Blythe Danner Movies
American actress Blythe Danner brings a kind of classy elegance to her work that betrays her real-life background: the daughter of a Philadelphia bank executive, she enjoyed an expensive prep school education and undergraduate study at Bard College. Her earliest theatrical work was with the Theater Company of Boston and the Trinity Square Playhouse of Boston; by the time she was 25, Danner had won the Theatre World Award for her performance in the Lincoln Center Rep's production of The Miser. In 1970, she earned a Tony for her performance in Butterflies are Free; based on the true story of a blind attorney, Danner played the central character's free-spirit love interest. Given the tenor of '70s newspaper publicity, Danner was featured in several magazine and newspaper photo spreads because she spent much of Butterflies' first act clad in nothing but her underwear. Subsequently, the actress was frequently cast opposite fellow up-and-comer Ken Howard, notably in the short-lived 1973 TV sitcom Adam's Rib. She worked so well with Howard that many fans assumed that the two were married; in fact, Danner's longtime husband is Broadway and TV producer Bruce Paltrow.A "critic's darling" thanks to her husky voice and pleasantly mannered acting style, Danner has worked with distinction in TV and on stage, though her film roles have tended to be few and far between. She was memorable as Robert Duvall's long-suffering wife in The Great Santini (1980) and as Nick Nolte's wife in The Prince of Tides (1991), while in 1986's Brighton Beach Memoirs, the decidedly WASPish Danner surprised fans by portraying a middle-aged Jewish woman. Danner's film appearances became more frequent during the latter half of the '90s: she did starring work in such films as To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995), The Myth of Fingerprints (1997), The X-Files (1998), and The Love Letter (1999). A memorable turn opposite Robert DeNiro in the 2000 comedy found the established dramatic actress reaching the apex of a particularly impressive comedy run, and a year after reprising her role in the 2004 sequel Meet the Fockers, Danner would make showbiz history by earning a record three Emmy nominations for her roles in Huff, Will and Grace, and Back when We Were Grownups. When the smoke cleared and all of the winners had been announced, Danner did ineed come out on top when she took home the "Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" award for Huff, with nominations for both Huff and Will and Grace at the following year's ceremony offering telling testament as to just how strong her work truly was. In 2006 Danner could be seen performing opposite Zack Braff in the romantic comedy drama remake The Last Kiss.
Frequently seen in TV guest roles (she managed to make her Mrs. Albert Speer in 1982's Inside the Third Reich sympathetic, no mean feat), Danner could be seen on television on a regular basis in the brief 1989 series Tattingers, produced by her husband. In 1992, she did stellar work in the made-for-TV movie Cruel Doubt, in which she played the matriarch of a broken family. Her daughter Gwyneth Paltrow was also featured in the movie, and has since gone on to become a successful actress in her own right. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2010
The Ben Stiller/Robert De Niro franchise continues with this third outing of the Meet the Parents film series. Owen Wilson, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Jessica Alba, and Harvey Keitel co-star, with Paul Weitz stepping in to take over directing duties from Jay Roach, who helmed both Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, (more)
The most elaborate and successful art heist in modern history is detailed in filmmaker Rebecca Dreyfus' cinematic account of the daring raid on Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner museum staged in the early morning hours of St. Patrick's Day, 1990. By the time the ruse of the well-organized and cleverly disguised thieves was discovered, the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum had been stripped of 13 priceless works including Vermeer's "The Gardener" -- one of only 35 works by the master known to currently exist. As respected art detective Harold Smith attempts to uncover the labyrinthine mystery surrounding the bold burglary while dealing with the frightening effects of his lifelong battle with skin cancer, the obsessive efforts of the cunning gumshoe are interwoven with interviews in which contemporary authors ponder the power of Vermeer's impressive body of work. Additional details concerning art collector Isabella Stewart's turn-of-the-century correspondence with personal advisor Bernard Berenson are voiced by actress Blythe Danner and Campbell Scott, respectively, and serve to give a more personal perspective to the investigation while simultaneously putting into context the true value and ultimate fragility of these plundered treasures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2004
Adapted from the novel by Anne Tyler, the made-for-TV "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation Back When We Were Grownups stars Blythe Danner as 53-year-old Baltimore widow Rebecca Davitch. Having long since given up her dreams of college to get married and raise a family, and also having abandoned all of her other goals and ambitions in order to manage her family's catering business, Rebecca is attending an engagement party for her stepdaughter when it suddenly strikes her that she has, in the words of the film's press release, "been living the wrong life!" Thus begins Rebecca's quest to reclaim her lost youth -- with her childhood sweetheart Will Allenby (Peter Fonda) figuring prominently in Rebecca's "second wind." Boasting a star-studded supporting cast (Faye Dunaway, Jack Palance, Nina Foch, Peter Reigert, Ione Skye), Back When We Were Grownups was first broadcast November 21, 2004, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blythe Danner, Faye Dunaway, (more)
Up until the day that a 15-year-old patient committed suicide right in the middle of his office, prosperous L.A. psychiatrist Dr. Craig "Huff" Huffstodt (Hank Azaria) had been sublimely confident that his was the most secure and well-ordered of lives. But as he finds out in the course of Huff's first season on Showtime, our hero is the central figure in a bizarre, often incomprehensible real-life scenario festooned with hitherto untapped neuroses, sexual hang-ups, dysfunctional family members, and jaw-dropping plot convolutions. Just your typical, everyday midlife crisis. Inasmuch as the parents of his unfortunate teenage patient hold Huff responsible for the suicide, Huff's attorney, Russell Tupper (Oliver Platt), would seem to be the "go-to guy" whenever the going gets too rough. Unfortunately, despite his sympathy toward Huff's plight and his pithy words of wisdom, Tupper himself is an angst-ridden mess, as he proves via his weird behavior during a Medical Board hearing. There's worse in store for Tupper when his latest client turns out to be the hooker (Nichole Mercedes Robinson) with whom he'd previously enjoyed a spontaneous one-night orgy. As for Huff's self-absorbed mother, Izzy (Blythe Danner), she had never been a pillar of moral support before, and is even less of one now as she prepares to divorce Huff's long-estranged father, Ben (Robert Forster). Izzy's other son, Teddy (Andy Comeau), wouldn't have been of any help even if he hadn't gotten himself lost in the middle of a field trip. And Huff's own son, Byrd (Anton Yelchin), has begun messing around with illegal substances, much to the dismay of Huff's wife, Beth (Paget Brewster), who already has a big-time cross to bear in the form of the grave illness that is sapping the life from her mother, Madeleine (Swoosie Kurtz). And believe it or not, this litany of misfortune is often played for laughs -- successfully! Adding to Huff's burdens are the ravings of his bipolar patient Melody Coatar (Lara Flynn Boyle), and his brief flirtation with infidelity as he dallies with a sexy pharmaceutical rep. It's not for nothing that the series' holiday offering is titled "Christmas Is Ruined" -- just as the season finale, "Crazy Nuts & All Fucked Up" bears an appropriate moniker, given Huff's anguished response to his mom Izzy's post-menopausal love affair with...well, let's not give away the entire plot! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hank Azaria, Paget Brewster, (more)
- 2002
The title of the CBS doctor drama referred to the fictional Presidio Medical Group of San Francisco. Distinguishing this effort from all other forcep-and-scalpel weeklies was the fact that the staff of Presidio Med was virtually all-female, save for a brace of "token" handsome hunks. Still, in standard TV fashion, the doctors became emotionally (and sometimes intimately) involved in the welfare of their patients. The main characters included OB-GYN specialist Harriet Lanning (Blythe Danner), oncologist Rae Brennan (Dana Delany), cardiologist Letty Jordan (Anna Deavere Smith), plastic surgeon Jackie Collette (Sasha Alexander), pediatrician Jules Keating (Julianne Nicholson), and, from the male contingent, internist Matt Slingerland (Paul Blackthorne) and Greek-born surgeon Nicholas Kokoris (Oded Fehr). Created by former ER producers Lydia Woodward and John Wells, Presidio Med debuted Tuesday, September 24, 2002, before settling into its usual Wednesday-night time slot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Delany, Paul Blackthorne, (more)
Can it truly be said that a family is torn apart when they were never truly "together" to begin with? This is one of the disturbing questions posed by the wrenching made-for-cable drama We Were the Mulvaneys. Adapted from the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, the film stars Beau Bridges and Blythe Danner as Michael and Corinne Mulvaney, the parents of four "ideal" children. Outwardly the picture of domestic perfection, the Mulvaneys reveal the truth about themselves when their daughter Marianne (Tammy Blanchard) is raped. Desperately trying to avoid a public scandal, Michael and Corinne force Marianne to keep quiet about her violation, then ship her off to an undisclosed location where she can "recover." In the ensuing three years, Corinne tries to expunge her outrage and guilt over her daughter's plight by overzealously embracing religion, while the once-ambitious Michael degenerates into an abusive drunkard. The story is told from the viewpoint of youngest Mulvaney son, Judd (Thomas Guiry), whose life is likewise adversely altered forever. Heavily promoted by the Lifetime cable network publicity team, We Were the Mulvaneys made its initial TV appearance on April 8, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
An amateur sleuth gets some help from her pets in this family-oriented mystery. Mary Haristeen (Ricki Lake), known to her friends as Harry, is the Post Mistress in a small Southern town; when she's not reading mystery novels, she tends to her cat, Mrs. Murphy (voice of Blythe Danner), and her dog, Tucker (voice of Anthony Clark). When handsome stranger Blair Bainbridge (Linden Ashby) moves in next door, Harry's friends try to play matchmaker, but Harry thinks something is not cricket about her new neighbor. Mrs. Murphy and Tucker, who share Harry's enthusiasm for solving whodunits, also think that something's not right, especially after Ben Seifert (Wayne Robson), a local banker, is found dead several days after being discovered in Blair's new home. Things don't look good for Blair, especially after it's learned that his ex-girlfriend died under mysterious circumstances, but local socialite Fitz-Gilbert Hamilton (Ed Begley Jr.) also has a few secrets he's not sharing. This made-for-TV drama, produced for the Wonderful World of Disney TV series, was based on characters from Rita Mae Brown's "Mrs. Murphy" mystery series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricki Lake, Blythe Danner, (more)
Actor Martin Sheen hosts this PBS program that looks at some of the special contributions made over the years to the nation's White House in Washington D.C. Avery Brooks, Blythe Danner, Campbell Scott, Sam Waterston, and Dianne Wiest are among those who read what former Presidents, First Ladies, and others have written about the time they spent in this magnificent place. Additional commentary focuses on the architectural changes made since the White House was first built. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen
- 1999
This Lifetime Intimate Portrait tells Mia Farrow's life story with the help of interviews with Ms. Farrow herself, her children, ex-husband Andre Previn, and longtime friends and colleagues including Carly Simon, Nancy Sinatra, Natasha Richardson, and Roman Polanski. Born in 1945, the third of seven children, to actress Maureen O'Sullivan (Jane in the classic Tarzan movies) and screenwriter John Farrow, Ms. Farrow has lived a somewhat public life. Afflicted with polio as a child, she spent months in an iron lung. Later, her older brother was killed in a plane crash. She began to act on the New York stage at age 18, was in the TV series Peyton Place, and married Frank Sinatra at age 20 (divorcing 2 years later). Her starring role in Polanski's chilling movie, Rosemary's Baby, made her famous. During her nine-year marriage to conductor Andre Previn, three sons were born and three daughters adopted. Her long relationship with director/actor Woody Allen (which ended in a highly-publicized custody battle) is mentioned with restraint. Much of the focus of the film is on Ms. Farrow's life with her many children, and footage of the family at their Connecticut country home is included in this "authorized biography." ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Based on a best-selling Anne Tyler novel, this Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation centers on an unselfish young man who in 1965 sidelines his own considerable ambitions to single-handedly raise his brother's children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas McCarthy, Mary-Louise Parker, (more)
Leo Burmester, Blythe Danner, and Guy Ale star in this tense domestic drama. A disturbed woman murders her daughter, and her husband and son are forced to hide the body and try to keep the incident a secret. The Farmhouse was written and directed by Marcus Spiegel, who adapted the film from his stage play of the same name. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Burmeister, Blythe Danner, (more)
- 1994
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Originally a television mini-series, this drama chronicles the painful and lively reminiscences of a 100 year old woman. Much of the story centers on her tumultuous marriage to a Civil War vet. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland, (more)
- 1992
The two-part TV movie Cruel Doubt was based on a true story, as elucidated in book form by Joe McGinniss. In part one, aired May 17, 1992, Wealthy North Carolinian Blythe Danner discovers that her own son Matt McGrath was involved in a robbery-assault in their home, in which her husband was killed. The story was resolved in part two, which debuted May 19, 1992. As the courtroom trial wears on, flashbacks reveal the extent of McGrath's involvement in the crime, as well as the depths of his mental illness. And for a brief period, there's a slim possibility that the evidence is all wrong, and that McGrath is innocent. The boy's sister is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, real-life daughter of Blythe Danner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blythe Danner, Ed Asner, (more)
- 1992
Based on Robert Anderson's novel, the made-for-television Getting Up and Going Home is a drama about a divorced attorney (Tom Skerritt) who copes with a mid-life crisis by having affairs with no less than three women: his ex-wife, a single mother, and a married suburbanite. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1992
President Abraham Lincoln leads the Union in the fight to end the awful bloodshed of the Civil War. The year is 1863. The president had a continuous struggle with the commanders of his army, and the bloodshed from the fighting at Antietam and Fredericksburg distressed him greatly. 1863 was the year of his Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address. Listen to the story of the events that led to the amazing address at Gettysburg. Actor Jason Robards brings to life the voice of President Lincoln. PBS originally aired this program, the second of a four-volume set narrated by actor James Earl Jones. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1992
A shrewd politician, Abraham Lincoln had the intelligence, ambition, and principles to grow into his job as president. This is the first of four videos in the Lincoln series, which originally aired on PBS. Produced and directed by Peter W. Kunhardt, this program is narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones, and features award-winning actor Jason Robards reading from letters, speeches, and diaries. Highlights include period photographs. The other three programs in the series are titled Lincoln: The Pivotal Year, 1863, Lincoln: I Want to Finish This Job, 1864, and Lincoln: Now He Belongs to the Ages, 1865. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This video is the fourth installment of the Lincoln series, originally aired on PBS. This volume focuses on the last days and hours of Abraham Lincoln's life. Viewers watch as Lincoln's enemies plot their final revenge on the man they believed had dishonored their heritage. The video also reveals how Lincoln's own dreams foreshadowed his murder and how the series of public funerals, following his death, helped fuel his legendary status that has only grown with time. ~ Karla Baker, All Movie Guide
- 1992
By the third year of the Civil War, personal and national tragedy had worn down President Lincoln. However, he focused on his job tenaciously, having a strong sense of history. This is the third of four programs in the Lincoln series, which originally aired on PBS. Produced and directed by Peter W. Kunhardt, this program is narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones and features award-winning actor Jason Robards reading from letters, speeches, and diaries. Highlights include period photographs. The other three programs in the series are titled Lincoln: The Making of a President, 1860-1862, Lincoln: The Pivotal Year, 1863, and Lincoln: Now He Belongs to the Ages, 1865. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1991
In this fact-based made-for-cable docudrama, Leonard Nimoy stars as Mel Mermelstein, a Nazi death camp survivor who wages a court battle against the revisionist Institute for Historical Review over their claims that the Holocaust never occurred. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonard Nimoy, Dabney Coleman, (more)
- 1989
As a reporter investigates the disappearance of an anchorwoman, his important characters are being killed by an "avenging angel." ~ All Movie Guide
Richard A. Levinson and William Link took the "fantasy murder" concept popularized in the classic Preston Sturges film Unfaithfully Yours (1948) one fatal step further in Guilty Conscience. Criminal attorney Arthur Jamison (Anthony Hopkins) wants to divorce his wife Louise (Blythe Danner) but will have to clean out all his assets to meet her alimony demands. With the help of mistress Jackie (Swoosie Kurtz), Arthur plans to murder his spouse and thus stave off financial ruin. But how best to pull off the dirty deed? Conjuring up an imaginary alter ego (also played by Anthony Hopkins), the attorney cerebrally stages several murder scenarios before hitting upon the perfect scheme. The fact that linear time is ignored throughout Guilty Conscience keeps the audiences on its toes. Are we watching another imaginary killing, or is this one the genuine article? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Blythe Danner, (more)
- 1984
This semi-sequel to William Gibson's The Miracle Worker recounts the early adult years of the profoundly handicapped but brilliant Helen Keller. Helen, played by Mare Winningham, enters college, with her friend and mentor Annie Sullivan Macy (Blythe Danner) by her side. As Helen's international fame grows, she must withstand the pressures of those who'd treat her as a freak rather than a human being as well as Annie's near-strident demands that she excel at everything. The multi-faceted Ms. Keller lived too much of a life to be squeezed into a mere two-hour running time; the script betrays the strain of trying to show us more than it's able by wrapping up everything in a hurried, unsatisfying conclusion. Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues was initially telecast as part of the syndicated Operation Prime Time package in 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mare Winningham, Blythe Danner, (more)
- 1983
Blythe Danner stars as a successful and somewhat sheltered attorney. After a chance meeting with abused teenaged streetwalker Beth Ehlers and tough social worker Joyce vanPatten, Ms. Danner quits her job to set up her own legal defense office for children. Four different "cases" intersect in this made-for-TV film, with emphasis on 12-year-old Tony LaTorre, who is on his own and perpetually in trouble with the law. Ms. Danner is compelled to battle bureaucracy, as well as the retrogressive attitudes of abusive parents who feel that their authority is being usurped. Assembled by several veterans of the TV series Lou Grant (including producer Seth Freeman), In Defense of Kids has the ring of truth throughout, even though it was not (as might be assumed) based on a true story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
This 1982 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Blythe Danner and features musical guest Rickie Lee Jones. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blythe Danner, Rickie Lee Jones, (more)
