David Morse Movies
A fixture of 1980s TV series and movies, prolific character actor David Morse became a reliable and much lauded supporting presence in feature films from the 1990s onward.Raised in Hamilton, MA, Morse began his professional career after high school, joining the Boston Repertory Theater in 1971. Over the next six years, Morse acted in over 30 productions, amply preparing him for a move to New York theater in 1977. Morse subsequently got his first big movie break when he was cast in the drama Inside Moves (1980). Though Morse proved that he could handle lighter films with Neil Simon's comedy Max Dugan Returns (1983), his detour into television in 1982 was initially more fruitful. As Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison, Morse spent six seasons on the esteemed hospital drama St. Elsewhere, co-starring with, among others, Denzel Washington. During his stint on St. Elsewhere, Morse also starred in a diverse collection of TV movies. He was a priest in love with Valerie Bertinelli's nun in Shattered Vows (1984), a prisoner attempting a breakout from Alcatraz in Six Against the Rock (1987), a detective in Down Payment on Murder (1987), and a mental hospital escapee in Winnie (1988). Continuing his presence on the small screen after St. Elsewhere, Morse appeared in several more TV movies, including starring as a deranged kidnapper in Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann (1991).
Though he co-starred as a drifter in the indie film Personal Foul (1987) and appeared in Michael Cimino's noir remake The Desperate Hours (1990), Morse did not concentrate most of his energies on feature films until the 1990s. After starring as Viggo Mortensen's brother in Sean Penn's directorial debut, The Indian Runner (1991), Morse moved to more mainstream work with supporting roles in The Good Son (1993), the Alec Baldwin-Kim Basinger version of The Getaway (1994), and medical thriller Extreme Measures (1996). While he appeared in Terry Gilliam's thoughtful La Jetée (1962) remake 12 Monkeys (1995), faced off with Jack Nicholson in Penn's The Crossing Guard (1996), and starred as a janitor-turned-rich man in George B. (1997), Morse really captured audience attention in a concurrent string of high-profile projects. Returning to Alcatraz, Morse projected quiet menace as one of Ed Harris renegade Marines in the blockbuster hit The Rock (1996). Morse tapped his bad self again in the action romp The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), then cemented his versatility with a small yet vital role as Jodie Foster's gentle father in Contact (1997). Notching his third major summer release in a row, Morse played a SWAT team commander up against Samuel L. Jackson's wrongly accused cop in The Negotiator (1998). Returning to serious blockbuster fare, Morse then co-starred with Tom Hanks as prison guards who witness miracles in The Green Mile (1999).
After a foray into comedy with Bait (2000), Morse stole hostage drama Proof of Life (2000) from his glamorous tabloid-ready co-stars Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe with his intense performance as Ryan's kidnapped husband. Even as he became a popular Hollywood second lead, however, Morse wasn't afraid to veer away from the multiplex, winning an Obie Award for Paula Vogel's acclaimed play How I Learned to Drive and putting a believably human face on an utterly hateful character in Lars von Trier's bleak, award-winning musical Dancer in the Dark (2000). Continuing his protean career, Morse appeared in another gentle Stephen King adaptation Hearts of Atlantis (2001) and starred in Diary of a City Priest (2001) for PBS. Morse followed the ill fated Hearts of Atlantis with a lead role in the indie drama The Slaughter Rule (2002), which was well received on the film festival circuit. Morse subsequently returned to series television, and received top billing, in the CBS drama Hack (2002). Starring Morse as an ex-cop-turned-cab driver, Hack was pummeled by critics, but audiences took to Morse's well intentioned, marginalized law enforcer and Hack became a modest ratings success. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Emmy Award-winning director Tom Hopper takes the helm for this epic, seven-part miniseries produced by Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and presenting American history as seen from the perspective of fiercely independent founding father John Adams (Paul Giamatti). Based on author David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, the film tells the tale of a leader whose remarkable vision helped to guide a burgeoning republic through an especially tumultuous period. Thanks to the tireless support of his loving wife Abigail (Laura Linney), and lifelong friendship with political rivalry Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), John Adams rose to prominence as the spokesman for the American independence movement before moving on to become America's first ambassador to Holland and England, the first American Vice President, the second American President, and the father of the sixth American President. As with McCullough's best-selling biography, the film draws on a comprehensive collection of letters, diaries, and family papers in order to create the most accurate representation of Adams' life and achievements ever captured on film. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, (more)
- 2007
After weeks of mental warfare between Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) and vengeful detective Michael Tritter (David Morse), House suddenly does an about-face, apologizing to Tritter and agreeing to enter drug rehab in exchange for having all charges against him dropped. But can House be trusted? This question looms large over the rest of the episode, which otherwise concerns itself with a firefighter named Derek (Tony Kittles) who suffers uncontrollable shivers whenever he comes near a fire--and whose problem may never be resolved unless he agrees to have his romantic yearnings for his brother's fiance surgically removed (literally!) And speaking of resolutions, wait until Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) gives her testimony when House goes before the judge! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
Using and abusing his power as a police detective, Tritter (David Morse) continues harrassing the clinic staffers in his efforts to nail House (Hugh Laurie) on drug charges. In Tritter's latest strategy, he offers to cut a deal for the first person who rats on House--and it looks like Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) may take the bait. Despite his own legal woes, House takes a divorced couple to court to force them to approve treatment for their 6-year-old daughter Alice (Alyssa Shafer), who is suffering from pancreitis. Having had his Vicodin supply radically curtailed by Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), House is fiendishly delighted when the court remands Alice to Cuddy's custody! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
House (Hugh Laurie) isn't the only one who feels betrayed when Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) cuts a deal with Detective Tritter (David Morse), whereby all charges against House will be dropped if he agrees to spend two months in drug rehab. Elsewhere, having already cut off House's Vicodin supply, Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) also takes him off the case of Abigail (Kacie Borrowman), a 15-year-old dwarf suffering from anemia and a collapsed lung. But without House's input, a diagnosis of Abigail's situation won't come easily. And with House unable to reach a détente with the vengeful Tritter, it looks like a Merry Christmas is not in the cards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
After surviving a robbery and physical assault, an interracial couple (Raviv Ullman, Jurnee Smollett) begins suffering from severe abdominal pains. House (Hugh Laurie) suspects that the similarity of symptoms has a special significance, hidden deeply within the couple's complicated past. Elsewhere, House gets sore when Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) begins spending his spare time with a new nurse (Kimberly Quinn). And in a story development with longer-ranging ramifications, Cuddy demands that House apologize for his rude treatment of patient Michael Tritter (David Morse--who turns out to be a police detective with a singular talent for holding a grudge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
House (Hugh Laurie) lives to regret his rude treatment of his police-detective patient Michael Tritter (David Morse) when he winds up in jail on trumped-up charges. The vengeful Tritter suspects that House's behavior is due to substance abuse, and he won't let up on the doctor until his suspicions are confirmed. Meanwhile, a 600-pound patient named George (Pruitt Taylor Vance) suddenly awakens from a coma and demands to be released, refusing further treatment because he is tired of the staff's "fat" jokes as his expense. Looking into the matter, House discovers that George's current medical problems have nothing to do with his weight...but if not, then what IS the cause? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
Needing the family history of his current patient Kyle Wasniak (Zeb Newman), House must turn to Kyle's only living relative, his father Gabe (John Larroquette)--who has spent the past ten years in a coma. Though he is able to awaken Gabe, securing the man's cooperation turns out to be another matter entirely. Meanwhile, Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) gets sore when he finds out that House has stolen his prescription pad to get more Vicodin--and his loyalty to House is really stretched to the breaking point when the vengeful Detective Tritter (David Morse), determined to put House away on drug charges, begins ruthlessly bearing down on the clinic's staff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
The merciless Tritter (David Morse) turns up the heat on the clinic staff in order to nail House (Hugh Laurie) on drug charges, going so far as to persuade the DNA to revoke Wilson's prescribing privileges. Despite the cut-off of his Vicodin supply, House summons up enough strength to investigate the case of 18-year-old restaurant worker Jack Walters (Patrick Fugit), who has suffered an apparent heart attack while working overtime to support his younger siblings. Though supremely confident that he has correctly diagnosed Jack's condition, House puckishly turns the situation into a game, sealing his findings in an envelope and challenging his coworkers to figure out the case all by themselves (What in the world can the man be up to this time?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A teenager at a personal crossroads finds himself questioning the things that have given his life meaning in this independent coming-of-age drama. Roy Chutney (Ryan Gosling) is a high school senior in a small Montana town. Roy doesn't have an especially close relationship with his mother Evangelline (Kelly Lynch), and he hasn't seen his father in years. That doesn't prevent Roy from feeling emotionally devastated when he learns that his father has killed himself, and Roy's self-esteem takes a beating when he's cut from the high school football team shortly afterward. Roy wiles away his time swilling beer with his best friend, Tracy Two Dogs (Eddie Spears), and falling into a romance with Skyla (Clea Duvall), a barmaid at a local tavern, but it seems Roy's short time on the high school gridiron impressed Gideon Ferguson (David Morse), a local character who coaches a semi-pro six-man football team when he isn't delivering newspapers or trying to score a gig singing country songs at nearby honky-tonks. Gid thinks Roy has potential, and asks him to join his team; encouraged by Gid's belief in him, Roy agrees, and he persuades Tracy to tag along. While playing hardscrabble six-man football helps restore Roy's self-confidence, he finds it doesn't answer his questions about his future or his relationship with Skyla, and when Gid's overwhelming interest in Roy begins to lend credence to the rumors that Gid is gay, Roy starts to wonder just why he was asked to join the team. Jay Farrar, founder of the acclaimed alternative country bands Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, composed the film's musical score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Gosling, David Morse, (more)
- 2002
Hack was essentially The Equalizer as Cab Driver. The protagonist was divorced, disgraced ex-Philadelphia cop Mike Olshansky (David Morse). At the end of his financial rope, Mike found steady employment as a cabbie, though he was never completely successful in suppressing his strong sense of justice. Thus, he frequently became involved in the problems of his passengers, usually rounding up and clobbering bad guys in vigilante fashion. Though the series never overlapped into Travis Bickle territory, it did tend to resemble a Western with a ticking meter. So over-the-top that many viewers tuned in just for the (unintentional) laughs, Hack made its CBS debut on September 27, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Morse, Matthew Borish, (more)
A man of faith finds his responsibilities changing with the world around him as he struggles to keep up in this low-key drama. Father John McNamee (David Morse) is a Catholic priest who presides over the St. Malachy parish in north Philadelphia. Over the years, the neighborhood surrounding St. Malachy has undergone a gradual but dramatic transformation, as "white flight" has turned the community from a racially mixed working-class neighborhood into an economically depressed African-American ghetto. With these changes, Father McNamee has seen his responsibility change from overseeing his flock's spiritual needs to helping to feed and clothe the needy and homeless who live around him. Overworked and understaffed, Father McNamee is beginning to fray under the pressure of his responsibilities; he lacks the energy and the resources to do as much as he thinks should be done for the community, he has no time for himself, and he believes that his parishioners see him as a sad and lonely man with little to look forward to. In time, Father McNamee has to look deep inside himself to find the strength and faith to continue his mission. Diary of a City Priest was directed by Eugene Martin, who previously examined life in inner-city Philadelphia (his hometown) in his feature Edge City. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Morse, John Ryan, (more)
- 2001
This is the first part of a three-video, six-hour program that originally aired February 19-21, 2001, as part of the acclaimed PBS series The American Experience. The program focuses on the marriage of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, and is one of the first documentaries to do so. This documentary postulates that Mary was indeed a key to Lincoln's success. The first part deals with Abraham's and Mary's early years and with their vastly different backgrounds. Lincoln was born to poverty and had less than a year of formal schooling, while Mary Todd grew up in luxury and got more schooling than most girls in that time. Narrated by David McCullough, the program also features interviews with scholars and readings by actors David Morse and Holly Hunter. Highlights include period photographs. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Morse, Holly Hunter, (more)
- 2001
This is the final part of a three-video, six-hour program that originally aired February 19-21, 2001, as a presentation of the acclaimed PBS series The American Experience. The program focuses on the marriage of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, and is one of the first documentaries to do so. In the third part, a series of tragedies overwhelms Mary. Lincoln's urgent need to manage the war hurts the marriage, leaving Mary feeling isolated, especially in light of the death of their son Willie. Often accused of being a Confederate sympathizer, Mary ultimately loses three brothers in battle against the Union. After the president is assassinated, she's devastated. Six years later, after her son Tad dies young of tuberculosis, she loses her sanity and spends the last 17 years of her life institutionalized. Narrated by David McCullough, the program also features interviews with scholars and readings by actors David Morse and Holly Hunter. Highlights include period photographs. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Morse, Holly Hunter, (more)
- 2001
This is the second part of a three-video, six-hour program that originally aired February 19-21, 2001, as part of the acclaimed PBS series The American Experience. The program focuses on the marriage of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, and is one of the first documentaries to do so. This documentary postulates that Mary was indeed a key to Lincoln's success. The second part covers the early years in the White House, as the nation was fragmenting and war was breaking out. Featured are recreated battle scenes, White House dinners, cabinet meetings, and shopping sprees Mary went on to upgrade the shabby presidential mansion. Narrated by David McCullough, the program also features interviews with scholars and readings by actors David Morse and Holly Hunter. Highlights include period photographs. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Morse, Holly Hunter, (more)
In the middle of a live talk-show telecast hosted by the supremely arrogant Pia Postman (Marg Helgenberger), audience member Frank McGrath (David Morse) suddenly pulls out a gun and seizes control of the studio. Slapping a piece of tape over Pia's mouth (a moment that is invariably applauded by viewers surfeited with "confrontational" TV talkfests!), Frank threatens to kill her on the air, holding her responsible for the suicide of his daughter -- and just in case the police think of storming the broadcast, Frank has strapped a bomb to himself and will blow up everyone in the studio, including himself, if anyone tries to stop him. Ultimately, Pia is allowed to speak in her own defense before her execution is carried out, and what follows is a grotesque parody of the Jenny Jones-Jerry Springer school of in-your-face tabloid television, with both Pia and Frank trading verbal barbs with the terrified audience and crew members, not to mention the viewers calling in. Meanwhile, SWAT leader Clay Maloney (Peter Horton, who also co-wrote the film) races against time to defuse the situation before blood can be shed in living color in front of an audience of millions. Filmed in "real time" (just as if it were really a talk-show broadcast), Murder Live! borders on the ridiculous on occasion, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining. The made-for-TV meller first aired over NBC on March 9, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marg Helgenberger, David Morse, (more)
This independent comedy-drama concerns George (David Morse), who works as a janitor cleaning up at a bar in a small town. While no one's sure if George is retarded, he doesn't seem to live in the same world as the rest of them; if he's not unintelligent, he is unfortunately gullible and trusting and lacks the ability to dodge around people's emotions in conversation. George has always thought of his birthday as his good luck day, so one year he decides to celebrate by taking a trip to Reno, and for a change George's hunch is right on the money -- he wins big and comes home with enough money to buy his own house and start his own cleaning business. George finds he's lonely in his new home, and he asks Angela (Nina Siemaszko), a young woman who works at a discount store, to move in with him. Angela doesn't care for her job and is desperate to get away from her harridan mother, so she agrees, though life with George proves to be both funny and troubling. George B. was shown in competition at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1995
A serious rift develops between Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) when Tim's cousin Jim (David Morse) shoots a Turkish exchange student whom he thinks is breaking into his house. Upset that Bayliss is willing to accept Jim's self-defence plea, Pembleton becomes convinced that the Bayliss family is rife with inherent racism. Elsewhere, Lewis (Clark Johnson) thinks he has made a clever economic move when he hires his own grandmother as cook for the new bar -- but he's wrong. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
Ten passengers on a red-eye flight from L.A. to Boston discover that they are not the only people on the plane, but after making an emergency landing in Bangor, Maine, they discover that they are the only people on the planet. This film was based off the Stephen King short story Four Past Midnight. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Wettig, Bronson Pinchot, (more)
- 1992
Based on the 1989 earthquake that rocked San Francisco, this is the true story of the rescue workers who at their own peril tried to free the people trapped under a collapsed highway. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1992
The tragic wreck of the super-tanker Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 24, 1989 was one of the most devastating ecological disasters in recent history. Immediately after the ship ran aground and began pumping over 11 million gallons of suffocating oil from its ruptured hold, experts were sent out to assess the damage and clean up the mess. This gripping docudrama tells their story. Much centers on the conflict between local officials, the fishing industry, and the Exxon official sent out to oversee the clean-up and take the rap. With unflinching moral outrage, the filmmakers point out that much of the aftermath could have been minimized had the officials in charge been better prepared and not spent so much time involved in useless red-tape and petty bureaucratic bickering. Most of the film was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, but it also utilizes archival filmclips of the actual disaster and clean up efforts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann eschews the usual "today's headlines" approach to fact-based TV movies. This 1991 film recounts an event which took place in Shade Gap, Pennsylvania, way back in 1966. A lunatic backwoodsman (David Morse) abducts a 17-year-old local girl (Megan Follows) and spirits her away to the deep woods. During her eight-day ordeal, Peggy Ann develops a sort of sympathy for the pathetic creature who has kidnapped her out of a misguided sense of love. Meanwhile, virtually every authority within a 50-mile radius scours the timberland in search of the girl and her captor. Whether or not Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann was necessary 25 years after the fact is debatable, but one can't deny that the accomplished performances of David Morse and Megan Follows smooth over the script's bumpier sections. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Based on a novel by David Morrell, the made-for-TV Brotherhood of the Rose is unabashedly old-fashioned escapist espionage fare. Peter Strauss and David Morse play polar-opposite CIA agents, code names Romulus and Remus. Their superior-and father figure-is crusty CIA official Robert Mitchum. Though Romulus and Remus are devoted to Mitchum, he is only concerned with the greater good of the service-a philosophy that has become despotic over the years. Now Mitchum has determined that Romulus is expendable. Escaping from CIA assassins, Romulus and Remus stumble into a vast rule-the-world conspiracy called The Brotherhood of the Rose. Filmed in New Zealand, this was originally a long miniseries broadcast in two parts, on January 22 and 23, 1989 - and then edited down to feature length. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The two-part TV movie Cross of Fire is set in the 1920s, when the Ku Klux Klan was at the height of its political power in Indiana. Part One, originally telecast November 5, 1989, details the resurgence of the Klan (which had been created during the Reconstruction era) under the leadership of David "Steve" Stephenson (John Heard). Cloaking himself in the twin veils of patriotism and morality, Stephenson rails against such "deviates" as blacks, Jews and Catholics, gaining political clout and financial kickbacks as his "invisible empire" grows. Part two of Cross of Fire, telecast November 6, traces the fall of Stephenson -- not because his followers have wised up, but because of a 1925 rape and murder charge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Made for television, Winnie is adapted from the fact-based book Winnie: My Life in the Institution by Jamie Paster Bolnick. Meredith Baxter-Birney plays Winnie Sprockett, who at age 6 is adjudged moderately retarded and confined to an Iowa mental institution. After being locked away for 30 years, Winnie campaigns for her release, attempting to write a book of her experiences. At one point she escapes with a fellow patient (David Morse). Through the intervention of a compassionate administrator (Barbara Barrie), Winnie is at last allowed to re-enter the outside world. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Down payment on Murder is a fact-based TV movie starring Connie Sellecca as a battered wife. For ten years she has been the punching bag of her real-estate agent husband, played with brilliant repugnance by Ben Gazzara. When Connie moves out, Gazzara is convinced that it's because of another man; his twisted ego suffers a further blow when she is given custody of the children and police protection. With the help of a security guard with mob connections, Gazzara hires a hit man (G.W.Bailey) to kill his estranged wife. Down payment on Murder is drawn out far too long to sustain its suspense, but its neat surprise ending compensates for the duller passages. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
