Hector Elias Movies

In this bizarre drama that would seem to have "cult item" written all over it, Francis (Aidan Gillen) is a severely introverted young man with a speech impediment who shares a shabby apartment with his bedridden mother, Sal (Susan Tyrrell). Francis has developed certain voyeuristic tendencies which are satisfied through his job in a photo lab, where he helps process other people's snapshots all day. Soon Sal has a new boarder, a massive plumber named Vic (Mark Boone Junior), and Francis notices that a beautiful woman has moved in across the street -- who, to his delight, never draws her curtains. One day, while walking home, Francis sees the woman being attacked by a mugger, and he's able to rescue her. The grateful woman introduces herself as Gloria (Emmanuelle Seigner) and begins flirting with Francis; the evening ends with Francis in Gloria's bed, hardly able to believe his good fortune. However, he can't help watching her from across the street, and when the staunchly vegetarian Gloria is gobbling down some meat, he begins to suspect that not everything is what it seems to be, leading him into a labyrinth of violence and murder. The score was composed by Michael Brook, with contributions from Brian Eno. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Popular comic and television personality Ellen DeGeneres had her first starring role in a feature film in this black comedy. Martha Alston (DeGeneres) is a thirtysomething single working as a producer for a talk show. Ever since Martha's younger sister got married, her parents have been after her to settle down, but Martha has had little luck finding the right guy. On Valentine's Day, Martha is depressed and drinking at a bar when she meets Whitman Crawford (Bill Pullman), who seems like the perfect man -- he's good looking, sensitive, intelligent, and affectionate. However, when she makes the mistake of telling her new beau that he can be himself around her, she discovers the real Whitman -- he's a horrible poet, he likes awful music, he enjoys shoplifting ("Stolen beer just tastes better!"), and he's a borderline psychotic who doses her with LSD for fun. What's more, his mother (Joan Plowright) and ex-girlfriend (Joan Cusack) hate Martha's guts and don't mind telling her so. So how can Martha convince her friends and family that she wants nothing to do with the man of her dreams? More importantly, how does she convince Whitman? ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This slapstick farce features Dusty Bottoms (Chevy Chase), Lucky Day (Steve Martin), and Ned Nederlander (Martin Short), as three silent movie cowboy stars who get the axe from their Hollywood studio. Just at that opportune moment, a woman named Carmen (Patrice Martinez) asks them to come to her forgotten little town south of the border and do some work for her, for a tidy sum. The three "stooges" agree, thinking they are going to perform their singing cowboy routine, but instead Carmen wants them to get rid of the nasty El Guapo (Alfonso Arau) who is running roughshod over the good citizens of the town. Not the kind of heroes they appear to be in the movies, they have a difficult time helping out the distressed townsfolk. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

There is hardly any variation on the stereotyped teens-and-sex movie in this story about four high school seniors who travel to Mexico to find a brothel and have something to brag about when they get back home. Among the four is the sensitive Woody (Tom Cruise) who is not sure he wants this trip, the nerd Wendell (John P. Navin, Jr.), the jock Spider (John Stockwell), and the big-talker Dave (Jackie Earle Haley). As the four set off on their adventure, they give a ride to Kathy (Shelley Long), a woman who is a bit ditsy, but decent, going to Mexico to get a divorce from her husband. Once south of the border the quintet meet up with a wide range of clichéd Mexican types and work out their individual experiences in the manner to which teen movies are accustomed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In a semi-remake of the third-season episode "Take Him, He's Yours"--which, appropriately, is referenced in this episode!--Tommy (Philip McKeon) again spends a few days in the home of Mel (Vic Tayback). Knowing her boss' low patience threshold, Tommy's mom Alice (Linda Lavin) places a bet that Mel will ultimately kick the boy out. In turn, Mel bets Alice that she won't be able to resist spying on her son--which she does, dressed in a rabbit costume!. This is the final episode of Alice's fourth season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

As made obvious by its title, this TV movie was an attempt to revive the once-popular private eye series Cannon, which ran from 1971 to 1976. Emerging from self-imposed retirement, corpulent gumshoe Frank Cannon (William Conrad) investigates the death of an old friend who formely worked for the CIA. Officially, the death has been ruled a suicide, but Cannon, as usual, has his doubts. Also mixed up in the intrigue is Cannon's former sweetheart and a Hughes-like millionaire. First telecast November 1, 1980 on CBS, The Return of Frank Cannon did not result in a weekly series, but William Conrad was able to find solace in his starring role on the subsequent weekly Nero Wolfe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

San Francisco's Delancey Street is the locale of a halfway house for ex-convicts, former drug users, and other society castaways. The founder of this operation is himself a paroled convict (Walter McGinn), who hopes to help others get back on their feet as he has. His touchiest assignment is the regeneration of a 56-year-old man who has just spent 36 years in the slammer for murder. This TV movie was the pilot for an unsold series based on the real-life activities of ex-con Joseph Maher, who in his heyday was a favorite subject of several TV newsmagazines. Sadly, the semi-happy ending of Delancey Street was not borne out in real life: Joseph Maher lapsed into alcoholism in the early 1980s, was forced out of his own rehab program, and died in poverty in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After the success of his three Billy Jack films, actor, director, and screenwriter Tom Laughlin decided to expand his range a bit with this Western, which was adapted from Goyokin, a popular Japanese samurai film. However, since Finley (Laughlin's character here) is trained in martial arts and often defends himself (and others) by violence, while frequently espousing a nonviolent philosophy, it could be said that this wasn't much of a stretch for the once and future Billy Jack. Don Santiago (Richard Angarola) is a vicious man who helps provoke an Indian massacre that will allow him to steal the Indians' land and claim it as his own. However, his son-in-law, Finley (Tom Laughlin), is an expert hand with both guns and swords and will not allow him to push around the peace-loving Indians or fellow settlers of the West. The supporting cast features Ron O'Neal and Barbara Carrera, who received a Golden Globe nomination for her work in this film. As with his first two films, Tom Laughlin directed The Master Gunfighter but didn't take screen credit, in this case listing the director as Frank Laughlin, who happened to be Tom's son. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This first episode of a three-part story arc finds Edith preparing for a Tupperware party while Archie is away attending a lodge convention in Buffalo. The tranquil mood in the Bunker household is shattered when Archie fails to call Edith as he promised, leading Edith, Mike, and Gloria to worry that Archie has met with an accident. Written by Barry Harman and Harve Brosten and originally broadcast on November 2, 1974, "Where's Archie?" was taped at the beginning of All in the Family's fourth season to compensate for Carroll O'Connor's walkout due to a salary dispute. Reportedly, producer Norman Lear intended to kill off Archie if negotiations with O'Connor fell through. As it turned out, the "death of Archie" episode was rewritten as an installment of the Lear-produced Good Times when star John Amos left that series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi