Martin Thompson Movies
In this film version of E. L. Doctorow's Billy Bathgate, Loren Dean plays the title character, a street-smart kid who inveigles his way into the confidence of 1930s gangster Dutch Schultz (Dustin Hoffman). Billy is ordered to look after Schultz' new moll, Drew Preston (Nicole Kidman), while Dutch fends off tax evasion charges and such up-and-coming rivals as Lucky Luciano (Stanley Tucci). Even though they know they're playing with dynamite, Billy and Drew fall in love. In attempting to escape Schultz' wrath, Billy succeeds only in putting himself in the thick of a gun battle between his boss and Luciano. When "Charley Lucky" emerges triumphant, Billy is forced once again to rely on his wits to escape being sent to the bottom of the briny in a cement overcoat. Bruce Willis shows up in an extended cameo as Dutch Schultz' former business associate. Billy Bathgate was adapted for the screen by British playwright Tom Stoppard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman, (more)
Businessman Larry Burrows (James Belushi) has a wife who ignores him, a screwball friend who won't leave him alone, and a car that continually breaks down. All that and more is enough to give him a mid-life crisis. After his car stalls once more, he enters a bar looking for help and encounters a bartender (Michael Caine) who shows him what his life would have been like, if he hadn't struck out in a baseball game back in high school. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Michael Caine, (more)
- 1986
Robin Chapman based his teleplay for the 1986 BBC production Blunt: The Fourth Man on a true story. Ian Richardson plays Sir Anthony Blunt, an above-reproach aristocrat and renowned art expert. In 1951, Blunt sells out his country by helping turncoat British spy Donald MacLean (Michael McStay) escape to Moscow. Blunt's stake in all this intrigue is personal: he is the former gay lover of MacLean's partner in espionage, the notorious Guy Burgess (Anthony Hopkins). The revelation of Blunt's role as the "fourth man" in Britain's most famous modern spy scandal is not made public until 1979. Blunt: The Fourth Man was first telecast in the US over the A&E cable network on July 24, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Richardson, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
- 1985
The psychotic behavior of a set of twins, Jennifer (Shirley Parker) and June Gibbons (Sharon Parker) is the focus of this disturbing true story. While still quite young, the twins vow never to speak to anyone except each other -- though their own relationship is clearly either abusive or conspiratorial. Various vignettes underscore their abnormality, making anyone wonder why they were not given the psychiatric treatment they so obviously needed. In the end, it took a drastic and tragic action on their part before the public sat up and noticed they were desperately in need of therapy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Parker, Shirley Parker, (more)
