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Reviews
The Other Side of Hell (1978)
The Best 'made for TV' Movie
Alan Arkin plays Frank Dole, a disturbed but highly intelligent man who is sent to a hospital for the criminally insane to serve time and rehabilitate. But what he discovers there is not what he anticipated. He finds himself in a closed world where guard brutality is an everyday occurrence, where he must learn to 'get well' strictly by his own efforts. After spending years in this daily hell, (for no one ever gets released) he makes plans in preparation to one day escape this institution with his collected proof of it's corruption. This film is arguably the highest quality 'made for TV' movie ever produced. And in my opinion it is the best role Alan Arkin has played in his long career. It is directed by Czeck director Jan Kadar who effectively creates it's dark and ominous mood. At over 2 hours in length, it is truly a long arduous journey... one you are imprisoned with to it's final conclusion. Fifteen years ago I was fortunate enough to record it off a TV broadcast, now-days it is simply unavailable from any source. It still never fails to impress me with each subsequent viewing. Feel free to email with any comments.
The Day the Earth Moved (1974)
Pilots accidentally discover predictor of earthquakes
Jackie Cooper and Cleavon Little are pilots engaged in aerial photography, who accidentally discover a method of predicting earthquakes. High stresses in the Earth's crust give off a heat which shows up on specially treated photographic paper. Looking at some recently exposed film, Cooper and his ex-wife Stella Stevens realize that the small desert town of Bates, where he recently spent time, is at the centre of a high stress area and will likely be destroyed.
I hadn't seen this 'made for TV' movie since I was a kid, until I recently purchased it on videotape. There was a bit of nostalgia associated with this film, as my older brother and I used to watch it on TV during the 1970's as an afternoon matinée. It was a perfect rainy day film. As kids we were naturally fascinated by the idea of predicting an event as complex as an earthquake... made more interesting because the photographic film stock was a fluke, never to be repeated nor could any more be obtained. From this standpoint alone, it makes for an absorbing storyline. Stella Stevens was well known from her role in Jerry Lewis's The Nutty Professor a decade earlier, and Jackie Cooper was still to take on the role of Perry White in the movie Superman. The special effects showing the various earthquake scenes were remarkably decent considering this was a made for TV movie with a limited budget. As a whole, the film's also an interesting snap-shot of 1970's era film-making. Sometimes it's hard to believe those actors are no longer young. Well worth taking a look if you can locate a tape. Please feel free to email with any inquiries.