Max Showalter Movies

On the eve of her sister's wedding, suburban teenager Samantha (Molly Ringwald) suffers silently as her family forgets her birthday. Even worse, some total dork (Anthony Michael Hall) keeps propositioning her with sophomoric innuendo when she really craves romantic attention from high-school hunk Jake (Michael Schoeffling). Moving from Samantha's family home as it's invaded by outre relatives to a high-school dance where nothing seems to go her way, this bittersweet teen comedy traces the hopes and disappointments of not only Samantha, but also a host of incidental but memorable characters, from a hapless Japanese exchange student to a prom queen and a posse of barely pubescent nerds. A climactic party scene at which these various strata of young America overcome their rigid hierarchies sets the stage for resolutions both tender and torrid. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Blake Edwards' 10 stars Dudley Moore as George, a Mancini-type songwriter. Approaching middle age, George feels as if life is passing him by, especially his sex life. Despite the presence of longtime lady friend Sam (Julie Andrews) in his life, he becomes obsessed from afar with Jenny (Bo Derek), who is engaged to be married. Following her to Mexico without her knowledge, George arranges a meeting with Jenny by saving the life of her fiancé, David (Sam Jones). Once he has made her acquaintance, George suddenly finds himself faced with the realities of embarking on such an affair. Beyond renewing the popularity of Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" and turning Bo Derek into a star, upon its release, 10 was one of the most financially successful Blake Edwards films in years. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Quincy (Jack Klugman) and Sam (Robert Ito) are abducted by the minions of mob boss Vince DiNardi (John Vernon), who makes an offer that our hero can't refuse. DiNaldi has been poisoned, and the doctors have given him only 24 hours to live. With Sam's life being used as a bargaining chip, Quincy is ordered to find out who has administered the fatal dose to DiNaldi, so that the doomed Mafioso can exact a final vengeance. This is the last episode of Quincy, M.E.'s third season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Travelling from New York to the small Nevada town of Cory, Kojak (Telly Savalas) and Crocker (Kevin Dobson) set about the task of extraditing mob witness Arnold B. Saxler (Vincent Baggetta). Unfortunately, several hired thugs are already in the vicinity, with loaded guns at the ready. The remainder of the episode is devoted to a grueling gantlet, with Kojak never entirely sure who the good guys and bad guys really are. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy drama set during the late Prohibition era, a federal agent attempts to make some real money before the alcohol ban is lifted. He sets his sights on the whiskey cache of an old army buddy, but just before they strike a deal, two ex-convicts frighten the buddy away. The creeps then murder the town sheriff and his deputy and begin looking to get a hold of the moonshine. The agent decides to help his friend defeat the thugs. One of the crooks ends up killing the agent and taking four locals hostage. In exchange for their lives, he wants all the whiskey. The moonshiner acquiesces and tells him that the booze is stashed in a graveyard. The greedy crook races off and begins digging. Unfortunately instead of hooch, he finds dynamite and blows himself up. To celebrate his death and the end of Prohibition, the town decides to have a blow-out of their own. Naturally the buddy provides the booze. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

George Axelrod's script for How to Murder Your Wife isn't politically correct in the least, but you're likely to get a charge out of it -- provided you are of the male persuasion, that is. Jack Lemmon stars as Stanley Ford, a successful cartoonist and a confirmed bachelor who shares a lavish apartment with his misogynistic manservant, Charles (Terry-Thomas). While attending a friend's bachelor party, Stanley falls head over heels in love with the gorgeous bikini-clad girl (Virna Lisi) who pops out of a cake. He impulsively marries her, but thinks better of it the next day. Alas, Stanleycan't get a divorce because his bride is an Italian Catholic (this is 1966). Dicier still, she is a "domestic goddess," lovingly plying her hubby with rich Italian food until Stanley's once-athletic physique is as bloated as the dirigible Hindenberg. Stanley's descent into husbandhood is reflected in his work: his popular adventure comic strip "Bash Brannigan" metamorphoses into a Blondie-like "idiot husband" daily. As a catharsis, Stanley vicariously "kills" his lovely wife by having Bash Brannigan murder his missus. Stanley's wife sees the finished strip on his desk and runs tearfully out of his life (at least temporarily). The publication of the strip, coupled with his wife's disappearance, results in Lemmon being put on trial for murder. We won't tell you how things turn out; suffice it to say that most feminists will be outraged, while most husbands will laugh immoderately. Eddie Mayehoff and Claire Trevor provide sparkling support as Lemmon's bombastic editor and his dragon-like wife. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Aunt Clara arouses herself from a "witching slump" by creating a new evening wardrobe for Samantha and Darrin. Unfortunately, the couple's fancy clothes suddenly begin disappearing -- right in the middle of a formal dinner party. Darrin must now mollify his outraged client Charles Barlow (Max Showalter), providing he can get out of jail first. Written by Paul David and John L. Greene, "A Very Informal Dress" first aired on November 4, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A toy manufacturer bequeaths his company, and his fortune, to his unattractive daughter Alice (Anne Whitfield)--on condition that she be married or at least engaged within a year's time. Miraculously, a handsome artist claims to be in love with Alice, proving his ardor by painting her as a beauty. Alas, it turns out that the romance is a sham, engineered by Alice's Uncle Harry (Ford Rainey) as part of a scheme to gain full control of the company. When Harry turns up murdered, Alice is convinced that she killed him during an argument, and so are the police--but Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) has his doubts. This is the final episode of Perry Mason's seventh season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Suspense builds around the investigation of a plane crash that caused 53 deaths in this dramatic adaption of Ernest K. Gann's novel. Authorities systematically eliminate probable causes, finally placing blame on the pilot, who was seen drinking before the flight. The airline's director of flight operations, Sam McBane (Glenn Ford), knowing the pilot's excellent WW II record, refuses to accept the authorities' conclusions and begins his own investigation. With the help of the only survivor, a stewardess (Suzanne Pleshette), McBane re-creates the events leading to the crash in an attempt to discover the true cause. The character of the incriminated pilot, Captain Jack Savage (Rod Taylor), is revealed through a series of flashbacks, from a wartime army camp (with a cameo by Jane Russell) to the climactic moment of the thrilling crash. Milton Krasner's crisp cinematography earned him an Oscar nomination. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, Rovi

A man makes the highly unexpected discovery that he has two wives in this romantic comedy. Widower Nick Arden (James Garner) has just set off on his honeymoon with his new wife Bianca (Polly Bergen) when his mother Grace (Thelma Ritter) receives a very unexpected guest -- Nick's late wife Ellen (Doris Day). While Ellen was proclaimed legally dead five years after her plane disappeared in a flight over the Pacific Ocean, in truth her flight crash-landed on a desert island where she was stranded with Stephen Burkett (Chuck Connors) and only now has managed to return to civilization. When Grace informs Ellen that Nick has just left town with his new wife, Ellen heads out to the resort where the newlyweds are staying, and comic confusion ensues. Move Over, Darling began life as a project called Something's Got to Give, which was the film that Marilyn Monroe was working on at the time of her death; besides Monroe, the original cast included Dean Martin, Cyd Charisse, and Phil Silvers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This was the first film directed by dancer and choreographer Gower Champion, already experienced at directing television and theatrical productions by the early '60s. The routine romantic comedy, somewhat bogged down by the children it features, is centered on overwrought actress Janice Courtney (Debbie Reynolds). She has had it with paparazzi and publicity campaigns and escapes to the Connecticut countryside for a little R & R. At that point, a half-dozen youngsters intrude into her life after they are abandoned by their ne'er-do-well guardians, and though she is anything but enthusiastic, Janice takes them under her frayed wings. The local pastor, Rev. Jim Larkin (Cliff Robertson) has something to do with that, and ultimately, more than a little something to do with Janice's personal life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Elmer Gantry (Burt Lancaster), a drunken, dishonest street preacher allegedly patterned on Billy Sunday, wrangles a job with the travelling tent ministry conducted by Sister Sharon Falconer (Jean Simmons). Thanks to Gantry's enthusiastic hellfire-and-brimstone sermons, Sister Sharon's operation rises to fame and fortune, enough so that Sharon realizes her dream of building her own enormous tabernacle. These ambitions are put in jeopardy when a prostitute (Oscar-winning Shirley Jones), a former minister's daughter who'd been deflowered by Gantry years earlier, lures Gantry into a compromising situation and has photographs taken. It took several years for any Hollywood studio to take a chance with Sinclair Lewis' novel, and when it finally did arrive on the screen, producer/director Richard Brooks was compelled to downplay some of the more "sacrilegious" passages in the original. Also appearing in Elmer Gantry are Arthur Kennedy as an H.L. Mencken-style atheistic journalist, and Edward Andrews as George Babbitt, a character borrowed from another Sinclair Lewis novel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Perry (Raymond Burr) is suspicious when Rhoda Reynolds (Christine White) shows up in his office to ask advice on the legality of marriage, claiming she is doing so on behalf of "friends." As it turns out, Rhoda is being blackmailed by her shifty ex-husband Arthur Kane (Michael Emmet). When Kane is murdered, everyone is convinced that Rhoda is the guilty party--including Rhoda, who recalls striking him with a blunt object before rushing out of his apartment. Convinced that Rhoda is innocent, Perry tries to get at the truth by meticulously reconstructing the crime in the courtroom, with an alarm clock and a doorbell as key props. This episode is based on a 1934 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, which was previously adapted as a theatrical feature in 1935 with Warren William as Mason--and a pre-stardom Errol Flynn as the murder victim! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi