Frank Alesia Movies
- 1982
Harry Dean Stanton stars as a famous pop singer who also happens to be a class-A jerk. After enduring the singer's rudeness during his visit to Bardwell's, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) vow to get even. The plan involves taking compromising photographs of the egotistical performer, and then selling them to a tabloid -- but which one of the girls will act as "bait" for their intended victim? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In flashback, we are treated to glimpses of the Milwaukee-to-California trip taken by Laverne (Penny Marshall), Shirley (Cindy Williams), Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander) at the outset of Season Six. Actually, we set several different flashbacks telling highly different stories, endeavoring to establish who was to blame for trashing a hotel room occupied en route by the four merry wanderers. It is up to Carmine (Eddie Mekka)--who was still in Milwaukee when the "trashing" occurred--to determine who is telling the truth, and who isn't. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Stubby Kaye guest stars as Cowboy Bill, owner of the restaurant chain that employs Laverne's dad Frank (Phil Foster). When Bill is called out of town, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) offer to take care of his Malibu mansion until he returns. Alas, the girls use the opportunity to throw a party, which is unexpectedly crashed by a gang of bikers (led by future Night Court regular Richard Moll)--and the whole sorry spectacle is witnessed by Cowboy Bill's talking parrot! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
This final episode of Laverne & Shirley's fifth season finally explains why Laverne (Penny Marshall) hangs around with such goofy chums as Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander). It seems that the poor girl surrounds herself with people because she has a phobia about being left alone. Endeavoring to cure her friend, Shirley (Cindy Williams) arranges for Laverne to spend an evening all by herself at a Chinese restaurant. Featured in the cast are Pat Morita, the former "Arnold" on Happy Days), as Mr. Wong, and iconic 1950s singer Julius LaRosa as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
"Big Ragu" Carmine (Eddie Mekka) has always yearned for an opportunity to strut his stuff as a "tough guy"--and to make some extra cash in the bargain. Now, it seems, he has been handed a golden opportunity; Carmine has accepted a job as a collector for a shady loan shark named Waldo (Billy Sands). Appalled at the prospect of Carmine making his living by breaking bones, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) do everything in their power to dissuade him from this questionable career move. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- R
This futuristic parody on television is made up of various sketches, and features some early performances of later well-known comics. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Proctor, Howard Hesseman, (more)
- 1970
- R
Set against the political turmoil of the late 60's, R.P.M. (Revolutions Per Minute) stars Anthony Quinn as "Paco" Perez, a free-thinking liberal college professor whom the campus leftists regard as an authority figure they can understand. Perez is also free-thinking enough to have a grad student as a mistress, Rhoda (Ann-Margret). When the University President is forced out of office by a radical group, Perez is given the job, but his credibility with the activists comes into question when he's unable to meet their demands as quickly as they would like. Rossiter (Gary Lockwood) and Dempsey (Paul Winfield), two of the activist leaders, threaten to destroy the university's new computer network (remember, this was back in the day before you could buy a computer for a thousand bucks), and Perez calls in the cops, which only fans the flames of a tense situation. R.P.M. was written by Erich Segal, before he was to find success with another story set (in part) on a college campus, Love Story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1968
This exploitation film about the evils of marijuana finds art teacher Phil Blake (Fabian) discovering some of his students are smoking pot. Although he admits to the students he tried it himself in college, he is dumber than a bag of hammers about student drug use. Phil has eyes for fellow teacher Ellie (Diane McBain) until he discovers she is the main dealer, along with the star of the football team. Included in the cast is actress (Patty McCormick), all grown up since her appearance in Bad Seed, and Terri Garr, who makes a brief appearance as a student. This unintentionally laughable film, a feeble attempt to cash in on the sensationalism of marijuana use, was co-written by Richard Gautier and Peter Marshall of "Hollywood Squares" television fame. This film, along with similarly overblown 1930s anti-marijuana diatribes, cost the "straight" world a great deal of credibility at the time, and it became an instant "camp" classic. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fabian, Diane McBain, (more)
- 1967
This drama centers on life in a small college. The hero is a folk singer from the backwoods. Because he saved the dean's daughter from a car accident, he received a scholarship. The school rebel uses the folk singer to entice students into attending his rally on free speech. The folk singer rallies back and punches the radical in the nose. He then allows the dean to tell the student body the reasons why they don't need more radical ideas concerning freedom. Songs include "C'mon, Let's Live a Little," "Instnat Girl," "Baker Man," "What Fool This Mortal Be," "Tonights the Night," "For Granted," "Back-Talk," "Over and Over," "Let's Go Go," and "Way Back Home." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bobby Vee, Jackie De Shannon, (more)
- 1967
Knowing that Darrin is anxious to impress his new client, a golf enthusiast named Joe Baxter (MacDonald Carey), Endora casts a spell on her son-in-law's golf clubs. As a result, Darrin plays golf brilliantly -- too brilliantly to suit the envious Baxter, who drops his account, whereupon Larry Tate drops Darrin. As it turns out, it is Mrs. Baxter (Joan Banks), rather than Samantha, who comes to the rescue. Written by David V. Robison and John L. Greene, "Birdies, Bogies and Baxter" originally aired on October 19, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
- 1967
In this drama set during the real life riots of the mid-1960s, an LA police sergeant attempts to service the Strip businessmen who object to the hippie youths that hang out, by setting a curfew. Unfortunately, the cop also believes that the kids have a right to be there, until he discovers that his estranged daughter, whom his drunken ex-wife took away from him, has come back to LA and has joined the counter-culture crowd. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aldo Ray, Mimsy Farmer, (more)
- 1966
American-International's Beach Party series came to an abrupt end with Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. Because of such tangible reasons as contractual commitments, coupled with such intangibles as illness and death, most of the series "regulars" are absent. Deborah Walley and Aron Kinkaid fill the roles usually played by Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, while Benny Rubin plays a comic-Indian role obviously intended for Buster Keaton. Only Harvey Lembeck, as the inimitable Eric von Zipper, is on hand from the good old days. The plot is set in motion by the ghostly Boris Karloff, a corpse who must perform one good deed before gaining entrance into the Hereafter. Together with a sexy spirit (Susan Hart) (the titular lass in the invisible bikini), the corpse attempts to save the heiress (Walley) from the murderous machinations of a greedy attorney (Basil Rathbone) and his cohorts (Rubin and Jesse White). Music is provided by such second-generation celebs as Nancy Sinatra and Claudia Martin, and with The Bobby Fuller Four lip-synching a pair of songs. The climax is a less-funny reworking of the final sequence in Beach Blanket Bingo, with the heroine (Walley) strapped to the longest buzzsaw plank in film history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Walley, Tommy Kirk, (more)
Out of the beaches and into the boudoirs go Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and the rest of the gang in Pajama Party. Actually, the whole megillah is as innocent as a newborn babe, but there's plenty of smirking and snickering during a wild 'n' wacky girl's slumber party. Frankie Avalon has only a cameo, relinquishing center stage to Tommy Kirk, playing a teenaged Martian (!) studying the lovemaking rituals of Earthlings. Old-timers Buster Keaton, Dorothy Lamour and Elsa Lanchester also weave in and out of the proceedings, with Keaton the only one who doesn't look as though he wishes he were somewhere else. And of course there's good old Harvey Lembeck as good old Eric "Why Me?" Von Zipper. Director Don Weis took over for Beach Party's William Asher in Pajama Party, remaining in charge for the ill-fated sequel Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, (more)
