Jeff Andrus
- 1994
This made-for-TV movie examines a rare genetic disorder that makes certain people so sensitive to light that they can only survive at night. The story centers on a family that has two so-afflicted children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Horton, Tracy Pollan, (more)
- 1993
Unique among the many made-for-TV dramas about spousal abuse--most of which are about women victimized by men--Men Don't Tell dramatizes the true story of a loving husband who is terrorized by the violent behavior of his wife. Ed MacAffrey (Peter Strauss) has long endured the physical and emotional abuse heaped upon him by his neurotic wife Laura (Judith Light), not only because he loves her and is concerned over the welfare of his daughter, but also because men are traditionally regarded as weaklings if they allow themselves to be battered by their wives. Even worse, after one of Laura's destructive tantrums brings the attention of the police, Ed is suspected of being the aggressor! Finally, Laura goes too far and Ed tries to defend himself--whereupon Laura crashes through the front window of her home and is rendered comatose, and Ed is arrested for attempted murder. Although the ending of the story could be considered positive and upbeat, it is painfully clear that there are many issues that will never be resolved. First telecast by CBS on May 14, 1993, Men Don't Tell was never rebroadcast on over-the-air television, reportedly because it incurred the wrath of several women's groups. However, the film has since been shown a number of times on cable's Lifetime channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
As Summers Die was produced as an "HBO Premiere" attraction. Set in the segregationist South of the 1950s, the film pits the wealthy but decadent members of a landed-gentry white family against a feisty old black woman, on whose property oil has been discovered. Idealistic attorney Scott Glenn bucks the family--and the inbred prejudices of the community--to protect the woman's interests. He finds himself with two unsuspected allies in the forms of young Jamie Lee Curtis and ancient Bette Davis, two "renegade" members of the very family that wants to grab the oil-rich land. As Summers Die had its cable-TV debut on May 17, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Even though he was pushing thirty, John Rubinstein was still fresh-faced enough to pass for a college student in 1975's All Together Now. Rubinstein plays the oldest of four orphans, who wishes to be named legal guardian for his younger siblings. The court gives Rubinstein thirty days to prove that the family can function properly without parents. If he fails, the children will be shipped off to separate foster homes. Made for television, All Together Now is in a certain sense a "second generation" offering: John Rubinstein is the son of symphony conductor Arthur Rubinstein, while his costars Adam Arkin and Larry Bishop are the sons of Alan Arkin and Joey Bishop, respectively. Featured in the cast is a gifted teenaged actress named Helen Hunt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
