Paul Soles Movies

Three generations of method acting giants unite for this crime thriller written by Kario Salem and directed by Frank Oz. Robert De Niro stars as Nick Wells, an aging thief whose specialty is safecracking and who is on the verge of retiring to a life of ease, running his jazz club and romancing his girlfriend Diane (Angela Bassett). But before he can ride off into the sunset, Nick is pressured to do one last job by his mentor and business partner, a flamboyant and extravagant upscale fence named Max (Marlon Brando). Max is plotting the heist of the Montreal Customs House, and he's got a man on the inside, Jackie Teller (Edward Norton), a talented but volatile crook who has managed to ingratiate himself with the facility's staff as a fellow employee suffering from cerebral palsy. Jackie bristles at Nick's interference in "his" score, however, and threatens violence when it seems he's going to be cut out of the action. In the meantime, Nick grows increasingly ill at ease about the operation, as it violates his two most important dictums in thievery: always work alone and never pull a job in your own city. The part of Max in The Score was written specifically for Brando by screenwriter Salem, although the improvisational star and his director Oz reportedly clashed during filming. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Richard Vetere from his own play, the made-for-TV The Marriage Fool served to reunite Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett, the stars of the 1972 theatrical feature Pete 'n Tillie. Matthau is cast as widowed septuagenarian Frank Walsh, whose sedentary lifestyle is shifted into third gear by the arrival in his life of flamboyant, sixtyish widow Florence (Carol Burnett). Falling in love, Frank and Florence try to convince Frank's son Robert (John Stamos) to tie the knot with his own girlfriend, Susan (Teri Polo). Robert not only resists the entreaties of his father, but he also refuses to give his consent to Frank and Florence's planned marriage. Charles Matthau, son of star Walter, directed the film and has a cute cameo role. First telecast on CBS on September 20, 1998, The Marriage Fool has since been released on cable and video as Love After Death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Leslie Nielsen makes a return appearance as "legendary" Canadian mountie Sgt. Buck Frobisher, as do Alex Carter and Mark Melymick as well-meaning but bumbling FBI agents Ford and Deeter. Frobisher is among a group of singing mounties on board a train bound for an American concert. These redcoated songbirds as hijacked by a group of terrorists, led by Randal Bolt (Kenneth Walsh), who intend to kill everyone on board the train whether their demands are met or not. The climax involves a runaway choo-choo and Frobisher's sudden attack of "excess gas." Drama students will appreciate the character names given the members of the phony movie production crew. First broadcast on Canadian television, this episode made its US debut on April 12, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It is the 1960s, but Hal Kingswood (R.H. Thomson), the old-fashioned headmaster of a small school in British Colombia not far from Vancouver hasn't quite gotten hip to it yet. He won't even let his late-teen daughter Cleo (Tara Frederick) go to a concert alone with her boyfriend Dwayne (Gabe Khouth). Zoe (Aloka McLean) is Hal's youngest daughter, full of romantic ideas and idealistic notions, and she narrates most of this domestic drama. At school, a beloved teacher suddenly dies, and she is replaced by Anne-Marie Andrews (Michele-Barbara Pelletier), a stylish and charismatic younger woman from Quebec who immediately inspires Zoe to feats of imitation. However, Zoe is horrified to discover that she is not the only one who finds Anne-Marie inspiring: her father Hal is having an affair with her. This all comes to light when the family is together celebrating Christmas, and for a time it looks like everyone will split up. It doesn't help the family much when Cleo has announces that she is pregnant and isn't interested in participating in the outmoded institution of marriage. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Falling Over Backwards was filmed in Quebec through the good graces of the National Film Board of Canada. Saul Rubinek plays a high school teacher, currently in the doldrums over his divorce. Ignoring advice of Thomas Wolfe, Rubinek decides to "go home again" to forget his troubles. With his aged, infirm father in tow, the teacher rents a room in his old neighborhood. Romance blossoms between Rubinek and his landlady Julie St-Pierre. This low-key, rambling, intensely personal effort is virtually as textbook example of a "Canadian Indie". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Returning to Toronto to attend a family reunion, a recently-jilted man gives a lift to an attractive young hitchhiker. Confusion abounds when the man's family members take the hitchhiker for his former fiancee. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Filmed in 1984, The Gunrunner didn't receive a widespread release until 1989, thanks in great part to the presence of Kevin Costner in the cast. The future Oscar-winning actor is herein cast as the title character, an illicit "arms dealer" named Ted Beaubein. Set in 1926 Montreal, the story finds Beaubein trying to muscle in on the speakeasy racket, a decision prompted by his fondness for "speak" owner Maude (Sara Botsford). Things get hairy when Rosalyn (Mitch Martin), the socialite girlfriend of Beaubein's late brother George (Ron Lea), is kidnapped by the Mob. Attempting to deliver the ransom money, Ted discovers what the audience has known all along -- that no one in his particular circle of friends can be trusted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Coproduced by Canada's Rankin-Bass and Japan's Mushi Studios, this 30-minute cartoon special is essentially a remake of the classic 1940 film The Thief of Baghdad (which would itself provide inspiration for the 1991 animated feature Aladdin. It's the story of Pindar, a dauntless teenager in love with Fatha, the daughter of the Thief of Baghdad, Omar (no, he's not a tentmaker here). In order to win Fatha's hand, Pindar must outwit the evil Caliph and steal his slippers--and, oh yes, he's got to work his way around a fearsome genie who is guarding the largest treasure in the world. First telecast as one of the eighteen episodes of the syndicated Festival of Family Classics anthology, The Arabian Knights began making the TV syndication rounds in early 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This two-part cartoon adaptation of Jules Verne's fanciful adventure novel Around the World in 80 Days was a coproduction of Canada's Rankin-Bass and Japan's Mushi Productions. The familiar story of how Phileas Fogg and his manservant Passepartout undertake to circle the globe in 80 days is retold with remarkable fidelity, even though the scenes in which the two protagonists are seen flying in a balloon cannot be found in the Verne original, but were invented for the 1956 movie version of the same property. Not to be confused with the concurrently produced TV cartoon series of the same name, Around the World in 80 Days was first syndicated in November of 1972, as part of the 18-episode Festival of Family Classics anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide