Paul Price Movies
- 1998
Arriving on the island of Eire, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) is lauded as "The Chosen One" by the Celts. This does not rest well with the despotic Druids, who want to maintain their supernatural hold over the people. Likewise, Hercules himself balks at being selected to lead the Celts until circumstances make him reconsider. Tamara Gorski makes her first appearance as the demigod Morrigan, who, in her avaricious efforts to take charge of the Druids, experiences quite an Epiphany. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, (more)
- 1981
- R
Trying to recreate the screwball comedy success of his collaborations with Peter Bogdanovitch, actor Ryan O'Neal headlined this sporadically funny mixture of light farce and social satire. O'Neal stars as Bobby, an intellectual English professor who leaves his job when his father Jack (Jack Warden) appeals to him for help. A garment manufacturer, Jack is in serious debt to humongous loan shark Eddie (Richard Kiel), and he desperately needs his business to provide the capital to pay Eddie back. Completely by accident, Bobby invents the solution to his dad's problem: see-through denim blue jeans with strategically placed holes in the rear that expose one's backside. The fickle public goes mad over the "sexy" new style, and the money starts flowing in, but Bobby exacerbates his father's problems greatly when he falls for and begins dating the amorous Lira (Mariangela Melato), whose husband is none other than Eddie. So Fine was the feature directorial debut of popular Blazing Saddles (1974) writer Andrew Bergman, who would wait eight years before getting behind the camera again with the much more successful The Freshman (1990). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Jack Warden, (more)
- 1979
- R
- Add Butch and Sundance: The Early Days to QueueAdd Butch and Sundance: The Early Days to top of Queue
This "prequel" to the Newman/Redford vehicle Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was written by TV sitcom veteran Allan Burns and stars Tom Berenger as Butch and William Katt as Sundance. The film, per its title, traces the formative days of Butch and Sundance's careers as soft-hearted western outlaws, and their creation of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. There's no Etta Place this time around; the fictional heroine, named Mary, is played by Jill Eikenberry. Only Jeff Corey, as Sheriff Ray Bledsoe, repeats his role from the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, Tom Berenger, (more)
With The Ritz, Terrence McNally's hit Broadway play of the same name is cinematized by director Richard Lester. Jack Weston plays Gaetano Proclo, a minor mob flunky who's been targeted for elimination by his brother-in-law, Carmine Vespucci (Jerry Stiller). Gaetano takes refuge in what he thinks is a Turkish bath. Actually, it's The Pits. That's the name, "The Pits" -- a gay bathhouse (this is the pre-AIDS era), where the exquisitely awful Googie Gomez (Rita Moreno) entertains the homosexual patrons with her ear-splitting renditions of such show tunes as "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Hoping to save his neck by pretending to be gay, Gaetano effusively praises Googie. Assuming that he is a big-time Broadway producer, she plays up to him. Everything would be hunky-dory, except that the bathhouse is owned by the very mob that has put a contract on Gaetano. What follows is an old-fashioned door-slamming farce, except that there are no doors to slam. The supporting cast includes Kaye Ballard, Treat Williams, George Coulouris, F. Murray Abraham, Dave King, and (as one of the patrons) a pre-Cheers John Ratzenberger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Weston, Rita Moreno, (more)
- 1963
Taken for granted by her Italian family, New Yorker Natalie Wood seeks solace in the arms of irresponsible jazz musician Steve McQueen. She becomes pregnant, but doesn't expect McQueen to marry her; all she wants is enough money to pay for an illegal abortion (this is ten years before Roe v. Wade). Not surprisingly, McQueen is refused a loan by his girl friend Edie Adams; meanwhile, Wood is being pressured by her family to marry gormless Tom Bosley. As the abortion appointment approaches, McQueen begins to feel guilty, but still won't propose. Bosley finds out that Wood is pregnant, and is willing to make an honest woman of her. Wood finally makes up her mind what she's going to do and whom she's going to choose when she walks into the seedy abortion clinic. Though very dated, Love With the Proper Stranger is still dramatically viable, thanks to the on-screen rapport between Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen, and to the large and talented New York-based supporting cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen, (more)
- 1922
Although the producers of this drama claimed that it was "suggested" by George Eliot's Silas Marner, it doesn't pretend to be anything more than a low-budget pot boiler. Robert Brown (Joseph Marquis) is a carefree and privileged college student -- on the surface. He actually has a wife and a child, which he is keeping a secret from his father, Judge Brown (George Henry). But his wife dies, and the child, Rosalind (Em Gorman), is put in the care of a woman who claims to be the dead girl's sister. The woman is actually an impostor, who constantly badgers Robert for money, which she uses for her own purposes. In order to keep giving her money, Robert even resorts to robbing village blacksmith David Granger (Alex Shannon), who is known as the town miser. Meanwhile, Judge Brown is urging his son to settle down and get married. Robert finds a suitable wife, but his daughter's caretaker plans to interrupt the wedding by causing a scene. Fortuitously, she is struck ill and dies. Little Rosalind finds a home with Granger, who loses everything but the child. When she is traced to him, he is in danger of losing her too. It turns out, however, that Robert is not really Rosalind's father, and Granger is allowed to keep her. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
