Jack Somack Movies
John Ritter plays an unsuccessful actor who takes a job posing as comic-book hero Captain Avenger at comics stores and conventions. While thus garbed, Ritter foils a grocery store robbery. He skedaddles from the scene when the cops show up, leading witnesses to assume that he is a genuine costumed superhero, the sort that shows up to foil the villains and then modestly retreats after his job is done. Ritter is hired by the mayor's staff, who hope that the Captain Avenger tie-in will help the mayor win an upcoming election. This plan comes acropper, and Captain Avenger finds himself on the outs with the public. Prodded by his girlfriend Anne Archer to be himself and not rely on a costume and mask to gain adulation, Ritter becomes a bonafide hero when he rescues several citizens from a fire. Thanks to the enthusiastic performance of John Ritter, Hero at Large remains amusing even when you know what's going to happen next (a common occurrence in this film). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ritter, Anne Archer, (more)
Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal attempt to recapture the screwball spark of What's Up, Doc? in the labored farce The Main Event. Streisand plays Hillary Kramer, a bankrupt perfume executive who discovers that one of her tax write-offs from more prosperous times was the ownership of prizefighter Kid Natural (Ryan O' Neal). Kid Natural is now a driving instructor who wants nothing to do with boxing, but Hillary is determined to resurrect the Kid's less-than-spectacular boxing career. She installs herself as the Kid's manager and tries to get him in shape to go the distance. Along the way, the two fall in love. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, (more)
Robert Aldrich returns to the western-spoof genre he'd previously explored in Four for Texas with The Frisco Kid. Gene Wilder plays Polish rabbi Avram Belinsky, who intends to set up a congregation in San Francisco. Eminently unsuited for life in the Old West, poor Avram is victimized by everyone with whom he comes in contact. Salvation arrives in the unlikely form of taciturn bank robber Tommy (Harrison Ford). Incredibly, Tommy takes a liking to the feckless Avram, and together the two men embark on a series of seriocomic adventures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford, (more)
- 1978
Indefatigable animal lover Shirley (Cindy Williams) comes to the rescue of a homeless dog slated to be gassed to death at the pound. Thinking quickly if not rationally, Shirley handcuffs herself to the imperiled pooch, and instantly becomes the darling of the Milwaukee media. Alas, there is no simple resolution to this dog's tale--at least not until Carmine (Eddie Mekka]) comes up with a surprisingly brilliant plan to make everyone happy (especially the dog!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Kojak (Telly Savalas) vows to avenge the death of his friend, a garment manufacturer who is killed when he stands up to the Mob. After the killer escapes police custody, Kojak makes a public statement, blaming a shady district attorney for the blunder. As a result, the detective is suspended from the force--and the crooked D.A. summons all the power at the State's disposal to destroy Kojak's career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Overprotective grandpa Archie is convinced that Mike and Gloria's babysitter is not up to the task. Firing the sitter, Archie takes on the job of caring for baby Joey himself -- all the while trying to continue his weekly poker game with the boys. This is the episode with the famous (and once-controversial) "full frontal nudity" scene, as a fumbling Archie tries to change the naked Joey's diapers. Featured in the cast are Leslie Ackerman as Sharyn, Joe Mantell as Sidney Schwartz, Ken Menard as Willie Johnson, and Jack Somack as Tiny. First telecast on January 12, 1976, "Archie the Baby Sitter" was written by Lou Derman and Bill Davenport. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Rob Reiner, (more)
- 1976
Isaac Hayes makes his first appearance as ex-convict Gandolph "Gandy" Fitch--and in the bargain, contributes his own character's theme music. Released from San Quentin after 20 years, Gandy hires Jim (James Garner) to prove that he was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted: namely, the murder of his girlfriend Lila. Though he's fairly certain that Gandy was guilty, and despite his resentment over his client's insistance upon calling him "Rockfish", Jim accepts the job...and the process nearly meets his doom at the hands of Lila's vengeful family. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Inside jokes abound in this classic Sanford and Son episode, which spoofs not only the series' derivation from the British Steptoe and Son but also pokes fun at recent real-life contract squabbles between the Sanford producers and series star Redd Foxx. It all begins when Fred (Foxx) and Lamont (Demond Wilson) find out that a new television series which closely resembles their own lives is in the works. Spurred on by a hotshot lawyer (Robert Guillaume), the Sanfords head down to the TV studio where the first episode of "Steinberg and Son" is in production. The best moment: Fred Sanford's TV counterpart "Max Steinberg" (Lou Jacobi) refuses to go before the cameras until he gets a window in his dressing room. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
- 1975
Gil Weaver (Roger Robinson), one of Kojak's best young detectives, learns to his dismay that his ex-classmate Richie Linden (James Watson) is now a fence for a gang of diamond thieves. At the same time, Kojak (Telly Savalas) maps out a scheme to recover $1,000,000 in stolen gems and to capture the thieves. This plan would require Weaver to set up Linden as the fall guy--but is he a good enough cop to "betray" his lifelong friend? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- R
Screenwriter Ernest Lehman, whose credits include the screenplays for North by Northwest, Sabrina, West Side Story, and The Sweet Smell of Success, made a less than distinguished debut as a director with this adaptation of Philip Roth's controversial novel about Alexander Portnoy (Richard Benjamin), a Jewish man who, during a session with his analyst, goes on one long tirade after another about his family, his childhood, his sexual fantasies and desires, his problems with women, and his obsession with his own Judaism. If ever there was a novel that by its nature would defy accurate presentation onscreen, this was it; but for all its flaws, Portnoy's Complaint does feature a few good performances, most notably Karen Black as Portnoy's Gentile lust object, "The Monkey," Jeannie Berlin as the memorably named local slattern Bubbles Girardi, and Jill Clayburgh as Naomi, a woman Portnoy meets in Israel. Lehman never directed again. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Benjamin, Karen Black, (more)
Frank D. Gilroy's adaptation of Paula Fox's novel Desperate Characters stars Shirley MacLaine as Sophie, a freelance book translator who leads a comfortable life in Brooklyn with her lawyer husband Otto (Kenneth Mars). Because of their crumbling marriage and the threatening presence of urban dangers like crime and vandalism, the couple are living a paranoid, scared existence. The film chronicles their emotional and psychological state through a series of interactions with each other and like-minded friends. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1970
William Popper (Michael Sarrazin) is the son of a stockbroker and is thoroughly disenchanted with "the system." So much so that even though he can prove that he ran over a woman in his car entirely by accident, he accepts a sentence for manslaughter. His participation in some prison violence motivates him to attempt to escape, though he has only a week to go on his sentence. Having escaped, he and his old girlfriend (Barbara Hershey) make a run for Canada. The story is adapted from the novel The Pursuit of Happiness by Thomas Rogers. As William's starchy grandmother, Ruth White, notable for her work in To Kill a Mockingbird and Midnight Cowboy makes her last film appearance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Time for Giving is the British title for the American comedy film Generation. This exercise in late-sixties "mod"-ness is based on William Goodhart's Broadway play, which originally starred Henry Fonda. David Janssen takes over Fonda's role as the harried father of rebellious daughter Kim Darby. It was bad enough when Darby married kooky Peter Duel and moved to Greenwich Village. Now Darby is pregnant, and she and her husband insist upon partaking of that new hippie craze known as "natural childbirth," dispensing with the aid of an obstetrician. Fortunately for the Establishment status quo, Darby's husband gets cold feet, and loyal family doctor Carl Reiner is brought in when the kid is ready to come out of the chute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Janssen, Kim Darby, (more)
