Trevor Black

In "Nickel & Dime" (selected theaters), C. Thomas Howell as a struggling heir hunter and Wallace Shawn as a nebbishy accountant play off each other so well you keep hoping this amiable little comedy will catch fire, but it does so only fitfully. It would seem that writers Seth Front and Eddy Polon, having come up with parts full of possibilities for Howell and Shawn, ran out of ideas.

Paul Bartel's "Scenes From the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills" (selected theaters) should have the wide-eyed wickedness that seems to seep right through the films of Pedro Almodovar. It's almost as bizarro: a farce turning on the pan-sexual lust of a collection of high- and low-rent characters in and around the manicured hills of Beverly. They include a sitcom queen (Jacqueline Bisset), just widowed; her next-door neighbor (Mary Woronov), only recently divorced; the housemen of both women (Robert Beltran and Ray Sharkey, respectively)

* Made-for-television movie: "Miss Rose White," NBC. * Miniseries: "A Woman Named Jackie," NBC. * Variety, music or comedy program: "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," NBC. * Classical program in the performing arts: "Perlman in Russia," PBS. * Children's program: "Mark Twain and Me," Disney Channel. * Informational special: "Abortion: Desperate Choices," HBO. * Informational series: "MGM: When the Lion Roars," TNT. * Animated program (one hour or less): "A Claymation Easter," CBS.

Here's looking at you, Bogey. Though Humphrey Bogart died in 1957, his star shines as brightly now as it did during his 26-year film career. Last year, in fact, the movie tough guy and Academy Award winner for 1951's "The African Queen" was chosen the No. 1 star of the century by the American Film Institute.

The producing team of Joshua Brand and John Falsey, who like to film their shows on location, were saluted on the home front Thursday as their series "Northern Exposure" and "I'll Fly Away" captured nearly 10% of the nominations for the 44th annual Emmy Awards for nighttime television programming.