Sizzle (1981) (TV)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Don Medford

Writers:

Richard Carr (writer)
Clyde Ware (writer)

Release Date:

29 November 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An elaborate drama set in Prohibition era Chicago. Forsythe plays a cold-hearted gangster who succumbs...

Plot Keywords:

Chicago | Gangster | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Loni Anderson	...	Julie Davis
Leslie Uggams	...	Vonda
Roy Thinnes	...	Wheeler
Richard Lynch	...	Johnny O'Brien
Michael Goodwin	...	Danny Clark
Phyllis Davis	...	Sally
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Nick Tripoli
John Forsythe	...	Mike Callahan
Richard Bright	...	Corky
Martine Bartlett	...	Freda
Robert Costanzo	...	Al Capone
Arnie Moore	...	Boggs
Paul Larson	...	Johnson
Bonwitt St. Claire	...	Dess
Sandy Martin	...	Freda's Assistant

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16

Company:

Aaron Spelling Productions

Small town girl moves to big city and becomes a torch singer.

This is basically the plot of this inoffensive made-for-TV movie starring Loni Anderson, the aforementioned small town girl, as Julie Davis, Leslie Uggams as Vonda, who befriends Julie, Michael Goodwin as Julie's boyfriend Danny Clark, John Forsythe as mob boss Mike Callahan, Richard Lynch as his Lieutenant, Johnny O'Brien and Roy Thinnes as the fed trying to bust them all.

Danny Clark returns to said small town to get Julie and take her to Chicago. Did I mention that their transportation is a truck full of bootleg whiskey that Clark is driving for Callahan? Once in Chicago the warehouse where the whiskey is being stored is `hit' by a rival gang, but Clark still wants his pay since he did his job of delivering it. He and Julie head over to Callahan's speakeasy to collect and Callahan is so impressed by his `moxy', he hires him and puts him in the capable hands of O'Brien for training.

Plot is a little thin, but what can one expect from an Aaron Spelling production? It screams Spelling, right down to the `Love Boat' kisses. But still it wasn't bad. The movie plods along a tad too slowly and the inevitable happens, Julie ends up being passed around amongst the men, plus the ending is predictable. But the music, costumes and acting more than make up for it and in the end we see a much stronger, wiser Julie emerge from all the carnage around her. This is a good movie to watch on a rainy Saturday afternoon while ironing.