Glenn Withrow Movies

Soviet radicals upset with the thawing of the Cold War explode a nuclear weapon in Russia, setting off a series of events that may very well trigger World War III. The president (Martin Landau) has been isolated after a helicopter accident and must outwit government and military officials who are attempting to go forward with the war. The film centers on the relationship between a pair of American pilots who have been ordered to bomb the U.S.S.R. and the attempts by some factions to bring them home before global Armageddon. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Travis Rogers (George Newborn) is a young man slated to marry his childhood sweetheart Stephi (Leslie Hope) in this romantic comedy. Just days before the wedding, Travis leaves his Texas ranch and buys a hot red sports car from Jonni Tigersmith (Kimberly Foster), the sex kitten sales person. Jonni takes off with Travis and the two go racing in a high-speed chase across Texas while Stephi waits patiently at the altar. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The special effects are the highlight of this routine science fiction saga. A scientific exploration team bound for the planet Volcryn encounter an evil spaceship helmed by the villainous Jon Winderman (Michael Des Barres), who resembles a composite parody of heavy metal rockers. Not so far fetched an idea -- as in real life, Des Barres took the place of lead singer Robert Palmer in the short-lived 1980s rock group Power Station. He is probably most famous for being the husband of Pamela Des Barres, author of the tell-all groupie expose I'm With The Band. Michael Des Barres's film career began with To Sir, With Love in 1967. He also has been a songwriter and television actor. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Detroit cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) has seemingly smoothed out his differences with his Beverly Hills superior Bogomil (Ronny Cox), but there's trouble ahead for both men, not to mention two other holdovers from the first Cop film, officers Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton). The "untouchable" heavy this time out is masterminding a series of violent robberies, committed by leather-freak hoods Dean Stockwell and Brigitte Nielsen. Unaccumstomed to this nastiness, Bogomil entreats street-smart Foley to help find the miscreants. But mean-spirited chief of police Lutz (Allen Garfield) will brook no interference from outsiders-especially the profanely insouciant Mr. Foley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first half of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single hour-long episode), ALF is accidentally tossed into a box containing Christmas gifts. The box is delivered to a hospital, where ALF becomes the special present of a terminally ill little girl named Tiffany (Kerri Houlihan). Though fond of the girl, ALF is anxious to get back to the Tanners--but it isn't going to be easy! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This action film centers around the theft of a nuclear warhead from the U.S. Navy. Lt. Matt Ryder (Gregg Henry) is called out of his dishonorably discharged status and is requested to go find the missing nuke. It appears that the warhead has been stashed somewhere offshore, but it is never clear who has engineered the dastardly deed. When Ryder takes a time-out to get together with his old girlfriend Sean (Simone Griffeth), Sean's spurned and ego-maniacal boyfriend Mitchell (Jeff Conaway) comes forcefully into the picture. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Combining electric song and dance performances with drama (both on and off screen), Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984) looks back to the 1920s-1930s peak of the legendary Harlem nightclub where only blacks performed and only whites could sit in the audience. Mixing historical figures with characters loosely based on actual people, Coppola and co-writers William Kennedy and The Godfather's Mario Puzo create a panorama of love, crime, and entertainment centered on the Club. Among them are cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere, playing his own solos), who escapes psycho gangster "benefactor" Dutch Schultz (James Remar) for a George Raft-type Hollywood career as a gangster film star; Schultz's nubile mistress Vera Cicero (Diane Lane), who loves Dixie against her mercenary instincts; Cotton Club Mob owner Owney Madden (Bob Hoskins) and close associate Frenchy Demarge (Fred Gwynne); Vincent (Nicolas Cage), Dixie's no-good Mad Dog Coll-esque brother; Club tap star Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines), who woos ambitious light-skinned Club singer Lila Rose Oliver (Lonette McKee); and cameos by Charles "Honi" Coles and Cab Calloway impersonator Larry Marshall. Complementing the period story, Coppola evokes the style of '30s gangster movies and musicals through an array of old-fashioned devices like montages of headlines, songs and shoot-outs. Conceived by producer Robert Evans as his crowning achievement and directorial debut, Evans had to hand over the troubled production to Coppola, but the budget spiraled out of control as the script was repeatedly re-written throughout the chaotic shoot. By the time it was released, The Cotton Club's epic production story of power struggles, financial bloat, and even a murder overshadowed the "reunion" of The Godfather's creative team. Neither a Heaven's Gate-sized failure nor a wallet-saving hit like Coppola's Apocalypse Now, The Cotton Club got some favorable critical notices (although it drew fire for subordinating the African American stories). It did not, however, find a large enough audience to justify its expense and controversy, becoming another mark against 1970s "auteur" cinema in increasingly blockbuster-driven 1980s Hollywood. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

One of two S.E. Hinton novels Francis Ford Coppola directed in 1983, Rumble Fish is a stylized black-and-white film about the death of gang culture in a rough-and-tumble town full of stunted youths. The central character is the strutting Rusty James (Matt Dillon), a foul-mouthed lunkhead clad in sweaty tank tops, who passes his time at the billiards hall waiting for "something" to happen in his life. That something might be the return of his brother, known only as the Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), from exile in California. Charismatic and intelligent, the Motorcycle Boy once led numerous wide-eyed followers into battle, into the "rumbles" once commonplace in town. Rusty James wants to take over that role, but lacks the smarts necessary for leadership, nearly getting himself killed in an opening fight. The Motorcycle Boy stops the fight with equal parts efficiency and cool, and Rusty James seems delighted by his brother's return. But it quickly becomes clear that a local cop (William Smith) is still gunning for the Motorcycle Boy, waiting for him to slip up, even though the mysterious youth has developed a weary philosophy of life and a skeptical view of his former power. As the Motorcycle Boy seems more and more distant, lost in deaf and color-blind fugues, Rusty James gets into greater trouble, running afoul of his girlfriend (Diane Lane) and friends (Nicolas Cage, Christopher Penn, Vincent Spano), and seeming on the path to destruction. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the once-notorious trilogy of novels by James T. Farrell, the three-part miniseres Studs Lonigan isn't quite as earthy and explicit as its source, but is lot more faithful to the original than the 1960 film version. Set in Chicago and covering the years from 1916 to 1931, this is the story of a brawling, braggadocio young Irish-American lad named Studs Lonigan (played as a child by Dan Shor, and as an adult by Harry Hamlin in his first major TV role). Despite his rough veneer, Studs is sensitive and concerned about his future, though he doesn't want to follow the values set forth by his tradition-bound parents (Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst). Hanging around with his childhood buddies, Studs gets into all sorts of scrapes and becomes involved with a number of women, notably the decent, demure Catherine (Diana Scarwid) and the lusty, libidinous Lucy (Lisa Pelikan). Though he grows in age and size, Studs has trouble maturing emotionally, surrounded by the pressures of a rough, prejudice-ridden neighborhood and the increasing hooliganism of his cronies. As the Depression crashes heavily upon the scene, Studs finds himself "trapped" in the very sort of middle-class quagmire that he'd always hoped to avoid. Earning an Emmy Award for art/set direction, the 6-hour Studs Lonigan originally aired March 7, 14 and 21, 1979, as part of NBC's Novels for Television anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Escaping from her childhood life of poverty and abuse on the farm, in the 1930s, Polly Franklin (Pamela Sue Martin) sets her sights on Hollywood as the promised land and leaves home. However, she doesn't get that far - she lands in Chicago instead. Taking the low-paying jobs which are available to her, she quickly finds herself in a situation which is as oppressive as anything she knew at home. Despite her best efforts to keep her head above water, she soon winds up in prison. The best situation in her life comes afterwards, when she becomes a prostitute in a whorehouse run by Anna Sage (Louise Fletcher). However, even this doesn't last, as the police close down the house during a "decency crusade." Back on the streets once again, she meets a wonderful man (Robert Conrad) who claims to be working for the Board of Trade. She tells Anna (who is still her friend) about this new love in her life, and Anna realizes that he must be America's Most Wanted Man, the bank robber John Dillinger. Anna, in danger of being deported, arranges for the police to corner Dillinger and kill him while in Anna and Polly's company. In the ensuing publicity, everyone makes it look as though Polly was Dillinger's betrayer, and her life becomes even more miserable than it was before. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide