Penelope Milford

Writer/director Chuck Parello's sequel to John McNaughton's Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer traces the murderous career of the title character after the events of the first film. Opening with scenes of woodland carnage, the film shifts to a homeless shelter where Henry (Neil Giuntoli, replacing Michael Rooker) ignores the rape of one fellow resident by another. Henry soon lands back on his feet by obtaining a job installing port-a-potties alongside straight shooter Kai (Rich Komenich) and his wife, Cricket (Kate Walsh). The kind but low-rent couple allow Henry to move into their home, where he makes the acquaintance of Cricket's dowdy, troubled niece, Louisa (Carri Lynn Levinson). As Louisa begins to develop a dangerous crush on Henry, the killer discovers that Kai is an arsonist and soon joins him on a series of jobs. When a pair of drugged-out teens witnesses one of the fires, Henry convinces Kai to help him kill the boys; soon the pair are murdering innocents to let off steam. Cricket, worried about her husband's erratic behavior and her niece's attachment to Henry, orders Kai to kick Henry out. Henry, meanwhile, rejects the sexual advances of the unbalanced Louisa, setting the stage for further bloodshed. Director Parello, who appeared in McNaughton's Mad Dog and Glory, and helped promote the original Henry, cast Giuntoli in the lead role after the actor played a serial rapist in McNaughton's The Borrower. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

A deliciously nasty black comedy, Heathers is set at a cliquish high school in Ohio. The most exclusive of those cliques is the Heathers, comprised of the prettiest and most popular girls in town. The group's leader is the manipulative Kim Walker, who orchestrates the humiliation of anyone who fails to meet her standards. Eventually, Heathers member Winona Ryder begins to exhibit a conscience; together with her hardcase boyfriend Christian Slater, Ryder plots to avenge all the unfortunate victims of the group. Before long, Heather (Kim Walker) ends up dead along with Kurt and Ram, with poignant suicide notes posted near their bodies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a washed-up boxer (Roger Daltrey) invites a British priest (Dennis Waterman) to minister in his South Chicago neighborhood, he never suspects that the priest is not who he says he is. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

The Golden Seal manages to be excellent family entertainment without ever resorting to gimmickry or phony sentimentality. The story focuses on a family living in the Aleutian Islands. The father, Jim Lee (Steve Railsback), has long been awaiting the return of the fabled golden seal, which comes to the islands to give birth every seven years. Like many of the other locals, Jim intends to capture the seal and turn it in for a huge reward. But Jim's 10-year-old son Eric (Torquil Campbell) endeavors to save the golden seal from harm. Told in a leisurely, unforced fashion, The Golden Seal is a fairly faithful adaptation of A River Ran Out of Eden, a novel by James Vance Marshall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This for Remembrance, the autobiography of popular singer Rosemary Clooney (1928-2002), was the source for this made-for-TV biopic. Played herein by Sondra Locke, the Kentucky-born Clooney begins her career as one-half of a musical act with her sister Betty (Penelope Milford), performing at the election rallies of her politician uncle (John Karlen). Achieving radio popularity in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rosemary goes on to enjoy nationwide fame in the 1950s with such hit recordings as "Come On A' My House", "Tenderly" and "Hey There". Though her success in movies is negligible (White Christmas notwithstanding), she makes a huge impact on television, hosting several of her own weekly series. All the while, however, Rosemary's private life is in turmoil, due in great part to a tempestuous marriage to actor-director Jose Ferrer (played by, of all people, Tony Orlando). After the assassination of her great friend Robert Kennedy in 1968, Rosemary suffers a nervous breakdown, and it is many years before she is able to make a triumphant comeback on the concert trail. Rosemary Clooney herself serves as the singing voice of Sondra Locke, and also dubs in the tunes performed by the actress playing sister Betty. Had Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story aired on CBS a decade or so after its original telecast on December 18, 1982, mention might have been made of the subsequent success of Clooney's actor son Miguel Ferrer and her TV-star nephew George Clooney; there might even have been a re-enactment of Rosemary's third marriage, capriciously staged at a White Castle restaurant in Cincinnati. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inspired by Johnny Paycheck's song of the same name, Take This Job and Shove It is a comedy/drama of big business vs. little guys. His corporate employers put Frank Maclin in charge of a project to shape up a newly acquired brewery. It just so happens that this places him back in his Iowa hometown after ten years of being away. He soon is faced with a dilemma and he must consider both his position with the company and the interests of the blue-collar employees. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Seizure: The Story of Kathy Morris is a fact-based TV movie, inspired by a book by Charles L. Mee. Penelope Milford stars as Kathy Morris, a 22-year-old Manhattan-based songstress. Kathy undergoes brain surgery to halt her occasional seizures. Unfortunately, her brain begins swelling, resulting in severe neurological damage. In a surprisingly dispassionate fashion, the film chronicles how Ms. Morris overcomes her handicap with the help of a skilled but brusque doctor (Leonard Nimoy), whose solicitous attitude towards his patient results in a reconciliation with his estranged wife. The Felliniesque climax of Seizure: The Story of Kathy Morris finds the real Kathy Morris taking over from Penelope Milford during a singing engagement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hal Ashby's 1978 melodrama examines the impact of the Vietnam War on the "war at home" among the men who fought it and the women in their lives. Left alone in Los Angeles when her gung-ho Marine husband Bob (Bruce Dern) heads to Vietnam in 1968, proper wife Sally Hyde (Jane Fonda) decides to volunteer at the V.A. hospital where her new friend Vi (Penelope Milford) works. There she meets Luke Martin (Jon Voight), a former high-school classmate and Marine who has returned from 'Nam a bitter paraplegic. As their relationship grows, Sally sees the effect of the war on the soldiers after they come back, inspiring her to rethink her priorities; Luke's spirits begin to lift, and a hospital tragedy helps focus his anger toward meaningful protest. After a Hong Kong visit with her increasingly withdrawn husband, Sally finds a love and companionship with Luke that she had never known with her husband. Once Bob comes home with his own injury, however, the three must find a way to deal with a changing world and with a system that betrayed the men fighting for it. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Man on a Swing, purportedly based on a true case, is a puzzling crime thriller concerning a clairvoyant who helps find a murderer. After a murder is committed, supposed clairvoyant Franklin Wills goes to police Chief Lee Tucker (Cliff Robertson) and gives him details of the crime that he has seen in visions. The details are startlingly correct and could only have been known to the killer. Tucker, not convinced that Wills is indeed clairvoyant, begins to suspect him of the murder. Man on a Swing, directed by Frank Perry, over-complicates its central theme, distracting the viewer from the film's strong central theme, the ambiguity of Wills. Joel Grey gives an outstanding, scene-stealing performance in that role, giving Wills both menace and a surprising vulnerability. Cliff Robertson is far-less successful in his portrayal of the no-nonsense police chief. The film's ambiguous ending should increase the suspense of the film but instead further confuses the viewer. However, because of the superb performance of Grey, Man on a Swing is worth a view. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide