Paul Linke Movies

Though notorious as a flamboyant TV game show staple, stage and screen icon Charles Nelson Reilly qualified early in the game as one of the most accomplished performers in all of show business. In addition to early dramatic training under the aegis of Uta Hagen (alongside Hal Holbrook and Jason Robards), Reilly received a Tony nomination for his 1997 direction of Julie Harris in a critically-acclaimed revival of The Gin Game and - as a dramatic coach - honed the acting chops of many a well-respected contemporary. Reilly also launched a critically praised one-man stage show, The Life of Reilly, that involved the actor-director relaying colorful monologues about his long life in show business before a live audience. That production forms the basis of the film of the same name by Barry Poltermann and Frank Anderson. The motion picture, shot as a "theater piece" without being opened up for the screen, (and thus, a film relatively free of visual gimmicks) finds Reilly expostulating, wittily, on such topics as: his homosexuality (and the early discrimination it wrought when he wanted to make it as an actor); his dysfunctional family and troubled childhood; his brush with death in a 1944 circus fire; his stint on the small screen; and his experiences on the Great White Way. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

One of the quintessential family shows of the late '70s, CHiPs featured two handsome California Highway Patrolmen: Jon, the blonde uptight one, and Ponch, the free-wheeling Latin Lover. Prowling the L.A. freeways for wrong doers and the inattentive, the duo rode cool bikes, witnessed many exciting accidents -- often ending in fireballs -- saved lives, solved mysteries and flirted with pretty girls. Off duty, they often did all the things considered hip during that time, including lots of disco-dancing.

Made-especially for the TNT cable network and featuring most of the original cast and crew, this lighthearted action-adventure is set 15 years from where the old show left off. Jon (Larry Wilcox) and Ponch (Erik Estrada) have not been partners for years, but a puzzling series of car thefts reunite them. Part of the fun of the show is watching the two leads -- no longer sporting washboard stomachs, trim waistlines and smooth faces -- as they try to adjust to the innovations of modern police work, including new bikes and wireless radios that keep them in constant contact with their senior officer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is given the opportunity to solve her 286th murder, this one connected with a San Francisco fine-arts radio station. The station's ruthless new manager has elected to boost ratings by changing the outlet's image and format, and by firing a number of employees who are deemed too old for a hard-rock audience. So just guess who gets murdered. . .just guess! "Death by Demographics" is an ironic title for the final hour-long episode of Murder, She Wrote, which had been cancelled by CBS after 12 seasons and 264 episodes because it "skewed old" in the ratings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An enthusiastically brain-damaged outing from Charles Band's prolific B-Movie outfit Full Moon Entertainment, this cult-move manqué, directed by Oingo Boingo co-founder Richard Elfman (brother of composer Danny Elfman) is weird even by Full Moon's unique standards. The demented plot begins with a modern-day Bowery Boys-type bunch foiling a street gang's robbery scheme only to bring down the wrath of hilariously butch crime boss "Big Mo" (Meg Foster, complete with Elvis pompadour), who commands her chief axe-man to rub them out. Thanks to the voodoo skills of newsstand vendor Sumatra (Julius Harris), the three boys' severed heads are reanimated (it is never specified why this is all Sumatra could salvage) as tiny airborne mini-zombies with assorted super-powers. This leads to the inevitable blow-out between the Heads and Big Mo's legions, as well as one of the weirdest romantic subplots on record. Initially an abortive bid for midnight-movie infamy (much like the director's Forbidden Zone), this wacko twist on the basic comic-book superhero scenario has a playful nature that distances it from cult-horror territory but gives it a certain kooky charm; it features a main-title theme by the director's big-shot brother. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

This true story tells of the loving adoption of a Down Syndrome boy by a volunteer following the decision of the boy's parents to not allow a life-extending operation. ~ Rovi

The whole story is in the title of this made-for-TV heartstopper. Based on a true 1988 incident, the film details the breakout of a fire in a Los Angeles high-rise. The LA fire department does what it can, but their ladder equipment falls short of the 37-story requirement. Lee Majors, Lisa Hartman and Peter Scolari comprise the all-TV star cast of this Towering Inferno clone (which improves upon its role model): Majors is the LAFD supervisor, while Hartman and Scolari are the unlucky entrapped office workers. The focal point of Fire! Trapped on the 37th Floor is not the conflagration itself but the resourcefulness of the professional firefighters and the improvisational skill with which they utilize their equipment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This sentimentalized biography of Oz creator L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) stars John Ritter in the title role. Richard Matheson's teleplay accurately depicts Baum as a business failure with the singular gift of being able to communicate with children. In keeping with Matheson's grounding in fantasy and the supernatural, Baum's characters occasionally come to life to palaver with the author and bring him inspiration. Annette O'Toole co-stars as Mrs. Baum, while Charles Haid is seen in the dual role of "Badham" and the Cowardly Lion. Also on hand as a Munchkin is Jerry Maren, who played one of the Lollipop Guild in the 1939 Hollywood adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Made for television, Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story debuted December 10, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This feel-good ensemble comedy tracks a quartet of suburban siblings and their families over the course of a single summer. Hardworking Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) and his stay-at-home wife, Karen (Mary Steeenburgen), have just a few months to help their oldest son, Kevin (Jasen Fisher), overcome his high-strung behavior problems before he'll be relegated to special-education classes. Gil's difficult relationship with his own father, Frank (Jason Robards), has led him to become a would-be super-dad for his three kids, so he takes his son's difficulties more than a little personally. Gil's sister, Helen (Dianne Wiest), is trying to raise a moody, adolescent son (Leaf Phoenix) and an independent-minded daughter (Martha Plimpton) with no help from her well-off ex-husband, who's more interested in his new wife and family. Gil and Helen's sister, Susan (Harley Jane Kozak), meanwhile, must participate in the too-scripted Big Life Plans of her anal-retentive husband, Nathan (Rick Moranis), whose overachiever zeal infects even their toddler daughter. When long-lost brother Larry (Tom Hulce) show up with yet another get-rich-quick scheme, he brings with him a surprise addition to the family. Screenwriters Babaloo Mandel, Lowell Ganz, and Ron Howard negotiate their varied subplots with a deftness and comedic touch that transforms this conflicted clan into a suburban everyfamily. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This made-for-cable thriller stars Powers Boothe as a former policeman whose son (C. Thomas Howell) has fallen prey to a band of white supremacists. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

In this sci-fi/western film set two hundred years from now, a bank robber, Grange is captured and sentenced to the penal colony on the mining planet Proxima Centauri 3 where he meets bounty-hunter Walker, and the Colonel, a retired policeman from LA who was considered the best of his kind. Grange is a dangerous lunatic and Walker and the Colonel must team up to keep him from escaping. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Heart Like a Wheel stars Bonnie Bedelia as real-life racing champion Shirley "Cha Cha" Muldowney. Overcoming sexist hurdles, Shirley works hard to qualify for the major auto race competitions of America. Firmly in her cheering section is her dad (Hoyt Axton), and--at least at first--her husband, mechanic Jack Muldowney (Leo Rossi). When Jack, jealous of Shirley's success, leaves her, she casts her lot with troublesome banned racer Connie Kalita (Beau Bridges). The film comes to a head at the 1966 National Hot Rod Association World Championship, which Shirley eventually wins three times. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi