Allison Smith Movies
Join filmmakers Gil Cates Jr. and Julie Stevens as they set out to speak with over 40 women who appeared in the hit musical Annie as young children while simultaneously exploring the benefits and drawbacks of entering into show business at such a tender age. As a child, co-director Stevens portrayed an orphan in both the Broadway production of Annie and the national tour. Years later, she would set out to see what became of the dozens of women who played orphans in the Broadway production between 1977 and 1983. From their performances in the production to the effect that the hectic schedule had on their childhoods, family lives, and future career prospects, this film offers an intimate look at a major production that helped thousands of children launch their careers in show business. In addition to interviews with Annie creators Martin Charnin and Charles Strouse, actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Martha Byrne, recording artist Joanna Pacitti, songwriter Danielle Brisebois, and MSNBC anchor Dara Brown all discuss what it was like to appear as orphans in the beloved, long-running production. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Stevens, Sarah Jessica Parker, (more)
- 2005
This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of several starring Kellie Martin as Samantha "Sam" Kinsey, the owner of a British-style American bookshop which specializes in mystery novels. As is her habit, Sam ends up playing amateur detective herself, this time at a fancy health spa called Drummonds. One of the spa's customers, a woman named Debbie (Allison Smith) is found murdered, and suspicion immediately falls upon Alice (Bess Meyer), whose husband George (Scott Grimes) and Debbie were having an affair. Complicating matters is the presence of a psychic named Emily (Felicia Day) who with unbecoming eagerness offers to direct the police to the location where Debbie's body has been hidden. As a result, Emily herself is accused of the murder--and at this point Sam and her friends Cassie (Nina Siemaszko) and Philby (Clarence Williams III)--the latter a former CIA agent!--try their hand at ferreting out the real killer. Mystery Woman: Vision of Murder debuted June 5, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A boy being punished for a crime he didn't commit learns there's more going on at a juvenile correctional facility than meets the eye in this comedy drama. Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBeouf) is a teenager who has been told all his life that the men in the Yelnats family are cursed, thanks to a false promise his great, great grandfather made to a fortune teller. Given his frequent bad luck, and that which follows his father (Henry Winkler), Stanley has no trouble believing this. Stanley's bad luck hits a new low when a pair of sneakers literally falls out of the sky on him -- and turn out to be stolen. A judge sentences Stanley to a stay at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile correctional facility stuck in the middle of the desert, where he finds himself sharing a tent with a gang of misfits, including ringleader X-Ray (Brenden Jefferson), pushy Squid (Jake M. Smith), small but wiry Zero (Khleo Thomas), tough and stinky Armpit (Byron Cotton), paranoid ZigZag (Max Kasch), and thief-in-training Magnet (Miguel Castro). The Warden of Camp Green Lake (Sigourney Weaver) has her own ideas about rehabilitation, which consist of having the boys spend their days digging holes five feet deep under the desert sun. While well-mannered counselor Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson) tries to help the boys however he can, Mr. Sir (Jon Voight), The Warden's right hand man, is a heartless creep who enjoys making Stanley and his friends suffer. Before long, Stanley wonders if there's a good reason why the Warden seems so curious about what (if anything) the boys find during their digging, and in time he suspects there's something they haven't been told which might be connected to the Yelnats family curse. Holes was based on the award-winning book for young people by Louis Sachar, who also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, (more)
- 2003
A human eyeball, found in a raven's nest, leads the CSI team on a hunt for evidence which ultimately yields a dismembered female body in a landfill. But while the clues are there, the suspects or not -- unless one counts that divorced man with two children. And in another development, an autopsy on car salesman Fred Stearns, who apparently has died of a heart attack, is rudely interrupted when Stearns turns out to be still alive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Serious health problems befall the White House as President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) passes out while preparing for the State of the Union Address, and Leo (John Spencer) publicly admits to his previous addictions to alcohol and pain killers. Lord Marbury (Roger Rees) finds a peaceful solution to the Pakistan/India issue. C.J. (Allison Janney) and Leo's daughter, Mallory (Allison Smith), each reveal romantic feelings for men in their lives. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2000
- R
John Ritter stars in this three-part horror anthology as Bob Carter, a real estate salesman trying to sell a home to a pair of young newlyweds. But each of the three available houses has been the site of a grisly murder, and Bob insists on recalling the grim details of each case for his potential customers. In the first story, when a man discovers his wife is having an affair, the cheating wife and her lover murder the husband, but he gets his revenge from beyond the grave. The second story concerns a little girl who finds a lost monkey and insists the family adopt it as a pet. Her father, however, discovers the monkey has a demonic mean streak. And finally, a teenager who has been having horrible visions of brutal murders has to convince his psychiatrist that they may have a basis in fact. Also starring Bryan Cranston, Carmine Giovinazzo, and Rachel York, Terror Tract was released on DVD as a video double-feature with the inventive slasher variant Cherry Falls. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ritter, Bryan Cranston, (more)
- 1999
The inaugural episode of The West Wing finds the staff concerned with Cuban refugees, and the fact that President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) has injured himself riding a bicycle. Rumors are swirling that Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) will be fired due to heated remarks he made during a television appearance that angered the religious right. Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) is quite concerned about the political ramifications when he discovers that the woman he slept with the night before is a high-priced call girl. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Former flames Josh (Bradley Whitford) and Mandy (Moira Kelly) argue the merits of allowing an economic bill to pass through Congress even though political opponents have made an addition that would upset the pro-environment President Bartlett (Martin Sheen). C.J. (Allison Janey) must attempt to squelch a story that the president and Vice President Hoynes (Tim Matheson) disagreed passionately during a Cabinet meeting, while simultaneously deflecting the advances of reporter Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield), who is the best in the business at sniffing out a hot lead. Leo (John Spencer) is less than thrilled that his daughter has invited Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) to join her at the opera. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Fernando Colomo directed this fact-based Spanish comedy-drama about leftist philosophy students Tomas (Jordi Molla) and Jaime (Ernesto Alterio), arrested in 1947 by Francoists and sent away to a Madrid prison for eight years. After their friend Velasco (Pepon Nieto) goes to Paris to enlist the aid of Michel (Samuel Le Bihan), noted for his ability to free political prisoners, Michel's girlfriend Kathy (Hedy Buress) and her actress friend Susan (Allison Smith) are enlisted to assist. Tomas and Jaime mount mules to make their escape and meet up with Kathy and Susan at a monastery, where romance takes flight, followed by darker events once the group moves on to Barcelona. Filmed in northwest Spain. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jordi Mollà, Ernesto Alterio, (more)
- 1998
In this TV drama-comedy, Julie Barber (Allison Smith) hires detective wannabe Bob Jones (Frank Whaley) to track down the legendary private eye Buddy Faro (Dennis Farina), who was once such a name that he was portrayed by an actor (George Hamilton) in a TV series. Now nearly forgotten, Faro has inherited a small fortune, but no one knows where he went. Traveling to the dusty streets of a little town in Mexico, Jones manages to find the booze-soaked Faro lying in the gutter. Rescued by Jones and Julie, Faro returns to Hollywood, where he made his mark 20 years earlier. Things have changed, but the stylish Faro is soon back in business in a big way, confronting criminals in his ultra-cool style, while the Joel McNeely soundtrack provides a jazzy accompaniment. Premiered September 25, 1998 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Farina, Frank Whale, (more)
- 1996
In this romantic thriller, Cassidy Rae stars as Amy Miller, a sexy, virginal high school cheerleader and the current object of Derek Bradshaw's fantasies. A slick 33-year-old lawyer, Derek (Vincent Irizarry) is the epitome of creepiness: a straight-faced liar, a sneaky philanderer, and magnetically charismatic. Derek picks his prey and seduces Amy with romantic evenings and extravagant gifts much too adult for an 18-year-old. Amy's support system falters as she withdraws from her friends and her hard-working single mother (Sherry Hursey), while a mystery stalker repeatedly threatens Amy's life. Is it Derek's suspicious wife Elizabeth (Jamie Rose), Amy's best friend Dana (Ashlee Levitch), a jealous ex-boyfriend, or some other anonymous competitor? When Amy finally acknowledges Derek's duplicity and attempts to end the affair, he won't let her off that easily, and the threats escalate. ~ Lisa Kropiewnicki, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cassidy Rae, Vincent Irizarry, (more)
Based on a book by Danielle Steel, this drama recount's a woman's struggle to learn to love and trust again after she survives a vicious rape and beating. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Teri Polo, Corbin Bernsen, (more)
- 1996
This episode is a delightfully calculated slam at Murder, She Wrote's Thursday-night competition Friends. Visiting the set of the popular twentysomething sitcom "Buds", Jessica (Angela Lansbury) quickly realizes that there is plenty of disharmony amongst the young and attractive cast members. Making matters worse, the series' avaricious producer is planning to hype the ratings by killing off one of the characters--in the script, that is. Before long, however, life imitates art, and Jessica sets her mind to exposing a murderer. The real fun in this episode derives from guessing which of the "Buds" characters is supposed to be Rachel, Ross, Phoebe, Chandler etc. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Not all is what it seems as the detectives investigate a hate crime perpetrated by skinheads in a gay community. In other developments, Howard (Melissa Leo) displays an unattractive case of envy when Lewis (Clark Johnson) begins to make headway in an unsolved case left behind by the late Steve Crosetti. And actor Max Perlich takes his first steps toward becoming a full-fledged series regular when his recurring character, J.H. Brodie, is hired by Homicide to videotape recent crime scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1995
In a series of flashbacks, two detectives try to determine the identity of a confused "Jane Doe" (Allison Smith)--and also her connection with a shooting in which a young man named Alex Jackson (Brandon Douglas). Inevitably, Heavenly caseworker Monica (Roma Downey) is also a key player in the mystery. Elements essential to the solution include a special delivery to a worried mother, a handsome real-estate developer, an inquistive female reporter, and an apparent menage-a-trois. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
The title adequately sums up the plot of this bittersweet drama. The guys are Lenny and Joey. Lenny is going out with Rhonda whom he met in a planetarium; they believe the stars govern their destiny together. Meanwhile Joey is busy sleeping with a series of women named Cindy. He is unconscious of the fact that he does this to ease the hurt of his failed relationship with a girl named Cindy. The two buddies spend most of the film talking about their lives in a variety of urban settings. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Cortese, Jonathan Silverman, (more)
- 1993
- R
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Chapter nine in the Friday the 13th series finds supernatural psycho Jason Voorhees returning from the dead to possess the body of a medical coroner. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, (more)
Set in the rural South of the '30s, the made-for-cable film Wildflower is about a pair of teenaged siblings who become friends with an epileptic girl named Alice (Patricia Arquette), who has been forced to live in the barn behind her father's house because he believed her seizures were the work of the devil. With the help of the two teenagers, the girl is able to become part of everyday society. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, William McNamara, (more)
- 1989
After Hunter (Fred Dryer) delivers the baby of runaway teenager Cheryl Donovan (Allison Smith), the grateful girl names her infant daughter after the detective. Shortly afterward, Cheryl turns up murdered--and of course Hunter feels honor-bound to investigate personally. It turns out that the dead girl had reneged on her deal with a crooked baby-breeding ring which sells off newborn infants for illegal adoptions...and that "Baby Hunter" is now an extremely high-priced and much sought-after commodity! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
