Paula Kelly Movies

The biggest names in 20th Century music perform with one of the greatest improvisational players in jazz history as film star Paula Kelly hosts a collection of memorable clips compiled to celebrate the 100th birthday of trumpet virtuoso Louis Armstrong. From the streets of New Orleans to the hallowed concert halls of Europe, Armstrong's music was universal in its ability to entertain and amaze. As a performer Armstrong performed with some of the music industry's biggest talents, and in this compilation drawn from vintage performances and movie appearances, the man called "Satchmo" performs with Gene Krupa, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and Billie Holiday among many others. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this awful black comedy, an aging bank robber tries to pull off one final caper. Things go awry and he ends up staying in a raunchy hotel. The crime is well-publicized, but fortunately the equally seedy residents there keep mum. Unfortunately, they are determined to literally nickel and dime him to death by making him pay dearly for even the smallest favors. Things look bleak until a kindly hooker falls in love with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Season One of the "new" Mission:Impossible came to an end with the episode titled "The Bayou." Veteran Australian movie villain Frank Thring guest-stars as Jake Morgan, who in concert with his partner Pepper Leveau (Paula Kelly) operates a thriving white-slavery ring in New Orleans. To put Morgan and Leveau out of business, the IMF team stages a voodoo ritual aimed at splitting up the nefarious duo --- and in so doing, our heroes also hope to rescue the villain's latest victim, Diane Marshall (played by former What's Happening!! regular Danielle Spencer). First broadcast on May 6, 1989, "The Bayou" was written by Jeffrey M. Hayes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Popular African-American comedian Jo Jo Dancer is severely burned while free-basing cocaine. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. While hovering between life and death, Dancer flashes back to his childhood, when he grew up in a brothel. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. Dancer decides to become a comic, but has a great many difficulties rising to stardom until he begins making scatological comments about race relations. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. As he rises to fame, Jo Jo has problems controlling his drug addiction and womanizing. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists.....Well, you've caught on by now. If one were able to excise the excruciatingly boring "introspection" scene, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling would stand as an excellent testimonial to Richard Pryor's cutting-edge comic brilliance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Introduced to NBC's Wednesday-night schedule as a mid-season replacement on January 4, 1984, the weekly 30-minute sitcom Night Court quickly built a large and appreciative audience, enabling the series to remain on the network for nine seasons. Harry Anderson, a comedian who had established his reputation as a smooth-talking, nimble-fingered street magician and self-styled con artist, was perfectly cast as affable, irreverent Manhattan night-court judge Harry T. Stone. Although he came across as an iconoclastic jokester who held standard legal procedure in contempt (in one episode, his verdict was based on the flip of a coin), Harry was a highly successful jurist with a well-honed sense of fair play, whose handling of the oddballs that paraded in and out of his court resulted in a gratifyingly low "return" rate and quite a few reformations. Even those who'd never stood before Judge Stone in court were familiar with his lovable eccentricities, including his fondness for faded blue jeans and his adoration of singer Mel Tormé. The supporting cast included John Larroquette as Assistant DA Dan Fielding, who spent as much time trying to score with the ladies in night court as he did trying to secure convictions, and Richard Moll as bald-headed bailiff "Bull" Shannon (Richard Moll), whose bark was worse than his bite, but not by much.

During the series' first season, Paula Kelly was seen as legal-aid defense lawyer Liz Williams, who was alternately appalled and fascinated by Harry's unorthodox tactics; Karen Austin also appeared as court clerk Lana Wagner, who harbored a not-so-secret crush on Harry. In subsequent seasons, Liz was replaced by Billie Young (Ellen Foley), who in turn was replaced by Christine Sullivan (Markie Post); as for Lana, her replacement was Mac Robinson (Charles Robinson). Both Christine and Mac remained for the rest of the series; not so with Selma Diamond as abrasive jail matron Selma Hacker, a character who lasted only until Diamond's death. The actress' replacement, Florence Halop as Florence Kleiner, likewise passed away after only a short time on the series; she in turn was replaced by Marsha Warfield as Roz Russell, a character who stayed in place until the series' own demise. The on-again, off-again romance between Harry Stone and Christine Sullivan was definitely "off" during seasons seven and eight, when Christine was wed to undercover cop Tony Guillano (Ray Abruzzo), a union which produced a baby. After Christine divorced Tony, her relationship with Harry heated up considerably, but before long the ardor had cooled. Eventually, Christine was elected to congress, whereupon she was pursued not by Harry but by the ever-libidinous Dan Fielding. The final episode of Night Court, which set something of a record for the number of bizarre, surrealistic incidents occurring within a single half-hour, was broadcast on July 1, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kojak returned to its familiar Sunday-night network berth for its fifth and final season. Things get off to a rousing start with this opening episode, with Lt. Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) determined to nail the murderer of a fellow cop. Unfortunately, the only witness to the crime, Janet Carlisle (Paula Kelly), is the girlfriend of a gangster (Charles Cioffi) who hates Kojak--and who goes to great and violent lengths to intimidate Janet into non-cooperation. This is the episode in which Kojak leans into the villain's face and snarls "If you touch her again, I'm going to splatter your brain" (Could this line have been written by future Quantum Leap and JAG producer Donald P. Bellisario, the man credited for the teleplay--or was it another Telly Savalas inspiration?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of Streets of San Francisco's two-part Season Five opener, a band of urban revolutionaries continue to hold an entire jury hostage on a ship, threatening to kill them one by one unless the group's leaders are released from prison. The tension mounts as the first hostage is murdered and homicide inspector Steve Keller (Michael Douglas, in his final series appearance) is gunned down on the eve of his retirement from the force. Keller's partner Mike Stone (Karl Malden) must rely upon the daring and resourcefulness of SFPD newcomer Dan Robbins (Richard Hatch) to rescue the terrified prisoners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A group of rape victims form an organization in hopes of bringing their attackers to justice. At present, the group is fighting legal red tape and procedure to convict the man who raped Nancy Price (Deirdre Lenihan), a close friend of Mike Stone's (Karl Malden) daughter Jeannie (Darleen Carr). Frustrated in her efforts, the outraged head of the organization (Vera Miles) is poised to rely upon truly desperate measures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Uptown Saturday Night is a delightful comedy directed by and starring Sidney Poitier. Steve Jackson (Sidney Poitier) is a factory worker. One evening, when boredom gets the best of him, Steve and his pal Wardell (Bill Cosby) decide to go to an underground gambling club to have some fun. While they are there the place is held-up and Steve's wallet is stolen. When Steve and Wardell learn that the wallet contains a winning lottery ticket, the friends go on a desperate search to find it. Shape Eye Washington (Richard Prior), an incompetent private eye, is enlisted to aid them in their search through the criminal underworld where they come up against Geechie Dan Beauford (Harry Belafonte) the mobster who runs the town. Belafonte, in a hilarious parody of Marlon Brando in The Godfather, steals the show. The movie was a huge success and led to two sequels, Let's Do It Again and A Piece of the Action, both also directed by Poitier. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Richard Fleischer directed this nightmarish science fiction vision of an over-populated world, based on the novel by Harry Harrison. In 2022, New York City is a town bursting at the seams with a 40-million-plus population. Food is in short supply, and most of the population's food source comes from synthetics manufactured in local factories -- the dinner selections being a choice between Soylent Blue, Soylent Yellow, or Soylent Green. When William Simonson (Joseph Cotten), an upper-echelon executive in the Soylent Company, is found murdered, police detective Thorn (Charlton Heston) is sent in to investigate the case. Helping him out researching the case is Thorn's old friend Sol Roth (Edward G. Robinson, in his final film role). As they investigate the environs of a succession of mad-from-hunger New Yorkers and the luxuriously rich digs of the lucky few, Thorn uncovers the terrible truth about the real ingredients of Soylent Green. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

To impress a young Nigerian woman named Olayia (Paula Kelly), Lamont Sanford (Demond Wilson) begins to dress in African fashion, and goes through the motions of adopting the continent's culture (including its exotic diet). Lamont's father Fred (Redd Foxx) laughs derisively at his son's ethnic pretensions. But Fred stops laughing when Olayia informs him that, in Nigeria, all fathers are considered sacred. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a remake of The Asphalt Jungle with an all black cast. In it a paroled convict plans to steal $3 million work of jewels, sell them, and use the bread to start a bank to back black businesses. He is assisted by two pals, his half-brother, and a preacher who also works as a thief. The operation is ultimately backed by a man who cheats on his wheelchair-bound wife with a sexy woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The "Andromeda Strain" is a deadly extraterrestrial virus. It is brought to Earth when a research satellite crashes near a tiny Arizona town. Everyone in the community dies within days, except for a baby and an "insulated" drunkard. Recruited from labs all over North America, doctors Charles Dutton (David Wayne), Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill), Ruth Leavitt (Kate Reid), and Mark Hall (James Olson) don radiation suits and race against time to isolate and destroy the virus. The film is based on a novel by Michael Crichton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide