Carl Schenkel Movies
German director Carl Schenkel started out as an assistant director and script collaborator in the mid-'70s. In 1997, Schenkel, who had gained directing experience with television and theatrical movies, was assigned to helm Tarzan...And the Lost City (1998), the sequel to Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, of the Apes (1984), ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Previously filmed by director Sidney Lumet in 1974, Agatha Christie's classic mystery novel Murder on the Orient Express was updated from the 1930s to the early 21st century in this made-for-TV remake. To be sure, the ineffable, insufferable Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (here played by Alfred Molina) uses his own "little grey cells" to solve the train-compartment murder of a ruthless American business executive (Peter Strauss). This time around, however, Poirot is not averse to relying upon computer technology to speed up his investigation; in the same vein, the murder victim has been updated (or perhaps, upgraded) from an industrialist to a software tycoon. Still, Christie's surprise ending (which should be no surprise at all to fans of the 1974 film) remains intact, as does Poirot's ultimate decision to let his heart rule his head. Murder on the Orient Express first aired April 22, 2001, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Based on Atticus, a novel by Ron Hansen, this Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation stars James Coburn as widowed Colorado rancher Atticus Cody. In the months since Atticus' wife was killed in a car accident caused by his artist son Scott (Paul Kersey), the boy has ached for his father's forgiveness. Alas, though he still loves his son, Atticus is by nature taciturn and distant, and is unable to reach out to the grieving Scott. Upon discovering that his father has kept the wreckage of the "death car" on his ranch, the confused Scott decides that no closure is possible, whereupon he returns to the dusty Mexican village that has long been his home. Later, Atticus receives word that Scott has committed suicide--and upon arriving in Mexico, it is his turn to suffer the pangs of guilt, thanks to the relentless remonstrations of Scott's girlfriend Renata (Lisa Zane). But nothing is quite what Renata makes it out to be, as Atticus discovers to his astonishment upon hearing a cache of "audio letters" recorded by Scott just before his death. A delicate blend of domestic drama and "whodunit", Missing Pieces debuted February 6, 2000, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Carl Schenkel directed this Tarzan film "based on the stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs." In England of 1913, Tarzan (Casper Van Dien) is due to marry Jane (Jane March), but he suddenly chooses to return to the jungle to prevent villainous explorer Nigel Ravens (Steve Waddington) from burning and killing in his quest for the lost city of Opar. Jane's pursuit of the vine-swinging Lord of the Apes forces her to confront snakes and other jungle perils. The film's inane dialogue is heard amid magnificent South African locations. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Casper Van Dien, Jane March, (more)
Based on Tim O'Brien's novel, In the Lake of the Woods is the story of a man driven by demons from his past and a mystery surrounding the disappearance of his wife. John Waylan (Peter Strauss), a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota, is leading in pre-election polls when a reporter for a Minneapolis newspaper breaks a story about Waylan's involvement in a massacre of civilians while he was a soldier in Vietnam. Waylan loses the election and retreats with his wife, Kathy (Kathleen Quinlan), to a luxurious lakeside cabin owned by friends, where he broods over the past -- not just his tour of duty in Vietnam, but also his troubled childhood, marked by conflict with an abusive, alcoholic father. When Kathy goes missing, John goes to the local authorities, who mount a search for her and a missing boat while Waylan continues to brood over his shattered life. The story is told in multiple flashbacks, with a reporter questioning those who knew Waylan and his wife, including a political operative (Peter Boyle) and Kathy's sister (Nancy Sorel). This film originally ran on Fox in the spring of 1996 and was produced by Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Strauss, Kathleen Quinlan, (more)
Needles figure prominently in this blood-soaked entry in the slasher genre. It begins as psycho scientist Dr. Stein begins implanting things in baboons. Dr. Theresa McCann, a colleague at the hospital where they both work is suspicious as to the nature of the perverse professors experiments. Those suspicions increase when one of the apes suddenly dies. Then Stein steals one of her patients. When that patient is found murdered, with only a lollipop left as a clue, McCann gets blamed and suspended. When McCann spies the abandoned sucker she suddenly realizes it belongs to Dr. Matar, an ex-lover in search of revenge against her because she squealed on him and his illicit experiments in tissue regrowth. Matar goes on a killing spree and now only she and her new lover Hendricks can stop him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabel Glasser, James Remar, (more)
- 1994
A woman lives in fear as she hides from her abusive husband in this made-for-television thriller. Susan Dey stars as Joanna Matthews, a woman who lives under an assumed name in order to hide from her husband Bradley Matthews (Richard Dean Anderson). A well-liked cop, Matthews has a dark side that only Joanna knows about, and she must fight to expose his true ways in order to survive. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
This murder mystery from director Carl Schenkel stars Christopher Lambert (Highlander) as Peter Sanderson, an expert chess champion. When a woman Sanderson has recently slept with is among several women brutally murdered at a chess tournament, he becomes a suspect. But when the murderer contacts Sanderson and informs him that he's set up a maniacal human chess game, he realizes that he'll have to beat the murderer to stop the killings and clear his own name. Diane Lane plays a psychologist who falls for Sanderson, and Tom Skerritt is the local sheriff investigating the case. Knight Moves won the Critics Award at the 1992 Cognac Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Diane Lane, (more)
- 1991
Silhouette, an excellent made-for-cable thriller, is the story of a businesswoman who is stranded by car trouble in a small town and who is the only witness to a murder. Samantha Kimball (Faye Dunaway), while waiting for her car to be repaired, stays in a rundown hotel in a small town. There, unable to sleep, she watches through her window as a car drives up to the home of a local waitress. She sees the shadow of a man get out and a violent attack and murder take place inside the home. After having made her statement to the police, Samantha becomes increasingly frightened as the killer begins to stalk her and her daughter, afraid that he can be identified. Dunaway is terrific as the woman who must fight to protect herself and her child, and she gives a cool, nuanced performance in a somewhat cliched role. The identify of the killer, not revealed until the bloody finale of the film, is not much of a surprise, but Silhouette, fast-paced and nicely directed by Carl Schenkel, makes the most of its familiar material and delivers an exciting, suspenseful lady-in-distress thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- R
In this melodrama, a ballet dancer discovers that she is suffering from cancer and must re-evaluate her life. When she meets up with another young woman who is also ill, the two strike up a friendship. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jami Gertz, Martha Plimpton, (more)
Xavier Quinn (Denzel Washington) is police chief of a tiny Caribbean island. Quinn's efforts to straddle the fence between the local blacks and the moneyed whites have lost him the respect of both groups. When a murder is committed, Quinn suspects that the killer is Maubee (Robert Townsend), a notoriously elusive criminal who has become a folk hero to the locals. Despite various political pressures -- and the fact that he and Maubee were childhood friends-Quinn vows to solve the murder, and, if necessary, bring Maubee to justice. A mess of merry plot twists distinguish this diverting fox-and-hound caper. Filmed entirely on location, The Mighty Quinn was based on Finding Maubee, a novel by A.H.Z. Carr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Robert Townsend, (more)
This slow-moving occult thriller has Pamela Sue Martin and hubbie Tim Matheson menaced by a coven of witches when they move to an island off the coast of Massachusetts. Director Carl Schenkel -- who went on to make the interesting Knight Moves -- does the best he can with a tedious script and a lot of miscasting, but it doesn't make the movie any more interesting. It looks like a who's who of '80s sitcoms, with Woody Harrelson, Jeff Conaway, and Inga Swenson along for the evil doings, but some viewers will be rolling on the floor when they see Leave It to Beaver's Barbara Billingsley as a 300-year-old witch. The highlight of the film is an exploding church, which may just be loud enough to wake you up so you can rewind the tape. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Pamela Sue Martin, (more)
- 1984
A stuck elevator is used as an allegory for modern German society in this provocative drama. Within the motionless box are four very different people. One is a light-fingered young courier, and another is an embezzler, while the other two are an unhappy couple on the verge of a breakup. Making it worse is the fact that the elevator seems to have a nasty mind of its own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Götz George, Renée Soutendijk, (more)
Among the first original anthology series to be produced for cable television, The Hitchhiker was a collection of tales of the supernatural and bizarre. The title character, played during the first season by Nicholas Campbell and thereafter by Page Fletcher, was an unnamed drifter who wandered ubiquitously from story to story, sometimes briefly commiserated with the main characters, sometimes acting as a disinterested observer, but always ready with a few pithy and occasional chilling comments of the events which had transpired. Inasmuch as the series carried on pay cable and not "mainstream" commercial TV, the stories contained an abundance of nudity, profanity, and violence. Even so, in most of the half-hour playlets, Evil was severely punished (usually in an ironic "postman always rings twice" fashion) and Virtue more or less triumphed. After 39 episodes on HBO, the series moved to a basic-cable channel, USA, for 46 additional installments. While censorship was somewhat more stringent on USA, The Hitchhiker still managed to serve up rawer and meatier fare than was customary on over-the-air TV of the period. The series was first-run on HBO from November 23, 1983, to May 12, 1987, and on USA from January 4, 1989, to February 22, 1991. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1980
In this crime drama, a convict becomes so desperate to see his beloved that he busts out of jail and risks getting caught by vengeful mobsters and the cops. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
