Shawn McAllister Movies
In this light-hearted adventure a lonely young girl befriends a runaway baby elephant and a magician. They have great fun until the elephant is captured by a cruel circus ringmaster. Now the girl and the magician must somehow find a way to save their little buddy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Holly Butler, Susan Gallagher, (more)
- 1990
- R
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Based on Doug Magee's novel Slow Coming Dark, the made-for-cable Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture is about a photojournalist (Roy Scheider) who is hired by a man (Arliss Howard) convicted of killing a policeman to photograph his execution. As the execution grows nearer, the photographer uncovers evidence that suggests the convicted man is actually innocent, and he tries to save him before it's too late. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
This made-for-TV film was originally titled simply Clinton & Nadine when it made its debut on May 28, 1988. Andy Garcia plays Clinton, who is eager to find his brother's murderer. To do so, he enlists the aid of Nadine (Ellen Barkin), a high-priced call girl. Clinton and Nadine get sucked into a plot to smuggle guns to the Contra forces in Nicaragua. The credited screenwriter for the film, Willard Walpole, was actually Robert Foster, who wasn't happy with the film and insisted his real name be removed from the credits. Clinton & Nadine was produced for the HBO cable service. The film is unrated, but contains heavy doses of violence and sexual suggestiveness. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andy Garcia, Ellen Barkin, (more)
- 1987
Though based on a true story which occurred in 1985, the made-for-TV Mercy or Murder? bears traces of the 1947 Fredric March film An Act of Murder. Robert Young stars as Roswell Gilbert, a 75-year-old Florida retiree happily married for 45 years. Gilbert's wife (Frances Reid) falls victim to Alzheimer's disease, which transforms their blissful existence into a six-year ordeal of unrelieved misery. Gilbert is eventually moved to murder his wife and end her suffering. He is tried for murder, and sent to prison chiefly because he refuses to apologize for what he has done. The performances of Robert Young and Frances Reid compensate for the windier, preachier passages of Mercy or Murder? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
This low-budget horror film about teenagers trapped in a carnival funhouse with a freakish monster is pretty standard stuff. Director Tobe Hooper manages a few shocks and includes some typically peculiar supporting characters, but this film is less entertaining than either of his previous excursions into such territory. Not as scary as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) nor as bizarre as Eaten Alive (1976), The Funhouse may as well have been directed by an anonymous hack as one of the foremost names in the genre. The movie tie-in novel, penned by Dean R. Koontz under the pseudonym "Owen West," is actually far more frightening than the film on which it was based. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Berridge, Cooper Huckabee, (more)
In this legal drama from director Sydney Pollack, Sally Field stars as Megan, an ambitious newpaper reporter who, based on information from FBI investigator Rosen, played by Bob Balaban, writes a scathing article that implicates Gallagher, a reclusive business-owner played by Paul Newman, in the recent disappearance of a labor leader. When Gallagher confronts Megan and sets her straight, the two team together to prove his innocence and have a few romantic interludes along the way. Wilford Brimley and Melinda Dillon also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Sally Field, (more)
