Martin Manulis Movies

A made for TV, two-part series, this is the story of a Southern attorney who suddenly finds himself embroiled in politics, a particularly controversial murder trial and a public battle with a vindictive journalist -- all at the same time. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

This mammoth five-part, 13-hour CBS miniseries was based on the best-selling novel by James A. Michener. Covering the U.S.-Soviet "space race" from the end of WWII to the landing on the moon, the program stars James Garner as Norman Grant, a former war hero turned senator who tirelessly promotes the American space program despite almost insurmountable opposition. Other principal players include John Pope (Harry Hamlin), who matriculates from shavetail West Pointer to pioneering astronaut in the company of fellow space-traveler Randy Claggett (Beau Bridges); Leopold Strabismus (David Dukes), a hedonistic wheeler-dealer who hopes to capitalize on the 1947 UFO scare; German rocket scientist Dieter Kolff (Michael York), whose ideals (or lack thereof) are put to the test when he shifts his allegiance from the Nazis to the Americans; and Stanley Mott (Bruce Dern), an aeronautical engineer whose secret assignment is to make certain that men like Kolff aren't snatched up by the Soviets after the fall of Germany. The winner of three Emmy awards, James A. Michener's Space originally aired from April 14 through 18, 1985; in subsequent showings, the miniseries was cut from 13 to nine hours. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This TV miniseries concerns a Southern village where the murder of a boy has puzzled three different police chiefs since the 1920s. By the time that a black sheriff (Billy Dee Williams) takes over in 1962, he might have just enough evidence to find the culprit. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Lawrence Kerwin stars as James Hunter, a gawky Oregon teenager who moves to Boston with his family. Suffering the requisite growing pains and insecurities, James has a few problems "fitting in" with his new crowd. The boy's sincerity and likability eventually wins the day, but the ending of the film is left open-ended enough to accommodate the subsequent TV series. Linden Chiles and Lynn Carlin co-star as James' parents, while Kate Jackson plays an "older woman" art student who sets James on the right course when the boy tries to run away from home. This 2-hour pilot first aired on September 5, 1977; the series proper (its name changed to James at 16 on the occasion of the protagonist's first sexual experience!) premiered on October 27, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this caper comedy, Duffy (James Coburn) is a shaggy bohemian living in Tangiers who is approached for a less-than-legal business proposition by two half-brothers, carefree Stephane Calvert (James Fox) and stuffy businessman Antony Calvert (John Alderton). Though Stephane and Antony had different mothers, they share the same father, and they both hate him; Charles Calvert (James Mason) is a mean-spirited multi-millionaire who shows his sons little affection and isn't very interested in cutting them in for the family fortune. Charles plans to transport several million dollars in banknotes by ship from Tangiers to Marseilles, and the brothers want Duffy to help them liberate the money from the ship. While the Calvert Brothers are persuasive, Stephane's beautiful girlfriend Segolene (Suzannah York) is even more so, and Duffy finds that he not only wants to steal the cash from Charles, but the girl away from Stephane. Duffy was scripted by Donald Cammell, who gained a cult reputation for his first directorial effort, the Mick Jagger vehicle Performance. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this romantic comedy, a middle-aged postmistress from a small town goes to a post office convention in New York and promptly falls in love with a man who is engaged to another. His fiancee is a widow with a teenage son. The man really wants a family, but he also really wants the postmistress.Trouble ensues while he makes up his mind. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward made a rare joint TV appearance in this live Playhouse 90 broadcast of 1958. Newman is cast as former college football star Christian Darling, whose legendary 80-yard run in the mid-1920s won him fame, adulation, a beautiful wife named Louise (Joanne Woodward), a profitable business set up by his father-in-law, and a generously yearly stipend. All this changed with the Crash of 1929: Now broke and unemployed, Christian sits morosely at home, with only the memory of his gridiron glory keeping him company. Meanwhile, Louise has landed a good job at a fashion magazine--but as she moves up in the world, the embirtterd Christian seriously considers moving out. "The 80 Yard Run" was adapted from Irwin Shaw's short story by the author's brother David Shaw. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

That zany video genius Ernie Kovacs plays it (sort of) straight in this Playhouse 90 adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's satirical stage play Topaze. A man constitutionally incapable of being dishonest, Monsieur Topaze (Kovacs) loses his teaching position at a small provincial French private school when he refuses to give a passing grade to an undeserving pupil. On the advice of Suzy (Sheree North), the attractive aunt of another pupil, Topaze accepts a new job with Castel-Bernac (Stephen Wooton), a crooked politician who happens to be Suzy's "protector." Castel-Bernac takes Topaze on in the secure belief that someone so indomitably honest would never suspect that anything unscrupulous was going on within Castel-Bernac's political machine. But things happen which not only profoundly alter Topaze, but also everyone around him. Carl Reiner costars in this production, which originally aired live. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story "Winter Dreams" is brought to life in this 1957 Playhouse 90 presentation. John Cassavetes stars as Dexter Green, who has spent most of his life trying to fulfill the ambitions and hopes of his socially ambitious mother and his conservative father. Thanks to his mom's aggressiveness, Dexter has achieved financial success and prestige in his community--and, as a bonus, he is poised to marry the girl carefully selected by his parents. But things change radically when wealthy but fickle Judy Holt (Dana Wynter) slinks into Dexter's life. Actor Joseph Sweeney was a last minute-replacement for Edmund Gwenn, who was slated to play the role of Mr. Gordon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Art Carney plays the title role, so to speak, in this live, 90-minute Playhouse 90 adaptation of Brandon Thomas' classic stage farce Charley's Aunt. The play's basic premise--Oxford undergrad Lord Fancourt Babberly (Carney) must pose as the elderly aunt of his roommate Charley Wyckeham so that Charley and his friend Jack Chesney will have a proper escort for their two girlfriends--is merely the springboard for a whole new batch of complications cooked up by the author of the TV version, the redoubtable Leslie Stevens. For starters, Babberly is now forced to don old-ladies' garb for an amateur theatrical production or else he'll lose his standing in the Oxford shot-putt team, necessitating the creation of a character not found in the original play, athletics coach Sandeford (played by former child star Jackie Coogan). Additionally, the character of Babberly's sweetheart Ela Delahey is eliminated, and a conspicuous duck pond figures largely in the slapstick proceedings. One of the few Playhouse 90 installments to be performed before a studio audience, Charley's Aunt boasts an astonishingly stellar supporting cast, including former MGM songbird Jeanette MacDonald as Donna Lucia (the real Aunt), MacDonald's husband Gene Raymond as Sir Francis Chesney, humorist Orson Bean as Jack, future novelist Tom Tryon as Charley, waspish Richard Haydn ("Uncle Max" in The Sound of Music) as Stephen Spettigue, and Sue Randall, later to achieve fame as "Miss Landers" on Leave It to Beaver, as Kitty Verdun. Charley's Aunt is one of several Playhouse 90 episodes currently available in kinescope form on home video. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Harlan "Mountain" McClintock (Jack Palance) has been a professional boxer for 14 years. He's been in the ring for over 110 bouts and was once ranked number five among the world's heavyweight fighters, but age and the physical punishment of his sport have taken their toll. Now McClintock is growing too old to fight but he lacks the money to retire gracefully, as his manager Maish (Keenan Wynn) suggests he start fighting crooked or switch to professional wrestling. Ed Wynn co-stars as McClintock's corner man, and Kim Hunter plays a sweet but naïve social worker. Requiem for a Heavyweight was a television drama written by Rod Serling and originally broadcast in 1956; the story was later remade as a feature film starring Anthony Quinn. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Adapted by Hagar Wilde from his own 1946 Broadway play, this TV version of Made in Heaven offered the once-in-a-lifetime pairing of Imogene Coca and Robert Preston. After several years of marriage, Elsa and Zachary Meredith (Coca, Preston) have a tendency to take each other for granted. All this changes when the couple angrily, and briefly, come to a parting of the ways following a row at a cocktail party. The next morning, Elsa is amazed to discover that she has attracted the attentions of another party guest, suave European Laszlo Vertes (Jacques Bergerac), while Zachary is equally astonished by the attentions lavished upon him by a flashy blonde (Sheila Bond. Peter Lawford serves a host of this frothy Playhouse 90 presentation, which originally aired live from CBS Television Center in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi