Jack Larson Movies

Michael J. Fox once more makes a courageous effort to shed his nice-guy image in Bright Lights, Big City. Fox plays an impressionable Kansan who comes to the Big Apple to take a job at a major magazine. It isn't long before he falls into the twin traps of drug and alcohol abuse. His only hope for redemption is in the hands of Vicky (Tracy Pollan), the cousin of his scuzzy drinking buddy Tad (Kiefer Sutherland). Jay McInerney's bestselling novel does not translate easily to the big screen, but Fox strives hard to please, as do all of his costars. The white stuff snorted by Fox wasn't really cocaine, but powdered milk. Watch for Frasier's David Hyde Pierce in a small role and Jason Robards in a significant unbilled cameo. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a series of Rolling Stone articles by Aaron Latham, this romance was set in the world of L.A.'s hip fitness scene. Rolling Stone reporter Adam Lawrence (John Travolta) comes to L.A. to write a story about a prominent businessman who's been arrested for drug dealing (shades of the John DeLorean scandal). He's also decided to research a piece on the exercise fad and how health clubs have become the "singles bars of the '80s." His boss (real-life Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner as himself) OK's the project. At a club called The Sports Connection, an incognito Adam meets the regulars, including promiscuous Linda (Laraine Newman), airhead Sally (Marilu Henner) and aerobics instructor Jessie (Jamie Lee Curtis), a former Olympic swimmer. Adam and Jessie begin a romance, but it ends when she discovers that he's there to trash her and the club in print. Conflicted, Adam wrestles with publishing the story, but the final decision isn't his. A director of sincere, sober dramas, James Bridges was an odd choice to helm the romantic Perfect (1985), widely considered one of the decade's notorious cinematic misfires. Bridges had enjoyed much greater success with his previous collaboration with Travolta, Urban Cowboy (1980). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Documentary filmmaker Claudio Masenza, cinematic chronicler of the lives of Marlon Brando and James Dean, turns his attentions to the tragic film idol Montgomery Clift. Masenza offers a cursory synopsis of Clift's stage work (including The Skin of Our Teeth), then launches into a paean of the actor's film career, beginning with The Search (1947) and ending with The Defector (1966). It comes as no surprise that the film dwells upon Clift's erratic behavior, his quicksilver temperament, his sexual ambiguity, and his near-fatal 1957 auto accident. At 2 hours, the film leaves few stones unturned, though repetition is the order of the day during some stretches. Still, Montgomery Clift is a valuable primer for anyone unfamiliar with this compellingly unique performer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This film, aired on television as 24 Hours of the Rebel, delves into the hero-worship aura that surrounded James Dean following his tragic death. This stars The Waltons' Richard Thomas (getting a break from his usual "goody-goody" roles), who, as character "Jimmy J," is stunned by Dean's death and gathers his friends in a drinking foray where the stupor comes more from their turbulent emotions than from the suds. Quite respected for its real-life glimpses, this film is the debut of Dennis Quaid. ~ Rovi

This filmization of John Jay Osborn Jr.'s novel Paper Chase ended up one of the surprise hits of the 1973-74 movie season. Timothy Bottoms stars as the Minnesotan Hart, a brilliant but naive first-year student at the Harvard Law School. Like most of his fellow aspiring attorneys, Hart is in fearful awe of his demanding, ego-deflating instructor, Professor Kingsfield (John Houseman). He is not so much intimidated by Kingsfield, however, as to resist falling in love with the professor's pretty daughter (Lindsay Wagner). An eminent theatrical and film producer, John Houseman won an Oscar for his first important film role (no, it wasn't his first film role ever; he'd played an unbilled cameo in 1964's Seven Days in May), launching Houseman on a latter-day acting career wherein he spent most of his time playing variations of Kingsfield. Houseman also recreated the role for a Paper Chase TV series, which first ran on CBS, then on public television, then on the Showtime pay cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This tuneful romp offers about an hour of good, trashy low-budget fun as it tells the tale of wealthy teens' struggles to keep their favorite hot spot intact after they learn that a real estate dragon-lady has set her avaricious eye upon it with the hopes of building a new high-rise there. Much of the tale centers on the land magnate, Roberta Crawford, and her vivacious teen-age niece, Vicki, who visits the club with her blue-blooded, arrogant beau Roger Kelly. Vicki is in the dark concerning her aunt's machinations until she hears the club's handsome star singer Mel Hudson talking about how he is trying hard to resist Roberta's onslaught of pressure to sell. Vicki falls for Mel right away and immediately decides to help him. Trouble ensues when the club mysteriously burns down and Roberta Crawford is accused of arson. Fortunately, the truth is revealed, someone has a change of heart, and amidst much celebration, a romance blooms. Songs include: "Come to the Party," "Mad, Mad, Mad," "Come A-Runnin'," "Watusi Surfer," "Greenback Dollar," "I Can't Get You out of My Heart," and "You Pass Me By." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A few unusual performers and actors are among the cast in this otherwise routine teen musical with more rock 'n roll than story. The legendary Zazu Pitts plays the role of Aunt Theodora, the woman who tries to keep her nephew Bobby (Jimmy Clanton) from getting on with his singing career. Bobby's millionaire father owns radio stations, and one day the teen sneaks his song into a station to be played on the air. As in any kid's dream, the tune is an overnight success. The problem is that when Bobby meets the young woman of his dreams, he cannot bring himself to tell her who he really is. Meanwhile, Aunt Theodora has hired a bodyguard -- none other than Rocky Graziano the World Middleweight Boxing Champion, 1947-1948 -- to watch over Bobby. And among the many warblers in the film, two are destined for special fame: Chubby Checker and Dion, who had just left his group Dion and the Belmonts. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Still headquartered in the busy ZIV studios, The Adventures of Superman churned out 13 full-color episodes for its sixth and final season on the air. Though George Reeves may have developed a bit of avoirdupois since launching the series back in 1951, he still cut quite an impressive figure as Superman (and, to a lesser extent, as the Man of Steel's alter ego Clark Kent). Also, Noel Neill is still cute as a button as Lois Lane, Jack Larson is as nebbishy as ever as Jimmy Olsen, John Hamilton remains the quintessence of irascibility as Perry White (though a failing memory required him to rely upon "cue cards" in the form of letters on his editor's desk), and Robert Shayne stalwartly stays the course as the sublimely clueless Inspector Henderson. An enormous improvement over the series' lackluster fifth season, Season Six features a number of above-average outings, several of which were directed by star George Reeves. "Superman's Wife" guest-stars voluptuous cult actress Joi Lansing as a policewoman who goes through a sham marriage to Superman in order to flush out a criminal. "The Big Forget" finds the eccentric Professor Pepperwinkle inventing an "anti-memory" gas which comes in handy when, during a moment of crisis, Clark Kent is forced to reveal his true identity as Superman in full view of Lois, Jimmy and Perry White. "The Perils of Superman" is a campy spoof of old-time serials, replete with Lois tied to the railroad tracks, Perry bound to a buzzsaw, Jimmy locked in a runaway car, and Clark suspended over a vat of acid. And in the series' final episode "All That Glitters", a dose of "positive Kryptonite" endows Lois and Jimmy with amazing Superman-like powers, including the ability to fly! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Having filmed its fourth season within the hallowed walls of the old Chaplin Studios, The Adventures of Superman moved into new quarters at the ZIV studios (formerly Eagle-Lion) for its fifth season on the air. Going along for the ride were, of course, the series' popular stars: George Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman, Noel Neill as Lois Lane, Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen, John Hamilton as Perry White, and Robert Shayne as Inspector Henderson. Perhaps inevitably, a bit of creative ennui was setting in as the series entered its fifth year. Phlegmatic episodes like "Tin Hero", "Close Shave" and "Mister Zero" (derided by many fans as the series' most ridiculous entry) are hardly representative of the best that Superman has to offer. On the plus side, Season Five yields such laudatory efforts as "The Phoney Alibi" and "Whatever Goes Up", both featuring Philips Tead as the eccentric Professor Pepperwinkle; "Peril in Paris", wherein Robert Shayne inexplicably drops his familiar "Inspector Henderson" guise to play a French police captain, replete with a broad Pepe Le Pew accent; and "Disappearing Lois", which if nothing else offers the amazing spectacle of Noel Neill flirting outrageously with ubiquitous Superman bad guy Ben Welden! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Shirley Booth followed up her Oscar-winning performance in Come Back Little Sheba with the high-gloss soap opera About Mrs. Leslie. Based on a novel by Vina Delmar, the film casts Booth as a philosophical boarding house keeper who recalls her life and loves in a long, long flashback. Born on the wrong side of the tracks, Vivien (Booth) escapes her surroundings by becoming a cabaret singer. She meets and falls in love with handsome, secretive George Leslie (Robert Ryan), then becomes his mistress, assuming his last name in the interests of propriety. Upon Leslie's death, Vivien discovers that her lover was actually a fabulously wealthy industrialist. Her experiences are placed in context with the present-day travails of her boarders, notably young sweethearts Nadine (Marjie Millar) and Ian (Alex Nicol). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For its third season on the air, the popular action series The Adventures of Superman switched over from black and white to color photography, a move designed to boost the series' profitability once color television became the rule rather than the exception. The switch to color put a strain on the show's already attenuated budget, which is one of the reasons that only 13 episodes were filmed this season, rather than the usual 26. By now, producer Whitney Ellsworth had abandoned all pretense of aiming the series at an adult audience, and was gearing the scripts almost exclusively towards the kiddie trade. To their credit, stars George Reeves (Superman/Clark Kent), Noel Neill (Lois Lane), Jack Larson (Jimmy Olsen), John Hamilton (Perry White) and Robert Shayne (Inspector Henderson) did not "play down" to their audience, though their tongues were firmly in their cheeks when delivering the more puerile dialogue passages (witness Clark Kent's playful interpretation of the phrase "a hot deck" in the episode "Bully of Dry Gulch"). Otherwise, the series' youthful following was acknowledged by an overemphasis on purely comic episodes, the best of which is "Flight to the North", featuring all-purpose Superman supporting player Ben Welden and a young Chuck Connors. There is also a tendency to lay the series' "fantasy" angle on a bit too thick, as in the season opener "Through the Time Barrier", in which a wispy inventor (Sterling Holloway creates a time machine which thrusts the entire cast back to the Stone Age. And on occasion, the writers succumbed to the temptation to be satirically self-referential-- never more so than in "Great Caesar's Ghost", the title of which invokes the oft-shouted catchphrase of the dyspeptic Perry White. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi