Dick Miller Movies
Large and muscular at an early age, American actor Dick Miller entered the Navy during World War II while still a teenager, distinguishing himself as a boxer. He attended CCNY, Columbia University and New York University, supporting himself with semi-pro football jobs, radio DJ gigs and as a psychological assistant at Bellevue. At age 22, he was host of a Manhattan-based TV chat show, Midnight Snack. Stage and movie work followed, and Miller joined the stock company/entourage of low-budget auteur Roger Corman. His first great Corman role was as the hyperthyroid salesman in Not of this Earth (1956); a handful of rock-and-roll quickies followed before Miller received his first sci-fi lead in War of the Satellites (1958). In Corman's Bucket of Blood (1959), Miller originated the role of Walter Paisley, the nebbishy sociopath who "creates" avant-garde sculpture by murdering his subjects and dipping them in plaster. He was then cast in the immortal Little Shop of Horrors (1960); Miller not only makes a terrific entrance by buying a bouquet of flowers and then eating them, but also narrates the picture. Miller stayed with Corman into the 1970s, at which time the director was in charge of New World Pictures. Seldom making a liveable income in films, Miller remained an unknown entity so far as the "big" studios were concerned -- but his teenaged fans were legion, and he was besieged on the streets and in public places for autographs. When the adolescent science-fiction fans of the 1950s became the directors of the 1980s, Miller began receiving some of the best roles of his career. In Joe Dante's Gremlins (1984), Miller was paired with his Little Shop costar Jackie Joseph, as a rural couple whose house is bulldozed by a group of hostile gremlins. Miller and Joseph returned in the sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1989), in which the actor heroically helped squash the gremlins' invasion of New York. Miller's most Pirandellian role was as the "decency league" activist in Matinee (1993) who is actually an actor in the employ of William Castle-like showman John Goodman. Directed again by longtime Miller fan Dante, Matinee contains a wonderful "in" joke wherein Miller is identified as a fraud via his photograph in a Famous Monsters of Filmland-type fanzine -- the very sort of publication which canonized Miller throughout the 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 2007
Aesthetically and thematically, director Larry Blamire's outrageous camp-fest Trail of the Screaming Forehead resuscitates and satirizes bottom-of-the-barrel 1950s sci-fi movies such as X the Unknown and The Creeping Terror. Blamire's tale revolves around the scientific discovery that foreheads (and not brains) house human intelligence. In a misguided attempt to prove this axiom, scientist Dr. Sheila Bexter (Fay Masterson) injects a serum called "Foreheadazine" into the cranium of her colleague, Dr. Phillip Latham (Andrew Parks) -- whose head rapidly balloons to the size of a watermelon. Meanwhile, a spaceship packed with "furrowed brows" crash-lands on Earth, and the brows promptly attach themselves to every human in sight. To complicate matters, dozens of locals also get wind of the scientists' project and decide to investigate; before long, the entire seaside community is swarming with addicts of the Foreheadazine drug, a problem that doubles in size when two liquor-happy sailors arrive in town with a boatload of frozen human bodies. Blamire re-creates the visual look of '50s sci-fi films such as The Blob by shooting in shockingly bright rotogravure colors -- a photographic process he dubbed "Crainioscope." Stop-motion demigod Ray Harryhausen -- who reportedly inspired this work thanks to such classics as Jason and the Argonauts and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad -- is listed as "presenter," and his influence can be seen via the special effects of the ballooning heads. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brian Howe, Dan Conroy, (more)
The traditional horror anthology makes a triumphant comeback in this collection of four frightfully horrific tales from directors Monte Hellman, Ken Russell, Sean S. Cunningham, John Gaeta, and Joe Dante. When seven strangers accept a mysterious invitation to tour a Hollywood studio lot, they become trapped in a room and discover that their only hope for escape is to reveal the most terrifying tale they know. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Henry Gibson, Jayce Bartok, (more)
In a land where cartoon characters and flesh-and-blood people work side by side, one little black duck lands in a big pot of trouble in this comedy, which brings the beloved Looney Tunes characters into the real world. Daffy Duck (voice of Joe Alaskey) has grown tired of his status as Warner Bros.' leading avian second fiddle and demands that if he can't be given equal billing with his rival Bugs Bunny (also voiced by Alaskey), he wants to be released from his contract. Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), Warners' vice president in charge of comedy, is way ahead of Daffy and orders studio stuntman D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser) to kick the duck off the studio lot. D.J. soon discovers getting rid of Daffy is no easy task, and the duck is in tow when Drake makes a startling discovery -- his father Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), a movie star best know for playing ultra-suave secret agents, really is a secret agent, and he's been kidnapped by Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin), the evil leader of the monolithic Acme Corporation. Damien knows the secret hiding place of the priceless Blue Monkey Diamond and Mr. Chairman will stop at nothing to get it, so D.J. and Daffy set out to rescue Damien and save the diamond, one step behind Acme's musclemen and one step ahead of Kate and Bugs, who now realize how important Daffy is to the Looney Tunes franchise. Looney Tunes: Back in Action also stars Heather Locklear as a lounge singer working for Yosemite Sam (voice of Steve Babiar), Joan Cusack, John Cleese, Stan Freberg, and Roger Corman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, (more)
- 2001
- Add Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies to Queue Add Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies to top of Queue
Pauline Kael once wrote that since movies were so rarely great art, if one weren't interested in great trash, there wasn't much reason to pay attention to them, and one could reasonably argue that few periods brought us more top-quality cinematic trash than the 1950s and '60s. With drive-ins and grindhouses across the United States making room for low-budget exploitation films of all stripes (such as horror, science fiction, teen exploitation, biker films, beach pictures, nudies, and much more) as the major studios were focusing their attention on big-budget blockbusters and television, this was a boom time for inspired trash, and Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies takes a look at the low-budget wonders of the 1950s and '60s, as well as the men and women who made them and the social and psychological subtexts lurking behind many of these movies. Schlock! includes interviews with Roger Corman, Peter Bogdanovich, David F. Friedman, Doris Wishman, Samuel Z. Arkoff, Dick Miller, Vampira, and more. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1999
Worried that Andy (Dennis Franz) may be too emotionally strung out, Sylvia (Sharon Lawrence) considers using Danny (Rick Schroder) as the main witness against Cullinen. Meanwhile, defense attorney Sinclair (Daniel Benzali) begins cataloguing the dirty tricks he intends to use on Cullinen's behalf. And back at the precinct, the case of a woman (Julie Carmen) who may have murdered her husband for his insurance dredges up unpleasant memories of an earlier, similar investigation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1999
The hospital's future funding is jeopardized when Ross (George Clooney) bucks procedure, giving a sample of a new pain medication to young ALD patient Ricky Abbott (Kyle Chambers), the subject of government-backed "double blind" study. Elsewhere, Greene (Anthony Edwards) weighs an opportunity to go to work for NASA. Doyle (Jorja Fox) levels a charge of harassment against Romano (Paul McCrane). And Benton (Eriq La Salle) and Lucy's (Kellie Martin) patient Charley Barnes (Bill Henderson) claims that he is 140 years old -- and immortal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Joe Dante directed this satirical action-comedy about talking tech toys accidentally juiced-up with military microchips. After the defense industry firm Globotech takes over a small toy company, Heartland Play Systems' CEO Gil Mars (Denis Leary) gives the green light to develop a new line of action figures, requesting an upgrade to more realistic figures from Heartland toy designers Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) and fumbling Irwin Wayfair (David Cross). Mars wants toys that act like the ones in TV commercials. The results are fierce fighting figures, the Commando Elite, programmed to seek out and destroy the kindly alien-like Gorgonites. In an effort to make the toys as natural as possible, Benson inserts Globotech's most powerful military computer chips. Meanwhile, in quiet Winslow Corners, Ohio, toy-store owner Stuart Abernathy (Kevin Dunn) and his 15-year-old son Alan (Gregory Smith) are stuck in a failing business, so when Heartland truckdriver Joe (Dick Miller) stops by with the Commando and Gorgonite toys, Alan is convinced they will be hot sellers, commenting, "Maybe this store will finally make a little money." With blistering blows to their blister packs, the Commandos burst out, receive orders from their leader Chip Hazard (voice of Tommy Lee Jones) and ready for an all-out assault on the Gorgonites. When the Gorgonite leader Archer (voice of Frank Langella) begins communicating with Alan, it causes the Commandos to perceive humans as another enemy, simply by their association with the "Gorgonite scum," so an attack on the Abernathy house begins. Unfortunately, the Gorgonites can offer only limited assistance, since they have been programmed to lose. The film combines animatronics, puppetry, and computer animation. The Commando Elite voices include surviving actors from Robert Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen (1967), while the Gorgonite voices reunited several This Is Spinal Tap (1983) cast members. A dedication to Phil Hartman (the voice of Phil Fimple) after the closing credits features a brief Hartman outtake. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, (more)
- 1998
Angelus (David Boreanaz) continues to wreak havoc on Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), slipping into her home and leaving her threatening drawings. A frightened Buffy works with Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) to create a spell that would cancel Angel's invitation into her house and banish him forever, though Giles still has a great deal on his mind as he struggles through a difficult period with Jenny (Robia La Morte). Proving he's a demon with loyalties to no one, Angelus also begins tormenting Spike (James Marsters) by attempting to seduce Drusilla (Juliet Landau). The tension is almost too much for Buffy, and she has a long heart-to-heart talk with her mother (Kristine Sutherland). Angelus, meanwhile, knows that Jenny is secretly trying to translate the spell that would restore his soul, and he will stop at nothing to prevent her from succeeding. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1995
In part one of this episode, a freak accident transported Sisko, Bashir, and Dax back to San Francisco in the year 2024. Their visit occurs a few days before the Bell Riots, the outcome of which will profoundly effect the future, specifically, their future. When legendary homeless advocate Gabriel Bell, in whose honor the riot will occur, dies ahead of schedule, Sisko is forced to assume Bell's identity, and, possibly, to be martyred for Bell's cause. Scripted by Ira Steven Behr and Rene Echevarria from a story by Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, part two of "Past Tense" first aired January 9, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1995
On January 2, 1995, Deep Space Nine belatedly rang in the New Year with part one of this two-part adventure. A transporter accident sends Sisko, Bashir, and Dax hurtling back to 21st Century San Francisco. Upon their arrival, they are forced to confront the plight of the city's homeless and to avoid contact with those unfortunates, lest they alter events that could profoundly and dangerously change the course of the Future. Part one of "Past Tense" was scripted by Robert Hewitt Wolfe from a story by Wolfe and Ira Steven Behr. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1994
A wife finds herself highly expendable as her husband and his lover continually bungle their attempts at murder in this black comedy. Mona, the wife, is a woman of substance who is forever trying to coerce her husband Eddie, a selfish, shallow creep, into making love to her. He refuses. She goes to the hospital for liposuction. While she is gone, Eddie saves the life of a woman attempting suicide. She is the beautiful Rachel. They become lovers. When Mona returns, Eddie lies and tells her that Rachel will be her nurse. Realizing that Mona will figure it out soon, the two lovers decide to murder her first. They try burying her in the sand, tossing her into the garbage, towing her out to sea, but nothing works. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marianne Sägebrecht, Uwe Ochsenknecht, (more)
Some teen girls take to the road in this made-for-cable remake of the 1956 original. Set in 1957, three guy-crazy friends take to the road in a stolen car, trying to track down one of their ex-lovers before he goes off into the Navy. The film was part of Showtime's "Rebel Highways" series of remakes. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Rudd, Julie Bowen, (more)
Outrageously violent, time-twisting, and in love with language, Pulp Fiction was widely considered the most influential American movie of the 1990s. Director and co-screenwriter Quentin Tarantino synthesized such seemingly disparate traditions as the syncopated language of David Mamet; the serious violence of American gangster movies, crime movies, and films noirs mixed up with the wacky violence of cartoons, video games, and Japanese animation; and the fragmented story-telling structures of such experimental classics as Citizen Kane, Rashomon, and La jetée. The Oscar-winning script by Tarantino and Roger Avary intertwines three stories, featuring Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta, in the role that single-handedly reignited his career, as hit men who have philosophical interchanges on such topics as the French names for American fast food products; Bruce Willis as a boxer out of a 1940s B-movie; and such other stalwarts as Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman, whose dance sequence with Travolta proved an instant classic. ~ Leo Charney, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
This first theatrical feature spun off from the television series Tales from the Crypt (which was in turn inspired by the infamous EC horror comics of the 1950s) concerns a mysterious man named Brayker (Bill Sadler), who arrives at a church-turned-rooming house in a small town in New Mexico. Hot on his trail is an equally mysterious and very menacing figure known as the Collector (Billy Zane), who arrives with policemen in tow; he claims that Brayker stole some keys from him, and he wants the cops to help him reclaim them. It turns out, however, that the "keys" are actually several amulets that contain drops of the blood of Christ; they can be used to ward off evil in the right hands, but they can lead the world to doom if used improperly. The Collector and his forces lay siege to the house with the other residents caught in the middle between Brayker and the Collector, including alcoholic Uncle Willy (Dick Miller), prostitute Cordelia (Brenda Bakke), sleazy Southerner Roach (Thomas Haden Church), postal employee Wally (Charles Fleischer), sensible Jeryline (Jada Pinkett), and landlady Irene (CCH Pounder). Bordello of Blood, the second Tales from the Crypt feature, hit theaters the following year. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Zane, Bill Sadler, (more)
This stylish animated adventure is based on the '90s animated television series, which in turn is based on the original comics and Tim Burton's live action "Batman" films. Unlike the campy 1960s version of Batman, this version is half-mad from the superhero's obsession with justice. It is only his unusual sense of ethics that keeps him from becoming a full-blown psychotic. The story describes the origins of Batman as it follows the Dark Knight's attempts to capture the elusive, deadly Phantasm who kills a crime lord and makes it look as if Batman did it, causing a media smear campaign against the Caped Crusader. At the same time, millionaire Bruce Wayne holds a party at his mansion. There he meets Councilman Arthur Reeves, the man behind the accusations. Reeves derides playboy Wayne for allowing his college sweetheart Andrea Beaumont to leave him. Suddenly Wayne flashes back to his pre-Batman days. He remembers how he met her while visiting his parents' graves to renew his vow that he would spend his life fighting crime to avenge their wrongful deaths. He has already devised an early version of his alter-ego Batman, but that is nearly forgotten when he falls in love with Andrea. The story then jumps from past to present and back as the mysterious Phantasm strikes again. Batman continues his investigation and discovers a disturbing link between Andrea, who suddenly shows up after many years absence, and the villain. Meanwhile, the Phantasm, feeling that Batman is too close to learning his/her identity hires the Joker to kill him. But the Joker has his own agenda and much action ensues before the mystery of the Phantasm identity is solved, Batman clears his name, and justice is served. This film was originally made to go straight to video, Warner's studio liked it enough to release it theatrically. Some of the violence may be inappropriate for very young children. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, (more)
- 1993
This film noir style, made-for-TV movie contains three parts, each based on stories by three different authors (Jim Thompson, Cornell Woolrich, and James Elroy). It looks as if a con-artist (Peter Gallagher) has finally met someone who can pull the wool over his eyes in "The Frightening Frammis." In "Murder, Obliquely," a shifty man (Alan L. Rickman) manages to win the affections of a woman (Laura Dern). Little does she know that his former girlfriend might have been murdered by his own hands. The mobster Mickey Cohen (James Woods) and Howard Hughes (Tim Matheson) both have their eyes on the same woman and Buzz Meeks (Gary Busey) has been contracted to seek her out in "Since I Don't Have You." ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- 1993
The second volume in this film noir style TV-anthology series, this collection of short stories revolves around the dark world of detectives and police officers. Called to look into a murder, an investigator (Gary Oldman) discovers that the victim of the crime is none other than his estranged wife (Gabrielle Anwar) in "Dead End for Delia." When an attractive woman captures the attention of a detective, he ends up entangled in mob business in "I'll Be Waiting." In "The Quiet Room," the underhanded plans of two unscrupulous officers go amok ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
After their Los Angeles suburban house is burglarized, Karen and Michael Carr (Madeleine Stowe and Kurt Russell), are assisted by policeman Pete Davis (Ray Liotta). At first, Davis seems helpful and polite, even helping the Carrs when he is off duty. Soon, it becomes apparent that the policeman has developed an obsession for Karen, and he begins terrorizing the couple, with the intent of killing Michael and running away with Karen. Though the plot is fairly predictable, Unlawful Entry is highlighted by fine performances by all three lead actors. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta, (more)
John Goodman's full-throttle performance as a William Castle-inspired schlockmeister propels Joe Dante's delightful and charming comedy Matinee. The film takes place during the fall 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a time when America's innocence began to crumble. Goodman plays film producer Lawrence Woolsey, who is in Key West to premiere his latest horror epic, "Mant," the story of a man who turns into a giant insect ("Half Man! ... Half Ant! ... All Terror!"). He's busy rigging the local movie theater with all manner of gimmicks, such as Atomo-Vision and Rumble-Rama, and stationing a buxom nurse -- played by Woolsey's girlfriend and leading lady Ruth (Cathy Moriarty) -- in the lobby to assist potential heart attack victims. Amidst all the hubbub, a quartet of local teenagers gear up for the big premiere: Gene (Simon Fenton), a Navy brat whose father is on alert for the duration of the crisis; Stan (Omri Katz), Gene's friend who has a furious crush on Sherry (Kellie Martin); and Sandra (Lisa Jakub), the daughter of two beatnik free-thinkers. As the premiere of "Mant" gets closer and Soviet-U.S. tensions increase, the four teenagers' problems and desires also mount to the boiling point. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, (more)
- 1992
- R
- Add Amityville 1992: It's About Time to Queue Add Amityville 1992: It's About Time to top of Queue
Eschewing any connection with previous installments of the creatively strip-mined Amityville saga, this film is actually derived from one of a series of novels by John G. Jones and focuses on a mantle clock from the original Long Island horror-house which serves as a vessel of supernatural evil. A real estate developer (Stephen Macht) purchases the clock in Long Island and brings it home to California, where it promptly anchors itself to the wall and begins to exert a nightmarish influence on the house and its inhabitants. As creepy phenomena and violent behavior run rampant through Macht's family, the occultist neighbor (Nita Talbot) begins to take notice -- but is killed in a freak accident shortly after discovering the secret of the clock's Satanic history. In a twist that echoes the original Amityville Horror, Macht succumbs to the clock's evil influence and turns on his family, just as his scale-model of a planned development is transformed into a block of very familiar-looking houses. Tony Randel's direction is remarkably restrained, allowing the horror to unfold gradually until the final act, where he pulls out all the stops in a style reminiscent of his earlier Hellbound: Hellraiser II. The script makes a valiant attempt to breathe new life into a long-dead franchise, but many interesting subplots fail to develop beyond their sketchy origins. The creepy inner workings of the clock are reminiscent of the ancient machinery of The Church or the vampire-bug-machine of Guillermo del Toro's Cronos, but little is done to explain their origins. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
This allegorical comedy from scriptwriter Joe Minion (After Hours, Vampire's Kiss) offers a unique twist on the standard road movie formula. It tells the story of a young boy named Gus who grows sick and tired of parental squabbles and decides to steal his dad's red Mustang and hit the highway on a cross-country journey. The country presented in this film, however, is not the U.S., but a fictional land with states such as Bergen and Essex - a land with parallels to a giant board game. While on the road, Gus spots a billboard inviting him to play the "Motorama" game, a promotional effort by a major gas station that promises winners $500 million dollars. In order to win, one simply has to collect enough game cards from Chimera gas stations all over the country to spell out the word "Motorama." As Gus approaches his goal of collecting all eight letters, he has assorted adventures, many of them strange and a few that are distinctly unpleasant. The film features cameos from several notable cult favorites, including character players Jack Nance and Dick Miller, actress Drew Barrymore, and even the pop singer Meat Loaf. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jordan Christopher Michael, John Diehl, (more)
- 1991
She sure did. Susan Lucci brings her daytime-drama flailing gestures to the prime time TV-movie scene in this melodramatic farrago. She plays a married woman who for the first and only time in her life succumbs to the charms of another man. Accused of murder, Lucci's only alibi is her adulterous liaison. Trouble is, she can provide no proof that the affair--or her lover--ever existed. The publicity people did their best to suggest that The Woman Who Sinned was reminiscent of Fatal Attraction, simply because both films involved a clandestine love affair and a psycho killer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Susan Lucci, Tim Matheson, (more)
- 1991
A young stud has to raise $3,000 in three weeks if his father is to allow him to leave his company. He and his friend fail miserably at selling tanning cream but for some reason, are very successful at magnetizing bikinied babes. The two are offered big money by a few nerdly losers to teach them how to be cool enough to pick up the chicks. Will it work??? ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bill Calvert, Leah Lail, (more)
- 1990
- R
This gangster satire involves a boss (William Hickey) who turns over the reins of his organization to an incompetent son (Eddie Deezen). ~ John Bush, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Deezen, Morgan Fairchild, (more)
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