Hilda Haynes Movies
Actress Hilda Haynes got her start with the American Negro Theater in the 1940s and from there went on to appear in many theatrical productions. She has also appeared in a few films between the early '50s and the late '70s including Taxi (1953), Home from the Hill (1960) and Diary of a Mad Housewife. Haynes has also appeared in several television movies and was an active member of a theatrical union. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In a casting twist, this remake of Arthur Penn's The Miracle Worker casts Patty Duke, who won an Oscar for her work as Helen Keller in the original, as Annie Sullivan, the woman who taught the deaf and blind Keller sign language. (In Penn's original, Sullivan was portrayed by Anne Bancroft.) The story, however remains the same; through perseverance and a bit of luck, Sullivan teaches Keller first to dress herself, then the sign-language alphabet, then finally the means of communication. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Patty Duke, (more)
It's H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) versus Jack the Ripper (David Warner) in the fanciful Time After Time -- and, per the film's title, the chase extends from the 19th century to the 20th. Wells has built a time machine in his cellar, which the Ripper uses as a means of escape. Both men find themselves in 20th century San Francisco, and, after a period of adjustment, they make themselves at home. The plot takes a dark turn when the Ripper, disappointed that Wells' dreams of a Utopian future have not come to fruition, resumes his murderous activities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, (more)
- 1977
Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) becomes a "Gray Fox" when stereo salesman Honest Al refuses to extend credit to anyone over the age of 65. Before long, Fred's activism catches on with others his age (and even older). This still-timely episode reaches a riotous denouement as Fred leads a contingent of oldsters on a protest march. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
Welcome Back Kotter star John Travolta headlines the made-for-TV Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Douglas Day Stewart's fact-based teleplay casts Travolta as Tod Lubitsch, a teenager who was born without disease immunities. Tod is forced to live out his life in incubator conditions; whenever he vetnures into the outdoors, he must be encased in a huge plastic bubble. When he falls in love with Gina Biggs (Glynnis O'Connor), Tod must decide between staying safe and following his heart, which would mean facing near-certain death. Diana Hyland won an Emmy for her portrayal of Travolta's mother. Incidentally, Hyland and Travolta became real-life lovers, a relationship that was tragically terminated when the actress died of cancer. Boy in the Plastic Bubble was first telecast November 12, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Diana Hyland, (more)
River Niger is a Tony Award-winning play turned to a movie. It features James Earl Jones as a house-painter/poet who struggles to support his cancer-plagued wife (Cicely Tyson). This is a realistic portrayal of the difficulties encountered in the poverty-stricken ghetto. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones, (more)
- 1976
This TV movie delves into the unhappy later years of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald (here played by Jason Miller). Broke and virtually written-out by the late 1930s, Fitzgerald is compelled to accept screenwriting work in Tinseltown where he is frustrated that his work is extensively rewritten and revised -- if not rejected altogether. On a personal level, Fitzgerald must deal with his wife Zelda (Tuesday Weld), now sequestered in a North Carolina mental institution. Seeking some reason for living, Fitzgerald inaugurates an affair with Hollywood columnist Sheila Graham (Julia Foster). Not all that incisive, and saddled with an unsympathetic drunkard as a central character, F. Scott Fitzgerald is still superior to Hollywood's previous version of the Fitzgerald/Graham romance, Beloved Infidel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A pair of blue-collar buddies use hypnosis to turn a wimpy boxer into a champ in this crime comedy, which reunites actor/director Sidney Poitier and comedian Bill Cosby, stars of the similarly themed Uptown Saturday Night. Clyde Williams (Poitier) and Billy Foster (Cosby) want to help raise funds to sustain the Sons and Daughters of Shaka Lodge, their local community group. Given that Clyde was trained as a hypnotist while in the military, the pair decide to con mobster Biggie Smalls (Calvin Lockhart) by placing a high-stakes bet on a boxing match and then using hocus-pocus to transform skinny underdog Bootney Farnsworth (Jimmie Walker) into a bruiser. When Biggie finds out about their ruse, he and his thugs move in to reclaim their money, setting the stage for further laughs and sleight-of-hand. With a supporting cast that includes Denise Nicholas and Lee Chamberlin as the protagonists' wives and Ossie Davis as an elder at their lodge, Let's Do It Again also reunited Good Times stars Walker and John Amos to the silver screen. Cosby and Poitier would return two years later with A Piece of the Action, though Lockhart, another veteran of Uptown Saturday Night, would sit out the final team-up. Hip-hop fans will note that Lockhart's character provided one of the aliases for slain '90s rap star Christopher Wallace, also known as the Notorious B.I.G. The soundtrack for Let's Do It Again featured Curtis Mayfield songs performed by the the Staple Singers. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, (more)
- 1975
Suffering from a severe pain in her side, Florida (Esther Rolle) hides her condition from her financially strapped husband. When it is revealed that Florida needs a gallbladder operation, James (John Amos) vows to get her the best hospital care possible, and money is no object. But that is before James is told just how much money will be needed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Thanks to the generosity of Lamont (Demond Wilson), Grady (Whitman Mayo) must pay host to wimpy, whiny Uncle Woodrow (Raymond Allen), who has been kicked out of his own house by his wife, the redoubtable Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page). To get rid of Woodrow, Grady plies the man with booze and tells him to go back and "stand up" to his domineering spouse. As a consequence, Aunt Esther herself soon arrives at the Sanford home -- and she refuses to leave. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demond Wilson, Whitman Mayo, (more)
- 1970
- R
Superstardom was predicted for Carrie Snodgress on the basis of her spectacular film debut in Diary of a Mad Housewife. Snodgress plays the long-suffering wife of pushy, insensitive attorney Richard Benjamin. Unable to withstand being treated as a trophy (and a tarnished one at that), Snodgress has a brief affair with sexy Frank Langella. Alas, Langella, like virtually every other male character in the film, is just as selfish and self-involved as Benjamin. Even when she enters group therapy, Snodgress is disenchanted by the obtuseness and chauvinism of her male psychiatrist. Nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Diary of a Mad Housewife, Carrie Snodgress dropped out of films shortly afterward to move in with rock star Neil Young - with whom she raised a child. She returned to cinema with a pivotal role in Brian de Palma's bloody thriller The Fury. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Benjamin, Frank Langella, (more)
This film version of the successful stage play was written by and stars Ossie Davis as Purlie Victorious, a flamboyant, self ordained minister. Along with wife Lutibelle (Ruby Dee), he returns to Georgia to buy an old barn and convert it into a church. He seeks out Captain Cotchipec (Sorrel Booke), the aging plantation owner entrusted with a $500 inheritance left by the preacher's sister after her death. Lutibelle is talked into posing as a long-lost cousin to get the money quickly from the dying landowner. Comedian Godfrey Cambridge reprises his stage role as the black plantation straw boss who pays lip service in the presence of the Captain but mercilessly mock the old man behind his back. Lutibelle gets the money from the old man with the help of his sympathetic son Charlie (Alan Alda), who is as liberal and progressive as his father is racially intolerant.. Religious hypocrisy, racial bigotry, civil rights issues and the changing Southern society backed by forced integration are subjects in this film that coincided with the turbulent social issues of the time. The title is taken from the first line of Stephen Foster's sentimental classic "Old Black Joe." The film was released nearly one hundred years after the famous songwriter's death. Produced and directed by Nicholas Webster, most of the actors reprised their roles from the original stage production. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, (more)
William Humphrey's novel Home From the Hill is compressed into 150 minutes for this MGM all-starrer. Robert Mitchum plays Capt. Wade Hunnicutt, a Texas millionaire, married to Hannah (Eleanor Parker). The Hunnicutts have two children of approximately the same age: Wade's biological son, Theron (George Hamilton in one of his earliest film roles), and his illegitimate son, Rafe (George Peppard). As the story opens, Wade conducts an extramarital affair; meanwhile, Theron (George Hamilton), disturbed by his parents' dysfunctional relationship, is not anxious to marry his true love, Libby Halstead (Luana Patten). The vicious cycle threatens to continue when Libby gives birth to Theron's out-of-wedlock son, but it is Rafe who turns Libby into an "honest woman" by acting as father to the child. Vincente Minnelli directs his material operatically, which is as it should be given the larger-than-life character and emotional entanglements he has to deal with. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Eleanor Parker, (more)
- 1957
This remake of Zoe Akins' Morning Glory stars Susan Strasberg as Eva Lovelace, the role that won Katharine Hepburn her first Oscar back in 1933. Fresh from the midwest, the starry-eyed Eva arrives in New York, convinced that she has what it takes to be Broadway's greatest actress. Armed with more chutzpah than talent, Eva proves fascinating to big-time producer Lewis Easton (Henry Fonda) and playwright Joe Sheridan (Christopher Plummer, in his film debut). But the realization of her girl remains just outside of Eva's reach until she replaces temperamental star Rita Vernon (Joan Greenwood) on the opening night of Sheridan's newest play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Susan Strasberg, (more)
- 1953
Taxi stars Dan Dailey as Ed Nielson, a been-there-done-that Manhattan cabbie. Nagged by his mother (Blanche Yurka) to find himself a wife, Ed must also contend with a blood-sucking loan company, demanding huge payments for his cab. His life is further complicated when he falls in love with one of his fares: Mary, a young Irish immigrant (Constance Smith), freshly arrived in New York in search of her husband. The girl discovers that her hubby is a louse, but she's forced to stay with him lest she face deportation. Despite his own problems -- not to mention the huge cab fare that Mary's running up while searching for her husband -- Ed vows to rescue his new love from an ungovernable fate. Though running only 77 minutes, Taxi boasts no fewer than six screenwriting credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Dailey, Constance Smith, (more)
