John de Santi Movies
- 1988
Robert Conrad stars in this 2-hour Police Story TV special, directed by another veteran of 1960s series television, James Darren. Conrad plays an unpopular cop who is being sued for harassment by a prostitute. His mob enemies murder the hooker and frame Conrad for the killing. This results in Conrad being sent to a prison nicknamed "the gladiator school," where many of the inmates eagerly await the opportunity to exact revenge upon the hard-nosed cop. Originally telecast on November 5, 1988, Police Story: Gladiator School is an expanded remake of one of the scripts from Police Story's original 1973-1980 weekly run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Two women with serious differences are forced to look out for each other in this anarchic comedy. Sandy (Bette Midler) and Lauren (Shelley Long) are a pair of struggling actresses who don't get along especially well -- and are even less fond of each other when they discover that they're both dating the same man, Michael (Peter Coyote). However, when Michael suddenly goes missing, they discover that he's actually an espionage agent working with a foreign government, and as they set out to find him, they learn that he has implicated them in his schemes. Now Sandy and Lauren are stuck with each other as they look for Michael while trying to outrun the law. Outrageous Fortune also stars George Carlin as Frank, a burned-out '60s holdover who the women meet along the way. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Long, Bette Midler, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
Paul Le Mat and Molly Ringwald star in this limp-wristed drama about an arm-wrestling contest. P.K. (Ringwald) runs away from home after her mother's boyfriend Lester (Alex Rocco) continues his unwanted advances. She hitches a ride with The Kid (Paul Le Mat), who is on his way to an annual arm-wrestling championship in California. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Le Mat, Molly Ringwald, (more)
Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy are among the impoverished residents of a slum tenement threatened with demolition by evil land developers. Only a miracle can save Cronyn, Tandy, and their friends -- and that miracle manifests itself in the form of a "family" of extraterrestrial flying saucers, who need the electricity provided by the tenement to survive. The grateful humanized spaceships repay their earthbound hosts by doing battle with the villains' henchmen. When the building is engulfed in flames, all seems lost, but the aliens have a few more tricks up their metallic sleeves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, (more)
Fed up with watching vicious criminals walk on technicalities and loopholes, judge Michael Douglas accepts his older colleague Hal Holbrook's invitation to join "The Star Chamber." This sub-rosa organization consists of nine like-minded judges who endeavor to take the law into their own hands. Essentially, these are robed vigilantes, but Douglas joins them, determining that the end justifies the means. Before long, however, Douglas finds himself balking at sanctioning the murder of freed criminals -- and as a result becomes the target of the Star Chamber himself. Worth noting in the supporting cast of The Star Chamber are Diana Douglas, Michael Douglas' real-life mother, and Frances Bergen, widow of Edgar Bergen and mother of Candice Bergen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, (more)
- 1980
- PG
This comedy was filmed in Miami and follows the exploits of three frustrated misanthropes who try to sue the city after their car hits a pothole and ends up totaled. Unfortunately, the city has protected itself with a little loophole. When legal means fail, the three try other methods. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabe Kaplan, Alex Karras, (more)
