William Aldrich Movies

Based on a novel by Elleston Trevor, director John Moore's The Flight of the Phoenix is a remake of a 1965 film of the same name starring film icon James Stewart. The story revolves around the plight of Captain Frank Towns (Dennis Quaid), a pilot whose C-119 cargo plane full of oil workers could not withstand the violent winds of a desert sandstorm. Stranded in the harsh terrain of Mongolia's Gobi Desert (a departure from the original, in which the plane crashed in the Sahara), Frank and his navigator face an equal challenge in maintaining order among the survivors. The group of oilmen had planned on an uneventful trip to shut off a group of rigs falling below their productivity expectations -- not fending for their very lives. Before long, some men are revealed as cowards, while others exhibit a surprising show of strength, all the while hoping that the wreckage of the original plane can be salvaged before a Lord of the Flies situation occurs. Miranda Otto is featured in a supporting role, as well as Giovanni Ribisi and Tyrese Gibson. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

From director Bernardo Bertolucci, The Sheltering Sky is a filmed adaptation of the novel of the same name by Paul Bowles. Debra Winger and John Malkovich star as Kit and Port Moresby, a married American couple who globetrot to North Africa in the late '40s with the hopes of re-sparking their love and adding some zest to their lackluster lives. Along for the ride is the pair's friend George Tunner (Campbell Scott), who soon begins having an affair with Kit. As they struggle through the numbing heat of Africa amidst the sudden love triangle, each of the trio sees his and her beliefs and lives challenged. The Sheltering Sky earned a Best Director nomination for Bertolucci at the 1991 Golden Globe Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Max (Robert Morley) is a wealthy, world-class conoisseur of fine food, who cannot stop himself from eating when the food is first-class. His doctor has given him stern warnings that he must lose over one hundred pounds, or he will die of heart failure. The presence of so many four-star chefs in Europe is a hazard for him. When many of these same chefs are found murdered in inventive ways, each related to the chef's specialty, it begins to appear that Max is the prime suspect in their deaths. Meanwhile, the ex-wife (Jaqueline Bisset) of a fast-food tycoon (George Segal) has earned the right to cook the dessert course at a dinner billed as "the world's most fabulous meal." Despite their profound disagreements, he is worried that she will be one of the murderer's victims.This film, which was loved by some critics and hated by others, is based on the best-selling novel Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe by Nan and Ivan Lyons. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Director Robert Aldrich (The Longest Yard) re-unites with Burt Reynolds for this hard-edged neo-noir. Lieutenant Phil Gaines (Reynolds) is a cynical Los Angeles police detective amorously involved with an icewater-veined Parisian call girl, Nicole Britton (Catherine Deneuve). On the job, he begins to investigate the shady death of a teenage girl that appears to lead straight to Leo Sellers (Eddie Albert), an attorney with a frightening number of connections. The problem is, Nicole herself has a direct connection to the case - Leo is one of her clients. Meanwhile, Marty Hollinger (Ben Johnson), the victim's father, decides to undertake a grassroots investigation of his own - little realizing that his seemingly murdered daughter was in up to her neck with prostitution, porno movie acting, and dancing as a stripper, facts which suggest that she may have offed herself. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A year after helming The Dirty Dozen, director Robert Aldrich took on this controversial drama based on the play of the same name by Frank Marcus. Beryl Reid stars as soap opera star June, an alcoholic lesbian who spends most of her time with her younger lover, Alice (Susannah York). When vindictive television executive Mercy Croft (Coral Browne) takes a liking to Alice, she arranges to have June's character, Sister George, killed off the show. Drunk and paranoid, June struggles to keep it together or risk losing Alice. Because of its exploration of a subject as taboo as homosexuality, The Killing of Sister George earned an X rating. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

An unusually long pre-credits sequence establishes the roots of faded Southern belle Charlotte's (Bette Davis) insanity; she'd been witness to the dismemberment murder of her fiance (Bruce Dern) and the suicide of the murderer, her own father (Victor Buono). Years later, Charlotte remains a recluse in her decaying southern mansion, zealously guarding the secret of her father's guilt; she is cared for by her slatternly housekeeper (Agnes Moorehead). When her house is targeted for demolition, Charlotte fears that this will uncover her lover's body parts and thus confirm that her father was a murderer. She desperately summons her seemingly sweet-tempered cousin Miriam (Olivia De Havilland) to help her fight off the house's destruction. Miriam brings along the family doctor (Joseph Cotten) to calm Charlotte's frayed nerves. When Charlotte begins to be plagued by horrific visions of the homicide/suicide of so long ago, it appears that she has gone completely insane. But soon we learn who is behind these delusions...and why. Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte was intended by director Robert Aldrich as a follow-up to the successful Joan Crawford/Bette Davis horror piece Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962). Ms. Crawford was originally slated to play Miriam, but became seriously ill shortly before filming started. Davis, who disliked Crawford intensely, suggested that the role of Miriam be filled by her best friend, De Havilland. On the first day of shooting, Davis and DeHavilland pulled a "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" routine by toasting one another with Coca-Cola--a catty observation of the fact that Joan Crawford's husband was an executive with the Pepsi Cola company! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide