King Moody Movies

Perennial busybody Harriet Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) inaugurates a gossip column in the local Walnut Grove newspaper. With her usual sensitivity toward other people's feelings, she uses her column to malign a local farming family -- for no other reason than they are recent immigrants from Germany. Acting as the church's lay minister while Rev. Alden is away, Charles (Michael Landon) uses his sermon to teach Mrs. Oleson a lesson. Meanwhile, Charles' daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert) and foster son, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux), decide to employ Harriet's journalistic methods to hoist her on her own petard. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bob's feelings are hurt when he is not invited to speak before Emily's third-grade students on Vocation Day. Though she feels Bob's pain, Emily can't bring herself to admit that she thinks Bob will not be able to "thrill" the kids with his speech. Her fears come to full fruition when Bob is called in to speak at the very last minute. King Moody, best known as "Ronald McDonald" in a series of fast-food commercials, is here cast as a fireman. Written by Carl Gottlieb and George Yanook, "Tracy Grammar School, I'll Lick You Yet" first aired on September 23, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sarah Deever (Sandy Dennis) is an idealistic young woman living in Brooklyn. Her altruistic nature finds her taking in visitors for a month at a time to help them in their time of need. Charlie Blake (Anthony Newley) is her latest reclamation project, a cardboard-box factory worker and owner of an annoyingly loud alarm on his wristwatch. Charlie gains entrance to her apartment and eventually her heart when he reveals he always wanted to be a poet. Sarah seeks to overcome her own problems by helping those in need, but her need for Charlie's love soon supersedes her initial intentions. He is allowed to stay for the month of November as she adheres to her traditional deadline on guests. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Things get personal for Private Kirby (Jack Hogan) when his sister's fiance, an American intelligence officer, is killed by a German SS colonel (Albert Paulsen). Vowing to get even, Kirby goes on a one-man mission to track down and kill the Nazi officer. Only one problem: If he does this, Kirby will be defying orders from his own higher-ups, which may prove disastrous for everyone concerned. Featured as Resistance fighter Andre Pichot is actor King Moody, who rose to prominence in the early 1970s as "Ronald McDonald" in a popular series of fast-food commercials. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The star of the Broadway version of Any Wednesday was Sandy Dennis. Headlining the 1966 film version is Jane Fonda, who imbues her character with enough quirkiness to satisfy both herself and the endearingly mannered Ms. Dennis. Fonda plays the dippy mistress of philanderer Jason Robards, who visits his paramour only on Wednesdays (hence the title). Dean Jones costars as the erstwhile swain who messes up Robards' routine by falling in love with Fonda. Screenwriter Julius J. Epstein does a expert job at expanding Muriel Resnick's play for the screen without robbing it of its inherent charm. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this experimental mystery film, a young woman is arrested for killing a burglar. A lovesick detective gets her acquitted. Later her older sister vanishes. Her cruel father gets even worse and so she runs away to the zoo where she falls into the bear exhibit. Just before she is to become a grizzly's tasty snack, the woman is rescued. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this war drama set during the Korean War, a grizzled GI must undertake a potentially suicidal mission. He decides not to waste his best soldiers and instead chooses from amongst his very worst. He then attempts to train them. His methods are harsh, and his men hate him. Secretly, they conspire to kill him and go AWOL as soon as possible. However, as soon as they cross enemy lines, they meet an injured American nun and her schoolgirls at the place they must blow up. Their hated, but experienced leader manages to help them all out of a potentially horrific situation thereby winning the respect of both the men and the young girls. The men become loyal to him. Only one remains rebellious. He attempts to rape one of the girls. Because the nun's injured leg grows worse, he allows the girls to take her to safety. He and his men then go on to succeed in their endeavors and they all become heroes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Writer/director Adam Rifkin's The Dark Backward is set in a dark, grimy, garbage-strewn urban netherworld, where a company named "Blump's" apparently owns everything. Marty Malt (Judd Nelson of The Breakfast Club) is an unhappy garbageman who moonlights as an atrociously unfunny standup comic. His best friend and fellow trash collector, Gus (Bill Paxton), is the only one who laughs at his jokes, and his sincerity is questionable. The obnoxiously exuberant Gus plays an accordion, which he always carries with him. Marty is seeing Rosarita (Lara Flynn Boyle), a waitress, but she doesn't seem too interested in him, either. One day, Gus convinces a talent agent, Jackie Chrome (Las Vegas circuit staple Wayne Newton), to check out Marty's act. Jackie isn't impressed. Marty's luck seems to take a turn for the worse when a large lump starts growing on his back. He goes to a quack doctor (James Caan), who calls him a wimp and puts a Band-Aid on the lump. The lump continues to grow, eventually becoming a full-sized arm. While Gus uses Marty's newfound freakishness to impress his obese girlfriends, a horrified Rosarita breaks up with Marty, and he gets fired from the club where he does his act. Marty is despondent until Gus brings him to see Jackie, who, it turns out, has always dreamed of finding a real three-armed comic. Re-christened "Desi the Three-Armed Wonder Comic," and with Gus now providing musical accompaniment, Marty gets a fresh start on his career. The Dark Backward received devastating reviews upon its initial release, but has since developed a minor cult following. The film also stars Rob Lowe and King Moody, who was the original Ronald McDonald. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

In this comedy, young Donald Beeman (Tom Smothers) becomes disillusioned with his business career and quits to become a tap-dancing magician. However, the grass isn't always greener, and Donald soon discovers that the money-oriented aspects of his former career are starting to creep into his new life. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

The two-part, four-hour TV movie Switched at Birth is based on an actual event which began unfolding in Wauchula, Florida in 1978. Brian Kerwin and Judith Hoag play the new parents of a baby girl; a few days later, another couple, played by John M. Jackson and Bonnie Bedelia, have a baby at the same hospital. Kerwin and Hoag's baby is healthy; Jackson and Bedelia's baby has a heart defect. Switched at Birth traces the lives of the two girls over a period of eight years--up to the point of a tragedy which opens the possibility that the girls may not have been given over to the correct parents at the hospital. The four parents involved find themselves in court, battling over custody of the surviving child. This intensely personal problem is bloated into a cause celebre by the press and by parents' rights pressure groups. Edward Asner and Caroline McWilliams appear as the opposing attorneys. Those who'd been following the two-part Switched at Birth during its first telecast in April of 1991 may have found themselves in family conflicts of their own, inasmuch as Part Two was shown opposite the network TV premiere of Die Hard. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi