Springer-4 Reviews

A Bunny's Tale (1985 TV Movie)

A serious look at great fun.

[8/10 · 7 November 1999]

The early days of both Gloria Steinham and Kirsty Alley merge nicely in this glossy look at Bunny Life in a Bunny Hutch. Gloria actually did became a Playboy Bunny for a time in order to do an article, Kirsty became Gloria, and both were terrific Bunnies. The story itself is sad and funny and gives the audience a lot to think about. The photography, the sets, and especially the costumes are fabulous. The acting is better than later efforts of the same actors. It raised my consciousness somewhat...I no longer long to wear long ears!

Who Will Love My Children? (1983 TV Movie)

Quite something!

[7 November 1999]

Ann-Margaret was nominated for an Emmy, deservedly so, for her work in this film. She is, quite simply, magnificent! I don't believe that she has ever been more beautiful...sans glamour, sans big hair, sans sexuality...yet her beauty shines out from someplace inside giving her performance a layered depth that needs no other trappings. All of the actors, including the kids, are fabulous. John Erman directed this tragic tale of a doomed depression-era mother trying to find homes for her children before she dies with incredible sensitivity and manages to avoid the traps of "maudlin." A terrific film!

The Day After (1983 TV Movie)

First a Bang...then a whimper

[10/10 · 7 November 1999]

An unusual film in that the Stars of the piece are not the actors, but the bombs. The plot, the locale, the people are merely devices to show the bomb's power. The result is a chilling, actually terrifying look at the sword that hangs over all of us. This film says that, if we as citizens of the world, allow the bombs to fall, it won't simply be our death, but the death of the world itself and everything that lives on and in it. A stark, sometimes stilted, view of an (almost) unimaginable act of pure power. The special effects...not computer created...were magnificent. Especially the sound.

Topper (1979 TV Movie)

Remake not so good.

[3/10 · 7 November 1999]

This remake of the wonderful Topper movies and early TV series lacks a few things...plot, acting, sets. Even the talented Rue McClanahan and Jack Warden seem as though they'd rather be anywhere else! I'm afraid that Kate Jackson and her husband at the time, Andrew Stevens, don't even come close to the charm of Constance Bennett and Roland Young in the Topper movies. And as for a snappy ghostly presence, the early TV series starring the amazing husband and wife team of Anne Jefferys and Robert Sterling, has it all over this boring version.