Paul Leder Movies
Actor turned director Paul Leder made independent films during the '70s, '80s, and '90s. As was and is true of many indie directors, Leder primarily dealt with exploitation films made on a shoestring budget with titles such as I Dismember Mama (1972), My Friends Need Killing (1978), and Murder By Numbers (1989). Leder launched his career singing through radio on The Molly Goldberg Show. During WWII, Leder was an army medic who served under General Patton and helped those who survived Buchenwald. After the war, Leder hit Broadway, singing and dancing opposite Phil Silvers in Top Banana. More shows followed. He made his feature film debut as an actor in The Grass Eater (1961), which he also produced. Leder made his first directorial effort in the dismal comedy The Marigold Man (1970). His last film was the black comedy The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley (1995). In addition to his film work, Leder also wrote and directed plays in Los Angeles. Leder died of lung cancer on April 8, 1996. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1995
Bare breasts abound in this black comedy that centers on a crooked plastic surgeon and abortionist and his nurse/lover who run the shady American Beauty Institute. There the two entice young women to come as patients. The patients are then killed and sent to the sicko Morganfeller, the richest man on the planet with a taste for necrophilia. The two use the money he pays them to help restore the Bulgarian king to his throne. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
- R
Two women (Frances Fisher, Natasha Gregson) hit the road to seek revenge for the killers of their boyfriends. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1994
- R
In this suspense thriller, Albert (John Savage) is a psychopath who, after brutally murdering a woman, becomes obsessed with her 11-year-old daughter Annie. Twenty-one years after being sent to prison for his crimes, Albert is freed over the strenuous objections of Dr. Sachs (John Saxon), the psychiatrist who has been overseeing Albert's case all these years. Sachs is convinced that Albert is still a very real threat to the community, and it turns out that he's right; desperate to find Annie, but not knowing what surname she uses today, Albert begins contacting every Annie he can find in the phone book, leaving a bloody trail of murdered women in his path when they turn out not to be the little girl he's looking for. The supporting cast includes Bobby DiCicco, Hank Cheyne, Hyapatia Lee, and Beverley Mitchell as Annie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Savage, John Saxon, (more)
- 1992
Released in 1993, this direct-to-video melodrama is a followup to Frame-Up (1992), with a handful of the same cast members. Wings Hauser returns as Sheriff Baker, who once again butts up against local corruption. The first "frame" didn't work in the first film, so the bigoted, cigar-chomping town boss has to use more drastic measures. Baker's wife is once more played by Frances Fisher, who seems to be marking time between better assignments. The fat-cat villain is played by John Saxon this time, replacing Frame-Up's Dick Sargent. Patty d'Arbanville and the late Margaux Hemingway also appear in Frame-Up 2: The Cover-Up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Though we didn't see it acknowledged in the opening credits, Baby Doll Murders is a reworking of the 1964 Victor Buono vehicle The Strangler. There's a killer on the loose, preying upon beautiful young women. At the scene of each crime, the police find a damaged baby doll. Detective Jeff Kober detects a subtle pattern emerging. Alas, it leads to the inescapable conclusion that the next victim will be the wife of Kober's partner. Expectedly exploitational, Baby Doll Murders is not bad of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Three young Native Americans decide to abduct a land-mogul's daughter when the wealthy land developer swipes tribal acreage. Exposed to the "other side," this young woman finds herself joining the side of her abductors. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
A famous actress moonlights as a prostitute on the streets of L.A. and has to contend with clientele, her father, and the consequences of her double identity when a hotel owner finds out who she is. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
Honest small-town cop Wings Hauser is weighed down by personal problems. This fact must be put on the back burner when crooked businessman John Saxon commits murder. Though the identity of the killer is never in question, Saxon manages to buy everybody off except Hauser. In order to collar the criminal, the sheriff must overcome his emotional difficulties-and keep one step ahead of a frame-up concocted by Saxon This modest melodrama offers good work from distaff cast members Frances Fisher, Patty D'Arbanville and Margaux Hemingway. Deadly Conspiracy was also released as Frame Up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
A young mens' hazing turns to murder in this crime drama set in a small town run by a powerful businessman. The victim was beaten to death with a monogrammed baseball bat, and later the head-killer tried to make it seem as if the young man was run down by the car of Frank Govers, a traveling salesman. Sheriff Ralph Baker begins investigating and finds his hands figuratively tied at every turn by the town fathers, particularly the powerful Will Curran. Baker does believe that Govers was framed, but the salesman, who has his own dubious past to protect takes off and ends up hiding out in the cabin of a teen-age wife whose husband has left her. Meanwhile Sheriff Baker arrests Will Curran's son Don, the guilty party in the murder. Back at the cabin, two fugitives from prison burst into the cabin and take the hapless salesman hostage. Things look pretty bleak at this point until Curran breaks his son out of jail and heads for the hills to cut a deal with the escaped convicts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
In this drama, independent filmmaker Paul Leder has brought to the screen the story of some young people enthusiastically campaigning for the (very liberal) presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy in the late 1960's. When it becomes clear that McCarthy cannot win, one of the young folks, who has plenty of money, heads off for a vacation in Europe. The remaining youngsters stay the course until the devastating assassination of Robert Kennedy, which finally extinguishes their hopes of a liberal renaissance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cleavon Little, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
- 1990
This political drama takes a look at the underground network that helps South American refugees travel safely to the US. The story centers on a freedom fighter from Central America who uses the underground to get to the US and settle in a small town. His wife lies to a restaurant owner, telling him her husband is dead, and gets a job as a waitress. Soon after, the owner's son falls in love with her. Meanwhile a crooked CIA agent leads a death squad in pursuit of the former freedom fighter and things get worse when the local sheriff threatens to reveal his hideout to the hunters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
When a wealthy homosexual man (Wlad Cembrowicz) turns up missing, his sister (Debra Sandlund) convinces her ex-husband (Sam Behrens) to investigate the legion of suspects. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Behrens, Shari Belafonte, (more)
- 1987
When Robert Knight (Bernie White) is placed in a mental institution by his money-hungry relatives, he escapes and seeks vengeance. Hardly an innocent victim, Robert really is a crazed killer, so none of the characters evoke much sympathy. His main targets are his Uncle Charles (Dick Sargent) and Aunt Joanne (Marilyn Hassett).This dysfunctional bunch makes the Manson family look like Ozzie and Harriet as they resort to murder and cannibalism. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernie White, Marilyn Hassett, (more)
- 1983
This peculiar thriller was directed by Paul Leder (I Dismember Mama) and features the husband-wife team of Greg Mullavey and Meredith MacRae, who appeared in several of his films. Another low-budget shocker concerning the murders of a greedy family gathering around the deathbed of a dying man, Vultures deserves points for its sheer outlandishness and an oddball cast. Female impersonator Jim Bailey appears in half a dozen different roles and does a Barbra Streisand imitation. Stuart Whitman, Aldo Ray, and Yvonne DeCarlo are among the suspects, and such obscure cult figures as Maria Perschy show up as well. Genre buffs are likely to find it amusing, while most other viewers will be left perplexed. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Whitman, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
- 1981
In this stereotyped but right-on look at the world of show-business, drama builds as a New York director (Dick Sargent) auditions aspiring new talent for his upcoming play, while the possibility of rejection looms in everyone's mind. The potential stars themselves are widely variant individuals: one is an alcoholic, pill-popping young singer (Roslyn Kind) struggling in the shadow of her famous mother, another is a parole officer heading for trouble when his secretary is kidnapped, yet another is a womanizer sleeping with the rich backer of the show, and one is a young, maladjusted man whose façade does not match his interior. Almost all of the aspirants get a part in the play, but their intrigues, the pressure they feel, and their personal ambitions eventually lead to acrimony and unexpected mayhem. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Sargent, Meredith Mac Rae, (more)
- 1978
Allen Garfield had reverted professionally to his given name of Goorwitz when he starred in Sketches of A Strangler. He also returned to his early-1970s predilection for starring in kinky, independently-produced projects. Here he is cast as a painter who obsesses over beautiful, unapproachable women. His fixations take a homicidal turn as several streetwalkers fall victim to Goorwitz' homicidal impulses. In Bucket of Blood fashion, Life imitates art in Sketches of a Strangler, and vice versa. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
After being discharged by the Air Force, a pilot tries to make a living in Taipei. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
This laughable Korean rip-off of King Kong was released the same year as Dino De Laurentis's trumpeted remake to sponge up some free hype from that film's massive publicity machine (in some areas it was retitled The New King Kong). Despite the fact that the poorly-handled big-studio film was considered by many to be a pointless exercise, this movie makes De Laurentis' fiasco seem positively inspired by comparison (although the producers of this film might merit some slack -- they didn't have $20 million to blow). The vaguely familiar story involves a captured 36-foot ape who escapes his offshore prison to rampage through the streets of Seoul, where he falls in love with an American actress (Joanna Kerns) who is shooting a movie there. Jam-packed with laughs, both intentional (the big brute gives Korean defense forces the finger) and unintentional (look for the "Tonka" logo on the trucks he hurls through the air), this might have found a home among fans of truly awful cinema thanks to an effective use of 3-D, but TV and video versions are missing this clunker's sole bonus. Released under several alternate titles, the most appropriate being Attack of the Giant Horny Gorilla! ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Arrants, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1976
The self-explanatorily titled My Friends Need Killing was directed by the estimable Paul Leder. A true auteur, Leder also wrote and edited the film. But you probably won't find his name in the pages of Cahiers du Cinema, principally because his output includes such tantalizing titles as The Baby Doll Murders and I Dismember Mama. This low-budget psycho film stars Greg Mullavey as Gene Kline, a disturbed Vietnam veteran who goes insane and begins murdering his fellow combatants or causing them to commit suicide. Mullavey, best known for television's Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, appeared in several of Leder's films along with co-star and real-life spouse, Meredith MacRae, who later re-teamed with Leder for the all-time classic Sketches of a Strangler. Completed in 1976, My Friends Need Killing didn't receive a widespread release until it went to video in 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Mullavey, Meredith Mac Rae, (more)
- 1972
- R
Originally released as Albert and Annie, this low-budget, poorly lighted, non-action, slasher film features Albert (Zooey Hall) as a deranged youth locked up in a mental institution by his super-rich mother until one day he is stopped from watching soft-porn movies in his room, and, upset at this deprivation, he escapes and starts killing women. Albert first returns to his family mansion where he torments and kills the buxom housekeeper. When her nine-year-old daughter Annie (Geri Reischi) comes in from school, Albert sees her as a perfect, innocent female and is compelled to protect her at all costs -- even if it means killing off her impure, older sisters. If his sexual urges take over at night, Albert goes out and kills other "immoral" women -- until the police, through a maddeningly unrealistic bureaucratic maze, track him to a warehouse of mannequins -- and the chase is on, at least for awhile. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zooey Hall, Geri Reischl, (more)
- 1970
You all remember Greg Mullavey as the husband of Louise Lasser in the 1976 TV serial spoof Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. But did you know that Mullavey once enjoyed top billing in a theatrical feature film? Judging by Marigold Man, perhaps "enjoyed" isn't the right word. Mullavey and Harry Cohn (not the Columbia Pictures executive!) play a couple of jobless jerks, living on the fringes of Hollywood. To avoid paying rent, Mullavey romances his landlady Joan Lemmo. This is not how he'd prefer to spend his time. No, Mullavey's goal in life is to plant marigolds from Coast to Coast. And this goes on and on for nearly 90 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Another of the many raunchy "white trash" comedies of the 1960s, The Farmer's Other Daughter stars Judy Pennebaker in the title role. The farmer is portrayed by Harry Lovejoy, while obligatory travelling salesman is essayed by Bill Michael. What plot there is concerns a beauty contest wherein the candidates are garbed in flimsy bathing suits, which disintegrate when exposed to rain. A tentative stab at political satire occurs towards the end when the impoverished farm community finds itself eligible for foreign aid. Also known as Farm Girl, The Farmer's Other Daughter was considered pretty racy in its time, but now seems as sedate as an episode of Petticoat Junction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Harry (Paul Leder) is a junkyard owner who runs a profitable car theft operation on the side. His two flunkies do the dirty work in exchange for the marijuana Harry provides for them, as well as regular romps in the sheets with the Pooch (Rue McClanahan), an addled prostitute who lives in a shack behind the main office. A young couple traveling with their baby has car trouble nearby, so Ben (Will Gregory) goes to the junkyard for a new starter. Harry is evasive with Ben, talking in circles to the frustrated motorist, until finally suggesting that he wait in the shack with the Pooch while he checks the yard for the proper part. Harry has plans for Ben, however, turning him over to a pair of crooked cops when they demand a scapegoat for all the stolen cars in the area. While they try to beat a confession out of him, his wife Edna (Gail Gordon) is chased through the junkyard by Harry's stoned henchman Blowhard (King Moody), who tries to rape her on a pile of tires. By the end, most of the cast is eager for revenge against the manipulative, arrogant Harry, who believes his power, money, and brains entitle him to belittle and abuse everyone in his path. This unique exploitation feature was also released as Five Minutes to Love. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- 1961
A cynical wanderer convinces a skeptical young girl that marriage is a flawed institution in this pretentious adaptation of William Norton's stage play. To prove his point the wanderer randomly chooses a married couple and proceeds to destroy their union by seducing the other man's wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Leder, Rue McClanahan, (more)
