Elliot Silverstein
An honest cop stands in the face of the corruption of his peers in this thriller. Jack Flinder is a police detective who loves his work. Jack and his partner Art are chasing an arsonist. Their investigation reveals a shocking conspiracy. Art is subsequently murdered in front of his girlfriend Lisa who then joins forces with Jack to expose the conspiracy which will in turn expose people in highest echelons of the police force. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Zane, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
- 1992
"Curiosity Killed" concerns Dan (Kevin McCarthy) and Cynthia (Margot Kidder), a couple whose marriage is a shadow of its former self. Dan's pal, Billy (J.A. Preston), offers some friendly advice on how to get Cynthia out of his life once and for all; however, Cynthia has plans of her own for Dan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1990
"A good man is hard to find. A rich man is worth the effort." This advertising tagline could just as easily have been applied to Gold Diggers of 1933 or How To Marry a Millionaire as to the made-for-TV Rich Men, Single Women. Three attractive women of a certain age decide to pool their resources and land wealthy husbands. The first step is to convince their victims-er, potential soulmates-that they are "the women of their dreams." Suzanne Somers, Heather Locklear and Deborah Adair star as the Gold-diggers of 1990, who, according to one reviewer, "could set feminism back 20 years." Concocted by Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer-the folks who inflicted The Love Boat on an unwary nation--Rich Men, Single Women premiered January 29, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
In his TV-movie debut, Jerry Lewis plays Dr. Abrams, an Ohio optometrist, whose beloved 6-year-old daughter (Jaclyn Bernstein) falls victim to a rare form of epilepsy. The traditional means to keep the girl's seizures under control fail to work, putting a strain on the Abram's (Lewis and Patty Duke Astin) marriage. The couple then learns of a little-known drug called sodium valporate, which has had salutary effects upon epileptics in Britain. Unfortunately, the drug has not been approved for use in the United States; thus, by utilizing the drug to save their child from agony, the Abrams are in effect breaking the law. The cause celebre that follows forms the nucleus of Scott Nisor and Tom Nesi's fact-based screenplay. Essaying a rare dramatic role, Jerry Lewis is excellent: in fact, he's much more credible than Barry Morse as the doctor who develops the miracle drug. Fight for Live was first telecast March 23, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Barnard Hughes stars in this compelling TV movie as an elderly urbanite who allegedly refuses to shelter a young Hispanic (David Hernandez) from a marauding gang. The youth is killed right before the old man's eyes. Branded a "Bad Samaritan," the man is raked over the coals of adverse public opinion, until a probing high school teacher learns the truth of his supposed act of cowardice. While the same basic premise had been utilized in several earlier dramas (notably the 1960s Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "Small Craft Warnings"), Night of Courage tackles its issues with freshness and nuance. Bryan Williams' script, the winner of the 1986 ABC Theatre Award, was based on Williams' own stage play In This Fallen City, which had previously received an award from the Eugene O'Neill National Playwright's Conference. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barnard Hughes, David Hernandez, (more)
- 1986
Who's innocent in Betrayed by Innocence? Is it filmmaker Nick DeLeon (Barry Bostwick), who loves his wife but also his work? Is it Nick's working wife Sharon (Lee Purcell), who spends more time at the office than at home? Or is it nubile, underage coed Marisa Vogel (Cristen Kauffman), who has an affair with Nick? Paul Sorvino co-stars as Marisa's policeman father, whose rallying cry is "statutory rape." Made for television, Betrayed by Innocence originally aired March 1, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Bostwick, Lee Purcell, (more)
- 1986
One of the few documentaries to shine a spotlight on directors in Hollywood, this informative film sketches out the 50-year history of the Directors Guild of America. Formed at a time when people were still fighting for unions in the United States, the guild also had its problems when the studios refused to recognize it. Beginning with a group of twelve men and building up from there, the next major crisis in Guild history came in 1950 when Cecil B. DeMille tried to overthrow president Joseph L. Mankiewicz because Senator McCarthy's witchhunt had branded the latter as a closet Communist. Fortunately DeMille's efforts were squelched, thanks to the level-headed actions of director John Ford and others. Radio and televsion directors have been accepted into the Guild and the members were working up a "Bill of Rights" during the filming of this documentary. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Ackerman, Woody Allen, (more)
A murderous car wreaks havoc on a small Western town in this thriller that has gone on to achieve a small degree of cult status in spite of its own silliness. After a pair of bikers and a horn-playing hitchhiker are viciously mowed down, local police realize they have a motoring maniac on their hands. In a show of boldness, the mysterious black automobile kills the sheriff (John Marley) on the town's main street, leaving the post to officer Wade Parent (James Brolin). A supernatural element enters the picture when the car motors through a parade practice, but refuses to enter the hallowed ground of a cemetery. The cops chase the car through the desert, but it takes out several squad cars and disappears after injuring Wade. Things take a personal turn when the car eliminates Wade's girlfriend Lauren (Kathleen Lloyd) in a shocking sequence. Gathering his remaining officers, Wade concocts a plan to stop the horsepower-laden psychopath. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, (more)
- 1973
- PG
Originally released as Nightmare Honeymoon, this lurid thriller stars Dack Rambo and Rebecca Diana Smith. Rambo plays a Vietnam vet (he's certainly got the right name for it), while Rebecca is cast as his new bride, an heiress. While on their honeymoon, the newlyweds witness a murder. Perhaps they should have gone to the police right away: shortly thereafter, Rebecca is tracked down and raped by the culprits, thereby forcing Rambo's killer instinct to rise to the surface. Based on a novel by Lawrence Block, Deadly Honeymoon was to have been directed by Nicholas Roeg, but he ankled the project after a week and was replaced by Elliot Silverstein. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A Man Called Horse stars Richard Harris as Lord John Morgan, an English peer cast somewhat adrift in the American West. Captured by Sioux Indians, Lord Morgan is at first targeted for quick extinction, but the tribesmen sense that he is worthy of survival. The Englishman passes many of the necessary tests that will permit him to become a member of the tribe, the most grueling of which (and the one used most extensively in the film's advertising) is the Sun Vow Initiation. That's where his lordship is hung from the roof of a huge teepee with hooks through his pectoral muscles. Much of the dialogue is spoken in the Sioux language, though the film's much-vaunted "historical accuracy" is not altogether consistent, as witness the casting of British stage luminary Judith Anderson as Sioux woman Buffalo Cow Head. A Man Called Horse spawned warrant two sequels. Originally rated "GP" in 1970, it has since been re-rated R by the MPAA. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harris, Judith Anderson, (more)
- 1967
Four neophyte criminals get some unexpected help from their first victim in this caper comedy. A quartet of Miami Beach bohemians -- Sureshot (Michael Parks), Taurus (George Maharis), Herby (Robert Walker Jr.), and Sandy (Faye Dunaway) -- are looking for kicks and some fast money, and they hatch a scheme that they're sure will bring them both. Roc Delmonico (Anthony Quinn) is a well-known local restaurateur believed to be connected with the Mafia; the four beach bums kidnap Roc and hold him for ransom. To the surprise of the first-time kidnappers and the great annoyance of Roc, neither his wife, Monica (Martha Hyer), nor his business partners are willing to pony up 200,000 dollars to set the former gangster free. The angry Delmonico soon joins forces with his kidnappers, and with his background in crime, he advises them on how to make a hostage situation work. Roc's advice is right on the money, and the price for his safety zooms from 200,000 dollars to three million dollars. Roc's new friends are happy about this unexpected windfall, and Delmonico likes the idea of putting the screws to the so-called "friends" who let him down, but actually getting their hands on the money turns out to be far more complicated than any of them expected. The theme song from The Happening proved to be a major hit for Diana Ross & the Supremes -- in fact, a much bigger hit than the movie itself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, George Maharis, (more)
This musical spoof of Westerns featured Lee Marvin in dual roles that won him a Best Actor Oscar. Jane Fonda stars as the title character, a prim schoolmarm returning to her hometown of Wolf City, Wyoming, after receiving an Eastern education. On the train ride, Cat meets up with a pair of friendly, charming crooks, Clay Boone (Michael Callan) and his uncle, Jed (Dwayne Hickman), the former becoming hopelessly smitten with the naive but tough Cat. Upon arriving home, Cat discovers that her eccentric father, Frankie (John Marley), is being threatened with bodily harm by a development company that desperately wants his land. When Frankie is murdered by ruthless, noseless killer Tim Strawn (Marvin), Cat straps on a pair of six-shooters and persuades Clay, Jed, and her father's loyal Native American hand Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini) to sign on as her posse. In her quest for revenge, Cat also recruits Kid Shelleen (also played by Marvin), a one-time fearsome gunslinger who's now a hopeless alcoholic. Cat Ballou (1965) is interspersed throughout the narrative with appearances by Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole as a pair of balladeers who comment on the action musically in Greek chorus style. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, (more)
- 1964
A typical "wrinkle in time" drama from the pen of Richard Matheson, this episode opens as young heiress Anne Henderson (Diana Hyland), taking a horseback ride near her family estate, is suddenly pursued by a witch-like rider dressed in black. This terrifying experience has no effect on Anne's determination to defy her parents' wishes and elope with irresponsible David Mitchell (Robert Hogan). As it turns out, Anne would have been wise to regard the mysterious horsewoman as a portent of disaster. This extremely intense Twilight Zone episode was originally broadcast on February 21, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diana Hyland, Robert Hogan, (more)
- 1962
In his second Twilight Zone apperance of the 1961-62 season, Joseph Schildkraut stars as elderly John Holt, who, together with his equally aged wife Marie (Alma Platt), yearns to be young and vital again. Visiting the New Life Corporation, John and Marie are invited by unctuous salesman Vance (Noah Keen) to trade in their old bodies for newer models. Alas, the operation costs $5,000 per person -- and the Platts have only enough money for one "trade-in." Written by Rod Serling, "The Trade-Ins" was the final third-season Twilight Zone episode to be filmed, but not the last one to be telecast; rather, it was seen on April 20, 1962, with six more episodes still to go. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Schildkraut, Alma Platt, (more)
- 1961
The second season of Twilight Zone came to a powerful conclusion with this Rod Serling-scripted "message" drama. In a futuristic society where books and religion have been outlawed, librarian Romney Wordsworth stands on trial for his life. Adjudged "obsolete" by the imperious Chancellor (Fritz Weaver), Wordsworth is sentenced to death, whereupon he makes one last, unusual request: He wants to have his execution televised, and he wants the Chancellor to be in attendance. The episode's Kafkaesque ending might have packed even more of a punch had director Eliot Silverstein's original concept been carried out to the fullest. "The Obsolete Man" was originally telecast June 2, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burgess Meredith, Fritz Weaver, (more)
- 1961
As the Civil War limps to a close, Confederate widow Lavinia Godwin (Joanne Linville) sits grimly on the porch of her ruined mansion, watching a seemingly endless parade of wounded soldiers drag themselves down the road in front of her property. One of the soldiers, a Southern sergeant (James Gregory) with a wooden leg, stops to rest, engaging the embittered Lavinia in conversation. As they talk, a sudden horrific realization hits them both -- a realization confirmed by the climactic appearance of "the last casualty of the Civil War." Originally telecast October 6, 1961, "The Passersby" was scripted by Rod Serling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanne Linville, James Gregory, (more)
- 1961
Entering into a poker game with a loudmouthed miner named Moriarity (Jacques Aubuchon), Paladin (Richard Boone) ends up winning a month's worth of Moriarity's "Silver Strike." But this is hardly a reason to celebrate: "Silver Strike" turns out to be Moriarity's young son (Flip Mark), as wild and unruly a creature as has ever walked the earth. In the month alotted him, Paladin endeavors to scrub, tame and educate the incorrigible youngster--a formidable task indeed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
