Helene Winston Movies
If a comedy is to be made from the plight of the homeless, who have to scrape through their days returning deposit bottles and cleaning car windshields to get their daily bread as the rich get richer and more heartless, it may as well be Mel Brooks' Life Stinks. The trademark Brooks humor dominates this fable about a ruthless billionaire, Goddard Bolt (Mel Brooks), who wants to obliterate a poor section of Los Angeles and build a high-tech commercial center in its place. His only problem is that he owns only half the land needed for the construction, the other half belonging to equally ruthless billionaire Vance Craswell (Jeffrey Tambor), who has his own ideas for the land. The two try to buy each other out until, finally, a deal is struck: Craswell bets that Bolt cannot survive a month on the streets as a homeless man. If Bolt makes it, he gets the property. If he doesn't, Craswell gets it. Bolt agrees and, as a poor man, he begins to feel the pain of being uprooted and alone, even meeting a friendly homeless woman, Molly (Lesley Ann Warren) with whom he forms an attachment. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Brooks, Lesley Ann Warren, (more)
A timid aerobics instructor learns that her new best friend is also her husband's mistress in this domestic drama starring Mary Tyler Moore. Suffering from a bit of empty-nest syndrome as her children pass through adolescence, indecisive homemaker Holly Davis (Moore) reluctantly accepts a part-time gig teaching exercise classes for frazzled gym owner Helga (Salome Jens). There, she meets struggling, independent-minded broadcast journalist Sandy Dunlap (Christine Lahti) and they quickly become thick as thieves. As it turns out, though, Sandy is actually an adulteress -- she's engaged in a clandestine affair with Chip (Ted Danson), Holly's seismologist husband. Chip loves both women and wants to continue seeing Sandy, but she breaks things off with him now that she knows his wife. When Chip dies suddenly, Sandy helps Holly cope and finances Phase Two of her life as the new owner of Helga's aerobics center. Unfortunately, though, evidence of Chip's infidelity lies around just waiting to be discovered. In the end, it's up to Chip's friend Harry Crandall (Sam Waterson) -- who's been nursing a crush on Holly for years -- to help a pregnant Sandy and a heartbroken Holly come to terms with their complicated friendship. Just Between Friends marked the directorial debut of screenwriter Allan Burns. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Christine Lahti, (more)
The title character, a nasty landlord (Elliott Gould), is killed in a car accident and descends into hell. There he meets the Devil (Bill Cosby), who promises him his life back if he can find three people willing to sell their souls in three months. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Bill Cosby, (more)
The Fury meets The Misadventures of Merlin Jones in this comic-book sequel to Disney's Escape to Witch Mountain. Reprising their roles as the psychic siblings from another world are Kim Richards as Tia and Ike Eisenmann as Tony. Their Uncle Bene (Denver Pyle) gives the kids a treat by letting them vacation on planet Earth, and they make the most of it by immediately getting into hot water. It seems that arch-fiend Dr. Victor Gannon (Christopher Lee) and his Bette Davis-like accomplice, Letha (Bette Davis), are in the process of testing a mind-control device. They want to see if they can mentally save their cohort Sickle (Anthony James) from plunging to his death from atop a building. Tony spots Sickle's plunge and telekinetically saves him. When Dr. Gannon sees Tony's powers, he kidnaps him, hoping to utilize his otherworldly powers for his own nefarious purposes. Enlisting the aid of a collection of low-life youngsters (Christian Juttner, Brad Savage, Poindexter, and Jeffrey Jacquet), Tia uses her powers of telepathy to contact her brother and tries to rescue him from Gannon's clutches. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Christopher Lee, (more)
Robert Stevenson, Walt Disney Productions' house director, cobbled together his 19th family film for the organization with this slapstick sequel to the Disney comedy The Shaggy Dog (produced 17 years after the fact). Dean Jones plays Wilby Daniels, a lawyer running against the villainous John Slade (Keenan Wynn) for district attorney. His campaign is cast into doubt when he comes upon an ancient ring that transforms him into a fat sheepdog. But the campaign progresses on a level playing field when the unscrupulous Slade finds himself also turned into a canine -- a disgruntled bulldog. Another sequel, The Return of the Shaggy Dog, followed. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Jones, Tim Conway, (more)
Based on the novella by Harlan Ellison, A Boy and His Dog is set in a post-apocalyptic future where canned goods are used as currency and where entertainment often consists of old porn reels. Vic (Don Johnson) is a violent, illiterate scavenger, principally interested in getting laid. He communicates telepathically with his deceptively cute-looking dog Blood (voiced by Tim McIntire); Vic finds food for Blood, while Blood sniffs out girls for Vic. One of these girls is the sexy Quilla June (Susanne Benton), who, unbeknownst to Vic is a spy for an underground society, headed by a Mr. Craddock (Jason Robards Jr.). This subterranean civilization needs a human "sperm bank" to stay alive, and the oversexed Vic fills the bill. Produced by character actor Alvy Moore (Mr. Kimball of TV's Green Acres), A Boy and His Dog was written and directed by another veteran actor, L.Q. Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Johnson, Susanne Benton, (more)
- 1974
When the strapped-for-cash Lamont (Demond Wilson) takes an outside job at a haberdashery, Fred thinks that the saga of "Sanford and Son Salvage" is at an end. To prevent this, Fred poses as an eccentric millionaire and heads to Lamont's place of business, intending to buy all the clothes and put the haberdashery out of business. Is it really necessary to note that the scheme backfires spectacularly? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
Oliver Twist is an animated version of the Dickens classic. Josh Albee is heard as the voice of the orphaned Oliver, while radio veteran Les Tremayne invokes all the tricks of his trade to portray the underhanded Fagin. This adaptation was a rare theatrical release from the TV-cartoon factory of Filmation; it was picked up for distribution by Warner Bros., who virtually threw away the film when it performed poorly in previews. Oliver Twist gained its widest exposure when it was telecast as an NBC special in 1981. At that time, the film's already heavily telescoped continuity was whittled down to an adumbrated 47 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Albee, Les Tremayne, (more)
Heavy Traffic represents a follow-up to animator Ralph Bakshi's first feature film, Fritz the Cat (1972). The central character is Michael, the ingenuous son of an Italian father and Jewish mother. An aspiring cartoonist, Michael leaves home in a huff and outrages his family by conducting an affair with an African-American woman. Heavy Traffic was originally intended to be a cartoon adaptation of Hubert Selby's notorious novel Last Exit to Brooklyn, but negotiations fell through, and Bakshi was obliged to cook up a similar but not identical "mean streets" plotline. (Last Exit to Brooklyn was made as a live-action film in 1989.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Noted character actor L.Q. Jones (who would later direct the cult classic A Boy and His Dog) produced this low-budget horror item about a small Southwestern town torn asunder by the mysterious disappearances of several of its children. Jones plays the town sheriff, who joins forces with some of the locals to find the perpetrators and uncovers a diabolical plot concocted by a coven of elderly devil-worshippers who plan to use the children's bodies as receptacles for their own souls, enabling them to live again in younger bodies. To this end, they use their supernatural abilities to slay any meddling adults by turning the kids' toys into deadly war machines. Creepy opening and closing sequences and a bravado performance from Strother Martin (as the king-daddy Warlock) are the film's strongest assets. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, (more)
- 1971
- PG
Though it bears more than passing resemblance to his macabre hits Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, this lesser-known outing from screenwriter Henry Farrell takes a more satirical turn, skewering the eccentricities of the Hollywood studio system. The story opens during the advent of talking pictures, where a school for would-be child stars is opened by voice coach Helen Hill (Shelley Winters) and dance instructor Adelle Bruckner (Debbie Reynolds). Haunted by a dark secret -- each of the women's sons was convicted of murder -- Hill and Bruckner are pursued by a cloaked interloper whose incessant snooping leads to a fatal altercation. Suspicion builds between the two until the expected climax, where it is revealed that one of the two women is even more lethal than her homicidal son. Though the film's absurdist tone is a harsh about-face from the deadly deadpan camp of Farrell's Gothic 1960s thrillers, the period flavor is a nice touch, and accomplished director Curtis Harrington frequently achieves the right balance of horror and humor. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1969
- R
Dr. Ralph Hayes (Alvy Moore) is a professor of paranormal studies who leads a group into the Louisiana swamp to investigate a string of murders. His student Tasha (Thordis Brandt) is the psychic whose powers have been inherited from her witch ancestors. Hayes believes that witchcraft is the reason behind the murders of the young women, and reporter Victor Gordon (Anthony Eisley) is out to cover the story. The trail eventually leads to Luther the Berserk (John Lodge) a sorcerer of incredible powers who, after drinking the blood of his victims, has the ability to raise the dead as his unholy army of the night. The efforts of the human researchers collide with the supernatural forces of evil in this terrifying feature. Veteran character actor Burt Mustin, who played Gus the fireman on the hit television show "Leave It To Beaver," plays the boatman. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lodge, Alvy Moore, (more)
Walter Hale (Elvis Presley) is the manager of a chautauqua, a traveling show consisting of performances, lectures and entertainment. Along with manager Johnny (Edward Andrews), he helps some young kids break into show business and contends with the union-organizing Charlene (Marilyn Mason). Vincent Price appears as Mr. Morality. John Carradine, Sheree North and Dabney Coleman also appear in this forgettable film which makes Clambake and Girl Happy classics by comparison. Elvis is limited to three tunes as he plays out the string of poorly scripted vehicles that ended with his next feature, the equally awful Change of Habit. By now, the inane screenplays had done permanent damage to a once-promising film career, souring the King of Rock & Roll on everything in movies except live concert performances. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Marlyn Mason, (more)
Elvis Presley plays Guy Lambert, a musician (so far, so good) who is touring Great Britain (something Elvis never managed in real life). Jill Conway (Annette Day), a wealthy heiress, is a big fan of Guy's who has developed a very serious crush on him; her family wants to keep her away from the romantically-inclined singer, so they send her to Belgium, not realizing that Guy has a string of gigs set up there. En route to Brussels, a pair of hapless jewel thieves (Norman Rossington and Chips Rafferty) hide their loot in Guy's luggage, which makes the singer the unwitting target of three equally inept detectives (Harry, Herbert, and Sylvester Wiere). While wooing Jill and avoiding her treacherous uncle Gerald (John Williams), Guy also finds himself pursued by the worldly Claire Dunham (Yvonne Romain). Elvis sings nine songs along the way, including "Long Legged Girls with Short Dresses On" and "Baby, if You Give Me All Your Love." 18 months after Double Trouble was released, Presley's career was revitalized by his 1968 comeback special, though he would also release four more films before it aired. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Annette Day, (more)
- 1965
Child actor Billy Mumy makes a return visit to Bewitched, this time in the role of an eight-year-old Darrin Stephens. It all begins when a miffed Endora transforms the adult Darrin into a little boy. In this "reduced" state, Darrin attends a business meeting with Larry Tate's new client, a toy manufacturer -- and thus does the plot begin to thicken. Originally shown on November 18, 1965, "Junior Executive" was written by Bernard Slade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
This lavishly produced, big-budget comedy (it cost $20 million in 1964 dollars) stars Shirley MacLaine as Louisa, a widow who is worth $200 million dollars. However, she's convinced that her fortune is cursed, and she wants to give all her money to the IRS. As she explains her sad tale to her psychiatrist, Dr. Stephanson (Robert Cummings), it seems that when Louisa was young she had the choice of marrying rich playboy Leonard Crawley (Dean Martin) or poor but decent Edgar Hopper (Dick Van Dyke). She chose Edgar, but soon he became obsessed with providing a fine home and fortune for her; he got rich but worked himself to death in the process. Despondent, Louisa flies to Paris, where she strikes up a romance with expatriate artist Larry Flint (Paul Newman). When Larry invents a machine that creates paintings based on sounds, he becomes wealthy and famous -- and dies. Louisa returns to America, where she figures to break her streak by marrying Rod (Robert Mitchum), a business tycoon who already has lots of money. He resolves to take life easier and becomes a farmer, only to die in a strange accident with a bull. Louisa is drowning her sorrows one night at a sleazy night spot when she falls for second rate entertainer Jerry (Gene Kelly). They marry, and a now-wealthy Jerry develops a relaxed, carefree quality to his act that makes him a huge star, which leads to his being crushed by a mob of his biggest fans. What a Way to Go! boasted a screenplay by Betty Comdon and Adolph Green that featured many amusing film parodies and a score by Nelson Riddle; it also marked the final screen appearance of comic actress Margaret Dumont, best remembered as Groucho Marx's straight woman in several films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, (more)
Light and laugh-filled, Send Me No Flowers is typical Rock Hudson and Doris Day fare. George (Hudson) is a hypochondriac married to Judy (Day) in this marital comedy. When George goes to visit the doctor, he overhears two doctors talking about a diagnosis of a terminally ill patient. George believes they are talking about him and that he is doomed to die. He recruits his friend Arnold (Tony Randall) to find a new husband for Judy. Judy thinks George is covering up for an illicit affair and throws him out of the house. George locates Judy's old college flame Bert (Clint Walker), now a Texas oil millionaire. Excellent performances by Edward Andrews as Dr. Morrissey and Paul Lynde as the aggressive cemetery-plot salesman help this feature along. Although not as solid as the Day/Hudson pairing in Pillow Talk or Lover Come Back, Send Me No Flowers is still a good romantic comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Doris Day, (more)
- 1963
After 15 miserable years of matrimony, mousy Gerald Swinney (a superbly cast Bob Newhart) asks his wife, Edith (Jane Withers), for a divorce. She refuses, at which point Gerald stammers, "Well, uh, Edith, I guess I'll, uh, have to get rid of you." No, Gerald doesn't intend to murder Edith -- merely to make her think he is going to murder her. Before long, Edith is going crazy with anxiety...and that is only step one of Gerald's master plan. (Trivia note: the famous Leave It to Beaver house on the Universal studio lot is very much in evidence in this episode -- four years before it was converted into the equally famous Marcus Welby, M.D. house.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Newhart, Jane Withers, (more)
- 1960
Director Philip Leacock, praised for his handling of child actors, does another excellent job with the two young stars in this story about religious tolerance -- and intolerance. Loretta Parry is Rachel, a seven-year-old Jewish girl whose best friend and playmate Michael (Philip Needs) is exactly the same age. Michael has been raised in an Irish Catholic family, but neither child thinks very much about their religious differences. At least, not until certain biases begin to make their presence known. But Rachel and Michael's friendship is so strong that even when they visit each other's place of worship and are wholly intimidated by the strangeness of it all, they still remain best buddies. Interwoven with threads of wisdom that might be a little forced at times, this family-oriented drama is also enlivened by comic moments and good acting and directing that keep the story from slipping into saccharine clichés. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Parry, Philip Needs, (more)
This children's sci-fi adventure chronicles the friendship between an 11-year-old and his grandfather's robot Tobor, who was designed to explore deep space. Tobor, unlike other machines, was endowed with human emotions. Trouble erupts when the communists kidnap him and try to make him do their evil bidding. Fortunately, Tobor is mind-linked to his creator and cannot be easily reprogrammed. The adventure begins when the boy and the scientists attempt to save the robot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Drake, Karin [Katharine] Booth, (more)
- 1953
Port Sinister was produced by the team of Aubrey Wisberg and Jack Pollexfen, whose chief claim to fame was the 1951 sci-fi "sleeper" The Man From Planet X. Soldier of fortune Tony Ferris (James Warren) leads an expedition to an island threatened with extinction by a volcano. No, Ferris isn't crazy: it is his belief that the eruption will reveal a fortune in buried pirate treasure. Surrounded by highly suspicious-looking characters, Ferris can trust only his longtime companion, Jean Hunter (Lynne Roberts) -- and even she doesn't seem too trustworthy. Originally distributed by RKO Radio, Port Sinister was re-issued by Realart Pictures in 1961 under the title Beast of Paradise Isle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Warren, Lynne Roberts, (more)
- 1953
- NR
In his only MGM film, Humphrey Bogart plays the commanding officer of a M*A*S*H unit during the Korean War. Bogart runs his operation by the book, though he can take time out now and again for compassion. When nurse June Allyson shows up, Bogie is irritated by her foolhardiness and misplaced idealism. Need we tell you that the two "opposites" eventually fall in love? Keenan Wynn steals the show as the camp's wheeler-dealer, a sort of ancestor for such future insouciant M*A*S*H characters as Hawkeye, Trapper John and B.J. Hunnicutt. According to Hollywood scuttlebutt, Humphrey Bogart liked writer/director Richard Brooks because he could walk all over him. Brooks doesn't appear too servile in his disciplined handling of the film, though one can detect a slight lack of enthusiasm on his part. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, June Allyson, (more)
- 1952
You for Me stars Peter Lawford as a profligate playboy who's a nice guy underneath. After suffering a hunting accident which leaves him with a butt full of buckshot, Lawford is interred in the hospital that his donations have kept afloat. Nurse Jane Greer refuses to treat Lawford any better than any other patient, which of course makes him adore her all the more. Gig Young is once more the poor schlemiel who loses the girl--but this time Young deserves it, since he encourages Jane to make goo-goo eyes at Lawford so the donations will keep on coming (there's a word for that sort of thing where we come from, stranger). You for Me was directed by Don Weis, whose MGM films are often so lightweight that they're in danger of floating away. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Lawford, Jane Greer, (more)
