Vivian Brown Movies
The first feature film from director Phil Joanou (State of Grace), Three O' Clock High chronicles a high school nerd's much hyped after-school bout with the infamous class bully. When the impish Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko) is assigned to interview the new transfer student with a supposedly violent past, Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson), he makes the fatal mistake of touching his subject. Revell, who hates being touched, responds by challenging the unwilling Mitchell to a fight at three o'clock in the parking lot. Spanning the course of the school day, the film follows the disaster-bound Mitchell as he soils his good-boy image through various misguided attempts at averting the fight. Also making noteworthy appearances in the film are Jeffrey Tambor and Philip Baker Hall. ~ Rachel Deahl, Rovi
- Starring:
- Casey Siemaszko, Anne Ryan, (more)
This routine film catalogues what happens to a teen's life when he is wrenched from an easy existence in affluent, East Coast suburbia and dropped into the lean, mean streets of a downscale L.A. suburb. James Spader is Morgan Hiller, displaced with his parents and brother when his father loses some of the wealth to which they were accustomed and the family moves to California. Morgan soon attracts Frankie (Kim Richards), the girlfriend of Nick (Paul Mones), a high school tough who does not appreciate Frankie's change of heart. The antagonism between Morgan and Frankie mounts as they both approach a high-noon showdown. Aside from some musical numbers which seem to have wandered in from another film about teen singers and dancers, the story is compelling and the film is notable for one of the early performances of Robert Downey in a subsidiary role. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Spader, Kim Richards, (more)
This science fiction thriller was inspired by a mythical real-life event, the WWII era disappearance of an entire naval vessel during a radar-cloaking test. In 1943, David Herdeg Michael Pare and Jim Parker Bobby DiCicco are sailors stationed aboard a Virginia battleship. Their vessel is undergoing an experiment conducted by brilliant scientist Dr. Longstreeet (Eric Christmas), who is attempting to render Allied craft invisible to radar. The ship becomes briefly invisible, but the test is a disaster and most of the crew are horribly killed. However, two crewmen are missing. In 1984, Herdeg and Parker emerge in the Nevada desert, having somehow traveled through time. Longstreet, still trying to perfect the device after 40 years, is running another experiment that pulls the missing sailors into the present. Realizing what's occurred, Herdeg and Parker flee, fearing for their lives. Fugitives, they befriend a skeptical modern woman, Alison Hayes (Nancy Allen). An effect of time pulls Parker back into 1943, leading to a bizarre reunion between Herdeg, still trapped in the future, and Parker, now a senior citizen. The film was followed by a sequel nine years later. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Paré, Nancy Allen, (more)
- 1982
The fact-based TV movie The Ambush Murders was adapted from a book by Ben Bradlee Jr. Dorian Harewood plays an African-American political activist who is loyal to his ideals and faithful to his friends and family. After two white policemen are killed, Harewood is charge with the crime. 49 months and two mistrials later, Harewood remains in prison. When lawyer James Brolin offers his services, Harewood doesn't trust him any more than any of the other self-serving white attorneys who've "helped" him in the past. But Brolin digs a little deeper than his predecessors, uncovering facts and evidence that may at long last spring his client. Ambush Murders was first telecast January 5, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
Erin (Mary Elizabeth McDonough) has fallen in love with Paul Matthews (Morgan Stevens), a new employee at the Walton lumber yard. His curiosity aroused by Paul's reluctance to discuss his past, John-Boy does a bit of research on his own--and discovers to his amazement that Paul's real name is Northridge, and that his father is one of the Waltons' biggest business rivals. Meanwhile, Ike and Jim-Bob gets a lot more than they bargained for when they go prospecting for uranium. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
The story of "red light bandit" Caryl Chessman, previously dramatized in the 1955 film Cell 2455, Death Row (based on Chessman's own book), was adapted for television as Kill Me If You Can. In a radical departure from his usual duties as MASH's Hawkeye Pierce, Alan Alda plays Chessman, who in 1948 was found guilty of robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault. Under the laws of the era, Chessman was sentenced to die in the gas chamber. But by studying the law and publishing four books on his plight, the brilliant (albeit still repugnant) Chessman managed to forestall his execution for 12 years. Though no effort is made in the film to make the sociopathic Chessman any better than he was, John Gay's script comes out squarely in opposition of capital punishment. Kill Me If You Can first aired on September 25, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Talia Shire, (more)
Sam Elliot stars as Rick Carlson, a thirty year old lifeguard who thinks life is passing him by. Rick loves the beach life and his job, but after attending his fifteen-year high school reunion and receiving advice from his family and friends that he's wasting his life, Rick begins to question his livelihood and wonders whether he should quit and find a more normal line of work -- such as selling cars for the local Porsche dealership. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sam Elliott, Anne Archer, (more)
