Patrick Swayze Movies
An athlete practically from birth, Patrick Swayze was a football player in high school and then earned a gymnastics scholarship to pay for college. His father had been a dancer/choreographer, and Swayze began to study dance early on, eventually working with the prestigious Harkness and Joffrey Ballet companies. He made his professional debut as a dancer with the lead role of Prince Charming in a traveling company of Disney on Parade, but an old knee injury from his football days threatened to cut his dancing career short at any moment. Hedging his bets, Swayze opened his repertoire up to acting as well. He made the transition to Broadway, landing the role of Danny in the hit Broadway musical Grease before heading to Los Angeles to make yet another transition -- this time to the screen.Swayze cut his teeth on TV guest appearances, scoring a memorable role as dying soldier in an episode of M*A*S*H. Finally, he got a role in Francis Ford Coppola's youth ensemble film The Outsiders (1983), a film of massive critical acclaim and box-office success. Steadily continuing his upward trajectory, he followed up The Outsiders with the Cold War classic Red Dawn (1984) and with the Civil War TV miniseries North and South (1985). His real big break came in 1987, however, with a starring role in the hit Dirty Dancing. The film gave Swayze the chance to showcase both his acting and dancing abilities and, additionally, he wrote and performed one of the film's songs, "She's Like the Wind," which went on to become a major hit. The role made Swayze an undisputed star, and he scored big again with a tough-guy role in the movie Road House, as well as the romantic lead in the supernatural drama Ghost (1990) -- a box-office smash that ended up grossing more than 200 million dollars.
The '90s had started out for Swayze with a bang, but with so much of his success wrapped up in the films of the 1980s, the actor soon found himself fighting against the mentality that he was out of date. He found iconic roles like surfer Bodhi in the police thriller Point Break and even played a drag queen in 1995's To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, but transitioning into the next phase of his career proved challenging. In 2001, Swayze found a film to help him facilitate this change with the role of twisted self-help guru Jim Cunningham in the dark mystery drama Donnie Darko. There was an element of self-parody in Swayze's portrayal of the über-positive, deceptively clean-cut Cunningham, and audiences found the role refreshing. He continued to pick up projects as they appealed to him, appearing in everything from the romantic drama One Last Dance to the quirky British comedy Keeping Mum.
Sadly, however, by the late 2000s some upsetting news arrived. Swayze announced to the press in March 2008 that he was suffering from inoperable stage-four pancreatic cancer. The star battled his illness for a reported 20 months, but in the end it took his life. He died at the relatively young age of 57 in September 2009. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Biography: Whoopi Goldberg documents the life of the Oscar winning actress from her difficult childhood, through her breakthrough on stage with the help of Mike Nichols, and her years as a movie star in such pictures as Ghost, Sister Act, and her debut in The Color Purple. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, (more)
- 1979
- PG
The short-lived roller-disco craze of the late 1970s served as inspiration for this dated comedy, which follows the patrons of a popular roller-disco palace as they prepare for a major race. Naturally, the climactic showdown features a wholesome, upright hero (Greg Bradford) facing the fearsome challenge of a leather-clad villain (a pre-fame Patrick Swayze). ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, (more)
- 1980
Made for television, a former professional baseball player (John Ritter) coaches a team of misfits to the little-league crown. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Mary Beth Allen (Barbara Eden), the widow of a member of the long-defunct Eagle Rock Rebels motorcycle gang, supports herself by running a small campground. Unfortunately, the future of this enterprise is endangered by the arrival of several young punks who have been scaring off the customers and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Riding to the rescue are Mary Beth's old pals, the ex-members of the Rebels, who have gathered at the camp for their 25-year reunion. Along the way, Mary Beth falls in love with the Rebels' now middle-aged leader, Sonny (Don Murray). The fun to be had in this made-for-TV movie is seeing such sitcom stalwarts as M*A*S*H's Jamie Farr and Soap's Robert Mandan in black leather jackets astride their souped-up Harleys. Return of the Rebels made its CBS network bow on October 17, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Hawkeye (Alan Alda) is profoundly touched by a terminally ill GI (well played by a young Patrick Swayze) who is more concerned about the plight of his wounded pal. Unfortunately, the fact that Hawkeye can do nothing for the dying soldier exacts quite an emotional toll. All this occurs while a nervous Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) prepares for a visit from no-nonsense Cardinal Reardon (Ray Middleton). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
In this drama, undercover investigators are recruited from the streets to prevent arms smugglers from getting their weapons to street gangs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Ted Kotcheff continues his First Blood fervor with Uncommon Valor. Gene Hackman stars as Cal Rhodes, a former Marine Colonel who has been getting the run-around for ten years from the government concerning the disappearance of his son and his buddies - all Marines who enlisted years prior and served in Vietnam. Rhodes' son was last seen in Laos, where he was fighting in the war and captured as a POW. When word gets back to Rhodes that the men may still be alive and held in prison camps, but the government still has the men listed as missing in action, Rhodes decides to take matters into his own hands. Contacting an old friend, oil baron MacGregor (Robert Stack), Rhodes is granted financial backing to form his own incursion force. He assembles a crack team of men, puts them through an intensive period of training. and heads back with them into the Laotian jungles to search for the MIAs. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Robert Stack, (more)
Teen rivalry in a small Southern town sets the stage for this dramatic interpretation of the novel by S.E. Hinton. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Outsiders tells the story of the ongoing conflict between the Greasers and the Socs in rural Oklahoma. C. Thomas Howell stars as Ponyboy, the youngest of three orphaned boys who pal around with the local hoods known as the Greasers. When Ponyboy and his friend (Ralph Macchio) get into a deadly confrontation one night, the two go on the run from the cops, and they grow up quickly and soon realize the insignificance of their petty posturing. Matt Dillon stars as the tough-as-nails leader of their group and Patrick Swayze appears as Ponyboy's oldest brother. A host of other 1980s Brat Pack celebs fill out the cast. Dillon later appeared in another Coppola adaption of a Hinton book, Rumble Fish. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, (more)
- 1984
- R
The Saroyanesque Grandview USA focuses on a sleepy Midwestern town and its younger denizens. Bored out of his gourd, recent high-school graduate Tim (C. Thomas Howell), befriends the much-older Michelle (Jamie Lee Curtis), who runs the local demolition derby. Michelle's top driver is "Slam" (Patrick Swayze), who though a star on the track is a washout when it comes to affairs of the heart. As the three characters grow closer, each does a lot of growing up. When it sticks to business, Grandview USA can be quite charming; it falters only in a couple of rock-video and fantasy sequences, reportedly tacked on at the insistence of the distributors. The highly appropriate supporting cast ranges from such TV regulars as Troy Donahue and William Windom to such stars-to-be as Jennifer Jason Leigh and John Cusack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Lee Curtis, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
Set at an indeterminate point in the future, this drama with an overt anti-communist message begins as an ostensible war movie: Russian and Cuban forces have invaded the U.S. and are viciously eliminating the inhabitants of a small town, when a group of teens escapes and plans a counterattack. Jed (Patrick Swayze), Robert (C. Thomas Howell), and six of their friends watch in amazement as soldiers parachute into their town and start shooting. The teens grab a pickup truck, stock up on supplies at the local store, and head for the hills. Meanwhile, the men in the town -- after a minimal resistance -- are rounded up and held at a drive-in theater converted into a concentration camp. The sadistic Soviet military then make them watch acclaimed Russian director Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 classic Alexander Nevsky, as their punishing rehabilitation begins. Meanwhile, after minimal resistance from the adults, a Cuban, Bella (Ron O'Neal), is put in charge and is not certain how he can really defeat the teen army. The Soviets and Cubans have so far defeated the American Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, but these teens are really something else. After a successful ambush, the teen guerrillas gear up for future forays, when they are suddenly betrayed by one of their number and by doubts about the morality of what they are doing. Red Dawn is noteworthy for being the first movie released with the PG-13 rating, created by the MPAA after public outcry over violent content in the PG-rated Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
- 1985
The expensively mounted miniseries North and South was originally telecast in six two-hour installments between November 3 and 10, 1985. Four screenwriters--Douglas Heyes, Paul F. Edwards, Kathleen A. Shelley, Patricia Green--were called upon to fashion a workable script from John Jakes' sprawling best-seller. The story covers the two decades prior to the Civil War, beginning in 1842. Real-life historical events are filtered through the eyes of two rival clans: the Mains, a South Carolina plantation-owning family, and the Hazards, a family of Pennsylvania industrialists. While top billing goes to Kirstie Alley as "Northern Belle" Virgilia Hazard, most of the footage is devoted to the fluctuating friendship between Orry Main (Patrick Swayze) and George Hazard (James Read). The huge guest-star cast includes Gene Kelly (in his TV miniseries debut), Elizabeth Taylor, Leslie-Anne Down, David Carradine, Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Hal Holbrook (as Abe Lincoln) and Johnny Cash (as abolitionist John Brown). The recipient of seven Emmy nominations, the 561-minute North and South was filmed back to back with its equally lengthy sequel, North and South, Book II. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirstie Alley
- 1986
This six-part, 12-hour miniseries was a sequel to the 1985 "mini" North and South, and like its predecessor it was based on a novel by John Jakes (Love and War). In the tradition of The Birth of a Nation (but without the negative racist content), North and South, Book II followed the fortunes of two large families during the Civil War: the Hazards of Pennsylvania and the Mains of South Carolina. As former friends Orry Maine (Patrick Swayze) and George Hazard (James Read) find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict, Orry's sweetheart Madeline (Lesley-Anne Down) is left at the mercy of her sadistic husband Justin LaMotte (David Carradine) and Orry's vixenish sister Ashton (Terri Garber), while George's amour Constance (Wendy Kilbourne) was saddled with an equally disreputable family. Though the series was top-heavy with villains, there was enough time left over for the heroes of the war, notably Abraham Lincoln (Hal Holbrook) and Ulysses S. Grant (Anthony Zerbe). First telecast over the ABC network from May 4-8 and May 11, 1986, North and South, Book II was re-telecast in a six-week block from May 13 to June 17, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirstie Alley
Rob Lowe stars as the title character, a young hockey prodigy with a gift for scoring, but no such penchant for pugilism -- when the gloves drop, so does he. Despite his fragility, Coach Chadwick (Ed Lauter) takes him on the roster for his stick-handling ability alone. However, he ends up being sent home after being singled out by a particularly nasty goon, Racki (George Finn), who pummels the "pretty boy" in brutal fashion. Disheartened, Youngblood heads back to the rural Canadian farm he calls home, where his father (Eric Nesterenko, a former player for the Chicago Blackhawks) and older brother (Jim Youngs) teach him the invaluable lesson that hockey is "no place for a nervous person" (to quote a famous NHL announcer). Overseen by his elders, he immediately begins a combat-training regimen to prepare for his return and imminent showdown with the evil Racki; meanwhile, he strikes up a relationship with the coach's daughter (Cynthia Gibb). ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, Cynthia Gibb, (more)
Chuck "Tiger" Warsaw (Patrick Swayze) returns to the steel town of Sharon, Pennsylvania hoping to be reunited with his estranged family after 15 years. He spent his time away from home in Miami in a perpetual fog of drugs and alcohol and is struggling to remember what prompted his departure. Tiger eventually remembers seeing his sister Paula (Mary McDonnell) naked. Her premature and hysterical cries of attempted incest prompted an argument with his father Mitchell (Lee Richardson), and in the melee Tiger shot Mitchell and fled. Upon his return home, Tiger finds that as a result of the shooting, his dad's injuries are such that he can't remember anything except his love for high-school sports. Frances (Piper Laurie) is Tiger's sympathetic mother who along with his former high-school sweetheart Karen (Barbara Williams) and buddy Tony (Bobby DiCicco) readily accepts him. His spiteful sister and her yuppie fiancee Roger (James Patrick Gillis) join with other irate relatives to ruin the happy family reunion for Tiger. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Piper Laurie, (more)
A teenage girl learns about love, adult responsibility, and how to do The Dirty Boogie in this romantic drama. In 1963, "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is a 17-year-old spending the summer with her family at a resort hotel in the Catskills; she plans on being in the Peace Corps next summer, so this is expected to be her last summer as a carefree adolescent. Baby doesn't get along with her older sister, Lisa (Jane Brucker), and she's bored to tears by most of the older guests at the resort. However, one night Baby hears what sounds like a party going on in the employee's dormitory, and she pokes her head in to discover most of the hotel staff enjoying the sort of close dancing that would get you kicked out of the senior prom in no time flat. Baby is particularly struck by handsome Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), a dancer in the resort's floor show, and falls head over heels in love, wanting to be near him. When Johnny's dance partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), finds herself pregnant after a fling with one of the waiters, Baby volunteers to learn her steps and take her place; however, Baby's father, Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), will have none of it, convinced that Johnny is a low life and that his daughter is too young to understand her own feelings. Dirty Dancing was a surprise box-office hit, and the soundtrack album was an even bigger success, spawning several hit singles and inspiring a top-drawing concert tour featuring several of its artists. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, (more)
This futuristic drama offers the classic story of Shane seved up with a few Mad Max moments and some interesting twists. The tale is set in the smouldering, decimated post-World War III town of Meridian, where locals scrabble to keep their meager farms watered in the midst of a desert wasteland. Bad-guys - a powerful landowner and his cronies - try to monopolize the precious local water supplies by bullying, kidnapping and even murdering citizens. To this beleaguered place comes the enigmatic swordsman/ warrior Nomad who has come in search of his mentor's killer. The town takes him on as their "Peacemaker" and he is able to end their problems and get his revenge to boot. The story was filmed on location in the deserts of South Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, (more)
When his brother is murdered, a policeman is caught between his devotion to the law and his family's desire for revenge in this action drama. Patrick Swayze plays Truman Gates, who left his backwoods Appalachian home for life as a Chicago police officer. When his brother is killed by a gangster, Truman is determined to seek legal retribution. His older brother Briar (Liam Neeson) has different ideas, however, and travels to the city to seek old-fashioned vigilante justice. Truman must now choose between his family's belief in mountain justice and the duties of his job. Though the film is not particularly action-packed, director John Irvin does provide the expected gunplay and macho confrontations. However, despite a surprisingly distinguished cast (also including Helen Hunt and Michael J. Pollard), little distinguishes the film from numerous other revenge stories with a similar outline. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Liam Neeson, (more)
Love, treachery, and broken furniture are the hallmarks of this rollicking action drama. Dalton (Patrick Swayze) has a Ph.D., but rather than make a living teaching Socrates at some university, he's opted to become a top-drawer "cooler" -- an expert barroom bouncer who can break up fights without getting himself killed in the process. Dalton is hired to keep the peace at the Double Duce, a rough-and-tumble honky tonk in Jasper, Missouri, where beer-soaked free-for-alls are a nightly event. Dalton is hurt on his first night on the job, and he is patched up by "Doc" Clay (Kelly Lynch), a beautiful woman working as the town's physician. Dalton and Doc immediately hit it off, but Dalton learns that another man, Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara), already has his eye on her. Wesley is a man used to getting his way; he's an extortionist and crime boss who has nearly everyone in Jasper under his thumb, and he sets out to teach Dalton a lesson, while Dalton is determined to clean up the town like he breaks up brawls at the Double Duce. Sam Elliott plays Dalton's mentor Wade, and Red West, a one-time member of Elvis Presley's "Memphis Mafia," appears as Webster; Canadian blues-rock guitarist Jeff Healey leads the Double Duce house band. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, (more)
An interesting hybrid of popular film genres, Ghost showcases the talents of its entire cast. While out on the town one evening, New York couple Sam (Patrick Swayze) and Molly (Demi Moore) are confronted by a mugger. After submitting to his demands, Sam is murdered anyway. He then finds himself a disembodied spirit, invisible to the living world, wandering without hope until he finds a spiteful spirit aboard the subway (Vincent Schiavelli) who gives him some helpful pointers on how to co-exist. Soon Sam comes back into contact with those he knew in life, and he begins to learn piece-by-piece of his close friend and co-worker Carl's (Tony Goldwyn) embezzling plot which caused his death; the apparent mugging was, in fact, a premeditated murder. In the meantime, Carl has designs on Molly, and Sam is determined to extract revenge. He contacts a psychic (Whoopi Goldberg), and together, the two set out to serve justice and stop the maniacal Carl from getting to Molly. Blending comedy, romance, action, and horror, Ghost was a box-office smash and managed to garner five Academy Award nominations, including "Best Picture," "Best Supporting Actress" (Goldberg), "Best Original Screenplay," "Best Editing," and "Best Score"; Goldberg won her first Oscar. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, (more)
- 1990
This 1990 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Patrick Swayze and features musical guest Mariah Carey. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Mariah Carey, (more)
Kathryn Bigelow's fourth action film follows FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) as he goes undercover to infiltrate a cache of Southern California surfers suspected of robbing banks. Utah, a former football player, is assigned to Los Angeles. There, four bank robbers, who wear rubber masks and call themselves "Ex-Presidents," have executed a series of successful robberies which embarrassingly have the FBI stumped. Utah, and his partner Pappas (Gary Busey) suspect that the robbers are surfers and hatch a plan for catching them. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, (more)
