Charles Durning Movies
Before he became an actor, Charles Durning, the son of an Army man, continued in his father's footsteps with valor and distinction, earning a silver star and purple heart in World War II. Durning held down several "joe jobs" -- iron worker, elevator operator, cabbie, waiter, and dance instructor -- until turning to acting in the late 1950s. Fresh from the national tour of The Andersonville Trial, Durning began his long association with Joseph Papp in 1962, distinguishing himself in Shakespearean roles. He made his earliest film appearance in Ernest Pintoff's Harvey Middleman, Fireman (1965). Durning's film roles increased in size and importance after his interpretation of a crooked cop in the Oscar-winning The Sting (1973). He went on to appear in several Burt Reynolds films, most memorably as the singing governor in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). That performance landed him an Oscar nomination, as did his spin on "Concentration Camp" Erhardt in the 1983 remake of To Be or Not to Be.In 1975, Durning was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of ulcerated police lieutenant Moretti in the theatrical feature Dog Day Afternoon (1975); he finally won that award 15 years later for his work as "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald in the TV miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts. Other notable film roles to his credit include Peter Stockmann in the Steve McQueen-produced An Enemy of the People (1978), Dustin Hoffman's "suitor" in the cross-dressing classic Tootsie (1982) (he later co-starred with Hoffman in the 1984 stage revival of Death of a Salesman), and the foredoomed Waring Hudsucker in the Coen Brothers' Hudsucker Proxy (1994).
On television, Durning played Lt. Gil McGowan on the daytime soap Another World, officer Frank Murphy in The Cop and the Kid (1975), Big Ed Healey in Captains and the Kings (1976), Studs' dad in Studs Lonigan (1979), private-eye Oscar Poole in Eye to Eye (1985), the title character in PBS' I Would Be Called John: Pope John XXIII (1987), crooked industrialist Dan Packard (the old Wallace Beery role) in Dinner at Eight (1989), and Dr. Harrlan Eldridge in the Burt Reynolds TV vehicle Evening Shade (1990-1994), an assignment which afforded the far-from-sylph-like Durning his first nude scene.
While his television and film career have continued to be prolific, Durning has also continued to earn acclaim for his stage work. In 1990, he won a Tony Award for his performance as Big Daddy in the Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Dinner at Eight is a TV remake of the 1933 MGM film of the same name; both films were adapted from the play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. While the basic plot point of a social-climbing woman (Marsha Mason) throwing a "best people" dinner party has not dated all that much, other elements prevalent in the 1933 version were due for an overhaul 56 years later. The aging, near-impoverished stage actress played con brio by Marie Dressler in the original becomes a jet-setting "literary raconteur" (read: "trash novelist") in the form of Lauren Bacall. And the alcoholic matinee idol portrayed by John Barrymore in 1933 is transformed into a Pacino type (Harry Hamlin) with a drug and attitude problem for the 1989 version. While not exactly improvements, these alterations do not stand out like sore thumbs, as do many past attempts at updating old material. Only Ellen Greene, in Jean Harlow's role as the floozielike wife of a corrupt businessman, falls short of the original. Produced by actress Shelley Duvall, the 1989 Dinner at Eight was first shown on December 11, 1989 over the TNT Cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this crime drama, a NYPD detective looks into the deaths of several policewomen and discovers that she is to be the killer's next victim. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG13
Writer/director Sam Shepard's jaundiced view of "Lake Woebegone" territory is essentially a vehicle for his lady fair Jessica Lange. Far North is set in rural Minnesota, at the home of a dour, curmudgeonly farm family. Only Kate (Lange) has been able to escape this repressive environment, but she comes home when dad Bertram (Charles Durning) is laid up in the hospital. Despite her city-bred sophistication, Kate almost instantly reverts to childhood, trying desperately to "prove herself" to her misogynistic papa. To do this, she vows to kill the poor old horse that caused her father's injury. Considering its bleak surroundings and vituperative characters, Far North contains very funny dialogue; in terms of the film's cinematic value, however, Shepard's idea of directing seems to be to yell "Action!" and hope for the best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Lange, Charles Durning, (more)
- 1988
Dismissed as "annoyingly awful" by the critic at TV Guide, Case Closed has its moments of value now and again. Co-writer and co-producer Byron Allen stars as a hip black cop, assigned to solve a puzzling series of murders. Straight-laced white cop Charles Durning is dragged out of retirement to lend Allen a hand. The mismatched pair doesn't get along at first, but we'll bet the ranch that they're palsy-walsy before fade-out time. Filmed on location in Atlanta, this spotty "action comedy" was first telecast on April 19, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Durning, Byron Allen, (more)
- 1988
In this detective drama, a private investigator from Phoenix is determined to prove that a young woman's death was caused by a psychologist and a mail-order minister. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- Add Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to QueueAdd Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to top of Queue
The Lyons Group presents this retelling of Washington Irving's classic story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Part of Shelley Duvall's American Tall Tales series, American Tall Tales: Legend of Sleepy Hollow features Ed Begley Jr. as Ichobod Crane, the cowardly school teacher forced to face the infamous headless horseman. Released in 1987, the program is designed for young viewers and co-stars Beverly D'Angelo and Charles Durning. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
A Detroit priest (Donald Sutherland) is trying to help solve a crime spree that has resulted in a horrible series of slayings of area priests and nuns. When he hears the murderer's admission of guilt (while giving confession) he is torn between honoring the vows of privacy and secrecy afforded repentants and revealing the murderer's identity. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Charles Durning, (more)
Based on James Ellroy's novel Blood on the Moon, Cop is a grim, brutally violent, darkly humorous modern-day film noir. Lloyd Hopkins (James Woods), is an obsessive, amoral LAPD police detective investigating a murder he believes to have been the work of a serial killer. Hopkins is cynical and obsessed with the way society fills women's heads with fairy-tale promises of romance. "Innocence kills," he sneers. "I see it every day." His investigation leads him to the bookstore of a writer of feminist poetry (Lesley Ann Warren) who has for some time been receiving gifts of poems and flowers from an unknown admirer. Hopkins, looking through her diaries, realizes that the dates of the gifts correspond to the dates of the murders, and he begins a hunt for the killer which leads to a violent and exciting conclusion. Cop is completely absorbing because of Woods' chillingly effective performance. Few actors can make an amoral, clever, sardonic, and vicious character as appealing as Hopkins. As Hopkins, Woods combines complex contradictions with ease, showing the various sides of his character's personality. Cop, while singularly unpleasant is always insightful and fascinating. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Woods, Lesley Ann Warren, (more)
- 1987
- PG
Happy New Year is an Americanized remake of the 1974 French film of the same name. Peter Falk and Charles Durning play Nick and Charlie, a pair of seedy but suave jewel thieves. Preparing to rob the exclusive Florida jewelry store managed by Tom Courtenay, Nick and Charlie meticulously pre-plan their heist, adopting a variety of false identities and silly costumes along the way. Unfortunately for our heroes, Nick becomes enamored of Caroline (Wendy Hughes, in her American film debut), the beautiful owner of the antique shop next door to the jewelry store. Nick's fascination with Caroline effectively scuttles his and Charlies' "perfect" crime. Claude Lelouch, writer/director of the original Happy New Year, appears in an amusing cameo role. Bedeviled with production problems, the Falk-Durning Happy New Year didn't see the light of day until nearly a year after its completion; after a fitful theatrical release, the film went straight to video, where it finally built up a following. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Charles Durning, (more)
- 1987
- R
Set in a small town in Texas, a young man begins to lose interest in his sex-brained girlfriend and begins falling for her mother instead. This romantic comedy-drama features C. Thomas Howell, Ann-Margret, Kelly Preston and Charles Durning. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
- 1987
This made-for-cable outing is a loose remake of the Paul Muni film I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. Val Kilmer inhabits the Muni role of World War I vet Robert Elliot Burns, whose exploits following his escape from a Southern work camp are detailed in episodic fashion. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Charles Durning, (more)
- 1987
This made-for-TV movie is the second follow-up to the astonishingly successful Kenny Rogers as the Gambler (1980). Rogers returns as Old West gambler Brady Hawkes, while Bruce Boxleitner, Rogers' co-star in 1983's The Gambler: The Adventure Continues, is also back as Hawkes' sidekick Billy Montana. Others in the cast include Linda Gray as adventuress Mary Collins, Jeffrey Jones as Buffalo Bill Cody and George American Horse as Sitting Bull. This time around, Brady and Billy try to protect the Sioux Nation from corrupt, treaty-breaking cavalry officers who've been stealing cattle and shifting the blame to the Indians. The Gambler III: The Legend Continues debuted November 22, 1987, an occasion celebrated by a TV Guide cover story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- PG13
A futuristic dystopia is the setting for this tale about good versus evil and a magical space-sphere out to reestablish a civilized society. An orphanage in a bleak and deserted landscape imprisons a large group of youngsters who have divided into good and bad groups. One day, while competing at roller-skate ball, the teams come across a bowling-ball-sized sphere named Bodhi (a Sanskrit word equivalent to "enlightened compassion"). Bodhi communicates with the good kids, but the bad ones cannot understand the sphere's electronic burbles. The nasty Darstar (Adrian Pasdar) steals Bodhi and heads out into the forbidden world beyond the orphanage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Jordan, Jami Gertz, (more)
- 1986
- PG
Brook Shields plays the comic-strip journalist, Brenda Starr, who travels to a South American jungle on an assignment. It is there that she covers the story about a mad scientist who plans to blow up the planet with his newly developed rocket fuel. Also appearing are Timothy Dalton and Charles Durning, among others, who don Bob Mackie-designed costumes. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Shields, Timothy Dalton, (more)
- 1986
- PG
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas team up one last time in Tough Guys. Harry Doyle (Lancaster) and Archie Lang (Douglas) are two old-time train robbers, who held up a train in 1956 and have been incarcerated for thirty years. After serving their time, they are released from jail and have to adjust to a new life of freedom, now as old men. Harry and Archie realize that they still have the pizzazz when, picking up their prison checks at a bank, they foil a robbery attempt. Archie, who spent his prison time pumping himself up, easily picks up a 20-year-old aerobics instructor named Skye (Darlanne Fluegel). Harry, on the other hand, has to waste away his days in a nursing home. They both have festering resentments --Archie for having to endure a humiliating job as a busboy; Harry for having to endure patronizing attitudes toward senior citizens. The two old pals finally go back to what they know best. After successfully robbing an armored car, they decide to rob the same train that they robbed thirty years ago. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, (more)
- 1986
This 47-minute adaptation of the Washington Irving classic was originally telecast on Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends anthology. Ed Begley Jr. stars as a cerebral Ichabod Crane. Taking time off from schoolteaching, Ichabod woos Katrina Van Tassel, alias Beverly D'Angelo. Tim Thomerson is envy personified as blacksmith Brom Bones, who plots to scare Ichabod out of Sleepy Hollow for good. The set design makes clever use of forced perspectives, while most of the spooky special effects conveyed via lighting and adroit camera angles. Legend of Sleepy Hollow premiered on the Showtime Cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- PG
This drama concerns the clash of two worlds in the person of a young boy. The small boy (Alessandro Rabelo) is the offspring of a missionary who died before the he was born, and a Native American who is later killed by white prospectors. Father O'Reilly (Charles Durning) comes to hear about the legend of the orphan born to a holy man and a "sorceress" and guesses the truth about his parentage. He manages to bring the young boy to a Catholic orphanage where the lad is confronted with "civilized" behavior and is quite shocked by it. Meanwhile, Father O'Reilly is having second thoughts as the boy indirectly teaches him something about the values of his "primitive" culture. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Durning, Alessandro Rabelo, (more)
- 1985
- R
Burt Reynolds directed and starred in this actioner from an Elmore Leonard novel about an ex-con living dangerously close to the drug traffickers in Miami. When Stick (Reynolds) arrives in Miami just out of prison, an old buddy of his is murdered, sending Stick on a wild and complex journey to track down the killers. Along the way, he meets the attractive Kyle (Candice Bergen), has to deal with Chucky (Charles Durning in a blond wig and loud tourist shirts), a mob go-fer, and the albino Moke (Dar Robinson). In order to better zap his enemies, Stick gets a job as chauffeur to rich Palm Beach underworld figure Barry (George Segal) -- and the plot coils and twists from there until the bad guys get their due. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Candice Bergen, (more)
It took nearly two years after its completion for Big Trouble to reach the big screen. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are respectively cast as a shady wheeler-dealer and an uptight family man. Strapped for the cash necessary to send his son to Yale, Arkin reluctantly enters into a murder scheme with Beverly D'Angelo. She is married to Falk, who, though he hasn't got long to live due to a heart ailment, may very well spend every penny D'Angelo has before he expires. Arkin is persuaded to kill Falk before this happens, then split the money with D'Angelo. To Arkin's amazement he finds himself the victim of a carefully prepared confidence scam engineered by Falk and D'Angelo. Now that he has a hold over Arkin, Falk gets the poor fellow mixed up in yet another "perfect crime". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, (more)
- 1985
- R
In an "urban cowboy" story, a father decides to take a stand against neighborhood gangsters even at risk to his life. After Louis Thibadeau (Charles Durning) witnesses a gangland-style execution he agrees to help the police nail and jail the murderers, knowing full well the gangsters will not idly sit back and allow him to testify. When a female lawyer friend (Pam Grier) runs across one of the hoodlums in a court case, she warns Louis that he doesn't stand a chance of collecting social security at the moment. Louis sends his children away for the duration and digs out his supply of weapons from his days as a Marine, waiting at home for the assault to come. Following more or less the same build-up as Straw Dogs, this is a milder version of the same theme. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Durning, Pam Grier, (more)
In 1984, actor Dustin Hoffman starred in a critically-acclaimed Broadway revival of playwright Arthur Miller's classic Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Death of a Salesman. A year later, Hoffman and most of his fellow cast members starred in this made-for-TV production, the first English-language film by German director Volker Schlondorff. Hoffman stars as Willy Loman, an aging salesman who has lost his job because of encroaching senility. Now living on handouts provided by his friend Charley (Charles Durning), Willy's lifelong delusions of success and greatness awaiting just around the corner for he and his family have been shattered, and he's considering suicide. As he reflects on his life and the failed promise of his sons Biff (John Malkovich) and Happy (Stephen Lang), Willy finally confronts some unpleasant truths about both sons, particularly Biff, a one-time athlete who has become a kleptomaniac. One of the best of the many filmed versions of Miller's seminal work, Death of a Salesman (1985) won several awards, including a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Hoffman. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, (more)
- 1985
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival, Christian Blackwood's Private Conversations is a behind-the-scenes look at the process of turning Arthur Miller's Pulitzer-prize winning stage-play Death of a Salesman into an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning made-for-television movie. Along with interviews with cast members Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, and Charles Durning, the documentary features on-set discussions that illustrate the collaboration between director Volker Schlondorff, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and Miller. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Miller, Dustin Hoffman, (more)
In this rather routine adaptation of the French hit, The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe, Richard (Tom Hanks) is a bicycling violinist who is innocently drawn into a nasty struggle for control of the CIA. Cooper (Dabney Coleman) is the unscrupulous current head honcho of the notorious U.S. agency, Ross (Charles Durning) is his nemesis, and Maddy (Lori Singer) works for Cooper. After Richard the violinist is forced into the picture, Maddy fights off an attraction to the rather dull man, and complications introduce enough gadgetry to fill a James Bond movie, almost. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Lori Singer, (more)
- 1984
- PG
Hadley Hickman (Griffin O'Neal), a bucolic teenager from the Rural South, moves with his family to Southern California. Enrolled in a snobbish prep school, Hadley is victimized and ostracized by his too-cool classmates. To prove his worth, our hero takes up wrestling, and before long he's the school champ, thanks to the input of coach Ball (William Devane), a washed-up alcoholic who finds redemption through Hadley's example. Yes, it's Rocky Goes to Prep School. Shallow and predictable, the film's sole redeeming factor is the warm rapport between stars Griffin O'Neal and William Devane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Griffin O'Neal, William Devane, (more)
A Navy lieutenant longing to see some real wartime action enters into a battle of wills with the tyrannical ship captain in this live television production of playwright Joshua Logan's Tony Award-winning Broadway play. The year is 1945. War is raging in the Pacific, and Lt. Doug Roberts (Robert Hays) is torn between his devotion to serving his country, and his duty to serve his men. Lt. Roberts longs to see some real action, though the navy cargo ship he is sailing on couldn't be in more peaceful waters. As the eager lieutenant locks horns with his stubborn and unflinching Captain (Charles Durning), it quickly becomes apparent that not even the support of Ensign Pulver (Kevin Bacon) and Doc (Howard Hessman) will help in convincing the bull-headed Captain to change course and sail his crew into battle. As a result, Lt. Roberts finds himself in the precarious position of wanting to help his fellow countrymen win the war while simultaneously respecting the orders of his superiors. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hays, Charles Durning, (more)
