Mark Zimmerman Movies
- 2001
A TV reality series, in which several contrasting personalities share the same apartment, suddenly turns ugly when one housemate apparently kills another. The DA's office not only goes after the likely perpetrator, but also the series' producers and the TV network executives who might have deliberately fomented bad feelings amongst the housemates for the sake of ratings. All too appropriately, the outcome of the case hinges on a hidden-camera videotape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Oscar-winning actress Kathy Bates directed this made-for-cable feature inspired by the true story of one of America's greatest literary couples, Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett. Hellman (Judy Davis) was an award-winning playwright whose successes included The Children's Hour and The Little Foxes, while Hammett (Sam Shepard) was a superlative mystery writer whose books inspired such classic films as The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon. The couple met in the 1930s, while Hammett was working in Hollywood as a screenwriter. They remained together until Hammett's death from lung cancer in 1961 (never married despite the conventions of the day) in a relationship strained by Hammett's infidelity and their shared alcoholism. Dash and Lilly uses Hellman's 1950s testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee as a springboard to look back at their relationship; both Hammett and Hellman were branded as Communists and called before HUAC, leading to a prison term for Hammett. The film also features Bebe Neuwirth as Dorothy Parker, Laurence Luckinbill as Joseph Rauh, and Mark Zimmerman as Walter Winchell. Hellman's relationship with Hammett formed one of the plot points of the 1977 biopic Julia, which starred Jane Fonda as Hellman and Jason Robards in an Oscar-winning performance as Hammett. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Shepard, Judy Davis, (more)
- 1998
Dani Levy directed and co-stars in this German-Austrian political thriller. Lena Katz (Maria Schrader), living in New York, is the granddaughter of Jewish chocolate-factory owner Eliah Goldberg (Lukas Ammann), whose factory in Germany has been recently set on fire by some anti-Semitic thugs. In NYC, German émigrée Mrs. Fish (Lynn Cohen) reads about the fire and recognizes Goldberg as her father, who she thought was long dead, a victim of the Holocaust. Mrs. Fish phones her son David (Dani Levy), who hires Jewish activist attorney Charles Kaminski (David Strathairn) to contact Goldberg. At the same time, Lena's mom (Nicole Heesters) is visiting New York, and when Lena goes to see her at her hotel, she finds Mrs. Fish near death in the hallway, the victim of an attempted murder. She's taken to the hospital -- where David and Lena meet and begin to learn about their mysterious shared backgrounds and past history. Made with English and German dialogue, this film was shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Schrader, Dani Levy, (more)
- 1997
In another case "ripped from today's headlines," a trail of gruesome clues leads to the conclusion that a newborn infant has been killed. The main suspects are a pair of college-student lovers, who insist that the child was stillborn -- and besides, both have an airtight alibi. Once the case finally gets to court, the Defense plays mercilessly upon the heartstrings of the jury. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Among the stolen loot recovered from a purse snatcher is a handbag belonging to a missing model. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) pursue the likelihood that the woman is not only missing, but dead. Though the purse thief is quickly dismissed as a suspect, the detectives have several others to choose from, including a limo driver and a pro basketball player. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Logan (Chris Noth) and Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) run up against a "wall of brass" when they investigate the death of a female Navy officer, who was last seen alive at a wild party. The detectives' only witness is Ensign Evan Walters (Michael Dolan), who claims that he can remember nothing of the events leading up to the woman's death. Resistance to the successful prosecution of the case reaches to the highest levels of Navy bureaucracy -- but assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) is determined to break through the official coverup. Future E.R. regular Julianna Margulies is seen as Lt. Ruth Mendoza. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Long before co-starring on The Practice, Kelli Williams appeared in this Law & Order episode as a young drug addict living in a teen shelter. When the girl accuses Sister Bettina (Kate Burton), the nun in charge of the shelter, of molesting her, detectives Logan (Chris Noth) and Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) investigate. As it happens, the solution to the case may hinge upon a secret being withheld by the center's male supervisor (William H. Macy). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
When Murphy (Candice Bergen) makes a flippant on-air comment about short men, she incurs the wrath of the "66 Club", comprised entirely a small-statured males. One of the club members demands that Murphy make a personal apology to himself and his brethren. But upon meeting the "66 Club", Murphy realizes that they are just as prejudiced against those who are unlike themselves as she appears to be. Paula Zahn and Mark McEwen, then the cohosts of CBS This Morning, appear as themselves in this, the first Murphy Brown episode NOT directed by Barnet Kellman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
