Misty Rowe Movies
Actress/singer/comedienne Misty Rowe's career peaked in the 1970s and 1980s and placed its strongest emphasis on television and stage. Born in 1952, Rowe studied under preeminent acting coach Stella Adler, and achieved her most enduring fame as one of the longest-reigning contributors (outstripped only by a handful of regulars including Roy Clark and Minnie Pearl) to the country music-themed comedy variety program Hee Haw; Rowe signed on with the program in 1972 and remained with the cast until 1991, or two years before its first-run syndication ended. In the interim, she joined the cast of Happy Days for the first season only, won the part of Maid Marian in Mel Brooks' short-lived sitcom farce When Things Were Rotten (1975), and -- very briefly -- starred opposite Kathie Lee Johnson (soon to become Kathie Lee Gifford), Lulu Roman, and others in the comedy variety spinoff of Hee Haw, Hee Haw Honeys (1978). Meanwhile, Rowe also eked out a presence on-stage in such productions as the musical comedy Lil' Abner opposite Joe Namath.Following Rowe's stint on Hee Haw, she endured a bout of personal tragedy, but overcame the related emotional difficulties and scored a triumph by headlining the touring stage production Always...Patsy Cline as the famous, tragic country crooner. Rowe then embarked on a stand-up act, headlining clubs including Caroline's, Stand-Up New York, and Don't Tell Mama. Rowe's feature film career witnessed her landing supporting roles in projects including Loose Shoes (1980), National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1982), and Meatballs Part II (1984). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
The sequel to Goodbye, Norma Jean, this film introduces the theory that Marilyn Monroe's death was the result of a calculated mercy killing. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Misty Rowe, Paula Lane, (more)
- 1986
In this pilot film for the short-lived satirical TV series The Last Precinct, a group of misfit police-academy rejects are given one final opportunity to distinguish themselves in the field of law enforcement when they are assigned to the LA's seediest and most woebegone precinct, the 56th. Under the diligent but ineffectual leadership of Captain Rob Wright (Adam West), these losers-in-blue immediately ingratiated themselves to their higher-ups by stealing a sheriff's drug-sniffing dog, which leads them to the headquarters of a drug ring--and possible redemption if they can make an arrest without killing themselves in the process. Inasmuch as Stephen J. Cannell was the prime instigator of The Last Precinct, NBC had such high hopes for the property that the network scheduled its two-hour premiere on January 26, 1986, right after the Super Bowl telecast. But to no avail: Though picked up as a weekly series, The Last Precinct was mustered out after only six episodes. ~Saw Film/Marsh/Marrill/TV Guide/Internet/Expert ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
- PG
There have been almost enough Meatballs to make a plate of spaghetti, but this entry about a decisive boxing match between two youth camps is basically inedible without Bill Murray to add the necessary zest, as he did in the original Meatballs. "The Flash" (John Mengatti) is out on probation but has to serve time at Camp Sasquatch as a counselor-in-training (!) as a part of the probation terms. There, he meets the super-innocent Cheryl (Kim Richards), adding interest to his job, but none of the characters in Camp Sasquatch or its rival Camp Patton add much interest to the film. Hershey (Hamilton Camp) is the one-dimensional fascist who runs the militaristic Camp Patton and sure enough, his aide-de-camp is a closet gay (John Larroquette). (Paul Reubens) of Pee Wee Herman fame is a minor player, Richard Mulligan is Giddy (an apt name for his character) and when these oddballs are combined with a strange- looking alien and the final boxing match that will save Camp Sasquatch if only The Flash can win, the pastiche is somewhat hard to digest. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Archie Hahn III, John Mengatti, (more)
- 1982
- R
- Add National Lampoon's Class Reunion to QueueAdd National Lampoon's Class Reunion to top of Queue
A high school class reunion turns bloody when a former student seeks revenge on his classmates in this black comedy. That mayhem would strike this 20-year reunion seems preordained, given that the name of the school is Lizzie Borden High. Little did anyone expect, however, that this trouble would come from Walter Baylor (Blackie Dammett), a social outcast who was the victim of a humiliating senior year practical joke. Now, two decades later, Baylor has escaped from a mental institution to kill off his tormenters one by one. Class Reunion was the first produced screenplay by John Hughes, a National Lampoon writer who would eventually find a highly successful career as a writer, director, and producer of teen-oriented movies. His debut was exceptionally inauspicious, however, as the film's uncertain mixture of gore and low comedy was met with critical derision and audience indifference. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerritt Graham, Michael Lerner, (more)
- 1982
- R
Double Exposure is a dull, predictable mystery thriller with a fine cast but hampered by a poor script and bad direction and production. A photographer (Michael Callan) begins to have a series of nightmares concerning bloody, gruesome murders. When those murders become reality, he is the prime suspect and must find the real killer. The cast including Joanna Pettet, James Stacy, Cleavon Little, Sally Kirkland and Seymour Cassel, makes the most of their underwritten and poorly developed characters, but producer/director/writer William Byron Hillman substitutes nudity and lurid, gory special effects for both plot and character. Viewers looking for an interesting thriller based on the same premise might enjoy The Eyes of Laura Mars, and not waste their time with this plodding rip-off. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
In The Man With Bogart's Face, an affectionate send-up of the Bogart detective films of the 1940s, Robert Sacchi plays a man who idolizes Humphrey Bogart so much he has his features altered to look exactly like his idol. He then opens up a detective agency under the name Sam Marlowe (an amalgam of the names of Bogart's characters from The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep). Sam hires the Duchess (Misty Rowe) as his secretary ("She looked like Marilyn Monroe and made about as much sense as Gracie Allen") and "Sam Marlowe, Private Eye" is in business. Sam gets a meager response until a shooting puts his picture in the paper and business starts to flourish. Particularly attracted to Marlowe's services are a collection of characters -- Gena (Michelle Phillips), an attractive Gene Tierney type; Commodore Anastas (Victor Buono), a Greek shipping tycoon and Sidney Greenstreet lookalike; and the mysterious Mr. Zebra (Herbert Lom doing a Peter Lorre imitation). They are all trying to find the famous Eyes of Alexander -- a priceless set of stones from a statue of Alexander the Great. Also on hand are old Hollywood pros George Raft, Yvonne DeCarlo and Mike Mazurki. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Sacchi, Franco Nero, (more)
- 1980
- R
Preview trailers for movies not coming to a theater near you are collected in this satiric comedy. Loose Shoes is a sketch comedy which takes the form of a series of "coming attractions" for movies that don't happen to exist. The oddball trailers include the Billy Jack parody Billy Jerk Goes to Oz, the family comedy The Shaggy Studio Executive, a ribald Ma and Pa Kettle take-off, a biker film satire called Skateboarders From Hell, a vintage musical short entitled Darktown After Dark, a politically incorrect Charlie Chaplin two-reeler, a Play It Again, Sam goof in which "Duddy Allen" seeks romantic advice from a guy he thinks is the ghost of Clark Gable, and much more. Loose Shoes includes pre-fame performances from Bill Murray, Howard Hesseman, Ed Lauter, and Harry Shearer, while cult favorites Susan Tyrrell, Sid Haig, Jaye P. Morgan, Kinky Friedman, and Van Dyke Parks also appear in the cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lewis Arquette, Danny Dayton, (more)
- 1979
- R
In this comedy, three middle-aged men renew their boyhood friendship at a stag party and hatch a crazy scheme that involves making money off of a luscious prostitute. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Death Flight was originally known as SST: Death Flight when it was first telecast February 25, 1977. Though fairly expensive so far as TV movies go, the film is brought down to earth by its standard B-flick plot. On its maiden flight, America's first supersonic transport runs into deadly danger high in the sky-and may never get to land. In true Airport fashion, the plane is populated with celebrities (at least by TV standards): Barbara Anderson, Bert Convy, Peter Graves, Lorne Greene, Tina Louise, George Maharis, Burgess Meredith, Doug McClure, Martin Milner, Robert Reed, Susan Strasberg, Billy Crystal, and even Regis Philbin. The film's working title was Death of the Maiden, but this was too close to Death and the Maiden, the 90-minute pilot episode of the 1973 Jimmy Stewart TV series Hawkins. Death Flight was later syndicated as SST: Disaster in the Sky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Kojak (Telly Savalas) and his fellow detectives offer moral support to their police-officer colleague Richie Centorini (Joey Aresco), who is going through an unusually nasty divorce. The biggest thorn in Richie's side is his wife's sleazy attorney Everett Coughlin (played by future movie-studio executive David Ladd), who intends to take the hapless cop for every penny he has. When Centorini's private boat is torch--and a man killed in the process--suspicion falls upon Coughlin...and even worse, there's the possibility that Richie's ex-wife Sally (Shera Danese) may have been an accomplice. Future comedy star Joe Flaherty appears in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Taken from the television series "When Things Were Rotten," this collection includes three episodes from the Mel Brooks Robin Hood spoof. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Goodbye Norma Jean purports to be a biography of the early years of Norma Jean Baker (Misty Rowe), who would later attain fame in Hollywood as the blonde sex goddess Marilyn Monroe. The film begins in 1941 as Norma Jean is brutally raped by a highway patrolman who stopped her for speeding. After winning a local beauty pageant, Norma Jean continues to experience a succession of low-life sexual encounters that pave the way to Hollywood stardom. The ironic take of the film is that Norma Jean's series of degrading sexual experiences caused her to dislike sex throughout her life while, ironically, attesting to her sensual allure in Hollywood films. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Misty Rowe, Terrence Locke, (more)
- 1975
In the '90s and 2000s, Mel Brooks enjoyed tremendous success resurrecting old ideas in new venues -- just witness his hit stage musicals The Producers and Young Frankenstein. So it might intrigue casual fans to learn that his broad cinematic farce Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) also found its origins in an older project: a failed sitcom from the mid-'70s entitled When Things Were Rotten. The original series, like the movie, took place in the 12th century, with Robin Hood (Dick Gautier) presented as neither heroic nor impressive, but a complete buffoon. With his accomplices behind him, he only triumphed from episode to episode because his enemies -- led by Prince John and The Sheriff of Nottingham -- were twice as moronic as he was. Brooks packed the series with off-the-wall gags and gleeful anachronisms that had become trademarks of the creator/producer's big screen films by the mid-'70s. The series, which co-starred Bernie Kopell as Alan-a-Dale, Dick Van Patten as Friar Tuck, Henry Polic II as the Sheriff, and Misty Rowe as Maid Marian, drew high praise from critics who championed it as witty and inventive; unfortunately, audiences did not share the same level of admiration, and the series aired for the last time on Christmas Eve, 1975, three-and-a-half months after it premiered. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Gautier, Dick Van Patten, (more)
- 1974
Clyde Ware both scripted and directed this made-for-TV biopic. Martin Sheen stars as Floyd, a depression-era farmboy who (it says here) turns to crime to avoid starving to death. Sheen's real-life brother Joseph Estevez plays Floyd's younger brother in this 73-minute film. As an added fillip, the 92-year-old mother of the genuine Pretty Boy Floyd appears in the film's prologue. Originally titled The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd, this film was first telecast on May 7, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 1950's, HAPPY DAYS revolves around Richie Cunningham and his family and friends. A "wholesome" young man, Richie is a Jefferson High School student who would do anything to get a date and he spends plenty of time with his friends at Arnold's, the local burger joint. Contrasting with his wholesome nature is Arthur Fonzarelli, best known as Fonzie, a rough-around-the-edges motorcycle riding high school dropout famous for his slicked hair, leather jacket, and the catchphrase "aaayyyy!" Fonzie is a regular around the Cunningham house, with Mrs. Cunningham doting on him and Richie turning to him for advice on how to attract girls.
- Starring:
- Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, (more)
- 1973
Bloodsport began life under the less alluring title Poetry in Motion. Gary Busey and Ben Johnson star as, respectively, a high-school football quarterback and his "winning is the only thing" father. The more his dad pushes him, the less Busey truly wants to be an athlete. The inter-family hostility comes to a head during an excitingly filmed climactic gridiron battle. Made for TV, Bloodsport was initially telecast on December 5, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Johnson, Gary Busey, (more)
- 1972
- R
Misty Rowe stars as Maggie, a girl forced to leave home when she learns she's pregnant. On the road, she hooks up with a group of other girls who make a living by hitchhiking in sexy clothes and then robbing the men who pick them up. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
