Elizabeth Thompson Movies

Based on the graphic novel by James O'Barr, this fantasy follows Eric Draven (Brandon Lee), a rock musician who is murdered along with his fiancée, Shelly (Sofia Shinas), by a group of marauding thugs who terrorize the decaying city in which they live. One year to the day after his death (which happens to be Devil's Night), a mystical crow appears at Eric's grave; Eric rises from the dead and, with the bird as his guide, goes on a mission to avenge himself against Top Dollar (Michael Wincott), the leader of the gang who killed him. Star Brandon Lee was killed while filming a scene in which he was shot with a shell from an improperly cleaned gun that was supposed to be loaded with blanks. Like his father, martial arts superstar Bruce Lee, Brandon was fated to enjoy his greatest popular success after his premature death. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

W.C. Fields and Me is the film version of the Fields biography written by the comedian's former mistress Carlotta Monti. W. C. Fields was a great comedian in vaudeville and early talking films, who was noted for his ability to say the most hilariously cutting and mean things in a cheery, bright tone of voice. He had amazing skills in the manipulation of objects, from pieces of paper to crooked cue sticks. Rod Steiger plays Fields, while Valerie Perrine portrays Ms. Monti. Jack Cassidy is also on hand as Fields' close friend and drinking crony John Barrymore. The film is not above sacrificing facts for a good story, notably in its recreation of Fields' celebrated "dentist" routine which. W. C. Fields and Me depicts the great juggler/comedian as a straightforwardly mean-spirited man, whereas he is generally believed to have been more complex than that. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Film editor Bill Brame directed this standard juvenile-delinquent entry featuring a notable cast of exploitation veterans. Richard Beymer stars as a cash-strapped teenager named Dean, who is lured into the world of bikers and addicts by Link (Russ Tamblyn), a sadistic drug dealer. Dean's girlfriend Karen (Lana Wood) helps him smuggle marijuana from Mexico to Los Angeles to raise money, and things appear to be going well until they are involved in the murders of two federal agents (Jody McCrea, Lindsay Crosby). The frightened Dean wants out of the arrangement, but Link drugs him with LSD, attempts to roast him alive, and kidnaps Karen. Dean eventually comes down from his bad trip and rescues his beloved, leaving the hippies in the audience with a warning to avoid free marijuana. Casey Kasem and Warren Finnerty also appear in this odd drug film, which makes very little sense and meanders from one scene to another for no apparent reason. That may be understandable, considering that it took four credited screenwriters to make Free Grass filmable. Leads Tamblyn and Beymer had co-starred in West Side Story and would reunite on television for the cult series Twin Peaks. Brame directed The Cycle Savages the same year. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

This tuneful romp offers about an hour of good, trashy low-budget fun as it tells the tale of wealthy teens' struggles to keep their favorite hot spot intact after they learn that a real estate dragon-lady has set her avaricious eye upon it with the hopes of building a new high-rise there. Much of the tale centers on the land magnate, Roberta Crawford, and her vivacious teen-age niece, Vicki, who visits the club with her blue-blooded, arrogant beau Roger Kelly. Vicki is in the dark concerning her aunt's machinations until she hears the club's handsome star singer Mel Hudson talking about how he is trying hard to resist Roberta's onslaught of pressure to sell. Vicki falls for Mel right away and immediately decides to help him. Trouble ensues when the club mysteriously burns down and Roberta Crawford is accused of arson. Fortunately, the truth is revealed, someone has a change of heart, and amidst much celebration, a romance blooms. Songs include: "Come to the Party," "Mad, Mad, Mad," "Come A-Runnin'," "Watusi Surfer," "Greenback Dollar," "I Can't Get You out of My Heart," and "You Pass Me By." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi