Norman Cohen Movies

Made for television, The Unspoken Truth is the factual story of Brianne Hawkins (Lea Thompson), who after enduring a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her family marries the even more abusive Clay Hawkins (James Marshall). Given to beating his wife at the slightest provocation, Clay finally goes completely over the edge when he shoots and kills a man who had the temerity to speak to Brianne without Clay's permission. Thinking quickly for a change, Clay persuades Brianne to take the rap for the killing, whereupon she complicity (if not willingly) concocts an elaborate story as to how she shot the man accidentally. Not only do the authorities refuse to swallow this fabrication, but they end up sending both Clay and Brianne to prison for life! Only when the future of her daughter, Lily (Karis Paige Bryant), is jeopardized does the long-suffering Brianne finally work up the courage to fight for her freedom and her long-denied fundamental rights as a human being. A shocking mid-film revelation elevates this story from the usual battered-wife TV-movie syndrome. Filmed on location in Austin, TX, The Unspoken Truth originally aired September 24, 1995, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Luckiest Man in the World is a rare foray into directing by Frank D. Gilroy, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright best known for The Subject Was Roses. Phillip Bosco, usually a movie supporting player (though a Tony-winning star on Broadway), is top-billed in the role of a nasty executive. After narrowly surviving a plane crash, Bosco has a complete character and goal turnover. Believing there's some mystic reason for his salvation, he sets out to making up for all the pain he's caused. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This low-budget horror film about teenagers trapped in a carnival funhouse with a freakish monster is pretty standard stuff. Director Tobe Hooper manages a few shocks and includes some typically peculiar supporting characters, but this film is less entertaining than either of his previous excursions into such territory. Not as scary as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) nor as bizarre as Eaten Alive (1976), The Funhouse may as well have been directed by an anonymous hack as one of the foremost names in the genre. The movie tie-in novel, penned by Dean R. Koontz under the pseudonym "Owen West," is actually far more frightening than the film on which it was based. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

In this comedy, two soldiers stationed in Singapore set off in pursuit of the fairer sex instead of carrying out their orders. Soon after their arrival on the exotic island, the two visit a local brothel and there encounter a pair of lusty nurses who have also come in for a bit of erotic R&R. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Stacy Keach plays Lou Ford, a deputy sheriff whose brutal childhood experiences have left him emotionally warped. Ford is prized by his community for his no-mercy treatment of criminals. But the danger that he will snap and begin killing indiscriminately is ever-present. Based on the novel by Jim Thompson, in this adaptation Ford's psychotic breaks are signalled by lightning flashes. Director Burt Kennedy handles his material in the manner of his earlier Welcome to Hard Times: nothing is quite of this earth, and everything is painted in broad, violent morality-play strokes. Despite Kennedy's predilection for "cutting in the camera" (that is, filming each scene with only one or two different camera angles, so that his directorial vision will survive the editing room), Killer Inside Me gives evidence of having been severely tampered with in the post-production process. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Henry Jaglom directed this moody meditation on the Vietnam War and one of its disturbed veterans. Dennis Hopper stars a sergeant who travels across the United States with the body of a fallen comrade, on a train to his friend's final burial place. As the train wends its way across the United States, the sergeant becomes more and more paranoid that the passengers on the train are out to get him. Finally, an energetic young woman named Stephanie (Taryn Power) befriends him, briefly giving him the courage to deal with the terrors of the war. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The British "Confessions" film series was reminiscent of the "Carry On" series, albeit far, far dirtier. Many fans consider the first entry, Confessions of a Window Cleaner, to be the best of the batch. Based on a supposedly autobiographical novel by Timothy Lea, the film stars Robin Askwith as an apprentice window washer with a voyeuristic streak. Nearly everyone with whom Askwith comes in contact is an oversexed, underdressed female. Potato-shaped
Dandy Nichols plays the protagonist's mother. An anachronism even before it was released, Confessions of a Window Cleaner was nonetheless successful enough to inspire several sequels, none of which were released to American theatres. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

If you've never sampled the off-the-beam humor of British comic-giant Spike Milligan, by all means look up Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall. Milligan stars as a long-in-tooth Army rookie, going through basic training in the early war years. "God smiles on the incompetent" seems to be the message here, as Milligan escapes certain death at several junctures thanks to his ingrained stupidity. Also appearing are Carry On stalwart Jim Dale and Dad's Army regular Arthur Lowe. Based on Milligan's own novel, Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall was released worldwide by United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Frank D. Gilroy's adaptation of Paula Fox's novel Desperate Characters stars Shirley MacLaine as Sophie, a freelance book translator who leads a comfortable life in Brooklyn with her lawyer husband Otto (Kenneth Mars). Because of their crumbling marriage and the threatening presence of urban dangers like crime and vandalism, the couple are living a paranoid, scared existence. The film chronicles their emotional and psychological state through a series of interactions with each other and like-minded friends. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Director Carl Reiner, most closely associated with the homey values of situation comedies, shocked, surprised, and (in some cases) delighted his admirers with the jet-black comedy Where's Poppa?. George Segal plays Gordon Hocheiser, a New York attorney whose love life is constantly being sabotaged by his senile mother (Ruth Gordon), who constantly asks the question of the title. (She doesn't realize Poppa is dead). Every time Gordon has a prospective bride or lover lined up, Mrs. Hocheiser gums up the works with her insane behavior. The attorney at last finds a kindred spirit in the beautiful caregiver Louise Callan (Trish VanDevere), who has likewise been a victim of someone else's eccentricities (her first husband used the conjugal bed as his own personal toilet). When Mrs. Hocheiser chases Louise away like she has all the others, Gordon begins entertaining notions of killing his mother. In desperation, Gordon begs his brother Sidney (Ron Leibman) to take his mother off his hands, which leads to several comic vignettes in deliriously bad taste. The film's incest-themed original ending (trimmed from the video version but still included in cable prints) finds Gordon climbing into bed with Mrs. Hocheiser, only to be greeted with a "Here's Poppa." The celebrated "tush scene," wherein Mrs. Hocheiser bites Gordon on his bare backside while Louise looks on in horror, packed a real wallop back in the early '70s, as did a courtroom scene involving a disgruntled hippie (Rob Reiner) and a psychotic U.S. general who graphically describes his homicidal acts against the Vietnamese. Though Carl Reiner would continue to "push the envelope" in his later films (Steve Martin as a "poor black child"? George Burns as God?) he would never again attempt anything as risky as Where's Poppa?. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The British television series Til Death Do Us Part was the forerunner to the American TV hit All in the Family. The original series' Archie Bunker was Alf Garnett, a bigoted, profane cockney played by Warren Mitchell. The "Edith" was the dimwitted Else, portrayed by Dandy Nichols. The British series' catchphrase was not "Stifle yerself, dingbat" but instead "You silly moo!" Eschewing the heavy-handed social commentary indulged in by All in the Family producer Norman Lear, Til Death Do Us Part existed principally to invoke loud (and sometime embarrassed) gusts of laughter. Several feature films were spun off from the property: the first of these, Alf 'N' Family flashed back to Alf and Else's marriage, skipped ahead to the wedding of the Garrett's daughter Rita (Una Stubbs) to unwashed hippie Mike (Anthony Booth), and concluded with the family's move from their crowded flat to a home in the suburbs. Alf 'N' Family was scripted by Til Death Do Us Part creator Johnny Speight. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this espionage film, set just before the Germans invaded France, a chemist in Paris moonlights as a Soviet spy. To escape the Nazi invaders, the chemist and his wife steal government money and try to escape to South America. En route, their ship stops in Trinidad where they two cannot pass unless they fork over all of the money. Suddenly 24 years have passed and the man who obstructed them is still working as a British agent. He is investigating a formula that has leaked through to the enemy. This brings him in contact with the chemist again. This time, the agent helps the chemist escape the Soviet agents who pursue him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi