J.T. Walsh Movies
Considered the very embodiment of a character actor, and one of the best of his kind, J.T. Walsh filled a need for hospital corner-executive types and glowering villains throughout a busy 15-year career. His penetrating, unblinking eyes brought a deadly seriousness to a spectrum of supporting characters, both white and blue collar. James Patrick Walsh -- who decided to adopt the initials J.T. after his name was misprinted -- was born on September 28, 1943 in San Francisco, then raised in Rhode Island and Europe. He worked in a variety of career fields, from social worker to salesman, during his young adulthood. It wasn't until age 30 that he focused on stage acting, and ten more years that he began popping up regularly on the big screen. His rave reviews for a 1984 stage production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross finally translated into the beginning of a film career. It took Walsh little time to become a character-actor mainstay. Woody Allen cast him in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and a year later he gained notice as the sergeant who puts the clamps on Robin Williams' fast-talking DJ in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). He hooked up with Mamet again on House of Games that same year. The first of several collaborations with friend Kurt Russell came with Tequila Sunrise in 1988. Walsh earned kudos as the prototypical shady studio exec in Christopher Guest's The Big Picture (1989). By this point he had begun appearing in an average of four or five films per year. His portrayals in the early '90s included Annette Bening's sleazy mentor in The Grifters (1990) and another villainous military officer in A Few Good Men (1992). The mid-'90s brought such films as Red Rock West (1993), The Client (1994), The Last Seduction (1994), and Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995), the last of which cast him as Watergate figure John Ehrlichman. In the final few years of his life, Walsh etched some of his most haunting portrayals, including the predatory sex offender who bends the ear of Karl Childers in Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade (1996), reprising his role from the little-seen short Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (1993), also written by Thornton. Walsh burned with a menacing intensity as a malicious trucker in the Duel-inspired thriller Breakdown (1997), also starring Russell. Walsh already had Pleasantville and The Negotiator (both 1998) in the can when he suffered a fatal heart attack on February 27, 1998, in San Diego. Both films were dedicated to him, as was Jack Nicholson's Oscar for As Good As It Gets (1997). ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi- 1997
Goldie Hawn garnered favorable reviews with her TV-movie directorial debut, a family drama set against the backdrop of racism in the American South of the early '60s. While in 1962 the Cuban Missile Crisis generates fears among adults, 12-year-old Lilly Kate Burns (Jena Malone) dreams of a career as a dancer. The problem is how to escape her dreary small-town existence, where she's surrounded by her mother (Mary Ellen Trainor), a stroke victim; her bigoted Uncle Ray (J.T. Walsh), a theater owner; her dejected Aunt Emma (Christine Lahti); and her alcoholic dance teacher Muriel (Catherine O'Hara). In addition to young Billy (Lee Norris), Lilly is also friends with black minister Jediah Walker (Jeffrey D. Sams). Uncle Ray has provided only a single exit in his theater, and when a young black boy dies in a theater fire, the tragedy sparks and inflames local racial conflicts. Uncle Ray is charged with wrongful death, and Lilly contemplates the nature of truth and justice. Filmed on location in Anderson, Texas. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jena Malone, Christine Lahti, (more)
- 1996
Made-for-cable drama based on the true story of Bruno Hauptmann, who was convicted and put to death for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindberg's son in a case still regarded as a travesty of justice. Stephen Rea plays Hauptmann, and Isabella Rossellini co-stars as his wife. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Isabella Rossellini, (more)
A man who thinks that he's on a mission of mercy finds himself in the middle of international espionage at its most dangerous in this thriller. Father Andrew Kanevsky (Martin Sheen) is a Catholic priest who persuades his brother Vince (Chris Penn) to join him as he travels to Russia to do missionary work with a group of Franciscan priests in St. Petersburg. Or at least that's what Vince thinks when they take off; as it turns out, Father Andrew is involved in a cloak-and-dagger scheme with the Franciscans to smuggle $200 million in religious relics out of Russia and into the U.S. before a group of Neo-Nazi terrorists who have overrun the city can lay claim to them. However, the terrorists are not easily foiled, and Father Andrew is captured and killed by their number; when Vince learns the truth about his brother's mission from Father Stanislav (J.T. Walsh), he's determined to see that the holy icons find their way to the U.S. as planned, even after two renegades split off from the terrorist faction and make off with the valuables on their own. Sacred Cargo was the first English-language feature for former Soviet playwright Aleksandr Buravsky, who also cowrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chris Penn, Martin Sheen, (more)
- 1993
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A disturbed man looks back at his past as he faces an uncertain future in this dramatic short subject. Teresa (Molly Ringwald), a young journalist, is sent on assignment to a state-run mental hospital, where she is to interview Karl Childers (Billy Bob Thornton), soon to be released after spending 25 years in the facility. While Jerry Woolrich (Jefferson Mays), the hospital's administrator, isn't sure that it's a good idea for Karl to be questioned by a young woman, he allows a compromise -- Teresa will be permitted to hear Karl tell the story of how he came to be committed, but she can't ask him questions. Teresa is then ushered into a dimly lit room, where Karl relates the harrowing tale of his miserable childhood and how, at the age of 13, he killed his mother and her lover with a kaiser blade. Star and screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton and director George Hickenlooper originally produced this short film in hopes of expanding the story into a full-length feature; the award-winning Sling Blade followed three years later, but by that time, Thornton had opted to direct the film himself. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Bob Thornton, Molly Ringwald, (more)
- 1993
This made-for-cable version of Arthur Miller's play The American Clock was adapted for television by Frank Galati. Inspired partly by Studs Terkel's oral history Hard Times, and partly by Miller's own recollections, the film is set at the beginning of the Depression. When the stock market crashes, the well-to-do Baumler family (John Rubinstein, Mary McDonnell, Loren Dean) loses everything. The Baumlers are forced to move from their plush penthouse apartment to the less-attractive Brooklyn digs of Mrs. Baumler's sister (Joanna Miles). Twelve-year-old Lee Baumler (Dean), the Arthur Miller counterpart, hits the road to find out how others are coping with the Long National Nightmare. The alternately depressing and uplifting storyline moves along briskly to a surprisingly abrupt climax. Kelly Preston, David Strathairn, Eddie Bracken, Darren McGavin, and Estelle Parson co-star in The American Clock, which premiered over the TNT Cable Network on August 23, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
When a decorated New York City policeman voiced his opposition to an accused cop killer's death sentence, his co-workers ostracized him in this true story. ~ Rovi
- 1990
In this comedy, the ancient curse of a priceless ruby, known as the Byzantine Fire, comes into play when it is accidentally stolen by a group of thieves, headed by Gus Cardinale (Christopher Lambert). The crooks soon discover that their heist might have been more trouble than it was worth when they are pursued by the police, the CIA, the Turkish government, and the local underworld. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
- 1984
Christopher Collet stars as real-life teenager Richard Jahnke Jr. in the made-for-TV Right to Kill. After suffering years of torment and abuse from his father (Frederic Forrest), Jahnke can stand no more. Hiding in the closet of his Wyoming home, Jahnke hears the familiar sounds of his father beating his mother. "I just wanted to make him stop," Jahnke later explained to the authorities--after he killed his father with a rifle. Written for television by Joyce Eliason, it initially aired on May 22, 1985 ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Frederic Forrest, Christopher Collet, (more)
- 1984
In this odd mix of social commentary, forbidden romance, police action thriller, and teenage delinquency, a well-meaning social worker slowly careens off the charts when a 15-year-old teen is about to receive a stiff sentence as an accessory to a crime. Bobby (Gary McCleery) is driving the getaway car when his two brothers run into trouble in a robbery and shoot a policeman to death. The trio of siblings is quickly apprehended, and Bobby is thrown in jail until the judge can decide whether to try him as an adult or not. Not a moment behind it all is Laura (Margaret Klenck), a young woman who runs a non-profit agency dedicated to making sure young teens are not given adult sentences for their criminal behavior. When it looks like Bobby will get a life sentence, Laura cannot accept the inevitable and asks a close friend (and drug-runner) to help her out - and then she walks into the sheriff's office with a gun and gets Bobby out of jail. Her drug-running friend spirits them off to Florida, where Laura and Bobby hide out and begin a romantic entanglement - just another mistake in a long series of mistakes that have placed the two in a dangerous and impossible situation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary McCleery, John Seitz, (more)
F. Gary Gray directed this suspenseful action thriller based on a real case experienced by police in St. Louis. The James DeMonaco/Kevin Fox screenplay follows an accused man who is forced to commit crimes in order to prove himself innocent of murder. After Chicago police hostage negotiator Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) succeeds in rescuing a little girl menaced by her gun-wielding dad, he's praised by both the police department and the media, and he returns to his usual cop routines with his longtime partner, promising his new wife Karen (Regina Taylor) he'll make it home for dinner every night. Then his partner, who had evidence of embezzlement within the police department, is killed. Since Danny arrives at the crime scene only seconds later, he's the main suspect, and Chief Al Travis (John Spencer) asks him to turn in his gun and badge. Danny invades the Chicago Internal Affairs Division headquarters and tries to get the truth from Inspector Terence Niebaum (J.T. Walsh) while holding two assistants and Commander Frost (Ron Rifkin) as hostages. He then calls for an outsider from another precinct, hostage negotiator Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey). When Sabian arrives, the two compete for control, while Danny attempts to prove to him that he's been falsely accused. The film is dedicated to J.T. Walsh, who died not long after the production wrapped. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, (more)
In this suspense thriller, a man discovers the unexpected danger of trusting a good Samaritan. Jeff Taylor (Kurt Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are driving through the New Mexico desert en route to California when an incident with a lunatic driver causes their jeep to break down in the middle of nowhere. Jeff is trying to fix the vehicle when an apparently friendly truck driver, Red Barr (J.T. Walsh), stops by to offer help. Red tells the couple that there's a diner a few miles down the road where they can call for help; Jeff decides to stay with the car while Amy hops a ride with Red to see if she can find a mechanic to help them. After a long wait, Jeff is able to get the jeep running again, and he discovers that the diner is indeed a few miles down the road. But everyone there claims they've seen no sign of Amy, and Red claims to know nothing about picking her up. When Jeff attempts to file a missing person's report, he discovers mysterious disappearances are disturbingly common in this stretch of the desert; he soon realizes that someone has kidnapped his wife, but he's not sure who, or for what purpose. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, (more)
In this action thriller, a group of Islamic terrorists, led by Nagi Hassan (David Suchet), highjacks a 747 jetliner with 400 passengers aboard, but Lt. Col. Austin Travis (Steven Seagal), a United States intelligence agent, is convinced that this isn't an ordinary case of air piracy. His suspicions are soon confirmed; Hassan's men have obtained a large cache of stolen Soviet nerve gas, and they are using the 747 to smuggle the deadly gas into the United States, where they intend to use it to wipe out Washington D.C. and possibly the entire East Coast. As the jet approaches the U. S., engineer Dennis Cahill (Oliver Platt) designs a plan in which a military plane will be able to transfer U.S. soldiers onto the 747 and regain control of the plane and its deadly cargo. However, when Travis dies in the course of the mission, intelligence agent Dr. David Grant (Kurt Russell) is forced to take his place alongside explosives expert Cappy (Joe Morton), commando Rat (John Leguizamo), and stewardess-turned-anti-terrorist Jean (Halle Berry). Executive Decision was the first directorial assignment for veteran film editor Stuart Baird; he cut the film as well. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Halle Berry, (more)
In this highly-charged police drama, Officer Michael Rhoades is becoming increasingly disturbed by the amount of white-on-black violence that has been escalating in his quiet town. He is especially disturbed that much of that interracial brutality is coming from the police. Rhoades calls they FBI but lacks sufficient hard evidence to warrant their involvement. Still determined, Rhoades launches his own investigation, but it is his young partner DeBruler whom makes the shocking discovery that connects the police department with a violent gang of locals. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, Josh Brolin, (more)
Sling Blade marked the directorial debut of country singer turned actor Billy Bob Thornton, who also authored the script (expanding George Hickenlooper's acclaimed short Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade) and stars in the picture. Thornton plays Karl Childers, a mildly retarded man who spent most of his life in a mental institution. When Karl was a boy, he was severely mistreated by his abusive father (Robert Duvall). At age 12, Karl found his mother having intercourse with a man who tormented him endlessly; he snapped, flew into a homicidal rage, and killed both individuals by decapitating them. Years later, as a middle-aged man, Karl is deemed harmless to society and released from the mental institution where he resides. Karl says he has learned his lesson and adds, "I reckon I got no reason to kill no one." He returns to the town of his boyhood, where he's befriended by Frank (Lucas Black), the son of a widowed mother who sees the eccentric but open-hearted Karl as a kindred spirit. Karl also gets a job at a fix-it shop and resides in the backroom, until Frank's mother, Linda (Natalie Canerday), takes a liking to Karl and lets him stay with them. However, Karl also meets Doyle (Dwight Yoakam), Linda's boyfriend, a sadistically cruel, narrow-minded drunk who tosses casual abuse at Frank, treats Linda like dirt, and mocks Karl endlessly. The late John Ritter co-stars as Linda's friend Vaughan, a mild-mannered homosexual who works at the neighborhood dollar store. Musicians Col. Bruce Hampton and Vic Chesnutt are among Doyle's party guests. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, (more)
This tightly woven, fast-paced thriller begins when Amanda (Kelly Lynch), a sexy gal on in-line skates, trips because alcoholic ex-cop/security expert Jim Holland (Joe Mantegna) bumps into her. Something between the two clicks and they spend the night together. Jim has no idea that he has just been victimized until one of his less-than-savory clients is robbed of a fortune. He sets out on Amanda's trail and discovers that she acted in cahoots with her sister Molly. Eventually, he learns where they stashed the cash and decides that he's been so down on his own luck lately that perhaps he should keep the money. Things become more complicated when he realizes that the client he has been protecting is a ruthless drug dealer who is hell-bent on killing the larcenous sisters. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joe Mantegna, Kelly Lynch, (more)
In this drama set in Los Angeles, a group of Yale graduates spend their days as mindless workers at a mundane job and their nights as mooching barflies who enjoy cutting down other patrons with their smart-mouth comments. The main character John loses his roommate and must move into the filthy apartment of Andy, a strange sort who collects and paints Nazi soldier figurines. John later gets a temporary job with a conniving slum lord. Following a failed romance, John suffers a "controlled mental breakdown." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rory Cochrane, Kyra Sedgwick, (more)
A nubile young babysitter (Alicia Silverstone) has no idea that she is the center of a maelstrom of male sexual fantasies. Based on a disturbing short story by Robert Coover, the drama presents a non-linear account of a perfectly mundane event. Having a social engagement, a couple calls for their babysitter. She arrives, they go out, her boyfriend comes over, and the weirdness begins -- for director Guy Ferland makes little distinction between the character fantasies and what is really occurring. Something will happen, and then it will happen again; only the outcome is different. What makes this dark film so disturbingly creepy is that none of the males involved, neither the frustrated boyfriend, the horny husband who hired her, or even her little charge has nice fantasies about her. The film contains several sexual scenes and some scenes of violence. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alicia Silverstone, Jeremy London, (more)
Oliver Stone, the most outspokenly political American filmmaker of the 1980s and '90s, directs this epic-length biography of Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the U.S., who was re-elected by a landslide in 1972, only to resign in disgrace two years later. Taking a non-linear approach, Nixon jumps back and forth between many different periods and events, from Nixon's strict upbringing at the hands of his Quaker mother, through the many peaks and valleys of his political career, to his downfall in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The facts of his life are blended with supposition and speculation to create a portrait that is often critical of the man's policies but displays an unexpected compassion toward his failings as a human being. Anthony Hopkins stars as Nixon, Joan Allen plays his long-suffering wife Pat, Mary Steenburgen portrays his mother Hannah, Bob Hoskins is cast as J. Edgar Hoover, Powers Boothe plays Alexander Haig, Paul Sorvino portrays Henry Kisinger, and Ed Harris plays E. Howard Hunt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, (more)
- 1995
- R
Tough, world-weary wanderer Rinda travels throughout the Southwest working occasionally as a truck-stop cook. She is in one lonely town when she hooks up with sexy Bo Schrag. They have a brief affair, and she doesn't realize Bo is married until his plain wife shows up during one of their sessions with a shotgun in her hand. Rinda and Hallie Schrag end up becoming friends and taking off for Phoenix. This taut little thriller chronicles their many exploits along the way. The tenuous friendship between two is nearly destroyed when they pick up handsome cowboy hitcher Dodge after he helps them fix their car. Together the three go to a deserted hot springs, and en route a quiet, tense rivalry between the women, both of whom want the enigmatic Dodge, builds. Meanwhile, back in the town they just left, police begin investigating a robbery-homicide that just may involve Dodge. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mia Sara, Michelle Forbes, (more)
This by-the-numbers psychodrama about a child psychologist trying to discern the truth behind a pair of murders stars Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Jake Rainer, a child psychologist living in an upscale community. Rainer retired when a patient committed suicide, but the local sheriff (J.T. Walsh) calls him to the scene of a double murder. In a lavish home, Rainer meets Tim Warden (Ben Faulkner) and his sister Sylvie (Liv Tyler, in her feature film debut), whose parents have been brutally slain. Sylvie hid in a closet and didn't see the killer, but Tim, who is autistic and cannot communicate, witnessed the crime. Rainer starts the complicated process of reaching Tim through gentle psychological techniques based on his theory that autistics think in sequences, while a colleague (John Lithgow) simply wants to drug the child into revealing the killer's identity. The real-life son of child psychologists who worked with autistic children, Silent Fall screenwriter Akiva Goldsman had better success with his first film, an adaptation of The Client (1994), a drama with a similar plot and themes. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, John Lithgow, (more)
Director John Dahl's The Last Seduction is an updated film noir centering around a seductive, cheerfully lethal femme fatale. Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) talks her gullible, easily manipulated, doctor-husband Clay (Bill Pullman) into pulling off a $700,000 drug deal to pay off his gambling debts. But while Clay is in the shower, Bridget quietly leaves with the money. She ends up in a bar in a small town where she meets Mike (Peter Berg) and uses him to further her scheme to keep the money and get rid of her inconvenient husband. Linda Fiorentino was championed by many critics for a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, but neither she nor the movie could be nominated since the film had made its debut on cable television. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, (more)
John Dahl directed and co-wrote (along with his brother Rick Dahl) this quirky and energetic film noir that, after a well-received screening at the Toronto Film Festival, was consigned to oblivion before resurfacing on cable television. When the owner of a San Francisco movie theater, who was a big fan of the film, arranged for a theatrical release, the film clicked and toured the country as an art house hit. The film concerns eternal loser Michael (Nicolas Cage), down to his last five dollars and looking for work. He finds himself at a bar in the town of Red Rock. The bartender, Wayne (J.T. Walsh) eyes him suspiciously and asks him, "You must be Lyle, from Dallas." Michael, eager to earn some cash, agrees. It seems Wayne has a job for Michael, but what Michael doesn't realize until too late is that the job is to kill Wayne's wife for $10,000. Michael heads out to Wayne's farm with the cash to warn Wayne's wife, Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle). Suzanne responds by offering to double Michael's fee if he will kill her husband instead. Michael takes the money and tries to leave town, but when a thunderstorm comes up, he runs over a man who was trying to flag him down. The sheriff arrives on the scene to attend to matters -- who turns out to be Wayne. Wayne proceeds to drive Michael out of town for an execution, but Michael manages to elude him. Flagging down a driver on the road who is driving back into Red Rock, they return to the bar, where the driver offers to buy Michael a drink. As Michael accepts the offer of a drink, he realizes that he is drinking with the real "Lyle from Dallas" (Dennis Hopper) who is awaiting Wayne's return. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, (more)
Satan opens an antique shop in a small town and lures the residents into evil actions in this supernatural chiller. Based on a novel by the prolific Stephen King, the film bears many of the author's trademarks, such as the New England setting and the focus on regular people tempted by the forces of supernatural evil. Here, the enticements toward bad behavior comes from the "Needful Things" shop, owned by new resident Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow). Gaunt's shop offers an odd collection of goods, each of which happens to be the object of desire of a local resident. Instead of money, however, Gaunt demands that townspeople perform a series of simple pranks. He has a plan, and these actions escalate until the town is at violent war with itself. The residents are brought to life by a talented cast, led by von Sydow's suave devil and including Ed Harris as the local sheriff, J.T. Walsh as a corrupt politician, and Amanda Plummer as a seemingly innocent baker. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, (more)
In this military courtroom drama based on the play by Aaron Sorkin, Navy lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is assigned to defend two Marines, Pfc. Louden Downey (James Marshall) and Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison), who are accused of the murder of fellow leatherneck Pfc. William Santiago (Michael de Lorenzo) at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Kaffee generally plea bargains for his clients rather than bring them to trial, which is probably why he was assigned this potentially embarassing case, but when Lt. Commander JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) is assigned to assist Kaffee, she is convinced that there's more to the matter than they've been led to believe and convinces her colleague that the case should go to court. Under questioning, Downey and Dawson reveal that Santiago died in the midst of a hazing ritual known as "Code Red" after he threatened to inform higher authorities that Dawson opened fire on a Cuban watchtower. They also state that the "Code Red" was performed under the orders of Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland). Kendrick's superior, tough-as-nails Col. Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson), denies any knowledge of the order to torture Santiago, but when Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson (J.T. Walsh) confides to Kaffee that Jessup demanded the "Code Red" for violating his order of silence, Kaffee and Galloway have to find a way to prove this in court. A Few Good Men also features Kevin Bacon as prosecuting attorney Capt. Jack Ross and Kevin Pollak as Kaffee and Galloway's research assistant, Lt. Sam Weinberg. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, (more)
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