Chita Rivera Movies

A trio of lifelong friends returns to their hometown of Kalamazoo, MI, for their ten-year high-school reunion, only to discover that their graduation time capsule contains embarrassingly unmet goals for all of them in director David P. O'Malley's affectionate comedy. For Carol Cavanaugh (Josie Davis), Maggie Goldman (Mayim Bialik), and Joan Branson (Joanna Clare Scott), life hasn't necessarily been as fruitful and as glamorous as they may have hoped in the idealistic days of their carefree youth. Though still relatively young and hopeful about the road that lies ahead, the prospect of having all of their unfulfilled dreams trumpeted before every member of their graduating class is much too humiliating to take lying down. Now, as the three lifelong friends attempt to recover the capsule before it can be read aloud, the spirits of their deceased grandmothers appear to offer solace and consolation in an uncertain time of progress and transition. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Broadway's Lost Treasures is a two-hour collection of musical highlights, culled from 19 years (1967-1986) of Tony Awards telecasts by Christopher A. Cohen, son of the original telecasts' producers, Alexander H. Cohen and Hildy Parks. The program is divided into four self-explanatory segments -- "Broadway Divas," "Leading Men," "Dancin'," and "Record Breakers" -- and presented by hosts Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, and Chita Rivera. Musical numbers include the "Broadway Divas": Vivian Blaine ("Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls), Patti LuPone("A New Argentina" from Evita), Angela Lansbury ("The Worst Pies in London" from Sweeney Todd), Carol Channing ("Before the Parade Passes By" from Hello Dolly), and Julie Andrews ("Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music). Next up are the "Leading Men": Zero Mostel ("If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof), Yul Brynner ("Shall We Dance?" from The King and I), John Raitt ("Hey There" from The Pajama Game), Robert Preston ("Trouble" from The Music Man), and Paul Lynde("Kids" from Bye Bye Birdie). Now for the "Dancin'": Joel Grey ("Wilkommen" from Cabaret), Tommy Tune and Twiggy ("Chasin' the Clouds Away" from My One and Only), Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon perform "All That Jazz" and "Nowadays" from Chicago, and Jerry Orbach from 42nd Street ("Lullaby of Broadway"). Then there are the "Record Breakers": Andrea McArdle and cast ("Tomorrow" from Annie), the cast of Annie ("You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile"), and Betty Buckley and the cast of Cats) ("Jellicle Songs" and "Memory"). This also includes the bonus performances not seen on the PBS pledge-special broadcasts: Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney ("McHugh Medley" from Sugar Babies), Patti LuPone ("Buenos Aires" from Evita), Barbara Harris ("Movie Star Gorgeous" from The Apple Tree), Bonnie Franklin ("Applause" from Applause), and Dorothy Loudon and cast ("Easy Street" and "Tomorrow" (reprise) from Annie). ~ Laura Mahnken, All Movie Guide

This performance video is a tribute to the American musical theatre. Includes a collection of memorable songs from various Broadway shows. ~ All Movie Guide

Pop star Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees star in this musical, loosely based on the popular 1967 Beatles album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In the story, Billy Shears, who now heads the Lonely Hearts Club Band, is the grandson of the famous Sergeant Pepper. He is confronted by the need to save the magical musical instruments of the band from the bad guys, led by music tycoon B.D. Brockhurst (Donald Pleasance), who want to steal them. If they succeed, the magic which infuses "Heartland U.S.A." will disappear. Among the many Beatles' songs performed in the film by well-known popular artists are: "She's Leaving Home" (Bee Gees, Jay MacIntosh, John Wheeler), "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (Steve Martin), "Got To Get You into My Life (Earth, Wind & Fire), "When I'm 64" (Sandy Farina), "Come Together" (Aerosmith), "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (sung by the Bee Gees, Paul Nicholas), "With a Little Help from My Friends" (Peter Frampton, the Bee Gees), "Fixing a Hole" (George Burns), and "Get Back" (Billy Preston). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A roman a clef depicting the Wylie-Hoffert murders, this is the first of the made for TV movies introducing the Kojak character and was essentially the pilot for the long-running crime series. When a black ghetto youth is accused of two bizarre murders, Kojak takes it upon himself to find the real murderer. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Richard Bellero (Martin Landau) is a brilliant but frustrated scientist, forever failing to find approval from his wealthy, pacifist-oriented father Richard Sr. (Neil Hamilton), even when he develops a practical high-energy laser. Much to the displeasure of his ambitious wife Judith (Sally Kellerman), he has been told by his father that he is being passed over for chairmanship of the family-founded corporation. By accident, however, Richard's laser device draws in an alien being (John Hoyt) who, among other attributes, possesses an invisible force-shield. Judith sees this shield as something that would earn her husband the respect of his father and the world, and the chairmanship of his father's corporation, if he could claim it as his discovery. With help from her servant Mrs. Dame (Chita Rivera), she shoots the alien and takes the control device, a button attached by a vein to the being's body, and activates the shield for her father-in-law; the shield is, indeed, impenetrable, but Judith finds she is unable to deactivate it. With her air running out, it becomes apparent that nothing, including her husband's laser, can get her free. Her father-in-law finds the alien's body, but is killed by Mrs. Dame, an act that stirs the alien -- who is barely alive -- just long enough to rescue Judith. Now freed, she starts to move across the room but is blocked by a barrier that only she sees -- she has gone insane. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide