Kathy Bates Movies
Actress Kathy Bates has been involved in the arts in one way or another since graduating from Southern Methodist University. Among the Memphis native's earliest jobs were a stint as a singing waitress in a Catskill resort and a sojourn as a gift shop cashier in New York's Museum of Modern Art. Bates was type-cast in character roles early on, which assured her a lot more work than the thousands of faceless ingenues in the business. Her film debut occurred with 1971's Taking Off, and she made her off-Broadway debut five years later in Vanities.For a long while, Bates made her name on the stage, only to see her roles go to other actresses in the plays' subsequent film adaptations. In 1983, she was nominated for a Tony award for her stage appearance as a garrulous would-be suicide in 'Night, Mother, a role played on screen by Sissy Spacek. She also appeared as Lenny McGrath in Beth Henley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Crimes of the Heart, a role played on screen by Diane Keaton. And in 1987, playwright Terrence McNally wrote a part specifically tailored to Bates' talents: the much-abused waitress Frankie in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, a role which won her an Obie award, and, following a familiar pattern, was played on screen by Michelle Pfeiffer.
Bates finally got to star in a movie herself in 1990. And what a starring role it was: in Misery, she portrayed the psychotic "Number One Fan" of romance writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan), a searing performance which earned the actress an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Appropriately enough, Hollywood screenwriters subsequently began making more room for Bates in their scripts. She worked steadily throughout the rest of the decade in films of greatly varying quality. Particular highlights included Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), A Prelude to a Kiss (1992), Dolores Claiborne (1995), Titanic (1997), and Primary Colors (1998), the latter of which featured Bates giving an Oscar and Golden Globe nominated performance as a political muckraker. Following her firey, foul-mouthed performance in that thinly veilied political biopic, Bates added a new credential to her resume, that of director. Initially taking the helm for the made-for-cable feature Dash and Lilly, Bates would subsequently direct episodes of the quirky HBO drama series Six Feet Under, simultaniously taking minor film roles before returning to more substantial roles with the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame entry My Sister's Keeper. Roles in Love Liza and Dragonfly (both 2002) were soon to follow, and with her turn as an extroverted mother who catches the attention of Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt Bates would recieve her third Oscar nomination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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
- Starring:
- Kenneth Branagh, Cynthia Nixon, (more)
Academy Award-nominee Kathy Bates (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes) helms and stars in Ambulance Girl - her third directorial credit on a made-for-television feature. Produced by and originally aired on Lifetime Television, Bates's comedy concerns Jane Stern (Bates), a housewife of thirty years who spent decades building a successful career as co-author of food books with her husband, the rebounding ex-alcoholic Michael (Robin Thomas). When faced with a chain of unpredictable mood swings, Jane refuses to take the problem lying down - and instead opts to launch a new career as an EMT. Her only real obstacle is a beast: she must learn to surmount her phobia of ambulances! Ambulance Girl waxes bittersweet, interweaving over-the-top, hilarious comedy with perceptive insights and a heartwarming message about confronting and overcoming the obstacles that life dishes out. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Bates, Robin Thomas, (more)
- 2004
- Add The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing to QueueAdd The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing to top of Queue
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Editing teaches the viewer how editors compile strips of film in order to create memorable moviegoing experiences. In addition to interviews with a variety of respected and award-winning editors, the movie offers clips form some of the most memorable films in the history of the artform. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Bates
- 2003
Harvard historian Laurie Kahn-Leavitt (A Midwife's Tale) writes and directs the documentary film Tupperware!, narrated by Kathy Bates. She and her team spent a year doing research at the Smithsonian Archives and interviewing around 300 people involved with the company. The story starts with the invention of Tupperware by scientist Earl Silas Tupper. Then homemaker Brownie Wise got the idea to sell Tupperware to other housewives through the magic of Tupperware home parties. In 1958, the business partnership between Tupper and Wise ended, but Tupperware ladies continued to proliferate. As a lucrative business, Tupperware marked a time of social change where many different classes of women were encouraged to become financially independent. Tupperware! is scheduled for a 2004 broadcast on PBS as part of the American Experience series. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Lisa (Lili Taylor) has been missing for two weeks, leaving Nate (Peter Krause) to stew and the rest of the family to slowly lose hope. Despite -- or perhaps because of -- her certainty that her daughter-in-law is dead, Ruth (Frances Conroy) plunges into a new romance with George Sibley (James Cromwell), the handsome mourner who comforted her during a recent funeral (see "Death Works Overtime"). The Fisher matriarch even toys with wedding her new beau until she learns of his six previous marriages and decides to proceed more carefully. David (Michael C. Hall), in contrast, decides the time for caution is over. After impulsively sleeping with his friend Patrick (David Hornsby), he dumps Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) and moves out of their apartment. Nate, too, goes in for some reckless sex; he beds Allison Williman (Anne Dudek), the troubled daughter of a serial killer (Graham Beckel) who recently received the death penalty and was buried by Fisher and Diaz. Afterwards, however, Nate feels just as empty and distraught about Lisa as ever. Not that he's ready for comfort -- at least not from Brenda (Rachel Griffiths), who gets an angry brush-off when she turns up at the house to offer her support. But Claire (Lauren Ambrose), who just happens to witness the end of their argument, does receive some assistance from Brenda, who agrees to accompany her on a trip to an abortion clinic. Originally broadcast May 18, 2003, on HBO, "Twilight" marked season three, episode 12 of the made-for-cable drama. Although her character, Bettina, had been absent from the show since mid-season, actress/director Kathy Bates steps in to helm this episode. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 2003
When Fisher & Diaz is called upon to provide funeral services for a disgruntled former office worker who died in the middle of a murderous rampage, moralistic Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) tries to put his foot down and refuse the business. The resulting friction with new partners David (Michael C. Hall) and Nate (Peter Krause) fuels Rico's longstanding resentment against the Fishers. Meanwhile, Lisa (Lili Taylor) deals with a whole different sort of office politics as she scurries around attending to Carol (Catherine O'Hara), the maniacal movie-exec boss with whom she and Nate reside. Although she's supposed to be merely Carol's personal chef, Lisa's duties are so extensive that she and Nate can barely find time to have uninterrupted sex. Claire (Lauren Ambrose), however, does almost nothing but have sex with Phil (J.P. Pitoc), the muscular musician she's been dating. But while Phil's off enjoying extracurricular relationships with other women, Claire finds time to bond with Russell (Ben Foster), a fellow art student. Ruth (Frances Conroy), too, makes a new friend: Bettina (Kathy Bates), a pal of her artsy sister Sarah (Patricia Clarkson). Deep in withdrawal from prescription painkillers and under Bettina's strict watch, Sarah tries to trick naïve Ruth into giving her some relief; instead, Ruth pops pills and bonds with straight-talking Bettina. As for Keith (Mathew St. Patrick), he's had enough bonding with David during their joint counseling sessions. Attending a one-on-one session with their shrink, he finally unloads some of his relationship angst. These feelings spill out again later at a dinner party during which Nate and Lisa find themselves sizing up David and Keith's relationship, and vice versa. Originally broadcast March 9, 2003, on HBO, "You Never Know" marked season three, episode two of the made-for-cable drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 2003
An attractive, middle-aged woman (Donna Bullock) dies while waiting in line at a self-help seminar, the apparent victim of a massive blood clot from a long-ago nose job. But it's another corpse -- an awesomely large one that falls out of its casket in the middle of the night -- that presents a headache for Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) and his new intern, Arthur (Rainn Wilson). On watch at the funeral home while Nate (Peter Krause) and Lisa (Lili Taylor) go camping with another couple, the hapless undertakers must enlist the help of Claire (Lauren Ambrose) and Russell (Ben Foster) in returning the voluminous body to its oversized coffin. Russell is on hand because, despite her decision not to date him, Claire has somehow ended up taking his virginity instead. This turn of events pleases her until David (Michael C. Hall) insinuates that Russell is gay, after all -- a notion she dismisses out of hand. Ruth (Frances Conroy), too, finds herself falling for a man of indeterminate sexual proclivities: stuffy, virginal Arthur, whose old-fashioned manners and idiosyncrasies charm her despite their large age gap. As for Nate, he's none too charmed by the constraints that new fatherhood imposes on his camping trip with his wife. Unable to get gloriously stoned or go off on walkabout like he did as a bachelor, he instead finds himself clashing with Lisa, who's freaking out about the deficiencies in their love life since she gave birth to Maya. Eventually, she and Nate reconcile with some seriously twisted al fresco sex. But Nate is haunted by a daydream about Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) stalking him. Originally broadcast April 6, 2003, on HBO, "Making Love Work" marked season three, episode six of the made-for-cable drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 2003
The third season of Six Feet Under continues its long, slow setup with another episode devoted to patient character development. Claire (Lauren Ambrose) finally decides she's had enough of her hottie beau's philandering; she kicks Phil (J.P. Pitoc) to the curb and throws herself into art school, where new friend Russell (Ben Foster) and new instructor Olivier (Peter MacDissi) liven things up. Lisa (Lili Taylor), meanwhile, escapes a toxic relationship of her own by walking out on Carol (Catherine O'Hara), her neurotic movie-exec boss. A frustrated Nate (Peter Krause) resigns himself to moving his young family back into his mother's home. Ruth (Frances Conroy) is overjoyed at Nate's return, although she's also busy enjoying the hijinks of Bettina (Kathy Bates), her straight-talking, shoplifting new insta-best friend. As for David (Michael C. Hall) and Keith (Mathew St. Patrick), they struggle to loosen up and enjoy a poolside vacation together. Fun is eventually had, although their return to the city soon destroys any easygoing momentum they've attained. Amidst such minutiae, the biggest drama occurs with this week's featured death: a young woman (Megan Austin Oberle) mowed down by a car as a direct result of a cruel prank played by friends. Originally broadcast March 16, 2003, on HBO, "The Eye Inside" marked season three, episode three of the made-for-cable drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Although Six Feet Under often dwells on death -- such as this week's depiction of a scenic designer named Kevin Lamb (Dennis Christopher) who stages his lover's funeral as a miniature opera -- "Nobody Sleeps" also revolves around the birthday of the Fisher matriarch. Electrified by her daring, naughty new friend Bettina (Kathy Bates), Ruth (Frances Conroy) loosens up a little and actually has some fun on her special day. Part of that is thanks to Lisa (Lili Taylor), who, despite the objections of husband Nate (Peter Krause), manages to throw a lovely and somewhat rowdy party for her mother-in-law. Even David (Michael C. Hall) has fun, despite his continuing troubles with Keith (Mathew St. Patrick), which have been thrown into sharp relief by Kevin's elaborate tribute to his late partner. The only person to miss the festivities is Claire (Lauren Ambrose). She's busy having the night of her life getting drunk and talking trash with her pal Russell (Ben Foster), her art teacher Olivier (Peter MacDissi) and one of Olivier's big-wig artist friends. A drunken Nate, also enjoys some rambling conversation -- with the taunting specter of his stultified father (Richard Jenkins), whom Nate fears he's becoming. Originally broadcast March 23, 2003, on HBO, "Nobody Sleeps" marked season three, episode four of the made-for-cable drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Nate (Peter Krause) continues his descent into quiet desperation as Fisher & Diaz prepares to bury the recently unearthed remains of a young husband and father who disappeared without a trace decades earlier. Adding to Nate's just-married angst, Lisa (Lili Taylor) spends her time micromanaging his finances instead of finding a new job of her own. She also goes ballistic when Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) turns up to make amends with Nate as part of a 12-step recovery program for sex addicts. Nate and Brenda share a few drinks, but he keeps his guard up and expresses none of his doubts about his sudden matrimony. David (Michael C. Hall), too, is haunted by an old lover: Terry (Matt Winston), a fellow singer in the gay men's chorus, who reminds David of their brief and frenzied encounter years ago in a department-store men's room. Ashamed of his own past repression, David is relieved to realize he's finally at peace with his sexual identity. Speaking of which, Claire (Lauren Ambrose) finds her feelings in disarray when Russell (Ben Foster), her supposedly gay best friend, declares that he's actually straight and wants to date her. She considers it -- until Olivier (Peter MacDissi), her manipulative art professor, advises her to shun emotional intimacy if she wants to become a great artist. Blowing Russell off, Claire focuses on her new job as Olivier's assistant. Federico (Freddy Rodriguez), too, hires a new sidekick: Arthur (Rainn Wilson), a mortuary school student who agrees to work for nothing but room and board at the Fisher house. As for Keith (Mathew St. Patrick), he's still stuck in the same terrible job as a rent-a-cop. A disturbing altercation with a fellow security guard, however, convinces him it's time to look for other employment. Originally broadcast March 30, 2003, on HBO, "The Trap" marked season three, episode five of the made-for-cable drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Love and death (and the problems they bring) remain the constants in the third season of the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. In season three, now that Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) has bought a 25 percent interest in the funeral home, the name changes from Fisher and Sons to Fisher and Diaz, and he sees to it that his presence is felt in the business. Nate (Peter Krause) has a series of bizarre and troubling dreams, and his relationship with Lisa (Lili Taylor) becomes strained; he becomes all the more conflicted in his feelings about her when she disappears en route to a visit with her sister. Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) and David (Michael C. Hall) hit a rocky patch in their romance, with the two trying counseling, vacations, and even threesomes in hopes of smoothing things out. Ruth's (Frances Conroy) loneliness manifests itself in not one but two romances. And Claire (Lauren Ambrose) finds her love life becoming quite complicated as she becomes involved with a crematorium employee as well as a troubled fellow student, and must also fend off the advances of a lecherous art teacher. The 13 episodes in the show's third season originally aired between March and June of 2003. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael C. Hall, Mathew St. Patrick, (more)
Based on a true story, My Sister's Keeper stars Kathy Bates as Christine, who since childhood has suffered from a debilitating mental illness. Spending most of her life in and out of various institutions, Christine has long yearned for independence, but is unable to wrest free of her controlling mother, Helen (Lynn Redgrave). Upon Helen's death, her other daughter, Judy (Elizabeth Perkins), a successful, self-absorbed art director who has deliberately distanced herself from her family, is appointed trustee of the troubled Christine. The rest of the film chronicles Judy's frustrated efforts to balance her sister's needs with her own, and Christine's ongoing ambition to stand on her own two feet. Though the filmed studiously avoids false sentiment and pathos, it still manages to touch even the hardest of hearts. Adapted from a book by Margaret Moorman, My Sister's Keeper was first seen as a CBS "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation on January 27, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Bates, Elizabeth Perkins, (more)
What's a middle-aged woman to do when her husband walks out on her and her favorite pop star is murdered by a serial killer? Writer/director P.J. Hogan explores this and many other pressing questions in Unconditional Love, a comic murder-mystery he devised with his wife and co-screenwriter, Jocelyn Moorhouse. Their heroine, Grace Beasly (Kathy Bates), finds her placid Midwestern life turned upside down after she loses both of the aforementioned men in her life: her husband (Dan Aykroyd) and the Tom Jones-like, Welsh singing star Victor Fox (Jonathan Pryce), whom she unabashedly worships. After Fox's death, Grace impetuously flies to England for his funeral. Paying an uninvited visit to his countryside estate, she discovers Dirk Simpson (Rupert Everett), Fox's longtime, secret live-in lover, who's also in a state of shock following the senseless murder. Together, the two team up, traveling back to the Windy City to find the infamous "Crossbow Killer" who took Fox's life. After receiving a fall 2002 release in the U.K., Unconditional Love had its U.S. premiere on the Starz network in August 2003. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Bates, Rupert Everett, (more)
- 2002
Fisher & Sons enters the age of modern marketing in this episode of HBO's Six Feet Under. When a collegiate football player collapses from heat exhaustion, his death hits home with Nate (Peter Krause), who continues to hide his brain disease from his girlfriend and family. He puts on a brave face, however, for an intimate little dinner party to which Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) has invited the man who took her virginity (Tuc Watkins) and his wife. Meanwhile, Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) hits up Nate and David (Michael C. Hall) for a loan to help cover the down payment on a house for his family. Instead, however, the Fishers decide to invest in a "casket wall" -- a display case of all the latest coffin models. Federico's wife, Vanessa (Justina Machado), decides to ask her sister for the money, which poses a threat to Federico's manhood. Meanwhile, the threat of a takeover looms as Mitzi Huntley (Julie White), a feisty Kroehner exec, fires Matthew Gilardi (Garrison Hershberger) and starts pressuring the Fishers herself. David tags along when ex-boyfriend Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) visits his recovering addict sister, Karla (Nicki Micheaux), and her daughter, Taylor (Aysia Polk). Claire flies off the handle when she learns that her boyfriend, Gabe (Eric Balfour), has stolen embalming fluid from her basement to sell joints dipped in the stuff. Robbie (Joel Brooks), Ruth's resentful co-worker at Nikolai's flower shop, implores her to attend his graduation from The Plan, a self-help movement. And finally, Nate opens up to David about his illness. "Out, Out Brief Candle" marked season two, episode two of the made-for-cable drama. Actress Kathy Bates, who previously helmed the feature Dash and Lilly and episodes of HBO's Oz, directs. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 2001
- Add Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood to QueueAdd Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood to top of Queue
Though there may have been an unofficial glass ceiling for most women in the motion picture industry of the 1920s and 1930s, for many years the most successful and highest-paid screenwriter in Hollywood was a former actress named Frances Marion. Born in 1899, Marion entered the fledgling movie industry in the pre-WWI years. After a few nominal leading-lady roles, she turned to writing rather than appearing in films, her talents nurtured by another female film pioneer, superstar Mary Pickford. Thanks to Marion's example and influence, scores of other women flourished in the production end of the business as writers, editors, producers, and directors. But none did quite so well as Frances Marion, whose long and fruitful association with the mighty MGM studio (whose rise to prominence is attributed primarily to Marion's prolific output), culminating in two Academy Awards, for The Big House (1930) and The Champ (1931). Covering Marion's life and career until her death in 1973, the film also occasionally touches on her private life, notably her marriage to cowboy star Fred Thompson, which ended with his tragic and unexpected death at the tail end of the silent era. Uma Thurman narrates this 52-minute documentary, with Kathy Bates supplying the voice of Marion. Based on Cari Beauchamp's 1998 biography of the same name, Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood first aired August 3, 2000, on the TCM cable service. The film has seen been released in an expanded version on VHS and DVD, bracketed together with a restored print of the 1917 Marion-scripted Mary Pickford vehicle Little Princess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Nate (Peter Krause) and David (Michael C. Hall) hire Angela (Illeana Douglas) as a replacement for Rico: although she is good at what she does, it quickly becomes apparent that she is also very adept at speaking her mind. Brenda's (Rachel Griffiths) brother Billy (Jeremy Sisto) continues to prove his facility for unsettling everyone around him when he includes a somewhat shocking photograph in a gallery exhibit of his work, and Gabe continues to unsettle Claire (Lauren Ambrose) with his erratic behavior. Meanwhile, David (Michael C. Hall) renews some old familiarity with Keith, and Ruth (Frances Conroy) has dinner with lusty florist Nikolai. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The funeral of a porn star creates an uncomfortable situation for Ruth (Frances Conroy), who doesn't quite know how to cope with the casket-side presence of the dead diva's friends and co-stars. Deciding to spend some more quality time with Claire (Lauren Ambrose), Ruth takes her sullen daughter to visit some cousins, whose wholesome, perpetually cheerful lifestyle serves as even more of a shock than the porn star's funeral. Back at home, David (Michael C. Hall) has yet another argument with Keith (Mathew St. Patrick), this time over David's intent to take over his late father's position as deacon of their church. And Nate (Peter Krause) experiences an uncomfortable family visitation of his own when, sans Brenda (Rachel Griffiths), he has dinner with her parents and a disturbing introduction to her brother Billy (Jeremy Sisto). ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Shirley MacLaine makes her feature directorial debut with this offbeat comedy. Bruno (Alex D. Linz) is an eight-year-old boy attending a Catholic school; he is bright, is a good student, and wants to become an etymologist. He also likes to wear dresses, which causes him plenty of problems -- bullies beat him up on a regular basis, and the school's Mother Superior (Kathy Bates) thinks that something must be wrong with him. Bruno's mother Angela (Stacey Halprin), who tips the scales at 450 pounds, has just lost her husband Dino (Gary Sinise) to trampy Donna Marie (Joey Lauren Adams). With her pal Dolores (Jennifer Tilly) giving Angela regular reports on Dino's activities, she's too occupied to worry much about her son. When Bruno is hurt one day while wearing a skirt, he's taken to the hospital; with Angela suffering from a heart attack and Dino refusing to look after him, it falls to his grandmother Helen (MacLaine) to take care of the boy. But Bruno has finally found a playmate at school who doesn't find him strange -- Shaniqua (Kaimi Davael), a young black girl who wants to be a cowgirl. While Bruno was Shirley MacLaine's first attempt at directing a fictional film, it was not her first experience behind the camera; she previously made the Oscar-nominated documentary The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex D. Linz, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
- 1999
Oscar-winning actress Kathy Bates directed this made-for-cable feature inspired by the true story of one of America's greatest literary couples, Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett. Hellman (Judy Davis) was an award-winning playwright whose successes included The Children's Hour and The Little Foxes, while Hammett (Sam Shepard) was a superlative mystery writer whose books inspired such classic films as The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon. The couple met in the 1930s, while Hammett was working in Hollywood as a screenwriter. They remained together until Hammett's death from lung cancer in 1961 (never married despite the conventions of the day) in a relationship strained by Hammett's infidelity and their shared alcoholism. Dash and Lilly uses Hellman's 1950s testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee as a springboard to look back at their relationship; both Hammett and Hellman were branded as Communists and called before HUAC, leading to a prison term for Hammett. The film also features Bebe Neuwirth as Dorothy Parker, Laurence Luckinbill as Joseph Rauh, and Mark Zimmerman as Walter Winchell. Hellman's relationship with Hammett formed one of the plot points of the 1977 biopic Julia, which starred Jane Fonda as Hellman and Jason Robards in an Oscar-winning performance as Hammett. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Shepard, Judy Davis, (more)
This made-for-TV adaptation of the hit Broadway musical (which was, in turn, based on the popular comic strip by Harold Gray) stars Alicia Morton as Annie, who lives in an orphanage run by the ill-tempered Miss Hannigan (Kathy Bates). Like the rest of the children, Annie doesn't like the orphanage and hates Miss Hannigan, so she's excited when famous and eccentric billionaire Daddy Warbucks (Victor Garber) picks Annie as the lucky orphan who gets to spend Christmas at his mansion. Warbucks is charmed by Annie's spunk and good spirits and is eager to adopt her, but Annie is convinced that one day her real parents will come back to claim her. Eager to make her happy, Warbucks offers a sizable cash reward to whomever can find Annie's mother and father; Miss Hannigan, seeing the possibility of an easy payday, concocts a scheme by which her brother Rooster (Alan Cumming) and his floozy girlfriend Lily (Kristin Chenoweth) will pose as Annie's long-lost folks. Andrea McArdle, who originated the role of Annie on Broadway, has a supporting role as the Star-to-Be. The musical was previously filmed in 1982, with John Huston in the director's chair. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alicia Morton, Victor Garber, (more)
- 1998
In this family oriented fantasy drama, a boy discovers his long-lost father is actually a gifted magician. After father and son are reunited, they discover a notorious criminal is on the magician's trail, determined to wrestle away his secret powers. The Effects of Magic stars brothers David Carradine and Robert Carradine, with Kathy Bates and Melinda Dillon highlighting the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacobo Morales, Kathy Bates, (more)
