Dick O'Neill Movies
American character actor Dick O'Neill began showing up in films in 1961. Most of O'Neill's movie roles were in the supporting category, e.g. his portrayal of Sol Zuckermann in The Buddy Holly Story. His extensive TV credits include recurring roles on at least four weekly series. Dick O'Neill was seen as Judge Praetor D. Hardcastle in Rosetti and Ryan (1977), street-smart Malloy in Kaz (1978), corporate vice president Arthur Broderick in Empire (1984), and Fred Wilkinson in the 1987 episodes of Falcon Crest. Fans of the detective series Cagney and Lacey will remember O'Neill for playing Charlie Cagney. Before entering film and television, O'Neill was a well established supporting actor on the New York stage where he appeared on and off Broadway. In the early '50s, O'Neill was a charter member of the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. For the last seven years of his life, O'Neill served on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Screening Committee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1974
Unemployed for months, James (John Amos) is on the verge of a sure thing when he applies for a job at a department store. As a gesture to good luck, James allows his wife, Florida (Esther Rolle), to accompany him to the job interview. Unfortunately for James' already battered and bruised ego, the store decides to hire Florida instead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- R
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On a quiet midday in New York, along the Lexington Avenue subway line, the train designated "Pelham One Two Three" -- so named for its station of origin and time of departure -- makes its way down the East Side of Manhattan. One by one, three men board the train, and at 28th Street, a fourth man approaches the motorman (James Broderick) and points a pistol at him, ordering him to unlock the door to his cab and admit the man waiting there; meanwhile, another man points a gun at the conductor and threatens to kill him unless he holds the doors open and then closes them when the man talking to the motorman is aboard. Once on board, "Mr. Blue" (Robert Shaw) and "Mr. Green" (Martin Balsam) halt the train between stations, while "Mr. Brown" (Earl Hindeman) and "Mr. Gray" (Hector Elizondo) seal off the lead car. With Mr. Green at the controls, the front car is separated and isolated in the tunnel with 17 passengers aboard, and then Mr. Blue presents their demands over the radio: one million dollars in cash, within one hour, or they will start shooting one passenger each minute. On the other end, Transit Police Lieutenant Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau) must overcome his initial disbelief to deal with this threat, amid the confusion of a subway system that's chaotic even when it's running normally. With the mayor reluctantly aboard to pay the ransom, Garber must keep the hijackers from carrying out their threat while the money is transported, and keep the hotheads around him and on the police force under control -- and figure out how they intend to get away with a million dollars from inside a subway tunnel with police on all sides. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, (more)
This third film version of the 1928 Ben Hecht/Charlie MacArthur Broadway hit The Front Page was the first one permitted to utilize all the salty profanities in the original play. Director Billy Wilder cast his two favorite leading men, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, as ace reporter Hildy Johnson and ruthless newspaper editor Walter Burns, respectively. The plot of the Hecht/MacArthur play remains intact: Burns pulls every underhanded game in the book to prevent Johnson from leaving his Chicago paper to get married, and in so doing the two journalists uncover a cesspool of political corruption, centered around the planned execution of anarchist Earl Williams (Austin Pendleton). Carol Burnett has an extended cameo as Williams' tart girlfriend, Mollie Malloy. The Front Page was remade for a fourth time in 1988 as Switching Channels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, (more)
- 1972
Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) emerges from a minor traffic accident with nary a scratch. This isn't quite good enough for Fred's buddy Bubba (Don Bexley), who never met a scam he didn't like. With Bubba's encouragement, Fred decides to shout "whiplash" (it rhymes with "get cash") and sue the other driver in the accident. The fun begins when the truth about the other driver's car is revealed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
- 1972
Any resemblance between the U.S. president in Hail and Richard M. Nixon was purely intentional. Faced with rebellious teenagers and college students, paranoid chief executive Dan Resin comes up with a brilliant idea: lock all the malcontents in concentration camps. Unfortunately, this leads to ramifications that turn the Good Ol' USA into an armed stockade. Amusing at first, the film's satirical content is compromised by repetition and predictability. Also known as Hail to the Chief and Washington BC, Hail was released in 1973 -- though, incredibly, it was completed before the Watergate incident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- R
With a storyline evocative of the previous year's smash gay-themed The Boys in the Band, this drama centers on a varied group of homosexuals who meet in a New York bar on a Christmas Eve to talk about their lives, their travails, and relationships. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Easygoing but psychotic Dennis (Anthony Perkins) is released from jail, where he has served a sentence for his complicity in a suspicious death. Wandering through a small, working-class New England town, Dennis befriends apparently normal high school A-student Sue Ann (Tuesday Weld). He fills her head with lies about his imaginary career as a secret agent. She is thrilled, and makes up her mind to join him in his further adventures. This jet-black "who's manipulating who?" seriocomedy was adapted by Lorenzo Semple Jr. from Stephen Geller's novel She Let Him Continue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, (more)
One of the most fearsome of the Japanese monsters to hit the screen in the early 60's makes his debut in sci-fi thriller. As tensions between America and the Soviet Union rise to a fever pitch, U.S. troops shoot down a Russian bomber which is flying low in an Arctoc region. The bomber crashes, and its payload of hydrogen bombs explode upon impact. The blast releases and awakens Gamera, a gigantic fire-breathing turtle which had been frozen under the ice since prehistoric times. The newly revived monster makes his way to Tokyo, Japan, where he begins to lay waste to the city. As emminent scientist Dr. Hidaka (Eiji Funakoshi) searches for a way to defeat the monster, a young boy named Yoshiro (Yoshiro Unchida) develops an unlikely friendship with Gamera. For the film's American release, additional scenes were added featuring U.S. actors Brian Donlevy and Albert Dekker. The spelling of the monster's name was also changed; he's Gammera with two M's in this movie, but just Gamera in the sequels which followed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Dekker, Brian Donlevy, (more)
- 1965
The Viet Cong have captured an American doctor to treat their wounded soldiers, but the doctor's U.S. Marine brother, with the help of a few others, plans a rescue mission. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1961
A warmed-over relic of the Cold War, Capture That Capsule was produced, co-written and directed by Will Zens. Orson Welles he wasn't. Cult favorite Dick Miller (here billed rather formally as "Richard") plays a quick-witted American secret agent. Miller is sent to retrieve a valuable data capsule from behind the Iron Curtain. His job is made easier by the fact that (at least according to this film) the communist hierarchy is comprised of the lame, the halt and the blind. Capture That Capsule was one of those films seemingly pre-destined to be shown on TV during baseball rain delays. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Miller, Dick O'Neill, (more)
- 1958
In this crime drama, a police psychiatrist sets out to capture a whacko purse snatcher who has been scarring the faces of his female victims as he makes off with their bags. When a girl is killed, all evidence points to the mugger, but when he is captured he fervently denies it. The police then begin looking for the real culprit and discover that the killer is the dead girl's brother-in-law and close friend of the shrink. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kent Smith, Nan Martin, (more)
