Cliff De Young Movies
American actor Cliff DeYoung began a stop-and-start film career with Pilgrimage in 1972; most of his work for the next several years was on stage and in television. DeYoung starred in the very brief 1975 TV series Sunshine, playing a widowed musician raising a young stepdaughter; the series was a spin-off of the 1973 TV movie of the same name, which also starred DeYoung. The actor also played the lead role of a blinded Vietnam vet in the Joseph Papp-produced CBS drama special Sticks and Bones (1973) which was blacked out by many affiliates due to its vitriolic antiwar stance. Three years later, DeYoung played Charles Lindbergh (to whom he bore a daunting resemblance) in the 1976 made-for-TV Lindbergh Kidnapping Case. After his attention-grabbing appearance in the 1983 horror film The Hunger, Cliff DeYoung concentrated on movie roles, with occasional returns to TV in such productions as the 1985 miniseries Robert Kennedy and His Times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The final day on the Mayan calendar finds four faithful strangers convening at an ancient temple in the heart of Mexico in this apocalyptic thriller starring Cliff De Young and Dale Midkiff. Centuries ago, the Mayans set a date for the end of time: December 21, 2012. Now that date is upon us, and NASA scientists have noted that a catastrophic polar shift is about to occur. Could it be that an ancient Mexican temple holds the key to unlocking the secret that could protect humankind from total extinction? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dale Midkiff, Cliff De Young, (more)
- 2001
A girl poised on the brink of adolescence finds herself shouldering a whole new set of responsibilities in this made-for-TV drama based on the autobiographical book by Esmeralda Santiago. In 1961, Mami Santiago (Wanda De Jesus) decides to leave her life in a Puerto Rican farming community behind and move herself and her six children to New York City in search of a better life -- and better medical care for her ailing son. Mami's oldest daughter, Esmerelda (Ana Maria Lagasca) -- Negi for short -- not only has trouble adapting to her new environment, but doesn't quite fit in at her new school, where she's lumped in with other Spanish speaking students with whom she shares no common culture. Negi's burden is intensified by the fact her mother and siblings are counting on her to learn English and serve as the family's interpreter. One of Negi's teachers senses her creative gifts and arranges for her to audition for the Performing Arts School in Manhattan, but as Negi struggles to learn a monologue in a new language she has yet to master, she isn't sure if she has what it takes to make the grade. Esmeralda Santiago penned the screenplay for Almost A Woman from her own memoir; the film was first broadcast as part of the award-winning PBS anthology series Masterpiece Theater. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wanda De Jesus, Miriam Colon, (more)
- 1983
Based on Joan Taylor's novel Asking for It, the made-for-TV An Invasion of Privacy stars Valerie Harper as recently divorced book illustrator Kate Bianchi. Moving into a remote, cloistered island community in Maine, Kate has barely arrived when she is raped by a local handyman. The hostile, inbred locals immediately turn against Kate when she presses charges, leaving only the town's college-educated police chief (Cliff De Young) to champion her cause. Jerry Orbach and Tammy Grimes took time off from their roles in the Broadway musical 42nd Street to show up in cameo roles. Filmed on Long Island Sound, An Invasion of Privacy first aired January 12, 1983, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
This made-for-TV biography appeared as part of the Shelley Duvall series, Tall Tales and Legends, and stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Annie Oakley and Brian Dennehy as Buffalo Bill Cody, who Ms. Oakley accompanied on a hugely successful Wild West show. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
This sex-horror film from producer Roger Corman was filmed in Spain with a mostly American cast. Cliff De Young (Shock Treatment) is Michael, the heir to a cursed castle, who marries pretty Susan (Maryam d'Abo) and moves her in. Unfortunately for the newlyweds, an oversexed succubus named Diana (Shari Shattuck) is out to break up the couple. Director Herve Hachuel's film is mostly an excuse for Shattuck to be naked a lot, but undemanding genre devotees should find the film entertaining enough to watch on a rainy night. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Paul Schrader's directorial debut examines the trials of Detroit autoworkers living at the mercy of a heartless corporation and a corrupt union. Surviving from paycheck to paycheck, Checker Cab assembly linemen Zeke (Richard Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel), and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) scrape by and take pleasure in a few rounds of beer or bowling (and occasional illicit amusements). But when their money troubles pile up, Jerry and Smokey join Zeke in a desperate plan to steal cash from their local union office. Along with a piddling $600, they unexpectedly swipe evidence of union corruption. Deciding to use it for blackmail, the men discover instead how powerfully malevolent the union can be in a system that counts on petty divisiveness to keep the larger power structure intact. Inspired by stories of real-life disillusionment, Schrader and his brother/co-writer Leonard Schrader took on politically difficult issues of race and corporate labor, infusing the indictment of unions with a suggestion of post-Watergate paranoia about forces beyond the union that keep workers in their place. From the opening sequence of the assembly line to the final evocative freeze-frame, Schrader maintains an atmosphere of gritty realism, with the lead trio lending low-key dramatic force to a situation beyond their control. Too downbeat for a late '70s audience increasingly drawn to happier fare, Blue Collar flopped, yet it did earn Schrader critical accolades. Although he has reportedly since disowned the film, Blue Collar remains one of Schrader's best works, with Zeke and Jerry powered by the same sense of simmering frustration that would explode so effectively in Affliction two decades later. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, (more)
- 2002
The influence of the popular action film The Fast and the Furious hangs heavily over the first episode of CSI's third season. Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and Nick (George Eads) investigate when the mutilated corpse of Jace Felder, a champion in the field of illegal street-racing, is found at an abandoned desert airstrip. Meanwhile, Grissom (William L. Petersen) probes the death of legendary poker player Doyle Pfeiffer, who appears to have suffered a heart seizure during a high-stakes card game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The dinosaurs are back, and they're getting hungrier by the minute in this sequel to the terror tale Carnosaur. There's been a call for help from a secret underground military facility deep in the Nevada desert, so a rescue team led by Maj. McQuade (Cliff De Young) and trouble-shooter Reed (John Savage) is sent out to investigate. When they arrive, the facility's staff are all dead -- the only living person they can find is a lost, disoriented teenager named Jesse (Ryan Thomas Johnson) who is wandering through the flats. As they investigate, McQuade and Reed make two terrifying discoveries. A cache of high-grade plutonium has been stored there, but the containment is faulty, and a cloud of deadly radiation is slowly but surely being released. To make matters worse, the Army had found a number of dinosaur eggs during a dig and had stashed them at the Nevada facility...and the radiation has caused them to hatch, with a pack of hungry velociraptors patrolling the area as a result. Carnosaur 2 also stars Don Stroud, Rick Dean, and Arabella Holzbog. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Savage, Cliff De Young, (more)
The longest (26-1/2 hours), most expensive ($25 million) and most complicated (four directors, five producers, five cinematographers, almost 100 speaking parts, several hundred extras) project made for television up to that time, Centennial was shown in two- and three-hour installments over a period of four months. An adaptation of James Michener's best-selling novel, it told the story of the settling of the American West by looking at the founding of the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado, from the settling of the area in the late 18th century to the present. Emmy-nominated for film editing and art direction, it boasts of sterling performances from Richard Chamberlain as frontiersman Alexander McKeag, Robert Conrad as the French-Canadian trapper Pasquinel, and a surprisingly powerful performance from former football star Alex Karras as compassionate but iron-willed immigrant farmer Hans Brumbaugh. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Farrah Fawcett stars as a struggling defense lawyer in the made-for-TV Criminal Behavior. Defending a nurse on theft charge, Farrah ends up ferreting out clues in a ticklish LA murder case. The path to the truth is labyrinthine, and no one can be trusted. A. Martinez, Andy Robinson and Cliff DeYoung costar. Based on a Ross MacDonald novel, Criminal Behavior debuted May 11, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett, A. Martinez, (more)
While at the high-school prom, a group of students find romance and fun, while their parents enjoy the same. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Adapted from a true story and made for the video stores, Dangerous Company concerns convicted criminal Ray Johnson, who spent almost 30 years in prison before rehabilitating himself. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Originally shown in two parts, this four-hour TV movie stars Michael Biehn as the outwardly "perfect" doctor husband of Madolyn Smith. But Biehn is actually a psychopath, who is carefully plotting the murder of his wife. As the horrible truth slowly dawns upon Madolyn, she must find some way to prevent her murder--and to alert disbelieving authorities of her husband's duplicity. Based on a true story, Deadly Intentions first took shape as a book by William Randolph Stevens. The two-part format permitted the film's narrative to build up suspense in the first half, then concentrate on detection and courtroom proceedings in the second. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Biehn, Madolyn Smith, (more)
Jumping fairly late on the slasher-movie bandwagon, this stylish but hollow effort from director Manny Coto stars L.A. Law's Larry Drake as the psychopathic Evan Rendell, who fancies himself a misunderstood medical genius. In an inventive opening scene, Rendell performs a bit of impromptu surgery on his keepers at the asylum (who had given him the title nickname due to his fits of nervous laughter) and escapes to his hometown to set up his "practice." This medical mania seems to run in the family, as we are shown in flashback: Evan's daddy once butchered several local women in his search for a replacement heart for his wife, and although he was unable to save her, Pops managed to spirit away young Evan and keep him safe (in a very, very nasty hiding place) before being lynched by the locals. Hiding out in the abandoned family home, "Dr. Giggles" begins a random killing spree in town with his bag of medieval-looking surgical instruments... but he finds new purpose when he sees the medical records of young Jennifer (Holly Marie Combs), who is in line for a heart transplant, and vows to "cure" her himself. This film eschews the possibilities of its demented premise, choosing instead to serve up a flavorless hash of '80s slasher clichés (wisecracking killer, stupid teenage victims, virginal heroine, 20-years-later motif, etc.). The only truly inspired moment occurs in flashback, when we discover the actual hiding place the elder Dr. Rendell chose for his son. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Drake, Holly Marie Combs, (more)
In this drama, a beautiful woman uses her charms to dupe her new sweetheart and his buddies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Peter Riegert, (more)
A man who simulates death for a living finds himself unwittingly tied into the real thing in this New York-based suspense drama. Special effects man Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) makes his living simulating gory mayhem and photogenic violence for movies such as "I Dismember Mama." Tyler is given a chance to expand his professional horizons when he's approached by Lipton (Cliff DeYoung), who introduces himself as an FBI agent and makes an unusual proposal. Mob kingpin Nicholas DeFranco (Jerry Orbach) is willing to testify against his fellow gangsters, but the investigators are worried about his safety. Lipton wants Tyler to help him and his staff fake DeFranco's assassination; if everyone is convinced DeFranco is dead, people will be a lot less likely to look for him. Tyler grudgingly takes the assignment, and while he's able to realistically simulate DeFranco being shot in a crowded restaurant, after the "gag," he discovers that he's been double crossed, and he's wanted for the murder of the man he just "shot." Tyler hides out with his girlfriend Ellen (Diane Venora), but he realizes that whoever set him up wants him dead after she's killed by a bullet meant for him. With the help of fellow effects artist Andy (Martha Gehman), Tyler goes underground and tries to unravel the truth behind the Lipton murder. Meanwhile, police detective Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy) is convinced that something is not right when he's called to the scene of DeFranco's murder and is certain that the dead body is not the gangster. F/X was followed by a sequel, and later a short-lived TV series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, (more)
As Don Haden (Cliff DeYoung) and his family travel to their cabin retreat, they are kidnapped and held hostage by a bunch of escaped prisoners. When one of the convicts (Robert Factor) turns out to be a crazed Vietnam war veteran, both kidnappers and victims must struggle to survive. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff De Young, Kay Lenz, (more)
A yuppie and a hippie are the offbeat pairing of this character comedy in the tradition of earlier mismatched buddy films such as Midnight Run (1988). Kiefer Sutherland is uptight, 26-year-old FBI agent John Buckner, who's been assigned to escort an aging counterculture radical named Huey Walker (Dennis Hopper) to Oregon for trial on a charge that's decades old. Buckner finds Huey's lifestyle and beliefs irresponsible. Once the two are bound for their Pacific Northwest destination, Huey begins to play psychological mind games with the straight-arrow Buckner, convincing him that he's tripping on hallucinogenic drugs, getting him drunk, and setting him up with a hooker named Sparkle (Kathleen York). Huey trades places with his captor and soon a game of cat-and-mouse is afoot as the agent pursues the one-time radical, with surprising revelations abounding regarding Buckner's childhood and Huey's motivations for allowing himself to be captured. Flashback also stars Carol Kane, Cliff De Young, Richard Masur, Michael McKean, and Paul Dooley. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
The year is 1978: 12-year-old Joey Cramer, playing in the woods near his home, is knocked unconscious. He awakens and heads home, only to find strangers living there. He also finds that the year is 1986, and that he's been officially missing for eight years. NASA officials determine that Cramer was abducted by aliens during his blackout, and hope to scan the boy's brain in order to unlock a few secrets of the universe. Answering the call of a strange, unseen force, Cramer boards a well-hidden spaceship and takes off, guided by the jocular voice of a computer named MAX (voiced by none other than Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman). Realizing that he can't fit into 1986 so long as he's a child of the seventies, Cramer hopes to retrace the steps of his alien abductors and get back to his own time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Cramer, Veronica Cartwright, (more)
- 1988
- R
Olympic gymnastics coach Francine Lake (Lauren Hutton) and her 12 students train on the Island of Crete. The rigors of training preclude most sexual activity with the locals, thus the girls spend their evenings in quiet frustration. Likewise repressed is training-school janitor Ulysses (Svestislav Goncic), a notorious peeping tom. When one of the girls is sexually assaulted, Ulysses is the most likely suspect. It turns out, however, that the film's true antagonist is much closer to the situation than it first appears. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Hutton, Cliff De Young, (more)
- 1990
In this complicated and exciting above-average made-for-cable suspense thriller, a woman searches for her missing husband with surprising results. When Valerie's (Mimi Rogers) husband Darryl (Cliff De Young) leaves for work one morning and never returns, she hires private-eye Shepard (Mark Harmon) to find him. Valerie learns that David has a second identity and might be hiding out. As the investigation continues, Shepard and Valerie become increasingly attracted to each other and begin an affair. Director Ivan Passer gets an excellent performance from Mimi Rogers who makes the most of her enigmatic character. This thriller delivers when it needs to and builds a great deal of suspense with some surprising plot twists. Fourth Story was also released as Basic Deception. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In Fun and Games, a professional career woman is harassed by her boss, who then rejects her for promotion. The woman then sues her boss for sexual harassment ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Based on the acclaimed children's book The Westing Game, the movie version of this tale, Get a Clue!, draws young viewers into the strange mysteries encountered by 13-year-old "Turtle" Wexler. After moving into a new town, Turtle learns the house next door is the notoriously haunted Westin mansion. Discovering the body of the dead millionaire, the spunky Turtle attempts to solve the case in hopes of receiving a $20 million reward. The live-action adventure stars Ashley Peldon, Diane Ladd, Sally Kirkland, and Ray Walston. ~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ashley Peldon, Ray Walston, (more)
- 2000
Technically a one-hour dramatic special, Getting Away With Murder: The JonBenet Ramsey Mystery was advertised as a "mini-movie" by the Fox Network. In its recounting of the events preceding and following the brutal Christmas 1996 murder of five-year-old JonBenet Ramsey (here played by Seventh Heaven regular MacKenzie Rosman), the program chronicles all the existing facts, then incorporates the dozens of opinions and theories surrounding the still-unsolved homicide. Alice Barrett-Mitchell is cast as an unnamed "composite" journalist who, after interviewing all the family members and investigators involved in the case, presents several opposing theories. In one, JonBenet's parents (Cliff De Young and Judi Evans Luciano) were themselves the killers, while in another, the "unknown intruder" notion is propounded. By adopting this multiple-scenario approach, the producers permit the viewers to draw their own conclusions (which they'd been doing since 1996 anyway). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff De Young, Judi Evans Luciano, (more)
Glory is a celebration of a little-known act of mass courage during the Civil War. Simply put, the heroes involved have been ignored by history due to racism. Those heroes were the all-black members of the 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, headed by Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick), the son of an influential abolitionist (played by an uncredited Jane Alexander). Despite the fact that the Civil War is ostensibly being fought on their behalf, the black soldiers are denied virtually every privilege and amenity that is matter of course for their white counterparts; as in armies past and future, they are given the most menial and demeaning of tasks. Still, none of the soldiers quit the regiment when given the chance. The unofficial leaders of the group are gravedigger John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) and fugitive slave Trip (Denzel Washington), respectively representing the brains and heart of the organization. The 54th acquit themselves valiantly at Fort Wagner, SC, charging a fortification manned by some 1,000 Confederates. Glory was based on Lincoln Kirstein's Lay This Laurel and Peter Burchard's One Gallant Rush; the latter book was founded on the letters of Col. Robert Gould Shaw, the real-life character played by Matthew Broderick. The film won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for co-star Denzel Washington, and additional statuettes for Best Cinematography (Freddie Francis) and Sound Recording. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, (more)
