Bill Erwin Movies

Three teenage candy stripers find adventure in love within the walls of the local hospital in this silly exploitation vehicle. Marissa (Maria Rojo) is a hotheaded Mexican girl who has been ordered by the principal of her high school to serve ailing patients in the hopes that she might learn some discipline. Dianne (Robin Mattson) is a modern dance enthusiast who wants to go on to medical school. Sandy (Candice Rialson) has hot pants and can't say no; her head is turned and her blouse removed by doctors, patients, and a rock star who visits the hospital's sexual dysfunction clinic. Along the way the girls find love, save a wrongfully accused man from a robbery rap, and uncover a college basketball drug scandal. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide

John Hughes continues the trend he began with the Home Alone series in Dennis the Menace, the Hughes-scripted film version of Hank Ketcham's long-running comic strip, cartoon show, and television comedy. The film opens as Dennis (Mason Gamble) is seen careening down a sidewalk in a beautiful and idealistic suburban town on his training-wheeled bike -- cans on string clattering behind him, baseball cards flapping in the spokes of the wheel, his red wagon filled to the brim and his dog following him. "Hey! Mister Wilson!" he screams and slams his bike to a halt in front of his much put-upon neighbor, Mr. Wilson (Walter Matthau). Half of the film concerns vignettes of small-town Hank Ketcham life as Dennis' mom Alice (Lea Thompson) starts a new job, Dennis stays over at his friend Margaret's (Amy Sakasitz) house, and Mr. Wilson and his gentle, well-meaning wife, Martha (Joan Plowright), mind Dennis during the night of a big garden party. Through all this, Dennis continually gets into Mr. Wilson's hair. But then the Home Alone plot kicks in -- with an unsubtle dose of O. Henry -- when Switchblade Sam (Christopher Lloyd) makes an appearance. Switchblade Sam is a homeless drifter who combs the neighborhood stealing purses and small home items. But when Switchblade Sam steals Mr. Wilson's collection of gold coins, Dennis comes to the rescue and inflicts Dennis the Menace-type tortures upon the thief in order to reclaim the coins for Mr. Wilson. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Dick Van Dyke is the Drop-Out Father in this lighthearted TV movie. A successful but unsatisfied insurance executive, Van Dyke decides one day to kick over the traces. As his wife (Mariette Hartley) and family listen in fascinated horror, our hero announces his plans to move from the suburbs to a Manhattan loft, there to "find himself." With the exception of his loyal youngest daughter, Van Dyke's family elects to stay put, permitting him to carve out a new life on his own. Peter Matz won an Emmy nomination for his sprightly musical score. Originally telecast September 17, 1982, Drop-Out Father was followed in 1988 by a made-for-TV sequel, innovatively titled Drop-Out Mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While volunteering at nursing home, DJ befriends 75-year-old Eddie Johnson, and invites him to pay a visit at the Tanner home. But there's a couple of minor problems: DJ has no authority to "sign out" Eddie; and the likable senior citizen turns out to be suffering from Alzheimers. Elsewhere, Jesse (John Stamos) dons a cumbersome "sympathy pad" to prove that he understands what his pregnant wife Becky (Lisa Loughlin) is going through; and Steph (Jodie Sweetin) and Michelle (played by theOlsen twins) stage a dog show--doing their best (?) to rig the outcome in favor of their own dog Comet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Maggie (Joanna Kerns) is pressed into service as a deejay for the school dance which she and Jason (Alan Thicke) have agreed to chaperone. Out on the dance floor, a disillusioned Mike discovers that his "dream girl" Lydia (Cathy Podwell) has a voice that would shatter glass, while Carol (Tracey Gold) suffers repercussions after tripping the light fantastic with Mike's pal Boner (Josh Andrew Koenig). And elsewhere, Ben (Jeremy Miller) and Stinky (Jamie Abbott) end up in a seedy diner during their quest for a legendary pinball machine known as The Flipper. With this episode, Growing Pains moved from Tuesday to Wednesday evening, where the series would remain for the rest of its third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this wild spoof of The Twilight Zone in general and that series' 1960 episode "A World of Difference" in particular, Ben (Jeremy Miller) expresses the wish that Real Life were more like TV. In true "be careful what you wish for" fashion, Ben dreams that he and his family are actually characters in a TV sitcom called "Meet the Seavers"--and that he is really an actor named Jeremy Miller! The concept is played for all it is worth, with the rest of the Growing Pains cast members identified by their real names, not to mention cameo appearances by the series' production staff and by Joanna Kerns' daughter Ashley Kerns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jason (Alan Thicke) has made elaborate plans for his 17th wedding anniversary, including an entire day without the kids! Unfortunately, Maggie (Joanna Kerns) is called away on an assignment to Washington DC, and it looks like she won't be back in time for the celebration. And as if that wasn't irritating enough, Jason also has problems with the household plumbing. This episode was originally slated to air on February 11, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While their termite-infested house is being fumigated, the Seavers seek out another place to spend the weekend. Unfortunately, Jason (Alan Thicke) misplaces his wallet and is unable to rent a motel room--and even more unfortunately, his mom Irma (Jane Powell) is unable to put the family up due to a meeting of the Jerry Vale Fan Club (guess who shows up as "himself"). Ultimately, the family takes up temporary residence in the tiny apartment of their son Mike (Kirk Cameron)...an experience that will remain etched in their psyches for all time! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Home Alone is the highly successful and beloved family comedy about a young boy named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidentally left behind when his family takes off for a vacation in France over the holiday season. Once he realizes they've left him "home alone," he learns to fend for himself and, eventually has to protect his house against two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) who are planning to rob every house in Kevin's suburban Chicago neighborhood. Though the film's slapstick ending may be somewhat violent, Culkin's charming presence helped the film become one of the most successful ever at the time of its release. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

If Jet Pilot seems hopelessly out of date today, imagine how filmgoers in 1957 reacted when this relic from 1949 was taken off the shelf. Many, many years in the making due to the maniacal tinkering by producer Howard Hughes (who reportedly lost $4 million on it - a massive sum back then), the film was deemed unreleasable upon completion; only when Universal-International took over distribution of a handful of RKO Radio productions did it finally see the light of day. John Wayne stars as an air force colonel stationed in an Alaskan outpost only 40 miles or so from the Soviet Union. Wayne is put in charge of Russian jet pilot Janet Leigh, who claims that she wants to defect. Actually, Leigh is a Communist spy, but thanks to Wayne's affectionate attentions she is won over to the side of Democracy. Thus it is that Leigh rescues the Duke when he is kidnapped and nearly brainwashed by her Commie comrades. Jet Pilot was eventually bought back from U-I by Hughes for his personal collection; not only did he buy into the propagandistic plotline, but he was also enthralled by the aerial scenes, some of which were staged by legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager. The 1949 production date for a number of sequences explains not only why so many of the actors look young for 1957, but the existence of several supporting cast members who had died in the interim (such as Jack Overman and Richard Rober). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A computer glitch results in a pre-approved credit card for Buck, the Bundy family's dog. Reasoning that they aren't really purchasing anything if they aren't using their real names, the Bundys go on an insane shopping spree with the errant card, purchasing everything from foot-long cigars to hot tubs. Christina Applegate (Kelly Bundy) does not appear in this episode, leaving plenty of space for Bud Bundy (David Faustino) to accumulate an unprecedented two girlfriends at the same time! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Glenne Headly makes her first appearance as Karen Stottlemeyer, the woman whom Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) disdainfully dismisses as "my hippie wife." While filming a documentary about Miles Holling (Patrick Cranshaw), the world's oldest man, Karen is thrown for a loss when Holling dies in bed. Though her husband is certain that Holling succumbed to natural causes (he was, after all, just one day shy of his 115th birthday!), Karen is convinced that the man was murdered--and she wants Monk (Tony Shalhoub) to prove it. In the course of his investigation, Monk uncovers a surprising link between Holling's death and a hit-and-run fatality that occurred five years earlier--the only unsolved case in Captain Stottlemeyer's career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide