Betsy Brantley Movies
Lead actress Brantley has been onscreen from the early '80s. ~ Rovi
Originally intended for theatrical release, The Angel Doll is an adaptation of Jerry Bledsoe's bestselling novel of the same name. Set in the South of the '50s, the story focuses on "Whitey" Black (Cody Newton), a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who befriends middle-class youngster Jerry Barlow (Michael Welch) while the two share a paper route. Jerry learns that Whitey wants to purchase a "very special" doll as a Christmas present for his terminally ill sister. Not only does Whitey meet with opposition from the locals because his sister has polio and is thus regarded as "contagious," but the doll he wants is nowhere to be found in his hometown. Thus it is that Whitey and Jerry embark upon a lengthy, adventure-laden journey in search of the elusive doll, meeting people of all sorts (and all temperaments) along the way. Keith Carradine is top-billed as the adult Jerry Barlow, while Diana Scarwid is given the extremely difficult (and highly contrary) role of Whitey's drink-sodden mother. Filmed in 2002, The Angel Doll was not widely seen until it was picked up for cable play by the Lifetime network in 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Betsy Brantley, (more)
Based on the tell-all autobiography by Nick Leeson, Rogue Trader tells the true story of how one man managed to bring down England's best respected merchant bank. Ewan McGregor plays Leeson, an ambitious young man from North London who is hired by the Barings Brothers Bank and sent to Indonesia to help untangle some problems with bearer bonds. Leeson does well enough to earn a transfer to Singapore, where he's put in charge of Barings' staff at the Singapore International Money Exchange. The Asian economy is booming and a variety of new financial strategies are changing the shape of the marketplace; while his superiors in London are a bit baffled by the range of possibilities, Leeson takes to the work like a duck to water, and he's soon trusted to do as he pleases. This eventually proves to be his downfall; without a separate team watching the accounts in the back office, Leeson is soon juggling figures to cover up for certain mistakes and gambling on the market with the bank's funds, not just their clients'. In 1995, Leeson's schemes finally collaped, leaving Barings bankrupt; Nick and his wife (another Barings employee) tried to flee the country to avoid arrest. Leeson was eventually sentenced to six-and-a-half years in a Singapore prison for his financial misdeeds; he was released after four years and four months, a week before Rogue Trader opened in British theaters. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel, (more)
- 1998
A rape and murder take place in the apartment owned by Jamal (Giancarlo Esposito), an ex-crack dealer who was previously disabled in a police shoot-out. The investigation of a shooting in a medical clinic prompts a brutish, lovelorn security guard named Bruce (John Thaddeus) to forcibly "protect" the suspect, resulting in a deadly and decisive response from Medavoy (Gordon Clapp). And Bobby (Jimmy Smits) learns of Andy's (Dennis Franz) increasingly grave medical situation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1997
Expectant parents Bill and Joanne McNabb (Bill Smitrovich, Betsy Brantley) are torn apart by the news that their unborn child has Down Syndrome. Though Joanne wants to keep the baby, Bill is leaning in the opposite direction--and, out of shame over having an "imperfect" child, he has told Joanne to keep the baby's condition a secret until a final decision is made. Though angels Monica (Roma Downey) and Andrew (John Dye) are on hand to help alleviate the tension, it falls to another angel named Taylor (Chris Burke), himself a Downs child, to lead the McNabbs towards the right decision--but not before a near-fatal disaster! This episode features a piquant reunion of actors Bill Smitrovich and Chris Burke, respectively cast as father and son on the earlier series Life Goes On. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
This film is the second effort to bring to the screen the 1880 Henry James novel of the same title (the first was The Heiress in 1949). Set in 1850 among the aristocracy of New York, Washington Square examines the inhibitions of Catherine Sloper (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the only child of wealthy Dr. Austin Sloper (Albert Finney). Catherine is clumsy and shy and something of an embarrassment to her high-class father. Dr. Sloper still unconsciously resents the child because her birth caused the death of his wife. He also disapproves of Catherine's attraction to Morris Townsend (Ben Chaplin), warning her that the handsome young man is after her money. He takes Catherine to Europe and warns her to break off her relationship with Morris, but she defies him. Townsend proposes, and Catherine accepts despite her father's threats to disinherit her if she marries him. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney, (more)
After years of making movies in the fringes of the Hollywood system after his debut success sex, lies, and videotape, director Steven Soderbergh made Schizopolis as, in his own words, an artistic "wake-up call to himself." The result is a discombobulated, irreverent, comedic meta-movie, a cinematic hall of mirrors nearly impossible to describe. Soderbergh wrote, directed, photographed, edited, and even stars in the film as Fletcher Munson, a disillusioned paper-pusher assigned to write a deliberately meaningless speech for T. Azimuth Schwitters, an L. Ron Hubbard-esque self-help guru whose new book Eventualism is a bestseller. His heart isn't in it, however, so he spends most of his time either masturbating in the employee bathroom, avoiding calls from people who want to hire him as a company spy, or listening to the paranoid delusions of his office chum, Nameless Numberhead Man. Intertwined with Munson's attempt to write glib diatribes are numerous asides and subplots. Best of all is the story of Elmo Oxygen: an orange-jumpsuit wearing bug exterminator who appears to be sleeping with several of his customers, including T. Azimuth Schwitters' wife. At one point, Elmo is coerced into leaving Schizopolis, mid-scene, to join another movie. Convoluted and playful as the movie is, there is some method to Soderbergh's madness. The various plot threads, though loosely wound to the core, do in fact lead to some understanding of the disorders, communication problems, and frustrations at the heart of contemporary life. ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steven Soderbergh, Betsy Brantley, (more)
Previously filmed in 1914, 1921, and 1936, and adapted for television in 1976 and 1980, Francis Hodgson Burnett's classic novel Little Lord Fauntleroy was again brought to the small screen by BBC1 in 1994. Largely taped on location at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, England, the familiar story concerned an outwardly all-American lad named Cedric (Michael Benz), who at the behest of his crusty, aristocratic grandfather (George Baker), was separated from his widowed mother and ensconced in rural England under the new title Lord Fauntleroy. Eventually, Cedric's down-to-earth goodness and sincerity melted the heart of his dour grandpa, and also served to confound a group of fortune-hunters who intended to sack the estate of its wealth. First shown in England in 1994, the six half-hour episodes of Little Lord Fauntleroy were seen on American cable TV in the summer of 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Benz
Small-time Texas businessman Arlis Sweeney (Dennis Quaid) can never shake the memory of his father's (James Caan) wasted life. What particularly sticks in his craw is the murder committed years earlier by his father and a teenaged accomplice. While going through the by-rote motions of his job (he supplies vending machines), Arlis strikes up a friendship with hardcase hitchhiker Kay Davies (Meg Ryan). Slowly, Kay helps Arlis put his life in order. And then, Arlis suddenly realizes where he's seen Kay before. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, (more)
A cynical gambler reluctantly comes to the aid of a mysterious beauty in this interpolation of Casablanca and the real-life Cuban revolution. Big-stakes American gambler Jack Weil (Robert Redford) is comfortable in the anything-goes Havana of 1958. But with Fidel Castro out in the wilderness broadcasting revolutionary messages, it seems the good times may be on the way out. On a boat back to the island nation from the U.S. mainland, Weil agrees to help beautiful Bobby Duran (Lena Olin) smuggle in some contraband by trading vehicles with her on their way through the checkpoint. He's amused to discover not jewelry, but radio transmitters squirreled away in her car. Eventually, he learns that she's the European wife of monied Cuban communist Arturo Duran (Raul Julia), who believes his class and status will protect him from the ruling party. When that assumption turns out to be false, Jack finds himself sucked in by the plight of the suddenly widowed Bobby, who remains committed to her dangerous ideals. Risking his cushy lifestyle to protect Bobby from the coming tumult -- and from herself -- Jack must grapple with the dictates of his newfound conscience. With a supporting cast that includes Alan Arkin and Tomas Milian, Havana reunited director Sydney Pollack with Redford and David Rayfiel, star and co-screenwriter of The Way We Were. Rayfiel has also worked on a number of Pollack pictures, stretching from 1969's Castle Keep to 1995's remake of Sabrina. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Lena Olin, (more)
- 1990
- R
I Come in Peace is a silly, derivative science fiction exploitation thriller which is a triumph of style and skillful direction, despite a plot that steals elements from numerous good films and mixes them with some appallingly bad acting. Jack Caine (Dolph Lundgren) is a not-by-the books police officer investigating the death of several people, including his partner, by a gang called the "White Boys." All the victims seemed to have died of drug overdoses, but Jack thinks that there is something more sinister afoot. His investigation reveals a plot by aliens who use the bodies to extract a chemical that is sold to addicts on their home planet. Originally entitled Dark Angel, I Come in Peace, while silly and confusing, has great production values and some excellent special effects. The main reason to see this film is because of the expert direction by former stunt-man Craig Baxley who manages to keep the action moving at a fast pace and tie up the loose ends of the threadbare story. The cinematography by Mark Irwin is outstanding and shows that imagination and a good visual sense can overcome a limited budget and a bad plot. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Betsy Brantley, (more)
Most of the cast members present in Tour of Duty's second season, both male and female, have re-upped for season three. In charge of U.S. Army Company B stationed at Tan Son Nhut air base in the Vietnam of 1967-1968 are Lt. Myron Goldman (Stephen Caffrey) and Sgt. Zeke Anderson (Terence Knox). Also back for another hitch are platoon members Percell (Tony Becker), Ruiz (Ramon Franco), and Taylor (Miguel A. Nunez); chopper-pilot Lt. McCay (Dan Gauthier); army psychologist Jennifer Seymour (Betsy Brantley); and sexy female wire-service reporter Alex Devlin (Kim Delaney). New faces include company commander Col. Brewster (Carl Weathers), and the outspokenly antiwar medic "Doc Hock" (John Dye), and battle-weary vet "Pop" Scarlet (Lee Majors). Whereas morale had been reasonably high during the series' first two seasons, things are beginning to break down as Company B enters its third year in 'Nam. Things are particularly dismal for Cpl. Percell, who becomes addicted to morphine. Even when the troopers are demobilized and sent home, they find it difficult, if not impossible, to adjust to the civilian world. In other words, this final season of Tour of Duty is a fairly accurate representation of what was really going on in both Vietnam and America in the late '60s. ~ Rovi
In Robert Zemeckis's trailblazing combination of animation and live-action, Hollywood's 1940s cartoon stars are a subjugated minority, living in the ghettolike "Toontown" where their movements are sharply monitored by the human power establishment. The Toons are permitted to perform in a Cotton Club-style nightspot but are forbidden to patronize the joint. One of Toontown's leading citizens, whacked-out Roger Rabbit, is framed for the murder of human nightclub owner Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye). Private detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), whose prejudice against Toons stems from the time that his brother was killed by a falling cartoon piano, reluctantly agrees to clear Roger of the accusation. Most of the sociopolitical undertones of the original novel were weeded out out of the 1988 film version, with emphasis shifted to its basic "evil land developer" plotline --and, more enjoyably, to a stream of eye-popping special effects. With the combined facilities of animator Richard Williams, Disney, Warner Bros., Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic, the film allows us to believe (at least for 90 minutes) that "toons" exist, and that they are capable of interacting with 3-dimensional human beings. Virtually every major cartoon character of the late 1940s shows up, with the exceptions of Felix the Cat and Popeye the Sailor, whose licensees couldn't come to terms with the producers. Of the film's newly minted Toons, the most memorable is Roger Rabbit's curvaceous bride Jessica (voiced, uncredited, by Kathleen Turner). The human element is well-represented by Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, and Joanna Cassidy; also watch for action-film producer Joel Silver as Roger Rabbit's Tex Avery-style director. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
Based on William Goldman's novel of the same name, The Princess Bride is staged as a book read by grandfather (Peter Falk) to his ill grandson (Fred Savage). Falk's character assures a romance-weary Savage that the book has much more to deliver than a simpering love story, including but not limited to fencing, fighting, torture, death, true love, giants, and pirates. Indeed, The Princess Bride offers a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale depicting stable boy-turned-pirate Westley's journey to rescue Buttercup (Robin Wright), his true love, away from the evil prince (Chris Sarandon), whom she had agreed to marry five years after learning of what she had believed to be news of Westley's death. With help from Prince Humperdinck's disgruntled former employee Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and a very large man named Fezzik (Andre the Giant), the star-crossed lovers are reunited. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, (more)
- 1987
In this made-for-cable TV movie, a young, windowed American travels to Scotland to explore the home of her ancestors. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- 1987
- R
Scripted by Frederick Forsyth from his own novel, The Fourth Protocol is a fact-based spy thriller. The titular protocol is a secret agreement between America, Britain and Russia to cease smuggling nuclear weapons into their respective countries. This figures into the schemes of several rogue spies, who hope to destroy NATO by embarking on just such a smuggling endeavor. Russian agent Valeri Petrofsky (Pierce Brosnan) is ordered to stage a nuclear accident in England, then arrange the evidence to point to the Americans. British intelligence agent John Preston (Michael Caine) begins wondering why such nuclear-weapon components like lithium are showing up in the unlikeliest places. Ignored by his superiors, who figure that Preston is merely an old-line anti-Commie paranoic, Preston gathers the clues that will enable him to find out who's behind the potential breaking of The Fourth Protocol. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, (more)
- 1986
Filmed for British television in 1986, The New World made it to American shores in 1988. Bernard Hill and James Fox star in this dramatization of the founding of the Plymouth Colony. The dramatic thrust of the film is a power struggle between two self-appointed pilgrim leaders. Betsy Brantley co-stars as the romantic bone of contention between the antagonists. The New World was seen on American cable TV through the facilities of the Disney Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Fox, Bernard Hill, (more)
- 1986
This British made-for-television movie tells the story of the 1950s competition to unlock the mystery behind DNA, and the personal and political tribulations that accompanied the endeavor. Jeff Goldblum stars as American scientist Jim Watson, and Tim Pigott-Smith is Britain's Francis Crick. Together, the non-traditional scientists raced to find the structure of the DNA molecule before their contemporaries did the same. The film was based on the book of the same name by James Watson. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- 1985
En route to a business meeting in Paris, newly promoted American magazine editor Lily Conrad (Cheryl Ladd) boards the legendary Orient Express. Her she is unexpectedly with her long-ago lover, aristocratic Englishman Alex Woodward (Stuart Wilson). It turns out that this rendezvous was no accident, and before long the couple's passion is rekindled. Variously aiding and abetting the course of True Love (which of course is lovelier the second time around) are such sidelines characters as Lily's brash travelling companion Susan Lawson (Ruby Wax) and Alex's stuffy, tradition-bound father Theodore Woodward (John Gielgud, who earned an Emmy nomination for his performance). Filmed on location in Italy, France and England, Romance on the Orient Express debuted March 4, 1985, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
"The Dancing Men" is an episode of the television series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, an excellent adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories, produced in Britain for Granada TV. In this episode directed by John Bruce, Jeremy Brett portrays the famed detective aided by his companion Dr. Watson (David Burke) as they investigate the source of a series of curious drawings that are being seen by Elise Cubitt (Betsy Brantley). The drawings are extremely disturbing to the young woman, and her husband is concerned for her well-being. Written by Anthony Skene, this episode is one of the more famous of the Holmes' stories; the faithfulness to the original story first published in the Strand Magazine during the late 19th century is exceptional. This series was followed by related sequels, as well as four TV movie adaptations. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeremy Brett, David Burke, (more)
A pair of British lads, one gay and one socialist, chafe at the restrictions of boarding school life in this period piece, which was adapted from Julian Mitchell's novel and play of the same name and loosely based on the Burgess-Maclean spy scandal of the 1950s. In the 1930s, upper-class scions Tommy Judd (Colin Firth) and Guy Bennett (Rupert Everett) are both nearing the end of their careers at an unnamed public school that bears a striking resemblance to Eton. Tommy, a Marxist intellectual, refuses to participate actively in the school's rigid social hierarchy. But Guy, when not mooning after pretty boys, angles for a position next term as one of the "gods," or master prefects, of his house. When a faculty member stumbles onto the homosexual fumblings of a pair of students, one boy commits suicide and a scandal erupts. The administration and senior students do their best to ensure nothing of this sort ever sullies their reputation again. Considering that homosexual experimentation is rampant and that Guy has slept with most of the prefects in his house, the strict new rules leave a bad taste in his mouth. They also put a damper on his Wildean lifestyle, especially after he falls hopelessly in love with James Harcourt (Cary Elwes), a dreamy boy from one of the other houses. Things come to a head when autocratic prefect Fowler (Tristan Oliver) intercepts a letter from Guy to James and sentences Guy to a savage beating. By film's end, Guy's complicity in the power games of the British class system has been challenged, and his friend Tommy's communist dogma has made a lasting impression; a framing device portrays Guy as an elderly former spy living in exile in Soviet Moscow. Another Country was shot at Cambridge, Oxford, and Althorp Hall (Princess Diana's childhood home) after the producers were denied permission to shoot at Eton. Everett and Firth both appeared in the original London theater production alongside Kenneth Branagh and Daniel Day-Lewis; on-stage, it was actually Firth who played Guy. For a more factual account of the Burgess-Maclean affair, see the TV movie An Englishman Abroad. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, (more)
- 1982
- PG
Fred Zinnemann's final film is a meditative examination of an illicit May-December romance, set in the mountain expanse of the Swiss Alps. Sean Connery plays Douglas, a middle-aged Scottish doctor on vacation in the Alps in 1932 with a beautiful and fresh-faced young woman, Kate (Betsy Brantley), whom he introduces as his wife. Douglas has taken Kate to the Alps to introduce her to the invigorating sport of mountain climbing. When Douglas and Kate arrive at the mountain lodge, their happiness is tempered by a knowing melancholy. Through flashbacks, it is revealed that Kate has been madly in love with Douglas since she was a little girl and that she seduced him away from another woman. The flashbacks also reveal that Kate is not his wife, but his niece. But then, in their mountain retreat, young and handsome guide Johann (Lambert Wilson) makes an entrance. Johann immediately develops an attraction for Kate. Now Kate has to worry if the feeling is mutual. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Betsy Brantley, (more)
The sequel to the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, this film follows the further adventures of Brad (Cliff De Young) and Janet (Jessica Harper), as the now-married couple travels to a small town to appear on a game show. However, once on-stage, they discover that they are trapped on the television show with a bunch of unusual characters. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cliff De Young, Richard O'Brien, (more)
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
© 2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2013 Rovi Corporation.