Peter Gerety Movies
A burly, thickset, and occasionally scruffy character actor with a domineering and imposing presence, Peter Gerety often accepted roles as ordinary working-class stiffs, judges, or inner-city law officers. A performer with equal footing in film and on the stage, Gerety took his premier onscreen bow during the early '80s but first began drawing substantial attention over a decade later. Gerety remains best known for his multi-season portrayal (1996-1999) of Detective Stuart Gharty on the cop drama Homicide: Life on the Street. He also played the recurring role of Judge Daniel Phelan on another Baltimore-set crime series, The Wire (2002-2008). Big-screen projects include Sleepers (1996), K-PAX (2001), Syriana (2005), Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Leatherheads (2008), and Public Enemies (2009). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide- 1986
This gripping made-for-TV courtroom drama centers on a pair of hard-working lawyers who become obsessed with proving that the tactical division of the Boston Police Force made a fatal mistake when they shot the wrong man following a robbery. The plot is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Inspired by actual events that occurred in 1920s-era Los Angeles, Clint Eastwood's The Changeling tells the story of a woman driven to confront a corrupted LAPD after her abducted son is retrieved and she begins to suspect that the boy returned to her is not the same boy she gave birth to. The year was 1928, and the setting a working-class suburb of Los Angeles. As Christine (Angelina Jolie) said goodbye to her son, Walter, and departed for work, she never anticipated that this was the day her life would be forever changed. Upon returning home, Christine was distressed to discover that Walter was nowhere to be found. Over the course of the following months, the desperate mother would launch a search that would ultimately prove fruitless. Yet just when it seemed that all hope was lost, a nine-year-old boy claiming to be Christine's son seemed to appear out of thin air. Overcome with emotions and uncertain how to face the authorities or the press, Christine invites the child to stay in her home despite knowing without a doubt that he is not her son. As much as Christine would like to accept the fact that her son has been returned to her, she cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Prohibition-era Los Angeles police force at every turn. As a result, Christine is slandered by the powers that be, and painted as an unfit mother. In this town, a woman who challenges the system is putting her life on the line, and as the situation grows desperate, the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, (more)
Produced by Tom Hanks, written by Aaron Sorkin, and directed by Mike Nichols, this adaptation of George Crile III's incendiary bestseller tells the remarkable story of the Texas congressman whose efforts to prevent the Red Army from overtaking Afghanistan eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union while simultaneously fueling the rise of radical Islam. In the early 1980s, a hastily assembled army of Afghan "freedom fighters" achieved the remarkable feat of fending off Soviet invaders despite the fact that the odds were overwhelmingly stacked against them. At the time, Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Hanks) was a key member of the hugely powerful House Appropriations Committee. Illuminated to the specifics of this remarkable war by a high-profile Houston socialite, Wilson spearheaded an effort to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons and training to the Mujahideen with more than a little help from brilliant but prickly CIA operative Gust Avrokotos. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, (more)
- 1990
- R
It seems like lately everyone is out to either raze or save the infamous Heartbreak Hotel. This way off-beat rock & roll farce chronicles that struggle. The club features such way-out acts as the Beat Legends, the Young Adults, Roomful of Blues, and NRBQ. The trouble begins when Robert Burgess, the estranged, ultra-conservative, ex-CIA agent father of the club's laid-back owner Jeff Burgess decides to run for president. Believing that his son's involvement in the club will be detrimental to his career, he decides to secretly hire terrorists to blow up the Heartbreak Hotel. The city also wants to destroy the nightspot because it keeps driving down property values in the area. The town fathers end up hiring the Scum of the Earth, a gang of motorcycle thugs, to do their dirty work. Meanwhile, inside the club, Jeff coolly refuses to deal with the terrorist leader. The terrorists soon have their own problems when their ace hit man commits himself to Jesus while waiting outside in the getaway car. While this goes on, a band of Beatles clones are taking drugs in the club cellar when the phone rings. They answer, and it is a holy call from the King himself. He warns them that the club is in grave danger. On video, the film is called It's a Complex World. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Welch, Margot Dionne, (more)
A down-on-his luck auteur gets one more chance at the big time -- provided his neuroses don't swallow him whole -- in Woody Allen's 33rd feature release, Hollywood Ending. Allen plays Val Waxman, a one-time cinematic genius who's resorted to taking advertisement work to pay the bills for himself and his airhead live-in girlfriend, Lori (Debra Messing). Val finds his luck is about to change, however, when he receives the script for The City Never Sleeps, a period noir set against the backdrop of 1940s New York City. It seems his ex-wife, Ellie (Tea Leoni), now an executive at Galaxy Pictures, has been pulling for him to direct the picture, claiming he's the only man who can do justice to the script. She even manages to convince her boyfriend, Hal (Treat Williams), Galaxy's high-powered studio head, to take a chance on Val's "unique vision." Just when the cameras are ready to roll, however, Val finds that unique vision in jeopardy -- literally -- as he's struck with a psychosomatic case of blindness. When physicians and psychiatrists fail to cure him, Val contrives a scheme to forge ahead with the picture, for fear of blowing his one last chance at greatness. Hollywood Ending co-stars George Hamilton and Mark Rydell. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Téa Leoni, (more)
- 1999
A woman is found dead at the bottom of a cliff the day before her wedding. It is up to Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) to determine if the woman killed herself, or if she was murdered. In another investigation, Sheppard (Michael Michele) and Mike (Giancarlo Esposioto) find themselves with no shortage of suspects when a loud and obnoxious film fan is murdered in a movie theater. And on the domestic front, Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) learns that he is about to become a grandfather. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1998
Falsone (Jon Seda) is the primary investigator when a four-year-old boy is abducted from a merry-go-round right under his mother's nose. Before long, the precinct gets a call from a man claiming to be the kidnapper -- and another call from the publicity-conscious host of the crime-solving TV show "This Week's Wanted." The key to the solution of this case ends up in the hands of a professional hypnotist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
While investigating the possibility that an HIV-positive man was murdered by an embittered AIDs victim, Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Gharty (Peter Gerety) inadvertently dig up more information on the Luther Mahoney shooting. Elsewhere, the Waterfront Bar gears up for a big Christmas party, to which Bayliss (Kyle Secor) invites Cox (Michelle Forbes). And Munch (Richard Belzer) is unexpectedly reunited with his ex-wife, Gwen (Carol Kane), who is in town for the funeral of her mother, a much-despised literary agent. Author Peter Maas makes a cameo appearance as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
This episode of Homicide: Life on the Street is the conclusion of a two-part story begun on its "sister" series Law & Order. The man accused of stalking Brittany Janaway (Rachel Jane Sacrey), a teenaged model who'd been raped in Baltimore before dying of toxic shock syndrome in New York City, insists that he witnessed her attack. This brings Law & Order detectives Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) and Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) to Baltimore, where they team with the Homicide sleuths to determine if Brittany's father (Tom Tammi) -- the same man who posted a 250,000-dollar reward for the capture of her rapist -- is actually the guilty party. In the ensuing jurisdictional battles both in and out of the courtroom, the facts of the case are all but sacrificed in the interests of a speedy conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
Homicide's Falsone (Jon Seda) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) team up with the sex-crime division's Stivers (Toni Lewis) to track down the rapist responsible for savage attacks on three women. Bayliss (Kyle Secor) offers a unique method to speed up the delivery of Frank and Mary Pembleton's (Andre Braugher, Ami Brabson) baby -- with astonishing results. And Georgia Rae Mahoney (Hazelle Goodman) launches her campaign of revenge against the detectives responsible for the death of her drug-kingpin brother, Luther. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
Season six of Homicide: Life on the Street is marked by several changes in the Baltimore homicide unit, not least of which is the exit of two main characters, Sgt. Kay Howard (Melissa Leo) and videographer J.H. Brodie (Max Perlich). Several of the remaining unit members are still being rotated to other departments, though detectives Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) have been returned to the open arms of their longtime skipper, Lt. Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto). New faces in the squad room include Detective Paul Falsone (Jon Seda), late of the auto-theft division; Detective Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety), formerly a uniformed officer; and Detective Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne), fresh from of tour of duty with the Seattle homicide department. All three of the newcomers face a hectic initation as they dodge the bullets of a sniper running wild in Baltimore. But the main story line in this first episode of the new season gets under way as Giardello attends a formal reception for his longtime friend, black businessman and community activist Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones) -- only to be swept into an unsettling murder investigation when the body of the Wilson family's maid is found in the men's room of the reception hall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
In the second episode of a three-part story arc, the investigation of the murder of civic leader Felix Wilson's (James Earl Jones) housekeeper yields two possible suspects -- one of them a member of Wilson's immediate family. The rest of the homicide unit begins to suspect that Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) will go to any lengths to protect their friend Wilson from scandal, especially after he reveals that he was having an affair with the dead woman. In other developments, Falsone (Jon Seda) launches a potentially embarrassing investigation into the questionable circumstances surrounding the shooting of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney; and the management of the Camden Yards baseball park asks the squad to be discreet as they look into the murder of a Yankees fan during an Orioles-Athletics game -- a difficult task, inasmuch as there are some 48,000 "suspects." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
In the conclusion of a three-part story arc, civic leader Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones) goes on TV to offer a reward for information pertaining to the murder of the Wilson family's maid -- never mind that both Felix and his son Hal (Jeffrey Wright) are prime suspects. An embarrassed Col. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef) demands that the homicide unit solve the murder immediately, forcing a reluctant Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) to amass damaging evidence against their longtime friend Wilson. Meanwhile, Falsone (Jon Seda) still thinks that his fellow detectives are withholding the facts surrounding the death of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney, while a recorded phone message leads Stivers (Toni Lewis) to believe that a crooked cop in the narcotics division is supplying inside information to Mahoney's henchmen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1999
A case that has remained unsolved for two decades is reopened when the decomposed body of an unidentified woman is found buried at a construction site. Meanwhile, a convalescing Sheppard (Michael Michele) is confined to desk duty until further notice. And the romance between Falsone (Jon Seda) and Ballard (Callie Thorne) heats up considerably, forcing Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) to warn the couple to "cool it" -- or face suspension. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1998
The twin brother of a murder victim insists that the dead man's girlfriend is responsible, but the men and women of Homicide have their doubts. Elsewhere, several of the male detectives are moonstruck by attractive new arrival Rene Sheppard (Michael Michele); Mike Giardello (Giancarlo Esposito) has requested a transfer to the FBI's Baltimore bureau, but hasn't yet picked the right time to tell his father, Al (Yaphet Kotto); and Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Gharty (Peter Gerety) find themselves tied up in a jurisdictional boondoggle when a teenager found shot in Baltimore turns out to have been killed in Washington, D.C., following a bungled drug deal. Anthony Joseph Perry of Aerosmith guest stars as D.C. narcotics detective Joe Landrewsky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1998
After spending the night with Cox (Michelle Forbes), Bayliss (Kyle Secor) returns her earrings -- just as she's arrived at the scene of a murder in which the victim's body was deposited in a restaurant dumpster. This murder may be tied in with a case being worked by Munch (Richard Belzer), wherein several wealthy and prominent gay men have met untimely ends. Meanwhile, Lewis (Clark Johnson) uses the likely existence of an incriminating videotape to chastise his fellow detectives for their handling of the volatile Georgia Rae Mahoney situation, and Falsone (Jon Seda) and his ex-wife clash bitterly over custody of their son. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1998
In the first episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's two-part season six finale, Judge Gibbons, who presided over the Mahoney wrongful-death suit, is found murdered -- and before long, three cops are killed in drive-bys that may be related to Gibbons' death. The FBI joins the homicide unit to crack the case, with all evidence pointing back to the drug-dealing empire of Georgia Mae Mahoney, which is now self-destructing in a deadly turf war. As Kellerman (Reed Diamond) broods over the likelihood that his public chastisement of Gibbons may have brought about the man's death, Georgia Rae's son Junior Bunk (Mekhi Phifer) is brought in for questioning -- whereupon Junior grabs a gun and begins firing, seriously wounding two of the series' main characters! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1998
In the conclusion of Homicide: Life on the Street's two-part season six finale, the Baltimore police declares all-out war against the Mahoney drug operation after a shoot-out in the homicide unit's interrogation chamber which left detectives Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Gharty (Peter Gerety) serious wounded. In the course of the ensuing battle, Stivers (Toni Lewis) finally reveals the whole truth about the shooting of Georgia Rae Mahoney's brother Luther to Giardello (Yaphet Kotto); and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) takes a bullet meant for Pembleton (Andre Braugher) in the climactic assault against the fugitive Georgia Rae. Typically, this cliffhanger finale leaves several loose plot ends dangling, including the possible resignations of two of the series' most prominent characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1998
Bayliss (Kyle Secor) has never gotten over his first homicide case, the unsolved murder of young Adena Watson. His memories are jarred once again when an old man comes into the precinct house, announcing that his father committed the notorious, never-solved killing of an eight-year-old girl in 1932. Looking into this assertion, Falsone (Jon Seda) learns that the missing files for the 1932 case are in the hands of retired homicide detective Thomas Finnegan (Charles Durning) -- who insists upon participating in the newly reopened investigation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1999
Luke Ryland (Benjamin Busch), the demented "Internet killer" first seen on the previous episode "Homicide.com," is freed from prosecution on a technicality -- sending arresting officer Bayliss (Kyle Secor) off the deep end. Meanwhile, Giardello's (Yaphet Kotto) daughter Teresa (Audra McDonald) unexpectedly shows up in Baltimore to help her dad celebrate his promotion to captain -- and her brother Mike's (Giancarlo Esposito) long-overdue resignation from the FBI. Several last-minute revelations, apologies, and surprises occur in this, the 122nd and final episode of Homicide: Life on the Street -- which, in its terminal moments, neatly brings the entire series "full circle." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1998
A pager number is the only clue in the death of a "perfect" high school athlete. While chasing down the wrong path to find a possible suspect, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) stumbles upon details of another crime -- one that will ultimately earn him and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) a commendation. Meanwhile, it looks as though the Mahoney drug empire is imploding, as several of Georgia Rae Mahoney's henchmen end up murdered. And the judge who made the questionable ruling in Georgia Rae's wrongful-death lawsuit gets his just desserts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1999
A ritual murder is played out on the Internet, but the homicide detectives aren't certain whether the killing is real or an elaborate hoax. Whatever the case, the detectives "stake out" the Web when it is announced that another murder will occur at midnight. In the course of the investigation, the squad discovers that Bayliss (Kyle Secor) is running his own website -- much to Bayliss' embarrassment. The climax of this episode will dictate the outcome of Homicide: Life on the Street's series finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1999
A man is found murdered -- with his nose removed -- in his own backyard. To solves this case, Mike Giardello (Giancarlo Esposito) plumbs the depths of the Federal Witness Protection program, only to conclude that his FBI bosses aren't being up-front with him. Elsewhere, a bartender at a strip club is killed, the medical examiners "misplace" the identity of a corpse, and Gharty's (Peter Gerety) drinking increases. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1998
Mike "McGee" Giardello (Giancarlo Esposito) and Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne) investigate when a famous sports doctor "accidentally" kills his sister-in-law. Joining the investigation is Falsone (Jon Seda), who in the course of events finds time to show off his prowess in the boxing ring. Meanwhile, Munch (Richard Belzer) is peeved that his partners in the Waterfront Bar would doubt the honesty of his accountant cousin -- until he's slapped with a bill for 30,000 dollars in back taxes. And Gharty (Peter Gerety), newly separated from his wife, tries to date Waterfront waitress Billie Lou (Ellen McElduff). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1998
In the first episode of a two-part story, former homicide detective Mike Kellerman (Reed Diamond) returns to Baltimore. Now a private detective, Kellerman has been hired by a prominent family to prove that their daughter Debbie (Jena Malone) did not murder her newborn baby. It so happens that Falsone (Jon Seda) is working on this case, and he isn't comfortable with the apparent fact that Kellerman has sold his soul for a quick dollar. This episode was originally scheduled to air on December 4, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
