Kathleen Quinlan Movies
After limited stage experience, 19-year-old Kathleen Quinlan made her film debut in American Graffiti. The first stage of her movie career peaked with the starring role as a schizophrenic in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977). She then spent most of the 1980s in secondary roles. Kathleen Quinlan reentered the consciousness of the American filmgoing public with her Oscar-nominated performance as Mrs. James Lovell in Apollo 13 (1995), directed by her American Graffiti co-star Ron Howard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A handsome and successful bachelor is taken aback when his dream girl asks him to be the "maid" of honor in her upcoming wedding in this romantic comedy starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan. Tom (Dempsey) and Hannah (Monaghan) have been best friends for years. Though all the hard times, Hannah has been the one constant in Tom's life, and the one person he knows he can always rely on. When Hannah leaves for a six-week business trip in Scotland, Tom is surprised to realize how truly lonely he is without her. Life just isn't the same without Hannah around, so the moment she returns, Tom resolves to ask for her hand in marriage. But apparently Hannah's trip wasn't all business, because upon returning home Hannah announces that she has gotten engaged to a dashing Scotsman and will soon be starting a new life overseas. She's convinced that Tom will be thrilled for her, and wants him to play a crucial role in the wedding. His spirits crushed but his love for Hannah stronger than ever before, Tom reluctantly agrees to be the "maid" of honor so that he can prove his love in no uncertain terms and convince her to call off the wedding before true happiness slips through his fingers. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, (more)
Shattered Glass director Billy Ray directs Chris Cooper and Ryan Philippe in this fact-based drama concerning the FBI traitor who carried out what many historians refer to as the most notable national security breach in U.S. history. A key member of the FBI's elite Soviet Analytical Unit, Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper) would, for 15 years beginning in 1985, sell thousands of pages of classified documents to the Soviets. After making roughly 600,000 dollars on his clandestine endeavor and compromising everything from the identities of KGB spies working for the American government to nuclear war contingency plans, Hanssen was eventually transferred to a newly created position at the FBI's Washington headquarters and assigned the task of guarding his country's most sensitive secrets. It was while working in this capacity that a young agent named Eric O'Neill (Phillipe) was assigned the task of keeping tabs on Hanssen by suspicious higher-ups. Later, after being arrested while delivering a cache of secret documents to a "dead drop" spot in a Virginia park, the notorious traitor was arrested and sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, (more)
A terminally optimistic working class dreamer attempts to shed a few extra pounds, inspire others, and finally get his driver's license so he can fuel up and set out on the road to success. Tracy (Hubbel Palmer) is a 400 pound grocery clerk who's convinced he's destined for greatness. While he's not taking acting lessons from arrogant washed-up has-been Truman Hope (William Baldwin), Tracy can frequently be found mentoring stolid bag boy Kendis Cooley (Vincent Caso) and his friends despite the disapproval of the gang's bullying boy-leader Shawn (Nick Lashaway). Back at home, Tracy is forced to contend with the religious ramblings of his bible-thumping, self-loathing mother Agnes (Kathleen Quinlan) while simultaneously trying to lift the spirits of his lonely sister Peggy (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Later, as things begin to look up for the love-struck Peggy, Tracy finally begins to sense that true fame is just over the horizon. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hubbel Palmer, William Baldwin, (more)
- 2006
- R
Academy Award-nominee Kathleen Quinlan stars in director Melanie Orr's grim tale of a mother and daughter who seek shelter in a home for abused women, only to discover that the woman in charge harbors a deadly secret. Mavis and Victoria were on the run from an abusive relationship when they wandered into the remote shelter run by matronly mother figure Bea (Quinlan). At first Bea was kind and compassionate, taking young Victoria under her wing as Mavis valiantly battled the demons of her past. But as time wore on Mavis began to sense something strange was happening between her daughter and Bea. Victoria was never a hostile girl, but these days she lashes out at her mother like never before. Upon learning that the women who previously checked into the farmhouse never checked out, Mavis realizes that Bea is attempting to brainwash Victoria into killing her own mother. With little time to spare before Victoria is completely lost, Mavis prepares to do battle with the psychotic Bea and escape from the farm before all hope is lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathleen Quinlan, Ingrid Kavelaars, (more)
Alexandre Aja directs this remake of Wes Craven's film The Hills Have Eyes. In this update, a family is taking a cross-country road trip when their trailer breaks down, leaving them stranded in the desert of New Mexico. There, they find themselves under attack by the savage "hill people," who were deformed by radiation during nuclear testing. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, (more)
- 2006
Season three of House begins eight weeks after Dr. Greg House (Hugh Laurie) was shot down by the disgruntled husband of a clinic patient. Fresh out of rehab, House no longer needs the cane which has propped him up since the beginning of the series, and thanks to his new Ketamine medication he no longer suffers any pain at all--as proven when we see him jogging to the clinic, where he willingly takes charge of a mute, quadrapegic cancer victim (Edward Edwards) who has driven his wheelchair into a swimming pool. This is not the House we are accustomed to: Where's his anger, his resentment of his patients, his arrogant disdain of his fellow workers? And how long will it be before the pain resumes and House reverts to his usual nasty self? As these questions linger in the air, the clinic staff tends to another victim of paralysis (Claire Kramer), who may have incurred spinal damage in a yoga mishap! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
The made-for-TV paranormal thriller The Dead Will Tell was based on a "true" story suggested by famed psychic James Van Praagh, who also shows up in a cameo role. When Emily Parker (Anne Heche) is given a very old engagement ring by her fiancé, Billy (Jonathan LaPaglia), she is suddenly haunted by visions of the woman to whom the ring previously belonged. It soon becomes painfully clear that the spectral woman was murdered, and that she is "reaching out" to Emily in hopes of trapping her killer. Adding extra layers of intrigue to the proceedings is the peculiar behavior of Billy's overprotective mother (Kathleen Quinlan). Other key players in the mystery are portrayed by Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives), Christopher Guest, and, as the widower of the dead woman, Chris Sarandon. Filmed in New Orleans, The Dead Will Tell made its CBS network premiere on October 24, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Heche, Jonathan LaPaglia, (more)
Some observers have described the made-for-cable The Riverman as a real-life Silence of the Lambs. Based on the book cowritten by Robert Keppel, formerly chief criminal investigator for the attorney general of Washington state, the film recounts Keppel's efforts to track down serial killer Gary Ridgeway, aka the Green River Killer. With 10 unsolved murders weighing on his mind, Keppel (played by Bruce Greenwood) agrees to a plan whereby an imprisoned mass murderer with a similar M.O. will be brought into the investigation in hopes of second-guessing the killer at large. Thus, Keppel travels to Florida, there to inaugurate a series of chilling interviews with the infamous Ted Bundy (Cary Elwes). Inasmuch as Bundy hopes that by helping track down the Green River Killer he himself will be able to escape the death penalty, Keppel finds himself between the proverbial rock and hard place: How can he secure Bundy's cooperation without making promises he cannot possibly keep? The Riverman was first telecast by the A&E network on September 6, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood
- 2004
Tess Gallagher (Kathleen Quinlan) is naturally upset when the husband of her daughter Jenny (Lori Heuring abandons his family--to run off with another man. Before long, however, Tess has gotten over the initial shock, and is industriously mounting a campaign to find a new husband for Tess, and a new father for Tess' wisecracking son Jesse (Lori Heuring). Not altogether with her daughter's blessing, Tess places Jenny's picture and bio on the "Perfect Match" dating website, resulting in proposals (and propositions) from lonely guys all over the world. The most attractive and personable of these internet Romeos is British college professor Peter Campbell (Henry Ian Cusick), who is himself coming off a failed romance--and who, incidentally is years older than Jenny. Howver, the question posed by this made-for-cable movie is not "Can a May-December affair be truly successful?", but rather "For pity's sake, Jenny, when will you wake up notice how your best friend Miles Healey (Michael Trucco) is silently pining away for you????" Perfect Romance debuted over the Lifetime network on June 7, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
- Add El Padrino: The Latin Godfather to QueueAdd El Padrino: The Latin Godfather to top of Queue
Kilo was born into a life of crime. By the time he was an adult, he was a full-time dealer, and when he meets Sabeva, the daughter of a Colombian drug kingpin, he reaches the upper levels of drug trafficking. It is a dangerous business, however, and eventually Kilo ends up in prison. Still running his operation from inside of a cell, he is eventually offered a shady deal: his sentence will be suspended if he will murder a convicted child-killer. Now Kilo stands at a crossroads, unsure which actions will clear his conscience, end his sentence, or end his life. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
The Battle of Shaker Heights is directed by the team of Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin. Kelly Ernswiler (Shia LaBeouf) is a quirky 17-year-old whose greatest passion is reenacting battles from World War II. After meeting Bart Bowland (Elden Henson), someone who is nothing like him but shares his passion, Kelly ends up putting his battlefield knowledge to work in real life. The script by Erica Beeney was the winner of the second Project Greenlight competition. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shia LaBeouf, Elden Henson, (more)
- 2003
Buried under several layers of old-age makeup and outfitted with thick horn-rims and a grey wig, Mary Tyler Moore stars in this TV-movie adaptation of Anna Quindlen's novel Blessings. Moore is cast as octogenarian Lydia Blessing, who lives on a huge country estate, imprisoned by her own bitter memories of the past (depicted in sepia-toned flashbacks, with Janaya Stephens as the young Lydia). The old recluse comes out of her shell briefly to hire a new handyman, sullen ex-convict Skip Cuddy (Liam Waite), who has plenty of his own emotional baggage. When Skip stumbles across an abandoned baby, he sets in motion a series of poignant events that will ultimately return both Lydia and him to the land of the living -- provided that they aren't stopped in their tracks by Lydia's disapproving daughter, Meredith (Kathleen Quinlan), and judgmental housekeeper, Jennifer (China Chow). Filmed on location in Nova Scotia, Blessings first aired October 5, 2003, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Kathleen Quinlan, (more)
- 1999
The top-rank performances of Lauren Bacall, Richard Chamberlain and Lindsay Frost elevate the two-part TV biopic Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke from the usual malaise of lurid, voyeuristic trash. As she lies near death in her luxurious mansion, 80-year-old tobacco heiress Doris Duke (Bacall) hardly seems to take notice of the sinister behavior of her boozing, control-freak butler Bernard Lafferty (Chamberlain). Ultimately, of course, Doris will die (in 1993), and the mysterious circumstances will cast suspicion on the redoubtable Mr. Lafferty (who himself died three years later). Before this happens, however, Doris flashes back to the sordid events of her life, whereupon the title role is taken over by a series of younger actresses, with Frost playing Doris from ages 20 through 50. We see how Doris' future is shaped by her loving, overindulgent father (Joe Don Baker) and her aloof, icy mother (Kathleen Quinlan). Though warned early on that Doris would always have to be wary of fortune hunters, she progresses through a string of highly publicized and largely unhappy romances, and also endures two disastrous marriages. All the familiar players in this real-life drama are in attendance, including writer Louis Bromfield (Brian Dennehy), international playboy Pofirio Rubirosa (Michael Nouri), and Doris' adopted daughter Chanzy (Mare Winningham) who is destined to break Doris' heart time and time again until the grieving millionairess finally worked up the courage to renounce the girl. Also touched upon are Doris' lifelong obsessions, which ranged from mysticism to belly-dancing. Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke was originally telecast by CBS on February 21 and 22, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Bacall, Richard Chamberlain, (more)
Third-rate talent agent Sammy Kanin (Billy Crystal) is more devoted to his career than his wife Serena (Kathleen Quinlan) and son Nick (Zane Carney), so instead of going to Nick's birthday party, he chooses to travel to Romania where his teen client Justin Allen (Rider Strong) is acting in a period adventure movie. When Sammy's auto swerves off the road, he wakes up in a monastery, having been removed from the wreckage by sensitive, Shakespeare-quoting, 7'7"-tall giant, Max (pro basketball player Gheorghe Muresan), a ward of the monks who works as a monastery caretaker. Sammy sees Max as his ticket to the top, gets him a warrior role in the adventure movie, and takes him back to the U.S. where Max hopes to win back a long-ago girlfriend Lillianna (Joanna Pacula), living in Gallup, New Mexico. Sammy and Max head for Vegas, where actor Steven Seagal (as himself) is shooting a film with a villain role perfect for Max. When Sammy contacts Lillianna, she expresses disinterest in Max, forcing Sammy to seek a solution that can bring the two together. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Crystal, Kathleen Quinlan, (more)
Directed by Schindler's List screenwriter Steve Zaillian, this courtroom drama is based on a true story and non-fiction book by Jonathan Harr. The case revolves around an incident in 1979 in East Woburn, MA, where two drinking wells supplying water to the town were found to be contaminated with industrial solvents. When toxic waste was discovered later that year, suspicions arose that the local factories caused the pollution. The residents felt these companies were responsible for the unusually high rate of leukemia deaths amongst the town's children. Anne Anderson (Kathleen Quinlan), a mother who lost her son Jimmy to leukemia, fronts an effort to bring a lawsuit against the major conglomerates Beatrice Foods and W. R. Grace & Co for their pollution crimes -- a heavy-duty problem, because these companies have the money to squash the less powerful citizens. Enter Jan Schlichtmann (John Travolta), a personal injury lawyer whose small law firm is hired to sue these industrial giants for millions of dollars in damages. He's up against Jerome Facher (Robert Duvall) and William Cheeseman (Bruce Norris), high-priced lawyers who represent the big companies. Most of the film takes place in the courtroom during the trial. It also features William H. Macy as Schlichtmann's accountant and John Lithgow as the judge. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Robert Duvall, (more)
In this suspense thriller, a man discovers the unexpected danger of trusting a good Samaritan. Jeff Taylor (Kurt Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are driving through the New Mexico desert en route to California when an incident with a lunatic driver causes their jeep to break down in the middle of nowhere. Jeff is trying to fix the vehicle when an apparently friendly truck driver, Red Barr (J.T. Walsh), stops by to offer help. Red tells the couple that there's a diner a few miles down the road where they can call for help; Jeff decides to stay with the car while Amy hops a ride with Red to see if she can find a mechanic to help them. After a long wait, Jeff is able to get the jeep running again, and he discovers that the diner is indeed a few miles down the road. But everyone there claims they've seen no sign of Amy, and Red claims to know nothing about picking her up. When Jeff attempts to file a missing person's report, he discovers mysterious disappearances are disturbingly common in this stretch of the desert; he soon realizes that someone has kidnapped his wife, but he's not sure who, or for what purpose. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, (more)
In this sci-fi/horror scarefest, Dr. William Weir (Sam Neill) is a scientist who has designed a spacecraft called Event Horizon which will explore the outer reaches of space past the planet Neptune; the ship employs a special transport mechanism that, in effect, creates a black hole that the ship can pass through, allowing it to travel tremendous distances in a few seconds. The Event Horizon mysteriously disappears in the midst of a mission with no trace of either the ship or its crew, but it reappears in Neptune's orbit after a seven year absence and it's sending out a distress signal. The spaceship Lewis and Clark, and Dr. Weir, are sent to investigate; the crew -- Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne), pilot Smith (Sean Pertwee), engineer Justin (Jack Noseworthy), navigator Starck (Joely Richardson), physician D.J. (Jason Isaacs), and emergency technicians Peters (Kathleen Quinlan) and Cooper (Richard T. Jones) -- are already tired and unenthusiastic about this assignment, and somewhat confused by Weir's reports. The crew of the Lewis and Clark are convinced that Weir is not telling them something, and when they discover the Event Horizon, they find that things are not what they seem, and an evil presence has taken over the ship. Incidentally, the term "event horizon" describes the outer boundaries of a black hole. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, (more)
This children's story of a dog and a dolphin borrows heavily from family movies of the past. Zeus is a dog who follows a neighbor, a marine biologist named Mary Beth (Kathleen Quinlan), to work one day. Aboard a ship, the dog meets Roxanne, a dolphin that Mary Beth is studying. When she sees the dog riding on the dolphin's back, she decides to study their friendship. A villainous fellow researcher, Claude (Arnold Vosloo), tries to steal her research, but he is thwarted by the dolphin, the dog, and the dog's young owner, Jordan (Miko Hughes). Terry (Steve Guttenberg), Jordan's father, is a songwriter who still pines for his dead wife. Jordan, together with Mary Beth's daughters, try to ignite a romance between their parents, who are both unattached. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Guttenberg, Kathleen Quinlan, (more)
A young girl finds friendship on the wrong side of the career tracks in this drama. Camelot Gardens is a "gated community" where wealthy people can purchase luxurious (if sterile) homes and a security force ensures that riffraff will be kept away from your door after nightfall. The Stockard family are new arrivals at Camelot Gardens; father Morton (Christopher McDonald) is a businessman who wants to go into politics, while mother Clare (Kathleen Quinlan) busies herself with affairs with younger men. Neither seems to have much time for their 10-year-old daughter Devon (Mischa Barton), who doesn't care for children her own age; Devon's uncle likes to entertain her with stories about a witch named Baba Yaga who lives in the forest, so one day she wanders into the nearby woods looking for Baba. Instead, she finds a trailer that's home to Trent (Sam Rockwell), a 20-something free spirit who scrapes together a living by mowing the lawns of Camelot Gardens. Devon and Trent both have physical and emotional scars to deal with, and they soon become friends and confidantes; however, Devon's parents become upset when they learn that their daughter's best friend is a grown man, particularly one who lives in a trailer and does lawn maintenance for a living. Lawn Dogs won awards at a number of international film festivals in 1997, including the Stockholm Film Festival, the Montreal World Film Festival, and the Catalonian International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Rockwell, Christopher McDonald, (more)
Based on Tim O'Brien's novel, In the Lake of the Woods is the story of a man driven by demons from his past and a mystery surrounding the disappearance of his wife. John Waylan (Peter Strauss), a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota, is leading in pre-election polls when a reporter for a Minneapolis newspaper breaks a story about Waylan's involvement in a massacre of civilians while he was a soldier in Vietnam. Waylan loses the election and retreats with his wife, Kathy (Kathleen Quinlan), to a luxurious lakeside cabin owned by friends, where he broods over the past -- not just his tour of duty in Vietnam, but also his troubled childhood, marked by conflict with an abusive, alcoholic father. When Kathy goes missing, John goes to the local authorities, who mount a search for her and a missing boat while Waylan continues to brood over his shattered life. The story is told in multiple flashbacks, with a reporter questioning those who knew Waylan and his wife, including a political operative (Peter Boyle) and Kathy's sister (Nancy Sorel). This film originally ran on Fox in the spring of 1996 and was produced by Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Strauss, Kathleen Quinlan, (more)
- 1995
In this crime drama, a detective and a widow pair up to solve a double homicide in Beverly Hills. A conniving French nanny seems to hold the key to cracking the case. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Teri Garr, Hector Elizondo, (more)
"Houston, we have a problem." Those words were immortalized during the tense days of the Apollo 13 lunar mission crisis, and the suspense, fear, and excitement of those days are captured in Ron Howard's epic recreation of the 1970 crisis. When the commander of the original mission Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise), bows out due to possible exposure to measles, astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) leads command module pilot Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and lunar module driver Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) on what is slated as NASA's third lunar landing mission. All goes smoothly until the craft is halfway through its mission, when an exploding oxygen tank threatens the crew's oxygen and power supplies. As the courageous astronauts face the dilemma of either suffocating or freezing to death, Mattingly and Mission Control leader Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) struggle to find a way to bring the crew back home, all the while knowing that the spacemen face probable death once the battered ship reenters the Earth's atmosphere. Even though the outcome, in which all three astronauts miraculously survived, is historical fact, the film derives suspense from the situation itself and from the actions of the heroic astronauts and the men on the ground. Howard's taut direction, a solid ensemble of players, and eye-opening special effects all add to the overall impact of the film, which has been hailed as one of Hollywood's best historical dramas. In 2002, the movie was released in IMAX theaters as Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience, with a pared-down running time of 116 minutes in order to meet the technical requirements of the large-screen format. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, (more)
Joanne Whalley-Kilmer stars as a woman corrupted by the criminal justice system in this courtroom suspense thriller. She plays a civil servant named Valerie Alston, a single mother living in New York City, who gets placed on a jury trying the case of mob boss Rusty Pirone (Armand Assante). A former homicide detective gone bad, Tommy Vesey (William Hurt), is now working for Pirone. He kidnaps Valerie and threatens her and her son with more harm if she votes to convict Pirone. At the trial, District Attorney Daniel Graham (Gabriel Byrne) proves himself to be willing and able to stoop to unethical means to convict Pirone. In the jury room, Valerie skillfully exploits factions among the jurors in order to win an acquittal. Now cynical and corrupt herself, Valerie seduces mob boss Pirone to extract her own rewards for her service. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanne Whalley, Armand Assante, (more)
- 1993
Inspired by a 60 Minutes story, the made-for-cable Stolen Babies is the fact-based story of supposed "angel of mercy" Georgia Tann. Throughout the 1940s, Ms. Tann oversaw the adoption of children from her Tennessee orphanage. Since she was considered a pillar of the community, few questioned Tann's methods. Only when dedicated social worker Anne Beals began chipping away at Tann's respectable veneer did a terrible truth come to light. The principal selling angle of Stolen Babies was the way-against-type casting of Mary Tyler Moore as purse-lipped, bespectacled, quietly sinister Georgia Tann (not surprisingly, Moore won an Emmy for this chilling performance). Lea Thompson was more traditionally cast as the whistle-blowing Anne Beals. Stolen Babies first aired March 25, 1993, over the Lifetime Cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Lea Thompson, (more)
