Fred Ward Movies
Tall, outdoorsy, easygoing, and known for giving consistently well-wrought, naturalistic performances, Fred Ward seems to have all the makings of a leading man, but for some reason he has had more success in supporting and character roles. He became an actor after a three-year Air Force stint and time spent studying at New York's Herbert Berghof Studio and in Rome. While in Italy he dubbed Italian movies and worked as a mime until he made his debut in two Roberto Rossellini films. Upon returning stateside in the early '70s, Ward spent time working in experimental theater and doing some television work. He made his first American film appearance playing a truck driver in Ginger in the Morning (1973). His first major role came in the Clint Eastwood vehicle Escape From Alcatraz (1979) as fellow escapee John Anglin. For Ward, 1983 was a very good year as he played key roles in three major films, Uncommon Valor, as an anguished Vietnam vet-turned-sculptor, Silkwood, as a brave union activist, and in a scene-stealing performance as Virgil "Gus" Grissom in Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff. In 1985, Ward starred in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, a James Bond-ian spy thriller; this was to be the film that made Ward a leading man. Unfortunately, it fizzled at the box office. This led to more leading roles, but again, none were particularly successful and he returned to major supporting roles. Notable performances from the '90s include that of a beaten-down, humiliated cop in Miami Blues, (Ward also co-produced it), a fascinating portrayal of author Henry Miller in Henry & June (both 1990), and as the studio security chief in The Player (1992). His role alongside Kevin Bacon in 1990's Tremors found Ward's comic abilities sharp and in tact, and after again appearing alongside Tim Robbins in the 1992 satire Bob Roberts, the talented actor would continue through the 1990s with role in The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), and the Keanu Reeves thriller Chain Reaction (1996). Increasingly busy into the new millennium, Ward continued to move effortlessly between television and film roles, displaying his sense of humor in Joe Dirt and Corky Romano (both 2001), and his penchant for action in The Chaos Factor (2000) and Full Disclosure the following year. Appearances in such large scale releases as Enough and Sweet Home Alabama (both 2002), ensured Ward a place in the minds of filmgoers for years to come. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 2006
Addison (Kate Walsh) is not happy when Sloan (Eric Dane) joins the staff, and in consequence suffers a severe attack of self-doubt just when her patient, a pregnant woman (Tina Holmes), needs her most. Cristina (Sandra Oh) wants Burke (Isaiah Washington) to continue his rehab, but he is anxious to prove that he's a capable a surgeon as ever, hand tremors or no hand tremors. Still unsettled in matters of the heart, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is ill-prepared for a medical emergency. And Izzie (Katherine Heigl) receives an astonishing "reward" from the father (Fred Ward) of the late Denny Duquette. Weaving through all this intrigue is the story of ailing car salesman Shawn Sullivan (Alan Blumenfield). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Originally produced as a miniseries for NBC, 10.5 is a disaster film that wonders what might happen if the Western United States is ever ravaged by unprecedented earthquakes. After one quake wreaks havoc on Seattle, another strikes California, this one worse than the first. With scientists speculating that an earthquake registering 10.5 on the Richter scale could be next, the U.S. president (Beau Bridges) enlists the help of a seismologist (Kim Delaney) to somehow formulate a plan to prevent the deaths of millions of people. This film aired under the title Earthquake: 10.5 in the U.K. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Delaney, Beau Bridges, (more)
Inasmuch as the made-for-cable The Last Ride was assembled by the same folks responsible for such action films as The Fast and the Furious and XXX, one shouldn't be surprised that the picture is virtually one long thrill-packed car chase. Released from prison after three decades, modern-day outlaw Ronnie Purnell (Dennis Hopper) is determined to get even with Darryl Kurtz (Fred Ward), the cop who in 1974 put Ronnie away after a violent skirmish in which Ronnie's wife was killed. To this end, Purnell enlists the aid of his hero-worshipping grandson, Matthew (Chris Carmack), who brings along his sexy girlfriend (and ace auto mechanic) JJ Cruz (Nadine Velazquez). Wasting no time, Purnell revs up his beloved 1969 Pontiac GTO, in which he has the key to a safety deposit box containing damning evidence against Kurtz, and embarks on a spectacular crime-and-speed spree. Hoping to stop Purnell dead in his tracks is his own police officer son (and Matthew's father), Aaron Purnell (Will Patton), who had been raised by Kurtz after the arrest of his dad and the death of his mom. Described by one critic as "an 87-minute car commercial," The Last Ride originally aired June 2, 2004, on the USA cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Will Patton, (more)
Paul Mazursky's Coast to Coast features a couple whose marriage is on the rocks. Barnaby (Richard Dreyfuss) and Maxine (Judy Davis) are attempting to salvage what might be left of their broken marriage by taking a road trip together. As they stop at various places and interact with a variety of people, they begin to bridge the wide gap that had taken its toll on their relationship. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Judy Davis, (more)
- 2002
A world famous thief's disappearance and assumed murder set the scene for co-directors Stephen Beckner and Michael Huber's feature film debut in the detective film/media satire A.K.A. Birdseye. Two hapless residents of Colorado, Heidi Logan (Amy Hathaway) and Trent Doone (Johnny Whitworth), somehow manage to track down and kidnap Urs Vogelaug (Stefan Kurt), a bizarre performance artist who uses the name Birdseye when committing his fabulously extravagant robberies. Hot on their trail is Sheriff Nolan Sharpless (Fred Ward), who eventually traps the kidnappers at the Denver Airport, but loses Birdseye, who was apparently locked in a suitcase. The thief is initially presumed dead, but is later identified as the chief suspect in a string of robberies throughout Colorado. Meanwhile, the news media seizes upon the story and make a spectacle out of it, much to the chagrin of Sharpless, who has begun tracking Birdseye with the assistance of his son, Ben (Fred Koehler). As the media stretches and distorts the truth, Sharpless starts to lose sight of his investigation, as well as his own sense of reality. A.K.A. Birdseye was chosen as an official selection to the 2002 Locarno International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Ward, Frederick Koehler, (more)
- 2001
A woman tries to make sense of her relationship with her mother -- who also happens to be her boss and landlady -- in this dramatic comedy. Iris (Laura Linney) has never had an especially warm relationship with her mother Min (Gena Rowlands), but after her husband committed suicide, Iris was emotionally shattered and had nowhere to go, so Min allowed her to move into the family home and help her out with her business, Bluebird Bridals. Eight years later, Iris and her son Lonnie (Emile Hirsch) are still "temporarily" with Min, and they're all still trying to make the best of an often combustible situation. Min finds herself fending off the advances of Mando (Miguel Sandoval), an elderly wedding photographer with romance on his mind, while Iris has to convince Erroll Podubney (Fred Ward) to pay for the wedding being staged for his daughter, whose nuptials have been given a special urgency by her pregnancy. And with no male role models around the house, Lonnie looks for advice from Lud (Lee Tergesen), a gas jockey at a local filling station. Wild Iris was produced for the Showtime premium cable network, where it premiered on August 5, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gena Rowlands, Laura Linney, (more)
- 2000
The life of one of the most famous American women of the last half of the 20th century receives yet another retelling in this made-for-TV drama. Raised by a harsh, domineering mother (Frances Fisher) and a charming but unfaithful (and alcoholic) father (Fred Ward), Jacqueline Bouvier (Joanne Whalley) is born into privileged circumstances but learns early on that wealth and power do not guarantee happiness. Jackie falls in love with John F. Kennedy (Tim Matheson), the son of a family even richer and more influential than her own, and is by his side as he becomes President of the United States -- though she soon discovers that, like her father, his charm and position make him very attractive to other women, a temptation he does little to resist. After the assassination of Kennedy in 1963, Jackie becomes America's best-known widow, and is forced to struggle through her mourning in the glare of the public eye. Alone and with expensive tastes, Jackie eventually becomes the trophy wife of Aristotle Onassis (Philip Baker Hall), yet another wealthy and flamboyant man. Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was first aired in two parts on November 5 and 8, 2000, by the CBS television network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanne Whalley, Tim Matheson, (more)
In this crime thriller, Jason Chandler (Patrick Muldoon) is an FBI agent who is trying to hunt down a serial killer nicknamed "The Silencer" for his habit of cutting out the tongues of his victims. As Chandler tries to uncover the trail of "The Silencer," he is recruited for an elite FBI unit called the "Red Team," which is devoted solely to hunting down serial killers; however, the more Chandler studies their methods, the more he finds himself thinking the Red Team may be doing more harm than good. Chandler also finds himself developing a very non-professional relationship with his new partner, Stephanie Dobson (Cathy Moriarty). As Jason and Stephanie do research on The Silencer, they discover evidence that there's another unusual killer on the loose -- a multiple murderer who is targeting serial killers. Red Team was also released under the title The Crimson Code. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy Moriarty, Patrick Muldoon, (more)
Hard-drinking newspaper reporter John McWhirter (Fred Ward) finds himself in the middle of a messy political assassination plot when he is compelled to keep in his house an on-the-lam Palestinian operative, Armiti Khalq (Rachel Ticotin). McWhirter, who is being heavily pressured by his editor (Virginia Madsen) to come up with a scoop, has no choice but to keep the woman safe as a payback to two old friends he apparently betrayed when they were university radicals during the turbulent 1960s. The overreaching FBI bureau chief, Robert Lecker (Christopher Plummer), is anxious to find the woman and send McWhirter and his companions away -- unless they happen to die first. Meanwhile, a manic hit woman, Michelle (Penelope Ann Miller), discovers Armiti's hiding place and closes in for the kill, just as McWhirter returns home. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Madsen, Penelope Ann Miller, (more)
The third installment of The Crow series, The Crow: Salvation opens with the electrocution of death row inmate Alex Corvis (Eric Mabius) on his 21st birthday. Falsely convicted of the brutal stabbing murder of his girlfriend Lauren (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) three years earlier, Alex spent the duration of his imprisonment insisting that Lauren was murdered by a man with a series of distinctive scars up and down his arms; unfortunately, the police never found any trace of him. Immediately following Alex's messy electrocution, during which his leather mask melted onto his face, his guardian crow appears to resurrect him. After clawing off the mask, which leaves some interesting burn marks on his face, Alex sets out to find Lauren's killer and clear his own name. He finds an ally for his cause in Erin (Kirstin Dunst), Lauren's sister. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Eric Mabius, (more)
- 1995
The complexly interwoven lives of the residents of an isolated Greek island form the basis of this psycho-sexual drama from iconoclastic film-maker Alain Robbe-Grillet. Living on the island are a few native Greeks, several Chinese, who spend their days playing mah-jongg, Nordmann, a boozy screenwriter, and seductive Sarah la-Blonde, the madam at the Blue Villa, the town whorehouse, in which Sarah hides Santa, alias Lotus Blossom. Sarah is teaching Santa to sing an aria from Wagner. One day, Frank, who could be a ghost, arrives on the island. At first he never speaks and appears to be looking for something or someone. It is later learned that he was involved in the supposed death of Santa, who just might be Nordmann's daughter. It is up to the local police chief, Thieu, to figure out what parts of the story are true and what parts are fiction. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Ward, Arielle Dombasle, (more)
- 1993
Made for cable television, this frothy western spoof chronicles the exploits of a citified optometrist who exchanges his well-ordered Big Apple life for a wild and woollier version in Tombstone, Arizona. Once there, he is thrilled to meet his hero Wyatt Earp. Unfortunately, the heroic Earp he admired in the many dime-store novels he read is totally different from the real McCoy who turns out to be myopic and continually skunk drunk. Still with the optometrist's help, the sheriff is able to clean up the town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In the tradition of This Is Spinal Tap, producer/ director/ star Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts is a satire disguised as a documentary. Robbins plays the titular Roberts, a wealthy, well-connected young man running for a senatorial seat in Pennsylvania. On the surface, Roberts is an ingratiating glad-hander, a sincere believer in the restoration of such intangibles as national pride, family values, etc. But the longer Roberts is followed about by documentary filmmaker Brian Murray, the more we become aware that the candidate is a textbook case of cynicism and contempt. Only Giancarlo Esposito, a reporter for an underground newspaper, is willing to dig beneath Roberts' veneer--a habit that leads to the film's ironic conclusion. Several well-known actors make cameo appearances as TV commentators, notably Tim Robbins' longtime partner Susan Sarandon. Bob Roberts started out as a Tim Robbins-directed short subject for the TV series Saturday Night Live, then was expanded into a $4 million feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
Originally prepared for European release under the title Catchfire, Backtrack wasn't given a wide distribution until 1991, and then only to capitalize on the Oscar win of Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster. In Backtrack, Foster plays a youngish innocent who witnesses a mob hit. Professional assassin Dennis Hopper is contracted to silence Foster for keeps. Instead, he falls in love with her. Directed by star Hopper, Backtrack has some of the feel of his earlier, better Easy Rider: the cast is populated by such old Hopper chums as Dean Stockwell, Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci, Bob Dylan, Vincent Price and Julie Adams; and, like Easy Rider, it looks as though the story was improvised during filming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, (more)
- 1987
Though set in Cuba, the made-for-cable Florida Straits was lensed in South Carolina. The film is set twenty years after the Bay of Pigs invasion. Raul Julia, Fred Ward and Daniel Jenkins sneak back into Castroland to search for a fortune in gold that had been buried during the abortive 1961 military action. Their mission is complicated by a woman from Julia's past. Scripted by Roderick Taylor, Florida Straits was first telecast on October 26, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Tony Abruzzi (Jason St. Amour) is a 17-year-old punk from Montreal headed for trouble in this documentary-styled drama. Running with gangs, Tony ditches school and takes to petty theft to buy alcohol and soft drugs, and his concerned mother (Marcella Santa Maria) calls the police after her wayward son beats her up. Tony is sentenced to two years at the Ontario correctional institute for youthful offenders, but he refuses to get with the program. A music teacher (Fred Ward) gets through to Tony with the Billie Holiday rendition of Don't Worry 'Bout Me. Tony begins to open himself up to the possibilities of making positive choices in his life and dreams of a better future. He eventually is allowed to go home on weekends to help his mother and 10-year-old brother Nicky (Christopher Neil),who is seemingly headed for the same dead end as Tony. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Ward
- 1984
Noon Wine is adapted from a short story by Katharine Ann Porter. Fred Ward stars as a taciturn Swede who is hired to work on a Texas dairy farm. After he puts in nine years of hard and faithful effort, Ward's secret is revealed: when he applied for his job, he was a fugitive from a murder charge. Michael Fields wrote and directed this 90-minute TV drama. Noon Wine was first seen January 21, 1985 on PBS' American Playhouse series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
The real Belle Starr was a homely, ill-tempered woman whose career as a western bandit was blown out of proportion by the "dime novels" of the era. Previous media Belle Starrs have included such attractive performers as Gene Tierney, Isabel Jewell and Abby Dalton, all of whom appeared to have included a cosmetician amongst their bandit cohorts. To her credit, Elizabeth Montgomery tries hard to deglamorize Belle in this 1980 TV movie, but she's still Elizabeth Montgomery. The script, by James Lee Barrett, attempts to stick closer to the facts than the earlier versions of Belle's exploits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An act of kindness gets a busload of travelers into a world of trouble when they stop to check on an injured biker and incur the wrath of his psychotic fellow gang members. It's Christmas Eve in Texas: ten passengers board a bus in hopes of getting home for the holiday, but find their journey delayed after their bus strikes a biker and the driver pulls over to ensure he's alright. But this isn't your average biker; he's all hopped up on crystal meth and armed to the teeth as well. Upon regaining consciousness, the drug-frenzied biker opens fire on the bus. Terrified, the passengers somehow manage to gain the upper hand and kill their trigger-happy assailant. Unfortunately for the passengers, this is only the beginning of their Christmas nightmare. The rest of the gang has witnessed the lynching, and now they're determined to avenge the death of their brother by killing everyone responsible. After forcing the boss off of the road and into an abandoned wrecking yard, the gang surrounds the stranded passengers and prepares to move in. But while this gang of renegade bikers may excel in the area of brutality, their intended victims are even more cunning when it comes to utilizing every resource at their disposal to wage a life or death struggle for survival. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lea Thompson, Desmond Harrington, (more)
After a one-night fling, a motel manager (Steve Zahn) impulsively follows a small-time art dealer (Jennifer Aniston) across the country in this romantic comedy from playwright-turned-director Stephen Belber. Woody Harrelson co-stars as Aniston's wealthy boyfriend in the MGM production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, (more)
A group of friends living in suburban Oregon come into contact with a sensual free spirit named Chloe (Alexa Davalos), who changes their outlook on life in the most unexpected of ways in this ensemble drama adapted from the acclaimed novel by author Charles Baxter. As college professor and writer Harry Stevenson (Morgan Freeman) sits quietly in the coffee shop of his tight-knit Oregon community, the local residents all around him all become swept up in the magical mischief of love. Coffee shop owner Bradley (Greg Kinnear) has a bad habit of looking for love in all the wrong places, and his relationship with wife Kathryn (Selma Blair) is a prime example of that penchant. Meanwhile, frazzled real estate agent Diana (Radha Mitchell) becomes ensnared in a taboo affair with a married man (Billy Burke), lovely newcomer Chloe attempts the formidable task of romancing troubled soul Oscar (Toby Hemingway), and Harry's own wife, Esther (Jane Alexander), affectionately tries to get through to her husband as he wrestles with the pain of losing a loved one. Fred Ward, Alexa Davalos, Stana Katic, Toby Hemingway, and Erika Maroszán star in a whimsical tale of intersecting lives inspired by Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and directed by Robert Benton (Nobody's Fool, The Human Stain). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, (more)
In this tense military thriller, intelligence officer Jack Poynt (Antonio Sabato Jr.) discovers evidence of a CIA-backed raid on a medical facility in Cambodia in 1972, which led to the torture and slaughter of a number of innocent civilians. Poynt decides it's high time that the men responsible were exposed and brought to justice, but the deeper he digs in search of the truth, the more he finds himself in danger. The Chaos Factor also stars Fred Ward, R. Lee Ermey, and Kelly Rutherford. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Sabato, Jr., Fred Ward, (more)
In this raunchy comedy, Josh (Breckin Meyer), a student at a college in Ithaca, NY, videotapes his one-night stand with beautiful sorority girl Beth (Amy Smart). A few days later, Josh discovers that one of his friends accidentally mailed the homemade porn tape to his girlfriend, Tiffany (Rachel Blanchard), who is spending some time with her family in Austin, TX. Josh and his friends Barry (Tom Green), Kyle (D.J. Qualls), E.L. (Seann William Scott), and Rubin (Paulo Costanzo) borrow a car and hit the road in a desperate bid to intercept the tape before Tiffany loads it into her VCR; Beth, however, wants Josh for herself and has her own plans to track down Tiffany. Road Trip is the first fiction feature from director Todd Phillips, noted for such edgy documentaries as Hated: G.G. Allin & the Murder Junkies, Screwed, and Frat House. The cast also includes Fred Ward and Andy Dick. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, (more)
