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6 Degrees Entertainment

'Mary Higgins Clark: 14 Film Collection'
(Jill Clayburgh, Angie Everhart, Amanda Donohue, Emma Samms, Hannes Jaenicke, et al / 6-Disc DVD / NR / 2018 / Mill Creek Entertainment)

Overview: MARY HIGGINS CLARK is one of the most critically acclaimed mystery writers of our time. 'The Queen of Suspense' has sold over 100 million copies of her novels in the U.S. alone. Known for her intriguing, clever and suspenseful writing style, now you can enjoy a robust collection of film adaptations from her best-selling novels and original mysteries.

DVD Verdict: Taking a look at the highlights (in my mind) of this wondrous 14 movie collection, first up we get 'Where Are the Children' (1986) - Jill Clayburgh; Max Gail. Two children are kidnapped and held for ransom by a madman. Soon, however, the children's father begins to suspect that their mother may possibly have had something to do with the crime.

A moody, atmospheric thriller based on a novel by Mary Higgins Clark, with Jill Clayburgh in the lead as a woman-with-a-past who just might have murdered her own children. Max Gail ('Barney Miller') has a thankless role as her husband; but the real treat is that under-rated chameleon of an actor, Frederic Forrest, who will probably be remembered as the best character actor of his generation.

Another good one is 'Loves Music, Loves to Dance' (2001) - Patsy Kensit; Dean McDermott. When the best friend of talk-show producer Darcy Scott is murdered while preparing a report about internet dating, Darcy sets out to discover who the killer is, convinced it's one of the men her pal met online.

Kensit is Darcy Scott, the producer of a trash-talk TV show, whose friend Erin (Preston) is doing a story for her on Internet dating. When she is murdered, Darcy is convinced the murder is committed by one of the men she dated and sets out to find the killer.

These Clark TV movies are like lovely accidents - you can't help but look. I watch all of them, even though they're not very good. This one, while full of holes (especially the first scene when a woman is murdered a few feet away from a big party and didn't scream her guts out), moves a little faster than some of the past adaptations.

That's followed by 'I'll Be Seeing You' (2004) - PG-13 - Alison Eastwood. A young woman must identify the body of her exact double and ends up discovering the details of her father's death.

Here, Eastwood plays a young woman, Patricia Collins, whose double is murdered. The victim had her name and address in her pocket, but Patricia had never met her. This story is folded into the death of Patricia's father, whose body was never found.

Mysterious occurrences point to him still being alive. When Patricia mentions her dad's name at a fertility clinic with whom her father did business, one of the scientists there becomes frightened and is later murdered. I won't reveal any more, but trust me, it's a darn good watch.

Then I'd recommend 'A Crime of Passion' (2003) - PG-13 - Cynthia Gibb. Frederica Dumay has everything - a gorgeous new husband and half ownership of a winery. But when her business partner's wife is murdered, Freddi suspects her partner's new love.

While trying to discover the truth, an old boyfriend suggests looking into her new husband's background. This leaves Freddi wondering who she can trust.

This was a great and exciting murder mystery. It kept me guessing the entire time who the murderer was. I thought I knew for sure who it was, but I was wrong. There were many twists and turns in this thriller.

Also, the acting was superb and I enjoyed watching every one of the actors. They gave a wonderful performance so I would definitely watch this movie again with friends (even though I now know whodunnit, of course!)

Lastly, in my highlighted selection, I would choose 'The Cradle Will Fall' (2004) - Angie Everhart; John Ralston. Charged with investigating the suicide of a pregnant woman, prosecutor Kate DeMalo unwittingly becomes entangled in a complex mystery involving cheating husbands, strange doctors and murder.

I especially enjoyed this movie because of Philippe Brenninkmeyer, who is quite handsome and someone I had never seen before and would love to see more of. Apparently he makes a lot of films in Germany. He was very smooth as Dr. Highley.

For me, the denouement was telegraphed in advanced (as it always seems to be in these films), but Angie Everhart is lovely and likable, and John Ralston as the medical examiner was good, too.

However, it is still a damn good story and pleasant enough, and there was some good tension and suspense at the end. There was a time when TV movies like this could be quite effective. I miss those days.

The remaining movies of the 14 are: 'Lucky Day' (2002) - Amanda Donohoe; Karen LeBlanc; 'All Around the Town' (2002) - Nastassja Kinski; Andrea Roth; 'Pretend You Don't See Her' (2002) - PG-13 - Emma Samms; 'You Belong to Me' (2002) - PG-13 - Lesley-Anne Down; 'We'll Meet Again' (2002) - PG-13 - Laura Leighton; 'Before I Say Goodbye' (2003) - PG-13 - Sean Young; 'Haven’t We Met Before' (2002) - Not Rated - Nicollette Sheridan; 'Try to Remember' (2004) - PG-13 - Gabrielle Anwar; and finally 'He Sees You When You're Sleeping' (2002) - PG - Erika Eleniak.

This is a Widescreen and Full Screen set of Presentations (1.33:1/1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.

www.millcreekent.com





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