Gloria Hendry Movies

In this martial arts thriller, a bounty hunter must find and stop an urban slasher from killing any more women. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Cult director Larry Cohen (It's Alive) directed this violent blaxploitation film. Nasty racist John McKinney cripples a black shoeshine boy, who grows up to be Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson), the Godfather of Harlem. The crimelord now has his tormentor McKinney (Art Lund) in his pocket, based on the cop's mob ties. Tommy's traitorous girlfriend Helen (Gloria Hendry) hands over the evidence, and McKinney moves in for the kill. But he may have underestimated the violent Tommy, who makes him shine his shoes in blackface while singing "Mammy." Rick Baker provided makeup effects, and James Brown did the music for this bloody oddity, followed the same year by Hell Up in Harlem. Cohen and Williamson got together 23 years later for an interesting (if unsuccessful) attempt at reviving the genre, Original Gangstas. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

This hastily assembled sequel to the blaxploitation hit Black Caesar downplays the gritty drama of that film to create a pure action tale with a comic book flavor. The story begins with badly wounded crimelord Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson) escaping an assassination attempt masterminded by corrupt District Attorney DiAngelo (Gerald Gordon) with the help of his estranged father, Papa Gibbs (Julius Harris). When DiAngelo's thugs attempt to kill him, Papa fights back and joins his son's criminal organization, a move that angers Gibb's top henchman Zach (Tony King). As Tommy and Papa build up their criminal empire, Zach secretly plots against them with DiAngelo. Zach also murders Helen (Gloria Hendry), Tommy's traitorous ex-wife, and pins in it on Papa to drive a wedge between them. Tommy gives up his New York crime operation and runs off to California. Papa takes over the operation, only to get killed by Zach during a fistfight. Angered by his father's death, Tommy returns to settle the score with Zach and DiAngelo. Hell up in Harlem delivers plenty of action set pieces and did fairly well at the box office, but lacks the consistency and the dramatic punch that made Black Caesar so memorable. As a result, it is considered to be one of Larry Cohen's lesser efforts. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi

In this drama, a conniving reporter learns of a hostage crisis and uses the information to further a career in television news. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This is a made-for-TV bio about the film star Rita Hayworth. Lynda Carter stars as the legendary star. ~ Rovi

Sarah Pillsbury and Midge Sanford, the producing team responsible for the theatrical-movie "sleeper" The River's Edge, were the mentors of the made-for-TV Seeds of Tragedy. Filmed in semi-documentary fashion, the story involves a single cache of cocaine, from creation to consumption. The coca leaves are initially harvested by poor farmers in the Peruvian Andes. The coca moves forward to a small-time Amazon trader; then it is powdered under the supervision of a Colombian gangster, and finally it winds up on the mean streets of LA. Partially filmed in Mexico with a cast of relative unknowns, Seeds of Tragedy was an unusually potent entry in the Fox Network's "Monday Night Movie" series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Wealthy, insensitive young Beau Bridges buys an inner-city tenement, planning to evict the present occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. But once he ventures into the tenement, he grows quite fond of the low-income ethnic types who dwell within. He even kicks over the traces of his WASP upbringing by romancing black tenants Diana Sands and Marki Bey. Though essentially a comedy, The Landlord offers several painful truths about ghetto existence. Essentially, Beau Bridges acts as the audience's "eyes:" we learn as he learns, we grow as he grows. The Landlord represents the first directorial effort of Oscar-winning film editor Hal Ashby. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi