The Christmas Toy

Eric Till

It’s Christmas Eve in the Jones household, and the playroom is alive with excitement and anticipation of the new toys that will arrive the next day. Balthazar, the old and wise bear, is so excited that his stuffing is popping out of his seams as he begins his annual Yuletide speech. The other toys listen intently as Balthazar explains that the community must welcome the newcomers with open hearts – even though they each may be replaced as one of the children’s new favorite toys. Rugby, the toy tiger, feels he doesn’t need to listen to the old bear’s imparted wisdom – he knows that Christmas is his own special holiday because last year he was Jamie’s favorite gift, and consequently, the center of attention. He enjoys his elite position as Jamie’s best-loved toy and believes he will maintain his role as king of the playroom – if he can only get inside her package under the Christmas tree. During the course of their harrowing adventures, all the toys share in the realization that the power of love can overcome their own personal fears and insecurities. When Rugby nearly loses Mew during their frenzied trip back home, he learns his most important lesson of all: that love and friendship are more important than being a star.


A Fan's Notes

Eric Till

Jerry Orbach ("Law & Order," "Dirty Dancing") is a young man whose troubled pursuit of the American dream of success and glory leads him to a mental institution. Based on Frederick Exley's award-winning novel, this is a harrowing and cautionary tale.


Hot Millions

Eric Till

"Any fool can steal. I've been embezzling." The con is on in Hot Millions, a droll caper whose wit and warmth recall the Ealing Studios romps of the 1950s. Peter Ustinov heads an engaging cast and co-scripts the Oscar-nominated screenplay about a dapper rogue (Ustinov) who uses a corporation's mainframe computer to issue checks to bogus companies, then proceeds to cash the checks. While he's stealing (sorry, embezzling) millions, delightful Maggie Smith nearly steals the show as a featherheaded secretary. Karl Malden as a pill-gobbling CEO and Bob Newhart, he of the button-down mind, add to the affable fun.


The Walking Stick

Eric Till

Quiet and shy, ashamed of her leg withered by polio, Deborah Dainton takes refuge in her work as a trusted employee of a posh London auction house. Within weeks, she is a criminal, the linchpin in a jewel heist. How she got there forms the twisted heart of this psychological crime thriller. The answer, of course, is a man: Leigh Hartley, a painter whose real talent may be his ability to manipulate a lonely young woman. He courts Deborah, making her feel whole and desirable. Now he has one favor to ask…and Deborah, despite claustrophobia from her time in an iron lung, hides in a closet so that she can slip out after the auction house's closing to let her lover enter and steal a fortune in gems. Blending boyish charm with a threat of danger, David Hemmings makes a magnetic Leigh.