Paul Hecht Movies
Actor Paul Hecht has worked steadily on stage, television, and in feature films since the 1960s. On Broadway, he received a Tony nomination for his role in the 1968 production of Tom Stoppard's Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. His television appearances include guest-starring roles in series such as Kate and Allie, performances on soap operas like As the World Turns, and television miniseries like I'll Take Manhattan. Hecht made his feature film debut playing a rabbi in the caper comedy Only God Knows (1974). He has subsequently appeared in a variety of supporting and co-starring film roles. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 2009
- NR
Producer Norman Twain spearheads this independent animated film adapted from British author J.R. Ackerley's 1956 novel detailing the 14-year friendship shared between the author and a German shepherd he once rescued. With vocal contributions by Christopher Plummer, Isabella Rossellini, Paul Hecht, and Lynn Redgrave, and animation by Paul and Sandra Fierlinger, this adult-oriented tale of friendship offers a touching testament to the bond between man and beast. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, (more)
Two couples demonstrate that breaking up can be just as hard as staying together in this romantic comedy drama. Rebecca (Julianne Moore) and Tom (David Duchovny) are a seemingly happy married couple living in New York City -- she's a successful actress, while he stays home with the kids. However, beneath the surface, things are not going well. Rebecca is no longer amused with her husband's appetite for porn and constant sexual demands, while he's seriously considering having an affair. Rebecca's brother Tobey, (Billy Crudup), is in a more openly dysfunctional relationship; he's been dating Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal) for seven years but has no interest in marriage, while she's desperate to settle down and start a family. Tobey and Elaine decide to call it quits, as Tobey hooks up with an old friend from college (Eva Mendes) who is looking to cheat on her husband, and Elaine starts dating a handsome musician (James LeGros) who may be in need of a green card. Meanwhile, Rebecca and Tom go into couples therapy, which creates as many problems as it solves. Trust the Man also features Ellen Barkin, Garry Shandling, and Bob Balaban. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, (more)
- 1999
When the younger daughter of a wealthy family is murdered on her own property, an investigation reveals that the girl was addicted to drugs. At first, it looks as if the girl was killed by a member of her immediate family. But further developments shift suspicion upon two sons of the family's equally wealthy friends -- leading to a great deal of pressure brought to bear on the DA's office. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1997
In this second episode of a three-part story, Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) have returned to New York from Hollywood, after arresting the chief suspect in the grisly murder of a female movie-studio executive. Alas, their work may have been for nothing: There is a strong likelihood that someone else may be the culprit. Meanwhile, Assistant D.A. Ross (Carey Lowell) learns to her dismay that the suspect's defense counsel is her own ex-husband Neal Gordon (Keith Szarabajka) -- who has a hidden agenda all his own. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1997
In the concluding episode of a three-part story, Eddie Newman (Scott Cohen), chief suspect in the murder of a female Hollywood movie executive, may beat the rap thanks to an O.J.-like "dream team" defense. Complicating matters is the revelation of detective Rey Curtis' (Benjamin Bratt) possible extramarital fling with Tinseltown producer Lisa Lundquist (Lauren Graham). Worse still, assistant D.A. Ross' (Carey Lowell) ex-husband, defense attorney Neal Gordon (Keith Szarabajka), hopes to use the Eddie Newman case to regain custody of his daughter. Episode highlights include Assistant D.A. McCoy's (Sam Waterston) blistering indictment of "trial by media." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1997
In this opening episode of Law & Order's first (and thus far only) three-part story, a female Hollywood studio executive is found murdered -- and decapitated -- in New York City. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) head to Tinseltown to check out the suspects, among them the dead woman's abusive ex-husband, Eddie Newman (Scott Cohen), and shady personal trainer Evan Grant (Jeffrey D. Sams). Meanwhile, assistant D.A.'s McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Ross (Carey Lowell) work overtime to make sure that Briscoe and Curtis are not overstepping their jurisdictional bounds. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Based on a best-selling autobiography, this comedy drama is the surprisingly sweet-natured life story of a controversial radio personality. Howard Stern, who stars as himself, is a nerdy New York kid who dreams of a disc jockey career despite being a self-loathing klutz who lacks a traditional broadcaster's voice. A strikeout artist in college, Stern's romantic travails end when he meets and marries Alison (Mary McCormack), a beautiful social worker. Stern's early career at several radio stations is undistinguished. Bored, he makes his life the centerpiece of his show, including his obsessions with sex and bathroom humor, and he finds willing cohorts in news reporter Robin Quivers and producer Fred Norris. After an abortive tenure at a Washington D.C. station that loathes his high-rated antics, he lands at NBC in New York. Again, Stern clashes regularly with executives, especially Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton (Paul Giamatti), who runs roughshod over Stern's team. At home, Stern's tendency to discuss the intimate details of his marriage takes a toll, reaching a meltdown when he jokes about Alison's recent miscarriage on-air. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Howard Stern, Robin Quivers, (more)
- 1993
Melissa Gilbert-Boxleitner and Mel Harris star as two female police officers fighting the police force in this made-for-TV movie about sexual harassment in the workplace. After Miranda Berkley (Harris) breaks up with her boyfriend/superior officer, she and her partner find themselves on-the-job without any support from fellow officers. They lodge a formal complaint against their superiors and are then forced to suffer the consequences from their angry male colleagues. Based on a true story, this made-for-TV movie debuted on May 11, 1993. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mel Harris, Melissa Gilbert, (more)
- 1992
This episode is a showcase for actress Carolyn McCormick in the recurring Law & Order role of NYPD psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Olivet. Paul Hecht is cast as prominent gynecologist Dr. Alex Merritt, whom Olivet accuses of molesting her. Further investigation reveals that the high-profile Merritt may have also been responsible for the suicide of his wife. The case takes a bizarre twist when the presiding judge weighs Merritt's counterclaim of police harassment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1991
The ongoing war of words between abortion advocates and right-to-life activists literally explodes into violence when an abortion clinic is bombed, killing a woman inside the building. Putting his own pro-life sentiments aside, assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) wastes no time mounting a case against the most likely suspect. Even so, Stone's pro-choice boss, D.A. Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), cannot help but wonder if his subordinate's personal feelings can be kept out of the courtroom -- especially with public opinion mounting against Stone's remaining on the case. Featured in the supporting cast is Camryn Mannheim, who would herself portray an attorney on the long-running series The Practice. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1988
- PG13
After 20 years of marriage, Steve Giardino (Alan Alda) and his wife Jackie (Ann-Margret) agree to a divorce in this situation comedy. The focus is on both of them as they suffer through matchmaking, blind dates, and their new life as eligible singles. Donna (Mary Kay Place) is Jackie's friend, while Mel Arons (Hal Linden) is the confidante of the vain but likeable Steve. Steven worries that he will never find anyone decent to date until he meets the pretty Dr. Kay Hutton (Veronica Hamel). Jackie is enamored with a sculptor (John Shea) before his glaring faults become too much for her. While Jackie's new relationship is on the outs, Steve prepares for a new life with Kay. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Ann-Margret, (more)
This glitzy miniseries based on the Judith Krantz novel is a wicked soap opera about sex, power, and betrayal. Valerie Bertinelli stars as Maxi, whose mother (Francesca Annis) marries her father's hated brother Cutter (Perry King) after his death. Cutter had sworn to destroy everything his late brother valued and proceeds to run his publishing empire into the ground. Maxi, who has already been through three husbands by age 29, turns over a new leaf by gathering her family and making a commitment to save the business, which she does by becoming the editor of a successful fashion magazine. Maxi lives in the Trump Tower, whose famed real-life owner appears as himself. It has some unintentionally campy moments, but King is quite good as the villainous Cutter, and fans of this sort of high-gloss '80s melodrama will want to put it on their lists. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Valerie Bertinelli, Francesca Annis, (more)
- 1985
- R
The early ups and later downs in the life of Joshua Shapiro (James Woods) more or less describe the trajectory of this semi-autobiographical film, adapted from the book by Mordecai Richler. Joshua is a Jewish Canadian writer who has returned from living in England for nearly three decades, only to see the major components of his life disintegrate around him. Flashbacks tell the tale of Joshua's childhood -- raised by a father who is an ex-boxer with a creative approach to earning a living (illegally) and a mother who earns her living as a stripper. Leaving this background and his coming-of-age behind him, Joshua flies off to England and gains a reputation as a writer, marrying a politically leftist but socially elite wife. On his return to Canada at the end of the '70s, everything around him collapses. His best friend dies, his brother-in-law kills himself, there is a smear campaign against him, and someone is out to blackmail him. Things only get worse, in fact, before they level off. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Woods, Gabrielle Lazure, (more)
- 1983
A young Christian Slater stars in this segment from the After School Mystery Theater series. When a new family moves into a creepy mansion, their neighbor Billy (Slater) tells them tall tales of a millionaire ghost who still haunts the domicile; he persuades the impressionable youngsters to explore secret passages in the house. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- 1983
Tony Bill is a happy single parent, blessed with a violin prodigy daughter (Ari Meyers). Enter Deborah Raffin, Bill's ex, who deserted husband and child 12 years earlier. Now a sophisticated world traveller, Raffin implores Bill to let her see her daughter. Running Out is the sort of TV movie with such "warmhearted" highlights as the 13-year-old daughter stealing a car in order to rush to the airport for a final embrace with her mother. Wallowing in syrup, Running Out was a singularly disappointing GE Theatre presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
This comedy is set upon a remote Greek island and is very loosely based on Shakespeare's classic play. The tale centers on a middle-aged New York architect who abandons his wife and moves to the island with his teen-age daughter and his new lover, a Greek singer, in hopes of finding meaning in his life. The only resident of the island is an old hermit, and the father is finally happy until his wife, her lover, his son and others get in a shipwreck and end up marooned on the island with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, (more)
Alan J. Pakula directs the political thriller Rollover, produced by leading lady Jane Fonda's production company, IPC Films. Featuring a racist plot and negative stereotypes about the Arab world, this film reflected the American fear of the Middle East prevalent in the early '80s. Fonda stars as former film star Lee Winters, who inherits a multimillion-dollar company when her corporate bigwig husband is murdered. She teams up with banker Hubbell Smith (Kris Kristofferson) in order to find her husband's killer and survive in the world of high-stakes international finance. They become lovers and travel together to Saudi Arabia to secure a loan and to guarantee Lee's spot as the company's board chairman. However, they end up discovering an Arab company's plan to withdraw money from the world's banks in order to destabilize the Western economy. Rollover also stars Hume Cronyn and Josef Sommer. This story also foreshadowed Jane Fonda's marriage to corporate bigwig Ted Turner in 1991. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, (more)
- 1981
- PG
Donald Sutherland plays a brilliant surgeon who becomes a media celebrity after performing an artificial-heart transplant. Jeff Goldblum, inventor of the ersatz heart, likewise basks in the glow of sudden fame. The only person to have reservations about the procedure is heart recipient Mare Winningham, who becomes depressed over the knowledge that she's not altogether human. Several ethical questions are raised and left unresolved; the film assumes that the audience is intelligent and perceptive enough to draw its own conclusions. Released in Canada in 1981, Threshold was not offered an American distribution until after the Barney Clark heart transplant of 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, John Marley, (more)
- 1981
Written for television by Allan Sloane, Family Reunion stars Bette Davis as an ageing New England schoolteacher who is given an "unlimited" bus ticket as a retirement present. She uses this gift to visit the farthest-flung members of her long-estranged family. In her absence, Davis' small town falls prey to corruptive influences, but with the help of her more honest relatives (four generations' worth, including Bette's real-life grandson J. Ashley Hyman), everything is resolved at the annual Founder's Day gathering. Family Reunion originally aired in two parts, on October 11 and 12, 1981; the preponderance of Davis' family members and unresolved plot strands would seem to suggest that this 4-hour film was intended as a series pilot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Filmed in 1979 and released publicly one year later, The Tempest is an abstract 16-millimeter feature film based loosely on the "magical" Shakespeare play. Director/writer Derek Jarman also throws in a few Shakespearean sonnets when the spirit moves him. Essentially, Jarman uses the material as the basis for a homosexual metaphor, most notably in the Prospero/Caliban relationship. He would further elaborate this concept in his next film, The Angelic Conversation. Jarman's The Tempest by its very nature speaks to a small, specialized audience. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Heathcote Williams, Karl Johnson, (more)
- 1979
This speculative made-for-TV drama examines the courtship and early marital life of Mary and Joseph before the birth of their remarkable son, Jesus. The film is also known as the Beginning Was Love. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Blanche Baker, Jeff East, (more)
- 1979
The biblical story of Mary and Joseph's life before the birth of Christ is dramatized in this film. ~ Rovi
- 1976
Having already overrun most of South America, a swarm of vicious African killer bees prepares to descend upon the United States. Almost as if rehearsed, the tiny menaces converge on New Orleans during Mardi Gras. With revellers dropping left and right, thanks to the fatal stings of the bees, it is up to the local constabulary, represented by Sheriff McKew (Ben Johnson), and a team of scientists, commandeered by Dr. Mueller (Horst Buchholz), to end the deadly plague for good and all. As usual, however, it is such "civilians" as Jeff DuRand (Michael Parks) and Jeannie Devereaux (Gretchen Corbett) who are best equipped to ward off the buzzing scourges. An Emmy-award winner for Best Sound Mixing, The Savage Bees debuted November 22, 1976, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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