Bob Stevens Movies

Murphy (Candice Bergen) is determined to prove once and for all that she, and NOT new producer Kay Carter-Shepley (Lily Tomlin), holds the real power in the "FYI" newsroom. Unfortunately for Murphy, her colleagues begin gravitating to Kay as she passes out choice reporting assignments. At this point, it is obvious that showdown is inevitable--but for all her resources, Murphy isn't quite prepared for the diabolically clever technique which Kay utilizes upon her! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This is the first of four "Day in the Life" episodes, in which Harry (Harry Anderson) must judge a huge number of cases before a predetermined deadline. In this instance, Harry wants to dispense justice to 200 defendants in order to beat a midnight "general amnesty" ordered by a retiring federal judge. Among those appearing before Harry is NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff, who pleads on behalf of a Nielsen family that doesn't want to go to jail before they get a chance to watch Misfits of Science! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

To fatten his bank account, Dan (John Larroquette) moonlights as a professional escort for wealthy women. One of his clients (Barbara Cason) is so enraptured by Dan that she insists he accompany her home--and thence to her bedroom! Meanwhile, Harry (Harry Anderson) tries to help out when the newly-arrived wife of Russian émigré Yakov (Yakov Smirnoff) is arrested. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story, Dan (John Larroquette) insists upon disobeying his doctor's orders by returning to work immediately after minor ulcer surgery. Predictably ending up back in the hospital, Dan is still determined to prove that he's far from incapacitated, this time by making whoopee with sexy Sheila (Leslie Bevis) in his hospital bed. This, coupled with some angry words from Harry (Harry Anderson) , causes Dan to lapse into a coma--and to very nearly become a candidate for the morgue! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hauled into court for stealing electronic communication components, a man (Kenneth Tigar) claiming to be from the planet Saturn pulls out a gun and holds the courtroom hostage. This proves to be most inconvenient for Dan (John Larroquette), who has finally managed to line up a date with his latest object of affection Sheila (Leslie Bevis). Things get worse when the wrong person consumes the drugged meat intended to incapactite the self-proclaimed Saturnian. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Robert Mitchum plays as U.S. ambassador to Israel whose efforts at reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians run afoul of the somewhat questionable ambitions of security advisor Rock Hudson. Meanwhile, Mitchum's wife Ellen Burstyn embarks upon an affair with a PLO leader. When this fact comes to Mitchum's attention, he refuses to pay the prescribed "hush money", sparking a deadly chain reaction. You may need a microscope to discern this, but The Ambassador was adapted from Elmore Leonard's crime novel 52 Pick Up. Though a more faithful-to-the-source cinemazation of the Leonard book was lensed in 1986, The Ambassador remains the better of the two versions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Someone throws a rock through the courtroom window with a death threat attached. Later on, a court session is put on hold as the staff tries to find the source of a persistent tick...tick...ticking sound. It doesn't take Harry (Harry Anderson) long to realize that someone is out to kill him--but who could it be amongst the hundreds of people he's enraged since becoming a judge? At the same time, Harry must deal with an elderly defendant (Phil Leeds) who claims to be God (though he takes no responsibility for creating Pia Zadora). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Night Court staff can't understand why bailiff Bull (Richard Moll) has been acting like a zombie lately. Turns out that Bull has been losing sleep taking care of a baby which was "temporarily" dropped off at his apartment by a not-so-neighborly neighbor. Once the truth is known, everybody in the courtroom becomes a surrogate mommy or daddy--at least until the end of the episode. D.D. Howard makes the first of two appearances as Charly Tracy, temporary replacement for departed court clerk Lana Wagner (Karen Austin). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Spotting a parachute carrying a passenger descending upon the island, Gilligan (Bob Denver) is certain that a rescue party has come for the Castaways. Alas, our hero is wrong again: The "parachutist" turns out to be an experimental Air Force robot. Even so, the Castaways are certain that they can program the robot to return to Hawaii with information leading to their rescue--and this well might have happened had it not been for the bungling of...aw, YOU know who! (PS: The voice of the robot is supplied by Charles Maxwell, usually heard as the ubiquitious "radio voice" in other Gilligan's Island episodes). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though legendary entertainer Al Jolson was a highly visible presence on the U.S.O. circuit during World War II, he was generally regarded as a relic of an earlier time until his movie comeback in 1945's Rhapsody in Blue. Showing up 30 minutes into this biopic of George Gershwin, Jolson literally stopped the show with his robust rendition of "Swanee." Suddenly, every Hollywood studio was negotiating with Jolson to film his life story. Warner Bros., the studio that skyrocketed to the top ranks via the 1927 part-talkie Jolson vehicle The Jazz Singer, seemed to have the inside track, but it was Columbia's Harry Cohn who made the deal that Jolson couldn't refuse. An attractively appointed fabrication, the Technicolor The Jolson Story distorts and glosses over the particulars of Jolson's life, but the results are so darned entertaining that nobody really paid attention to its inaccuracies. The story begins in turn-of-the-century Washington, D.C., where young Asa Yoelson (Scotty Beckett), son of an immigrant cantor (Ludwig Donath), ignores his religious studies in favor of popular music. Asa is hired as an "extra added attraction" boy tenor by a vaudevillian; when his voice breaks, the boy wins over the audience with his whistling ability. Growing into manhood, Asa Yoelson -- now "Al Jolson," and now played by Larry Parks -- becomes fascinated with African-American jazz music. He breaks away from his initial vaudeville assignment by joining Lew Dockstader's (John Alexander) blackface minstrel troupe, then goes on to success as a "single." Ascending to Broadway, Jolson establishes a reputation as an inveterate ad-libber, as well as an indefatigable singing performer, frequently holding an audience in thrall until the wee hours of the morning. Along the way, he falls in love with singer Julie Benson (Evelyn Keyes), a character based on Jolson's third wife Ruby Keeler, who refused permission to have her name used on screen. As Jolson attains superstardom, his ego assumes gargantuan proportions, alienating many of those around him, including his wife Julie. Anxious not to lose Julie, Jolson promises to change his ways. He even goes into retirement so as to spend more time with his wife. But when coerced into performing before a nightclub audience, Jolson is "hooked"once more -- whereupon the understanding Julie walks out of his life, realizing that she can never compete with Jolson's love for his audience. Like its subject, The Jolson Story delivered exactly what the audience wanted to hear. Faithful Columbia contractee Larry Parks was catapulted to stardom as Jolson, though in retrospect he seems a curious casting choice: his miming of Jolson's style is painstakingly accurate, but he seems too boyish and unwordly for the role. Jolson, then well into his sixties, had wanted to play himself on screen, but was talked out of it after a rather embarrassing screen test. He consoled himself by personally coaching Parks in the role (his attitude toward the young performer alternated between avuncular and adversarial through the shooting), and by providing his own voice in the musical sequences. Jolson also appears in long-shot during the "Swanee" number, which like all the film's musical highlights was directed by cult favorite Joseph H. Lewis (whose "dry run" for this assignment was the 1945 PRC production Minstrel Man). A wealth of Jolson standards are heard in The Jolson Story, including "You Made Me Love You," "I'm Sitting on Top of the World," "My Mammy," "There's a Rainbow Round My Shoulder," "Toot Toot Tootsie," "The Anniversary Waltz," "Rock-a-bye Your Baby," and "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy." The film was nominated for several Oscars, winning in the "best sound" and "best score" categories. A fantastic box-office success, The Jolson Story spawned a 1949 sequel, Jolson Sings Again. Ironically, despite Larry Parks' contributions to the film, it did little for that actor and instead reignited Jolson's celebrity during the last several years of his life. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi