Art Hindle Movies

This made-for-cable version of Arthur Miller's play The American Clock was adapted for television by Frank Galati. Inspired partly by Studs Terkel's oral history Hard Times, and partly by Miller's own recollections, the film is set at the beginning of the Depression. When the stock market crashes, the well-to-do Baumler family (John Rubinstein, Mary McDonnell, Loren Dean) loses everything. The Baumlers are forced to move from their plush penthouse apartment to the less-attractive Brooklyn digs of Mrs. Baumler's sister (Joanna Miles). Twelve-year-old Lee Baumler (Dean), the Arthur Miller counterpart, hits the road to find out how others are coping with the Long National Nightmare. The alternately depressing and uplifting storyline moves along briskly to a surprisingly abrupt climax. Kelly Preston, David Strathairn, Eddie Bracken, Darren McGavin, and Estelle Parson co-star in The American Clock, which premiered over the TNT Cable Network on August 23, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Geraldine Brooks guest stars as Judge Anna Gavin, who years ago straightened out the life of an aimless teenage punk named Tony Baretta. Now all grown up, Baretta (Robert Blake) is an undercover cop, eternally grateful to the dedicated female jurist who directed him toward the straight and narrow. Alas, all is not well with Judge Gavin, who is being blackmailed by the slimy loan shark over whose trial she is currently presiding. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although this Canadian production saw its widest U.S. cable TV distribution in the early '80s (primarily under the title Stranger in the House) to capitalize on the phenomenal success of Halloween and its offspring, this effective suspense-thriller actually predates John Carpenter's film by four years. The story involves a dangerous psychopath hiding out in the attic of a sorority house who torments a small group of pretty young sisters (including Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder) who are staying behind over Christmas break. His tactics range from making obscene phone calls from their house-mother's phone, to stalking the terrified boarders with sharp objects and murderous intent. Director Bob Clark, who mistook dreariness for tension in his previous horror effort Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things! (1972), here demonstrates a tight, aggressive style that generates some very original shocks -- particularly the surprise ending -- which clearly influenced dozens of similarly-themed slasher films to follow. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Covert Action, badly directed by Romolo Guerrieri, is a predictable, dull espionage drama which concerns an ex-CIA agent (David Janssen) hunted by killers because of a book he has written about his experiences in the agency. While Janssen give a passable performance, the film is poorly plotted and badly directed. Shot on location in Greece, the lovely scenery is the film's only redeeming quality. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

This gentle comedy hearkens back to 1945, just after the war's end where a crazy small-town family awaits the return of one of their own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the year 2068, the Earth's surface is in a cataclysmic upheaval, much of it transformed into wasteland by unstoppable storms (the byproduct, of course, of the destruction of the Ozone Layer). A few hardy souls have dedicated themselves to preserving and protecting what is left of mankind; among these is former Army Captain John Thomas Garth (Grant Show). Approached by Lapierre (Steve Bacic), a former comrade in arms and now in the employ of grasping eco-profiteer Anton Reich (Art Hindle), Garth is made an offer he can't refuse. In exchange for the opportunity to save his father and several other apocalypse survivors, Reich agrees to lead a small team of mercenaries into the near-impenetrable Vincent estate to "liberate" the priceless works of art that had been stored there before civilization collapsed. Accompanied by reconnaissance specialist Fernandez (Naomi Gaskin), sniper King (Matthew G. Taylor), and tech genius Ebershaw (Wayne Ward), Garth must find some way to circumvent Encrypt, the deadly computerized security system surrounding the estate. Other obstacles include the Rook, a human-destroying robot, and Diana (Vivian Wu), the holographic security chief at the estate -- and a double danger because she possesses not only the means of mass destruction, but also a conscience. A two-hour cable movie that has "series pilot" written all over it, Encrypt premiered June 14, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Bob Clark, whose previous cinematic endeavors ran the gamut from Porky's to A Christmas Story, called the shots on From the Hip. Fresh out of law school, Robin Weathers (Judd Nelson) is hired by a law firm not known for its ethics. Weathers' first client is a man who, up to trial time, was perfectly willing to cop a plea. Instead, the novice lawyer sharkishly secures a "not guilty" verdict--not to mention a public reputation as a live wire. His jealous older colleagues decide to get even with Weathers by assigning him a case that cannot possibly be won. Thus it is that Weathers is assigned to defend insufferable murder suspect Douglas Benoit (John Hurt), who refuses to cooperate with his attorney even though he's facing a death sentence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A band of gorgeous models has turned crooked, using their sexual wiles--and a powerful "knockout" drug--to rob gullible men of their valuables. When one of the girls' victims turns up dead, Hunter (Fred Dryer) swings into action. Meanwhile, McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) goes undercover as a model--only to end up as a hostage thanks to the effusive stupidity of street hustler Sporty James (Garrett Morris. Yes, that's a pre-ER George Clooney in the role of Matthew Adler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A young drifter is caught in the clutches of a pair of femme fatales (Susan Anspach and Olivia D'Abo) in this thriller also known as Legend of Wolf Lodge. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Based on the book My 30 Years in Hoover's FBI by William G. Sullivan and William S. Brown, this made-for-cable biopic stars Treat Williams as the infamous Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Based on a Mary Higgins Clark novel, this made-for-TV mystery centers on a prosecutor who endangers her own life when she becomes overly curious about a 10-year-old unsolved murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Mother's Day was the first made-for-TV movie produced for the CBN Cable Service (now known as the Family Channel). Given CBN's religious track record and the film's innocuous title, it comes as a mild shock that Mother's Day concerns itself with drug dealers, murder charges and "women in jeopardy." Malcolm Jamal-Warner stars as an urban African-American teen convicted for a drug-related murder. He didn't do it, or so he says. The police don't seem to be concerned over this potential miscarriage of justice, so Malcolm's mother, played by Denise Nicholas, investigates the murder herself--putting her own life on the line in the process. The script's plot hinges on the fact that the teenager and the killer bear a striking resemblance to one another--a fact underlined in broad, blunt strokes by having Malcolm Jamal-Warner play both roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide