Joe Petrullo Movies
Joe Pytka's comedy stars Richard Dreyfuss as Trotter, a cab driver who gets a hot tip on a horse race and soon finds himself on the gambling hot streak of his life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, David Johansen, (more)
- 1987
Though based on a true story which occurred in 1985, the made-for-TV Mercy or Murder? bears traces of the 1947 Fredric March film An Act of Murder. Robert Young stars as Roswell Gilbert, a 75-year-old Florida retiree happily married for 45 years. Gilbert's wife (Frances Reid) falls victim to Alzheimer's disease, which transforms their blissful existence into a six-year ordeal of unrelieved misery. Gilbert is eventually moved to murder his wife and end her suffering. He is tried for murder, and sent to prison chiefly because he refuses to apologize for what he has done. The performances of Robert Young and Frances Reid compensate for the windier, preachier passages of Mercy or Murder? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Former Starsky and Hutch star Paul Michael Glaser warmed the director's chair for Band of the Hand. The film zeroes in on five juvenile delinquents who are plucked from their various detention facilities and unceremoniously dumped in the wilds of the Everglades. The boys begin to panic until hardcase Vietnam veteran Stephen Lang arrives. Lang explains that they've been paroled in his custody, and that it is his task to teach them how to work as a team in order to survive. The logic of this plan is to whip the boys into an elite vigilante unit, then sic them on the various drug dealers of America. The film features early performances by Lauren Holly and Larry Fishburne and Bob Dylan can be heard singing the title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Lang, Michael Carmine, (more)
In this legal drama from director Sydney Pollack, Sally Field stars as Megan, an ambitious newpaper reporter who, based on information from FBI investigator Rosen, played by Bob Balaban, writes a scathing article that implicates Gallagher, a reclusive business-owner played by Paul Newman, in the recent disappearance of a labor leader. When Gallagher confronts Megan and sets her straight, the two team together to prove his innocence and have a few romantic interludes along the way. Wilford Brimley and Melinda Dillon also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Sally Field, (more)
- 1978
Louise Jefferson (Isabel Sanford) complains that her marriage to George (Sherman Hemsley) is in a rut. Things change in a hurry when Louise is rendered unconscious during a mugging. When she comes to, Louise has no memory of her marriage -- or, for that matter, of George. Only The Jeffersons could have made something fresh and funny out of the old, worn-out "amnesia" gambit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, (more)
- 1977
Preparing the grand opening of "Archie Bunker's Place," Archie discovers that being an employer can be just as vexing as working for wages. As one argument segues into another, Archie's entire staff walks out on him. There is nothing else for Archie to do but press Edith, Mike, and Gloria into service as temporary help -- and one can well imagine Mike's efficiency as a convivial bartender. Originally telecast on October 30, 1977, "Archie's Grand Opening" was written by Larry Rhine and Mel Tolkin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1974
A robbery committed by three men goes horribly awry: one thief is killed, the second escapes, and the third, a lifelong loser named Hardway (Paul Burke), is arrested. While languishing behind bars, Hardway learns that his daughter has been kidnapped--and that the only way he can ransom her is to reveal the whereabouts of the stolen money. Ironside (Raymond Burr) enters the scene in hopes of saving the girl, retrieving the money, capturing the villain--and, just possibly, redeeming the hapless Hardway. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) again matches wits with erudite master thief Arthur Justin, whom he sent to prison in the second-season episode "Shell Game". On that occasion, Justin had been played by Sorrell Booke; this time, the role is handled by Dan O'Herlihy. Determined to have his revenge on Ironside, Justin draws up elaborate plans for a spectacular art heist, dropping tantalyzing clues all along the way--and never revealing that he ultimately plans to "hijack" Elizabeth Van Deering (Skye Aubrey), the current sweetheart of Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This detective drama, which garnered a crop of extremely bad reviews when it was released in 1972, is notable for many things: its low budget ($25,000), the time it took to film it (two weeks), its decent camerawork, and the fact that it got reviewed at all, given its resolutely independent origins. The story concerns a private investigator with a yen for a nightclub singer, the mistress of a nightclub owner. When she is killed, he tries to find her murderer. The film ends with an extremely bloody shootout. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
