Lidia Kristen Movies
- 1979
In the latest in a long line of outlandish get-rich-quick schemes, Angel (Stuart Margolin) poses as a hit man named "Mr. Jones" and accepts a $10,000 contract. Of course, Angel has no intention of killing anyone, and every intention of absconding with the money. But things quickly go sour when Angel's would-be victim is apparently murdered by someone else. Once again forced to extricate Angel from the mess he's gotten himself into, Jim (James Garner) discovers that both the US Navy and the Russian KGB have taken a special interest in the murder--and while he's trying to figure out why, Jim must also solve the mystery of his dad's stolen blue jeans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Adapted for the screen by novelist Joseph Wambaugh himself, The Black Marble stars Robert Foxworth as a burned-out, hard-drinking cop who is teamed with idealistic lady officer Paula Prentiss. These two polar opposites wade their way through a seamy urban world of corruption and hopelessness. The film is peppered with supporting players, of which include Harry Dean Stanton, James Woods, John Hancock and Barbara Babcock. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Foxworth, Paula Prentiss, (more)
- 1979
- PG
This is a tragic tale of the slow degeneration of a cancer patient that is filled with pathos and sorrow. Buffy Koenig (Kathleen Beller) is terminally ill with cancer and for the two-hour running time, she goes through several surgical procedures, suffers all the devastating side effects of chemotherapy, and gets unrelentingly worse. Her doctor (Marsha Mason) has a certain amount of conflict herself, but that is nothing compared to the young patient's distraught parents (Ned Beatty and Susan Clark) or her grief-stricken boyfriend (Paul Clemens). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marsha Mason, Kathleen Beller, (more)
George Hamilton confounded his detractors by turning in a first-rate comic performance in Love at First Bite. Hamilton plays Count Dracula, who is evicted from his Transylvanian domicile when the Communist government decides to nationalize his castle. With faithful toady Renfield (Arte Johnson) at his side, Dracula heads for the Big Apple, where he finds the vampire pickings radically different from those on his home turf: for example, ol' Drac suffers the mother of all hangovers when his sinks his fangs into the neck of a wino. Klutzy Cindy Sondheim (Susan Saint James) falls in love with Dracula, not fully aware of his colorful background. But Cindy's stuffy fiance Dr. Jeff Rosenberg (Richard Benjamin), a descendant of Dracula's perennial foe Professor Van Helsing, knows what Dracula's up to and does his best to thwart the vampire's plan. This proves very difficult, since such time-honored remedies as the stake through the heart are frowned upon by the New York City authorities. So successful was Love at First Bite that Hamilton was encouraged to have a satiric go at another literary icon in 1982's Zorro, the Gay Blade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, (more)
One woman's life of love and larceny is recounted in this soapy drama based on the best-selling novel by Sidney Sheldon. In the midst of WWII, innocent French girl Noelle Page (Marie-France Pisier) falls in love with dashing American pilot Larry Douglas (John Beck). When Larry is given new orders taking him back to America, he tells Noelle that he'll come back for her -- when he doesn't, she becomes bitter and pledges to use men for their money and power, not for love. Noelle goes on to become a famous actress and weds Constantin Demeris (Raf Vallone), a Greek multi-millionaire. But she can't shake her passion for Larry, and eventually she hires him to work as her personal pilot. While at first he does not recognize her, soon Larry and Noelle are once again involved in a torrid affair, and when Larry's wife Catherine (Susan Sarandon) refuses to give him a divorce, he and Noelle begin planning a scheme to arrange an "accidental" death for Catherine. The Other Side of Midnight marked the American debut of actress Marie-France Pisier, following her role in the international success Cousin, Cousine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie-France Pisier, John Beck, (more)
- 1977
Laura (Melissa Gilbert) befriends a new schoolmate named Anna (Katy Kurtzman), who has a pronounced stutter. Hoping to humiliate Anna, bratty Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim) agrees not to snitch on Laura when the latter "borrows" and breaks one of the Olesons' precious music boxes -- but in return, Laura must agree to be mean to Anna. This is only the beginning of Nellie's nastiness in this particular episode -- but be assured that a delicious comeuppance awaits the little monster in the final scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1974
The made-for-TV Barbary Coast is a tongue-in-cheek western in the Maverick tradition, produced by a former writer-director of that series, Douglas Heyes. Dennis Cole plays Cash Conover, a San Francisco saloonkeeper of the 1870s. William Shatner co-stars as Jeff Cable, an undercover policeman who works hand in glove with Conover to fight crime on the Coast. Conover and Cable team up with the lovely Cleo (Lynda Day George) to tackle a vicious mob, headed by one Diamond Jack Bannister (Michael Ansara). Throwing a bit of Wild Wild West into the stew, Cable pops up from time to time wearing disguises and sporting outrageous accents. First telecast May 4, 1975, Barbary Coast was the pilot for the short-lived TV series of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
