Jane Alexander Movies
A graduate of Sarah Lawrence University and the University of Edinburgh, American actress Jane Alexander first gained national fame for her Tony-winning performance in the 1965 Broadway play The Great White Hope. She repeated her portrayal of the white mistress of a turn-of-century black heavyweight boxing champ (played by James Earl Jones) for the 1969 film version of Hope, which served as her film debut and earned her an Oscar nomination. The actress' subsequent theatrical-feature appearances have often been short in duration, but long on dramatic impact: most memorable was her single scene as a terrified Republican party bookkeeper ("If you can get Mitchell, that would be great!") in All the President's Men (1976). Alexander made the first of two TV-special appearances as Eleanor Roosevelt in Eleanor and Franklin, telecast in two parts on January 11 and 12, 1976; this was followed by Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (March 13,1977). While she surprisingly did not win an Emmy for either of these superlative performances, she finally attained the award for her supporting appearance in 1981's Playing for Time. Her best-remembered television appearance was as the California housewife faced with the enormity of a nearby nuclear attack in Testament (1983), which was slated for PBS' American Playhouse, then redirected for a theatrical premiere -- a move that enabled Alexander to receive her third Oscar nomination (the second was for 1979's Kramer vs. Kramer). On a lighter note, the actress was hilariously outre as Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in the TV biopic Malice in Wonderland (1989). Well known for her diplomacy and her espousal of liberal causes, Alexander found herself in the position to exercise both of these traits when, in 1993, she was appointed chairperson of the beleaguered National Endowment for the Arts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1975
A teenage boy battles courageously against brain cancer in this moving made-for-television drama that is based on John Gunther's 1949 autobiographical account of his son's terrible illness. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
The lighthearted title of this made-for-TV film deftly sets the mood for the 74 minutes to follow. Ben Murphy stars as a rogueish Wild Bill Hickok, carrying on with an incongruously glamorous Calamity Jane (Kim Darby). Amidst the gambling and lovemaking, Will Bill must fend off a gang of vengeful gunslingers. This being a Roy Huggins production, we shouldn't be amazed that Rockford Files regular Stuart Margolin shows up as "Blind Pete". Also starring Jane Alexander (who'd later play Calamity Jane herself) and Tony Franciosa, This is the West That Was premiered December 17, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
The 1947 film comedy Miracle on 34th Street starred Edmund Gwenn as a bearded gentleman named Kris Kringle, who was convinced that he was the genuine Santa Claus. The earlier Miracle was good enough as it stood, so why remake it? Still, the full-color 1973 Miracle on 34th Street has the considerable advantage of Sebastian Cabot, his trademarked beard dyed snowy white, as Kringle, so it isn't as bad as expected. The story, which involves the commercial and legal ramifications of the "real" Santa taking a job as a department store Santa at Macy's, was barely updated for the 1970s, meaning that several of the plot devices--including a nasty psychiatrist who has Kringle committed--were somewhat anachronistic. The uplifting final scene, wherein a cynical little girl becomes a true believer of Santa Claus (as do the adults in the story), still works well in the remake, even though Suzanne Davidson isn't in the same league as the original Miracle's Natalie Wood. The TV-movie version of Miracle on 34th Street wasn't too successful, but that didn't stop John Hughes from churning out a second remake in 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Joseph Wambaugh's best-seller about patrol-car cops in urban Los Angeles is given a competent yet antiseptic treatment by director Richard Fleischer. The film has a bad-tasting us-versus-them mentality in its depiction of patrolmen-civilian interaction, and its hopeless atmosphere carries over into the bleak suicide of one of the principle characters. But behind its rancid veneer, the story is the old "B"-movie police story concerning a rookie cop being shown the ropes by a kindly and wizened old veteran. Roy (Stacy Keach) is the young patrolman introduced into the ways of Los Angeles street life by Kilvinsky (George C. Scott), the philosophical old pro. Kilvinsky is just short of retirement and wants to educate Roy to succeed him when he leaves. Roy, however, is on the edge because of a recent divorce, and it takes many speeches by Kilvinsky and the love and affection from his new black girlfriend Lorrie (Rosalind Cash) to keep from going over the deep end. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, (more)
- 1971
- PG
A Gunfight was the first mainstream American film to be produced by an Indian tribe -- specifically, the Jicarilla Apaches of New Mexico. Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash star as Will and Abe, two long-in-tooth gunfighters with nary a dime between them. Although Will and Abe are fast friends, they agree to a winner-take-all showdown, selling tickets to the momentous event. The townspeople are certain that Will is going to win the shootout, but he knows that it would be a fatal mistake to underestimate Abe. Standing on the sidelines is Will's wife Nora (Jane Alexander), who seems curiously disinterested in the outcome, even though she may become a widow before the day is over. Despite the financial input of the Jicarilla tribe, A Gunfight has nothing to do with Indians; perhaps the tribe just wanted to put together a good, old-fashioned western, sans any social commentary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Johnny Cash, (more)
- 1971
In this drama, a freed-POW returns home and is further traumatized by his supposed friends, family and neighbors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Although the characters' names were changed, The Great White Hope was a thinly veiled account of the trials and tribulations of boxer Jack Johnson, based on the play by Howard Sackler and directed by Martin Ritt. James Earl Jones stars as boxing great Jack Jefferson, who defeats Frank Bardy Larry Pennell in a Reno, Nevada bout to become the world's first black heavyweight champion. After crossing a state line with his white girlfriend Eleanor (Jane Alexander in her feature debut), however, Jack is arrested and tried under the miscegenation-barring Mann Act. Found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison, Jack escapes and leaves the U.S., but he's dogged by his now bad reputation and can't get honest work as a fighter. Offered his freedom from criminal charges if he'll agree to a fixed fight in Cuba that will restore the title to a white contender, Jack refuses and Eleanor commits suicide, their life on the run overwhelming her. Jack finally accepts the bout in Havana, but he fights his opponent with everything he's got. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, (more)
- 1969
In a rare dereliction of duty, veteran officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) allows a traffic violator to go free so that he and Jim Reed (Kent McCord) can answer an emergency call. This failure to follow proper procedure comes back to haunt Malloy when the freed violator turns out to be a prime suspect in several armed robberies. Further vexing Pete and Jim is a false-alarm murder threat that pulls them away from more important duties. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 195z
The many reasons that women artists have been all but ignored by history are examined in this evocative documentary. Exploring why their talents were overlooked, The Artist Was a Woman explains how women were denied access to art schools, were not permitted to study the human figure, and most tellingly, were ignored by male art historians. Narrator Jane Alexander takes us through the personal letters of Mary Cassatt, Georgia O'Keeffe, and others whose work is so deserving of recognition. Germaine Greer provides insightful social commentary. ~ Cara Saposnik, All Movie Guide
Sea Turtles: Ancient Nomads features beautiful underwater photography, with footage of sea turtles gliding through the ocean, flapping gracefully as if flying. Narrated by actress Jane Alexander, this Audubon Society documentary shows how this ancient species, which can live to be 100 years old, hatches its newborns by the thousands on sandy beaches. The baby turtles clamber into the sea and embark on a perilous journey across thousands of miles to reach their home waters. This documentary examines the mystery of how years later the turtles remember the beach where they were born, returning there to spawn another generation. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
