James Staley Movies

In this follow-up to its predecessor Robot Jox, Robot Wars again involves a bleak post-Armageddon world where the survivors settle their differences in mammoth robot fights. Here a couple of desperates resurrect the world's last "good-guy" robot which they use to save all humanity. ~ Rovi

John Schlesinger directed this upscale horror film about a landlord with the ultimate problem tenant. Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith) and Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine) are a middle class couple who lie on their financial statement in order to buy an old Victorian house in San Francisco, planning to renovate it and rent it out. Unfortunately, they select as a tenant Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton), a psychotic real estate bargain hunter who plans to drive Patty and Drake into foreclosure proceedings and then buy the house cheap. Carter starts the ball rolling by refusing to pay his rent and driving out a couple who had rented the rear flat by hammering and sawing all night -- and then releasing a tidal wave of cockroaches. What follows is a psychological war between Carter and the Yuppie couple, with Carter succeeding not only in provoking Drake into more extreme means of eviction, but also causing a rift between Drake and Patty. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

During an "FYI" hiatus, Murphy (Candice Bergen) and Corky (Faith Ford) agree to temporarily co-host the station's early-morning show. While Corky takes to the job like a fish to water, Murphy is driven crazy by the show's laid-back format and her co-host's nails-on-the-blackboard ebullience. Famed Elvis Presley impersonator Pete Willcox shows up as Murphy's "Secretary #20", who bears a startling resemblance to a certain Memphis singer who had Left the Building several years earlier. This is the final episode of Murphy Brown's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Magnum (Tom Selleck) is devastated when police lieutenant Tanaka (Kwan Li Him in his final series performance) is killed during an undercover assignment. Though the death is officially reported as accidental, Magnum is convinced that there's a police coverup afoot--and in the course of his own investigation, he discovers that Tanaka's demise was inextricably linked with an amazingly wide-spread drug operation. Providing a light touch to these grim proceedings is a winking reference to star Tom Selleck's previous "life" as the insufferably successful private eye Lance White on The Rockford Files. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In Assassination, a routine political thriller directed by Peter Hunt, Jay Hillion (Charles Bronson) is a secret service agent assigned to protect First Lady Lara Royce Craig (Jill Ireland). Lara hates Hillion and tries to get away from him but finds she needs him when her life is threatened by a series of assassination attempts which may have originated from the White House. This routine actioner has little to offer that is new or different, but it tells its tale at a good pace and has some nice location photography. Charles Bronson gives his usual steely performance, while Jill Ireland is more sympathetic as the First Lady who likes her independence but must learn to trust a man she detests. This film, while routine and somewhat predictable will be enjoyed by Bronson fans. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Made for television, A Letter to Three Wives is a modernized version of the classic 1949 theatrical film of the same name. While on a charity picnic, the wives of three well-to-do men each receive a letter from a fourth woman, a flashy divorcée named Addie (who is never seen). With calculated sweetness and sympathy, Addie informs the ladies that she is about to run off with the husband of one of them. In flashback, each wife recalls her marriage, wondering if it is she who is about to be divested of her husband (and simultaneously asking herself why this might be happening). Loni Anderson, Michele Lee, and Stephanie Zimbalist star in the roles played by Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, and Jeanne Crain (respectively) in the 1949 film. Ann Sothern herself is seen as the mother of Anderson's character, a part originally essayed by Connie Gilchrist. Johnny Mandel earned an Emmy nomination for his musical score, which is virtually the only real improvement on the 1949 version. A Letter to Three Wives first aired December 16, 1985, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Donna Deitch makes a strong impression in her first feature film, a simple story of a lesbian love affair, based on Jane Rule's 1964 novel Desert of the Heart. Helen Shaver stars as Vivian Bell, an uptight 35-year-old Columbia University professor who travels to Reno to get a divorce. She arrives in Reno on her way to Frances Parker's (Audra Lindley) ranch, where she is staying to establish six weeks of residency in order to obtain the divorce. Once at the ranch, Vivian catches the fancy of Frances's adopted daughter Cay (Patricia Charbonneau), a casino worker ten years younger than herself. Vivien tries to remain unruffled as Cay makes unabashed overtures to her. Cay thinks that all Vivian needs is the love of another woman, and soon enough the two are in each other's arms. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Art Carney effectively portrays a weary, wisecracking Santa Claus (not the department store variety, but the real McCoy) in the made-for-TV The Night They Saved Christmas. Right now, Santa has very little to be jolly about: his North Pole toy factory is threatened with demolition by greedy oil prospectors. Eco-conscious Jaclyn Smith and three kids come to the rescue. The film is highlighted by several songs written by Paul Williams, who co-stars as chief elf Ed. Filmed in part at the Arctic Circle, The Night They Save Christmas was a Holiday perennial for several years after its December 1984 debut. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this farcical look at a female detective/mystery story writer, Cathy Palmer (JoBeth Williams) is an ordinary housewife living in Ohio with a condescending husband who is far from ideal. When Cathy wins a writing contest and has the chance to go to Paris and meet the author of the romance novels she loves, her husband tries to prevent the trip. In the end, Cathy's interests prevail, though her husband still refuses to go with her. After arriving in Paris, Cathy is knocked down by a car and wakes up in the hospital with all memory of her past life erased. In its place, she believes she is Rebecca Ryan, the heroine in the romance novels she has read. Carrying her unconscious role to the hilt, she dresses in elegant clothes and meets the comically rattled Alan McMann (Tom Conti) who becomes her partner, of sorts. Little does she know that Alan is not Rebecca's secretary, but the actual ghost writer of the Ryan novels. Cathy begins to suspect that villains are lurking everywhere, and her intuition in that regard is unerring -- she has doubts about the klutzy leader of the French opposition party (Giancarlo Giannini), and it turns out her doubts are well-founded. As the plot thickens, it becomes apparent that sooner or later Cathy-cum-Rebecca will have to realize the truth about her identity, but in the meantime, much skullduggery awaits. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The humor in this Chevy Chase comedy lies solely in the eyes of the beholder. The comic plays Eddie Muntz, an arms dealer looking to make a big sale of war planes to a South American dictator. In order to do so, his girlfriend (Sigourney Weaver) has to sleep with the dictator and his friend (Gregory Hines) has to be convinced to do one more killing. Eddie's archenemy is Stryker (Vince Edwards) who wants to make that deal himself and will stop at nothing to obtain his ends. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Quincy (Jack Klugman) is outraged to learn that young Sherry Anderson (Heidi Bohay) has died from injuries sustained in a car accident after being treated at a standard emergency hospital. It seems that Sherry's father Bruce (Leonard Stone), who at the crash scene appeared to be the more seriously injured of the two, was rushed to the Memorial Hills emergency trauma center, where the doctors were able to save his life. Arguing that the same special medical care should have been made available to Sherry, Quincy begins lobbying the city to finance additional trauma centers--even as Memorial Hills faces extinction due to lack of funds. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Danny Travis (Richard Harris) is a kindly Irish inventor and widower whose projects leave his family in a constant state of near poverty. He takes on the system when the city slates his apartment building for demolition. Danny uncovers a plot hatched by the scheming Governor Davis (Biff McGuire) that will line the politician's pockets under the false pretense of an urban renewal project. Danny holds a sheriff hostage as television reporter Paula Herbert (Karen Black) leads to a media frenzy that sparks public sympathy for Danny and his fellow residents. The always dependable Martin Landau plays Captain Garrity. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Filling the shoes occupied by Walter Matthau in the Bad News Bears and William Devane in The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, Tony Curtis takes on the role of the teams newest coach in this, the third installment in the series. Jackie Earle Haley returns as Kelly Leak, the Bears' star player, as the team ventures to the other side of the world to face off against the best little league team in Japan. While there, the Bears find their way into mischief and Kelly finds love with a local girl. Though this was the last entry in the film series a television series followed a year later. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi