Melody Anderson
- 1993
Melody Anderson plays screen legend Marilyn Monroe and James F. Kelly co-stars as martyred presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in this made-for-TV drama that speculates on a love affair that is rumored to have occurred between the two. The film examines how Monroe's death may have resulted from her knowing too much about Kennedy's private affairs, as well as their mutual links to organized crime. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melody Anderson, James F. Kelly, (more)
- 1990
This made-for-cable speculative fantasy centers on the illegitimate daughter of Adolf Hitler, who grows up to become a candidate for the United States Presidency. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this thriller, a cool detective and a fussy librarian team up to solve the mystery of a killer who hacks up both art books and his beautiful victims. The story is based on a novel by Jonathan Valin and was made as a cable television pilot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This episode is a followup to the previous week's offering, in which Jessica (Angela Lansbury) had renewed her friendship with former Air Force pilot Lee Goddard (Dale Robertson). Invited to visit Lee's ranch in Arizona, Jessica attends a party where a psychic named Franchesco (David Birney) is guest of honor. Much to the dismay of Lee's daughter-in-law Jill (Lisa Pelikan), two of Franchesco's grim predictions come true--and his third prediction has Jill meeting a horrible demise in a fire! Complicating matters is a murder and a kidnapping, obliging Jessica to cut her vacation short and go into full "detective" mode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG
A sheriff struggles vainly to keep the annual Cannonball Run cross-country race from taking place in this comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Peter Boyle, (more)
- 1987
James Brolin harbors several Deep Dark Secrets in this made-for-TV melodrama. Brolin plays a rural hotelier, married to Melody Anderson. When her husband is ostensibly killed in an auto accident, Melody learns a few horrible truths that she'd rather not know. Brolin, who isn't dead after all, would also rather that Melody remain in the dark-permanently. Filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Deep Dark Secrets originally aired October 26, 1987. It has since been rereleased as Intimate Betrayal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Melody Anderson, (more)
Firewalker stars Chuck Norris as Max Donigan, an ex-Marine, and Louis Gossett, Jr. as his buddy, Leo Porter. Both set out to help Patricia Goodwyn (Melody Anderson) find a lost Aztec city and a temple filled with gold. After a few misadventures, their nemesis "El Coyote" (Sonny Landham) comes into view for awhile to make it clear that they are not without serious competition. Barroom brawls and a capture by hostile Native Americans throw roadblocks in their path, but the fearless trio forge onward toward the temple and their destiny. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
- 1986
Faye Dunaway stars as a successful madam who is faced with difficulties from her "girls" in this made-for-TV movie. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
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)
- 1984
Physically, the gangling, long-necked Jeff Goldblum is all wrong for the role of fabled TV comedian Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962) but you tend to forget this as Goldblum expertly reenacts some of Kovacs' most famous comic bits. No Kovacs bio would be complete without such scenes as the mustachioed, cigar-chomping Ernie delivering a radio broadcast while lying on a railroad track with a train rapidly approaching, or Kovacs "celebrating" the cancellation of his TV series by smashing up the set in full view of the home audience. As the title indicates, much of the film takes place between the laughs, as Kovacs desperately struggles to reclaim his children, who have been kidnapped by his emotionally disturbed ex-wife (Madolyn Smith) in the midst of an acrimonious custody battle. Melody Anderson plays Kovacs' second wife, singer Edie Adams, while the real Edie appears in a cameo as Mae West. Cloris Leachman tears a passion to tatters in the role of Ernie's outrageous Hungarian mother. Our favorite bit: Jeff Goldblum and Melody Anderson recreating Ernie's lisping, perpetually soused poet Percy Dovetonsils. Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter was first telecast May 14, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This fact-based exploitation drama tells the story of a buxom policewoman who nearly destroys both her personal and professional life by posing naked for a popular men's magazine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melody Anderson, Ed Marinaro, (more)
- 1983
Originally telecast as a two-hour movie TV movie, the two-part A-Team pilot episode begins as Amy Allen (Melinda Culea), intrepid girl reporter for the "Los Angeles Courier", conducts an investigation to find out if the notorious A-Team, a group of Vietnam vets who'd been unjustly imprisoned after the war for pulling off a government-ordered bank robbery, have actually escaped prison and are still at large. She soon comes face to face with the members of the A-Team, who have regrouped as soldiers of fortune dedicated to helping deserving people and righting wrongs throughout the world--all the while keeping one step ahead from the relentless Col. Lynch (William Lucking), who has vowed to put the team behind bars again. Most of Part One is devoted to introducing the individual team members: Hannibal Smith (George Peppard), team leader and master of disguise; B.A. (Mr. T), the sullen, combustible mechanic; "Howling Mad" Murdock (Dwight Schultz), versatile air pilot and habitual mental-hospital resident; and Faceman (played in the pilot only by Tim Dunigan), the resident suave, silver-tongued con artist. Promising not to reveal the team's whereabouts, Amy presses them into service to rescue her colleague Al Massey (William Windom), currently being held hostage by Mexican drug dealers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the screenwriters behind the highly successful Alien, turned their attention to earthbound terrors with this creepy horror tale. Dead and Buried focuses on Dan Gillis (James Farentino), a man who has recently returned to his hometown of Potter's Bluff to be its sheriff. His job becomes difficult when a series of strangers who visit Potter's Bluff begin dying in violent and mysterious ways. To make matters worse, his wife, Janet (Melody Anderson), has begun to act strangely, taking an odd interest in voodoo and acting like she might be having an affair. As the murder victims pile up, Gillis discovers that all his troubles have an occult origin that has to do with the town's elderly mortician, Dobbs (Jack Albertson, in his final feature film role). Gillis gets to the bottom of the mystery, only to discover that the truth is much worse than he imagined. Despite effective direction and solid acting, Dead and Buried got lost in the shuffle of the early '80s horror boom and failed to click with the movie-going public. However, it later gained an audience via home video and cable and remains a minor cult favorite today thanks to its singular blend of creepy atmosphere and gruesome shocks. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Farentino, Melody Anderson, (more)
Heroic earthling Flash Gordon saves the world from the nefarious Ming the Merciless in this lavish, intentionally campy adaptation of the famous sci-fi comic strip. The story is as basic as space operas get: Ming (Max von Sydow) has developed a plan to destroy the Earth, and Flash (Sam J. Jones) and his attractive companion, Dale Arden (Melody Anderson), are called upon to stop him. Along the way, Flash must battle Ming's goons and the temptations of a luscious space princess. Previously the basis for a more straight-faced 1930s adventure serial, Flash's story is mined here for exaggerated, cartoon humor by screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr., a central figure in the similarly campy '60s Batman television series. The simplistic plot mainly serves as an excuse for spectacular sets and cartoonish action sequences, all set to an appropriately over-the-top rock score by Queen. Certainly not a film to turn to for serious excitement, fine performances, or character development, Flash Gordon has nevertheless developed an appreciative cult of fans who admire the film's humorous approach and the detailed, colorful production design. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Jones, Melody Anderson, (more)
- 1979
Experiment in Terra is a 60-minute episode of the TV sci-fi series Battlestar Gallactica. Joining regulars Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict is guest villain John Calicos as the outer space "quisling" Baltar. In plotting his escape from Battlestar Galactica, Baltar also plans to free the imprisoned rebels of the planet Terra. You might get some fun guessing what planet Terra is really supposed to be and spotting how many plot elements are "borrowed" from Star Wars. Experiment in Terra was first shown March 11, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, (more)
- 1979
- G
The first volley in the never-ending "Presley movie" blitzkrieg, the made-for-TV Elvis: The Movie stars Kurt Russell as the King, Season Hubley as Priscilla, Pat Hingle as Col. Parker, Shelley Winters as Elvis' mom, and Bing Russell (Kurt's real-life father) as Elvis' dad. The film recounts Presley's life from age ten to his 1969 Vegas comeback. Presley imitator Ronnie McDowell expertly dubs in Kurt Russell's renditions of "Love Me Tender," "Heartbreak Hotel," et al. When first telecast on February 11, 1979, the ratings for Elvis: The Movie went through the roof, even beating out a competing telecast of Gone With the Wind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1979
Pleasure Cove taps the Grand Hotel format already being worked to death in 1979 by Love Boat and Fantasy Island. Top-billed Tom Jones plays a crook in disguise who becomes involved in love and larceny at the hideaway resort of Pleasure Cove. There's an all-TV star cast, but the largest roles go to James Murtaugh and Constance Forslund as the resort managers, and Ernest Harada as the funny "gopher" desk clerk. This trio would have been the continuing characters has this TV pilot film been picked up as a weekly series. But Pleasure Cove received precisely two network showings in 1979 before going to busted-pilot purgatory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
