Roger Etienne Movies

Forest Whitaker stars as the brilliant jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in this elegiac biopic. Director Clint Eastwood pays full homage to Parker's musical genius, but also devotes ample time to the musician's twin demons--drugs and alcohol-which accelerated his death at the age of 34. In his struggles to gain widespread acceptance for his music, "Bird" is forever stymied by his own self-destructiveness, and forever bailed out by the love of his life, Chan Richardson Parker (Diane Venora). The film bemoans the decline of the brand of jazz fathered by Parker, which came to be replaced by more conventional material -- as illustrated by the "descent" into the mainstream of Parker's mentor Buster Franklin. Also starring in Bird is Samuel E. Wright as Dizzy Gillespie. That's the real Charlie "Bird" Parker on the film's soundtrack, though most of the background music has been re-orchestrated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The directorial debut of actor and stand-up comedian David Steinberg concerns a single man who decides that he wants to be a dad -- without the complication of a wife. Burt Reynolds stars as Buddy Evans, the manager of Madison Square Garden. A longtime lothario, Buddy has always been very content as a bachelor, but he has begun to feel lately that he'd like to experience fatherhood. His yearnings receive plenty of fuel from his best friends Larry (Norman Fell) and Kurt (Paul Dooley), and from his parental-mentor relationship with a young boy, Tad (Peter Billingsley). So Buddy decides to seek out a woman who will bear his baby for a price, with no strings attached. He finds Maggie Harden (Beverly D'Angelo), a beautiful young music student working as a waitress and yearning for the financial resources to study in Paris. She agrees to serve as Buddy's temporary companion, but as the months pass and her pregnancy progresses, Maggie begins to fall in love with Buddy, who doesn't return her affections -- at first. Steinberg would go on to have greater success as a television sitcom director, calling the shots for several episodes of hit series in the '80s amd '90s. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

One woman's life of love and larceny is recounted in this soapy drama based on the best-selling novel by Sidney Sheldon. In the midst of WWII, innocent French girl Noelle Page (Marie-France Pisier) falls in love with dashing American pilot Larry Douglas (John Beck). When Larry is given new orders taking him back to America, he tells Noelle that he'll come back for her -- when he doesn't, she becomes bitter and pledges to use men for their money and power, not for love. Noelle goes on to become a famous actress and weds Constantin Demeris (Raf Vallone), a Greek multi-millionaire. But she can't shake her passion for Larry, and eventually she hires him to work as her personal pilot. While at first he does not recognize her, soon Larry and Noelle are once again involved in a torrid affair, and when Larry's wife Catherine (Susan Sarandon) refuses to give him a divorce, he and Noelle begin planning a scheme to arrange an "accidental" death for Catherine. The Other Side of Midnight marked the American debut of actress Marie-France Pisier, following her role in the international success Cousin, Cousine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In Part Two of "Ride the Wind", Curtis Wade (Rod Cameron takes over from the late Charles Ludlow as head of the new Pony Express service. Determined to keep the service running and to finish the route despite attacks by the Paiutes, Wade is driven not so much by duty as by his ego, which has been fuelded by exploitive Eastern journalist Tully (DeForrest Kelley. Wade's delusions of grandeur may prove fatal for Joe Cartwright, who has signed on as a Pony Express rider despite the protests of his father Ben. Tom Lowell appears as Charles Ludlow's son Jabez, who ends up as the story's eleventh-hour problem solver. Written by Paul Schneider, the second half of the two-part "Ride the Wind" was originally broadcast on January 23, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This melodrama tells the tale of a great battle between the French Foreign Legion and the rebellious Arab tribe, the Tuaregs, who fight it out upon the blistering Sahara sands. Just before the Legionnaires embark upon their dangerous mission, the commander discovers that he is being cuckolded by his lieutenant. Because the mission is urgent, there is no time to fight over the commander's wife. Unfortunately, as they travel, the tension between the two mounts and they begin squabbling over how to plan the attack. Their inability to work together results in tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this lively musical a chorine hooks a successful businessman and becomes the snob she thinks he expects her to be. This is a problem, because he fell in love with her because she was so earthy and fun. Now that she has become refined and aloof, he is bored. Fortunately, just as he is leaving, the plucky girl sees the error of her ways and marital bliss ensues. Songs include: "Ain't Misbehavin'", "The Dixie Mambo", "I Love That Rickey, Tickey, Tickey", and "A Little Love Can Go a Long Way". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide