Russ Marin Movies

This is one of several seventh-season Murder She Wrote episodes introduced by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) but starring Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), a jewel thief turned insurance investigator. Dennis is sucked into the story when a disreputable former associate shows up in San Francisco, possessing what he claims to be a rare original manuscript by Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain. In rapid succession, the manuscript is proven to be forgery by a book expert, the manuscript is torched, and the expert is murdered. As Stanton tries to prove that his old "pal" is innocent, his trail is dogged by the ineluctable Rhoda Markowitz (Hallie Todd) and the irascible police lieutenant Perry Catalano (Ken Swofford). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With the over-the-top gruesomeness of The Re-Animator to compare it to, Wes Craven's Deadly Friend limps into the second tier, coming across as a Frankenstein tale lost on Elm Street. Paul (Matthew Laborteaux) is a teen computer genius who has recently moved to a new town. The quiet and peaceful milieu permits him to continue experimenting with his life's work -- a human-like robot named Bee Bee. But Paul becomes smitten with the comely girl next door, Samantha (Kristy Swanson). For Samantha, however, the small-town life is less than quiet and peaceful; she is the victim of an abusive father, who she dreams of killing. During an argument, her father pushes her down the stairs, and she lapses into a coma. Paul, with the help of local paperboy pal Tom (Michael Sharrett), decides to implant Bee Bee's microchips into Samantha's brain to re-animate her back to life. But Samantha, restored to life and with the strength of an inhuman robot, decides to exact vengeance upon her father and the rest of the townspeople who have done her wrong. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Goofy medical students have all kinds of rip roaring fun pulling crazy pranks such as scaring first year students by pretending to be cadavers. When the hijinks accelerate, the dean of the school tries to stop them. Filled with vulgarity, sexist and bathroom humor, the film's director Rod Holcomb, not wanting to take responsibility for the film, billed himself as "Allen Smithee," the official pseudonym of the Directors Guild. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Made for cable television, The Ratings Game was directed by Danny DeVito, who co-starred in the film with his wife Rhea Perlman. DeVito plays the owner of a New Jersey trucking firm who yearns for a televison career. He offers several TV-series ideas to a receptive network programming head. On the verge of being fired, the network exec decides to have his revenge on his ex-bosses by selecting the very worst of DeVito's concepts. The "born to fail" series becomes a hit, and soon DeVito is the hottest programmer in the industry! More truthful than many of us are willing to admit, The Ratings Game premiered with astonishingly little fanfare over The Movie Channel cable service on December 15, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Body Double, director Brian DePalma pays homage to the Alfred Hitchcock movies Vertigo and Rear Window, adding a few grotesque touches all his own. Craig Wasson plays Jake, a struggling actor who keeps losing jobs because of his claustrophobia. To make matters worse, his girlfriend has walked out on him, so he has no place to sleep. His pal offers him the use of his apartment for the evening. The apartment happens to be equipped with a huge picture window and telescope, enabling him to spy on his beautiful neighbor Gloria (Deborah Shelton) while she undresses. He also bears witness to her brutal murder. And then he meets a porn star (Melanie Griffith), who has just taken a job posing as the late Gloria. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When her adoptive mother Joan Crawford died in 1977, erstwhile actress/author Christina Crawford and her brother Christopher were left out of Joan Crawford's will, "for reasons which are well known to them." Industryites have suggested that it may have been this posthumous act of rejection rather than an alleged lifetime of parental abuse that inspired Christina Crawford to pen her scathing autobiography Mommie Dearest. The 1981 film version of this tome was evidently meant to be taken seriously, but the operatic direction by Frank Perry and the over-the-top portrayal of Joan Crawford by Faye Dunaway (whose makeup is remarkable) has always seemed to inspire loud laughter whenever and where-ever the film is shown. According to the film (and the book that preceded it), Joan Crawford was a licentious, child-beating behemoth, who stalked and postured through life as though it was one of her own pictures-more Strait-jacket than Mildred Pierce. This is the film with the notorious "wire coat hanger" scene, just in case you need a reminder. Surprisingly, one emerges from Mommie Dearest with more sympathy for the monstrous but intensely vulnerable Crawford than for her whining daughter (played as an adult by Diana Scarwid, and as a child by Mara Hobel). Our favorite scene: Joan Crawford dazedly replacing her ailing daughter in the cast of a daytime TV soap opera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Experiment in Terra is a 60-minute episode of the TV sci-fi series Battlestar Gallactica. Joining regulars Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict is guest villain John Calicos as the outer space "quisling" Baltar. In plotting his escape from Battlestar Galactica, Baltar also plans to free the imprisoned rebels of the planet Terra. You might get some fun guessing what planet Terra is really supposed to be and spotting how many plot elements are "borrowed" from Star Wars. Experiment in Terra was first shown March 11, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As a once-famous fashion designer prepares to make her big comeback, a mysterious killer begins stalking the beautiful models who gather for the gala celebration in his made-for-television thriller starring Eleanor Parker, Clive Revill, and Jessica Walter. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

As she rapidly approaches the age of 13, Elizabeth (Kami Cotler) is having more than the usual share of difficulty adjusting to the changes in her mind and her metabolism. Her burden is increased when, after listening to a ghost story spun by her friend Aimee (Rachel Longaker), Elizabeth imagines that she has witnessed a supernatural manifestation. Elsewhere, Jason (Jon Walmsley) takes a temporary radio job as advice-to-the-lovelorn expert "Uncle George"--little realizing that the mercurial Corabeth Godsey (Ronnie Claire Edwards) is hanging on his every word. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The formal title for this TV mini-series was Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue, just in case you might mistake it for William Makepeace Thackeray's 79 Park Avenue. Originally presented in three parts, this adaptation of the Robbins best-seller stars Lesley Ann Warren as Marja Fludjicki, a Depression-era tenement girl who is accused of murdering her drunken stepfather. Part One details how Marja's "crime" was justifiable; she'd been raped by the bounder. Parts Two and Three would trace Marja's progress from teenaged prostitute to elegant, high-priced Park Avenue Madam--and mob mistress. Forced by circumstance into a life of prostitution, Marja marries Las Vegas high-roller Ross Savitch (Marc Singer). Ross is bumped off by the Syndicate, leaving Marja in the lurch. Marja rebounds from tragedy to become a federal witness against the Mob. 79 Park Avenue was first telecast on October 16, 17, and 18, 1977. Though all the names are changed, it isn't hard to discern the Bugsy Siegel story in this video equivalent to eating a whole box of chocolates in one sitting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With this episode, Richard Hatch "officially" becomes a series regular in the role of Dan Robbins, the brash new partner of veteran SFPD homicide detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden). The case at hand involves Larry Dobbs (Howard Duff), the wealthy father of a girl who has been raped and murdered. Placing no faith in the authorities, Dobbs posts a million-dollar reward for the capture of suspected rapist Don Wilton (Maxwell Gail), dead or alive. This action transforms virtually the entire Bay Area population into a mob of greedy vigilantes--and it is up to Stone and Keller to stop the resulting wave of violence, which gets even worse when the desperate Wilton begins striking back at his pursuers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sam Elliot stars as Rick Carlson, a thirty year old lifeguard who thinks life is passing him by. Rick loves the beach life and his job, but after attending his fifteen-year high school reunion and receiving advice from his family and friends that he's wasting his life, Rick begins to question his livelihood and wonders whether he should quit and find a more normal line of work -- such as selling cars for the local Porsche dealership. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide