Elaine Stritch Movies

While she never became a household name for her film and television work, Elaine Stritch is one of the true living legends of the New York stage, with a career that's spanned a remarkable seven decades and seen her work side by side with some of the greatest names in the American theater. In 2002, Stritch collaborated with playwright John Lahr to create Elaine Stritch at Liberty, a Tony award-winning one-woman show in which Stritch shared the ups and downs of her private and professional life with her audience as she sang some of her favorite songs (including tunes by her friends and collaborators Noël Coward and Stephen Sondheim), talked about her partners on-stage (Ethel Merman) and off-stage (Marlon Brando, Ben Gazzara), and recounted her long battle with alcoholism. Andy Picheta directed this film adaptation of Elaine Stritch at Liberty (in collaboration with Nick Doob, Chris Hegedus, and D.A. Pennebaker), in which highlights from the show are intercut with archive material shot throughout Stritch's career, as well as rehearsal footage documenting how the show took shape. Produced for the premium cable television service HBO, Elaine Stritch at Liberty was screened at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Elaine Stritch: At Liberty is a live performance of an award-winning one-woman show. Broadway legend Stritch weaves together song, dance, comedy, and personal stories for this two-hour program. Dressed in a simple outfit on a nearly bare stage, the 77-year-old actress performs her famous numbers and recalls hilarious and touching moments from her career. Includes the songs "Broadway Baby," "But Not for Me," and "I've Been to a Marvellous Party." ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

As detective Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) recovers from his gunshot wounds, Logan (Chris Noth) adjusts himself to his new partner, Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach, in his first Law & Order appearance, save for an earlier guest-star appearance in a different role). Logan and Briscoe's current investigation results in the arrest of a suspect who claims self defense. In mounting his case against the accused, assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) is distressed to learn that he will be coming face to face with an old enemy from his law-school days. Elaine Stritch won an Emmy award for her performance in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An Inconvenient Woman, an excellent television mini-series based on the novel by Dominick Dunne, which is loosely based on the Alfred Bloomingdale scandal, tells the story of the mistress of a famous man who he has murdered when she threatens his security. Jules Mendelson (Jason Robards) and his socialite wife Pauline (Jill Eikenberry) have a marriage of convenience that is threatened by the existence of Jules cast-off mistress Flo (Rebecca De Mornay) who knows too much and can cause them all too much trouble. So, Jules plans to have her eliminated. The fine cast all give good performances in their roles, and the subject matter, while potentially lurid and tasteless, is treated with sophistication and tact in this excellent adaptation of the best-selling novel. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a mayor's political career is threatened by the avaricious land speculators who are trying to force her to give into their demands. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) is quite fond of her classmate Clarence (Michael A. Moran), and the feeling is mutual. Unfortunately, Clarence caves into peer pressure from his male friends and begins harrassing Rudy, whereupon she and her friends retaliate in kind. The situation soon gets nasty, culminating with Clarence getting pummelled by Rudy--and it is at this point that the kids' teacher Mrs. McGee (Elaine Stritch) force-feeds them a crash course in Etiquette! Featured in the cast is Tatyana Ali, who later appeared as Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, two rival ad executives find themselves marooned on a South Pacific during a balloon accident. Comic mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The fourth and final season of the British "culture-clash" sitcom Two's Company stars Elaine Stritch as Dorothy McNab, an overbearing, overtalkative American mystery writer living in Chelsea, and Donald Sinden as Dorothy's highly proper butler, Robert, who never lets his position get in the way of saying exactly what he thinks of his impossible employer. The first of this season's seven episodes is "The Club," in which Dorothy and Robert unite against unfair snobbery. "The Clergy" puts hero and heroine at odds with organized religion. "The Salesman" once more proves that the extravagant Dorothy can't be trusted with a farthing. "The Visiting Scots" is a haggis-baggis of zany ethnic humor, British style. "The Silence" finds Dorothy and Robert uncharacteristically speechless. "The Rolls-Royce" allows the viewers the vicarious pleasure of seeing the wealthy make fools of themselves. And the final episode, "The Friendly Aristocrats," thoroughly belies its title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Back after a year's absence (save for the 1976 special "A Loving Christmas"), the British sitcom Two's Company still stars Elaine Stritch as Dorothy McNab, an abrasive and demanding American mystery writer living in Chelsea, and Donald Sinden as Dorothy's "veddy" proper butler, Robert Hiller, who makes no secret of his disdain for Dorothy's temper tantrums and has a delightfully wicked habit of speaking his mind at all times. The first of season two's seven episodes is "The Reluctant Traveller," wherein Dorothy is obliged to make a return trip to America -- but Robert's fear of flying may put a crimp in the journey."The Burglary" finds Robert the prime suspect when Dorothy's home is robbed. In "The Rubbish," Dorothy and Robert are at war again over household trivialities. Despite its title, the episode "The Honeymoon" is anything but. In "Robert's Record Player," Dorothy is sued for "noise pollution" as the result of Robert's devotion to Bach (at top volume). "The Guests" offers another choice example of Yankee boorishness colliding head-on with British propriety. And in "The Cleaning Ladies," Dorothy's peculiar habit of alienating anyone who works for her boomerangs disastrously -- and hilariously. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not to be confused with the earlier Granada Television variety series of the same name, the British sitcom Two's Company was unveiled by London Weekend Television on September 6, 1975. American actress Elaine Stritch starred as Dorothy McNab, an acerbic Yankee writer who lived and worked on a country estate in Chelsea. Dorothy's prickly personality was offset by the cool unflappability of her "veddy" British butler, Robert Hiller, played by Donald Sinden. Although Robert could give back as good as he got when subjected to Dorothy's insults, a palpable mutual affection existed between the two protagonists. Created by Bill MacIlwraith, the 29-episode Two's Company ran until March 4, 1979. In America, the series was rebroadcast over the A&E cable network, and also spawned a 1981 remake, The Two of Us, starring Mimi Kennedy and Peter Cook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

June Wyndham-Davies directs this made-for-TV version of the classic children's novel Pollyanna, written by Eleanor H. Porter. This miniseries was broadcast in six half-hour episodes on the BBC in 1973. Elizabeth Archard plays the overly optimistic orphan Pollyanna who goes to live with her lonely, bitter old Aunt Polly (Elaine Stritch). Despite being paralyzed in an accident, her chipper attitude brightens the lives of everyone she encounters, including an old hermit (Donald Bisset), an orphaned boy (Stephen Galloway), and her doctor (Paul Maxwell). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Shot on location in Manhattan during the mid-'60s, Who Killed Teddy Bear? is a startling piece of dramatic filmmaking. Juliet Prowse portrays Nora, a deejay and hostess at a sleazy midtown discothèque who starts to receive obscene phone calls. Nora dismisses them, until she crosses paths with Bill Madden (Jan Murray), a grim, obsessive police lieutenant specializing in sex crimes (his obsession, as he later reveals, derives from the fact that his own wife was assaulted and murdered while out alone one night); he manages both to offend and frighten Nora with his depth of knowledge and suspicions about the kinds of people who commit those crimes. They develop a close but wary relationship even as the caller, whoever he is, proves to know not only a great deal about her personal life, but also about events transpiring right inside her apartment. She goes about her life as best she can, attending auditions and making the rounds of theaters, and socializing with her co-workers at the club, including the bus boy, Larry (Sal Mineo), who seems lonely and has a very sweet younger sister who is mildly retarded. She looks to her club manager (Elaine Stritch) for help, but then rejects her when she suspects that the older woman is attracted to her -- and then Stritch is killed by the stalker, by mistake, outside Nora's building when she is seen wearing the girl's coat. Nora tries to relax and looks to Larry for friendship, only to discover that he is the stalker. Madden also makes the connection, and figures out how he was observing her inside her apartment, but he's too late to save Nora from being assaulted. Larry ends up on the run from the police, who are in hot pursuit as he flees through Manhattan's streets. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this frothy romantic comedy, a hard-working female Army shrink (Janet Leigh) devises the "perfect furlough" for battle weary men and convinces the brass to let her try it on selected men stationed at her base. According to her plan, selected men would be given three weeks, tailor made to fit their deepest desires. Her first test-case is a handsome ladies' man (Tony Curtis) who chooses to go to Paris with his favorite movie star. Naturally the psychologist chaperones. Romantic mayhem ensues and eventually the furloughed soldier and the shrink fall in love. The story is also titled Strictly for Pleasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide