William McNamara Movies
Actor William McNamara's film breakthrough came in 1988 when he starred as Billy Kane in Peter and Paul Mones' urban drama The Beat. McNamara led a fairly peripatetic childhood; his interior designer mother was granted custody of McNamara after divorcing his real estate magnate father. She took him to Dallas for a time, and then Los Angeles, where McNamara met many movie stars who inspired him to become an actor. He and his mother eventually moved to New York, but McNamara continued working as a production assistant during the summers in Los Angeles. Despite some problems in his late teens, he finally ended up at Columbia University, where he studied acting and started working in a few television commercials. A summer stint with the Williamstown Theater resulted in his appearing in The Beat. Prior to that, McNamara acted in two foreign efforts, Dario Argento's Opera and the European miniseries The Secret of the Sahara (both 1987). After appearing in Peter Bogdanovich's Texasville (1990), McNamara turned to television movies, notably Wildflower (1991), which starred Patricia Arquette, and Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992), with Jim Carrey in a rare dramatic role. McNamara returned to feature films in 1992 with Aspen Extreme, and since then he has been getting larger roles in better quality films. His role in Copycat (1995) is particularly notable. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The polar-opposite worlds of opera and horror collide in this gory giallo film from director Dario Argento. Christina Marsillach (Tom Hanks' romantic interest in Every Time We Say Goodbye) stars as Betty, a beautiful understudy who gets an unlikely break to play the female lead in a contemporary opera of Verdi's Macbeth. Her fear of Macbeth's notorious curse proves to have foundation when a psychopath with a strange connection to Betty murders a stage hand in the midst of her debut and later kills several ravens being used in the opera. Characters introduced at this point who could be the killer include: the show's director, Marco (Ian Charleson); Betty's publicist, Mira (Daria Nicolodi); and the police inspector, Alan Santini (Urbano Barberini). The middle third of the film is devoted to the killer's bloody work which serves to torment Betty. The madman binds her and tapes a row of tiny needles beneath her eyes so that she is forced to watch him butcher a young stage manager and a costume designer, among others. With the police investigation going nowhere and the killer zeroing in on Betty's death, Marco decides to enact his own plan to stop the madman; he releases the ravens (apparently, they always remember their enemies) during a performance. The birds circle wildly before attacking the killer and plucking one of his eyeballs out. He absconds with Betty, but dies in a fire after revealing his demented motivation and his connection to the young singer. A final scene set in the Swiss mountains provides a couple of final shocks. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Marsillach, Urbano Barberini, (more)
- 1987
This drama is based on a play by Mones and is set within a grim New York neighborhood where a new kid comes to the neighborhood. Unlike the street-wise and life-toughened gang members around him, the youth is a sensitive poet who teaches the kids about the meaning and beauty of life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Savage, David Jacobson, (more)
The storytelling device of the flashback gets an intense workout in this tragic coming of age drama. Mark Harmon stars as washed-up baseball player Billy Wyatt, who is shocked when he receives news that his childhood sweetheart and friend Katie Chandler (Jodie Foster) has committed suicide and left the disposal of her ashes to his judgment. Although Billy and Katie have not kept in touch through the years, he has always carried a torch for her, his first love. On his way home, Billy recalls his past associations with the free-spirited Katie: their first meeting, the time they made love, and conversations they had, mostly during summers at the New Jersey shore. Billy also remembers the adolescent mischief he got into with his best friend Alan Appleby (played by Jonathan Silverman in the flashbacks, Harold Ramis in the present-day), like when each of them ended up sleeping with other's prom date. Billy finally decides to cast Katie's ashes to the wind in the place where they were happiest, by the seashore. Stealing Home was reportedly based on the real-life experiences of its writers, former Second City troupe members and WKRP in Cincinnati writers Steven Kampmann and Will Aldis. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Harmon, Blair Brown, (more)
Bette Midler stars as Stella Claire, a working class, fun-loving barmaid in northern New York State. A brief affair with handsome Stephen Dallas (Stephen Collins) produces a daughter, Jenny (Trini Alvarado), who Stella insists upon raising alone, despite Dallas' marriage offer. As the years pass, Stella and Jenny are a happy pair. Stella gives up bartending to sell cosmetics, supported by her friend Ed (John Goodman), a bartender developing a crush on her and a problem with alcohol. Dallas has stayed involved with his beloved daughter from afar and is now a urologist in New York City, engaged to a book editor (Marsha Mason). As Jenny reaches adulthood, Stella becomes aware that life with her father would provide her daughter with opportunities that she'd never have otherwise, so she devises a painful, self-sacrificing scheme to drive Jenny from the nest. Although functional as a tearjerker, many of the themes in Stella simply don't make as much sense in a modern age of healthy, fractured families, muting the drama of the tale's earlier versions, specifically Stella Dallas (1937). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, John Goodman, (more)
In 1987-88, a quartet of films with the same basic body-switching premise deluged theaters: Like Father, Like Son (1987), Big (1988), Vice Versa (1988), and 18 Again (1988). One year later, Dream a Little Dream (1989) followed suit. Coleman Ettinger (Jason Robards) is forever scolding the local high school students who use his yard as a shortcut to and from their nearby school. Coleman is not a crotchety old coot, however. He's deeply in love with his wife Gena (Piper Laurie) and is good friends with his next-door neighbor Ike (Harry Dean Stanton). In fact, Coleman is looking for a mystical way to preserve his and Gena's lives forever by transferring their consciousness into the bodies of younger people. One day, student Bobby Keller (Corey Feldman) has a bicycle mishap with Coleman while cutting through the yard, and their minds change places. Now Coleman has the brain of a teenager, while young Bobby uses Coleman's wisdom and life experience to win over the girl of his dreams. Dream a Little Dream was the directorial debut of Marc Rocco, son of actor Alex Rocco, who costars in a supporting role. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Feldman, Meredith Salenger, (more)
Texasville is Peter Bogdanovich's much-delayed sequel to The Last Picture Show. Adapted from Larry McMurtry's novel and told as a series of episodes, Texasville follows the characters from The Last Picture Show as they reunite in a small Texas town nearly 30 years after the end of the last movie, and face a number of adult problems, as well as confronting lingering emotions and memories from adolescence. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, (more)
Set in the rural South of the '30s, the made-for-cable film Wildflower is about a pair of teenaged siblings who become friends with an epileptic girl named Alice (Patricia Arquette), who has been forced to live in the barn behind her father's house because he believed her seizures were the work of the devil. With the help of the two teenagers, the girl is able to become part of everyday society. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, William McNamara, (more)
In this made-for-TV drama, a New England family's secrets all come tumbling out at once as they spend a weekend together to celebrate the engagement of their youngest son. Lisa Carter (Bibi Besch) and her military husband, Phil (James B. Sikking), couldn't be happier when their youngest son, Matt (William McNamara), brings his rich bride-to-be, Allison (Lori Loughlin), home from Yale. Col. Carter views Matt as the perfect son, especially given the way his other children have turned out. Tim (Jim Carrey) has sunk into alcoholism after dropping out of college, while Karen (Jayne Brook) must support her husband, Tom (David Byron), a struggling art photographer who wants to start a family despite his father-in-law's financial misgivings. As Allison gets acquainted with the Carter clan and its dysfunctions, her fiancé's artfully constructed facade of perfection begins to crumble, ultimately threatening his family's reputation, his impending nuptials, and his very life. Doing Time on Maple Drive debuted March 16, 1992, as a "Fox Night at the Movies" feature on the Fox network; it was later nominated for several Emmy awards. Directed by thirtysomething star Ken Olin, the film features a number of additional television staples among its cast, from Loughlin, star of Full House, to Carrey, then best known as Fire Marshal Bill on In Living Color. Two additional TV personalities from the cast -- Hill Street Blues actor Sikking and Northern Exposure actress Besch -- both share the distinction of being Star Trek vets, Besch in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Sikking in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James B. Sikking, Bibi Besch, (more)
- 1992
Although his Mother denies his involvement in a brutal attack that left her critically injured and her husband dead, a college student is forced to deal with his guilt. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Gless, William McNamara, (more)
T.J. (Paul Gross) and Dex (Peter Berg) leave Detroit to wax up their skis and find an adventurous new life on the slopes of Aspen in this skiing drama. The two become instructors and take up residence in a mobile home, at first fulfilling their ultimate bachelor fantasy. But T.J. becomes torn between two women: a sugar mama who appeals to his materialistic side (Finola Hughes) and a local disc jockey closer to his own age, whom he actually loves (Teri Polo). Meanwhile, Dex's writing is not taking off like he'd hoped, and he becomes jealous of T.J.'s luck with women and effortless entrance into the glittery Aspen social network. Dex loses his job and tries to sell drugs to help make ends meet. The two sort out their various problems and their own fractious relationship against the backdrop of preparing for the big race, which provides Aspen Extreme its requisite quantity of skiing footage. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, Peter Berg, (more)
Robert Conrad, William McNamara, and Sharon Farrell star in this crime drama about a police detective assigned to investigate the brutal murders of three children. With few leads but an iron will to put the killer behind bars, the detective is willing to do almost anything, including listening to a woman who claims to have psychic powers and has been visited with visions of the crime. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Conrad, William McNamara, (more)
- 1994
- R
Erika Eleniak and William McNamara star as a couple of young lovers on the run in this breezy road movie, based on James M. Cain's novella The Enchanted Isle. Mandy Baker (Erika Eleniak) is a bored 17-year-old looking for adventure outside of her small hometown of Paint Rock, Texas. She finds it at a bus station, as she is set to head out for Corpus Cristi. There she meets Rick Davis (William McNamara), a handsome and narcissistic dude in a cowboy outfit, whom Mandy lends $17 for a one-way ticket to the lay-over stop of Utopia. The two get familiar on the bus and, upon arriving in Utopia, she tags along with Rick as he meets his Uncle Pal (Michael Lerner), a two-bit crook, and his weird cohort Bud (Bud Cort). The three hatch a plan for a $5,000 bank robbery, and Mandy is talked into going along with them. The robbery itself is a failure, but Rick and Mandy manage to take off with the money, with Pal and Bud chasing after them. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erika Eleniak, William McNamara, (more)
- 1994
As two brothers fall in love with the same woman they must come to grips with the accidental death of their father in this sensitive drama set in Miami. Matthew is still wracked with guilt about the death of his father one year before. As a lifeguard, he believes he should have been able to save him from drowning. Matthew is slowly retreating into his own world, a world that includes a radio inside his head that keeps changing it's station when things become too difficult. Michael, his older brother, tries to help Matthew by getting him a new job at an advertising agency. Matthew stubbornly refuses and opts to remain at the local pool. Michael throws himself completely into his working leaving his ignored girlfriend Natalie ample time to explore a relationship with Matthew. Though innocent, the relationship makes Matthew feel even more guilty. He becomes more withdrawn and begins imaginary conversations with Jesus who is disguised as a Cuban vagabond. Images of water also continue to haunt him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William McNamara, Elisabeth Shue, (more)
In director Dennis Hopper's comedy reminiscent of The Last Detail, Rock Reilly (Tom Berenger), a gruff naval veteran who plays by the rules, arrives at a Marine base, in tow with his wheeler-dealer companion Eddie Devane (William McNamara), and finds himself assigned to escort the voluptuous Toni Johnson (Erika Eleniak) to military prison, Toni being sentenced from seven to ten years for assault and going AWOL. As in The Last Detail, the three service-persons get to know each other (in the case of Toni and Rock, they get to know each other intimately) as they make their way across the Southeastern seaboard to deliver Toni to prison. As they travel on, Toni repeatedly tries to escape from the two men as the trio encounters an array of guest-star cameos (Gary Busey, Seymour Cassel, Crispin Glover, Dean Stockwell, Frederic Forrest, and Marilu Henner -- among others). Even Hopper himself makes an appearance -- as a dirty old man with an inflatable date. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Erika Eleniak, (more)
The Richard Connell short story, The Most Dangerous Game, has been adapted for the screen many times. In this updated version, the rapper-actor Ice-T plays Mason, a homeless man whose best friend and his dog both die on the same day. Cole (Charles S. Dutton, a relief worker, tells Mason that there's a job available that entails leading a hunting expedition in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The desperate Mason signs on. The hunting party is led by two CIA agents, Burns (Rutger Hauer) and Hawkins (Gary Busey), and it includes a business executive, Wolfe, Sr. (F. Murray Abraham), his son (William McNamara), and a strange Texan, Griffin (John C. McGinley). Mason flies on ahead to prepare the hunting lodge, and there he discovers that he is to be the prey for the hunt, though the hunters at least give him a head start before pursuing. The violent action pits the high-tech hunters, armed with numerous fancy weapons and vehicles, against Mason -- who must rely on his street smarts to escape and turn the tables on the hunting party. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice-T, Rutger Hauer, (more)
A trip to the attic of his new house lands young Brandon and his loyal dog in a magical world ruled by a wicked queen. There he meets a captive prince and vows to help the youthful prince relocate a powerful sword and prevent it from falling into the queen's greedy hands. This fantasy adventure is aimed at younger audiences. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Swoosie Kurtz, William McNamara, (more)
A serial killer stalks the streets of San Francisco; unlike his many predecessors does not choose a distinctive, identifying pattern. No, this killer prides himself on his unoriginality: he is a copycat, recreating the violent murders of some of the country's most notorious serial killers, his heroes. On the case, is criminal psychologist Helen Hudson who is the reigning expert on serial killers; she has also become agoraphobic after having too close of a brush with killer, Daryll Lee Cullum. Though he has finally been locked up, she is unable to function outside her apartment. It is homicide detective M.J. Monahan and her partner Ruben who involve Hudson after they begin suspecting that the recent rash of bizarre murders they investigate is the work of a new mass murderer. Using her career and her vast knowledge, she figures out the killer's game. She knows he is well-versed in history and that the killings are tributes to the old masters. Unfortunately, she cannot predict his next style of killing, who he will kill, or when. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, (more)
- 1995
The life of Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor is told in this made-for-television drama. Sherilyn Fenn stars as Oscar-winning actress Liz Taylor, whose career began when her mother pushed her into acting as a child in the 1940s. Her tumultuous career ups and downs, and her turbulent personal life are chronicled in the film, which was based on the book by C. David Heymann. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- PG13
Many may not know that Ireland maintained its neutrality during World War II, so that any soldiers from that conflict who found themselves on Irish soil had to be kept in captivity until the war's end. For a variety of aeronautical reasons, quite a few Axis and Allied pilots found themselves having to bail out over Ireland. In this film, captives Miles Keogh (Bill Campbell), a Canadian pilot, and Count Rudolph von Stegenbek (Angus Macfadyen), a German pilot, are rivals for the affections of Mattie Guerin (Jean Butler), a local Irish girl. How this rivalry continues is just part of the story of this exciting and romantic film. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Campbell, William McNamara, (more)
A group of ten men come together for a bachelor party that goes horribly wrong in this made-for-TV drama. Mario Van Peebles and John Stockwell star as old friends Michael and Victor, both of them successful, well-off young professionals. The latter is about to be married, so Michael throws him a lavish party complete with booze, drugs, a pair of stripper sisters and some old friends that Michael would actually rather not see, including Pete (Andrew McCarthy), a street-smart drug dealer. When one of the girls is accidentally killed and her handler is shot in the ensuing confusion, the group of men reacts in completely different ways. Timan (John Henson) becomes completely unraveled, while others like Pete and Daniel (Kevin Dillon) keep their cool and try to come up with a viable plan to handle their new "problem." A next door neighbor (Jerry Stiller) who comes over to investigate the noise only compounds the problem. Stag bore almost precisely the same plot as Very Bad Things (1998), a more comic take on the story that was released theatrically one year later. The surviving stripper was played by former pop music star Taylor Dayne. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew McCarthy, John Stockwell, (more)
- 1997
- NC17
Josh Evans wrote and directed this cynical glimpse at power players and hustlers working the shadowy side of the film industry. After his mother's death, talented eccentric Sonny Daye (William McNamara) arrives on the Hollywood scene. His brother, Franky Syde (Frank Whaley), confident of Sonny's abilities, allows crass, scurrilous producer Sid Dalgren (Tony Danza) to see Sonny's journal. Recognizing Sonny's gift, Sid makes moves to manipulate and exploit him. Sid's girlfriend, Vanessa (Natasha Gregson Wagner), sees Sonny in a different light. The Glam cast includes director Evans' mother, Ali MacGraw. Some of the Glam character names link with characters introduced in Evans' directorial debut, Inside the Goldmine (1994), a film that also featured Wagner, the daughter of Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner. Shown at the 1997 Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William McNamara, Frank Whaley, (more)
Drug user Jane (Samantha Mathis) lives on the streets, but Jane's addiction puts her in the hospital after she overdoses. A doctor determines she's HIV-positive and plans tests, but she slips away and returns to the streets. She's followed by sick teen Tony (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who sees her as a substitute mother. The two assist each other and use stolen cash to move into a nice hotel. However, Jane is helpless once Tony begins dying of AIDS. Shown at the AFI/Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samantha Mathis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (more)
In this comedy, a hard-luck gambler learns a new commandment: Honor Thy Mother's Lottery Winnings. Johnny Amico (Mike Starr) runs a delicatessen in New York City; regarded as a nice guy by his friends and regular customers, he has a weakness for gambling and is usually in debt. Johnny is constantly nagged by his well-meaning but domineering mother (Judith Malina), who gives him ten dollars to play the same number every week in the lottery. One week, her number turns up a winner, but this is bad news for Johnny: convinced that the number would never win, he's been using the money to place bets of his own. Now Mom expects Johnny to come up with the prize money for a winning ticket he never bought; Johnny hatches a scheme to raise the money, but, given his usual success as a gambler, no one is very optimistic that he can pull it off. The Deli features an impressive list of supporting names, including actors Michael Imperioli, Frank Vincent, and Debi Mazar; rappers Heavy D and Ice T; singer David Johansen; and model Iman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
In this low-budget thriller, which was released directly to video, Donald Sutherland stars as a Ted Robards, a small-time stockbroker who allows promising young Harvard alumnus Jeremy (William McNamara) to move into his home and help run his firm. While pretending to build up the business, Jeremy secretly dismantles it from within, all the while planning to wreak havoc of a more personal nature on Ted; his son Chris; and especially his pregnant new wife, Sandy (Lesley Ann Warren). Flashbacks reveal Jeremy's tortured upbringing and the killing streak it engendered. As things turn out, however, the pampered, beautiful Sandy has some devastating secrets of her own -- one of which may explain why her husband's protégé is out to get her. Natural Enemy also features Joe Pantoliano and Wayne's World starlet Tia Carrere. McNamara previously played another serial killer in 1995's Copycat. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, William McNamara, (more)
In this offbeat thriller, Ann (Amy Locane) is a young woman trying to put her life back together after she lost her child in a car wreck. Formerly a single mother, Ann has recently started dating a man named Tom (William McNamera), and one day Tom asks Ann for a favor -- would she be willing to baby sit for his boss' daughter? Ann agrees, and she soon finds herself becoming quite fond of the little girl. However, before long, Ann discovers Tom has something less than honest up his sleeve -- the child is actually the victim in a kidnapping scheme, and Ann has been made an accomplice against her will. Also shown under the title Wishful Thinking, Implicated also stars Frederic Forrest and Priscilla Barnes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William McNamara, Amy Locane, (more)
