Paxton Whitehead Movies
Trained at London's Webber-Douglas academy, Paxton Whitehead made his professional debut in 1956, and within two years was signed by the RSC. Crossing the Atlantic to appear in Canadian stage and TV productions, Whitehead made his Broadway bow in 1962's The Affair. He went on to appear with the American Shakespeare Company, to direct in regional repertory, and to function as artistic director of the Shaw Festival, a job he held down for ten years. His later Broadway credits include Crucifer of Blood (as Sherlock Holmes) and the 1980 revival of Camelot (as Pellinore). Whitehead's first film appearance was in the 1986 Whoopi Goldberg comedy Jumpin' Jack Flash. The following year, he starred as Dudley the Butler in the syndicated sitcom Marblehead Manor; one of his co-stars was Linda Thorson, with whom he'd appeared on Broadway in Noises Off. In 1995, Paxton Whitehead was starred as cable-TV exec Duke Stone in the WB Network situation comedy Simon, one of that fledgling network's few bonafide successes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1991
An Inconvenient Woman, an excellent television mini-series based on the novel by Dominick Dunne, which is loosely based on the Alfred Bloomingdale scandal, tells the story of the mistress of a famous man who he has murdered when she threatens his security. Jules Mendelson (Jason Robards) and his socialite wife Pauline (Jill Eikenberry) have a marriage of convenience that is threatened by the existence of Jules cast-off mistress Flo (Rebecca De Mornay) who knows too much and can cause them all too much trouble. So, Jules plans to have her eliminated. The fine cast all give good performances in their roles, and the subject matter, while potentially lurid and tasteless, is treated with sophistication and tact in this excellent adaptation of the best-selling novel. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1989
The death of Jessica's role model, Agatha Christie-like mystery novelist Lady Abigail Austin (June Havoc), sets Jessica (Angela Lansbury) to thinking of an incident back in 1947 in which Lady Abigail was involved in a real-life murder case. In an extended flashback, the action takes place on board the luxury liner "Queen Mary", where an ex-Gestapo officer has been stabbed to death--and Lady Abigail is the primary suspect. The presence of a father-son team of detectives (played by John Karlen and Gary Kroeger) suggests that this episode may have actually been intended for an earlier Richard Levinson-William Link TV mystery series, Ellery Queen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Management consultant Diane Keaton has no time in her life for anything except her high-profile job. All this changes when she inherits a 14-month-old infant from a pair of recently deceased-and very distant-relatives. Intending to put the child up for adoption, she discovers that she has grown fond of the kid and has begun to thrive on the responsibilities of motherhood. All of this, of course, jeopardizes Keaton's love life and professional standing, but all turns out well when the baby inadvertently leads to a whole new moneymaking agenda for our heroine. Capraesque in concept, Baby Boom avoids phony sentiment and obvious humor, emerging as one of the singular comic delights of the late 1980s. On great bit has Keaton "celebrating" a major business coup by surreptiously performing an under-the-table jig (a bit of business that dates back to the 1924 Reginald Denny comedy Skinner's Dress Suit). Baby Boom was spun off into a TV sitcom in 1989, with Kate Jackson filling Diane Keaton's designer shoes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Keaton, Harold Ramis, (more)
Self-made wealthy guy Rodney Dangerfield decides he needs a better education--and also to spend some time away from his cheating new wife. Dangerfield joins his son Keith Gordon at college. Dad hopes to gain his son's respect (isn't that always Dangerfield's motivation?), while son tries to fit in with his snobbish and brutish fellow students. English professor Sally Kellerman forms a strong bond with Dangerfield, encouraging both father and son to stick out their first year despite all odds. The finale involves some slapstick at the swimming pool diving board, and the obligatory commencement address delivered by Dangerfield, who proves that he can crack jokes without tugging at his tie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, (more)
- 1986
While attending his orphanage reunion, Face (Dirk Benedict) links up with two old flames, Rebecca Piper (Nancy Everhard) and Elaine Green (Kim Ulrich). Unfortunately, Rebecca turns out to be as two-faced as ever, betraying Face and the rest of the A-Team to Gen. Fullbright (Jack Ging). As for Elaine, she needs the Team to find her missing oceanographer brother Barry (Tom Villard), which they agree to do provided they can elude Fullbright's minions. The key to the intrigue is a phony treasure map given by Face to Barry when both were children; trouble is, the map isn't phony at all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Penny Marshall in her feature film directing debut, four screenwriters, and a ebullient Whoopi Goldberg join forces to make Jumpin' Jack Flash, a modern espionage comedy. Goldberg plays Terry Doolittle, a computer operator in a large New York City bank who picks up a cry of help on her computer. The signal is from a man who signs off as Jumpin' Jack Flash. Based on the Rolling Stones tune of that name, she figures out his secret password and opens up a Pandora's box of international intrigue. It seems Jack Flash is a pseudonym for a British agent who is trapped in Russia and desperate for information from the British Embassy that will help him escape. When Terry agrees to help him, the CIA, the KGB, British intelligence, and sundry other law enforcement organizations are all hot on her tail as she tries to help the beleaguered British agent. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Pryce, (more)
- 1982
Throughout his life, Higgins (John Hillerman) has been taunted, bested and humiliated by his old boarding-school nemesis William Troubshaw (Paxton Whitehead). Now it seems that he has a chance to settle the score by squaring off against Troubshaw in a fencing match. But through a freak accident, Troubshaw is killed and Higgins is accused of his murder--and even more disturbingly, he seems unwilling to defend himself against the accusation. Former child star Patty McCormick (The Bad Seed) appears as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Carol Baldwin, a role played in subsequent episodes by Kathleen Lloyd). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
