Eli Wallach Movies
Long before earning his B.A. from the University of Texas and his M.A. in Education from C.C.N.Y., Eli Wallach made his first on-stage appearance in a 1930 amateur production. After World War II service and intensive training at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, the bumpy-nosed, gravel-voiced Wallach debuted on Broadway in Skydrift (1945). In 1951, he won a Tony award for his portrayal of Alvaro Mangiaco in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo. Though a staunch advocate of "The Method," Wallach could never be accused of being too introspective on-stage; in fact, his acting at times was downright ripe -- but deliciously so. He made his screen debut in Baby Doll (1956) playing another of Tennessee Williams' abrasive Latins, in this instance the duplicitous Silva Vaccaro; this performance earned Wallach the British equivalent of the Oscar. He spent the bulk of his screen time indulging in various brands of villainy, usually sporting an exotic accent (e.g., bandit leader Calvera in The Magnificent Seven [1960]). Perhaps his most antisocial onscreen act was the kidnapping of Hayley Mills in The Moon-Spinners (1965). Even when playing someone on "our" side, Wallach usually managed to make his character as prickly as possible: a prime example is Sgt. Craig in The Victors (1963), who manages to be vituperative and insulting even after his face is blown away. Busy on stage, screen, and TV into the 1990s, Wallach has played such unsavory types as a senile, half-blind hitman in Tough Guys (1986) and candy-munching Mafioso Don Altobello in The Godfather III (1990). His television work has included an Emmy-winning performance in the 1967 all-star TV movie The Poppy Is Also a Flower and the continuing role of mob patriarch Vincent Danzig in Our Family Honor. Married since 1948 to actress Anne Jackson, Wallach has appeared on-stage with his wife in such plays as The Typists and the Tiger, Luv, and Next, and co-starred with her in the 1967 comedy film The Tiger Makes Out. Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson are the parents of special effects director Peter Wallach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1977
Seventh Avenue followed Captains and the Kings and Once an Eagle as the third attraction on NBC's Best Sellers series of 1976-77. This adaptation of Norman Borger's novel stars Steven Keats as Jay Blackman, who rises from the New York tenements of the 1930s to become a powerful figure in the garment industry of the 1940s and 1950s. Along the way, Blackman has his fair share of amorous and life-threatening situations. At times he seems to do nothing but hold off women with one hand, and stave off the Mob with the other. Presented in three 2-hour installments from February 10 through February 24, 1977, Seventh Avenue was followed by the fourth and final Best Sellers installment, The Rheinman Exchange. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- R
Stanley Kramer directed this paranoid thriller involving a murderer who is inexplicably released from prison by a mysterious organization. Gene Hackman is Roy Tucker, serving time in San Quentin when he's busted out by a secret organization in return for having to assassinate an unnamed person. Roy travels from San Francisco to Spain trying to find out why he was released from prison and who he has to kill. His only lead is the organization is run by a collection of unknown people, collectively known as "They." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, (more)
Peter Benchley, who wrote Jaws, also wrote The Deep. Scuba divers David Sanders and Gail Berke (Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset), assisted by Romer Treece (Robert Shaw), discover a sunken treasure off the Bermuda coast. They also find a stash of narcotics. David and Gail spend the rest of the picture avoiding bad guys who stashed the drugs and want the treasure as well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
- 1976
Malcolm McDowell plays a World War I air ace, in charge of an elite squadron. Outwardly a bastion of courage, McDowell dies a little every time one of his boys is killed. To steel his nerves, he takes to drink, which has an adverse effect on his abilities. Christopher Plummer staunchly portrays McDowell's commanding officer. Aces High is a remake of Journey's End (1930), which in turn was based on a play by R.C. Sheriff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer, (more)
- 1976
An all-star female cast (Glenda Jackson, Melina Mecouri, Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Anne Jackson, Anne Meara, and Dame Edith Evans) enliven this satirical treatment of the Nixon Watergate scandal, Nasty Habits -- based on Muriel Sparks's novella The Abbess of Crewe. When a dying abbess (Dame Edith Evans) of a Pennsylvania convent is ready to name Sister Alexandra (Glenda Jackson) as her successor, Sister Alexandra and her two flunkies (Sandy Dennis and Anne Jackson) try to get the abbess to sign a document of intent. But their plans are dashed when liberal Sister Felicity (Susan Penhaligon) arrives and wants to change the institution. Her arrival delays the signing of the document of intent, and before the abbess can sign the paper she dies.Now the job of running the convent is up for grabs, with Sister Alexandra employing Nixon-like techniques of surveillance and dirty tricks to get the goods on Sister Felicity. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenda Jackson, Melina Mercouri, (more)
In the wake of such Satanic-themed thrillers as Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen comes The Sentinel. When New York fashion model (Cristina Raines) splits with her fiance (Chris Sarandon) and moves into an old brownstone, she soon discovers she has more than she bargained for in the lease. As luck would have it, a mysterious blind priest (John Carradine) who lives upstairs happens to be guarding the doorway to Hell, and she has been chosen as his replacement. Incidentally, when the door is finally opened, out spills an assortment of deformed humans whom director Michael Winner hand-picked from hospital wards and circus sideshows. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Sarandon, Cristina Raines, (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)
- 1976
The made for TV 20 Shades of Pink stars real-life husband and wife Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson as a happily married blue collar couple. Wallach is perfectly content to work as a house painter, but Jackson, hoping to fatten the family bank account, talks her husband into opening his own business. The pressure of being one's own boss, coupled with Wallach's middle-age angst, gives Jackson good cause to regret her ambitions. The advertising copy for 20 Shades of Pink asks "How can you get mad about a dream?" We're sure that the stars will find some way. Keenan Wynn, Edward Binns, and sportscaster Jack Whitaker costar in this GE Theatre presentation, which was first telecast March 12, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, (more)
- 1975
Season Three of Kojak begins with the first episode of a two-part story (originally seen as a single two-hour offering), in which NYPD lieutenant Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) is out to get the goods on a mob-controlled loan racket. The hoods specialize in killing those who can't pay up, meaning that the witness list is sparse indeed. Kojak's one hope in busting the racket lies with an imprisoned fence, who just may be angry enough to turn on the loan shark who framed him. By contemporary standards, this episode boasts an all-star guest cast: Eli Wallach, Jerry Orbach, F. Murray Abraham and Charles Kimbrough are among the New York-based actors appearing in key supporting roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
In the conclusion of Kojak's two-part Season Three opener (originally seen as a single two-hour "special" episode), Kojak (Telly Savalas) continues putting pressure on an unjustly jailed man to turn state's evidence against the loan shark who framed him. This is the first step in an overall plan to break the back of a mob-controlled racket which specializes in knocking off people who can't pay their debts. Complicating matters is an ambitious Federal agent who wants to beat Kojak to the punch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- R
Wallach and Testi rob a jewelry store, and when Wallach suspects a double cross, he goes to the Stateline Motel to collect the jewels. An Italian The Postman Always Rings Twice ~ All Movie Guide
- 1975
In this intellectual drama, Ras (Eli Wallach) is a ruler or dictator who, somewhat like the Biblical King David, covets another man's wife as his own. Unlike David, however, Ras wants to humiliate Marcello (Nino Manfredi), a dedicated musician whose life he has already ruined. He forces Marcello to seek an annulment to his marriage through the Vatican. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nino Manfredi, Eli Wallach, (more)
- 1975
The Emperor of Japan has sent the U.S. President a very special Asian horse. Three incredible rogues hear of this horse and decide to kidnap it for a $500,000 ransom. One of them, the "white" is Giuliano Gemma, a grandiose kleptomaniac. Tomás Milian is the "yellow," a Japanese samurai, and the last ("black") is Eli Wallach, a goofy and gullible sheriff who has been victimized by "white" before, and will be again. The alliance between the three is a shaky thing, but "black" will have stumbled into clover. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giuliano Gemma, Tomas Milian, (more)
- 1975
Question of Answers was the 2-hour, third-season opener of the TV series Kojak. Lieutenant Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) is on the trail of a mob-backed loan shark, who has a habit of closing out his defaulting accounts with knives and bullets. The Lieutenant is forced to count on the cooperation of a shifty stolen-fur dealer in order to corner his quarry; he is hampered by the interference of a glory-seeking federal agent who is also after the loan shark. Eli Wallach, Michael Gazzo, Jerry Orbach and F. Murray Abraham are among the guest stars. Question of Answers was originally telecast September 14, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- R
This graphically violent crime drama follows the relatively brief career of the notorious racketeer Crazy Joe Gallo, who formed an alliance with all of New York City's African-American gangs while serving time in Attica. Once he got out, he used that alliance to try and take over the Mafia, an act that resulted in his brutal murder in a restaurant in Little Italy, 1972. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- PG
An Irish journalist (Lynn Redgrave) will do anything she can to support a peasant revolution in Mexico. The rogues played by Franco Nero and Eli Wallach will do almost anything for money, but they will also do a lot for a charming lady: particularly when she has saved one of them from certain death in front of a prison firing squad. After arranging Wallach's prison escape, the trio heads for Mexico, where incredible things happen. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Redgrave, Eli Wallach, (more)
- 1974
District Attorney Sam Belden (William Shatner) is accused of murdering his wife and lover. Belden claims it was impossible, because he was 150 miles from the murder scene and he can prove it. It is up to prosecutor Bob Mathews (George Grizzard) to blow holes into Belden's alibi -- a difficult and painful assignment, since Mathews is Belden's best friend. Myrna Loy makes a rare TV appearance as the judge in the case. Indict and Convict made its ABC "Movie of the Week" premiere on January 6, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
This talky but ultimately satisfying made-for-TV sci-fi/thriller stars Robert Culp and Eli Wallach as Drs. Jones and Enari, a bickering pair of scientists dispatched to a remote arctic research station to study the behavior patterns in a colony of monkeys after members of the previous research team die mysteriously. Soon, the quarreling scientific rivals discover that the monkeys are not the only ones being observed -- and that the humans have become the subjects of a far more diabolical experiment. Though the plot's ultimate punchline may not seem as clever as planned, the twisted teleplay from Christopher Knopf packs a fair share of surprises and is superior to the usual TV horror fare. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
A "Cinderella Liberty" is Navy jargon for a pass that runs out at midnight. Sailor John Baggs, Jr. (James Caan) has such a pass, and intends to make the most of it while his ship is docked in Seattle. He "wins" prostitute Maggie (Marsha Mason) in a pool game, but backs off at a "wham-bam-thank you ma'am" when he finds out that Maggie has a son, an 11-year-old mulatto (Kirk Calloway) -- and that there's another baby on the way. John has so much empathy for Maggie's travails that he marries her. When she loses her baby, however, Maggie feels unable to resign herself to living with John, plagued by both guilt and an unwillingness to be tied down -- thus forcing John to fight for her. Darryl Ponicsan adapted his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Veteran husband and wife acting team Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson return to the roles that they created in the 1963 Off-Broadway musical in Kultur video's release of playwright Murray Schisgal's The Typists. As a married man and a spinster resign themselves to a fate of mindless duplication in a small copy shop, their conversations over the months and years help them to learn a few things about each other, and even more about themselves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, (more)
In Polish Russia, Stoloff (Yul Brynner), a Cossack in exile from his land and family, has gained control over a small Jewish village. The villagers live mainly by horse-thievery, under the leadership of Kifke (Eli Wallach). Stoloff's regime is tolerated with difficulty until he commandeers the village's horses (the sole source of wealth) for the Russian army. Naomi (Jane Birkin) has been away in France, where she has gotten a notion of revolution, and she inspires the town to resistance. This action gets her into deep trouble, from which only the wily Kifke and his assistant Zanvil (Oliver Tobias) can rescue her. Zanvil is particularly motivated, as he is in love with Naomi. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, (more)
- 1970
- PG
False Witness is the British title of the American thriller Zigzag, which in turn was partially inspired by the 1950 film D.O.A. George Kennedy plays an insurance investigator who learns that he is dying from a brain tumor. Hoping to provide for his family, Kennedy confesses to a murder he didn't commit, thereby collecting the reward money. During his murder trial, Kennedy collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Subjected to laser surgery, he emerges from the hospital completely cured--and now he must unravel the airtight case he's contrived against himself in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Kennedy, Anne Jackson, (more)
- 1970
Peter McEnery stars as Col. Etienne Girard, Hussar officer of the Napoleonic era. The story takes place during the Little Corporal's 1808 campaign in the Spanish peninsula. Col. Gerard's adventures include an ongoing war of nerves against Napoleon's forces, not to mention a steamy affair with one Countess Teresa Claudia Cardinale. "Nappy" himself is played by Eli Wallach, who certainly has the right temperament for the role, even though he's much too tall to be thoroughly convincing. Filmed in Spain, The Adventures of Gerard is based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Parents worry about their daughter when she freaks out on drugs and is hospitalized. Arthur (Eli Wallach) and Gerri (Julie Harris) face the reality when Maxie (Deborah Winters) must remain at the facility or return home. Della (Rue McClanahan) is Arthur's straight shooting secretary and mistress who offers an objective opinion of the situation. Dr. Salazar (Nehemiah Persoff) is the concerned physician treating Maxie. David (Hal Holbrook) and Tina (Cloris Leachman) are the neighbors whose son Sandy (Don Scardino) turns out to be a juvenile drug dealer. The story was taken from an award winning 1968 television special but fails to live up to the promise of the initial production. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eli Wallach, Deborah Winters, (more)
Bernard Malamud seldom saw his works faithfully transferred to the screen (take a look at The Natural sometime), but he issued no complaints over the cinemazation of his The Angel Levine. Zero Mostel plays an elderly Jew whose life experiences have left him an embittered agnostic. Into Mostel's life floats Alexander Levine (Harry Belafonte), who must convince the old man that life has value, else he'll never earn his wings. The novelty of a black Jewish angel has lost some of its "shock" value over the years, allowing modern audiences to cherish the storyline for its own merits. The Angel Levine was lovingly adapted for the screen by Bill Gunn and Ronald Ribman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zero Mostel, Harry Belafonte, (more)
