Main Cast: William "Hopalong" Boyd, Alan Hale, Sue Carol, Alberta Vaughn
Release Year: 1928
Country: US
Run Time: 68 minutes
Plot
A pre-Hopalong Cassidy William Boyd stars in the virile Cecil B. DeMille production Skyscraper. Boyd is cast as Blondy, a New York steel riveter with a fondness for girls and practical jokes, though not necessarily in that order. Blondy decides to change his carefree ways when he falls in love with chorus girl Sally (Sue Carol). But when he is seriously injured on the job, Blondy breaks off his engagement with Sally, not wanting to saddle her with a cripple husband. It is Blondy's best pal Slim (Alan Hale Sr.) who saves the day by chewing the hero out and calling him a "quitter," virtually forcing Blondy to rehabilitate himself -- both physically and mentally -- and return to Sally. The skyscraper scenes in Skyscraper were quite thrilling, filmed without benefit of back projection or doubles, but the "thrill" quotient of the film takes a back seat to the love story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Skyscraper is a 1996direct-to-video movie starring Anna Nicole Smith. It was directed by Raymond Martino and written by William Applegate Jr. and John Larrabee. The movie's plot borrows heavily from the film Die Hard with Smith taking the lead role.
Fairfax (Charles M. Huber), a criminal mastermind prone to quoting Shakespeare, is intent on collecting a series of four interlocking electronic devices that can somehow "shift the balance of power in the world." He manages, through deception and violence, to acquire three of the devices. (On one occasion, unbeknownst to her, busty protagonist and helicopter pilot Carrie Wisk [Smith] has shuttled two of Fairfax’ goons to the site of one of their raids.) Fairfax then sets his sights on the fourth device, which is tucked away in the Zitex building, an 86-floor skyscraper.
Wisk is again called to pick up a pair of VIPs, who this time turn out to be Fairfax himself and his assistant Jacques (Jonathan Fuller). She takes them to Zitex, where, in a movie double-cross, Fairfax mortally wounds Cranston (Eugene Robert Glazer), the possessor of the final device. Cranston escapes and meets up with Wisk on the roof, where he entrusts her with the device, admonishing her to keep it away from Fairfax at all costs. The well-endowed Wisk hops on a window washers’ rig and crashes through a window, then stashes the device in a trash bin. Comparisons are drawn between the large-breasted and good Wisk, and Fairfax's flat-chested and evil henchwoman, who Wisk invariably defeats.
Wisk’s LAPD officer husband (Richard Steinmetz), who’s been investigating the strange goings-on around town, heads for Zitex, fearing for his wife’s safety. Wisk’s husband leads Fairfax’ men on a chase around the building before being rescued by his better half. Fairfax finds the device, kills Jacques and heads for the roof, where Wisk engages him in a kickboxing showdown which ends with Fairfax’ 86-story fall to the street below.
Critical reception
The film was utterly derided as being nothing other than 'soft-porn' when it was released, plus some observed that Anna appeared to have gained some weight compared to her Playboy Playmate days, but has acquired some reputation as a camp-classic in recent years[1][2].
