Dana Elcar Movies

A career woman is so desperate to conceive a child that when her boyfriend the sportswriter comes up short, she goes looking for a fertile stranger in this made-for-TV comic outing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

As if in some way Billy Wilder sensed that Buddy Buddy would ultimately turn out to be his final feature film, Wilder lets loose scatter-shot stingers at a wide range of pop-culture targets -- from sex clinics, to 60 Minutes, to movie references, to disco, to Betamax video recorders. Based on Francis Veber and Edouard Molinaro's L'emmerdeur (known in the United States as A Pain in the A. . .), Buddy Buddy concerns the unlikely pairing of a gruff hitman and a suicidal klutz. Walter Matthau plays a professional killer going by the name of Trabucco, who is on his way to rub out gangster Rudy "Disco" Gambola (Fil Formicola), set to testify against the mob. As Trabucco heads off to a hotel across the street from the courthouse where he plans to set his hit, he runs into the depressed Victor Clooney (Jack Lemmon), who laments the fact that his wife has left him for the head of a weird Californian sex clinic. Trabucco keeps walking and sets up his rifle in a hotel room. He is disturbed by Victor trying to hang himself in the adjoining hotel room and tries to prevent him from killing himself by restraining him, but Victor breaks loose and climbs onto the ledge of the hotel window. To get Victor to come back in, he agrees to drive him to the clinic to see his wife. The two go to the clinic where Victor's wife Celia (Paula Prentiss) informs Victor that she is in love in the head of the clinic, quack Dr. Zuckerbrot (Klaus Kinski). When Victor finds out that Celia is filing for divorce, he heads back to the hotel to kill himself, with Celia and Dr. Zuckerbrot in pursuit. Arriving at the hotel, they plan to inject Victor with a sedative but stick Trabucco with the needle instead. Trabucco reveals to Victor his assignment to kill Rudy, and Victor tries to help him with the killing. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Colleen Dewhurst stars as psychologist Elaine Lipton in the made-for-TV Death Penalty. A strong opponent of the eponymous punishment, Dr. Lipton struggles valiantly to rehabilitate street gang member Carlos Rivera (David Labiosa). Convicted of murdering two rival gang members, Carlos faces the gas chamber unless Lipton can prove that he's cleaned up his act. This fictional drama would make an interesting double feature with the fact-based Dead Man Walking (1996). Death Penalty originally aired January 22, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Hal W. Painter's autobiography, Mark, I Love You stars Kevin Dobson as Painter. Recently and suddenly widowed, Painter is so emotionally distraught that he permits his in-laws (James Whitmore and Peggy McCay) to gain custody of his son Mark (Justin Dana). Now that he has recovered, found a good job, and entered into a serious relationship with a young woman (Cassie Yates), Painter wants his son back. But his in-laws refuse, and the whole unfortunate affair ends up with an emotional court battle. While it could have been dismissed as yet another TV-movie variation of Kramer vs. Kramer, Mark, I Love You stands up admirably on its own merits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Billy (Jon Voight) is on the road with his son T.J. (Ricky Schroder), fighting low-end boxing matches for drinking money before moving on to the next town for another match. When his ex-wife (and T.J.'s mother) Annie (Faye Dunaway) shows up, it's to tell him that she wants custody of the boy. She has remarried and has risen to social prominence in her community. She wants the same for T.J. Determined to keep his son with him, Billy decides to train properly in order to be a success instead of just a washed-up punching bag. This gorgeously photographed drama is a remake of the 1931 film, which won its star Wallace Beery an Oscar. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Crisis in Mid-Air is essentially a "problem drama" concentrating on a single individual. George Peppard plays a veteran air traffic controller who holds himself responsible for a mid-air collision. With an FAA investigator breathing down his neck, Peppard gets a chance to prove his value when another flight, with 235 passengers on board, puts in a "Mayday" call. The TV Guide ads for this television movie were a little misleading, suggesting that Peppard was in the cockpit rather than the control tower. Crisis in Mid-Air debuted February 13, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.) decides to open up a roadside restaurant with a chance acquaintance named Vinnie Whithead (Ken Lynch). From the outset of this enterprise, Rocky can't help but notice that an elderly man is watching every move he and Vinnie make. . .and no sooner has the restaurant opened than someone breaks into the joint. Investigating, Jim (James Garner) discovers that Vinnie is a retired mob boss, and that his trail has been dogged for the last 50 years by retired federal officer Eddie LaSalle (Victor Jory). Somehow, all this is tied in with a lawsuit brought about by Bruce Woodstock (Jess Nadelman), a total stranger who has managed to fall off the roof of Jim's trailer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

W.C. Fields and Me is the film version of the Fields biography written by the comedian's former mistress Carlotta Monti. W. C. Fields was a great comedian in vaudeville and early talking films, who was noted for his ability to say the most hilariously cutting and mean things in a cheery, bright tone of voice. He had amazing skills in the manipulation of objects, from pieces of paper to crooked cue sticks. Rod Steiger plays Fields, while Valerie Perrine portrays Ms. Monti. Jack Cassidy is also on hand as Fields' close friend and drinking crony John Barrymore. The film is not above sacrificing facts for a good story, notably in its recreation of Fields' celebrated "dentist" routine which. W. C. Fields and Me depicts the great juggler/comedian as a straightforwardly mean-spirited man, whereas he is generally believed to have been more complex than that. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Martin Smith and Don Johnson highlight the cast of this TV movie about a prostitute-stalking serial killer plaguing the Old West. Johnson and Smith play tough lawmen who set out to capture the murderer. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

This film relates the efforts of World War II flying ace "Pappy" Boyington to control his highly decorated and unmanageable Pacific theater squadron. The film also acted as the pilot for the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep. ~ All Movie Guide

Future Rocky supporting player Burt Young guest stars as Willy, the mentally challenged friend of undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake). Though he'd like to spend more time with Willy, Baretta must first solve a series of bizarre burglaries. As the evidence mounts up, Baretta comes to the uncomfortable conclusion that Willy himself may be involved in the crimes. The title of this episode refers to the song heard during the credits of Baretta, sung by Sammy Davis Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) may be at home on the Mean Streets, but he is totally out of his element amongst the rich and privileged. Nonetheless, Baretta is forced to "invade" an upscale village community, in search of a missing heiress. One thing is certain to the hero: Bad guys are bad guys, no matter how much they have in their bank accounts. With this episode, Season One of Baretta came to an end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) investigates when the wife of a high-profile attorney is found murdered. It turns out that the dead woman was once a "lady of the evening" -- and that she made several enemies amongst the Syndicate while plying her trade. Hoping to trap the killers, Baretta enlists the aid of his elderly landlord, ex-cop Billy Truman (Tom Ewell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide