Robert Alan Browne Movies

Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story stars Jean Smart as the title character. One of the rare female serial killers on record, Wuornos was eventually charged with murdering seven men on lonely Florida roads. The killing spree took place between 1990 and 1991, thus this 1992 TV movie could pat itself on the back for its timeliness. At the time Overkill was made, there was some public doubt concerning Wuornos' guilt (she was then on death row). The script suggests that her crimes were a by-product of childhood sexual abuse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The set of a popular daytime drama proves to be rife with intrigues that go far beyond the script. At the center is the show's temperamental star Joanna Rollins (a pre-Star Trek: Voyager Kate Mulgrew), whose millionaire husband turns up murdered. In her efforts to solve the case, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) receives assistance from a surprising source: Joanna's former costar and ex-lover, whom she had fired from the show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After a whirlwind courtship (lasting less than one day!), Brian (Steven Weber) has proposed marriage to a worldly woman named Gwen (Lisa Darr). The couple intends to hold the wedding ceremony in Joe's plane, then launch their honeymoon with a skydive. Reluctantly, Joe (Tim Daly), Helen (Crystal Bernard), and minister-for-a-day Roy (David Schramm) agree to accompany Brian and Gwen as they speed through the clouds -- but when time comes to jump out of the plane, an entirely different couple is occupying the parachutes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While visiting Boston, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) runs into her former neighbor John Winslow (John Furlong)--who brusquely insists that he's never seen her before in her life. Quickly dialing up Winslow's wife Maude (Christine Belford), Jessica is informed that John died two weeks before! To solve this mystery, Jessica capitalizes upon her friendship with gruff-but-lovable Boston P.I. Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For his third outing as disturbed innkeeper Norman Bates, Anthony Perkins directed as well as starred in the thriller Psycho III. This time out, Norman is still manning the desk at the Bates Motel, where he now has an assistant, Duane (Jeff Fahey), and a new long-term tenant, Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid). Maureen has been seeing Duane and has some issues to resolve in her life; she gave up her vows as a nun not long ago, and she isn't sure just how she feels about either spiritual or earthly matters. Norman takes an interest in Maureen, which may not be good for her long-term health -- after all, the last woman with the initials "M.C." who stayed in that room (and used the shower) met with a rather nasty fate. Perkins played Norman Bates one more time, in the made-for-cable Psycho IV: The Beginning; a short-lived TV series followed, Bates Motel, in which Perkins did not participate. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In Fleshburn Calvin Duggai (Sonny Landham) is a Native American who can't put his wartime experiences behind him. His main beef is against the team of psychiatrists who shipped him off to an institution. After making his escape, Duggai kidnaps the four doctors and maroons them in the middle of the desert. Now, he reasons, they can experience the hell he's been through, both as a soldier and as an American Indian. Of the four abductees, Sam MacKenzie (Steve Kanaly) stands the best chance for survival--and that chance is none too good. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a police officer finds himself in trouble after he is promoted to lieutenant and assigned to investigate the deaths of several ex-prostitutes and finds himself falling in love with a former madam. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

During the peak of the slasher-movie boom of the early '80s, there were numerous attempts at Airplane!-style horror parodies, all of which fell considerably short of their comic targets and vanished into cable-TV obscurity. Hysterical, an abortive vehicle for the questionable comic talents of the Hudson Brothers, is perhaps the weakest of the lot. Bill Hudson plays Fred Lansing, a writer vacationing at a rustic lighthouse in the deceptively idyllic Oregon fishing town of Hellview, where he is tormented by the apparition of Venecia (Julie Newmar), a local woman who killed herself one hundred years ago. The lovelorn Venecia wishes to use Fred's body as the vessel for the spirit of her dead husband, Captain Howdy (Richard Kiel, once again typecast as a great big guy), and isn't particularly interested in Fred's opinion on the matter. When Howdy apparently grumbles to life, several townspeople are subsequently murdered in ghastly ways, leading a pair of bumbling detectives (Mark Hudson and Brett Hudson) to investigate the horrific history of the Hellview lighthouse and generally make nuisances of themselves. Filled with insipid puns, tired sight gags, silly musical numbers, and unfunny cameo appearances from the likes of Bud Cort and Charlie Callas, this inept spoof has perhaps three genuine laughs scattered throughout its ninety-minute runtime, amounting to only one decent joke per half-hour of wasted film. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Deserted by her no-good husband, Kate Bradshaw (Mare Winningham), an illiterate, unemployed mother of three, proves to be easy prey for a smooth-talking older woman, Mary Gertrude (Polly Holliday). Persuaded to enroll her kids in Mary Gertrude's "child care center," Kate soon realizes to her horror that she has given up her youngsters to a crooked private adoption agency. In her subsequent battle to reclaim her children, Kate runs up against a brick wall of political conspiracy and corruption. Though the film contains very few surprises, fans of the old sitcom Father Knows Best might get a kick out of seeing Jane Wyatt in a none-too-sympathetic role. Missing Children: A Mother's Story made its CBS network bow on December 1, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Erik Estrada stars as an aspiring boxer determined to rise out of the poverty and obscurity of barrio life. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Two unwed youths head for New York tenements with their child after they are driven from their homes. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Despite the title, this outrageously bad Rock 'n' Roll monster movie from Puerto Rico features neither the titular monster-maker nor his lumbering creation. Instead, we're presented with an "astro-robot" named Frank, who comes to save the day when Martian forces led by Princess Markuzan (Marilyn Hanold) begin kidnapping scantily-clad Earth females from sock-hops and beach-blanket shindigs everywhere -- apparently with the intent of populating a few parties of their own. The aliens manage to french-fry most of Frank's face off, but he nevertheless manages to snap back (after a few minor adjustments) and give the invaders what-for. Also known by the more honest title Mars Invades Puerto Rico. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi