Rick Schroder Movies
A Staten Island native, Rick Schroder was billed as Ricky Schroder in the fledgling stage of his acting career, which began when he was just a baby (working on commercials) and has persevered ever since. By the time he made his film debut at nine-years-old as the emotionally tortured son of a washed-up boxer (Jon Voight) in The Champ (1979), Schroder had more than 60 television appearances to his name, many of which had been filmed before he had even learned to speak. Schroder played another traumatized boy in The Earthling (1980) and fared well in several subsequent made-for-TV features, but his breakout role wouldn't come until the 1982 premiere of Silver Spoons. The NBC sitcom starred Schroder as young Ricky Stratten, the wealthy son of a toy-store mogul, and employed the winning '80s formula of single parent + wealth + cute kid + wacky best friend = hit.After the 1986 cancellation of Silver Spoons, the child actor officially became Rick Schroder and starred in several unremarkable small-screen features until landing the coming-of-age role of Newt Dobbs in the award-winning 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove. This would become a trend for Schroder; despite his attempts to make a transition into the film world (his most notable successes being a supporting role in Crimson Tide [1995] and a performance opposite a very young Brad Pitt in Across the Tracks [1991]), the actor would find a much warmer reception in the television community. From bad seeds (1990's The Stranger Within and 1991's My Son, Johnny) to survivalists (1992's Miles From Nowhere and 1993's Return to Lonesome Dove), Schroder's roles were continually met with praise, and he seemed to have escaped the curse suffered by so many child actors.
As an adult, Schroder was fatefully cast as Detective Danny Sorenson in ABC's long-running cop drama NYPD Blue. Though he was decried by NYPD Blue loyalists as little more than a former child sitcom star, it wasn't long before his aptitude at the dramatic role convinced both critics and audiences of his acting capability. When Schroder left the series in 2001, it was a great disappointment to the fan following he had developed during his time on the series. However, fans of Schroder weren't left entirely in the lurch; in 2002, Schroder joined the cast of Poolhall Junkies along with Rod Steiger and Chazz Palminteri, and also starred in the German-helmed Consequence in 2003. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Season eight of NYPD Blue began minus the services of longtime executive producer David Milch, who left to develop a project of his own. Steven Bochco, who'd co-created the series with Milch, took full charge of the series. This was far from the only eighth-season personnel change. Andrea Thompson (Det. Jill Kirkendall) had already quit the series in order to launch a new career as a TV news anchor. Kim Delaney, who played Kirkendall's partner, Det. Diane Russell, remained on the scene, the better to develop a new plot strand involving a steamy romance between Russell and her troubled colleague Det. Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder). But by the end of the season, Delaney was gone -- as was Schroder. One of the series' mainstays since its 1993 debut, James McDaniel, announced his intention of leaving his role as 15th precinct skipper Lt. Fancy after the first 13 episodes of the season. Fancy's initial replacement, hypersensitive feminist Lt. Susan Falto (Denise Crosby), had such a negative effect on the 15th that she herself was quickly supplanted by Lt. Tony Rodriguez (Esai Morales), a by-the-book type who (surprise, surprise) almost immediately clashed with gonzo "I make my own rules" detective Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). Andy's private life was no less turbulent than his professional one; the moment the bone-marrow tests of his son Theo (Austin Majors) came back positive -- thereby resolving one of the unresolved subplots set up by the previous season's cliffhanger finale -- Andy began considering a reconciliation with ex-wife Kate (Debra Monk), but instead became sidetracked with a blossomed May-December relationship with Cynthia Bunin (Juliana Donald), the niece of Andy's old cop pal Gibson (John F. O'Donohue).
Along with Esai Morales and Juliana Donald, Charlotte Ross, and Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon joined the series, respectively cast as Det. Connie McDowell and new Assistant DA Valerie Haywood. Initially shunned as a possible "spy" from Internal Affairs, McDowell quickly proved her mettle and earned the right to remain at the 15th -- and in the process set the foundation for future plot complications by revealing that, 15 years earlier, she had had a daughter out of wedlock whom she had given up for adoption. As for Haywood, she almost immediately got off on the wrong foot with the extremely touchy Det. Baldwin Jones (Henry Simmons), in the tradition of the first-season flareups between Andy Sipowicz and the late ADA Sylvia Costas. But also like Andy and Sylvia, Baldwin Jones and Valerie Haywood quickly found themselves extremely attracted to one another.
The opening episodes of season eight resolved a dilemma left hanging during season seven, that of the 15th precinct's possible complicity in the drug-smuggling operations of Don Kirkendall, ex-husband of the beleagured Jill Kirkendall. The closing episodes established a brand-new crisis, concerning a botched undercover operation which may or may not have cost the life of the missing-in-action Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder). Viewers would have to sweat it out until the beginning of season nine before Danny's ultimate fate would be revealed. For the second year in a row, NYPD Blue's season opener was not seen until January, due to backstage hagglings between the ABC network and the producer. Also, only 20 new episodes were produced, rather than the standard 22, reportedly an economical rather than artistic decision. The late start and diminished output did not affect the series' popularity, nor prevent it from garnering another Emmy Award nomination for series star Dennis Franz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Along with Esai Morales and Juliana Donald, Charlotte Ross, and Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon joined the series, respectively cast as Det. Connie McDowell and new Assistant DA Valerie Haywood. Initially shunned as a possible "spy" from Internal Affairs, McDowell quickly proved her mettle and earned the right to remain at the 15th -- and in the process set the foundation for future plot complications by revealing that, 15 years earlier, she had had a daughter out of wedlock whom she had given up for adoption. As for Haywood, she almost immediately got off on the wrong foot with the extremely touchy Det. Baldwin Jones (Henry Simmons), in the tradition of the first-season flareups between Andy Sipowicz and the late ADA Sylvia Costas. But also like Andy and Sylvia, Baldwin Jones and Valerie Haywood quickly found themselves extremely attracted to one another.
The opening episodes of season eight resolved a dilemma left hanging during season seven, that of the 15th precinct's possible complicity in the drug-smuggling operations of Don Kirkendall, ex-husband of the beleagured Jill Kirkendall. The closing episodes established a brand-new crisis, concerning a botched undercover operation which may or may not have cost the life of the missing-in-action Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder). Viewers would have to sweat it out until the beginning of season nine before Danny's ultimate fate would be revealed. For the second year in a row, NYPD Blue's season opener was not seen until January, due to backstage hagglings between the ABC network and the producer. Also, only 20 new episodes were produced, rather than the standard 22, reportedly an economical rather than artistic decision. The late start and diminished output did not affect the series' popularity, nor prevent it from garnering another Emmy Award nomination for series star Dennis Franz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this drama, a troubled 17-year old is involuntarily committed to a sleazy behavioral treatment center. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A small-time pool shark with dreams of the big time seeks revenge against the mentor who did him wrong in this drama. Johnny Doyle (Mars Callahan) was a teenaged orphan when Joe (Chazz Palminteri) took him under his wing and taught him everything there is to know about shooting pool. Johnny became a genius with a cue, but while he dreamed of becoming a respected professional billiards player, Joe preferred to keep him working along the lower rungs of pool hustling. When Johnny learns just how far Joe has gone to keep him down, Johnny breaks away from him, but Joe and his thugs take revenge against Johnny by breaking his wrists. Tara (Alison Eastwood), Johnny's upper-crust girlfriend, urges him to get out of the pool racket, and Johnny grudgingly agrees, though he feels empty without the excitement of the table. Johnny renews ties with his younger brother Danny (Michael Rosenbaum), and begins to fear he's going to fall into the same sort of traps that snared him -- especially when he finds out that Joe has his eyes on Danny. Johnny decides to give pool playing another go, and teams up with Mike (Christopher Walken), who bankrolls hustlers and would like to take Joe down a notch or two. But Joe has found a new player, Brad (Rick Schroder), whose talent rivals Johnny's, and he's not sure if he knows a way to beat him on the green felt. Poolhall Junkies also features Rod Steiger in one of his final roles; the film didn't see theatrical release until nearly nine months after his death. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chazz Palminteri, Rick Schroder, (more)
The first of a number of sequels to the highly successful western mini-series Lonesome Dove featured few of the same actors as the original, nor was it based on a novel by Larry McMurtry. In this outing, onetime Texas Ranger Call (Jon Voight, replacing Tommy Lee Jones) heads a group of cowboys leading horses from Texas north to Montana. Along the way, Call again meets Clara Allen (Barbara Hershey, taking over for Anjelica Huston), the love of his late partner McCrae's life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight
- 1982
Something So Right was a November 1982 entry in CBS' series of GE Theatre movie specials. Ricky Schroder plays the trouble-prone son of divorcee Patty Duke Astin. Upset that his idolized football-jock father is gone, Schroder has developed into a petty thief. Unable to handle the boy herself, Duke enrolls Schroder in a Big Brother program--where, much to his dismay, he is paired up with inept, unathletic James Farentino (decked out in a convincing "paunchy" bodysuit and a bald wig). Gradually, Schroder grows close to his new "Big Brother"--only to feel deserted again when Farentino, also divorced, falls in love with Schroder's mom. Something So Right is one of those few and far between TV movies that assumes an audience is intelligent enough to digest a story based on genuine human emotions rather than car chases, serial killings or diseases of the week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this police drama, a rookie cop finds his idealism nearly destroyed when he discovers that most of the officers in his new precinct are corrupt. This is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Adapted from the best-selling novel by author Michael Crichton, director Mikael Salomon's made for television mini-series follows a group of specialized scientists as they race to cure a fast-spreading plague. A U.S. military satellite has crashed near a small Utah town, unleashing a deadly pathogen. Everyone who's come into contact with the virus has died, except for two survivors. Could something in the blood of these two survivors prove the key to immunizing the rest of mankind and preventing a devastating outbreak? Now, as a lone reporter begins investigating what he believes to be a vast government conspiracy, the military quarantines the area and a specialized team of scientists race to find a cure for the pathogen they have given the code name, "Andromeda." ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, (more)
- 1990
This animated adventure, based on the novel by Jack London, follows the friendship between a young boy and his dog in 19th-century Alaska. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
Billy (Jon Voight) is on the road with his son T.J. (Ricky Schroder), fighting low-end boxing matches for drinking money before moving on to the next town for another match. When his ex-wife (and T.J.'s mother) Annie (Faye Dunaway) shows up, it's to tell him that she wants custody of the boy. She has remarried and has risen to social prominence in her community. She wants the same for T.J. Determined to keep his son with him, Billy decides to train properly in order to be a success instead of just a washed-up punching bag. This gorgeously photographed drama is a remake of the 1931 film, which won its star Wallace Beery an Oscar. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, (more)
- 1980
- PG
Despite its title, The Earthling is not a science fiction opus. Instead, it's a low-key character study about a doomed man who finds a new lease on life by helping another lost soul. Suffering from terminal cancer, Patrick Foley (William Holden) returns to his native Australia. Intending to live out his last few months alone, Foley comes out of his shell long enough to teach impressionable young orphan Shawn Daley (Ricky Schroder) a few Bush Country survival skills. Ironically, director Peter Collinson was himself a cancer victim, who died shortly after the film's completion. The Earthling works best on a kiddie-matinee level, with Holden's performance and the gorgeous photography its chief assets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Rick Schroder, (more)
- 1980
- G
Even animal lovers may balk at this light, light drama about how a missionary (Genevieve Bujold) and Bobby (Rick Schroder), a young boy manage to populate a deserving island with critters of all types. Noah Dugan (Elliott Gould) is a pilot in need of escaping his creditors and he agrees to fly the animals to their destination. Bobby and the missionary sneak on board and the plane crash-lands on another island on which two Japanese soldiers are still fighting World War II. The story veers ever more into fantasy as the Japanese and the pilot join together to make a boat out of the plane with the goal of taking every animal with them into uncharted waters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Geneviève Bujold, (more)
Based on a true story, the made-for-cable feature The Lost Battalion is set in 1918 during the final months of WWI. Assigned to capture an enemy stronghold in Charlvaux at the height of the Argonne campaign, the men of the AEF 308th Battalion, 77th Division, are led by young American major Charles Whittlesey (Rick Schroder), an inexperienced but dedicated "citizen soldier." Totally cut off from the other allied troops, unaware of their vulnerability, and barraged by "friendly fire," the 500-plus men of the 308th bravely hold their position, suffering incredible losses and unspeakable deprivations in the process -- while the battalion's superior officers, far from the firing line, callously prepare to write off the men as expendable casualties. Fairly graphic and horrifying by basic-cable standards, The Lost Battalion was filmed on-location in Luxembourg, and made its American TV debut courtesy of the A&E Channel on December 2, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
The Stranger Within, a frightening, well-done, made-for-TV thriller with a fine performance by Rick Schroder tell the story of a boy trying to convince a unstable woman that he is her long-lost son. Mare Blackburn (Kate Jackson) is an emotionally traumatized woman whose three-year-old son was kidnapped 12 years before. One day Mark (Rick Schroder) appears on her doorstep claiming to be her lost son who has escaped and returned to her. Mare is at first overjoyed then frightened when it is apparent that her "son" is a sociopathic killer. Rick Schroder shows remarkable range in this change-of-pace performance where he plays an unsympathetic and unappealing character with great energy and intelligence. The Stranger Within is a fine, frightening psychological thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
Similar to the premise of American Graffiti, this film centers on eight California high school students whose lives intersect over two nights in the hot summer of 1965. As the Watts riots begin, the young people make decisions that will impact their entire lives. Writer-director Floyd Mutrux examines at the graduating class of 1965 of Westwood High School in Los Angeles, which was featured on the cover of Look magazine in 1961. The story is narrated by the class valedictorian, Mary Beth (Lucy Deakins). Kelli Williams plays Sunshine, a prototypical flower child. Characters played by Dermot Mulroney and Rick Schroder and others struggle with decisions about the Vietnam war, aspire to be rock musicians, and take divergent paths on politics while navigating various romantic entanglements. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Mulroney, Rick Schroder, (more)
- 1997
29-year-old defense lawyer Nick Donahue (Rick Schroder) is still tied to the apron strings of his possessive mother Diana (Judith Light)--so much so that, when he tries to move out of the family home, Diana is able to bind him even tighter by attempting suicide. While visiting Diana in the hospital, Nick meets and falls in love with Abby (Sarah Trigger), his mother's nurse. Ultimately, Nick and Abby marry, much to Diana's dismay. When Abby announces she is pregnant, it is too much for the unbalanced Diana to bear--and thus she promptly begins plotting her daughter-in-law's murder. This fact-based melodrama culminates in an intense courtroom scene, in which accused killer Diana is defended by--guess who? Made for the CBS TV network, Too Close to Home originally aired April 29, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
A young boy slips through the cracks and ends up in the Navy in this made-for-television drama. Based on a true story, Rick Schroder stars as Calvin Graham, a mature-looking 12-year-old boy who enlisted in the Navy during World War II. Graham not only fought in the war but was honored for his bravery at Guadalcanal before his secret was discovered. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Two Kinds of Love are experienced by young Ricky Schroder in this made-for-TV drama. One kind is the tenuous affection he extends to his estranged father (Peter Weller) when Schroder's mother (Lindsay Wagner) unexpectedly dies. The other kind consists of the teasing sensations felt by Schroder whenever he approaches a girl his own age. Two Kinds of Love was adapted from Two Kinds of Terrible, a novel by Peggy Mann. The film was originally telecast November 8, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
