Cesar Romero

The complex life of the woman who came to personify Latin America in the minds of millions of North American moviegoers during the '30s, '40s, and '50s is the focus of this documentary. But while the spunky Miranda with her distinctive fruity hats was very popular in the North, she was not so beloved in South America where many were offended by the cartoon-like, stereotypical image she embodied. The documentary explores these different perceptions as well as chronicling her ascent to fame and aspects from her troubled personal life, via film clips, and interviews with many of the entertainer's friends. Also included are interviews with Brazilian commentators and the occasional dramatization. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Sam Grimm (Perry Lang) and his brother Max (Christopher Atkins) stand to inherit the mortuary academy that bears their family name in this black comedy. The two brothers must first graduate, and their progress is monitored by school manager Dr. Paul Truscott (Paul Bartell) and the academy's top lecturer Mary Purcell (Mary Woronov). Truscott is blackmailed when he falls in love with a corpse (Cheryl Starbuck), a beautiful cheerleader who choked to death on popcorn. Dickson (Tracey Walter) is the mechanical wizard whose animatronic expertise brings a dead heavy-metal band back to life for one last encore performance. Co-starring Wolfman Jack and Cesar Romero. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

When a group of criminals shoot all of the witnesses to their bank robbery, one woman (Cady McClain) survives her injuries. As the crooks discover that a witness survived their massacre, they begin to threaten her family to frighten them into withholding testimony. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Although the earthquake that ended Season Five of Falcon Crest resulted in only minimal damage (aside from a few quick exits by certain supporting characters), there is still plenty of "shaking" as the series enters its sixth season. For starters, unscrupulous newspaper owner Richard Channing (David Selby), in his never-ending efforts to discredit Falcon Crest winery owners Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) and Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), hires a crafy female private eye named Erin Jones (Jill Jacobson). Quickly revealing herself to be as dishonest as the day is long, Erin proceeds to frame Richard for attempted murder, tries to kill Chase and endeavors to blow up Jeff Wainwright (Edward Albert), the obsessive publicist of Chase's first-time-novelist wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan). Eventually, Chase is forced to ship Erin off to a prison in Borneo, but she manages to resurface as a popular singer--and, incidentally, to kidnap Chase and Maggie's new baby Kevin! While Erin is out of circulation, her sister Meredith (Jane Badler) proves equally adept as a destructive troublemaker. In other developments, Angela's daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) gets mixed up with Vince Karlotti (Marjoe Gortner), a phony spiritualist. Kim Novak joins the cast as a woman claiming to be Skylar, long-lost daughter of Angela's husband Peter (Cesar Romero), but who is ultimately revealed to be Kit Marlowe, a fugitive from an international criminal gang run by billionaire Roland Saunders (Robert Stack)--whose subsequent murder by poisoned cigar is at first blamed on Peter. Later on, Peter divorces Angela, but not before revealing that her arch-rival Richard Channing is actually her son, whom she thought had died at birth. And covetous truck driver Dan Fixx (Brett Cullen) arrives on the scene, determined to replace Angela's grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) as sole heir of Falcon Crest. Also, after an absence of three years, Chase's rebellious daughter Victoria returns to the series, with Dana Sparks taking over from the original Victoria, Jamie Rose. In the obligatory season-ending cliffhanger, Chase Gioberti exits the series in spectacular fashion as he tries to rescue his new baby Kevin from the ubiquitous Erin Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Five of Falcon Crest finds ruthless winery owner Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) once again under siege, this time from Cassandra Wilder (Anne Archer), who intends to destroy Angela and her business to avenge past wrongs committed by Angela against the Wilder family. Facing financial ruin, Angela summons her old flame Peter Stavros (Cesar Romero) to help her get back on her feet. Peter has no sooner gotten to work than he is abducted by his own daughter Sofia (Julie Carmen), who wants to get her hands on the Channing fortue herself. Eventually, Angela marries Peter--but only to prevent him from assuming full control of her beloved Falcon Crest (and to keep an eye on Peter's son Eric [John Callahan], who may have his own avaricious agenda). Meanwhile, newspaper owner Richard Channing (Doug Selby), the illegitimate son of Angela's late husband Douglas, continues to build up his financial nest eggs by skimming profits from the Tuscany Downs Racetrack that he'd constructed a few seasons earlier in order to spite Angela (and which involved him up to his neck with the sinister "Cartel"). Figuring out what Richard is up to, Terry Hartford (Laura Johnson), the ex-prostitute sister-in-law of Richard's longtime nemesis (and half-brother) Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), blackmails Channing into marriage. And speaking of prostitutes, Season Five brings forth a fascinating new recurring character: Richard's female attorney Jordan Roberts (Morgan Fairchild, a schizophrenic who transforms into a hooker named "Monica" on a nightly basis! Elsewhere, Chase's wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan), exercising the prerogative of many a previous soap-opera heroine, suddenly develops amnesia, and while in this state pens a "roman a clef" about the people she knows. When the book is accepted for publication, Maggie is introduced to literary publicist Jeff Wainwright (Edward Albert)--who spends the rest of the season obsessively stalking her. Also, in their efforts to have another baby, Chase and Maggie's son Cole (William R. Moses) and his wife Melissa (Ana Alicia) engage the services of Melissa's sister Robin (Barbara Howard) as surrogate mother; going far beyond the requirements of her job, Robin sleeps with Cole, then insists upon keeping the baby. And in other developments, Melissa's ex-husband Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) falls for pop singer Apollonia (played by Patricia Kotero, who actually adopted "Apollonia" as a stage name), a fact that disgusts his grandmother Angela only slightly less than the romance between Angela's daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) and ambitious truck driver Dwayne Cooley (Daniel Greene). In the season's traditional cliffhanger finale, all of the Tuscany Valley and the people therein--including the entire Knots Landing cast--is imperiled by a devastating earthquake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While playing a video game called "Dungeon Master", Magnum manages to mess up the computerized security system at Robin's Nest. Enter security expert Krista Villaroch (Jenny Agutter), who is hired to get the system up and running in time for a jewelry exhibit being held at the estate. The capricious Magnum dares Krista to test out the system with a phony heist--little realizing (at first) that she is actually the daughter of infamous jewel thief Doc Villaroch (Cesar Romero), who despite his advanced age is far from retired! This episode was written by actress Deborah Pratt, then the wife of Magnum, P.I. executive producer Donald P. Bellisario. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A delightfully horribly sci-fi horror outing, Monster is the story of young people whose lives are placed in jeopardy by the presence of a gigantic prehistoric lake monster created from toxic waste. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This adventure is based upon the true life exploits of 17th-century missionary, Father Francisco "Kino" Kin who was instrumental in developing the Southwest and fought hard to keep the murderous conquistadors from slaughtering the Apaches. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When a couple of ruthless businessmen threaten her logging camp, a defenseless widow is aided by a group of Alaskan lumberjacks. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Aging socialite Athena Champion (Kim Hunter) desperately seeks out the aid of her friend Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr). Several elderly men have recently been murdered--all of them old boyfriends of Athena who had attended her debutante's ball. Suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers', Athena is worried that she may have killed the victims without knowing it--and she wants Ironside to determine whether she is innocent or guilty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With only the slightest basis in fact, this horror film purports to chronicle an incident from the life of Edgar Allen Poe. It has to do with his mad 13-year-old cousin Lenore, whom Poe deeply loved. She is insane and lives in an asylum. Poe visits there and discovers that the hospital is but a facade for a terrifying chamber of horrors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this sequel to the previous week's episode "To Go or Not to Go, That Is the Question," the Stephenses are still playing reluctant hosts to Hepzibah (Jane Connell), high priestess of all witches and warlocks. It is important to curry favor with Hepzibah, who holds the future of Darrin and Samantha's marriage in her hands. To forestall the high priestess' final decision, Sam arranges a match between Hepzibah and Darrin's dashing new client, Mr. Hitchcock (Cesar Romero). Written by Michael Morris, "Salem Here We Come" first aired on October 1, 1970, as the 200th episode of Bewitched. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide