John Alderman Movies

Actress-activistTheresa Saldana, who after surviving a brutal knife attack by a deranged fan founded the organization Victims for Victims, plays a semi-autobiographical role in this episode. Seven years after being jailed for attempting to murder famed pianist Jenny Hartman (Saldana), demented "number one fan" Ralph Flager (Andy Wood) is paroled--and once he's back on the street, he makes no secret of his intention to finish the job on Jenny. Since there is no real proof against Flager, the police can do nothing officially: unofficially, however, Hunter (Fred Dryer) vows to shield Jenny from harm during his off-hours--prompting Flager to add Hunter's partner McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) to his list of potential victims! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ambitious journalist Isabel Turette (Anne-Marie Johnson) has parlayed a string of skid-row murders into a spectacular, Pulitzer-worthy front-page story. As Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) investigate the killings, they can't help but notice that the journalist has refused to allow the police to tap her phone, even though she claims that the killer has been calling her personally just before each "hit." The story takes a sinister turn when a homeless person contacts the detectives--and insist that the reporter herself is the murderer! Beah Richards makes her first series appearance as garrulous bag lady "Pockets" in this final episode of Hunter's second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A high-rise apartment is the murder scene where trendy Hollywood decorator Sheila Parker is found smothered to death. Though Sheila's estranged husband Alex (Ray Wise) is a prime suspect, he manages to avoid police scrutiny by wooing and winning the impressionable DeeDee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer). When the other major suspect, Sheila's boyfriend Dennis Stone (Kristoffer Tabori), also turns up murdered, McCall begins to wonder if Alex is playing her for a sucker. It falls to Hunter (Fred Dryer) to prove that the motive for murder had nothing to do with a romantic triangle--and everything to do with a particularly odious case of child molestation! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This routine erotic spy tale stars Darby Hinton as Cody Abilene, a private eye who teams up with the Contessa Luciana (Sybil Danning) and policewoman Beverly McAfee (Lori Sutton) to infiltrate a mansion and discover who is sending computer secrets to the Russians. The Contessa's friend Lady Lillian Chamberlain (Niki Dantine) runs the mansion, where sex is the presiding activity. The chauffeur is busy bedding down both a nephew and niece of Lady Lillian, as well as the nephew's wife; fortunately, driving is not a taxing activity. While four Playboy playmates cavort in various degrees of undress (no full frontal nudity), the mystery of who is selling computer secrets manages to also get uncovered. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Flamboyant, giallo-style gore effects are the only highlight of this otherwise pedestrian supernatural horror film, which was originally filmed in 1981 as The Witch and shelved for four years, before it experienced a mild midnight-movie revival in the wake of The Evil Dead's success. The ghastly goings-on begin when a clergyman (Larry Pennell) and his family move into an eerie mansion built near the lake where a powerful local witch was drowned four centuries earlier. It soon becomes evident that the spirit of this evil sorceress, whose powers have increased exponentially after her death, is not content with conducting the standard haunted-house scare tactics, and the bodies begin to pile up at an incredible rate. (These audacious death scenes peak with one poor soul's dismemberment courtesy of a flying circular saw.) When a homicide detective (Albert Salmi) and a minister (James Carl Houghton) discover the cause of the macabre mayhem, they prepare to conduct an exorcism (in the mode of The Amityville Horror), much to their own peril. Overblown performances, a scatter-shot screenplay, and hilariously messy gore effects make this movie impossible to take seriously, but it does have a certain tacky charm. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

A gangster who was wrongfully executed for a killing is promised leniency from Satan if he returns to earth in the body of a lawman who is trying to stamp out evil. Trouble is, the dead man has a hard time being evil enough to get revenge. ~ All Movie Guide

Adapted from Paul Brodeur's novel, Richard Rush's story of a Machiavellian movie director and his accidental employee takes a darkly comic look at movie reality vs. "real" reality. Running from the law, Vietnam vet Cameron (Steve Railsback) stumbles on a movie shoot just in time to interfere with a staged accident, causing (perhaps) the stunt man's death. Rather than turn Cameron in, director Eli Cross (Oscar nominee Peter O'Toole) makes him an offer he can't refuse: replace the dead stunt man in return for safe harbor. Despite objections about Cameron's inexperience, Eli keeps him on, figuring that a vet will add an extra charge of realism to the World War I opus that he's filming. As leading lady Nina (Barbara Hershey) returns Cameron's affections, and Eli becomes ever more inscrutably mercurial, Cameron begins to wonder how far Eli will go to get the screen effects he wants, and if he would think twice about killing the stunt man. Placing a Vietnam vet in the midst of movie-making chaos, Rush adds a pointedly contemporary spin to Cameron's confusion; the war experience that makes Cameron a good stunt man wreaks havoc on his life. Rush in turn disorients the audience by seamlessly interweaving scenes from Eli's movie with scenes of its being made. Made two years before Rush found a studio to release it, The Stunt Man opened to raves for its wily narrative and O'Toole's messianic director. Its sly commentary on the blurred boundaries between movies and life became all the more striking at the dawn of the Reagan '80s. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Made quickly on videotape to capitalize on celebrated kidnap victim Patty Hearst's recent rescue, Ordeal of Patty Hearst stars Lisa Eilbacher as the beleagured newspaper heiress. Hearst's secure existence is shattered when she is seized by a tiny terrorist group calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. As the abductors deliver their ransom demands to Hearst's publisher father, they brainwash her into obedience to their cause. Unlike the much-later theatrical feature Patty Hearst, the made-for-TV Ordeal is told from the point of view of the FBI agent (Dennis Weaver) assigned to the case; in fact, more time is spent on the private life of the agent (who is on the eve of his retirement) than on Ms. Hearst herself. Ordeal of Patty Hearst works within its limited parameters, though it can hardly be considered the last word on the subject. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This road comedy is about a group of prostitutes who take their bordello on the road, loading into a van and using their CB radio to inform truckers of when and where they'll be stopping. The fun-loving girls enjoy success with their mobile brothel until they cross the state line into the Bible belt and find themselves under pursuit by the police. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Paul Bartel rips off his own Death Race 2000 in this mindless car-crash saga, containing more twisted metal than a bombed-out steel mill. The nominal storyline concerns an illegal auto race from Los Angeles to New York that promises the winner 100,000 dollars. David Carradine is Coy "Cannonball" Buckman, the race leader who drags his girlfriend, Linda (Veronica Hamel), along for the ride. Cade Redman (Bill McKinney) tools around in a loud red Trans Am, while Cannonball's nemesis barrels along in a big, black Plymouth, trying to outsmart Cannonball at every turn and exit ramp. The pile-ups keep building, and the cameos (Roger Corman, Martin Scorsese, Sylvester Stallone, Joe Dante, Paul Bartel) keep coming, but Cannonball must make it to New York to collect his winnings. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a serial killer is freed and goes out to slaughter a string of cocktail waitresses. One hard-bitten cop attempts to stop the slaughter, but it isn't easy. The film was later renamed Eager Beavers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

William Smith and a gang of white drug-dealers try to muscle in on black nightclub owner Rockne Tarkington in this silly blaxploitation film. What they don't know is that Tarkington -- who has a pet lion -- is skilled at martial arts and will not give in without a fight. Abby's Carol Speed co-stars with skinflick vet John Alderman. Director Chuck Bail returned with Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

A man feels obligated to hijack the plane his boss is on after he has gambled himself into overwhelming debt. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide