Vince O'Brien Movies
- 1996
Thirty years after being convicted on a stabbing-and-rape charge, the accused may be able to get a new trial. This is the result of fresh evidence unearthed by diligent detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Benjamin Bratt). But the good news for the accused rapist is devastatingly bad news for his alleged victim, Cookie Costello (Anita Gillette), who is terrified that she will again be targeted for assault -- and possibly murder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1995
A double murder is at the center of this episode. The principal suspect is Steve Smith (Eddie Malavarca), a young alcoholic whose family once lived in the victims' house. Unfortunately, Smith has already "testified," after a fashion, in front of his local AA group -- and his words may not be admissible evidence in court. Ultimately, the solution hinges upon the fractious relationship between Smith and his biological mother, Anne Bartlett (Fran Brill). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
It's 1958, and the producers of the quiz show 21 have a problem. Their current champ, Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), has a phenomenal memory and a broad range of knowledge. He's also a pudgy loudmouth with a grating personality, so Herbert is encouraged to "take a dive" and allow Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a handsome and charming college professor, to become the show's new champion. Audiences like Van Doren, and he's certainly not averse to the money he's winning, but the ethics of the situation begin to trouble him, especially when the show's producers begin to give him the questions in advance. Director Robert Redford and writer Paul Attanasio paint a telling portrait of how the network heads and advertising men who manipulated the quiz shows were also able to manipulate the responsibility for the scandal away from themselves. While on the surface a story about the scandal itself, Quiz Show is just as importantly about a turning point in the 1950s when TV and advertising began to change American character and culture. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Rob Morrow, (more)
- 1994
A 12-year-old Harlem youth is killed in a hit-and-run. The driver, an elderly Jewish man named Joshua Berger (Michael Constantine), is not indicted. This is all it takes for outspoken (and blatantly bigoted) black activist Reverend Ott (Tony Todd) to foment racial tensions that explode in violence. The scenes involving Assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) and black defense lawyer Shambala Green (Lorraine Toussaint) are among the most powerful ever seen on Law & Order; small wonder that "Sanctuary" was cited by TV Guide as one of television's best individual series episodes. As a bonus, actor J. K. Simmons, who later became a series semiregular in the role of police psychologist Dr. Emil Skoda, is here seen in an entirely different characterization. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1993
A wealthy older woman is found murdered in her apartment. By the time the police and the D.A.'s office catch up with the likeliest suspect -- the woman's much-younger lover, Steven Gregg (Richard Cox) -- he is fully prepared to accept a plea bargain. But the case proves to be far from cut-and-dried when further investigation reveals that Gregg was lying about the last time he saw the victim alive. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1993
A building superintendent is found murdered, and the chief suspect is the man's 17-year-old son, Sean McKinnon (Gabriel Olds). The boy insists that his father was abusive, and that he acted in self defense. The investigation conducted by the D.A.'s office is virtually frozen in its tracks by the obstreperous, self-protective behavior of the dead man's family. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Two socialites find their view of the world changed when a young man takes advantage of their preconceptions in this thoughtful comedy-drama. Flan and Ouisa Kittredge (Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing) are a married couple who have built highly successful careers as art dealers catering to Manhattan's upper crust. The Kittredges are entertaining friends one evening when a young black man named Paul (Will Smith) appears at their door. Paul says that he's a close friend of their children, with whom he attended boarding school, and he's just been mugged and needs to get off the street for a moment. Flan and Ouisa invite him in, and they are immediately taken by Paul's intelligence and charm; he offers to prepare dinner, regales them with stories about his father, Sidney Poitier, and ends up spending the night at their apartment. However, the next morning Flan and Ouisa discover that they've been had; Paul is actually a con artist from the streets who has been pulling the wool over the eyes of many of their friends -- and his actions are beginning to have serious consequences. John Guare adapted the script from his own successful stage play; the supporting cast includes Ian McKellen, Mary Beth Hurt, Bruce Davison, and Heather Graham. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Will Smith, (more)
Woody Allen's romantic comedy of the Me Decade follows the up and down relationship of two mismatched New York neurotics. Jewish comedy writer Alvy Singer (Allen) ponders the modern quest for love and his past romance with tightly-wound WASP singer Annie Hall (Diane Keaton, née Diane Hall). The twice-divorced Alvy knows that it's not easy to find a mate when the options include pretentious New York intellectuals and lifestyle-obsessed Rolling Stone writers, but la-di-dah-ing Annie seems different. Along the rocky road of their coupling, Allen/Alvy weigh in on such topics as endless therapy, movies vs. TV, the absurdity of dating rituals, anti-Semitism, drugs, and, in one of the best set pieces, repressed Midwestern WASP insanity vs. crazy Brooklyn Jewish boisterousness. Annie wants to move to Los Angeles to find that fame that finally does in the relationship -- but not before Alvy gets in a few digs at vacuous, mantra-fixated California. Originally entitled Anhedonia (the inability to enjoy oneself), Annie Hall blended the slapstick and fantasy from such earlier Allen films as Sleeper (1973) and Bananas (1971) with the more autobiographical musings of his stand-up and written comedy, using an array of such movie techniques as talking heads, splitscreens, and subtitles. Within these gleeful formal experiments and sight gags, Allen and co-writer Marshall Brickman skewered 1970s solipsism, reversing the happy marriage of opposites found in classic screwball comedies. Hailed as Allen's most mature and personal film, Annie Hall beat out Star Wars for Best Picture and also won Oscars for Allen as director and writer and for Keaton as Best Actress; audiences enthusiastically responded to Allen's take on contemporary love and turned Keaton's rumpled menswear into a fashion trend. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, (more)
- 1969
Joe (Joel Crothers) insists that Chris Jennings (Don Briscoe) is a werewolf and that Chris' twin brother, Tom, is a vampire. Since the authorities have not seen what the viewers of Dark Shadows have seen, Joe is adjudged insane and bundled off to Windcliff Sanitarium by Julia (Grayson Hall). This episode first aired on January 1, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1969
Sheriff Patterson (Vince O'Brien) thinks that Chris (Don Briscoe) had something to do with Donna's death, but Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) destroys the evidence and provides an airtight alibi. Once the Sheriff has left, Barnabas confronts Chris, telling him that he knows all about the "curse of the pentagram." This episode initially aired on January 24, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1968
Adam (Robert Rodan) retrieves Carolyn (Nancy Barrett) and carries her to the top of Widow's Hill. Preventing the girl from falling to her death, Adam himself plummets from the hill as Sheriff Patterson (Vince O'Brien) closes in. This episode originally aired on May 31, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1968
Adam (Robert Rodan) is captured by the police and locked up again. Unfortunately, Carolyn (Nancy Barrett) remains hidden in the dank cellar where Adam has imprisoned her. Meanwhile, Julia (Grayson Hall) vainly tries to wipe Willie's (John Karlen) memory clean of the dreaded dream curse. This episode first aired on May 29, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1968
Upon meeting Maggie (Kathryn Leigh Scott), Nicholas (Humbert Allen Astredo) falls deeply and hopelessly in love. Meanwhile, Nicholas' sister, Cassandra (Lara Parker) (aka Angelique) is approached by a desperate Barnabas (Jonathan Frid), who promises eternal devotion if she will spare the life of Victoria (Alexandra Moltke). This episode originally aired July 10, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Laura (Diana Millay) seemingly grows fond of Burke (Mitchell Ryan), much to the displeasure of Carolyn (Nancy Barrett). Victoria (Alexandra Moltke), armed with disturbing new information about the fire in Phoenix, resolves to keep Laura away from David (David Henesy) -- even though it was she who encouraged David to trust Laura in the first place. Vince O'Brien takes over from John Connell in the role of Lt. Dan Riley. This episode originally aired on January 18, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Dr. Guthrie (John Lasell) is frustrated by the lack of evidence on the recording of the séance. Lt. Riley (Vince O'Brien) heads to Phoenix to check on reports that Laura Collins actually died in a fire -- and he's in for quite a jolt. This episode first aired on February 23, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Lt. Riley (Vince O'Brien) has positive proof that Laura Collins (Diana Millay) died in a fire in Phoenix -- this despite the fact that someone who looks and acts like Laura is alive and kicking at Collinwood. Meanwhile, Victoria (Alexandra Moltke) is seized by an overwhelming desire to pay a visit to a graveyard. This episode originally aired on January 25, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Armed with clues provided by a ghost, Victoria (Alexandra Moltke) pays a return visit to the grave of L. Murdock Stockbridge. Meanwhile, the possibility that Laura Collins is actually the reincarnation of two different women -- both of whom died in fires -- becomes more and more a certainty. This episode originally aired on January 31, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) plants evidence to frame Willie for Maggie's kidnapping. The plot thickens as Willie emerges from his coma -- while Julia (Grayson Hall) prepares to kill him, on Barnabas' orders. Vince O'Brien, previously cast as Lt. Dan Riley, briefly takes over for Dana Elcar in the role of Sheriff Patterson. This episode originally aired on September 27, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Director Irvin Kershner, better known for his big-budget films like The Empire Strikes Back, joins with scripters and lead Don Murray to create this moving and effective docudrama. The story is based on the experiences of real-life Rev. Charles Dismas Clark (played here by Murray), a Jesuit priest devoted to working with young ex-convicts who face uphill battles in trying to re-integrate into a society that discriminates against them. At focus is the struggle of Billy Lee Jackson (Keir Dullea) with his personal demons as he gets involved in crimes which are not of his doing alone. His case illustrates the nature of the majority of cases, and like the majority, he pays in spades for his "mistakes." A powerful argument for looking at the horror of the death penalty and society's responsibility for crime, this well-wrought story is compelling and consistently effective. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don Murray, Larry Gates, (more)
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