Brian Dennehy Movies

This blend of sports and youthful romantic comedy is from director Michael Tollin, who previously produced the sports drama Varsity Blues (1999). Freddie Prinze Jr. stars as Ryan Dunne, a ballplayer who's spending the summer as a pitcher for the famed, highly prestigious Cape Cod League, a non-professional farm team that has turned out numerous baseball legends. Ryan's under special pressure on a number of fronts. He's the first local boy to earn a slot in the league in years, and his blue-collar status earns him the enmity of a hot-shot college teammate, Eric Van Leemer (Corey Pearson). Although he's backed up by his best friend and team catcher Billy Brubaker (Matthew Lillard), Ryan adds more stress to his life by embarking on an affair with a beautiful, wealthy young Vassar graduate, Tenley Parrish (Jessica Biel), who's spending the summer on the Cape with her parents. Tenley is facing her own crisis as her father (Bruce Davison) pressures her to move to San Francisco and work with her uncle, though she'd rather remain in the East and become an architect. Summer Catch is the third onscreen teaming of Prinze and Lillard, and also stars Brian Dennehy, Wilmer Valderrama, Jason Gedrick, Fred Ward, and Brittany Murphy. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

James Caan stars in this made-for-cable Western as John Flinders, a former outlaw who by the year 1910 has settled down as the warden of Arizona's Red Rock Prison. Priding himself on his fair and humane treatment of his prisoners, Flinders finds his values -- and his loyalties -- sorely tested upon the arrival of convicted murderer Mike Sullivan, who happens to be John's old saddle pal from his wilder days. As Flinders resists Sullivan's never-ending efforts to escape, he also embarks upon a romance with the widow of executed convict Carl McVale. Executive producer Brian Dennehy appears in a small but significant role. Warden of Red Rock made its Showtime network premiere on March 18, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is another volume in the four-part series from The History Channel on the stories of the architects of the American Revolution. The documentary puts real faces on the men Americans call the "founding fathers." With re-enactments and period art, their stories are brought to life, with voices provided by some of Hollywood's leading actors. The story in this episode begins in the year 1775. The colonies are balking at the oppressive measures of the British. Some, like John Hancock, fear the onerous taxes will destroy their wealth. Others, like Thomas Paine, see a chance to express the democratic ideal through oratory. The film gives the viewer the inside story on the motivations of the men who led the fight for freedom. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

This film is an episode in the four-part series from the History Channel on the founding fathers. The documentary takes a distinctly humanistic approach to the subject. Rather than focusing on the events of the revolution, the film explores the personalities of the men behind them. The story takes up with the Continental Congress, and how these very different men -- from womanizer Ben Franklin to rich playboy John Hancock to the patrician Thomas Jefferson -- came to agree on a plan to resist the oppression of the British. These disparate personalities managed to forge the United States Constitution, a document that is admired and emulated around the world today. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

The top-rank performances of Lauren Bacall, Richard Chamberlain and Lindsay Frost elevate the two-part TV biopic Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke from the usual malaise of lurid, voyeuristic trash. As she lies near death in her luxurious mansion, 80-year-old tobacco heiress Doris Duke (Bacall) hardly seems to take notice of the sinister behavior of her boozing, control-freak butler Bernard Lafferty (Chamberlain). Ultimately, of course, Doris will die (in 1993), and the mysterious circumstances will cast suspicion on the redoubtable Mr. Lafferty (who himself died three years later). Before this happens, however, Doris flashes back to the sordid events of her life, whereupon the title role is taken over by a series of younger actresses, with Frost playing Doris from ages 20 through 50. We see how Doris' future is shaped by her loving, overindulgent father (Joe Don Baker) and her aloof, icy mother (Kathleen Quinlan). Though warned early on that Doris would always have to be wary of fortune hunters, she progresses through a string of highly publicized and largely unhappy romances, and also endures two disastrous marriages. All the familiar players in this real-life drama are in attendance, including writer Louis Bromfield (Brian Dennehy), international playboy Pofirio Rubirosa (Michael Nouri), and Doris' adopted daughter Chanzy (Mare Winningham) who is destined to break Doris' heart time and time again until the grieving millionairess finally worked up the courage to renounce the girl. Also touched upon are Doris' lifelong obsessions, which ranged from mysticism to belly-dancing. Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke was originally telecast by CBS on February 21 and 22, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This film follows the escapades of the Dalton brothers and their friends, who terrorized the Indian territories in the 1890s with a series of train robberies that sometimes led to deadly shootouts. The video examines the factors that led the Dalton brothers from lives as federal marshals to outlaws. Hailing from Coffeyville, KS, the Dalton brothers made outlaw history by returning to their hometown where they attempted to rob two banks at once. In the ensuing gun battle, four gang members and four townspeople died. Reenactments and period imagery tell the story. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

This film traces the history of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a couple of bank robbers whose exploits with their Wild Bunch made them famous throughout the world. Cassidy and Henry Longbaugh, also known as the Sundance Kid, committed a string of robberies in Colorado, Utah, and Montana. Debate continues to this day as to whether they were killed in a shootout during a holdup, or went on to new lives in Bolivia. Period photography, reenactments, and expert commentary tell the story of these colorful gunmen of the Old West. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

Jonathan Quint stars in this tale of corporate crime and espionage directed by Serge Rodnunsky. Charlie Cook (Quint) suddenly finds himself promoted to an executive level position at Silicon Towers, only to receive a frightening anonymously-sent E-mail a short time later. The letter reveals a highly unlawful scam Silicon Towers has been conducting that involves hacking into banks around the world thanks to a top-secret computer chip the company created and planted into the equipment it sells. When the powers that be at Silicon Towers learn of Charlie's inside knowledge, the corporate security force is unleashed to track him down. Charlie is thus forced to run for his life, while attempting to unveil the scam to the authorities. Brian Dennehy, Daniel Baldwin, and Robert Guillaume, while not starring in the film, are featured in minor roles. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Best-selling author Tom Clancy was executive producer of this made-for-TV spy thriller, which debuted on ABC in 1999. In the year 2005, the FBI has established a special division --"Netforce" -- to investigate crimes committed using the Internet. Agents Alex Michaels (Scott Bakula) and Steve Day (Kris Kristofferson) are put on the case when software genius Will Stiles (Judge Reinhold) designs a Web browser that allows him to hack into Netforce's computer system and take control of the entire Internet for his own purposes. The supporting cast includes Brian Dennehy, Joanna Going and C.C.H. Pounder. While this was originally billed as "Tom Clancy's Netforce," Clancy neither wrote the screenplay nor directed the film; Netforce was written by Lionel Chetwynd and helmed by Robert Lieberman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This film chronicles the life of James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok. Born in Illinois on May 27, 1837, Hickok became an Indian fighter and frontier marshal, as well as a Civil War Union scout. Renowned for his amazing marksmanship, Hickok felled many a foe. He became a part of "Buffalo" Bill Cody's Wild West Show, in which he thrilled audiences in the East with his prowess with a gun. In 1876, while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, he was shot from behind and killed. His poker hand, consisting of a pair of aces and a pair of eights, has been known as "the dead man's hand" ever since. Hickok's story is told with period images and reenactments. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

In Gunfighters of the West: The Jesse James Gang, narrator Brian Dennehy explores the life and times of one of America's most romanticized bad guys, Jesse James. Like many Civil War veterans, James and his brother Frank were disgruntled following the conflict, a circumstance which led to their lives as feared outlaws. The enigmatic bank robber and his thieving associates terrorized stages, trains and towns throughout the lawless frontier. The historical video follows the James Gang through their criminal exploits in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Kentucky and Minnesota, to their eventual demise at Minnesota's Northfield Bank. The gunfighter's legend lives on through this contemporary look at this notorious Old West figure. ~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide