Johnny Doran Movies
Flamboyant, giallo-style gore effects are the only highlight of this otherwise pedestrian supernatural horror film, which was originally filmed in 1981 as The Witch and shelved for four years, before it experienced a mild midnight-movie revival in the wake of The Evil Dead's success. The ghastly goings-on begin when a clergyman (Larry Pennell) and his family move into an eerie mansion built near the lake where a powerful local witch was drowned four centuries earlier. It soon becomes evident that the spirit of this evil sorceress, whose powers have increased exponentially after her death, is not content with conducting the standard haunted-house scare tactics, and the bodies begin to pile up at an incredible rate. (These audacious death scenes peak with one poor soul's dismemberment courtesy of a flying circular saw.) When a homicide detective (Albert Salmi) and a minister (James Carl Houghton) discover the cause of the macabre mayhem, they prepare to conduct an exorcism (in the mode of The Amityville Horror), much to their own peril. Overblown performances, a scatter-shot screenplay, and hilariously messy gore effects make this movie impossible to take seriously, but it does have a certain tacky charm. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Salmi, Lynn Carlin, (more)
- 1981
Originally produced as part of the ABC Afterschool Special series, the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning The Wave proved so powerful that the network chose to debut the film as one of three entries in its prime-time ABC Theater for Young Americans. Based on a real-life incident that occurred in Palo Alto, CA, in 1969 (and was subsequently chronicled as both a magazine article and a full length book), the film stars Bruce Davison as high-school history teacher Bruce Ross. Frustrated because his students evince a lack of interest in and comprehension of Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s, Ross decides to stage a dramatic "social experiment." He indoctrinates his unwitting charges in a radical new movement called "The Wave," which he claims will give them "a feeling you're part of something that's more important than yourself." Part and parcel of The Wave is a strict set of social-behavior guidelines, unquestioning loyalty to the cause, and an open contempt for those "inferiors" who have not been invited to join the movement. Not unexpectedly, The Wave gets out of hand, and soon the entire school is held in the thrall of a frightening new form of neo-fascism. Just when the experiment threatens to go too far, Ross shocks his students back to their senses by running newsreel footage of The Wave's "true leader" (guess who!). The Wave finally made its ABC Afterschool Special bow on March 30, 1983, two years after its initial nighttime presentation. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Davison, Lori Lethin, (more)
- 1977
Captains Courageous is Rudyard Kipling's story of a wealthy, spoiled teenager who matures into responsible manhood during an enforced voyage on a fishing schooner. The 1937 MGM version of the Kipling tale lowered the age of the protagonist to accommodate juvenile star Freddie Bartholomew, and re-shaped the plot so that the Portuguese fisherman Manuel, played by Spencer Tracy, would be the leading role. This 1977 TV-movie version wisely restores the full age of Harvey Cheyne (Jonathan Kahn), reiterating Kipling's point that it's never too late to steer a young man on the right path. The 1977 version also relegates Manuel (Ricardo Montalban) to the secondary position he held in the novel, strengthening the growing friendship and mutual respect between young Harvey and wise old captain Danko (Karl Malden). Filmed on location off the Maine coast, The TV version of Captains Courageous originally aired December 4, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The protagonists of this ABC Afternoon Special are three parentless children of divergent backgrounds, all of whom share the same foster home. All their lives, Carlie (Kristy McNichol), Harvey (Johnny Doran), and Thomas J. (Sparky Marcus) have been "pinballs," bouncing around from one foster family to another. Now that they have settled into one happy home, will the situation be permanent -- or are they doomed to be "pinballs" for all time? ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristy McNichol, Johnny Doran, (more)
- 1977
In the short-lived TV series Mulligan's Stew, high school football coach Michael Mulligan (Lawrence Pressman) and his wife Jane (Elinor Donahue), already the parents of three children, suddenly find their family unit increased from five to nine. This occurs when Michael's sister and brother-in-law, whose name was Friedman, perish in a plane crash, whereupon the dead couple's four youngsters move into the already crowded Mulligan manse in Birchfield, California. Much of the drama (and humor) revolve around the culture clashes between the laid-back Mulligan kids and their three urban "step-siblings"--not to mention Kimmy (Sunshine Lee), a Korean war orphan adopted by the late Mr. and Mrs. Friedman. Add to this the fact that Michael's salary can hardly cover the needs of his "real" family, and the viewer has a stew indeed. The pilot for Mulligan's Stew aired June 20, 1977, on NBC; the series proper was broadcast by the same network from October 25 to December 13, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Pressman, Elinor Donahue, (more)
- 1976
One of four dramatic miniseries carried by NBC under the blanket title Best Sellers, Captains and the Kings was adapted from a novel by Taylor Caldwell. Covering a time span from 1857 to 1912, this was the saga of the Irish-immigrant Armagh clan, with emphasis on the rags-to-riches career of Joseph Armagh (Richard Jordan). Achieving fame and prominence (if not full-fledged social acceptance) through a Byzantine series of investments in the oil industry, the elder Armagh was obsessed with the notion of having one of his sons become the first Irish-Catholic President of the United States (does this story sound vaguely familiar?). Along the way, Joseph and his offspring indulged in innumerable romantic liaisons, extramarital and otherwise. Featured in the all-star cast is Patty Duke Astin, who won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Bernadette Hennessey Armagh. Captains and the Kings was broadcast from September 30 to November 18, 1976 in seven installments, two of which ran 120 minutes, and the other six lasting 60 minutes -- a total of nine hours' air time in all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This adventure chronicles two boys' search for a treasure buried somewhere in the Florida Keys during the mid 1800s. The children are assisted by three adults, who each have the their own agendas for finding the cache. The hunters are followed by a greedy gang of villains. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Foxworth, Joan Hackett, (more)
- 1975
Who is the mysterious marauder that is going around stealing food -- but nothing else -- throughout Walnut Grove? Their minds filled with dime-novel mysteries, Laura Ingalls (Melissa Sue Anderson) and Andy Garvey (Patrick Laborteaux) decide to play detective, hoping to capture the elusive "creeper." Not surprisingly, their sleuthing methods leave a great deal to desired, and cause more harm than good. This is the episode in which Michael Landon (as Charles Ingalls) ends up with green hair! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1973
In this children's movies, a young brother and sister escape from the boredom of their suburban neighborhood and high-tail it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. There they wind up hiding within the maze of hallways until the girl finds a beautiful white statue. She is captivated by it and becomes obsessed with trying to discover if it is really a Michaelangelo. This leads her and her brother to the mansion of a 70-year old recluse with whom the girl becomes friends. They begin sharing their secrets and talking about art. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
