Edward Bell Movies
A narcissistic psychopath and neglectful single mother concocts a deadly scheme to sell the family house, and the only thing standing in the way is her still-breathing father in a cynical and serious-minded suburban soap-opera from director Paul Goldman and first-time screenwriter Alice Bell. Kat (Emily Barclay) is a nineteen-year-old single mother whose life revolves around manicures, cell phone conversations, petty crime, and cheap sex. She lives in a typical suburban home in a typical small town, and she has long since grown bored with her vanilla-flavored surroundings. Kat's brother Danny (Laurence Breuls) is currently serving a life sentence for murder, and the dangerously unpredictable hellion is now forced to move in with her father John (Robert Morgan) or face a life of destitution. Despite the fact that she is utterly dependent on her dad, her hatred for him reaches a breaking point when he informs her that he will sever her financial support and turn her child over to social services unless she finds a job. Subsequently unloading her toddler on her latest boyfriend Rusty (Michael Dorman) before embarking on a sex-fueled bender with Danny's decidedly slow-witted friend Kenny (Anthony Hayes), the enraged Kat soon cooks up a scheme to manipulate one of the men in her life to murder her father so she can sell his home, collect the cash, and carry on in her wild ways. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emily Barclay, Steve Bastoni, (more)
Not long after ruthless journalist Jane Dawson (Jessica Walter) informs Jessica (Angela Lansbury) of her plans to publish an unauthorized biography of former movie star Ellen Lombard (Barbara Bain), Jane is found electrocuted in a hot tub, thanks to a TV set which "accidentally" tumbled into the water. Seen fleeing from the scene of the tragedy is Ellen's husband, Arthur Brent (Bradford Dillman)--who, inevitably, is one of Jessica's oldest and dearest friends. In her efforts to clear Arthur's name, Jessica leaves no stone unturned...nor does she fail to find out who it was who first "discovered" Jane's body. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The A-Team brings its five-season run to a rousing conclusion as Face (Dirk Benedict) and Frank (Eddie Velez) pay a visit to a surprisingly "sane" Murdock (Dwight Schultz), now working as a waiter in an Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, the three A-Teamers are held hostage, along with the restaurant's owner and his daughter, by mobsters who intend to murder Attorney General Liebster (Chuck Walling). Sneaking out a message written in anchovies on a pizza delivery, Murdock manages to alert Hannibal (George Peppard) and B.A. (Mr. T) to his plight. The climax is a riotous free-for-all, with guns blazing and fists flying--resulting in a near-fatality for one of the Team members! (If the opening of this episode looks familiar, that's because it was lifted virtually in toto from the first-season A-Team entry "Holiday in the Hills".) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In a standard no-plotter, this is a martial arts showcase for gymnast Kurt Thomas as Jonathan Cabot, the front line man sent out to secure a military foothold in an unfriendly, unnamed country in Eastern Europe near the Caspian sea. Jonathan has to use his lethal weapons (hands and feet) and his ingenuity to chop down legions of adversaries, especially in a one-against-all scene in a rustic village. With scenic Yugoslav landscapes and the attractive Miss Philippines (Tetchie Agbayani) as Princess Rubali, the film offers some visual appeal as well as whirling martial arts choreography. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Thomas, Tetchie Agbayani, (more)
A male stripper and an upscale executive begin an affair. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Thornwell was based on a documentary directed by Harry Moses, which formed the nucleus of a 60 Minutes piece. Moses also directed this TV-movie dramatization of the incident, a truly shameful chapter in the history of the American military. James Thornwell (Glynn E. Turman), an African American soldier suspected in 1961 of being a spy, is subjected to an intense, painful, and humiliating interrogation. The Army's grilling tactics are within the accepted boundaries--until it is decided to use Thornwell as a guinea pig for the "mind-expanding" drug LSD. Once released, Thornwell suffers from mental and physical agony which he cannot fully comprehend, because he has no idea that he's been pumped full of the hallucinogenic drug. It is only 16 years later, thanks to the Freedom of Information act, that Thornwell learns what has been done to him. He is awarded a sizeable cash settlement by Congress, but Thornwell makes clear that this is inadequate compensation for two lost decades in a man's life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This true-life TV movie stars Glenda Jackson as Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal and Anthony Page as her author husband Roald Dahl. In 1964, Neal is felled by a stroke, which endangers not only her life but the life of her unborn child. Both survive, but it looks as though Neal will never be able to speak coherently again. Dahl bullies, cajoles and caresses his wife into recovery; she rallies under this treatment and is finally able to resume her career and lead a normal life. The film does not touch upon the serious domestic problems which would lead to Neal and Dahl's later divorce, nor does it dwell on the "dark side" of the notoriously mercurial Mr. Dahl. Nonetheless, both Neal and Dahl felt that the book upon which Patricia Neal Story was based, (Barry Farrell's Pat and Ronald) was far too revelatory for their tastes. They severed their longtime friendship with author Farrell and never spoke to him again; nor did they have anything to say publicly about The Patricia Neal Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Assignment: Kill Castro was originally released as Cuba Crossing. Stuart Whitman stars as a mercenary hired to "off" the Cuban dictator. He soon discovers that he will be immediately expendable once the deed is done, and that co-stars like Robert Vaughn should not automatically be trusted. Raymond St. Jacques, Woody Strode and Caren Kaye are among the good actors who appear fitfully in the film; the bulk of the story, however, is carried by such inexpensive unknowns as Mary Lou Gassen. Don't miss jewelry-bedecked pop star Monty Rock III as a "cruiser"--and we don't mean the Evinrude variety. A giveaway that Assignment: Kill Castro had trouble finding an audience is its plethora of alternate titles; in addition to Cuba Crossing, the film was also known as Kill Castro, The Mercenaries and Sweet Violent Tony. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Whitman, Robert Vaughn, (more)
According to the NBC publicity packet, the made-for-TV Revenge of the Stepford Wives was "based on characters created by Ira Levin" -- specifically, those characters created by Levin for his fantasy-suspense novel The Stepford Wives, which was transformed into a theatrical film in 1975. On this occasion, plucky TV journalist Kay Foster (Sharon Gless) is stranded in the "idyllic" New England community of Stepford, populated exclusively by chauvinistic males and their eerily submissive and subservient wives. With the help of Megan Brady (Julie Kavner), a new arrival to the community who hasn't yet been "conditioned," Kay tries to learn the terrible secret behind the robotic Stepford wives -- and to foment a rebellion against the wicked menfolk. Revenge of the Stepford Wives first aired on October 12, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on the best-selling Vincent Bugliosi book of the same name, Helter Skelter is a made-for-TV account of the investigation and prosecution of Charles Manson (Steve Railsback), who was convicted of leading a group of followers (known as "The Family") to murder seven people in California, including actress Sharon Tate. The film takes a Law & Order-like approach, starting with the discovery of the murders, which leads to the police gathering snippets of evidence that they eventually connect to the bigger picture. The second half of the movie concentrates on how District Attorney Bugliosi (George DiCenzo) attains a conviction despite the enormous amount of press coverage the case received. Nancy Wolfe, Christina Hart, and Cathey Paine portray the three loyal Manson Family members who were the co-defendants at his trial. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George DiCenzo, Steve Railsback, (more)
This provocative, highly atmospheric horror movie tells the tale of a young girl who is terrified that her insane mother will take her away from her beloved foster mother. One day, the crazed real mother attempts to contact the girl at school, but her foster mother has a premonition and gets there in time to protect the girl. Eventually though, the real mother and her terrifying boy friend, a carnival clown, succeed and whisk her away, leaving the bereaved foster parents to enlist the assistance of a parapsychologist to help them interpret the foster mother's terrifying dreams and psychic connection to the girl and find her before it is too late. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Farrell, Richard Lynch, (more)
Call to Danger was a title that had already been applied to two unsold pilot films before this TV movie made its first appearance in February of 1973. Like the previous 1968 Call to Danger, the 1973 film stars Peter Graves as a federal agent who enlists "ordinary" people to solve crimes. Headquartered in Washington DC (where most of this film was shot), Graves selects his erstwhile agents by means of a computer. The case at hand is the retrieval of an underworld informer who has been kidnapped. Peter Graves appeared in Call to Danger even while his series Mission: Impossible was in production; there was talk that Mission: Impossible would soon be cancelled, and Graves wanted a pilot film to fall back on. Come September of 1973, there was neither hide nor hair of Mission: Impossible, Call to Danger or Peter Graves on any network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A group of new prisoners, including a political science professor, Jonathan Paige (Alan Alda), and a student, Allan Campbell (Kristoffer Tabori), arrive at a state prison, along with a new guard, Brian Courtland (Clu Gulager). Paige is a serving a year for manslaughter -- he accidentally killed a driver who had run down and injured his wife -- but his education doesn't prepare him for what he finds in prison. Nor does Courtland understand everything he sees in his new job, where he hopes to do some good. The warden (Dean Jagger) is spoken of as being on "short time," as though he were serving a sentence; the guard captain, Pagonis (G. Wood), is totally cynical about his work and his job; and one veteran guard, Brown (Roy Jenson), seems to be serving some of the prisoners -- and that small group of inmates have more to do with the running of the prison than does the administration. First among them is Hugo Slocum (Vic Morrow), a lifer who controls the flow of drugs and other contraband to the cons, wielding money and power without challenge until Paige gets assigned by the warden to the prison pharmacy, and -- thanks to his own sense of righteousness -- blocks Slocum's pipeline, a move that could get the professor killed. Meanwhile, Paige is trying to understand Lennox (Billy Dee Williams), the lifer he works with in the pharmacy, and discovers in him a true political visionary and leader, who lives the stuff that Paige has only ever lectured about. Lennox is black and proud, and a killer, and also (incidentally) smarter than Paige; he is also respected as a leader by the other blacks in the prison and feared just enough by the whites, including Slocum, to stay alive. Paige should only learn from him, but the professor is too set in his ways and too arrogant in his assumptions to do that. Complicating things further, Slocum has taken a decidedly physical liking to Paige's cellmate, Allan, a college student who is in on a marijuana charge and too naïve to recognize why the tough con is being so good to him until he rejects Slocum's advances. In retaliation, Allan is gang-raped on Slocum's orders, and later kills himself. Nor has Slocum forgotten about Paige or the pharmacy -- when Paige tries to reach out to another inmate, Sinclair (Edward Bell), who shows promise as a writer, Slocum destroys Sinclair's work and targets him, as well. Before he's killed, however, Sinclair reveals to Paige that, as Slocum's sometime bagman and former bookkeeper, he's recorded every transaction for the past eight years -- including every hit ordered by Slocum and how it was paid off, including the bribes to guards to look the other way -- and he passes the book with that record to the professor. It comes down to a do or die situation for Paige and Slocum, as each now has the power and the need to destroy the other to stay alive; the only question is whether Paige will figure out in time that he may have to back up his good intentions with lethal force. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
The all-purpose science fiction title Earth 2 was utilized in 1971 for this TV pilot film. Producer/writers Allan Balter and William Read Woodfield consulted both NASA and the Rockwell Corporation to guarantee a modicum of authenticity for their futuristic teleplay. The story takes place in "Earth II", a self-contained space station orbiting the earth which houses 2000 people. Gary Lockwood, star of 2001: A Space Odyssey, appears as the commander of the station (note to fans of "Alvin and the Chipmunks": Lockwood's character name is David Seville!) The anecdotal plot explores the everyday operations of Earth II and the various trials and tribulations of its denizens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Yuppie-type Michael Berger (Edward Bell) and his bitter wife Lee (Linda Marsh) can barely stand each other as it is. Things don't get much better when they move to Puerto Rico to a house he just inherited from his brother, and the circumstances aren't all that auspicious. It seems his brother murdered his wife before committing suicide. Since they don't see much future in their marriage anyway, they agree to try the then-popular sport of wife-swapping. In this movie, however, more than just wives are swapped, as explicit sexual references and lesbian encounters also take place. Michael goes ballistic from time to time, and his wife is a real queen of sarcasm. Their dislike of each other grows throughout the film, but the bonds which hold them together have never seemed more unbreakable. This movie was produced in 1970 and went commercially unreleased for almost 20 years. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Marsh, Edward Bell, (more)

- 1966
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An unfaithful wife is visited by medieval plague victims, who were summoned from their graves by her occult-expert husband. ~ All Movie Guide




















