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- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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
- 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)
- 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)
Borrowing a chapter from the John Hughes school of teen comedy, this likeable caper was a box office success. Patrick Dempsey stars as Ronald Miller, a high school nerd about to enter his senior year, who longs for acceptance as one of the "cool kids." His next-door neighbor Cindy Mancini (Amanda Peterson) is a cheerleader and one of the most popular girls in school, but she doesn't even know that Ronald exists. When she ruins an expensive outfit of her mother's, Ronald offers the $1,000 needed to replace it, if she will pretend to date him for one month. Although skeptical about Ronald's plan, Cindy agrees, and her "new boyfriend" turns out to be right about what he thinks dating Cindy will do for him -- he becomes accepted by the school's snobs because of his association with one of their own. At least, for a while. Originally titled "Boy Rents Girl," Can't Buy Me Love (1987) was the first production launched by former studio executive Thom Mount after leaving his high-profile post. His company went on to produce weightier material such as Bull Durham (1988), The Indian Runner (1991), and Natural Born Killers (1994). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Peterson, (more)
- 1991
- R
New York's Troma Films continue their grand tradition of relentlessly bad taste with this horror epic, which follows the exploits of an all-girl motorcycle gang -- who go by the quaint moniker "The Cycle Sluts" -- and their fearless leader Rox (Catherine Carlin), who offers the freedom of the road to any frustrated small-town girl willing to slap on the leathers. Things take a nasty turn for Rox and her violent femmes when the gang rides into Zariah -- a town in the slimy grip of a deranged mortician named Ralph (Don Calfa), who has been busily turning the locals into cannibalistic zombie slaves. As if that weren't enough... a busload of blind, orphaned teens become stranded within spitting distance of Ralph's undead army, and it's up to Rox's twisted sisters to save the day. Troma is often guilty of slapping outrageously goofy titles on not-so-funny films (e.g. Surf Nazis Must Die, Fat Guy Goes Nutzoid!, etc.), but this is something of an exception, with wonderfully sleazy performances, lots of zany energy and many clever references to zombie and biker-movie genres. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Rose, Don Calfa, (more)
- 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
Horror journeyman Larry Cohen, writer and director of numerous quirky horror projects, made his first foray into the genre with this low-budget cult favorite about a murderous mutant baby on a suburban rampage. The story opens with a delivery-room massacre as the newborn child of Frank and Lenore Davies (John P. Ryan and Sharon Farrell) answers the doctor's slap by tearing him to pieces -- along with a few other medical personnel -- before fleeing the hospital for whereabouts unknown. The subsequent hunt for the killer baby creates a rift between Frank, who wants the child destroyed, and Lenore, whose maternal instincts convince her that her child is not deliberately homicidal but merely frightened and defending itself. The baby's bloody rampage continues with several murders (including the creepy scene in which the terrible tyke savages the neighborhood milkman), until it is cornered by Frank and a police task-force. At the crucial moment, Frank has a sudden change of heart and tries to defend the infant from the police. Despite painfully low production values that render the monster scenes a bit silly (Rick Baker's creepy-looking but inarticulate baby model was simply pulled along on a string), Cohen's concept shines through, presenting a skewed but sincere interpretation of family values that could only be pulled off in the horror genre (see also Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes for another example). The script makes passing suggestions that the mutation was a result of an inadequately tested fertility drug, a concept explored more fully in the sequel It Lives Again and quite extensively in the third installment, Island of the Alive. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ryan, Sharon Farrell, (more)
- 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
In this Spaghetti-western-like martial arts actioner, Texas Ranger J. J. McQuade (Chuck Norris) is up against the weapons-dealer Rawley Wilkes (David Carradine) after Wilkes kidnaps McQuade's partner and daughter and takes them to Mexico. McQuade's personal vendetta is encouraged by the government because Wilkes is hijacking U.S. arms shipments for his illicit weapons deals and the government wants him stopped. After the kidnapping incident, McQuade is assigned Kayo (Robert Beltran) a rookie patrolman, to accompany him in his fight, and he is also joined by FBI-agent Jackson (Leon Isaac Kennedy). Jackson and McQuade track down Wilkes' secret airstrip -- and that is when the fireworks begin. Every weapon known to human technology is brought into the picture as McQuade, also armed with his lethal hands and feet, goes ballistic. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, David Carradine, (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)
- 1969
- PG
James Garner is so good as Raymond Chandler's philosophical gumshoe Philip Marlowe that you forget he's totally wrong for the part. Based on Chandler's The Little Sister, Marlowe involves the detective's efforts to locate the missing brother of Orfamay Quest (Sharon Farrell). He follows the clues to two men who deny any knowledge of the brother's existence. Since both men soon find themselves on the wrong end of an ice pick, Marlowe deduces that there's more to this caper than a mere missing-person case. The plot thickens as more "dramatis personae" are added to the intrigues, including TV star Gayle Hunnicutt, Hunnicutt's gangster boyfriend H.M. Wynant and stripper Rita Moreno. A pre-stardom Bruce Lee shows up as a karate-happy thug who lays waste to Marlowe's office shortly before suffering a spectacular demise. It is preferable to view Marlowe in videocassette or theatrical form; the commercial TV print cuts so much out that viewers are left with virtually nothing but protection leader and a few close-ups of James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, (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
In this satirical sci-fi comedy, Samantha (Kelli Maroney) and Regina (Catherine Mary Stewart) are two sisters whose father was a hard-bitten Green Beret, but who've grown into typical Valley Girls. They end up spending the night in a steel-lined room just as a comet passes close to the earth, vaporizing the people in its wake. When Samantha and Regina emerge, they discover that they have the city to themselves, and they begin the shopping spree to end all shopping sprees. En route to the mall, they discover Hector (Robert Beltran), the only survivor they've found so far, and they argue over who gets the last boyfriend on Earth. However, the mall holds an unpleasant surprise -- a small army of zombified stockboys who the gals must battle using an arsenal they shoplifted along the way (while lamenting that "Daddy would have gotten us Uzis!" after a MAC-10 fails to fire). Meanwhile, a cadre of soldiers from a special military experiment have come out of hiding, but it seems that they need fresh blood to survive, and Samantha and Regina look like just the refreshment they need. Cult figure Mary Woronov also appears in a supporting role as a scientist. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Stewart, Kelli Maroney, (more)
- 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
- 1989
- R
In this actioner, an L.A. cop speeds off to get revenge upon the dirty drug-dealing dogs who killed his partner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Matuszak, Ronny Cox, (more)
Out of the Blue captures the turbulence of youth culture of the early '80s by presenting a three-person nuclear family that is about to implode. In a prologue, Don Barnes (Dennis Hopper), a school bus driver, is drunkenly distracted one day behind the wheel, resulting in a horrible accident. He comes home from a stint in prison to find his wife, Kathy (Sharon Farrell), hooked on drugs and his now-teenaged daughter, Cindy (Linda Manz), sullen and remote. Don's old buddies are a fun-loving bunch who work only to afford to get high and party, and he seems to be falling back into his old ways instead of getting straight and pulling his family out of their funk. The story focuses on Cindy's alienation from both her parents and most of her classmates. She's influenced by the energy and anger of punk music and considers her parents pathetic relics of the '60s counterculture. Hopper reportedly took over direction of the film after co-producer/co-writer Leonard Yakir departed the production. It was Hopper's first job behind the camera since The Last Movie, his legendary flop follow-up to Easy Rider. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Manz, Sharon Farrell, (more)
- 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
- 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
- 1982
- R
In this standard romantic drama slated for TV movie channels, Valentine (Karen Black) is dissatisfied in her marriage to a racecar driver (Tony Lo Bianco) and begins a romantic liaison with a student at the community college she attends. Her husband has also been unfaithful, and his indiscretions are what prompt her own behavior. Since her marital woes continue, Valentine leaves home, gets a job as a waitress at a local nightclub, and ponders her future as nothing right now seems certain. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Black, Tony Lo Bianco, (more)
This standard slasher film from director Dimitri Sotirakis (using the pseudonym "Jom Sotos") is notable only for its fascinating cast. The story is a rather predictable affair as young Melissa (Aleisa Shirley) sees all of her friends being murdered after their 16th birthdays. Her mother (Susan Strasberg) worries, and Sheriff Dan (Bo Hopkins) is convinced that the local Indians led by Greyfeather (Henry Wilcoxon) are to blame, but when the "shock" ending finally comes, it is no surprise. Patrick Macnee, Don Stroud, Larry Storch, and Sharon Farrell lead the familiar cast, which also includes such genre favorites as Michael Pataki, Steve Antin, and Dana Kimmell, who starred in Friday the 13th, Part III the same year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bo Hopkins, Susan Strasberg, (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)
