Jon Cypher Movies

The trunk of an abandoned car yields the dead body of a schoolteacher. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) suspect that the killing was the result of a gone-bad romance between the teacher and one of her students. But the D.A.'s office ultimately issues warrants for the dead woman's husband (Richard Joseph Paul) and father-in-law (Jon Cypher) -- psychiatrists both. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Former jewel thief turned insurance investigator Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell) has changed professions once more, and is now chief of security on a cruise ship. When a woman is found dead in the ship's cargo section, it soon develops that virtually everyone on board is either a thief or a liar--not to mention a potential murderer. The only passenger whom Dennis can trust is his old friend Jessica (Angela Lansbury), who of course agrees to help him solve the case. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This lively made-for-cable adventure chronicles the ordeal endured by five urban executives who head to the wilderness to relax and end up fighting for their lives after they stumble across a cocaine-smuggling operation. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this horror outing, a secret government experiment produces a man capable of using his mental powers to start fires. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

It was axiomatic back in the 1980s that, if you put the name "Elvis" in the title of your made-for-TV movie, your ratings would go through the roof. Such was the case of the two-part Elvis and Me, which not only cleaned up in the ratings, but also earned a TV Guide cover (the week , before it aired!) Based on the reminiscences of Elvis' wife Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, the film stars Susan Walters as Priscilla and Dale Midkiff as The King. In Part One, 14-year-old army brat Priscilla meets Elvis while he's doing his military duty in Germany. Their courtship is sporadic at best, but when Priscilla visits Presley in Hollywood in 1962, the story really gets going. The first part of Elvis and Me originally aired February 7, 1988 (see separate entry for details on Part Two). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This uneven comedy came and went quickly in commercial release. An American triathlete (Mark Neely) trains for an upcoming event, with the main competition coming from a pretty Russian exchange student (Terry Farrell). Billy Barty excels in his character role as a diminutive Russian, and the slapstick rivalry between the two event announcers and some sight gags help but fail to bring this feature to the finish line. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Dolph Lundgren stars in this live-action film version of the popular television cartoon series (based on a collection of Mattel action figures). Lundgren is He-Man, a well-muscled super-hero, battling the evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) for control of the universe. Skeletor has designs on conquering the planet Eternia, a ravaged utopia ruled over by the Sorceress of Greyskull Castle (Christina Pickles). He-Man is summoned to stop Skeletor's plans. But when the wily dwarf Gwildor (Billy Barty) utilizes his Cosmic Key, He-Man and Skeletor finds themselves transported to California. There, a waitress named Julie (Courteney Cox) and her boyfriend Kevin (Robert Duncan Mitchell) come across the Cosmic Key and become embroiled in the intergalactic battle between He-Man and Skeletor. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

When the made-for-TV The Rumor Mill first aired on May 12, 1985, it bore the title Malice in Wonderland. This joyously inaccurate biopic concerns itself with Hollywood's two foremost gossipmongers of the 1930s and 1940s: Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. Long involved in the film industry, Parsons used her ironclad relationship with publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst and the "confidential" information gleaned by her physician husband Harry "Docky" Martin to outscoop every other columnist in Tinseltown. Parsons' awesome power remained unchallenged until 1938, when Hedda Hopper, a character actress fallen on hard times, was hired as a gossip reporter by one of Hearst's rivals. Thereafter, it was every woman for herself: the blood feud between Parsons and Hopper raged unabated until the latter's death in 1966. Jane Alexander's on-target portrayal of Hedda Hopper won her an Emmy nomination; no less impressive (though not as accurate in her characterization) is Elizabeth Taylor as Louella Parsons. Other Emmy nominations went to the costume design and sound mixing, while Philip H. Lathrop won the statuette for his '30s-style photography. The "look who that is" supporting cast includes Richard Dysart as Louis B. Mayer, Eric Purcell as Orson Welles, Tim Robbins as Joseph Cotten (who once booted Louella in the derriere), Jason Wingreen as Jack Warner, Gary Wayne as Clark Gable, Denise Crosby as Carole Lombard, and Thomas Byrd as Hedda Hopper's actor-son William. Adapted from George Eels' waspish book Hedda and Louella, Malice in Wonderland is delightful, high-class claptrap. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first half of a two-part story, police detective Dennis Becker (Joe Santos) is harrassed by Lianne Sweeney (Joyce Van Patten), a "police groupie" who monitors the Department's activities via her radio and dogs Dennis' trail during his investigation of a very difficult case. Lianne's interference may also mess up the efforts by Jim Rockford (James Garner) to locate Patsy Fossler (Leslie Charleson), the missing fiancee of lawyer Michael Kelly (Jon Cypher). The situation worsens when Kelly reveals himself as a mob functionary, determined to have Patsy killed lest she blow the whistle on his bosses. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a novel by H. G. Wells, a group of bloodthirsty, oversized creatures (including rats, chickens, wasps, and worms) have taken over a remote island after ingesting a mysterious growth known as "Food of the Gods." It is up to an unusual group of people to put an end to this animal threat. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Jon Cypher makes the most of a rare leading role in The Kid and the Killers. Cypher plays a no-nonsense criminal who is saddled with a tousle-haired young orphan. The kid worms his way into the crook's heart, though we are spared an excess of syrup. Orphan and criminal team up to do battle with the film's real bad guy, the killer of the title. Perhaps the presence of a child in Kid and the Killers enabled the filmmakers to ship this one out with a light "PG" rating. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the 240th and final episode of The F.B.I., Inspector Lew Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and his partner Chris Daniels (Shelly Novack) are hot on the trail of escaped convict Sam Belson (Jon Cypher). The two agents manage to capture Belson in the middle of the California wilderness, but in the process Daniels is seriously wounded. It now falls to Erskine to guide himself, Belson and Daniels to safety--but time is rapidly running out for the Inspector's injured fellow agent, who may die unless he receives emergency medical treatment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi