Anita Morris Movies

A blend of screwball farce and whodunit murder mystery, this madcap period piece was the brainchild of executive producer George Lucas. In 1939, Penny Henderson (Mary Stuart Masterson) is the harried general secretary and de facto manager of a new fourth radio network, WBN. On the night that the Chicago station goes live on the air, a mysterious voice interrupts, and a series of murders soon follows, each one described by the same sonorous phantom. While Penny and her staff desperately try to keep WBN's roster of shows afloat during the unfolding crisis, her estranged husband Roger (Brian Benben), a staff writer, becomes the chief suspect. Roger is forced to dodge a detective, Lieutenant Cross (Michael Lerner), find the real killer, win Penny back, and perform last-minute script rewrites for an unhappy sponsor. As the backstage hysteria reaches a fever pitch, the show goes on with real-life radio-era pros such as George Burns and Rosemary Clooney. Although never explicitly pointed out in the film, Radioland Murders (1994) was a pseudo-prequel to an earlier Lucas feature -- Roger and Penny are the future parents of Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) from American Graffiti (1973). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

A wealthy young boy is kidnapped by thieves who rob his home, but the crooks are in for a surprise when the kid becomes a pest . ~ John Bush, Rovi

Anita Morris guest stars as Freddie's mom Joni, who insists upon interfering in her daughter's life--and in the lives of all of her daughter's friends. As for Freddie (Cree Summer) herself, she's more mixed up than ever over her feelings toward Ron (Darryl M. Bell) and Shazza (Gary Dourdan). Meanwhile, Whitley (Jasmine Guy) is forced to work at a pancake house on Christmas day in order to afford a Yuletide gift for husband Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the film adapted from a book by Frederic Brown, a music composer (Randy Quaid) receives an invitation to score an upcoming science-fiction film. When the piece is accidentally broadcast on the radio, it encourages a rather pedestrian invasion force from Mars. The legion of green men instead cause havoc around the globe just by having fun, and it is the composer's duty to send them packing. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Produced for theatrical released by PBS' American Playhouse, Bloodhounds of Broadway is not exactly a remake of the 1952 film of the same name, though both pictures use the same Damon Runyon stories as inspiration. The scene is Broadway: the time is New Year's Eve, 1928. Madonna plays small town girl-turned-hoofer Hortense Hathaway, who loves gambler Feet Samuels (Randy Quaid) more than somewhat. Since it is known far and wide that Feet has not a penny to his name, he must find some way to pay off his debts in a hurry. So he offers to sell his huge feet to a demented-an operation which will, alas, cost Feet the use of his life. Upon waking up to the fact that Hortense loves him, Feet decides that he prefers breathing to pushing up daisies. Meanwhile, a society doll named Harriet MacKyle (Julie Hagerty) turns on the spigots when her pet parrot is laid low by a clumsy gunman. And while all this is transpiring, high-roller Regret (Matt Dillon) has to beat a murder rap. Even while Regret is sweating it out, "The Brain" (Rutger Hauer), who is bleeding profusely after confronting the business end of a shiv, searches high and low for someone willing to donate blood to save his life. If you can, keep an eye out for author William Burroughs as a butler. Bloodhounds of Broadway was the first non-documentary effort of filmmaker Howard Brookner-and the last, since he died before the film was released. To gloss over the film's plot holes, the distributors added a Winchell-like narrator to the proceedings, courtesy of actor Joseph Sommer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

On his 81st birthday, grandpa George Burns, bemoans the fact that he's wasted his life, and wishes he had it to do all over again. He gets his wish when he and his 18-year-old grandson Charles Schlatter are involved in an auto accident. When he awakens, Burns' personality has been transferred to Schlatter's body, and vice versa! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Prodded by Frasier (Kelsey Grammer), Cliff (John Ratzenberger) intends to sue the owner of the dog that bit him while he was on his mail route. But Cliff's resolve evaporates when the dog's owner turns out to be the lovely and compliant Madeline Keith (Anita Morris). Contrary to expectations, Madeline is not merely stringing Cliff along so that he'll drop his suit -- but what exactly does she want from him? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The last film to be co-directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, Ruthless People stars Bette Midler (capitalizing on her comeback performance in Down and Out in Beverly Hills) as Barbara, a spoiled rich woman who is kidnapped by the kindly Ken and Sandy Kessler (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater). Barbara's forceful husband Sam (Danny DeVito) has ripped off the Kesslers and they decide to hold Barbara for ransom. Sam, who hates his wife, refuses to pay. Eventually Barbara befriends the Kesslers and together they figure out how to exact revenge upon the obnoxious Sam. Bill Pullman makes his film debut here as a very dim, would-be criminal. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Smoky Mountain Christmas is the sort of fare that always seems to pop up exclusively during the Yuletide season: an original made-for-TV musical fantasy. Dolly Parton plays a country-music star (imaginative casting, this) who finds herself stranded in the Tennessee backwoods with taciturn mountaineer Lee Majors. Parton also touches base with seven orphaned young'uns...and a witch (Anita Morris). John Ritter makes an uncredited cameo appearance as the judge who presides over the inevitable climactic adoption proceedings. First broadcast December 14, 1986 (directly opposite the ratings-grabbing The Promise), A Smoky Mountain Christmas was directed "con brio" by Henry Winkler. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky's first American film is a romantic tale about an American war veteran whose dreams of his childhood sweetheart are countered by a less sunny reality. John Savage stars as Ivan Bibic, who has returned home to a small town in Pennsylvania, having suffered a nervous breakdown as a P.O.W. During the war, he would dream about his fiancee back home, Maria Bosic (Nastassja Kinski), imagining their forthcoming perfect marriage. At one point, Ivan is told, "You dreamed about her too long. She lives in your dreams, not in your body." And it's true -- his dreams do not equal his reality. Maria and Ivan marry, but Ivan finds that he cannot make love to the flesh and blood Maria. Knowing she was actively pursued by men in town during the war, Ivan courages her to take lovers. Maria does so, having affairs with another GI, Al Griselli (Vincent Spano), and a passing drifter named Clarence Butts (Keith Carradine). But after spending the night with Clarence, Maria becomes pregnant, and Ivan's love for her is sorely tested. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This program captures a performance of the Magic Show, the Broadway musical that made a young man named Doug Henning famous, and reintroduced magic into the consciousness of America. Enormously successful, the blend of catchy songs and stunning illusions paved the way for the success of later magicians. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi

The title tells all in this comedy. The big twist is that the lucky fellow is a New York police detective. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Lynn Redgrave stars as New York madam Xaviera Hollander in this romp based on Hollander's rise to the top of the sex-for-hire industry. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi