Susan Blakely Movies
Actress/model Susan Blakely, the daughter of a U.S. Army colonel, was born in Germany and raised in ports of call ranging from Korea to Hawaii to Texas. After a year at the University of Texas, Blakely struck out for New York, where she studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse while pursuing a modeling career. By 1972, she was pulling down 100,000 dollars a year for her appearances on magazine covers and TV advertisements; she also began showing up in bit parts in films like Savages (1972) and The Way We Were (1973). Larger roles came her way in The Lords of Flatbush (1974), Report to the Commissioner (1974), The Towering Inferno (1974), and Shampoo (1975). It was a television production that brought her full-fledged stardom: in 1977, Blakely appeared as Julie Prescott in the ratings-busting miniseries Rich Man Poor Man. She continued to flourish in TV movies into the 1990s, sinking her dazzling teeth into such meaty roles as Eva Braun in The Bunker (1981), Frances Farmer in Will There Really Be a Morning? (1982), and attorney Leslie Abramson in Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Brothers (1994). Susan Blakely has been married to screenwriter Todd Merer and producer Steve Jaffe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This hippie parable, co-written and directed by James Ivory and produced by his long-time partner Ismail Merchant, tries to make a heavy-handed parallel between civilization and corruption. A tribe of nameless natives (played by Sam Waterston, Susan Blakely, Salome Jens and Martin Kove, among others) finds a croquet ball and, rolling it along the ground mystified by what it might be, stumbles upon an estate. They enter and occupy the mansion and don the clothes and trappings of civilized luxury. A dividing line begins to develop between strong and weak tribe members, with the weak becoming subordinate to the others. A lavish party is thrown that resembles nothing so much as a summer weekend gathering of sophisticates. After a game of croquet, however, the natives begin to tire of their masquerade and devolve back into their original, more primitive state, and disappear into the forest. Cinematographer Walter Lassally makes the film's point more blunt and obvious by filming the prologue in black and white and then switching to color once the tribe discovers the estate. One of Ivory's co-writers was Michael O'Donoghue, infamous bad boy of the original Saturday Night Live writing staff. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lewis J. Stadlen, Anne Francine, (more)
"Gorgeous goyish guy" meets Jewish radical girl in Sydney Pollack's glossy romance. In 1937, frizzy-haired Red co-ed Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand) briefly captures the attention of preppy jock Hubbell Gardiner (Robert Redford) with her passionate pacifism, while the writing talent beneath his privileged exterior entrances her. Almost eight years later, the two are reunited in New York, when well-coiffed leftist radio worker Katie spies military officer Hubbell snoozing in a nightclub. Through her force of will, and in spite of his smug rich friends, the two opposites fall in love, sparring over Katie's activist zeal and Hubbell's writerly ambivalence after a failed first novel. They head to Hollywood so that Hubbell can write a screenplay for his buddy-turned-producer J.J. (Bradford Dillman). But the House Committee on Un-American Activities' Communist witch hunt in 1947 tears the pair apart, as a pregnant Katie refuses to keep silent about the jailing of the Hollywood Ten, while a faithless Hubbell decides to save his career. When the two meet again at the dawn of the '60s, TV hack Hubbell and A-bomb protestor Katie feel the old pull, but they have to decide if it's worth the grief. Although blacklisted writers had returned to Hollywood -- and won Oscars -- by the early 1970s, the HUAC sections of Arthur Laurents's screenplay were still considered dicey, resulting in substantial cuts; Laurents reportedly blamed star Redford for not fighting them hard enough. Regardless of the edits, and critics' complaints about the film's schlockiness, 1973 audiences went for the well-executed and still politically tinged weepie, turning The Way We Were into one of the most popular films of 1973 and Redford into a major heartthrob. Streisand won an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and the Streisand-sung title tune won for Best Song. Despite the eviscerated politics, The Way We Were poignantly captures the insoluble dilemma of reconciling private desires with public awareness. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, (more)
This low-budget independent film by novice directors Stephen F. Verona and Martin Davidson is a slice-of-life elegy from the leather-jacket, bobby-soxer era of 1957, set in a Brooklyn high school. The film stands out for the appearance of up-and-coming actors (circa 1974) Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler, and Perry King (even Armand Assante has a bit role). Stallone, Winkler, King, and Paul Mace are members of a local neighbor social club called "The Lords of Flatbush," and they spend their time exercising their hormones, hot-wiring a car, playing pool, and quaffing egg creams at the local candy store. The film finally focuses its interest on two of the "lords." Chico (Perry King), owns a motorcycle and wheels over to see Jane Bradshaw (Susan Blakely), the daughter of an army colonel who, despite Chico's motorcycle, gives him the brush-off. Then there is the muscle-headed Stanley Rosiello (Sylvester Stallone), who, like Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, loves pigeons. He also loves Frannie (Maria Smith), with whom he has bedded down under the boardwalk one too many times, and now finds that she is pregnant and wants to get married. Skirting along the edges of the frame are Butchey Weinstein (Henry Winkler) and Wimpy Murgalo (Paul Mace), who, as second bananas, go along with Chico and Stanley as they adjust their testosterone to adult living. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Perry King, Sylvester Stallone, (more)
- 1974
- PG
A young NYPD detective learns (the hard way) about the politics that govern a big-city police department. He kills a lady-detective/colleague whose undercover garb concealed her profession and he gets caught up in a department cover-up. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Moriarty, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
A skyscraper and an all-star cast go up in flames in Irwin Allen's classic disaster movie. To celebrate the construction of the Glass Tower, the world's tallest building, architect Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) and builder James Duncan (William Holden) hold a gala bash on the highest floors. Trouble is, Duncan's son-in-law and electrical subcontractor Roger Simmons (Richard Chamberlain) installed faulty wiring throughout the 138-story behemoth to save money. While the guests -- including Doug's lady friend (Faye Dunaway), a rich widow (Jennifer Jones), a con man (Fred Astaire), and a politico (Robert Vaughn) -- enjoy the party, and a security guard (O.J. Simpson) wonders why his equipment is on the fritz, a burnt-out circuit breaker ignites some garbage on the 85th floor, swiftly turning the high-rise into, well, a towering inferno. With the guests trapped on the 135th floor, it's up to Roberts and Fire Chief O'Hallorhan (Steve McQueen) to find a way to stop the blaze. Though not the first all-star '70s disaster movie (1970's Airport and 1972's The Poseidon Adventure preceded it), The Towering Inferno was the most popular and the most spectacular. In a move that would become more common in late-'90s blockbuster Hollywood, The Towering Inferno's mammoth production was mounted by two studios; screenwriter Stirling Silliphant combined the two novels owned by the studios into one saga. 1970s "shake 'n bake" maestro Allen, with co-director John Guillermin (Allen did the action sequences), tapped into deep fears about the fragility of modern life in the face of extreme natural phenomena, as well as into the envies and insecurities of middle-aged professional men. The Towering Inferno packed theaters and earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture; it won for Cinematography, Editing, and Song. While its heroic, no-nonsense men provided some traditional comfort, The Towering Inferno still might provoke second thoughts about going into a skyscraper. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, (more)
- 1975
- R
Ben Gazzara stars in this low-level depiction of legendary gangster Al Capone, who rose to command the mob underworld in 1920's Chicago. Born in Brooklyn, Capone joins his first gang at the age of 11. From there, he graduates to the infamous "Five Points Gang" run by Johnny Torrio (Harry Guardino). After moving to Chicago a few years later and wiping out Torrio's crimeboss uncle, Capone becomes Torrio's right hand man. Capone becomes head of the area's prostitution and racketeering business, but, as his mind deteriorates from syphillis, so does his empire. There's not much to recommend here, aside from a surprisingly good appearance by Sylvester Stallone as fellow gangster Frank Nitti. Gazzara is frankly awful in the title role and producer Roger Corman uses stock shootout footage from other gangster films, including footage of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre from his own, earlier movie on the subject. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Gazzara, Susan Blakely, (more)
- 1976
More ambitious and expensive than ABC's first "novel for television" miniseries QB VII, the eight-episode, 12-hour Rich Man, Poor Man was the one that truly put the genre on the map, its phenomenal success in the ratings making possible the even more spectacular Roots. Adapted from the mammoth novel by Irwin Shaw, the miniseries covers the years from WWII to the 1960s, detailing the vacillating fortunes of the immigrant Jordache brothers. "Rich Man" Rudy Jordache (Peter Strauss) is determined to use his hard-earned education -- and his inherent ruthlessness -- to carve out a business and political empire not unlike that enjoyed by Joseph P. Kennedy and his progeny. "Poor Man" Tom Jordache (Nick Nolte), a quick-fisted hothead, goes an entirely different route, first as a professional boxer, then as a functionary of the evil gangster chieftain Falconetti (William Smith). Naturally, both brothers become entangled in romance along the way, with Julie Prescott (Susan Blakely) ending up as Rudy's benighted spouse. Originally telecast on February 1, 2, 9, 16, 23, and March 1, 8, and 15 in 1976, Rich Man, Poor Man earned 20 Emmy nominations and led to a weekly sequel, Rich Man, Poor Man -- Book 2, in the fall of 1976 (this version necessitated a title change for the original, which was rebroadcast as Rich Man, Poor Man -- Book 1 in the spring of 1977). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, (more)
- 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
- 1979
- PG
Tim Matheson is Dreamer in this Rocky-like inspirational drama. Instead of boxing, the sport in question is bowling. "Dreamer" is a ten-pin whiz in his small town, but can he make it in the Big Time? In his favor, he has the help of irascible manager Jack Warden and faithful girlfriend Susan Blakeley. As if to boldly underline the resemblances between Dreamer and its cinematic role model, the musical score is by Rocky's Bill Conti. If you like bowling, Dreamer should be right up your...right up your.... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Susan Blakely, (more)
- 1979
The fourth Airport film may be the silliest of them all, as George Kennedy returns, this time co-piloting with Alain Delon. The plane is on its way to the Moscow Olympics, has a bomb on board, and gets fired upon with missiles that necessitate flying upside-down. A look at the cast list resembles a bad episode of Fantasy Island, but it's always fun to see shameless touches like casting Mercedes McCambridge (Johnny Guitar) as the coach of the Soviet team. If you don't understand the significance of that choice, you may find this film more tedious than laughable, but fans of bad movies will have a field day, as Jimmie Walker, Charo, and -- oddly enough -- Bibi Andersson rub shoulders with high-altitude disaster. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, (more)
- 1980
Jill Robinson's Bed-Time-Story, inspired by actual events, was the source for the made-for-TV A Cry for Love. Divorcee Susan Blakely, with no alimony and two kids to support, begins turning to amphetamines. While at her lowest ebb, she meets Powers Boothe, an alcoholic and three-time loser in marriage--who, incredibly, turns out to be the ideal man for her! Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor were the guiding hands behind the Cry For Love teleplay. The film debuted on October 20, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
This TV movie, directed by Jerry Paris (a regular on The Dick Van Dyke Show), traces the rise of a young real-estate agent in southern California. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Stingray: Invaders of the Deep is about a submarine captain who leads a fight against a fleet of invading aliens. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In this film, a group of frustrated feminists form a football team for their factory in an effort to foil male chauvinists. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This exhaustive (and exhausting) 3-hour TV movie dramatizes the last three months of Adolph Hitler's life, spent in his bunker in Berlin. Anthony Hopkins is repulsively riveting as Hitler, while Piper Laurie is even more frightening as fanatical Frau Goebbels. Joseph Goebbels (Cliff Gorman) feeds the Fuehrer's ego as the Nazi empire crumbles, while Albert Speer (Richard Jordan) defies him. The day before his suicide, Hitler legalizes his relationship with mistress Eva Braun (Susan Blakely). The film's plot extends beyond the suicide, with the triumphant allied forces arguing over who has proprietary rights to Hitler's remains. First telecast January 27, 1981, The Bunker was based on Joseph O'Donnell's best seller, which in turn was based on first-hand accounts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Based on the autobiography of actress Frances Farmer, Will There Really Be a Morning? was originally telecast on February 22, 1983 -- only a few months after the "rival" Farmer biopic Frances hit movie-theatre screens. Whether Susan Blakely is superior to Frances' Jessica Lange is open to debate. It is certain that Morning adheres more closely to the facts, principally because adaptor Dalene Young (a specialist in such true-life "perseverance" TV movies) drew her inspiration from Farmer's own words. The premise of the TV movie is that most of Frances' well-documented personal problems, including her drug abuse and mental illness, can be traced to her stormy relationship with her mother (Lee Grant). Joe Lambie plays Frances' movie-star husband Leif Erickson (here called "Bill Anderson," Erickson's real name), while John Heard is playwright Clifford Odets, whose rocky romance with Farmer fueled the flames of her neuroses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The fact that this made-for-TV movie is derivation of the megahit Airport is obvious by the presence of novelist Arthur Hailey in the credits. Gil Gerard heads the cast as David Montgomery, manager of a huge and extremely busy airport. As David wrestles with personal problems at home and a crisis with a burned-out air traffic controller (Bill Bixby) at the workplace, his burden is increased by the news that a Hawaii-bound jet has taken off with a bomb on board. George Kennedy, who'd appeared in all of the Airport theatrical films, here contributes an extended cameo role. International Airport first aired May 25, 1985, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Created by Stephen J. Cannell, the made-for-TV Stingray combines choice elements from such past successes as Knight Rider, The Lone Ranger, and (stylistically, at least) Miami Vice. Nick Mancuso stars as the title character, a mysterious good samaritan who has apparently named himself after his jazzed-up car. In the course of events, Stingray foils the plans of an insane doctor, scuttles the operation of a drug-and-vice lord, and locates a missing child using ingenuity, brute force, and a variety of disguises. All he asks in return from the people he helps is that they will someday do a favor for him -- at any time, at any place. Robyn Douglass costars as Stingray's lady love, Deputy D.A. Daphne Delgado (who probably sells seashells by the seashore). Originally broadcast July 14, 1985, on NBC, Stingray was blatantly the pilot for a weekly TV series, which ran from March 4, 1986, to July 31, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Mancuso
- 1986
This factual drama chronicles the battle of Senator Edward Kennedy's oldest son after he is diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer that costs him his leg. Though only 12, the young boy does not let the tragedy get him down. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
After winning the heavyweight boxing championship and single-handedly winning the war in Vietnam for America, Sylvester Stallone moves on to a real challenge -- arm wrestling -- in this action drama with a family undercurrent. Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a long-haul truck driver who years ago abandoned his wife Christina (Susan Blakely) and their son Michael (David Mendenhall). Hawk comes to see the error of his ways and wants to reconcile with his loved ones, only to discover that Christina is in the hospital suffering through the last stages of a terminal illness. Her wealthy and powerful father, Jason Cutler (Robert Loggia), has come to hate Hawk for the way he left his daughter to fend for herself, and he wants full custody of the boy upon her death. But Hawk is desperate to mend his relationship with Michael. He kidnaps the boy, and as Jason's hired goons give chase, Hawk points his truck toward the one place where he can win the money and recognition that will earn his son's respect -- a wrist-wrestling championship in Las Vegas. Actor Sylvester Stallone also co-wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, (more)
- 1986
Blood and Orchids was adapted from Norman Katkov from his own fact-based book. The scene is Hawaii, 1937. The wife (Madeline Stowe) of a naval officer (William Russ) is beaten nearly to death by her lover (Matt Salinger)--her husband's best friend. Four native Hawaiians find the woman and take her to the hospital, then flee out of fear of being blamed for the assault themselves. The aristocratic mother (Jane Alexander) of the beaten woman knows the truth, but, coldly insistent upon maintaining white supremacy on the islands, orders her daughter to claim that the Hawaiian boys had abused her. A trial follows, complicated by an honest police officer (Kris Kristofferson), who doesn't believe the victim's story. This two-part TV movie digresses from the source novel by hoking up a romance between the cop and the young wife (Sean Young) of the prosecuting attorney (Jose Ferrer). Blood and Orchids was originally telecast in February of 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Mark Lindsay Chapman (no relation to the murderer of John Lennon) stars in the made-for-TV The Annihilator. If the title sounds faintly reminiscent of The Terminator, it might just be more than a coincidence. The plot involves an army of mindless automatons, programmed to kill, kill, kill. Chapman plays a reporter whose efforts to halt the robot army are flummoxed by the fact that he himself is a fugitive from the law. The Annihilator premiered on April 7, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
This TV pilot film was based on the "Father Dowling" character created (in the tradition of G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown) by Ralph McInery. Tom Bosley plays the good Father, who whiles away his off-hours by reading mystery novels. When a young millionaire entrepreneur turns up dead, the official verdict is suicide, but Father Dowling suspects murder. Dowling's allies include street-smart nun Tracy Nelson and dour housekeeper Mary Wickes; his antagonists include politician Leslie Nielsen and mob functionary Sada Thompson (Sada Thompson? The mob?) Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery was adapted from a McInery original by veteran mystery writer Donald Westlake; the pilot sold, and the resultant Father Dowling Mysteries series ran for two seasons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
This low-budget actioner is set in a world gone mad with the fear that WW III is imminent and centers on a survivalist who has stashed away a veritable armory of high-tech weapons to protect his family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Railsback, Marjoe Gortner, (more)
- 1988
Erika Eleniak is the "broken angel" in this made-for-TV domestic drama. The troubled daughter of William Shatner and Susan Blakely, Erika drops out of sight after a shooting incident at her high school prom. Deducing that his daughter has become involved in drug dealing, Shatner goes on a nightmarish odyssey through the gang-controlled streets of LA. Every so often, Roxann Biggs, playing a social worker, delivers the Author's Message in spell-it-all-out terms. More praiseworthy for its intentions than its execution, Broken Angel first aired March 14, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
