Helen Hughes Movies
Supporting actress, onscreen from the '70s. ~ Rovi
The true story of one of the most contentious labor disputes of the 1970s is the basis for this made-for-cable drama. In 1973, many of the men of Harlan County, Kentucky, were employed by Brookside Mining, who operated a number of coal mines. Brookside paid its employees meager wages for dangerous, backbreaking work, and also controlled housing and retail sales in the area, boarding its workers in shacks without central heating or indoor plumbing, and selling them food and clothing at inflated prices. Warren Jakopovich (Stellan Skarsgard), an organizer for the United Mine Workers Association, encouraged Brookside's workers to join the union and go on strike for fair wages and better working conditions. Many of the miners simply couldn't afford the loss of income that a strike would mean, but when two workers died as a result of Brookside's willful ignorance of safety standards, most of Harlan County's mine workers finally went on strike. A judge formerly employed by Brookside handed down an order forbidding the workers to picket the mine sites, but Ruby Kincaid (Holly Hunter), whose husband Silas (Ted Levine) was fired for protesting dangerous conditions and whose father was attacked by scab laborers, organized the wives of striking miners to picket in their place. The Harlan County War was based on the same strike portrayed in the Academy Award-winning documentary Harlan County, USA. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Holly Hunter, Stellan Skarsgård, (more)
A peaceful Nebraska town on a sweltering summer day becomes the setting for an unprecedented disaster when it is struck by a deadly series of strong tornados. The story is told from the viewpoint of a 12-year-old boy who is forced to overcome his own terror to save the lives of friends and family in the horrifying aftermath. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Devon Sawa
Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley had his first starring role in this frankly lowbrow comedy, which teamed him with fellow SNL cast member David Spade. Big Tom Callahan (Brian Dennehy) is the street-smart owner of a company that makes auto parts, and one day he'd like his son Tommy Callahan III (Chris Farley) to take over the business. Trouble is, Tommy Boy is a fat, dim-witted slob who took seven years to get a business degree and has no idea how to run a business. His father's sudden death unexpectedly puts Tommy Boy in charge, with his dad's weasely assistant Richard (David Spade) trying to guide him. However, what no one knows is Big Tom's wife, the young and beautiful Beverly (Bo Derek), married him only for his money while holding on to her lover, Paul (Rob Lowe), whose presence she explains by telling people he's her son. Beverly and Paul are waiting for Tommy Boy to run the company into the ground so they can take over, sell it off and earn a quick payoff. However, what Tommy Boy lacks in smarts (and hygiene), he makes up for in determination, and he hits the road with Richard for a long sales trip in a last ditch effort to rescue his father's legacy. Tommy Boy was a major hit that turned Chris Farley into a screen star; sadly, died a little over 2 1/2 years later. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chris Farley, David Spade, (more)
Master of infantilism Adam Sandler stars as the title character, an overgrown rich kid who wiles away his days poolside, swilling kegs of beer and appreciating fine nudie magazines such as "Drunk Chicks" -- that is, until his father (Darren McGavin) decides to test his mettle as future head of the family business by posing a challenge: retake and pass grades K-12 in 24 weeks or watch control of the business pass to the requisite conniving underling (Bradley Whitford). Forced into action, Billy vows to change his drunken ways. He enrolls in kindergarten, makes new friends, pelts pint-sized kids with playground balls and develops a love interest in a pretty teacher (Bridgitte Wilson). The action culminates in an academic showdown between Billy and the purportedly Harvard-educated underling for the future of the family enterprise -- no small feat for a man fresh out of the first grade. There's gross, moronic, off-color low humor galore in Billy Madison, particularly in one subplot involving a romantically forward elementary school principal (Josh Mostel, son of theater great Zero Mostel) and his secret former life as a professional wrestler; another scene includes the hypertense school bus driver (Chris Farley, in a typical over-the-top cameo) lying in the meadow with a hallucinatory penguin. As one might suspect, Billy Madison is not for every taste; Sandler fans will laugh from start to finish; others beware. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi
- Starring:
- Adam Sandler, Darren McGavin, (more)
Based on an autobiography by Betty Rollin, this is a heart-tugger which finds a woman with cancer seeking the assistance of her daughter in fulfilling her last wish--a wish to die with dignity. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- 1990
Falling Over Backwards was filmed in Quebec through the good graces of the National Film Board of Canada. Saul Rubinek plays a high school teacher, currently in the doldrums over his divorce. Ignoring advice of Thomas Wolfe, Rubinek decides to "go home again" to forget his troubles. With his aged, infirm father in tow, the teacher rents a room in his old neighborhood. Romance blossoms between Rubinek and his landlady Julie St-Pierre. This low-key, rambling, intensely personal effort is virtually as textbook example of a "Canadian Indie". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Saul Rubinek, Paul Soles, (more)
- 1990
This fifth installment in the tiresome horror series is so far removed from its creatively depleted source material that one wonders why the filmmakers bothered to use the "Amityville" reference in the title. In fact, there is some question as to whether the haunted house featured here is even supposed to be the same accursed residence as established in the four prior chapters. For openers, the house doesn't look remotely similar; in addition, the scenes establishing its bloody history -- involving the murder of the house's former owner, a local priest -- seem to have eschewed any continuity with the earlier films. Disassociating this cheap production from others in the franchise doesn't help much, as the story is completely incomprehensible, dusting off the usual haunted-house cliches to little effect. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- 1989
A wealthy invalid discovers her husband's scheme to have her killed in this made-for-cable thriller--remade from the 1948 feature starring Barbara Stanwyck. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Loni Anderson, Carl Weintraub, (more)
- 1989
In this thriller, a cool detective and a fussy librarian team up to solve the mystery of a killer who hacks up both art books and his beautiful victims. The story is based on a novel by Jonathan Valin and was made as a cable television pilot. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1988
When a young couple must decide whether to allow a possible life-saving procedure to be performed on their critically-ill infant, members of the hospital staff opt to make the parents' decision for them. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- 1988
Three women gather in a self-help group to discuss their relationships and problems in this distaff drama. Martha (Jennifer Dale) tells of the breakup of her marriage. Ruth (Andrea Martin) discusses her painful emotional struggle in dealing with her mother's death. Edie (Lois Maxwell) tells the others how she met the man she has been married to for 40 years. Margaret Langrick portrays Edie in her younger days and co-stars with Kate Trotter and Chuck Shamata in this gang-directed feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jennifer Dale, Andrea Martin, (more)
- 1988
Gerald (Matt Craven) is a country boy who takes a job in Toronto as a bookkeeper for an advertising agency. He hopes to someday launch his own successful ad campaigns and daydreams about the beautiful model on the billboard outside his office window. Gerald meets the model Odessa (Kim Catrall) and follows her to the Palais Royale nightclub. He soon learns Odessa is controlled by mobsters led by Dattilico (Dean Stockwell), the crime boss who is trying to go legit in this uneven feature that is a misfired attempt at post-noir drama. Comedy passages are uninspired. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kim Cattrall, Matt Craven, (more)
- 1987
This slick throwback to the giant-mutant-insect movies of the 1950's has built a small reputation solely on its irrelevant title -- the film contains no monkeys, blue or otherwise -- which confused both reviewers and viewers alike. (This dilemma was solved in its second video incarnation, under the more honest title Insect.) The story begins when a gardener becomes infected with a plant-borne insect larva, which he disgorges upon his arrival at the County Memorial Hospital. When the bug-baby ingests a large dose of growth hormone called NAC-5 (hospitals are always leaving that stuff around where bugs can get at it), it immediately bulks up to the size of a bulldozer. The plot quickly shifts into Alien mode, as scientists, police (namely wild-eyed cop Steve Railsback) and hospital personnel creep down the hospital's labyrinthine corridors in search of the insectoid monster, which they hope to destroy with conveniently-provided experimental laser equipment before it can test the capacity of the maternity ward with a few million larvae. Despite the lurid promotional materials (showing pretty nurses SCREAMING IN HORROR!!), the story is played quite straight -- more of an homage to films like Them! than a parody of same -- and benefits from good performances (John Vernon is great as the hospital director), a tight script and a strong emphasis on suspense and action from director William Fruet. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve Railsback, Gwynyth Walsh, (more)
- 1986
Suicide Murders was filmed for Canadian television in 1985. Saul Rubinek stars as a klutzy private eye in a small, peaceful village, where clients are virtually nonexistent. When several mysterious suicides occur in the village, Rubinek senses that there's dirty work afoot. He stumbles around town searching for clues, uncovering an intricate murder plot. The Suicide Murders made its below-the-border debut on America's Lifetime Cable Service in 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
This low-budget feature is actually comprised of re-edited installments from a syndicated television serial. Jack Palance stars as a self-serving, abusive boor who becomes stranded -- along with his two hapless children -- by a thunderstorm, forcing them to take shelter in an isolated country estate owned by a group of mysterious and wealthy old dowagers. Seeing a golden opportunity, Palance soon turns to plundering their estate, but his plans collide horribly with the secret activities of a Satanic snake-cult who carry out ritual sacrifices in the attic. Guess who's next in line? Given the cheap-looking confines of the shot-on-video production, director Gordon Hessler manages to generate some creepy atmosphere, and Palance chews acres of scenery as the diabolical daddy, whose tyrannical behavior makes his eventual fate quite satisfying. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- 1985
- PG
Convinced that a recently burned-down structure harbors ghosts, young Matthew Mackay and Siluck Saysanasy decide to investigate the ruins. In true "urban legend" fashion, what Mackay sees inside the structure causes him to go bald on the spot! His distress is mollified when a pair of friendly ghosts whip up a "peanut butter solution" that will ostensibly restore his hair. So hirsute does Mackay become that he is kidnapped by a paint-brush manufacturer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mathew Mackay, Siluck Saysanasy, (more)
- 1983
Unfortunately bound by clichés and stereotypes rather than original insights and new viewpoints, this condensed movie version of an 8-hour television series does not do complete justice to its noble topic of courage in the face of the World War II holocaust. The story is based on the memoirs of Martin Gray (Michael York plays the older Gray and Jacques Penot the younger), a Polish Jew who survived the Warsaw Ghetto and escaped Treblinka, the Nazi death camp where his mother and brothers died. After leaving Treblinka, Martin returns to Warsaw in time to join the Jewish insurrection at the Warsaw ghetto. In 1943, thousands of Jews in the walled ghetto revolted and fought the German occupation forces for six weeks, killing 5,000 Germans but losing their heroic struggle -- that six-week battle is a major focus of the film. Miraculously, Gray survives the war and moves to France where he meets and falls in love with Dina (Brigitte Fossey) -- and then has a major second tragic episode in his life that opens this film, and in the story and in real life it inspires him to write his memoirs. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael York, Brigitte Fossey, (more)
- 1982
- PG
In this comedy, the aged residents of Flo Adler's Mapleview Nursing Home revolt against the corporate conglomerate threatening to take over their home. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
A series of brutal rapes and murders have begun occurring in a small town. Teenager, Tim (Duncan McIntosh), has had horrible dreams and fears he is the murderer, especially since many of his friends have been victims. The town doctor, Sam Cordell (John Cassavetes), and the sheriff, Hank (John Ireland), discover the community has a dark past involving Satanism. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Cassavetes, Kerrie Keane, (more)
A crazed, women-hating killer (Michael Ironside) rapes and brutalizes journalist Deborah Ballin (Lee Grant). When he discovers that his attack didn't kill Deborah, he comes to the hospital to finish what he started. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Ironside, Lee Grant, (more)
- 1981
Jack Palance both hosts and stars in this "possession" thriller. The story, concerning an old dark house and a family curse, is nothing special. What is of interest is the origin of Evil Stalks This House. Though currently available to television as a two-hour TV movie, the film was initially telecast in five half-hour serialized installments. Evil Stalks This House was the pilot for a syndicated horror anthology titled Tales of the Haunted. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1980
- R
The popular topic of men whose mid-life crises grow with a thickening waistline is handled with snatches of wit and insight in this standard comedy-drama from John Trent. Bobby Lee (Bruce Dern) is beginning to feel hemmed in -- his wife (Ann-Margret) has lost some of her appeal and his friends and family keep viewing him like the forty-year-old he will soon be. After his father dies, he is unable to take it anymore, and he hooks up with a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader (Deborah Wakeham) on a trip to that city. He may have traded in his business suite for denim, jeans, and cowboy boots, but he soon finds that a real transformation is not so easy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Dern, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1980
- PG
This well-wrought family comedy-drama by director Max Fischer is set in Holland during World War II. Young David (Brett Marx) has been separated from his parents because they were taken prisoner by the Nazis and sent away to a concentration camp. David ends up living on a Rotterdam farm as one of their workers and spends his time as best he can. He has always been entranced by American westerns and this infatuation gives him a certain confidence when it is most needed. David is inspired by his screen idols when he sees a chance to capture Colonel Gluck (Rod Steiger), an officer in the German army. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rod Steiger, Louise Fletcher, (more)
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