Kim Hunter Movies

Screenwriter Arne Olsen makes his directorial debut in this comedy that explores the real meaning of youth and age. Owen Rinard (Eric McCormack) is the thirty-something manager of a Canadian retirement home who watches over his charges with an eagle eye and has a strong belief in rules and regulations. However, Gus Corley (James Whitmore), one of the residents at the home, isn't especially enthusiastic about Owen's iron rule, and wants to go on a fishing trip to Victoria, British Columbia. Owen has no interest in organizing outings for the patients, but when Gus, a former accountant, learns a few secrets about the current state of the books at the home, he makes Owen an offer he can't turn down -- either escort him and his friends Duncan (Ossie Davis) and Nelly (Kim Hunter) to Victoria for a vacation, or he'll tell the authorities about the irregularities in the accounts. Soon a very wary Owen is on the road with Gus, Duncan, and Nelly, and the younger man learns a few important lessons from his elders about the joy of living. Here's to Life was nominated for seven Genie awards -- the Canadian Oscar -- including Best Actor and Best Actress nominations for James Whitmore and Kim Hunter. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Reminiscent of David Lynch's acclaimed The Straight Story, this drama focuses on forgiveness, redemption, and a rider lawnmower. Ernest Borgnine stars as aging war veteran Hotis Brown, who learns that his brother -- to whom he has not talked in 50 years -- is dying. Too proud to accept a police escort from well-meaning local sheriff Bernie (James Morrison), Hotis points his lawnmower West and starts driving. In spite of the veteran's grumpy rebuffs, Bernie checks up on him and brings him food. Slowly Hotis begins to accept the sheriff's kindness, and the two develop an odd sort of friendship. Hotis confides in Bernie the terrible secret that ended his relationship with his brother, allowing the ornery old man to heal his wounds. Meanwhile, sister-in-law Emmeline (Kim Hunter) dutifully watches over her husband. Abilene was screened at the 1999 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Set in a Nova Scotian fishing community, the made-for-TV Blue Moon focuses on a group of local citizens who are under the financial pressure of a land-grabbing tycoon. Particularly hard hit is restaurant manager Cass Medieros (Sharon Lawrence), who not only may have her property sold out from under her, but is also experiencing serious problems with her marriage. Despite these tribulations, family values emerge triumphant over so-called progress. This film represents the final screen appearance of Richard Kiley, here rather incredibly cast as the son of Kim Hunter--who was almost exactly the same age as he! Based on a novel by Luann Rice, Blue Moon debuted April 11, 1999 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Boaz Yakin (a Sundance winner for Fresh) wrote and directed this drama, set in Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community, about a young woman who harbors doubts about continuing to follow the path of her religion. Sonia (Renee Zellweger) gives birth to her first child. She wants to name the boy after her dead brother, but after an argument over the name, she resentfully defers to her husband, scholarly zaddik (holy man) Mendel (Glenn Fitzgerald). Both are apprehensive over the child's circumcision. Hasidic traditions dictate their life, including aspects of making love which leave Sonia sexually frustrated. This leads her into an affair with Mendel's older brother, the materialistic Sender (Christopher Eccleston), who offers her an opportunity to manage his neighborhood jewelry store. Against the wishes of Mendel, she accepts, displaying her flair for the jewelry business and establishing herself as a very good businesswoman. However, after she befriends sensitive Hispanic artist Ramon (Allen Payne), a sculptor and jewelry designer, she upsets everyone, especially Sender, who bars her from the store. Forbidden to see her child, Sonia begins a confused, downward spiral. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

While cleaning out their apartment, Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) come across a bundle of WWII-era love letters written by the former tenants. Sentimental Jamie believes that the story told in these tender missives has a spiritual connection with the relationship between herself and Paul. But Jamie is in for a surprise when she tracks down the now-elderly authors of the letters. Jerry Adler makes his first series appearance as apartment superintendent Mr. Wicker (though the actor had previously shown up in different roles). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two well-known directors each adapt stories by Edgar Allen Poe in this horror drama. George Romero's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" tells how the wife of an elderly, wealthy man and her lover--who also happens to be the husband's private physician--scheme to control his assets. Dying before they can carry out their plans, his soul is caught between life and death while they freeze the body to finish their work. In the Dario Argento-directed "The Black Cat" a crime photographer, known for his photos' gruesome content, kills his girlfriend's titular pet and then his girlfriend. Soon he gets a good look at what he's done. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

The two-part TV movie Cross of Fire is set in the 1920s, when the Ku Klux Klan was at the height of its political power in Indiana. Part One, originally telecast November 5, 1989, details the resurgence of the Klan (which had been created during the Reconstruction era) under the leadership of David "Steve" Stephenson (John Heard). Cloaking himself in the twin veils of patriotism and morality, Stephenson rails against such "deviates" as blacks, Jews and Catholics, gaining political clout and financial kickbacks as his "invisible empire" grows. Part two of Cross of Fire, telecast November 6, traces the fall of Stephenson -- not because his followers have wised up, but because of a 1925 rape and murder charge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A scientist discovers that he isn't an only child in this effects-laden creature feature whose cast includes screen veterans Kim Hunter and Rod Steiger among a host of other, less well-known performers. John Hollins (David Allen Brooks) is delighted to learn that his geneticist mother, Amanda (Hunter), has awoken from her coma years after she suffered a horrible car crash. During their reunion, he learns that she was trying to put an end to a misguided experiment at her home on the night of the accident. Before losing consciousness, Amanda reveals that John has a brother named Anthony. Later, she's murdered by Dr. Phillip Lloyd (Rod Steiger), an old colleague who wants to uncover the secrets of her research. John travels to his large, run-down boyhood home with his girlfriend, a group of pals, and a mysterious acolyte of his mother's named Melissa (Amanda Pays); the group plans to search for clues about Amanda's research and John's supposed sibling. The young scientist soon ascertains that his mother had created some sort of human/aquatic hybrid, but he doesn't realize that the creature was assembled from his own genetic material -- or that it's still alive in the bowels of the house and picking off his friends one at a time. Meanwhile, something's fishy with Melissa, who skulks around, doesn't sleep, tries to seduce John, covers up details of the attacks on his friends, and seems to have some sort of connection to Dr. Lloyd. Co-directors Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen W. Carpenter previously collaborated on the slasher quickie The Dorm That Dripped Blood and on The Power, a made-for-TV horror film. Pays would go on to co-star in the similarly aquatic sci-fi film Leviathan. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

In this drama, the failed pilot for a TV series, a psychologist endeavors to balance his turbulent personal life, with those of his troubled patients. Unfortunately, he tends to get equally personally involved in both and trouble ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Jason Robards stars as the ailing, 62-year-old President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in F.D.R.: The Last Year. Though visibly frail and weary, Roosevelt runs for a precedent-setting fourth term. He also oversees plans for the D-Day Invasion and engages in tempestuous summit meetings with his wartime allies Stalin (Nehemiah Persoff) and Churchill (Wensley Pithey). Eileen Heckart co-stars as Eleanor Roosevelt, while Kim Hunter plays his "great and good friend," artist Lucy Rutherfurd, who is at his side when he suffers his fatal cerebral hemorrhage in April of 1945. The 3-hour, made-for-TV F.D.R.: The Last Year was first telecast May 15, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Because the producers couldn't get clearance to film on the real Golden Gate bridge, The Golden Gate Murders is enacted upon a distressingly unconvincing studio mock-up. The film itself is far better than its backdrop: David Janssen stars as a detective investigating the supposed suicide of a priest. Susannah York portrays a nun who is anxious to save the priest's immortal soul by proving that his fatal plunge into San Francisco Bay was murder, not suicide. A curious, chaste romance develops between cop and nun, which turns out to be more interesting at times than the case at hand. Golden Gate Murders was released theatrically as Specter on the Bridge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This pilot film for a TV series titled Hancock was initially telecast as The Dark Side of Innocence. The Hancocks are a tightly-knit, prosperous California family. Mom and Pop Hancock (John Anderson and Kim Hunter) oversee a thriving lumber business--when they're not refereeing the travails of their five children. The pilot episode concentrates on the oldest daughter (Joanna Pettet), who has decided she's sick of being a society matron and has returned to the Hancock manse with her own kids in tow. The remaining Hancock kids all have problems of their own, especially embittered divorcee Anne Archer. The Hancocks didn't fly as a series, which means that some of the crises presented in the pilot are never resolved. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This low-key (and low-budget) occult tale begins in upstate New York, where a young girl is accidentally run down by a jeep driven by an aloof, careless city slicker (J.J. Barry). This careless injustice provokes the girl's grandfather to summon his mystical powers and place a death curse on the young man. Desperate to stave off the dire consequences of the hex, Barry seeks the counsel of a local psychic medium, (Kim Hunter), but her powers are no match for the hand of fate. This rather sluggish supernatural drama plays like a standard movie-of-the-week, and might have benefited from a touch more atmosphere. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi