Marian Seldes Movies

The Gotham Book Mart in New York City has been considered a center for avant-garde literature for years. At the heart of this cultural gem is Frances Steloff, who at the time of the film was 100 years old. This documentary, narrated by Marian Seldes, tells the story of a woman and her dream to bring people together. She began with only $100 in 1920 at a time when e.e. cummings, Gertrude Stein, and others were in need of an outlet for their art. The Gotham Book Mart provided a venue for creativity and can certainly be viewed as an important historical landmark. ~ Cara Saposnik, All Movie Guide

Jimmy Angelelli (Harvey Keitel) wants to be a concert pianist. Jimmy's dad, Ben Angelelli (Michael V. Gazzo), wants his son to go into the family business. So far, so banal. But the "family business" depicted in Fingers is organized crime, and therein lies the film's perverse appeal. Fingers represents the directorial debut of screenwriter James Toback, who also wrote the script. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dustin Hoffman was only a few months away from his star-making role in The Graduate when he appeared in this television adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's satiric dark comedy. A disgruntled inventor (Orson Bean) whose career is going nowhere finally comes up with something that could change the world -- a device he calls the "Star Wagon," which allows its users to travel back and forth in time. Before unleashing his new gizmo on the world, the inventor uses it for a few pet projects of his own, with the help of his less-than-enthusiastic assistant (Dustin Hoffman). Shot for educational television in 1967, The Star Wagon also features Eileen Brennan, Marian Seldes, and Richard Castellano. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jason McCord (Chuck Connors) must act quickly when Caleb Reymer (Steve McNally) shows up on the land owned by little Jimmy Whitlaw (Michel Petit), the orphaned son of Jason's old friend. Claiming to be Jimmy's uncle, Caleb also insists that the land belongs to him. The only person who knows the real story is the boy's Native American housekeeper Neela (Maria Seldes)--and she refuses to talk. Featured in the cast as the town doctor is Walter F. O'Malley, the then-president of the Los Angeles Dodgers (and thus an old "baseball buddy" of former pro ballplayer Chuck Connors). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Handsome, twenty-year-old George Hamilton had his first starring role in this so-so drama by Denis Sanders inspired by Feodor Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. Robert Cole (Hamilton) is a law student whose certainty that he is a cut above anyone else leads him to murder a pawnbroker with the belief he is too good to get caught. But Inspector Porter (Frank Silvera) begins to suspect that Cole has blood on his hands, even before there is any real proof that he is guilty. As the two play the same cat-and-mouse game that drove Dostoyevsky's hero over the edge, the modern Roskolnikov finds himself in a steadily deteriorating situation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Those who learned to dislike Conrad Richter's novel The Light in the Forest when it was required reading in high school will be pleasantly surprised by this Disney adaptation. In his second film appearance, James MacArthur plays Johnny Butler, a white youth who was captured by the Delaware Indians in infancy. In 1764, a peace treaty is signed between the Delaware and the British, requiring that all white captives be returned to their families. But 18-year-old Johnny, now known as True Son and now thoroughly assimilated into the tribe, violently resists being torn away from the only life he has ever known. Kindly Indian scout Del Hardy (Fess Parker) tries to help Johnny through his transitional period; the same cannot be said by Johnny's Indian-hating Uncle Wilse (Wendell Corey), who vows to kill every Delaware he meets. Only by defeating Wilse-and, by extention, his own inner demons-will Johnny ever be able to readjust to the white lifestyle without totally turning his back on his adoptive Indian family. Carol Lynley makes her screen debut as Shendandoe, Johnny's white sweetheart; likewise making his entree into films is TV director Herschel Daugherty. Partially filmed on location in Tennessee, Light in the Forest benefited from the expertise of technical advisor Iron Eyes Cody. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charlie Brailing (Norman Lloyd) dreams of leaving his wife, Lydia (Marian Seldes), and flying off to Rio. Of course, if he were to do this, it would cause nothing but shame and humiliation for all concerned. Thus, Charlie concocts a "foolproof" scheme to make his getaway without detection: he builds a robot lookalike, intending to leave his mechanical double with his wife while he skips town. Trouble is, the robot has a few plans of its own. One of the few "supernatural" Hitchcock episodes, "Design for Loving" was written by no less than Ray Bradbury. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapting a made-for-TV play that he had directed for the screen, John Frankenheimer made his feature film debut with this sensitive father-son drama. Tom Ditmar (James Daly) is a movie studio executive who has a strained relationship with his teenaged son Hal (James MacArthur). Hal is arrested after an incident in a movie theater in which he was provoked into slugging the manager, Grubbs (Whit Bissell). Hal is rude to the police officer, Sergeant Shipley (James Gregory). Tom Ditmar gets the charges dropped but doesn't believe his son's story. Hal goes back to talk to Grubbs to try to get him to tell his father what really happened. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

One of a group of captives rescued from the Cheyenne by the Cavalry is a 12-year-old white boy who has been raised as an Indian. Mary Cullen (Marian White) insists that the boy is her own son Dennis, kidnapped from her family in infancy. Despite the combined efforts of Mrs. Cullen and Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness), there's a strong possibility that the boy will ultimately choose to continue living with the Cheyenne rather than accept is "proper" place in white society. This episode is based on the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of September 24, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An American columnist rails for the rights of a free press in this small screen drama presented as part of the "Studio One" series. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide