Jennifer Runyon Movies
American actress Jennifer Runyon familiarized herself to soap opera addicts as Sally Spencer on the long-running daytimer Another World. Prime-time viewers will recognize Runyon as coed Gwendolen Pierce in the 1984-85 episodes of the weekly sitcom Charles in Charge. She went on to play such roles as the grown-up Cindy Brady (briefly replacing Susan Olsen) in the 1988 retro TV special A Very Brady Christmas. Jennifer Runyon's movie manifest includes The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), Ghostwriter (1987) and the 1993 Carnosaur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
One of the more popular features from Roger Corman's "B"-factory Concorde/New Horizons, Carnosaur perpetuates the grand Corman tradition of zeroing in on a big-budget Hollywood studio moneymaker, then dashing off a quick-and-dirty poor man's version before moss gets a chance to grow on the larger film's concept. This bargain-basement spin on Jurassic Park was actually based on a novel by John Brosnan (under the pseudonym Harry Adam Knight). It features Diane Ladd (whose daughter Laura Dern took the high road on Spielberg's film) as a kooky mad scientist whose experiments on human and dinosaur DNA result in dual disasters -- first, a rubbery midget Tyrannosaurus bred from dinosaur and chicken DNA (imagine the barbecue potential!) which escapes the lab and goes on the requisite bloody rampage; and second, a specially-engineered virus with the ability to replace human beings with dino-babies. Although this exploitation quickie doesn't waste too much time delivering the standard Corman cargo (blood and breasts), the mayhem is too often derailed by endless genetic techno-babble from Ladd, whose freaked-out performance is the film's sole plus. The downbeat ending is pure '80s, and paves the way for the inevitable sequels. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Ladd, Raphael Sbarge, (more)
- 1992
This made-for-TV drama, adapted from a book by Vincent Bugliosi, is based on a true story about an ex-cop who deceives and murders a number of women for their life insurance benefits. The video release includes scenes not shown in the original. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
After his twin brother is taken hostage in Beirut, a high school basketball coach (Michael Pare) heads to the Middle East to rescue him. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1991
While travelling through Amish country in hopes of purchasing a quilt, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is stuck there after a traffic mishap. Not surprisingly, murder soon rears its ugly head, the victim on this occasion being a taciturn Amish farmer. The suspects include the farmer's wife, the farmer's mistress, and a citified newcomer to the community. Jay Robinson, who skyrocketed to fame in the early 1950s with his portrayal of the mad Emperor Caligula in The Robe, is here seen in the less flashy role of Bishop Burkhart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- PG
During World War II, a sergeant tries to lead his division against German commander Rommel in the desert of North Africa. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Kroeger, Marc Singer, (more)
- 1989
Father Barnes (Hunt Block), a young Cabot Cove priest, refuses to reveal the words spoken by a parishioner during Confessional. It doesn't matter that the parishioner has confessed to killing a person in self-defense: Father Barnes is bound by the rules of his order, and remains mum. The situation gets worse when another person is accused of the killing, at which point Jessica Fletcher, bound by no rules other than her own, decides to intervene. This episode marks the first of several series appearances by Madlyn Rhue, an actress who had been forced into virtual retirement by multiple sclerosis, but who was able to pay her medical bills by occasionally appearing on Murder She Wrote through the auspices of her friend Angela Lansbury. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Premiering on NBC in 1989 and continuing for five seasons, Quantum Leap gained a cult following for its ability to balance the qualities of science fiction with the hour-long television drama format. Each episode features a different adventure as Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) leaps through time, into different bodies, hoping to someday leap home. Along the way, Sam rights wrongs of the past with help from his hologram companion, Al (Dean Stockwell). In Quantum Leap: Pilot - 1956 viewers are able to see where it all began. Despite the fact that it isn't ready to be tested, Sam chooses to try out the accelerator and leaps into the body of a test pilot with little of his memory intact. After saving the pilot's family, Sam leaps, but rather than leaping back into the accelerator, he finds himself inhabiting the body of a minor league baseball player in 1968 with the task of winning the last game of the season. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, (more)
On his 81st birthday, grandpa George Burns, bemoans the fact that he's wasted his life, and wishes he had it to do all over again. He gets his wish when he and his 18-year-old grandson Charles Schlatter are involved in an auto accident. When he awakens, Burns' personality has been transferred to Schlatter's body, and vice versa! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Burns, Charlie Schlatter, (more)
- 1988
In this made-for-TV movie, the characters from the beloved "Brady Bunch" television series return home to spend the holidays together. All grown up with families of their own, the kids all return to take part in the Brady Christmas reunion. All of the original stars, save one, of the original television series appeared in this special. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG
Perry Parker (Joe Pantoliano) is a Philadelphia dance-show host who hopes to take the place of Dick Clark after the world's oldest teenager takes his show to Hollywood in 1965. Del Green (Donovan Leitch) is a college-bound high schooler who crashes the Dance Party and becomes a favorite of the teen audience. He becomes the dance partner of Vicky (Jennifer Runyon), the pretty blonde star dancer of the popular show. Del soon must decide whether or not to remain a teen tube fave or attend an Ivy League college, and he must also deal with the trial of peer pressure. Plenty of music from the mid 1960s is provided, including "Land Of 1,000 Dances" and the well-crated instrumental "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" by Vince Guaraldi. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donovan Leitch, Joe Pantoliano, (more)
- 1987
Filmed in black-and-white, this episode is both an homage to and a spoof of The Maltese Falcon and other "hard-boiled detective" movies of its ilk. In 1941 San Francisco, cynical gumshoe Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) tries to solve the murder of the much-despite publishing baron William Tyler Maxfield. Along the way, he meets the other Magnum, P.I. regulars, recast as "film noir" stereotypes. The story comes to a climax with obligatory revelation scene, in which Magnum gathers all the suspects together in the same room--and is HE surprised by the outcome! Only at the very end do we discover precisely why and how Magnum has been transplanted to another time and another place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
In this adventure, an undercover cop must protect an endangered, unemployed Vietnam vet who has become a hitman's target. The story is also titled The Highwayman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This romantic drama is about Adam, a young coal miner (Dan O'Shea) and Terry (Jennifer Runyon), the high-class model he falls for when she has a photo shoot at the mine where he works. Terry's mother and her sleazy agent would both prefer Adam stay away from her, while his job and his position in life are on a very different level than hers. But Adam still chases after the woman of his dreams; he ends up kidnapping her and they go on a lark to Hollywood, where more adventures are in store. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan O'Shea, Jennifer Runyon, (more)
- 1986
The real-life Mel Fisher was considered a mercenary by some, a visionary by others. Whatever the case, Fisher was a famous treasure hunter, who spent nearly decades searching for a Spanish Galleon which sank off the Florida Keys in the 17th century. Against all odds, Fisher and his crew were able to retrieve a fortune in gold from the galleon in July of 1985. The made-for-TV Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story first aired November 15, 1986, not long after a drawn-out court battle between Fisher and the U.S. government over ownership of the treasure had come to a conclusion. Cliff Robertson stars as Mel Fisher, while Loretta Swit is cast as his wife, Deo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Robertson, Loretta Swit, (more)
- 1986
Blue DeVille stars Jennifer Runyon as J.C. Swift, who never takes no for an answer. In search of her long-lost father, J.C. talks her yuppie chum Gus Valentine (Kimberly Pistone) into accompanying her on a Dos Passos-like journey across the continent. Their mode of transportation is a classic 1959 Cadillac DeVille, which they have finagled from a rich kid. En route, they pick up itinerant musician Ron Sandusky (Mark Thomas Miller), who has a hidden agenda of his own. Designed as the pilot for a weekly TV series, Blue de Ville premiered December 29, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John Schlesinger directed this fact-based drama - adapted from Robert Lindsay's bestseller of the same title -- about two Californians, friends since boyhood, who are caught selling government secrets to the Soviet Union. Christopher Boyce (Timothy Hutton) is an all-American boy, studying for the priesthood in a seminary. But Boyce decides to drop out of school, and with the help of his father (Pat Hingle), a FBI agent, he gets a job working for the CIA in a message-routing center. While reading the messages, Boyce is shocked to learn that the CIA is involved in fixing Australian elections. Watching the Watergate hearings on television, he feels an ever-mounting sense of outrage at the arrogance of the U.S. government and decides to do something about it. Deciding to supply the CIA messages to the Russians, he enlists his childhood friend Daulton Lee (Sean Penn) to help him. Lee is to deliver the CIA secrets to a Russian operative (David Suchet) at the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City. But Lee is an unreliable drug dealer, and his sloppy spy trail leads the two old friends into more trouble than they bargained for. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, (more)
- 1984
- R
In this inane teen comedy, a rafting competition is going to determine whether four friends will graduate or not (an interesting amendment to college practices), and up against their team is a group of offensive rich kids. Meanwhile, a band of expelled military rafters is out to thwart the race as a whole. Bob (Tim Matheson) of the aspiring group of graduates, and Heather (Jennifer Runyon), a convert from the military rafting side, are a hot item, as are many other couples, since sex seems to be the only known activity carried out on land. A game of charades with a dog -- in order to locate a hostage -- is the funniest sequence in an otherwise routine story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Jennifer Runyon, (more)
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson star as a quartet of Manhattan-based "paranormal investigators". When their government grants run out, the former three go into business as The Ghostbusters, later hiring Hudson on. Armed with electronic paraphernalia, the team is spectacularly successful, ridding The Big Apple of dozens of ghoulies, ghosties and long-legged beasties. Tight-lipped bureaucrat William Atherton regards the Ghostbusters as a bunch of charlatans, but is forced to eat his words when New York is besieged by an army of unfriendly spirits, conjured up by a long-dead Babylonian demon and "channelled" through beautiful cellist Sigourney Weaver and nerdish Rick Moranis. The climax is a glorious sendup of every Godzilla movie ever made-and we daresay it cost more than a year's worth of Japanese monster flicks combined. Who'd ever dream that the chubby, cheery Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man would turn out to be the most malevolent threat ever faced by New York City? When the script for Ghostbusters was forged by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, John Belushi was slated to play the Bill Murray role; Belushi's death in 1982 not only necessitated the hiring of Murray, but also an extensive rewrite. The most expensive comedy made up to 1984, Ghostbusters made money hand over fist, spawning not only a 1989 sequel but also two animated TV series (one of them partially based on an earlier live-action TV weekly, titled The Ghost Busters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, (more)
- 1980
The setting for this undistinguished, clichéd slasher film is the upscale Calvin Finishing School for Girls and the approaching Christmas break. But five of the women and their boyfriends may never see Christmas when the crazed parents of a student who was killed on campus two years before dress up as an evil Saint Nick and begin a cycle of revenge killings. The murderous couple, using anything from an axe to an airplane propeller, manage to dispatch quite a few students, although the clichés, stock situations, and stereotypical characters in the film remain intact. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Runyon, Forrest Swanson, (more)
