James Whitmore Movies
Leading American character actor James Whitmore specialized in giving tour de force solo performances on stage, screen, and television, notably with his Oscar-nominated solo turn as President Truman in Give 'Em Hell Harry! Whitmore is short and thickset with a well-aged face and gentle smile; he is known for portraying outwardly tough but inwardly caring men. Born in Buffalo, NY, Whitmore attended the private school Choate in Connecticut and then studied pre-law at Yale. While there he was a member of the Yale Drama School Players and co-founded the Yale radio station. He was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps where during boot camp, he finished his degree and became an officer. Following his discharge, Whitmore joined the U.S.O. and also spent time studying at the American Theater Wing. Before making his Tony-winning debut on Broadway with a supporting role in Command Decision, Whitmore gained experience in summer stock. He made his film debut in The Undercover Man in 1949. That year, he also appeared in Battleground and his performance as a battle-scarred sergeant earned him his first Oscar nomination. Though primarily a supporting player, Whitmore occasionally played leads, notably in films like Them! (1954) and Black Like Me (1964). In addition to his film and stage work, Whitmore also performed on television as a guest star and as the star of the series The Law and Mr. Jones (1960-1962). Between 1972 and 1974, Whitmore co-starred on the series Temperatures Rising. During the '80s, Whitmore often appeared in television miniseries. His career slowed dramatically in the '90s, though in 1994, he offered a memorable performance as an old lifer who finds himself unable to cope outside of prison in The Shawshank Redemption. He died in February 2009 at the age of 87. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1980
Husband, father, rapist. All three succinctly describe the character portrayed by David Soul in the made-for-TV Rage. Though he would seem to be a hopeless case, Soul is subjected to prison therapy sessions, on the theory that he might be curable. As the sessions continue under the guidance of therapist James Whitmore, Soul pours out a lifetime worth of anger, revealing the deep psychological wounds that have formed his warped personality. Contrasted with Soul is Yaphet Kotto, as an allegedly rehabilitated prisoner. Based on several case histories as recorded by New Jersey's Avenel Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Rage was originally telecast September 25, 1980 ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
First telecast February 4, 1980, Golden Honeymoon is an easygoing adaptation of the Ring Lardner short story. James Whitmore and Teresa Wright play a New Jersey couple who celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a second honeymoon. Their Florida idyll is disrupted when the couple's old acquaintance Stephen Elliott shows up. Elliot had been engaged to Teresa 52 years earlier, a fact that prompts Whitmore to behave in an uncharacteristically obnoxious nature. Calculated to put Elliott in his place, Whitmore's boorishness succeeds in alienating Teresa as well. Scripted by Frederic Hunter, the 60-minute Golden Honeymoon was the second-season opener of PBS' American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The First Deadly Sin was Frank Sinatra's final starring movie vehicle. Based on a novel by Lawrence Sanders, it casts Sinatra as Edward Delaney, a big-city detective on the verge of retirement. Beset with profound personal problems--including a gravely ill wife (Faye Dunaway)--Delaney nonetheless tackles the case of an axe murderer who seemingly strikes at random. Be on the lookout for an unbilled Bruce Willis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Faye Dunaway, (more)
- 1978
Word is about the newly discovered text that is allegedly written by the younger brother of Jesus Christ. It the document is genuine, it would throw the world's theological community into chaos. David Janssen plays an archaeologist who travels to Italy to verify the document's origins. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Broken Badge was one of several 2-hour Police Story specials telecast during the 1977-78 TV season. Claude Akins stars as a no-nonsense cop with a bad rep. A prostitute charges Akins with harassing her; shortly afterward, she turns up dead. The rest of the drama concerns Akins' straw-grasping efforts to exonerate himself from a murder charge. The "official" debut date of Broken Badge is August 27, 1978, though it appears that it was initially scheduled for an earlier telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- G
After a long, very successful run on Broadway, the filmmakers decided to record James Whitmore's avuncular depiction of the older Teddy Roosevelt at the Ahmanson Theater. In the play, Roosevelt, America's 26th President, reminisces about his exciting life and conveys his almost overpowering love of just about anything which can be done vigorously, from politics to soldiering. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Whitmore
The Serpent's Egg, or Das Schlangenei is director Ingmar Bergman's second English language production (The Touch was his first). It is, however, his first completely non-Swedish production, made after his voluntary self-exile from Sweden over taxation issues. Set in Berlin in the early 1920s, it explores the fear and despair the city evokes in Manuela and Abel Rosenberg (Liv Ullmann and David Carradine), two Jewish trapeze artists. The suicide of Manuela's husband (Abel's brother), has stranded them in Berlin. Berlin is shown to already possess the sinister elements of cruelty and anti-Semitism which laid the groundwork for the later Nazi takeover. A series of misadventures gets them sent to a medical clinic for treatment. However, the clinic is actually a site for Nazi-type "racial" experiments on humans, which generally either madden or kill the subjects. Das Schlangenei was savaged by the critics for its improbable-seeming story and more particularly, for casting David Carradine (best known for his earlier appearances in the Kung Fu U.S. television series) in a crucial role. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, David Carradine, (more)
- 1976
This film relates the efforts of World War II flying ace "Pappy" Boyington to control his highly decorated and unmanageable Pacific theater squadron. The film also acted as the pilot for the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1976
Many immigrants came to America to escape religious persecution in their native lands. Narrated by actor James Whitmore, this documentary shows how the promise of religious freedom drew many 18th and 19th century immigrants, whose various faiths contributed to the strength of the United States. This is the final installment in the 13-volume American Documents documentary series, which presents United States history in an entertaining, yet well-researched manner. Highlights of this program include historical paintings and photographs, and information about religious groups such as the Amish and the inventive, celibate Shakers, a sect that broke away from the Quakers. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Give 'Em Hell, Harry! is a filmed version of James J. Whitmore's triumphant performance as Harry Truman in a one-man play. Over the course of the film, Whitmore's Truman recalls many of his personal and professional triumphs and tragedies, uncannily capturing the essence of the President with humor and genuine emotion. Whitmore was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his startlingly effective performance. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Whitmore
Originally telecast as a "Xerox Special" on April 14, 1975, I Will Fight No More Forever is the true story of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians. In 1877, Joseph (played by Ned Romero) refuses to obey a governmental order to remove himself and his tribe to a reservation. General Howard (James Whitmore), the cavalry officer ordered to prevent the Nez Perce from defying the government's edicts, sympathizes with the honorable and courageous Joseph, but duty is duty. Ultimately, Chief Joseph and his followers make a disastrous attempt to escape over the border to Canada. Filmed in central Mexico, I Will Fight No More Forever was written for television by Jeb Rosebrook and Theodore Strauss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ned Romero, James Whitmore, (more)
Based on the novel by Wilson Rawls, this film follows the events that befall a young Oklahoma farm boy as he, with the help of his two beloved hounds, struggles to help his family get by in the hard times of the 1930s. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Whitmore, Beverly Garland, (more)
- 1974
- PG
The Last Circus Show is an Italian weeper that has everything but the bloodhounds and the ice floes. Renato Ceste stars as a wide-eyed urchin who struggles to reunite his divorced parents. Suddenly Ceste falls ill, and may die at any minute. His final request is to see a circus with his mom and dad. What are James Whitmore, Lee J. Cobb and Cyril Cusack doing in this pile of drivel? The Last Circus Show is also known as The Balloon Vendor, a literal translation of the Italian title Venditore di Palloncini. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In The Harrad Experiment, young men and women attend Harrad College for what is essentially a one-year "control group" trial in pre-marital sex, to be overseen by Prof. Philip Tenhausen (James Whitmore) and his wife, Margaret (Tippi Hedren). Although initially paired off for the first month, they will be free to change partners once a month if they so desire. The film focuses on two couples, the somewhat shy Sheila (Laurie Walters), who is paired with the rich and swaggering Stanley (Don Johnson), and alluring Beth (Victoria Thompson), whose roomie is the awkward Harry (Bruno Kirby). The two couples don't get off to a good start, as Stanley is disappointed in his partner and Harry intimidated by his. There's a great deal of tension as the partners consider whether they have been paired off appropriately, and the jealousy and discomfort they feel comes to the surface in an improvisational exercise overseen by Philip. Whether this is all a result of mismatched pairs or more a result of Stanley's inability to "feel" is the subject of some debate, and leads to a number of confrontations and scenes (not to mention nude yoga classes and discussions of group marriage). Stanley also attempts to interest Margaret in having sex with him, but when she suggests that they do so freely and openly on the lawn, he can't go through with it. Stanley decides he wants to leave Harrad, but at the last minute changes his mind and joins Sheila, Beth and Harry for a group hug. Based upon Robert Rimmer's best-seller, Harrad was followed by a sequel, The Harrad Summer. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- 1973
International actors Franco Nero, James Whitmore and Fernando Rey pick up a few tax-free bucks in the Italian High Crime. The plot (perhaps cashing in on Rey's participation in 1971's The French Connection) involves a Mafia boss, at large in the city of Genoa. We can't tell the good guys from the bad guys at time, which may or may not be the point of this kaleidescopic film. Well, we lied: Franco Nero is the good guy, even if his tactics are sometimes a step below noble. Delia Boccardo is the woman in the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Charles Bronson stars in this revisionist western directed by Michael Winner. The film concerns an Apache half-breed, Pardon Chato (Charles Bronson), who finds himself pursued by a relentless posse, headed by Joshua Everette (Jack Palance), after Chato has killed a white sheriff. But when members of Everette's posse rape Chato's wife, Chato stops running. Instead, Chato reverses course and begins to hunt down the posse, seeking vengeful retribution for the rape. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, (more)
- 1971
The ABC network chose to recognize the thirtieth anniversary of Pearl Harbor with the "revisionist" TV movie If Tomorrow Comes. Patty Duke Astin is a California girl who in 1941 falls in love with Japanese-American Frank Liu. Upon the occasion of the "Day of Infamy," Liu is rounded up along with other Californians of Japanese descent and interred in a relocation camp. At this point the film becomes a mufti Romeo and Juliet, with Astin and Liu entering into a suicide pact. While the film rightly condemns the wartime imprisonment of Japanese Americans, it also misguidedly suggests that virtually all Caucasians in 1941 were pigheaded bigots with no rational reason whatsoever to mistrust the Japanese. If Tomorrow Comes was filmed on location in Pasadena. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
This TV movie proposes that at some future date, America will be at loggerheads against some unnamed Asiatic power. Realizing that all-out nuclear war will decimate the planet, the two countries decide to boil down their argument to two combatants. Darren McGavin, an army malcontent, is the American "delegate', while martial-arts expert Mako is the Asian. They are place together on a small Pacific Island and ordered to duke it out on behalf of their countries--winner take all. According to the press release, both men learn "that there is a higher morality than temporary politics." The shamefaced director of The Challenge was able to hide behind the pseudonymous cognomen "Allan Smithee"; unfortunately Darren McGavin and Mako weren't offered that option. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This 25-million dollar epic collaboration accurately recreates the events that led to the Japanese attack on the American naval base during World War II. With Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, the wheels are set in motion by Japan to plan the attack. After internal differences in the government, the Japanese quickly mobilize plans for the assault. Key American personnel ignored warnings of the possibility of Japanese aggression. The first part of the film divides scenes from both countries. Part two contains spectacular battle scenes of the bombing that destroyed the American naval base of operations in Hawaii. Governmental errors on both sides add to the confusion, but the Japanese ultimately carry out the deadly mission. The film did well in Japan, did not do well in the he United States, and took years to make back the production costs. It remains an insightful and well crafted World War II action drama that was the result of years of negotiations between the two countries. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, (more)
Chris (George Kennedy) is the lone survivor of the original seven gunmen who is recruited to help in a peasant struggle in Mexico. Colonel Diego (Michael Ansara)is the ruthless military commandant of a Mexican prison holding the leader of the revolt. With knife expert Levi Morgon (James Whitmore) and firearms experts Keno (Monte Markham), P.J. (Scott Thomas) and Slater (Joe Don Baker), they enlist the help of the giant black man Cassie (Bernie Casey) and two others to rescue the leader of the proposed revolt. The evil Diego employs his torturous and inhuman practices on both sides of the prison walls in a effort to stop the heroes from rescuing the prisoner in this action packed western saga. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Kennedy, James Whitmore, (more)
- 1968
Michael Landon made his directorial debut with this Bonanza episode from May 5, 1968, which Landon also wrote. Ben Cartwright and his ranchhand Candy are trapped in a mine by John Postley (James Whitmore), who'd been wrongly sent to prison for 18 months on his captives' testimony. The embittered Postley doesn't want to kill Ben and Candy-at least, not yet-but instead intends to keep them alive so they'll suffer in confinement as he did. But in pursuing this strange form of vengeance, Postley finds himself a prisoner all over again, this time of his own making. In later years, Bonanza costar David Canary (Candy) would cite "To Die in Darkness" as his favorite episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
Originally intended as a project for Blake Edwards, the film version of Pierre Boule's semisatiric sci-fi novel came to the screen in 1968 under the directorial guidance of Franklin J. Schaffner. Charlton Heston is George Taylor, one of several astronauts on a long, long space mission whose spaceship crash-lands on a remote planet, seemingly devoid of intelligent life. Soon the astronaut learns that this planet is ruled by a race of talking, thinking, reasoning apes who hold court over a complex, multilayered civilization. In this topsy-turvy society, the human beings are grunting, inarticulate primates, penned-up like animals. When ape leader Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) discovers that the captive Taylor has the power of speech, he reacts in horror and insists that the astronaut be killed. But sympathetic ape scientists Cornelius (Roddy McDowell) and Dr. Zira (Kim Hunter) risk their lives to protect Taylor -- and to discover the secret of their planet's history that Dr. Zaius and his minions guard so jealously. In the end, it is Taylor who stumbles on the truth about the Planet of the Apes: "Damn you! Damn you! Goddamn you all to hell!" Scripted by Rod Serling and Michael Wilson (a former blacklistee who previously adapted another Pierre Boule novel, Bridge on the River Kwai), Planet of the Apes has gone on to be an all-time sci-fi (and/or camp) classic. It won a special Academy Award for John Chambers's convincing (and, from all accounts, excruciatingly uncomfortable) simian makeup. It spawned four successful sequels, as well as two TV series, one live-action and one animated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, (more)
- 1968
This military comedy finds chief petty officer Doc Willoughby (Doug McClure) on board the submarine U.S.S. Bustard. He spends the majority of his off-duty time chasing women, getting in fights and trying to stay one step ahead of the irascible commanding officer. He scatters cockroaches in the captain's quarters in an attempt to gain shore leave to make time with a pretty female. Nancy Kwan is the Japanese nurse who is his love interest, and James Whitmore is the infuriated commander who suspects but is unable to pin anything on the resourceful CPO. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bea Bradley, Steve Carlson, (more)
It's a seemingly peaceful spring morning in New York City -- graduation day at the Police Academy -- and Police Commissioner Anthony X. Russell (Henry Fonda) is looking forward to giving a speech to the new officers. But all isn't well: Russell's been given apparently incontrovertible evidence that his oldest friend, Chief Inspector Charles Kane (James Whitmore), is shaking down a bar owner, and a black minister (Raymond St. Jacques) is claiming that his son was brutalized when he was picked up for questioning in a rape/assault case. Then Russell gets a call informing him that two first-grade detectives, Daniel Madigan (Richard Widmark) and Rocco Bonaro (Harry Guardino), allowed small-time hood Barney Benesch (Steve Ihnat) to get the drop on them, steal their guns, and escape while they were trying to pick him up for questioning at the request of Brooklyn detectives -- and Benesch is now a suspect in that earlier murder in Brooklyn. Madigan has other problems, including the fact that the commissioner -- his ex-captain -- doesn't trust him, always believing him to be a loose cannon who has taken advantage of the badge in accepting favors and cutting corners where peoples' rights were concerned. Madigan also has a beautiful, upwardly mobile wife (Inger Stevens) who loves him but can't abide all the time his job takes him away from her or crimps her socializing; and he has never fully gotten over Jonesy (Sheree North), a saloon singer he knew before he was married. Madigan and Bonaro are given 72 hours to bring in Benesch and begin beating the bushes for leads. They get help from "Midget" Castiglione (Michael Dunn), a bookmaker and an old enemy of Benesch's, and a nervous, long-haired punk named Hughie (Don Stroud). While the clock ticks away on Madigan's and Bonaro's careers, the commissioner must decide how to deal with Kane, whose father -- also a police officer -- was like his own, and he must also fathom how a four-star chief could be involved with anything as tawdry as pressuring a tavern owner. Russell genuinely believes that there must be "one standard, one rule" for any member of the department, but in the course of this one weekend, he finds this notion shattered by what he discovers about Madigan, King, and himself. Meanwhile, Benesch is still on the loose, acting like a complete psycho and a threat to anyone who crosses his path. Russell's and Madigan's paths finally cross personally, as the detective proves -- and the commissioner discovers -- just how good a cop he is. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1968
A pair of crooks conspire to rob the ticket booth at the Los Angeles Coliseum during a Rams game. Before they can perform the heist, the two must find precisely the right henchmen to join them. Each potential gang member must undergo a rigorous test of skill. Thanks to care and precise planning, the caper comes off smoothly and afterward the gang leader (Jim Brown) hides the money in the apartment of his ex-wife (Diahann Carroll). She only agrees to keep the money on the provision that he reform so they can get back together. Unfortunately, the wife's lust-crazed landlord (James Whitmore) busts into her house the next day and tries to rape her. During the struggle he kills her and then takes the loot. Later a crooked cop (Gene Hackman) investigates. Meanwhile, when the gang members learn that the loot is missing, they suspect a double-cross and engage in a huge battle. The cop finds the money and at first keeps it for himself. The head crook eventually figures out that the cop has it and so goes to him to make a little deal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Brown, Diahann Carroll, (more)
