Barbara Eda-Young Movies
- 1996
A "deadbeat dad" is found murdered in a hotel room. The suspects include the victim's embittered father-in-law Max Schaffer (Val Avery) and two women in the dead man's life. Ultimately the prosecution of the case boils down to jury sympathy for a long-suffering and arguably justified perpetrator -- not to mention a terminal leukemia patient. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
The D.A.'s office charges teenager Chris Pollit (Wil Horneff) as an adult in a murder case. The teen's lawyer, Helen Brolin (Maria Tucci), aims for a not-guilty plea by claiming that her client is "violently predisposed." Her argument: The killer was born with an extra Y chromosome, and thus is inherently unable to discern right from wrong. Broadway musical comedy favorite Helen Gallagher plays it straight as the killer's anguished foster mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
The romantic rivalry between twin psychologists in love with the same beautiful model takes a deadly turn in this dark made-for-cable-TV thriller. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabella Rossellini, Aidan Quinn, (more)
- 1987
The made-for-TV The Murder of Mary Phagan is an account of the real-life events fictionalized in the 1937 theatrical feature They Won't Forget. In 1913, Atlanta-area teenager Mary Phagan (Wendy J. Cooke) is found murdered. Although the evidence points to another suspect (who years later confessed to the crime), the authorities choose to bring charges against Leo Frank (Peter Gallagher), a Jewish "outsider" who owns the pencil factory where Mary worked. Prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (Richard Jordan) capitalizes on the anti-Semitism rampant in the South, hoping to ride the Frank case into a higher political office. He is aided in his scheme by equally unprincipled journalist Wes Brent (Kevin Spacey). Only Georgia-governor John Slaton (Jack Lemmon) perceives the bigotry and opportunism at the base of Dorsey's case. Within the limits of his power, and at the risk of destroying his own political career, Slaton tries to see that justice is served. Alas, the decision has already been made to railroad Leo Frank to the electric chair -- or into the hands of a lynch mob. Originally presented in two parts, The Murder of Mary Phagan was first broadcast January 24 and 26, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
While staying at the Hollins Communication Institute, a stuttering accountant fittingly falls for a squirrel huntress who has a similar speech impediment. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Austin Pendleton, Michael Murphy, (more)
- 1975
Although the family is convinced that Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) is a shoe-in at the University of Virginia Nursing School, she may not be able to qualify because she has never taken algebra or chemistry. Normally, Mary Ellen would turn to brother John-Boy (Richard Thomas) to help her pass the entrance exams, but it turns out that algebra and chemistry were his two worst subjects in school. Thus, Mary Ellen solicits the aid of local Public Health nurse Nora Taylor (Barbara Eda-Young)--who happens to have a few problems of her own at the moment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from Peter Maas's book, Sidney Lumet's drama portrays the real-life struggle of an honest New York City cop against a corrupt system. Neophyte officer Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) is determined not to let his job get in the way of his individuality. Despite his colleagues' leery reactions, he keeps one foot firmly planted in the counterculture, sporting a beard and love beads and living in bohemian Greenwich Village, while he performs his police duties with dispatch. Serpico's peers genuinely ostracize him, however, when he refuses to take bribes like everybody else. Appalled by the extent of police corruption, Serpico goes to his superiors, but when he discovers that they have ignored his charges, he takes the potentially fatal step of breaking the blue wall of silence and going public with his exposé. Serpico's revelations trigger an independent investigation by the Knapp Commission, but they also make him a marked man, permanently changing his life. Shot on location with a gritty emphasis on documentary-style realism, Serpico presents a city in decay both literally and morally, as everybody is in on the take, and the cops and criminals are almost interchangeable. Released in late 1973, after months of revelations of Presidential malfeasance in the breaking Watergate scandal, Serpico's true story of bureaucratic depravity touched a cultural nerve, and the film became a hit with both critics and audiences, particularly for Pacino's complex performance as the honest, long-haired whistleblower. One year after his star-making triumph in The Godfather, Pacino was nominated for an Oscar again, and lost again; Lumet and Pacino would reunite two years later for another true New York story, Dog Day Afternoon. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Tony Roberts, (more)
