Judith Ivey Movies

Horror specialist Stephen King claimed that his TV miniseries Rose Red was inspired by a number of sources, ranging from Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House (twice filmed as The Haunting) to Ripley's Believe It or Not to Moby Dick. Residents of San Jose, CA, however, quickly realized that King's story owed a great deal to their own city's legendary "haunted" mansion, Winchester House. Rose Red was set in motion when psych professor Joyce Reardon (Nancy Travis), defying her tongue-clucking boss Professor Miller (David Dukes, who died during production), set about to investigate reports of paranormal phenomena in Rose Red, a crumbling and foreboding Seattle mansion. According to legend -- and a great deal of physical evidence -- Rose Red was a "living" entity in its own right, adding extras wings to its structure and rearranging its furniture whenever it felt like it. There has also been a number of mysterious deaths at the mansion, which Joyce believed were the handiwork of a ghost: Ellen Rimbauer, the insane wife of Rose Red's architect. Inviting a quintet of psychics (social misfits all, of course) to spend a weekend at the mansion, Joyce was determined to solve the mystery of Rose Red -- and, she hoped, to conjure up Ellen's hostile spirit. Thereafter, the miniseries adhered to the proven formula, with characters foolishly wandering off alone to meet their individual demises, and with such time-tested lines as "Superstitious nonsense!," "Honey -- are you in there?" and "Oh, no! AIYEEEE!" wafting through the mansion's drafty corridor. The outcome of the story -- and the fate of the survivors -- seemed to rest in the hands of Annie Wheaton (Kimberly J. Brown), an autistic teenager with astonishing telepathic skills. Premiering January 27, 2002, the three-part Rose Red posted ABC's best ratings in months, despite an almost universal drubbing by the critics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, the made-for-TV Half a Dozen Babies stars real-life married couple Melissa Reeves and Scott Reeves as Indiana couple Becki and Scott Dilley. Unsuccessful in their many attempts to have children, the Dilleys willingly undergo a new, experimental infertility treatment. As a result, in the Summer of 1993 the Dilleys become the proud parents of America's first surviving sextuplets: Julian, Claire, Brenna, Quinn, Adrian and Ian. Now Becki and Scott must not only endure the trials and tribulations of first parenthood, but they must do it six times over--and in full view of a voracious media! Reportedly, the actual members of the Dilley family were none too pleased with the liberties taken in the film, but audiences in general were satisfied. Half a Dozen Babies made its ABC network debut on May 17, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in the South during the 1950s, this touching youth-oriented drama recounts the tragic events that lead a rich, white widow to befriend a young black child. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A wicked witch ruins a teen's plan to become king of the Spring Fling in this family-oriented fable from the "Wonderworks" series. The trouble begins when the witch turns Arlo, the most popular boy in school, and his buddy Gus into slimy green frogs. The two amphibians head for the local pond and are dismayed to discover that it is polluted. To stop its destruction, the two enlist the aide of Hannah, the school nerd. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV We are the Children stars Ally Sheedy as an idealistic doctor, working in Ethiopia. When famine hits the land, Sheedy struggles valiantly to protect the hundreds of men, women and children in the village where she works. While so doing, she falls in love with adventurous photojournalist Ted Danson. This story element smacks of contrivance and exploitation when compared to the rest of the film, which features terrific performances by Judith Ivey as a nun and Khadija Ali Ahmed as an anguished Ethiopian mother. Filmed on location in Northern Kenya, We are the Children was first telecast March 16, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV The Long Hot Summer was based on the 1958 theatrical film of the same name-which, in turn, was based on two William Faulkner short stories. Don Johnson plays Ben Quick, a Southern drifter who is under suspicion as a "barn burner." Ben secures a job at the Mississippi mansion of town-boss Will Varner (Jason Robards). Varner's daughter Noel (Judith Ivey) and daughter-in-law Eula (Cybill Shepherd) vie for the handsome Ben's attention, while the patriarch's weakling son Jody (William Russ) seethes. When a few local barns are burned, Ben is the primary suspect-and no one is more suspicious than Noel. A murder trial and lynch mob both figure into the second half of the two-part The Long Hot Summer; the film originally aired October 6 and 7, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Clint Eastwood's adaptation of the non-fiction book Flags of Our Fathers concerns the lives of the men in the famous picture of soldiers raising the American flag over Iwo Jima during that historic WWII battle. Battle scenes are intercut with footage of three of the soldiers - played by Ryan Phillipe, Jesse Bradford, and Adam Beach -- who survived the battle going on a goodwill tour of the United States in order to sell war bonds. Many evening they are forced to reenact their famous pose, something each of them finds more and more difficult to do as they suffer from survivor's guilt. Eastwood frames the story by having one of the men's grown son (Tom McCarthy) interview his father's old comrades in order to find out more about what happened to his father. Eastwood followed this film with Letters from Iwo Jima, a second film about the battle of Iwo Jima, but told from the Japanese perspective. Flags of Our Fathers was produced by Eastwood and Steven Spielberg. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In this comic drama about fame, sports, and small-town life, Mystery, Alaska is a small town in one of the least accessible parts of the coldest state in the union. It's a town where everyone knows each other and there isn't much to do. In places like this, small things tend to become very important, and in Mystery, the one thing that keeps everyone sane is hockey. Most of the men of Mystery are obsessive hockey fans, and a local hockey league has sprung up, with pools of neighborhood talent facing off on the ice every week. When a national sports magazine does a story on the hockey fans of Mystery, Alaska, someone at the National Hockey League gets an idea for a publicity stunt: send the New York Rangers to Mystery to play the local all-stars in a nationally televised game. Most of the locals are thrilled; the game will give the people of Mystery a chance to bask in the limelight and make their sleepy town a household word. On the other hand, in a small town where everyone knows everyone else's secrets, this event could cause everyone to start airing their dirty laundry in public, with the whole world watching. Mystery, Alaska was directed by Jay Roach, who enjoyed considerable success with the two Austin Powers films, and stars Russell Crowe as John Biebe, Mary McCormack as his wife Donna, Burt Reynolds as Judge Burns, and Lolita Davidovich as Mary Jane. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The acclaimed Trainspotting trio (director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald, scripter John Hodge) reunited for this update of '30s screwball comedies and '40s fantasies, such as Here Comes Mr. Jordan(1941), Angel on My Shoulder(1946), Down to Earth(1947), and the 1946 Stairway to Heaven (co-directed by Macdonald's grandfather, Emeric Pressburger). Tossed together for $12 million, the result is a combination salad, a surreal salmagundi with an added animated sequence for lagniappe. In Heaven, Gabriel (Dan Hedaya) sends angels O'Reilly (Holly Hunter) and Jackson (Delroy Lindo) down to Earth to make two people fall in love. If the angels fail, they must remain on Earth. The target couple: well-to-do Celine (Cameron Diaz) and impoverished, aspiring novelist Robert (Ewan McGregor), a janitor at the corporation owned by her wealthy father, Naville (Ian Holm). Robert loses his job, kidnaps Celine, and the two retreat to a mountain hideout where they discuss splitting the ransom. O'Reilly and Jackson plan to make Robert and Celine love each other by putting them in jeopardy, so the two angels get hired on by Naville as bounty hunters. Although Robert and Celine argue, they also sing and dance together at a local karaoke bar, a scene evocative of both Dennis Potter's Karaoke and the memorable karaoke performance by Cameron Diaz in My Best Friend's Wedding. The angels make few gains, but when Jackson is on the brink of killing Robert, Celine comes to his rescue. Naville cancels Celine's credit card, so she robs a bank. Robert is shot during the robbery, and Celine has dentist Elliot (Stanley Tucci) remove the bullet. Robert awakens, finds the two together, and knocks out Elliot, prompting an argument that leads Celine and Robert to separate. Plagued by their own problems, the angels kidnap Celine themselves, and as complications mount, Gabriel eventually has God intervene. Filmed in Utah, although Hodge originally planned the story to take place in France and England. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Private investigator Tom O'Toole (Nick Nolte) is reluctant to take on a case offered to him by cryptically offbeat Angela Crispini (Debra Winger), but he lets himself be seduced by her. Angela believes that Felix Daniels (Frank Military) was wrongly convicted of murdering his uncle. As O'Toole learns more about the crime, he becomes convinced that Felix was framed by corrupt local officials, including States Attorney, and old rival, Charlie Haggerty (Frank Converse). O'Toole also falls in love with Angela, who increasingly appears to be a psychologically disturbed woman who may have been involved with several of the principals. When Angela admits that she doesn't always know when she is telling the truth, she speaks to O'Toole's predicament and the film's theme: the dangers of relying on an unreliable narrator. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide

Two brothers (Richard Gere, Kevin Anderson) have inherited a large farm (once voted "Farm of the Year") from their father, but cannot keep it afloat. When the farm goes bankrupt, the pair decide to torch the place and take off across the Midwest, fleeing the law to become folk heroes for many rural farmers in the area. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide