Michael Ontkean Movies
A ruggedly handsome Canadian actor whose somewhat imposing frame makes him ideal for authority figures, Michael Ontkean has been appearing in film and television since the early '70s. Though having actors for parents may not necessarily be a surefire sign that one will enter into the entertainment industry, the support and encouragement afforded to young Ontkean was key in building early confidence and skill. Ontkean was a mere four years old when he made his stage debut in his father's repertory company, and in addition to taking the stage at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, he became a popular child star thanks to television roles in such series as Hudson's Bay. Aside from his ambitions as an actor, Ontkean also showed athletic prowess as a hockey player -- he won a scholarship to the University of New Hampshire and played on their team for three seasons. Little did he know that his skills on the ice would eventually come into play in front of the camera as well. His popularity eventually reached beyond the Canadian border when Ontkean gained stateside notice as a key player in the 1972 series The Rookies. Soon thereafter, Ontkean's featured role in the hockey comedy Slap Shot impressed audiences by showing that the up-and-comer could hold his own alongside such heavies as Paul Newman. Through the 1980s, Ontkean's career maintained an even keel with such moderately successful features as Just the Way You Are (1984) and Maid to Order (1987). In 1990 he returned to television to great effect with his role as Sheriff Harry S. Truman in David Lynch's acclaimed series Twin Peaks. The show provided Ontkean's career with something of a revival, and after he appeared in a minor capacity in Postcards From the Edge (1990), a series of television roles kept the versatile actor busy throughout the decade. Ontkean became somewhat lost in the shuffle in the late '90s, but his performance in the child-friendly made-for-television feature Mrs. Ashboro's Cat (2003) proved that the screen veteran still had what it took to charm on the small screen. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide- 1970
Ironside (Raymond Burr) tries to prevent Noel Seymour (Richard Basehart), a respectable middle-aged accountant who is undergoing a bad case of "male menopause", from ruining the rest of his life. The trouble begins when Seymour is arrested on a charge of public intoxication, then skips his arraignment. But things really get serious when the hapless accountant becomes entangled with 18-year-old Judy Blue (Jill Banner) and freewheeling rock musician Richy Tower (Tim Considine). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Future Rookies star Michael Ontkean appears in this episode as Lester Braddock, a high school boy with a reputation as a heartbreaking Lothario. Keith (David Cassidy) and Danny (Danny Bonaduce) despair when it seems that Lester is about to add their sister Laurie (Susan Dey) to his list of conquests. After to a daunting variety of misunderstandings, Keith finally concludes (incorrectly!) that Lester's intentions are honorable--whereupon it falls to Laurie to learn the truth the hard way. Song: "I'll Meet You Halfway". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, The Rookies was the pilot film for the popular early-1970s cop series of the same name. The story centers upon the training of three young rookie cops, played by Michael Ontkean, Georg Stanford Brown and Sam Melville. Darren McGavin is their tough-talking, golden-hearted superior officer. When the Rookies series proper debuted in 1972, Ontkean, Melville and Brown were retained in the cast, but Darren McGavin was replaced by Gerald S. O'Loughlin. Also replaced was Jennifer Billingsley as Sam Melville's wife; the new "Jill Danko" was Kate Jackson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Ontkean, Georg Stanford Brown, (more)
- 1971
- R
This biker action film from a small "B" studio opened to mixed reviews. Once a woman is the "old lady" of a motorcycle gang leader, she is always his "old lady," even when she goes to live in a hippie peace commune and practices the disciplines of peace and love. That's what her old gang thinks anyway, and they intend to do something about it, even if it means pounding the whole crew of lace-clad peacenik pantywaists into the dirt. They begin with a little simple terrorizing and move on to heavier stuff. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
A wicked necromancer controls an entire town, forcing its residents to make the special "toys" he needs to cast his evil spells. This horror outing follows what happens when the dastardly wizard, hoping to revivify his dead son by stealing the soul of another, sets his sights on the wife of his new employee. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
In this counter-culture melodrama, a youthful hitcher teams up with an aging vagabond on a lonely Southwestern road. The two are given a lift by an unemployed rocker. Soon the three find themselves at odds with assorted "establishment" characters until the old hobo has a fatal heart attack. As he dies, he asks to be buried on his old farm. Unfortunately, the newest owner refuses, so the rocker and the hitcher have the old guy cremated. They then scatter his ashes over the farm. Songs include: "Echos of the Road" (Stu Phillips, Bob Stone), "Electric Ethel" (Murphy and Castleman), and "Flowers For My Bed" (Nino Candido). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- PG
Thomas J. Schmidt directed this little-known exploitation film getting a second life on video thanks to a double bill re-release with Werewolves on Wheels as part of the "Golden Age of Leather" series from Anchor Bay. After an unusual credit sequence featuring busty cult starlet Uschi Digart, the film follows the story of two girls (Kathleen Cody and The Fifth Floor's Diane Hull) on their way to a hippie encounter session run by Ralph Waite (The Waltons). They pick up a crazed Vietnam veteran (Michael Ontkean from Twin Peaks) who has grainy flashbacks in both black & white and distorted color, aside from having a bipolar mood disorder. He might just be the serial killer who is murdering hippies in Waite's peaceful village by the ocean, and the average viewer will figure out the answer in less than ten minutes. Familiar faces in this rather dull Fanfare International drive-in dud include Charles Picerni, Ruth Warshawsky, and Paul Sorenson. Schmidt, who had been working in films since the mid-'60s, died in 1975 with this his only credited feature as director. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Paul Newman plays Reggie Dunlop, the coach of a pathetic minor-league American hockey team. His career at a standstill and his marriage in tatters, Dunlop has nothing to lose by taking on a new group of players who are one evolutionary step above Neanderthals. Only when the team begins winning does he decide to get behind these players, and to encourage the rest of the team to play as down-and-dirty as the newcomers. Straight-arrow team member Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean) resents this influx of gonzo talent, preferring to play clean. As the film's multitude of subplots play themselves out, Dunlop does his best to keep the outraged Braden on the team. Slap Shot is the sort of film for which the "R" rating was invented: Its nonstop barrage of profanity and its raunchy action sequences are of such intensity that the film will probably never be shown intact on commercial television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Strother Martin, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Amy Irving plays a deaf woman whose ambition is to become a professional dancer in this drama. Rosemarie Lemon is unhappy with the support she is getting from her family for her dreams. She meets a sensitive truck driver, Drew Rothman (Michael Ontkean), and they become lovers. Rothman's family is full of hatred for the world and ridicules his dream of becoming a singer. Their common ambitions and need for support make their relationship stronger, as each pursues a dream. Director Robert Markowitz uses rock & roll songs to fill in the parts in the movie where Lemon's deafness is emphasized. The soundtrack includes tunes by Burton Cummings, Tom Petty, and Willie Nelson. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Ontkean, Amy Irving, (more)
- 1980
- R
Director Paul Mazursky's follow-up to his 1978 hit An Unmarried Woman found this filmmaker creating a feature-length homage to the François Truffaut classic Jules and Jim. Willie and Phil begins with Jewish intellectual schoolteacher Willie (Michael Ontkean) meeting gregarious Italian-American fashion photographer Phil (Ray Sharkey) at a screening of Jules and Jim. The two hit it off immediately and soon find their circle of two expanding to three when they meet Jeanette (Margot Kidder), a free-spirited Southerner who has moved to New York City to figure out her life. Jeanette soon moves in Willie, but the three find themselves in a romantic triangle that constantly shifts over the next nine years as each of the three struggles to find their destiny while honoring the love they feel for each other. Mazursky would later remake another foreign classic (Boudu Saved From Drowning) into his hit Down and Out in Beverly Hills ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Ontkean, Margot Kidder, (more)
Arthur Hiller directed this drama exploring the disintegration of an ideal marriage after the husband discovers he is gay. Kate Jackson is Claire, a successful television producer, and Michael Ontkean is her husband Zack, an equally successful doctor. They enjoy eight years of married bliss until homosexual writer Bart McGuire (Harry Hamlin) appears at Zack's office. As Zack gets to know Bart, he discovers he is attracted to him. He asks Bart out to dinner, one thing leads to another, and soon Zack announces to Claire that he wants to explore his new-found sexuality with Bart. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Ontkean, Kate Jackson, (more)
- 1984
Produced on behalf of the HBO cable service, The Blood of Others is a rare venture into English-language filmmaking by Claude Chabrol. Set during World War II, the film stars Jodie Foster and Michael Ontkean as a pair of French resistance fighters. If you can swallow that, then you'll accept New Zealand native Sam Neill as a German businessman. Chabrol's wife Stephane Audran costars as Gigi, while other prominent members of the cast include Alexandra Stewart, Jean-Pierre Aumont and Micheline Presle. Oh, yes, the plot: based on a novel by Simone de Beauvoir, The Blood of Others concerns Jodie Foster's confused loyalties: should she continue in her underground activities, or succumb to the charms of the seemingly civilized Neill? This French-Canadian coproduction was originally telecast August 23, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Michael Ontkean, (more)
- 1984
- PG
In this standard human interest comedy, Susan Berlanger (Kristy McNichol) has been crippled since a child and has to wear a leg brace in order to get around, but that does not in any way prevent Sam (Robert Carradine) and several other men from being very attracted to her. Susan is a professional flautist with a ballet-company orchestra and is given a chance to travel to Europe for a concert tour, which she is more than happy to accept. Since she has doubts about relationships (do these men feel sorry for her?), she puts a cast on her leg and goes to a ski resort to find out what it is like to be treated "normally" by others. Once there, she meets a captivating photographer (Michael Ontkean) and falls in love -- but does not tell him the truth about her leg. Making matters even worse, a wealthy Frenchman courting Susan's roommate at the resort is an amputee -- he lost a leg in an automobile accident. Sooner or later, Susan will have to come to grips with her deception, her forthcoming marriage, and her interest in the photographer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristy McNichol, Michael Ontkean, (more)
- 1985
Kids Don't Tell stars Michael Ontkean as a free-lance documentary filmmaker. Concerned over the increasing sexual abuse of children, Ontkean hopes to make a film on the subject, with the cooperation of the local police and social services. For reasons unknown, Ontkean's wife JoBeth Williams becomes surly and distant as he continues work on his film. It turns out that JoBeth is far more intimately familiar with the subject of sexual abuse than she's ever let on (hence the film's title). Made for television, Kids Don't Tell handles its subject matter with an admirable absence of sensationalism, thanks to the low-key script by Peter Silverman and Maurice Hurley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
The Second Amendment of the Constitution forms the basis of this drama that follows the crusade of a lawyer to allow citizens to carry handguns. He launched his fight after his wife and daughter were killed during a robbery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- PG13
In Allnighter, the viewer sees three roommates who are bound and determined to make the most out of their college graduation night. These fluffs go on a sexathon during their last big beach party, apparently trying to make their last fling a he-man thing. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susanna Hoffs, DeDee Pfeiffer, (more)
Rich but repulsive teenager Jessie (Ally Sheedy) can't stand the notion that the whole world doesn't jump to the crack of her whip. Her overindulgent father, millionaire Charles Montgomery (Tom Skerritt), wishes he could teach his daughter a lesson, but can't bring himself to deny his little darling everything her heart desires. Unfortunately, she gets her comeuppance when, after finding out that Jessie has been arrested, her father mutters a wish that she'd never been born. Zap! Enter fairy godmother Beverly D'Angelo, who grants the girl her wish. With no name, no friends, and no money, Jessie has no choice but to look for work. She is hired as a maid by a filthy-rich Malibu couple (Valerie Perrine and Dick Shawn), whose selfish excesses make Jessie look like Pollyanna. Worse still, Jessie is compelled by circumstance to meet up with her father, who doesn't even recognize her. The key to the film's success is the wonderfully many-sided performance of Ally Sheedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ally Sheedy, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
In this sentimental coming-of-age drama, directed by Richard Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird) and written by Mark Medoff (Children of a Lesser God), Whoopi Goldberg plays Clara Mayfield, whom Leona Hart (Kathleen Quinlan) meets up with in Jamaica, where Leona retreats to mourn the death of her baby daughter. Leona comes from a rich Maryland family and she leaves her husband, Bill (Michael Ontkean), and her young son, David (Neil Patrick Harris), back in the States in order to achieve some personal healing. She tells Clara she is in mourning and Clara responds knowingly, "I knew the fact, but not the substance." Hearing this kind of cryptic Charlie Chan-like aphorism, Leona can't resist Clara and hires her as her maid, taking her back with her, like a pet, to Maryland. "Come meet the most wonderful person," she tells her husband, and, to be sure, Clara is out-of-this-world wonderful, and since David's self-absorbed parents are neglecting him for their own private flirtations and obsessions, Clara takes up the slack and becomes, in effect, David's family. Clara dispenses worldly advice and has him spend weekends with her in the inner-city Jamaican community, where David learns how the other half lives. But just as David is letting his guard down and permitting Clara to become his 30-year-old buddy, Clara reveals a chilling past life that includes rape, incest, and suicide. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Ontkean, (more)
- 1989
Also known as "The Northwest Passage," the two-hour pilot episode of Twin Peaks originally aired April 8, 1990. The central plot of the series is set when Pete Martell (Jack Nance) finds the body of high school student Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) wrapped in plastic by the water at the Packard Sawmill dock. As the town slowly gets word of her murder, Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) from the FBI arrives in the Washington town of Twin Peaks to investigate. Assisted by Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean), Cooper retrieves Laura's secret diary and a videotape. At the morgue, Cooper discovers the letter "R" from under Laura's fingernail, evidence similar to the murder case of Theresa Banks a year ago. Meanwhile, at the Great Northern Hotel, Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) disrupts her father's business deal, causing the would-be investors to back out. Deputy Hawk (Michael Horse) and Deputy Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz) locate the scene of the murder and find half of a gold heart necklace. Also, Laura's safe deposit box is opened, revealing a copy of Fleshworld magazine and about ten thousand dollars. Laura's boyfriend, Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook), who is having a secret affair with waitress Shelly Johnson (Madchen Amick), is brought in for questioning. Later on at the Roadhouse, Laura's other boyfriend, James Hurley (James Marshall), kisses Donna Hayward (Lara Flynn Boyle), Laura's best friend. This episode features Julee Cruise singing "Falling" and "The Nightingale" during the scenes at the Roadhouse. The American broadcast version ends with Sarah Palmer (Grace Zabriskie) having a vision about the other half of the heart necklace. The European release contains extra scenes and an alternate ending. The Twin Peaks pilot episode was not included on the 2001 Artisan Entertainment DVD release of Twin Peaks: The First Season due to rights restrictions. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyle MacLachlan
- 1989
- R
In this well-wrought drama, WW II dramatically changes the lives of the Cooper family when its patriarch is called to battle, captured, and sent to a Japanese POW camp. Back at home the heretofore coddled wife, who doesn't know if her husband is still alive, must somehow figure out how to support her family and carry on in the British tradition of courage and dignity under pressure. Her solution is to join a swing band. As she becomes increasingly confident and independent, she begins wondering whether or not she still loves her missing spouse. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca Jenkins, Michael Ontkean, (more)
- 1989
- R
Due South it's not, but there are some nice touches in this thriller about an American drug enforcement agent on exchange assignment in Vancouver. The RCMP, the CIA and the KGB are all in pursuit of a deranged free-lance hit man who kills randomly-selected women in addition to his political targets. John Hyde (Martin Sheen) and his Mountie partner, McKenzie (Michael Ontkean) investigate the murder of a Korean embassy employee, and end up in the middle of this jurisdictional nightmare, as does Hyde's ex-wife (Beverly D'Angelo) who's the assassin's next target. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Michael Ontkean, (more)
- 1989
- R
In this convoluted drama, a CIA agent is finally released after spending the past thirteen years imprisoned in the Soviet Union. The joy of his homecoming is shattered when he discovers his wife married to another and that his daughter has grown up. When he learns that his wife's new husband is busy battling the corrupt family who controls the town, and that this has endangered his former family, he takes action to protect them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Ontkean, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1990
Originally broadcast on April 26, 1990, episode three of Twin Peaks, "Rest in Pain," takes place the day of Laura Palmer's funeral. After having breakfast with Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn), Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) explains his dream to Sheriff Harry Truman (Michael Ontkean), claiming it is a code that reveals the identity of Laura's killer. At the morgue, Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) wants to continue the autopsy while Doctor Hayward (Warren Frost) wants to release the body for the funeral. Albert doles out insults and Harry punches him out. The autopsy report reveals that Laura had been tied up and cut on the night of her death, and that she was addicted to cocaine. Laura's cousin, Madeline (also played by Sheryl Lee), arrives for the funeral, where Bobby (Dana Ashbrook) and James (James Marshall) get into a fight and Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) loses control. That evening is a full moon, and Cooper gets introduced to the Bookhouse Boys, a secret society formed to get rid of the evil presence in the woods. They find out somebody is running drugs across the Canadian border into Twin Peaks and they capture Bernard Renault (Clay Wilcox). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Originally broadcast on April 19, 1990, the memorable and pivotal second episode of Twin Peaks, "Zen, or the Skill of Catching a Killer," contains the infamous surreal dream sequence with the Little Man From Another Place (Michael J. Anderson). On Saturday night, sleazy businessman Benjamin Horne (Richard Beymer) and his immature brother, Jerry Horne (David Patrick Kelly), visit the brothel One-Eyed Jacks for a night of debauchery. Meanwhile, Bobby (Dana Ashbrook) and Mike (Gary Hershberger) meet Leo (Eric Da Re) in the woods for a drug deal. The next morning, Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) decides to teach Sheriff Truman (Michael Ontkean) and his crew about Tibet. In order to gain perspective on the identity of the "J" name referred to in Laura Palmer's diary, Cooper reads "J" names aloud along with their connection to Laura, then throws a rock at a bottle. The bottle breaks after the name Leo Johnson is read. Also that morning, Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle) and Audrey (Sherilyn Fenn) run into each other at the Double R diner. At the morgue, the angry pathologist Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) has arrived to inspect the body, and he wastes no time insulting the residents of Twin Peaks, especially Sheriff Truman. That night, Pete Martell (Jack Nance) complicates Catherine's plans to burn the mill when he sneaks a key to Josie Packard (Joan Chen). Finally, in an unforgettable montage, Cooper has a dream involving the One-Armed Man, the Little Man From Another Place, and Killer Bob in a red-curtained room. He wakes up believing he knows who killed Laura Palmer. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
