Noel Black Movies
Upon earning both a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of California-Los Angeles, director Noel Black made his mark on the film-festival scene with such award-winning short subjects as Skaterdater and The River Boy. Black spent some time in episodic television, then burst upon the theatrical-feature market with the critically acclaimed black comedy Pretty Poison (1968). Unfortunately, his next two directorial efforts, Cover Me Babe (1970) and Jennifer on My Mind (1971), were unsuccessful. He returned to television, helming the 1976 American Playhouse production I'm a Fool. Thereafter, with a few exceptions like A Man, a Woman and a Bank (1979) and Eyes of the Panther (1990), Black confined his directing to the TV-movie field, turning out such praiseworthy efforts as 1981's The Electric Grandmother, an engaging adaptation of Ray Bradbury's I Sing the Body Electric. In 1985, Noel Black produced and wrote the script for the big-screen endeavor Mischief (1985), handing over the directorial reins to Mel Damski. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1990
This film first debuted as an episode of the television anthology Shelley Duvall's Nightmare Classics. Based on a story by Ambrose Bierce, it tells of how the spirit of a wild panther continually plagues a young woman (Daphne Zuniga). ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This American Playhouse production is based on a short story by Hortense Calisher and stars funny man Jerry Stiller and the youngest member of the formidable clan of performing Arquettes, Alexis Arquette. Over the course of the hour-long film, a young German man longs to become friends with his Jewish neighbors in the late 1930s. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- 1988
This comedy focuses on the troubles an heiress has with her boisterous family who disrupts high society. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1988
In this drama, a county prosecutor must find the local who killed a murderous ex-con and discovers that he is not going to win any area popularity contests. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
In this made-for-television movie, the stability of an extended family is threatened by divorce. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This drama is based on the true story of a housewife who becomes a helicopter pilot for the US Army after her husband suffers a massive coronary. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Mariette Hartley stars in this groundbreaking TV movie as Gail Springer, a widowed mother on the horns of an outwardly familiar romantic dilemma. Equally in love with two different people, Gail has the devil's own time choosing between them. What made this film unique (at least when it initially aired over the ABC network on April 7, 1986) is that one of Gail's amours is her late husband's business partner Ben Taylor (Barry Newman)--while the other is Gail's female best friend, Marjorie Lloyd (Lynn Redgrave). Impeccably tasteful in its treatment of a potential volatile subject, and refreshingly honest and uncompromising at its conclusion, My Two Loves was filmed on location in San Antonio, Texas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In this family drama, the life of a woman and her son are severely disrupted when her estranged husband, who abandoned them thirty years before, returns. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Claire Bloom, (more)
This entertaining teen comedy is set in the effervescent 1950s and involves the friendship of the introverted, clumsy Jonathan (Doug McKeon) and the nonconformist, extroverted Gene (Chris Nash). Jonathan's main objective is to win over the sexy Marilyn (Kelly Preston), in spite of his shyness, while Gene has his own love-life to maintain with his girlfriend Bunny (Catherine Mary Stewart) -- as well as counseling Jonathan on how to attract women. Gene also has to defend himself against Kenny (D.W. Brown) the class bully while trying to work out a borderline relationship with his widowed father, who has zero tolerance for his often wild escapades. As Jonathan and Gene handle life's challenges, the 1950s emerges as a potent presence on screen in the form of background setting, including movies and music, as well as dress and customs that were popular in that distinctive era. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doug McKeon, Catherine Stewart, (more)
- 1985
Originally shown in two parts, this four-hour TV movie stars Michael Biehn as the outwardly "perfect" doctor husband of Madolyn Smith. But Biehn is actually a psychopath, who is carefully plotting the murder of his wife. As the horrible truth slowly dawns upon Madolyn, she must find some way to prevent her murder--and to alert disbelieving authorities of her husband's duplicity. Based on a true story, Deadly Intentions first took shape as a book by William Randolph Stevens. The two-part format permitted the film's narrative to build up suspense in the first half, then concentrate on detection and courtroom proceedings in the second. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Biehn, Madolyn Smith, (more)
Three of the hallmarks of education in America -- nudity, teenage sex, and big, destructive gags -- are on plentiful display in this teen comedy. Christine (Phoebe Cates), a student at an exclusive all-girls private school, is in love with Jim (Matthew Modine), who attends an academy for boys nearby. Christine's archrival Jordan (Betsy Russell) also has her eye on Jim, and she is willing to do whatever she can to steal him away. Jim's über-slob buddy Bubba (Michael Zorek) is going with Betsy (Kathleen Wilhoite), Christine's cynical friend, though he would probably be unfaithful if any other woman were willing to get near him. Bubba and his pals sneak into the girls' school dressed in drag in hopes of reaching the Promised Land (better known as the women's shower room), while Christine and Jim run away together for the weekend, though their escapade isn't as romantic as they had hoped. Among the adults observing the chaos are Ray Walston, Fran Ryan, Martin Mull, and Sylvia Kristel; one of the sexy students on display is future scream queen Brinke Stevens. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phoebe Cates, Betsy Russell, (more)
- 1983
This fact-based youth-oriented drama chronicles the courage and determination of a teenage girl who stands tall in the face of sexist traditionalism and fights for her right to play on the varsity football team. Not only does she succeed, she also manages to become the homecoming queen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Hunt, Don Murray, (more)
- 1983
The year 1983 saw no fewer than two made-for-TV movies bearing the title Happy Endings. The first one premiered March 1, 1983, and starred Dukes of Hazzard's John Schneider. The story concerns a teacher and author named Nick Callohan (Schneider) and would-be singer Lisa Sage (Catherine Hicks), Nick's new neighbor. Both hero and heroine have just emerged from unhappy love affairs. Even though they still pine away for their former amours, Nick and Lisa manage to find romance with each other. The title song, written by Molly-Ann Leiken and William Goldstein, was nominated for an Emmy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Schneider, Catherine Hicks, (more)
- 1981
In this thriller, a snoopy and ambitious television news reporter causes an average citizen to become suspected of being a serial killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
The Electric Grandmother was the second TV adaptation of Ray Bradbury's I Sing the Body Electric (the first was presented on The Twilight Zone in 1962). Maureen Stapleton plays the title character, a custom-made android purchased by widowed Edward Hermann. "Grandma", a magical creation who can read minds and conjure up meals literally at her fingertips, is supposed to act as surrogate mother to Herrmann's three children; two of the kids accept her immediately, but the third (Tara Kennedy) is hostile. The relationship thaws after Grandma saves the little girl's life. Years later, the grown-up children tearfully bid their Grandma a fond farewell; but the grandmother eventually cares for the children after they themselves have grown old. Paul Benedict costars as cheerfully eccentric robot creator Guido Fantoccini. Adapted for television by Ray Bradbury and Jeffrey Kindley, the 60-minute The Electric Grandmother first aired as an NBC "Project Peacock" special on January 17, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In this drama, a couple tries to cope with the devastating aftermath of the wife's rape. The wife is terribly traumatized. The husband is unable to deal with it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
First telecast February 4, 1980, Golden Honeymoon is an easygoing adaptation of the Ring Lardner short story. James Whitmore and Teresa Wright play a New Jersey couple who celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a second honeymoon. Their Florida idyll is disrupted when the couple's old acquaintance Stephen Elliott shows up. Elliot had been engaged to Teresa 52 years earlier, a fact that prompts Whitmore to behave in an uncharacteristically obnoxious nature. Calculated to put Elliott in his place, Whitmore's boorishness succeeds in alienating Teresa as well. Scripted by Frederic Hunter, the 60-minute Golden Honeymoon was the second-season opener of PBS' American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this crime comedy, Donald Sutherland and Paul Mazursky play Reese and Norman, two charming computer whizzes who tie into a bank under construction, and arrange to withdraw a huge sum of money without being caught. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, (more)
- 1978
- PG
While on her honeymoon in New Orleans, a woman (Kitty Winn) is cursed by a voodoo queen and suffers terrible nightmares that begin to come true. With her husband (William Swetland), she consults a doctor (Peter Donat) for help. Originally filmed in 1978 with the title Marianne, the film was finally released to video in 1984 as Mirrors. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kitty Winn, Peter Donat, (more)
- 1977
Kojak moved from its familiar Sunday-night stamping grounds to a Tuesday slot with this episode, in which a young Dorian Harewood) is cast as Jake Riley, a prizefighter falsely accused of his wife's murder. Escaping custody, Riley takes several hostages in a local church and demands that the authorities provide him with $200,000 in ransom money and an escape route. Racing against time, Kojak (Telly Savalas must simultaneously talk sense to the desperate fugitive and locate the actual murderer. Featured in the supporting cast is Ken Foree, best known to contemporary horror fans as the protagonist in George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on a short story by Sherwood Anderson, I'm a Fool stars Ron Howard as a 1920s race-track groom. Told in bittersweet flashbacks, the story relates Howard's attempts to impress pretty debutante Amy Irving by pretending to be rich. If only he'd just been "himself"...but by the time he realizes this, it's too late. Previous adaptations of the Anderson story have included a 1954 GE Theatre half-hour starring James Dean. Shown in tandem with a dramatization of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Bernice Bobs Her Hair, the Ron Howard version of I'm a Fool was first telecast April 5, 1977, on PBS' American Short Story series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In the short-lived TV series Mulligan's Stew, high school football coach Michael Mulligan (Lawrence Pressman) and his wife Jane (Elinor Donahue), already the parents of three children, suddenly find their family unit increased from five to nine. This occurs when Michael's sister and brother-in-law, whose name was Friedman, perish in a plane crash, whereupon the dead couple's four youngsters move into the already crowded Mulligan manse in Birchfield, California. Much of the drama (and humor) revolve around the culture clashes between the laid-back Mulligan kids and their three urban "step-siblings"--not to mention Kimmy (Sunshine Lee), a Korean war orphan adopted by the late Mr. and Mrs. Friedman. Add to this the fact that Michael's salary can hardly cover the needs of his "real" family, and the viewer has a stew indeed. The pilot for Mulligan's Stew aired June 20, 1977, on NBC; the series proper was broadcast by the same network from October 25 to December 13, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Pressman, Elinor Donahue, (more)
- 1976
In the third of the feature-length Quincy, M.E. episodes produced for the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie package, the LA County Coroner's Officer swings into action when movie star Roberta Rhodes dies under mysterious circumstances (note the repetitious initials, and then guess who "Roberta Rhodes" is really supposed to be). Though the police are convinced that Rhodes committed suicide, Quincy (Jack Klugman) thinks otherwise, and through the auspices of scandal-sheet publisher Reardon (William Daniels) Quincy discovers that the dead woman's secret lover, Congressman Charles Sinclair (Robert Foxworth), was with her at the time of her death--and may have been her murderer. Unable to accept the notion that his good friend Sinclair is a killer, Quincy goes off on his own investigation, quickly discovering that the gossip-mongering publisher may have a sinister hidden agenda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
