Bob McClurg Movies
The second Dirty Harry movie, Magnum Force concerns itself with a vigilante group that has targeted notorious scofflaws for extermination. When a prominent gang boss or drug-runner is set free by the airheaded liberal courts, a covert group of "avengers" is soon on hand to blow the miscreant to bits. While detective Dirty Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is no great friend of civil liberties, he is dead set against wholesale murder as a solution to legal loopholes. Discovering that all the killings have been committed by the same weapon, Callahan reaches the conclusion that his on-the-edge partner, Charlie McCoy (Mitchell Ryan), is responsible. But the answer is less transparent than that, as Harry learns almost at the cost of his own life. Co-scripted by John Milius and Michael Cimino, Magnum Force was followed by three additional Dirty Harry installments: The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983) and The Dead Pool (1988). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, (more)
- 1976
- R
This futuristic parody on television is made up of various sketches, and features some early performances of later well-known comics. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Proctor, Howard Hesseman, (more)
- 1977
Alice sees an episode of 60 Minutes about a famous mobster who dropped out of sight three decades ago. Shortly thereafter, an oldster named Gino (Michael V. Gazzo) makes another of his regular drop-ins at the diner. Taking a closer look at the elderly Gino than she ever has before, Alice is convinced that the old man and the missing mobster are one and the same. This episode was originally slated to air on October 30, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Adapted by Larry Gelbart from the novel by Avery Corman, the film stars John Denver as Jerry Landers, the assistant manager of a grocery store who is chosen by God (George Burns) to spread the Word to the rest of the world. Not surprisingly, Jerry is soon labelled a basket case: even his loving wife Bobbie (Teri Garr) doubts her husband's sanity. But there's enough evidence on Jerry's side for a panel of prominent clerics to demand that the hapless fellow prove in court that he's the agent of God. Donald Pleasence was supposed to have an extended supporting role in the film, but the first cut ran too long, and Pleasence's dialogue was eliminated -- but not Pleasence himself, who retains his prominent billing and is seen doing precisely nothing in several scenes. Netting $30 million on its first run, Oh God was followed by two lesser sequels, both featuring Burns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Burns, John Denver, (more)
- 1977
- R
The Big One finally hits California and as it slides into the waiting Pacific a television news team with anchor people Walter Concrete and Barbara Halters is there to record the resulting chaos and help themselves to whatever is left. This satire features performers from such noted comedy troupes as the Ace Trucking Company, FireSign Theater and Second City. The Tubes provide the music. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Proctor, Peter Bergman, (more)
- 1978
After witnessing a robbery, Mel (Vic Tayback) is quick to identify the holdup man to the police. Only after he does his civic duty does Mel learn that the criminal has a history of perpetrating violence--mainly on witnesses to his crimes. Now Mel frets over the possibility that he won't live long enough to see that justice is done (or even to see if the diner closes on time tonight!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
With his 50th birthday approaching, Mel (Vic Tayback) insists that he doesn't want the diner staff to make a big fuss over the occasion--and he most certainly does NOT want a surprise party. Dutifully, Alice (Linda Lavin) and the other waitresses take Mel at his word. And as a result, Mel becomes extremely upset that no surprise party occurs (go figure)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
The focus in this first episode of Alice's third season is on Tommy (Patrick McKeon), the 14-year-old son of single mom/waitress/aspiring singer Alice Hyatt (Linda Lavin). By Alice's account, Tommy is currently passing "from puberty to impossible", and she's at her wit's end. When her bombastic boss Mel (Vic Tayback) claims that he'd do a better job raising Tommy than she, Alice gets even by taking him up on his "offer"--and the result is literally painful for at least one of the principal characters. This episode, in which Alice spends a goodly portion of time posing as "Sam Butler", was one of several Alice installments directed by Bewitched veteran William Asher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Alice (Linda Lavin) and Flo (Polly Holliday) need "wheels", so Mel (Vic Tayback) offers to sell them his battered old Volkswagen. Unfortunately, the car has a few minor technical deficiencies--for example, it won't start. The plot thickens when Mel gets a better offer for the car and tries to buy it back, only to meet with some unexpected resistance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Vain Flo (Beth Howland) refuses to wear eyeglasses, concerned that everyone will call her Old Four Eyes. But after a few days of bumbling and stumbling blindly around the diner, she must bow to the inevitable. Outfitted with contact lenses, Flo sees the world in a whole new light--but this may not be a step in the right direction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In this classic episode, Alice (Linda Lavin) is willing to make a profound sacrifice to cure Mel (Vic Tayback) of his gambling habit. A deal is struck: if Mel will give up his favorite vice, all the other diner workers will do likewise for 48 hours. This proves difficult when Alice's yen for chocolate, Flo's (Polly Holliday) desire for coffee and Vera's (Beth Howland) craving for tobacco get the better of them, culminating in a wild game of "gotcha" in Alice's apartment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Once again, Alice (Linda Lavin) finds a second job in a show-business vein; this time, she is hired to deliver singing telegrams. And once again, Alice's moonlighting takes a toll on her regular job at Mel's Diner; this time, she shows up for work four hours late. The episode's highlight is Alice's excuse for her tardiness, a tissue of lies that isn't to be sneezed at! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Soft-hearted (and frequently soft-headed) Laverne (Penny Marshall) rescues a decripit old horse named Buttercup from the glue factory. With no other hiding place available, Laverne squirrels Buttercup away in her bedroom, much to the dismay of roommate Shirley (Cindy Williams). Can it be possible that the nag's fate rests in the grimy hands of Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander)? (Trivia alert: the name of the horse's owner is Mr. Pioli--and tonight's episode was written by Judy Pioli Ervin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
When Laverne (Penny Marshall) chips a tooth, it is manna from heaven for novice dentist Mikey (Bob McClurg)--who happens to be the cousin of Laverne's roommate Shirley (Cindy Williams). A lifelong failure (he has already flunked out of dentist school five times!), Mikey hopes to prove his worth by taking good care of Laverne--but no one has reckoned with the perilously persuasive powers of nitrous oxide, aka "laughing gas." Eddie Mekka (Carmine) sings "Personality", originally written for the 1945 Hope-Crosby comedy Road to Utopia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Carmine Ciardi appears as Al Sharples, the brother of diner owner Mel and an old flame of waitress Flo (Polly Holliday). Despite the fact that both of them are "three time losers" in the field of matrimony, Al and Flo decide to get married. Not only does this throw the diner into an uproar, but it doesn't do much good for the ego of Flo's current "steady" Bubba (Lou Frizzell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In an unfunny, scattered sequel to their successful Up in Smoke, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong reprise their roles as carefree men who do inhale. But this time around Cheech is out of a job and trying to dodge his bilious neighbor while chasing the lovely Donna (Evelyn Guerrero) with anything but honorable intentions. Meanwhile, Cheech's cousin Red (also Cheech Marin) and Chong go tooling around Hollywood in a luxury sports car looking for adventure. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, (more)
- 1981
While at the bank to make a deposit, Laverne (Penny Marshall) finds herself in the middle of a robbery. In the course of events, she manages to get herself handcuffed to bank robber Louis Armstrong (played by Night Court's future "Bull", Richard Moll). As a result, she is forced to go on the lam with the fleeing bandit, and inevitably finds herself in the line of fire during the climactic showdown with the Law. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Burbank is being held in thrall by an elusive burglar whose targets have included the apartment of Laverne (Penny Marshall) & Shirley (Cindy Williams). Exercising their male prerogative, Frank (Phil Foster) and Carmine (Eddie Mekka) cook up a plan to capture the burglar by festooning the girl's apartment with booby traps. Want to place a bet as to which boobies end up getting trapped? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Co-written by Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman, Pee Wee's Big Adventure marks the debut of director Tim Burton, who stamps the entire film with his quirky trademark style. The premise: Pee Wee (Reubens), an overgrown pre-pubescent boy sporting a molded Princeton cut, blush, lipstick, and a shrunken gray flannel suit, lives an idyllic life in his bizarre home (some have compared the remarkable set design to the expressionistic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) until someone nabs his most prized possession: a fire engine-red customized bicycle. He then embarks on an epic cross-country search to find his lost love, not to mention more than a little adventure. Along the way, he makes friends with various oddball characters, visits the Alamo, endures various hallucinatory nightmares, and has a supernatural run-in with a spectral trucker. In this reprisal of his popular standup routine, Reubens is wonderful as the nerdy man child; he plays it silly, yet he manages to imbue the role with some sensitivity without ever seeming maudlin. The score by Danny Elfman is terrific -- as is the case in nearly every film Burton has directed -- and the script is fresh and inventive. Some of the most memorable moments: the opening sequence involving Pee Wee's morning activities is a stroke of genius (note the bunny slippers and talking breakfast), as are the scenes at the truck stop, and the "Hollywood" version of Pee Wee's story at the end (starring James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild in surprise cameos). In all, Pee Wee's Big Adventure is a delightful film, enjoyable for children as well as adults. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, (more)
Richard "Cheech" Marin, of Cheech & Chong fame, directed and starred in Born in East L.A.. Inspired by Marin's music-video parody of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA", the film casts Cheech as an East Los Angeles repairman. While paying a visit to a sweatshop toy factory, Cheech is caught in the middle when the feds raid the place and cart off all the illegal alien workers. Since he's forgotten to bring his own i.d., Cheech is also shipped off to Mexico-where, having next to no knowledge of the Spanish tongue, he's virtually helpless. Desperate, he takes a job with crooked Tijuana saloon owner Daniel Stern-the first of many "make-do" jobs that he assumes to earn enough money to return home. Along the way, he falls in love with El Salvadorian girl Kamala Lopez, whose English is as fractured as Cheech's Spanish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, (more)
- 2001
The wedding of Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) may never come off, thanks to a combination of terrible weather, squabbling in-laws, a misplaced wallet, and a clueless limo service. Back at the ER, with most of the nurses invited to the wedding, Abby (Maura Tierney) must hold down the fort while suffering from a bad cold; and Kovac (Goran Visnjic) and Carter (Noah Wyle) argue over the treatment of the victims of a prison-van accident. And while embarking on a vacation to get over her relationship with Legaspi, Weaver (Laura Innes) makes a new "friend" (Casey Biggs). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
