Michael Greene Movies

In this comic suspense story, a man finds out the hard way that the bathroom can be the most dangerous part of the home. When Arne Steinberg (David Alex Rosen), a bachelor who lives in a beach house near the California coastline, buys a new home in a quiet Los Angeles suburb near Los Angeles, he soon learns why the place is so cheap: the previous tenant, Annie Ashland (Sammi Davis), died in the house, and the authorities are still trying to determine if it was murder or suicide. Just as Arne is getting used to this news, he's visited by Tilly Rensley (Alexa Jago), a free-thinking documentary filmmaker who was Annie's best friend -- and doesn't yet know about her death. When she hears the news, Tilly is convinced that Annie could not have killed herself, and she fast-talks Arne into helping her track down the killer, although Arne's interest is largely dictated by Tilly's fondness for taking her clothes off. Soft Toilet Seats was the debut feature from writer/director Tina Valinsky, who previously worked as a TV journalist and documentary filmmaker. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This biographical drama from HBO recounts the rise and fall of Walter Winchell, a gossip columnist and reporter who changed the face of news reporting. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A judge is set up for murder in this suspenseful thriller. Criminal court judge Gwen Warwick is about to be appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court. One night she engages in sex with law clerk Martin in his office. They begin a torrid affair. A colleague of Gwen's, Charles Matron, is discovered murdered in his office. She is asked to judge the case. However, increasing evidence points to her as the prime murder suspect. Now she must prove that she is being set-up. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Paul Mazursky directed this comedy, which blends a broad satire of the film industry with a thoughtful tale of a middle-aged man looking back on his life's failures. Harry Stone (Danny Aiello) is a film director who desperately needs a hit -- so desperately that he gets talked into directing an inane sci-fi film about a group of farm kids (led by Ally Sheedy) who grow an enormous pickle that they turn into a spaceship, allowing them to visit the planet Cleveland (ruled by Little Richard and his right hand man, Griffin Dunne) where everyone eats nothing but meat. Convinced that the film will flop, Harry is in a state of panic as he returns to New York with his Parisian girlfriend Francoise (Clotilde Courau), a mere 20 years his junior, and visits his ex-wife Ellen (Dyan Cannon); his mother Yetta (Shelley Winters); and his son Gregory (Chris Penn). Meanwhile Harry flashes back on his childhood and the film he could have made of it, and pitches his dream film (a historical epic about the life of Montezuma) to studio executives, who instead want him to make a movie kids can relate to. The Pickle was filmed in 1991, but only received a token theatrical release two years later. Actually, the sci-fi story with Little Richard as the undisputed ruler of Cleveland looks like it might have been an ideal vehicle for Edward D. Wood Jr.. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

James Arness made his first appearance as Marshal Matt Dillon in eight years in the 1993 TV movie Gunsmoke: The Long Ride. Inasmuch as Amanda Blake (Kitty) and Milburn Stone (Doc) had passed on, and Dennis Weaver was disinclined to revive the role of Chester, big Jim pretty much goes it alone in this one. The plot is set in motion by a trio of murderous robbers. Matt Dillon chases after the threesome, while he in turn is being chased by a posse who thinks that Matt is the gang's boss. Featured in the cast are James Brolin as a helpful frontiersmen, and Ali McGraw as "Uncle" Jane Merkel (we're not about to explain that one). Gunsmoke: The Long Ride was originally telecast May 8, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rubin & Ed is Trent Harris' off-the-wall buddy movie about two mismatched geeks on a quest to bury a frozen cat. Rubin Farr (Crispin Glover) is a shy, reclusive loner who lives in his mother's hotel. He'd much rather sit in his bedroom listening to Mahler, playing with his squeaky-mouse, than go outside. His mother has other plans, however, and one afternoon she decides to pull the plug on Rubin's eccentric behavior. She demands that he go out and make at least one friend. Rubin capitulates, and after a somewhat half-hearted search, he finds Ed Tuttle (Howard Hesseman, in one of his best performances). Ed is a divorced, middle-aged loser enrolled in a self-help/ get-rich-quick organization called PPR: Positive Power through Real Estate. Ed agrees to have dinner with Rubin and his mother if Rubin agrees to attend a PPR training seminar. All goes as planned for both, until Ed opens the freezer and discovers Rubin's dead cat. The unlikely pair then embarks on an hallucinatory quest through the Utah desert in order to find the perfect spot to bury Rubin's cat. Though at first mutually disgusted by each other, Rubin and Ed eventually learn how to become friends. Karen Black is superb as Ed Tuttle's annoying ex-wife Rula, as is Michael Greene as PPR magnate Mr. Busta. ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi

This low-budget soft-core film noir stars Sally Kirkland as a wealthy wife who becomes involved with a young mechanic (Nick Corri) and later, with murder. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Danielle Steel's Palomino opens with a female photographer named Samantha Taylor visiting the California ranch of her good friend in order to get herself together after Samantha's marriage dissolves. While there Samantha falls for Tate Jordan, one of the ranch hands, but he feels he is unworthy because her ex-husband is a famous television personality. He breaks off their relationship. Samantha works through her grief by photographing cowboys. Soon she suffers a terrible accident that leaves her paralyzed. She goes through a painful rehabilitation. Her friend passes away, leaving Samantha the ranch in the will. Samantha returns to the ranch and begins to put her life back together yet again when Tate returns and the pair confronts the lingering pain from their brief time together. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Hunter (Fred Dryer) comes back into the life of his high school sweetheart Laurie (Cristina Raines Crowe) when she witnesses a murder. Naturally, it is Hunter's intention to keep Laurie under wraps so that she can testify in court, and just as naturally she cooperates with his efforts. Unfortunately, the woman's no-good husband Eddie (Granville Van Dusen) has other ideas--and before long he is threatening to reveal what his wife has witnessed in order to blackmail the corporate "fat cats" who ordered the killing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Trash-TV pioneer Morton Downey Jr. stars as an evil savings-and-loan financier who is investigated by a private eye (Robert Davi) in this thriller also released as Ladies Game. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

In this off-beat sci-fi adventure, a female scientist creates a sexy android version of herself and equips it with both the passionate emotions she lacks and a nuclear bomb. The trouble begins when the android is taken out for a test run and it ends up in the midst of a bank robbery where its internal bomb is accidentally activated. Things get worse, when the robot comes emotionally unglued and launches into a destructive rampage while enacting out its repressed creator's darkest desires. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The IMF pays a visit to a popular Old West theme park in Nevada, but it isn't for the purpose of rest and relaxation. The park is the headquarters of former congressman Ian McClintock (Michael Greene), the head of an organization specializing in arming terrorists. Well aware that McClintock was responsible for the brutal murder of an FBI investigator, Jim Phelps nonetheless engages the villain in a potentially deadly poker game (both literally and figuratively!). Written by Ted Roberts, "Gunslinger" was originally broadcast on February 10, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi