Eddie Benton Movies
This low-budget, tongue-in-cheek horror film of the slasher genre -- which had recently been popularized by Halloween (1978) -- stars that film's lead, Jamie Lee Curtis, as Kim Hammond, a prom queen who becomes a scream queen. Six years ago, a little girl was taunted by four classmates and fell to her death from an abandoned schoolhouse. The quartet of kids promised to keep their complicity in the accident a secret. Now it's their prom night and they've got the jitters because they have recently been receiving phone calls and notes from an ominous, unknown individual claiming to have witnessed the girl's death and vowing revenge. At the prom, the four become fatal victims one by one of a mysterious, axe-wielding, masked, and hooded stalker. The many possibilities of the murderer's identity include Kim, who is the little dead girl's sister, her school-principal father (Leslie Nielsen), or her disc-jockey brother, Alex (Michael Tough). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis, (more)
This is a remake of a 1936 sci-fi, future dystopia tale by H.G. Wells, but the drama, as interpreted by director George McCowan and scripter Martin Lager is not altered to accommodate today's more demanding audiences. As a result, the story, characters, and dialogue are a little weak. After a nuclear holocaust has forced people on earth to set up house on the moon (covered by an insulating, glass-like bubble), their continuing existence depends on some medication to fight off the effects of radiation (!). The trouble is that this medicine is now controlled by the villainous Omus (Jack Palance) who lives on the planet where the miracle drug is made. He is in the process of blackmailing the earth people into accepting him as a dictator when a group of them sneak out in a rocket to defeat him and save the day, whatever the day is on the moon. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, (more)
- 1978
Deadman's Curve is a made-for-TV biography concerning "California sound" rock-n-rollers Jan and Dean. Richard Hatch plays Jan Berry, while Bruce Davison is seen as Dean Torrence. The meat of the story is Jan's grueling efforts to fully recover from a disastrous 1966 auto accident. The film's most powerful scene occurs when the still-shaky Jan attempts a concert comeback, only to be booed offstage when the audience realizes that he's lip-synching. First telecast February 3, 1978, Deadman's Curve is seasoned with cameo appearances by Dick Clark, Wolfman Jack, and Beach Boys Mike Love and Bruce Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Doctors' Private Lives was the 2-hour pilot film for the shortlived TV series of the same name. Ed Nelson and John Gavin star as, respectively, chief surgeon Dr. Michael Wise and cardiovascular unit chief Dr. Jeffrey Latimer. The drama arises from the ongoing clash of egos between these two medical giants. Nelson and Gavin were carried over to the series, as was Randolph Powell as Dr. Rick Calder. The guest cast includes Bettye Ackerman, who had ironically costarred in an earlier hospital series, Ben Casey (Ackerman was the wife of Sam "Dr. Zorba" Jaffee). Doctors' Private Lives premiered March 20, 1978; the series itself ran from April 5 to 28, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Dr. Steven Strange, the Marvel Comics magician/superhero created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, made his long-awaited screen debut in this 1978 TV pilot film. Peter Hooten plays Strange, while Sir John Mills portrays the doctor's sorcerer shaman, "The Ancient One." The Ancient One (whose real name is Lindmer) allows Strange access to the "Hermedic Arts," which enables him to control the elements. In the pilot, Strange's origin is retraced, then the story segues into a titanic battle between Strange and Camelot-era villainess Morgan LeFay (Jessica Walter), who has come back to life in order to collect human souls. Stan Lee reportedly disowned the video version of Dr. Strange, perhaps because one of his beloved characters was "camped up" for TV consumption. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Hooten, John Mills, (more)
- 1977
John Rubinstein steals the focus in this episode as Walter J. Young, a prison inmate enrolled in a special college study program. When a coed turns up murdered on the campus, suspicion immediate falls upon Walter. Detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Robbins (Richard Hatch) try to cut through all the negative vibes to solve the murder--and to prevent Walter from ruining the rest of his life by taking desperate action to escape his accusers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
