Barbara Sammeth Movies

In this above-average made-for-television drama, Bernadette Peters stars as a mother facing the greatest challenge of her life. Based a true story, Matthew Lawrence stars as David Rothenberg, a six year-old who was viciously set on fire by his jealous father. Severely burned and disfigured, David courageously clung to life despite the odds against him. Determined to see her son through the ordeal, the film shows how his mother Marie (Peters) tirelessly worked to help nurse him back to life. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

The Atlanta Child Murders is a five-hour, two-part dramatization of one of the most tragic and controversial homicide cases of the past twenty years. From 1979 through 1982, some 28 African-American children and young adults disappeared from Atlanta--some without a trace, but others to later turn up as murder victims. Part One (which debuted February 10, 1985) details the beginning of the manhunt conducted by the Atlanta Chief of Police (James Earl Jones). Screenwriter Abby Mann uses the actual events as a springboard for his thesis that the case and its outcome revealed many uncomfortable truths about the still-fragile state of race relations in the New South. Both parts of The Atlanta Child Murders were later combined into one 245-minute "feature film."

The second part of the five-hour TV docudrama The Atlanta Child Murders originally aired February 12, 1985. After 28 African-American children and young adults have either disappeared or been murdered, the Atlanta police finally have a suspect in custody: Small-time show business entrepreneur Wayne Williams (Calvin Levels). Scriptwriter Abby Mann utilizes actual court transcripts of Williams' trial, which results in a conviction on one count of murder. This decision in essence leaves the cases of the other 27 victims unresolved--and in so doing, Mann opens the door to speculations that Williams, a black man, was a "convenient" suspect, who might possibly have been railroaded in the authorities' haste to find a solution to the sordid case. Whatever Mr. Mann may have felt concerning Williams' guilt or innocence, the fact remains that the murders and disappearances stopped cold once Williams was in custody (as of this writing, Williams persists in his efforts to reopen the case, claiming that he was framed by the white power structure). Morgan Freeman served as narrator for both installments of The Atlanta Child Murders. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When his wife becomes the new family breadwinner, a football coach must learn the ins and outs of child care and housecleaning. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

As he did in his screenplay for Silver Streak (1974), writer/director Colin Higgins mixes life-and-death melodrama with broad slapstick in Foul Play. Goldie Hawn stars as Gloria Mundy, a recent divorcée whose attempts to start life anew in San Francisco are bollixed up when she is inadvertently swept up in an assassination plot against the Pope. Offering sometimes dubious aid and comfort to Gloria is bumbling federal agent Tony Carlson (Chevy Chase). The film's comedy ranges from the farcical seduction efforts by musician Stanley Tibbets (Dudley Moore) to the zany, gag-filled car-chase finale. Foul Play features character actors Rachel Roberts and Eugene Roche as villains, Burgess Meredith as a martial arts-happy landlord, and Billy Barty as a long-suffering religious bookseller. It also packs in a memorable "throwaway" gag involving a profane Scrabble game played by sweet little old ladies Queenie Smith and Hope Summers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jeannot Szwarc, the director responsible for so many episodes (both good and bad) of the Night Gallery TV series, was the helmsman of The Devil's Daughter. This small-screen Rosemary's Baby clone stars Belinda Montgomery as a young woman targeted by a group of Satanists. It seems that Belinda's soul was purchased from the Devil when the girl was born, with payment due when she reaches the age of 21. Shelley Winters is at her overbearing best as the head of the cultists, while horror-flick vets Joseph Cotten and Jonathan Frid do their utmost to create the proper demonic atmosphere. Colin Higgins, who moved on to such prestige projects as Silver Streak and Foul Play, conjured up the script for The Devil's Daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi