John McGuire Movies
Jim Henson's Muppets find themselves in Manhattan yearning to get a musical on Broadway in this charming film that also chides show business and its foibles. Kermit the Frog has just put together a successful variety show at Danhurst college (probably somewhere between Amherst and Dartmouth), and although he would like to mount it on Broadway so he would have a hit and be able to marry Miss Piggy, he cannot find backers. The Muppets are then forced to take jobs to support themselves, and it is while working as a waiter that Kermit meets the friendly Jennie (Juliana Donald). Jennie is the daughter of the owner of the restaurant and a source of great jealousy for Miss Piggy, who does not like competition. With stunning musical numbers involving a hundred or so Muppets and on-scene locations in New York City, the film is impressive in its merging of technical achievements and acting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Henson, Frank Oz, (more)
- 1984
Sheila McLaughlin produced, directed, wrote and starred in this low-budget but heartfelt filmed biography of the tragic stage and screen actress Frances Farmer. Always a maverick, Farmer could never fit in with the Hollywood public-relations mill, nor was she totally at ease with the posing intellectuals of the Group Theatre. Bombarded by unfair pressure from all sides, Farmer eventually loses control over herself and has to be committed to an institution--and then suffers a far worse fate when she is put in the protective custody of her embittered mother. This story was related on a more elaborate scale in the American TV movie Will There Ever Be a Morning? (with Susan Blakely) and the theatrical film Frances (with Jessica Lange). McLaughlin's ambitious version was originally produced for British television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sheila McLaughlin, Victoria Boothby, (more)
