Joe Spinell

Joe Spinell

​Joe Spinell was born Joseph J. Spagnuolo in Manhattan, New York of Italian immigrant parents, and the last of six children. His father, Pelegrino Spagnuolo (b. 1892, d. 1950), died from liver and kidney disease. His mother Filomena Spagnuolo (b. 1903, d. 1987) was a bit-part actress who acted in a few movies, some of them alongside her son. Spinell stood 5 foot and 11 inches. He was born at his family's apartment in Manhattan's Little Italy on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. A few years after the death of his father, he moved with his mother and older siblings to Woodside, Queens, New York where he lived off-and-on for the remainder of his life. Spinell suffered most of his life from hemophilia as well as chronic asthma. Because of his large, heavyset frame and imposing looks, Spinell was often cast as criminals, thugs, or corrupt police officers. His most notable roles were as mafioso Willi Cicci in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, and as loan shark Tony Gazzo in Rocky and Rocky II. Although primarily known as a character actor, Spinell co-wrote and starred as a serial killer in the 1980 film, Maniac. Joe Spinell died in his apartment on January 13, 1989 at the age of 52. The cause of his untimely death is arguable to this day. Some say that his death was caused by sudden heart attack due to heavy drug use, drinking and emotional distress in light of his mother passing away two years earlier. It is also speculated that he may have died from asthma complications, or bled to death from hemophilia related causes. He was planning a sequel to Maniac before his death. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens near his home. He is the distant cousin of the American football team St. Louis Ram's Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo. Spinell was married to adult film star Jean Jennings from February 1977 to July 1979. Together they had one daughter, but they eventually divorced.

  • Title: Joe Spinell
  • Popularity: 14.241
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1936-10-28
  • Place of Birth: Manhattan, New York
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Joseph J. Spagnuolo, Joseph Spagnuolo
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Joe Spinell Movies

  • 1976
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    Rocky

    Rocky

    7.788 1976 HD

    An uneducated collector for a Philadelphia loan shark is given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight against the world heavyweight boxing...

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  • 1979
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    Rocky II

    Rocky II

    7.3 1979 HD

    After Rocky goes the distance with champ Apollo Creed, both try to put the fight behind them and move on. Rocky settles down with Adrian but can't...

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  • 1975
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    Farewell, My Lovely

    Farewell, My Lovely

    6.6 1975 HD

    Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a...

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  • 1976
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    Stay Hungry

    Stay Hungry

    5.7 1976 HD

    A dishonest businessman asks rich layabout Craig Blake to help him buy a gym, which will be demolished for a development project in Alabama. But...

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  • 1978
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    Starcrash

    Starcrash

    4.2 1978 HD

    A pair of smugglers manage to pick up a castaway while running from the authorities, who turns out to be the only survivor from a secret mission to...

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  • 1981
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    Nighthawks

    Nighthawks

    6.4 1981 HD

    When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.

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  • 2007
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    Exorcising 'Cruising'

    Exorcising 'Cruising'

    6 2007 HD

    Part two of the making of William Friedkin's 1980 thriller "Cruising" and the controversies it created.

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  • 2007
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    The History of 'Cruising'

    The History of 'Cruising'

    6 2007 HD

    Part one of the making of William Friedkin’s 1980 thriller "Cruising" and the controversies it created.

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  • 1982
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    Vigilante

    Vigilante

    6.3 1982 HD

    New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and...

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  • 1976
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    Next Stop, Greenwich Village

    Next Stop, Greenwich Village

    6.4 1976 HD

    An aspiring Jewish actor moves out of his parents' Brooklyn apartment to seek his fortune in the bohemian life of Greenwich Village in 1953.

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  • 1973
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    The Seven-Ups

    The Seven-Ups

    6.3 1973 HD

    A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for...

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  • 1980
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    Melvin and Howard

    Melvin and Howard

    6.4 1980 HD

    The story of hard-luck Melvin Dummar, who claimed to have received a will naming him an heir to the fortune of Howard Hughes.

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  • 1980
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    Forbidden Zone

    Forbidden Zone

    6.3 1980 HD

    A mysterious door in the basement of the Hercules house leads to the Sixth Dimension by way of a gigantic set of intestine. When Frenchy slips...

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  • 1981
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    The Godfather 1901–1959: The Complete Epic

    The Godfather 1901–1959: The Complete Epic

    9.3 1981 HD

    The Godfather 1901–1959: The Complete Epic is a reduced, 386-minute version of the 1977 television miniseries, "Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The...

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  • 1980
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    Maniac

    Maniac

    6.4 1980 HD

    A psychotic man, troubled by his childhood abuse, loose in NYC, kills young women and local girl American models and takes their scalps as trophies.

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  • 1980
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    Cruising

    Cruising

    6.6 1980 HD

    When New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who preys on patrons of the city's underground bars, young rookie Steve Burns...

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  • 1982
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    Night Shift

    Night Shift

    6 1982 HD

    A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner who dreams of the "one...

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  • 1977
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    Sorcerer

    Sorcerer

    7.4 1977 HD

    Four men from different parts of the globe, all hiding from their pasts in the same remote South American town, agree to risk their lives...

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  • 1980
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    The Ninth Configuration

    The Ninth Configuration

    6.5 1980 HD

    Army psychiatrist Colonel Kane is posted to a secluded gothic castle housing a military asylum. With a reserved calm, he indulges the inmates'...

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  • 2000
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    The American Nightmare

    The American Nightmare

    6.9 2000 HD

    An examination into the nature of 1960's-70's horror films, the involved artists, and how they reflected contemporary society.

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  • 1982
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    The Last Horror Film

    The Last Horror Film

    5.2 1982 HD

    A New York taxi driver stalks a beautiful actress attending the Cannes Film Festival, which coincides with a series of violent killings of the lady's...

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  • 1972
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    The Godfather

    The Godfather

    8.689 1972 HD

    Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito...

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  • 1988
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    Operation Warzone

    Operation Warzone

    2 1988 HD

    A squad of U.S. troops seek out a mysterious agent hiding out in the jungles of 1960s Vietnam whom has classified documents that could win the war.

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  • 1978
    imgMovies

    Nunzio

    Nunzio

    4.8 1978 HD

    A mentally-challenged delivery boy indulges in fantasies that he is a superhero in the tough streets of Brooklyn. He lives a life marked with...

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  • 1983
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    The Big Score

    The Big Score

    5 1983 HD

    A narcotics detective, played by Fred Williamson, lets nothing stand in the way of his bringing down a major drug dealer. After a bust gone awry,...

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  • 1985
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    Walking the Edge

    Walking the Edge

    5.6 1985 HD

    A Los Angeles taxi driver helps a distraught woman on the run from gangsters after they murder her husband and young son.

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  • 1986
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    The Messenger

    The Messenger

    5.2 1986 HD

    When his girlfriend dies of a drug overdose, a former Green Beret decides to take vengeance on the drug gangs responsible for her death.

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  • 1989
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    Rapid Fire

    Rapid Fire

    3.8 1989 HD

    Mike Thompson is a former U.S. government agent whom is called on by his no-nonsense ex-employer Hanson to stop a terrorist named Mustapha who breaks...

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  • 1995
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    Thriller Zone

    Thriller Zone

    5.5 1995 HD

    There are three unrelated, unconnected segments in this horror anthology. In the first segment, "The Last Hand," a man is shot, while another man has...

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  • 1978
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    The One Man Jury

    The One Man Jury

    5.4 1978 HD

    Officer Jim Wade is a loose cannon on the force with a reputation for roughing up suspects, informants, witnesses, and just about everybody else who...

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  • 2020
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    40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic

    40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic

    7.6 2020 HD

    Sylvester Stallone and John G. Avildsen narrate behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "Rocky" to mark the film's 40th anniversary.

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  • 1980
    imgMovies

    The Little Dragons

    The Little Dragons

    4.7 1980 HD

    Karate experts attempt to rescue a girl who was kidnapped by a mother and her two psycho sons.

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  • 1983
    imgMovies

    Eureka

    Eureka

    5.2 1983 HD

    An Alaskan gold prospector lives in luxury with his family on an island which gangsters want.

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  • 1988
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    Married to the Mob

    Married to the Mob

    5.9 1988 HD

    Angela de Marco is fed up with her gangster husband's line of work and wants no part of the crime world. When her husband is killed for having an...

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  • 1975
    imgMovies

    Strike Force

    Strike Force

    6.5 1975 HD

    A New York City detective teams up with a federal agent and a state trooper to bust up a drug ring.

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  • 1988
    imgMovies

    The Undertaker

    The Undertaker

    5.7 1988 HD

    A deranged undertaker kills various people to keep as his friends in his seedy funeral home.

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  • 1983
    imgMovies

    The Last Fight

    The Last Fight

    4.4 1983 HD

    Singer-turned-boxer Andy 'Kid' Clave signs a contract with a shady promoter Joaquin Vargas. But Clave turns against Vargas when the promoter's thugs...

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  • 1982
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    One Down, Two to Go

    One Down, Two to Go

    4.5 1982 HD

    A pair of tough cops go after the mob who jinxed the martial arts tournament and injured their buddy.

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    Maniac II: Mr. Robbie

    Maniac II: Mr. Robbie

    5.9 1986 HD

    A children's television host solves all kids problems. Shot as a promo reel for a sequel to Maniac (1980) but was cut short due to the untimely...

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    The Whoopee Boys

    The Whoopee Boys

    4.8 1986 HD

    Two New York hustlers (Michael O'Keefe, Paul Rodriguez) go to Palm Beach, Fla., and enroll in a charm school to please an heiress.

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  • 1976
    imgMovies

    Taxi Driver

    Taxi Driver

    8.1 1976 HD

    A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feed his urge for...

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  • 1978
    imgMovies

    Big Wednesday

    Big Wednesday

    6.9 1978 HD

    Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.

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  • 1975
    imgMovies

    Rancho Deluxe

    Rancho Deluxe

    5.4 1975 HD

    Two drifters, of widely varying backgrounds, rustle cattle and try to avoid being caught in contemporary Montana.

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  • 1979
    imgMovies

    Winter Kills

    Winter Kills

    5.8 1979 HD

    The younger brother of an assassinated US President is led down a rabbit hole of conspiracies and dead ends after learning of a man claiming to be...

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  • 1978
    imgMovies

    Paradise Alley

    Paradise Alley

    5.8 1978 HD

    Three Italian-American brothers, living in the slums of 1940's New York City, try to help each other with one's wrestling career using one brother's...

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  • 1981
    imgMovies

    Portrait of a Teenage Shoplifter

    Portrait of a Teenage Shoplifter

    1 1981 HD

    Teenager becomes involved in the thrill of shoplifting with her friends, until she is inevitably caught in the act.

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  • 1980
    imgMovies

    Nightside

    Nightside

    1 1980 HD

    Danny Dandoy is a good-humored, streetwise cop working the dusk-to-dawn shift in Los Angeles with his somewhat naive new partner, Macey, in this...

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  • 1974
    imgMovies

    The Godfather Part II

    The Godfather Part II

    8.572 1974 HD

    In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone...

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  • 1979
    imgMovies

    Vampire

    Vampire

    5.7 1979 HD

    Vampire Anton Voytek's lair is disturbed by the ground breaking for a new church. Anton attempts to start a modern life using his hoarded wealth, but...

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    Hollywood Harry

    Hollywood Harry

    2.3 1986 HD

    Tongue-in-cheek account of a private eye hired to find a young porn actress.

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  • 1988
    imgMovies

    K.O. Kippers

    K.O. Kippers

    8 1988 HD

    The story of modern-day vaudevillians, the "Kipper Kids." Harry and Harry Kipper are "somewhere in South America" training for a boxing match staged...

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  • 1983
    imgMovies

    Losin' It

    Losin' It

    5 1983 HD

    In 1965, four Los Angeles school friends -- Woody, Dave, Spider and Wendell -- go on a series of misadventures when they head to Tijuana, Mexico, for...

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  • 1980
    imgMovies

    Brubaker

    Brubaker

    7.1 1980 HD

    The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.

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  • 1987
    imgMovies

    The Pick-up Artist

    The Pick-up Artist

    5.63 1987 HD

    A womanizer meets his match when he falls for the daughter of a gambling addict who is in debt to the mob.

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    Monsignor

    Monsignor

    4.4 1982 HD

    The vows of an ambitious young American priest are tested during World War II. Not only does Father John Flaherty get involved with the black market...

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  • 2016
    imgMovies

    FantastiCozzi

    FantastiCozzi

    6 2016 HD

    A feature-length documentary about the life and career of Italian director Luigi Cozzi and his obsession with Science Fiction and Fantasy.

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  • 1975
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    92 in the Shade

    92 in the Shade

    5.4 1975 HD

    A young drifter returns to his home in Key West, Florida and attempts to open a fishing charter business, provoking a dangerous feud with a rival...

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  • 1979
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    Last Embrace

    Last Embrace

    5.4 1979 HD

    Secret agent Harry Hannan suffers a mental breakdown when a botched mission in Mexico results in the death of his wife. He is sent to a mental...

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  • 1980
    imgMovies

    The First Deadly Sin

    The First Deadly Sin

    5.8 1980 HD

    A serial killer is stalking New York. Inspector Edward X. Delaney is an NYPD detective, nearing retirement, who is trying to put together the pieces...

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  • 1983
    imgMovies

    Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer

    Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer

    1 1983 HD

    A New York detective and a victim's colleague hunt a killer who preys on single women.

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    The Children of Times Square

    The Children of Times Square

    6 1986 HD

    An alienated teenage boy runs away from home and ventures to New York City where he falls in with a gang of juvenile delinquents working as drug...

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  • 1973
    imgMovies

    Cops and Robbers

    Cops and Robbers

    6.2 1973 HD

    Two disillusioned New York policemen plan a $10 million robbery to fuel their low pensions, only to run into one debacle after another in the process.

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  • 1975
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    The Ransom of Red Chief

    The Ransom of Red Chief

    1 1975 HD

    Two con artists kidnap a young boy for ransom. The boy, who calls himself Red Chief, becomes a problem for them.

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  • 2001
    imgMovies

    The Joe Spinell Story

    The Joe Spinell Story

    5.7 2001 HD

    The Joe Spinell Story is a An outstanding and eye-opening documentary, made in 2001 for the Anchor Bay DVD release of Maniac (1980). His most notable...

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    Blood Ties

    Blood Ties

    5.8 1986 HD

    An innocent American engineer is blackmailed by gangsters into a plot to assassinate his cousin, who is a judge in Sicily fighting the Mafia.

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  • 1985
    imgMovies

    Out of the Darkness

    Out of the Darkness

    7.1 1985 HD

    A gripping thriller telling the true story of the hunt and capture of David Berkowitz, a.k.a. "Son of Sam" — the infamous serial killer who...

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    A Question of Honor

    A Question of Honor

    7 1982 HD

    Television account of an honest New York narcotics cop who becomes unwillingly involved in a plan to uncover corruption in his department.

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  • 1987
    imgMovies

    Deadly Illusion

    Deadly Illusion

    5.6 1987 HD

    A private eye hired to kill a man's wife warns her instead and then finds both are impostors.

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    National Lampoon's Movie Madness

    National Lampoon's Movie Madness

    3.226 1982 HD

    A parody of film genres composed of three shorts, spoofing personal growth films, glossy soap operas, and police stories.

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  • 1980
    imgMovies

    Maniac

    Maniac

    6.4 1980 HD

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  • 1980
    imgMovies

    Maniac

    Maniac

    6.4 1980 HD

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  • 2012
    imgMovies

    Maniac

    Maniac

    6.048 2012 HD

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    Maniac II: Mr. Robbie

    Maniac II: Mr. Robbie

    5.9 1986 HD

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    Maniac II: Mr. Robbie

    Maniac II: Mr. Robbie

    5.9 1986 HD

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  • 1980
    imgMovies

    Maniac

    Maniac

    6.4 1980 HD

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  • 1985
    imgS4 E22

    The Equalizer

    The Equalizer

    7.1 1985 HD

    Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself...

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  • 1977
    imgS1 E4

    Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television

    Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television

    8.519 1977 HD

    An adaptation of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II, re-edited in chronological order with additional footage not seen...

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