Jeffrey DeMunn Movies

Based on the book of the same name by Gwenda Blair, this made-for-cable drama chronicles the life and premature death of NBC anchorwoman Jessica Savitch. Sela Ward was nominated for an Emmy award for her portrayal of Savitch, the ambitious 1980s TV phenomenon, who rose to fame quickly despite her erratic and often out-of-control personal life. It took an on-air incident to bring down the facade hiding her drug and alcohol abuse -- -- and a mysterious car accident to end her life at age 36. Director Peter Werner and the film's producers were also nominated for Emmy awards that year, and Ward received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Female Actor. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

This TV movie recounts the true-life story of a corporate takeover in the greed-driven 1980s. James Garner is F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR-Nabisco. Having just been burned by an expensive failure of a smokeless cigarette product, Johnson doesn't wish to incur the wrath of the stockholders. He begins drawing up plans to buy RJR-Nabisco outright so he'll have no one to answer to but himself. Unfortunately for Johnson, his company is also being coveted by sharkish "buyout king" Henry Kravis (Jonathan Pryce), who turns out to have $25 billion at his beck and call. Barbarians at the Gate was adapted by Larry Gelbart from the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. Advertised as a "docucomedy", the film premiered March 20, 1993, over the HBO cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Blaze is a comic-strip re-telling of the curious late-1950s relationship between famed striptease artist Blaze Starr (Lolita Davidovitch) and Lousiana governor Earl Long (played in gorgeously flamboyant fashion by Paul Newman). Their romance is counterbalanced with the story of Long's efforts to win voting rights for Louisiana's black citizens. The governor's political enemies ruin his chances at re-election, then try to put him out of the way permanently with a trumped-up insanity charge. But with faithful Blaze at his side (and in close proximity to other portions of his anatomy), Long confounds his foes by winning a congressional seat. On the eve of this triumph, Earl Long dies, bringing this boisterous story to a sobering conclusion. Since the film is based on Blaze Starr's own reminiscences, one might prepare oneself with several grains of salt. The real Blaze Starr shows up early in the film as a stripper named Lily. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Soviet radicals upset with the thawing of the Cold War explode a nuclear weapon in Russia, setting off a series of events that may very well trigger World War III. The president (Martin Landau) has been isolated after a helicopter accident and must outwit government and military officials who are attempting to go forward with the war. The film centers on the relationship between a pair of American pilots who have been ordered to bomb the U.S.S.R. and the attempts by some factions to bring them home before global Armageddon. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

An underwater action star attempts to keep his career afloat by convincing three property owners on the tiny Caribbean Island of Cayman Brac to sell their land to a billionaire real estate mogul. The star of the once-popular television series "Diver Down," Josh Anders (Michael J. Lombardi) is "Nature's Hero." But lately the ratings for "Diver Down" have hit the skids, forcing Josh to pad his income with public appearances at shopping malls and pet store openings. Just when it begins to appear that "Diver Down" will get the axe, however, powerful real estate mogul Martin Perkins approaches Josh with a proposition: convince a few locals on Cayman Brac to sell their land to Perkins so he can build a luxury resort, and Perkins will use his influence to get "Diver Down" off the chopping block. After all, Josh is still popular on Cayman Brac, so his mission should be a cakewalk. Arriving on the scenic Caribbean island determined to succeed, Josh charms the first two property owners into selling off without a hitch. Unfortunately for Josh, the third islander isn't about to budge. An ageing eccentric who owns a crumbling bed and breakfast, Rodgers Bowman isn't impressed by Josh's celebrity status, and he's content to live his last days soaking up sun on the beach. As Josh sets out to change Rodgers' mind, he comes to get better acquainted with the island thanks to a painfully shy little boy, and the beautiful but skeptical owner of a local dive shop. When tragedy strikes, Josh is forced to choose between maintaining his life as a TV action hero, or remaining on the island and becoming a true hero to the people of Cayman Brac. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Stephen Rea stars as a relentless Russian investigator in this made-for-cable thriller. Based on an actual case, this taut film tells the story of Burakov (Rea), a Russian forensic pathologist assigned to track down a brutal serial killer who is targeting young drifters. The nature of the assignment takes its toll on Burakov's personal life, as he tracks the killer for years despite the red-tape and bureaucracy of the Soviet state. Nominated for several awards overall that year, Donald Sutherland won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for his co-starring role as Rea's supportive superior, Fetisov. The movie was filmed in Hungary. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

Based on William Bayer's novel Switch, the made-for-TV Doubletake introduced Richard Crenna to his oft-played role of detective Frank Janek. As always, Janek is assigned to a particularly gruesome and profoundly puzzling murder case. A prim lady schoolteacher and a hooker are both killed on the same evening; their bodies are decapitated, and their heads are switched! The first installment of this two-part movie details the early stages of the investigation, as well as the growing relationship between Janek and photographer Caroline Wallace (Beverly D'Angelo), the daughter of a cop who'd died in a mob hit. Part two reveals the "dark side" of the case, exposing corruption in the highest police circles and implicating someone very close to Janek in the double murder. Doubletake was originally telecast on November 24 and 26, 1985, and has since been reissued as a single three-hour film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When Tori Spelling starred in the Dickens-inspired 2003 TV movie A Carol Christmas, more than a few viewers with long memories could not help but point out the similarities between Spelling's film and the 1995 made-for-cable Susan Lucci vehicle Ebbie--beginning with the fact that both films were distaff versions of the venerable "A Christmas Carol." It's Christmas Eve, and ruthless department store owner Elizabeth "Ebbie" Scrooge (Lucci) is cruelly running her employees ragged, dangling their meager bonus checks over their heads to get them to work all the harder. Just before closing time, Ebbie manages to fire a longtime security guard, humiliate her niece, and force her aide Roberta "Robbie" Cratchet (Wendy Crewson) to work on Christmas day rather than spend precious time with her family. Thus the stage is set for the inevitable nocturnal visitation from Ebbie's long-dead partner Jake Marley (Jeffrey DeMunn) and the usual Three Spirits, bound and determined to transform the vituperative Ms. Scrooge into the salt of the earth. And yes, Tiny Tim shows up too, in the person of dewey-eyed kid actor (Taran Noah Smith). To her credit, Susan Lucci plays this nonsense as if it were Shakespeare, bringing depth and conviction to an impossibly contrived teleplay (for which Charles Dickensreceives no screen credit!) Ebbie was first telecast by the Lifetime cable channel on December 4, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Enormous Changes at the Last Minute is a compilation film of three feminist yet disheartening stories of failed relationships. The first story features Virginia (Ellen Barkin) whose deadbeat husband has just left her and their three children. As a result, she is forced to go on welfare. She begins an affair with a now-married old flame, and struggles to keep sanity and humor alive against high odds. In the next vignette, Faith (Lynn Milgrim) visits her still-hip, literary parents in their retirement home to let them know that she and her husband have separated -- and she gets some shocking news in return from her father. In the last story, a social worker and a cabbie (Kevin Bacon) start an affair on a feeble pretext for mutual attraction, and when the social worker gets pregnant, her one-sided decisions on the matter have unexpected effects. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

As played by Jessica Lange, Frances Farmer is a rebel from the word go, winning a high school essay award by writing a piece in defense of Communism. Determining to become an actress, Frances is equally determined not to play the Hollywood game: she refuses to acquiesce to idiotic publicity stunts, and insists upon appearing on screen sans makeup. Her defiance attracts the attention of Broadway playwright Clifford Odets, who convinces Frances that her future rests with the Group Theatre. But once she leaves Hollywood for New York, Frances learns to her chagrin that the Group intends to exploit her movie fame in order to draw in customers. Her desperate attempts to restart her movie career, combined with her increasing dependence on alcohol and the pressures brought to bear by her monster mother (Kim Stanley), result in a complete mental breakdown. Even while institutionalized, Frances is abused by the powers-that-be; she is forced to undergo an injurious brain operation, is treated like a mad animal, and periodically raped by the inmates. Frances is released in the custody of her mother, who persists in browbeating her tortured daughter until Frances discovers the legal means to break away. The real-life Frances spent her last years as host of a local Indianapolis TV program, dying in 1970 at age 57; the film comes to a climax when Frances is feted on the smarmy network program This is Your Life. Other actual personages depicted herein include Clifford Odets (played by Jeffrey DeMunn), Harold Clurman (Jordan Charney) and Ralph Edwards (Donald Craig). Frances' first husband Leif Erickson is fictionalized as "Jeffrey York", and played by Lange's real-life inamorata Sam Shepard. And if you listen closely, you'll hear the voice of Kevin Costner, whose minor role was whittled down to one line when he, like Frances Farmer, had the temerity to argue with the director. The unhappy life of actress Frances Farmer was also covered in Farmer's autobiography, Will There Ever Be a Morning? While the film rights for that book were sold to a TV-movie concern, the producers of the theatrical feature Frances were able to ship their production out to the public first. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This Canadian-Japanese co-production uses both vintage historical footage (including armed forces films and period newsreels) and contemporary dramatic reenactments to tell the story of how the scientific and military minds behind the Manhattan Project, under the orders of President Harry Truman (Kenneth Welsh), developed the first atomic bomb. The weapon was first used to attack the city of Hiroshima near the end of World War II, changing forever the shape of modern warfare and bringing fearsome devastation to a previously quiet Japanese city. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi