cmvgor

pastman is correct; *Mike's Murder* (1984) came between two bigger films in Debra Winger's timeline, and it had some of those problems that happen when Studio trumps Director. I have a copy on order (VHS; seems no DVDs are available), and I hope to be able to post a synopsis for TCM soon. What it probably needs and deserves is a reissued "Director's Cut". No way of finding out if that is likely to happen. It's yours, pastman. (By the way, when did you solve it?)

*9.* This film was one of the early ones to show unschooled outsiders such incidents as dealers fighting over a "corner" (drug sales venue), and higher-ranking dealers handing out real and fearful consequences to those apposing them. Since then, other stories such as *Traffic* (2000), the Cable series The Wire and 2007's *American Gangster* have escalated the picture: Actual turf wars, corruption of law enforcement and courts, and abrupt assassination of rivals. This earlier film, recording one outsider's observations at the edge of the industry, is innocent of those insights.

*The Wild Bunch* LA FEMME NIKITA or POINT OF NO RETURN

Lily Tomlin has a running guest-star role on Desperate Housewives, playing the sister of the _other_ actress who played President Bartlett's secretary on The West Wing: Kathryn Jooston.

Rogers' death -- plane crash. Dean's death -- car crash. Arbuckle's death -- heart attack per imdb. I don't get it.

Left-handed? Color-blind? Lactose intolerant? Reared by relatives other than their parents? Tortured by the heartbreak of psoriasis? Ambidextrous, or howeverthehell that's spelled? Message was edited by: cmvgor

*8.* Aside from the star, the other big name in the cast was a well-respected Black actor, now deceased, who played such varied roles as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Justice Thurgood Marshall and Huck Finn's friend Jim. In this film, he gives a solid performance as a doped-out but connected music producer.

*7.* The star has long been acknowledged as a talanted actress, but she gained a reputation for being "difficult". Also has a history of turning down roles that then went to other actresses who garnered acclaim. One brought in an Oscar nomination for the lady who got the role.

*6.* This film is in the TCM lists, but I don't remember ever having seen it in the schedule. The site for the movie has only the bare bones info -- cast, year of issue, etc. It's sitting there waiting for someone to log on and write a synopsis.

*5.* The star plays a young woman who is starting a business career, working at a bank. When first seen on the job she is teller at a drive-through window. Later she is seen taking and considering loan applications, evidently having risen in the ranks. Not a member of the drug scene herself, she met the murder victim when he was her tennis instructor. They had been lovers for a while, and his death was a blow to her. She starts an amateur investigation into his death, and her movements and observations help introduce the audience to the underside of the LA drug scene. This action also puts her at risk herself. A young man who had been partner with her late boyfriend seeks her out for help, being on the run himself. This is the person who dies violently while she is cringing behind a locked door.

*The Last Hurrah* ??

Negative re *Panic*, but that's a good one. A favorite of mine due to the very young Al Pacino. *4.* This movie was a disappointment when first issued. Withdrawn from distribution; editing; new music from a brand-name composer. Then it was re-issued after the star had a hit movie come out. Still a powerful story.

*3.* The film's violence does not take place on camera. The main character (and the audience) see mostly aftermath -- bloodstained walls at a crime scene, etc. But, in one tense passage, a second violent murder takes place just the other side of a closed door.

Negative re *Scarface*. *2.* A young man steals something from people who _don't_ report such thefts to the police. Those who suffered the loss avenge themselves.

*1.* 1980s. A brutal murder among members of what had come to be called the "drug culture".

British Title *License To Kill* (1965). USA title The Second Best Secret Agent In The Whole Wide World. USA prints carry the theme song (same title) as performed by Sammy Davis, Jr. A sequel, *Where The Bullets Fly*, came out in '66. And I found mention of _another_ sequel, *Somebody Stole Our Russian Spy*. I'll let than one languish. The one person who got the right answer contacted me through private mail (I think the "Rat Pack" clue clicked there), but decided to let others continue to work on it. I was feeling neglected, but now I think I'm feeling old. Similar experiences with titles such as *Gumshoe* and *Chance Meeting* give the impression that not many are around who remember the same premiers that I do. Thread's open. If no one has posed a new question by sundown, I'll try another.

*25* "Damn it, Waldo, you've been eating sardines again!"

Negative re *Flint*; the film and the hero are British. *10.* If someone else were posting these clues, my own first guess would be *Operation Kid Brother*, (British title O K Connery). _This_ film would be my second guess. Focus on the earlier clue about the theme song being performed by a member of the Rat Pack.

*9.* The star's career seems to have been mostly on British TV. He showed up in a number of the crowd scenes among the prisoners in *The Great Escape*.

*8,* Honey trap, A fetching Asian seductress turns out to be a guy, and a deadly hand-to-hand killer. A fight to the death, half in darkness.

> { Day Will Dawn* .. *..Over The Bridge...*.

*7.* The McGuffin is research on an "anti-gravity" system, in the care of a Swedish scientist.

> {quote:title=cmvgor wrote:}{quote} > *4.* The movie had one sequel, then, as a franchise, died quietly. Oopsie! Researching for clues to post, I ran across the fact that a _second_ sequel was made. So tepid it set on the shelf until the mid-1970s. *6.* The hero's personal sidearm is a classic "broomhandle" Mauser, a weapon usually seen (on film) in the hands of sneering Nazis. Noting that he is in a hospital zone and may have to do some shooting, he screws on a silencer.

Negative re *Liquidator*. *5.* Theme song by a RatPacker. B-)

*4.* The movie had one sequel, then, as a franchise, died quietly.