Alba Francesca Movies
- 1994
- R
This made-for-TV western stars Kelly Preston as Rebecca Carver, who is travelling west with her husband Matthew (Charles Powell), trying to outrun the draft for the Civil War. Needing to rest for the night, they stop at a trading post run by Barkley (Dan Haggerty), where they encounter a pack of buffalo hunters as well as several Cheyenne braves who seem to know Barkley well. Worried that there could be trouble and afraid of the Indians, Matthew warns the hunters about the Cheyenne, which soon leads to a furious battle leaving only two survivors -- Rebecca and Hawk (Pato Hoffmann), a Cheyenne warrior who was severely injured in the fighting. With no one to protect her, Rebecca realizes that her survival may depend on Hawk, so she nurses him back to health; the two make their way across the prarie as they try to escape the bitter onset of winter, and find that their mutual distrust soon grows into love. Roger Corman served as executive producer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly Preston, Pato Hoffmann, (more)
- 1989
- R
With its catchy title and over-the-top premise, this fairly amusing horror comedy plays like a kinder, gentler variation on the type of fare offered by the bad-taste moguls at Troma Studios. The story begins in the thick of a metaphysical battle between a decidedly female Satan (Lezlie Deane) and one of Heaven's less-than-angelic "Chasers" (Twin Peaks, pretty-boy Dana Ashbrook), ending with the former hiding out in the body of timid wallflower Maggie (Liane Curtis), whose blind date turns even more disastrous. Only after the seriously over-vamped Maggie has seduced and destroyed (literally) every man in sight does the Chaser finally catch up to her. The battle ensues with renewed gusto, the bodies and souls of countless mortal bystanders hanging in the balance. It seems this ever-escalating conflict (employing everything from rocket launchers to possessed restaurant entrees) is a mere extension of an ongoing lovers' spat between the devil and her heavenly pursuer, whose obnoxious philandering first incurred her satanic wrath. Fans of camp horror should find ample laughs here -- others need not apply. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liane Alexandra Curtis, Dana Ashbrook, (more)
The sole survivor of a psycho-led mass suicide awakens from a 13-year coma and begins having visions of the cult leader who was also killed in the fiery death scene. She resists his efforts to have her join him in the hereafter, and soon members from her therapy group start dropping like flies. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Abbott, (more)
- 1988
- PG
One of two "dueling" TV biopics of 1988, Liberace stars Andrew Robinson (who'd once played the giggling killer in Dirty Harry!) as the titular flamboyant entertainer. The film recounts Liberace's rise to fame thanks to TV exposure during the 1950s, but does so with distressing disregard of the facts: at one point, Liberace manages to mispronounce the name of his Wisconsin home town! A thin veneer of authenticity is maintained by the use of Liberace's actual piano-shaped swimming pool and his real jewelry and wardrobe. The AIDS angle is barely touched upon in the final scenes, thanks to the intervention of the entertainer's family and lawyers. Of the two Liberace films, Liberace runs a distant second to Liberace: Behind the Music (telecast the following October week of 1988 by a rival network), though Robinson does rather well in the leading role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Magnum (Tom Selleck) is devastated when police lieutenant Tanaka (Kwan Li Him in his final series performance) is killed during an undercover assignment. Though the death is officially reported as accidental, Magnum is convinced that there's a police coverup afoot--and in the course of his own investigation, he discovers that Tanaka's demise was inextricably linked with an amazingly wide-spread drug operation. Providing a light touch to these grim proceedings is a winking reference to star Tom Selleck's previous "life" as the insufferably successful private eye Lance White on The Rockford Files. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The wife (Jenny Sullivan) of Vietnam veteran Richard Gaines (James Whitmore Jr.) is delighted when Richard's 15-year-old Vietnamese daughter Nguyen (Denice Kumagai) comes to the United States to live with their family. Alas, Richard's spiteful son Brad (Billy Jayne) wants nothing to do with his "new" half sister, and before long his hostility has spread to everyone else in his sphere of influence. It is up to Jonathan (Michael Landon) to defuse Brad's anger and bitterness. Longtime fans of series star Michael Landon will enjoy the many "inside" jokes made at his expense in this episode. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1981
This true-life TV movie stars Glenda Jackson as Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal and Anthony Page as her author husband Roald Dahl. In 1964, Neal is felled by a stroke, which endangers not only her life but the life of her unborn child. Both survive, but it looks as though Neal will never be able to speak coherently again. Dahl bullies, cajoles and caresses his wife into recovery; she rallies under this treatment and is finally able to resume her career and lead a normal life. The film does not touch upon the serious domestic problems which would lead to Neal and Dahl's later divorce, nor does it dwell on the "dark side" of the notoriously mercurial Mr. Dahl. Nonetheless, both Neal and Dahl felt that the book upon which Patricia Neal Story was based, (Barry Farrell's Pat and Ronald) was far too revelatory for their tastes. They severed their longtime friendship with author Farrell and never spoke to him again; nor did they have anything to say publicly about The Patricia Neal Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
After a four-year relationship, Quincy (Jack Klugman) still cannot summon the courage to propose to his lady friend Lynne (Sharon Acker), and in fact seems to be deliberately neglected her in favor of his work. During a particularly difficult forensic procedure in which he must clean up after an incompetent colleague, Quincy reflects on his current romantic crisis--and flashes back to the events leading up to the death of his late wife Helen. Appearing as the former Mrs. Quincy is Anita Gillette), who ironically later joined the series as Quincy's second wife Emily. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Bedfellows don't come much stranger than two of the latest patients at the 4077th. Hotshot chopper pilot "Smilin' Jack" Mitchell (Robert Hogan) can't wait to get back into action, even though the doctors feel that he'd be better off grounded. Conversely, Cpl. Howard Owens (Dennis Kort), two-time winner of the Purple Heart, wants to be retired from combat, but no one will issue him a discharge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
