Henry Jones Movies

In this drama based on Anne Tyler's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the long marriage of a couple en route to a funeral is seen from the viewpoint of those they encounter during the trip. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Warren Beatty directed and starred in this big-budget action comedy featuring Chester Gould's square-jawed, two-dimensional comic strip detective. Ruthless gangster Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) touches off a gang war against underworld boss Lips Manlis (Paul Sorvino), with Big Boy and his minions rubbing out enough of Manlis's goons (along with Manlis himself) to take over his nightclub, and a healthy percentage of the city's criminal activities in the process. Caprice also gains proprietary rights to Manlis's girlfriend, nightclub chanteuse Breathless Mahoney (Madonna). Big Boy's next move to is unite the rest of the city's crooks under his command; this wave of corruption attracts the attention of lawman Dick Tracy, who is determined to smash Caprice's criminal network once and for all. As Tracy plots to put Big Boy behind bars where he belongs, Breathless uses her considerable charms in an attempt to sway Tracy from the path of righteousness; this causes no small amount of anxiety for Tracy's long-suffering female companion, Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly), and the street-smart kid (Charlie Korsmo) they've been keeping an eye on. The various bad guys, heavily made up to resemble Gould's cartoon characters (though Beatty is not made up to resemble Tracy), include Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, R.G. Armstrong, and William Forsythe. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Referring to the fear of spiders, Arachnophobia features a particularly deadly species of spider that manages to make its way from the Venezuelan rain forest to a small California town, thanks to the many oversights of entomologist Julian Sands. Yuppie doctor Jeff Daniels, fed up with the dangers inherent in big-city living, has resettled in this town on the assumption that nothing untoward could ever happen here to himself and his family. Before long, however, Daniels is trying to make sense of a series of sudden deaths-and to figure out why each of the corpses has been drained of blood. The audience, of course, knows that the culprits are those pesky South American spiders, which grow larger with each kill. To make matters worse, Jeff Daniels suffers from a profound case of arachnophobia. John Goodman supports the cast as a slovenly exterminator, and Frank Marshall, longtime producer of Steven Spielberg's films, makes his directorial debut in Arachnophobia. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This grim tale is based upon actual events and chronicles the coming-of-age of two high-school seniors living in gritty Caddo, Texas in 1960. The teens lose their innocence when they become involved in the corruption and seediness that exists about their town after its leading citizen, the town judge and the town sheriff begin working on the latter's re-election campaign. The sheriff's challenger is desperate to win and so engineers the release of a dangerous convicted killer, whose actions he plans to blame upon the sheriff by making it look as if the incumbent accepted a bribe for the crook's early release. No one comes out clean in the end as the crook begins a vengeful killing spree and the corruption of both the judge and the sheriff are exposed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Filmed in black-and-white, this episode is both an homage to and a spoof of The Maltese Falcon and other "hard-boiled detective" movies of its ilk. In 1941 San Francisco, cynical gumshoe Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) tries to solve the murder of the much-despite publishing baron William Tyler Maxfield. Along the way, he meets the other Magnum, P.I. regulars, recast as "film noir" stereotypes. The story comes to a climax with obligatory revelation scene, in which Magnum gathers all the suspects together in the same room--and is HE surprised by the outcome! Only at the very end do we discover precisely why and how Magnum has been transplanted to another time and another place. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After her ex-lover threatens to explode a nuclear warhead, a former CIA agent organizes a team of crack female operatives to bring him back to justice. The film is also known as Slay It Again Sam. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Sidney Lumet provides another of his film adaptations of Broadway successes -- in this case Ira Levin's 1978 clever Broadway murder mystery that starred John Wood in a triumphant turn as down-on-his-luck playwright Sidney Bruhl. Wood's brittle airiness is replaced in the film version by Michael Caine's smoldering bitterness. Sidney Bruhl is a successful writer of Broadway mystery plays who was at one time considered the Neil Simon of Broadway mystery writers. Unfortunately, Bruhl is now struggling to live up to his own reputation, suffering through a series of four consecutive flops. But then Bruhl comes upon the manuscript of a brilliant suspense drama written by unknown writer Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve). Bruhl, desperate for a hit play, invites Clifford to come to see him, telling him that he is interested in collaborating with him on the play. Actually, Bruhl plans to murder Clifford and pass off Clifford's play as his own. What Bruhl doesn't know, however, is that Clifford has some surprise plot points of his own up his sleeve. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Quincy (Jack Klugman) is outraged to learn that young Sherry Anderson (Heidi Bohay) has died from injuries sustained in a car accident after being treated at a standard emergency hospital. It seems that Sherry's father Bruce (Leonard Stone), who at the crash scene appeared to be the more seriously injured of the two, was rushed to the Memorial Hills emergency trauma center, where the doctors were able to save his life. Arguing that the same special medical care should have been made available to Sherry, Quincy begins lobbying the city to finance additional trauma centers--even as Memorial Hills faces extinction due to lack of funds. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda), a housewife whose husband has left her for his secretary, begins her own secretarial career at a huge corporation. Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin), a feisty, veteran office manager, instructs her on the perils and procedures of office life -- and of working for Franklin Hart Jr. (Dabney Coleman), their chauvinistic, sleazy boss, and his right-hand woman, the crisp, nosy Roz (Elizabeth Wilson). Meanwhile, Hart's endless attempts to seduce his happily married secretary, Doralee Rhodes (Dolly Parton), lead the entire office to think she's a trollop. When Hart unfairly passes Violet over for a promotion, she drowns her sorrows at a local bar with Judy and Doralee, who regales the others with tales of Hart's epic advances. Later, at Doralee's house, the women smoke pot, eat barbecue, and concoct hilarious revenge fantasies -- a rodeo hog-tie, a Wild West shootout, and a gothic Snow White scenario -- about killing their boss. When a mix-up leads the women to think they have accidentally poisoned Hart's coffee, they hatch a scheme to protect themselves by stealing Hart's body from the morgue. When he turns up alive, never having drunk the coffee, they must kidnap him to prevent him from blackmailing them or calling the police. The women then use the occasion of their boss' absence to effect some changes around the office. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

No murder is committed nor autopsy performed in this episode, in which medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman) delves into psychology. The catalyst for the plot is Timmy Carson (David Hollander), a hyperactive seven-year-old with a severely limited attention span. Though Timmy has escaped from an institution for mentally retarded youngsters, Quincy is persuaded that the boy is actually suffering from a treatable form of autism. The problem now is to convince the authorities that the boy is not retarded--and to persuade Timmy's parents that the money needed to treat his autism will be worth spending. Featured in the guest cast is Lloyd Nolan, in real life the father of an autistic son, and a very young Tracey Gold as Timmy's sister. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A two-bit criminal takes on the Mafia to avenge his brother's death in this drama based on a novel by Donald E. Westlake. Earl Macklin (Robert Duvall) is a small time criminal who is released from prison after an unsuccessful bank robbery only to discover that a pair of gunmen killed his brother. As it turns out, the bank that Earl and his brother hit was controlled by gangster Mailer (Robert Ryan). Macklin learns that he's on the mob's hit list as well, so he teams up with his old partner Cody (Joe Don Baker) to take on Mailer and his second in command, Jake Menner (Timothy Carey). The Outfit also features a top-notch supporting cast, including Karen Black, Sheree North, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Jaeckel, and Anita O'Day; Marie Windsor and Elisha Cook, Jr. also appear, 18 years after their memorable turn together in The Killing. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Mark Twain's classic tale is brought to the screen for the fourth time, this time with a tuneful score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who also wrote the screen adaptation. Johnny Whitaker stars as Tom Sawyer, with Jeff East in his first film role as Huck Finn. Jodie Foster is also on hand, playing the role of Becky Thatcher. This enjoyable family fare was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Song Score and Best Costume Design. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Die, Darling, Die stars Jimmy Stewart as countrified lawyer/sleuth Hawkins. Julie Harris costars as a recent widow, the heir to a $2 million estate. Not surprisingly, Ms. Harris is suspected of facilitating her husband's death--especially since she was seen throwing away his medication. It's Hawkin's job to find out if she really "done it". Die, Darling, Die premiered as the October 23, 1973 episode of the TV series Hawkins. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi