Fabian Movies

Judd Nelson stars as Alan Freed, the controversial Cleveland DJ who helped make rock 'n' roll music a crucial component of American culture by tapping into the hearts and wallets of the youth market. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A story about a career television journalist who eclipses her mentor, this drama's plot resembles that of A Star Is Born, and it shares the same screenwriters as those who penned the 1976 version of that film, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. It's based loosely on the real-life story of newscaster Jessica Savitch. Sally Atwater (Michelle Pfieffer) gets a job at a Miami TV station based on a demo tape from her hometown of Reno, Nevada. The station's news director is Warren Justice (Robert Redford), a former high-profile Washington newsman whose career has suffered from his insistence on integrity. He makes Sally his gofer and criticizes her clothes and appearance while she begs him for a chance to go on-air. She becomes the station's weathercaster and Warren gives her the stage name of Tally. With Warren's constant advice, she breaks into news reporting and her star rises quickly as the two become romantically involved. She takes a better job in Philadelphia, with Warren's blessing, and there she soon eclipses the anchorwoman Marcia McGrath (Stockard Channing). From there, Tally's career continues to flourish, while her relationship with Warren takes some strange twists and turns. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

A police chief becomes tangled in a web of corruption which also ensnares his family. ~ All Movie Guide

Two unusual children have a unique solution to the problem of living without a father in this offbeat horror vehicle. Tom Blanchard (Fabian Forte) is the new deputy in a small town along the California coast, and during his first day on duty he gets to know Nora Dennis (Marilyn Burns), who works with the local board of education. Among Nora's chores is looking in on Professor Nicholas (Bill Randa, aka Will Rand), an eccentric widower who home schools his two children, Beth (Nell Regan) and Michael (Patrick Regan III), but when Nora is unable to get in touch with Nicholas, she wonders if something is afoot. Nora's suspicions are well founded -- a handful of renegade bikers invaded the Professor's property, and one killed him during an argument. However, we soon discover why Nicholas was raising his children on his own -- Beth and Michael possess telekinetic abilities, and are able to use their powers along with spells from their late dad's books on the occult to re-animate father's corpse and make him do their bidding. Director Patrick Regan cast his children Nell and Patrick III as the telekinetic youngsters in what proved to be their only screen roles. Kiss Daddy Goodbye has also been released as Caution, Children At Play, The Vengeful Dead and Revenge Of The Zombie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, a news anchorwoman's prenuptial jitters increase dramatically when another man, a songwriter, falls deeply in love with her and decides that he would do anything to be her husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Acapulco bound swingers give their opening act position to a singer and previous teenage idol. ~ All Movie Guide

A con-man/preacher fools a bunch of naive folks. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

A pair of outlaws find both love and danger on the road in this period crime drama. John Ashley (pop singer-turned-actor Fabian Forte) grew up in a small town in the swamps of Florida, and carried a torch for his childhood sweetheart, Laura (Karen Black). However, in the '20s there wasn't much work to be had, and John turned to poaching to make money for Laura and himself. When John accidentally killed a man, he found himself facing a long stretch in prison, but with the help of his brother he escaped, and John and Laura hit the road, making a living robbing bands and bootlegging liquor until they became minor celebrities for their criminal exploits. The sole directorial credit for Luke Moberly, Little Laura & Big John was inspired by the real-life story of John Ashley, a Florida-based criminal who earned a certain fame in the Deep South during the depression. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This exploitation film about the evils of marijuana finds art teacher Phil Blake (Fabian) discovering some of his students are smoking pot. Although he admits to the students he tried it himself in college, he is dumber than a bag of hammers about student drug use. Phil has eyes for fellow teacher Ellie (Diane McBain) until he discovers she is the main dealer, along with the star of the football team. Included in the cast is actress (Patty McCormick), all grown up since her appearance in Bad Seed, and Terri Garr, who makes a brief appearance as a student. This unintentionally laughable film, a feeble attempt to cash in on the sensationalism of marijuana use, was co-written by Richard Gautier and Peter Marshall of "Hollywood Squares" television fame. This film, along with similarly overblown 1930s anti-marijuana diatribes, cost the "straight" world a great deal of credibility at the time, and it became an instant "camp" classic. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The fast-paced world of stock-car racing provides the backdrop for this drama that centers upon a driver who is forced to retire after a blackout causes the death of another driver. He then begins working at a "Thrill Circus" as a stunt driver. There he meets the proprietor's daughter, who also drives there, and her lover. The professional driver is bored by his new job and so begins training the girl's beau to be a professional. The training is good and the young man wins his first race. This causes the banished driver's gold-digging ex-girl friend to try to steal the hot young driver away from the daughter which creates some problems between the younger and the older drivers. They reconcile when they are paired up during a crucial 500-mile race. In the midst of the race, the older pro feels another blackout coming on. By the end of the film, he realizes that the fainting spells are a psychological reaction to a childhood trauma. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this musical aimed at teenagers, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian battle it out for Annette Funicello's affections on the stock car track. The tale begins when smugglers trick Avalon into taking on contraband during a cross-country race. He catches on to their ploy and helps the Feds capture the crooks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This family comedy stars James Stewart as Dr. Robert Leaf, a college professor who dislikes science and tries to instill in his children a love of art and music. So Robert and his wife Vina (Glynis Johns) are dismayed to discover that their eight-year-old son Erasmus (Billy Mumy) is tone-deaf and color-blind; what's worse, he has a genius-level talent for mathematics. Robert isn't sure what to do about Erasmus, but while his older sister Pandora (Cindy Carol) puts his skills to work by getting him to do her homework, his older friend Kenneth (Fabian) has a better idea. Kenneth and Erasmus come up with a foolproof plan for picking the winners in horse racing -- so foolproof that it draws the attention of two con men, Upjohn (John Williams) and Argyle (Jesse White), who want to use Erasmus's skills to clean up at the track. Robert at first refuses, and then relents only when they agree to use a cut of the proceeds to endow a humanities scholarship, though Robert is about the only one surprised when the men prove not to be good to their word. Meanwhile, Erasmus is head over heels in love with French screen siren Brigitte Bardot -- so much so that he's been writing her love letters. In return, the lucky boy has received an invitation to come meet her, and Robert and Erasmus use some of their racetrack winnings to fly to Paris and take her up on her offer. Nunnally Johnson, who received no credit, contributed to the screenplay; Miss Bardot, of course, plays herself (who else could?). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide