Joe Maruzzo Movies
- 2005
- PG
Can an East Coast mob mechanic find happiness in the most straight-laced community in America? Carmine "Beans" Pasquale (Mark De Carlo) is a gangster from New Jersey who is pinched by the FBI and learns the only way he can avoid spending the rest of his life in jail is to tell the cops all he knows about his boss, Angelo Marcello (Michael Kagan). However, Pasquale knows if he talks to the Feds, Marcello's top hit man, Little Nicky Cappuccino (Joe Maruzzo), will see to it that he never speaks (or breathes) again. To ensure Pasquale's safety, the FBI enroll him, his wife, Gina (Jeanette Puchich), and their teenage son, Vincent (Clay Taylor), in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Now known as George Cheeseman and supposedly hailing from Nebraska, Pasquale is relocated to Moab, UT, a quiet Mormon enclave where the new family feels very much out of place. As Pasquale learns to live without a strong cup of coffee while working a nine-to-five job, his aggressively friendly neighbors struggle to make the new folks in town feel welcome. Mobsters and Mormons was written and directed by John E. Moyer, a Utah filmmaker who has made a number of offbeat comedies pertaining to the Church of Latter Day Saints. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark de Carlo, Jeanette Punich, (more)
- 2000
The detectives investigate when the co-owner of a clothing store is murdered. The chief suspect heads to Israel; to avoid extradition, he invokes the "Law of Return," which decrees that every Jew on earth is automatically a citizen of Israel. To crack this case, the DA's office must enter into a tense series of conferences with an impartial group of New York rabbis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
The investigation of a child's gruesome murder -- and of the mysterious apartment dweller who may be responsible -- leaves Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder) very little time to spend with his visiting sister, Lori (Hillary Danner). An elderly man arrives at the precinct claiming to have been fleeced by his beautiful young girlfriend -- but he doesn't hold her responsible for her actions. And the father of the murdered Dolores Mayo pays a visit to the 15th, forcing Diane (Kim Delaney) and Jill (Andrea Thompson) to break the bad news. Jimmy Mayo is played by Bob Glaudini, real-life father of Lola Glaudini, who portrayed Dolores. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
A group of female impersonators witness a murder committed by a child-killer who is supposedly serving hard time. When Fancy's (James McDaniel) former foster son is brought up on heroin charges, help comes from an unexpected source. Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) and Diane Russell (Kim Delaney) rekindle their relationship, while Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) is stopped from romantically pursuing Abby Sullivan (Paige Turco) by a surprising revelation. And while working undercover, Diane is placed in grave danger by handsome hood Jimmy Liery (Christopher Meloni). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
In 1934, J. Edgar Hoover and the boys made headlines for mowing down John Dillinger in a hail of bullets outside Chicago's Biograph theater. But in fact, according to this Jon Purdy gangster thriller, the Feds iced Dillinger's brother. Fast-forward five years, when mobster kingpin Al Capone (F. Murray Abraham) gives the real Dillinger (Martin Sheen) an offer he can't refuse: rob millions from a secluded vault or watch his wife and child get whacked. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Having just wrapped up four seasons of Doogie Howser MD, Neil Patrick Harris appears in this episode as delivery boy Tommy Ramsen. Having been found kneeling at the body of a murdered woman, Tommy claims that he merely witnessed the crime--and that he himself was shot by the killer. The police don't buy this story and place Tommy in custody, but Jessica (Angela Lansbury), a friend of both Tommy and the dead woman, suspects that there's more to the situation than meets the eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) shows up on Wall Street, there to make her very first personal investment in the stock market. As inevitably as night follows day, Jessica's stockbroker promptly turns up murdered. The police figure that the dead man's secretary is the culprit...but as usual, Jessica doesn't take stock (ouch!) in the conventional wisdom, and sets out to find the real murderer on her own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Kojak is sidetracked by a lovely girl while investigating the activities of a corrupt drug lord. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Telly Savalas
- 1988
- PG
This screwball urban comedy is about two dippy roommates, struggling musicians Lolly (Melanie Mayron) and Hattie (Helen Slater), who are asked by an equally spacey, drug-dealing friend-of-a-friend Diane (Loretta Devine) to baby-sit a bag containing nearly a million dollars while she scoots out of town in order to avoid trouble. Once the money is in their possession, however, temptation proves too much for Lolly and Hattie, who use the ill-gotten cash to pay the rent, buy new instruments, and embark on a shopping spree for earrings, clothes, and shoes. While the girls dig themselves deeper into trouble with every dollar spent, they also encounter a variety of eccentric characters, including a fellow musician (Danitra Vance), their ailing landlady (Eileen Brennan), Lolly's boyfriend (Christopher Guest), and a parking lot attendant (Stephen McHattie). The latter, however, is actually a cop who's keeping surveillance on them from across the street. Mayron co-wrote the script for Sticky Fingers (1988) with actress and first-time director Catlin Adams. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Slater, Melanie Mayron, (more)
Dominick Luciano (Thomas Hulce) is the moderately retarded twin brother of highly intelligent young intern Eugene (Ray Liotta). Anxious to become a successful doctor, Eugene finds he must devote most of his time to caring for Dominick. For his part, Dominick has been contributing to the family unit as a trash collector; in fact, it is his earnings that keeps food on the table. All Dominick wants out of life is a house by the lake where he and his brother can be together for all time. But the ambitious Eugene can't always bring himself to share that vision. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hulce, Ray Liotta, (more)
- 1985
- R
Anemic in its action sequences and main character -- a woman who has been raped once and decides to eliminate rapists with a newly-acquired handgun -- this film's vigilante justice is not much in the way of vigilante, or justice. Valarie (Denise Coward) is the rape victim who grabs her gun and hangs out at night spots just to catch would-be attackers and gun them down. Her series of killings is bandied about in the press as the "Dum-Dum" murders because of the bullets she uses, not as a comment on her mental acuity or lack thereof. Bored with her fiance, Valarie falls for the detective who is looking both for her rapist and the "Dum-Dum" killer at the same time. One might say he is in for a surprise. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denise Coward, Frank Runyeon, (more)
Not surprisingly, this fascinating dissection of Gypsy life in America was vilified by several ethnic special-interest groups, who'd previously delivered their mimeoed missives to novelist Peter Maas, on whose book the film was based. Sterling Hayden is the "king" of a New York-based gypsy tribe, who on his deathbed passes his crown to his reluctant grandson, Eric Roberts. Roberts' scuzzy father Judd Hirsch, envious that he's been passed over, begins plotting the demise of his own son. It appears at first that the boy, a thoroughly assimilated Manhattanite, would be more than willing to give up his invisible throne to Hirsch, but there's something about his heritage that always draws him back to his own people. Several genuine gypsies took part in the film as extras, bit players and technical advisers; reportedly, they also spent much of the shooting time trying to cadge a few dishonest dollars from cast and crew. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sterling Hayden, Shelley Winters, (more)
