Ray Vitte Movies
- 1981
Produced by Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, Grambling's White Tiger stars Jenner as real-life quarterback Jim Gregory. The film recounts Gregory's efforts to become the first white player on Grambling College's all-black football team. Harry Belafonte made his TV-movie debut as legendary Grambling coach Eddie Robinson. The script was adapted from My Little Brother is Coming Tomorrow, a book by Bruce Behrenberg. Filmed on location in Louisiana, Grambling's White Tiger originally aired October 4, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Chasing after a known murderer, Tony Penner (Peter Virgo Jr.), a member of a neighborhood vigilante group, fires into a darkened warehouse--and ends up killing an innocent bystander. Although Quincy can understand the frustrations which have led to "mob rule" in the streets of LA, he insists that the forensic evidence be used to prosecute Penner. Meanwhile, Tony's fellow vigilantes, feeling betrayed by the authorities, prepare to exact a terrible revenge against the fugitive murderer. Originally scheduled to air on April 8, 1981, this is the final episode of Quincy, M.E.'s sixth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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)
New York City detective Steve Burns Al Pacino receives orders from Captain Edelson Paul Sorvino to solve a series of brutal murders in the gay community. Steve scours the gay bars that caters to same-sex sadomasochism in a desperate attempt to solve the crime. As he infiltrates the scene, he slowly comes loose from the moorings of his own reality, and an innocent victim is tortured by the cops in an effort to exact a confession. The story is based on actual murders that took place between 1962 and 1979. The film gained considerable publicity because of the controversial subject matter while censor argued between an X and R rating for the feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, (more)
- 1980
- R
John Byrum wrote and directed this loosely based biographical tale of Beat author Jack Kerouac and Neal and Carolyn Cassady. John Heard stars as Jack Kerouac, and the film chronicles the Beat lifestyle that shaped the literary and social forces brewing and overflowing in Kerouac's imagination, resulting in the publication of Kerouac's seminal novel On the Road. Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek play the Cassadys, enmeshed in a love-hate relationship that forms the backbone of the film. Kerouac drifts in and out of their lives as the Cassadys take up residence in San Francisco. Ray Sharkey is also on hand as the manic Ira, a thinly veiled character based on Alan Ginsberg. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, (more)
To say that Chuck Norris is the star of Force of One may smack of redundancy. Norris is cast as Vietnam vet Matt Logan, assigned to instruct a big-city narcotics squad in the intricacies of martial arts. His star pupil turns out to be Detective Mandy Rust (Jennifer O'Neill). Initially disinterested in law enforcement, Logan is galvanized into action when his adopted son is killed by the villains. Force of One was designed as a follow-up of (though not a sequel to) the money-spinning Norris vehicle Good Guys Wear Black. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer O'Neill, Chuck Norris, (more)
- 1979
Made for TV, The Man in the Santa Claus Suit jumped the gun a bit by premiering December 23, 1979. The title "character" is threefold: John Byner, Gary Burghoff and Bert Convy all don Santa suits for various reasons. Byner is a fugitive tramp, Burghoff a lonely schoolteacher, and Convy a divorced father estranged from his young son. Unifying their three stories is top-billed Fred Astaire, who pops up in eight different roles (or seven different roles, if you don't count his "surprise identity") and sings the title song. The moral, as ever, is that Christmas is what you make of it: if you're merry, then you'll have a merry Christmas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Then professional potheads Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong teamed up for Cheech & Chong: Up In Smoke, which features the drug-addled duo on a road trip throughout California; that is to say, a road-trip they hope will culminate in finding some quality weed. Instead, a series of mishaps result in their respective deportations to Mexico. Desperate to get back to the states so they can perform in their band's gig later that night, Cheech and Chong unwittingly agree to drive a very unique car across the border -- rather than steel and various metal bits, the vehicle is constructed entirely out of marijuana. Back in the States and accompanied by two extraordinarily out-of-it female hitchhikers, the stoned group meanders about in an attempt to get their musical performance together, and narrowly escapes from local law enforcement agencies on numerous occasions despite their complete inability to realize they were being tailed to begin with. The incredibly low-budget movie surprised critics, grossed millions, spawned a series of lesser follow-up films, and cemented Cheech & Chong's cult-status among potheads across the globe. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, (more)
The Zoo is the hottest disco in town, and on the night of the big dance contest, a wild assortment of disparate characters find themselves out on the floor together. DJ Bobby Speed (Ray Vitte) is convinced that broadcasting the show live on the radio waves and having the Commodores as musical entertainment will boost his career, but when their equipment gets lost on the highway, he starts to lose his cool. Nicole (Donna Summer) is a bumbling but beautiful neophyte singer who schemes to earn her big break on the disco's stage. Frannie and Jeannie (Valerie Landsberg and Terri Nunn) are underage high school girls who need the contest prize money to buy Kiss concert tickets. A bored married couple (Mark Lonow and Andrea Howard) stumble into the Zoo on their anniversary; their relationship is tested by a wacky pill-popping vixen (Marya Small) and the disco's womanizing owner (Jeff Goldblum). A host of mismatched singles make the scene hoping for a chance at love (or at least a one night stand), though the exuberant Marv "Leather Man" Gomez (Chick Vennera) lives only to dance, and expounds on his philosophy at length. There's plenty of thumping disco action and nothing but happy endings in this colorful period comedy. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Summer, Valerie Landsburg, (more)
Michael Schultz directed this kinetic, hyperventilating comedy (scripted by Joel Schumacher) concerning the crazed events that go on within a single 10-hour period at a Los Angeles car wash. The cast of colorful car-wash employees includes Lonnie (Ivan Dixon), an ex-con; Duane (Bill Duke), a militant black activist; and Lindy (Antonio Fargas), an obnoxious homosexual. Sully Boyar plays Mr. B, the frazzled car-wash owner who has to deal with his screwball employees along with his over-educated slip of a son, Irwin (Richard Brestoff), who quotes Mao and wants to radicalize the workers. Also along for the wash and wax are Miss Beverly Hills (Lauren Jones), with a wild assortment of wigs; Marsha (Melanie Mayron), the distracted car wash secretary; a mad bomber (Prof. Irwin Corey), who is terrorizing the neighborhood; and Daddy Rich (Richard Pryor), the founder of the Church of Divine Economic Spirituality, who sports a gold limousine. Danny de Vito, Brooke Adams and others were originally in the cast but their scenes were ultimately deleted. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklyn Ajaye, Sully Boyar, (more)
- 1974
Fred (Redd Foxx) is taken aback when he is reunited with his college-coed niece Elizabeth (Tina Andrews). It seems that the girl has grown up to become the living image of her namesake, Fred's late wife. At first nervously avoiding the younger Elizabeth like the plague, Fred suddenly becomes a "surrogate father," obnoxiously interfering with the girl's private life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
- 1973
No one is more grief-stricken than Kojak (Telly Savalas) when his old friend, a veteran detective, is found murdered with $10,000 in cash on his body. It appears that the victim was on the take, and as such has been slated for what the NYPD calls "burial with dishonor." Kojak has only 48 hours to ferret out the truth and clear his late comrade's name. In an interesting example of "first-generation" casting, this episode boasts appearances by the fathers of actors Stacy Keach and Bruno Kirby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
