though Sandy was killed in a car accident. But highway patrolman John Rule (Keith Carradine) has a different theory: Rule believes that Bird murdered his wife out of love for his mistress (JoBeth Williams). A second killing in another Kansas county serves to confirm Rule's hypothesis. Filmed on location, the two-part Murder Ordained was originally telecast May 3 and 5, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ned Beatty plays a dual role in this episode as insensitive banker and mayoral candidate J. Melvin Rich and happy-go-lucky hobo Willy the Waver. Hoping to cure Mr. Rich of his hostile attitude towards the homeless (he wants to transform a city park, the local hoboes' haven, into a car park), angel Jonathan Smith (Michael Landon) magically transfers Rich's brain into Willy's body, and vice versa. The fun really begins when the "bum" tries to apply his street smarts to the banking business, not to mention the uppermost reaches of high society. (Incidentally, film buffs should take note of the name of the character played by Martin Rudy!) ~ Rovi

When the made-for-TV The Rumor Mill first aired on May 12, 1985, it bore the title Malice in Wonderland. This joyously inaccurate biopic concerns itself with Hollywood's two foremost gossipmongers of the 1930s and 1940s: Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. Long involved in the film industry, Parsons used her ironclad relationship with publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst and the "confidential" information gleaned by her physician husband Harry "Docky" Martin to outscoop every other columnist in Tinseltown. Parsons' awesome power remained unchallenged until 1938, when Hedda Hopper, a character actress fallen on hard times, was hired as a gossip reporter by one of Hearst's rivals. Thereafter, it was every woman for herself: the blood feud between Parsons and Hopper raged unabated until the latter's death in 1966. Jane Alexander's on-target portrayal of Hedda Hopper won her an Emmy nomination; no less impressive (though not as accurate in her characterization) is Elizabeth Taylor as Louella Parsons. Other Emmy nominations went to the costume design and sound mixing, while Philip H. Lathrop won the statuette for his '30s-style photography. The "look who that is" supporting cast includes Richard Dysart as Louis B. Mayer, Eric Purcell as Orson Welles, Tim Robbins as Joseph Cotten (who once booted Louella in the derriere), Jason Wingreen as Jack Warner, Gary Wayne as Clark Gable, Denise Crosby as Carole Lombard, and Thomas Byrd as Hedda Hopper's actor-son William. Adapted from George Eels' waspish book Hedda and Louella, Malice in Wonderland is delightful, high-class claptrap. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this mystery, a woman is telepathically linked to houseplants. That link comes in handy when a plant witnesses the murder of her sister. The film is most interesting for its photography. Many of the striking auras were created using Kirlian photography, which manifests the auras that seem to surround all living things. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi