Nicholas Pryor Movies

A Charlotte lawyer unearths a closely guarded family secret when his father dies and leaves him interest in an obscure entity known as The Covenant List of South Carolina, Ltd. in director Gary Wheeler's adaptation of the novel by author Robert Whitlow. Convinced that the fall of the Confederacy is at hand after the Battle of Gettysburg, a group of South Carolina plantation owners gather at the Rice Planter's Inn in Georgetown, South Carolina and hatch a plan to smuggle their fortunes into Europe. Their cover for the operation: a secret society dubbed The Covenant List of South Carolina, Ltd. But a weathered prophet opposes the group's nefarious plan, and issues a dire warning to his friends and neighbors that one day the descendents of the group will one day face judgment at the mighty hand of God. Decades later, the interests of the families have been passed down through the generations. The profit margin has exploded, and with each passing year the secret grows more sinister. When Charlotte lawyer Renny Jacobson learns that his father has recently passed away, he returns to Charleston to pay his final respects and attend the reading of the family will. Much to Renny's surprise, his father bequeathed a large portion of his estate to charity. Shortly after discovering that his sole inheritance is an interest in the mysterious Covenant List of South Carolina, Ltd., Renny is contacted by The List and approached by a beautiful woman named Jo Johnston. In the following days Renny will become swept up by a whirlwind of deception and greed that will lead him from the picturesque coasts of South Carolina to the closely guarded Swiss bank vaults which house a vast fortune in cursed blood money. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Former NYPD Blue regular Kim Delaney returns in the role of Detective Diane Russell, who since the death of Danny Sorenson has been working with the SVU. Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) hopes that Diane will be able to persuade Adrian (Katy Selverstone), the sister of Connie's scummy brother-in-law, Frank, to provide the damaging information that will prevent Frank's parents from gaining custody of baby Michelle. Elsewhere, the detectives investigate the murder of a woman and the victim's ex-boyfriend, who at first glance would seem to have plenty of motive. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jones (Henry Simmons) seriously considers taking the law into his own hands when Valerie (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) is seriously injured by a stalker. The other detectives of the 15th investigate a series of murders in which the victims were all African males. And the parents of Frank Colohon, the no-good brother-in-law of Connie McDowell (Charlotte Ross), demand custody of Frank's baby daughter, Michelle, while Connie's significant other, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), continues dragging his heels on the subject of matrimony. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This two-hour TV-movie spinoff of the long-running mystery series Diagnosis Murder is reminiscent of the classic "Dr. Christian" B-movies of the 1930s and 1940s. Dick Van Dyke is back as Dr. Mark Sloan, still combining his regular medical duties with sleuthing, this time for humanitarian purposes. Sloan and his colleagues are determined to stem a deadly epidemic that started in a migrant worker's camp and threatens to spread throughout Los Angeles. This requires the good doctor to journey all the way to Mexico to determine the source of the disease--and hopefully, to find an antidote. In the course of his investigation, Sloan comes to the horrifying conclusion that the epidemic is the result of a bioterrorist plot. . .and, of course, there is a murder involved. Diagnosis Murder: Without Warning made its CBS debut on April 26, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Army doctor Carmen Travis (Judith Light) is hot on the trail of a killer virus. Tracing the source of the scourge from Africa to a government facility in Alabama, Carmen and her assistant Holly Parker (Pamela Reed) abruptly run up against the stone wall of conspiracy. It seems that the virus is the unfortunate residue of a genetic-restructructing experiment involving identical twin children--and the higher-ups who have concocted the experiment as a means to carry out future biological warfare have no intention of allowing Carmen to tell what she knows to the world. Carriers was telecast in Germany two months before its American TV debut over the CBS network on October 27, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Charlie (Matthew Fox) is outraged when the parents of his ex-fiancee Kirsten Bennett (Paula Devicq) storm into town after Claudia (Lacey Chabert) informs them of Kirsten's current emotional turmoil. Even worse, Mr. Bennett (Nicholas Pryor) holds Charlie completely responsible for the fact that Kirsten has lost her prestigious job and been booted from the PhD program--and he intends to take legal action against the Salingers. Elsewhere, Julia begins having second thoughts about attending Dartmouth; and while celebrating their "independence" from their families, roommates Bailey (Scott Wolf) and Callie (Alexondra Lee) drink a wee bit too much liquor...a "harmless" indulgence that will have negative repercussions in the weeks to come. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

New York's toughest lady detectives re-team to solve the murder of a homeless transient who had been terrorizing the residents of a posh apartment building with screaming threats, insults and physical intimidation. Though the cops think the culprit is another street person, Cagney and Lacey believe the real killer is one of the tenants, many of whom have ample reason to have murdered the boorish bum. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Another "based on an actual event!" TV movie, Murder Between Friends is set in 1980s New Orleans. Two friends become involved in murder when the wife of one of them begins cheating on her spouse. Constructed along the lines of "Rashomon", the script offers two entirely different accounts of the homicide and the events leading up to it. Timothy Busfield heads the cast as the hardworking prosecutor who wants to cut through the bull. When first telecast on January 10, 1994, Murder Between Friends was accompanied by a "viewer discretion" disclaimer; smart move. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Corbin Bernsen plays a hard-boiled 1940s private eye operating in the 1990s in the made-for-TV Love Can Be Murder. No, he's not a senior citizen: he's dead. It is the ghost of Bernsen who teams with the very much alive Jaclyn Smith, a contemporary PI. She's trying to solve the decades-old homicide case which Bernsen was working on when he was sent into the Big Sleep by persons unknown. Topper Returns, anyone? Love Can Be Murder was originally telecast December 14, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The life of powerful union leader Jimmy Hoffa is the subject of this biographical drama. The focus is strongly on Hoffa's public and political life, from his early days as a labor organizer to his later conflicts with the Federal government -- and, eventually, his mysterious disappearance. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is invited to speak at an exclusive club where only men are permitted as members. Despite her gender, Jessica is asks by the club's governing committee to help them solve a mystery involving the murder of a "rogue" member. This proves difficult when it becomes apparent that the killer may himself be on the committee. This episode is chock full of sly science-fiction and fantasy references--no surprise, inasmuch as it was written by J. Michael Straczynski, a guiding force behind the popular series Babylon 5. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Schlesinger directed this upscale horror film about a landlord with the ultimate problem tenant. Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith) and Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine) are a middle class couple who lie on their financial statement in order to buy an old Victorian house in San Francisco, planning to renovate it and rent it out. Unfortunately, they select as a tenant Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton), a psychotic real estate bargain hunter who plans to drive Patty and Drake into foreclosure proceedings and then buy the house cheap. Carter starts the ball rolling by refusing to pay his rent and driving out a couple who had rented the rear flat by hammering and sawing all night -- and then releasing a tidal wave of cockroaches. What follows is a psychological war between Carter and the Yuppie couple, with Carter succeeding not only in provoking Drake into more extreme means of eviction, but also causing a rift between Drake and Patty. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Brain Dead was based on a script by Charles Beaumont, leading some obtuse fans to hail the "return" of that frequent Twilight Zone contributor. Actually Beaumont has been dead since 1967, so this cookie spent a long time in the oven. Stalwart supporting actor Bill Pullman is given star billing as a brilliant brain surgeon who agrees to perform an operation on a psychotic mathematician. This surgery, ostensibly, is to "adjust" the patient's attitude--and, incidentally, to unlock the corporate secrets secreted within the patient's brain. But as Pullman probes about, he begins experiencing first-hand the psycho's fevered, paranoic dreams. Pullman drifts farther and farther from reality, and the audience is implicitly invited to do the same. Bill Paxton also stars in this Roger Corman-style thriller, produced by Corman's daughter Julie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi