Fred McCarren Movies
James Woods and Sean Young were still "an item" when they costarred in The Boost. The stars play an investment broker and his girlfriend, who begin snorting cocaine on a recreational basis. Inevitably, the drug takes its toll, and soon Woods and Young have thrown away their lives in their desperate pursuit of their next fix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Woods, Sean Young, (more)
Fed up with watching vicious criminals walk on technicalities and loopholes, judge Michael Douglas accepts his older colleague Hal Holbrook's invitation to join "The Star Chamber." This sub-rosa organization consists of nine like-minded judges who endeavor to take the law into their own hands. Essentially, these are robed vigilantes, but Douglas joins them, determining that the end justifies the means. Before long, however, Douglas finds himself balking at sanctioning the murder of freed criminals -- and as a result becomes the target of the Star Chamber himself. Worth noting in the supporting cast of The Star Chamber are Diana Douglas, Michael Douglas' real-life mother, and Frances Bergen, widow of Edgar Bergen and mother of Candice Bergen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, (more)
- 1982
- R
This seldom-seen, well-crafted monster movie involves the reopening of a Utah silver mine which had been closed for nearly 70 years after a catastrophic cave-in, the circumstances of which remain one of the nearby town's most legendary mysteries. When attempts are made to explore the mine shaft, the investigating party never returns. It seems the mine's collapse had served to seal in a nest of weird, multi-tentacled, bloodsucking creatures -- which are now free to seek new prey on the outskirts of town. This simple but intense horror film benefits from good performances and genuine suspense -- providing only quick, spooky glimpses of the title beasts -- building to a thrilling showdown in the treacherous mine shafts. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca Balding, Fred McCarren, (more)
- 1982
- R
- Add National Lampoon's Class Reunion to QueueAdd National Lampoon's Class Reunion to top of Queue
A high school class reunion turns bloody when a former student seeks revenge on his classmates in this black comedy. That mayhem would strike this 20-year reunion seems preordained, given that the name of the school is Lizzie Borden High. Little did anyone expect, however, that this trouble would come from Walter Baylor (Blackie Dammett), a social outcast who was the victim of a humiliating senior year practical joke. Now, two decades later, Baylor has escaped from a mental institution to kill off his tormenters one by one. Class Reunion was the first produced screenplay by John Hughes, a National Lampoon writer who would eventually find a highly successful career as a writer, director, and producer of teen-oriented movies. His debut was exceptionally inauspicious, however, as the film's uncertain mixture of gore and low comedy was met with critical derision and audience indifference. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerritt Graham, Michael Lerner, (more)
- 1981
Purportedly based on a true story, this made-for-TV drama was filmed on location at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The focus is on two highly competitive jet pilots, Major Jay Rivers (Barry Bostwick) and Major Phil Clark (William Devane). Unable to leave their rivalry on the ground, Rivers and Clark attempt to "work out" their differences thousands of feet in the air during "Operation Red Flag", a war-games exercise simulating actual combat conditions. As the tension mounts above the clouds, the story periodically cuts away to the two combatants' earthbound--and long-suffering--spouses (Joan Van Ark, Eve McVeigh. Former test pilot Chuck Yeager functioned as technical advisor on Red Flag: The Ultimate Game, which made its CBS network bow on October 3, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this film, the mysterious Kira (Olivia Newton-John) appears to assist and inspire a young artist, Sonny Malone (Michael Beck). When she helps him meet up with the rich Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly), the two join up together to create an artistic and business success, an unique club called "Xanadu." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, (more)
- 1980
In this made-for-TV movie, a wedding photographer learns the secrets of marriage while working at several ceremonies. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Boss Hogg and the Duke boys have a common enemy for a change -- though that hardly means they're on the same side -- in this episode of the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) finds one of his old schemes has come back to haunt him when Neil Bishop (Fred McCarren), who was cheated by Hogg years before, robs him while Hogg is counting the take from a moonshining operation. Bishop needs to make a getaway, but Hogg has had his underlings impound Bishop's car, so he steals the first car he can find -- which just so happens to be the General Lee, dragging Bo and Luke Duke (John Schneider and Tom Wopat) into this mess. Bishop, however, doesn't know he may have set a trap for himself when he tries to make some time with Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach). "The Big Heist" first aired on March 30, 1979. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Alice (Linda Lavin) and Vera (Beth Howland) both try out for the role of Cinderella in a local children's theater production. Appropriately enough, the production's handsome director Sean (Fred McCarren) is, at age 25, a virtual youngster himself. Despite the fact that both ladies have several years on Sean, Alice and Vera knock each other over vying for his affections. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Though Desi Arnaz Jr. gets star billing in How to Pick Up Girls, the film's true leading man is third-billed Fred McCrarren. He plays a clueless Nebraska boy whose efforts to score with chicks in the Big City come to naught. Finally he stumbles upon the "secret" to successful dating with the help of his superstud roommate (Desi Arnaz Jr.) McCrarren is transformed into a makeout king--much to consternation of the nice girl (Bess Armstrong) who likes him for himself. Based on the book by Eric Weber (which one supposes was supposed to have been taken seriously), How to Pick up Girls is a made-for-TV smarmfest. At that, it is a few notches above the standard "horny teenager" flick which glutted the market in the early 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Marsha Mason is known as "The Goodbye Girl" because of all the live-in boyfriends who have said ta-ta to her in the past few years. A former Broadway chorus dancer, the divorced Mason lives in the Manhattan apartment of her latest lost love with her daughter Quinn Cummings. Enter arrogant actor Richard Dreyfuss, who has subleased the apartment from Mason's former boyfriend and moves in bag and baggage in the middle of the night. Dreyfuss and Mason spend the next few weeks getting in each other's way and fighting like cats and dogs. The wind is taken out of Dreyfuss' sails when he opens in a production of Richard III, which has been sabotaged by the director (Paul Benjamin), who insists that Dreyfuss portrays Richard as a hip-swinging homosexual. The play closes after one performance, and the once-overconfident Dreyfuss goes on a self-pitying drunken binge. Touched by his vulnerability, Mason begins falling in love with Dreyfuss despite her lousy track record with men. Richard Dreyfuss became the youngest ever "Best Actor" Oscar winner as a result of his performance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, (more)
