Henry Slesar Movies

Neely (Chelsea Altman) is a struggling actress living in New York. Her Mexican boyfriend, Tonio (Demian Bechir), is a cook who's trying to sell his own line of pasta sauces. Lottie (Patricia Clarkson), her eccentric neighbor, is obsessed with a soap opera, "Heartbreak Hospital." Frustrated with her inability to get work, Neely accepts Tonio's proposal of marriage, and plans to honeymoon with him in Mexico. On their way to the airport, she stops to say goodbye to her acting teacher, who tells her about an audition for the soap. To Tonio's chagrin, she gives it a shot. She's totally unprepared, and the other actresses at the audition have their game faces on. But Sunday (Diane Venora), the prima donna lead actress on the show, takes one look at Neely's glasses and her shock of purple hair and, vigilantly protective of her own place as the prettiest actress on the show, insists that Neely be hired. Neely gets the job, and soon finds herself caught up in more intrigue than she bargained for. She quickly finds out that the actresses who steal the spotlight from Sunday tend to get written out of the show quickly. Both Neely's jealous boyfriend and Milo (John Shea), the desperate actor who plays her love interest on the soap, Dr. Jonathan, seem to have trouble telling television from reality, and Lottie goes completely over the edge with her passion for the fictional doctor Milo portrays. Things get completely out of hand when one of the cast members turns up dead. Co-writer Henry Slesar did time writing for the daytime dramas One Life to Live and Edge of Night. Heartbreak Hospital is the feature debut of director Rudolph Gerber. It's based of the novel Murder at Heartbreak Hospital by Lottie Ohrwasher. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The fourth film to explore Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale, this clever adaptation takes some rather broad liberties with the source material. A flamboyant Jason Robards plays Cesar Charron, owner of a Grand Guignol theatre in 19th-century Paris, who is launching a stage adaptation of "Murders in the Rue Morgue" -- much to the dismay of his young daughter Madeleine (Christine Kaufmann), who is tormented by nightmares filled with images from the play. A spate of gruesome murders among the theatre's regular stable of actors leads Charron to suspect the return of his deranged, disfigured former partner René Marot (Herbert Lom), who had been presumed dead after the murder of Charron's wife. Madeleine's nightmares eventually come true when Marot makes his presence known and reveals his intentions to her on the eve of the production's opening night. Director Gordon Hessler's creative handling of the dreams-vs.reality premise is rendered a bit confusing thanks to AIP's sloppy re-editing, but the overall production is still effectively chilling. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

One of Our Spies is Missing was cobbled together from a two-part episode of the American TV series Man From UNCLE, then shipped overseas as a feature film. Robert Vaughn and David McCallum head the cast as Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin, U.N.C.L.E's top agents. The original two-parter, "The Bridge of Lions Affair" (telecast February 4 and 11, 1966), concerns a biochemist who develops a rejuvenation process. The chemist disappears, so it's up to Solo and Kuryakin to recover or destroy the process before it falls into the hands of the enemy spy organization THRUSH. Padding out the proceedings in One of Our Spies is Missing is a newly-filmed subplot concerning the niece (Yvonne Craig) of U.N.C.L.E. head honcho Alexander Waverly (Leo G. Carroll). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, both UNCLE and THRUSH continue their search for the inventor of a rejuvenation process. Figuring mightily in the proceedings is British politician-turned-merchant Sir Norman Swickert (Maurice Evans), who covets a return to youth and power; Madame DeSala (Vera Miles), whose apparent affection for Sir Norman may mask a sinister ulterior motive; wide-eyed nurse Joanna Sweet (Ann Elder), the inevitable innocent-in-the-middle; and THRUSH agent Jordin (Bernard J. Fox. And what's up with those disappearing cats? First telecast on February 11, 1966, "The Bridge of Lions Affair, Part Two" was scripted by Howard Rodman from a story by Henry Slesar. In 1967, parts one and two were combined into a single theatrical feature, One of Our Spies Is Missing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Roland Long is cast as Jacques Robespierre, a fanatical descendant of his 18th century revolutionary namesake. Hoping to restore virtue to the world, Robespierre intends to destroy the vineyards of France. As Solo, scientist Raoul Dubois (Marcel Hillaire), and Dubois' daughter Albert (Mala Powers) try to stop Robespierre, Illya falls into the clutches of THRUSH agent Carl Voegler (Frank Marth), who is evidently a devotee of the old Richard Connell short story The Most Dangerous Game. Written by Henry Slesar, "The Virtue Affair" first aired on December 3, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sentenced to 15 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Howard Clements (Bradford Dillman) is released after serving only two years. Shortly afterward, he pays a visit to Isabel Smith (Barbara Baxley), the woman whose testimony put him behind bars. Though Isabel is worried that he seeks revenge, Howard explains that he is now running a successful business, and is willing to let bygones be bygones. Ultimately, Howard and Isabel are married...but if you've guessed that this is not the end of the story, your guess is right on the money. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wealthy Mrs. Daniels (Gloria Swanson) is convinced that Dave Snowden (James MacArthur), the current boyfriend of her daughter, Bonnie (Lynn Loring), is just another fortune hunter, even though Dave insists upon marrying Bonnie after Mrs. Daniels disinherits her. But when Dave runs out of money, he cooks up a scheme to persuade Mrs. Daniels to loosen the purse strings -- a scheme that involves Bonnie faking suicide. Alas, tragedy ensues, but this is only a prologue to the episode's macabre climax, in which the inquisitive Mr. Snowden finally learns what is "behind the locked door" in the deserted mansion on the Daniels' estate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Professional hitman Jim Derry (Richard Kiley) is contracted to bump off a bookie named Eddie Breech (Richard Long). But when Jim meets Breech's wheelchair-bound wife, Connie (Anne Francis), he takes pity on the woman and changes his mind. Generously, Jim offers to fake Breech's death so that Eddie and Connie can escape to Mexico and start life anew. Our hero's next step is to find a "replacement" corpse so it will appear that he has fulfilled his contract...only to find out that his grand gesture has been wasted on a master con artist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, an orphan with ESP is engaged to help solve the abduction of a wealthy Englishwoman by her aunt. The rich woman's brother and the local cabbie believe in the girl's mysterious talent. They are terrified that she will lead the authorities to the woman's corpse. The brother stops the girl, then pays off the cabbie for the murder. Unfortunately, the police witness the pay-off. A high-speed chase ensues and the avaricious brother crashes his car. He then confesses. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Celebrated actor Miles Crawford (Richard Basehart) has retired from show business to become a lawyer. As luck would have it, his first case is to defend his own son Tod (Teno Pollick), who has been accused of murder. Arranging for another lawyer to prepare the case, Crawford stages the performance of a lifetime in court, convinced that his emotional histrionics will completely sway the jury -- and he might have done just that...if his final summation had not had a curiously familiar ring to it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carol Lynley stars as Sister Pamela, a young novitiate who is robbed of a priceless statue of St. Francis entrusted to her care. Suffering a crisis of faith, Sister Pamela leaves the order, intending to track down the thief and recover the statue. The events that follow involve a young outlaw named Jimmy Bresson (Clu Gulager), a duplicitious pawnbroker named Wormer (Don Hanmer), and an ostensibly reformed gangster named Downey (Robert Armstrong). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Saddled with paying huge alimony checks to his high-maintenance former wife, Edward Gibson (Robert Webber) seeks a legal method to rid himself of this burden. Enter Edward's pal Carl Seabrook (Jeremy Slate), who magnanimously offers to marry the ex-Mrs. Gibson himself -- for a 5,000-dollar fee. Little does Edward realize that he has been a "free man" for several hours...but, of course, Carl has known all along. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once voted "most likely to succeed" by his alma mater, Dave Sumner (Howard Morris) is little better than a derelict when he is reunited with his old college chum Stanley Towers (Jack Carter). Now a prosperous -- if somewhat disreputable -- businessman, Stanley takes pity on down-and-out Dave and gives him a job. Little does Stanley suspect that good old Dave is harboring a secret. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide