Norman Fell Movies

In this frenetic made-for-television outing, a young boy tries to get into the crazy, competitive spirit of his relatives' annual "Family Olympics," but finds himself more interested in the enigmatic runaway who seems to come out of nowhere. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Hexed is a lame, low-budget comedy spoof of Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction -- both of which are funnier than Hexed. The film concerns Matthew Welsh (Ayres Gross), a scheming hotel clerk at the Holiday Park Hotel whose life changes for better and worse when famed super-model Hexina (Claudia Christian) checks into the hotel. Matthew manages to lure Hexina back to his apartment for what he thinks will be an uninhibited night of sex -- but Hexina has other things on her mind. It turns out that she is being blackmailed over a series of murders committed in her youth when she was fat and dumpy. Hexina, whose psychological profile hasn't changed since she began to grace fashion-magazine covers, is still a raving paranoid schizophrenic who thinks that Matthew is her blackmailer. So, she acquiesces to bed down Matthew in anticipation of murdering him in the afterglow. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This overlooked but entertaining direct-to-video oddity plunges into the nightmarish experiences of a portly, depressed psychic medium (Deborah Rose), whose involvement in a grisly child-murder case leads her and her detective partner (Ed Nelson) to an imposing, fortress-like mortuary. Chen (Robert Yun Ju Ahn), the owner of the funeral home and prime suspect in the case, claims the three mummified corpses in question are not children but ancient demons known as "kyoshi." It seems the little monsters have been around for centuries as a result of an age-old curse and can only be placated with offerings of human flesh -- with which the mortician has been supplying them his entire life. When Chen is jailed on murder charges, the under-fed ghouls awaken in search of dinner, trapping the staff inside the mortuary walls and munching down on them. The survivors, including Rose and Nelson, use every means at their disposal to combat the demons -- which have managed to possess the bodies of morgue attendant Mrs. Poopenplatz (Phyllis Diller) and her poodle, mutating them into hideous hell-beasts (not much of a stretch, really). Despite the presence of Diller and some rather outrageous set-pieces, director James Cummins plays the material remarkably straight. Standouts include a good performance by Rose and some truly creepy demon-attacks, marred only slightly by a clunky script and uneven pacing. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

In the tradition of Twilight Zone comes this supernatural/sci-fi anthology hosted by Norman Fell. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Having invested in a trendy New York seafood restaurant, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is delighted that her nephew Grady (Michael London) has chosen the restaurant to celebrate his engagement to the lovely Donna Mayberry (Debbie Zipp). Alas, murder casts a pall on the party when the restaurant's Maitre D' is murdered and his body is stuffed in the kitchen freezer. Now Jessica is faced with the double dilemma of recouping her investment and locating the killer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A dour Magnum (Tom Selleck) retreats to a mountaintop to mull over the recent failures in his life--specifically, an investigation from which he was fired, and the apparent loss of his most treasured friendships. In mid-meditation, Magnum stumbles upon the wreckage of a WW2-vintage airplane. Ultimately he finds himself helplessly pinned under the wreckage, miles from any help. . .or hope. The "flashbacks" in this episode consist of choice clips from such previous Magnum, P.I. entries as "Home From the Sea", "Distant Relative", "Paper War", "Did You See the Sunrise?", "The Man from Marseilles" and "Death and Taxes". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In a plot that combines Mary Shelley's mad Dr. Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, two yellow journalism reporters, Jack and Gil (Jeff Goldblum and Ed Begley, Jr.) head off to a castle in Transylvania. The intrepid duo is out to hunt down a story that proves Frankenstein's "monster" is still alive and sparking. What they find is an appropriately demented Dr. Malavaqua and his monstrous creations. Tame stuff for the hardcore groupie, this intended spoof falls a tad short of funny. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The pilot for an unsold weekly series, Uncommon Valor stresses the courage and resourceful of a team of firefighters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Headed by dauntless batallion chief Tom Riordan (Mitchell Ryam), the unit tries to drench a raging conflagration at County General Hospital (a disaster enhanced by some pretty good special effects). They also have to battle the villain of the piece, discreetly described in the original network press release as a "deranged arsonist." A production of Sunn Classic Pictures, the made-for-TV Uncommon Valor originally aired January 22, 1983, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mark Warren's comedy Heartbreak High concerns the antics taken by students and faculty of rival high schools attempting to sabotage the other the week before their annual battle on the football field. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

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, Rovi

Actress and popular culture icon Marilyn Monroe is the subject of yet another made-for-television movie. This film, which aired as part of the on-going Moviola series, chronicles young Marilyn's (Constance Forslund) relationship in both business and her personal life, with agent Johnny Hyde (Lloyd Bridges) during the early part of her career. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

In this, Joan Rivers' first attempt at film direction, a young virgin male (Billy Crystal) is engaged to be married when he finds out he is pregnant! Using the film as a vehicle for her acerbic humor, director Rivers may as well be on stage, for interspersed throughout this questionable plot is an unending onslaught of sarcastic slams pointed at just about every sector of society. Ms. Rivers even makes a cameo appearance. Other big names in this film are Tom Poston (as a minister), Roddy McDowall (in several roles), and George Gobel as the U.S. President. ~ Rovi