Jan Stratton Movies

It's hard to be critical of an exploitation film that revels so gleefully in its awfulness. To begin with, we're presented with dazed, glassy-eyed heroine Judy Landers, whose condition is readily explained by a bout with amnesia brought on by the brutal murder of her mother at the hands of a sleazy villain, Ray Sharkey. She is sent to the prison-like Ashland Mental Hospital for therapy, at first blissfully unaware of the diabolical mind experiments being performed on the all-female patients in the title dungeon by leering mad doctor Mary Woronov (who's done more than her share of leering in films of this type). Sharkey's not out of the picture -- he's lurking about the grounds, hoping to wring some secrets from our heroine about the documents he tried to obtain from her poor mom. The usual women-in-prison accouterments abound, from glue-sniffing lesbians to lecherous guards. The exploitation elements seem somewhat restrained (Landers doesn't even get her hair mussed) and they make the film look more like a sleazy made-for-TV movie with a few nude scenes thrown in for spice. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The abysmal teen comedy Joy of Sex is stripped down to just sex in every line and in every joke except where other bodily functions come into play. Alan (Cameron Dye) lusts after Leslie (Michelle Meyrink), whose father is a phys ed instructor with the heart of an army drill sargent and no tolerance for Alan -- though Alan is willing to go through almost anything to win Leslie's interest. As this love quest is going on, an undercover agent is out to make a major drug bust at the high school where these teens endure classes -- and some kind of a nut is gluing up odd objects in strange places at school. The bad dialogue is unfortunately matched by continuity gaffs (someone at a motel knocks down the door of room 302 to barge in on a couple in room 319) and other problems, making this a sure loser compared to the book of the same name, which has nothing to do with this movie. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

George (Sherman Hemsley) refuses to allow Louise (Isabel Sanford) to see an old photo that he keeps tightly locked in the safe of his office. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Louise formulates a plan to break into the safe, dragging a reluctant Helen (Roxie Roker) along for the caper. As a result of their nocturnal prowlings, both ladies end up behind bars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bull Meechum (Robert Duvall) loves fighting almost as much as he loves the Marine Corps. Profane, cocky, and arrogant, he's a great fighter pilot -- and he knows it. His boss hates his guts, but knows that if he's going to straighten out his lagging squadron, Meechum is the man to do it. The story and irony of The Great Santini is in Meechum's total intolerance of family life and fatherhood. Meechum has a lovely, supportive wife, Lillian (Blythe Danner), an earnest, likeable son, Ben (Michael O'Keefe), three smaller children, and a good home, but Meechum finds the pastoral nature of peacetime totally incompatible with his gung-ho nature. So he begins to drink. He drills his family unmercifully, like recruits. He hammers his son relentlessly until, in a basketball game, his son fights back, and the family cheers Ben's efforts. Tension builds in the household until, during one drunken night, Meechum breaks down. Based on a best-selling novel by Pat Conroy, The Great Santini earned critical raves but fared poorly at the box office. Duvall's performance as Meechum is generally regarded as one of his greatest. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide

Number three in the Dirty Harry series, The Enforcer equips macho cop Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) with a female assistant, Kate Moore (Tyne Daly). Their quarry is a terrorist organization which has kidnapped the mayor of San Francisco (John Crawford). Harry goes undercover, attempting to root out the terrorists by beating up anybody who looks at him cross-eyed. When Harry and Kate discover that the mayor is being held at Alcatraz Island, it is only a matter of time before the climactic bloodbath. The Enforcer cleared enough at the box office to warrant yet another Dirty Harry opus, Sudden Impact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fran (Elizabeth Baur) discovers that her cleaning lady Rosita (Maria-Elena Cordero) is an illegal alien, smuggled into the country by the minions of a shady "employment agency". Convinced that the smugglers have killed her sister, Rosita is prepared to turn herself in and reveal all. But those responsible for her sibling's death aren't about to let that happen--and unless Ironside (Raymond Burr) can save her, Rosita will be the next victim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide