Anthony Lemke Movies
- 2004
Falling victim to a glib con artist named Michael (Stewart Bick), Texas housewife Diane (Peta Wilson) loses all her money, a disaster that drives her husband Randal (Anthony Lemke) to suicide. Unable to get justice through the official channels, Diane mounts her own plan of revenge. This involves assuming a new identity, trading in her blonde tresses for a redheaded "do", moving to a small town, and systematically seducing the man who ruined her life. One of six "no frills" TV movies produced in Canada for the Lifetime cable network at a flat cost of $2 million each, False Pretenses originally aired October 25, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
- Add Mary Higgins Clark's Haven't We Met Before? to QueueAdd Mary Higgins Clark's Haven't We Met Before? to top of Queue
The third in a series of PAX Network films based on the suspense novels of Mary Higgins Clark, Haven't We Met Before? straddles over 100 years in its depiction of a truly unstoppable serial killer. Under hypnosis, mental patient Stephen Koenig (Page Fletcher) suggests that he is responsible for a series of recent brutal murders. He also offers a bizarre defense, claiming to be the reincarnation of a 19th century man wrongly sentenced to the gallows on the testimony of a beautiful woman -- whom, Koenig insists, has also been reincarnated, in the form of law-school student and part-time waitress Emily Watson (Nicollette Sheridan). It is up to dedicated detective Jack Cobel (Anthony Lemke) to uncover the true story -- and to rescue Emily, with whom he has fallen in love, from the wrath of a murderer who may well be several centuries old. Mary Higgins Clark's Haven't We Met Before? made its American TV bow on March 23, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
The top-rank performances of Lauren Bacall, Richard Chamberlain and Lindsay Frost elevate the two-part TV biopic Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke from the usual malaise of lurid, voyeuristic trash. As she lies near death in her luxurious mansion, 80-year-old tobacco heiress Doris Duke (Bacall) hardly seems to take notice of the sinister behavior of her boozing, control-freak butler Bernard Lafferty (Chamberlain). Ultimately, of course, Doris will die (in 1993), and the mysterious circumstances will cast suspicion on the redoubtable Mr. Lafferty (who himself died three years later). Before this happens, however, Doris flashes back to the sordid events of her life, whereupon the title role is taken over by a series of younger actresses, with Frost playing Doris from ages 20 through 50. We see how Doris' future is shaped by her loving, overindulgent father (Joe Don Baker) and her aloof, icy mother (Kathleen Quinlan). Though warned early on that Doris would always have to be wary of fortune hunters, she progresses through a string of highly publicized and largely unhappy romances, and also endures two disastrous marriages. All the familiar players in this real-life drama are in attendance, including writer Louis Bromfield (Brian Dennehy), international playboy Pofirio Rubirosa (Michael Nouri), and Doris' adopted daughter Chanzy (Mare Winningham) who is destined to break Doris' heart time and time again until the grieving millionairess finally worked up the courage to renounce the girl. Also touched upon are Doris' lifelong obsessions, which ranged from mysticism to belly-dancing. Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke was originally telecast by CBS on February 21 and 22, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Bacall, Richard Chamberlain, (more)
- 1999
The life and career of Ricky Nelson--from awkward kiddie TV star to teenaged singing idol to "young hasbeen"--is adequately encapsulated in this made-for-cable movie, one of several celebrity biopics produced for VH-1. Told in flashback as Ricky Nelson (Gregory Calpakis) recounts his experiences to a worshiping fan in the last hours before the 1985 air crash that would take his life, the story begins around 1952, as the adolescent Ricky is recruited by his bandleader-producer father Ozzie Nelson (Jamey Sheridan) to play "himself" on the movie and TV version of the popular radio series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Anxious to crawl out from under the shadow of his dictatorial father Ozzie, his vocalist mom Harriet (Sara Botsford) and his marginally more talented older brother David (Anthony Lemke), the 16-year-old Ricky begs for a chance to sing on the family's series. The wildly enthusiastic audience response to Ricky's warblings prompt Ozzie to aggressive promote Ricky's musical career, but ultimately Ricky breaks loose from the family's influence to strike out on his own. Alas, after several years at the top, Ricky's career and fan following plummets, before he has reached his 30th birthday he is grasping at straws by performing at county fairs and trade shows. Making matters worse is his unhappy marriage to Kris Harmon (depicted as something of a conniving opportunist by Anne Openshaw) and his ever-increasing dependence upon drugs. Astonishingly, the film never allows us to hear Ricky perform "Garden Party", the song that enabled him to make a spectacular comeback. Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol first aired on August 22, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The Registry, a computer program listing all Section One members throughout the world, is stolen by a terrorist who intends to auction off the list to the highest bidder. Tracking the terrorist to Prague, Michael (Roy Dupuis) discovers that the list has been planted on a supposedly innocent bystander, an architect named Gray Wellman (Callum Keith Rennie). Assigned to retrieve the Registry by playing up to Wellman, Nikita (Peta Wilson) falls in love with the man -- thereby placing both their lives in danger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peta Wilson, Roy Dupuis, (more)
