Karl Malden Movies

While Norman Lloyd managed to avoid becoming a household name, over the course of a career in the arts that has spanned eight decades he's distinguished himself as an actor, director, writer and producer in film, television and the legitimate stage. In the 1930s, Lloyd acted in a number of ground-breaking theatrical productions alongside his friend John Garfield under the direction of Elia Kazan, and he later became a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theater company. As a film actor, Lloyd has worked with such directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin and Martin Scorsese, and as a television producer his credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents and an award-winning series of adaptation of great plays for public television. However, the show-business blacklist against leftist artists in the Fifties stalled Lloyd's career, and while he's always had the respect of his peers, for years he struggled to put his career back on track. Who Is Norman Lloyd? is a documentary by filmmaker Matthew Sussman which gives Lloyd and some of his illustrious colleagues the opportunity to answer the titular question while discussing his life and work; the film includes interviews with Ray Bradbury, Cameron Diaz, Arthur Hiller, Karl Malden, Pat Hitchcock and many others. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Directed by Rick McKay, who traveled across five continents during the documentary's production, Broadway: The Golden Age is both a celebration of current Broadway stars and a tribute to Broadway legends past. Through a plethora of interviews and vast amounts of archival footage, McKay presents a variety of factoids, anecdotes, and memories from over 100 Broadway actors, writers, and directors. The careers of Laurette Taylor, Kim Hunter, Jessica Tandy, and Marlon Brando are all animatedly retold, as is some of the Broadway "lore of olde," such as Angela Lansbury's struggle to land a role in Mame and the shocked reaction to West Side Story on its opening night. In addition to footage and discussion regarding highly successful Broadway stars, a variety of actors recount their experiences and struggles in finding even a small amount of critical recognition. The cast includes Shirley MacLaine, Bea Arthur, Edie Adams, Alec Baldwin, and Kaye Ballard, and many others. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

When a busload of school children is hijacked and held for ransom, a small town is paralyzed by fear. Meanwhile, the resourceful bus driver plots a daring rescue. This stranger-than-truth story is based on an actual incident. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

As the title implies, this film is a compilation of highlights from the Academy Awards ceremonies. Hosted by Karl Malden, the film includes famous acceptance speeches, production numbers, and funniest moments. ~ Sandra Brennan, 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

In this crime drama, based on the true story of Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer, from 1985, terrorists attempt to hijack a luxury cruise ship in the Mediterranean. The attempt resulted in the death of a handicapped passenger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Harold Clurman: A Life of Theatre profiles the career of celebrated director/producer Harold Clurman. A man known for his passionate commitment to working with actors, Clurman devoted his life to the theatrical arts, serving not only as a director and producer, but as a respected critic as well. The program features footage of Clurman on the job delivering thought-provoking lectures and helping actors construct roles. Meryl Streep narrates. Stella Adler, Karl Malden, and Julie Harris are interviewed. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide

Lenny Von Dohlen plays Billy Galvin, the son of a no-nonsense construction worker (Karl Malden). Though his dad insists that he go to college to become an architect, Billy would rather go into his father's line of work. To prevent this, dad pulls strings to keep Billy out of the ironworker's union. His bullheadedness inevitably leads to ill-will and emotional disaster. Produced for PBS' American Playhouse TV series, Billy Galvin was afforded a very brief theatrical run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Convicted murderer Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald had hoped that, by telling his side of the story to investigative journalist Joe McGinniss, the authorities would be persuaded of MacDonald's innocence. Instead, McGinniss ended up unswerving in his belief of MacDonald's guilt, and the result was the devastating best-seller Fatal Vision. In this two-part TV adaptation of McGinniss' book, Gary Cole plays MacDonald, a former Green Beret officer, while Frank Dent essays the role of McGinniss. MacDonald's wife and two children are brutally murdered in their Fort Bragg, North Carolina home on February 17, 1970. The prime suspect, MacDonald insists that the killings were committed by a gang of stoned-out hippies, a story that at first is accepted in toto by the doctor's father-in-law Freddy Kassab (Karl Malden). But after MacDonald is officially exonerated, Kassab notices several holes in his son-in-law's story, and becomes convinced that MacDonald was in fact the murderer. Through Kassab's persistence, as well as the uncovering of new forensic evidence, MacDonald is ultimately convicted for all three murders in 1979. Since the TV premiere of Fatal Vision on November 18 and 19, 1984, there has been a growing movement by MacDonald's sympathizers to discredit McGinniss' book and to retry the case--a movement that has been hampered time and again by MacDonald's own erratic behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1982 made-for-TV version of the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland features an all-star cast. Such celebrities as Donald O'Connor, Maureen Stapleton and Eve Arden struggle to perform while buried under mounds of makeup and tons of eccentric costuming as Carroll's alternate-world loonies. Alice in Wonderland was first telecast Oct 3, 1983, on PBS' Great Performances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alex Karras and Susan Clark produced but did not star in the TV movie Word of Honor. Karl Malden plays a small-town newspaper reporter who receives a tip from a woman about the kidnap-murder of a teenaged girl. The woman implicates local banker Don Crane, but only on Malden's promise that he will never divulge the woman's identity. When it looks as though Crane will beat the rap, Malden steadfastly refuses to go back on his word, which earns him the enmity of everyone except his wife (Rue McClanahan) and a visiting "liberal" Manhattan journalist. The stack-the-cards setup of Word of Honor is just on the verge of credibility when the film blows the works with a too-convenient ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The short-lived TV series Skag was introduced with a 3-hour premiere on January 6, 1980. Karl Malden stars as Pete "Skag" Skagska, Pittsburgh steel mill foreman and family man. In the pilot, Skag attempts to deal with several family crises: his father's debilitating stroke, his strained relationships between himself and his two grown sons, and his daughter's sexual misadventures. Suddenly a new crisis looms: Skag himself suffers a stroke, and it looks as though he'll be inactive for a long and indeterminate period. Piper Laurie co-stars as Skag's supportive (but not always patient) wife Jo. While the subsequent Skag series never really took off, this pilot film earned six Emmy nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even after all these decades, there remain those loyal Streets of San Francisco fans who argue that the series would have survived long past it fifth and final season had there not occurred a radical (and somewhat controversial) casting change. Though Karl Malden remained on the job during Season Five as veteran SFPD homicide detective Mike Stone, Michael Douglas, cast as Stone's youthful partner, Inspector Steve Keller, would exit the series after the spectacular, star-studded two-part season opener in order to focus his energies on producing the Oscar-winning theatrical feature One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (On the series, it was explained that Steve Keller had retired from active duty to teach a college criminology class). Keller's replacement was another young idealist, albeit a tad handsomer and more athletic, Inspector Dan Robbins, played by Richard Hatch (not the future American Idol contestant!) Despite the best efforts of the series' writers and directors, Stone and Robbins never developed the same warm rapport that had been the hallmark of the Stone-Keller relationship, nor were Michael Douglas' legions of fans satisfied with his relatively unknown replacement. For this and several other reasons (including the stiff competition of CBS' Barnaby Jones, the ratings of Streets of San Francisco tanked during its fifth year on the air, and was cancelled after 119 episodes in September of 1977 (the series had previously gone on brief hiatus in the spring of that year to make room for a new ABC drama, Westside Medical. In fairness to Richard Hatch, his character did have a few memorable moments, notably the episode in which Robbins falls in love with a "bleeding-heart" public defender, played by a pre-Lou Grant Linda Kelsey. This year's "cast-against-type" candidates include Susan Dey of The Partridge Family and Maureen McCormick of The Brady Bunch, respectively portraying a baby-faced urban terrorist and 16-year-old call girl. And as in seasons past, the series provided a good showcase for young players on their way up: Mark Hamill as a street-gang member, Carl Weathers as a cop, Don Johnson as a reckless motorcycle cop, and, best of all, future "Governator" Arnold Schwarzenegger as a short-tempered professional bodybuilder who turns lethal whenever someone makes fun of him! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide