Hugh Hurd Movies
A civil rights activist and actor on the New York stage, Hugh Hurd made his film debut in John Cassavetes' experiment in improvisation, Shadows (1960). He went on to appear in three more films, including For the Love of Ivy (1968). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this comedy, bumbling Harlem barbers Dr. Dre and Ed Lover are shipped off to the police academy by their frustrated boss, Nick (Jim Moody). However, when a crooked land developer threatens to forcibly take over their ex-boss' land, it is up to Dr. Dre and Ed to use their new-found police powers to stop him. A number of well-known rap artists make appearances in this film, including Queen Latifah, Humpty Hump, Kriss Kross, B-Real, and Ice-T. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- R
This bleak, provocative drama, the debut of filmmaker Jeff Stanzler, gives a haunting look at the effects of drug abuse upon those who care for the user. It tells the story of unemployed, depressed and just-divorced Bronx-resident Manny who hears burglars in his kitchen one morning and walks in to find his little brother Danny and Danny's girlfriend Jeanette rifling around for money to support their crack cocaine habits. Using the baseball bat he carries, Manny nearly beats his errant brother to death. He grabs their drugs and bundles them into his car for a long drive to the graveyard where their recently deceased father is buried. Thus begins a long, depressing journey between the disparate brothers as they try to make peace with their pasts and find redemption for their wasted lives amidst the ruins of their old neighborhood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Roth, Alexis Arquette, (more)
Liebestraum is a moody, stylish suspense thriller written and directed by British director Mike Figgis. Nick (Kevin Anderson) is an architectural writer who goes home to be with his dying mother, Mrs. Anderssen (Kim Novak) from whom he was separated as a baby. There he meets an old friend and has an affair with the friend's wife, who was herself adopted after her mother went insane. Through a series of coincidences and a good deal of investigation Nick learns some terrible truths concerning everyone. The film, while beautiful to look at, and with a wonderful score composed by Figgis, is more interested in style and emotion rather than cogent explanations for the actions of the characters, however, taken for what it is, a mood piece, Liebestraum succeeds beautifully. Figgis has beautiful technique and is greatly aided by Juan Ruiz-Anchia's stark and evocative images. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Anderson, Pam Gidley, (more)
The First Deadly Sin was Frank Sinatra's final starring movie vehicle. Based on a novel by Lawrence Sanders, it casts Sinatra as Edward Delaney, a big-city detective on the verge of retirement. Beset with profound personal problems--including a gravely ill wife (Faye Dunaway)--Delaney nonetheless tackles the case of an axe murderer who seemingly strikes at random. Be on the lookout for an unbilled Bruce Willis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Faye Dunaway, (more)
- 1974
- R
John Cassavetes' harrowing masterpiece charts the emotional meltdown of a suburban housewife and its effects on her blue-collar Italian family. Gena Rowlands stars as Mabel Longhetti, a mother of three whose husband Nick (Peter Falk) works as a construction worker; a mismatched couple like so many others in Cassavetes films, the Longhettis seem to be complete opposites: she's impetuous, extroverted, and fragile, while he's controlling, distant, and hard-bitten. Their differences underscore a series of domestic dramas, culminating in a nervous breakdown that sends Mabel to a psychiatric hospital for six months, only to return to a home environment on even thinner ice than before. The improvisational style central to Cassavetes' vision is at its most acute throughout A Woman Under the Influence. Like its title heroine, the film threatens to veer out of control at any time, its shape and scope defined not by narrative but by the emotional upheaval at its center. Embracing the full spectrum of the Longhettis' relationship, from seismic bursts of high drama to small, even trivial moments of domestic tedium, its long scenes relentlessly probe every nook and cranny of the family's life, drawing out each moment for maximum emotional impact; the film is by turns beautiful and ugly, illuminating and frustrating, and it features a performance by Rowlands as heartwrenching and unforgettable as any ever committed to celluloid. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, (more)
- 1972
Dependable character actor John Marley is afforded a rare starring role in Blade. Marley plays the title character, a world-weary private eye currently working on a murder case as a favor for a friend. The victim was the daughter of prominent conservative politico William Prince, whom Blade "knew when." While hunting for clues, Blade is bombarded by one disillusionment after another. The prime suspect turns out to be someone very, very close to Prince-who may have thought that, by eliminating his daughter, he was doing Prince an enormous favor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When it was released in 1968, For Love of Ivy was the first mainstream Hollywood film to depict a mature romantic relationship between a black man and woman. Sidney Poitier stars as Jack Parks, a trucking executive who runs an illegal travelling casino out of one of his vehicles. Abbey Lincoln co-stars as Ivy Moore, the much-valued maid of the white Austin household. To make sure that Ivy won't quit her job, Frank Austin (Carroll O'Connor) blackmails Poitier into romancing her. He eventually falls in love with Ivy for real, but not before she's discovered that he's little more than a "hired hand" in affairs of the heart. Beau Bridges costars as amiable hippie Tim Austin, the only truly likeable member of his snooty, upper-crust clan. Robert Alan Aurthur based his screenplay on an original story by star Sidney Poiter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Abbey Lincoln, (more)
Shadows was John Cassavetes' first directorial effort. Like his later critically acclaimed films Faces and Husbands, Cassavetes fills the screen with probing, unflattering closeups. Unlike his other films, however, Shadows zips along at 87 minutes, avoiding the pitfall of putting the director's nonfans to sleep. The film is a straightforward account of a biracial romance (a far less common film subject in 1960 than today). Light-skinned African-American Lelia Goldoni falls in love with a white man Anthony Ray, who spurns her when he meets the rest of her family. Far from subtle, Shadows benefits from the undisciplined energy of its direction and the excellence of its individual performances. Costing a scant $40,000 (less than the average half hour TV episode of the era), Shadows won the Critic's Award at the Cannes Film Festival and led to more expensive studio assignments for John Cassavetes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lelia Goldoni, Ben Carruthers, (more)
