Terry Loughlin Movies

In the tradition of Dore Schary's Sunrise at Campobello, the made-for-cable biopic Warm Springs focuses on one of the least publicized aspects in the life of America's most-publicized (and longest-serving) president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, here played brilliantly by British actor Kenneth Branagh. Like Sunrise, Warm Springs uses as its starting point the year 1921, when the 39-year-old Roosevelt was permanently paralyzed from the waist down by an attack of polio. But whereas the earlier film concentrated on FDR's battle to return to public life despite his handicap, this film zeroes in on Roosevelt's efforts to cure himself of his affliction. Having heard of the therapeutic value of the waters of Warm Springs in rural Georgia, Roosevelt makes a pilgrimage to the area, which is little more than a swamp surrounded by dilapidated shacks. Though he never experiences the "miracle" cure that he so desperately seeks, Roosevelt is instrumental in the conversion of Warm Springs from a backwater hellhole to a streamlined, efficiently managed polio-treatment center, a virtual mecca for hundreds of thousands of others who had been crippled by the debilitating illness. And in the process, he also brings hope, optimism, and racial enlightenment to the poverty-stricken, multiethnic citizens of Warm Springs. Even more significantly, FDR removes the stigma of polio from the public consciousness, forever abolishing the misguided notions that the disease adversely affected the brain, that it could be spread merely by physical contact, or that it represented celestial "punishment" of the victim (it is noted, however, that Roosevelt was always careful never to reveal the true extent of his immobility nor his atrophied legs in public, feeling that it might diminish the nation's image of an "invulnerable" Commander in Chief). Also in the cast are Cynthia Nixon as Roosevelt's devoted wife, Eleanor; Jane Alexander (who'd previously played Eleanor Roosevelt in two TV miniseries) as his over-protective mother Sara; David Paymer as his crusty chief aide Louis Howe; Kathy Bates as his no-nonsense physical therapist Helena Mahoney; and Tim Blake Nelson as Tom Loyless, the man in charge of Warm Springs. Originally telecast by HBO on April 30, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The small-screen melodrama Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder first premiered on Monday, February 10, 1997 on NBC, and now arrives on home video in this release, under the title Swearing Allegiance. The picture dramatizes the infamous Zamora-Graham 'crime of passion' that unfolded in Fort Worth, Texas in 1995, whereby teen lovers (and soon-to-be naval cadets) Diane Zamora and David Graham viciously murdered Adrianne Jones, a local girl to whom Graham had given himself sexually. The incident inspired numerous articles including a September 1996 New York Times piece by Sam Howe Verhovek, and the cover story of the December 1996 Texas Monthly. The telemovie opens with Jones's body discovered beside a road, dead from gunshots to the head and several blows with a blunt object. The police question numerous suspects, before landing on the two culprits: Zamora (played by Holly Marie Combs) and Graham (portrayed by David Lipper). At the time of the arrest, Zamora and Graham are enrolled, respectively, in the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy. E.T. mom Dee Wallace Stone co-stars as Jones's mother; Richard A. Colla directs, from a script by Steve Johnson. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

This fact-based made-for-television drama follows a policewoman's fight for justice after she is raped by colleague. Though there is no denying the offending officer's guilt, he stands protected by an unspoken code of silence by his peers, a code that the woman herself feels obligated to honor. Her attitude changes, however, when she learns that the bad-apple cop has raped a civilian. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This made-for-television movie is based on the true story of a landmark Supreme Court decision. Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God) stars as Carrie Buck, a woman who was used as the test subject in a 1927 experiment to sterilize mentally-challenged women. The test was allowed after a controversial Supreme Court ruling came down in favor of the procedure. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Helen Hunt stars as Pamela Smart, the schoolteacher who seduced one of her students into murdering her husband, in this torn-from-the-headlines made-for-TV effort. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

In this police drama, a rookie cop finds his idealism nearly destroyed when he discovers that most of the officers in his new precinct are corrupt. This is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A young boy slips through the cracks and ends up in the Navy in this made-for-television drama. Based on a true story, Rick Schroder stars as Calvin Graham, a mature-looking 12-year-old boy who enlisted in the Navy during World War II. Graham not only fought in the war but was honored for his bravery at Guadalcanal before his secret was discovered. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Rutherford County Line is the real-life story of an even-tempered North Carolina sheriff who intends to discover who killed his deputies. Earl Owensby plays Sheriff Damon Husky of Rutherford County, North Carolina. ~ All Movie Guide

In this action thriller, the only things standing in the way of world destruction are two guys in an ice cream truck. On a remote island in the South Pacific, a secret weapons project (code name "Elvis") goes wrong, and a new chemical weapon, safe when frozen but deadly when thawed, is allowed to escape. Eighteen soldiers are killed, leaving behind only the scientist who created the formula and the officer in charge of the project, who is saddled with most of the blame. Ten years later, Tim Mason (Skeet Ulrich) is working at a diner in Montana when an old friend, Dr. Richard Long (David Paymer), is seriously wounded by Maj. Andrew Brynner (Peter Firth). It seems that Dr. Long helped create Elvis and Maj. Brynner was the officer who took the fall for the disaster ten years ago. Near death, Long gives Elvis to Mason and tells him that it has to be kept solidly frozen and delivered to Fort Magruder, 90 miles away. But how to keep it at zero degrees until then? A logical solution presents itself when Arlo (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who drives an ice cream truck, makes a delivery to the diner. Mason drafts Arlo into helping him transport Elvis to safety, and before long Brynner's men are hot on the trail of the icy chemical weapon. First-time director Hugh Johnson learned his craft in part through his work as a cameraman for Ridley Scott: he was the cinematographer for White Squall and G.I. Jane. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In Moscow, after FBI deputy director Carter Preston (Sidney Poitier) and scarred Russian intelligence officer Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora) bring down a key figure in the Russian Mafia, they are threatened by the criminal's powerful brother who swears vengeance on the FBI and immediately hires a professional assassin, the Jackal (Bruce Willis) to kill a leading American political figure. A master of disguises, the Jackal believes in total perfectionism and demands $70 million for the job. The FBI suspects the Jackal is aiming for the FBI director, so they consult with former Basque terrorist Isabella (Mathilda May), in Virginia, and Isabella's former lover, IRA operative Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), serving a prison sentence. Promised leniency, Mulqueen agrees to help. Meanwhile, the Jackal prepares false passports, secures a customized computer system to run his Gatling gun, and heads toward his target in Washington, D.C. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this film version of E. L. Doctorow's Billy Bathgate, Loren Dean plays the title character, a street-smart kid who inveigles his way into the confidence of 1930s gangster Dutch Schultz (Dustin Hoffman). Billy is ordered to look after Schultz' new moll, Drew Preston (Nicole Kidman), while Dutch fends off tax evasion charges and such up-and-coming rivals as Lucky Luciano (Stanley Tucci). Even though they know they're playing with dynamite, Billy and Drew fall in love. In attempting to escape Schultz' wrath, Billy succeeds only in putting himself in the thick of a gun battle between his boss and Luciano. When "Charley Lucky" emerges triumphant, Billy is forced once again to rely on his wits to escape being sent to the bottom of the briny in a cement overcoat. Bruce Willis shows up in an extended cameo as Dutch Schultz' former business associate. Billy Bathgate was adapted for the screen by British playwright Tom Stoppard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This gory exploitation actioner from drive-in schlockmeister Earl Owensby was originally released in 3-D and centers upon a vagabond who comes to town in search of work and ends up taking a murder rap and sent to a horrific jail where he is brutalized. He gets a chance for revenge during a violent riot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide