Rick Rosenberg
Poet Maya Angelou made her feature directorial debut with this African-American family drama, shown theatrically but originally produced for the Showtime cable network. Unemployed single mother Loretta (Alfre Woodward) lives with her mother, Rosa Lynn (Mary Alice), in a Chicago apartment. Drugs and alcohol lead Loretta to neglect her autistic daughter, Tracy (Kulani Hassen). Her teen son Thomas (Mpho Koaho) brings in money by photographing tourists. Rosa Lynn pawns a family heirloom in order to send Loretta and the kids off to their Mississippi Delta hometown where Loretta's Uncle Earl (Al Freeman Jr.) runs his diner. Earl lives in a dry county, so Loretta is reluctant. However, she has no choice after Rosa Lynn threatens to contact child-welfare authorities if she doesn't go. Earl takes in the trio even though he already has enough problems with Annie (Esther Rolle), an Alzheimer's victim under the supervision of caregiver Zenia (Loretta Devine). Toronto locations substitute for Mississippi. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman, Jr., (more)
- 1998
Barbra Streisand and Cis Corman are the executive producers of this TV movie, filmed in Toronto by director Joseph Sargent (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three). The fact-based film recounts the aftermath of the night of December 7, 1993 when gunman Colin Ferguson (Tyrone Benskin) opened fire on a packed Long Island Rail Road commuter train, killing six and wounding 19. However, instead of re-creating that attack and focusing on Ferguson, this drama follows the life of suburban housewife Carolyn McCarthy (Laurie Metcalf), who entered politics on a gun-control platform after her husband of 30 years was killed and her 26-year-old son was wounded during the incident. McCarthy is depicted here as a crusading media personality appealing for assault weapon control, then a political candidate, and finally as the congressional representative from the fourth district of New York. Premiere April 19, 1998 on NBC. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurie Metcalf, MacKenzie Astin, (more)
- 1996
In this Kentucky-set drama, a tax attorney lays his career and life on the line while endeavoring to prove that a young girl was murdered. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Originally made for cable television, this biographical drama chronicles the life of Huey P. Long (John Goodman), whose corrupt political machine dominated Louisiana for years. The movie opens with a 1930's newsreel giving a report on Long's plan to a run for U.S. President while depicting him as a demagogue in the tradition of Hitler and Mussolini. Shortly after the newsreel, Long is gunned down by an assassin, and the story is told in flashbacks as he reflects on his rise from humble beginnings, to Governor of Louisiana, and on to U.S. Senator. Long's power in his home state eventually bordered on dictatorship, but he received widespread support from the poor and disenfranchised because of his populist programs, such as providing free schoolbooks and building rural roads. The film also shows the private man behind the public persona, including a poignant scene at a relative's funeral where Long's father reproaches him for lying about his family to garner votes. Goodman was Emmy-nominated for his performance. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1995
The true story of Abraham Lincoln and the special relationship he had with his son is told in this made-for-television drama. Kris Kristofferson stars as the President, who during the Civil War years was raising his seven year-old son Tad (Bug Hall), with his wife Mary (Jane Curtain). The film shows Lincoln as a devoted father to the energy-filled young boy. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- PG
An adopted girl's search for the truth is the subject of this Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. Lea Salonga stars as Geri Riordan, a half-Vietnamese girl who feels an emptiness in her life because she doesn't know her ancestral roots. After the death of her adopted father, she starts to investigate her past and finds a reluctant Vietnam veteran who may hold the answers she has been longing for. The film is based on Lanford Wilson's play. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Previously the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), the dark novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, a parable about greed-inspired colonialism, was adapted into this television movie by offbeat filmmaker Nicolas Roeg. Ambitious sailor Marlow (Tim Roth) is employed by a British trading company. His mission is a journey to a remote colony in the Belgian Congo, the source of the consortium's profitable supply of ivory, where he's to retrieve some stranded cargo. As he travels upriver visiting the trading stations which acquire the precious commodity through exploitative barter with natives, Marlow hears wild tales of Kurtz (John Malkovich), a hugely-successful company manager whose post is deep in the jungle. It seems that Kurtz is revered as a god by the locals, both worshipped and greatly feared. Reaching Kurtz's compound, however, Marlow finds that the man has become a fiend, committing blasphemous atrocities and driven mad by power and disease. Malkovich was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe for his performance as Kurtz. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Bryan Brown stars as CIA hit man Michael Grant, who plans to retire after one more assignment. He buys a house in New Mexico from a widow (Brooke Adams), and they fall in love; only later does Michael realize his final target is the woman's father. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In this made-for-HBO thriller, Pierce Brosnan stars as an ex-convict who seeks revenge on the racetrack partner (Tom Skerritt) who framed him. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Tom Skerritt, (more)
- 1986
As Summers Die was produced as an "HBO Premiere" attraction. Set in the segregationist South of the 1950s, the film pits the wealthy but decadent members of a landed-gentry white family against a feisty old black woman, on whose property oil has been discovered. Idealistic attorney Scott Glenn bucks the family--and the inbred prejudices of the community--to protect the woman's interests. He finds himself with two unsuspected allies in the forms of young Jamie Lee Curtis and ancient Bette Davis, two "renegade" members of the very family that wants to grab the oil-rich land. As Summers Die had its cable-TV debut on May 17, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- PG
Star James Caan made his directorial debut in the fact-based Hide in Plain Sight. Caan plays a divorced husband and father who comes to visit his ex-wife and children, only to discover that they've evidently disappeared from the face of the earth. Running up against the stonewall tactics of the authorities, Caan eventually learns that his wife's present husband is a witness against the mob, and that his family members have been given a new home and new identities via the Justice Department's new witness relocation program. Denied information concerning his children's whereabouts, Caan desperately attempts to find them himself. Hide in Plain Sight was adapted by Spencer Eastman from the book by Leslie Waller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Jill Eikenberry, (more)
- 1978
Paul Clemens plays the real-life Peter Reilly, who in September of 1973 was charged with the mutilation and murder of his mother. The confused 18-year-old signs a confession after being told that he's flunked a lie detector test. Later renouncing the confession, Reilly demands a reopening of his case. The citizens of Peter's home town of Canaan, CT, who'd been willing to see the boy thrown in jail for life when the case first hit the papers, now rally around the youth, insisting that his constitutional rights have been violated. New evidence uncovered by a sympathetic detective enables Peter to press his case. Stefanie Powers plays Joan Barthel, the Canaan resident and free-lance journalist who chronicled Peter's bid for freedom. The made-for-TV A Death in Canaan was first telecast March 1, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Clemens, Stefanie Powers, (more)
The shockingly brutal murder of a little girl in a church where she was just about to receive her first Communion sets a strong tone for terror in this disturbing horror film. The prime suspect in the death of Karen Spages (Brooke Shields) is her sister, Alice (Paula Sheppard), who happily tormented Karen by donning a mask and a raincoat to scare her. Comforting the grieving mother, Catherine Spages (Linda G. Miller), is her sister, Annie (Jane Lowry); local priest Father Tom (Rudolph Willrich); and Catherine's estranged husband, Dominick (Niles McMaster). Other characters include Father Tom's quirky housekeeper, Mrs. Tredoni (Mildred Clinton); a pair of detectives (Tom Signorelli, Michael Hardstark); and Catherine Spages' obese, cat-loving landlord (Alphonso De Noble). While the police investigation and all visual clues quickly point to Alice, director Alfred Sole manages to cast doubt on the killer's identity while the masked madman strikes several more times. About two-thirds of the way through the movie, Sole allows the viewer to see the killer. However, he smartly keeps his characters in the dark setting up a tense finale which culminates in yet another bloody slaying on holy ground before the lunatic is finally stopped. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda G. Miller, Mildred Clinton, (more)
- 1974
- AddThe Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittmanto QueueAddThe Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittmanto top of Queue
Cicely Tyson ages from 19 to 110 in the role of Jane Pittman, a fictional African-American woman whose life began in slavery and ended at the inception of the Civil Rights Movement. Northern journalist Quentin Lerner (Michael Murphy) travels to the racially polarized south of 1962 to interview Ms. Pittman for a potential book. Her life unfolds in flashbacks, many painful and unpleasant, but just as many are uplifting and hopeful. Based on the novel by Ernest J. Gaines and filmed on location in Baton Rouge, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman won nine Emmy Awards, including Best Actress (Tyson), Director (John Korty), and Screenplay (Tracy Keenan Wynn). The film premiered January 31, 1974, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cicely Tyson, Barbara Chaney, (more)
- 1973
Hope Lange plays Karen Chandler, a 36-year-old wife and mother. After living in quiet desperation for several years, she suddenly decides to leave her family to seek a new life in the cutthroat world of big business. Part of Karen's "liberation" involves (surprise!) a new romance. Earl Holliman plays Lange's husband, while Michael Murphy is her new heartthrob. One of the kindlier efforts in the "finding oneself" genre, the made-for-TV I Love You... Goodbye originally aired February 12, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hope Lange, Earl Holliman, (more)
- 1973
Peter Boyle plays a social worker who deals with "special needs" children. Most of Boyle's energies are devoted to communicating with an emotionally disturbed teen (Scott Jacoby). The difficulty of the job is doubled by the fact that the boy is alienated from his anguished parents (Robert Reed, Collin Wilcox-Horne), who may unknowingly be part of the problem. Filmed in semi-documentary fashion, The Man Who Could Talk to Kids transcends its "disease of the week" earmarks to become a TV movie of lasting value. The film also helped Peter Boyle shake his bullheaded Joe screen image. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Looking like a high-school junior, Michael Douglas plays a college professor in Adam at 6 AM. Tired of academia, Douglas opts for the supposed tranquility of rural Missouri. After working as farm hand for a few weeks, he realizes that his "normal" neighbors are as screwed up as any of his more sophisticated friends. To punch up the film's leisurely screenplay, a great deal of sex talk is injected, which may have sounded daring in 1970 but which plays like an episode of Married: With Children nowadays. Adam at 6 AM is blessed with a superb supporting cast: among the secondary actors is 1940s leading lady Anne Gwynne, making a one-time-only film comeback. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Lee Purcell, (more)
