James G. Hirsch Movies
The Blair Witch Project co-director Daniel Myrick returns to the helm to tell this tale of two paramedics kidnapped and held hostage by a mysterious cult. David Vaughn and Victor Hernandez were on the road when they received a call about a young girl whose mother has lost consciousness. Upon arriving at the remote area to administer treatment, however, both paramedics are kidnapped and confined in an isolated building. David is determined to discover the true motivation of the cult that now controls his destiny, while Victor suddenly finds his entire belief system crumbling as the fine line between religion and science is inexorably crossed. Now, come sunrise, something big is about to happen. Perhaps if David and Victor can escape the compound before dawn, their lives will be spared. But their chances for survival are growing slimmer with each passing hour, and as the first rays of sun shine over the horizon David and Victor's desperation quickly turns to terrified determination. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Messner, Jon Huertas, (more)
Admitted to the surgery ward for a routine colonoscopy, forty-year old George Grieves (Thomas Cavanagh) finds himself forced to confront his greatest fear when his surroundings take an unsettling shift towards the surreal. Immediately after awakening from his anesthesia, George is horrified to discover that the surgeon has performed the wrong operation on him. Now, as George's mental and physical condition begins to deteriorate rapidly, he discovers that something is horribly amiss in the hospital's East Ward. But in order to find out the truth about what's been happening in the East Ward, George will have to come face to face with the most sadistic nurse around, and make a difficult decision that promises to alter the course of his entire life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The Hollywood dreams of two runaway lovers are suddenly transformed into living nightmares when a momentary pause at an abandoned roadside rest stop turns into a struggle for survival against a predator who sadism knows no boundaries in this tense nail-biter from X-Files writer and executive producer John Shiban. The west coast was a long way off, and when Jess and Nichole decided to stretch their legs at a deserted rest stop they could never have anticipated the terror that awaited them. Now Jess has disappeared, and a savage stranger with a penchant for cruel games has turned up in her place. This is no coincidence, however, and before the day is over Nichole will be forced to fight for her life against a murderous maniac whose creative use of power tools will have her screaming for mercy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jaimie Alexander, Joey Mendicino, (more)
- 2001
Hoping with all her heart that her wayward son Kenny (Chad Allen) has been straightened out by two years in prison, Sharon Carlson (Kate Jackson) welcomes Kenny with open arms on the occasion of his parole, as does everyone in his immediate family and circle of friends. For a while, it seems as though Sharon's prayers have been answered, and that Kenny is finally going to lead a decent life. But when he is reunited with his former prison buddy Warren Stubbs (Keith Szarabajka), Kenny's true nature once again rises to the surface, and it isn't long before his behavior has deteriorated dangerously. Though she was worried that this would happen, Sharon loyally sticks by her son -- and when he is implicated in a murder, she does everything in her power to prove his innocence. The grim outcome of this story, taking place during Sharon's emotional courtroom appearance, is implicit in the film's title. Filmed independently in 2000, A Mother's Testimony had been slated for theatrical release, but when a distributor was not forthcoming, the film was licensed for television exposure; it was telecast several times abroad before making its U.S. cable debut over the Lifetime channel on October 22, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Jackson, Susan Blakely, (more)
- 2001
To escape his enormous gambling debts, the highly unlikable Reese Williams (Marc Singer) decides to fake his own death, with the help of his long-suffering wife, Katie (Michele Greene). Once Reese is safely "deceased," Katie will fall heir to a five-million-dollar insurance policy, which will help the couple square their debts and start a new life elsewhere. But can it be that the scheme has not gone the way it was supposed to -- and that Reese is dead for real? Reese's sister-in-law Ginny (Veronica Hamel) may or may not be able to provide the answers to insurance investigators Logan (William Katt) and Mac (George Dzundza), one of whom has fallen in love with Katie. Though innumerable clues are adroitly planted along the way, the outcome of the story remains a jaw-dropping surprise. Originally intended for theatrical release, Determination of Death was not seen until its premiere on German television in 2002; thereafter, the film was added to the "Monday Night Movie" rotation on the American Lifetime cable channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
This made-for-television thriller tells the story of an unstable woman who goes to bizarre lengths to keep her drifting lover. Kate Jackson stars as Rita Donohue, a nurse who believes that she can re-ignite her disinterested lover's passion by having a child. Unable to have a child of her own, Rita plots to snatch an infant from her hospital's maternity ward to later pass off as her own. She feigns a pregnancy, switches records on a stillborn and healthy child, and then steals a baby from new mother Jane Morgan (Lori Loughlin) in order to support her charade. The plan goes sour though, when Jane refuses to accept the hospital's claim that her child died, and she investigates the unsettling clues on her own. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Jackson, Lori Loughlin, (more)
- 1992
Do not confuse this fact-based feature with the more tongue-in-cheek cable TV version, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom. This one looks seriously at the story of a Texas mother who was willing to kill to ensure her daughter's place on the cheerleading squad. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
The Boys is an "a clef" celebration of the famed script writing team of Richard Levinson and William Link, the creators of Columbo, Murder She Wrote and so many other stellar TV projects. William Link himself wrote this story about two lifelong collaborator/friends named Walter (James Woods) and Artie (John Lithgow). Though Artie is a chain-smoker, it is Walter who contacts terminal lung cancer--the actual fate of the late Richard Levinson. Some observers have suggested that Link penned this tale more out of guilt than friendship; whatever the case, he wisely avoids overloading the material with sentiment, allowing the "boys" to kid around and squabble as much as they ever had. As a bonus, there's a Columbo-style mystery angle in the proceedings to keep the hard-core Levinson/Link fans happy. The Boys was produced for television and originally shown in April of 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Corbin Bernsen, fresh out of LA Law, plays a real-life attorney in Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story. As Dees, Bernsen goes head to head with the Ku Klux Klan in the Alabama of the 1980s. Despite having his name included on the "hit list" of every wacko white supremacist in the Nation, Dees manages to break the back of the KKK is his own particular corner of the world. Line of Fire is elaborately produced and hits all the right emotional buttons, but falls short of perfection thanks to stereotypical villains and excessive melodrama. The film was first telecast on Martin Luther King Day in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
I'll Take Romance has nothing to do with the old Grace Moore musical film of the same name. Rather, this 1990 TV movie is about a publicity contest. Dressed in Joan Crawford Chic, Linda Evans plays a Seattle TV meteorologist, assigned to host a contest to find the most romantic man in Puget Sound. Evans' boyfriend Tom Skerritt stews on the sidelines as she wends her way through the studdish contestants. Since Skerritt plays a judge, is there a remote possibility that I'll Take Romance will have a crucial courtroom scene somewhere along the line? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Evans, Tom Skerritt, (more)
- 1990
In the Best Interest of the Child was not based on a true story. That's the official line adopted by producer Robert A. Papazian, even though the plot of this made-for-TV movie would seem to be inspired by the exploits of the real-life Dr. Elizabeth Morgan. True or no, there's plenty of conviction in this story of a young woman (Meg Tilly) who risks imprisonment for the sake of her daughter. Having learned that her ex-husband is molesting the child, Ms. Tilly "kidnaps" the girl and heads off to parts unknown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meg Tilly, Ed Begley, Jr., (more)
- 1986
Bill Duke directed this fact-based tale of a poor Southern black woman who rose from poverty to become an FBI agent. Retitled Johnnie Gibson F.B.I. for home video. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Made for television, Broken Badge originally aired as The Rape of Richard Beck. Richard Crenna plays Beck, a hard-bitten cop who has little patience for female rape victims. Then he himself is sexually assaulted by two assailants. Crenna's excellent performance notwithstanding, the teleplay by James G. Hirsch is a bit simplistic, drawn up along the lines of the old bromide "a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged" Meredith Baxter Birney is seen all too briefly as a rape counsellor. The Rape of Richard Beck premiered on May 27, 1985, as an "ABC Theatre" presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Joanna Piper (Suzanne Pleshette) and Mike Coyne (Gil Gerard) are far more concerned with money than with love. To that end, they sign up as contestants for a TV giveaway show. The catch: in order to claim the grand prize of one million dollars, Joanna and Mike must pretend to be hopelessly, passionately in love with one another. The viewer can see the ending coming a mile away, but getting there is half the fun. Made for television, For Love or Money premiered November 20, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This once-timely made-for-TV drama was originally titled Lovesick: The Herpes Story until wiser heads prevailed. Soap-opera favorites Anthony Geary and Judith Light starred as dedicated doctor Kyle Richardson and lovelorn tourist Marsha Sarno in this saga of a genital-herpes outbreak in a posh resort community. Also on hand is Robert Vaughn as Dave Fairmont, the requisite evil land developer who will resort to any means necessary to keep news of the epidemic from spreading to the world. Intimate Agony made its ABC network debut on March 21, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The made-for-TV For Lovers Only was the pilot film for a potential series titled Honeymoon Hotel. Set in the Poconos, the story takes place in a fancy honeymoon resort managed by Vernon Bliss (Andy Griffith). Belying his name and professional, Bliss is far from Blissful, especially when bickering with his daughter (Deborah Raffin) and her husband, a would-be playwright (Gary Sandy). Guest stars on this first and last installment of Honeymoon Hotel include Katherine Helmond, Gordon Jump, Sally Kellerman and Jane Kaczmarzak. Look closely and you'll spot Tracy Pollan in a bit. Financed by Caesars Palace Productions, For Lovers Only was first telecast October 15, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
This ABC TV movie is set in an experimental coed prison, presided over by progressive warden E.F. Crown (Shirley Jones). The wisdom of incarcerating men and women together is placed in doubt when white-collar criminal Roy Matson (Perry King) falls in love with hard-boiled, streetwise Jane Mount (Kate Jackson). In addition to Shirley Jones, Tony Curtis pulls special guest star duty as Flanagan, a two-bit hoodlum who aspires to "class." Inmates: A Love Story debuted on February 13, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
The made-for-TV Fugitive Family questions the efficacy of the government's witness protection program. After sending syndicate kingpin Anthony Durano (Mel Ferrer) to prison, undercover agent Brian Roberts (Richard Crenna) and his entire family is marked for death by Durano's successor Peter Ritchie (Don Murray). Roberts and his brood are forced to change their names and move to a faraway city, there to start life anew. Vintner Olan Vacio (Eli Wallach) hires Roberts as a field worker, eventually making him his partner. This puts Vacio in the line of fire when Ritchie's hoods come calling. Fugitive Family first aired October 1, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Letters begins with the crash of a U.S. mail plane. One year later, cheerful postman Henry Jones delivers the long-delayed letters. These overdue missives profoundly affect the lives of (a) a man who's deserted his wife; (b) a woman anxious to break up her daughter's romance; and (c) a pianist who'd sell his soul for success. The guest star roster of this TV movie includes John Forsythe, Jane Powell, Lesley Ann Warren, Ida Lupino, Ben Murphy, Pamela Franklin, and Leslie Nielsen. Both Letters and its sequel Letters From Lost Lovers (1973) were intended as pilot films for a never-sold TV anthology series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
The made-for-television No Place to Run stars Herschel Bernardi as a seriously ill 73-year-old grandparent. Despite his many ailments, Bernardi is roused into action when he is denied custody of his orphaned grandson (Scott Jacoby). Grandpa and grandson decide to skip town together, with the authorities hot on their heels. Ironically, production of No Place to Run had to shut down briefly when star Herschel Bernardi fell ill for real. During this period, original director John Badham had to leave for another commitment; the film was completed by Delbert Mann, who receives sole directorial credit. Advertised as a "touching film drama" (well, it was!), No Place to Run debuted on September 19, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
British sailors John Mills and Richard Attenborough would like to take Neopolitan lass Lisa Gastoni out on a date. But Gastoni can't leave the house unless her baby brother tags along. During a rowdy evening on the town, Mills is forced to sneak the infant on board his ship. When Gastoni and Attenborough arrive to claim the kid, they find that the ship has already sailed. Essentially a British Abbott & Costello picture, Baby and the Battleship manages to deliver a sufficient supply of hearty chuckles. The film was based on a somewhat subtler novel by Anthony Thorne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Richard Attenborough, (more)
