Christina Hart Movies

The emphasis in this episode is not on Jessica (Angela Lansbury) but on her old friend, indefatigable LA homicide detective Jake Ballinger (Barry Newman). Refusing to give up his own personal investigation of a "closed" murder case, Jake is forcibly relocated to a small college town, there to teach a course in criminology. Of course, Ballinger intends to continue pursuing his investigation, this time with help of his students--all two of them (he'd scared the rest of the class away on the first day of the semester!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In an unusual comedy by Joan Darling, Brian Dennehy and Anne Archer star as the Richard, a druggist, and his wife Peggy, a pair of debt-ridden parents who rebel against the system. Nothing goes right while they try to uphold the system, then things get even worse when they leave it. Richard decides to pull the plug on modernity when he cannot meet his utility bills and creditors are at his door like wolves. He shuts off the electricity and sets up candles, buys a goat, and digs a well in the back yard. He finally does hit water, but it happens to be the city's water main. Peggy is not quite as crazed as her husband so she goes to see a shrink -- who promptly dies on her. If anything can go wrong for Richard and Peggy, it will. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Former TV documentary filmmaker Mel Stuart tries to inject an acceptable degree of verisimilitude in Mean Dog Blues. A victim of circumstance, country and western musician Paul Ramsey (Gregg Henry) finds himself on a Southern chain gang. Captain Omar Kinsman (George Kennedy) snarls a lot as the obligatory sadistic prison guard, but the film's real villains are Victor and Donna Lacey (William Windom and Tina Louise) as the Bonnie-and-Clyde couple who get Henry into trouble. Listed as editor is Housley Stevenson, the son of the late Hollywood character-actor Onslow Stevens. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the best-selling Vincent Bugliosi book of the same name, Helter Skelter is a made-for-TV account of the investigation and prosecution of Charles Manson (Steve Railsback), who was convicted of leading a group of followers (known as "The Family") to murder seven people in California, including actress Sharon Tate. The film takes a Law & Order-like approach, starting with the discovery of the murders, which leads to the police gathering snippets of evidence that they eventually connect to the bigger picture. The second half of the movie concentrates on how District Attorney Bugliosi (George DiCenzo) attains a conviction despite the enormous amount of press coverage the case received. Nancy Wolfe, Christina Hart, and Cathey Paine portray the three loyal Manson Family members who were the co-defendants at his trial. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

[124828] This TV movie is a sequel to 1972's Daughters of Joshua Cabe (which was also a TV movie). Cabe (Dan Dailey) is an itinerant western trapper hoping to gain extra homesteading land by pretending to have a family. He hires three "fallen women" (Ronne Troup, Brooke Adams and Christina Hart) to pose as his daughters. Unfortunately, the real father of one of the girls kidnaps his daughter, compelling the remaining ladies to track down their missing "sister". Like the earlier movie, Daughters of Joshu Cabe Return was produced by Aaron Spelling, and was the pilot for a potential TV series. It didn't sell, but Spelling was back in 1976 with another "three girls" adventure project, Charlie's Angels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Puerto Rican actor Victor Mohica plays the title character, a Native American who has returned to his small California desert home town after service in Vietnam to face a new enemy -- a gang of ruthless racist thugs led by town boss Colby (Ralph Meeker). Pushed to his breaking point by a neverending string of brawls and harassment by town sheriff Jesse (well-played by David Canary, later on All My Children), who is kept under Colby's thumb by a hidden secret. Johnny finally snaps when Colby's goons lynch his alcoholic grandfather (Frank De Kova of F Troop) for kicks. Johnny escapes from prison and vanishes into the desert. There, he stalks and brutally murders each of the gang members responsible for his grandfather's death. A panicked Colby sends Jesse after Johnny, and soon, the two are facing each other down. Jesse must choose between obeying his cruel employer or freeing a man who has suffered the same sort of injustice as he. ~ Paul Gaita, Rovi

This 1974 TV movie was based upon recent news stories about brainwashing techniques practiced by certain religious communes. Ellen (Kathy Cannon) is a confused teenager who falls in with a group of fanatics, who promise that they'll purge the "Devil" from her soul. Her anguished parents (Leslie Nielsen, Louise Fletcher) hire John Saxon to kidnap Ellen from the commune, and to exorcise the fanatics' influence from her psyche. This film was outdated within a year, but would come back in fashion during the height of the "Moonie" activity in the late 1970s. The original title of Can Ellen Be Saved?, understandably rejected by the network, was Children of God. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Five bosomy buddies take off for a little fun and sun and end up involved with handsome new men. Their fun abruptly ends when a homicidal maniac begins stabbing people to death. To make matters worse, the killer seems to be one of them. Fortunately, looks can be deceiving. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this crime drama, a hard-nosed cop is assigned to find a psychotic rapist in order to stop a mad bomber with delusions of grandeur who has been razing Los Angeles buildings to punish the evil sinners that live therein. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Flight attendants have all kinds of raunchy, druggy fun during the course of an 18-hour layover in this sexploitation film. Originally shown in 3-D and laced with surreal and psychedelic imagery, the film was notorious in its day and was originally rated X. Later it was edited and given an R. A XXX version, featuring inserts of graphic scenes of other actors having sex is also around. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi