Swoosie Kurtz Movies
Whether on stage, screen, or television, award-winning supporting, character, and occasional leading actress Swoosie Kurtz has the rare gift of stealing almost every scene in which she appears. The daughter of a U.S. Air Force colonel, she was named after her father's WWII plane, which in turn was named after a popular Kay Kyser song. Following college, Kurtz studied drama in London and gained early experience during the late '60s, appearing in regional theater back in the States. In New York, Kurtz won an Obie for an off-Broadway production of The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon-Marigolds. Her success in this part led to a stage career that resulted in her winning such major New York theater awards as a Tony and a Drama Desk award. Kurtz made her Hollywood debut in the TV soap As the World Turns, playing Ellie Bradley, in 1971. She did not make her feature-film debut until she landed a role in the box-office flop First Love (1977). She next appeared in Slapshot (1977) and then in another stinker, Oliver's Story (1978). In 1982, Kurtz had her first real success in films playing a prostitute in the critically acclaimed adaptation of John Iriving's The World According to Garp.Through the 1980s, Kurtz appeared in major films in ventures ranging from Against All Odds (1984) to Dangerous Liaisons (1989) and on television in films like A Caribbean Mystery (1983) and The Image (1989). Kurtz has also had success in television series such as the short-lived Love, Sydney (1981), for which she won an Emmy, and a starring role in the long-running Sisters(1991-1996), playing eldest sibling Alex Reed Halsey. Notable movie appearances from the '90s include a turn as a crusading lesbian in Citizen Ruth (aka Meet Ruth Stoops) (1996) and a small but fun part as an exasperated lawyer taking on a crazy Jim Carrey in Liar Liar (1997). Frequently alternating between television and film in the years to follow, Kurtz would build an impressive body of work with memorable roles in such television mini-series as More Tales from the City (1998) and films including Cruel Intentions (1999) and Get Over It (2001). Her turn as a paranoid overprotective mother in Bubble Boy (2001) found Kurtz utilizing her comic talents to maximum effect, and after returning to the small screen for that same year's The Wilde Girls, the talented actress joined the cast of Roger Avary's satirical teen drama The Rules of the Game (2002). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Richard A. Levinson and William Link took the "fantasy murder" concept popularized in the classic Preston Sturges film Unfaithfully Yours (1948) one fatal step further in Guilty Conscience. Criminal attorney Arthur Jamison (Anthony Hopkins) wants to divorce his wife Louise (Blythe Danner) but will have to clean out all his assets to meet her alimony demands. With the help of mistress Jackie (Swoosie Kurtz), Arthur plans to murder his spouse and thus stave off financial ruin. But how best to pull off the dirty deed? Conjuring up an imaginary alter ego (also played by Anthony Hopkins), the attorney cerebrally stages several murder scenarios before hitting upon the perfect scheme. The fact that linear time is ignored throughout Guilty Conscience keeps the audiences on its toes. Are we watching another imaginary killing, or is this one the genuine article? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Blythe Danner, (more)
- 1985
Adapted from Mary-Lou Weisman's book Intensive Care, this made-for-television movie stars Liza Minnelli (in her first TV appearance) as a woman who must remain strong and contend with her son's muscular dystrophy and all the problems within the family that accompany the illness. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liza Minnelli, Jeffrey DeMunn, (more)
A remake of Jacques Tourneur's noir classic Out of the Past (1947), in this version a labyrinthine web of corruption touches on the world of pro football. When an injury-riddled body causes pro football player Terry Brogan (Jeff Bridges) to be cut by his team, Jake Wise (James Woods), a shady gambler friend, hires him to locate his spoiled, erratic girlfriend Jessie (Rachel Ward). Terry's attempt to glean Jessie's whereabouts from the girl's coldly aristocratic mother (Jane Greer) leads to a lucrative counteroffer to keep Jessie away from Jake if he finds her. After refusing, Terry heads for scenic Cozumel, where he eventually runs down the stunning young woman. A mutual attraction quickly develops and the pair are less than eager to return to California. Painfully, Terry tells Jessie about his involvement in a betting scandal which has put him under Jake's control. Meanwhile Jake, who is angered by the delay, senses that something is going on, and sends Terry's conditioning coach, Sully (Alex Karras), to find the couple. When he finally locates them, sweatily making love in a Mayan temple, tragedy ensues, spinning the ill-fated Terry into a world of boundless deceit and corruption. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges, (more)
- 1983
Helen Hayes plays Agatha Christie's amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple in A Caribbean Mystery. Recuperating from an illness at a resort in the Bahamas, Miss Marple makes the acquaintance of a genial British major (Maurice Evans). When her new friend is murdered, Miss M takes on the case herself. She certainly has a carload of suspects this time, ranging from the near-bankrupt owners of the resort to a secretive hotel doctor. Originally titled Agatha Christie's The Caribbean Mystery, this TV movie first aired October 22, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Lanford Wilson's dramatic play is adapted for the small screen in this made-for-television movie. Richard Thomas stars as Ken Talley, a Vietnam vet who lost both of his legs in the war. When his friends and family gather at his Missouri farm (which he shares with his lover Jed) after a death, the group examines how their lives and relationships have transformed throughout the years. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Jeff Daniels, (more)
The 1982 film version of the John Irving novel The World According to Garp attempts to captures the quirky spirit while condensing the Irving original. Robin Williams plays the title character, the son of unmarried, unorthodox feminist Jenny Fields (Glenn Close, in her film debut). Every effort made by Jenny to broaden Garp's outlook on life -- she even arranges for him to spend the night with a hooker (Swoosie Kurtz) -- crams more fears and phobias into his psyche. Aspiring to become a novelist, Garp succeeds in this goal at the same time that his mother publishes her first feminist manifesto. Though successful and happily married to college sweetheart Helen Holm (Mary Beth Hurt), Garp remains envious of his fearless mother, who has taken in the radical "Ellen Jamesians," a group named after a young woman who had her tongue cut out by a rapist. Mutilation, in fact, becomes something of a leitmotif in Garp's life, climaxing (in every sense of the word) in an auto accident brought about by Helen's tryst with Michael Milton (Mark Soper). There is, of course, much more to the story than this: standing out amongst the dozens of offbeat supporting characters is John Lithgow as Roberta Muldoon, a transexual ex-football jock. John Irving appears as a referee during a college wrestling match, while director George Roy Hill plays the pilot whose low-flying plane crashes into Garp's new home. The World According to Garp didn't attract as large an audience as other, more conventional Robin Williams vehicles, though Close and Lithgow would both be nominated for Best Supporting Actor statues. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, (more)
- 1981
Essentially a light-weight made for TV romance between different classes - this time a female attorney who meets a laundromat owner at a bird-watching retreat. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Bess Armstrong is the anguished heroine of the made-for-TV Walking Through the Fire. A normal, healthy housewife and mother, Bess' world is shattered when she falls victim to Hodgkin's disease. Not only is her life threatened by this debilitating illness, but also the life of her unborn child. Walking Through a Fire was adapted by Sue Grafton from the autobiography by Laurel Lee. This David Susskind production first aired May 15, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In this made-for-TV movie, a wedding photographer learns the secrets of marriage while working at several ceremonies. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
Get ready for another dose of love and loss in this sequel to the four-handkerchief classic Love Story (1970). Oliver Barrett (Ryan O'Neal) is emotionally devastated after the death of his wife Jenny, and while he tries to lose himself in his work as a lawyer, the long hours don't ease his pain, especially when he finds that his leftist views conflict with those of the senior partners at the firm. Eventually, Oliver's inconsolable grief begins to alienate those around him, until he finds new love with Marcie Bonwit (Candice Bergen), the wealthy and beautiful heir to the Bonwit-Teller fortune. Despite his affection for Marcie, Oliver finds it difficult to leave the memory of Jenny behind, which causes major problems in his relationship with Marcie. Ray Milland reprises his role from the first film as Oliver's father; the supporting cast includes Charles M. Haid, Swoosie Kurtz, and Jose Torres. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Candice Bergen, (more)
A group of classmates from Mount Holyoke College meet for an informal reunion circa 1978, some seven years after graduation. Designated "uncommon" because they were predicted by friends to be "amazing" before they were 30, we seein flashbacks how these women conducted themselves in their senior year, what their goals were, and how they were set -- or not -- on the path to achieving them. Seventies feminism found its most acclaimed dramatic voice in this first play by Wendy Wasserstein, which seems to be trading in stereotypes, but only because the kinds of characters it deals with -- collegiate feminists -- became such a commonplace and predictable stereotype of popular culture in the years that followed. The 1978 production from the Phoenix Theater in New York was originally broadcast on public television. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Paul Newman plays Reggie Dunlop, the coach of a pathetic minor-league American hockey team. His career at a standstill and his marriage in tatters, Dunlop has nothing to lose by taking on a new group of players who are one evolutionary step above Neanderthals. Only when the team begins winning does he decide to get behind these players, and to encourage the rest of the team to play as down-and-dirty as the newcomers. Straight-arrow team member Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean) resents this influx of gonzo talent, preferring to play clean. As the film's multitude of subplots play themselves out, Dunlop does his best to keep the outraged Braden on the team. Slap Shot is the sort of film for which the "R" rating was invented: Its nonstop barrage of profanity and its raunchy action sequences are of such intensity that the film will probably never be shown intact on commercial television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Strother Martin, (more)
- 1977
- R
It's hardly likely that anyone will confuse 1977's First Love with the 1939 Deanna Durbin musical of the same name. In the earlier film, Durbin received her first screen kiss from Robert Stack. In the 1977 film, no one stops at kissing. College boy Elgin (William Katt) falls for coed Caroline (Susan Dey, light-years removed from The Partridge Family), despite Caroline's deep involvement with an older man. 1950s leading lady Virginia Leith makes a comeback appearance in a minor role. Critics applauded the sensitive direction by Joan Darling, even while carping that the title First Love seemed to be a misnomer: neither Katt nor Dey appear to be inexperienced in sexual matters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, Susan Dey, (more)
- 1976
This Kojak episode is the second of two pilot films for Salathiel Harris, an unsold TV action series starring Rosey Grier as a two-fisted California bounty hunter. Just as in the first pilot "Bad Dude", Salathiel Harris has arrived in Manhattan in search of a particularly scabrous bail jumper. And just as before, Lt. Kojak (Telly Savalas) is determined to beat Harris to the punch and haul in the fugitive himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
