Greg Swanson Movies
- 1995
When government tax-auditor Alex Hartwell is sent to the hamlet of Walton to check the books of the Turnbull Chemical company, the last thing he expects is to find himself involved in corruption, murder, romantic mayhem and intrigue in this darkly slapstick Canadian comedy. Things go amiss right from the start when he arrives and finds that his pre-booked hotel room has been taken and he must then stay in the creepy, ramshackle Michelle Apartments in a room that belonged to a woman who died the night before he arrived. After settling into the unsettling place, Alex sends out his laundry and it comes back with a pair of purple undies belonging to Madeline, his seductive neighbor, who is married to a mentally unstable and insanely jealous Dean. Prior to Alex's arrival, Dean was incarcerated for fighting with his wife. The next day Alex meets with company-president Mr. Turnbull and finds him a few-cents-short-of-a-dollar. As he talks to the crazy CEO, he begins suspecting that the fellow has frequently helped himself to the company coffers. Later that night, Alex ends up necking with Madleine. Unfortunately, they are caught in mid-smooch by Dean who has just been released from the slammer. It's downhill from there and murderous chaos reigns. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- Add Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story to QueueAdd Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story to top of Queue
Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story is a made-for-cable adaptation of James Neff's Mobbed Up, a real-life account about Teamster president Jackie Presser. Brian Dennehy plays Presser, who was Jimmy Hoffa's successor as president of the Teamsters. Like Hoffa, Presser was caught between the Mafia, the FBI, and his own ambitions, and the film follows his rise to power, as well as all the trials and tribulations that arose while he was president of the Teamsters. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy, Jeff Daniels, (more)
To fully appreciate Boy in Blue, it's helpful to know a little bit about the sport of "sculling"-or competitive rowing. Nicolas Cage stars as the real-life Ned Hanlan, who at the turn of the century was Canada's foremost sculling champ. A wild, uncontrollable youth, Hanlan is "adopted" by a gambler named Bill (David Naughton), who promotes the boy on the sculling circuit for his own monetary gain. Ruthlessly businessman Knox (Christopher Plummer) assumes control of Hanlan's career, but when Ned discovers just how ruthless Knox can be, he casts his lot with the first honest man he's met, inventor-speculator Walter (Sean Sullivan). Hanlan's professional success is capped by his marriage to Margaret (Cynthia Dale), Knox's previously unattainable niece. The by-the-numbers Boy in Blue was given an R rating due to a few disposable sex scenes, thereby cutting its potential audience (hero-worshipping youths) in half. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Cynthia Dale, (more)
- 1982
- PG
Marc Singer stars in this biography of Tom Sullivan, a blind singer, songwriter and actor. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Singer, R.H. Thomson, (more)
Riding the coattails of the resurgent boom in horror films after the success of Halloween, Terror Train features teeth-chattering direction by Roger Spottiswoode and pristine cinematography from John Alcott. The story is the basic slasher film premise, remounted on a moving train. A college fraternity decides to hold a New Year's Eve party on a train. But an uninvited guest, a disturbed ex-fraternity member, decides to take revenge on the partying students by killing them off one by one in increasingly grisly fashion. On board the terror train is horror film perennial Jamie Lee Curtis, along with David Copperfield, and Ben Johnson as Carne the conductor, who tries to calm the women students by saying things like, "Now you young ladies stay up here --it's too dangerous down in that other car." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, (more)
This is a remake of a 1936 sci-fi, future dystopia tale by H.G. Wells, but the drama, as interpreted by director George McCowan and scripter Martin Lager is not altered to accommodate today's more demanding audiences. As a result, the story, characters, and dialogue are a little weak. After a nuclear holocaust has forced people on earth to set up house on the moon (covered by an insulating, glass-like bubble), their continuing existence depends on some medication to fight off the effects of radiation (!). The trouble is that this medicine is now controlled by the villainous Omus (Jack Palance) who lives on the planet where the miracle drug is made. He is in the process of blackmailing the earth people into accepting him as a dictator when a group of them sneak out in a rocket to defeat him and save the day, whatever the day is on the moon. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, (more)
