Rita Moreno Movies

Best described as Dallas with a Latino flavor, the CBS drama series Cane dealt with a wealthy and powerful Cuban-American family, the Duques, who ran a luctrative rum-and-sugar business in South Florida. Sensing that he wasn't long for this world, patriarch Pancho Duque (Hector Elizondo) began making arrangements to turn over his business to a younger member of the family--but which one? The two leading contenders were Pancho's oldest biological son Frank (Nestor Carbonell) and his adopted son Alex (Jimmy Smits), who in his own sly-and-cunning way was the series' "J.R." character. As Frank and Alex fought tooth and nail over control of the Duque empire, Frank indicated a willingness to sell out to the rival Samuels family, if for no other reason than he was having an affair with Ellis Samuels (Polly Walker). Alex resisted the notion of a sell-out, not only out of loyalty to his adoptive father, but also because he was married to Pancho's biological daughter Isabel (Paola Turbay), making him son and son-in-law all in one! Befitting his status as the series' "hero-villain", Alex handled his business and personal affairs with equal ruthlessness, especially when it came to his dealings with his own son Jaime (Michael Trevino), who in the earliest episodes was being pressured to stay in college, though he himself was torn between joining the Army and making a commitment to his girlfriend Rebecca (Alona Tal). Cane premiered on September 25, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Angela Lansbury guest stars as Eleanor Duvall, the wealthy and politically powerful mother of suspected serial rapist Gabriel Duvall (Alfred Molina). The SVU team has built up a persuasive case against Gabriel, accusing him of preying upon illegal aliens who are in no position to testify against him. Using her hotshot lawyer Jason Whittaker (Bradley Cooper) as her mouthpiece, Eleanor threatens dire consequences against the detectives if they continue to "harrass" her son--and she has the clout to back up these threats. The situation becomes painfully personal when, shortly after Gabriel is released for lack of evidence, Assistant DA Novak (Diane Neal) is savagely attacked. Rita Moreno costars as a feisty immigrant-rights activist. Originally telecast May 3, 2005, "Night" is the first episode of a two-part story which concluded the same evening on the Law&Order: Special Victims Unit's "sister" series Law & Order: Trial by Jury, with that show's regulars Bebe Neuwirth, Kirk Acevedo and Fred Dalton Thompson appearing in both episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a best-seller by Elizabeth Berg, this made-for-TV movie stars Christine Lahti as Samantha Morrow, a middle-class mom deserted by her shallow husband, David (Chris Potter). In order to keep a roof over her head -- not to mention the head of her son, Travis (Mark Rendall) -- Samantha decides to take in boarders. Among these is a runaway teenager named Lavender Blue (Grace Lynn Kung) and a chubby working stiff named King (Daniel Baldwin). Without giving the game away, it can be noted that one of these boarders will enable Samantha to realize her full value as a woman and human being by film's end. Also on hand are Samantha's down-to-earth mom (Eva Marie Saint) and cable-TV home-design expert Colin Cowie (as himself). Open House made its initial CBS appearance on February 16, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously fired from his job as manager of "Emerald City," the experimental unit set up at Oswald Correctional Facility, Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) has been reinstated by the time Oz's fifth season gets under way. The season begins with an accounting of the damage caused by the gas explosion at the end of season four. Not long afterward, "Emerald City" has new facilities, and a whole new crop of inmates -- all from solitary, having been relocated due to ventilation problems. In another development, a bus accident kills the relatives of several Emerald City inmates; among those devastated by the loss is wheelchair-bound Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.), who makes a dangerous choice when he tries to console himself. Elsewhere, convict Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) puts his life on the line to reassert his control over the prisoners; inmate Rebadow (George Morfogen) is cheated out of a two-million-dollar lottery prize; and the prisoners put on a variety show. Season five ends with an overabundance of cliffhanger situations involving (among other things) a comatose convict and a capital murder conviction. There is also a devastating loss at season's end -- even more devastating than the one incurred at the outset of the season. ~ All Movie Guide

As season four of Oz begins, the experimental unit at Oswald State Correctional Facility known as "Emerald City" is not living up to manager Tim McManus' (Terry Kinney) hopes. Ever since he set up the unit, wherein convicts are given more freedom of movement, extra privileges, and the opportunity for advancement, McManus has been frustrated that his good intentions have not paid off in wholesale rehabilitation. In fact, things seem to have gotten worse, with too many murders and suicides occurring within the unit. Hoping to alleviate the situation, McManus' head guard, Murphy (Robert Clohessy), suggests that all the cons -- including those in solitary -- spend an hour each day indulging in healthy recreation. Again, however, the plan fails when a killing takes place during that special hour. With more episodes this season than in previous years (16, compared to the usual eight), Oz is able to devote extra time to a plethora of subplots. One of these involves convicted murderer Shirley Bellinger (Kathryn Erbe), who after losing her unborn baby under suspicious circumstances is sent back to death row. Also, a group of illegal aliens sequestered in Emerald City is the catalyst for a rash of violence; Warden Glynn (Ernie Hudson) runs for lieutenant governor; an attempt to film a documentary in Oz ends in disaster; Busmalis (aka "The Mole") (Tom Mardirosian), manages to break out of prison, only to be recaptured as he stands outside the home of his favorite TV star; crooked evangelist Rev. Cloutier (Luke Perry) is tossed into the unit; and infirmary doctor Gloria Nathan (Lauren Velez) is raped. Tensions continue to mount as McManus is fired and convict Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) escapes (these plot twists were designed to allow Acevedo and his co-star Terry Kinney to take leaves of absence to appear in other projects); new unit manager Martin Querns (Reg E. Cathey) cuts a sinister deal with drug-dealing con Adebisi (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje) to put a lid on the violence; fired guard Clayton Hughes (Seth Gilliam) tries to assassinate Governor Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek); a plot is hatched to frame wheelchair-bound convict Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.) for a crime he hasn't committed; the children of inmate Beecher (Lee Tergesen) are placed in jeopardy thanks to orders from the "inside"; and incarcerated Muslim leader Said (Eamonn Walker) settles accounts with an old enemy. The season ends with a cliffhanger, sparked -- literally -- by a deadly gas explosion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Garner is reunited with several of his fellow cast members from the Rockford Files series in this made-for-TV sequel. It all begins when schoolteacher Ernie Landale (Hal Holbrook), the husband of private eye Jim Rockford's ex-prostitute friend Rita Kapkovic (Rita Moreno), is accused of child molestation. Never mind that the evidence is circumstantial at best, flimsy at worst: The Media have already tried and convicted Landale, irresponsibly whipping up a journalistic frenzy that turns all of the benighted teacher's associates and friends against him. All, that is, except Jim Rockford (Garner), who, together with Landale's attorney Beth Davenport (Gretchen Corbett) and police lieutenant Dennis Becker (Joe Santos), is prepared to move heaven and earth to find the actual pedophile and clear Landale's name. Filmed in 1997, The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds, It Leads made its CBS debut on April 20, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Idealistic, "New Age" unit manager Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) persists in trying to mold "Emerald City" (aka Cell Block 5 of Oswald State Correctional Facility -- formerly Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary) into a model "prison within a prison" as Oz begins its third season. Part of McManus' pie-in-the-sky plan includes the hiring of his old friend Sean Murphy (Robert Clohessy) as a guard. Alas, Murphy's efforts to redirect the convicts' energies and hostilities into good, clean athletics are compromised when one inmate renders another inmate brain-dead in a boxing match. No one is more delighted at Tim McManus' frustration than the state's ambitious governor James Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek), who as part of his platform to strip the cons of all perks and privileges has ruthlessly slashed the prison's budget to the bone. In addition to Sean Murphy, Officer Claire Howell (Kristin Rhode) joins the guard unit, immediately making enemies of everyone within the sound of her voice. Not only does Howell force the cons into having sex with her to lighten up punishment duty, but she also ends up suing McManus for sexual harassment. Sensing the opportunity to establish themselves as top dogs at Emerald City block leaders, convicts Adebisi (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje) and Wangler (J.D. Williams) likewise gang up on McManus, taking their complaints to the press. Elsewhere, the death sentence of Shirley Bellinger (Kathryn Erbe) is commuted to life without parole when it turns out she is pregnant; Warden Glynn (Ernie Hudson) hires Off. Clayton Hughes (Seth Gilliam), the son of one of Oz's former guards, only to discover that Hughes is a psycho on a revenge kick; Beecher (Lee Tergesen) hatches an elaborate revenge scheme of his own; and charismatic Muslim leader Said (Eamonn Walker) is among those thrown into solitary after a bitter racial showdown. The season ends with a not-so-merry Christmas for all, and to all a bad night. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season two of Oz gets under way in the wake of the bloody riot at "Emerald City," the experimental unit set up on Cell Block 5 of Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary, in which eight are killed and 34 wounded. Though it is obvious to many observers that the ruthlessly ambitious Governor Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek) has used the riot as an excuse to violently smash Warden Glynn's (Ernie Hudson) efforts to rehabilitate the prisoners via more freedom of movement and extra privileges, Devlin's questionable actions in the incident are condoned by the prison board. Ten months later, the convicts are herded into Emerald City's new facilities -- whereupon the old power struggles and drug trading resumes as if nothing had happened. The unit's still-idealistic manager, Tim McManus (Terry Kinney), hopes to mollify the prisoners and mold them into useful citizens worthy of rehabilitation by reinstating many of their privileges, and by attempting to bring the various factional subgroups -- the Latinos, the Italians, the Muslims -- into a homogenous "whole" in which everyone is equal and no one is mad at anyone. McManus has also convinced himself that the cons would benefit from an education program. Before long, alas, most of McManus' New Age notions are flattened beneath the juggernaut of reality. New to the Em City prisoner population this season are Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni), Agamemnon "The Mole" Busmalis, (Tom Mardirosian), and Cyril O'Reily (Scott William Winters). Events crucial to the action include the rape of Gov. Glynn's daughter by members of the Latinos; the publication of a "true" interpretation of the riot by inmate Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker), the powerful and nationally famous leader of the Muslims; the governor's announcement that prisoner Shirley Bellinger (Kathryn Erbe) is to be the first woman executed by the state since 1841; and a "foolproof" escape attempt that ends in a double tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Seen mostly through the eyes of wheelchair-bound prisoner Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.), who serves as narrator and "tour guide," the first season of Oz begins with the establishment of a "prison within a prison" on Cell Block 5 of Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary -- aka "Oz." Under the watchful eyes of Warden Leo Glynn (Ernie Hudson), Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) serves as unit manager of Cell Block 5, which he rechristens the Emerald City. It is the hope of the idealistic McManus that by allowing the prisoners more freedom and privileges, and getting them used to a daily routine, they will become rehabilitated more quickly. Perhaps it goes without saying that McManus is in for a lot of disillusionment and disappointment during the eight episodes of season one. Newly interned at "Em City" are former lawyer Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen), nervously serving time for murder; famed Muslim leader Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker), who calmly informs Warden Glynn that he intends to become "top man" at Oz; pro basketball player Jackson Vayhue (Rick Fox); and cannibalistic serial killer Donald Groves (Sean Whitesell). Their assimilation into the prison population is uneventful until Governor James Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek), who has sailed into office on a platform diametrically proposed to Glynn's "coddling" of prisoners, orders the removal of such newly installed privileges as smoking and conjugal visits. Going one step farther, Devlin reinstates the death penalty, resulting in the immediate execution of one of the Em City "residents." Clearly, this does nothing to alleviate the tension between cons and guards -- nor, for that matter, between the various powerful factions within the population. In the course of events, an undercover narc is found hanged in his cell, another prisoner is set afire, the Oz staffers wrestle with the problem of what to do with elderly inmates, a turf war breaks out over a game of checkers, and Kareem Said suffers a heart attack. The season ends with a bloody and destructive riot -- with no indication as to who will survive to appear in season two. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide