Mitchell Jason Movies
- 1986
Sitcom star Tony Danza made his dramatic debut in the made-for-TV Truth or Die. Danza plays Jerry Rosenberg, real-life "jailhouse lawyer." A lifelong criminal, the Brooklyn-born Rosenberg utilized his knowledge of legal maneuvers to save himself from the electric chair. In 1971, Rosenberg became a worldwide celebrity when he attempted to mediate during the infamous Attica uprising. Filmed in Canada by the same producer-director team responsible for several of the best M*A*S*H episodes, Truth or Die was originally telecast September 23, 1986, under the title Doing Life. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1982
- R
When a young, single, neurotic New Yorker finds the perfect woman, he tries desperately to get her to fall for him. Young director Jonathan Kaufer has been compared to Woody Allen with this, his first feature. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Saul Rubinek, Marcia Strassman, (more)
- 1977
Contract on Cherry Street represented Frank Sinatra's TV movie debut--an event deemed worthy of a TV Guide cover story. Sinatra plays NYPD veteran Deputy Inspector Frank Hovannes, in charge of a special unit set up to battle organized crime. The murder of Hovannes' partner, coupled with departmental restrictions and legalities, leads the Inspector to organize a semi-vigilante group with three other like-minded officers. They murder an underworld honcho, in hopes of triggering a mob war that will result in the decimation of every gangster in the Big Apple. Edward Anhalt's script for Contract on Cherry Street can't make up its mind whether to emulate The Godfather or Kojak. Sinatra's own Artanis Productions was responsible for this film, so any praise or blame must ultimately fall upon Ol' Blue Eyes' shoulders. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Martin Balsam, (more)
A trenchant satire of "trash TV," Network seems to grow only more relevant with each passing year. Howard Beale (Peter Finch), the dean of newscasters at the United Broadcasting System, is put out to pasture because he "skews old." Network executive Max Schumacher (William Holden), Howard's best friend, is forced to deliver the bad news. Beale can't stomach the idea of losing his 25-year post as anchorman simply because of age, so in his next broadcast he announces to the viewers that he's going to commit suicide on his final program. Network head Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall) is all for kicking Beale out then and there, but when it looks as though the UBS is going to have its greatest ratings ever on the night of Beale's self-destruction, ambitious programming exec Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) talks Hackett into treating that fateful final telecast as a special event. Naturally, Beale doesn't go through with it -- but he does begin rambling about the horrible state of the world in general and television in particular. He concludes his tirade by admonishing his viewers to "Go to the window and shout as loud as you can: 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!'" With that, Howard Beale becomes the hottest TV personality in America, and Diana becomes the network's fair-haired girl. She draws up plans to treat the nightly news broadcast as garish entertainment (complete with a psychic), all built around the rants of Beale, billed as "The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves." Network won Oscars for Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay as well as for three of four acting categories -- Dunaway for Best Actress, Peter Finch for Best Actor (in the only posthumous Oscar yet awarded), and Beatrice Straight for Best Supporting Actress, in one of the shortest-screen-time performances ever to win an Oscar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, William Holden, (more)
- 1972
- PG
- Add The Heartbreak Kid to Queue
In Elaine May's second directorial outing, Charles Grodin stars as Lenny, a slick salesman who, while honeymooning with his new bride, Lila (Jeannie Berlin, May's daughter), begins to have second thoughts about his marriage. Once Lenny spots the gorgeous Kelly (Cybill Shepherd), he is lost forever. Legally divesting himself of poor Lila, he follows Kelly to her upper-middle-class home, where he runs into the formidable opposition of her father (Eddie Albert), who states bluntly that he'd rather be dragged from a horse by his tongue than allow Lenny to become his son-in-law. The picture received critical kudos for Neil Simon's adroit screenplay, May's knowing direction, and Grodin's on-target performance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, (more)
