Bob Holt Movies
- 1986
In this children's drama, a con artist's dog leads two children to his former master's secret cache of loot. The children's lives change dramatically after that. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1984
UPA alumnus Abe Levitow was one of the executive producers for this captivating animated holiday special, based on Johnny Hart's comic strip B.C.. While making a tasty tureen of rock soup for her caveman companions, Fat Broad declares that there's only one way to flavor the soup--and that's to catch a turkey. Well and good, but no one's ever seen a turkey--except the turkey himself, a neurotic but clever critter. As cave dwellers Wiley, Peter, Thor and the rest drive themselves crazy hunting for the elusive bird, B.C. phlegmatically narrates the tale in a voice reminiscent of Jack Benny (courtesy of veteran voiceover specialist Daws Butler. B.C.: The First Thanksgiving originally aired November 19, 1973, on NBC, in tandem with another new cartoon special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don Messick
"Don't expose him to bright light. Don't ever get him wet. And don't ever, ever feed him after midnight." This sage advice is ignored midway through Gremlins, with devastating results. This comic Joe Dante effort is set in a Norman Rockwell-esque small town at Christmastime. Seeking a unique gift for his son an erstwhile inventor (Hoyt Axton) purchases a cute, fuzzy little "Mogwai" from a Chinatown shopkeeper's (Keye Luke) grandson (John Louie), who dispenses the above-mentioned warning before closing the deal. Meanwhile, young bank clerk Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) must suffer such antagonists as rich-bitch Mrs. Deagle (Polly Holliday) and priggish Gerald (Judge Reinhold) while pursuing his romance with Kate (Phoebe Cates). These and a variety of other plot strands are tied together when the lovable mogwai (named Gizmo) is exposed to bright light and gotten wet. In short order, the town is invaded by nasty, predatory Gremlins, who lay waste to everything in sight as Billy and Kate try to contain the destruction. Like most of Joe Dante's works, Gremlins is chock-full of significant cameo appearances: in this instance, such pop-culture icons as Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Chuck Jones, Scott Brady, Harry Carey Jr., Steven Spielberg (the film's executive producer) and even Robby the Robot all show up briefly on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Zach Galligan, Hoyt Axton, (more)
- 1982
This direct-to-video thriller involves a seriously unbalanced, former-alcoholic housewife who tries to make a clean start by moving into a new address after her release from therapy. What she finds there, however, are disturbing and violent visions which seem to be related to the brutal decapitation murder of the house's former owner... until consultation with a local psychic hints that some of the nightmares may actually be foreshadowing her own fate. In an unusual twist, her premonitions are echoed by a recently-suspended cop (Aldo Ray). Poor performances and slack pacing derail most of the suspense and reveal the rank amateurism of the filmmakers. The cable TV release of this cheapie usually carries the working title Straight Jacket (not to be confused with the properly-spelled Joan Crawford psycho-thriller Strait-Jacket). ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Aldo Ray, Kory Clark, (more)
In this animated futuristic tale, a pair of twins must fight for domination of what is left of the world, the good man using the powers of magic in an attempt to save the Earth, and the evil twin taking advantage of the horrors of technology that again threaten to destroy everything. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- 1977
This rather complex animated adventure concerns the quest of a toy wind-up mouse and his son to become self-winding.The two accidentally fall off a shelf, and are thrown out with the garbage. Then, they must escape from an evil rat who imprisons them. ~ John Bush, Rovi
The Day of the Locust is anything but a cheerful, light look at Hollywood in the '30s. It recreates both the town as well as the filmmaking world around which much of the town revolved with devastating accuracy. The movie tells the twin tales of talentless wannabe actress Faye Greener (Karen Black) and Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland), a lovelorn accountant who couldn't care less about movies. Around this framework, a huge and intricate social network is tellingly revealed, until the film's gruesome and tragic ending. Not for those who prefer to hang onto their illusions about the glory days of Hollywood, The Day of the Locust, based on the novel by Nathanael West, is a must-see for serious film buffs. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, (more)
- 1974
- R
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In this follow-up to the 1972 animated hit Fritz the Cat (the first animated feature to receive an X rating), Fritz (voice of Skip Hinnant) is married, out of work, on welfare, and not at all happy. Desperate to blot out the misery of living with his nagging wife (voice of Reva Rose), Fritz smokes as much marijuana as he can afford and finds himself fantasizing about how his life could have been. His Walter Mitty-like adventures find him travelling in outer space, working at the White House, assisting Adolph Hitler, and becoming involved with African-American radicals. Unlike its raunchier predecessor, The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat only merited an R rating upon initial release. Neither Robert Crumb (the comic artist who created the character) nor Ralph Bakshi (director of the first film) were involved in its production. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1974
- R
An intriguing blend of 70's "blaxploitation" and Exorcist clone, William Girdler's Abby is an effective and chilling film that incorporates elements of ancient African spiritualism into the conventions of the demon-possession genre. The story begins in Nigeria, where Professor Williams (Blacula's William Marshall) discovers a suggestive-looking fetish artifact in a cave once used by members of the sinister cult of "Eshu." When the relic is opened, it releases a foul-tempered Eshu demon which quickly kills several people and pursues Williams all the way back to America, where it soon enters the home of the professor's son Reverend Emmett (Terry Carter) and takes possession of the Reverend's proper and lovely wife Abby (Carol Speed). Emmett first begins to suspect something is amiss when Abby attempts suicide during a church picnic, but only after she begins vomiting in church and tormenting his congregation does he realize that her condition may not be mere insanity, and he consults his father for help. By the time the two men finally corner Abby in a sleazy bar, she has already seduced and killed several men. The exorcism is performed right in the bar, as dashiki-clad Williams incorporates both Western and African religious rituals to purge the foul spirit from Abby's body. Although Warner Brothers sought legal action against this film for its similarities to The Exorcist, this is no more of a rip-off than countless Italian variations on the formula, and its strong use of African religious traditions gives it a strength lacking in many low-budget blaxploitation films of the era. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Marshall, Carol Speed, (more)
- 1972
This Dr. Seuss tale looks at a creature that is environmentally concerned and tries to preserve his world against over development. ~ Rovi
