Tom Aldredge Movies
Ohio-born utility player Tom Aldredge has been in films since the 1963 British comedy Mouse on the Moon. He garnered some of his best-ever reviews for his work in the 1969 "sleeper" The Rain People. In this early Francis Ford Coppola effort, Aldredge played Mr. Alfred, a combination justice of the peace and reptile farmer. Tom Aldredge has also appeared as Victor Kincaid on the never-ending CBS TV soaper The Guiding Light. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Author Sherwood Kiraly pens the screenplay adaptation of his own comedic novel concerning a man (Matthew Broderick) who gets amnesia after suffering a blow to the head and the road trip he embarks on with his Alzheimer’s-afflicted uncle (Alan Alda) and high-school sweetheart (Virginia Madsen). Convinced that they will make a fortune by selling an ultra-rare baseball card at a high-profile memorabilia show, the trio sets out on the open road in search of adventure. Bobby Cannavale and Lois Smith co-star in the feature directorial debut of actor-turned-director Terry Kinney. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, (more)
Inspired by the true story of the United States Marine who volunteered to escort the remains of a nineteen year old soldier who was killed in Iraq to his small hometown in remote Wyoming, Taking Chance stars Kevin Bacon in the feature directorial debut of Oscar-nominated producer Ross Katz. Lance Corporal Chance Phelps (USMC) was just nineteen years old when he was killed during active duty. Now, as Lance Corporal Phelps is prepared for his final journey back home, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl (USMC) (Bacon) makes it his personal mission to ensure that his fallen brother is laid to rest with the proper respect. As the journey begins, Lieutenant Colonel Strobl gains a greater appreciation of the sacrifices made in war than ever before. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Paige Turco, (more)
Writer/director Tom DiCillo's satire Delirious (2006) eviscerates Hollywood celebrity and celebrity types with a relentlessly dissecting gaze and take-no-prisoners humor. DiCillo mainstay Steve Buscemi stars as Les Galantine, a sleazy and merciless tabloid photographer from the Big Apple, whose most noteworthy accomplishments are an image of Goldie Hawn eating lunch and one of Elvis Costello sans any headwear. Les is hoping desperately for his ticket in -- which he perceives as a prize shot of pop sensation K'Harma Leeds (Alison Lohman) as she's departing from a local club. He finds that ticket -- sort-of -- in the form of Toby (Michael Pitt), a homeless young man with serious acting aspirations, who has a very brief exchange with K'Harma under his belt. Toby uses that exchange to finagle his way to an assistantship under Galantine, and the two team up for a stakeout, managing to swing 700 dollars for a photo of a celebrity who is recovering from penis surgery. While DiCillo cuts between the adventures of the two men and the vapid lifestyle of the untalented hack K'Harma, Toby begins his meteoric rise to the top of the Hollywood trash heap by attending a Soap Stars Against STD Convention, where he not only meets and impresses a big-shot casting director (Gina Gershon) but runs into K'Harma once again -- recently split from her beau -- and finds his way into her bed, setting the stage for his own ascent to superstardom. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, (more)
- 2001
Eraserhead meets Buck Rogers by way of an MGM musical in this bizarre outer-space saga about Samuel Curtis (Cory McAbee), a galactic truck driver looking to make a killing. The film opens with Curtis landing on the freewheeling, all-male asteroid of Ceres. Before winning a dance contest with his buddy Blueberry Pirate -- who is renowned for smuggling fresh fruit -- Curtis learns from Blueberry about a scheme to give a fetal "real live girl" to the similarly male-dominated planet of Jupiter in exchange for a strapping adolescent known solely as "The Boy Who Actually Saw a Female Breast." He in turn will be sent to the all-female planet of Venus where he will spend his life servicing the planet's occupants. Unfortunately, Curtis is followed by the mysterious self-proclaimed birthday boy Professor Hess, who has a tendency to vaporize any and all who come into contact with him. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival as a part of the Midnight Madness program. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rocco Sisto
- 2000
A certain high-profile murder which peripherally involved a well-connected political family was the obvious inspiration for this episode. Under orders from their higher-ups, Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) reopen a 20-year-old murder investigation. The principal suspect at the time was the spoiled teenaged son of a powerful U.S. ambassador (Remak Ramsay). The question: Considering the age of the suspect when the killing occurred, should he be tried in juvenile court even though he is now well into adulthood? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A young girl finds friendship on the wrong side of the career tracks in this drama. Camelot Gardens is a "gated community" where wealthy people can purchase luxurious (if sterile) homes and a security force ensures that riffraff will be kept away from your door after nightfall. The Stockard family are new arrivals at Camelot Gardens; father Morton (Christopher McDonald) is a businessman who wants to go into politics, while mother Clare (Kathleen Quinlan) busies herself with affairs with younger men. Neither seems to have much time for their 10-year-old daughter Devon (Mischa Barton), who doesn't care for children her own age; Devon's uncle likes to entertain her with stories about a witch named Baba Yaga who lives in the forest, so one day she wanders into the nearby woods looking for Baba. Instead, she finds a trailer that's home to Trent (Sam Rockwell), a 20-something free spirit who scrapes together a living by mowing the lawns of Camelot Gardens. Devon and Trent both have physical and emotional scars to deal with, and they soon become friends and confidantes; however, Devon's parents become upset when they learn that their daughter's best friend is a grown man, particularly one who lives in a trailer and does lawn maintenance for a living. Lawn Dogs won awards at a number of international film festivals in 1997, including the Stockholm Film Festival, the Montreal World Film Festival, and the Catalonian International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Rockwell, Christopher McDonald, (more)
Made for the TNT cable channel, this lengthy docudrama records the harrowing conditions at the Confederacy's most notorious prisoner-of-war camp. The drama unfolds through the eyes of a company of Union soldiers captured at the Battle of Cold Harbor, VA, in June 1864, and shipped to the camp in southern Georgia. A private, Josiah Day (Jarrod Emick), and his sergeant (Frederic Forrest) try to hold their company together in the face of squalid living conditions, inhumane punishments, and a gang of predatory fellow prisoners called the Raiders. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, the Massachusetts men help to put an end to the Raiders' activities. With the permission of the camp's commandant, Captain Wirz (Jan Triska), the Raiders are tried by their peers (with newly arrived prisoners as the impartial jury) and punishment is meted out. The men eagerly greet each new batch of arrivals to the overcrowded camp, hoping to hear some news of prisoner exchange, but as the months drag on and more of the men succumb to disease, that hope begins to flicker. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jarrod Emick, Frederic Forrest, (more)
A soldier learns about himself and love in this made-for-TV filmed version of the Stephen Sondheim musical. Jere Shea stars as Giorgio, a soldier who has a passionate affair with a beautiful and married woman named Clara (Marin Mazzie). When Giorgio gets stationed in distant Italy, he is separated from Clara and attracts the attention of a homely, ill woman named Fosca (Donna Murphy). He at first repels Fosca's advances but over time he slowly warms up and not only accepts her love, but returns it. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1994
The full title of this made-for-TV film was In the Best of Families: Pride and Madness. Based on a true story, the film details the bitter divorce between overly idealistic Keith Carradine and emotionally disturbed Kelly McGillis. Caught in the middle are the couple's sons, played by Erik Von Detten and Ira David Wood Jr. The crisis erupts into violence, resulting in a triple homicide. Roundly criticized for its lurid and sensationalistic aspects, In the Best of Families was originally telecast in two parts on January 16 and 18, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly McGillis, Keith Carradine, (more)
This eighth adaptation of the timeless Mark Twain novel casts Elijah Wood as Huckleberry Finn, the half-literate son of a drunk who runs away from home and follows the Mississippi River with an escaped slave named Jim (Courtney S. Vance). Along the way, the duo encounter adventures with colorful characters like The King (Jason Robards) and the Duke (Robbie Coltrane), two con men who impersonate British visitors in order to swindle two sisters out of their fortune, and Susan Wilks (Laura Bundy), the spunky 12-year-old girl who gives Huck his first kiss. Jim also re-educates Huck away from the racist views that he has grown up with. Not the most in-depth version of Twain's tale, The Adventures Of Huck Finn is a solid retelling of the classic story. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elijah Wood, Courtney Vance, (more)
Originally broadcast as part of the American Playhouse series on PBS, this video captures a performance by the original cast of the popular Broadway musical. With songs and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine, who also directed the stage production, Into the Woods humorously combines a number of classic fairy tales into one over-arching narrative. A baker and his wife are assigned a number of tasks by a nearby witch; only after completing these duties will they be able to give birth. During their quest to fulfill the witches' demands, they encounter Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and numerous other fairy tale figures. The traditional stories are parodied and altered at will, yet the original fairy tales' sense of wonder and, at times, darkness remains intact. The score, winner of Broadway's Tony Award, includes such songs as Children Will Listen, Giants in the Sky, and No One Is Alone. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
Pudd'nhead Wilson, Mark Twain's attack on racial prejudice in the guise of a mystery tale, was adapted for television in 1984 by Philip Reisman Jr. Ken Howard plays lawyer "Pudd'nhead" Wilson, so named because of his silly behavior and foolish appearance. Wilson, however, has a lot more on the ball than anyone suspects. He proves as much by unraveling a murder case that begins taking shape when mulatto slave Roxane (Lisa Hilboldt) switches her baby with one belonging to a prominent white family. Filmed on location at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, Pudd'nhead Wilson premiered January 24, 1984, on PBS television's American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
In this Civil War drama, a plantation owner and her ex-slave begin working as Union spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The PBS series Great Performances first presented the made-for-TV feature Seize the Day. The time is the success-driven '50s; Robin Williams plays Tommy Wilhelm, a middle-ager who has just lost his salesman's job. Margaret, his wife (Katherine Borowitz), is on the verge of divorce and fully intends to take him to the cleaners whether he has an income or not. Doctor Adler (Joseph Wiseman), Tommy's judgmental father, cannot abide having a failure in the family and refuses to lend his son a single penny. In desperation, Tommy heads to New York City, where his old wheeler-dealer pal Dr. Tamkin (Jerry Stiller) has promised him a job. Even there, however, Tommy is defeated by the cold-shoulder treatment afforded him by the people whose opinions he values most. Seize the Day was adapted by Ronald Ribman from the novel by Saul Bellow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Jerry Stiller, (more)
- 1981
Made for television, The Gentleman Bandit stars Ralph Waite as a popular priest whose life is shattered by a case of mistaken identity. Waite is fingered by a witness as a holdup man; during a lineup, several other witnesses confirm this. Despite his protestations, Waite cannot account for his actions during the crime, and is vilified by the newspapers and by his own superiors. Only the priest's parishioners believe him--but that may not be enough to keep him out of prison. Based on the real-life ordeal of Baltimore priest Fr. Bernard Pagano, Gentleman Bandit was filmed under the title The Bandit Priest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
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Filmed in Vermont, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg is based on one of Mark Twain's more mysoginistic works. Mysterious stranger Robert Preston shows up in Hadleyburg, a town that prides itself upon the honesty and integrity of its leaders. Preston offers $40,000 in gold to the anonymous Hadleyburg citizen who, years earlier, had given Preston a handout and some valuable advice. The stranger sends letters to each of Hadleyburg's nineteen finest families, containing cryptic clues pointing to the identity of the beneficiary of the gold. Before the story is over, it becomes painfully clear that 18 of the town's "nineteeners" are willing to lie and deceive in order to claim the prize. Adapted by Mark Harris (who was compelled to sweat out 40 pages of the original story in order to make it "play" on TV), The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg was first presented in tandem with a dramatization of William Faulkner's Barn Burning on PBS' American Short Story series; the program first aired on March 17, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Part of the "American Short Story" collection, this is an adaptation of a story by Stephen Crane. In this film, a traveller takes refuge in a hotel. However, he becomes concerned his life is in danger from others who are staying at the same hotel. The concept of fate is introduced as a guiding element of the story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
James Earl Jones gave one of his finest performances in the title role of Joseph Papp's acclaimed New York Shakespeare Festival production of the Bard's tragedy, putting a new spin on this classic story of one family's vainglorious battle over the affections and favor of an aging monarch. Jones and the production's original cast re-created their roles for this 1974 television special; the supporting cast includes Raul Julia, Rosiland Cash, Paul Sorvino, René Auberjonois, and Lee Chamberlin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
The Boston Strangler adopts the split-screen technique then in vogue (see also The Thomas Crown Affair) to relate the true story of self-confessed mass murderer Albert DeSalvo. Adapted by Edward Anhalt from the book by Gerold Frank, the film covers the years 1962 to 1964, during which time a dozen women were raped and murdered in the Boston area. State-appointed officer John Bottomly (Henry Fonda) arrests as many known sex offenders as he can get his hands on in hopes of finding a clue as to the Boston Strangler's identity. As these things often happen, the police come across the necessary evidence through pure luck. Well-played by Tony Curtis (whose makeup is startling), DeSalvo himself does not appear until an hour into the film. When caught, the schizophrenic DeSalvo insists that he knows nothing of the murders. Under interrogation and hypnosis, his homicidal impulses are exposed. Meticulously cast, The Boston Strangler offers excellent vignettes by Sally Kellerman as the Strangler's only surviving victim and by Hurd Hatfield as an erudite sex pervert. When Boston Strangler was first shown on TV in 1974, a voice-over coda was added, noting that Albert DeSalvo was stabbed to death in prison on November 26, 1973, and that many experts were convinced that he was not the killer but that his confessions were the product of a delusional mind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, (more)
Jack Landau directed this 1966 televised production of Tennessee Williams' fantastical one-act play. In it, Martin Sheen stars as Kilroy, an American GI who finds himself in the surreal landscape of a fictitious Latin American nation where he interacts with several characters who have fallen into meaningless and destitute lives. The play also features performances by Tom Aldredge, Michael Baseleon, Albert Dekker, Hurd Hatfield, Kazimir Kokich, and Lotte Lenya. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen
- 1965
Shot on location in Manhattan during the mid-'60s, Who Killed Teddy Bear? is a startling piece of dramatic filmmaking. Juliet Prowse portrays Nora, a deejay and hostess at a sleazy midtown discothèque who starts to receive obscene phone calls. Nora dismisses them, until she crosses paths with Bill Madden (Jan Murray), a grim, obsessive police lieutenant specializing in sex crimes (his obsession, as he later reveals, derives from the fact that his own wife was assaulted and murdered while out alone one night); he manages both to offend and frighten Nora with his depth of knowledge and suspicions about the kinds of people who commit those crimes. They develop a close but wary relationship even as the caller, whoever he is, proves to know not only a great deal about her personal life, but also about events transpiring right inside her apartment. She goes about her life as best she can, attending auditions and making the rounds of theaters, and socializing with her co-workers at the club, including the bus boy, Larry (Sal Mineo), who seems lonely and has a very sweet younger sister who is mildly retarded. She looks to her club manager (Elaine Stritch) for help, but then rejects her when she suspects that the older woman is attracted to her -- and then Stritch is killed by the stalker, by mistake, outside Nora's building when she is seen wearing the girl's coat. Nora tries to relax and looks to Larry for friendship, only to discover that he is the stalker. Madden also makes the connection, and figures out how he was observing her inside her apartment, but he's too late to save Nora from being assaulted. Larry ends up on the run from the police, who are in hot pursuit as he flees through Manhattan's streets. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sal Mineo, Juliet Prowse, (more)
- 1964
A midwestern hayseed takes on the Big Apple in this comedy. He goes because he is tired of running a chicken farm and thinks it might be more fun to own a coffee house. But before he can, he must deal with a myriad of crooked city bureaucrats who won't issue the necessary license until he pays them off. The comedy and trouble begin because, he refuses to do it. Still, thanks to his more worldly friend, an attorney who secretly pays the crooks, the hayseed gets his coffeehouse. He is so vocal about his moral outrage, that the officials involved decide they must abduct him and hide him away in a looney bin to keep him quiet. Unfortunately for them, it takes more than an asylum to stop the stubborn young man from destroying their careers. The humor in the film is largely improvisational and this is no surprise as it is based on the comedy of "The Premise" a Greenwich Village-based comedy troupe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Aldredge, Joan Darling, (more)
From Richard Lester, the director of 1980's Superman II and the 1964 A Hard Day's Night, comes this less-successful sequel to the The Mouse that Roared. The Prime Minister of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick (Ron Moody) is in a bind because he has no money to renovate his castle and there is a serious problem with his small country's main export, wine. The stuff tends to explode. So the Prime Minister asks the U.S. for aid to develop space research, knowing full well they are not going to give him money to remodel his castle. Once the U.S. grants a cool million to the country, Russia adds in a used rocket, and things start popping. Like it or not, the Duchy is suddenly involved in space research and contributing to the madness is the discovery that its unique wine makes good rocket fuel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Rutherford, Bernard Cribbins, (more)
- 2007
- R
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Brad Pitt stars as legendary Wild West outlaw Jesse James in Chopper director Andrew Dominik's cinematic rendering of the events that would eventually bring about the death of the man rumored be the "fastest gun in the West." An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous of the famed outlaw. When Robert and his brother Charlie sense an opportunity to kill James, their murderous action elevates their target to near mythical status. Casey Affleck stars as Robert Ford and Sam Shepard co-stars as Frank James -- Jesse's devoted sibling and partner in crime. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, (more)
