Barbara Anderson Movies
- 1993
In this feature-length reprise of the popular '70s police drama Ironside Raymond Burr returns as the wheelchair-bound police chief. This time, he is drawn out of retirement by a puzzling murder and the San Francisco police department's need to find a new chief. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Burr, Don Galloway, (more)
Marking the first collaboration between horror legends George A. Romero and Stephen King since 1982's Creepshow, this moody, atmospheric adaptation of King's novel was actually completed in 1991, but the highly-publicized bankruptcy of its distributor Orion Pictures in that same year nearly doomed The Dark Half to distribution limbo. King's story revolves around successful author Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), whose popularity on the college circuit owes a great deal to the financial success of a series of violent pulp thrillers written under the pseudonym of "George Stark." When he decides to cast aside his disreputable alter-ego by "killing" Stark off in a mock ceremony, it precipitates a string of sadistic murders matching those in his pulp novels, which are discovered to be the work of Stark himself (also played by Hutton). Looking like a maniacal white-trash version of his counterpart, Stark is not so willing to quit the writing game -- even if it means coming after Thad's wife (Amy Madigan) and their baby. It's only a matter of time before suspicions turn to Thad, who is the only one who knows the real origins of his hideous twin. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, (more)
Two well-known directors each adapt stories by Edgar Allen Poe in this horror drama. George Romero's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" tells how the wife of an elderly, wealthy man and her lover--who also happens to be the husband's private physician--scheme to control his assets. Dying before they can carry out their plans, his soul is caught between life and death while they freeze the body to finish their work. In the Dario Argento-directed "The Black Cat" a crime photographer, known for his photos' gruesome content, kills his girlfriend's titular pet and then his girlfriend. Soon he gets a good look at what he's done. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrienne Barbeau, E.G. Marshall, (more)
Makeup wizard Tom Savini's color remake of George A. Romero's 1968 classic follows the original almost shot-for-shot, so quality comparisons are somewhat pointless. The film was clearly made for younger viewers who refuse to watch black-and-white films, no matter how good they may be. The result is passable, but the very fact that the original was made 22 years before makes this version seem almost dated in its restraint. By the time of its release, Romero had already geometrically raised the gore quotient with Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985), so Savini's starting back at square one further lessened the impact of this pointless retread. If this version has anything to offer, it is Patricia Tallman's engaging lead performance as a gun-toting independent woman, one of this film's few elements not lifted wholesale from Romero. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, (more)
- 1988
Together with Happy as the Grass was Green, Silence at Bethany is one of the few feature films to deal with life among the Mennonites. Mark Moses plays Ira Martin, who grew up in a Mennonite community in the 1930s but left to live with out-of-town relatives when his parents were accidentally killed. Returning to his home town in the 1940s, Ira soon demonstrates that he has remained faithful to the religion of his birth, which impresses the local deacon. After marrying the deacon's niece (Susan Wilder), Ira becomes a preacher in his own right. Conflicts arise between Ira and the deacon when the younger man attempts to apply his citified "newfangled" notions to his ministry. Scrupulously avoiding stereotypes and patronization, Silence at Bethany is a well-balanced study of a rarefied (and rapidly disappearing) American lifestyle. Produced by PBS' American Playhouse series, the film was released theatrically before its public-TV debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Moses, Susan Wilder, (more)
A quadriplegic former athlete finds his darkest urges being acted out by an animal familiar in this psychological horror film. When Allan Mann (Jason Beghe) loses the use of his legs and arms in an accident, he becomes bitter -- no surprise given that his girlfriend dumps him for his surgeon, his new nurse (Christine Forrest) is a shrew, and his smothering mother (Joyce Van Patten) keeps threatening to move in and take care of him. Enter Kate McNeil (Melanie Parker), a scientist who is working to provide handicapped people with highly trained animal helpers. Soon Allan is bonding with Ella, an adorable Capuchin monkey, who, unbeknownst to him, has been injected with human brain tissue by drug-addicted scientist Geoffrey Fisher (John Pankow). At first Allan loves little Ella, but the monkey seems to grow jealous as Allan slowly develops a romance with the beautiful Kate. Meanwhile, Allan begins having strange dreams in which he experiences the world from a monkey's-eye point of view. These visions culminate in a fiery nightmare -- the same night Allan's ex-girlfriend and her new lover die in a house fire. Realizing the growing link between his own inner demons and the violence occurring around him, Allan tries to sever the connection with Ella. But the limitations of even his high-tech wheelchair give the psychic primate the upper hand. Written and directed by horror veteran George Romero, Monkey Shines re-teams the filmmaker with his frequent collaborator, Christine Forrest. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Beghe, John Pankow, (more)
Bonanza: The Movie originally went out as Bonanza: The Next Generation. That title accurately reflected the film's content: death and previous commitments prevented the cast of the original Bonanza TV series of 1959-1973, thus the talent roster of The Next Generation was brand-new. John Ireland took over from Lorne Greene (who signed for this movie, but died before production commenced) as the brother of Greene's character Ben Cartwright. Home from the sea, Aaron Cartwright (Ireland) stupidly turns the drilling rights to the Ponderosa over to those perennial 1980s movie villains, the "evil land developers". It's up to the sons of Adam, Little Joe and Hoss Cartwright to save the ranch (One wonders how the Cartwright boys could have had sons, given the mortality rate of their sweethearts on the old series). Michael Landon Jr., son of the original series' Little Joe, is here cast as Benj. This 1988 Bonanza TV movie sequel was supposed to have been spun off into a weekly syndicated series, but for various reasons this project never came to fruition, despite station clearance and sponsorship in virtually every major market. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Day of the Dead, the third and concluding chapter in George Romero's zombie trilogy is the most distinctly 1950s-style science fiction version of the lot. Set in Florida, as the film begins the dead have taken over the world, outnumbering humans 400,000 to one. The handful of surviving humans have taken refuge in an underground missile silo and argue and yell at each other like players in a Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode. Among the survivors are Sarah (Lori Cardille) -- a scientist who is trying to reverse the process whereby the dead turn into flesh-eating, irrational zombies -- and Dr. Logan (Richard Liberty) -- an out-of-his-mind psychologist who wants to capture the zombies and turn them into domestic help. Things heat up when the military tries to take over the scientific experiments. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, (more)
- 1985
This uneven documentary is about the history of Russian Mennonites who had originally settled in the Ukraine but were forced to immigrate to the Americas after World War I and the 1917 communist revolution. Director and writer John Morrow uses interviews, historical footage, and re-enactments to tell the tale of the migration of this evangelical Protestant Christian sect, opposed to military service and therefore facing a serious dilemma during the two major wars on their native soil. Morrow provides some background on Mennonite history, noting that for more than one hundred years after they settled in Russia in 1786 to escape persecution elsewhere, they had experienced no great difficulties -- until the period of the two wars. This period is re-enacted to complete the historical background on the group. Interviews with Mennonites who recall the past sometimes wander off the main objective of the documentary, yet as a whole, the film offers 83 minutes of information on an otherwise little-known religious sect.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Two of the most venerable names in the horror field, author Stephen King and director George A. Romero, present this anthology of original twisted tales inspired by the E.C. horror comics of the 50's and 60's (themselves a more direct basis for the popular Tales from the Crypt TV series). The five stories are framed within the pages of a comic book which a boy's insensitive father has thrown in the garbage. The first tale, "Father's Day," features a zombie patriarch returning to claim his Father's Day cake; "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" stars King himself as a slack-jawed yokel whose discovery of a radioactive meteorite turns him into a walking weed; "Something to Tide You Over" presents a deadly-serious Leslie Nielsen as a cuckolded husband who plans an elaborate seaside revenge; "The Crate" unleashes its ferocious man-eating contents on the enemies of a meek college professor; and "They're Creeping Up On You" pits obsessively-clean billionaire E.G. Marshall against a swarm of cockroaches in his sterile penthouse. The chapters are uniformly creative, filmed in garish comic-book colors, and Tom Savini's makeup effects are quite memorable (particularly the monster from "The Crate"), though the campy treatment does become exhausting after two hours' runtime. The final segment is the most impressive, thanks to Marshall's over-the-top performance, though the planned scope of the cockroach invasion was drastically reduced (no doubt due to budget constraints). ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, (more)
- 1978
Doctors' Private Lives was the 2-hour pilot film for the shortlived TV series of the same name. Ed Nelson and John Gavin star as, respectively, chief surgeon Dr. Michael Wise and cardiovascular unit chief Dr. Jeffrey Latimer. The drama arises from the ongoing clash of egos between these two medical giants. Nelson and Gavin were carried over to the series, as was Randolph Powell as Dr. Rick Calder. The guest cast includes Bettye Ackerman, who had ironically costarred in an earlier hospital series, Ben Casey (Ackerman was the wife of Sam "Dr. Zorba" Jaffee). Doctors' Private Lives premiered March 20, 1978; the series itself ran from April 5 to 28, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Death Flight was originally known as SST: Death Flight when it was first telecast February 25, 1977. Though fairly expensive so far as TV movies go, the film is brought down to earth by its standard B-flick plot. On its maiden flight, America's first supersonic transport runs into deadly danger high in the sky-and may never get to land. In true Airport fashion, the plane is populated with celebrities (at least by TV standards): Barbara Anderson, Bert Convy, Peter Graves, Lorne Greene, Tina Louise, George Maharis, Burgess Meredith, Doug McClure, Martin Milner, Robert Reed, Susan Strasberg, Billy Crystal, and even Regis Philbin. The film's working title was Death of the Maiden, but this was too close to Death and the Maiden, the 90-minute pilot episode of the 1973 Jimmy Stewart TV series Hawkins. Death Flight was later syndicated as SST: Disaster in the Sky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
A murderous robber returns home to his loving family after he serves 18 years for his crimes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Ranking with Dan Curtis' Trilogy of Terror as one of the spookiest made-for-TV horror films of the 1970's, this atmospheric monster chiller stars Kim Darby and Jim Hutton as a comfortable, reasonably happy young couple who inherit the archetypal "Old Dark House" from the wife Sally's deceased aunt. While renovating the creepy mansion, they enter a previously-sealed room, which features a securely bricked-up fireplace. Despite the insistence of a local contractor (My Three Sons' William Demarest) that they leave the room undisturbed, Sally's husband manages to open the flue, releasing a horde of shriveled mini-monsters imprisoned there for decades. The little demons immediately fixate their malevolent attention on Sally in an effort to claim her soul, a mission which can only be averted by the love of her husband -- which, in light of his self-centered careerism, means poor Sally's pretty much on her own. Director John Newland manages to pull off this one-note premise with some effective, frightening scenes -- especially when he chooses to show as little of the goofy-looking monsters as possible -- but it's hard to sustain this level of suspense for a full 90 minutes. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Gary Merrill heads the cast of Murder and the Computer as a brilliant electronics scientist. Merrill is in the vicinity when a computer technician is murdered. He finds himself one of six suspects, all computer wizards. The six hackers team up to solve the murder themselves, meaning that only five of them is truly interested in unearthing the mystery. Shot on videotape, Murder and the Computer was a 1973 entry in ABC's late night anthology Wide World Mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Monte Markham plays a professor of psychic phenomena who is himself "blessed" with ESP. When Monte picks up vibes about a plan to plant a time bomb, the cops don't believe him. Later the authorities change their minds, and finger Markham as their Number One suspect (maybe they've been watching all those other TV movies in which Monte turned out to be the "surprise killer"). That ellipsis at the end of the title Visions... led viewers to expect a punch line, so the film was retitled Visions of Death for syndication. On-location filming in Denver is one of the few tangible assets of this predictable yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Murray Hamilton guest-stars as deranged nuclear scientist Dr. Jerome Cooper, who threatens to destroy an unspecified American city with a hydrogen bomb unless the President capitulates to his demands. Normally, the IMF would have no trouble defusing such a bomb; the problem here is to find out where the bomb has been planted--and the agents have only 15 hours to do so. Barbara Anderson again subs for series regular Lynda Day George as the resident female IMF agent. Scripted by Harold Livingston from a story by Livingston and Sheyrl Hendrix, "Ulitmatum" was originally broadcast on November 18, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1972
Although he is locked up in prison on a tax-evasion charge, Syndicate boss Sam Dexter (Dane Clark) is still running his criminal operation with the outside assistance of his silent partner, a shadowy figure known only as The General. The IMF must determine the identity of the General, and also prove that Dexter murdered his mistress --- and to do that, another of the Force's celebrated prison breakouts is called for. Barbara Anderson again appears as on-and-off IMF agent Mimi Davis, who as an ex-thief is no stranger to life behind bars. First telecast on November 11, 1972, "Hit" was written by Douglas Weir. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1972
Frequent Mission:Impossible villain John Vernon makes a return appearance in "Movie," this time as mob-connected Hollywood mogul Norman Shields. In order to wrest the Syndicate's financial records from Shields, Phelps poses as Theo Dane, the courier brother of mob financier Benjamin Dane (David Brian). But the more fascinating masquerade is pulled off by IMF agents Barney and Mimi Davis (Barbara Anderson), who respectively impersonate a director and an actress while purportedly filming a recreation of a murder committed by Shields (shades of "The Murder of Gonzago" in Shakespeare's Hamlet!) Scripted by Anthony Bowers, Arthur Weiss, and Stephen Kandel, from a story by Bowers, "Movie" first aired on November 4, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1972
The IMF has only 72 hours to intercept a huge shipment of cocaine, which is being delivered to supplier Carl Reid (Stephen McNally) by smuggler Fernando Lorca (Gregory Sierra). In order to undermine the main villains, agents Phelps and Willy prey upon the gullibility of Reid's second-in-command, Joe Conrad (William Shatner, in the second of his Mission: Impossible guest appearances). The gimmick: a "miraculous" new computerized machine which purportedly manufactures synthetic cocaine. Barbara Anderson again appears as IMF operative Mimi Davis, subbing for series regular Lynda Day George. Scripted by Harold Livingston from a story by Livingston and Norman Katkov, "Cocaine" was first broadcast on October 21, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1972
The title of this Mission:Impossible episode refers to a potentially devastating new biological weapon. Traitorous government scientist Paul Morse (Ross Elliot) intends to sell TOD-5 to Gordon Holt (Peter Haskell), special representative of a terrorist organization known as the Alpha Group. With time rapidly running out, the IMF must locate the Alpha's headquarters and neutralize the weapon. Ray Walston guest-stars as Dr. Flory, while Barbara Anderson makes her third series appearance as erstwhile IMF agent Mimi Davis. First telecast on October 14, 1972, "TOD-5" was written by James D. Buchanan and Ronald Austin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1972
Syndicate boss Charles Rogan (Robert Webber) has salted away $5,000,000 in order to finance a mob-benefiting political coup in the Carribean nation of Camagua. Commandeering a Navy patrol boat, the IMF stages a characteristically elaborate scam (including the "murder" of agent Barney) in order to locate the key to Rogan's hidden millions. Barbara Anderson makes her second appearance as temporary IMF agent Mimi Davis. Originally telecast on September 30, 1972, "The Deal" was scripted by George F. Slavin and Stephen Kandel, from a story by Slavin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
- 1972
The seventh and final season of Mission:Impossible commenced on September 16, 1972 with the episode titled "Break!" In his second series appearance, guest star Carl Betz is cast as Syndicate gambling boss Dutch Krebs, who has just finished murdering a federal undercover agent. The IMF must recover the wristwatch camera that the dead agent was carrying, and to do this Jim Phelps poses as a pool hustler, engaging Krebs in a high-stakes game which had been meticulously rigged by fellow IMF agent Barney. Though series regular Lynda Day George receives billing as agent Lisa Casey in this and subsequent episodes, she spent most of the 1972-73 season on maternity leave. Her IMF replacement in "Break!" and elsewhere is paroled convict Mimi Davis, played by former Ironside regular Barbara Anderson. Thus, in this episode the viewer is treated to the ritual of the Impossible Mission Force's recruiting process for the first and only time. "Break!" was written by Sam Roeca and James L. Henderson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
Halfway through its seventh and final season on CBS, Mission: Impossible moved from its 10:00 p.m. Saturday-night slot to an earlier berth on Friday evening. Nor was this the only change implemented during the series' terminal year on the air. Having sent the Impossible Missions Force all over the world to thwart a variety of evil dictators, international drug lords, and other such exotic vermin, the series' producers spent most of season seven in the United States, where the IMF team focused on the minions of organized crime -- a reflection, perhaps, of the popularity of the theatrical feature The Godfather. Also, the series' familiar, ritualistic opening sequence, in which IMF leader Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) would receive his instructions via a self-destructing tape recorder, then methodically thumb through a stack of photos to pick the team members best suited for the job at hand, was by now a relic of the past. Most of the seventh-season episodes begin with a "teaser," usually violent in nature, which sets up the premise before the IMF team has even entered the scene. Of the cast members, only Greg Morris as electronics whiz Barney Collier and Peter Lupus as all-purpose muscleman Willie Armitage have been with the series from its very first season in 1966. Peter Graves is now in his sixth season as Jim Phelps, while Lynda Day George is only two years into her portrayal of the IMF's female member, Lisa Casey. As it turned out, George would be unavailable for a number of episodes this seasons, obliging the producers to bring in Barbara Anderson, late of Ironside, as Lisa's off-and-on replacement Mimi Davis. Although the series' final episodes are not quite of the same caliber as its earlier installments, a handful of seventh-season episodes are still well worth having. Highlights include "Break!," in which Phelps relies upon Barney's electronic knowhow to pose as a pool hustler and infiltrate a vicious gambling ring headed by guest star Robert Conrad; "Leona," with singer Robert Goulet cast against type as a cuckolded mob boss; "Encore," offering the equally unorthodox casting of William Shatner as a cocaine dealer; and the series finale, "Imitation," with Barbara McNair as a sleek jewel thief who falls in love with Barney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Lynda Day George, (more)
