LaWanda Page Movies

B.A.D. Cats was a 1980 TV adventure series, all about a special division of the LA police department. Comprised of ex-racing drivers, the B.A.D. C.A.T. squad (Burglary Auto Detail, Commercial Auto Thefts) went after the bad guys with a vengeance-and with all cylinders running. Premiering January 4, 1980, the series was cancelled after five episodes, at which point its producers issued what amounted to a public apology. The only logical reason that two episodes of B.A.D. Cats have been released on video is that one of its stars was Michelle Pfeiffer, playing curvaceous lady-cop Samantha "Sam" Jensen. Usually clad in skimpy halter tops and cutoffs, her main purpose was to impersonate hookers and biker chicks, and get kidnapped. Funny how the B.A.D. Cats video showed up on rental shelves shortly after Michelle Pfeiffer's star-making turn in 1988's Married to the Mob; we wonder if she puts the 1980 series on her current resume. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hard-core rapper Ice Cube, after appearing in such hard-hitting films as Boyz 'N the Hood and Higher Learning, played his first comic role in this picture he co-wrote with frequent musical collaborator DJ Pooh. Craig (Ice Cube) manages to get fired on his day off (though he claims it's through no fault of his own) and spends the day hanging out with his buddy Smokey (Chris Tucker) and trying to avoid his father (John Witherspoon), who wants him to find another job immediately. Smokey (whose name might have something to do with his tremendous fondness for marijuana) has even more serious problems; he was given $200 worth of weed to sell by Big Worm (Faizon Love), but he ended up smoking it instead, and if he can't come up with the money by the end of the day, he'll be in a world of hurt (and will put Craig in the same place just for being his friend). And Deebo (Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr.), a gargantuan bully who roams the neighborhood on his bicycle, has it in for Craig, while Craig tries his best just to stay out of his way. As one would expect, Friday features a strong hip-hop soundtrack, featuring tracks by such artists as Dr. Dre, Cypress Hill, Mack 10, and Funkdoobiest, as well as old-school R&B selections from The Isley Brothers, Roger, and Rose Royce. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Like his previous smash hit All in the Family, producer Norman Lear's NBC sitcom Sanford and Son was based on a British original, in this instance Steptoe and Son, the story of an elderly, irascible cockney junk dealer and his cloddish bachelor son and business partner. In the initial development stages, Sanford and Son was to have been about a pair of Jewish men, but it was finally decided to transform the characters into African-Americans -- and in so doing, veteran "Chitlin Circuit" standup comedian Redd Foxx was catapulted to superstardom. Debuting January 14, 1972, the NBC series cast Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford, a 65-year-old L.A. junk dealer who ran a ramshackle salvage business in the backyard of his home. The cranky, mercenary Fred was satisfied with his lot in life, which was more than could be said for his 34-year-old son, Lamont (Demond Wilson), who was forever seeking out strategies to escape the junk business and go off on his own -- and, hopefully, to find himself a wife. The wily elder Sanford would have none of this, and devised all manner of schemes and subterfuges to keep Lamont from leaving. His favorite ploy was to feign having a heart seizure, whereupon he would look heavenward and "call out" to his late wife, "I'm comin', Elizabeth! This is the big one! I'm comin'!" Inasmuch as this charade fooled no one -- least of all Lamont -- one wondered if the younger Sanford really was that hepped out about leaving after all, or whether he felt secure in his shabby environs.

Although none of the series' supporting characters appeared on every episode, most were seen frequently enough to qualify as regulars. During season one, Fred hung out with his old buddy Melvin (Slappy White), and throughout the series he palled around with Bubba Bexley (Don Bexley). Beginning in 1973, Whitman Mayo was seen as Fred's crony Grady Wilson, who virtually became the series' star later on during Redd Foxx's frequent defections from the show due to salary and other squabbles with the producers. (Mayo himself virtually disappeared from Sanford and Son during the 1975-1976 season when he was spun off into his own sitcom, Grady.) Other recurring characters included eccentric police officers Swanhauser (Noam Pitlik), Smith (Hal Williams), and Hopkins (Howard Platt); Lamont's friend Rollo Larson (Nathaniel Taylor); restauranteur Ah Chew (Pat Morita); rival junk man Julio Fuentes (Gregory Sierra); Fred's off-and-on lady friend, Nurse Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton); and Lamont's girlfriend and later fiancée, Janet Lawson (Marlene Clark). The one "standout" supporting character was Aunt Esther Anderson (LaWanda Page), who constantly quoted Scripture and who expressed her disapproval of Fred's shenanigans by giving a good solid punch once in a while (in some early episodes, Beah Richards appeared in a similar role as Aunt Ethel). With the departure of both Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson at the end of the series' sixth season, Sanford and Son was canceled September 2, 1977, to be "reborn" twice, first in the form of the spin-off series The Sanford Arms in the fall of 1977, then as the short-lived 1980 offering Sanford, with Redd Foxx in his original role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After years of waiting, Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) is told that the adoption agency has finally found her a child. Nervously anticipating an interview with the adoption agency, Esther's husband Woody (Raymond Allen) downs a "calmative" -- and as a result, is hopelessly inebriated. Gallant Fred (Redd Foxx) agrees to impersonate Woody when the officials show up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thanks to the generosity of Lamont (Demond Wilson), Grady (Whitman Mayo) must pay host to wimpy, whiny Uncle Woodrow (Raymond Allen), who has been kicked out of his own house by his wife, the redoubtable Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page). To get rid of Woodrow, Grady plies the man with booze and tells him to go back and "stand up" to his domineering spouse. As a consequence, Aunt Esther herself soon arrives at the Sanford home -- and she refuses to leave. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Splitting up with her husband, Woodrow (Raymond Allen), after a row, Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) moves in with Fred and Lamont Sanford (Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson). Fred tolerates Esther's presence when he believes that she only intends to stay the night. But when it becomes clear that she plans to remain in the Sanford home for six months, the better to establish separate residency for a divorce, Fred schemes to bring Esther and Woodrow back together -- and out of his hair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this opening episode of Sanford and Son's fifth season, a team of Russian scientists announce that a seismic fault runs smack in the middle of the Sanfords' house. A series of small earthquakes subsequently sets Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) a-tremble in more ways than one. Certain he will meet his doom in the inevitable "Big One," Fred packs his bags and heads off to Las Vegas -- where, of course, he runs smack-dab into an aggregation of celebrities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although he passes on performing songs written by Fred (Redd Foxx), the great B.B. King (playing himself) gives Fred a book, which explains why King starting singing the blues. Turns out that King has been nursing a broken heart ever since he lost his sweetheart to another man. According to the book, King's lost love was someone with the initials E.W. -- the same as Fred's late lamented wife Elizabeth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While house-sitting for Fred (Redd Foxx), Grady decides to make a salad with the "parsley" growing in Fred's backyard garden. What Grady doesn't know (in fact, what Fred didn't know) is that the attractive-looking plant is not parsley but marijuana. Perhaps this explains why, a few hours later, Grady, Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page), and even the local cops are in such "high" spirits. This was one of several Sanford and Son episodes filmed while Redd Foxx was absent from the series due to a contract dispute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Unable to pay his back rent, a tenant of the Sanford Arms leaves his sole possession as collateral. Unfortunately for Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx), that possession turns out to be an elephant. Hoping for a quick turnover, Fred stages a spectacular advertising gimmick, with the pesky pachyderm as the main attraction -- and before long our hero is facing a lawsuit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To impress his son Lamont's future mother-in-law, Fred (Redd Foxx) tries to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. His plan is to stay awake longer than the current record-holder, the immortal Choo Choo Rabinowitz. As it turns out, it is Fred's crony Bubba (Don Bexley) who makes it into the Guinness annals by breaking a bizarre record all his own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Consulting a psychic, Lamont (Demond Wilson) discovers he is a Double Libra. As such, it is in Lamont's best interests to be nicer to his crotchety old dad Fred (Redd Foxx). Meanwhile, Fred passes out after eating some spoiled collard greens. Awakening to find Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) praying over him, and Lamont behaving in an uncharacteristic kind and loving fashion, Fred is convinced that he is at death's door (exclaiming, "I'm comin', Elizabeth!"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) underrtakes the task of transforming "a sow's ear into a silk purse." This is Fred's rather insulting assessment of his mission to give Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) a complete fashion makeover. Has Fred finally buried the hatchet with Esther? No, he merely wants to win a 500-dollar bet he made with Esther's hubby Woodrow (Raymond Allen). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide