John Heller Movies

Maverick indie filmmaker Henry Jaglom moves from the sweet poignancy of his 2009 Irene in Time to knowing Hollywood satire with this romantic comedy that finds him teaming with actress Tanna Frederick for the third time. Frederick portrays Maggie Chase, a B-list star who longs to find love and fulfillment and achieve household-name status, but must contend with twin products of her wild behavior: a court-ordered electronic ankle bracelet and temporary house arrest. Fortunately, Maggie has a team of clever spin doctors (Ron Vignone, David Proval, Zack Norman, and Diane Salinger), who manage to turn her drunk-driving activities into attention-grabbing tabloid fodder. She also draws on the support of a movie-star beau, Dov Lambert (Christopher Rydell), equally known for his no-holds-barred behavior. For a time, it looks as though Maggie's grandest dreams will actualize, as her national fame crescendos, but her life grows more complicated when she follows Dov home to meet his kin, and runs headfirst into a series of show-business legends (played by Peter Bogdanovich, Dennis Christopher, Kathryn Crosby, Mary Crosby, Sabrina Jaglom, and Jack Heller). She also meets Dov's brother, failed writer Aaron Lambert (Noah Wyle), who seems tailor-made for Maggie with his ability to penetrate her superficial facades, but must deal with lingering issues in his own life and past. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Made for television, Love Among the Ruins was a precious one-time-only collaboration between stars Katharine Hepburn and Laurence Oliver, and director George Cukor. The scene is Victorian London, where wealthy widow Hepburn is being sued for breach of promise by her much-younger ex-fiance. Olivier is the highly respected barrister engaged to defend Hepburn in court. The usually reserved Olivier relishes the opportunity to see Hepburn, who 40 years earlier had been his lover. He is driven to hilarious distraction by Hepburn's adamant insistence that she has never seen him before in her life! Written by Emmy-winning TV veteran James Costigan, Love Among the Ruins was first telecast March 6, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Like M*A*S*H and Catch-22, both released the same year, this military comedy takes place in an earlier war but is really a thinly disguised treatise on the modern-day insanity and avariciousness then unfolding in Vietnam. Clint Eastwood stars as Kelly, a former lieutenant whose illusions about the glory of war, if he has any, are lost when he is busted in rank for following some poorly considered orders in World War II France. After capturing a friendly German officer, Kelly learns the whereabouts of millions of dollars in gold bars, earmarked to finance a military payroll. Taking advantage of a three-day liberty, Kelly assembles a motley trio of fellow soldiers to help him sneak behind enemy lines and retrieve the booty. They include Big Joe (Telly Savalas), a gruff sergeant; Crapgame (Don Rickles), a supply sergeant already enriching himself as a black marketer and con man; and the hippie-like tank commander Oddball (Donald Sutherland). Since crossing into enemy-held territory means heading in the opposite direction of the retreating Allies, Kelly and his men encounter armed resistance. Receiving word of their campaign, the vain General Colt (Carroll O'Connor) mistakes the quartet of freelancing scam artists for all-American heroes. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Director Jack Cardiff also served as scripter and cinematographer of the Anglo-French co-production Girl on a Motorcycle (La Motocyclette) The girl in question is played by leather-clad Marianne Faithfull, who speeds through Alsace on her cycle, en route to a tryst in Heidelberg with her ex-lover (Alain Delon). In a series of flashbacks, she recalls the events leading up to the present critical moment, including her desultory marriage. Based on a novel by Andre de Pieyre, the R-rated Girl on a Motorcycle was originally released in English-speaking countries in an X-rated version titled Naked Under Leather. Based on the stage play by Walter Melville. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Steed is accused of masterminding the murders of several enemy agents. Calling a truce with the "other side," Steed tries to unmask the actual culprit (who is a member of an organization appropriately called The Third Party), with the assistant of statuesque Russian agent Olga (the always delightful Anna Quayle). The trail of evidence leads to a training school for gentlemen, appropriately named "SNOB". A reworking of the "Cathy Gale" episode "The Charmers," "The Correct Way to Kill" was written by Brian Clemens; it was originally telecast in England on March 11, 1967, and was first seen in America 13 days later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a novel by Laurence Meynell, this film tells of a young businessman from England who who gets involved in a scheme to inundate a small communist country in the Middle East with counterfeit money. Things do not go as planned when his wife begins digging into matters. This thriller runs a short 59 minutes. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Unseen Heroes, along with Missiles from Hell, represented the US titles of the British The Battle of the V1. Set in wartime Poland, the film involves the secret Nazi missile installation at Peenemunde. British guerilla fighter Michael Rennie leads a group of Polish partisans on a mission to destroy the base and cripple the German war effort. The basic storyline is a good one, though it is muddied by several arbitrary plot transitions. Further undermining Unseen Heroes is the editing, which at times seems to have been accomplished with a paper shredder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

There's a bit of Oedipus Rex in The Haunted Strangler, though it's not readily apparent at first. Boris Karloff plays 19th-century novelist James Rankin, who becomes obsessed with the long-closed case of the Haymarket Strangler. Twenty years earlier, a man named Styles (Michael Atkinson) was executed for the Strangler's crimes, but was he guilty? It turns out that the actual culprit was the surgeon who performed Styles' autopsy. Coming into possession of the surgeon's scalpel, Rankin is overwhelmed by mixed feelings of bloodlust and guilt. It is at this point that Rankin realizes that he is truly his own, and London's, worst enemy. Originally released in England as Grip of the Strangler, The Haunted Strangler was distributed by MGM in 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

During World War II, the impenetrable Colditz castle in Germany was selected as the site for a POW camp. The Germans reason that, since Colditz has been virtually impossible to get into or out of for centuries, it is ideal for housing the most contentious allied prisoners. British officer John Mills doesn't agree, and leads an escape through a subterranean tunnel. Only three of the prisoners (Mills included) survive the escape; the next step is to get out of Germany itself. Colditz Story is based on the reminiscences of P. R. "Pat" Reid, the real-life English officer portrayed in this film by John Mills. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi