Sally Hughes Movies
- 1997
Will Schaub, who won his own bout with cancer, scripted this family drama about leukemia. Cal (Will Schaub) misses a chance to compete in the Olympics after learning that his brother Max (Darin Cooper) needs a bone-marrow transplant. Cal heads home to see if he's a match. Shown at the 1997 Boston Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will (Chucky) Schaub, Darin Cooper, (more)
- 1994
Originally telecast as a two-hour special, the first episode of ER has since been divided into a two-parter for syndication. In part one, young and inexperienced third-year med student John Carter (Noah Wyle) reports for work at the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital. During a hectic 24-hour shift, Carter is brusquely introduced to his future co-workers: his arrogant trainer, Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle); workaholic chief resident Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards); the equally hardworking Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield); the womanizing Dr. Douglas Ross (George Clooney); and troubled head nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies). All in all, it is a typical shift at the ER, with cases ranging from gunshot wounds, ruptured aneurysms, burns, and even hangnails -- but a few surprises are in store for both the staff and the viewers at home. In part two, inexperienced three-year med student John Carter continues to cope as best he can with his hectic first day in the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital. Meanwhile, chief resident Greene weighs the possibility of entering private practice; Carter's supervisor, Benton, oversteps his authority by operating on a patient with an aortic aneurysm; and troubled head nurse, Carol Hathaway, becomes a patient herself after attempting suicide (originally intended as a one-shot character, Hathaway proved so popular with the viewers that she was immediately pencilled in as a regular). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Clint Eastwood delivers one of his finest performances, as a secret service agent haunted by his past in Wolfgang Petersen's taut thriller In the Line of Fire. Eastwood plays Frank Horrigan, a secret service agent who keeps thinking back to November 22, 1963, when, as an agent hand-picked by President Kennedy, he became one of the few agents to have lost a president to an assassin. Decades later, psychotic Mitch Leary (John Malkovich) is stalking another president (Jim Curley) running for re-election. He has spent long hours studying the psyche of Frank Horrigan, and he taunts Horrigan (feeling that there is a bond between them), telling him of his plans to kill the president. After his conversation with Leary, Horrigan makes sure he is assigned to presidential protection duty. Horrigan has no intention of failing his president this time around, and he is more than willing to take a bullet. But everything goes Leary's way -- he is smart and cagey and the president's aides refuse to alter the itinerary. As the election draws closer, Horrigan's chances to catch Leary look to be less and less a possibility, and he begins to doubt his own abilities -- both now and in the past, when Kennedy was murdered. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, (more)
- 1989
The citizens of Cabot Cove are terrified by the arrival of young Irene Terhune (Julian Donald), an apparent practitioner of black magic. Rumors are rife that Irene is actually the ghost of Annie Gorman, a local witch who had supposedly died centuries ago. Inevitably, murder rears it ugly head and Irene (or Annie) is held responsible, but Jessica (Angela Lansbury) refuses to hum along with the old song "It's Witchcraft." And yes, that's future political satirist Bill Maher in the role of Rick Rivers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Extra! Extra! The unthinkable has happened! PERRY MASON HAS LOST A CASE! The jury brings in a guilty verdict, and Perry's client Janice Barton (Vera Miles) is convicted of murder and sentenced to the gas chamber. Though perennial also-ran Hamilton Burger (William Talman) should be elated, he is sympathetic towards the brooding Mason (Raymond Burr), who blames himself for Janice's plight. But it soon develops that Janice had virtually condemned herself by lying about her whereabouts when the murder was committed. Still convinced of his former client's innocence, Perry works feverishly behind the scenes to expose the real killer--whose identity will come as quite a shock to fans of 1960s sitcoms. This justifiably famous episode, ranked as #51 in the "100 Greatest TV Episodes of All Time" by TV Guide, was originally scheduled to air on October 3, 1963. (Curiously, it was removed from the series' syndicated package in 1966, and not seen again until it was cablecast in 1988). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When people refer to Doris Day as "the world's oldest professional virgin," they generally have the 1962 comedy That Touch of Mink in mind. It isn't that Cathy Timberlake (Day) is above a bit of hanky-panky; it's just that she wants such tangibles as a marriage license and wedding ring first. Thus, when playboy businessman Philip Shayne (Cary Grant) begins actively pursuing Cathy (they "met cute" when Philip's limo splashed mud on the hapless Cathy), she won't say "I will" until he says "I do." She is of the idealistic opinion that she can bring out the best intentions in him, even when he repeatedly tips off his worst intentions by inviting her to accompany him to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Bermuda. After not a few complications and misunderstands, Cathy finally finagles a proposal out of Philip. The film is essentially much ado about nothing, but it is so well-acted and attractively photographed that the audiences are willing to go along for the ride. The high-powered supporting cast includes Gig Young as Roger, Philip's moralistic financial advisor; Audrey Meadows as Connie, Cathy's wise-cracking roommate; Alan Hewitt as Dr. Gruber, a confused psychiatrist; John Astin as Beasley, Cathy's slimy would-be beau; Dick Sargent as a neurotic honeymooner; and an unbilled Richard Deacon as an all-around letch. Best scene: the baseball-dugout rhubarb involving New York Yankees Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Yogi Berra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Doris Day, (more)
- 1962
The right for a rape victim to have an abortion is examined in this socially conscious drama. 21-year old Patty Smith is distraught to learn that she was impregnated during a rape. She looks for help, but finds none amongst the regular medical community. She tries talking to her priest, but he turns a blind eye, and offers no help. Finally, desperate to get rid of her unwanted baby, Patty goes to a back-alley abortionist. He literally butchers her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merry Anders, J. Edward McKinley, (more)
- 1960
Alfred Hitchcock Presents moved from its familiar Sunday-night slot on CBS to a new Tuesday-night berth for rival network NBC to launch its sixth season with this amusingly ironic tale from the pen of frequent series contributor Roald Dahl. Audrey Meadows adroitly suppresses her familiar "Alice Kramden" characterization in the role of Mrs. Bixby, the pampered -- and faithless -- wife of a prosperous doctor (Les Tremayne). When Mrs. Bixby's latest paramour, a colonel (Stephen Chase), decides to break off their relationship, he gives her a costly mink coat as a parting gift. Not wanting to have her husband find out how she really got the coat, Mrs. Bixby works out an elaborate subterfuge involving a "found" pawn ticket. But it turns out that Dr. Bixby is not entirely above a bit of subterfuge himself! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Handsome young plumber Jack Staley (Lee Philips) supplements his income by blackmailing his female customers, threatening to tell their husbands of their "illicit" romances. But Staley's career as an extortionist comes to a formidable roadblock when he tries the same shakedown on Margot Brenner (Phyllis Thaxter). It turns out that Margot has a bit of a larcenous streak as well...and she's just a shade smarter than both Jack and her husband (played by Carl Betz). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
