Juanita Moore Movies

The life and career of 1940s sex symbol Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) is affectionately but uncompromisingly recounted in this cable TV documentary, produced by Hugh Hefner and narrated by actress Kim Basinger. Born into a show business family, Rita Cansino was still a pre-teen when she attracted the attention of Hollywood with her sultry Latin looks and her remarkable dancing skills. With her first husband, the much-older Edward C. Judson, as her manager and agent, Rita managed to land a starlet contract at 20th Century Fox, then moved on to greater glory when, signed by Columbia Pictures, she was re-christened Rita Hayworth and given a more "all-American" image via cosmetic surgery, electrolysis, and a new crop of flaming red hair. Though her career was sometimes impeded by Columbia boss Harry Cohn, who was upset that she continued to fend off his advances, Rita ultimately achieved superstardom as the alluring star of such films as Cover Girl and Gilda. Alas, her private life was never quite as satisfying as her professional one: After breaking up with Judson, she entered into a well-publicized but ultimately unhappy marriage to Orson Welles, then, in quick succession, wed a foreign prince, Aly Khan; a popular singer, Dick Haymes; and a flamboyant movie producer, James Hill. Through it all, the painfully shy and retiring actress yearned to be simply a normal wife and mother, but the pressures and responsibilities of international stardom denied her this balm. Rita's final years were clouded by Alzheimer's disease, which ended not only her career but her life. Among the interviewees in this documentary are Hayworth's daughter Yasmin Aga Khan, who has devoted her life to helping other victims of Alzheimer's, and Rita's best friend, musical star Ann Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Zalman King wrote and directed this soft-core Harlequinesque Romance that plays like Tennessee Williams meets Fredericks of Hollywood. April Delongpre (Sherilyn Fenn) is the daughter of a powerful senator and heiress to an old and respectable Southern family. April is engaged to marry the granite-handsome Chad Douglas Fairchild (Martin Hewitt) within a few days. But Chad has gone to Tuscaloosa to sign papers for their condo and the rest of the family has headed off to the lake, leaving April in the house alone with nothing to do except take long and languid showers--until she sets her eyes on the pecs of carnival roustabout Perry (Richard Tyson). Soon the two are making tasteful love in every nook and cranny of April's mansion. Unfortunately for the two sexual athletes, April's grandmother (Louise Fletcher) has assigned the local sheriff (Burl Ives) to keep an eye on her. And an eye on her he keeps, so that during the wedding ceremony, he has quite a story to tell. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The directorial debut of actor and stand-up comedian David Steinberg concerns a single man who decides that he wants to be a dad -- without the complication of a wife. Burt Reynolds stars as Buddy Evans, the manager of Madison Square Garden. A longtime lothario, Buddy has always been very content as a bachelor, but he has begun to feel lately that he'd like to experience fatherhood. His yearnings receive plenty of fuel from his best friends Larry (Norman Fell) and Kurt (Paul Dooley), and from his parental-mentor relationship with a young boy, Tad (Peter Billingsley). So Buddy decides to seek out a woman who will bear his baby for a price, with no strings attached. He finds Maggie Harden (Beverly D'Angelo), a beautiful young music student working as a waitress and yearning for the financial resources to study in Paris. She agrees to serve as Buddy's temporary companion, but as the months pass and her pregnancy progresses, Maggie begins to fall in love with Buddy, who doesn't return her affections -- at first. Steinberg would go on to have greater success as a television sitcom director, calling the shots for several episodes of hit series in the '80s amd '90s. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Thomasine and Bushrod was intended as the African American counterpart to Bonnie and Clyde, the difference being that the story in this case is utterly fictional. Vonette McGee plays Thomasine, and Max Julien (who also wrote and coproduced the film) is Bushrod. They are a pair of thieves, operating in the southwest between 1911 and 1915. Fancying themselves as Robin Hoods and the White Establishment as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Thomas and Bushrod steal only from Caucasian capitalists, then distribute the booty to Mexicans, Native Americans and poor whites. George Murdock is the redneck sheriff who dogs their trail. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When a black man and his foster brother find a fortune in oil on their Texas land, he must struggle to come to terms with his poor country past and his new existence as an oil tycoon. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story, new police commissioner Edna Dixon (Juanita Moore) insists upon accompanying mobile officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) during a night shift. It's something of an ordeal by fire for all three persons, inasmuch as Jim and Peter are virtually the only cops left standing during a flu epidemic. Although there are plenty of action scenes involving a neighborhood riot and a teenage car thief, the highlight of the evening is a battle royale between bar owner Jean Wagner (Rose Marie) and elderly drunk Fred Tiller (Burt Mustin)--who happens to be naked. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Created by Earl Hamner, A Dream for Christmas is set in the 1950s. African-American minister Will Douglas (Hari Rhodes) moves his family from Arkansas to the Watts section of Los Angeles to take charge of an impoverished church. The attendance, at least at first, is as poor as the congregation. Worse still, the church is slated to be demolished. But it's close to Christmas, a time when miracles have been known to happen. Featured in the all-black cast are Beah Richards, Lynn Hamilton, Robert Do'Qui, Juanita Moore, and Clarence Muse. Appropriately enough, A Dream for Christmas originally aired on December 24, 1973. It was originally designed as the pilot for a never-sold TV series titled The Douglas Family. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After accidentally knocking her down with the van, a guilt-ridden Mark (Don Mitchell) befriends an elderly woman named Melissa Babcock (Juanita Moore). It is just possible, however, that the accident was no accident: Ms. Babcock has a reputation for staging phony injuries in order to collect huge insurance settlements. But is the old lady the real villain of the piece? Former Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In regular Chelsea Brown appears as Melissa's daughter Andrea. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rosie! is directly based upon Ruth Gordon's play A Very Rich Woman, which was itself based upon a French play by Philippe Heriat, but the indirect source for all three versions is Shakespeare's King Lear. Rosalind Russell has the Lear part, here transformed from a powerful king into a rich, madcap grandmother by the name of Rosie Lord. Unlike in Shakespeare, however, Rosie does not abandon her wealth voluntarily; instead, her viperish children make an assault on her in an attempt to claim their inheritance while Rosie is still alive. They succeed in getting her declared mentally incompetent and thrown into a grotesque asylum, an experience that is so traumatic that she nearly does go insane. Fortunately, Rosie's beloved granddaughter Daphne (Sandra Dee) is appalled at what has happened; she moves into high gear, contacting an ex-lover of Rosie's (played by Brian Aherne) who also happens to be a powerful and skilled attorney. A lengthy court battle ensues, with both sides determined to come out triumphant. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Imperious Southern matron Nell Snyder (Margaret Leighton) is upset by the recent behavior of her orphaned niece, Eva (Eileen Baral), who has created an imaginary "little person" named Mr. Peppercorn, whom she blames for all her acts of mischief. Things don't get any better when Eva attaches herself to a toy doll in the image of a Creole girl, whom the child has named Numa. Before long, Nell has come to the conclusion that the doll is a vessel of voodoo magic, capable of stealing Eva's soul. The end of this episode pulls off the neat trick of being heartrending and grotesque all at once. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A woman calling herself Vera (Nancy Kelly) displays a great deal of affection toward the baby son of her landlady, Louise Henderson (Gena Rowlands). Curiously, although the infant is named Lonnie, Vera insists upon referring to him as Michael. What seems innocent enough on the surface is quickly revealed to have a sinister subtext when it turns out that both Vera and Louise had delivered babies at the same time in the same maternity hospital -- but only one of the babies survived. This is one of the few anthology-series episodes of the 1960s to boast an all-female cast. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This moody and controversial drama takes place in Depression-era New Orleans. Dove (Laurence Harvey) has traveled by bus from Texas to find his wayward lover Hallie (Capucine). He meets young Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda) as the two get off in the crescent city. Teresina (Anne Baxter) gives him a job at her small cafe. In his free time, Dove searches for Hallie and finds her at work as a prostitute in the Doll's House. Dove implores Hallie to return to him but she refuses. When the lecherous lesbian madame Jo (Barbara Stanwyck) discovers Dove's intentions towards Hallie, she has him beaten to a bloody pulp by her hired goons. He is found by Kitty, now a happy hooker at the Doll House, and is taken back to the cafe where the compassionate Teresina heals his physical and emotional wounds. The film taken from the novel by Nelson Algren is much tamer than the original text. The title track, sung by Brook Benton, was nominated for an Academy Award. The "black-cat stalking" opening and closing sequences (by designer Saul Bass) is a perfect little "film-within-a-film." This footage, with its superb lighting, framing, panning, and editing, should be appreciated by anyone who wants to know more about the art of cinematography. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this emotional romance, the young backwoods girl Tammy lives in a houseboat on the river. She is very sad because she hasn't heard from her college-student boyfriend in ages. Determined to be near him, she cruises her boat down to his university and enrolls. To pay expenses she gets a job. Her new boss is pleased and ends up borrowing Tammy's boat for a short vacation. She then gives the girl an expensive necklace. Tammy soon finds herself pursued by a handsome professor. Later, the niece of Tammy's boss becomes worried at her wealthy aunt's mysterious disappearance and organizes a search party. When she sees Tammy wearing her aunt's necklace, she assumes the worst and has the girl arrested. Later the conniving niece has her aunt tried for mental incompetence. Fortunately, Tammy's pleas are heard by the compassionate judge, her boss is deemed sane, and peace is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi