Vanessa Bell Movies
Dean Cain and Kristen Eggers star in this family comedy about a dog willing to go to any lengths to return a very special teddy bear to his human friend Laney (Alyssa Shafer). ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Cain, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
Made especially for the HBO cable network, this well-wrought feature is comprised of three short stories by three noted black American authors, each of which is directed by a respected black director. The first tale, Long Black Song, was written by Richard Wright and is set in Alabama, 1938. It centers on a bored farmer's wife (Tina Lifford) who dallies with a handsome white peddler (Tate Donovan) while her husband (Danny Glover) takes the crops to market. The second story, The Boy Who Painted Christ Black, was written by John Henrik Clarke and takes place in Georgia ten years after the first vignette. It centers on a community-wide conflict created when a student attending a segregated high school paints a portrait of a black Jesus and submits it to a state-wide art contest designed to foster ethnic pride. At first, principal George Du Vaul (Wesley Snipes) is taken aback by the picture, but after much contemplation, he decides to put his career on the line and enter it. Maya Angelou penned the third story, The Reunion. It takes place in Chicago, 1958, and centers on a jazz singer (Lorraine Toussaint) who finds herself reliving painful childhood memories of growing up a servant's daughter in a wealthy white home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Based on Shelby Foote's novel September, September, this made-for-cable effort focuses on the exploits of a trio of white drifters who hatch a scheme to kidnap the young grandson of the wealthiest black industrialist in Memphis, Tennessee in 1957. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1989
There were those in 1989 who bellyached that Disney Television's Polly was a far from faithful adaptation of Eleanor Porter's classic novel Pollyanna. What they meant was that Polly did not resemble the 1960 Hayley Mills movie version of Pollyanna, which itself played fast and loose with the source material. In Polly, The Cosby Show's Keshia Knight Pulliam portrays the "Glad Girl" who brings along a satchelful of happiness and optimism when she visits her wealthy aunt one summer. Tranposing Porter's all-white story to a middle-class black community in the Alabama of the 1950s (Celeste Holm is the only white costar) isn't nearly as self-conscious or gimmicky as it seems on paper. Nor is any damage done to the original by adding musical numbers, especially when taking into consideration that the film was directed by renowned choreographer Debbie Allen (the sister of Phylicia Rashad, who plays Polly's aunt--and who in 1989 was costarring with Keshia Knight Pulliam on a weekly basis on The Cosby Show). Polly scored a boffo ratings hit, prompting Disney TV to assemble a 1990 sequel, Polly: Comin' Home! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on the novel by Gloria Naylor, The Women of Brewster Place was produced by and stars Oprah Winfrey. The film concerns a variety of women who live in the housing project located on Brewster Place, and tells about their lives as they struggle in the face of racism, poverty, and troublesome men. Winfrey portrays Mattie Michael who was kicked out of her parent's (Paul Winfield and Mary Alice) house after refusing to reveal the name of her soon-to-be-born child's father. She eventually inherits a house, but loses it after her son skips bail. Robin Givens plays Kiswana, a focused woman who does her best to improve the situations of those around her. During a conversation with her mother (Cicely Tyson), Kiswana learns how her decision to change her name from Melanie is a betrayal of her family history. Cora Lee (Phyllis Stickney) craves being needed by babies and continues to have children, although she becomes neglectful as her children age. Miss Sophie (Olivia Cole) traffics in neighborhood gossip. Theresa and Lorraine (Paula Kelly and Lonette McKee) are a lesbian couple who live on Brewster Place because they believe the people in the neighborhood might let them live in peace. The Women of Brewster Place aired March 18-19, 1989, on the ABC television network. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oprah Winfrey, Jackée, (more)
Coming to America casts comedian Eddie Murphy as pampered African prince Akeem, who rebels against an arranged marriage and heads to America to find a new bride. Murphy's regal father (James Earl Jones) agrees to allow the prince 40 days to roam the U.S., sending the prince's faithful retainer Semmi (Arsenio Hall) along to make sure nothing untoward happens. To avoid fortune hunters, Prince Akeem conceals his true identity and gets a "Joe job" at a fast-food restaurant. Murphy and Hall play multiple roles, and there are innumerable celebrity cameos peppered throughout the proceedings -- including the Duke Brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) from Trading Places. Coming to America made further headlines when humorist Art Buchwald sued the film's producers for plagiarizing one of his works. Buchwald carried the case to trial, where he won a sizeable judgement against the film's producers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, (more)
- 1988
As a result of the surprise ratings success of the first Desperado TV movie in April of 1987, plans were hastily drawn up to release additional Desperado adventures over the next three years. Return of Desperado was the first such follow-up to be telecast, though in fact it was filmed after the official sequel, Desperado: Avalanche of Devil's Ridge. Alex McArthur is back as Duel McCall, a frontiersman on the lam from a trumped-up murder rap. Now he's in New Mexico (where Return of Desperado was lensed), running afoul of local land baron Robert Foxworth. In the tradition of David Janssen's The Fugitive, McCall pauses long enough in his escape flight to come to the aid of black homesteader Billy Dee Williams, who is being victimized by the diabolical Foxworth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Detective Berzak (Robert Carradine) and his suave partner Hazeltine (Billy Dee Williams) combine forces to track down a notorious drug lord in this routine action feature. Captain Ferris (Peter Graves) monitors the progress of the decidedly different detectives. The trail leads to Dacosta (Barry Sattels) a respected member of the social elite and the community. Valerie Bertanelli plays Berzak's daughter Teresa, who is pumped for information by her father about his ex-wife (Doris Roberts). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Carradine, Billy Dee Williams, (more)
- 1987
- R
This campy gorefest is basically a series of outrageous death scenes set in a chi-chi health club which is haunted by the murderous spectre of its owner's late wife (who was burned to death). First taking control of the club's computer-controlled circuitry, the bloodthirsty ghost then decides to possess her gay brother, who begins parading around in sis's clothes and continuing her devilish deeds. For those with a natural antipathy toward the toned-and-tanned set, this tremendously bloody film might offer a guilty chuckle or two for the strong-stomached viewer, who can watch a series of yuppie hardbodies hacked (by blender), torn (by weight machine), burnt (by tanning booth), boiled (by shower), and shredded (by flying glass)... even mauled to death by demonically-possessed carp! ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
