Allen Garfield Movies
Rotund character actor Allen Garfield was trained at the Actors Studio. He interrupted a fruitful stage career in 1968 to appear in a string of low-budget, Manhattan-based films, among them the seminal Brian de Palma project Hi, Mom! (1970) and Woody Allen's Bananas (1971, as the Christ figure who has trouble finding a parking space for his cross). He was promoted to leading man in 1970's Cry Uncle, a raunchy R-rated detective spoof which attracted extensive press coverage thanks to the scene in which Garfield has sex with a corpse! In mainstream films like The Long Goodbye (1973) The Conversation (1974) and Nashville (1975), Garfield was generally cast as slimy executives and promoters. As MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer in Gable and Lombard, Garfield offered a fascinating amalgam of sticky sentimentality, sharp business acumen and cold-blooded ruthlessness. From 1978 through 1983, Garfield billed himself under his given name of Allen Goorwitz, and also lost a great deal of weight; but with 1984's Cotton Club onward, it was back to "Garfield" and excess poundage. In 1993, Allen Garfield played his first starring role in years in the angst-driven theatrical feature Jack and His Friends. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 2000
A sportscaster's nightmare occurs when a highly touted prizefight ends after only seven seconds into the first round, leaving the Sports Night crew with the remaining 89 minutes and 53 seconds that was dedicated to the fight. Dan (Josh Charles) and Casey (Peter Krause) fly into super-stall mode, while coming to the realization that their fight commentator Chuck Kimmel (Allen Garfield) is not only vastly underqualified to be on television, but he's also drunk and a complete loon. Meanwhile, Dan's psychiatric well-being meets another obstacle when his father Jay (Peter Riegert) comes to town for a visit and begins berating Dan on nearly every aspect of his life. As the show begins its slow decent into an absurd chaos, Dana (Felicity Huffman) agonizes over what may be a missed romantic opportunity with Casey, who is now smitten with one of the women Dana made him go out on a date with. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
In order to solve a family mystery, John, a stonemason from Zimbabwe, travels to Berlin to search for 1928 footage of a tightrope walker at Niagara Falls. While there, he becomes romantically obsessed with Miriam, a French rock musician in an all-girl band. Unfortunately, Miriam is totally in love with her boyfriend Pierre, a talented scientist. Running parallel to the main plot is that of Jacob, a Jewish tailor who in the film's early scenes is caught shoplifting, an act that will have troubling ramifications for John, who gets caught in the middle of Jacob's attempt to flee the crime scene. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heike Makatsch, Charles Berling, (more)
Espionage, personal integrity, and political commitment are the main themes running through this French thriller that chronicles a young man's journey from idealism to disillusionment and maturity. The story is set in the 1980's in Tel Aviv and follows the exploits and moral conflicts of Attal, a Jew who left his family in France on his eighteenth birthday to pursue a career as an agent in Israels' Institute for Intelligence, the Mossad. At first, his missions do not bother his conscience; he performs them for the good of Israel. But, as time passes, Attal must face more moral dilemmas as the work becomes more subversive and dishonest. He must ultimately decide whether to follow the his personal ideals, or be part of a system which promote immoral acts in the name of idealism. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvan Attal, Dan Toren, (more)
Frank Pierson's made-for-cable adaptation of Nicholas VonHoffman's biography, Citizen Cohn stars James Woods as the controversial lawyer Roy Cohn. The film is structured as a series of flashbacks while Cohn lies in a New York hospital dying of AIDS. In the 1940s and early '50s, Cohn became one of the most powerful men in the country after becoming an important associate of Senator Joseph McCarthy (Joe Don Baker) and his Communist witch hunts. The film recounts those turbulent times and features portrayals of such real-life figures as J. Edgar Hoover (Pat Hingle), Dashiell Hammett (Frederic Forrest), Cardinal Spellman (Daniel Benzali), and Walter Winchell (Joseph Bologna). ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Woods, Joe Don Baker, (more)
- 1992
The discovery of a nude woman's body in a Manhattan elevator, six months after a similar discovery in another state, indicates that a serial killer is at large. The police manage to collar the killer, whereupon assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) endeavors to have the accused stand trial in New York. But his efforts may be thwarted by the parents of the killer's previous victim, who intend to have the man tried in their own state -- where the death penalty is all but mandatory in such cases. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In this murder mystery, one twin sister assumes the identity of the other after she is killed in a boating accident. She does not realizes that the dead twin held a fatal secret. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this human-scale drama/comedy, a pair of Beverly Hills parents, Albert (Ryan O'Neal) and Lucy (Shelley Long) first come together as a couple interested in writing (she) and teaching (he), but Albert's life takes an upscale turn when he starts both writing and then directing in Hollywood. As he becomes successful, Lucy is forced to burrow into her own writing in self-defense, and after her book is well-received, she is compensated a little for Albert's lack of attention and philandering. After Hollywood and its well-known flaws are sketched out in the increasingly strained marriage, the story reaches its primary focus: Albert and Lucy's 9-year-old daughter Casey (Drew Barrymore) talks to a lawyer because she wants to sue her parents for divorce. She gets no hugs or affection, and precious little attention, and she would prefer to go live with the maid. Given the parents' celebrity, the case receives wide press -- and the family begins to reconsider where it is going and why. Although a bit long, especially in the first half which wanders off course a little, the story is engaging enough (especially for Hollywood buffs) to balance any weaknesses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, (more)
Only Kelly Reno and Teri Garr from the cast of the original Black Stallion make appearances in The Black Stallion Returns. In the first film, young Reno rescued his beloved stallion from its cruel Arab owner. This time around, the stallion is abducted by Moroccan henchmen and bundled back to Africa. This paves the way for a repeat of all the salient action from the first Black Stallion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly Reno, Vincent Spano, (more)
- 1982
Wim Wenders' The State of Things (Der Stand der Dinge) was financed by one of the director's chief mentors, Francis Ford Coppola. This highly autobiographical work concerns a shoestring movie producer and his ragtag crew. Stranded in the outer reaches of Portugal, the director doesn't even have any film in his camera. There's nothing left to do but scare up a potential backer--preferably one of those rich, movie-mad Americans. In illustrating the plight of the fictional filmmakers, Wenders strikes a blow on behalf of the homeless and disenfranchised everywhere; it is also an a clef recreation of the difficulties faced by the director during production of his first American film Hammett (also made under the auspices of Coppola). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Bauchau, Isabelle Weingarten, (more)
- 1982
Allen Garfield (billed as Alan Goorwitz) guest stars as Mr. Rutledge, the owner of the Sunshine Cab Company. Upon learning that someone in the garage is stealing spare auto parts, he demands that the guilty party step forward. Since that party is light-fingered dispatcher Louie (Danny DeVito), who lacks the guts to own up to his own misdeeds, there is but one way out: Louie persuades assistant dispatcher Jeff (Thom Koutsoukos) to take the rap -- with jaw-dropping results. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1981
Mickey Rooney stars in this made-for-TV docudrama as circus clown Jack Thum, who aids his wife (Anne Jackson) in raising dozens of orphans; despite learning he is dying, Jack still struggles to earn money to support his growing brood. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Allen Garfield had reverted professionally to his given name of Goorwitz when he starred in Sketches of A Strangler. He also returned to his early-1970s predilection for starring in kinky, independently-produced projects. Here he is cast as a painter who obsesses over beautiful, unapproachable women. His fixations take a homicidal turn as several streetwalkers fall victim to Goorwitz' homicidal impulses. In Bucket of Blood fashion, Life imitates art in Sketches of a Strangler, and vice versa. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Ring of Passion is a self-described "docudrama" of the professional rivalry between African-American boxing great Joe Louis and German fistic champ Max Schmeling. On June 19, 1936, Schmeling (Stephen Macht) beats Louis (Bernie Casey) for the European championship. Germany's Nazi government uses this bout to trumpet the superiority of the Aryans over the "inferior" races. But in the return match of 1938, described by such sports scriveners as Damon Runyon (Allen Garfield) and Paul Gallico (Joe Campanella) as the "Fight of the Century," Joe Louis defeats Max Schmeling in one round. This TV movie takes great pains to convince us that, while Schmeling was in effect fighting for political reasons, he himself was not a Nazi (we are told that the public slurs against Louis attributed to Schmeling are the handiwork of Joseph Goebbels' propaganda machine). Given the subject matter at hand, Ring of Passion is surprisingly stingy in its boxing sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In this suspenseful drama, an angry husband hatches an ingenious plot to get his avaricious wife and the pesky detective she has hired out of his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Troubled by huge gambling debts, Steve (Richard Grand) is a salesman whose life and prospects are dreary indeed. His wife is anxious to move upward economically and socially, and he is caught between her desires and the grimness of his situation if he is unable to repay the debts. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Grand, Joe Turkel, (more)
- 1976
This police drama is the pilot episode of the Serpico television series and follows the straight arrow New York undercover cop Frank Serpico as he investigates racketeers and drug smugglers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Comedian Freddie Prinze appeared in his only TV movie (in fact, his only movie of any kind) when he starred in The Million Dollar Rip-Off. Prinze plays an ex-convict who happens to be an electronics genius. He woos four toothsome young ladies and convinces them to participate in robbing the payroll of the Chicago Transit Authority. The girls have a little conference among themselves, decide they're all being taken by Freddie, and vow to bollix up the job. Million Dollar Rip-Off was written by character actors William Devane and John Pleshette, both of whom may have harbored hopes of starring in the project themselves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Long before the Warren Beatty/Annette Bening vehicle Bugsy (92), Harvey Keitel portrayed gangster Bugsy Siegel and Dyan Cannon costarred as Siegel's mistress Virginia Hill in the made-for-TV The Virginia Hill Story. Told in flashback, the film traces Virginia's life from the time she takes up with Bugsy; we see Siegel's takeover of the Las Vegas gaming tables and his eventual death at the hands of his mob rivals. The flashback is bookended by Virginia's 1951 testimony before the Kefauver Committee. The film's attention to period detail does not extend to its "revisionist" dialogue, but it's gratifying to see the often ill-used Dyan Cannon in a worthwhile role. Harvey Keitel is alternately sinister and sensual as Siegel, while Herbert Anderson (the immortal Henry Mitchell from the old Dennis the Menace series) is the living image of Estes Kefauver. A note worth noting: The Virginia Hill Story premiered the same November week in 1974 as the network debut of The Godfather (1972). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this children's adventure, Paco, an orphaned Colombian boy leaves the family farm to search for his uncle in the big city. Unfortunately, he discovers that his only living relative is running a youthful gang of jewel thieves. More trouble ensues when he forces poor Paco to join them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
A roman a clef depicting the Wylie-Hoffert murders, this is the first of the made for TV movies introducing the Kojak character and was essentially the pilot for the long-running crime series. When a black ghetto youth is accused of two bizarre murders, Kojak takes it upon himself to find the real murderer. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1973
A three-day vacation at a sparsely populated skiing resort turns into hell on earth for Bob and Emily. Not only are they stuck with the company of an obnoxious couple in the next room (all four vacationers share a single bathroom), but the Hartleys end up snowed in when they try to escape back to Chicago. The limit comes when, while trying to sneak out of a dreadful floor show, Bob and Emily find themselves the show's main attraction. The guest cast includes Chuck McCann and Joyce Van Patten as the spectacularly irritating Mr. and Mrs. Miller, Allen Garfield as the resort manager, Danny Rees as Sanford Hattie, and John Melock, Rudolph Schmelk, and Jie Kier as "the band." Written by Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses (and loosely based on one of the team's best comedy routines), "Let's Get Away From It Almost" originally aired on January 6, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette, (more)
- 1973
The wife and daughter of travelling salesman Baxter Flynn (Alllen Garfield) are unaware that he is carrying on a secret life as a compulsive gambler--and paid mob informant. When Flynn witnesses a double murder, Ironside (Raymond Burr) is determined to force the man to give testimony against the killers. Only one problem: If Flynn shows up in court, his dirty little secrets will be revealed to the world, resulting in disgrace for his family--and, very possibly, instant death for himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
