Earl Boen Movies
A character actor with a deadpan delivery, Earl Boen is known to many for the role of psychiatrist Peter Silberman in Terminator, a role he reprised for the hit sequel Terminator 2: Judgement Day, as well as for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. A veteran of TV, film, and stage, Boen spent decades racking up a résumé packed with literally hundreds of appearances beginning in the early '70s. Many of Boen's credits came in the form of single-episode guest appearances on TV shows like The Paper Chase and M*A*S*H, while others took the form of recurring roles, like that of adman Jim Petersen on the sitcom Who's the Boss?, a role Boen would reprise for five episodes between 1984 and 1986. Boen also worked extensively in animation, lending his voice to cartoons like Justice League, Kim Possible, and Pirates of Dark Water, as well as many video games, such as World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, and EverQuest. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide- 1977
Kojak returned to its familiar Sunday-night network berth for its fifth and final season. Things get off to a rousing start with this opening episode, with Lt. Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) determined to nail the murderer of a fellow cop. Unfortunately, the only witness to the crime, Janet Carlisle (Paula Kelly), is the girlfriend of a gangster (Charles Cioffi) who hates Kojak--and who goes to great and violent lengths to intimidate Janet into non-cooperation. This is the episode in which Kojak leans into the villain's face and snarls "If you touch her again, I'm going to splatter your brain" (Could this line have been written by future Quantum Leap and JAG producer Donald P. Bellisario, the man credited for the teleplay--or was it another Telly Savalas inspiration?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Several adult members of the same high-school graduating class have turned up dead, killed by an assailant who wields a zip gun and leaves the word "Monkey" scrawled at each crime scene. The viewer is soon apprised of the fact that the murderer is one Charley Belasco (Gary Lockwood), fresh out of prison after serving 20 years for a crime he'd committed to qualify for membership in a teenage gang. It is up to Stone (Mike Douglas) and Keller (Richard Hatch) to figure out where the vengeance-driven "Monkey" Belasco plans to strike next! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An Italian mechanic (Terence Hill) finds that he has inherited a billion-dollar company from his dead uncle, but he needs to be in San Francisco in 20 days to sign over the will. In the meantime, he is chased by kidnappers and the affected corporation's president (Jackie Gleason). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terence Hill, Valerie Perrine, (more)
- 1979
Expectant dad Lionel Jefferson (Mike Evans) finds himself on the receiving end of everybody's well-meaning but annoying parental advice. The straw that breaks the camel's back is when Lionel's dad George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) puts in his two cents about being a daddy. The outraged Lionel angrily storms out of his parents' apartment, vowing never to return. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, (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)
Produced by Roger Corman and scripted by John Sayles, Battle Beyond the Stars is a cheerfully blatant imitation of The Seven Samurai (or at least the American remake The Magnificent Seven). A peaceloving planet is attacked by malevolent aliens. The powers-that-be hire a group of mercenaries, headed by George Peppard, to protect the planet from harm. Peppard's contingent includes squeaky-clean Richard Thomas Jr. and statuesque Sybil Danning. John Saxon goes through his usual paces as the villain, while the supporting players include such dependables as Sam Jaffe, Jeff Corey, and, from Magnificent Seven itself, Robert Vaughn. Keep an eye out for Julia Duffy as "Mol". A deft blend of standard sci-fi action and knowing "inside" humor, Battle Beyond the Stars was one of Corman's biggest hits of the 1980s-not to mention an endless supply of stock footage for future New World Productions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, (more)
- 1980
- R
With a cast sure to please cult and horror fans alike, this pseudo-women's-prison film from director Hikmet Avedis is a good bet for genre followers. Pretty Dianne Hull plays Kelly McIntire, a disco bartender who is poisoned as part of a botched murder scheme and sent to a mental hospital. Once there, she is raped by evil orderly Carl (Bo Hopkins), witnesses murders and suicides, and eventually escapes only to be dragged screaming back to the horrors of the fifth floor. Cathey Paine, who played Leslie Van Houten in Helter Skelter, is among the many familiar faces, which also include such horror icons as Robert Englund and Michael Berryman. But the film belongs to Bo Hopkins, who is all smiling menace and who turns in a scary performance and gives the film what force it has, as screenwriter Meyer Dolinsky puts Hull through some rather unconvincing maneuvers in the lead. Still, although there are a number of lapses in logic, they don't detract from the frightening premise that almost any statement or action could be construed as a sign of dementia in the proper circumstances. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bo Hopkins, Diane Hull, (more)
Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda), a housewife whose husband has left her for his secretary, begins her own secretarial career at a huge corporation. Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin), a feisty, veteran office manager, instructs her on the perils and procedures of office life -- and of working for Franklin Hart Jr. (Dabney Coleman), their chauvinistic, sleazy boss, and his right-hand woman, the crisp, nosy Roz (Elizabeth Wilson). Meanwhile, Hart's endless attempts to seduce his happily married secretary, Doralee Rhodes (Dolly Parton), lead the entire office to think she's a trollop. When Hart unfairly passes Violet over for a promotion, she drowns her sorrows at a local bar with Judy and Doralee, who regales the others with tales of Hart's epic advances. Later, at Doralee's house, the women smoke pot, eat barbecue, and concoct hilarious revenge fantasies -- a rodeo hog-tie, a Wild West shootout, and a gothic Snow White scenario -- about killing their boss. When a mix-up leads the women to think they have accidentally poisoned Hart's coffee, they hatch a scheme to protect themselves by stealing Hart's body from the morgue. When he turns up alive, never having drunk the coffee, they must kidnap him to prevent him from blackmailing them or calling the police. The women then use the occasion of their boss' absence to effect some changes around the office. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, (more)
- 1981
Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) transforms Stonewall Jackson Day into a huge, elaborate celebration for Hazzard County. Of course, Boss is not motivated by any sort of Confederate patriotism; he has merely figured out a method to steal General Jackson's famous sword, sell it to the highest bidder, and then frame the Dukes for the theft. Saving the day for the good guys is a hitherto unknown and unseen cousin, Jeb Stuart Duke (Christopher Hensel) (who, if we are to believe contemporary accounts, was originally intended to be a recurring character). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Frederic Lehne stars as the real-life Tom Butterfield, a college student distressed by the plight of homeless children. He'd like to adopt a few of these kids, but Missouri law prohibits such a circumstance for an unmarried man. At great personal cost to himself both financially and emotionally, the 21-year-old Butterfield becomes the youngest single adult ever to be granted a foster-parent license, using this privilege to set up a Boy's Town-like home for unwanted youngsters. Lehne's costar is Michelle Pfeiffer, on the threshold of bigger things. Tom Butterfield, the subject of The Children Nobody Wanted, died less than a year after this TV movie's debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric Lehne
- 1982
The civilian and military press make a media circus out of the 4077th when famous prizefighter Gentleman Joe Cavanaugh (Pat McNamara) suffers a stroke while touring the camp. After saving Cavanaugh's life, Hawkeye (Alan Alda) is lauded as a hero--an appellation he quickly comes to resent. And speaking of heroes, the usually unflappable Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) is distraught over the plight of his longtime idol Gentleman Joe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Steve Martin and Carl Reiner concoct one of Martin's best comic vehicles with Martin playing the world's top brain surgeon, Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr -- he ought to know, he said so himself. Hfuhruhurr pioneered the radical new cranial screw-top technique, but he grieves over the untimely death of his wife Rebecca, carrying around a small plastic likeness of her to get through the long and lonely evenings. Thinking of her while driving home, Hfuhruhurr takes his eyes off the road and runs down the beautiful but deadly Dolores Benedict (Kathleen Turner). Hfuhruhurr performs surgery which saves her life, but as she recovers, Hfuhruhurr doesn't realize Dolores is a gold-digging vixen who has driven her latest husband (George Furth) to death by apoplexy. She is now looking for a new victim and Hfuhruhurr fits the bill. They marry, but Dolores denies her husband sexual favors, which frustrates Hfuhruhurr to distraction. He takes Dolores on a belated honeymoon to Austria, where he meets fellow brain surgeon Dr. Necessiter (David Warner), who keeps a wide assortment of brains in his laboratory. Dolores takes the opportunity to have an extramarital affair, and when Hfuhruhurr finds out he dumps her. But in Necessiter's laboratory, Hfuhruhurr becomes attracted to Brain #21, Ann Uumellmahaye (voice of Sissy Spacek), with whom he communicates telepathically. At last, here is one case where a man loves a woman for her mind rather than her body (which doesn't exist)! But Ann's brain is deteriorating rapidly; Hfuhruhurr needs to find a body and transplant the brain quickly in order to save Ann. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner, (more)
Set during Prohibition in a tiny Southern town filled with colorful characters, this all-star comedy follows the exploits of a hard-working sheriff who tries his darnedest to keep things peaceful and above board. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
I Take These Men is a variation on the 1941 Ginger Rogers theatrical feature Tom, Dick, and Harry. While being feted at a surprise 15th wedding anniversary party, Carol Sherwood (Susan St. James) startles the well-wishers by asking her dull dentist husband, Stuart (James Sherwood), for a divorce. As the party nervously continues, Carol fantasizes what her life might have been like had she married one of her three guests: pompous real-estate mogul Craig Wyler (Adam West), nerdish professor David Koenig (John Rubinstein), or good-natured truck driver Phil Zakarian (Brian Dennehy) -- who happens to be the husband of her best friend, Elaine (Dee Wallace). Just in case the viewer doesn't find all this funny, the producers have helpfully added a laugh track. I Take These Men was unveiled by CBS on January 5, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- PG
Mel Brooks and his real-life wife Anne Bancroft play Frederick and Anna Bronski, musical comedy stars in 1939 Poland. The highlight of the Bronskis' act is Frederick's imitation of Adolf Hitler, but he is forced to eliminate this turn for fear of offending the Nazis. Meanwhile, Anna enters into a harmless flirtation with Polish bomber pilot Andre Sobinski (Tim Matheson). The pilot's nightly signal to visit Anna in her dressing room is "To Be or Not to Be," spoken by Bronski during the Shakespearean portion of his act. When the Germans march into Warsaw, the Bronskis and the rest of their troupe are forced into hiding (notably the homosexual Lupinski, played by Lewis J. Stadlen, who is forced to endure the humiliation of wearing a pink star). Flying for the Polish resistance in England, Sobinski asks kindly Professor Seletzky (Jose Ferrer) to deliver his "To Be or Not to Be" message to Anna. When Seletzky doesn't seem to recognize the name of Anne Bronski, Warsaw's biggest star, Sobinski suspects that something is amiss. Sure enough, Seletzky is a Nazi spy, heading to Warsaw to help Col. "Concentration Camp" Ehrhardt (Oscar-nominated Charles Durning) destroy the underground movement. Parachuting into Poland, Sobinski enlists the aid of the Bronski troupe to foil the Nazis. What follows is an uproarious series of disguises and deceptions, capped by Bronski's impersonation of Der Fuhrer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, (more)
- 1984
After being mugged by two men, aspiring actress Kendall Gibley (Alexandra Paul) vows that she'll be ready for any future attacks. Kendall decides to "beef up" by undergoing a body-building regimen that would kill a lesser woman. Her devotion to physical culture sorely threatens her personal relationships with her friends, family and boyfriend, Mickey Ritter (David Naughton). Star Alexandra Paul's impressive physique is lovingly photographed by Howard R. Schwartz, as disco music pulsates on the soundtrack. A number of real-life bodybuilders of both sexes appear in supporting and bit roles. Made for television, Getting Physical debuted March 20, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandahl Bergman, Alexandra Paul, (more)
Endlessly imitated, The Terminator made the reputation of cowriter/director James Cameron -- who would go on to make 1997's titanic Titanic -- and solidified the stardom of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie begins in a post-apocalyptic 2029, when Los Angeles has been largely reduced to rubble and is under the thumb of all-powerful ruling machines. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a member of the human resistance movement, is teleported back to 1984. His purpose: to rescue Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the mother of the man who will lead the 21st-century rebels against the tyrannical machines, from being assassinated before she can give birth. Likewise thrust back to 1984 is The Terminator (Schwarzenegger), a grim, well-armed, virtually indestructable cyborg who has been programmed to eliminate Sarah Connor. After killing two "Sarah Connors" who turn out to be the wrong women, he finally aims his gunsights at the genuine article. This is the film in which Schwarzenegger declared "I'll be baaaack" -- and back he was, in "kinder and gentler" form, in the even more successful Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, (more)
- 1984
Night Court begins its second season as eccentric Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson) faces a problem that he can't joke his way out of. It seems that a young novice nun, Sister Sara Williams (Dinah Manoff), has fallen in love with Harry and renounced her vows. The scene in a Japanese restaurant is a riot (and not a quiet riot!) With this episode, Charlie Robinson joins the cast as (seemingly) level-headed court clerk Mac Robinson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- PG
The "movers and shakers" in this weak comedy limned by Charles Grodin do not refer to a religious sect, but the big-wigs in Hollywood who determine how the next many millions are to be spent. Two parallel stories occupy center stage. On the one hand, Joe Mulholland (Walter Matthau) has made a promise to a dying producer that he would put together a film on "Love in Sex." The problem is that there is no script to go with that title -- a minor hurdle by Hollywood standards. On the other hand, Herb Derman (Grodin) is hired to make up the story, but he is neck-deep in marriage woes and will have a hard time holding down his personal life long enough to write. Mixed into both of these tales are parodies of behind-the-scenes Hollywood at its worst. These scenarios are helped along by a fine cast of actors and actresses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1985
Mike (Kirk Cameron) deliberately clowns around while taking an aptitude test--and ends up being diagnosed with an IQ of 27. Though he knows that Mike is smarter than he behaves, the doctor in charge of the test may be forced to let the score stand. It now falls to Jason (Alan Thicke) and Maggie (Joanna Cameron) to figure out how to motivate Mike to do better in school--a task which has proven futile for well over a decade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
Columbia Pictures spent as estimated $8 million dollars on this laughless sex comedy that crashes and burns before ever leaving the ground. Two bumbling boneheads who are kicked out of flying school decide to remain airborne by becoming stewardesses. Bathroom humor, sight gags, and the prerequisite nudity are the lowlights of this forgettable film. The only interest is the appearance of former Playboy bunny Yuliis Ruval. This dog makes Porky's seem like Shakespeare. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brett Cullen, Mary Cadorette, (more)
- 1986
- R
Michael Keaton plays a famous Chicago-based hockey player who befriends trouble-prone teenager Ajay Naidu (after Naidu's gang has tried to mug him!) He also extends the hand of friendship to Naidu's mother Maria Conchita Alonso, a friendship that blossoms into a physical relationship. Too self-centered to make a commitment to Alonso, Keaton tries to break things off, but Naidu won't let him go so easily. This seemingly frivolous situation is underscored by the more serious efforts of Alonso to make a better life for herself and her son. The comic and dramatic elements of Touch and Go never quite jell, but the winning performances of the three main characters help gloss over the film's unevenness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Keaton, Maria Conchita Alonso, (more)
- 1986
Mark Lindsay Chapman (no relation to the murderer of John Lennon) stars in the made-for-TV The Annihilator. If the title sounds faintly reminiscent of The Terminator, it might just be more than a coincidence. The plot involves an army of mindless automatons, programmed to kill, kill, kill. Chapman plays a reporter whose efforts to halt the robot army are flummoxed by the fact that he himself is a fugitive from the law. The Annihilator premiered on April 7, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this lively comedy, an animal behaviorist is out studying wolves and she finds a young man who has been raised by the wild canines. Intrigued, she takes him back to the city to tame him. Later she learns that Bobo, as she calls him, is the long-missing heir to $30 million. His sudden reappearance causes his low-life brother Reggie to have apoplexy and he does everything he can to keep Bobo from becoming civilized and claiming his rightful fortune. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howie Mandel, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
