Jane Fonda Movies
Hollywood legend has it that Bette Davis was forced to talk to a blank wall rather than her co-star Henry Fonda during filming of her close-ups in Jezebel; the reason was that he had repaired to New York to attend the birth of his daughter Jane.A child of privilege, the young Jane Fonda exhibited the imperious, headstrong attitude and ruthlessness that would distinguish both her film work and her private life. The teenage Fonda wasn't keen on acting until she worked with her father in a 1954 Omaha Community Theatre production of The Country Girl. Slightly interested in pursuing a stage career at that point, Fonda nonetheless studied art both at Vassar and in Europe, returning to the States to work as a fashion model. Studying acting in earnest at Lee Strasberg's Actors' Studio, Fonda ultimately starred on Broadway in Tall Story, then made her film debut by re-creating this stage appearance in 1960.
A talented but not really distinctive player at that time, Fonda astonished everyone (none as much as her father) by becoming one of the first major American actresses to appear nude in a foreign film. This was La Ronde (1964), directed by her lover (and later her first husband) Roger Vadim. The event was heralded by a giant promotional poster in New York's theater district, with Fonda's naked backside in full view for all of Manhattan to see. Vadim decided to mold Fonda into a "sex goddess" in a series of lush but forgettable films; the best Fonda/Vadim collaboration was Barbarella (1968), which scored as much on the actress' sharp comic timing (already evidenced in such American pictures as Cat Ballou [1968]) as it did on her kinky costuming. In the late '60s, Fonda underwent another career metamorphosis when she became involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement. Her notorious visit to North Vietnam at the height of the conflict earned her the sobriquet "Hanoi Jane," as well as the enmity of virtually every ex-GI who fought in Southeast Asia.
Even so, Fonda's film stardom ascended in the early '70s; in 1971, she won the first of two Oscars for her portrayal of a high-priced prostitute in Klute (her other was for Coming Home [1978]), and Fonda's career flourished despite a sub-rosa Hollywood campaign to discredit the actress and spread idiotic rumors about her subversive behavior (one widely circulated fabrication had Fonda destroying the only existing negative of Stagecoach because she despised John Wayne).
In the 1980s, the actress realized several personal and career milestones: she worked with her father on film for the only time in On Golden Pond (1981); she assisted former peace activist Tom Hayden, whom she had married in the early '70s, in his successful bid for the California State Assembly; and she launched the first of several best-selling exercise videos. She also won an Emmy for her performance in the TV movie The Dollmaker (1984). After her marriage to Hayden ended in the early '80s, Fonda married media mogul Ted Turner in 1991 (the couple would divorce in 2000), and began curtailing her film appearances, all but retiring from the screen after her lead role opposite Robert De Niro in 1990s Stanley & Iris. Fonda was no less the social activist in the 1990s than she was two decades earlier; among her projects was the production of several "revisionist" dramatic specials and documentaries about the history of Native Americans, duly telecast on Turner's various worldwide cable services.
Just when it seemed audiences might have seen the last of Fonda on the big screen, she returned in 2005 with the romantic comedy Monster-in-Law. Starring Fonda as a meddling mother bent on disrupting the planned nuptials of her son (Michael Vartan) and his fiance (Jennifer Lopez), the film went on to be a modest box-office success despite mixed reviews from critics. 2005 also saw the release of Fonda's best-selling autobiography My Life So Far, after which she took some time off. She got back in the saddle a few years later with 2007's Georgia Rule, playing the hard-driving grandmother of a rebellious teenager played by Lindsay Lohan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
In this romantic comedy, a young basketball star proposes to a tall and intelligent coed while attending Custer College. She accepts, and he begins to worry about how they will get the money they need to survive. He then finds himself tempted to take a gambler's bribe and throw the game during an upcoming match with a Russian team. The weight of his decision affects his studies, causing him to fail a major test. As a result, he nearly misses the big game. Jane Fonda made her debut in this film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Anthony Perkins, (more)
- 1962
This entertaining video features Jane Fonda as she opens in her first role on Broadway. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1962
This was the first feature-length film directed by the very successful George Roy Hill. Based on a Tennessee Williams' novel, this standard comedy-drama focuses on two married couples who are both having a hard time of it, at least for now. The first couple, Isabel and George Haverstick (Jane Fonda in an early role, and Jim Hutton), are in trouble because George has bouts of intense fear ultimately brought on by his need to appear to be as macho as he can -- basically his problem is performance anxiety. The second couple, Ralph and Dorothea Baitz (Tony Franciosa and Lois Nettleton) have their problems centering on the fact that he married her for her money -- and she knows it. What she may not realize is that after six years of marriage he has fallen in love with her. Added to that difficulty is the problem of meddlesome in-laws. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Franciosa, Jane Fonda, (more)
- 1962
George Cukor directed this sanitized version of Irving Wallace's tawdry best-seller concerning a survey of the sexual habits of American women. Psychologist George C. Chapman (Andrew Duggan) arrives in a Los Angeles suburb with his assistant Paul Radford (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) in tow. They are looking for volunteers for their sex survey, and four women raise their hands: Sarah Garnell (Shelley Winters) is a middle-aged woman who is having an affair with young theater director Fred Linden (Ray Danton); Teresa Harnish (Glynis Johns) is a happily married woman who becomes attracted to brawny football player Ed Kraski (Ty Hardin); Naomi Shields (Claire Bloom) is an alcoholic nymphomaniac who takes up with an unsavory jazz musician; and Kathleen Barclay (Jane Fonda) is a young widow who thinks she is frigid -- that is, until Radford makes her his personal project. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Shelley Winters, (more)
This moody and controversial drama takes place in Depression-era New Orleans. Dove (Laurence Harvey) has traveled by bus from Texas to find his wayward lover Hallie (Capucine). He meets young Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda) as the two get off in the crescent city. Teresina (Anne Baxter) gives him a job at her small cafe. In his free time, Dove searches for Hallie and finds her at work as a prostitute in the Doll's House. Dove implores Hallie to return to him but she refuses. When the lecherous lesbian madame Jo (Barbara Stanwyck) discovers Dove's intentions towards Hallie, she has him beaten to a bloody pulp by her hired goons. He is found by Kitty, now a happy hooker at the Doll House, and is taken back to the cafe where the compassionate Teresina heals his physical and emotional wounds. The film taken from the novel by Nelson Algren is much tamer than the original text. The title track, sung by Brook Benton, was nominated for an Academy Award. The "black-cat stalking" opening and closing sequences (by designer Saul Bass) is a perfect little "film-within-a-film." This footage, with its superb lighting, framing, panning, and editing, should be appreciated by anyone who wants to know more about the art of cinematography. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Harvey, Capucine, (more)
- 1963
In this drama of romantic intrigue and infidelity, Sam and Christine Bonner (Arthur Hill and Jane Fonda) are a married couple whose relationship has hit a rough spot. While Sam loves Christina very much and would do anything for her, she feels unsatisfied and suffocated by him; she wants more space for herself and would like to have a baby. Sam is more than willing to help, but matters become more complicated when he introduces Christine to Murray Logan (Peter Finch), a friend from work, and his wife Sybil (Angela Lansbury). Murray and Sybil are not at all happy together; ever since an auto wreck claimed the life of their son, Sybil has been emotionally on edge and blames her husband for the death of her child. When Murray meets Christine, he finds himself attracted to her; she is also interested in him, but neither are in a position to do anything about it. Sam arranges for the two couples to take a vacation to Greece together, hoping a change of scenery will bring a spark back into their lives. However, Sam's father Frederick (Alexander Knox) falls ill just as the couples are about to leave, and he's forced to stay behind. While in Greece, Murray and Christine finally succumb to their desires and begin an affair; an angry Sybil retaliates by both having a fling with a local man and spilling the beans to Sam about Murray and his wife. John Houseman, later to become famous as an actor, served as a producer on this film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Jane Fonda, (more)
- 1963
Playwright Norman Krasna adapted his hit Broadway sex farce for the screen under the direction of Peter Tewksbury. Adam Tyler (Cliff Robertson) is an airline pilot who rents a pricey Manhattan apartment and has the weekend off. His prim sister Eileen (Jane Fonda), shows up to visit, complaining that her fiancée Russ (Robert Culp), is pressuring her to have premarital sex, threatening to break up their engagement if she doesn't comply. Adam tells his sister that she is right to resist, that men want to marry women who are virgins, then he leaves with plans to meet his lover, Mona Harris (Jo Morrow), in another city. Left alone, Eileen finds women's lingerie in her brother's closet and realizes that he has a double standard. She leaves, upset. While on a bus, she meets a man named Mike (Rod Taylor). They spend the day sightseeing, fall in love, and return to the apartment after a rainstorm drenches their clothes. Russ and Adam later arrive at the apartment at different intervals. Russ mistakenly believes that Eileen has cheated on him, so he storms out, leaving Eileen with her new love and Adam with plans to marry Jo. Jim Backus has a minor role as a flight dispatcher. Musician Peter Nero, who scored the film, appears in a cameo. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Jane Fonda, (more)
Alain Delon stars as Marc, a small-time swindler and Casanova who finds himself on the hit-list of an American gangster. He escapes the first attempt on his life in Monte Carlo and hides out serving as a chauffeur for the married Barbara (Lola Albright). Marc seems to have gotten into a bigger mess when he finds that Barbara's husband was murdered by her lover Vincent (Robert Oumansky), whom she is now hiding in her chateau. Barbara is planning to pass Marc off as her lover, hoping he will be knocked off by the authorities rather than Vincent. Attempting to save Marc -- or just complicating matters -- is Barbara's niece Melinda (Jane Fonda), who has fallen in love with Marc. If Marc plays his cards right, he may be able to get out of his uncomfortable predicament. Cinematographer Henri Decae also worked with Fonda on Roger Vadim's 1964 La Ronde -- a film wherein Fonda was granted a great deal more exposure. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Delon, Jane Fonda, (more)
This uneven remake of the 1950 Max Ophuls feature from the play by Arthur Schnitzler takes place in Paris just before World War I instead of Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. A soldier (Claude Giraud) sleeps with a prostitute (Marie Dubois) before he seduces Rose (Anna Karina), and a willing but married Sophie (Jane Fonda). A night of drinking finds the soldier back with the prostitute again in this feature directed by Roger Vadim. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Brialy, Jane Fonda, (more)
This musical spoof of Westerns featured Lee Marvin in dual roles that won him a Best Actor Oscar. Jane Fonda stars as the title character, a prim schoolmarm returning to her hometown of Wolf City, Wyoming, after receiving an Eastern education. On the train ride, Cat meets up with a pair of friendly, charming crooks, Clay Boone (Michael Callan) and his uncle, Jed (Dwayne Hickman), the former becoming hopelessly smitten with the naive but tough Cat. Upon arriving home, Cat discovers that her eccentric father, Frankie (John Marley), is being threatened with bodily harm by a development company that desperately wants his land. When Frankie is murdered by ruthless, noseless killer Tim Strawn (Marvin), Cat straps on a pair of six-shooters and persuades Clay, Jed, and her father's loyal Native American hand Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini) to sign on as her posse. In her quest for revenge, Cat also recruits Kid Shelleen (also played by Marvin), a one-time fearsome gunslinger who's now a hopeless alcoholic. Cat Ballou (1965) is interspersed throughout the narrative with appearances by Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole as a pair of balladeers who comment on the action musically in Greek chorus style. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, (more)
- 1966
The star of the Broadway version of Any Wednesday was Sandy Dennis. Headlining the 1966 film version is Jane Fonda, who imbues her character with enough quirkiness to satisfy both herself and the endearingly mannered Ms. Dennis. Fonda plays the dippy mistress of philanderer Jason Robards, who visits his paramour only on Wednesdays (hence the title). Dean Jones costars as the erstwhile swain who messes up Robards' routine by falling in love with Fonda. Screenwriter Julius J. Epstein does a expert job at expanding Muriel Resnick's play for the screen without robbing it of its inherent charm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
All hell breaks loose in a Texas town when an escaped convict heads home in Arthur Penn's Southern gothic melodrama. Appointed by local kingpin Val Rogers (E. G. Marshall), benevolent Sheriff Calder (Marlon Brando) manages to keep the peace in Tarl, but the situation starts to fester one Saturday when news filters in that wild child Bubber Reeves (Robert Redford) has jumped prison. Bubber's impending arrival arouses hostility among Tarl's citizens, such as Edwin Stewart (Robert Duvall), who believes that Bubber will come after him to settle an old score, and Damon Puller (Richard Bradford), who, between grope sessions with Edwin's wife Emily (Janice Rule), uses Bubber as an excuse to terrorize black residents. As the atmosphere heats up, Calder wants to keep Bubber alive, and he convinces Bubber's wife Anna (Jane Fonda) and her lover, Val's son Jake (James Fox), to find Bubber and coax him into surrender. Val's fear that Bubber will kill his son, however, sparks a long confrontation that leaves rational law and order pummeled into the ground by the town's ignorant cruelty. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, (more)
Under the tutelage of one-time husband, director Roger Vadim, Jane Fonda plays the much-younger wife of stuffed-shirt millionaire Michel Piccoli. When Piccoli's handsome young stepson Peter McEnery comes to visit, Fonda is immediately smitten. When Piccoli forces McEnery into a marriage of convenience, she contemplates committing suicide over returning to her barren but lavish lifestyle. The Game is Over was inspired by the Emile Zola novel La Curee (the film's European title). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Peter McEnery, (more)
Based on the hit Broadway play by Neil Simon, who made his screenwriting debut with this adaptation, Barefoot In The Park follows the lives of newlyweds Paul (Robert Redford) and Corie Bratter (Jane Fonda) as they adjust to married life in a tiny Greenwich Village apartment. Paul is a buttoned-down, straight-arrow lawyer who's wound a little too tight, while Corie is an effervescent free spirit who won't let anything disturb her romantic bliss. Aside from the five-flight climb and the hole in their skylight, the Bratters must also contend with eccentric upstairs neighbor Victor Velasco (Charles Boyer), who must go through their apartment to get to his. Corie hatches a plot to get her mother (Mildred Natwick) together with Mr. Velasco, but the entire evening goes awry and even casts doubt on the viability of the Bratters' new marriage, as Corie tries unsuccessfully to loosen Paul up. All ends well, however, and Fonda and Redford are full of youthful appeal in this light domestic comedy. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, (more)
- 1967
Otto Preminger directed this star-studded adaptation of K.B. Gliden's novel about racial prejudice and emotional unrest in the Deep South. Henry Warren (Michael Caine) is a land owner obsessed with buying up all available land in a Georgia farming town. However, two parcels of land have escaped his reach, and he's determined to get them. The Scotts, an African-American family, own one of the lots that Henry is after; the matriarch of the family, Rose (Beah Richards), used to work as a servant for the family of Henry's wife, Julie Ann (Jane Fonda), so Henry sends Julie Ann to talk with her. However, not only doesn't Rose agree to sell, she gets so upset that she dies of a heart attack, and soon her headstrong son Reeve (Robert Hooks) is the owner of the land. Reeve refuses all of Henry's offers to sell out, and he even stands up to a racist lynch mob that tries to ransack his farm; when Henry attempts to prove that Reeve holds no legal deed to the property, Vivian Thurlow (Diahann Carroll), the town's black schoolmarm, is able to provide the documentation that the Scotts do indeed own their land. Meanwhile, Henry is also trying to buy some property farmed by Rod McDowell (John Phillip Law) and his wife Lou (Faye Dunnaway), a poor white couple who are Henry's cousins. The McDowell farm adjoins that owned by the Scotts, so Reeve and Rod agree to join forces against Henry, which leads to violent reprisals against them. While set in Georgia, Hurry Sundown was actually shot on location in Louisiana; it was the first film shot in the South with an integrated cast and crew, leading the producers to demand protection from State Troopers after members of the company received death threats. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, (more)
A voluptuous outer space agent travels to another galaxy in search of a missing inventor in this science fiction send-up. Barbarella (Jane Fonda), an interstellar representative of the united Earth government in the 41st century, is dispatched to locate scientist Durand Durand, whose positronic ray, if not recovered, could signal the end of humanity. Outfitted in an array of stunning Star Trek/Bond girl outfits and cruising around in a plush, psychedelic spaceship, Barbarella travels to the Tau Seti system and promptly crash-lands. She then spends the rest of the film discovering the joys of interstellar sex with a keeper of feral children (Ugo Tognazzi), a blind, beatific angel (John Phillip Law), and an inept revolutionary named Dildano (David Hemmings). Slowly but surely, she also finds her way to Durand Durand by moving from one exotic, Wizard of Oz-style locale to another. Along the way, she meets the kindly Professor Ping (a surprisingly verbal Marcel Marceau), a Eurotrash dominatrix named the Great Tyrant (Rolling Stones gal pal Anita Pallenberg), and the Concierge (Milo O'Shea), a strangely familiar lackey of the Great Tyrant who tries to destroy Barbarella with his great big organ of love. Jean-Claude Forest, who created the character Barbarella in 1962 for V-Magazine, served as visual advisor on the adaptation. The film's missing scientist character famously inspired the band name of '80s pop stars Duran Duran (who altered the spelling slightly). Almost two decades later, the film also inspired electronic act Matmos, which was named after the aqueous personification of evil unleashed by the Concierge at the movie's climax. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, (more)
Released in Europe as Histoires Extraordinaires and Tre Passi Nel Delirio, this is a portmanteau picture, comprised of three supernatural playlets based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. "Metzengerstein," directed by Roger Vadim, stars the director's then-wife Jane Fonda as a medieval woman prone to acts of vengeance. Her brother Peter Fonda is somewhat perversely cast as her cousin, for whom she holds incestuous yearnings. When he gives her the cold shoulder, she spitefully sets fire to his stable of horses. He is himself killed in the blaze, but it seems that he has been reincarnated as a horse. In "William Wilson," directed by Louis Malle, a sadistic Austrian officer (Alain Delon) commits various S&M misdeeds upon a variety of victims, including a woman (Brigitte Bardot) with whom he plays cards. The officer himself comes to grief when he finds that the Church will not allow him to say an act of contrition. And "Never Bet Your Head," directed by Federico Fellini, updates the Poe original by casting Terence Stamp as a self-indulgent movie star. Driving drunk one evening, the actor literally bets his head that he can escape a potentially fatal accident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terence Stamp, Jane Fonda, (more)
- 1969
- PG
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A total of nine Academy Award nominations went to this wildly acclaimed, allegorical drama set amongst the contestants in a marathon dance contest during the Great Depression. Gig Young stars as Rocky, the obnoxious emcee for a dance marathon that offers prize money of $1,500, a small fortune during hard economic times that brings out the worst in several participants. Among them are Gloria Beatty (Jane Fonda), a malcontent who's partnered with a drifter, Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin); a pregnant farm girl (Bonnie Bedelia) and her husband (Bruce Dern); a sailor (Red Buttons); and an aspiring actress (Susannah York). As the marathon winds into a staggering second month, suspicion, doubt and insecurity rages among the competitors and even the decaying and increasingly manipulative Rocky, leading to a shocking crime. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, (more)
The first part of his "paranoia trilogy," Alan J. Pakula's 1971 thriller details the troubled life of a Manhattan prostitute stalked by one of her tricks. Investigating the disappearance of his friend Tom Gruneman (Robert Milli), rural Pennsylvania private eye John Klute (Donald Sutherland) follows a lead provided by Gruneman's associate Peter Cable (Charles Cioffi) to seek out a call girl who Gruneman knew in New York City. The call girl is Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda), an aspiring actress who turns tricks for the cash and to be free of emotional bondage. Klute follows Bree's every move, observing the city's decadence and her isolation, eventually contacting her about Gruneman. Bree claims not to know Gruneman, but she does reveal that she has received threats from a john. As Bree becomes involved in Klute's search and realizes that she is in danger, she reluctantly falls in love with Klute, despite her wish to remain unattached to any man. When she finally comes face to face with the killer, however, she is forced to reconsider her detached urban life. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, (more)
In 1971, Jane Fonda and a group of fellow activist performers and musicians (including actor Donald Sutherland, musician Holly Near, and writer and comedian Paul Mooney) put together a satirical revue to perform at coffeehouses and parks near U.S. Army bases for the entertainment of G.I.'s who had come to oppose the war in Vietnam. Calling the show F.T.A. (meaning either "Free The Army" or "F-ck The Army" depending on what part of the show one witnessed), the show included protest songs, anti-war humor, appearances by G.I.'s and veterans who spoke out the war, and agit-prop theater designed to increase awareness and spread resistance against the military escalation in Vietnam. After a tour of the United States, the troupe headed to the Pacific, where they performed in Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, and Okinawa. F.T.A. is a documentary of the troupe's Pacific Tour, including highlights from the show, appearances by local performers, behind the scenes footage of the logistical and political problems of keeping the show on the road, and conversations with soldiers as they discuss what they saw in battle, their anger with the military bureaucracy, and their opposition to America's presence in Indochina. American-International Pictures released F.T.A. in the United States in 1972, but it appeared in theaters the same week that Jane Fonda made her infamous trip to Hanoi; AIP soon pulled it from circulation and it has been seen very rarely since. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
After collaborating on a series of small-scale political films under the alias of the Dziga Vertov Group, pioneering French director Jean-Luc Godard and filmmaker and activist Jean-Pierre Gorin attempted to fuse their Maoist theories of revolutionary art with a more accessible structural framework in this leftist comedy drama. Susan (Jane Fonda) is an American journalist working as a French correspondent for a radio network; her husband, Jacques (Yves Montand), was once a major filmmaker during the French New Wave, but now supports himself directing television commercials as he tries to come to terms with his political responsibilities. Jacques tags along when Susan visits a sausage factory to interview the manager (Vittorio Caprioli); their visit unexpectedly coincides with a wildcat strike staged by the plant's employees, who hold the boss captive as they lash out against both their employers and their union in a bid for more money and greater dignity. Over the course of the day, many of the participants speak to the camera about their varying degrees of commitment to radical political and economic change, while we are also afforded an inside look at Susan and Jacques' splintered relationship. Shortly after Tout Va Bien was released, Jane Fonda made her famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) visit to Hanoi, an action which led Godard and Gorin to create a companion film, Letter to Jane, in which they dissected a photo of Fonda in Vietnam for its multiple levels of political meaning. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Yves Montand, (more)
- 1973
- G
This Joseph Losey-directed 1973 version of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House marks one of two cinematizations of the story released during the same year. Here, Jane Fonda plays Nora Helmer, the mousy Norwegian wife who eventually turns on her insensitive husband Torvald (David Warner). At the time of its release, A Doll's House was castigated for allowing Ms. Fonda to espouse her "feminist dogma" in the role. In truth, what Losey and Fonda give us is not the traditional mindless "hothouse rose" who finally comes to her senses in Act Three, but instead a woman who knows she is trapped in a stereotype, but is willing to play along as long as her husband loves and trusts her. Only when Torvald proves to be a thick-headed jerk by condescendingly forgiving his wife for entering into a potentially scandalous but household-saving financial arrangement, does Nora reject his values and slam the door on him. Trevor Howard plays the slimy Dr. Rank, who assumes that his monetary hold over Nora grants him certain intimate privileges. A Doll's House was exquisitely photographed on location in Norway by Gerry Fisher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, David Warner, (more)
In this counter-culture caper comedy, directed by Alan Myerson (whose work with The Committee and Second City gives the film a quirky sketch comedy freshness), Donald Sutherland plays Veldini, a sad-eyed demolition-derby driver, serving time for larceny. He also possesses a millennial desire to wreck every car manufactured in the United States from 1940 to 1960. After being released from jail, Veldini hatches a scheme to restore an old U.S. World War II amphibian plane to escape conventional society and fly off to a new nonconformist world. Searching for spare parts to complete the restoration, Veldini realizes that a particular electrical circuit is available only at the local Navy base, and he decides to rob the base to steal the circuit. Involved in the caper with him is Iris (Jane Fonda in a burlesque of her performance in Klute) as a 100-dollar-a-night call girl who is sick of being humiliated; Veldini's kid brother (John Savage); and Eagle (Peter Boyle), a schizophrenic out-of-work circus performer. Standing in the way of Veldini's scheme is Frank Veldini (Howard Hesseman), his older brother and a politically ambitious district attorney. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, (more)
- 1974
This documentary was made during the most intense period of fighting in the Vietnam War. U.S. participation in that conflict lasted from 1956 (approximately) until 1975. Here Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden travel to North Vietnam in order to show the North Vietnamese as actual human beings with legitimate needs and concerns. Their suffering from American and allied bombing attacks is clearly shown, along with interviews with Le Duc Tho (a Viet Cong peace negotiator) and others. Fonda was extremely active in the antiwar movement, and organized concerts and films supporting antiwar activities; this documentary was only a small part of her efforts in that period. This film, and the trip which made it possible, earned her the derisive epithet "Hanoi Jane." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hayden
