Ed Herlihy Movies

The Timeline series details historical events within the context of a single year, and showcases classic, original newsreel footage to tell the tales of history. Timeline: 1943 relays tales of World War II, particularly the events in Italy and Japan, as well as discussion of important names of the time like "Desert Fox" Erwin Rommel and Clark Gable. ~ Sarah Sloboda, Rovi

The Timeline series presents newsreels, audio recordings, radio shows, and lists in order to display the historic events that transpired during the given year. The 1944 edition contains newsreels about D-Day, MacArthur's return to the Philippines, and other momentous turning points of World War 2. A music section contains performances by Bing Crosby, The Glenn Miller Army Air Corp Orchestra, and Dinah Shore. Speeches from Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Winston Churchill round out this fascinating and entertaining trip down memory lane. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Writer-director Spike Lee's epic portrayal of the life and times of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X begins with the cross-cut imagery of the police beating of black motorist Rodney King juxtaposed with an American flag burning into the shape of the letter X. When the film's narrative begins moments later, it jumps back to World War II-era Boston, where Malcolm Little (Denzel Washington) is making his living as a hustler. The son of a Baptist preacher who was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, Little was raised by foster parents after his mother was deemed clinically insane; as an adult, he turned to a life of crime, which leads to his imprisonment on burglary charges. In jail, Little receives epiphany in the form of an introduction to Islam; he is especially taken with the lessons of Elijah Mohammed, who comes to him in a vision. Adopting the name 'Malcolm X' as a rejection of the 'Little' surname (given his family by white slave owners), he meets the real Elijah Mohammed (Al Freeman, Jr.) upon exiting prison, and begins work as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Marriage to a Muslim nurse named Betty Shabazz (Angela Bassett) follows, after which X spearheads a well-attended march on a Harlem hospital housing a Muslim recovering from an episode of police brutality. The march's success helps elevate X to the position of Islam's national spokesperson. There is dissension in the ranks, however, and soon X is targeted for assassination by other Nation leaders; even Elijah Mohammed fears Malcolm's growing influence. After getting wind of the murder plot, X leaves the Nation of Islam, embarking on a pilgrimage to Mecca that proves revelatory; renouncing his separatist beliefs, his oratories begin embracing all races and cultures. During a 1965 speech, Malcolm X is shot and killed, reportedly by Nation of Islam members. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Blake Edwards comes a cropper in this lunk-headed slapstick homage to Laurel and Hardy, Mack Sennett, and Jerry Lewis. Ted Danson and Howie Mandell play Spence Holden and Dennis Powell, a couple of idiots who find themselves involved with a pack of gangsters. Spence is a two-bit actor who is at a racetrack location with his pal Dennis, when he overhears two small-time thugs, Wayne "Turnip" Parragella (Richard Mulligan) and Maurice "Binky" Drundza (Stuart Margolin), talk about doping a horse set to run a race. It turns out that Turnip and Binky are under orders to carry out the dastardly scheme by their underworld boss Tony Pazzo (Paul Sorvino). When Spence and Dennis are found out, they find themselves pursued all over the Los Angeles area by an angry Tony Pazzo mob in an ever-escalating series of races and chases, crashes and smashes, and shouting and screaming. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

In this weak, undistinguished sequel to the successful Police Academy, Mahoney and his cohorts have now graduated from their police training and are ready to tackle real criminals. The first assignment for the enthusiastic former cadets is to halt the graffiti-scribbling antics of a local gang of marauding toughs. The new lieutenant at the station (Art Metrano) is not anxious to see them succeed -- and begins to roadblock their efforts against the graffiti artists. Not to be easily outmaneuvered, Mahoney and friends plot an appropriate revenge. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Leonard Zelig, the "human chameleon", is profiled in this mock-documentary. Director Woody Allen appears as Zelig in scenes that purport to be vintage newsreel clips of the 1920s and 1930s, but are actually clever recreations, "aged" and scratched-up Citizen Kane-style by special-effects maestros Joel Hynick, Stuart Robinson and R. Greenberg Associates. An appropriately pompous narrator details the life and times of Leonard Zelig, whose overwhelming desire for conformity is manifested in his ability to take on the facial and vocal characteristics of whomever he happens to be around at the moment. He shows up at batting practice with Babe Ruth, among William Randolph Hearst's guests as San Simeon, side by side with Pope Pius at the Vatican, and peering anxiously over the shoulder of Adolf Hitler at the Nuremberg Rally. Becoming a celebrity in his own right, Zelig inspires a song, a dance craze, and a Warner Bros. biopic. Mia Farrow plays Dr. Eudora Fletcher , a psychiatrist who tries to "reach" Zelig and ultimately falls in love with him (all of Farrow's scenes are in black-and-white and allegedly culled from archive footage; Ellen Garrison, whose resemblance to Farrow is uncanny, plays the older Dr. Fletcher in the interview sequences). In the manner of Reds, the influence of the fictional Leonard Zelig on popular culture is discussed by such real-life notables as Susan Sontag, Irving Howe, Saul Bellow and Dr. Bruno Bettenheim. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This half-hour video chronicles the history of the remarkable ocean liner the S.S. United States. Designed by William F. Gibbs, the huge, state-of-the-art luxury ship was launched in 1952, and on its maiden voyage set a record for transatlantic speed that has never been surpassed -- it crossed the Atlantic in three days, ten hours, and 42 minutes, sometimes achieving amazing speeds of 44 knots (approximately 50 mph). Co-funded by the Pentagon so that it could be transformed in time of war to a super-troop carrier, elements of its design remained a military secret into the 1970s. Never called on to carry soldiers, the ship hosted many 1950s and 1960s celebrities, such as Bob Hope and Princess Grace. Highlights of the video include archival footage of the great ocean liner in its heyday. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi