Jeff Gillen Movies

Ideally tailored to the talents of Rodney Dangerfield, Easy Money casts Rapid Rodney as Monty Capoletti, the black sheep of a prominent family. Nothing can curb Monty's drinking, gluttony, gambling, smoking, or general carousing. Nothing, that is, except the possibility of inheriting millions from mother-in-law Mrs. Monahan (Geraldine Fitzgerald). For one whole year, Monty must toe the line and clean up his act. Can he do it? And will viewers laugh uproariously? The answer to the second question: Yes, they will! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this legal drama from director Sydney Pollack, Sally Field stars as Megan, an ambitious newpaper reporter who, based on information from FBI investigator Rosen, played by Bob Balaban, writes a scathing article that implicates Gallagher, a reclusive business-owner played by Paul Newman, in the recent disappearance of a labor leader. When Gallagher confronts Megan and sets her straight, the two team together to prove his innocence and have a few romantic interludes along the way. Wilford Brimley and Melinda Dillon also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Unlike its contemporary The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and predecessor Psycho -- both of which were very loosely based on the gruesome antics of notorious Wisconsin killer/graverobber Ed Gein, who killed, skinned, devoured or made furniture out of his many victims in the late '50s -- this gritty, disturbing and underrated production purports to be a semi-accurate account of Gein's crimes. Roberts Blossom turns in a frighteningly effective performance as Ezra Cobb, the crusty old farmer with unique decorating ideas, an intense interest in the occult, and a decidedly unhealthy attachment to his domineering mother, whose body he preserves after her death. When evenings with his stuffed mom prove less than comforting, Cobb goes into town to seek young female victims whose corpses he uses for a variety of grisly household projects. Exiled in distribution limbo for 20 years, Deranged was available only in severely-cut prints, missing much of the film's goriest footage (which featured the early work of makeup maestro Tom Savini), although a pristine uncut print briefly surfaced in the mid-'90s. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, an above average slasher/horror film, a group of amateurs decide to experiment with witchcraft with deadly results. This film has a small cult following, due to some extent to the fact that one of the lead characters is played by writer and makeup effects artist Alan Ormsby. Ormsby gives one of the three or four most obnoxious screen performances in history as Alan, the leader of a troupe of actors who try out a voodoo ritual on a corpse only to find out that it has worked on all the corpses in the graveyard. The acting is terrible and the special effects are obvious and cheap, but the film somehow manages to overcome all of this and be quite entertaining, but only for those with strong stomachs. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

This outrageous exploitation piece from Bob Clark, the director of Black Christmas and Porky's, tells the story of an army deserter (Dorian Wayne) who becomes a female impersonator named Dominita to escape capture. Dominita then extorts money from his old commanding officer (Leslie Marlow), forces him to take female hormones, and enlists him as a private maid. Marlow and his secretary (Wendy Roberts) end Dominita's humiliating revenge plans after suffering an hour of comparatively tame abuse. Co-written by Clark and Jeff Gillen, who appears onscreen briefly and went on to co-direct the horror classic Deranged. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide