Barton Heyman Movies
Barton Heyman played character roles on stage and screen. While others aspire to stardom, Heyman described himself as a "working actor," one who prefers to work as a team with other cast members. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Heyman earned a degree in theater arts from U.C.L.A. before launching his career. He made his film debut in the Canadian-made The Naked Flame (1968) and had his first major role in the thriller Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971). Subsequent film roles were quite diverse for the slender, balding actor. In 1995, he played the prison guard who escorts Sean Penn down Death Row for his final appointment in Dead Man Walking. Heyman's Broadway work included appearances in Indians and The Enclave. Heyman also occasionally appeared on television movies such as For Love and Glory (1993). Heyman died of a heart attack in his Manhattan home on May 15, 1996. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1961
Someone is trying to corner the market in illegal champagne before New Year's Eve of 1932--a last-ditch effort to turn a huge profit before the repeal of Prohibition goes into effect. The ensuing intrigues involve French champagne manufacturer Michel Vitton (Barry Morse), mob-connected restauranteur Barney Loomis (Robert Middleton) and Barney's covetous nephew Ed Wald (Michael Constantine). Cast as a deaf-mute assassin named Birdie is future Oscar winner George Kennedy), who during a confrontation scene with series star Robert Stack Ness applies so much physical force that Stack actually passes out on camera--an incident over which the two actors (good friends in real life) would invariably share a laugh in the years to come. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Hanley (Rick Jason) is ordered to take three of his men on a mission into German territory to rescue Hoby Jabko (Howard Duff), a commander of the 465th Bombing Wing. Forced to parachute out of his crippled plane, the wounded Jabko is being hidden in a French farmhouse by the Resistance. Though help is on the way, Jabko is reluctant to leave his new sweetheart, farm girl Denise (Maria Machado). But circumstances will forever alter cases--especially when the Resistance fighters discover that there's a traitor in their midst. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Having embarked upon a long-range space probe, astronaut Col. Cook (Richard Basehart) discovers via radio contact that a nuclear war has broken out on his home planet. Landing on a distant and barren planet, Cook despairs over the notion that he might be the last living person in the universe. He then meets a beautiful young woman (Antoinette Bower) who has recently escaped a nuclear holocaust on her own world. Let's cut to the chase -- Cook's first name is Adam, and the girl's name is Eve. One of the more heavy-handed of the Rod Serling-scripted Twilight Zone episodes, "Probe 7-Over and Out" was originally broadcast November 29, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Basehart, Antoinette Bower, (more)
- 1968
In this drama, a man marries into a closely knit sect of Russian Christians called Dukhobors, but when an outbreak of violence occurs along with his arrival, he is blamed for it. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
Adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel, Valdez is Coming stars Burt Lancaster in the title role. A scrupulously honest Mexican-American marshal, Bob Valdez is double-crossed and humiliated by wealthy, unscrupulous rancher Jon Cypher. Since Cypher has the law on his side, Valdez is obliged to mete out his own justice. He kidnaps Cypher's mistress Susan Clark to force the rancher's hand. At first, Cypher is able to rally a group of tough hombres against Valdez, but one by one they side with the marshal. Director Edwin Sherin, who'd helmed the Broadway production of The Great White Hope, makes several rather anachronistic points regarding the film's racial issues; on the other hand, Valdez is Coming is one of the most-authentic looking westerns ever made-right down to the deglamorization of Susan Clark, who in a 1950s film might have looked as though she'd just visited a frontier branch of Max Factor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, (more)
This eerie low-budget chiller has recently released mental patient Jessica (Zohra Lampert) moving to a Connecticut farm with her husband and some friends. But a strange girl named Emily is at the farm, too, and it soon becomes obvious that she is somehow related to a young woman who drowned on her wedding day in the 1800s. Is Emily a vampiric ghost? Are the hostile townsfolk all zombies? Or is Jessica losing her mind once again? ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Father Daniel Berrigan, at the height of the Vietnam War, was arrested along with eight other protesters (including his brother Philip) in Baltimore in 1968, for burning draft records. Berrigan later penned a didactic play, based upon the incident, which was the basis for this film. The motives behind the Vietnam War protesters are examined during their trial, but the plea for individual responsibility and personal action concerning the war is rejected by the judge, and the Nine are found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwen Arner, Ed Flanders, (more)
A guaranteed tear-jerker, Bang the Drum Slowly centers on professional baseball player Bruce Pearson (Robert DeNiro) and his team mate Henry Wiggen (Michael Moriarty), who supported Bruce to the bitter end after learning that the young catcher was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and would soon die. When hayseed Pearson first joined the team, he and Wiggen, the team's red-hot pitcher were oil and water. The other team members were none to thrilled to have Pearson on their team. Wiggen changes his attitude when he learns of Pearson's illness, and when the other team members find out, they too become more helpful until the inevitably teary ending. Look for popular character actor Danny Aiello in his feature film debut. The story is based on a novel by screenwriter Mark Harris and was first filmed for television. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Michael Moriarty, (more)
- 1974
- R
"Batman and Robin" are the principal characters in the fact-based The Super Cops. Well, not the real Batman and Robin; these just happen to be the nicknames of two irrepressible New York City cops, Dave Greenberg (Ron Leibman) and Bob Hantz (David Selby). Flying in the face of departmental procedure and protocol, Greenberg and Hantz use bizarre (and often amusing) extreme methods to rid the streets of drug merchants. The two gonzo cops find an unexpected ally in the form of a prostitute named Sara (Sheila E. Frazer). Adapted by Lorenzo Semple Jr. (who coincidentally wrote the Batman TV pilot episode) from the best-selling book by L. H. Whitemore, The Super Cops features the genuine Dave Greenberg and Bob Hantz in minor roles...as cops, naturally. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Leibman, David Selby, (more)
- 1975
- R
Lynn Redgrave stars as New York madam Xaviera Hollander in this romp based on Hollander's rise to the top of the sex-for-hire industry. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Redgrave, Jean-Pierre Aumont, (more)
- 1976
In this WWII-era drama, Jan-Michael Vincent plays Marion Hedgepeth, a young Marine who fails out of a boot camp in 1943 and gets sent home wearing a baby blue suit to symbolize shame and dishonor. In Los Angeles, he runs into a veteran who -- eager to be discharged -- k.o.'s him and switches their uniforms. When Marion regains consciousness, he's clad in a hero's uniform. He begins hitching his way toward his home in St. Louis, dreading the prospect of confessing to his folks, but stops for a time in a small town where he's mistaken for a hero and immediately falls in love with a waitress, Rose (Glynnis O'Connor). Meanwhile, as the truth threatens to emerge and bring disgrace raining down onto his head, several residents of a Japanese internment camp escape. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan-Michael Vincent, Glynnis O'Connor, (more)
- 1977
In the first episode of a two-part story, Kojak (Telly Savalas) is all set to spend a romantic day off with his current lady love Laura Martinson (Maud Adams). Alas, the detective is persistently interrupted by the demands of his job. For starters, a stolen Rolls Royce is recovered with a corpse in its trunk; and as if that wasn't enough, a woman (Kitty Wynn) who has deserted her child is also suspected of killing her husband. The huge supporting cast features early TV appearances by William Hurt, Ken Kercheval, Danielle Brisebois and Fyvush Finkel, the latter showing up in the uncredited role of a tailor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In the conclusion of a two-part story, any hopes of Kojak (Telly Savalas) enjoying a day off are dashed when a dead body is found in the trunk of a white Rolls Royce. Now the overworked detective must tear Manhattan apart in search of a woman (Kitty Winn) who has killed her husband, abandoned her child, and is now determined to commit suicide. And all the while, Kojak's romantic rendezvous with his lady friend Laura Martinson (Maud Adams) is repeatedly--and frustratingly--postponed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- R
T.T. (Dennis Christopher), a Midwesterner, has traveled to the beaches of California for a dose of the surfin' life. He believes that the people he finds there are glamorous and knowledgeable. They reject his Midwestern nerdiness, make fun of him, and generally give him a hard time for not fitting in and wanting to. However, eventually he figures out that they are no wiser than he is, and that their lives are surprisingly empty. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glynnis O'Connor, Seymour Cassel, (more)
- 1980
The overused title Fighting Back made its first appearance of the 1980s in this TV biopic. Robert Urich stars as real-life football player Rocky Bleier, who joins the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1968. Rocky's career is curtailed by military service in Vietnam. On August 20, 1969, Bleier is seriously wounded by a hand grenade. The doctors are certain that he'll never walk properly again, much less play football. But several grueling years of physical therapy yield positive results--all the way to the Super Bowl. The 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers costar with Robert Urich in this inspirational tale, which utilizes stock footage of the real Rocky Bleier in action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
The ABC Afterschool Special series kicks off its ninth season with a decidedly non-comic spin on a premise popularized by The Brady Bunch. Dominic Ginetti (Danny Aiello), a widower with two daughters named Ginger (Laura Dean) and Rose (Mara Hobel), marries Marie Mills (Maria Tucci), a divorcée with one daughter named Carrie (Lauri Hendler). At first, it appears that the three "instant" siblings will never get along, with Ginger and Rose immediately setting up a wall of defense against newcomer Carrie ("Just 'cause you and your mom are moving in does not mean you can start changin' everything around"). Eventually, Dominic's two daughters adjust to the situation -- which is more than can be said for Carrie, who remains cold towards her new stepfather, hoping against hope that her real dad (whom she hasn't seen for eight years) will one day return. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Aiello, Maria Tucci, (more)
- 1980
At the time this ABC Afterschool Special was originally telecast in 1980, one out of every nine high-school seniors had either smoked marijuana or was actively doing so. This story is about 15-year-old Jack Melon (played by Scott Baio), who knows all the risks of pot smoking but continues to toke up anyway. Written and directed by John Herzfeld, who also appears onscreen as concerned teacher Doug David, Stoned does not take the easy-out of preaching against marijuana but instead focuses on the reasons an otherwise sensible teen might take up the habit: In Jack's case, he does pot because of loneliness, a father who doesn't pay enough attention to his academic skills, and jealousy of his older brother's athletic achievements. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Baio, John Herzfeld, (more)
New York City detective Steve Burns Al Pacino receives orders from Captain Edelson Paul Sorvino to solve a series of brutal murders in the gay community. Steve scours the gay bars that caters to same-sex sadomasochism in a desperate attempt to solve the crime. As he infiltrates the scene, he slowly comes loose from the moorings of his own reality, and an innocent victim is tortured by the cops in an effort to exact a confession. The story is based on actual murders that took place between 1962 and 1979. The film gained considerable publicity because of the controversial subject matter while censor argued between an X and R rating for the feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, (more)
- 1980
- R
The protagonists are secondary and uni-dimensional in this unlikely actioner about a divorced father (James Brolin) tearing through New York chasing the man who kidnapped his daughter (Abby Bluestone). Sean Boyd (Brolin) is an ex-cop with an enemy on the force out to kill him. Between dodging his would-be assassin, fighting off street thugs, and getting crashed into by one car after another, Boyd is not about to give up or get seriously hurt. In the meantime the police themselves are too inept to catch the kidnapper (Cliff Gorman), and the winsome Marie (Julie Carmen) has decided to hang out with Boyd and help him find his daughter. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Cliff Gorman, (more)
- 1981
This drama examines the illicit love affair between a high-school teacher and one of her students. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Jackson, Gerard Prendergast, (more)
- 1983
Two giants of American TV comedy--Dick Van Dyke and Sid Caesar--were teamed for the first (and thus far last) time in Found Money. Forced into early retirement, bank executive Max Shepherd (Van Dyke) befriends bank guard Sam Green (Caesar) who likewise has been given the sack. Since both men have been cheated of their pensions, Max and Sam plot an intricate revenge. They will use their combined "inside" know-how to rob the bank, then cleanse themselves of perfidy by redistributing the wealth to the needy. Originally telecast December 19, 1983, Found Money was directed by former Dick Van Dyke contributor Bill Persky; it was co-written by actor Richard Sanders, of WKRP in Cincinnati fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- R
Keith Gordon plays a oddball loner who builds a very special kind of TV set. He claims he can tune in to images of Heaven, and all evidence points to the veracity of his claim. Gordon's eccentric religiosity attracts the attention of wacko evangelist Bob Gunton, who'd like to snatch the TV for his own purposes. Director Mark Romanek went on to hone his unique style with a number of high-profile music videos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Gordon, Amanda Plummer, (more)
- 1986
A sprawling adaptation of the same-named novel by David Nevin, the three-part CBS miniseries Dream West starred Richard Chamberlain as colorful, controversial American explorer John Charles Fremont (1813-1890). The story detailed the visionary (and occasionally mercenary) Fremont's lifelong war against shortsided authority figures, beginning with his early skirmishes with the "brass" as an Army officer. In 1842, Fremont embarked upon his greatest adventure, heading an expedition to map the Oregon Trail -- the first step towards opening the entire North American continent to free and unimpeded exploration. His mission pitted Fremont against hostile Indians, the Mexican army, and the U.S. government itself. Along the way, he crossed paths with scores of historical figures, including Kit Carson, Jim Bridge, John Sutter, and President Abraham Lincoln. Alice Krige, Richard Chamberlain's vis-à-vis in the earlier Wallenberg: A Heroes' Story, co-starred as Jessie Benton, the headstrong senator's daughter who became Fremont's wife. Running seven hours in all (plus commercials), Dream West was originally telecast from April 13 to 15, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Lenny Von Dohlen plays Billy Galvin, the son of a no-nonsense construction worker (Karl Malden). Though his dad insists that he go to college to become an architect, Billy would rather go into his father's line of work. To prevent this, dad pulls strings to keep Billy out of the ironworker's union. His bullheadedness inevitably leads to ill-will and emotional disaster. Produced for PBS' American Playhouse TV series, Billy Galvin was afforded a very brief theatrical run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Malden, Lenny Von Dohlen, (more)
