Elizabeth Ashley Movies
A graduate of Louisiana State University and New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, Elizabeth Ashley started her professional career as a model and ballet dancer (she had studied with Tatiana Semenova). Ashley was still travelling under her given name of Elizabeth Cole when she made her 1959 Broadway bow in The Highest Tree. She first adopted the billing of "Ashley" for her 1961 breakthrough stage appearance in Take Her, She's Mine, which won her the Theatre World Award. Ashley followed this triumph with her performance as newlywed Corrie Bratter in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park (1963). She made her film debut as Monica Winthrop in The Carpetbaggers (1963), co-starring with then-husband George Peppard (she had previously been married to actor James Farentino). After the 1965 film Ship of Fools, Ashley dropped out of acting for five years. In her candid 1978 autobiography Actress: Postcards From the Road, she attributed her career hiatus to a number of mitigating circumstances: a bout with cancer, a difficult pregnancy, her increasingly unhappy marriage to Peppard, and a professional "freeze-out" because she'd turned down the film version of Barefoot in the Park. By the time she reactivated her career in 1970, Ashley's performances had taken on a harsh, dangerous edge -- which, in the long run, had a most salutary effect on her career. With her searing portrayal of Maggie in the 1974 Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, her comeback was complete. A busier-than-ever character actress in films and on stage, Elizabeth Ashley was also seen on a semiweekly basis as husky-voiced Aunt Frieda on the TV sitcom Evening Shade (1990-1994), which starred fellow Floridian Burt Reynolds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Directed by Rick McKay, who traveled across five continents during the documentary's production, Broadway: The Golden Age is both a celebration of current Broadway stars and a tribute to Broadway legends past. Through a plethora of interviews and vast amounts of archival footage, McKay presents a variety of factoids, anecdotes, and memories from over 100 Broadway actors, writers, and directors. The careers of Laurette Taylor, Kim Hunter, Jessica Tandy, and Marlon Brando are all animatedly retold, as is some of the Broadway "lore of olde," such as Angela Lansbury's struggle to land a role in Mame and the shocked reaction to West Side Story on its opening night. In addition to footage and discussion regarding highly successful Broadway stars, a variety of actors recount their experiences and struggles in finding even a small amount of critical recognition. The cast includes Shirley MacLaine, Bea Arthur, Edie Adams, Alec Baldwin, and Kaye Ballard, and many others. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edie Adams, Bea Arthur, (more)
A group of hard-partying teens falls prey to a family of cannibalistic killers in director S. Lee Taylor's throwback survival horror feature following in the tradition of The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn. Still coming down from the buzz of a desert rave, seven teens make the mistake of their lives when they opt for a desert shortcut that's not on the map. As the night wears on and the clan of killers descends upon the unsuspecting teens, their only hope for survival is to turn the tables on their tormentors and show them that they aren't about to go down without a fight. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Ashley, Aaron Buer, (more)
- 2001
Japanese filmmaker Yoshifumi Hosoya, who has lived in the States since 1984, follows up on his directorial debut Sleepy Heads -- an offbeat look at Japanese ex-pats living in New York -- with this caper comedy featuring a cast of such indie luminaries as Ben Gazzara and Elizabeth Ashley. The film centers around a lonely Hoboken widow named Beth (Ashley) who lives with her two slacker grandsons, Gabe (Jayce Bartok) and Brad (Lee Holmes). The two dream of opening a pizza shop together but have a hard time even getting off the living room couch. One day, Beth has her wedding ring appraised and learns that it is worth ten million dollars. Soon, the story gets the attention of the local media, and a number of shady characters -- including an aging thief (Gazzara), his Chinese sidekick (Ken Leung), and Beth's own drool-mouth grandkids -- who hope to relieve the widow of her riches. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1999
All her life, Josephine Pitt (Brooke Smith) has been told that she was responsible for the death of her brother in 1972, when she was only three years old. Now she wants to know for certain -- and to do that, she appeals to Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto), who handled the original case. Meanwhile, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Ballard (Callie Thorne) investigate the case of a junkie who was shot after dying of a drug overdose. Both detectives are weighed down by their personal travails -- especially Bayliss, who is tired of being ridiculed for his sexual preferences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1995
As a ratings gimmick, radio talk host Sandy Latham (Elizabeth Ashley) invites her listeners to volunteer as her daughter Claire's prom date. It is the latest in a long series of public humiliations for Claire (Melissa Joan Hart), who has spent her life as a pawn in her selfish mother's rise to fame. Hired as Sandy's personal assistant, Monica (Roma Downey) teams with the radio star's on-air sidekick--who happens to be Tess (Della Reese)--to repair the relationship between mother and daughter. But it may be too late: The resentful Claire has gotten mixed up with a bootleg-CD scam in order to earn enough money to leave home for keeps! Future film star Jack Black appears in a key supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
While researching a novel, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) pays a return visit to New Orleans. Before long, she is enmeshed in a murder investigation, this one stemming from the death of a local businessman. A tiny doll was left behind at the murder scene, indicating the presence of a strong voodoo influence--but what does the Supernatural have to do with the local turf war between rival supper-club owners which would have otherwise been the main motive for the killing? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Sam Waterston joins the cast as Executive Assistant D.A. Jack McCoy in Law & Order's fifth-season opener. The case at hand is a "revolutionary" breast-cancer treatment that may have caused a woman's death. The D.A.'s office pursues the woman doctor who developed the treatment -- and who may very well be the "quack" that her colleagues have claimed her to be. In his pursuit of the accused, Jack McCoy demonstrates early on that his zeal for justice does not always adhere to the letter of the law. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
There's certainly no shortage of behind-the-scenes conflict when it comes to television, and this episode of HBO's Emmy award-winning late-night talk show satire exposes the gritty backstage battles that have become the stuff of legend among television fanatics. In addition to Artie's (Rip Torn) stress concerning a ubiquitous Entertainment Weekly writer prowling the set, an argument between John Ritter and Gene Siskel nearly comes to blows and a nippy dog attempts to take a bite out of nearly everyone with whom it comes in contact. Guest stars include John Ritter, Joshua Malina, Peter Tolan, Maureen Mueller, Elizabeth Ashley, Gene Siskel, and Warren Zevon. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
After being released from an institution, a manic-depressive attempts to get custody of her 5 children and struggles with the opposition of her oldest daughter and the foster parents. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Jessica Parker, Sally Struthers, (more)
- 1991
Love and Curses...And All That Jazz is a made-for-TV effort starring Gerald McRaney (who also directed) and his wife Delta Burke. The stars portray married MDs, who head to New Orleans to renew their vows (true Southerners both, they don't feel that their Northern wedding ceremony "took"). Upon arriving in Mardi Gras land, the couple becomes involved in a murder case tied in with a voodoo curse. If the film resembles the Thin Man movies of old, that was McRaney and Burke's avowed intention. Elizabeth Ashley also stars in this amiable vanity production. Filmed on location, Love and Curses...And All That Jazz premiered on September 21, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
This biographical drama, based on the late actress's autobiography, chronicles her attempts to rescue her drug addicted son while simultaneously trying to overcome her life-threatening cancer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Alfre Woodard plays a Los Angeles DA who moves back to her home town of New Orleans. She does this so that her teenaged son (Keith Williams) can be nearer to his estranged dad (Mario van Peebles). No sooner has Woodard arrived in "The Big Easy" than she is swept up in a local sex scandal. While the main plot is resolved, several secondary story lines are left unresolved, suggesting that Blue Bayou was the pilot film for an unsold series. The film was written by LA Law's Terry Louise Fisher and directed by Cagney and Lacey's Karen Arthur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
After Hunter (Fred Dryer) delivers the baby of runaway teenager Cheryl Donovan (Allison Smith), the grateful girl names her infant daughter after the detective. Shortly afterward, Cheryl turns up murdered--and of course Hunter feels honor-bound to investigate personally. It turns out that the dead girl had reneged on her deal with a crooked baby-breeding ring which sells off newborn infants for illegal adoptions...and that "Baby Hunter" is now an extremely high-priced and much sought-after commodity! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This slick and stylish episode is something of a variation of the classic film noir DOA, with overtones of Raymond Chandler. Travelling to Hollywood in the company of elderly writer Walter Murray (Mike Connors), with whom she is slated to collaborate on a movie script, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) makes a brief stop at a seedy motel-diner. Later that evening, Walter is found dead in his motel room, leaving behind a tape recording detailing the events leading up to his demise. In a series of stunningly photographed black-and-white flashbacks, Jessica learns that on the previous evening, Walter had been reunited with a woman (Elizabeth Ashley) whom he hadn't seen in 19 years--not since he killed her abusive husband! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Claudette Colbert made her first screen appearance in 25 years in the 2-part TV movie The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. The story involves social-climbing actress (read: "chorus girl") Ann-Margret, who marries American-aristocrat naval ensign Stephen Collins, the son of Ms. Colbert (the two female stars, you see, are the "two Mrs. Grenvilles"). Try as she might, Ann-Margret can neither assimilate herself to her husband's lifestyle, nor overcome the animosity of her mother-in-law. Collins starts cheating on his new wife....and before long, Ann-Margret is standing trial for the fatal shooting of her husband. Marvin Hamlisch wrote the music for the sumptuously stylish The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, which was based on novelist Dominick Dunne's a clef rehashing of the 1955 murder of Long Island millionaire William Woodward Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
In this comedy, a journalist and her husband, an editor, present their very different thoughts on her pregnancy in their respective columns and become a big hit with their fans. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Margaret Colin, (more)
The outlaws of country music--including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson--team up and head across the Southwestern desert braving Indians, brigands and conflict in this made-for television version of John Ford's classic film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1984
This by-the-numbers comedy stars Wayne Rogers and Karen Valentine as Alex and Annabelle Grier. Alex is a well-paid ad executive who is laid off during an economic downswing. In order to continue living in the manner to which she he is accustomed, Alex's wife Annabelle decides to look for work. Unfortunately, her practical experience is nil, so Alex labors behind the scenes, training his wife to become a top-drawer copywriter. Inevitably, when Annabelle finally does land a job, it turns out to be a major blow to Alex's ego. Initially titled Paper Castles, this made-for-TV movie was first shown December 18, 1984. TV Guide/Marrill ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
This 1982 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Elizabeth Ashley and features musical guest Hall and Oates. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Ashley, Hall & Oates, (more)
