John Guillermin

American missionary doctors Phillip and Betsy Ames (Michael Shannon and Betsey Paul) travel with their young daughter, Janet (Kirsty Lindsey), to the African kingdom of Tigora to investigate the healing properties of the soil around the Zambouli tribal region, but are killed when a cave inside Gudjara Mountain collapses. The Zamboulis' female Shaman (Elizabeth of Toro) takes in the orphaned Janet and announces that the prophecy about a "golden god-child" emerging from the sacred mountain to protect the tribe has come true. The Zamboulis cheer as Shaman calls the girl, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Shaman introduces Sheena to the wild animals of the region and teaches her how to speak to them telepathically by touching her forehead. Over the next several years, as the young blonde white girl becomes a woman (now played by Tanya Roberts), she learns to ride a zebra named Marika and becomes skilled at archery, a Zambouli tradition. Meanwhile, Prince Otwani (Trevor Thomas) has returned to his home country of Tigora after playing professional football in the U.S.A. In the capital city of Azan, Otwani learns that Gudjara Mountain is full of the valuable mineral titanium, and he is greedy ready to exploit it. To take control of the country, Otwani plans to assassinate his brother, King Jabalani (Clifton Jones), who has always protected the rural Zambouli territory from mining. Shaman senses the king is in danger and goes to warn him. At the royal residence, the king's deceitful fiancée, Countess Zanda (France Zobda), schemes with Prince Otwani, with whom she is having an affair. After being informed that the Zambouli Shaman was in town, Zanda has her arrested and plans to frame her for the king's murder. From her cell, Shaman telepathically summons Sheena. Meanwhile, American television sports reporter, Vic Casey (Ted Wass), arrives in Tigora with cameraman Fletcher (Donovan Scott) to film a story about Prince Otwani. During a formal dinner at the royal palace, King Jabalani is struck down with an arrow, and Fletcher catches the chaos on camera, as Otwani pretends to grieve over his brother's body. After examining their footage closely, Vic and Fletcher discover the king was not killed with a Zambouli bow as Countess Zanda claimed, but with a steel crossbow hidden in a tree. Anxious to investigate the conspiracy, Vic goes to the prison to interview Shaman. He and Fletcher arrive in time to witness Sheena rescuing the Zambouli woman, with the help of her zebra, elephant, and chimpanzees. Astonished, the two men follow Sheena and Shaman into the jungle. The next day, Otwani orders his henchman, Colonel Jorgenson, to find and kill the escaped prisoner, along with the two nosy reporters, but prefers Sheena be captured alive. Surrounded by her pride of lions, Sheena confronts Vic and Fletcher driving through the jungle, and orders them to go back. However, as she and Vic look at each other with curiosity, she realizes he is not an enemy and creates a protected area for the reporters to wait. Sheena briefly leaves them to look after her mentor Shaman, who soon dies from injuries she received in prison. Colonel Jorgenson and his mercenary soldiers find the reporters and attack, but Fletcher escapes and returns to Azan to ship the film footage, while Vic hides with Sheena in the treetops. The next day, Sheena and Vic travel towards Zambouli territory on her zebra, Marika, and must outwit their pursuers along the way. During the journey, the two fall in love. Meanwhile, Fletcher is unable to ship the film or leave the country after Otwani shuts down communications and the airport. When Sheena and Vic reach Z'kuru, the first Zambouli village, they are horrified to see Jorgenson's soldiers destroying the place. Further along the road, the two assemble a flaming arrow to ignite the convoy's gasoline tanks. However, a fighter helicopter arrives in time to fan out the flames, and Otwani orders the pilot to shoot at Sheena and Vic as they flee. When the helicopter begins to gun down a herd of gazelle and threats to kill Sheena's beloved zebra, she and Vic emerge from the camouflage of trees and surrender. While being held prisoner, Vic indicates to Otwani that he has incriminating footage of King Jabalani's assassination. In exchange for Zambouli independence, Vic will hand over the film negative. Otwani wants to view the film first and sends Vic back to the capital Azan, guarded by two of Jorgenson's thugs. Meanwhile, against Otwani's wishes, Countess Zanda prepares to throw Sheena over the waterfall from the helicopter. Zanda first orders the pilot to circle the nearby village, so that the Zamboulis will come out to witness their so-called protector die. Using her telepathic abilities, Sheena summons flamingos that surround the helicopter and attack the pilot, while Zanda falls to her death. As the helicopter descends, Sheena jumps into the treetops before it crashes and explodes. Still in chains, she appears before the Zamboulis and orders them to collect their weapons for the battle. Meanwhile, Vic evades his captors and returns to help Sheena. After discussing a plan with Chief Haromba, Sheena summons her wild animals. In anticipation of mining the rich titanium, Otwani orders Jorgenson and his soldiers to secure Gudjara Mountain, but along a dense forest road, the convoy becomes stuck. From hiding places in the hillside trees, Sheena and the Zamboulis attack with arrows, spears, and boulders, while the soldiers fire back with their automatic rifles. Realizing they are cornered, Jorgenson orders his men to retreat as elephants, chimpanzees, lions, and a rhinoceros charge the convoy. Sheena jumps on her zebra to follow Otwani, who has escaped in a Jeep, while Chief Haromba spears Colonel Jorgenson in revenge for the death of the Z'kuru villagers. Although thrown from her zebra during a fast-paced pursuit, Sheena is able to kill Otwani with her bow and arrow. At the same time, Vic speeds across the desert to try and stop Otwani and crashes his Jeep. He is thrown from the vehicle and is badly burned, but is still alive. Vic recovers after Sheena and the Zamboulis submerge him in the healing soil. Initially, Vic wants to take Sheena back to New York City with him, but changes his mind after realizing the exploitation she would suffer. Before going their separate ways, the two declare their love and Vic promises to return.

As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board. Can Poirot identify the killer before the ship reaches the end of its journey? Based on the Dame Agatha Christie novel, our favorite Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot (Sir Peter Ustinov), is on a cruise up the Nile. He is surrounded by an interesting assortment of characters, including a wealthy heiress and her husband, on their honeymoon. It appears that everyone hates the heiress. —grantss As brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot enjoys a lavish cruise down the Nile, an arrogant, newlywed millionairess is found in a pool of blood, murdered on board. With every one of the eclectic passengers on board the luxurious SS Karnak having a good reason to want the wealthy heiress dead, meticulous Hercule Poirot arms himself with patience and dogged perseverance to ferret out the killer in their midst. Surrounded by clues hidden in plain sight, can Poirot shed light on the knotty case of the death on the Nile before another one ends up dead? —Nick Riganas Almost everyone on the S.S. Karnak, cruising the Nile, has a reason to want spoiled, selfish and beautiful heiress Linnet Ridgeway Doyle (Lois Chiles) dead. Her jewels are coveted by elderly Mrs. Van Schuyler (Bette Davis); her maid, Louise, is upset because Linnet won't give her a promised dowry; writer Salome Otterbourne (Angela Lansbury) is facing a libel suit brought by Linnet; Salome's daughter Rosalie Otterbourne (Olivia Hussey) wants to protect her mother; Andrew Pennington (George Kennedy) has been embezzling from the Ridgeway family; and former friend Jacqueline De Bellefort (Mia Farrow) is more than a little angry and upset that Linnet stole her fiancé, Simon Doyle (Simon MacCorkindale). Renowned Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) must unravel the mystery when Linnet (and some others) turn up dead. —Ron Kerrigan <mvg@whidbey.com>

In this disaster epic, 135 floors below the opening gala of the world`s tallest skyscraper, a fire ignites a conflagration that traps hundreds of partygoers in a Towering Inferno.

A Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707, forcing the crew to fly to Russia amidst tensions and stereotypes of the early 1970s. A crazed Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707 in this disaster film filled with the usual early '70s stereotypes, and demands to be taken to Russia. —Marty McKee <mmckee@wkio.com> Global Airways domestic flight 502 to Minneapolis-St. Paul has the potential for problems after Angie Thatcher, the girlfriend of co-pilot Sam Allen, is re-assigned as lead flight attendant; she is also the ex-girlfriend of the pilot, Hank O'Hara. There is further excitement once in the air as the President of the United States relays a message for one of the passengers. But those two issues take a back seat when a note for one person obviously to find states that there is a bomb aboard the plane and the note writer will detonate said bomb unless the flight is diverted to Anchorage, Alaska. The location of the note means that it had to have been written by one of the passengers in first class: a jazz cellist off to a gig; an army sergeant on furlough to attend his sister's wedding; a US Senator and his young adult son off on a fishing trip together; a young female hippie; a pregnant woman nearing the end of her third trimester traveling without her husband; and a couple past middle age on their latest move due to yet another work transfer, which the husband views as "losing". The flight crew has to view everyone as a suspect in taking whatever each says with a grain of salt. But even if they are able to discover the identity of the hijacker and his/her motivation and end goal, they still have to find and defuse the bomb. —Huggo

As the Allied armies close in, the Germans decide to blow up the last Rhine bridge, trapping their own men on the wrong side. But will it happen? In the last days of World War II, the Allies look for a bridge still left standing across the Rhine, in order to launch an assault on the centre of Germany. The last bridge which meets both sides' criteria's at Remagen, and both sides race to reach it first, but for very different purposes. —Anthony Hughes <husnock31@hotmail.com> March, 1945. The allies are closing in on Nazi Germany. The problem for the Americans and British on the Western Front is crossing the Rhine River, a natural obstacle to the invasion of Germany. The Germans have blown all of the bridges on the Rhine, except one - the bridge at Remagen. US forces are headed for it, spearheaded by a platoon lead by war-weary Lt Hartman. The Germans have sent a top-notch infantry officer, Major Kreuger, to take over the defense of the bridge and blow it up. The confrontation between the two could hasten the end of the war, or result in tens of thousands more casualties. —grantss