Hector Elizondo Movies
An actor of seemingly boundless range, New York-born Hector Elizondo began his career as a dancer. His initial training was at the Ballet Arts school of Carnegie Hall, from which he moved on to the Actors Studio. After several years' stage work, Elizondo made an inauspicious movie debut as "The Inspector" in the low-budget sex film The Vixens (1969). He was shown to better advantage in his next film, Hal Ashby's The Landlord (1970), which he followed up with strong character parts in such Manhattan-based productions as The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and Thieves (1977). With Young Doctors in Love (1982), Elizondo began his long association with director Garry Marshall, who has since cast the actor in all of his films, in roles both sizable (Matt Dillon's dad in The Flamingo Kid [1984], the cafe owner in Frankie and Johnny [1991]), and microscopic (Overboard [1987]). Elizondo's screen roles have run the gamut from scrungy garbage scow captains to elegant concierges (Pretty Woman). In addition, he has been a regular on several mediocre television series: Popi, Freebie and the Bean, Casablanca (in the old Claude Rains role of Inspector Renault), a.k.a. Pablo, Foley Square, and Down and Out in Beverly Hills, In 1994, Elizondo took on a co-starring role as a demanding chief of surgery on the popular TV medical drama Chicago Hope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1999
- R
A filmmaker tries to sort out the scattered emotional baggage of his love life in Entropy. Jake Walsh (Stephen Dorff) is a film director who attends a fashion show with some friends and meets a French model named Stella (Judith Godreche). The attraction between the two is immediate, and after a brief courtship they're living together. However, between his career in film and her career as a model, they don't spend as much time together as they'd like, and they begin to drift apart; when Stella one day announces she's pregnant, Jake displays no particular enthusiasm for the idea of raising a child, and Stella ends up having an abortion. Eventually, the two break up and Jake finds himself married to a woman he barely knows, not quite sure what happened. As he muddles through his romantic problems, Jake also has to deal with the often puzzling hierarchy and the bizarre office politics of Hollywood. A rare independent effort from Phil Joanou, who previously directed State of Grace, Final Analysis and a wealth of popular music videos, Entropy was the opening night attraction at the 1999 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Judith Godrëche, (more)
In 1990, Pretty Woman turned Julia Roberts into a star and gave Richard Gere's career a much-needed boost; for 1999, Roberts and Gere reunited with director Garry Marshall for the romantic comedy Runaway Bride. Roberts plays Maggie, who has left so many prospective husbands at the altar that she has gained notoriety as "the Runaway Bride," and a reporter (played by Richard Gere) is assigned to write a story about her. He tracks her down to a small town in Maryland where she's spending time with her family and preparing to give marriage another try. However, the more time she spends with the persistent reporter, the more second thoughts she has about her fiancé (Christopher Meloni). Hector Elizondo, another Pretty Woman alumnus, appears in the supporting cast alongside Joan Cusack, Paul Dooley, and Rita Wilson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, (more)
Patrick Stewart plays Mace Sowell, a retired government operative who possesses damaging information about a presidential hopeful, and holes himself up inside his secure compound because he fears reprisal. In order to protect himself, Sowell has designed a system whereby the information will be released to the public if he is not there to type in a password at regular intervals. This he believes will keep him from being assassinated, but just in case, he stages elaborate self-defense drills with unwitting servants, and tries to convince his family that the explanation he gave them about his career was a cover story to hide his true military affiliations. The problem is, Sowell is also suffering the early stages of Alzheimer's, so his daughter (Joy Kilpatrick) considers his paranoid stories to be delusional ravings. She hires a psychiatrist (Kimberly Williams) to analyze her father and watch over him, in the hopes of easing his dementia. Sowell initially distrusts his new companion, but begins to lower his guard and care for her deeply. Meanwhile, his disease is advancing, and if he can't remember the password, his critical information will be released prematurely and he'll be hunted down by his enemies. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Stewart, Kimberly Williams, (more)
- 1997
- Add The Mysterious Man of the Shroud to QueueAdd The Mysterious Man of the Shroud to top of Queue
The Shroud of Turin is a large sheet of linen fabric which was used to wrap the body of a man shortly after his death. Was that man Jesus Christ? This documentary, produced for CBS Television, takes a close look at the evidence on both sides of the issue, as well as presenting a computer-assisted reconstruction of what the man in the shroud looked like. Hosted by Hector Elizondo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The newly unattached Jim (Charles Kimbrough) looks forward to escorting the Raven-Haired Receptionist (Mary-Margaret Humes) to Mr. Lansing's testimonial dinner (actually a charity benefit for strippers!) Unfortunately, a few wires get crossed, and Miller (Christopher Rich) ends up with the "dream" date instead. Meanwhile, the relationship between Frank (Joe Regalbuto) and Dana is sorely strained by Frank's sudden upsurge in popularity with the opposite sex. Hector Elizondo and Jane Seymour appear as themselves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Divorced mom Kathleen Russell (Roma Downey) needs a lot of money in a hurry in order to afford a decent home for herself and her daughter Zoey (Sarah Rosen Fruitman). Meanwhile, Kathleen's boss, swinging bachelor Sam Field (Eric McCormick) must pretend to be happily married, and with children, if he wants to close a major business deal with mysterious Mexican financier Javier Del Campo (Hector Elizondo). At first, it seems as though Kathleen and Sam come up with the notion of posing as man and wife all by themselves; but as this made-for-TV romantic comedy-fantasy progresses, it is clear that two other people are actually pulling the strings--and there's a third character looming in the shadows! Although Borrowed Hearts is ideal Christmas-season fare, CBS chose to unveil the film on November 30, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Airplane travel is a precarious thing at best, and despite the billions of miles traveled safely, the notion of being trapped in a thin metal shell miles above the ground with someone who deliberately imperils lives never fails to chill. In this thriller, serial killer Ryan Weaver (Ray Liotta) gets loose in the plane which is taking him to prison. Suicidal, he manages to kill or incapacitate the pilot, copilot and navigator, only to have his death wish thwarted by the brave actions of flight attendant Teri Halloran (Lauren Holly). Teri manages to keep the plane in the air and more or less on course with groundside help from air traffic controller Sam Bowen (Ben Cross). Teri is Weaver's favorite type of victim and he has made her believe that he may be innocent. Will she be able to resist the killer's sinister charm and save the plane? ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Lauren Holly, (more)
In this comedy, a man trying to turn away from a life of crime starts performing a little larceny in the interest of helping others. Tom Turner (Greg Kinnear) is a small-time con man who makes the mistake of trying to cheat a pair of undercover cops one night. Fortunately for Tom, his case is heard by a lenient judge who orders him to get a straight job and stay out of trouble; if he can stay employed for a year, his conviction will be wiped from the record. Tom is hired at the Post Office and assigned to the Dead Letter Office, where he and his co-workers Rebecca (Laurie Metcalf), Herman (Tim Conway), and Vladek (Hector Elizondo) try to figure out what to do with the sacks of mail addressed to Santa Claus, Elvis Presley, and God. Against orders, Tom opens one of the letters to God and is moved by the sad story of the woman who sent it. He decides to reply and accidentally mails her his pay check; but when he sees how happy the answer made the recipient, Tom and his co-workers start opening more letters and trying to answer a few prayers that would be within their reach -- which leads Tom back to the courthouse again. Director Garry Marshall has a small role as Preston Sweeney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Kinnear, Laurie Metcalf, (more)
- 1995
In this crime drama, a detective and a widow pair up to solve a double homicide in Beverly Hills. A conniving French nanny seems to hold the key to cracking the case. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Teri Garr, Hector Elizondo, (more)
- 1994
In this complexly-plotted action-packed police drama, Pittsburgh policewoman Keri Finnegan (Linda Kozlowski) returns to her home turf to clean up crime and clear the ruined name of her father, a cop who was wrongfully disgraced and fired from the force. McKees Rocks is one Steeltown's roughest ethnic neighborhoods, and though many residents are impoverished, they have yet to surrender their pride. Keri's father's reputation, plus her gender, make it very difficult for her to do her job. When a serial killer begins slaughtering owners of local property, Keri masquerades as an old woman and is attacked by what appears to be a policeman. He is eventually arrested for killing his wife, but for some reason the cops ignore the other killings. Keri, however, doesn't and thus launches her own investigation. She finds herself opposed at every turn, not only by her lover and fellow-detective Nick Donovan (John Shea), but also by the police chief, Nick's father, and a powerful gangster. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Kozlowski, Paul Sorvino, (more)
The third entry in the popular Beverly Hills Cop series finds Detroit cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returning yet again to Southern California, this time on the trail of two car thieves turned murderers. As he teams up again with L.A. cop Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Foley's investigation leads him to Wonder World, a theme park that is also the front for a major counterfeiting ring. More action and less wit are the trademarks of this film, which features Murphy dishing out his usual wisecracks, but with less flair and freshness than in the original film. Alan Young plays the old man who runs the amusement park, an interesting setting that still adds little to the tired premise. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, (more)
A criminal trying to reform is forced to endure the most humiliating punishment of all -- hanging out with his son -- in this family comedy. Ray Gleason (Ted Danson) is a thief whose ambitions far outstrip both his skill and his intelligence; Ray is just bright enough to have realized this, and he's decided to go straight and open a bake shop (he learned how to decorate cakes during his last stay in prison). However, Ray needs to raise some working capital, so in association with his buddies Bobby (Saul Rubinek) and Carl (Gailard Sartain) he is planning his last heist, in which they hope to walk away with a highly valuable collection of rare coins. Ray also happens to have an 11-year-old son, Timmy (Macaulay Culkin), whose mother died several years ago; Timmy has been living with his aunt, but when she gets married and goes away on her honeymoon, Timmy ends up staying with Ray. Timmy is a lot smarter than his dad and quickly figures out what Ray and his cronies have been up to; he's long felt a great deal of resentment toward his father for not being around when he needed him, so Timmy steals the loot from the robbery and uses it to blackmail Ray into spending some quality time with him. Timmy also thinks that it's high time Ray settled down, so when he notices that Theresa (Glenne Headly), an undercover cop, has been following Ray's trail, Timmy tries to play matchmaker and bring them together. Getting Even with Dad would prove to be the next-to-last screen appearance for former pre-teen superstar Macaulay Culkin; he was 14 when this film was released, and within five years he was a married man attending the Rhode Island School of Design. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Macaulay Culkin, Ted Danson, (more)
- 1994
- R
- Add Exit to Eden to Queue
This sexy farce stars Dan Aykroyd and Rosie O'Donnell as Fred Lavery and Sheila Kingston, a pair of cynical detectives investigating the disappearance of a key witness in a diamond-smuggling case. The case leads them to a Club Med-styled S&M resort where dog collars and cat o' nine tails abound; further complicating matters, the smugglers end up on the island as well. The missing witness, photographer Elliot Slater (Paul Mercurio), takes a job as a bondage boy, and he falls in love with the resort manager, Mistress Lisa (Dana Delany. Adapted from Anne Rice's novel of the same name. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Delany, Paul Mercurio, (more)
- 1993
- PG13
Five fables, each set in a different historical era, make up this quirky comedy from director Bill Forsyth. Each tale features Robin Williams as a basically decent but troubled average man named Hector. Beginning with the Bronze Age, where Hector struggles for survival against barbarians, the film proceeds through Roman times, the Middle Ages, and the 16th century, concluding in the present day, where Hector is a divorced father attempting to reconcile with his children. The film clearly intends to draw parallels between these stories in order to illustrate the universal nature of human experience, though the segments themselves vary widely in tone, from broadly comic to philosophically reflective. Additionally, some may find the film's attempts at creating a fantasy atmosphere rather cloying, while others may be charmed by the project's determined oddness and whimsicality. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, John Turturro, (more)
- 1992
In this made-for-cable actioner a good-hearted social worker embarks upon a one-man crusade to save Miami teens from getting further involved with a gang of crack dealers. The social worker does this in large part to ease his own guilt at having been responsible for the death of his own son back when he was drinking heavily. To save the teen, he pretends to be a dealer and infiltrates the gang. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- PG
When an adopted 21-year-old finds that she was adopted, she forsakes her adopted parents and goes on a crazed hunt to discover her real parents. When at last she finds them, she is disappointed to discover that they are very empty and shallow people; her adoptive parents earn a new respect in her eyes. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martha Plimpton, Dermot Mulroney, (more)
- 1992
- PG13
Avarice is the motivation behind the zany deeds in this comedy. It all begins when a dying prisoner whispers the location of his loot to the facility's psychiatrist who heads to Cherry Hill, New Jersey to find it. Unbeknownst to him, he is followed by two fugitive convicts who overheard the confession. More trouble erupts when the shrink accidently goes to the wrong house to dig up the treasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Daniels, Catherine O'Hara, (more)
- 1992
This made-for-TV movie was originally offered in two parts under the title Scott Turow's Burden of Proof. Adapted by John Gay from Turow's bestselling novel, the film stars Hector Elizondo as defense attorney Alejandro "Sandy" Stern, the same character played by Raul Julia in the 1990 cinemazation of Turow's Presumed Innocent. This time, Stern's private and professional life have merged, as he investigates the suspicious suicide of his wife. He also comes to the aid of his rather unsavory brother-in-law Dixon Hartnell, a commodities broker who is under federal investigation. Hartnell is played by Brian Dennehy, who also appeared in Presumed Innocent, albeit in a different role. Part One of Burden of Proof first aired February 9, 1992; Part Two, wherein Sandy Stern is confronted with numbing revelations of sexual and economic misconduct, was telecast February 10. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
Colonel Jason J. Halsey is a test pilot for the super-secret Stealth bomber. During one mission, he has a terrible crash and loses consciousness. This special-effects-laden drama follows what happens to him afterward. When Halsey finally awakens he is suffering from total amnesia and finds himself face to face with Dr. Dio Gottlieb, a psychotherapist, who uses a variety of techniques to jog his memory. Gottlieb's tests are grueling and Halsey begins to rebel and even becomes violent. Still the interrogation continues, and eventually, Halsey begins to remember bits and pieces. He knows that he was on some sort of highly- classified mission, but he can't remember exactly what. At one point, the Dr. gets him to remember the climactic crash and the memory is so stressful that Halsey suffers an epileptic fit. The questioning continues and eventually Halsey begins to distrust Gottlieb and even wonders if he has actually been captured by the enemy. Still he must keep on with the process, for without his memories, personal and professional, Halsey has no way of solving the mystery. The colonel's flashbacks are punctuated by excellent virtual reality technology. This film was the first "all digital sound motion picture." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James B. Sikking, Hector Elizondo, (more)
- 1991
Made for television, Finding the Way Home was based on Mittelman's Hardware, a novel by George Raphael Small. George C. Scott stars as irascible 60-year-old businessman Max Mittelman, whose life and career are in tatters. Involved in a traffic accident, Mittelman suffers a concussion, loses his memory, and wanders into a community of migrant Latino farm workers. Enthusiastically and selflessly laboring shoulder to shoulder with his new friends, Mittelman gains a whole new perspective on life. Things begin to change, and not for the better, when his memory slowly returns. Hector Elizondo co-stars as the workers' spiritual leader. Filmed on location in Texas, Finding the Way Home was first telecast August 26, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
After a recruitment scandal, a struggling college football team is forced to turn to a rag-tag group of misfits in this sports comedy. It seems that Texas State University's football team has relied on some rather unorthodox -- and illegal -- methods to gain players, resulting in the disqualification of most of the team's stars. The desperate coach (Hector Elizondo) must rely on the school's actual students, a motley crew of unlikely characters that includes a female place kicker and a quarterback in his thirties. Unexpectedly, however, the coach discovers that the passer still has a heck of an arm, and suddenly the team again has a chance. The expected comic complications and obvious bits of slapstick follow as this band of eccentrics struggles to find a way to victory, resulting in a familiar reprise of a well-worn storyline. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Bakula, Hector Elizondo, (more)
Terrence McNally's stage play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune was a two-character piece, which starred Kathy Bates and F. Murray Abraham on Broadway. Garry Marshall's film version of the McNally play streamlines the title to Frankie and Johnny, expands the dramatis personae to include at least a dozen fascinating characters, and "glamorizes" the decidedly unglamorous Frankie and Johnny in the forms of Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino (their first co-starring stint since Scarface). Purists carped at the changes, but overall the film is likeable enough to transcend these carps. While serving an 18-month sentence on a forgery charge, Johnny (Al Pacino) discovers the joys of cooking and classical literature. Upon his release, he is hired by gruff but good-hearted New York diner owner Nick (played by Garry Marshall "regular" Hector Elizondo). Also working for Nick is a waitress named Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer). When Johnny expresses interest in Frankie, she keeps him at arm's length, her mistrust of men stemming from an unmentioned but obviously traumatic experience in her past. Eventually, however, Frankie and Johnny do get together, their curious relationship setting the stage for a dramatic denouement wherein both lovers bare their souls. The bulk of the original McNally play is concentrated in the film's final 20 minutes; the rest of the picture is a kaleidoscope of comic and poignant vignettes and quick-sketch character studies. Of the newly minted characters, the standout is Nathan Lane in the traditional "gay best friend/severest critic" role: he plays the character so effectively that one forgets he's essentially a cliché. As for the stars, Al Pacino is ideally cast as Johnny, but Michelle Pfeiffer, superb though she is, seems a bit ill at ease as the emotionally tattered Frankie; she totally wins the audience's hearts, however, in the film's memorable bowling-alley sequence. Smoothing over the rough spots in Frankie and Johnny is the evocative musical score by Marvin Hamlisch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, (more)
In this drama, a mayor's political career is threatened by the avaricious land speculators who are trying to force her to give into their demands. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Forgotten Prisoners: The Amnesty Files stars Ron Silver as a lawyer for Amnesty International. Despite governmental indifference, Silver insists upon investigating human rights violations in Turkey. Appalled by the shocking conditions in Turkish prisons, the lawyer dedicates himself to seeing that justice is truly done. The film steadfastly avoids sentimentalizing the issue, or shying away from the more repellant elements of the story. Critical reaction towards this made-for-cable film was split: some found it profoundly moving, others dismissed it as pretentious and self-congratulatory. Forgotten Prisoners first aired November 19, 1990, over the TNT Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
