Brian Farrell Movies
- 1981
- R
- Add The Postman Always Rings Twice to QueueAdd The Postman Always Rings Twice to top of Queue
Bob Rafelson's remake of 1946's The Postman Always Rings Twice, with a screenplay by the award-winning playwright David Mamet, stars Jack Nicholson as Frank Chambers, a depression-era drifter who ends up at a diner run by Nick Papadakis (John Colicos), who offers Frank a job. Frank takes him up on the offer, but quickly begins a torrid affair with Nick's wife Cora (Jessica Lange). The adulterous lovers soon hatch a plan to kill Nick and share in the insurance payout. The second big-screen adaptation of the James M. Cain novel, the film garnered a certain degree of notoriety for the explicit sex scenes between Lange and Nicholson. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, (more)
- 1980
Condominium is a two-part, four-hour TV adaptation of the novel by John D. McDonald. The setting is a hastily constructed Florida high-rise, assembled at the least possible cost by its greedy owners. An oncoming hurricane threatens to topple the structure and its residents into the ocean. Various degrees of greed, lust, terror and concern are displayed by stars Steve Forrest, Dan Haggerty, Ralph Bellamy, Barbara Eden, Stuart Whitman, Jack Jones and Pamela Hensley. Produced for the syndicated "Operation Prime Time" series, Condominium was first made available to local stations on November 20, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
The always-touchy issue of euthanasia has provided source material for films since the silent era. 1980's Act of Love stars Ron Howard as the brother of Mickey Rourke, who has been left paralyzed by a motorcycle accident. Howard kills Rourke with a shotgun, claiming his brother begged him to do it. He willingly gives himself up to the authorities and stands trial, hoping more for understanding than exoneration. Made for television, Act of Love was based on a true story, chronicled by author Paige Mitchell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The 8-hour TV miniseries Blind Ambition was originally telecast May 20 through 23, 1979. This 105-minute feature-film version, prepared in 1982, seems a bit rushed at times, but overall does a credible and coherent job of storytelling. Based on John Dean's book Blind Ambition, with elements of Maureen Dean's Mo woven in by screenwriter Stanley R. Greenberg, this is the saga of the Watergate affair, as experienced by Dean (Martin Sheen) and hia wife Maureen (Theresa Russell). As the Nixon administration goes down in flames, the Deans' marriage is sorely tested-as is Dean's success-at-any-price credo. Rip Torn plays Nixon like something out of a Greek Tragedy; some viewers accepted his interpretation, others found it jarringly inaccurate. Others in the cast of "usual suspects" include Michael Callan as Charles Colson, Lonny Chapman as L. Patrick Gray, William Daniels as G. Gordon Liddy, Fred Grandy as Donald Segretti, Christopher Guest as Jeb Magruder, Lawrence Pressman as H. R. Haldeman, William Windom as Richard Kleindienst, James Greene as E. Howard Hunt, Logan Ramsey as J. Edgar Hoover, and Al Checco as judge John Sirica. Also known as The John Dean Story, Blind Ambition earned two Emmy nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Theresa Russell, (more)
- 1979
Crisis in Mid-Air is essentially a "problem drama" concentrating on a single individual. George Peppard plays a veteran air traffic controller who holds himself responsible for a mid-air collision. With an FAA investigator breathing down his neck, Peppard gets a chance to prove his value when another flight, with 235 passengers on board, puts in a "Mayday" call. The TV Guide ads for this television movie were a little misleading, suggesting that Peppard was in the cockpit rather than the control tower. Crisis in Mid-Air debuted February 13, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Kojak moved from its traditonal Sunday-night timeslot to a new Saturday evening berth for this concluding episode of a two-part story. Though suspended from the force, Kojak is determined to track down a serial murderer known as The Clothesline Killer. It's a personal crusade for the troubled detective: Back in 1969, he allegedly shot the Clothesline Killer to death--and now there is every possibility that he gunned down the wrong man. Diane Baker appears in flashback as the detective's former love Irene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In the first episode of a two-part story, Kojak recalls the events leading up to his shooting of a notorious serial murderer in 1969. Though convinced at the time that he had disposed of the "Clothesline Killer", Kojak has reason to wonder if he got the right man: someone is currently embarked upon a murder spree, using the Clothesline Killer's modus operandi. At the same time, the detective experiences poignant memories of a lost romance. This was the final Sunday-night Kojak episode; Part Two of "The Summer of '69" would be seen in the series' new Saturday-evening berth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
