Sharon Farrell Movies
American actress Sharon Farrell first began making TV appearance in the early '60s. Farrell began studying dance at age seven, and before she was out of her teens had racked up a great many appearances with the American Ballet Company. Her musical comedy debut occurred at age 17 with a Denver production of Oklahoma. Moving to New York, Farrell immediately got a job with a children's theatre--which just as immediately folded. Modelling work followed, then several years as a guest actress on a variety of top network programs, among them Bob Hope Chrysler Theatre, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and The Wild Wild West. Movie assignments included Marlowe (1969) and The Reivers (1969); despite several years' experience, she was voted "most promising newcomer" for the latter film. Farrell's career was tragically interrupted when her heart stopped beating for four minutes during childbirth. She incurred brain damage, and was virtually unable to read, write, or memorize. After extensive sessions of re-learning, Sharon returned to acting in the early '70s, her work load increasing as her recovery progressed. By the '90s, Farrell was seen as a regular on two series: The Young and the Restless and Matlock. Sharon Farrell's second husband was writer Dale Trevillon, whom she met on the set of the Mississippi-filmed The Premonition (1976). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
- Add The Sinister Saga of Making 'The Stunt Man' to QueueAdd The Sinister Saga of Making 'The Stunt Man' to top of Queue
In honor of the DVD release of the 1980 cult film The Stunt Man, director Richard Rush recounts the trials and tribulations he confronted while making that much praised film. Speaking from a variety of quirky settings including his private plane and a UCLA sculpture garden, he openly admits that he borrowed elements from Francois Truffaut's Day for Night (1973) and Arthur Penn's Night Moves (1975). He also gleefully delves into the film's intentional blurring of reality and fiction. Stars Peter O'Toole and Barbara Hershey also appear. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Rush, Peter O'Toole, (more)
- 1994
This Southern Gothic drama of a deeply troubled family was written by leading man David Steen, who adapted the screenplay from his own play. Ma Samuals (Sharon Farrell) lives in a poor section of rural North Carolina during the 1970s. Her slightly retarded son Charlie (Steen) was the product of an incestuous relationship with her uncle, a preacher who seduced her when she was only 12; despite this experience, Ma remains a devout Fundamentalist Christian. Ma also lives with her adopted daughter, Messy (Gigi Rice), though it's obvious that Charlie is the favored child, and Messy is often the target for Ma's abuse. When Cousin Anna (Sarah Trigger) is orphaned, she comes to stay with the Samuals family, which upsets the household's already shaky emotional balance. Ma disapproves of Messy's new friendship with Anna, believing she's a poor influence on her daughter, and when Anna begins spending time with Charlie, her obsessive love for her son (which has already spilled over into incest) threatens to push her over the brink. A Gift from Heaven marked the feature debut for both screenwriter Steen and director Jack Lucarelli. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Farrell, Gigi Rice, (more)
- 1993
This long-delayed sci-fi/horror project from Charles Band's "B"-factory Full Moon Entertainment features Megan Ward and Peter Billingsley (once the cuddly hero of A Christmas Story) as a pair of suburban teens who discover that the neighborhood's most popular virtual-reality video game -- unimaginatively-dubbed Arcade -- is possessed of a malevolent intelligence and a hunger for young souls. After several Arcade junkies are captured by the digital demon, our heroes decide to strap on their virtual helmets and go head-to-head with the computer to rescue them, facing a confounding series of elaborate puzzles and eventually squaring off against the soul of Arcade itself. "B"-movie journeyman Albert Pyun handles the virtual reality fantasy scenes with verve, though the mediocre effects are hardly worth the endless delays that hounded this production. This film's entire premise was explored far more expertly 10 years earlier in Disney's Tron, and with far more interesting characters than this brooding bunch. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Megan Ward, Peter Billingsley, (more)
Robert Conrad, William McNamara, and Sharon Farrell star in this crime drama about a police detective assigned to investigate the brutal murders of three children. With few leads but an iron will to put the killer behind bars, the detective is willing to do almost anything, including listening to a woman who claims to have psychic powers and has been visited with visions of the crime. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Conrad, William McNamara, (more)
- 1991
Lonely Hearts is a modern film noir in which a lonely woman meets and falls for a man whom she refuses to let go. Alma (Beverly D'Angelo) is a wallflower who lives with her mother and works at a Social Security office. In her desperation to make some sort of social life for herself, she answers a personal ad and meets Frank (Eric Roberts) with whom she falls in love. Frank turns out to be a con man and a swindler, but Alma is obsessed with him. She begins to help him by posing as his sister while he cons other women, until she and Frank are forced to flee when one of the victims hires a private detective. Beverly D'Angelo plays Alma with the perfect mixture of both predator and victim and director Andrew Lane understands and directs his actors well, making Lonely Hearts a very well-thought-out and executed thriller despite a somewhat languid pacing. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beverly D'Angelo, Eric Roberts, (more)
- 1981
A compassionate social worker puts her own life in jeopardy when she begins investigating a powerful businessman suspected of selling babies on the black market. Kate Carlin (Lynda Carter) has dedicated her entire life to helping children. When Kate discovers that a local businessman has been taking advantage of troubled teens by purchasing their unwanted babies and selling them for a sizable profit, she makes it her personal mission to gather evidence against him and ensure that justice is served. But this is one businessman whose connections go all the way to the top, and when he discovers that Kate is about to bust the case wide open he makes it clear that he'll do everything in his power to silence her forever. Harold Gould and Dean Stockwell co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynda Carter, Dean Stockwell, (more)
- 1980
Husband, father, rapist. All three succinctly describe the character portrayed by David Soul in the made-for-TV Rage. Though he would seem to be a hopeless case, Soul is subjected to prison therapy sessions, on the theory that he might be curable. As the sessions continue under the guidance of therapist James Whitmore, Soul pours out a lifetime worth of anger, revealing the deep psychological wounds that have formed his warped personality. Contrasted with Soul is Yaphet Kotto, as an allegedly rehabilitated prisoner. Based on several case histories as recorded by New Jersey's Avenel Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Rage was originally telecast September 25, 1980 ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In this drama, fifteen year old girl from a dysfunctional home gets herself in all kinds of trouble when she begins acting rebelliously. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- Add The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang to QueueAdd The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang to top of Queue
Producer Dan Curtis also sat in the director's seat for The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang. Making no effort to whitewash its hooligan protagonists, the film recounts the wild-west exploits of the outlaw Dalton Brothers: Bob (Cliff Potts), Emmett (Larry Wilcox), Grat (Randy Quaid, who'd probably get better billing these days) and Frank (Don Collier). The story culminates in the Dalton's suicidal raid on Coffeyville, Kansas. Most of what transpires is related in flashback from the vantage point of fifty years afterward by surviving Dalton brother Emmett (hope we're not giving anything away here). The made-for-TV Last Ride of the Dalton Gang lets us know up front that "What follows here is not intended to be an accurate re-creation of fact. Not that it matters." Its original airdate was November 20, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Wilcox, Jack Palance, (more)
- 1974
The Underground Man was the pilot film for a series based on Ross MacDonald's private eye hero Lew Archer (the source of Paul Newman's film appearances as "Lew Harper"). Most of the elements of the factory-approved MacDonald formula are put into effect here: An old flame, a seemingly cut-and-dried case leading to sinister complexities, dark family secrets, ecological rape, and the inadvertent solving of previously unsolved crimes. Archer (Peter Graves) is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of his former love, and the cycle begins. This particular pilot didn't sell, but there would be a separately produced Archer series late in 1974 starring Brian Keith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Taking time off from his villainous duties as "Wo Fat" on Hawaii Five-O, Khigh Deigh is no less sinister in this episode as a Hong-Kong based "fence" named John Chong. After a gang of hijackers led by Stan Chasen (Henry Silva) goes to a lot of trouble--including attempted murder--to steal an airborne cargo of blank travellers' checks, Chong double-crosses them by offering only a fraction of what he promised to pay for the checks. Meanwhile, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.conducts a wide-ranging search for the crooks, which comes to a rousing climax on the docks of Seattle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Eyes of Charles Sand is a TV-movie variation of Roger Corman's X -- the Man with the X-Ray Eyes. Peter Haskell plays an ordinary mortal who inherits "The Sight," a heightened sense of ocular awareness. With this gift, Haskell is able to see hazily into the future and to probe the minds of others--which comes in handy during a murder mystery. Too bad he can't peer into the past to see who's responsible for the killing. A pilot for an unsold series, The Eyes of Charles Sand utilizes Henry Mancini's music score from the feature film Wait Until Dark (67) because of a 1971 composer's strike. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Quarantined is set in a clinic maintained by a famous family of physicians. Dr. John Dehner and his son Dr. Gary Collins struggle to control a widespread cholera epidemic. One plot complication involves a testy movie star (Sharon Farrell), who refuses treatment when she exhibits the symptoms of cholera. Another problem involves a kidney transplant: Where to find a suitable organ donor in a city full of sick people? Quarantined was the February 24, 1970 entry in ABC's Movie of the Week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Sharon Farrell stars as blues singer Jesse Boone in the 90-minute, made-for-TV Hard Case of the Blues. Jesse's business manager has just died under mysterious circumstances. He has also swindled Jesse out of $200,000. Thing of it is, Jesse couldn't care less--and Crime magazine editor Dan Farrell (Robert Stack) wants to know the reasons for her apathy. Originally telecast September 26, 1969 as an episode of the TV series Name of the Game, Hard Case of the Blues was one of the series' most highly acclaimed installments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Schuyler (Kirk Douglas) is a hard-boiled detective who turns in his badge when he believes the criminals are being handled with kid gloves and too much respect. He is hired by prominent attorney Fredericks (Eli Wallach) as a bodyguard for his client Rena (Sylva Koscina), who is accused of murdering her husband. Her playboy boyfriend Fleming (Kenneth Haigh) is also under suspicion. Schuylur keeps one eye on his beautiful suspect while trying to uncover more information about the murder. Fredericks displays a disarming, folksy nature which belies his shrewdness. The detective soon comes to believe that Rena is being framed for the murder. Singer Jackie Wilson delivers the song "A Lovely Way To Die" during the opening credits of this murder mystery. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Sylva Koscina, (more)
- 1966
Some extra footage was added to segments of two episodes from the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-68) to create this feature film-length espionage adventure that was released theatrically in some countries to cash in on the James Bond craze. Ordered by their secret organization U.N.C.L.E. to stop the sinister group THRUSH from obtaining a top-secret nuclear weapon, spies Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) travel to Switzerland. Once there, Solo is lured into a trap by a comely enemy agent, Serena (Senta Berger). Kidnapped by THRUSH, Solo is replaced with an exact double who infiltrates U.N.C.L.E. Kuryakin eventually becomes suspicious due to his friend's odd behavior and takes steps to learn the truth, while Solo attempts to escape from captivity and stop THRUSH's plot to get its hands on the weapon. The episodes represented in the film are "The Double Affair," which first aired November 17, 1964, and "The Four Steps Affair," which originally aired February 22, 1965. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Vaughn, Senta Berger, (more)
- 1965
Former vaudeville headliner Rudolph Bitzner (Franchot Tone) has been washed up for years, reduced to running a cheap motel. As Rudolph dreams of making a spectacular comeback, his young fiancée, Rosie (Sharon Farrell), falls in love with a handsome TV writer named Cliff Allen (Roger Perry). Ultimately, Rudolph confronts Cliff and forces Rosie to choose between them -- or at least that's how it appears in the grim climax of this tale, in which we learn with startling suddenness why the old trouper was once billed as "Rudolph the Great." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franchot Tone, Sharon Farrell, (more)
- 1965
Jethro falls hopelessly in love with tempestuous movie starlet Kitty Devine (Sharon Farrell). Not surprisingly, the self-centered Kitty does not return Jethro's affections. But when she learns from her agent (Bernie Kopell) that the Clampetts are worth several million dollars -- and that Jethro's Uncle Jed owns the movie studio where she works -- it's a different story indeed! Part one of a three-part story arc, "The Movie Starlet" originally aired on January 13, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
The ubiquitous Jeannie (Barbara Eden) pops up uninvited at a party on board a yacht which Tony (Larry Hagman) is attending. Angrily, Tony reprimands Jeannie, whereupon she disappears in a puff a smoke. Alas, when Tony is unable to account for Jeannie's whereabouts later on, he ends up in jail on a murder charge! Watch for Richard Webb, TV's onetime "Captain Midnight", as Colonel Brady, and for Sandra Gould, Bewitched's future Gladys Kravitz, as a cleaning lady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
On the run from both Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse) and a rural sheriff (Dabbs Greer), Kimble (David Janssen) ends up on a patch of land controlled by a family of murderous moonshiners. The Sheriff refuses to venture any further in their pursuit of Kimble, warning Gerard of terrible consequences should he cross the path of Tully (R.G. Armstrong), the family's brutish patriarch. When Tully's daughter Elvy (Sharon Farrell) is found beaten, Gerard is falsely accused of the crime, kidnapped, and subjected to a kangaroo court. Having won the family's trust by saving the life of eldest son Cody (Bruce Dern), Kimble is now the only person capable of preventing the "execution" of his worst enemy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Defense lawyer Ned Murray (Martin Landau) is certain that he has made a name for himself by getting his client Lew Rydell (Frank Gorshin) acquitted on a murder charge. Later on, however, Lew mockingly informs Ned that he was actually guilty of the crime -- and under the rule of double jeopardy, he cannot be prosecuted twice for the same crime. Motivated by both guilt and the fear that he will be ruined if the truth comes out, Ned tries to figure out a way to bring Rydell to justice. But, as things turn out, the lawyer is placed in the unenviable position of saving Lew's life all over again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Landau, Frank Gorshin, (more)
- 1963
Uncle Martin (Ray Walston) has trouble controlling his super-powers when he contacts the common cold, an affliction unknown on Mars. Fixing up a special pill to cure his malady, Martin leaves the powerful potion within reach of Tim (Bill Bixby), who accidentally consumes the pill and falls fast asleep just before he is to review an "outer space" exhibit at a local department store. Taking over Tim's assignment, Martin is appalled by the exhibit's glaring inaccuracies and pens a devastating pan--thereby infuriating pompous store owner Trimble (played by former "Great Gildersleeve" Willard Waterman), who happens to be one of the biggest advertisers in Tim's newspaper! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Damon Runyon's story "Little Miss Marker" gets a mid-'60s update in this comedy. Steve McCluskey (Tony Curtis) is the manager of a nightspot in Lake Tahoe owned by Bernie Friedman (Phil Silvers). Steve is the kind of guy who has heard every sob story in the book and is not easily impressed, but his hard heart begins to soften a bit when he meets Penny Piper (Claire Wilcox), a young orphan girl with no one to turn to and nowhere to go. Steve grudgingly takes her in and soon grows fond of the tyke. Penny thinks that Steve needs to get married and settle down, so she starts playing Cupid, trying to set him up with pretty Chris Lockwood (Suzanne Pleshette). However, Steve is still reeling from his failed first marriage and isn't so sure that another trip to the altar would be good for him. The film's finale sends Steve on a wild chase through Disneyland. Forty Pounds of Trouble marked the feature directorial debut of Norman Jewison, who would go on to make In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof, and Jesus Christ Superstar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Phil Silvers, (more)
- 1962
Jeweler DuBois (Emile Genest) short-changes Captain McCabe (John Ireland) by selling a 5,000-dollar black pearl for a huge profit, returning a pittance to McCabe and pocketing the rest. Then Hubert Wilkens (Ernest Truex), the man who bought the pearl, demands to buy its match. Now DuBois must deal again with McCabe, who isn't about to be cheated twice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In this tense psychological drama, an emotionally unstable young woman and her brother drift from town to town. When a sympathetic motel maid (Elaine Stritch) takes pity on the girl -- and becomes romantically involved with her brother -- it could inadvertently spell doom for all of them. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
