Peter Levin Movies

Director Peter Levin brings author Richard Paul Evans' heartwarming novel to the small screen in this made for cable drama starring Rob Lowe, Paget Brewster, Frances Conroy, and Christopher Lloyd. Unexpectedly downsized from his once-comfortable job, Robert Harlan (Lowe) decides to finally pursue his dreams of becoming a writer. In order to summon inspiration, Harlan draws on the emotions his wife experienced after losing her father and the book quickly becomes a bestseller. But success has spoiled Robert Hanlan, and now his relationships with both his family and his friends are suffering: In addition to growing further apart from his devoted wife and young daughter, Hanlan barely speaks to the agent who used to be his best friend. When a mysterious stranger makes an ominous prediction about Hanlan's life, the egotistical writer finally receives a much-needed wake-up call. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Based on a true crime story, the two-part TV movie And Never Let Her Go recounts the disappearance of Anne Marie Fahey in June of 1996, and the subsequent arrest and conviction of her accused murderer. Hired as a secretary by powerful Delaware attorney and gubernatorial aide, Thomas Capano (Mark Harmon), Anne Marie enters into a torrid and ofttimes abusive affair with her kinky boss. When Anne Marie's relatives report that she is missing, the governor of Delaware solicits the aid of the U.S. Department of Justice to solve the case. Although detective Frank Gugliatta (Paul Michael Glaser) and assistant U.S. attorney Colm Connolly (Steve Eckholdt) suspect that Capano has done away with Anne Marie, they are stymied by a lack of tangible proof...notably, the girl's body. It is not until Anne Marie's diary turns up in a most unexpected manner that Gugliatta and Connolly are able to fully act upon their suspicions -- and even then, the ultimate solution rests with the cooperation (or lack of same) of Capano's brother, Gerry (David Hewlett). Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis appears as Thomas Capano's formidable mother. Filmed in Toronto and told largely in flashback, And Never Let Her Go was originally telecast by CBS on April 1 and 4, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a play by Tim Boland, the made-for-TV drama In the Name of the People stars Scott Bakula as death-row inmate John Burke. Facing execution for the murder of a teenaged girl, Burke's only concern is over the future of his own 13-year-old daughter Lisa (Robin Ann Phipps). Connie Murphy (Amy Madigan), mother of the murdered girl and the unforgiving leader of the activist group which lobbied for Burke's death, finds that there is a curious bond between the soon-to-be orphaned Lisa and Connie's own husband Jack (Richard Thomas), to whom forgiveness and compassion are second nature. The garrulous nature of Richard Leder's teleplay led one TV critic to characterize the film as "Dead Man Talking." In the Name of the People originally aired on February 2, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For this documentary on public behavior by men toward women and how women are affected by this, filmmaker Maggie Hadleigh-West shot on the streets of four cities (New Orleans, San Francisco, NYC, Chicago), interviewing 1,053 men. She edited that material down to the 53 subjects seen in this 71-minute film that intercuts black-and-white and color footage. Men caught looking, leering, whistling, or making sexist comments were approached by Hadleigh-West and asked to explain themselves. For an alternative point of view, five women discuss their fears, revealing clothing, street harassment, male attitudes, and reactions to male comments on their appearance. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

One of the most sensational crime stories of the 1950s was the murder trial of Cleveland doctor Sam Sheppard, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. Though he protested his innocence and insisted that he'd seen a "curly-haired man" leaving his house on the night of the crime, Sheppard was condemned in the court of public opinion long before the judge handed out his sentence. (This true story served as the basis for the long-running TV series The Fugitive.) Years later, Sheppard was released from prison after it was determined that he hadn't had a fair trial, but his name was never officially cleared. Forty years after the death of his mother, Sheppard's son Sam Reese made it his mission in life to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that his father was innocent. In this TV movie adaptation of the younger Sheppard's autobiographical book, Peter Strauss is seen as Dr. Sam Sheppard, and Henry Czerny as Sam Reese. My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story made its CBS network bow on November 17, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The story of two average women who refused to be silenced and intimidated by the company who manufactured their silicone implants is detailed in this inspirational docudrama starring Mary McDonnell and Gail O' Grady. Sybil Goldrich (McDonnell) was a wealthy California who was devastated to be diagnosed with breast cancer, and Kathleen Anneken (O'Grady) was a typical middle-class mother from Kansas who had always been unhappy with her breast size. Despite their disparate backgrounds and social statuses, both women would soon be drawn together by the tragic circumstances surrounding their decision to receive breast implants. Ignored, mistreated, and disregarded by silicone specialists Dow Corning after they received their implants and fell gravely ill, Goldrich and Anneken became united in their efforts to take their case to the FDA. While proving Down Corning was responsible for their many ailments was a near impossible task, getting their story out to the public was simply a matter of using every opportunity they had to state their case publicly. In the end it was one lawyer who possessed the incriminating evidence needed to bring Down Corning down, and ensure that their cries weren't silenced by the stifling greenback gag of big business. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A desperate mother looking to escape her past is faced with a harrowing decision in this made for television thriller starring Jean Smart and Gregory Hines. All Kay (Smart) wants is to live in peace and care for her sickly nine-month-old son. Upon arriving in a small Southern town where no one knows her name or history, it appears as if Kay may have finally gotten her wish. Kay's newfound tranquility is shattered, however, when the menacing Barnes (Hines) appears at her front door claiming to hold the key to her questionable past. Now held as a hostage in her own home, Kay must choose whether to keep running, or risk her own life as well as the life of her child to fight back in hopes of a brighter future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Beau Bridges stars in this fact-based TV movie as Dr. Norman Grayson (Beau Bridges, a man who may destroy his life because he loves not wisely but too well--and too often. Hopelessly smitten by three different women over the course of several years, Grayson ends up marrying all three, then spends the rest of the movie trying to be a good and faithful husband to each wife without the others discovering his tangled web of deceit. Only when one of the women, Robyn (Pam Dawber), starts putting the pieces together, do the other wives Lillian (Kathleen Lloyd) and Katy (Joanna Kerns) even begin to suspect that Grayson's frequent out-of-town trips are not professional nature. Ironically, audience sympathy is with the bigamous Grayson throughout the film--especially at the end, in which the three woman turn upon each other over base financial matters! Originally telecast on CBS, The Man With Three Wives first aired March 28, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story stars Jean Smart as the title character. One of the rare female serial killers on record, Wuornos was eventually charged with murdering seven men on lonely Florida roads. The killing spree took place between 1990 and 1991, thus this 1992 TV movie could pat itself on the back for its timeliness. At the time Overkill was made, there was some public doubt concerning Wuornos' guilt (she was then on death row). The script suggests that her crimes were a by-product of childhood sexual abuse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A wealthy young bride is killed in what appears to be a mugging gone awry. The ensuing investigation reveals that the victim's husband was cheating on her. As it turns out, the solution to the case hinges on a valuable silver pin that was owned by the unfortunate woman. Nancy Marchand, best remembered as the aristocratic newspaper owner on Lou Grant and the mob matriarch on The Sopranos, is here seen as the imperious Mrs. Barbara Ryder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Whenever there's a TV movie about a "lone holdout" juror, you can bet that reality will be left behind at the front door. Killer Among Us is no exception. A Different World's Jasmine Guy plays a doubting jury member on a homicide case. She not only believes the defendant innocent, but suspects that the foreman of the jury, played by Dwight Schultz, is the guilty party. To make a long story short, which the scriptwriter didn't, Guy ends up being stalked by the real murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama chronicles the career of pediatric immunologist James Oleske who was one of the first doctors to recognize the AIDS virus in children. ~ All Movie Guide