Twyla Littleton Movies

The last film to be co-directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, Ruthless People stars Bette Midler (capitalizing on her comeback performance in Down and Out in Beverly Hills) as Barbara, a spoiled rich woman who is kidnapped by the kindly Ken and Sandy Kessler (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater). Barbara's forceful husband Sam (Danny DeVito) has ripped off the Kesslers and they decide to hold Barbara for ransom. Sam, who hates his wife, refuses to pay. Eventually Barbara befriends the Kesslers and together they figure out how to exact revenge upon the obnoxious Sam. Bill Pullman makes his film debut here as a very dim, would-be criminal. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

This uneven attempt at horror parody, direced by Norman Thaddeus Vane, gets off to a fairly promising start with a fun performance from Ferdinand Mayne (the imposing lead vampire in Roman Polanski's Fearless Vampire Killers) as the impossibly flamboyant horror superstar Conrad Radzoff -- whose idea of a memorable promotional stunt for his latest film involves the murder of its director. Though this proves a hard act to follow, Radzoff manages to do so by kicking the bucket himself. Then enter the annoying young members of a horror-film society who decide to steal Radzoff's corpse to use as a macabre centerpiece at their next hootenanny. Big mistake. Mrs. Radzoff is none too pleased and consults a spirit medium to reanimate her husband's body and avenge the desecration of his crypt. Sadly, what began as a clever comic nod to horror films of yore (and their die-hard fans in particular) collapses completely into routine slasher formula as Radzoff floats his coffin around the house in pursuit of his enemies, dispatching them in outrageously gory ways. Distributors released a title on video, shortly after the run of this film, entitled 'Frightmare II.' It was in fact a 1974 Pete Walker film all but unrelated to this one and erroneously advertised as the sequel to Vane's film. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Joan Collins tops the cast of the made-for-TV The Making of a Male Model. No, silly: Joan doesn't play the title role. Rather, she is cast as the barracudalike owner of a top modelling agency, while Jon-Erik Hexum (at the time, a real-life male model) costars as a Nevada rancher whom Joan selects for stardom-or, if you prefer, hunkdom. Watch for Rosemary Stack, the wife of actor Robert Stack, in a juicy cameo as Collins' chief rival. Making of a Male Model was originally telecast October 9, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story is a surfacy TV-movie rehash of the same real-life events which inspired the 1980 theatrical feature Star 80. Jamie Lee Curtis stars as Dorothy Stratten, here depicted as an ingenuous, highly vulnerable Canadian girl who aspires to show business stardom. Decked out with a generous toupee, Bruce Weitz co-stars as Paul Snyder, the "fringie" who married Dorothy and managed her career. The girl is discovered by Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner, who features Dorothy in a nude foldout spread. As Dorothy's fame grows, Snyder becomes more obsessive and difficult to control. Dorothy tries to make a clean break from Snyder, which culminates in tragedy. Death of a Centerfold initially aired on November 1, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi