John McCafferty Movies
- 1998
- NR
In this thriller, the best exotic dancer in Los Angeles goes on the run after she is accused of killing her partner during one of their steamier routines. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Rocker Carmen Santa Maria, of the band Blue Renegade, wrote, produced and directed this tuneful comedy about two look-alikes, a long-haired, suburban slacker who wants to be a musician and a burned-out rocker, who change places for a while. Along the way, the two get entangled with a variety of stereotypical foreign villains. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this seventh entry in the "Witchcraft" series of horror thriller an attorney turns to the black arts to save his neck from vampires. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Byrnes, April Breneman, (more)
- 1989
The sixth-season opener of Murder She Wrote takes place in Athens, where mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is reunited with suave but inherently untrustworthy British secret agent Michael Haggerty (Len Cariou). In order to help Haggerty rescue a kidnapped fellow spy, Jessica reluctantly agrees to pose as Haggerty's wife. Before long, our heroine finds herself up to her neck in peril, especially after the authorities find a dead body in her hotel room. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
This mildly amusing horror spoof was filmed on Super-8 film by fledgling indie director Mark Pirro (Nudist Colony of the Dead). The plot concerns a swinging bachelor, Larry Smallbutt (Michael Palazzolo) who is bitten on the rear end by a transvestite "queerwolf" whom he believed was a woman. He ends up transforming into an effeminate creature with a red handkerchief and earrings. Various gay stereotypes and horror conventions are parodied, and Conrad Brooks (Plan 9 from Outer Space) appears along with Forrest J. Ackerman, longtime editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland, who plays a patient forced to ingest alcohol until he explodes. Tasteless and raunchy, the film will offend many, but those looking for a sick, offbeat comedy will enjoy Pirro's irreverence. The director returned with Deathrow Gameshow. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Low-budget filmmaker Mark Pirro (A Polish Vampire in Burbank) directed this satirical comedy which heavily echoes The Running Man. Unctuous emcee Chuck (John McCafferty) hosts a television gameshow called Live or Die, in which convicted felons compete for the right to escape execution. As in most of Pirro's films, bathroom humor outweighs the occasionally clever parodies of popular culture. Debra Lamb and Conrad Brooks co-star. The director made Curse of the Queerwolf the same year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John McCafferty, Robyn Blythe, (more)
- 1983
Cult filmmaker Mark Pirro directed, wrote, produced, and starred in this first of his irreverent low-budget horror-comedies, made for under $3000 on Super-8 film. Pirro plays a virgin vampire whose sister (Lori Sutton) introduces him to the life of bloodsucking. The director replaced Eddie Deezen in the lead when the cult favorite quit, but Deezen still shows up as Pirro's brother in flashback scenes. Genre veteran Conrad Brooks (Plan 9 from Outer Space) also appears. Pirro returned four years later with the outrageous Curse of the Queerwolf. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Pirro, Lori Sutton, (more)
Sidney Poitier plays Homer Smith, an aimless ex-GI who takes a temporary handyman job at a Southwestern farm maintained by five German nuns. It is the cherished dream of the Mother Superior (Lilia Skala) to build a chapel (or, as she says, a "shapel"). She is convinced that the personable Homer has been sent from Above to help her realize her dream. He protests loudly and rudely, but she will not be dissuaded. How Homer accomplishes her goal, endears himself to the surrounding townsfolk, and avoids an arrest for a previous crime, comprises the heart of Lilies of the Field. The film, adapted by James Poe from a novel by William E. Barrett, was later remade for television, and it won Poitier an Academy Award for Best Actor, the first time that award was given to an African-American. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, (more)
- 1952
Generous helpings of stock footage from the 1944 film Buffalo Bill help make Pony Soldier seem far more expensive and ambitious than it actually is. Tyrone Power stars as 19th-century Royal Canadian Mountie Duncan MacDonald, whose job it is to escort a group of Cree Indians back to their above-the-border reservation. His guide in this endeavor is the not-too-trustworthy half-breed Natayo (Thomas Gomez). Along the way, he tries to free two white captives of the Crees, escaped convict Jess Calhoun (Robert Horton) and Jess' sister Emerald (Penny Edwards). Calhoun nearly messes up the whole operation when he impulsively kills the brother of Chief Konah (Cameron Mitchell). Though set in Canada, Pony Soldier was filmed in Arizona's Coconino National Forest. A curiosity: leading lady Penny Edwards has barely five lines, while 6th-billed child actor Anthony Earl Numkena, cast as lovable Indian cub Comes Running, is given reams of dialogue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Cameron Mitchell, (more)
- 1946
In this drama, three veteran pilots from WW II decide to start their own air freight business. In order to earn enough money, one of them takes a dangerous job as a test pilot. His very pregnant wife objects, but this does not stop him. Fortunately, another partner scams him and ends up doing the testing himself despite that fact that he was grounded during the war for a strange nerve ailment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Crane, Faye Marlowe, (more)
- 1945
A servant with no experience ends up teaching the master of the house a thing or two in this comedy. Molly Barry (Gracie Fields) is a struggling actress who is short on money and needs paying work. When she learns that John Graham (Monty Woolley), a wealthy and respected former politician, needs a housekeeper, Molly figures that being a maid can't be that much different than playing one, and she takes the job. However, the straight-laced and prickly Graham has a habit of rubbing people the wrong way, having driven away his wife and seriously alienated his son Jimmy (Roddy McDowell). Graham's butler Peabody (Reginald Gardiner) is one of the only people willing to stand by him. But Molly tolerates no nonsense from Graham and teaches him how to better get along with people, including his son. Meanwhile, as various members of the staff quit, Molly begins to replace them with old friends from her days in the theater, until Graham's estate is practically a refuge for out-of-work thespians (Molly also makes a surprise discovery about Peabody's work history). Molly and Me also features several songs sung by Gracie Fields, a major musical comedy star in Great Britain. This proved to be her last feature film, though she remained active in television and on the stage. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gracie Fields, Monty Woolley, (more)
- 1945
The Caribbean Mystery is a remake of Mr. Moto on Danger Island (1939)-which in turn was a remake of Murder in Trinidad. James Dunn stars as Mr. Smith, a Columbo-like Brooklyn detective who pops up on a tropical island to track down some missing geologists. In his own shambling, easygoing manner, Mr. Smith uncovers an elaborate murder scheme fomented by a self-styled jungle "boss" who kills anyone who threatens his domain. Our hero must survive bullets, alligators and quicksand before he can collar the miscreant. All three versions of this steamy melodrama were based on a novel by radio commentator John W. Vandercook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sheila Ryan, Edward Ryan, (more)
- 1938
This film is one of acclaimed director Fritz Lang's less noted achievements, a mixture of romance, comedy, drama, and satire. It includes three songs by the famed Kurt Weill, including "The Right Guy for Me." George Raft plays Joe Dennis, an ex-convict working in a department store. The store's boss, Mr. Morris (Harry Carey), likes to hire ex-cons. Joe falls in love with Helen (Sylvia Sidney), who hides the fact that she is on parole until after they marry. Since parolees can't wed, the marriage is illegal. Distraught, Joe organizes a gang to rob Morris' store. Helen intervenes and tries to convince the gang members that the potential take isn't worth the risk of returning to prison. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvia Sidney, George Raft, (more)
