Southerner Michael Caine’s plans to sell his heiress wife Jane Fonda’s land to a northern company are thwarted when two nearby land owners, his white cousin John Philip Law and his wife’s black former nurse Beah Richards, refuse to go along. When the two poorer owners join forces, it begins a war with actual casualties. While his accent is thoroughly suspect, it’s an interesting change seeing Caine portray an unredeemably bad guy, along with Burgess Meredith as a bigoted judge. It’s a bit heavy on the stereotypes and epic melodrama overall, but I did like seeing Beah Richards and Diahann Carroll portraying smart and strong woman fighting against the system.

In Jamaica grieving the loss of her infant daughter, Kathleen Quinlan meets housekeeper Whoopi Goldberg and brings her back to the United States to work. Once there, Goldberg is an unwelcome sight to Quinlan’s young son, Neil Patrick Harris, but they soon develop a bond stronger than any other in the family. The parental characters are quite awful people, both caught up in their own drama to the point where they essentially ignore their son’s desires completely. Luckily Goldberg is divine and together with Harris in his first film role make for an endearing duo.

Public defender Cher is assigned to the case of homeless and deaf Vietnam vet Liam Neeson, accused of murdering a Justice Department clerk. The facts of the case are small and during the trial, Dennis Quaid, a lobbyist and one of the jury members, begins to illegally assist Cher in finding the truth. It’s a somewhat twisty, compelling mystery thriller that is sold by Cher’s solid performance. I only wish she had done more films during this era when she was at the height of her acting career. I also enjoy seeing a young Neeson in his earlier roles where he plays more of a supporting role but his star quality still shines.