Frank Langella Movies
An imposing and highly memorable presence on the Broadway stage, actor Frank Langella has won only a fraction of the acclaim he's received in the theater for his film career; still, his brooding good looks and his ability to play both villains and comic foils with a touch of menace has made him a welcome (and increasingly familiar) fare to film buffs. Frank Langella was born in Bayonne, NJ, on New Year's Day, 1940. Langella caught the acting bug when he was 11, after playing an elderly man in a school play on the life of Abraham Lincoln, and he went on to earn a degree in Theater from Syracuse University. After studying acting with Elia Kazan, Langella began working with regional theater companies in the East Coast and the Midwest, and in 1963, made his New York stage debut when he landed the leading role in an off-Broadway revival of The Immoralist. Between 1964 and 1966, Langella would win three Obie awards for his work in off-Broadway theater, and in 1969, he received a Drama Desk award for his work in the drama A Cry of Players. In 1974, he made his Broadway debut in Edward Albee's Seascape, and, the following year, won another Drama Desk award as well as a Tony for his performance.Langella made his film debut in 1970 with a supporting role in Diary of a Mad Housewife, and later that same year, scored a larger part in The Twelve Chairs, written and directed by Mel Brooks. While Langella landed occasional television and film roles through much of the 1970s, he was still busiest as a stage actor. In 1977, Langella was cast in the leading role of a Broadway revival of Dracula, and his con brio performance as the bloodthirsty count earned rave reviews, turning the production into an unexpected hit. Langella was tapped to reprise his performance for a film version of Dracula released in 1979, but he was forced to tone down his unique take on the role for the screen, and what would have seemingly been the perfect screen vehicle for his talents became a critical and box-office disappointment. However, Langella maintained a busy schedule of stage work, and in the 1990s, finally scored a breakthrough screen role in the comedy Dave as the deceitful political puppet master Bob Alexander. A busy schedule of character roles in such films as Junior, Lolita, and The Ninth Gate followed, though Langella still remained a frequent and distinguished presence in the New York theatrical community. He worked steadily at the beginning of the twenty-first century in films as diverse as the romantic drama Sweet November, and David Duchovny's directorial debut House of D. He scored an artistic and critical success in 2005 playing William Paley in George Clooney's historical docudrama about Edward R. Murrow Good Night, and Good Luck. He was then tapped by Bryan Singer to embody Daily Planet editor Perry White in the 2006 summer blockbuster Superman Returns.
In 2007, Langella earned strong reviews and some awards buzz for his starring role in Starting Out in the Evening, but it was actually the next year, 2008 when he captured a Best Actor Academy Award nomination, a well as a SAG nomination, for his portrayal of disgraced former president Richard Nixon in Ron Howard's big-screen adaptation of Frost/Nixon. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
Superstardom was predicted for Carrie Snodgress on the basis of her spectacular film debut in Diary of a Mad Housewife. Snodgress plays the long-suffering wife of pushy, insensitive attorney Richard Benjamin. Unable to withstand being treated as a trophy (and a tarnished one at that), Snodgress has a brief affair with sexy Frank Langella. Alas, Langella, like virtually every other male character in the film, is just as selfish and self-involved as Benjamin. Even when she enters group therapy, Snodgress is disenchanted by the obtuseness and chauvinism of her male psychiatrist. Nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Diary of a Mad Housewife, Carrie Snodgress dropped out of films shortly afterward to move in with rock star Neil Young - with whom she raised a child. She returned to cinema with a pivotal role in Brian de Palma's bloody thriller The Fury. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Benjamin, Frank Langella, (more)
- 1970
- PG
One of several film versions of the 1928 Russian novel The Twelve Chairs (one of the better-known adaptations was the 1945 Fred Allen vehicle It's in the Bag), Mel Brooks' movie is set in the years following the Bolshevik revolution. Onetime aristocrat Vorobyaninov (Ron Moody), now reduced to a humdrum clerical job, discovers that his family's fortune still exists. To keep their riches from falling into the hands of the revolutionaries, Vorobyaninov's family hid the loot in one of twelve chairs. Taking a crafty beggar (Frank Langella) into his confidence, Vorobyaninov returns to the ruins of his ancestral mansion to reclaim his fortune. Also chasing after the twelve chairs is an Orthodox priest (Dom DeLuise), who tells himself that he only wants the money to replenish his church. Alas, the chairs have been scattered to the four winds, sparking a film-length race to retrieve the furniture and claim the gold. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Moody, Frank Langella, (more)
- 1971
This English-language French production, directed by Rene Clement is a psychological/spy thriller, and features an excellent score by Gilbert Becaud. Faye Dunaway is Jill, the wife of a former industrial spy (played by Frank Langella). Her husband's employers are not perfectly reconciled to his retirement, however, even though he is firm in his refusal to rejoin them. As the film proceeds, we discover that Jill is a nervous sort, and the spymasters seek by various means to take advantage of her nervous temperament in order to induce her husband to work for them again. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Frank Langella, (more)
- 1972
- PG
This misunderstood film is a satirical western, written, directed, and produced by Ralph Nelson, which he adapted from the book by James Graham (a pseudonym for Jack Higgins) In a restless Central American nation in the 1920s, Van Horne (Robert Mitchum), a defrocked American priest, hides a gun in his Bible and a knife in his crucifix. He rescues Emmet Keogh (Ken Hutchinson), who is being held by a group of rapacious bandits who are angry that Keogh has taken a mute native girl, Chela (Paula Pritchett), away from them. Keogh, an Irishman, and his friend Jennings (Victor Buono), a British rum-runner, are captured along with Van Horne by Colonel Santilla (John Colicos), a revolutionary leader. The colonel offers to set the three men free and send them safely to the U.S. -- if they agree to kill Tomas De La Plata (Frank Langella), the crazed local strongman. De La Plata was driven mad by Santilla's followers, who murdered his father, raped his mother, and tormented his sister into suicide. Van Horne dons his priestly garb and reopens the church in De La Plata's village, thereby setting up the trap to lure in the madman. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella, (more)
- 1974
Made for television, The Mark of Zorro is virtually a scene-for-scene remake of the 1940 Tyrone Power theatrical film--the principal difference being that, where Power's version ran 93 minutes, the TV version blurs along at a mere 78 minutes. Frank Langella plays Don Diego, the supposedly foppish Spanish California nobleman who fights for the people's rights in the guise of Zorro. Ricardo Montalban appears in the Basil Rathbone role as the evil oppressor whom Zorro eventually bests with his sword. Gilbert Roland is cast as Zorro's father, allowed a bit of swashbuckling on his own (the 69 year old Roland is astonishingly athletic). Alfred Newman's pulsating score from the original Mark of Zorro is cleverly redeployed in this remake. What's missing in the 1974 Mark of Zorro is the freshness and virtuosity of the earlier film's director Rouben Mamoulien; and, in all due respect to his considerable talent, Frank Langella is no Tyrone Power. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Comedy combines with tragedy in acclaimed playwright Anton Chekhov's dramatic breakthrough concerning an aspiring writer who harbors dreams of transforming the theatrical experience. As friends and family gather at a remote country estate to attend the premiere performance of fledgling writer/producer Konstantin (Frank Langella)'s latest experimental play, the presence of his self-absorbed mother and her high profile lover Trigorin not only shifts the focus away from the production, but also changes the lives of all who attend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Blythe Danner and Frank Langella star in this made-for-television adaptation of Tennessee Williams' drama. Alma Winemiller (Danner) is a woman of the South -- educated, soft-spoken, somewhat shy, and possessing a thoroughly original turn of mind. For quite some time, Alma has been infatuated with the handsome doctor who lives next door (Langella), but she's been unable to catch his eye. When he invites Alma to spend the night with him at a hotel, she has no illusions about what he wants from the relationship, but her loneliness and her desire has grown strong enough that she can't bear to turn him down. The Eccentricities of a Nightingale was first shown on PBS in 1975. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Stage and screen legend Frank Langella stars as a Prussian nobleman who, after being sentenced to death for disobeying military orders, somehow manages to overcome invading Swedish forces in a staged version of Heinrich Von Kleist's haunting look into the true nature of man. Unknown to American audiences until its stateside premiere at New York City's Chelsea Theater Center, Von Kleist's classic existential tale arrives at the Biltmore House and Gardens in Asheville, NC, in this 1977 production directed for the screen by Robert Kalfin and Kirk Browning. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
In the late '70s, Frank Langella starred in the hit Broadway play Dracula, written by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston. Langella's charisma and the surreal, black-and-white sets designed by cartoonist Edward Gorey were the chief outstanding features of the play, which was otherwise undistinguished. While this film production of the play boasts performances by stage veterans Lord Laurence Olivier and Donald Pleasance, as well as Frank Langella as the suavest of counts, it was neither a critical nor a box-office success, doubtlessly because expectations ran too high. One highlight of this production is its skillful use of special effects. The standard story of Bram Stoker's original novel is re-created here: the undead count arranges to move from his home in Transylvania to Whitby, and once there, a reign of terror begins. He is opposed by the canny Doctor Van Helsing (Laurence Olivier), who eventually triumphs. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, (more)
- 1980
- R
Obviously a labor of love for all concerned, Those Lips, Those Eyes is set in the 1950s. Pre-med student Thomas Hulce takes a job as a prop boy at an Ohio summer-stock theatre. His ineptitude nearly costs him his job, but Hulce is protected by Frank Langella, the troupe's leading man. Langella's character is instantly recognizable to anyone who's ever worked in community or summer theatre: possessed of more charm than talent, he is a "star" only so long as he remains a big fish in a small pond. While any other film might turn this character into a loser or villain, Langella emerges as the most likeable person in Those Lips, Those Eyes, especially when he orchestrates a romance between Hulce and chorus dancer Glynnis O'Connor. Almost as good as Langella, though not quite as lovable, is Jerry Stiller as Hulce's abrasive father. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Langella, Glynnis O'Connor, (more)
- 1981
- PG
After a string of hits that included Planet of the Apes (1968), Patton (1970), Papillon (1973), and The Boys from Brazil (1978), director Franklin J. Schaffner stumbled badly with this expensive wannabe cousin to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Based on a novel by author Robin Cook, this romance-adventure stars Lesley-Anne Down as Erica Baron, a female archaeologist who is searching for a lost Egyptian tomb, hoping that she will be responsible for the next discovery along the lines of King Tut's Tomb. Erica witnesses the murder of a native, Abdu Hamdi (John Gielgud doing his best Alec Guinness impersonation) and when she attempts to solve the crime, she becomes the target of a campaign to kill her using a variety of creative methods, including bats and entombment. In the course of her adventures, Erica also falls in love with a handsome Egyptologist, Ahmed Khazzan (Frank Langella). Sphinx (1981) was a box office disaster from which Schaffner never recovered, directing only three more pictures. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lesley-Anne Down, Frank Langella, (more)
This documentary examines the life and career of choreographer George Balanchine through interviews, photographs and rare archival footage of the dancer himself. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
Based on a 1981 book by Leonard Michaels, focuses on a lawyer (Richard Jordan) who brings together a singularly dysfunctional group of men in a kind of venting, loquacious therapy session. All that talk brings out the worst in everyone. Cavanaugh (Roy Scheider) is a retired baseball star whose wife wants to leave him, Harold (Frank Langella) is an uptight lawyer, Terry (Treat Williams) is a self-centered doctor, Phillip (David Dukes) is the stereotypical, irritating college professor, and Solly (Harvey Keitel) is a blue-collar worker with a warm heart, the closest to normal among the lot. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Scheider, Frank Langella, (more)
French director Roger Vadim pillages his own grave in this nominal re-make of his 1956 creamy sensation And God Created Woman -- the film that made Brigitte Bardot an international star. Unfortunately, he is unable to do the same thing for the cool and cryptic Rebecca DeMornay in this version. DeMornay plays an escaped convict who lands in the limousine of New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Frank Langella and seduces him. For some inexplicable reason, she turns into a hot singing act. DeMornay also seduces innocent stud carpenter Vincent Spano along the way and suckers the poor guy into marrying her so that she can get an early parole. But the joke is on him when she announces that their marriage does not include sexual relations. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca De Mornay, Vincent Spano, (more)
Dolph Lundgren stars in this live-action film version of the popular television cartoon series (based on a collection of Mattel action figures). Lundgren is He-Man, a well-muscled super-hero, battling the evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) for control of the universe. Skeletor has designs on conquering the planet Eternia, a ravaged utopia ruled over by the Sorceress of Greyskull Castle (Christina Pickles). He-Man is summoned to stop Skeletor's plans. But when the wily dwarf Gwildor (Billy Barty) utilizes his Cosmic Key, He-Man and Skeletor finds themselves transported to California. There, a waitress named Julie (Courteney Cox) and her boyfriend Kevin (Robert Duncan Mitchell) come across the Cosmic Key and become embroiled in the intergalactic battle between He-Man and Skeletor. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, (more)
- 1991
This made-for-cable-TV anthology is comprised of four provocative tales from one of America's most famous idealistic cynics, Kurt Vonnegut. The stories are "All The King's Horses," "Next Door," "The Euphio Question," and "Fortitude." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
Charles Lane directed Andy Breckman's script, based on an old "Saturday Night Live" sketch of Breckman's that featured Eddie Murphy. Comic Lenny Henry takes Murphy's place in True Identity as a black man forced to don white face in order to save his life. Henry plays Miles Pope, an agreeable British actor whose luck sours when he finds out that businessman Leland Carver (Frank Langella) is actually a notorious underworld mobster. Carver now wants to rub Miles out and the only way that Miles can escape Carver's retribution is to disguise himself as a man named Frank LaMotta, the Italian-American killer that Carver has hired to kill him. During the story, Miles finds that he has to assume a variety of roles to keep from getting shot --a gay real estate agent, a British lord, James Brown's brother Val, and even Othello. But the biggest shock for Miles comes when he plays the white man and discovers that he is given preferential treatment --not only by whites, but also by blacks and Hispanics. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lenny Henry, Frank Langella, (more)
- 1992
President Abraham Lincoln leads the Union in the fight to end the awful bloodshed of the Civil War. The year is 1863. The president had a continuous struggle with the commanders of his army, and the bloodshed from the fighting at Antietam and Fredericksburg distressed him greatly. 1863 was the year of his Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address. Listen to the story of the events that led to the amazing address at Gettysburg. Actor Jason Robards brings to life the voice of President Lincoln. PBS originally aired this program, the second of a four-volume set narrated by actor James Earl Jones. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1992
A shrewd politician, Abraham Lincoln had the intelligence, ambition, and principles to grow into his job as president. This is the first of four videos in the Lincoln series, which originally aired on PBS. Produced and directed by Peter W. Kunhardt, this program is narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones, and features award-winning actor Jason Robards reading from letters, speeches, and diaries. Highlights include period photographs. The other three programs in the series are titled Lincoln: The Pivotal Year, 1863, Lincoln: I Want to Finish This Job, 1864, and Lincoln: Now He Belongs to the Ages, 1865. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This video is the fourth installment of the Lincoln series, originally aired on PBS. This volume focuses on the last days and hours of Abraham Lincoln's life. Viewers watch as Lincoln's enemies plot their final revenge on the man they believed had dishonored their heritage. The video also reveals how Lincoln's own dreams foreshadowed his murder and how the series of public funerals, following his death, helped fuel his legendary status that has only grown with time. ~ Karla Baker, All Movie Guide
- 1992
By the third year of the Civil War, personal and national tragedy had worn down President Lincoln. However, he focused on his job tenaciously, having a strong sense of history. This is the third of four programs in the Lincoln series, which originally aired on PBS. Produced and directed by Peter W. Kunhardt, this program is narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones and features award-winning actor Jason Robards reading from letters, speeches, and diaries. Highlights include period photographs. The other three programs in the series are titled Lincoln: The Making of a President, 1860-1862, Lincoln: The Pivotal Year, 1863, and Lincoln: Now He Belongs to the Ages, 1865. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Narrated by actor Frank Langella, this documentary pays tribute to renowned acting guru Stella Adler (1901-1992), whose dissemination of "method" techniques developed by Konstantin Stanislavsky (1868-1938) helped transform acting in the United States. Directed by Merrill Brockway and produced by Catherine Tatge, this program features footage of Adler coaching her students, including superstars Warren Beatty, Marlon Brando, and Robert DeNiro. Other highlights include interviews with students, colleagues, and friends of Adler. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- PG13
This, the second of 1992's 500th anniversary Christopher Columbus films (the first being Warner Bros. Christopher Columbus: The Discovery), adheres to the historical facts of Columbus's (Gerard Depardieu) possessed quest to discover the New World, and his solicitation of Queen Isabella (Sigourney Weaver) to gain the necessary funding. Despite travelogue-quality footage replete with beautiful scenery of Caribbean islands and a massive cast, this film tends to plod along with too predictable a plot and a mis-cast Columbus. Depardieu -- a very capable French actor speaking English and playing an Italian -- becomes perhaps the movie's bright spot (even if at his own expense) as he laughably struggles with line after line. Michael Wincott puts forth a worthy performance as a nasty Spanish nobleman whose mistreatment of the natives results in an open rebellion. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante, (more)
The ghost of Frank Capra must have smiled when he saw Dave, an amusing and effective update of one of Capra's favorite themes -- the scrupulously honest little guy who becomes a force for good against a corrupt system. Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) runs an employment agency and seems to genuinely enjoy finding work for people who need it. He also bears a striking resemblance to the president of the United States, Bill Mitchell (also played by Kline) and occasionally gets work as a Bill Mitchell impersonator. One day, Dave gets a call from the Secret Service -- for security purposes, they want to hire him to act as a decoy for an upcoming appearance by the president. All goes well, but later that evening President Mitchell suffers a massive stroke while in bed with his mistress. Wanting to keep the matter a secret, two of the president's top advisors appeal to Dave to stand in as Bill Mitchell until he regains his health. One of the men behind this scheme, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella), hopes to use Mitchell's absence to promote his own right-wing political agenda, but after a few weeks "in office," Dave decides it's time to promote some changes of his own that will help increase employment and keep homeless shelters open. Dave also finds himself growing fond of Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver), the President's wife, while Ellen sees in Dave the idealism her husband left behind years ago. Dave features numerous cameo appearances by politicians, Washington insiders, and journalists; Oliver Stone also appears to explain a conspiracy theory regarding sudden changes in Bill Mitchell's behavior. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, (more)
