Michael Norell Movies
- 1995
- Add Mary Higgins Clark's Remember Me to QueueAdd Mary Higgins Clark's Remember Me to top of Queue
Still recovering from a breakdown caused by the death of her son two years earlier, Menly Nichols (Kelly McGillis) convalesces in the old mansion where her husband Adam (Cotter Smith) grew up. The emotionally fragile Menly is having difficulty enough adjusting to her somewhat dank surrounding when she begins to be haunted by an eerie, faraway voice. Could the sounds be merely a manifestation of her trauma and guilt feelings--or are they caused by the ghost of her son, desperately trying to contact her? Whatever the case, trouble clearly lies ahead for both Menly and her baby daughter Hannah--and that trouble may or may not be linked with a murder case for which Adam has been hired as attorney for the defense. Based on the novel by (who else?) Mary Higgins Clark, this filmed-for-TV gothic melodrama made its CBS network debut on November 19, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly McGillis, Cotter Smith, (more)
Though not quite as bad as it might have been, the 1994 "reunion" TV-movie I Spy Returns was some distance removed from great. Written by Michael Norell, this two-hour film is set some 25 years after the conclusion of the original I Spy weekly series. Former secret agent Alexander "Scotty" Scott (Bill Cosby), now a romance-language professor at a tweedy California college, is aghast to learn that his feisty daughter Nicole (Salli Richardson) has signed up as a spy with Special Services. Making a beeline to the organization's director Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp), who'd once been his partner in the espionage business, Scotty demands that Nicole be bounced from the program. Kelly merely chuckles and replies that the girl couldn't be in safer hands: Her partner is the organization's most gifted and resourceful young agent-Kelly's own son Ben (George Newbern). Realizing that he will never be able to win an argument with his old pal Kelly, Scotty agrees to join Robinson in surreptitiously supervising Nicole and Ben as they head to Vienna to tackle their first assignment: Providing protection for defecting Russian scientist Cherbakov (Nikalous Parlya) and his wife (Lynsey Baxter). When they discover that their former adversary Baroodi (Jonathan Hyde) is also in Vienna, Kelly and Scotty take an active hand in matters-and the results are, if not hilarious, certainly diverting. The film's high points include the lengthy "bickering banter" exchanges between old pros Culp and Cosby. I Spy Returns originally aired as a "CBS Movie Special" on February 3, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
In a sequel to the superior movie entitled The Incident, a small-town lawyer goes against the State of Maryland, suing on behalf of an institutionalized mental patient for release. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Susan Blakely, (more)
- 1992
In this lively caper film, an ex-con with uncommon expertise in understanding the workings of high-tech security systems begins preparing to steal a rare diamond that is worth over $5 million. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Joseph Sargent's made-for-TV drama, set during World War II, stars Walter Matthau as an attorney coerced into defending a German POW who is accused of murdering the town physician (Barnard Hughes), Matthau's best friend. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Julia Duffy is the cover girl and Dinah Manoff the cop in this made-for-TV contrivance. When dim-witted model Duffy witnesses a murder, short-fused officer Manhoff is assigned to protect her. Would you be shocked if we informed you that the ladies drive each other crazy? But never fear: they forget their differences long enough to jointly nab the killer at the end. Filmed on location in Washington DC, Cover Girl and the Cop trounced in the ratings by the vastly superior The Ryan White Story when it first aired on January 16, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The "pals" of the title, played by Don Ameche and George C. Scott, are Army chums living a sedentary retirement. Occasionally the twosome becomes a threesome when Scott's mother Sylvia Sidney shows up. All three are resigned to living out their lives on fixed incomes in a Georgia trailer park-and then, Ameche and Scott discover a large sum of money in an abandoned car. Well, "large" is putting it mildly: they find nearly four million bucks. They also find a heap of trouble when mobster James Greene, who'd stashed the cash in the first place, starts nosing around. The made-for-TV Pals was originally telecast February 28, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- Add Christmas Comes to Willow Creek to QueueAdd Christmas Comes to Willow Creek to top of Queue
The Duke boys (John Schneider, Tom Wopat) return to play different characters: arguing brothers who are forced to take a shipment of toys to a remote Alaskan town. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Schneider, Tom Wopat, (more)
- 1986
This made-for-television film chronicles the life of 19th-century American showman P. T. Barnum. Using flashbacks (and flash forwards) the earliest efforts of his career are shown, through the formation of the "Greatest Show on Earth" with his partner Bailey, with many interesting things in between. ~ Forest Ray, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Hanna Schygulla, (more)
- 1982
Jack Bender directed this made-for-TV romance about an attorney (John Ritter) who falls for his firm's latest hire, a woman 15 years older than he. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In this comedy, four couples go on a dating game show and end up winning a fabulous Hawaiian vacation. Unfortunately, they are accompanied by a stern chaperone. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Love Boat 3 was, per its title, the third pilot film for the long-running TV series of the same name. After several casting missteps in the two earlier films, the series' regular characters are herein solidified: Gavin McLeod as Capt. Stubbing, Bernie Kopell as Doc, Fred Grandy as Gopher, Ted Lange as Isaac and Lauren Tewes as Julie. Guest stars include Georgia Engel as a stowaway, Gary Frank and Melanie Mayron as a pair of tremulous honeymooners, Stella Stevens and Pat Harrington as an eternally bickering married couple, and Audra Lindley and Phil Silvers as, respectively, an outspoken middle-aged lady and a woebegone widower. Originally telecast May 5, 1977, Love Boat 3 was later syndicated as The New Love Boat. The Love Boat series proper ran from 1977 to 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Sex and the Married Woman stars Joanna Pettet as a housewife and Barry Newman as her liberal-minded husband. Encouraging his wife to find her "inner self," Newman has no notion that Pettet will translate this invitation into writing a book based on the sex habits of her friends and neighbors. The book becomes a best-seller, Pettet becomes a celebrity, and Newman seethes with envy. When first telecast in 1977, Sex and the Married Woman was advertised on the basis of its large cast of celebrity cameos (Jayne Meadows, Keenan Wynn, etc.) Virtually ignored was the fourth-billed F. Murray Abraham, seven years away from his Oscar win as Salieri in 1984's Amadeus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The New Love Boat was the third pilot film for the long-running TV series. After several casting missteps in the two earlier films, the series' regular characters are herein solidified: Gavin McLeod as Capt. Stubing, Bernie Kopell as Doc, Fred Grandy as Gopher, Ted Lange as Isaac and Lauren Tewes as Julie. Guest stars include Georgia Engel as a stowaway, Gary Frank and Melanie Mayron as a pair of tremulous honeymooners, Stella Stevens and Pat Harrington as an eternally bickering married couple, and Audra Lindley and Phil Silvers as, respectively, an outspoken middle-aged lady and a woebegone widower. The New Love Boat was originally telecast May 5, 1977, while the Love Boat series ran from 1977 to 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gavin MacLeod
- 1977
An upcoming Chief's examination has Captain Stanley (Michael Norell) more uptight than usual, due to the "bad blood" between himself and his former commander (William Boyett). Meanwhile, an actor (Leon Ames) who plays a doctor on a popular soap opera checks into Rampart as a patient, driving everyone crazy with his "medical expertise", and bringing along a further burden in the form of his publicity-hungry producer (Tom Williams). Also, a retired doctor (Dabbs Greer) is stuck in an elevator while suffering from an aneurysm. This was the last hour-long Emergency! episode to be filmed, though not the last to be telecast on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Dick Van Patten and Ruth Buzzi guest star as Carter and Amy Merkl, who are extremely grateful after the Squad 51 paramedics save their lives. Before long, however, the Merkls' persistent expressions of gratitude become downright annoying and obnoxious--especially when the couple insists upon hanging around the station house, day and night. Other emergency cases include a CPR attempt gone bad, a child struck in the eye by a BB gun (no, his name isn't Ralphie), a boat fire, and a potentially fatal false alarm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Elaine Heilveil guest stars as Karen Overstreet, a female paramedic trainee with a hostile attitude who feels she must continually prove her worth to her all-male colleagues. On the job, it is Roy (Kevin Tighe) who ends up needing emergency medical attention after trying to save an invalid from a fire. Elsewhere, an attempted suicide changes his mind a shade too late, and the paramedics struggle to revive the victim of a pulmonary embolism, and a freeway construction crew accidentally imperils an elderly couple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Paramedic John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) falls in love with Valerie (Michele Noval) a beautiful hit-and-run victim who is harboring a few secrets. Elsewhere, a belly dancer (Barbara Nichols) consumes one too many diet pills, a cache of improperly stored gasoline causes tragedy, two of the paramedics are trapped on an apartment ledge, and a child bites a dog (which promptly bites back). Look for a pre-CHiPs Erik Estrada in this episode, written by series regular Michael Norell (Captain Stanley). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
