Barry Newman Movies
The son of an Austrian father and Swedish mother, Boston-born actor Barry Newman received a liberal education ranging from Latin to Hebrew to music. Graduating from Brandeis University with an anthropology degree, Newman decided upon becoming an actor when he chanced to wander into a class conducted by Actors Studio mentor Lee Strasberg. He was busy if not famously so on stage and in Manhattan-based TV (notably the daytime drama Edge of Night). His first film was the gangster potboiler Pretty Boy Floyd (1960), his breakthrough picture was The Lawyer (1969). Newman made an excellent impression in the role of a cocky gonzo attorney, a character reprised in the 1974 TV movie Night Games. This in turn led to the TV series Petrocelli, starring Newman as a compassionate big-city lawyer living and working in Tucson, Arizona. After Petrocelli was cancelled in 1974, Barry Newman showed up on stage, in several made-for-TV movies, and in the Aaron Spelling "jiggle" series Nightingales (1989). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Two down-on-their-luck meat salesmen struggling to make a buck find that sometimes you have to grill your clients to secure the sale in this rib-tickling comedy that teams King of Queens star Kevin James with Everybody Loves Raymond star Ray Romano. Maurice (Romano) and Dave (James) have been issued an ultimatum by their frustrated boss: move some meat or hit the street. Now forced to make the sale of a lifetime or face a grim fate working behind the counter of the local butcher, the two hapless meat-slingers set their sights on a foolproof prospect that promises to provide just the funds needed to keep them afloat. Unfortunately for Maurice and Dave, their perfect plan leads them into the company of some very bad men, and now with their jobs on the line and their lives hanging in the balance, these two scheming salesmen must finalize the big deal and get the money back to the boss before they end up in the freezer with the rest of the dead meat. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Part narrative, part documentary, and part animation, What the #$*! Do We Know?! was filmed with the intent of expressing the neurological processes and so called "quantum uncertainty" of life. With the help of a directorial triumvirate consisting of Betsy Chasse, William Arntz, and Mark Vicente, Marlee Matlin stars as Amanda, whose uninspired daily routine is abruptly altered into a chaotic, Alice in Wonderland-style reality, complete with quirky characters and wildly different perspectives on life. As Amanda falls deeper into the experience, she's forced to drastically reconsider her perceptions of interpersonal relationships, men, and the fundamental principles of life. What the #$*! Do We Know?! is supplemented by a host of mystics and scientists, who are interviewed intermittently throughout the film for their wisdom and knowledge concerning religion, science, the thin line between them, and the consequences of blurring that line. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlee Matlin, Elaine Hendrix, (more)
When Jill (Janeane Garofalo), the sister of reformed womanizer and former high-profile fashion photographer Jack (Nestor Carbonell), leaves her 17-year-old son with his uncle in an unstable bid to find herself, her brother and sister face an increasingly uncertain future in this dark drama from director Bobby Roth. Bored of working an endless string of weddings and bar mitzvahs and longing to return to the success he experienced before his luck took a nosedive, Jack attempts to connect with both his teenage son and nephew while pulling his life into focus. To make matters even more complicated, Jill's jobless ex-husband, Eli (John Ritter), has also decided to move in with Jack. Will the hapless photographer be able to keep his sanity as his dysfunctional family forces itself into virtually every aspect of his increasingly chaotic life? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nestor Carbonell, Janeane Garofalo, (more)
Following memorable roles in the military action-adventures Pearl Harbor (2001) and Black Hawk Down (2001), young actor Josh Hartnett is propelled to romantic leading man status with this semi-autobiographical comedy from screenwriter Rob Perez. Hartnett stars as Matt Sullivan, a young man smarting over the bitter breakup of his most recent relationship. With Lent approaching, Matt decides to observe the 40-day tradition by abstaining from all sexual contact, including self-gratification. Once his odyssey of discipline has begun, he meets the girl of his dreams, while his ex begins campaigning to get him back. Co-starring Shannyn Sossamon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Vinessa Shaw, 40 Days and 40 Nights inspired another round of controversy between distributor Miramax and the Catholic League, which accused the film of being a "vulgar parody" of Lent. The League previously protested the company's releases of Priest (1994) and Dogma (1999). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon, (more)
One man's insatiable appetite for sex begins upending his life in this biting independent comedy. Jack (Nestor Carbonell) is a photographer known to his friends as "Jack the Dog," thanks to his compulsive womanizing; Jack seems incapable of staying with one partner for long before he finds himself attracted to someone else, and given his good looks and easy charm, Jack doesn't have much trouble convincing the women he meets to spend the night with him. Deep inside, Jack wants to change, and he tries to put himself on the straight and narrow by marrying Faith (Barbara Williams). Jack and Faith soon have a son, Sam (Andrew J. Ferchland), whom Jack dotes upon, but Faith turns out to be a poor advertisement for long-term monogamy; she's not especially warm or forgiving, and she's started to show her age, which only intensifies Jack's taste for younger women. Jack soon slides into chronic infidelity, and Faith leaves him, relocating to London and leaving Sam behind. This is good news as far as Jack's concerned, but as he tries to watch over his son, while also seducing an endless parade of beautiful women, Jack finds himself increasingly puzzled by the opposite sex, and he wonders if he might have a problem he hasn't learned to deal with. Jack the Dog received its world premiere at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nestor Carbonell, Barbara Williams, (more)
Two bad cops rise from the grave in an attempt to go straight in this offbeat comedy. Mike Mattress (Tate Donovan) and Dean Crept (William Forsythe) are a pair of stone-faced FBI agents who are not above stretching the law to their advantage; their double dealings lead to their fiery death in a booby-trapped car, and the two agents find themselves descending into Hell. After a disturbing run-in with Satan (Robert Goulet), Mattress and Crept escape and find their way back to Earth, where they hope to perform some good deeds that might allow them to escape damnation. Starting over as private eyes, Mattress and Crept are hired by millionaire Greydon Lake (Barry Newman), who believes his wife Gloria (Vanessa Angel) has been unfaithful to him. Gloria soon turns the tables by hiring the two gumshoes away from her husband, but things take a sinister turn when Greydon turns up dead. While tracking down leads in Greydon's murder, Mattress and Crept discover he was financing research by the eccentric Dr. Boifford (David Huddleston), whose bizarre talents come in handy when Buster (Bobcat Goldthwait), a leg man for the detectives, is killed while doing research; Boifford is able to transplant his brain into the body of a robot. Meanwhile, Buster's accident attracts the attention of the police, as well as FBI agents Dalton (Zach Galligan) and Langdon (Gary Busey), who are hot on the heels of the formerly dead lawmen. G-Men From Hell is based on characters from the comic book Grafik Musik, created by Michael Allred. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Forsythe, Tate Donovan, (more)
In this comedy, Ryan Turner (Charlie Sheen) is a successful young stockbroker whose life falls apart seemingly overnight when Donald Simpson (Barry Newman), the owner of a powerful media conglomerate, gives him some particularly bad advice about a certain stock; this might have something to do with the fact Ryan has been having an affair with Veronica (Lisa Rinna), Simpson's wife. Ryan loses his job, he finds himself banned from stock trading, and he's about to be evicted from his apartment when his live-in girlfriend Cindy (Denise Richards) decides to leave him to fly off to Rio with a new man. As Ryan tries to come up with a way to pay his rent, he gets a call from Cindy's boss; she writes a newspaper advice column, and it seems her copy is long overdue. Needing Cindy's paycheck to keep a roof over his head, Ryan begins writing her column for her, leading to a wealth of complications and misunderstandings. Good Advice also stars Jon Lovitz, Rosanna Arquette, and Estelle Harris. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Angie Harmon, (more)
Detective Rem Macy (Tom Berenger) is investigating a murder mystery instigated by the discovery of a disembodied hand. After the victim is identified, the victim's roommate (Lori Heuring) becomes frightened for her life and asks to stay at Macy's place for a while. The detective reluctantly agrees, and soon finds himself falling for the young woman. Meanwhile, as Macy continues with the investigation, he begins to learn of a larger conspiracy that ranges to the gangs of Chinatown to some of the city's most powerful leaders -- and maybe even the young woman he's protecting. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Ferne Cassel, (more)
A group of wanna-be filmmakers and actors concocts a scheme to make a movie with a major star without having to pay him in this comedy. Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) has struggled for years to make it in Hollywood with no real success; he's convinced that he has to make his big break soon or it will be too late. Bobby has a script, and he has a cast, including an ingenue straight off the bus from Ohio (Heather Graham), a one-time regional stage star who fondly recalls her brief moment of glory (Christine Baranski), and a hunky aspiring matinee idol (Kohl Sudduth). He also has a young associate named Dave (Jamie Kennedy), who has a low-level job at a movie studio as a gofer -- which means that he has keys to every part of the lot and can "borrow" whatever they need. All they need is a star, but without any money, how do they get one? Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) is a leading action star, and he is obviously beyond Bowfinger's budget. But Bobby has an idea: what if he tricked Kit into appearing in the film without his knowing it? Steve Martin also wrote the film's screenplay, and former Muppets performer Frank Oz directs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, (more)
- 1999
- PG13
An ordinary man find out that he's been turned into a weapon in this sci-fi thriller. Robert Dean (Michael Dudikoff) is an engineer with Gencom, a multi-national technology firm. Dean enjoys an ordinary life with his wife and family, until he suddenly begins losing most of his memory. As Dean tries to figure out what is happening to him, he makes the shocking discovery that Gencom has actually been programming him to commit violent crimes for their benefit, and then forget what he's done. Now Dean must find out who is responsible and how to stop them before he can kill again. Directed by cult favorite Fred Olen Ray, The Fugitive Mind also stars Michele Greene, Heather Langenkamp, David Hedison, and Ian Ogilvy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Heather Langenkamp, (more)
Two actors best known for their work in the late 1960s, Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda, star in The Limey, a drama in which a recently released felon contemplates the gulf between aging criminals like himself and their modern counterparts. Wilson (Stamp) is a British career criminal who has been released after nine years in prison. He has learned that his daughter Jenny died under suspicious circumstances in Los Angeles, so he travels to America for the first time to find out what happened and who's responsible. With the help of an ex-con named Ed (Luis Guzman), Wilson discovers Jenny was romantically involved with Valentine (Fonda), a middle-aged record producer with a shady past and a fondness for young women. In hopes of getting the truth -- and getting to Valentine -- Wilson finds himself doing battle with some of the worst criminals to crawl from the underbelly of Los Angeles; along the way, he also meets Elaine (Lesley Ann Warren), an older actress who knew Jenny and reminds Wilson of how little he really did for his daughter while she was alive. Steven Soderbergh's first film after his commercial comeback with 1998's Out Of Sight, The Limey features, along with Stamp and Fonda, two other notable 60's actors in supporting roles, Barry Newman and Joe Dallesandro. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, (more)
- 1998
Season six of NYPD Blue begins with a story arc designed to prepare viewers for the inevitable departure of series regular Jimmy Smits (Detective Bobby Simone). It all begins as Bobby's dentist asks the detective to check up on the dentist's daughter, whose boyfriend is a slimy drug dealer. When the boyfriend is stabbed, disreputable private eye Mike Roberts (Michael Harney), currently the bodyguard of the victim's father, asks the cops to give the case "special" handling -- much to the disgust of Bobby's partner, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), who despises Roberts. Elsewhere, a false-alarm rape investigated by Bobby's wife and co-worker, Diane Russell (Kim Delaney), turns out to be the real things; John Irvin (Bill Brochtrup), returning to the precinct after his business folds, strikes up a friendship with new PAA Dolores Mayo (Lola Glaudini); and, on a more ominous note, Bobby begins to exhibit signs of a potentially serious illness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on a novel by acclaimed crime writer James Ellroy, this film stars Michael Rooker as Fritz Brown, a former L.A.P.D. detective who was kicked off the force due to his drinking. Now struggling to remain sober, Brown works as a private eye when he can, but he makes most of his money repossessing cars. One day, Brown is offered some detective work by Freddie "Fat Dog" Baker (William Sasso), a golf caddy who has some severe reservations about his younger sister, Jane (Selma Blair) and her relationship with Solly (Harold Gould), a wealthy businessman with mob connections who is old enough to be Jane's grandfather. Brown isn't interested at first, but when "Fat Dog" starts flashing an impressive bankroll, he decides to take the case. Brown's investigation of Solly causes him to cross paths with Cathcart (Brion James), the head of L.A.P.D. internal affairs who was responsible for Brown losing his job. Soon Brown runs afoul of a group of hired thugs and several key figures wind up dead as Brown tries to find out the truth about Solly and Jane. Ellroy wrote Brown's Requiem, his first novel, while he was still supporting himself as a golf caddy and breaking himself of a decade-long addiction to drugs and alcohol. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Rooker, Tobin Bell, (more)
Sylvestor Stallone comes to the rescue in this disaster/adventure picture. A truck containing dangerous chemicals explodes in the Holland Tunnel, trapping those New Yorkers not killed in the explosion. Authorities know there are survivors, but cannot figure out what to do to save them. Ruptured water mains and leaks in the tunnel itself, which is beneath the Hudson River, will cause it to fill with water in a few hours. Of all the colorful characters trapped there, only Roy Nord (Viggo Mortensen), a mountain climber, has any ideas about what to do, but he quickly dies while attempting to save the others. However, Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone) is a former city Emergency Medical Services director who was in the area of the explosion, and he knows the tunnel's construction quirks. He quickly convinces city officials to let him wend his way through the tunnel's maze of exhaust fans to help the exhausted survivors confront the obstacles that await them. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, (more)
- 1995
J.C.Brandy is cast as teenage tennis star Louise Henderson, whose father--and manager--Lane Henderson (Leon Russom) is notorious for his domineering attitude towards his daughter. So rattled is Louise by her father's relentless badgering that begins suffering nightmares, and ultimately stands up to Lane and refuse to follow his orders any further. Shortly afterward, Lane is found murdered--and Jessica (Angela Lansbury) steps into court (the tennis court, that is) in hopes of proving that Louise is not the killer. This is the final episode of Murder, She Wrote's 11th season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) looks for the person who mugged a disabled (but as it turns out, far from helpless) Vietnam veteran. Along the way, he has another run-in with Assistant DA Sylvia Costas (Sharon Lawrence). While moonlighting, Kelly (David Caruso) finds out that his wealthy friend's sweetheart is playing around -- which leads to deeper complications. Suffering from stress, Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) nonetheless continues juggling the affection of his wife and his girlfriend, Donna (Gail O'Grady). There's also a surprise wedding in the offing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
The emphasis in this episode is not on Jessica (Angela Lansbury) but on her old friend, indefatigable LA homicide detective Jake Ballinger (Barry Newman). Refusing to give up his own personal investigation of a "closed" murder case, Jake is forcibly relocated to a small college town, there to teach a course in criminology. Of course, Ballinger intends to continue pursuing his investigation, this time with help of his students--all two of them (he'd scared the rest of the class away on the first day of the semester!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is among the guests enjoying a skiing vacation at a mountain lodge. At least, she and the other guests were enjoying the vacation until they were all trapped in the lodge by a sudden blizzard. Among the others are a jealous husband, an outraged wife, a long-suffering agent and an abrasive champion skier. Before long, one of these characters is going to be murdered, and Jessica will try to figure out the killer's identity before he (or she) can strike again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Mariette Hartley stars in this groundbreaking TV movie as Gail Springer, a widowed mother on the horns of an outwardly familiar romantic dilemma. Equally in love with two different people, Gail has the devil's own time choosing between them. What made this film unique (at least when it initially aired over the ABC network on April 7, 1986) is that one of Gail's amours is her late husband's business partner Ben Taylor (Barry Newman)--while the other is Gail's female best friend, Marjorie Lloyd (Lynn Redgrave). Impeccably tasteful in its treatment of a potential volatile subject, and refreshingly honest and uncompromising at its conclusion, My Two Loves was filmed on location in San Antonio, Texas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Convicted murderer Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald had hoped that, by telling his side of the story to investigative journalist Joe McGinniss, the authorities would be persuaded of MacDonald's innocence. Instead, McGinniss ended up unswerving in his belief of MacDonald's guilt, and the result was the devastating best-seller Fatal Vision. In this two-part TV adaptation of McGinniss' book, Gary Cole plays MacDonald, a former Green Beret officer, while Frank Dent essays the role of McGinniss. MacDonald's wife and two children are brutally murdered in their Fort Bragg, North Carolina home on February 17, 1970. The prime suspect, MacDonald insists that the killings were committed by a gang of stoned-out hippies, a story that at first is accepted in toto by the doctor's father-in-law Freddy Kassab (Karl Malden). But after MacDonald is officially exonerated, Kassab notices several holes in his son-in-law's story, and becomes convinced that MacDonald was in fact the murderer. Through Kassab's persistence, as well as the uncovering of new forensic evidence, MacDonald is ultimately convicted for all three murders in 1979. Since the TV premiere of Fatal Vision on November 18 and 19, 1984, there has been a growing movement by MacDonald's sympathizers to discredit McGinniss' book and to retry the case--a movement that has been hampered time and again by MacDonald's own erratic behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint, (more)
- 1984
If Elizabeth Montgomery must continue to play put-upon women in her TV movies, it cannot be denied that she possesses the superior talents to pull it off. In Second Sight: A Love Story, Ms. Montgomery portrays a woman who has been blind for 20 years. Worried that people will try to get close to her out of pity, she distances herself emotionally from everyone but her seeing-eye dog Emma. A romance with Barry Newman begins to pull Montgomery out of her shell. When the opportunity arises for a delicate operation that may restore her sight, Ms. Montgomery is alternately elated and perplexed: will the loss of her handicap also lose her the affections of Newman--not to mention Emma? Second Sight: A Love Story was inspired by Sheila Hocken's autobiographical novel Emma and I. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Barry Newman, (more)
- 1983
This final episode of Quincy, M.E was planned as the pilot for a spinoff series titled The Cutting Edge, starring Barry Newman as Dr. Gabriel McCracken, the head of a humanitarian medical service called Project Hope. McCracken and his fellow doctors are dedicated to using state-of-the-art technology to heal the suffering and provide a new lease on life to people who might otherwise have given up the ghost. In the case at hand, McCracken and company re-attach the amputed arm of dockworker Kenny Kelso (Allen Fawcett), then try to help him cope with the possibility that his "good" arm is going bad. Though nominal leading man Quincy (Jack Klugman) has limited footage in this episode, his wife Emily (Anita Gillette) is prominently featured (reportedly, Gillette was to have been a regular on The Cutting Edge--which, unfortunately, remained unsold). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Having It All is a tailored-for-television attempt at "screwball" comedy from the director of About Last Night... and Glory. Dyan Cannon plays a fashion designer who believes that all good things come in pairs. She not only has two different clothing lines in two different cities (New York and LA), but also has two different husbands. Husband #1, Barry Newman, is a straight-arrow type in New York, while husband #2, Hart Bochner, is a laid-back Californian. Adapted by Ann Beckett from a story by Elizabeth Gill, Having It All first aired on October 13, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
This made-for-TV suspenser stars Suzanne Pleshette as famous soap opera writer Carla Webber. Carla turns detective when the cast members of her program begin dying under mysterious circumstances. Barry Newman plays the investigating detective, while Robert Vaughn and Patrick O'Neal are special guest suspects. The film's principal attraction (and a hardly unexpected one) is the presence in the supporting cast of then-current soap opera stars: All My Children's Peter Bergman, General Hospital's Stuart Damon and Robin Mattson, Ryan's Hope's John Gabriel, and One Life to Live's Robert S. Woods. Fantasies was first networkcast January 18, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Amy Medford (Jenny Agutter) is a dutiful housewife of the early 1900s. But when her husband objects to a wife with a career, Amy leaves her husband and comfortable lifestyle. She goes on to devote her life to teaching sight-and-hearing-impaired students at a tradition-bound special school. This film betrays its Disney-studio origins with an audience-rousing action climax, in which Amy's students take on a team of "normal" kids at a football game. Amy was produced by onetime Hollywood leading man Jerome Courtland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny Agutter, Barry Newman, (more)
