Richard Kiley Movies

Comets have hit the earth and left their mark in the past. This video explores what could happen if a collision occurred between a comet and earth. It presents footage of the 1908 Siberian impact and proof of ancient impact sites. The program helps illustrate the possibilities with photos of upper atmosphere explosions and computer simulations. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide

In 1988, Nancy Klein, the pregnant wife of Long Island accountant Marty Klein, was involved in a car accident that left her comatose. Convinced that Nancy would never recover if she went to full term with the baby, Marty asked the doctors to perform an abortion. Almost immediately, Nancy Klein became a cause celebre for pro-life and pro-choice activists alike. Made for television, Absolute Strangers recreates this traumatic event and the drawn-out courtroom litigation that followed. Henry Winkler, who produced the film, returned to acting after a long absence to play Klein; others in the cast include Jennifer Hetrick as Nancy, Richard Kiley as Dr. R. J. Cannon, Karl Malden and Audra Lindley as Nancy's parents, and Patty Duke as a lower-court judge. Though it is clear that the filmmaker's sympathies are clearly on Marty Klein's side, the script remains even-handed throughout, observing that the pro-choicers can be just as narrow-minded and contentious as the "absolute strangers" who wish to usurp Marty Klein's rights concerning his wife's wellbeing. Written by playwright Robert Anderson (Tea and Sympathy, I Never Sang For My Father), Absolute Strangers premiered April 14, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While driving along a country road, Harry Adams (Richard Kiley) and his wife (Patricia Breslin) are pulled over for speeding. This begins a chain reaction of events which lead to the inescapable conclusion that the town in which the Adamses are stranded is chock-full of crooks and grafters, including a corrupt traffic cop (Walter Matthau), a dishonest judge (Charles Watts), and a duplicitous car repairman (Richard Erdman). Without giving away too much of the outcome, let it be noted that Harry loudly complains about every outrage, while his nervous wife never relaxes her grip on her outsized purse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A gangster who was wrongfully executed for a killing is promised leniency from Satan if he returns to earth in the body of a lawman who is trying to stamp out evil. Trouble is, the dead man has a hard time being evil enough to get revenge. ~ All Movie Guide

Part of the Biography television series from A&E, this documentary reviews the career and personal life of Academy Award winning actor Henry Fonda.

His involvement with the Omaha Community Playhouse led to Broadway and a film career in which his self-effacing manner and dry, flat tones projected honesty and decency. His movie debut in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) led to more than 100 screen appearances, including Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1969). His movie roles culminated with his Oscar-winning role in On Golden Pond (1981) in which he appeared with his daughter Jane only a year before his death. He also appeared occasionally on Broadway, as in Mister Roberts (1948) and a one-man stage production of Clarrance Darrow (1974). He received the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1978.
~ John Patrick Sheehan, All Movie Guide

In this gritty urban drama, war veteran Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) wants to begin his career as a teacher and is given an assignment at a boys high school in inner-city New York. However, he soon discovers the school is overrun by delinquents, led by Artie West (Vic Morrow), an insolent hood who likes to call Richard "Mr. Daddy-O." Artie and his gang steal, destroy property, refuse to respect authority, and threaten the female teachers with rape. While most of the faculty have given up and meekly let the delinquents do what they want, Dadier is determined to bring order back to his classroom, even after Artie's thugs threaten Richard's pregnant wife. Keep your eyes peeled for a bit part by Jameel Farah, years before he would change his name to Jamie Farr. Blackboard Jungle was also the first major studio film to use rock & roll on the soundtrack; the film's success kick-started sales of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, which helped to spark the rock & roll boom of the 1950s. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Guest star Richard Kiley is cast as Sheriff Gideon Yates, one of Nevada's most admired lawmen. When Joe Cartwright comes to Yates claiming that he has witnessed a murder, the Sheriff realizes to his horror that the killer was his own wife Lydia (Terry Moore). With grim determination, Yates quietly decides that Joe must be silenced for keeps, leading to one of the most thrilling showdown sequences in Bonanza history. Written by Ken Pettus, "Gideon, the Good" was first shown on October 18, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wendell B. Harris wrote, directed, and stars in Chameleon Street, a sly comedy based loosely on the real-life exploits of conman William Douglas Street, who demonstrates a gift for becoming what people want him to be. The film opens with Street (Harris) being interviewed by a prison psychiatrist. In this scene, he expresses what is basically his mantra, "I think, therefore I scam." The film then flashes back to Street's earlier days, living with his parents, and working for his taciturn father installing burglar alarms. Street eventually marries a beautiful, intelligent woman, Gabrielle (Angela Leslie), who sends him off each day with the same message -- "Make some money." Overcome by boredom and desperate for cash, Street concocts a shakedown scheme that completely backfires when his accomplice, Curtis (Anthony Ennis), signs Street's name to the extortion note, and sends it to the local papers. Ironically, no charges are pressed, and the scam turns Street, briefly, into a media darling. He finds he enjoys the spotlight. Gabrielle is less pleased. Street next tries to pass himself off as a writer from Time Magazine in order to interview a women's basketball player (Paula McGee, who plays herself). "She had the four 'B's," he exults, "Black, Beauty, Brains, and Basketball." As his relationship with his now pregnant wife disintegrates, Street engages in his most ambitious scheme yet -- posing as an Harvard-educated intern at a local hospital. Everything is going smoothly until he's called upon to perform a hysterectomy. Harris' low-budget film won the grand prize at the Sundance Film Festival, but only received limited theatrical distribution. Harris disappeared from national view until his memorable supporting role in Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight in 1998. He also had a small part in the 2000 teen comedy Road Trip. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Bonar Colleano, who spent the war years playing brash Americans in British films, makes his final screen appearance in the Stanley Kramer production Eight Iron Men. Set during WW II, the film follows the exploits of a small Army squadron, billeted in a bombed-out house on the front lines. Tensions mount as the men attempt to save one of their number, who is trapped behind enemy lines and heavily surrounded. Essentially a single-set film (it was based on A Sound of Hunting, a stage play by Harry Brown), Eight Iron Men works better as a character study than a war flick. Colleano dominates the proceedings as a self-styled Lothario, while Arthur Franz, Lee Marvin, Richard Kiley, Nick Dennis, James Griffith, George Cooper and former child-star Dick Moore likewise register well. For no discernible reason, the screenplay manages to include several extra characters, including Mary Castle as "The Girl" in a dream sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This PBS documentary takes a look at the ancient art of fresco. Fresco is the classic art of painting on wet plaster. Narrators Susan Sarandon and Richard Kiley take viewers through its history and its modern-day revival. This video shows how this very old artistic style of painting is being reborn in the modern art world. The work of artist Mark Balma is also highlighted. Balma and a team of artists created a fresco at the University of St. Thomas. The video provides a first-hand look at the creative process, from ancient to modern times. ~ Beth Deki, All Movie Guide

Colonial America provides the backdrop for the adventures of a peddler who comes from the wilderness into the meetings of the founding fathers. ~ All Movie Guide