Lloyd Bridges Movies
Working from the ground up in stock companies, Lloyd Bridges was a member of the progressive Actors Lab company in the mid 1930s. He made his Broadway debut toward the end of that decade in a production of Othello. Signed by Columbia in 1941, Bridges appeared in everything the studio assigned him, from Three Stooges 2-reel comedies to such "A" pictures as Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Talk of the Town (1942), and Sahara (1943). He began freelancing in 1945, accepting the prescient role of a deep-sea diver in 1948's 16 Fathoms Deep, among other films. The most memorable of his '50s assignments was the leading role in the cult science-fiction programmer Rocketship X-M (1950) and the part of the look-out-for-number-one deputy in High Noon (1952).Thanks to his earlier involvement in the Actors Lab and his admission at the HUAC hearings that he'd once flirted with communism, Bridges was "graylisted" during the mid-'50s, able to find work only in lesser pictures and TV shows. He was rescued by producer Ivan Tors, who cast Bridges as diver-for-hire Mike Nelson in the TV series Sea Hunt. Filmed between 1957 and 1961, Sea Hunt was the most popular syndicated program of the era, turning Bridges into a millionaire. Alas, neither of his subsequent series of the '60s, The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962) and The Loner (1965), survived their first seasons. Undaunted, Bridges continued working into the '90s, displaying a hitherto untapped flair for zany comedy in such films as Airplane! (1980), Joe vs. the Volcano (1990), and the two Hot Shots films. Bridges was the father of actors Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges. A committed environmentalist, he was involved in several organizations including the American Oceans Campaign and Heal the Bay, a Los Angeles-based group. Bridges died of natural causes on March 10, 1998. Shortly before his passing, he had completed work on two films, Jane Austen's Mafia and Meeting Daddy; in the latter film, Bridges co-starred with his eldest son Beau. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- Add From Russia to Hollywood: The 100-Year Odyssey of Chekhov and Shdanoff to QueueAdd From Russia to Hollywood: The 100-Year Odyssey of Chekhov and Shdanoff to top of Queue
Michael Chekhov and George Shdanoff were Russian expatriates who came to Hollywood and became two of the best known and most influential acting coaches in the film industry; Chekhov was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in Spellbound, and as a teacher he and his associate Shdanoff helped guide the careers of Leslie Caron, Patricia Neal, Gregory Peck, Rex Harrison, Marilyn Monroe and Clint Eastwood. From Russia to Hollywood provides a glimpse into their lives and careers as Chekhov flees Russia for Germany after the Communist government expresses its displeasure with his productions for the Moscow Art Theater (Stanislavsky considered Chekhov a genius, but the government considered him ideologically unsound). When the Nazis began to rise to power, Chekhov relocated to the United States, where he taught acting when not busy with his own career on the stage and screen. Here, several of Chekhov and Shdanoff's better known students discuss their work and how their teachings effected a generation of Hollywood actors. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Mala Powers, (more)
Satirist Jim Arahams returned with this comedy spoofing the Godfather trilogy, and other films and TV, including Jurassic Park, Lord of the Dance, and Barney. The opening emulates a Saul Bass sequence with Anthony Cortino (Jay Mohr) in a flight amid flames much like Robert De Niro in the Casino credits. After flashbacks go back in time to Sicily, Coppola/Scorsese references abound. Young Vincenzo (Jason Fuchs) travels to America to later become the clumsy chief of organized crime (with the late Lloyd Bridges as the aging Vincenzo) with his sons -- short-fused Joey (Billy Burke) and educated Anthony. Tony's WASP fiancee is Diane (Christina Applegate), recalling Diane Keaton in the Coppola films. During the wedding, assassins try to do away with Don Vincenzo, who's hospitalized, so Tony sets out to gain revenge for the murder attempt. In Vegas, Tony gets involved with showgirl Pepper (Pamela Gidley). When betrayals begin, can violence be far behind? This was Lloyd Bridges' final movie, and the film is dedicated to him. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Mohr, Billy Burke, (more)
In this dark comedy, Peter (Josh Charles) is a well-educated Jewish writer from Los Angeles who has fallen in love with Melanie (Alexandra Wentworth), who was born and raised in the Deep South -- where much of her family still lives. Melanie travels to Georgia for a few days to visit her father, Col. Branson (Lloyd Bridges), but Peter soon gets a call from Melanie, begging him to come down and "rescue" her from her family. It isn't until Peter arrives that he fully understands what Melanie is talking about. Most of her relatives can be politely described as "eccentric," while the Colonel is only a few steps away from psychotic, so Josh busily brainstorms a way for he and Melanie to go back to L.A. sooner rather than later. Meeting Daddy also features Beau Bridges, son of star Lloyd Bridges; appropriately enough, Beau plays Lloyd's son. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Charles, Alexandra Wentworth, (more)
- 1997
After an unfortunate encounter with an Exacto knife, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) receives an infusion of Kramer's blood -- and he isn't keen on being regarded as a "blood brother." George (Jason Alexander) finds both his appetite and his libido increasing thanks to some vanilla-scented incense. Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) works overtime to prove she is responsible enough to watch her friend's child -- then wishes she hadn't. Phrases key to the action include "pinch weasel" and "free love buffet"; and as a bonus, Lloyd Bridges returns as octogenarian health freak Izzy Mandelbaum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Classic alert! When Kramer (Michael Richards) asks Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) to "pick up some Cubans" from his cigar salesman, he wasn't expecting real Cubans -- or even real Dominicans. Elsewhere, George (Jason Alexander) has his curiosity aroused when a woman mistakes him for a guy named Neil. Jerry enters into an athletic competition with an 80-year-old health freak named Izzy Mandelbaum (Lloyd Bridges). And Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) loses more than a boyfriend when she declares her hatred for The English Patient. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Throughout her life, small-town schoolteacher Elaine Hodges (Mare Winningham) has been fiercely devoted to her infirm, alcoholic father Addison (Lloyd Bridges). Even her affection for a local cop (Ron Lea)--who happens to already have a wife--will not permit Elaine to even consider leaving her dad. But circumstances are altered in a radical and ultimately lethal fashion when an ex-convict named Charlie (Chris Cooper) arrives in town, carrying with him a dark and well-guarded secret concerning the past of the Hodges family. Made for the CBS TV network, The Deliverance of Elaine debuted April 10, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Jill Eikenberry stars in this made-for-television drama about a mother's strength. Eikenberry stars as divorcee Tessa Bryan, who is raising her two daughters alone while her ex-husband takes up with a young model named Carolyn (Laura Leighton). When Tessa learns that she has terminal cancer, she puts aside her own feelings about her husband's new wife and decides that it is in her children's best interest to teach Carolyn how to be the best mother she can be. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This drama examines the behavior of three female resident doctors working at a San Francisco hospital. It is based on a novel by Sidney Sheldon. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa A. Williams, Brooke Shields, (more)
Opening within one month from each other in 1994, Blown Away invited many comparisons to Speed. Both are pyrotechnical displays involving mad bombers and a multitude of flying building debris and body parts. The cop and the mad bomber in this one are Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges), a veteran of the Boston Bomb Squad planning to retire from the force, and Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones), a revenge-crazed explosives expert who has recently escaped from a detention center in Northern Ireland. It seems that Gaerity is out to get Jimmy and has been nursing his grudge for the past twenty years. Back in his Irish past, Jimmy, then known as Liam, was a student of Gaerity, who constructed bombing devices for the IRA. But when Gaerity's bombing plans included the killing of innocent civilians, Liam opposed him and thwarted his efforts. As a result, Liam escaped to the United States to become Jimmy, and Gaerity was arrested and sent to prison. But now that Gaerity is out of jail, he is traveling to Boston to wreak havoc upon the city in revenge for what Jimmy has done to him. His plan is to create so many bombings in Boston that the bomb squad's strength will be depleted, allowing him to get to Jimmy and his family. The goal? Blowing up Jimmy's wife (Suzy Amis) and stepdaughter at a Boston Pops concert. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
- 1994
Real-life father and son Lloyd and Beau Bridges star in the tense modern melodrama Secret Sins of the Father. Nebraska farmer Louis Thielman (Lloyd) is charged with murder of his wife. Making the charge is Louis's son Tom (Beau), the town sheriff. Though the evidence points to Louis, there are those who believe that Tom is pursuing a vendetta rather than justice. For starters, Louis has been carrying on an affair with Lisa Carson, Tom's ex-lover. Despite the film's docudrama approach, this one isn't based on a true story. Beau Bridges doubled as director for this made-for-TV drama, which debuted January 9, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bridges, Beau Bridges, (more)
Movie references, sight gags, silly puns, and double entendres abound in Hot Shots! Part Deux, Jim Abrahams' sequel to Hot Shots -- only now the object of the skewering is the Stallone Rambo movies instead of Top Gun. Charlie Sheen returns as the lunk-headed Topper Harley, who has retreated to a Buddhist monastery after being dumped by Ramada Rodham Hayman (Valerie Golino). In this far-off retreat, the monks have "taken a vow of celibacy, just like their fathers and their fathers before them." But Topper bulks up and goes back into action when his superior officer, Colonel Denton Walters (Richard Crenna) is captured by a Saddam Hussein look-alike, missing somewhere between "Iraq and a Hard Place." Topper charges into Iraq (after barreling through a Beverly Hills barbecue) along with sexy CIA operative Michelle Rodham Huddleston (Brenda Bakke) in tow, his guns ablazing. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, (more)
- 1993
See world and Olympic figure skating champion Dorothy Hamill perform the lead role in this Ice Capades production. With an original score by award-winning composer Michael Conway Baker, intricate choreography, beautiful costumes, and special effects, this performance will delight skating fans of all ages. ~ Heather M. Fierst, All Movie Guide
- 1992
In this made-for-cable-TV crime drama, New York detective Devlin must prove that he is innocent of killing his brother-in-law, a mayoral candidate. It is not easy for the unhappily married, alcoholic gumshoe because he suspects that the man trying to frame him is his arch nemesis, his corrupt father-in-law, a powerful local politician. Now while trying to save his neck and solve the murder, Devlin finds himself pursued by both his fellow cops and the mob. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Taken from the television series "Shining Time Station," this holiday special tells the story of an unusual passenger, Mr. Nicholas, as he passes through the station shortly before Christmas. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bridges, Ringo Starr, (more)
- 1992
When a North Pole bookkeeping boo-boo threatens to destroy the magic of Christmas, poor Santa is left with very little time in which to find a suitable replacement. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Bridges, Michael Tucker, (more)
In the sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, a bumbling but brilliant scientist (Rick Moranis) accidentally makes his two-year-old son into a giant who becomes larger every time he comes in contact with electricity. Though he and his wife try to control their son, the child inevitably escapes and wreaks havoc, eventually terrorizing the streets of Las Vegas. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, (more)
From director Jim Abrahams, one of the minds behind the Airplane! and Naked Gun films, comes another parody. This time around, Abrahams has his sights set on the action-adventure genre, specifically Top Gun. Charlie Sheen stars as Topper Harley, a maverick air force pilot who constantly lives in the shadow of his father's legacy. Unable to handle the pressure, Harley has left the Air Force to live among a tribe of Native Americans. But when the United States seeks to destroy some Iraqi nuclear facilities, there's only one man for the job. After being coaxed back into service, Harley soon realizes that in addition to Saddam Hussein, he'll have to contend with a rival pilot, played by Cary Elwes, and a devious aerospace executive. Among the many films lampooned are Dances With Wolves, 9 1/2 Weeks, The Fabulous Baker Boys, and Gone With the Wind. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, (more)
- 1990
Lloyd Bridges stars as a newspaper chief in this made-for-television movie about life in big-city journalism. This fast-paced movie, which was the pilot for a short-lived series of the same name on ABC, follows various plotlines as the reporters' personal and professional lives become intertwined. Executive producer David Milch brings a jittery tension to the newsroom, similar to his later work on NYPD Blue. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley's first foray into the director's chair is a quirky romantic fantasy, featuring Bo Welch's signature production design. Tom Hanks plays Joe Banks, a man who hates his job, thinks the overhead fluorescent lights are making him sick, and quakes at the presence of his boorish boss Frank Watori (Dan Hedaya). He is attracted to the office secretary DeDe (Meg Ryan) but is afraid to speak to her. Then his life changes when he visits Dr. Ellison (Robert Stack). Dr. Ellison tells Joe that he has something called "a brain cloud" that is rapidly spreading throughout his brain. He will feel great, but he'll be dead within five months. Instead of being depressed at this bleak prognosis, Joe suddenly feels free. He quits his job, asks DeDe out, and is contacted by a rich millionaire named Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges). Graynamore owns an island named Waponi Woo, whose natives need to be placated. The natives require a sacrifice to their island volcano, the Big Woo, so that the island won't sink beneath the Pacific. Graynamore offers unlimited wealth to Tom in exchange for Tom's becoming the object of human sacrifice. Joe has nothing to lose, so he accepts the offer. As he heads out to the island, Joe meets Graynamore's daughters -- Angelica, a Los Angeles socialite, and Patricia, Angelica's blonde half-sister (both roles played by Ryan). Joe arrives at the island, and as he stands at the lips of the Big Woo he has to decide whether he really wants to leap into the maw of the fiery volcano. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Based on fact, this TV drama details the life of New York property magnate, Leona Helmsley, her personal ups and downs and her well publicised run in with the IRS. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide
Set in the Appalachians during the Depression, this drama follows the events that take place when Wayland Jackson (Kurt Russell) falls in love with Collie Wright (Kelly McGillis) and becomes involved in the family feud that is sparked by the existence of Collie's illegitimate son. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Kelly McGillis, (more)
In this romantic comedy, two people brought together by marriage are brought even closer by their mates. Maria Hardy (Isabella Rossellini) and Larry Konzinski (Ted Danson) first meet at a wedding, where Maria's mother and Larry's uncle are tying the knot. However, the new cousins also have something else in common: Maria's husband Tom (William L. Petersen) is having an affair with Larry's wife, Tish (Sean Young). Maria and Larry get to talking at the wedding reception after their spouses go missing for a while, and they develop a rapport. A friendship grows between them, and they start seeing each other on a regular basis. When Maria confronts Tom about his infidelity, he responds by asking her if she's sleeping with Larry. As Maria and Larry become aware of what's happening between their not-so-better halves, they decide to get revenge by pretending to have an affair as well. However, the longer they pretend to be in love, the more they realize that they aren't pretending after all. Cousins was based on the popular French film Cousin Cousine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini, (more)
