Tom Malloy Movies
Wrong Turn director Rob Schmidt takes the helm for this thriller inspired by the grim true-life exploits of an alphabet-obsessed New York serial killer and starring Timothy Hutton, Cary Elwes, Eliza Dushku, and Michael Ironside. When Rochester, NY-based police investigator Megan Paige (Dushku) discovers that ten year old Carla Castillo was brutally raped and murdered in nearby Churchville, she becomes convinced that the department is dealing with a serial killer. Paige is a driven detective whose devotion to her job often crosses the border into obsession. Her fiancé, Kenneth Shine (Elwes), is a lieutenant with the Rochester Police Department, and as both jockey for the same promotion, the cracks in their relationship begin to show. Later, when Megan becomes haunted by visions of Carla and fails to solve the case, a concerned Captain Gullikson (Tom Noonan) takes her off of the case. Suffering a nervous breakdown shortly thereafter, Megan is diagnosed with adult onset of paranoid schizophrenia and placed in a psychiatric hospital, where she promptly breaks off her engagement to Kenneth.
Two years later, Megan has returned to the precinct as a records clerk, and Kenneth is now the head of the department. Over time, Megan begins developing a friendship with wheelchair-bound Richard Ledge (Hutton). When a local girl named Wendy Walsh is abducted, raped, and murdered in Webster, Megan convinces Kenneth to let her ride along with Detective Steven Harper (Tom Malloy) as an advisor to the case. But the gruesome nature of the case once again prompts strange visions for Megan. Now she is haunted by two murder victims, and to make matters worse, she's beginning to develop embarrassing involuntary ticks and stops taking her medication. As the hallucinations get worse and the case starts to run cold, Megan struggles to find the one piece of evidence that will lead them to the killer before her dark side takes over once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Two years later, Megan has returned to the precinct as a records clerk, and Kenneth is now the head of the department. Over time, Megan begins developing a friendship with wheelchair-bound Richard Ledge (Hutton). When a local girl named Wendy Walsh is abducted, raped, and murdered in Webster, Megan convinces Kenneth to let her ride along with Detective Steven Harper (Tom Malloy) as an advisor to the case. But the gruesome nature of the case once again prompts strange visions for Megan. Now she is haunted by two murder victims, and to make matters worse, she's beginning to develop embarrassing involuntary ticks and stops taking her medication. As the hallucinations get worse and the case starts to run cold, Megan struggles to find the one piece of evidence that will lead them to the killer before her dark side takes over once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eliza Dushku, Cary Elwes, (more)
- 1922
Veteran director Herbert Brenon helmed this typically moralistic western tale starring William Farnum as a prospector who turns to alcoholism when his wife abandons him for a slick medico. The hardened lush later takes in a wayward little girl, whose love for him restores his faith in humanity. The child, however, belongs to the adulterous doctor, who returns to claim her. Farnum shoots his rival in self defense, after which he reconciles with the philandering wife for the sake of the child. The most interesting aspect of this otherwise old-fashioned tearjerker is the child actress playing the wayward little girl. Four-year-old Dawn O'Day grew up to become Anne Shirley, having adopted the new moniker from the character she portrayed in perhaps the definitive 1934 version of the endurable Anne of Green Gables. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Farnum
- 1922
Tired of making serials and suffering from a back injury sustained in her latest, Pearl White (of The Perils of Pauline fame) signed a deal with producer William Fox to star in a series of society melodramas. Any Wife told the tragic story of Myrtle Hill, a discontented wife who refuses to join her husband (Gilbert Emery) on a business trip, dallying instead with a business assistant (Holmes Herbert). Returning unexpectedly, Hill finds his wife embracing the "other man" and demands a divorce. Declared an unfit mother and losing custody of her only child, Myrtle marries her lover. She misses her former life, however, and the marriage is doomed from the start. Her life continuing in a downward spiral, Myrtle takes the only way out: Jumping to her death from a bridge. But in a typical Hollywood denouement, it was all a bad dream. Myrtle resolves to devote her life to her marriage and agrees to accompany her husband on his business trip. Audiences never accepted Pearl White in melodramas such as this and in 1923 she returned to the serial field a final time before retiring. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1922
Serial star Pearl White was near the end of her misguided attempt to become a serious actress when she made this commonplace drama. John Miles (Robert Elliot) is a self-made millionaire who doesn't fit in with society because he lacks a pedigree. This matters not one bit to Ruth Hamilton (White), who lives in the mansion next door. Her father, Warren Hamilton (Charles MacKay), however, does care very much, and he thoroughly disapproves of the young people's friendship. When he won't allow Ruth to invite Miles to her masquerade ball, she sneaks over to his home to show off her costume. Her secret visit has been observed by a jealous suitor, Bill Barton (Macey Harlam), who blabs to her father. It turns out that old money or no, Hamilton is about to go into bankruptcy, and Miles is the one who bails him out. When snobby old pa realizes that Miles is a good egg after all, he allows him to marry Ruth. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Mackay, Robert Agnew, (more)
- 1922
This society melodrama, based on the play, Samson, by Henri Bernstein, had little to offer except its star, William Farnum, as John Gibbs. Gibbs is a laborer at the docks who, through his hard work and good judgment, becomes a millionaire on Wall Street. He becomes acquainted with the Van Dusens, who have lost their fortune. Mrs. Van Dusen (Marie Shotwell) pushes her daughter Marie (Myrta Bonillas) into a loveless marriage with Gibbs so that the family can retain its social standing. Gibbs realizes, however, that his money cannot buy his wife's affection. Bored with her life, Marie accepts an invitation from Donald Valentine (Elliott Griffin) to attend a private party. The revelry gets out of hand and Marie is injured when she tries to leave. Because of the way Valentine has treated Marie, Gibbs is determined to ruin him. Finally he does, but he loses his fortune in the process. Marie finally has a change of heart and realizes she loves her husband after all. She offers to go back to the docks with him, just so long as they're together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
That old David Belasco barnstorming play Heart of Maryland was given a worthwhile filmic treatment by Vitagraph in 1921. Crane Wilbur, later a prolific playwright/director, stars as a Maryland-born officer who casts his lot with the North upon the outbreak of the Civil War. This causes a rift between himself and his fiancee Catherine Calvert, whose heart belongs to Dixie. All differences are swept away when Catherine rescues Wilbur from a firing squad. Heart of Maryland was refilmed in 1927 by Warner Bros., which had acquired the failing Vitagraph studios in 1926. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1918
Newspaper cartoonist Bud Fisher penned the exotically titled short story The Green Gullabaloo, which was committed to film in 1918 (for 1919 release) under the title The Adventure Shop. Corrine Griffith, the "orchid lady" of the silent screen, stars in this 5 reel programmer, filmed at Vitagraph's Flatbush studios (later the home of Warner Bros' Vitaphone corporation.) Griffith plays a society girl who, looking for thrills, poses as a tough "underworld" character. She is rescued by her wealthy husband Walter McGrail, who proves he's not the tea-and-crumpets type she'd assumed him to be. The film is carried primarily by the charm of Corinne Griffith, but that, after all, was why Vitagraph was paying her $3000 per week. The screenplay for The Adventure Shop is credited to George W. Plympton, later a prolific writer of serials. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
