Author Archive: Retro

Agency tackles the question of the efficiency of media manipulation. An unscrupulous advertising agency, in league with equally untrustworthy political campaign manager Robert Mitchum, plants subliminal messages in its TV commercials. Just as Vance Packard warned in the 1950s expose The Hidden Persuaders, these hidden messages persuade the viewers to vote for Mitchum’s candidate. Given the potency of the the film’s premise, it’s disappointing to watch director George Gaczender handle the material (based on a novel by Paul Gottleib) is so cut-and-dried a fashion. But Mitchum is good, as are his costars Valerie Perrine, Lee Majors, Saul Rubinek and Alexandra Stewart.

In the near future, the Catholic church has joined with other western religions in an ecumenical movement that has washed out much of the original message of the religion. A group of Irish monks have begun saying the mass again in Latin and have begun to have an international following. Martin Sheen is sent from Rome to bring them to task and they must confront what is truly essential in their worship and what is not.

Four part ( mins each) dubbed version of Victor Hugo’s classic novel about the th century France.

Hard hitting drama by Fay Kanin about the prostitution racket. Lee Remick is an investigative reporter and Jill Clayburgh gives a gritty performance as a hooker. Also stars Monte Markham and Alex Rocco.

In the late 1800s, a young girl is seduced by a squire, but decides to raise her child on her own.

Singing teacher with a piercing stare hypnotizes a young model into faking her death and leaving with him for Paris.

H.B. Warner

Thornton Wilder’s story depicting several years in the life of a turn-of-the-century New England family. Produced by Sol Lesser. Pulitzer Prize winning stage hit brought to the screen.