Eddie Barth Movies
One of Woody Allen's earlier, more slapstick-oriented efforts, Bananas tells the story of Fielding Mellish (Allen), a neurotic New Yorker who follows the object of his affections, Nancy (Louise Lasser), to the fictional Central American country of San Marcos, where she is involved in a revolution. Nancy wants nothing to do with Fielding, but he soon becomes a guest of the country's dictator (Carlos Montalban), before accidentally becoming the leader of San Marcos himself. Fielding is eventually shipped back to the US and tried as a subversive, but being that this is a comedy, and an especially light one at that, everything works out in the end. A far cry from Allen's later, more somber films, Bananas still works as an often hilarious amalgam of sight gags, one-liners, and bizarre asides. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, (more)
Richard Roundtree cuts a startlingly new and powerful heroic figure as John Shaft, "the cat who won't cop out, when there's danger all about" in Gordon Parks' seminal action film, Shaft. John Shaft is a black private eye with a small office near Times Square. On his way there one day, he gets pumped for information by Lt. Victor Androzzi (Charles Cioffi), a friend of his on the police force, about something big going down in Harlem involving black crime kingpin Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn). Shaft can't help him and leaves, only to just miss being waylaid by two of Bumpy's strong-arm men at his office, one of whom ends up dead on the pavement eight floors or so below. Squeezed by the cops, who are holding a potential manslaughter arrest over his head, Shaft contacts Bumpy, who reveals that his teenage daughter, whom he's always kept away from his business, has been kidnapped. There's been no ransom demand and no clue as to who did it, and he wants Shaft to find the culprits, insisting that he start with a group of Harlem-based black militants led by Shaft's onetime friend Ben Buford (Christopher St. John). No sooner does he find Buford, holed up in a decaying part of Harlem, however, than his friend's comrades are mowed down by submachine gun fire, and Shaft and Buford barely escape. With Shaft angry and out for blood, everyone is forced to come clean -- Bumpy knows that it's the Mafia that kidnapped his daughter, as they want in on the Harlem drug trade that he controls; they're holding her somewhere else outside of Harlem, where his men are no good to him, which is why he wanted Shaft to hook up with Buford. Androzzi tells Shaft that a dozen Mob trigger men from out of town have been spotted in Greenwich Village. He doesn't know why they're there, but he does know that if fighting breaks out between Bumpy's men and the Mafia, it's going to look like a race war, and the whole city could erupt. Shaft doesn't like the way he's been manipulated, but he sees Androzzi's point -- he links the trigger men to the kidnapping and finds the girl, but loses her again, getting shot in the process. Even though he's wounded, Shaft heads for a final confrontation with the kidnappers, supported by Ben's friends in an armed assault on the building where they're holed up. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, (more)
- 1971
- PG13
In this semi-autobiographical romantic comedy starring Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor (who also wrote the script together) two lonely hearts find each other in group therapy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
In this theatrically released episode from the TV series based on the popular feature film, Shaft, the tough New York detective must use all of his experience to solve the case and bring the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
In this theatrically released episode from the TV series based on the popular feature film, Shaft, the tough New York detective must use all of his experience to solve the case and bring the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
In this theatrically released episode from the TV series based on the popular feature film, Shaft, the tough New York detective must use all of his experience to solve the case and bring the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Clint Howard (brother of Ron, and former star of TV's Gentle Ben is herein cast as Tommy Sanders, a troubled teenager whose parents are divorced. Befriending another teen named Paul Harris (David Gruner), Tommy is present when a bitter family fight breaks out--and is subsequently accused of shooting Paul's stepfather (Joseph Perry). Cast respectively as Tommy and Paul's mothers are two of Hollywood's finest and hardest-working character actresses, Marge Redmond and Mariette Hartley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this theatrically released episode from the TV series based on the popular feature film, Shaft, the tough New York detective must use all of his experience to solve the case and bring the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1979
In this drama, David Rosen (Lee Strasberg) and his wife Becky (Ruth Gordon) have lived in the same Coney Island neighborhood for nearly all their married life. But the area is not what it used to be, and a gang leader named Strut (Kim Delgado) has decided to make Coney Island his new turf. Strut begins shaking down the merchants in the area, demanding payment for "protection" and using violence to deal with anyone who gets in his way. David refuses to give Strut protection money for the restaurant he owns, and as a result his diner is soon firebombed, while many of his neighbors are attacked and his synagogue is desecrated. When Becky dies, David decides that he can stand no more, and he plots his revenge against Strut and his underlings. Director Stephen F. Verona manages to combine a Death Wish-style revenge scenario with a mood piece that generates a very real nostalgia for what Coney Island once was -- and still is for many of the characters in this story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Gordon, Lee Strasberg, (more)
- 1979
Made for TV, The Man in the Santa Claus Suit jumped the gun a bit by premiering December 23, 1979. The title "character" is threefold: John Byner, Gary Burghoff and Bert Convy all don Santa suits for various reasons. Byner is a fugitive tramp, Burghoff a lonely schoolteacher, and Convy a divorced father estranged from his young son. Unifying their three stories is top-billed Fred Astaire, who pops up in eight different roles (or seven different roles, if you don't count his "surprise identity") and sings the title song. The moral, as ever, is that Christmas is what you make of it: if you're merry, then you'll have a merry Christmas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
"For God's sake, GET OUT!" was the ad campaign for the 1979 shocker The Amityville Horror. The film was based on the allegedly true story of the luckless Lutz family, who move lock, stock, and barrel into a new home, only to find that it is possessed by the demonic spirits of its previous owners. Variations of the Seven Deadly Plagues emanate from virtually every household fixture, while other forms of otherworldly mischief are suffered by the Lutz children. Enter kindly Father Delaney (Rod Steiger), who does his utmost to exorcise the house. The Amityville Horror was frequently greeted with laughs from its first-run audiences, especially after it was discovered that the "actual" events depicted in the film (based on a book by Jay Anson) were complete fabrications. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Margot Kidder, (more)
Fame is set at New York's High School of Performing Arts, where talented teens train for show-business careers. The film concentrates on five of the most gifted students: singer Irene Cara, actors Paul McCrane and Barry Miller, dancer Gene Anthony Ray, and musician Lee Currieri. More so than the subsequent TV series Fame, the film emphasizes the importance of keeping up one's academic achievements in this specialized school. The faculty includes no-nonsense English teacher Ann Meara, erudite musical instructor Albert Hague, and martinet dance teacher Debbie Allen. Of the film's cast, Ray, Currieri, Allen and Hague were carried over to the TV version of Fame, which premiered in 1981. The score for the film version of Fame was honored with an Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Cara, Paul McCrane, (more)
- 1980
Eddie Barth guest stars as "Rocky" Rockwell, an old buddy of diner owner Mel (Vic Tayback). Paying Mel and extended visit, Rocky arrives bearing news that his wife Mildred (Reva Rose) has walked out on him. Naturally, this places Mel in an awkward position--which gets akwarder and akwarder as the episode progresses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Detroit restauranteur Jimmy Butsicaris is probably best known to sports fans as the good buddy and severest critic of onetime Tigers manager Billy Martin. The made-for-TV Jimmy B. & Andre dramatizes an emotional chapter in the life and career of the big-hearted Butsicaris. Alex Karras plays Jimmy B., who tries to cut through State of Michigan red tape to adopt a streetwise African-American boy. Karras also coproduced this film with his wife Susan Clark, who shows up in a campy cameo as a hooker. Jimmy B. & Andre effectively captures the ethnic-mix ambiance of the Motor City; the sentiment weighs things down at times, but a story like this requires a few mushy moments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Originally and imprudently titled The Whorehouse Sting, this fact-based, made-for-TV melodrama casts Beau Bridges as federal agent Frank Powell, who makes it his mission to bring slick but deadly racketeer Oliver Sully (Harold Gould) to justice. This undertaking requires Powell and his fellow government functionaries to set up a phony San Francisco brothel (total price tag: $450,000), thereby setting the stage for an intricate extortion "sting". Putting her life on the line along with Powell is professional call girl Kathy Dunne (Farrah Fawcett), who agrees to pose as the brothel's madam. Laced with moments of unexpected humor and capped by an unexpected denoument, The Red-Light Sting debuted April 5, 1984, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The two-hour debut episode of Murder, She Wrote finds former substitute teacher Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) reluctantly thrust into the limelight when her first mystery novel, "The Corpse Danced at Midnight," becomes a best-seller. Invited to a costume ball held by her publisher, Jessica comes face to face with a genuine murder when guest Dexter Baxendale (Dennis Patrick), wearing a Sherlock Holmes costume, turns up dead. Suspicion immediately falls upon Jessica's nephew Grady (Michael Horton), forcing our heroine to turn sleuth herself. Throughout the story, the widowed Jessica must also wrestle with her growing attraction to handsome Preston Giles (Arthur Hill). Watch for future Murder, She Wrote semi-regular Herb Edelman in a role other than Lt. Artie Gelber, and also for a young Andy Garcia in a bit part as a tough guy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Wheelchair-bound law student Kristen (Barbara C. Adside), a protégée of Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson), asks Harry to escort her to her graduate prom. When Harry balks (as he has always previously balked whenever she'd invited him anywhere), Kristen accuses him of being prejudiced against the handicapped -- and he begins to brood over the possibility that she might be right. Selma Diamond makes her last appearance as court matron Selma Hacker in this, the final episode of Night Court's second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
While scuba-diving in the Kahuku lagoon, Magnum (Tom Selleck) thinks that he sees a boy named Kel'il Parker (Kahale Ahina) swimming alongside him. Trouble is, Kel'il was killed five years before in a boating accident. Despite his friends' efforts to convince him that he was hallucinating, Magnum is determined to prove that he saw exactly what he saw--and in so doing, to expunge the guilt of Kel'il's mother (Ilima Parker), who is convinced that she was responsible for the boy's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
San Francisco TV sportscaster Danny (Bob Saget) gets his big chance at nationwide exposure when he is tapped to cover a major boxing match. Alas, the fight is over virtually before it begins--and it's all Danny's fault. Meanwhile, Joey (David Coulier) and Jesse (John Stamos) explore their "inner parent" when Michelle (Jodie Sweetin) catches cold. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Richard "Cheech" Marin, of Cheech & Chong fame, directed and starred in Born in East L.A.. Inspired by Marin's music-video parody of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA", the film casts Cheech as an East Los Angeles repairman. While paying a visit to a sweatshop toy factory, Cheech is caught in the middle when the feds raid the place and cart off all the illegal alien workers. Since he's forgotten to bring his own i.d., Cheech is also shipped off to Mexico-where, having next to no knowledge of the Spanish tongue, he's virtually helpless. Desperate, he takes a job with crooked Tijuana saloon owner Daniel Stern-the first of many "make-do" jobs that he assumes to earn enough money to return home. Along the way, he falls in love with El Salvadorian girl Kamala Lopez, whose English is as fractured as Cheech's Spanish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, (more)
- 1991
- G
Mr. "No Respect" Rodney Dangerfield appears as cartoon character "Rover Dangerfield" in this animated effort dreamed up by the irrepressible comedian. The cartoon dog has to leave his Las Vegas home and ends up on a small farm in nowheresville USA, where his big-city ways aren't always appreciated by a more genteel folk. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rodney Dangerfield, Susan Boyd, (more)
- 1991
In a rare Sunday-night telecast of Night Court, Harry (Harry Anderson) agrees to teach a law class on a part-time basis. His first class proves quite an eye-opener thanks to a bizarre aggregation of students. And back in Night Court, Dan (John Larroquette) prompts courtroom artist Tommy Gamble (Fred Applegate) to make a sketch of Christine (Markie Post) that is guaranteed to raise a few eyebrows--among other things. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
A famous actress moonlights as a prostitute on the streets of L.A. and has to contend with clientele, her father, and the consequences of her double identity when a hotel owner finds out who she is. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Harry (Harry Anderson) has been offered a full professorship at Koch Community College. This prompts Dan (John Larroquette) to suck up to Harry big-time, in hopes of becoming his replacement in Night Court. Meanwhile, Bull (Richard Moll) does not appreciate the "paternal" remonstrations of courtroom maintenance man Art (Mike Finneran), who has begun dating Bull's mom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) cannot help but take interest in the plight of her reclusive neighbor Alice Morgan (Cynthia Nixon), who has suffered from extreme agoraphobia ever since she witnessed her mother's murder. More recently, Alice has been experiencing disturbing visions of her own demise at the hands of a mysterious assailant. More disturbing still, that assailant has apparently come to life--or at least, Alice claims to have seen him in the flesh! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
