Tom Leetch Movies

This Disney Studios attempt at entering the horror genre is a British production based on the chilling novel by Florence Engel Randall. An American family, headed by composer Paul Curtis (David McCallum) and his wife Helen (Carroll Baker), is renting an old mansion in England. The mansion's owner is Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), who lives in a small guest house on the property. The mansion is surrounded by dense, forbidding woods. The Curtis children, Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) and Ellie (Kyle Richards), explore the forest. Mrs. Aylwood is continually searching the woods for her daughter -- whom she lost there 30 years ago. Over time, the children come to be haunted by the spirit of the daughter, Karen (Katherine Levy). The film was originally released in 1980 with an ending that included a huge alien from another planet. The studio pulled back the film after test audiences laughed at the special effects, and re-released the movie in 1982 with a new ending that circumvented the alien. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

One of the bigger non-cartoon moneymakers for Disney in the 1970s, The North Avenue Irregulars is predicated on the premise of the "Neighborhood Watch" system. Priest Michael Hill (Edward Herrmann), newly arrived on North Avenue, decides to buck the patriarchal notions of his superiors by delegating church responsibilities to the neighborhood women. Since the ladies include Vickie, Jane, Anne, Claire and Rose (Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine, Susan Clark, Cloris Leachman and Patsy Kelly), we're well primed for a surfeit of feistiness. Father Michael entrusts the church funds to Rose, who loses it all at the race track. In trying to retrieve the cash, he comes up against an influential bookie ring, controlled by several of the above-suspicion town officials. The wily priest responds by organizing the ladies of his congregation into the North Avenue Irregulars, a two-fisted crimefighting unit. There's slapstick aplenty within the film's 99 minutes, including the expected comic car crash. North Avenue Irregulars is based on a (drawn-from-life?) novel by the Reverend Albert Fay Hill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The central "character" of the Disney made-for-TV movie The Sky's the Limit is a battered old biplane. The aircraft comes in handy when a spry old farmer (Pat O'Brien) makes an effort to "reach" his truculent grandson (Ike Eisenmann). It so happens that the farmer was a World War I ace, and as such promises to take the boy up in the air for a crop-dusting session. Next step: get the biplane into flying shape. Also starring Lloyd Nolan and Jeanette Nolan (no relation), The Sky's the Limit premiered as a two-part Wonderful World of Disney episode on January 19 and 26, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this light-weight Disney family fare, Dean Jones plays Johnny Baxter, who -- along with his wife Sue (Nancy Olsen) and his two kids, Chris (Kathleen Cody) and Richard (Johnny Whitaker) -- decides to leave the New York City rat-race for the clean air and easy living of the Colorado ski country. Baxter has inherited a decaying Gothic mansion and, with the love of his family and a little bit of money, he converts the old house into a popular ski lodge. While preparing his lodge for the tourists and ski bums, Baxter has to deal with a few plumbing problems, a scheming banker (Keenan Wynn), and a grizzled old miner (Harry Morgan). In typical Disney fashion, the plot culminates in a wild, slapstick snowmobile race. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The Old West is just not the same, what with so few cattle being run, and law-abiding folk running around like they own everything. In this family comedy drama, it's too much for John McCanless (Brian Keith). He is a cranky old rancher and former gunslinger who has no intention of selling his beloved acres to some fool who wants to build a dam and flood them all. Going "gently into that good night" is not in the cards at all, and this latter-day Quixote prepares to wage a lonely battle against the namby-pamby modern world. His ranch hand, Paco (Alfonso Arau), an illegal immigrant, and his bemused daughter, Amanda (Michele Carey) do what they can to help. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A man begins monkeying around with his new farm with hilarious results in this comedy for the whole family. American Hank Dussard (Dean Jones) inherits an olive plantation in a small French village after his uncle passes away. Hank soon gets a crash course in the expense of hiring pickers for the olive harvest from Father Sylvain (Maurice Chevalier), the local priest. Hoping to cut expenses, Hank buys four monkeys, and teaches them how to pick olives. While the plan looks good on paper, it doesn't go over well with the town's farm laborers -- who threaten a strike if Hank doesn't get rid of his new help. Hank also has troubles with his new work force when he discovers that his monkeys are all female, and the arrival of a male chimpanzee takes their minds off the olives. Monkeys, Go Home! features Maurice Chevalier in his final screen role; the supporting cast also includes Yvette Mimieux and Jules Munshin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide