Larry Cohen
Encyclopedia
Lawrence G. "Larry" Cohen (born July 15, 1941) is an American
film producer
, director
, and screenwriter
. He is best known as a B-Movie
auteur of horror
and science fiction
films - often containing a police procedural
element - during 1970s and 1980s. He has since concentrated mainly on screenwriting including the Joel Schumacher
thriller Phone Booth
(2002), Cellular
(2004) and Captivity
(2007). In 2006 Cohen returned to the directing chair for the Mick Garris
-created Masters of Horror
TV series (2006); he directed the episode Pick Me Up.
, USA
. His sister Ronni Chasen
was a publicist who worked with him beginning early in his film career. He moved to the Riverdale, Bronx
area of New York City
at an early age, and he later majored in Film studies
at the City College of New York
. He exhibited a voracious appetite for films as a child, visiting the movie theatres at least twice a week and, most of them being Double feature
s, the young Cohen managed to consume at least four movies a week. He was a fan of the Hardboiled
and Film noir
movies that featured actors such as Humphrey Bogart
and James Cagney
; films that were penned by the likes of Raymond Chandler
and Dashiell Hammett
. Cohen was especially a fan of director Michael Curtiz
, whose films include The Adventures of Robin Hood
, Casablanca
, and Dodge City
. His own career in film began during the 1950s when he worked for NBC
television network
: it was while working at NBC
that he learned how to produce teleplays and, shortly after, began writing his own television scripts. He solely created the TV series The Invaders
and also scripted episodes of The Defenders and The Fugitive
.
and detective
genres. He penned several episodes of The Defenders (1964) - which starred E.G. Marshall - one episode of the Espionage
) (1964), and episodes of The Fugitive
(1964-5). Other writing credits during the 1960s included the fantasy
-suspense
anthologies Kraft Television Theatre
(1958) and Kraft Suspense Theatre
(1965), the espionage
TV series Coronet Blue
(1967) starring Frank Converse
, and the science fiction
TV series, The Invaders
(1967-8). In 1966 he wrote the screenplay to the western
film Return of the Seven
aka Return of the Magnificent Seven, a sequel to the original film, which saw the return of Yul Brynner
as gunslinger
Chris Adams. He also created the western
TV series Branded (1965–1966).
starring Yaphet Kotto
, aka Beverly Hills Nightmare, Dial Rat for Terror and Housewife. In 1974 he directed the horror film
It's Alive, about a mutant monster baby that embarks on a killing spree. The film - an initial commercial failure - was re-released with a new and sharper advertisement campaign; it went onto earn over $7 million for Warner Bros.
and spawn two sequels. Cohen followed-up It's Alive with the science fiction
-serial killer
film God Told Me To
(1976), in which a New York
detective
investigates a spate of killings by apparently random people who say that God
told them to commit the crimes. He would concentrate his work - predominantly - within the horror
genre throughout the 1970s and 1980s, although often incorporating elements of crime
, police procedural
, and science fiction
.
. The first was Q
- aka Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) - about an Aztec
god
- Quetzalcoatl
or The Winged Serpent - resurrected and nesting atop the Chrysler Building
. The film is typically set in New York
and sees two police
detectives investigating a spate of killings in the city. The cast is headed by Moriarty and co-stars David Carradine
, Candy Clark
, Richard Roundtree
, and James Dixon (another Cohen regular). Cohen's next project with Moriarty was The Stuff
(1985) in which an alien
substance of sorts is found bubbling out of the ground. The Stuff is marketed at the general public, who rapidly become addicted to it. David 'Mo' Rutheford - an industrial saboteur
- played by Michael Moriarty
- is hired to investigate the origins of The Stuff and to then destroy the product. The film co-stars Danny Aiello
, Brian Bloom
, Scott Bloom
, Andrea Marcovicci
, Patrick O'Neal, and Paul Sorvino
. Saturday Night Live
regular, Garrett Morris
, plays Charle W. Hobbs aka 'Chocolate Chip Charlie', a junk food
mogul
who assists 'Mo' with his investigation. Cohen cast Moriarty in It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive (1987) - the third part of the Alive Trilogy - and again in A Return to Salem's Lot
(1987), the unofficial sequel to Stephen King
's novel and TV miniseries
, Salem's Lot. See Salem's Lot (1979 TV miniseries). Cohen finished the 1980s with Wicked Stepmother
(1989), in which the late Bette Davis
made her last appearance.
(1990) starring Eric Roberts
. The film is set in New York City
and is focused on Josh Baker (Roberts), an aspiring comic book
artist
, who investigates a string of disappearances: people who are picked up by a mysterious ambulance
never reach the city hospital. The Ambulance
features cameos
by Stan Lee
, Larry Hama
and Jim Salicrup
of Marvel Comics
. He would direct only two other films during the 1990s, one being the Blaxploitation
film Original Gangstas
(1996), featuring Ron O'Neal
, Pam Grier
, and Fred Williamson
. For most of the decade, Cohen concentrated on writing. He penned the remainder of the William Lustig
Maniac Cop Trilogy
- he had previously scripted Maniac Cop
in 1988 - that features Robert Z'Dar
as undead Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell, and B-Movie
horror actor Bruce Campbell
. He then provided the story to the third adaptation of Jack Finney
's 1955 science fiction
novel, The Body Snatchers
, a tale of alien
invasion and paranoia
: Body Snatchers
was directed by Abel Ferrara
and starred Forest Whitaker
. Throughout the decade Cohen was further involved in various TV projects including NYPD Blue
and the Ed McBain-inspired 87th Precinct: Heatwave. He also served as producer on the John Candy
comedy Delirious
(1991).
episode "Pick Me Up" (2006). His first project, Phone Booth
(2002), became involved in a Hollywood bidding war, the script eventually ending up in the hands of Joel Schumacher
. Phone Booth was a commercial success with an estimated budget of $13 million and a worldwide gross of $98 million. The film starred Colin Farrell
, Katie Holmes
, Kiefer Sutherland
, and Forest Whitaker
; it was produced by David Zucker. His next film - another action
-crime
thriller titled Cellular
(2004) - also featured phones and - like Phone Booth - it was a modest commercial success with an estimated budget of $25 million and a gross worldwide return of $50 million. Cellular starred Kim Basinger
, William H. Macy
, and Jason Statham
. Cellular was later re-made as Connected
(2008), Cohen being credited with the story. He then scripted the horror
-thriller films Captivity
(2007) and Messages Deleted
(2009); however, both films fared poorly on a critical and commercial level. Cohen nevertheless received acclaim for the above-mentioned Pick Me Up, which he directed for the Mick Garris
TV series Masters of Horror
(2006). The episode was written by splatterpunk
-horror
author David Schow, and starred Cohen regular Michael Moriarty
.
and decides to assist the poilce with their manhunt. The emphasis in It's Alive is on chemicals in our system that can prove harmful to unborn babies. The score for It's Alive was composed by Bernard Herrmann
, famous for his contributions to many Alfred Hitchcock
films, including Psycho, North by Northwest
, and Vertigo
. The cast includes John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell
, James Dixon
, and Andrew Duggan
.
. The cast includes John P. Ryan, James Dixon
, Andrew Duggan
, and Frederic Forrest
.
for Island of the Alive (1987), an actor who had previously starred in Cohen's Q
(1982) and The Stuff
(1985), and was also filming A Return to Salem's Lot
with Cohen that same year. The mutated babies have since been placed on a desert island following a court order. However, the person responsible for them, Jarvis (Michael Moriarty
), decides to lead an expedition to free the children. Cast includes Laurene Landon
of Maniac Cop
, and James Dixon
returns as Lt. Perkins.
, the existing reviews are also very poor. Even Cohen has admitted that the remake is 'dreadful' and states: 'It’s a terrible picture. It’s just beyond awful'. Cohen offered his 1974 script, but remarks that it was completely ignored: 'I would advise anybody who likes my film to cross the street and avoid seeing the new enchilada'.
ended up in a bidding war in 2002. The script eventually went to director Joel Schumacher
(The Lost Boys
), who cast Colin Farrell
, Kiefer Sutherland
, and Forest Whitaker
in lead roles. Although the film was completed in 2002, its release date was delayed due to the Beltway sniper attacks
. It was eventually released in 2003.
, claiming the company had intentionally plagiarized
a script
of theirs titled Cast of Characters in order to create the Sean Connery
-starring League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
film in 2003. According to the BBC
, the lawsuit alleged 'that Mr Cohen and Mr Poll pitched the idea to Fox several times between 1993 and 1996, under the name Cast of Characters.' The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was an adaptation of the 1999 published comic book
series by Alan Moore
and artist Kevin O'Neill
.
TV anthology, which also included - but was not limited to - writers and directors as diverse as Dario Argento
, Clive Barker
, John Carpenter
, Richard Chizmar
, Don Coscarelli
, Wes Craven
, David Cronenberg
, Joe Dante
, Guillermo Del Toro
, Ernest Dickerson
, Stuart Gordon
, James Gunn, Sam Hamm
, Tom Holland
, Tobe Hooper
, Lloyd Kaufman
, Mary Lambert, John Landis
, Joe R. Lansdale
, Bentley Little
, H.P. Lovecraft, Joe Lynch
, William Lustig
, Peter Medak
, Lucky McKee
, Kat O’ Shea, Robert Rodriguez
, Eli Roth
, David Schow, and Tim Sullivan. It was created by Mick Garris
for the Showtime cable network. Cohen's contribution was the segment Pick Me Up, based on a short story by David Schow, who also wrote the teleplay
. It stars Fairuza Balk
and Cohen regulars Laurene Landon
and Michael Moriarty
. Pick Me Up is the story of woman travelling on a bus that has broken down along a stretch of lonely two-lane blacktop
. Enter two serial killers: Wheeler (Moriarty), a driver who picks up hitchhikers with the sole intent of killing them - and - Walker (Warren Kole), a hitchhiker who accepts lifts in order to find his victims. The two killers pair up and inventively murder all the passengers on the bus, save for Stacia (Balk), who has since gone her own way. Stacia eventually winds up in the middle of a serial killer turf war
, a war over which killer will get her first. Pick Me Up signalled a brief return to the director's chair for Cohen.
Cohen's science fiction
horror
film and satirical social commentary, The Stuff
(1985), has garnered mixed reviews, often being compared to Jack Finney
's The Body Snatchers
novel and the 1958 film, The Blob
. It has a moderate fresh rating of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes
. The Apollo Movie Guide remark that The Stuff works 'on a purely visceral level' and that it further achieves a 'tongue-in-cheek social parody' of a society that cannot help buying into the latest craze. Although Apollo praise the juxtaposition of Cohen's clever screenplay and Michael Moriarty
's performance, they state that the film is 'no classic'. They do, however, award the film a modest Apollo Rating of 77/100. The Chicago Sun-Times
, on the other hand, see The Stuff as 'a widely ambitious movie that fails' mainly due to 'distracting glitches' and a lack of plausibility: 'what we have here are a lot of nice touches in search of a movie'. Chicago Sun-Times rating: 1 1/2 stars out of 5. Bloody Disgusting nevertheless award The Stuff with 3 stars out of 5, pointing out both the good and the bad: '[i]t's smart, it's relevant and it has some bad acting' and that it should be 'enjoyed for all the wrong and some of the right reasons' that it is '[..] not just a horror movie, but a very honest and important movie as well'.
His fantasy
horror
, Q
aka Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) has a Rotten Tomatoes
rating of 61%. TV Guide
praise Cohen for his intelligence, creativity and originality and further comment that '[Cohen] successfully combines a film noir crime story with a good old-fashioned giant monster movie' and that 'Michael Moriarty
turns in a brilliant performance as Jimmy Quinn [...]'. Horror author and movie critic, Kim Newman
, praises Cohen's plot originality and canny use of characters in Empire
, pointing out the director's use of an oddball as lead - Jimmy Quinn - who would ordinarily be a secondary character or warrant solely a cameo appearance; Newman also explains how Cohen has relegated all the usual plot devices - in movies such as King Kong - to the background. Alternatively, the Chicago Reader, although viewing Cohen's monster movie as 'cheesy' and 'fun', ultimately condemns the movie as being 'curiously disengaged and sloppy'. The New York Times
, following the film's opening day at the Rivoli Theater (Indianapolis, Indiana)
, had just 'a few words - only a very few - about Q, offering a brief neutral synopsis and a couple of quotes. Variety
are more favourable, focusing on Cohen's 'wild' and 'bizarre' - albeit realistic - efforts: Q has great fun mixing realistic settings with political satire and a wild yarn'. They go on to say that the film belongs to both Moriarty and the Monster.
It's Alive, the first part of Cohen's horror
trilogy featuring a mutated baby that kills its prey when trapped or frightened, holds a rating of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes
, one of the highest rated Cohen films from the latter. Focusing on the social context of the film at the time, The Film Journal points out that It's Alive 'carries a potent mix of both suspense and social critique [...] [i]nvoking such taboo subjects as abortion as early as 1974'. As well as being apt at providing 'suspense', The Film Journal acknowledge Cohen's ability 'to impart an intelligent nature to his otherwise pulpy horror films'. Black Hole magazine say that despite a lack of A-List
actors and special effects, It's Alive still manages to maintain the viewers interest due to Cohen's 'unique horror concept and a script rich in ideas'. Black Hole nevertheless points out that '[w]hile the drama is consistent, it's less successful as a seventies monster movie, and especially lacking now': whereas Jaws
(1975) revealed the shark slowly, Cohen's film 'barely ever shows us the goods'. The magazine does agree, however, that It's Alive was 'a sufficiently powerful monster movie and [that] audiences wanted more'. Filmcritic draws attention to the humour element, especially the scenes where the Baby-Monster is rustling in the bushes, unseen, comparing them to the scene in Basket Case
(1982) when the Baby-Monster is stuffed into a garbage sack after being cut away from its human twin. Basket Case is indeed a part of another - later - Baby-Monster horror
trilogy
. In short, Filmcritic says that Cohen's film should not be confused with art
; and yet, it is 'pretty scary stuff' that 'manages a few neat tricks'.
God Told Me To
aka Demon (1976), Cohen's science fiction
thriller, has a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes
, making it Cohen's most successful directorial effort, critically. The film, in which a number of New York
citizens embark on a killing spree because God Told Them To, is called 'one of his most ambitious movies' that is 'cemented in an interesting idea' by QNetwork Entertainment, who find Cohen's ideology of the existence of God interesting: 'cynical at best' and 'sacrilegious at worst'. The magazine continues, however, to comment on Cohen's lack of patience and drive when completing his movies, regarding the end products as being 'hastily thrown-together' and 'a mosaic of scenes, rather than a satisfying whole'. In conclusion QNetwork give the film an even 2 1/2 stars for being the 'clumsiest and most entertaining schlock of the last 20 years'. CinePassion online magazine simply state: '[a] work of genius, in other words, possibly the Cohen joint that brims with the most all-pervasive invention and danger, as radical a Seventies 'incoherent text' as Taxi Driver
and a clear linchpin of The X-Files
. The Chicago Sun-Times
sees Cohen's incoherent text in a different light, likening the film to a cinematic version of the card game 52 Pickup
: 'the movie does achieve greatness in another way: this is the most confused feature-length film [...] ever seen'. But Time Out applaud Cohen for offering 'the perfect existential anti-hero' in New York
cop, Lo Bianco, in a film that 'overflows with such perverse and subversive notions that no amount of shoddy editing and substandard camerawork can conceal [it's] unusual qualities' and that by '[d]igging deep into the psyche of American manhood, it lays bare the guilt-ridden oppressions of a soulless society'.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He is best known as a B-Movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
auteur of horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
films - often containing a police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
element - during 1970s and 1980s. He has since concentrated mainly on screenwriting including the Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...
thriller Phone Booth
Phone Booth (film)
Phone Booth is a 2002 American suspense-thriller film about a man who is held hostage in a telephone booth by a sniper. It stars Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, and Radha Mitchell. The film was directed by Joel Schumacher, with music composed by Harry Gregson-Williams...
(2002), Cellular
Cellular (film)
Cellular is a 2004 thriller film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham and William H. Macy. The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan, Larry Cohen and J...
(2004) and Captivity
Captivity (film)
Captivity is a 2007 thriller film directed by Roland Joffé, based on a screenplay by Larry Cohen and Joseph Tura, and starring Elisha Cuthbert...
(2007). In 2006 Cohen returned to the directing chair for the Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
-created Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror is an informal social group of international film writers and directors specializing in horror movies and an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.- Origin :...
TV series (2006); he directed the episode Pick Me Up.
Early life
Cohen was born in Kingston, New YorkKingston (town), New York
Kingston is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The Town of Kingston is in the northeast part of Ulster County, north of the City of Kingston. Kingston is inside the Catskill Park...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His sister Ronni Chasen
Ronni Chasen
Ronni Sue Chasen was an American publicist, who once represented such actors as Michael Douglas, as well as musicians such as Hans Zimmer and Mark Isham, among others...
was a publicist who worked with him beginning early in his film career. He moved to the Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
area of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at an early age, and he later majored in Film studies
Film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies...
at the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
. He exhibited a voracious appetite for films as a child, visiting the movie theatres at least twice a week and, most of them being Double feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
s, the young Cohen managed to consume at least four movies a week. He was a fan of the Hardboiled
Hardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
and Film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
movies that featured actors such as Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
and James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
; films that were penned by the likes of Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
and Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
. Cohen was especially a fan of director Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
, whose films include The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American swashbuckler film directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. Filmed in Technicolor, the picture stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Claude Rains.-Plot:...
, Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
, and Dodge City
Dodge City (1939 film)
Dodge City is a 1939 American Western film starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Bruce Cabot. Directed by Hungarian-turned-Hollywood filmmaker Michael Curtiz and based on a story by Robert Buckner, it was filmed in early Technicolor...
. His own career in film began during the 1950s when he worked for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
: it was while working at NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
that he learned how to produce teleplays and, shortly after, began writing his own television scripts. He solely created the TV series The Invaders
The Invaders
The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production , is an ABC science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that ran in the United States for two seasons, from January 10, 1967 to March 26, 1968...
and also scripted episodes of The Defenders and The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
.
Early Work in Television (1960s)
Cohen began his career as a writer for well-known television series, concentrating his efforts on - but not limiting them to - the crimeCrime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
and detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
genres. He penned several episodes of The Defenders (1964) - which starred E.G. Marshall - one episode of the Espionage
Espionage (TV series)
Espionage is a 1963 Associated TeleVision series, distributed outside the UK by ITC Entertainment and networked in the United States by NBC.-Synopsis:...
) (1964), and episodes of The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
(1964-5). Other writing credits during the 1960s included the fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
-suspense
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...
anthologies Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
(1958) and Kraft Suspense Theatre
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Kraft Suspense Theatre, an anthology series, was telecast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall specials once monthly...
(1965), the espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
TV series Coronet Blue
Coronet Blue
Coronet Blue is an American TV series that ran on CBS from May 29, 1967, to September 4, 1967.It starred Frank Converse as Michael Alden, an amnesiac in search of his identity. Brian Bedford costarred...
(1967) starring Frank Converse
Frank Converse
Frank Converse is an American actor. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, and the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
TV series, The Invaders
The Invaders
The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production , is an ABC science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that ran in the United States for two seasons, from January 10, 1967 to March 26, 1968...
(1967-8). In 1966 he wrote the screenplay to the western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film Return of the Seven
Return of the Seven
Return of the Seven , is the first sequel to the 1960 western, The Magnificent Seven. Made in 1966, Yul Brynner is the sole returning cast member from the first film, portraying Chris Adams....
aka Return of the Magnificent Seven, a sequel to the original film, which saw the return of Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
as gunslinger
Gunslinger
Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...
Chris Adams. He also created the western
Western
Western may refer to:* Western , a category of fiction and visual art centered on the American Old West** Western fiction, the Western genre as featured in literature* Western music, a type of American folk music-In geography:...
TV series Branded (1965–1966).
The 1970s
Although Cohen continued to write TV and film scripts during the 1970s - such as Columbo - he further turned his hand to directing. His directorial debut was the comedy film BoneBone (1972 film)
Bone, also known as Beverly Hills Nightmare, Dial Rat for Terror and Housewife, is a 1972 American film directed by Larry Cohen....
starring Yaphet Kotto
Yaphet Kotto
Yaphet Frederick Kotto is an African-American actor, known for numerous film roles , and his starring role in the NBC television series Homicide: Life on the Street .-Early life:Kotto was born in New York City, the son of Gladys Marie, a...
, aka Beverly Hills Nightmare, Dial Rat for Terror and Housewife. In 1974 he directed the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
It's Alive, about a mutant monster baby that embarks on a killing spree. The film - an initial commercial failure - was re-released with a new and sharper advertisement campaign; it went onto earn over $7 million for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and spawn two sequels. Cohen followed-up It's Alive with the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
-serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
film God Told Me To
God Told Me To
God Told Me To is a 1976 science fiction/horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen...
(1976), in which a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
investigates a spate of killings by apparently random people who say that God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
told them to commit the crimes. He would concentrate his work - predominantly - within the horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
genre throughout the 1970s and 1980s, although often incorporating elements of crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
, police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
, and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
.
The 1980s
During the 1980s, Cohen directed, produced, and scripted a number of low-budget horror films, many of which featured actor Michael MoriartyMichael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
. The first was Q
Q (film)
Q is a 1982 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.-Plot:...
- aka Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) - about an Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
- Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
or The Winged Serpent - resurrected and nesting atop the Chrysler Building
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
. The film is typically set in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and sees two police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
detectives investigating a spate of killings in the city. The cast is headed by Moriarty and co-stars David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
, Candy Clark
Candy Clark
Candace June "Candy" Clark is an American film and television actress, well known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 film American Graffiti, which garnered her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, a character she reprised in 1979 for the sequel More American Graffiti...
, Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree is an American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score and Shaft in Africa .-Personal life:Born in New Rochelle, New York, Richard Roundtree graduated from...
, and James Dixon (another Cohen regular). Cohen's next project with Moriarty was The Stuff
The Stuff
The Stuff is a 1985 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also the last film of noted actor Alexander Scourby.-Plot:...
(1985) in which an alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
substance of sorts is found bubbling out of the ground. The Stuff is marketed at the general public, who rapidly become addicted to it. David 'Mo' Rutheford - an industrial saboteur
Saboteur
A saboteur is someone who commits sabotage.It may also refer to:*Morituri , a 1965 film also known as The Saboteur*Saboteur , a card game by Frederic Moyersoen, published in 2004...
- played by Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
- is hired to investigate the origins of The Stuff and to then destroy the product. The film co-stars Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
, Brian Bloom
Brian Bloom
Brian Keith Bloom is an American actor, voice actor, and screenwriter.Bloom was born in Merrick, New York, the brother of producer/actor Scott Bloom and musician Mike Bloom....
, Scott Bloom
Scott Bloom
Scott Matthew Bloom is an American actor and film producer.Bloom was born in Merrick, New York. He began acting in film and television at a young age, starring in the cult horror film The Stuff and subsequently appeared in numerous TV serials and TV movies including the role of Jesse Nash in the...
, Andrea Marcovicci
Andrea Marcovicci
Andrea Louisa Marcovicci is an American actress and singer.- Biography :Marcovicci was born in Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of Helen , a singer, and Eugen Marcovicci, a physician and internist of Romanian descent. In her teens, she decided that she wanted to be a singer, but instead...
, Patrick O'Neal, and Paul Sorvino
Paul Sorvino
Paul Anthony Sorvino is an American actor. He often portrays authority figures on both sides of the law, and is possibly best known for his roles as Paulie Cicero, a portrayal of Paul Vario in the film Goodfellas and Sgt. Phil Cerreta on the police procedural and legal drama television series Law...
. Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
regular, Garrett Morris
Garrett Morris
Garrett Gonzalez Morris is an American comedian and actor from New Orleans. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980.-Early life and career:...
, plays Charle W. Hobbs aka 'Chocolate Chip Charlie', a junk food
Junk food
Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value ; to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all...
mogul
Mogul
-Person:*Magnate**Business magnate, a prominent person in a particular industry**Media mogul, a person who controls, either through personal ownership or a dominant position, any media enterprise-Technology:...
who assists 'Mo' with his investigation. Cohen cast Moriarty in It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive (1987) - the third part of the Alive Trilogy - and again in A Return to Salem's Lot
A Return to Salem's Lot
A Return to Salem's Lot is a 1987 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen.-Plot:Michael Moriarty plays an amoral anthropologist who has been lumbered with his dysfunctional adolescent son and who returns to Salem's Lot, the town of his birth, to find that it has been taken over by the undead...
(1987), the unofficial sequel to Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's novel and TV miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
, Salem's Lot. See Salem's Lot (1979 TV miniseries). Cohen finished the 1980s with Wicked Stepmother
Wicked Stepmother
Wicked Stepmother is a 1989 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen. It is best known for being the last film of Bette Davis, who withdrew from the project after filming began, citing major problems with the script and the way she was being photographed...
(1989), in which the late Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
made her last appearance.
The 1990s
Cohen began the 1990s with his film The AmbulanceThe Ambulance
The Ambulance is a 1990 thriller film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Janine Turner, Megan Gallagher, Red Buttons, and Eric Braeden as the Doctor. Kevin Hagen plays a cop in what would be his final film role...
(1990) starring Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
. The film is set in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and is focused on Josh Baker (Roberts), an aspiring comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, who investigates a string of disappearances: people who are picked up by a mysterious ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
never reach the city hospital. The Ambulance
The Ambulance
The Ambulance is a 1990 thriller film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Janine Turner, Megan Gallagher, Red Buttons, and Eric Braeden as the Doctor. Kevin Hagen plays a cop in what would be his final film role...
features cameos
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
by Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, Larry Hama
Larry Hama
Larry Hama is an American comic book writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s....
and Jim Salicrup
Jim Salicrup
Jim Salicrup is an American comic book editor, known for his tenures at Marvel Comics and Topps Comics. At Marvel, where he worked for twenty years, he edited books such as The Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, Avengers and various Spider-Man titles...
of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. He would direct only two other films during the 1990s, one being the Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
film Original Gangstas
Original Gangstas
Original Gangstas is a 1996 action movie set in urban Gary, Indiana starring Blaxploitation film stars such as Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Jim Brown, and Richard Roundtree....
(1996), featuring Ron O'Neal
Ron O'Neal
Ron O'Neal was an American actor, director and screenwriter...
, Pam Grier
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
, and Fred Williamson
Fred Williamson
Fred "The Hammer" Williamson is an American actor, architect, and former professional American football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League during the 1960s.-Football career:...
. For most of the decade, Cohen concentrated on writing. He penned the remainder of the William Lustig
William Lustig
William Lustig , also known as Bill Lustig, is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre.-Movie career:...
Maniac Cop Trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
- he had previously scripted Maniac Cop
Maniac Cop
Maniac Cop is a 1988 action/horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. The film spawned two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence .-Synopsis:...
in 1988 - that features Robert Z'Dar
Robert Z'Dar
Robert J. Zdarsky , better known as Robert Z’Dar, is an American actor and film producer, perhaps best known for his role as Matt Cordell in the cult horror film Maniac Cop and its two sequels. Due to his unusual facial structure, he is often referred to as "The Chin".-Early life:Born in Chicago,...
as undead Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell, and B-Movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
horror actor Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
. He then provided the story to the third adaptation of Jack Finney
Jack Finney
Jack Finney was an American author. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including The Body Snatchers and Time and Again. The former was the basis for the 1956 movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers and its remakes.-Biography:Finney was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and given the...
's 1955 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel, The Body Snatchers
The Body Snatchers
The Body Snatchers is a 1955 science fiction novel by Jack Finney, originally serialized in Colliers Magazine in 1954, which describes the fictional town of Santa Mira, California being invaded by seeds that have drifted to Earth from space...
, a tale of alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
invasion and paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
: Body Snatchers
Body Snatchers (1993 film)
Body Snatchers is a 1993 American science fiction horror film and loosely based on the 1955 novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. The film was directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Gabrielle Anwar, Billy Wirth, Terry Kinney, Meg Tilly, R...
was directed by Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara is an American film screenwriter and director. He is best known as an independent filmmaker of such films as The Driller Killer , Ms. 45 , King of New York , Bad Lieutenant and The Funeral .-Early life:Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent...
and starred Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
. Throughout the decade Cohen was further involved in various TV projects including NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
and the Ed McBain-inspired 87th Precinct: Heatwave. He also served as producer on the John Candy
John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
comedy Delirious
Delirious (film)
Delirious is a romantic comedy film starring John Candy, Mariel Hemingway, Emma Samms and Raymond Burr . It was released in 1991, but it did not achieve commercial success at the box offices.-Plot:...
(1991).
The 2000s and beyond
Cohen's output after the 1990s was less prolific and concentrated solely on scriptwriting, except for a brief return to directing with the Masters of HorrorMasters of Horror
Masters of Horror is an informal social group of international film writers and directors specializing in horror movies and an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.- Origin :...
episode "Pick Me Up" (2006). His first project, Phone Booth
Phone Booth (film)
Phone Booth is a 2002 American suspense-thriller film about a man who is held hostage in a telephone booth by a sniper. It stars Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, and Radha Mitchell. The film was directed by Joel Schumacher, with music composed by Harry Gregson-Williams...
(2002), became involved in a Hollywood bidding war, the script eventually ending up in the hands of Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...
. Phone Booth was a commercial success with an estimated budget of $13 million and a worldwide gross of $98 million. The film starred Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
, Katie Holmes
Katie Holmes
Katherine Noelle "Katie" Holmes is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003. Her movie roles have included the blockbuster Batman Begins along with art house films such as The Ice Storm and thrillers...
, Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
, and Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
; it was produced by David Zucker. His next film - another action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
thriller titled Cellular
Cellular (film)
Cellular is a 2004 thriller film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham and William H. Macy. The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan, Larry Cohen and J...
(2004) - also featured phones and - like Phone Booth - it was a modest commercial success with an estimated budget of $25 million and a gross worldwide return of $50 million. Cellular starred Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
, William H. Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
, and Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
. Cellular was later re-made as Connected
Connected (film)
Connected is a 2008 action-crime thriller film co-written and directed by Benny Chan. A co-production between Hong Kong and China, the film is a remake of the 2004 film Cellular...
(2008), Cohen being credited with the story. He then scripted the horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
-thriller films Captivity
Captivity (film)
Captivity is a 2007 thriller film directed by Roland Joffé, based on a screenplay by Larry Cohen and Joseph Tura, and starring Elisha Cuthbert...
(2007) and Messages Deleted
Messages Deleted
Messages Deleted - A screenwriting teacher is forced to live out the plot of a screenplay idea he stole from a student, who now seeks revenge.- Cast :* Matthew Lillard as Joel Brandt* Deborah Kara Unger as Det. Lavery* Gina Holden as Millie...
(2009); however, both films fared poorly on a critical and commercial level. Cohen nevertheless received acclaim for the above-mentioned Pick Me Up, which he directed for the Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
TV series Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror is an informal social group of international film writers and directors specializing in horror movies and an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.- Origin :...
(2006). The episode was written by splatterpunk
Splatterpunk
Splatterpunk—a term coined in 1986 by David J. Schow at the Twelfth World Fantasy Convention in Providence, Rhode Island—refers to a movement within horror fiction distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence and "hyperintensive horror with no limits." It is regarded as a revolt...
-horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
author David Schow, and starred Cohen regular Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
.
Series
Cohen created the It's Alive series in 1974 when he made the film It's Alive. The film was eventually a moderate success - after a re-vamped advertising campaign - and went on to spawn two sequels, It's Alive II: It Lives Again (1978) and It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987).It's Alive (1974)
It's Alive (1974) tells of a young couple - Frank and Lenore Davis - who give birth to a mutated baby. The doctors and nurses at the hospital attempt to end the life of the deformed child but it instead manages to kill them and escape. A police manhunt follows as the mutation flees, leaving dead bodies in its wake. Frank sees the child just as Dr. Frankenstein saw his monsterMonster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
and decides to assist the poilce with their manhunt. The emphasis in It's Alive is on chemicals in our system that can prove harmful to unborn babies. The score for It's Alive was composed by Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
, famous for his contributions to many Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
films, including Psycho, North by Northwest
North by Northwest
North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
, and Vertigo
Vertigo (film)
Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A...
. The cast includes John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell
Sharon Farrell
Sharon Farrell is an American television and film actress.-Career:Born as Sharon Forsmoe in Sioux City, Iowa, she made her acting debut in the 1959 film Kiss Her Goodbye...
, James Dixon
James Dixon
James Dixon was a United States Representative and Senator from Connecticut.-Biography:Born in Enfield, Connecticut, Dixon pursued preparatory studies, and graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1834, where he had been a charter member of The Kappa Alpha Society. He was...
, and Andrew Duggan
Andrew Duggan
-Career:During World War II, Duggan was in the 40th Special Services Company, led by actor Melvyn Douglas in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His contact with Douglas later led to his performing with Lucille Ball in the play Dreamgirl. He developed a friendship with Broadway...
.
It's Alive II: It Lives Again (1978)
It Lives Again (1978) picks up pretty much where the first one ended. The Davises' mutated baby has now been caught and killed; but, more are appearing around the country. Frank has now joined a renegade mob who are attempting to stop the government from killing these strange mutations. The emphasis in It Lives Again is on accepting your child, even if he or she is born with deformities or other physical or psychological problems. The score is again provided by Bernard HerrmannBernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
. The cast includes John P. Ryan, James Dixon
James Dixon
James Dixon was a United States Representative and Senator from Connecticut.-Biography:Born in Enfield, Connecticut, Dixon pursued preparatory studies, and graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1834, where he had been a charter member of The Kappa Alpha Society. He was...
, Andrew Duggan
Andrew Duggan
-Career:During World War II, Duggan was in the 40th Special Services Company, led by actor Melvyn Douglas in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His contact with Douglas later led to his performing with Lucille Ball in the play Dreamgirl. He developed a friendship with Broadway...
, and Frederic Forrest
Frederic Forrest
-Life:Forrest was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Virginia Allie and Frederic Fenimore Forrest, a furniture store owner. He is known for his roles as Chef in Apocalypse Now, When The Legends Die, It Lives Again, the neo-Nazi surplus store owner in Falling Down, Right to Kill? and for playing...
.
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987)
Cohen recruited Michael MoriartyMichael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
for Island of the Alive (1987), an actor who had previously starred in Cohen's Q
Q (film)
Q is a 1982 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.-Plot:...
(1982) and The Stuff
The Stuff
The Stuff is a 1985 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also the last film of noted actor Alexander Scourby.-Plot:...
(1985), and was also filming A Return to Salem's Lot
A Return to Salem's Lot
A Return to Salem's Lot is a 1987 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen.-Plot:Michael Moriarty plays an amoral anthropologist who has been lumbered with his dysfunctional adolescent son and who returns to Salem's Lot, the town of his birth, to find that it has been taken over by the undead...
with Cohen that same year. The mutated babies have since been placed on a desert island following a court order. However, the person responsible for them, Jarvis (Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
), decides to lead an expedition to free the children. Cast includes Laurene Landon
Laurene Landon
Laurene Landon is a film and television actress. Laurene first began appearing in movies in the late 1970s. She is best known for playing the role of Molly in ...All the Marbles...
of Maniac Cop
Maniac Cop
Maniac Cop is a 1988 action/horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. The film spawned two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence .-Synopsis:...
, and James Dixon
James Dixon
James Dixon was a United States Representative and Senator from Connecticut.-Biography:Born in Enfield, Connecticut, Dixon pursued preparatory studies, and graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1834, where he had been a charter member of The Kappa Alpha Society. He was...
returns as Lt. Perkins.
It's Alive (2008 remake)
Joseph Rusnak remade Cohen's film, It's Alive, in 2008. Still awaiting a score on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the existing reviews are also very poor. Even Cohen has admitted that the remake is 'dreadful' and states: 'It’s a terrible picture. It’s just beyond awful'. Cohen offered his 1974 script, but remarks that it was completely ignored: 'I would advise anybody who likes my film to cross the street and avoid seeing the new enchilada'.
Phone Booth Bidding War (2002)
Cohen's script for Phone BoothPhone Booth (film)
Phone Booth is a 2002 American suspense-thriller film about a man who is held hostage in a telephone booth by a sniper. It stars Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, and Radha Mitchell. The film was directed by Joel Schumacher, with music composed by Harry Gregson-Williams...
ended up in a bidding war in 2002. The script eventually went to director Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...
(The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....
), who cast Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
, Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
, and Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
in lead roles. Although the film was completed in 2002, its release date was delayed due to the Beltway sniper attacks
Beltway sniper attacks
The Washington sniper attacks took place during three weeks in October 2002 in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Ten people were killed and three others critically injured in various locations throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia...
. It was eventually released in 2003.
Cast of Characters Lawsuit (2003)
In 2003, Cohen, together with production partner Martin Poll was at the center of a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, claiming the company had intentionally plagiarized
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
a script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
of theirs titled Cast of Characters in order to create the Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
-starring League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a 2003 superhero film adaptation loosely based on characters from the comic book limited series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore, who is also famous for Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell. It was released on July 11, 2003, in the...
film in 2003. According to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, the lawsuit alleged 'that Mr Cohen and Mr Poll pitched the idea to Fox several times between 1993 and 1996, under the name Cast of Characters.' The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was an adaptation of the 1999 published comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and artist Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill (comics)
Kevin O'Neill is an English comic book illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .-Early career:...
.
Masters of Horror (2006)
In 2006, Cohen was included in the Masters of HorrorMasters of Horror
Masters of Horror is an informal social group of international film writers and directors specializing in horror movies and an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.- Origin :...
TV anthology, which also included - but was not limited to - writers and directors as diverse as Dario Argento
Dario Argento
Dario Argento is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies....
, Clive Barker
Clive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
, John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
, Richard Chizmar
Richard Chizmar
Richard Thomas Chizmar is best known as the publisher and editor of Cemetery Dance magazine and the owner of Cemetery Dance Publications...
, Don Coscarelli
Don Coscarelli
Don Coscarelli is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for horror films. His credits include the Phantasm series, The Beastmaster, and Bubba Ho-Tep.-Biography:...
, Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
, David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
, Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
, Guillermo Del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
, Ernest Dickerson
Ernest Dickerson
Ernest Roscoe Dickerson A.S.C. is an American film and television director and cinematographer. He directed generally urban films sometimes with supernatural stories like Juice, Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight, Bones and Never Die Alone...
, Stuart Gordon
Stuart Gordon
After the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
, James Gunn, Sam Hamm
Sam Hamm
Sam Hamm is an American screenwriter, perhaps best known for writing the screenplay for Tim Burton's Batman and an unused screenplay for the sequel. As a result of his work, he was invited to write for the Batman comic. The result was Batman: Blind Justice, which introduced Bruce Wayne's mentor,...
, Tom Holland
Tom Holland
Tom Holland may refer to:*Tom Holland , American film director*Tom Holland , British author*Tom Holland , British actor*Tom Holland , English footballer...
, Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...
, Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...
, Mary Lambert, John Landis
John Landis
John David Landis is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He is known for his comedies, his horror films, and his music videos with singer Michael Jackson.-Early life and career:...
, Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
, Bentley Little
Bentley Little
Bentley Little is an American author of horror novels.-Personal history:Little's first novel, The Revelation, was published with St...
, H.P. Lovecraft, Joe Lynch
Joe Lynch (director)
Joe Lynch is an American film director and music video director, cinematographer, and film actor.-Life and career:His directorial debut in feature film was 2007's Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, which starred Henry Rollins, Erica Leerhsen, and Texas Battle....
, William Lustig
William Lustig
William Lustig , also known as Bill Lustig, is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre.-Movie career:...
, Peter Medak
Peter Medak
Peter Medak is a Hungarian-born film director of British and American films.-Early life:He was born in Budapest, Hungary to a Jewish family, but in 1956 fled his native country for England due to the Hungarian Revolution...
, Lucky McKee
Lucky McKee
Edward Lucky McKee is an American director, writer, and actor, largely known for the 2002 film May, which has acquired a cult following.-Biography:...
, Kat O’ Shea, Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
, Eli Roth
Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his role as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds for which he won both a SAG Award and a BFCA Critic's Choice Award...
, David Schow, and Tim Sullivan. It was created by Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
for the Showtime cable network. Cohen's contribution was the segment Pick Me Up, based on a short story by David Schow, who also wrote the teleplay
Teleplay
A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films...
. It stars Fairuza Balk
Fairuza Balk
Fairuza Alejandra Balk is an American film actress. She made her theatrical film debut as Dorothy Gale in Disney's Return to Oz...
and Cohen regulars Laurene Landon
Laurene Landon
Laurene Landon is a film and television actress. Laurene first began appearing in movies in the late 1970s. She is best known for playing the role of Molly in ...All the Marbles...
and Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
. Pick Me Up is the story of woman travelling on a bus that has broken down along a stretch of lonely two-lane blacktop
Blacktop
Blacktop may refer to:* asphalt concrete, a composite material commonly used for construction of pavement, highways and parking lots* bituminous macadams* tarmac...
. Enter two serial killers: Wheeler (Moriarty), a driver who picks up hitchhikers with the sole intent of killing them - and - Walker (Warren Kole), a hitchhiker who accepts lifts in order to find his victims. The two killers pair up and inventively murder all the passengers on the bus, save for Stacia (Balk), who has since gone her own way. Stacia eventually winds up in the middle of a serial killer turf war
Turf war
According to Wordnet the definition of a turf war is "a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights". For example: a turf war erupted between street gangs; the president's resignation was the result of a turf war with the board of directors. In larger companies Turf wars could...
, a war over which killer will get her first. Pick Me Up signalled a brief return to the director's chair for Cohen.
Critical Response
Critical response to Cohen's work has been extremely varied, reviews ranging from good to poor.Cohen's science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film and satirical social commentary, The Stuff
The Stuff
The Stuff is a 1985 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also the last film of noted actor Alexander Scourby.-Plot:...
(1985), has garnered mixed reviews, often being compared to Jack Finney
Jack Finney
Jack Finney was an American author. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including The Body Snatchers and Time and Again. The former was the basis for the 1956 movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers and its remakes.-Biography:Finney was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and given the...
's The Body Snatchers
The Body Snatchers
The Body Snatchers is a 1955 science fiction novel by Jack Finney, originally serialized in Colliers Magazine in 1954, which describes the fictional town of Santa Mira, California being invaded by seeds that have drifted to Earth from space...
novel and the 1958 film, The Blob
The Blob
The Blob is an independently made 1958 American horror/science-fiction film that depicts a giant amoeba-like alien that terrorizes the small community of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania...
. It has a moderate fresh rating of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. The Apollo Movie Guide remark that The Stuff works 'on a purely visceral level' and that it further achieves a 'tongue-in-cheek social parody' of a society that cannot help buying into the latest craze. Although Apollo praise the juxtaposition of Cohen's clever screenplay and Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
's performance, they state that the film is 'no classic'. They do, however, award the film a modest Apollo Rating of 77/100. The Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, on the other hand, see The Stuff as 'a widely ambitious movie that fails' mainly due to 'distracting glitches' and a lack of plausibility: 'what we have here are a lot of nice touches in search of a movie'. Chicago Sun-Times rating: 1 1/2 stars out of 5. Bloody Disgusting nevertheless award The Stuff with 3 stars out of 5, pointing out both the good and the bad: '[i]t's smart, it's relevant and it has some bad acting' and that it should be 'enjoyed for all the wrong and some of the right reasons' that it is '[..] not just a horror movie, but a very honest and important movie as well'.
His fantasy
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, Q
Q (film)
Q is a 1982 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.-Plot:...
aka Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) has a Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
rating of 61%. TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
praise Cohen for his intelligence, creativity and originality and further comment that '[Cohen] successfully combines a film noir crime story with a good old-fashioned giant monster movie' and that 'Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
turns in a brilliant performance as Jimmy Quinn [...]'. Horror author and movie critic, Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
, praises Cohen's plot originality and canny use of characters in Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
, pointing out the director's use of an oddball as lead - Jimmy Quinn - who would ordinarily be a secondary character or warrant solely a cameo appearance; Newman also explains how Cohen has relegated all the usual plot devices - in movies such as King Kong - to the background. Alternatively, the Chicago Reader, although viewing Cohen's monster movie as 'cheesy' and 'fun', ultimately condemns the movie as being 'curiously disengaged and sloppy'. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, following the film's opening day at the Rivoli Theater (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Rivoli Theater (Indianapolis, Indiana)
The Rivoli Theater is a historic theater on the eastern side of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The theater was built in 1927 and was designed by architect Henry Ziegler Dietz. Originally designed and built as a single screen movie theater by Universal Pictures, it was sold in 1937 and...
, had just 'a few words - only a very few - about Q, offering a brief neutral synopsis and a couple of quotes. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
are more favourable, focusing on Cohen's 'wild' and 'bizarre' - albeit realistic - efforts: Q has great fun mixing realistic settings with political satire and a wild yarn'. They go on to say that the film belongs to both Moriarty and the Monster.
It's Alive, the first part of Cohen's horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
trilogy featuring a mutated baby that kills its prey when trapped or frightened, holds a rating of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, one of the highest rated Cohen films from the latter. Focusing on the social context of the film at the time, The Film Journal points out that It's Alive 'carries a potent mix of both suspense and social critique [...] [i]nvoking such taboo subjects as abortion as early as 1974'. As well as being apt at providing 'suspense', The Film Journal acknowledge Cohen's ability 'to impart an intelligent nature to his otherwise pulpy horror films'. Black Hole magazine say that despite a lack of A-List
A-list
A-list is a term that alludes to major movie stars, or the most bankable in the Hollywood film industry.The A-list is part of a larger guide called The Hot List that has become an industry-standard guide in Hollywood...
actors and special effects, It's Alive still manages to maintain the viewers interest due to Cohen's 'unique horror concept and a script rich in ideas'. Black Hole nevertheless points out that '[w]hile the drama is consistent, it's less successful as a seventies monster movie, and especially lacking now': whereas Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
(1975) revealed the shark slowly, Cohen's film 'barely ever shows us the goods'. The magazine does agree, however, that It's Alive was 'a sufficiently powerful monster movie and [that] audiences wanted more'. Filmcritic draws attention to the humour element, especially the scenes where the Baby-Monster is rustling in the bushes, unseen, comparing them to the scene in Basket Case
Basket Case (film)
Basket Case is an American horror film, written and directed by Frank Henenlotter, that was released in 1982. It has two sequels, Basket Case 2 and Basket Case 3: The Progeny by the same director. It is notable for its low budget and over-the-top violence...
(1982) when the Baby-Monster is stuffed into a garbage sack after being cut away from its human twin. Basket Case is indeed a part of another - later - Baby-Monster horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
. In short, Filmcritic says that Cohen's film should not be confused with art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
; and yet, it is 'pretty scary stuff' that 'manages a few neat tricks'.
God Told Me To
God Told Me To
God Told Me To is a 1976 science fiction/horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen...
aka Demon (1976), Cohen's science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
thriller, has a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, making it Cohen's most successful directorial effort, critically. The film, in which a number of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
citizens embark on a killing spree because God Told Them To, is called 'one of his most ambitious movies' that is 'cemented in an interesting idea' by QNetwork Entertainment, who find Cohen's ideology of the existence of God interesting: 'cynical at best' and 'sacrilegious at worst'. The magazine continues, however, to comment on Cohen's lack of patience and drive when completing his movies, regarding the end products as being 'hastily thrown-together' and 'a mosaic of scenes, rather than a satisfying whole'. In conclusion QNetwork give the film an even 2 1/2 stars for being the 'clumsiest and most entertaining schlock of the last 20 years'. CinePassion online magazine simply state: '[a] work of genius, in other words, possibly the Cohen joint that brims with the most all-pervasive invention and danger, as radical a Seventies 'incoherent text' as Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...
and a clear linchpin of The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
. The Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
sees Cohen's incoherent text in a different light, likening the film to a cinematic version of the card game 52 Pickup
52 Pickup
52 Pickup or 52-Card Pickup is a children's game, using a standard deck of 52 playing cards, that verges on a practical joke. The name has also been used for solitaire versions and for legitimate educational children's games that are based on the fundamental principle of picking up scattered cards...
: 'the movie does achieve greatness in another way: this is the most confused feature-length film [...] ever seen'. But Time Out applaud Cohen for offering 'the perfect existential anti-hero' in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
cop, Lo Bianco, in a film that 'overflows with such perverse and subversive notions that no amount of shoddy editing and substandard camerawork can conceal [it's] unusual qualities' and that by '[d]igging deep into the psyche of American manhood, it lays bare the guilt-ridden oppressions of a soulless society'.
Director
- Masters of Horror—"Pick Me Up" (2006)
- Original GangstasOriginal GangstasOriginal Gangstas is a 1996 action movie set in urban Gary, Indiana starring Blaxploitation film stars such as Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Jim Brown, and Richard Roundtree....
(1996) - As Good As Dead (1995)
- The AmbulanceThe AmbulanceThe Ambulance is a 1990 thriller film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Janine Turner, Megan Gallagher, Red Buttons, and Eric Braeden as the Doctor. Kevin Hagen plays a cop in what would be his final film role...
(1990) - Wicked StepmotherWicked StepmotherWicked Stepmother is a 1989 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen. It is best known for being the last film of Bette Davis, who withdrew from the project after filming began, citing major problems with the script and the way she was being photographed...
(1989) - Deadly IllusionDeadly IllusionDeadly Illusion is a 1987 film directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Billy Dee Williams, Vanity and Morgan Fairchild. The genres of the film are Action, Crime and Thriller.-Cast:*Billy Dee Williams as Hamberger*Vanity as Rina...
(1989) - A Return to Salem's LotA Return to Salem's LotA Return to Salem's Lot is a 1987 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen.-Plot:Michael Moriarty plays an amoral anthropologist who has been lumbered with his dysfunctional adolescent son and who returns to Salem's Lot, the town of his birth, to find that it has been taken over by the undead...
(1987) - It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive (1987)
- The StuffThe StuffThe Stuff is a 1985 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also the last film of noted actor Alexander Scourby.-Plot:...
(1985) - Perfect StrangersPerfect StrangersPerfect Strangers may refer to:* Perfect Strangers starring Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr* Perfect Strangers starring Ginger Rogers* Perfect Strangers starring Sam Neill...
(1984) - Special EffectsSpecial Effects (film)Special Effects is a 1984 film directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Zoe Lund and Eric Bogosian.-Cast:*Zoe Lund as Andrea Wilcox / Elaine*Eric Bogosian as Christopher Neville*Brad Rijn as Keefe Waterman*Kevin O'connor as Det. Lt. Phillip Delroy...
(1984) - QQ (film)Q is a 1982 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.-Plot:...
(1982) - See China and Die (1981)
- Full Moon HighFull Moon HighFull Moon High is a 1981 horror comedy film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It involves a high school werewolf that tries to keep his secret. He also ignores his girlfriend's sexual advances because it's "his time of the month".-Plot summary:...
(1981) - It's Alive 2: It Lives Again (1978)
- The Private Files of J. Edgar HooverThe Private Files of J. Edgar HooverThe Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover is a 1977 film directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Broderick Crawford and James Wainwright. The all star cast includes Jose Ferrer, Michael Parks, Celeste Holm, Ronee Blakely, Tanya Roberts in a cameo role, and in final screen appearances, Jack Cassidy and Dan...
(1977) - God Told Me ToGod Told Me ToGod Told Me To is a 1976 science fiction/horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen...
(1976) - It's Alive (1974)
- Hell Up in HarlemHell Up in HarlemHell Up in Harlem is a 1973 blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen...
(1973) - Black CaesarBlack Caesar (film)Black Caesar is a 1973 American blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen. It is a remake of the 1931 film Little Caesar. It features a notable musical score by James Brown , his first experience with writing music for film...
(1973) aka The Godfather of Harlem - BoneBone (1972 film)Bone, also known as Beverly Hills Nightmare, Dial Rat for Terror and Housewife, is a 1972 American film directed by Larry Cohen....
(1972) aka Dial Rat
Screenwriter
- The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger (2009)
- Messages DeletedMessages DeletedMessages Deleted - A screenwriting teacher is forced to live out the plot of a screenplay idea he stole from a student, who now seeks revenge.- Cast :* Matthew Lillard as Joel Brandt* Deborah Kara Unger as Det. Lavery* Gina Holden as Millie...
(2009) - Maniac Cop [short] [characters] (2008)
- ConnectedConnected (film)Connected is a 2008 action-crime thriller film co-written and directed by Benny Chan. A co-production between Hong Kong and China, the film is a remake of the 2004 film Cellular...
[original story] (2008) - It's AliveIt's Alive (2008 film)It's Alive is a 2008 remake of the Larry Cohen's 1974 horror film of the same name. See It's Alive .- Plot :When Lenore learns that she is pregnant, she leaves graduate school to set up a home with her boyfriend Frank in the country...
(2008) - CaptivityCaptivity (film)Captivity is a 2007 thriller film directed by Roland Joffé, based on a screenplay by Larry Cohen and Joseph Tura, and starring Elisha Cuthbert...
(2007) - CellularCellular (film)Cellular is a 2004 thriller film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham and William H. Macy. The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan, Larry Cohen and J...
[story] (2004) - Phone BoothPhone Booth (film)Phone Booth is a 2002 American suspense-thriller film about a man who is held hostage in a telephone booth by a sniper. It stars Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, and Radha Mitchell. The film was directed by Joel Schumacher, with music composed by Harry Gregson-Williams...
(2002) (Writer) - MisbegottenMisbegotten (film)Misbegotten is a 1998 film directed by Mark L. Lester....
(1998) - The Defenders: Choice of Evils [Story] [Teleplay] (1998)
- The Ex (1997)
- Uncle SamUncle Sam (film)Uncle Sam is a 1997 comedy-horror film directed by William Lustig. The film is about an extremely sadistic and patriotic American soldier named Sam Harper who is killed by friendly fire in Kuwait during Desert Storm. He is brought back to life on the Fourth of July, as THE Uncle Sam! He then...
(1997) - Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwave [Teleplay] (1996)
- The Invaders [TV Movie] (1995)
- The ExpertThe Expert (1995 film)The Expert is a 1995 action film about an ex-special forces trainer who decides to exact revenge on the murderer of his sister after his death sentence is commuted...
[uncredited] (1995) - As Good As Dead [TV Movie] (1995)
- NYPD BlueNYPD BlueNYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
[Season 2; Episode 17, "Dirty Socks"] (1995) - Guilty as SinGuilty as SinGuilty as Sin is a 1993 film directed by Sidney Lumet. It stars Don Johnson and Rebecca De Mornay, and was produced by Hollywood Pictures.-Plot:Jennifer Haines is an up-and-coming Chicago attorney...
(1993) - Jack FinneyJack FinneyJack Finney was an American author. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including The Body Snatchers and Time and Again. The former was the basis for the 1956 movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers and its remakes.-Biography:Finney was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and given the...
's Body SnatchersBody Snatchers (1993 film)Body Snatchers is a 1993 American science fiction horror film and loosely based on the 1955 novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. The film was directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Gabrielle Anwar, Billy Wirth, Terry Kinney, Meg Tilly, R...
[Screen Story] (1993) - Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence (1993)
- Maniac Cop 2Maniac Cop 2Maniac Cop 2 is a 1990 American action horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. It is the sequel to Maniac Cop and stars Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner and Bruce Campbell.-Plot:...
(1990) - The AmbulanceThe AmbulanceThe Ambulance is a 1990 thriller film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Janine Turner, Megan Gallagher, Red Buttons, and Eric Braeden as the Doctor. Kevin Hagen plays a cop in what would be his final film role...
(1990) - Wicked StepmotherWicked StepmotherWicked Stepmother is a 1989 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen. It is best known for being the last film of Bette Davis, who withdrew from the project after filming began, citing major problems with the script and the way she was being photographed...
(1989) - Desperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge [TV Movie] (1988)
- Maniac CopManiac CopManiac Cop is a 1988 action/horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. The film spawned two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence .-Synopsis:...
(1988) - Deadly IllusionDeadly IllusionDeadly Illusion is a 1987 film directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Billy Dee Williams, Vanity and Morgan Fairchild. The genres of the film are Action, Crime and Thriller.-Cast:*Billy Dee Williams as Hamberger*Vanity as Rina...
(1987) - Best SellerBest SellerBest Seller is a 1987 film written by Larry Cohen, directed by John Flynn and starring Brian Dennehy and James Woods. The plot concerns a career hitman, played by Woods, who wants to turn his life story into a book, to be written by Dennehy's character, a veteran police officer turned...
(1987) - A Return to Salem's LotA Return to Salem's LotA Return to Salem's Lot is a 1987 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen.-Plot:Michael Moriarty plays an amoral anthropologist who has been lumbered with his dysfunctional adolescent son and who returns to Salem's Lot, the town of his birth, to find that it has been taken over by the undead...
(1987) - It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive (1987)
- The StuffThe StuffThe Stuff is a 1985 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also the last film of noted actor Alexander Scourby.-Plot:...
(1985) - Perfect StrangersPerfect StrangersPerfect Strangers may refer to:* Perfect Strangers starring Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr* Perfect Strangers starring Ginger Rogers* Perfect Strangers starring Sam Neill...
(1984) - Special EffectsSpecial Effects (film)Special Effects is a 1984 film directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Zoe Lund and Eric Bogosian.-Cast:*Zoe Lund as Andrea Wilcox / Elaine*Eric Bogosian as Christopher Neville*Brad Rijn as Keefe Waterman*Kevin O'connor as Det. Lt. Phillip Delroy...
(1984) - Scandalous [Story] (1984)
- Women of San Quentin [TV Movie] [Story] (1983)
- QQ (film)Q is a 1982 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.-Plot:...
(1982) - I, the JuryI, the Jury (1982 film)I, the Jury is a 1982 film based on the best selling detective novel of the same name by Mickey Spillane. The story was previously filmed in 3D in 1953. Larry Cohen wrote the screenplay and was first hired to direct the film, but was replaced when the film's budget was already out of control after...
(1982) - Full Moon HighFull Moon HighFull Moon High is a 1981 horror comedy film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It involves a high school werewolf that tries to keep his secret. He also ignores his girlfriend's sexual advances because it's "his time of the month".-Plot summary:...
(1981) - The American Success Company (1980)
- It's Alive 2: It Lives Again (1978)
- Sparrow [TV Movie] [Creator] (1978)
- The Private Files of J. Edgar HooverThe Private Files of J. Edgar HooverThe Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover is a 1977 film directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Broderick Crawford and James Wainwright. The all star cast includes Jose Ferrer, Michael Parks, Celeste Holm, Ronee Blakely, Tanya Roberts in a cameo role, and in final screen appearances, Jack Cassidy and Dan...
(1977) - God Told Me ToGod Told Me ToGod Told Me To is a 1976 science fiction/horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen...
(1976) - GriffGriff (TV series)Griff is a 13-episode ABC crime drama starring Lorne Greene and Ben Murphy, which aired from September 29, 1973, to January 4, 1974. Nine months after the expiration of his nearly 14-year role as Ponderosa Ranch patriarch Ben Cartwright on NBC's Bonanza western series, the Canadian native Greene...
[Episode "Man on the Outside"] (1975) - It's Alive (1974)
- Columbo [Story] [Episode "An Exercise in Fatality"] (1974)
- Columbo [Story] [Episode "Candidate for Crime"] (1973)
- Columbo [Story] [Episode "Any Old Port in a Storm"] (1973)
- Shootout in a One-Dog Town [TV Movie] [Story] (1974)
- Hell Up in HarlemHell Up in HarlemHell Up in Harlem is a 1973 blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen...
(1973) - Black CaesarBlack Caesar (film)Black Caesar is a 1973 American blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen. It is a remake of the 1931 film Little Caesar. It features a notable musical score by James Brown , his first experience with writing music for film...
(1973) aka The Godfather of Harlem - Cool MillionCool MillionCool Million was a detective drama aired in the United States by NBC as an element in its "wheel series" The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie during its 1972-73 schedule....
[TV Series] Television pilotTelevision pilotA "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
(1972) - BoneBone (1972 film)Bone, also known as Beverly Hills Nightmare, Dial Rat for Terror and Housewife, is a 1972 American film directed by Larry Cohen....
(1972) aka Dial Rat - Call Home [TV Movie] [Developer] (1972)
- In Broad Daylight [TV Movie] (1971)
- El Condor (1970)
- Daddy's Gone A-HuntingDaddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969 film)Daddy's Gone A-Hunting is a 1969 film drama directed by Mark Robson.This is the first film directed by Robson after his 1967 box-office hit Valley of the Dolls. It bears little or no relationship to a 1925 silent film with the same name.-Plot:...
(1969) - Scream, Baby, ScreamScream, Baby, ScreamScream, Baby, Scream is a 1969 American horror film directed by Joseph Adler and written by Larry Cohen, who went on to write such horror classics as It's Alive and Q: The Winged Serpent.-Plot:...
(1969) - The InvadersThe InvadersThe Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production , is an ABC science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that ran in the United States for two seasons, from January 10, 1967 to March 26, 1968...
[TV Series] [43 Episodes] [Creator] (1967-8) - CusterCuster (TV series)Custer, also known as The Legend of Custer, is a 17-episode military-western television series which ran on ABC from September 6 to December 27, 1967, with Wayne Maunder in the starring role of then Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. During the American Civil War, Custer had risen to the...
aka The Legend of Custer [suggested by] (1967) - Coronet BlueCoronet BlueCoronet Blue is an American TV series that ran on CBS from May 29, 1967, to September 4, 1967.It starred Frank Converse as Michael Alden, an amnesiac in search of his identity. Brian Bedford costarred...
[TV Series] [11 Episodes] [Creator] (1967) - I Deal in Danger (1966)
- The Rat PatrolThe Rat PatrolThe Rat Patrol is an American television program that aired on ABC during the 1966–1968 seasons. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II...
[TV Series] [Episode "The Blind Man's Bluff Raid"] (1966) - Return of the SevenReturn of the SevenReturn of the Seven , is the first sequel to the 1960 western, The Magnificent Seven. Made in 1966, Yul Brynner is the sole returning cast member from the first film, portraying Chris Adams....
aka Return of the Magnificent Seven (1966) - Blue Light TV Series [17 Episodes] [Creator] (1966)
- Blade River, Revenge of the Indian Nations (1966)
- Branded [TV Series] [48 Episodes] [Creator] (1965-6)
- Kraft Suspense TheatreKraft Suspense TheatreKraft Suspense Theatre, an anthology series, was telecast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall specials once monthly...
[TV Series] [Episode "Kill No More"] (1965) - The FugitiveThe Fugitive (TV series)The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
[Episode "Scapegoat"] [Story] (1965) - The FugitiveThe Fugitive (TV series)The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
[Episode "Escape into Black"] [Teleplay] (1964) - EspionageEspionage (TV series)Espionage is a 1963 Associated TeleVision series, distributed outside the UK by ITC Entertainment and networked in the United States by NBC.-Synopsis:...
[Episode "Medal for a Turned Coat"] (1964) - The Defenders [Writer] [9 Epidodes] (1963-5)
- The Nurses [TV Series] [3 Episodes] (1963)
- Arrest and TrialArrest and TrialArrest and Trial is a 90-minute American Police procedural/legal drama that ran during the 1963-64 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.The majority of episodes consisted of two segments...
[TV Series] [Episode "My Name is Martin Burham"] (1963) - Sam BenedictSam BenedictSam Benedict is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 1962 to March 1963. The series was created and executive produced by E. Jack Neuman....
[TV Series] [Episode "Accompice"] (1963) - CheckmateCheckmate (TV series)Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue...
[TV Series] [Episode "Nice Guys Finish Last"] (1961) - The United States Steel HourThe United States Steel HourThe United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation....
[TV Series] [Episode "The Golden Thirty"] (1961) - Way Out [TV Series] [Episode "False Face"] (1961)
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey TheaterDick Powell's Zane Grey TheaterDick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.-Overview:Zane Grey Theatre was created by Luke Short and Charles A. Wallace...
[TV Series] [Episode "Killer Instinct"] (1960) - Kraft Television TheatreKraft Television TheatreKraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
[TV Series] [Episode "Night Cry"] (1958) - Kraft Television TheatreKraft Television TheatreKraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
[TV Series] [Episode "The Eighty Seventh Precinct"] [adaptation] (1958)
Producer
- The Torture of Delva Mills [Executive Prd.] (2010)
- As Good As Dead (1995)
- Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence [Co-Prd.] (1993)
- DeliriousDelirious (film)Delirious is a romantic comedy film starring John Candy, Mariel Hemingway, Emma Samms and Raymond Burr . It was released in 1991, but it did not achieve commercial success at the box offices.-Plot:...
(1991) - Maniac Cop 2Maniac Cop 2Maniac Cop 2 is a 1990 American action horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. It is the sequel to Maniac Cop and stars Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner and Bruce Campbell.-Plot:...
(1990) - Wicked StepmotherWicked StepmotherWicked Stepmother is a 1989 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen. It is best known for being the last film of Bette Davis, who withdrew from the project after filming began, citing major problems with the script and the way she was being photographed...
[Executive Prd.] (1989) - Maniac CopManiac CopManiac Cop is a 1988 action/horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. The film spawned two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence .-Synopsis:...
(1988) - A Return to Salem's LotA Return to Salem's LotA Return to Salem's Lot is a 1987 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen.-Plot:Michael Moriarty plays an amoral anthropologist who has been lumbered with his dysfunctional adolescent son and who returns to Salem's Lot, the town of his birth, to find that it has been taken over by the undead...
[Executive Prd.] (1987) - It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive [Executive Prd.] (1987)
- The StuffThe StuffThe Stuff is a 1985 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also the last film of noted actor Alexander Scourby.-Plot:...
[Executive Prd.] (1985) - QQ (film)Q is a 1982 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.-Plot:...
(1982) - Full Moon HighFull Moon HighFull Moon High is a 1981 horror comedy film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It involves a high school werewolf that tries to keep his secret. He also ignores his girlfriend's sexual advances because it's "his time of the month".-Plot summary:...
(1981) - It's Alive 2: It Lives Again (1978)
- The Private Files of J. Edgar HooverThe Private Files of J. Edgar HooverThe Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover is a 1977 film directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Broderick Crawford and James Wainwright. The all star cast includes Jose Ferrer, Michael Parks, Celeste Holm, Ronee Blakely, Tanya Roberts in a cameo role, and in final screen appearances, Jack Cassidy and Dan...
(1977) - God Told Me ToGod Told Me ToGod Told Me To is a 1976 science fiction/horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen...
(1976) - It's Alive (1974)
- Hell Up in HarlemHell Up in HarlemHell Up in Harlem is a 1973 blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen...
(1973) - Black CaesarBlack Caesar (film)Black Caesar is a 1973 American blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen. It is a remake of the 1931 film Little Caesar. It features a notable musical score by James Brown , his first experience with writing music for film...
(1973) aka The Godfather of Harlem - BoneBone (1972 film)Bone, also known as Beverly Hills Nightmare, Dial Rat for Terror and Housewife, is a 1972 American film directed by Larry Cohen....
(1972) aka Dial Rat - Never Too YoungNever Too YoungNever Too Young is an American teen soap opera that aired on ABC from September 27, 1965 to June 24, 1966 and was the first soap opera geared towards a teen audience.-Synopsis:...
[TV Series] [Executive Prd.] (1965) - Branded [TV Series] (1965)
Miscellaneous Crew
- Alice Doesn't Live Here AnymoreAlice Doesn't Live Here AnymoreAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is a 1974 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell. It stars Ellen Burstyn as a widow who travels with her preteen son across the American Southwest in search of a better life, along with Alfred Lutter as her son and Kris...
as Production Executive (1974) - Blue Light [TV series] [17 episodes] as Executive Script Consultant (1966)
External links
- Larry Cohen biography on (re)Search my Trash
- Senses of Cinema Great Directors profile (profile by Tony Williams)
- The New Yorker Feb 2,2004 "The Survivor" by Amy Wallace p42-49