Tab Hunter

The life and career of 1940s sex symbol Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) is affectionately but uncompromisingly recounted in this cable TV documentary, produced by Hugh Hefner and narrated by actress Kim Basinger. Born into a show business family, Rita Cansino was still a pre-teen when she attracted the attention of Hollywood with her sultry Latin looks and her remarkable dancing skills. With her first husband, the much-older Edward C. Judson, as her manager and agent, Rita managed to land a starlet contract at 20th Century Fox, then moved on to greater glory when, signed by Columbia Pictures, she was re-christened Rita Hayworth and given a more "all-American" image via cosmetic surgery, electrolysis, and a new crop of flaming red hair. Though her career was sometimes impeded by Columbia boss Harry Cohn, who was upset that she continued to fend off his advances, Rita ultimately achieved superstardom as the alluring star of such films as Cover Girl and Gilda. Alas, her private life was never quite as satisfying as her professional one: After breaking up with Judson, she entered into a well-publicized but ultimately unhappy marriage to Orson Welles, then, in quick succession, wed a foreign prince, Aly Khan; a popular singer, Dick Haymes; and a flamboyant movie producer, James Hill. Through it all, the painfully shy and retiring actress yearned to be simply a normal wife and mother, but the pressures and responsibilities of international stardom denied her this balm. Rita's final years were clouded by Alzheimer's disease, which ended not only her career but her life. Among the interviewees in this documentary are Hayworth's daughter Yasmin Aga Khan, who has devoted her life to helping other victims of Alzheimer's, and Rita's best friend, musical star Ann Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by the acclaimed Walter Hill and narrated by actor Alec Baldwin, this documentary profiles the adventurous, contentious, and very talented director William Wellman (1896-1975). Ambulance driver for the French Foreign Legion and decorated American pilot in World War I, Wellman later became a barnstorming stunt pilot, but found his true calling directing such classic Hollywood films as Wings, Public Enemy, A Star Is Born, Beau Geste, The Ox-Bow Incident, and The High and the Mighty. Highlights include clips from his movies and interviews with or clips featuring Clint Eastwood, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Scorsese, Mike Connors, Nancy Davis, James Garner, Darryl Hickman, Arthur Hiller, Tab Hunter, Richard Widmark, Robert Wise, Jane Wyman, and others. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide

Director Armand Mastroianni's last horror feature before building a more solid reputation as a director of TV movies and series, Cameron's Closet tells the tale of a bright young boy with innate telekinetic powers whose gifts were exploited by his father (Tab Hunter) in a series of controlled experiments. After his father's grisly death, Cameron's powers seem to have abated -- but as any horror aficionado can predict, they have increased exponentially, opening a gateway in the title walk-in for a powerful demon to emerge. The usual band of paranormal experts (including the oddly-cast Chuck McCann) arrive to do battle with the closeted beast and are dealt with in the usual gory ways, until it becomes apparent that only Cameron himself is psychically equipped to deal with the demon one-on-one. What might have been a taut supernatural thriller with good performances is undone by its crude treatment of Carlo Rambaldi's makeup-effects: the lurking demon -- which at one point is merely pulled along on a dolly -- ends up resembling a guy in a dime-store Batman costume. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this suspense thriller with a few humorous touches, an employee of a phone-sex service (Lynn Danielson) is being stalked by a clown-masked psychotic killer (Cameron Dye) who has already murdered a number of her colleagues. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

A controversial spoof on the Spaghetti western (some love it, some hate it), Lust in the Dust features the 300-pound Divine as the inimitable Rosie Velez, riding into view in full drag on a poor donkey as solemn commentary muddles on about the passions that enslave men and women -- and then Rosie, who weighs more than the donkey, is gang-raped by Hard Case Williams' (Geoffrey Lewis) outlaws. Eventually Rosie is rescued by the tough, taciturn cowboy Abel Wood (Tab Hunter), and together they reach the miserable town of Chili Verde where the entire population, not many after all, can always be found at a saloon run by Marguerita Ventura (Lainie Kazan) and her nit-wit bouncer/gunslinger, Bernardo (Henry Silva). Abel soon discovers that the reason why the population is so interested in Marguerita's saloon has nothing to do with hard liquor -- Marguerita and Rosie each have one half of a map of buried treasure tattooed on their backsides, and everyone wants a look at the whole map. That situation introduces rather absurd bedroom farce. Viewers with a very broad if not bawdy sense of humor will most enjoy this earthy exercise in parody. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Tom Smothers and Carol Kane co-star with Paul Reubens and Judge Reinhold in this uneven comedy spoof of slasher films. Sergeant Cooper (Smothers) is a Canadian Mountie who investigates the death of cheerleaders attending a summer camp at Indiana's It Had To Be University. Cameo appearances by Eve Arden, Kaye Ballard, Eileen Brennan, Tab Hunter, and Donald O'Connor fail to add anything to the thin, sophomoric plot. This film should not be confused with the similarly titled 1988 Australian feature directed by Hadyn Keenan. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Kim Basinger was best known as a model when she starred in the made-for-TV Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold. She plays a green-as-grass Texas teenager who wins a beauty contest. Armed with nothing more than delusions, Basinger heads to Hollywood to become a star. As given away by the film's title, Ms. Basinger ends up as posing au naturel. While it received surprisingly good review in 1978, Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold is no more artistically advanced than those Kroger Babb VD exploitation movies of the 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a couple of ruthless businessmen threaten her logging camp, a defenseless widow is aided by a group of Alaskan lumberjacks. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Paul Newman plays the title role in John Huston's surreal, revisionist western as the infamous Texas hanging judge. Upon arriving in the tiny West Texas town of Vinegaroon, Roy Bean draws a moustache on a wanted poster of himself, marches into a saloon, and declares his presence. He is immediately robbed, beaten within an inch of his life, tied to a horse and dragged out into the prairie, then left to die. Rescued by a young Mexican girl, Maria Elena (Victoria Principal), Roy Bean heads back into town and murders everyone in the local saloon, declaring that he'll kill anyone of the same sort who turns up. He also sets himself up as the sole arbiter of law and order and renames the town Langtry, in honor of the legendary actress Lily Langtry (Ava Gardner). The community prospers as Judge Bean dispenses his own brand of frontier justice upon strangers passing by, robbing or killing anyone who tries to make their way through the town. But when Maria dies, Bean's old associates begin to turn on him, one at a time (in response to his constant harping on their wives, many of whom were former prostitutes) and Bean is forced to leave. Years later, Bean rides back into town, called back to the place to save his daughter from trouble - and finds that the community has been taken over by a shady character called Frank Gass (Roddy McDowall) - a circumstance that requires Bean to dispense his own unique brand of justice once again. Stacy Keach lends a neat comic turn to the film as Bad Bob, an albino gunslinger whose dining habits consist of chowing down on raw onion, drinking hot coffee from a pot, and demanding that an entire horse be cooked for his supper. John Milius (Red Dawn) scripted.
~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The Arousers was also shipped out as Sweet Kill and A Kiss From Eddie. Former teen heartthrob Tab Hunter stars as a sex-obsessed serial killer. Hunter can't seem to convince the women he meets that he's worth loving and caring about, so he murders them. Based on an actual case history, the film is not as sleazily produced as one might expect. It's not for everyone's taste, but those who stick with are in for quite a jolt. Filmed in Venice, California (a suitably run-down location), The Arousers features a unexpected appearance by 1930s actress Isabel Jewell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An international crime syndicate is threatened by the information given to American journalist Tab Hunter and sets out to kill him. ~ All Movie Guide

U.S. Marshal Gid McCool (George Montgomery) leads a wagon train of convicted felons to Huntsville prison in this routine western. The only female among the crooks is the dancehall girl Laura Mannon (Yvonne De Carlo), McCool's former flame. When McCool cannot be swayed from completing his lawful duty, Laura tries to endear herself to shotgun rider Mike Reno (Tab Hunter) in hopes he will set her free. The party is shadowed by some outlaws led by Aaron (John Russell), the brother of one of the condemned murderers, in hopes he can free his doomed sibling. Mike's efforts land him in chains, but McCool releases him to fight when the outlaws attack. The hero McCool comes through with only a slight scratch while his adversaries are all beaten to a bloody pulp. Silent movie star Francis X. Bushman was to have appeared in this film, but died in August 1966. His part was taken over by Donald "Red" Barry. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide