Paul Jenkins Movies

The lawyers are forced to consult another law firm when they encounter a murder case. ~ TV Guide, Rovi

Hunter (Fred Dryer) champions the cause of his old friend Sgt. Charlie Coster (Ramon Bieri) when the man is charged with the murder of his wife. At first it seems that Charlie was up to no good, else why would he have misfiled several recent burglary reports? As it turns out, however, it was the late Mrs. Coster who was covering up for a pair of corrupt cops who have no qualms about bumping off anyone who catches on to their dirty deeds! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In Hard to Hold, pop singer Rick Springfield is cast as an immensely successful recording artist named James Roberts. As a result of a fender-bender accident, Roberts meets and falls in love with child psychologist Diana Lawson (Janet Eilber), who is not the least bit impressed with James' wealth or fame. He spends the rest of the picture following Diana all over San Francisco, much to the discomfort of his lovelorn writing partner Nicky Nides (Patti Hanson). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this erotic psycho-drama from Roger Vadim, a California housewife is paralyzed by her fear of having sex, a phobia that stems from a brutal rape when she was a child. Determined to overcome her problem and have a healthy sex life, she starts a strange course that begins when a man shows up at her door dressed as a bird. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Disaster strikes the Walton family when their house is gutted by a raging fire. While the neighbors help John (Ralph Waite) rebuild, Olivia (Michael Learned) arranges for several neighbors to shelter her children in the interim, causing a great deal of friction between the younger Waltons and their temporary "families." Meanwhile, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) despairs over the possibility that his nearly-completed novel has gone up in smoke--and is wracked with guilt over the likelihood that he himself caused the fire. This is the first half of a two-part story, originally telecast as a single two-hour episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When the editor shuts down the newspaper where he works, John-Boy is given the opportunity to start up a periodical of his own. But before he can issue the first edition of the "Blue Ridge Chronicle", he must purchase the old paper's printing press--and thus he takes a full-time job to raise the money. His new responsibility cut into his study time at college, and it seems as though John-Boy's journalism teacher Professor Parks (Paul Jenkins) has no intention of cutting the boy any slack. . .but Parks may not be quite as cold-hearted as he seems. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), the Waltons struggle to put their lives back in order in the wake of the fire that has gutted their house. John-Boy (Richard Thomas) is guilt-ridden over the likelihood that he was responsible for the blaze, while Erin (Mary Elizabeth McDonugh) believes that she may have indirectly caused John-Boy's novel to be destroyed. Olivia (Michael Learned) worries that her family will be split up now that she has been forced to "redistribute" the children to various other households while John (Ralph Waite) and the neighbors rebuild the Walton home. And Ben (Eric Scott) comes to realize the value of rules and regulations after spending a few days with the footloose Yancy Tucker (Robert Donner). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

William Devane stars as John Henry Faulk, a popular radio and TV entertainer of the 1950s. In 1956, Faulk is blacklisted on the basis of an attack from the self-appointed anticommunist group AWARE. Fired by CBS, Faulk decides to sue AWARE for libel. His attorney Louis Nizer (George C. Scott) warns him that such a case will take several years to get to court, thus Faulk reluctantly takes a series of low-paying jobs to sustain himself during his "down period". In 1962, the case is finally brought before a judge, with several witnesses pointing out the idiotic iniquities of the Blacklist mentality (one child actor was prohibited from working because he had a name that sounded like that of an adult blacklistee). Appearing as themselves during the courtroom scenes are actress Kim Hunter, herself a blacklist victim, and producers David Susskind and Mark Goodson. Faulk wins his case, though his original award of $3.5 million in damages is later reduced to $550,000, and he is never able to completely return to his pre-blacklist prominence. Like several other filmic recreations of the "witch-hunt" era, Fear on Trial was first presented in the mid-1970s (October 2, 1975, to be exact), long after the most zealous of the 1950s anti-Red groups had fallen by the wayside. The film earned an Emmy award for screenwriter David Rintels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't," warns water baron Noah Cross (John Huston), when smooth cop-turned-private eye J.J. "Jake" Gittes (Jack Nicholson) starts nosing around Cross's water diversion scheme. That proves to be the ominous lesson of Chinatown, Roman Polanski's critically lauded 1974 revision of 1940s film noir detective movies. In 1930s Los Angeles, "matrimonial work" specialist Gittes is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to tail her husband, Water Department engineer Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling). Gittes photographs him in the company of a young blonde and figures the case is closed, only to discover that the real Mrs. Mulwray had nothing to do with hiring Gittes in the first place. When Hollis turns up dead, Gittes decides to investigate further, encountering a shady old-age home, corrupt bureaucrats, angry orange farmers, and a nostril-slicing thug (Polanski) along the way. By the time he confronts Cross, Evelyn's father and Mulwray's former business partner, Jake thinks he knows everything, but an even more sordid truth awaits him. When circumstances force Jake to return to his old beat in Chinatown, he realizes just how impotent he is against the wealthy, depraved Cross. "Forget it, Jake," his old partner tells him. "It's Chinatown." Reworking the somber underpinnings of detective noir along more pessimistic lines, Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne convey a '70s-inflected critique of capitalist and bureaucratic malevolence in a carefully detailed period piece harkening back to the genre's roots in the 1930s and '40s. Gittes always has a smart comeback like Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, but the corruption Gittes finds is too deep for one man to stop. Other noir revisions, such as Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) and Arthur Penn's Night Moves (1975), also centered on the detective's inefficacy in an uncertain '70s world, but Chinatown's period sheen renders this dilemma at once contemporary and timeless, pointing to larger implications about the effects of corporate rapaciousness on individuals. Polanski and Towne clashed over Chinatown's ending; Polanski won the fight, but Towne won the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Chinatown was nominated for ten other Oscars, including Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes, and Score. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story, Alec Morris (John Carter), a terrified computer programmer for Fiscal Dynamics Incorporated, comes to Jim Rockford (James Garner) for help, only to be promptly kindapped. Following up this puzzling incident on behalf of Morris' wife Helen (Priscilla Pointer), Jim finds out that there's a major coverup in the works--and that he is up against some very powerful people who will stop at nothing to prevent him from learning the whole truth. Al Stevenson makes his first series appearance in the recurring role of L.J., an old pal of Jim's dad Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A roman a clef depicting the Wylie-Hoffert murders, this is the first of the made for TV movies introducing the Kojak character and was essentially the pilot for the long-running crime series. When a black ghetto youth is accused of two bizarre murders, Kojak takes it upon himself to find the real murderer. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

Enrolling in a college sociology class, Keith (David Cassidy) falls in love with 23-year-old coed Dory Kimmel (Brooke Bundy). Even after discovering that Dory is married, Keith does not lessen his determination to win her over, convincing himself that she's willing to leave her husband for his sake. The "fun" really begins when Keith comes face to face with that selfsame husband! Songs: "I Heard You Singing Your Song" and "A Secret in My Heart". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi