John Power Movies
- 1997
Made for television, Heart of Fire stars Patrick Duffy as Max Tucker, a veteran firefighter who has seen so much in his lifetime that he regards himself immune to the tragedies and heartaches of the world. Tucker's cynicism is put to the test when he tries to save a little girl named Katy (Alex McKenna), trapped beneath a burning tanker. Though the other firefighters have given up the girl for dead, Tucker puts his own life on the line in hopes of pulling off an "impossible" rescue--and restoring his faith in miracles. Produced by Arnold Shapiro of Rescue 911 fame, Heart of Fire (cable TV title: The Tanker Incident) first aired January 7, 1997 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
In this made-for-television drama a woman bears a son in a hospital and is confident that the babe in arms she returns home with is her own. Later, she learns she was mistaken and launches a custody battle not only for the child she raised, but also for the one she should have. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Hartman, Bruce Davison, (more)
- 1994
Mare Winningham stars as a sister determined to find out the truth in this fact-based made-for-television drama. Patricia Arquette stars as an FBI informant who has a secret affair with a married agent (Stephen Webber). When her older sister Dana (Winningham) admonishes her to be careful, she refuses to heed the warning and plunges deeper into the relationship, which unfortunately has deadly consequences. TV-movie veteran Winningham is good as always and Arquette and Webber are a believable duo. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mare Winningham, Steven Weber, (more)
- 1994
Alexandra's life becomes a living hell when she discovers the undercover policeman she loves is actually a dangerous serial killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Gibb, John Stamos, (more)
Adapted for TV, this is a Stephen King story in which an aspiring writer and an alcoholic poet (with a metal plate in his head, no less) literally stumble over a long-buried spaceship while walking in the woods. It starts glowing green when uncovered and soon everyone in town has green eyes, their teeth fall out and they act out all of their fantasies (violent or otherwise). Guess who's immune to the power of this alien spaceship? You got it--our good old metal-headed poet can save the day if he can get it together enough to do so. Really more of a B movie than most King horrorfests. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Smits, Marg Helgenberger, (more)
- 1992
- Add Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After? to QueueAdd Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After? to top of Queue
Since two TV movies were inspired by the marriage of England's Prince Charles and Princess Diana, it is only logical that at least one made-for-TV feature would greet the decline and fall of that overexposed union. Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After, permitted the viewer the perverse delight of seeing Catherine Oxenberg, who'd previously played Diana in 1982's The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana, back again as the same (albeit older and wiser) character. Roger Rees costars as the redoubtable Charles, who despite his mile-wide character flaws comes off as relatively sympathetic. Other "royals" lurking about are Amanda Walker as Queen Elizabeth, David Quilter as Prince Philip, Benedict Taylor as Prince Andrew, and Tracy Brabin as "Fergie". Our favorite scene: Diana, dressed to the nines, sitting in the back of her luxurious limo and talking into her designer car phone, whining about how miserable her life is. Later retitled Charles and Diana: A Palace Divided, this gloriously trashy endeavor was first telecast December 13, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- PG
Since Sky Trackers was produced on behalf of the Disney Channel cable service, we shouldn't be surprised that the principal characters are three children. When an extraterrestrial satellite crash lands in the Australian outback, the kids search for survivors. The plot thickens when it is learned that the aliens may be carrying a deadly virus. Pamela Sue Martin and Paul Williams are top-billed as the two adult doctors who try to find the kids before the kids can be exposed to the space capsule. Sky Trackers was first telecast in the US on May 27, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
This sequel to the Australian miniseries All the Rivers Run takes place in 1903, as Brenton Edwards (John Waters) continues to pilot the Philadelphia Riverboat around Echuca, one of the biggest port cities in Australia. Edwards makes the acquaintance of Cyrus James (Parker Stevenson), an American relocated to Australia, and soon James becomes his partner in the riverboat business. However, not all goes well for them; after shipping and tourism in Echuca goes into a downturn, Edwards is sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit, and James rallies to keep their business afloat and Brenton's family together as they all search for a way to prove Edwards is innocent. All the Rivers Run 2 was also released in the United States as The Rivers Run: A Journey of Faith and Hope; leading man John Waters is an Australian actor best known for his role in the film Breaker Morant, and is not to be confused with the eccentric American filmmaker of the same name. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Waters, Nikki Coghill, (more)
- 1990
- R
In this lurid sci-fi actioner a psycho LA police chief has surgeons implant a device into the spines of wounded officers that turns them into lunatic killers who are then assigned to his Scum Quelling Urban Assault Division (SQUAD). After cleaning the streets of slimy crooks, the officers are programmed to destroy themselves. When hard-nosed cop Arliss Ryder is wounded, he too receives the deadly implant, but unlike the others, he and his gal Kristin, a master kickboxer, figure out the plan and work to defeat the villain to save himself and his fellow officers. The film inspired considerable controversy when it first came out because the part of the S&M-loving police chief was played by convicted-conspirator G. Gordon Liddy of Watergate fame. After the film was completed Liddy refused to promote it to the public and later after the story made the national news withdrew all opposition. This bought the film more time in theaters, before it went to video, than it may have actually deserved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- PG
In this drama, a daughter defends her aging father against scandalous accusations. Joseph Mueller (Max Von Sydow) was born in Germany but emigrated to Australia shortly after the end of World War II. Joseph is happily spending the autumn of his years doting on his two grandchildren and giving friendly business advice to his daughter Anne Winton (Carol Drinkwater) and son-in-law Bobby (Steven Jacobs), who have inherited the hotel that Mueller founded. One morning, as Joseph walks his grandchildren to school, he discovers that a camera crew is following him from a distance, led by reporter Leah Zetnick (Julia Blake). A few days later, Leah broadcasts a report alleging that Joseph is in fact Franz Kessler, a former member of Hitler's S.S. and a war criminal responsible for the death of Leah's parents, among many others. Suddenly besieged by the media, Anne and Joseph go into hiding after authorities issue an indictment against him. Joseph eventually steps forward to stand trial, defended by attorney George Coleman (Tom Robertson). After George calls Leah's credibility into serious question in court, Joseph is cleared of all charges, and a seriously distraught Leah commits suicide in front of Joseph and Anne. But Joseph's casual reaction to Leah's shocking act makes Anne wonder if Bobby's suspicions about her father's past might have a basis in fact. Max Von Sydow and Julia Blake both won Australian Film Institute awards for their performences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max von Sydow, Carol Drinkwater, (more)
- 1989
Based on a novel by Noel Barber, the British-Australian miniseries Tanamera: Lion of Singapore was set in the titular port city during the years 1935 to 1948. The focus was on two families -- one English, one Chinese -- involved in the Malaysian rubber-plantation business. The drama intensified when Britisher John Dexter (Christopher Bowen) defied convention by falling in love with Chinese girl Julie Sung (Khym Lam). The advent of WWII and the inevitable Japanese invasion further complicated events. A coproduction of Britain's Central Television and Australia's Ten Network, Tanamera: Lion of Singapore was originally broadcast in 1989, lasting seven 60-minute episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
The two-part, two-hour Australian miniseries Alice to Nowhere was adapted by David Boutland from the suspense novel by Evan Green. Set in 1954, the story focused on the aftermath of a botched attempt to steal the crown jewels. Rosey Jones starred as Nurse Barbara Dean, who, unaware that a valuable necklace has been planted on her, is pursued into the Australian outback by a pair of sadistic criminals named Johnny Parson (John Waters) and Frog Gardiner (Esben Storm). As the two crooks grow more evil and irredeemable with each passing day, they leave a trail of terror and death behind them -- with even more horror still to come for the hapless heroine. Debuting June 30, 1986, Alice to Nowhere was co-produced by 10 Network and Crawford Productions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
All My Sons is the 1986 TV adaptation of Arthur Miller's 1947 Broadway play (a film version, starring Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster, was produced in 1948). James Whitmore stars as Joe Keller, a bullying industrialist who'd been accused of selling defective weapon parts to the government during World War II. He was acquitted when the court decided that it was his business partner who was responsible. Keller and his family desperately await the post-war return of son Larry, who was officially listed as missing in action. Larry's fiance Ann (Joan Allen), the daughter of Keller's imprisoned business partner, is attracted to Larry's brother Chris (Aidan Quinn), but she has vowed to remain faithful to her missing fiance. The play's third act reveals that it was indeed Joe Keller, and not his partner, who was responsible for the defective material -- and that his penny-pinching carelessness ended up costing the life of his own son Larry. Michael Learned co-stars as Keller's wife, who like her husband vainly tries to lock out the truth. First telecast January 19, 1987, All My Sons was the sixth-season opener of PBS's American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Two deaf people find companionship and love--one a race car driver, the other a hustler. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1977
This easygoing drama offers a look back at the early days of the Australian movie business, and it was based on the real-life adventures of pioneering Aussie exhibitor Lyle Penn. Maurice "Pop" Pym (John Meillon) loves motion pictures, and he wants to open a cinema of his own. But shortly after the turn of the century, financial support for such a venture is hard to come by, so Pop does the next best thing; with his young son and a piano player in tow, Pop carts his collection of silent films and a portable projection system from one small town to another across the continent, showing his pictures wherever and whenever he can. However, Pop quickly learns that he already has a rival; Mr. Palmer (Rod Taylor) has decided to go into the movie business as well, and with deeper pockets, he's able to afford better equipment than Pop's shoestring budget can provide. Ironically, Rod Taylor plays a character who was born in Texas but emigrated to Australia; Taylor was in fact born in Australia and became a film star when he moved to the U.S. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, John Meillon, (more)
