Harry Korshak Movies
The love affair between two of Hollywood's greatest stars of the 1930s and '40s is recounted in this biopic. Clark Gable (James Brolin), the tough but quick-witted leading man often called "the King of Hollywood," meets tart-tongued comic actress Carole Lombard (Jill Clayburgh) at a party, and while the attraction between them isn't immediate (in fact they hate each other at first), as fate keeps bringing them together, they fall deeply in love. Gable is married at the time, and studio chief Louis B. Mayer (Allen Garfield) is afraid that his affair with Lombard will lead to a scandal that will destroy the career of his most valuable star, but Gable and Lombard weather the storm of negative publicity, and after Gable's wife grants him a divorce, he marries Lombard. However, their happy marriage is cut short by Lombard's tragic death as she was selling defense bonds during World War II. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Jill Clayburgh, (more)
- 1975
- PG
Sheila (Jeannie Berlin) is not one of life's golden people: she's not especially good-looking, charming, charismatic, or smart. As a result, she has to struggle constantly. For some reason, she decides to move from the suburbs to New York City. Now she has a roommate (Rebecca Dianna Smith), a job with a record company, and a self-imposed obligation to try to meet some men. One night she goes out to a singles bar and meets Sam (Roy Scheider), a nice-looking doctor. They have what is for him a one-night stand, but Sheila is smitten. She hasn't had all that much luck with men, and this one she would like to keep. Embarrassed, Sam tries as gently as he can to ignore her. This becomes much more difficult when he starts dating Sheila's personable roommate. The screenplay for this gentle comedy was adapted by Gail Parent from her best-selling book of the same name. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeannie Berlin, Roy Scheider, (more)
- 1973
- R
In Sidney J. Furie's interminable caper film, Billy Dee Williams is a federal agent who takes matters into his own hands after the government refuses to do anything about French drug trafficking. After his daughter dies of an overdose of heroine and the authorities seem unconcerned, Nick Allen (Williams) takes it upon himself to organize a small independent task force of mercenaries to travel to France in order to kill the nine leaders of a Marseilles drug syndicate. This motley group of angry American citizens who are out for blood include the rabid Mike Willmer (Richard Pryor); the sedate Sherry Nielson (Gwen Welles); the robust Dutch Schiller (Warren Kammerling); and the kindly old Jewish couple, Ida (Janet Brandt) and Herman (Sid Melton), who want to inflict Old Testament revenge upon the dope peddlers. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, (more)
- 1971
- R
Calliope, a sex farce, is clearly an exploitative remake of the much more significant and famous film La Ronde. In this film, ten people have a succession of sexual encounters until all of them have given and received "the gift that goes on giving," sexually transmitted diseases. What was considered to be funny and sexy in the age of penicillin would not be considered appropriate in the later age of AIDS. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
