John Getz Movies

Old feelings of hurt and betrayal resurface and renew a bitter rift between two long-time girlfriends when one learns that the other seduced her 18-year-old son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV A Woman Called Moses stars Cicely Tyson as real-life escaped slave Harriet Tubman. A the risk of recapture, Tubman helped organize the underground railroad, which enabled hundreds of enslaved African Americans to make their way to the freedom of the Northern states. Adding to the tension are Harriet's frequent epileptic fainting spells. Orson Welles narrates this adaptation of Marcy Heidish's novel. Originally telecast in two parts, A Woman Called Moses first aired December 11 and 12, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second of three films by co-writer/director Oliver Stone to explore the effects of the Vietnam War (Platoon and Heaven and Earth are the others), Born On The Fourth Of July tells the true story of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), a patriotic, All-American small town athlete who shocks his family by enlisting with the Marines to fight in the Vietnam War. Once he is overseas, however, Kovic's gung-ho enthusiasm turns to horror and confusion when he accidentally kills one of his own men in a firefight. His downfall is furthered by a bullet wound that leaves him paralyzed from the chest down. He returns home, spends an appalling, nightmarish stint in a veterans' hospital, and follows an increasingly disillusioned and fragmented path that ultimately leaves him drunk and dissolute in Mexico. However, Kovic somehow turns himself around and pulls his life together, becoming an outspoken anti-war activist in the process. The film is long but emotionally powerful; many consider it Stone's best work and Cruise's best performance. Both were nominated for Oscars, as was the film itself, but only Stone, who co-wrote the film with Kovic from the latter's book, won for Best Director. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Originally made for television, the story focuses on a reporter trying to track down a killer while he wins his wife back. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Christina Applegate stars in this convoluted comedy that comes across as a teen fantasy combination of Home Alone and Working Girl. The premise is all in the title -- when the mother (Concetta Tomei) of a sniveling group of surly kids goes on a much-deserved summer vacation, she leaves her kids under the charge of an elderly distaff granny (Eda Reiss Merin). When granny ups and dies, the kids load her dead body in a trunk and deposit the package on the steps of the local funeral home. The kids are ecstatic thinking that with the big wad of cash Mom has left, they can have a summer of consumer madness. But when they find out that the money has been buried with the baby-sitter, the kids have to fend for themselves to make ends meet. Dream teen Sue Ellen (Christina Applegate) tries working at a fast food restaurant but she can't stand the grease. So, she puts together a false resume and, posing as a twenty-eight-year old, she applies for a job as a receptionist at a garment manufacturing company. The company vice president, Rose (Joanna Cassidy), is so impressed by her resume that she hires her on the spot as her executive assistant. Her deception looks to be working out great -- Sue Ellen manages to hold off the office lady killer Gus (John Getz), avoids exposure by the embittered receptionist, borrows money from the company's petty cash box for household incidentals, and continues her relationship with restaurant employee Bryan (Josh Charles). But suddenly, the clothing firm is set to go under, and Sue Ellen must use her teen fashion sense to save the company and her job . . . and she has to get the rest of the brood involved. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Obsessed with the belief that a slender figure is the most important thing on earth, domineering mother Marsha Hunter (Barbara Hershey) forces her two daughters Frannie (Christina Hendricks) and Shelly (Susan May Pratt) to adhere to rigid diets and exercise regimens. Any extra poundage is subject to cruel ridicule by the manic Marsha, while her passive husband (John Getz), as cowed by his wife as everyone else, offers no comfort or solace for his beleaguered daughters. Marsha's well-meaning but tragically short-sided view of feminine attractiveness drives one daughter into a mental hospital with a psychosomatic eating disorder and the other into a desperate act of self-destruction. Based on a novel by Jillian Medoff, the made-for-cable Hunger Point premiered January 13, 2003, on the Lifetime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Following an temporary insanity acquittal of her daughter's rapist and murderer, a mother goes after the criminal. ~ All Movie Guide

The May 4, 1970 tragedy at Kent State University is meticulously recreated this three-hour TV movie. Conceived in semidocumentary fashion, the film illustrates the slow, simmering buildup to the fatal confrontation between students and National Guard troops on the Kent Campus. The four students who fall victim to Guard gunfire are played by Jane Fleas, Talia Balsam, Keith Gordon and Jeff McCracken. Those who might complain that victims come off in a saintly fashion should be reminded that the young, inexperienced National Guard troops are likewise treated with respect and sympathy. Screenwriters Gerald Green and Richard Kramer trace the roots of the incident back to President Nixon's decision to selectively bomb strategic targets in Cambodia; their script is based on interviews and published accounts of the shooting. Filmed in Alabama rather than Ohio, Kent State was originally telecast February 8, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Amanda Goodwin's Living 'Til the End concerns a man who, after being told by a psychic that he will die on his next birthday, decides to set up his life so that he never has to leave his apartment. His phobia about the prediction coming true manifests itself as a form of severe agoraphobia. The first challenge to his fear comes from a female neighbor, a pretty young woman who is also dying. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In this TV comedy series, housewife Maggie Day (Ann Cusack), nearing middle age, finds little action in her 19-year old marriage to cheerful cardiologist Arthur (John Getz). Their only child, 17-year-old Amanda (Morgan Nagler), is friends with aspiring cartoonist Reg (Todd Giebenhain). Setting out to find a new life, Maggie returns to school, studies to become a veterinarian, and works at an animal clinic, where she develops an infatuation for veterinarian Richard (John Slattery). To deal with her problems, Maggie visits therapist Kimberley (Francesca Roberts). Filmed in LA, the series began August 18, 1998 on Lifetime. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A pair of garbage workers (Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez) are shocked to find the body of a city councilman in one of their trash cans. With help from a supervisor (Keith David), the duo must solve the case and find the man's killer while hiding the body from the cops. Estevez also directed and provided the screenplay for Men at Work. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Once again, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) finds herself immersed in the world of Grand Opera, this time during a visit to Genoa Italy. The plot is set in motion by a series of death threats leveled at an American opera diva poised to make her European debut. There are those who dismiss these threats as a publicity stunt--but they change their tune after the horrific events on Opening Night. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide