Norman Bartold Movies

Although the girls have volunteered to stand in Bardwell's show window to demonstrate "the house of the future", Laverne (Penny Marshall) may not be able to fulfill her duties because of her phobia about appearing in front of huge crowds. Hypnotist Dr. Dawson (Charles Thomas Murphy) is called in to cure Laverne of her fears--and the result is a zany post-hypnotic delusion wherein both Laverne and Shirley (Cindy Williams) make public spectacles of themselves! Although the series would continue as Laverne & Shirley until its final episode, this marks the last appearance of Cindy Williams as Shirley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) are outraged when they think they have been passed over for a salary hike. In the tradition of such previous sitcom protagonists as Ralph Kramden and Rob Petrie, the girls mete out vengeance by writing an angry letter to the boss. Inevitably, word comes through that L&S have gotten their raise after all--but it's too late to retrieve the letter from their boss' office! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several lean weeks in California, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) finally land jobs in the giftwrapping department at Bardwell's Department Store. Unfortunately, it looks like the girls will be fired before they can be formally hired, thanks to a tantalizing consignment of chocolate candy laced with 100-proof rum. The final scene of this episode evokes fond and funny memories of similar chaotic climaxes in Laverne & Shirley's spirtual ancestor I Love Lucy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Albert Brooks made his feature-length debut as a writer and director with this wickedly funny satire, in which Albert Brooks plays "Albert Brooks," an arrogant and self-centered comedian who has decided to make a documentary film. Following the lead of the infamous pre-Real World PBS series An American Family (in which a "typical" family was filmed during most of their waking hours and eventually self-destructed on camera), Brooks moves in with the Yeager family of Phoenix, Arizona and chronicles their lives, with the support of a battery of psychiatrists and sociologists. He arrives at the Yeagers' doorstep with a two-man crew, wearing high-tech cameras that look like space helmets from a grade-B sci-fi movie, and it quickly becomes obvious that he is incapable of being unobtrusive. The Yeagers are driven to distraction by Brooks, who repeatedly ignores the advice of his team of experts and wishes there were some way to make the family's life more interesting (leading to perhaps the least expected homage to Gone With the Wind in film history). Of all Brooks' features, Real Life most resembles his cutting but deadpan short subjects for Saturday Night Live; Brooks never fails to cast himself in an unflattering light, and the supporting cast does admirable work in reacting to him, especially Charles Grodin and Lee McCain as Mr. and Mrs. Yeager. Harry Shearer contributed to the screenplay and plays a small role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Eleven years after the network cancellation of Gilligan's Island, the crew and passengers of the ill-fated S. S. Minnow returned to the small screen in Rescue from Gilligan's Island. The cast remains the same, with one significant change. Bob Denver plays inveterate bumbler Gilligan, Alan Hale is the long-suffering Skipper, Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer are the fabulously wealthy Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell III, Russell Johnson is the resourceful Professor, and Dawn Wells, as perky as ever, is Mary Ann. Tina Louise wanted no part of any Gilligan's Island reunion, so her role-perennial starlet Ginger Grant-is filled by Judith Baldwyn. The premise: a huge tidal wave transports the seven castaways back to civilization. While they're thrilled to be back in the real world, none of the seven are able to adjust to life outside the island....least of all Gilligan, who on top of all his other problems must contend with a pair of enemy agents (Vincent Schiavelli and Art LeFleur). Conceived as a two-hour pilot film for a weekly revival that never materialized, Rescue from Gilligan's Island was originally telecast in two ratings-grabbing 60 minute installments, shown on October 14 and 21, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While defending pro football player Davy Woodhull (Howard McGillin) on a robbery-murder charge, Beth (Gretchen Corbett) is harrassed by an unknown psycho. Jim (James Garner) must not only protect Beth, but also locate Doreen Carpenter (Sondra Blake), the only person who is able to clear Woodhull. Alas, Doreen is killed just before testifying in court--the first of several clues leading to the inexorable conclusion that Beth's tormentor is much closer to her than she thinks! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the 1976 autobiography My Luke and I by Eleanor Gehrig and Joseph Durso, Love Affair: The Eleanor & Lou Gehrig Story provides a slightly different slant on the events previously dramatized on film as Pride of the Yankees (1942). The story is told in flashback from the point of view of the wife of baseball's "Iron Man". Sitting in a deserted Yankee stadium, Eleanor (Blythe Danner) relates her tale to her biographer Joseph Durso (Robert Burr). She recalls how she met the painfully shy ballplayer Lou Gehrig (Edward Herrmann) on a blind date in 1933. She remembers her battle of wills with Lou's domineering and possessive mother (played with a nearly impenetrable foreign accent by Patricia Neal), and her 1934 elopement with her "Luke." Other memories include the New York Yankees' goodwill trip to Japan, where relationships became strained between teammates Gehrig and Babe Ruth (Ramon Bieri). Also recalled is the fact that Lou played 2130 consecutive games (a record was only recently broken by Cal Ripken Jr.). Eleanor's story ends inevitably with Lou's slow death from amyotropic lateral sclerosis. In summing up, Eleanor insists that despite the tragic final years, she wouldn't have traded her short time as Mrs. Lou Gehrig for anything. Edward Herrmann took pride in the fact that his portrayal of Lou Gehrig won the unqualified praise of the real Eleanor (though Herrmann learned to bat southpaw for the role, he is seen actually playing baseball only once) Originally scheduled for broadcast on October 9, 1977, the made-for-TV Love Affair was bumped by a World Series playoff game; it was rescheduled for January 15, 1978--smack dab opposite the Super Bowl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The police are continually frustrated in their efforts to catch an elusive burglar. They know the criminal's identity, and they're aware that he steals only when he needs to pay his gambling debts, but they've yet to catch him red-handed. The Angels are commissioned to "tap out" the miscreant and force him into another burglary. (Entrapment? Well, not exactly....) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though there's no love lost between Jim Rockford (James Garner) and fellow ex-convict "Joey Blue Eyes" DiMinna (Michael Ansara), Beth (Gretchen Corbett) persuades Jim to come to Joey's aid when the man is victimized by a crooked corporation. DiMinna owns a small restaurant which the corporation dearly covets, and the powers-that-be are not above extortion and physical violence--mostly directed at Joey's daughter Paulette (Suzanne Charney)--to get what they want. Figuring that it takes a crook to catch a crook, Jim stage-manages an elaborate swindle to foil the villains...with peril-prone Paulette at the center of things again. Appearing as loan shark Bert Striker is James Luisi, who later joined the Rockford Files cast in the role of antagonistic police detective Doug Chapman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Working on behalf of Deputy DA Kimble, whom he has never met, Jim (James Garner) poses as a newspaper publisher to find out if the weekly poker game at an exclusive men's club is "fixed." What the detective doesn't know until after the game is that Kimble couldn't have been the one who hired him since Kimble has was murdered nearly three months ago. Assistant DA Kate Doyle (Blair Brown) asks Jim to stay on the case to expose both the crooked game and the killer...and, incidentally, to prove that the late Mr. Kimble was connected with the Mob. This is the only Rockford Files episode directed by series star James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John (Randolph Mantooth) is in for a rough ride when he conducts a school tour of the Rampart facilities. Elsewhere, the emergency squad tries to mollify an unhinged Army veteran (James Ingersoll) who, imagining that he's still on the battlefield, is holding a knife to his wife's throat. Also, celebrated writer Maxwell Hart (Paul Fix) tries to end it all in a "dramatic" fashion, and a cargo plane crashes into a school bus full of children. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A tough biker gang comprised of African-American women heads off to find a member's mother and her abductor in this exploitation comedy ostensibly designed to make fun of racial stereotypes. The film was later retitled Get Down and Boogie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide