Vincent Gardenia Movies
During the '70s and '80s Vincent Gardenia was one of the most familiar character actors in film, television, and on the Broadway stage. Though viewers may not always have remembered his name, his sad eyes, hawk-nosed Italian-American face, short, stocky build, and distinctive often booming Brooklyn-accented voice and exaggerated gestures made him instantly recognizable.Gardenia was born Vincent Scognamiglio in Naples, Italy, but he was raised in New York from the age of two. Once in the Big Apple, his father founded an Italian-language theater troupe and it is with them that Gardenia learned his craft. When he was 14, Gardenia dropped out of school to become a full-time actor with the company. He was in the army during WWII; after his discharge he returned to work in his father's theater and in other Italian-American productions. Though he had played a bit part in the 1945 film The House on 92nd Street, Gardenia did not launch his real film career until he was in his mid-thirties and played his first major role in The Cop Hater (1958). Though most often cast as Italian-Americans or in simple ethnic roles, Gardenia was a versatile actor who could easily switch from comedic to dramatic roles in films of widely varying quality. Some of his best-known roles include that of a bartender in 1961 in The Hustler, and Dutch Schnell in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) opposite Robert De Niro. The latter garnered Gardenia his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Gardenia's second nomination came in 1987 for his memorable portrayal of Cher's father in Moonstruck. The character actor was 70 when he played his final role in the Joe Pesci vehicle The Super (1991). Gardenia's considerable television work includes the soap opera Edge of Night, a regular role on All in the Family (during the 1973-1974 season), the short-lived series Breaking Away (1980-1981), and a semi-regular role on L.A. Law in 1990. He has also made numerous guest appearances. Gardenia died of heart failure in 1992 at the age of 70. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this picaresque period adventure comedy, the roguish almost-gentleman Paolo (Paolo Hendel) of 1832 Naples accompanies his younger friend, Duke Ottavio (David Riondino) to the southern part of Italy. At the time, Italy was a hodge-podge of tiny nations, dukedoms, and principalities which were often run by some other nation, such as France or the Austro-Hungarian emperor. Also sweeping the yet-to-be-unified nation was a revolutionary fervor for democracy and unification. At the same time, the forces of tradition were working very hard to suppress these ideas. These movements give rise to some of the dangers the two men face with grace and nonchalance, as they travel through the undeveloped (some might even say uncivilized) regions of Southern Italy. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paolo Hendel, David Riondino, (more)
Hume Cronyn and Vincent Gardenia star as two retirement-home residents, longtime friends who possess wildly diverse temperaments. - John Cooper (Cronyn) is crotchety and physically frail, but his brain is sharp as a tack. Michael Aylott (Gardenia) is easygoing and in excellent health, but his mind is slowly deteriorating. The two men form an "us against the world" bond, which crumbles when Michael's memory further fails him and John is advised to move back in with his family. Adapted by Bob Larbey from his Broadway play A Month of Sundays, Age Old Friends was first telecast over the HBO cable service on December 16, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hume Cronyn, Vincent Gardenia, (more)
- 1985
Carroll O'Connor stars as NYPD chief of detectives Frank Nolan in Brass. The script, pseudonymously cowritten by O'Connor and Alvin Boretz, dramatizes two real-life incidents: a sniper attack on Penn Station and a murder in the CBS network parking lot. Though consigned to a desk job, Nolan insists upon hitting the streets to solve the crimes at hand. Vincent Gardenia, who'd previously costarred with Carroll O'Connor on All in the Family as Archie Bunker's next-door neighbor, appears as Chief Mike Maldonato. The director was former actor Corey Allen, best remembered as James Dean's "chicken run" opponent in Rebel Without a Cause. Intended as the pilot for a weekly series, Brass debuted September 11, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The original 1946 Dark Mirror starred Olivia de Havilland as twin sisters, one of whom has committed a murder. Since each twin can provide an alibi for the other, a rumpled detective (Thomas Mitchell) and a handsome shrink (Lew Ayres) are compelled to get to the truth through patience and not a little sneakiness. Dark Mirror was remade as a TV movie in 1984, this time with Jane Seymour in the "leads" and Vincent Gardenia as the detective. Seymour has a field day alternating between the good and bad twin; would that the audience was having as much fun. There really isn't any point to this dour remake, except perhaps to honor a contractual commitment to Jane Seymour, whose playing is so ripe that we secretly hope both twins will get the chair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The 1,000-day presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the early '60s is depicted from the glorious beginning to the tragic ending. Kennedy (Martin Sheen) faces down the Soviets, the Cubans, his military leaders (over the war in Vietnam), FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Vincent Gardenia), and Jackie (Blair Brown), who suspects him of infidelities. He gets by with the brilliant and compassionate help of his Attorney General brother Robert (John Shea). After pulling the nation out of one crisis after another, Kennedy makes a trip to Dallas on November 22, 1963, and the world would be forever changed. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Blair Brown, (more)
- 1982
Made for television, this film chronicles the life and work of real-life New York City undercover policewoman Mary Glatzle, here played by Karen Valentine). A single mom, Ms. Glatzle is in dire need of money to pay for her son's mounting medical expenses. Thus we she joins the NYC police force, Mary makes it known that she will take on any dangerous assignment so long as it fattens her bank account. Providing to be adept at disguises, Mary acts as a decoy for muggers and rapists, posing as everything from a hooker to a little old lady--and in the process, she becomes famous as "Muggable Mary". Though Karen Valentine did most of her own stunts, in certain hazardous sequences she was doubled by Tanya Russell. Muggable Mary: Street Cop made its first CBS network appearance on February 25, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Thornwell was based on a documentary directed by Harry Moses, which formed the nucleus of a 60 Minutes piece. Moses also directed this TV-movie dramatization of the incident, a truly shameful chapter in the history of the American military. James Thornwell (Glynn E. Turman), an African American soldier suspected in 1961 of being a spy, is subjected to an intense, painful, and humiliating interrogation. The Army's grilling tactics are within the accepted boundaries--until it is decided to use Thornwell as a guinea pig for the "mind-expanding" drug LSD. Once released, Thornwell suffers from mental and physical agony which he cannot fully comprehend, because he has no idea that he's been pumped full of the hallucinogenic drug. It is only 16 years later, thanks to the Freedom of Information act, that Thornwell learns what has been done to him. He is awarded a sizeable cash settlement by Congress, but Thornwell makes clear that this is inadequate compensation for two lost decades in a man's life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Old-time Hollywood director Vincent Sherman brings a glossy studio-bound look to The Dream Merchants, a two-part, four-hour adaptation of Harold Robbins' novel. The story follows the career of a pioneer filmmaker (Mark Harmon), who comes to Hollywood in the early 20th century with a pocketful of dreams and helps build the sleepy California orange-grove community into the world's entertainment capital. Typical of the Harold Robbins ouevre, most of the characters are based on real-life movie personalities: Robert Goulet's vainglorious matinee idol is a combination of John Barrymore and Douglas Fairbanks, while Vincent Gardenia's vitriolic mogul can be taken as a low-budget Louis B. Mayer. The film is rife with historical inaccuracies (Goulet is informed that the closeup has "just been invented by D. W. Griffith" as a means to convince him to sign a long-term contract assuring him plenty of closeups!), while the haircuts and speech patterns are firmly locked into the 1980s. All the same, The Dream Merchants was a profitable entry in the syndicated "Operation Prime Time" series of TV specials. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
All but forgotten in recent years, the made-for-TV Goldie and the Boxer enjoyed a new lease on life when it was resyndicated to TV in the mid-1990s to capitalize on the notoriety of its star, O. J. Simpson. An old-fashioned tearjerker from the Champ school, the film stars Simpson as unknown boxer Joe Gallegher. Spurred by his friendship with Goldie Kellog (Melissa Michaelsen), the 10-year-old daughter of deceased boxing champ Paul Kellog (John Roselius), Joe goes the distance to the Title. Phil Silvers does an "Ed Wynn" as Joe's heart-of-gold trainer. First telecast December 20, 1979, Goldie and the Boxer performed well enough to encourage a 1981 sequel, Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- O.J. Simpson, Melissa Michaelsen, (more)
A by-the-books cop struggling to bust a brutal protection racket in Rome is forced to throw the rules out the window when the vicious gang attempts to cement their status by moving into the drug trade in director Enzo G. Castellari's tough-talking poliziotteschi. As the citizens of Rome continue to suffocate in the cold grip of fear, it's up to determined inspector Nico Palmieri (Fabio Testi) to take back the streets from the murderers and rapists who terrorize the population and give the cruel thugs a hard lesson in street justice. When the only language that the criminal element understands is violence, Inspector Palmieri is more than willing to communicate in terms that will get the message across. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fabio Testi, Vincent Gardenia, (more)
- 1975
This episode was designed as the pilot for a proposed Kojak spinoff, starring Vincent Gardenia) as Lt. Kojak's former NYPD colleague Vince LaGuardia. Now working in Las Vegas, LaGuardia alerts Kojak (Telly Savalas) of his plan to extradite an elderly counterfeiter (Jeff Corey) to Manhattan. When the old man suddenly dies in his jail cell, Vince suspects foul play and launches a search for an unknown hitman. All the while, the veteran cop endeavors to balance his professional life with his personal responsibilities as surrogate father to his nephew Nick (Mike Darnell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
The family is planning a 50th birthday party for Archie. The only one unwilling to enter into the festivities is Archie himself, who feels that he is old and useless. Then he takes a peek at his birth certificate -- and is he in for a surprise. The episode's level of humor is heightened by the attitude contrast between Archie and the octogenarian couple Quigley (Burt Mustin) and Jo (Ruth McDevitt). Written by Paul Lichtman, Howard Storm, and Don Nicholl, "Archie Feels Left Out" originally aired on January 12, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1974
Hoping to keep Irene Lorenzo from indoctrinating Edith with her "liberated" notions, Archie arranges for Irene to get a job down at the loading dock. This act of left-handed generosity backfires when Irene ends up operating the forklift, a "macho" position that Archie has always coveted. Worse still -- at least as far as Archie is concerned -- Edith has joined one of those "pinko" women's groups. Written by Norman Belkin and Harriet Belkin, "Archie's Helping Hand" was first telecast on October 19, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1973
Director Francesco Rosi returns to his recurring theme of the connections between legal and illegal exercises of power in this sensationalized account of the infamous gangster Charles "Lucky" Luciano (Gian Maria Volonte). The film examines the life of Luciano after serving nine years of his 50-year sentence in the 1930s and 1940s, after which he was pardoned and deported to Italy. Once back in Italy, Luciano travels to Naples, where he finds himself under a continuous ten-year investigation by narcotics investigator Charles Siragusa (who plays himself). Rosi uses Luciano as a clinical study, questioning his legendary status and exploring the truth behind the legend. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gian Maria Volontè, Rod Steiger, (more)
- 1973
Archie and Mike can't understand why the usually ebullient Edith is unable to get into the Christmas spirit. Only when she is alone with Gloria does Edith reveal what is preying on her mind: She thinks she may have breast cancer. It is up to next-door neighbor Irene Lorenzo to restore Edith's customary good spirits -- and she does so by making a surprising revelation of her own. Scripted by Austin and Irma Kalish from a story by Don Nicholl, "Edith's Christmas Story" was originally telecast on December 22, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1973
Donning a brunette wig, blonde-tressed Gloria is at first flattered and delighted when Mike is "turned on" by her new look. But her delight turns to dismay when she concludes that it is the wig, and not her, that so arouses Mike's libido. This episode poses a question previously unexplored in American television: Can it be possible for a husband to be unfaithful with his own wife? Written by Michael Ross and Bernie West, "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Wig" first aired on November 24, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1973
Even under normal circumstances, Archie feels threatened by his intelligent and resourceful neighbor Irene Lorenzo. When Irene challenges Archie to a high-stakes game of pool, he is so intimidated by the possibility of losing that he begs off, using a "bad back" as his excuse. Written by John Rappaport, Michael Ross, and Bernie West, this episode is a low-key spoof of the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, which had occurred only a few weeks earlier. "Archie Is Cursed" first aired on December 15, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1973
While Archie is out of the house, the rest of the family joins Lionel and the Lorenzos in playing Mike's new "group therapy" board game, in which the players reveal their honest opinions about the other players. Alas, Mike doesn't like what he hears when time comes for the others to vent their feelings about him. It is up to Edith, displaying wisdom above and beyond her standard "Dingbat" status, to get Mike back on the right track. Though Carroll O'Connor is largely absent from the proceedings, his appearance at the tail end of the episode provides the evening's biggest laugh. Written by Michael Ross and Bernie West, "The Games Bunkers Play" first aired on November 3, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1973
Gloria brings home a miniature replica of Rodin's famous sculpture "The Kiss." The erotic nature of the sculpture does not rest well with Archie, who orders Gloria to take that "dirty thing" out of the house immediately. Want to bet that this sparks another Battle Royal in the Bunker household? Also worth watching is Edith's impromptu paean to the music of Henry Mancini. Written by John Rappaport, "Archie and the Kiss" first aired on October 6, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1973
Archie is delighted to learn that his black neighbors, the Jeffersons, are planning to move. During a farewell party at the Bunker household, Archie finds himself deep in conversation with Henry Jefferson's contentious brother George Jefferson. Amazingly, the two men find they have a lot in common -- especially their mutual disdain for those outside their respective races. This episode came about due to Mel Stewart's departure from All in the Family to star in another sitcom, Roll Out; it also served to introduce Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson, who would likewise eventually headline a sitcom of his own (bet you can't guess the title...). Written by Don Nicholl, "Henry's Farewell" was first broadcast on October 20, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1973
Season four of All in the Family commenced with an object lesson about -- what else? -- racial bigotry. Archie is up in arms over the notion of a Latino family moving into the neighborhood. In this, Archie finds himself with an unexpected ally: Henry Jefferson, his black neighbor from across the street, who is likewise averse to allowing "those people" to make their home on Houser Street. This episode served to introduce the Bunkers' new next-door neighbors, Irene and Frank Lorenzo, played by Betty Garrett (replacing Sada Thompson, who reportedly couldn't get along with series star Carroll O'Connor) and Vincent Gardenia. Written by Don Nicholl, "We're Having a Heat Wave" originally aired on September 15, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
- 1973
In this horror movie a murderous husband gets his comeuppance when his dead wife returns to make his life a living hell. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Now that the Lorenzos have moved next door to the Bunkers, Archie has managed to come up with a whole new list of pet peeves. It especially vexes Archie that Irene and Frank Lorenzo don't seem to know their proper gender roles: Irene does the household repairs, while Frank does all the cooking -- and even sings in the kitchen. Even worse, at least as far as Archie is concerned, Irene bids fair to become Edith's new best friend. Written by Michael Ross and Bernie West, "We're Still Having a Heat Wave" first aired on September 22, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, (more)
