Robert Nichols Movies

Comic actor and former Saturday Night Live stock player Mike Myers attempted to transform himself from the goofy title character in Wayne's World (1992) (and its sequel) into a romantic leading man with this box office disappointment. Myers stars as Charlie Mackenzie, a San Francisco poet who meets the girl of his dreams, Harriet Michaels (Nancy Travis) when he stops to pick up some haggis for his parents at Meats of the World, a butcher shop where Harriet works. Although he's been neurotically commitment-phobic in the past (dumping one girlfriend because she "smelled like soup"), Charlie thinks Harriet could be the one. That is, until his mother May (Brenda Fricker) and cop best friend Tony (Anthony LaPaglia) begin to suspect that Harriet could be an axe-wielding serial killer who has butchered several husbands. Harriet's wacky sister Rose (Amanda Plummer) and her connection to several of the slayings make Charlie nervous, but he nevertheless pops the question, leading to an eventful honeymoon where all is revealed. Although So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) earned less than $12 million at the U.S. box office, Myers hit upon the Peter Sellers-inspired formula of playing various supporting characters with this film, portraying Charlie's amusingly paranoid father Stuart. The actor repeated the trick with greater success in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and its sequel. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In Peter Yates' crime drama An Innocent Man, Tom Selleck plays Jimmie Rainwood, a stock figure airline maintenance supervisor with a perfect family. Then, one day, Jimmie decides to take a shower. While scrubbing himself clean, two crooked cops are getting themselves dirtier. Mike Parnell (David Rasche) and Danny Scalise (Richard Young) are the kind of bad cops who bust the drug dealers, steal their supply, and sell it back to the local drug lords. On this day, unfortunately for Jimmie, they get the wrong address and bash down his door. When Jimmie comes out of the bathroom wielding his hair dryer, Parnell and Scalise think it is a gun and shoot him. Realizing their mistake, they cover themselves and frame him as a drug dealer. Jimmie refuses to take a plea and he is sentenced to six years in the slammer. In the brutal prison environment, he is taken aside by long-timer Virgil Kane (F. Murray Abraham), who gives him a bleak collection of options to chose from in order to survive prison. After seeing a prison gang rape, Jimmie chooses the kill-or-be-killed selection and stabs to death the nasty black convict who has been bothering him. After three years, Jimmie is released on parole, and he tries to pick up his life again. But Parnell and Scalise return to threaten Jimmie and his family. Realizing that his prison lessons must be carried over into civilian life, he sets up a situation in which the bad cops' drug dealings are revealed, and Jimmie prepares for a final reckoning between the cops and himself. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Tom Conti stars as a drunken Scottish poet who preys upon the lasses of a New England college town by swooning over them with poetry and bedding them with a passion. He'd probably have continued in such fashion for who knows how long, were in not for his encounter with a lovely homespun gal (Kelly McGillis), who sets his head spinning in a lovesick swirl and forces him to get his life on track. ~ Rovi

Released theatrically as God Told Me To, this inventive film from "B"-movie auteur Larry Cohen was later re-named Demon after television distributors refused to air it under the original title. The convoluted, tabloid-flavored storyline (predating the kind of stories frequently featured on The X-Files) involves a series of motiveless murders committed by various New York residents: a sniper picks off targets from a water tower; a mild-mannered father murders his entire family; and a cop (Andy Kaufman, of all people) opens fire during a St. Patrick's Day parade. The only consistent pattern to the crimes involves the perpetrators' calm admissions of guilt, explaining, "God told me to." While investigating the murders, devoutly-Catholic police detective Peter Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco) is increasingly troubled by evidence of a Christ-like figure named Bernard Phillips (Richard Lynch) who appeared to each of the killers and can't seem to shake the feeling that his own fate is inexplicably linked to this mysterious being. As he comes closer to the truth, his worst fears are confirmed -- particularly after a telling conversation with Bernard's tormented mother (Sylvia Sidney), who reveals the horrifying secret of her son's unnatural birth. Cohen has often used the "B"-movie format to address rather lofty concepts, and this is certainly no exception -- tackling no less than the existence of God and the nature of human beliefs -- but clumsy editing and an outrageous FX-heavy finale tend to obscure this film's unique vision. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Set on a coastal resort in California, the thrills in this mystery begin as a strange killer chops up three blonde beauties forcing the house detective to work overtime to figure out that the killer is right under his nose. The film was shot in "Duo-Vision," a technique that splits the screen and allows two different images to be projected simultaneously. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Oliver (Eddie Albert) and Lisa (Eva Gabor) are given an offer they can't refuse: a free paint job for their house and barn. Of course, there are a few strings attached -- namely, the Douglases will have to allow the paint company extending this offer to use the side of their barn for an advertising poster. The fact that this event coincides with Lisa's disastrous efforts to cook spaghetti should be a tip-off that paint is not the only element that will end up coating the Douglases' walls. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Walter Hale (Elvis Presley) is the manager of a chautauqua, a traveling show consisting of performances, lectures and entertainment. Along with manager Johnny (Edward Andrews), he helps some young kids break into show business and contends with the union-organizing Charlene (Marilyn Mason). Vincent Price appears as Mr. Morality. John Carradine, Sheree North and Dabney Coleman also appear in this forgettable film which makes Clambake and Girl Happy classics by comparison. Elvis is limited to three tunes as he plays out the string of poorly scripted vehicles that ended with his next feature, the equally awful Change of Habit. By now, the inane screenplays had done permanent damage to a once-promising film career, souring the King of Rock & Roll on everything in movies except live concert performances. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Rob (Dick Van Dyke) is supposed to watch a TV special in order to talent-scout for his boss Alan Brady -- and of course, Alan is certain to ask Rob what he thought of the show. At the same time, our hero is slated to attend a cousin's wedding in Albany. Sure enough, the TV set in Rob's hotel room conks out, forcing him to scramble around to locate another set in a hurry -- which gets him mixed up in a '60s rehash of an old French bedroom farce! This episode was originally slated to air on January 12, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on Howard Fast's novel The Winston Affair, this WW II-era crime drama is set in India and chronicles the attempts of an American military attorney to defend a lieutenant who shot a British officer in cold blood. Many witnesses were present and the question the lawyer must answer is whether the defendant is sane enough to stand trial. His investigation leads him to believe that his client is not. Unfortunately, his general is anxious to resolve the case to quell mounting tensions between British and American troops. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

It's Bob Hope as phony explorer Matt Merriwether, who promotes himself as an expert on the dark continent, basing his exploration of the African subcontinent on old diaries of his uncle. When an American space capsule crashes in an uncharted region of Africa, Merriwether, based on his alleged expert knowledge of the region, is selected to recover the capsule. Joining Merriwether and his pre-Kervorkian suicide kit, is security agent Frederica Larsen (Edie Adams). Hot on their heels are Russian agents Luba (Anita Ekberg) and Dr. Ezra Mungo (Lionel Jeffries), who want to get to the space capsule first. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Based on Anthony Kimmins' stage success The Amorous Prawn, this British light comedy stars Joan Greenwood as the wife of an Army general (Cecil Parker). Having fallen upon hard times, the wife hits upon a scheme to raise some quick cash. She opens her husband's highland headquarters to visiting salmon fishermen, a circumstance that displeases the general when several of those anglers turn out to be handsome young men. On the assumption that American audiences would think The Amorous Prawn was a film about shrimp instead of salmon, the US distributor added the "Mr." to the original. When filmgoers failed to respond, the picture was re-retitled The Playgirl and the War Minister, a shameless attempt to exploit the then-current Profumo political scandal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bret (James Garner) is determined to foil the never-ending efforts by Big Ed Murphy (John Dehner) to rob the bank owned by Col Dutton (Wendell Holmes). Figuring that the best way to save Big Ed from himself is to remove the temptation, Bret conspires with Foursquare Foley (Gage Clarke) to steal the bank's money themselves, then hide it in a safe place. In fact, Foley has already dug a tunnel under the bank for this purpose...a fact that should have put Bret on guard from the get-go. This final episode of Maverick's third season also marks the next-to-last appearance by James Garner as Bret Maverick (discounting the later TV and movie sequels). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the eighth episode of Walt Disney's ten-part miniseries Elfego Baca, gunslinger-turned-lawyer Baca (Robert Loggia) has secured the legal rights of the Mustangers, a religious sect that has set up a homestead in the middle of cattle country. But though the Mustangers own their property fair and square, the local cattleman still regard the group with suspicion and contempt, putting pressure on local merchants not to sell to any of the sect's members. When Mustanger leader Shadrack O'Reilly (Brian Keith) is refused service at a feed store, he sparks off a huge brawl and ends up in jail -- which, of course, brings Elfego Baca back into the story. Featuring a young James Coburn in a supporting role, "Mustang Man, Mustang Maid" was originally telecast as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi