Dionne Warwick Movies

Dionne Warwick, Tina Turner, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and others take the stage to perform some of their best known hits in this collection of rare concert clips featuring some of pop-music's biggest divas. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Greatest hits mix with classic movie themes as legendary singer Dionne Warwick performs before an adoring crowd in this concert captured live during the celebrated vocalist's 2005 tour. Songs featured in the feature-length concert include "What the World Needs Now", "Arthur's Theme", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", and "Say a Little Prayer". ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In the early days of rock & roll in the '50s, while the public knew the voices and faces of the folks who snag the tunes, it was often the people behind the scenes who truly held the talent that made a song a hit, and as the sounds of "teenage music" took over the charts, a new breed of young songwriters and producers became giants in the industry. Hit Makers: The Teens Who Stole Pop Music tells the story of the kids (mostly Jewish, mostly from Brooklyn) who wrote the tunes and brainstormed the sessions for some of the biggest hits of the era out of offices in New York City's Brill Building, where music publishing mogul Don Kirschner had the likes of Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Neil Sedaka under contract. Beginning with the start of the rock era and ending with the rise of hard rock and singer/songwriters at the dawn of the '70s, Hit Makers tells the story of some of the truly unsung heroes of American popular music, complete with interviews from the songwriters and producers, as well as the performers who helped bring their great songs to life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David produced some of the most popular and successful hits in modern music. A tribute was held in honor of the collaborators at Albert Hall in London during July of 2000. This program presents excerpts from the event, in which the two men were honored with a lifetime achievement award. Dionne Warwick and Petula Clark were among the many artists on hand to sing some of the songs penned by Bacharach and David. Included are renditions of "Walk on By," "A House Is Not a Home," "Close to You," "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," and "What the World Needs Now Is Love." ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

Dusty Springfield was quite simply one of the very best vocalists to emerge from the British pop music scene; blessed with a superb voice and the smarts and soul to use it to its best advantage, Springfield scored a string of hits on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1960s with such classics as "Wishin' and Hopin'," "I Only Want to Be With You," and "Son of a Preacher Man," and enjoyed a comeback in the 1980s thanks to her collaboration with techno-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys, "What Have I Done to Deserve This." Dusty Springfield: Full Circle -- Life & Music is a documentary that offers an in-depth look at Springfield's life and career, with Dusty herself offering a perspective on the events, as well as featuring a wealth of performance footage and vintage television appearances (including rare film of Springfield performing with Jimi Hendrix). Popular comediennes Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French play host for the documentary; other interview subjects include Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, and Elvis Costello. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer was so named for two reasons. For one, this 1986 production appeared after two previous "Hammer" TV movies and a brief weekly series. For another, star Stacy Keach was returning to American television after a British prison term for possession of narcotics. Keach settles into the Hammer role as though he'd never left, taking on the assignment of protecting the young daughter of a movie star (Lauren Hutton). The child is kidnapped right under Mike's nose, and while trying to retrieve her, Hammer discovers that there's a lot more to the case that either the movie actress or the authorities have told him--including a Deep Dark Secret that reaches back to the jungles of VietNam. As with the Mike Hammer series itself, Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer seems to owe more to Ross ("Lew Archer") McDonald than to Spillane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This program brings together some of the great names in soul and R&B for a performance of some of the greatest songs ever to come out of that musical genre. Dionne Warwick, Smokey Robinson, and Billy Preston are among the stars in this musical aggregation. They give soulful renditions of all-time favorites, such as "Walk on By," and "The Tracks of My Tears." ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

A video review of the music of the seventies. There are twenty-four songs in the one-hour nostalgia program. They include "Stoned Soul Picnic," "Wedding Bell Blues," and "Superstar." Hosted by Warwick, The Carpenters and Haggard. ~ All Movie Guide

A cinematic take on a 1960s best-seller, Valley of the Dolls traces the ups and downs of three young women as fame, booze, pills, and men consume their lives. Well-bred, small-town Anne Welles (Peyton Place star Barbara Parkins) arrives in New York eager for fame but settles for a job assisting theatrical attorney Henry Bellamy (Robert H. Harris). The job leads her to cross paths with Helen Lawson (Hollywood veteran Susan Hayward), the grand dame of Broadway musicals, and Neely O'Hara (sitcom star Patty Duke), an up-and-coming performer whom Lawson unceremoniously boots from her latest show. Neely lands on her feet thanks to a series of nightclub gigs, and soon she and Anne befriend Jennifer North (Sharon Tate), a buxom starlet. As Neely becomes a huge star of stage and screen and Jennifer appears topless in a string of European "art" films, Anne becomes a wealthy cosmetics spokeswoman and suffers though a passionate but failed affair with aspiring writer Lyon Burke (Paul Burke). As the pressures of fame and failed romance take their toll on all three women, they take refuge in food, sex, liquor, and pills -- especially Neely, who becomes downright monstrous (the titular "dolls" are the uppers and downers to which she becomes hopelessly addicted). Although the film's characters are fictitious composites, Neely most closely resembles Judy Garland; Garland herself was originally cast as Lawson, but she was replaced after only a few days by Hayward. Although the film's trailer played up the story's titillating subject matter, the script for Valley of the Dolls actually toned down Jacqueline Susann's novel. And despite the fact that Dionne Warwick can be heard singing "(Theme From) The Valley of the Dolls" twice during the film, contractual snags kept her from releasing the soundtrack version; a different arrangement later became a number two pop hit in 1968. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In 1965 and 1966, some of the biggest names in rock & roll appeared on the TV series Hullabaloo, and this home video collects two classic episodes from the show, featuring performances from a handful of great artists. First, Michael Landon is the host as the Byrds, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Jackie DeShannon, and Chad and Jill play their latest hits. Next, Gary Lewis serves as master of ceremonies and performs a tune with his group, Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Joining Lewis are the Mamas and the Papas, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Rydell, and Noel Harrison. Filling out the tape are bonus performances from the Moody Blues, the Turtles, the Animals, and the Marvelettes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide