Susan Anton Movies

An unsubtle but effective TV-movie satire of the "Miss America" syndrome, Great American Beauty Contest stars Joanna Cameron as a fire-breathing feminist who enters the contest of the title. She plans to win the crown, then utterly destroy the contest by delivering a scathing attack on exploitation and sexism instead of an acceptance speech. A subplot concerns contest judge Louis Jourdan, who uses his position to extract sexual favors from the more desperate contestants. Eleanor Parker, the girls' chaperone, gives Jourdan his comeuppance in the film's most satisfying sequence. We won't spoil the twist ending, but we will note that one of the contestants is played by Farrah Fawcett, whose specialty is an endearingly ridiculous belly dance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The very healthy looking Susan Anton is appropriately cast in Goldengirl. The daughter of a former Olympic athlete, Goldengirl (that's her name!) has been groomed for athletic competition since childhood. Her hero worship of her dad (Curt Jurgens) comes to an abrupt end when she finds out that he was an intimate of Adolf Hitler and that, through experimentation, he has converted his darling daughter into a near android. Somehow, Goldengirl must regain her humanity and sustain her integrity in the face of a myriad of celebrity endorsement deals. Originally intended as a two-part TV movie to be run in conjunction with the 1980 Olympics, Goldengirl was re-edited and released theatrically when the U.S. pulled out of competition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Matt Dill is The Boy Who Loved Trolls in this 55-minute TV fantasy. Convinced that trolls do indeed exist, Dill makes the acquaintance of one named Ofoeti (Sam Waterston) under a bridge. Alas, Ofoeti will die unless Dill agrees to remain with the troll for all time. Susan Anton and W.H. Macy also star in this engaging children's tale. The Boy Who Loved Trolls was first telecast October 29, 1984, as part of PBS' Wonderworks anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jessica's niece Victoria (Genie Francis) and the girl's husband Howard (Jeff Conaway), previously introduced in the first-season episode "Birds of a Feather", make return appearances here--and, as before, the couple promptly embroils Jessica (Angela Lansbury) in a murder case. This time, the victim was Victoria's advertising-executive boss, a notorious womanizer. Victoria falls under suspicion when it turns out that her late boss had intended to "lend" her to his newest client, the hedonistic owner of a questionable fast-food chain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This time, the spotlight is on a friend of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury--namely, Bill Boyle (Ken Howard), a former football star turned detective. When Bill agrees to temporarily take care of a pal's valuable poodle, he ends up permanently saddled with the pooch when the owner is murdered, clutching three empty IV bags in his cold, dead fingers. It soon becomes clear that the murderers have now targeted both Bill and the poodle, plunging man and dog alike into a hotbed of international intrigue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy a Hollywood agent heads for Africa in order to convince a beautiful princess to sign a special release so her life-story can be made into a television movie. Instead he ends up entangled in a kidnapping scheme. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In Lena's Holiday, the title heroine (Felicity Waterman) is an East German who makes the most of her newfound post-Berlin Wall freedom to visit Los Angeles. After crossing paths with a gang of jewel thieves, she finds herself running for her life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Hubert Selby Jr. was a powerful and influential literary figure whose best-known novels, Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream, dealt with the dark underside of life in a way that was bleak and often shocking, but also laced with compassion and understanding for the tortured lives of his characters. Selby only completed the eighth grade when he became a merchant marine and contracted a severe case of tuberculosis from infected cattle. While Selby survived thanks to bootleg antibiotics, he lost a lung and had to give up his physically punishing work at sea. Selby took up writing and developed a unique style that helped make his first novel, 1964's Last Exit to Brooklyn, a critical success and a controversial best-seller. However, Selby developed a massive appetite for alcohol and drugs which derailed his career, and by the time he published his second book, 1971's The Room, Selby was all but forgotten. However, Selby's work developed a passionate following in Europe, and was rediscovered in the United States after a successful film adaptation of Last Exit to Brooklyn was released. Hubert Selby Jr.: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow is a documentary which explores the life and work of this unlikely literary icon, and features extensive interviews with Selby as well as his friends and admirers. Interview subjects include Lou Reed, Henry Rollins, Richard Price, Nick Tosches, Ellen Burstyn, Darren Aronofsky, Uli Edel, Amiri Baraka, and Jerry Stahl. Robert Downey Jr. serves as narrator. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide