Donna Baccala Movies
- 1977
Jim (James Garner) hires on as bodyguard for novelist Anne Louise Clement, whose politically incorrect "perfect-wife" bestseller has incurred the wrath of several militant feminists. When Anne claims that she's been threatened with death, Jim thinks she's pulling a publicity stunt--until her agent Marty Bach (Tasha Martel) turns up murdered. In his efforts to save Anne's life, our hero is stymied by his client's tendency to stretch the truth...and what exactly is Anne's "doting" husband Bud Clement (Arthur Roberts) up to at the moment? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) poses as a caterer for a Syndicate wedding. In this capacity, Erskine hopes to gather information about a bloody internal power play instigated by Mob functionary Ed Haynes (Alex Cord). But the wedding may never come off--certainly not if Haynes is able to pull off his plan to murder the father of the bride, Boss Faber (Frank DeKova), just before the exchange of vows! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
After serving 12 years for a crime actually committed by his brother Dmitri Kampacalas (Scott Marlowe), Jason (played by future Starsky and Hutch costar Paul Michael Glaser), is released from prison. Returning home, Jason is secure in the belief that, per agreement, Dimitri has told the truth to their father Cadmus (Nehemiah Persoff),a Greek restauranteur. But Cadmus is still convinced that Jason is guilty--and is grimly unforgiving towards his "jailbird" son. The tragic consequences stemming from this crisis bring Detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) onto the scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
With a barrage of cinematic distancing devices at hand (flashbacks and flash-forwards, super-imposed titles, missing frames, projectionist cue-marks placed in the wrong locations in a film reel), Dennis Hopper concocts a hallucinatory acid-trip concerning an American movie company making a western in Peru. In a remote mountain village in Peru, a Hollywood film company wraps up shooting a western and returns to California. Staying behind is a young stunt man, Kansas (Dennis Hopper). In the village, he takes up with the resident whore, Maria (Stella Garcia). At this point, the film flash-forwards to Kansas being crucified by the villagers. Back in the old time frame, the Peruvians decide that they want to make their own movie. Not having the necessary film equipment, but plenty of local raw material, the villagers construct the needed cameras, microphones, and sound recorders out of bamboo, and although the equipment is faked, the villagers substitute real, bloody violence for the make-believe violence of Hollywood. During this eruption of violence in the Peruvian village, the local priest (Tomas Milian) blames Kansas for the carnage. The priest decides that movies are the root of all worldly evil and convinces the villagers to seize Kansas. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Stella Garcia, (more)
With a style and tone that wreaks of the late '60s, this cheap-looking adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story plays like an obvious reference to the battle between the establishment and the counterculture. The film stars Dean Stockwell as Wilbur Whateley, a brooding young man who makes a connection with a pretty librarian named Nancy (a very out-of-place Sandra Dee). Whateley wants to get his hands on the Necronomicon, a diabolical book that he believes will help him to open a doorway to a dimension inhabited by unspeakable creatures known as the "Old Ones." Hypnotized by Whateley's spell, Nancy accompanies the man back to his cursed home where he lives with his nutty grandfather (Sam Jaffe) and an unseen "thing" that is kept in an upstairs room. Meanwhile, the Necronomicon's owner, Dr. Armitage (Ed Begley), does some detective work on Whateley when he begins to fear for Nancy's safety. He quickly realizes that Whateley means to sacrifice Nancy in order to accomplish his diabolical plan. Whateley manages to steal the Necronomicon and begins the ritual to resurrect the Old Ones. As Armitage races to stop him, the thing from the upstairs room breaks out and beats a murderous path towards Whateley as well, leading to a final confrontation that leaves a lot to be desired. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell, (more)
- 1969
Neil Kriton (Michael Tolan), a respectable businessman, is none too pleased when his black-sheep younger brother Ricky (Scott Marlowe) shows up, begging for a job. Neil relents and finds employment for Ricky, despite the reservations of Neil's wife Denise (Julie Adams) and sister-in-law Lori Donna Baccala). Perhaps the elder Kriton would have been wise to heed the warnings of the women in his life: Ricky happens to be a fugitive from the FBI, wanted for hijacking and attempted murder--and he has no intention of reforming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
When Davy falls in love with Susan (Donna Baccala), daughter of a near-bankrupt circus owner (Forrest Lewis), the other three Monkees agree to replace the circus' defecting performers. Posing as the Mutzarella Brothers, the boys prepare to dazzle the audience with a death-defying high wire act. Listen for the "inside" reference to the old TV series Circus Boy, in which Monkee Micky Dolenz starred as a child. Also watch for dwarf actor Felix Silla, aka "Cousin Itt" on The Addams Family. Songs: "She", "Sometime in the Morning". First broadcast on February 13, 1967, "Monkees at the Circus" was written by David Panich of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
