John Randolph Movies
CCNY and Columbia University alumnus John Randolph was first seen on Broadway in the 1937 opus Revolt of the Beavers. Randolph served in the Air Force in World War II, then resumed what seemed at the time to be an increasingly successful, near-unstoppable acting career. But in 1951, Randolph found himself on a specious "Commie sympathizers" list. After appearing as a hostile witness before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, Randolph was effectively blacklisted from movies, TV and radio commercials for the next twelve years. Fortunately, he could always rely upon the theatre to provide him an income, though it was touch-and-go for a while when a Broadway show in which he was appearing was picketed by anti-Red zealots. Throughout the 1950s, Randolph was featured in such major stage productions as Come Back Little Sheba, The Visit, Sound of Music and Case of Libel. In 1963, he was at long last permitted to guest-star on a network TV program, The Defenders. Appropriately, it was in an episode titled "Blacklist," which condemned the knee-jerk policy of banning artists because of their political views; ironically, Randolph was very nearly denied the part when the network complained that he hadn't been "cleared." Though he'd played a small part in 1948's The Naked City, Randolph's movie career began in earnest in 1965. In John Frankenheimer's Seconds, he was cast as aging businessman Arthur Hamilton, who through the magic of plastic surgery is given a fresh new identity (he emerges from the bandages as Rock Hudson)! Since his career renaissance, Hamilton hasn't stopped working before the cameras. He has been featured in films like Gaily Gaily (1969), Little Murders (1971), King Kong (1976), Heaven Can Wait (1978) Prizzi's Honor (1985; as Pop Prizzi); in TV movies like Wings of Kitty Hawk (1978; as Alexander Graham Bell) and The American Clock (1993); and as a regular in the TV series Angie (1979) Annie McGuire (1988) and Grand (1990). Though he'd probably rather you not mention it, Randolph is a dead ringer for former attorney general John Mitchell; accordingly, he played Mitchell in the TV miniseries Blind Ambition, and was heard but not seen in the same role in the 1976 theatrical feature All the President's Men. Despite the upsurge in his film and TV activities, Randolph has never abandoned the theatre: in 1986, he won a Tony Award for his work in Neil Simon's Broadway Bound. As if to slap the faces of those self-styled patriots who denied him work in the 1950s, Randolph has in recent years accepted the German Democratic Republic's Paul Robeson Award, and has served on the National Council for US-Soviet friendship. John Randolph has also served on the board of directors of all three major performing guilds: SAG, AFTRA and Equity. After taking on a variety of grandfatherly roles, including Jack Nicholson's father in Prizzi's Honor and Tom Hanks' grandfather in You've Got Mail), Randloph passed away at 88-years-old in April of 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1983
Cheryl Ladd seemed bound and determined in the early 1980s to prove that she was a "Charlie's Angel" no more; we probably would have taken her word for it even if she hadn't tried so hard and stridently. Made for television, Kentucky Woman found Ladd as a poverty-stricken waitress who becomes a coal miner, despite male opposition, damp boots and squealing rats. She does this to support her fatherless son and her miner dad (Ned Beatty), who is incapacitated by black lung disease. She does sixteen tons, and what does she get? Another bunch of lukewarm reviews and deeper in...well, that word doesn't rhyme with "get." Kentucky Woman was filmed on location in Paintsville, Kentucky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
As played by Jessica Lange, Frances Farmer is a rebel from the word go, winning a high school essay award by writing a piece in defense of Communism. Determining to become an actress, Frances is equally determined not to play the Hollywood game: she refuses to acquiesce to idiotic publicity stunts, and insists upon appearing on screen sans makeup. Her defiance attracts the attention of Broadway playwright Clifford Odets, who convinces Frances that her future rests with the Group Theatre. But once she leaves Hollywood for New York, Frances learns to her chagrin that the Group intends to exploit her movie fame in order to draw in customers. Her desperate attempts to restart her movie career, combined with her increasing dependence on alcohol and the pressures brought to bear by her monster mother (Kim Stanley), result in a complete mental breakdown. Even while institutionalized, Frances is abused by the powers-that-be; she is forced to undergo an injurious brain operation, is treated like a mad animal, and periodically raped by the inmates. Frances is released in the custody of her mother, who persists in browbeating her tortured daughter until Frances discovers the legal means to break away. The real-life Frances spent her last years as host of a local Indianapolis TV program, dying in 1970 at age 57; the film comes to a climax when Frances is feted on the smarmy network program This is Your Life. Other actual personages depicted herein include Clifford Odets (played by Jeffrey DeMunn), Harold Clurman (Jordan Charney) and Ralph Edwards (Donald Craig). Frances' first husband Leif Erickson is fictionalized as "Jeffrey York", and played by Lange's real-life inamorata Sam Shepard. And if you listen closely, you'll hear the voice of Kevin Costner, whose minor role was whittled down to one line when he, like Frances Farmer, had the temerity to argue with the director. The unhappy life of actress Frances Farmer was also covered in Farmer's autobiography, Will There Ever Be a Morning? While the film rights for that book were sold to a TV-movie concern, the producers of the theatrical feature Frances were able to ship their production out to the public first. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, (more)
- 1982
- R
In this low-budget but inventive teen kung-fu melodrama, the diminutive, karate-chopping Lovely (Lucinda Dooling) is out to wreak vengeance on the drug thugs who killed her younger brother, and fortunately she is not alone. Her female karate class and the instructor (Susan Mechsner) are behind her all the way, most notably in the final scenes when a showdown between the kicking teen women and the heavy-duty gangsters almost brings down the docks. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucinda Dooling, John Randolph, (more)
- 1982
The opening episode of Quincy, M.E.'s eighth season finds medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman in the middle of another sociological dilemma. 14-year-old Ethan Kellough (DeVoreaux White, former member of a vicious street gang called the "Ravnes", is the prime suspect in the drive-by shooting of a child. The powers-that-be demanding Ethan's arrest have also targeted a halfway house for troubled children, run by inner-city activist Rick Dorado (Gregory Sierra), where Ethan is undergoing a rehab program. It is up to Quincy to determine Ethan's guilt or innocence--and, hopefully, to save Dorado's program from being closed down. Anita Gillette, who had appeared in an earlier Quincy episode as the hero's late wife Helen, joins the series' regular cast in the role of psychiatrist Emily Hanover. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Linda Purl stars as Nellie Bly, famed 19th century female journalist, in this "Classics Illustrated" TV movie. A tireless crusader, Nellie exposes corruption amongst the rich of New York and miserable working conditions amongst the poor. In her most famous exploit, Nellie decides to emulate Jules Verne's Phineas Fogg by travelling around the world in 80 days-or less. Gene Barry, Raymond Buktenica, J.D. Cannon and John Randolph costar, the last-named actor playing Nellie's boss Joseph Pulitzer. Filmed in 1979, The Adventures of Nellie Bly was first telecast June 11, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In this made-for-television thriller, a pair of couples, a U.S. senator among them, are stalked by backwoods snipers while on a white-water rafting trip. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Based on the best-selling memoirs of Lillian Rogers Parks, the NBC miniseries Backstairs at the White House traces over five decades of American political history as witnessed from the vantage point of the servants' quarters. Played by Tania Johnson as a teenager and by Leslie Uggams as an adult, Lillian Rogers Parks served for 52 years as a maidservant at the White House. Though crippled early on with polio, Lillian diligently and loyally stuck to her duties -- and her own rock-solid set of principles and ideals -- through eight highly different Presidential administrations, often (and occasionally reluctantly) acting as friend and confidante to the First Lady of the moment. The large and stellar cast included a number of top-rank film and TV actors, obviously having the time of their lives impersonating such presidents as William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and their respective wives. Also in the cast were several African-American veterans from the landmark TV miniseries Roots. Earning 11 Emmy Award nominations, the nine-hour Backstairs at the White House was seen in five installments from January 29 to February 19, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Uggams, Olivia Cole, (more)
- 1979
In this opening episode of M*A*S*H's eighth season, the 4077th pays host to Pvt. Paul "Look Out Below" Conway (Ed Begley Jr.), the clumsiest man in the army--any army. Though Conway is a total loss as a soldier, he turns out to be a brilliant gourmet chef, which is why the doctors and nurses are bending over backward to keep him in camp. Meanwhile, Col. Potter (Harry Morgan) wrestles with a profoundly personal problem. Longtime series regular Gary Burghoff (Radar) is billed as a "guest star", reflecting the fact that he would soon be leaving the 4077th. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The 8-hour TV miniseries Blind Ambition was originally telecast May 20 through 23, 1979. This 105-minute feature-film version, prepared in 1982, seems a bit rushed at times, but overall does a credible and coherent job of storytelling. Based on John Dean's book Blind Ambition, with elements of Maureen Dean's Mo woven in by screenwriter Stanley R. Greenberg, this is the saga of the Watergate affair, as experienced by Dean (Martin Sheen) and hia wife Maureen (Theresa Russell). As the Nixon administration goes down in flames, the Deans' marriage is sorely tested-as is Dean's success-at-any-price credo. Rip Torn plays Nixon like something out of a Greek Tragedy; some viewers accepted his interpretation, others found it jarringly inaccurate. Others in the cast of "usual suspects" include Michael Callan as Charles Colson, Lonny Chapman as L. Patrick Gray, William Daniels as G. Gordon Liddy, Fred Grandy as Donald Segretti, Christopher Guest as Jeb Magruder, Lawrence Pressman as H. R. Haldeman, William Windom as Richard Kleindienst, James Greene as E. Howard Hunt, Logan Ramsey as J. Edgar Hoover, and Al Checco as judge John Sirica. Also known as The John Dean Story, Blind Ambition earned two Emmy nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Theresa Russell, (more)
- 1978
This biographical film chronicles the story of Wilbur and Orville Wright's determination to make their dream of flight a reality. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Opting for light entertainment after the critical satire of Shampoo (1975), producer-director-writer-star Warren Beatty remade the 1941 comic fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Dimly amiable L.A. Rams quarterback Joe Pendleton (Beatty) is prematurely called to Heaven by an over-eager escort (Buck Henry, who co-directed) after a traffic accident. When archangel Mr. Jordan (James Mason) discovers the error, he offers to return Joe to his body, only to find that it has been cremated. On the verge of playing in the Super Bowl, Joe demands a fit body rather than the old about-to-be-murdered industrialist Farnsworth he has been offered, but he reconsiders when he sees environmentalist Betty Logan (Julie Christie) in Farnsworth's house. Assuming Farnsworth's body while keeping his sweet self, Joe hires his beloved coach Max Corkle (Jack Warden) to get him in shape (after convincing Max who he really is), sets Farnsworth's business on an eco-friendly path, and romances Betty. Farnsworth's homicidal wife (Dyan Cannon) and secretary (Charles Grodin), however, are still determined to succeed in their plan to kill him. When Mr. Jordan finally finds the Super Bowl body Joe wanted, Joe has to trade his old self for the new life -- but will he remember his love for Betty? Heaven Can Wait offered contemporary yet old-fashioned escapism and tapped into the late-1970s vogue for nostalgic fun, becoming one of 1978's most popular summer movies after Grease. Updating the original while following its blueprint, Beatty and co-writer Elaine May switched Joe's sport and turned Joe into a man of his '70s moment, adoring Betty for her convictions and favoring "green" policies over corporate greed. Gently breathing life into a classic form, Heaven Can Wait found romantic innocence in a jaded time, and it went on to receive nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, (more)
- 1978
This made-for-television film Winds of Kitty Hawk, chronicles the efforts of the Wright Brothers to become the first men to build a functioning, motor-powered airplane, as well as their rivalry with Glenn Curtiss. While the movie is a little too leisurely paced, the aerial sequences are excellent. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Doctors' Private Lives was the 2-hour pilot film for the shortlived TV series of the same name. Ed Nelson and John Gavin star as, respectively, chief surgeon Dr. Michael Wise and cardiovascular unit chief Dr. Jeffrey Latimer. The drama arises from the ongoing clash of egos between these two medical giants. Nelson and Gavin were carried over to the series, as was Randolph Powell as Dr. Rick Calder. The guest cast includes Bettye Ackerman, who had ironically costarred in an earlier hospital series, Ben Casey (Ackerman was the wife of Sam "Dr. Zorba" Jaffee). Doctors' Private Lives premiered March 20, 1978; the series itself ran from April 5 to 28, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In this suspenseful drama, an angry husband hatches an ingenious plot to get his avaricious wife and the pesky detective she has hired out of his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
After several years of marriage, suburban housewife Andrea Fleming (Susan Blakely) realizes that she has never truly been happy. This is particularly galling in that Andrea's repressive mother (Joanne Linville) instilled within her the desire to find the "secret of happiness" before reaching adulthood--but never told her how to go about this. Upon her mother's death, Andrea is possessed by desires she can neither understand nor control, and begins seeking out the aforementioned "secret" by promiscuously embarking upon several casual affairs. Star Susan Blakely also wrote and performed the theme music for Secrets, which was first telecast by ABC on February 20, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Rex Stout's corpulent, orchid-loving detective Nero Wolfe would eventually headline his own 1980s TV series, courtesy of star William Conrad. This earlier unsold TV pilot stars Thayer David, whom some Stout devotees consider the best of the many media Wolfes (which included Walter Connolly and Sidney Greenstreet). Frank D. Gilroy wrote and directed this adaptation of the Stout novel The Doorbell Rang, in which Wolfe protects his client (Anne Baxter) by taking on "the whole damned federal government". As always, Wolfe remains in his easy chair to do the brainwork, while his faithful assistant Archie Goodwin (Tom Mason) handles the rough stuff. Nero Wolfe tested well in the ratings, and might well have gone on immediately to a regular weekly series, but the sudden death of star Thayer David put the whole project in mothballs--until Bill Conrad was available. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The story of "red light bandit" Caryl Chessman, previously dramatized in the 1955 film Cell 2455, Death Row (based on Chessman's own book), was adapted for television as Kill Me If You Can. In a radical departure from his usual duties as MASH's Hawkeye Pierce, Alan Alda plays Chessman, who in 1948 was found guilty of robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault. Under the laws of the era, Chessman was sentenced to die in the gas chamber. But by studying the law and publishing four books on his plight, the brilliant (albeit still repugnant) Chessman managed to forestall his execution for 12 years. Though no effort is made in the film to make the sociopathic Chessman any better than he was, John Gay's script comes out squarely in opposition of capital punishment. Kill Me If You Can first aired on September 25, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Talia Shire, (more)
- 1977
The Gathering stars Ed Asner as an ill-tempered executive who long ago walked out on his family. Just before Christmas, Asner is told that he has only a few weeks to live. He confides this information to his estranged wife Maureen Stapleton, who suggests that he call his four adult children (Gail Strickland, Gregory Harrison, Rebecca Balding, Lawrence Pressman) together for one last reunion. He agrees on the proviso that they not be told of his imminent death. Of the four offspring, Asner is most trepidatious about seeing Harrison, who was virtually disowned when he moved to Canada during the Vietnam War. But The Gathering is a Christmas movie, and does its best to stay heartwarming. Made for TV and first shown December 4, 1977, The Gathering was the pilot for a potential series--(presumably one without Ed Asner, unless his character suddenly experienced a miracle cure). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
This 12-hour TV miniseries (expanded from a 2-hour concept) was based on the political "roman a clef" The Company, by Watergate coconspirator John Erlichman. It was originally titled simply Washington; the Behind Closed Doors part was added to avoid a potential lawsuit from Gore Vidal, author of Washington DC. This thinly disguised recap of the Watergate affair stars Jason Robards as paranoid president Richard M. Monckton, who "buys" his election by making a covert deal with the FBI. Once he's sold his soul, Monckton leaves his administration wide open for corruption. Also appearing in this ham-handed affair are Cliff Robertson as the CIA director, Robert Vaughn as the Machiavellian chief of staff, Andy Griffith as the Southern-born former president, Lois Nettelton as Monckton's mistress, and Stefanie Powers as a domestic spy. With a Southeast Asian war, questionable campaign contributions and a hotel break-in in the manifest, only the most obtuse viewer of Washington: Behind Closed Doors will wonder who's supposedly who in the cast list. The miniseries originally ran from September 6 through 12, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Conspiracy film specialist Alan J. Pakula turned journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's best-selling account of their Watergate investigation into one of the hit films of Bicentennial year 1976. While researching a story about a botched 1972 burglary of Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex, green Washington Post reporters/rivals Woodward (Robert Redford, who also exec produced) and Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) stumble on a possible connection between the burglars and a White House staffer. With the circumspect approval of executive editor Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards), the pair digs deeper. Aided by a guilt-ridden turncoat bookkeeper (Jane Alexander) and the vital if cryptic guidance of Woodward's mystery source, Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook), Woodward and Bernstein "follow the money" all the way to the top of the Nixon administration. Despite Deep Throat's warnings that their lives are in danger, and the reluctance of older Post editors, Woodward and Bernstein are determined to get out the story of the crime and its presidential cover-up. Once Bradlee is convinced, the final teletype impassively taps out the historically explosive results. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, (more)
- 1976
Historical overview of the events and personalities involved in the creation of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Atherton, Pat Hingle, (more)
Famed producer Dino De Laurentiis tries to steal the thunder from Jaws, then the top-grossing film of all-time, in this big budget remake of King Kong. (De Laurentiis related his tactics to Tom Snyder: "When Jaws dies, nobody cries. When Kong dies, they all cry.") Updated to the 1970s, the original Robert Armstrong character is now Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin), a big-shot oil magnate from Petrox Oil, looking for new petroleum deposits on a recently discovered Pacific island. Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) is a counter-culture paleontologist, stowing away on Wilson's ship, who warns that they are headed for "Skull Island," where prehistoric monsters still live and roam free. Also along for the ride is Dwan (Jessica Lange, in her film debut), a down-on-her-luck starlet, shipwrecked in the ocean after the sinking of a yacht. She really becomes down-on-her-luck when the group lands on the island and a giant ape, Kong, takes a shine to her. Kong kidnaps her and Dwan takes umbrage when the ape tries to remove her clothes by shouting, "You male chauvinist ape!" But Prescott comes to her aid and rescues her from the gorilla's big mits. Wilson, seeing money to be made on Kong, locks him in the cargo hold of his ship and transports him to New York City. Once there, Kong manages to escape and wreak havoc upon the beleaguered town, before being compelled to climb up the World Trade Center for sanctuary. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1976
Collision Course was adapted from Merle Miller's Plain Speaking, a biography of former President Harry Truman. E.G. Marshall plays Truman, while Henry Fonda costars as General Douglas MacArthur This made-for-TV movie recounts the events leading up to the 1951 firing of General MacArthur during the Korean conflict. In the pivotal scene, an apoplectic Truman verbally lambastes the arrogant MacArthur for failing to show proper respect to his commander in chief. Heavily slanted in favor of Truman's point of view, Collision Course was pilloried by conservative critics, who felt that MacArthur was depicted as a vainglorious zealot rather than a misguided patriot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, E.G. Marshall, (more)
- 1976
This TV movie delves into the unhappy later years of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald (here played by Jason Miller). Broke and virtually written-out by the late 1930s, Fitzgerald is compelled to accept screenwriting work in Tinseltown where he is frustrated that his work is extensively rewritten and revised -- if not rejected altogether. On a personal level, Fitzgerald must deal with his wife Zelda (Tuesday Weld), now sequestered in a North Carolina mental institution. Seeking some reason for living, Fitzgerald inaugurates an affair with Hollywood columnist Sheila Graham (Julia Foster). Not all that incisive, and saddled with an unsympathetic drunkard as a central character, F. Scott Fitzgerald is still superior to Hollywood's previous version of the Fitzgerald/Graham romance, Beloved Infidel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Reaping a huge sum of money from an earlier investment, Jerry sells his practice and retires. Unfortunately, Bob is unable to enjoy Jerry's retirement, fearing that a life of leisure has transformed his best friend into a bum. Also appearing are John Randolph as Bob's father-in-law, Junior Harrison, and comedian/director Howard Morris as Shorty Vance. Written by Hugh Wilson, "Jerry's Retirement" originally aired on November 27, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette, (more)
