John Waters Movies
Lead actor, onscreen from the '70s. Not to be confused with filmmaker John Waters. ~ All Movie Guide- 1986
The two-part, two-hour Australian miniseries Alice to Nowhere was adapted by David Boutland from the suspense novel by Evan Green. Set in 1954, the story focused on the aftermath of a botched attempt to steal the crown jewels. Rosey Jones starred as Nurse Barbara Dean, who, unaware that a valuable necklace has been planted on her, is pursued into the Australian outback by a pair of sadistic criminals named Johnny Parson (John Waters) and Frog Gardiner (Esben Storm). As the two crooks grow more evil and irredeemable with each passing day, they leave a trail of terror and death behind them -- with even more horror still to come for the hapless heroine. Debuting June 30, 1986, Alice to Nowhere was co-produced by 10 Network and Crawford Productions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
All the Rivers Run is a four-part miniseries set in the Australia of the early 1900s. Sigrid Thornton stars as Philadelphia Gordon, an English artist who undertakes a tragic move to Australia with her family. During their voyage to the new continent, a shipwreck occurs, killing all but Philadelphia and one of the ship's crewmen. She is then shuttled off to live with her aunt and uncle on their farm, and uses her inheritance to fund a paddleship business with the crewman from the vessel who saved her life. Philadelphia's life is forever altered when she meets handsome frontier paddleboat skipper Brenton Edwards (the Australian actor John Waters -- not to be confused with the iconoclastic American director of the same name). Our heroine marries Edwards, but the union begets trouble when their paddlesteamer catches fire, destroying the craft altogether and forcing Brenton to take another job. Later, an accident that renders Brenton lame forces Philadelphia to work hard and support the couple; she then decides to rebuild the vessel while doubling up her efforts as a painter. Scripted by George Miller (the director of Man from Snowy River), All the Rivers Run was released in the U.S. over the HBO Cable service; it first aired January 15 through 18, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigrid Thornton, John Waters, (more)
- 1990
This sequel to the Australian miniseries All the Rivers Run takes place in 1903, as Brenton Edwards (John Waters) continues to pilot the Philadelphia Riverboat around Echuca, one of the biggest port cities in Australia. Edwards makes the acquaintance of Cyrus James (Parker Stevenson), an American relocated to Australia, and soon James becomes his partner in the riverboat business. However, not all goes well for them; after shipping and tourism in Echuca goes into a downturn, Edwards is sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit, and James rallies to keep their business afloat and Brenton's family together as they all search for a way to prove Edwards is innocent. All the Rivers Run 2 was also released in the United States as The Rivers Run: A Journey of Faith and Hope; leading man John Waters is an Australian actor best known for his role in the film Breaker Morant, and is not to be confused with the eccentric American filmmaker of the same name. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Waters, Nikki Coghill, (more)
Force Z is a crack Australian military corps during World War II. When a plane carrying a high-profile Japanese defector crash-lands somewhere in the South Pacific, it's up to Force Z to find it. Complicating matters is a traitor in the good guys' midst. John Philip Law heads the cast of Attack Force Z, but some video companies have bestowed top billing upon Mel Gibson, originally listed 3rd in the cast. The film also features an early leading peformance by Sam Neill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Phillip Law, Mel Gibson, (more)
- 1988
- R
You don't become a playwright, at least a successful one, without having more than your share of sensitivities. In fact, a goodly proportion of the artists in present-day L.A. are too sensitive for their own good, which causes no end of problems. For Tom, an Australian-born playwright who has "made good" in la-la-land, his success has resulted in serious strains in his relationship with his wife and daughter back in Melbourne, and with himself -- strains which he eases with a succession of mood-altering pills. When a fresh young actress in one of his productions falls for him, he is so emotionally battered that he finds her attentions confusing and unsettling. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Waters, Penelope Stewart, (more)
Breaker Morant is one of the most acclaimed Australian films, telling a powerful tale of wartime betrayal and injustice. Henry "Breaker" Morant (Edward Woodward) is an Englishman living in Australia at the end of the 19th century. When war breaks out in 1899 between Britain and the Boers (descendants of Dutch colonists), Morant and a number of Australians volunteer for duty and are absorbed into the non-regular units of the British army. Acting under orders from his commanders, Morant oversees the execution of several Boer prisoners; it turns out that one of them was German, and in order to keep the peace with Germany, Britain agrees to courtmartial Morant and two other soldiers, sentencing two to death and one to life imprisonment. Based on a play by Kenneth Ross, Bruce Beresford's film is powerfully filmed and acted and has become a classic anti-war movie since its 1980 release; the script (co-written by Beresford) was nominated for an Academy Award. The final execution scene is nearly overpowering in its sense of tragedy and futility. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Woodward, Bryan Brown, (more)
- 1977
Some time after retiring, an international courier is re-hired to deliver a dangerous package to Australia. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1976
The Australian Eliza Fraser tries for the wig-and-bodice bawdiness of Tom Jones. The title character, played by Susannah York, is an 18th century lass who is shipwrecked together with Trevor Howard on a remote Australian island. Her lively exploits among the refugees help to make Eliza famous--or rather, notorious--throughout the British empire. Once rescued, Eliza earns her keep at county fairs by regaling audiences with her own tales of her adventures. Tim Burstall both wrote and directed Eliza Fraser from an original screenplay by David Williamson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Castle, Abigail, (more)
- 1975
Several female hitchhikers have been murdered in a small Australian seacoast community. The principal suspects are brothers Robert and Mark Gifford (George Mallaby and John Waters). One is an apparently helpless paraplegic, but this doesn't necessarily mean that the filmmakers are going to cop out with the "least likely suspect" revelation. We do know, however, that each brother is covering up for the other. Director/writer Tim Burstall imbues this filming of Russell Braddon'snovel Endplay with his expected healthy vulgarity and leering voyeurism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Mallaby, John Waters, (more)
- 2003
After his wife is murdered by sadistic serial killer William Charles Lee (Simon Bossell), police detective Mark Ryan (Thomas Gibson) goes into so profound an emotional slump that he is forced to quit his job and sign on as a college security guard. Soon afterward, several vicious murders occur, all bearing the modus operandi of Lee. This, argues the authorities, is impossible, inasmuch as Lee has been executed. But the obsessed Ryan is certain that his wife's murderer is back in business, and, together with female cop Eve (Katherine Heigl), he is determined to stop the "revived" Lee once and for all. A contemporary twist on the Frankenstein legend, the made-for-cable Evil Never Dies was first broadcast June 1, 2003, on TBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Gibson, Katherine Heigl, (more)
- 1986
Sometimes it just gets to be too much for a man. One day, successful mining engineer Martin Brown packs it in, leaving behind his wife and family and heading for a rural idyll in the hinterlands. Despite his best efforts to escape from the hurly-burly of competitive life, he must fend off the efforts of his greedy former boss to acquire the lush horse-farming estate he has wound up on. Curiously, his abandoned wife doesn't put up much of a fuss over his absence but seems most concerned about his rejection of the prevailing culture's values. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Waters, Judy Morris, (more)
- 1989
- R
In this stylish and smart 1988 thriller, reporter Tom Stewart accidentally falls on the wrong side (not that he's ever on the right side) of the law during a psychotic killer's spree of murders. Stewart's no angel having already stolen money from a car wreck. At the center of the killings is Morris Martin, a schoolteacher on a rampage supposedly searching for his "dead" wife. As Martin's killings become progressively more violent and heat from the police increases, Stewart is forced to hunt Martin down himself, teaming up with crooked cop Ray Birch to do so. Stewart and Birch eventually corner Martin, but have no idea the mystery they'll uncover when they find him. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Friels, John Waters, (more)
- 1990
- R
What happens when baby-boom rock 'n rollers, having had their fleeting moment of fame and notoriety, grow up, get other jobs, and have children of their own? For one thing, if this movie is to be believed, they envy their children's musical abilities and, when the youngsters get involved in their own version of rebel-music, they re-create the famed "generation gap" all over again. Johnny (played by Australian actor John Waters) was a member of a 1960s band called the Chosen Ones and enjoyed the famed trinity of that era: sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. Now the middle-aged man is bored with his "straight" job and wants to see if he can't start a revival of his band's popularity, but his wife wants his career change to be more practical and suggests that they invest in a restaurant. At the same time, Johnny's much more talented son Paul is making waves in his own band. One highlight of this film is the surprisingly skillful music-making of the performers, none of them music pros. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Waters, Rebecca Gilling, (more)
- 1995
Investigating the highly suspicious death of the person suspected of ambushing three of his fellow homicide detectives, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) runs up against a wall of departmental silence. Meanwhile, wounded detective Felton (Daniel Baldwin) returns to work, though he hasn't recovered emotionally from his ordeal -- nor is he prepared for the hostility attending his return. Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) have a falling out during the seemingly random killing of a white woman in a black neighborhood. And Munch (Richard Belzer) discovers that he has been used as the "model" for a painting hanging in an art gallery exhibit. Chris Noth makes a cameo appearance in his Law & Order role as Detective Mike Logan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1993
Giordello (Andre Braugher) is upset when neither he nor his detectives are forewarned of the arrival of an asbestos-removal team. To get vital evidence on a gang leader's murder -- and to find out why the victim waited several days after his beating to get medical help -- Bolander (Ned Beatty) and Munch (Richard Belzer) fake out a witness with the old "polygraph-by-copier" trick. Under duress, Howard (Melissa Leo) confesses her attraction to Assistant State's Attorney Danvers. And Felton (Daniel Baldwin) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) suffer mightily while their respective partners try to give up smoking. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1987
Christmas Visitor is an American/Australian coproduction geared for exposure on the Disney Channel pay-cable service. The scene is the Australian outback in the 1890s, where a drought threatens to wipe out a farming community. Holding out for a miracle, the farmers face a bleak Yuletide, until an ethereal stranger pays a visit. Christmas Visitor was directed by the "other" George Miller -- that is, the George Miller responsible for Man From Snowy River rather than Mad Max. In Australia, the film was telecast under the title Bushfire Moon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dee Wallace, John Waters, (more)
- 1986
In this melodramatic made-for-television romance, a Singapore financier falls in love with the daughter of a powerful smuggler. The film is a remake of a popular "B" movie from the '30s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Barbara Hershey, (more)
- 1977
An Australian film directed by Ken Hannam, this is one of the lesser-recognized movies of the Australian New Wave of the 1970s. It's about an urbane schoolteacher, Simon Robinson (Nick Tate), who takes a job on a small island off the Australian coast after the schoolteacher there has mysteriously vanished. It's a spooky place, and the locals are unhelpful as Robinson tries to piece together the puzzle of his predecessor's disappearance. Robinson realizes that he's in increasing danger as he begins to discover the mystery, but he feels compelled to continue his investigation. The pace is slow and the mood is haunting in this story of an outsider's attempts to break the code of a local culture. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Tate, John Waters, (more)
- 1977
The suffocating repressiveness of the Victorian era is superbly realized by director Bruce Beresford in The Getting of Wisdom. Thirteen-year-old Laura (Susannah Fowle), an incorrigible free spirit from the Australian outback, is enrolled in a prestigious girl's boarding school. The indoctrination process is a rough one, and Laura very nearly loses her individuality and sense of self-worth. When she does mature, however, it is on her terms, and not the school's. Intriguingly, The Getting of Wisdom is based on the reminiscences of a 19th-century female writer who used the pen name of Henry Handel Richardson. Despite its somber dramatic overtones, the film contains moments of uninhibited humor, a trademark of director Beresford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susannah Fowle, Barry Humphries, (more)
Twenty-five years after the cult-television hit "The Junior Defenders" was abruptly cancelled, the washed-up former child stars who played adolescent superheroes in the series are kidnapped by an obsessive fan and forced at gunpoint to act in a brand new episode. Back in 1978, "The Junior Defenders" beat out such small screen hits as Happy Days and All In the Family in the ratings to become a nationwide phenomenon. Then, seemingly out of the blue, ABS suddenly cancelled the series. The fans, a young Norman Nields included, were devastated. Twenty-five years later, Norman (Fred Hazelton) continues to fume about the cancellation - until one day when he hatches a crazed plan to get "The Junior Defenders" back on the air. After stealing a Winnebago, Norman sets set out on the freeway in a cross-country race to collect the four stars of the series and hijack a Hollywood soundstage in order to shoot a brand new episode of "The Junior Defenders" that he hopes will prove effective in launching a revival of the series. As the media catches wind of the scheme, the former child stars are thrilled to learn that they have achieved folk-hero status among fans who can't wait to see the spandex-clad crime-fighters back in action. Ally Sheedy, Brian O'Halloran, Justin Henry, and Jason David Frank star in a wild story of obsessive fandom featuring special appearances by Kevin Smith, Pauly Shore, and Bill Raymond, and narration by independent film legend John Waters. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Waters, Ally Sheedy, (more)
