James Brolin Movies
When James Brolin was 15, his parents invited Hollywood producer/director William Castle to dinner. Impressed by Brolin's self-confidence and teen-idol looks, Castle invited him to audition for a film role at Columbia Pictures. When he failed to land the part, Brolin decided to "show 'em" by studying diligently for an acting career, eventually logging 5,000 hours of class time. While still attending U.C.L.A., he landed a small role on the Bus Stop TV series, which led to a 20th Century Fox contract. For the next five years, he marked time with bits and minor roles in such Fox features as Take Her, She's Mine (1963), Goodbye Charlie (1964), Von Ryan's Express (1965), Our Man Flint (1966), and Fantastic Voyage (1966). His first real break came with a peripheral but noticeable recurring role on the 1966 TV Western The Monroes.In 1968, Brolin finally attained stardom with his Emmy-winning characterization of Dr. Steve Kiley on the popular TV medical series Marcus Welby, M.D. During his five years with Welby, Brolin returned to films to play such choice roles as the unbalanced Vietnam vet in Skyjacked (1972) and ill-fated vacationer John Blaine in Westworld (1973). The most conspicuous of his post-Welby film assignments was 1976's Gable and Lombard, a cinematic atrocity redeemed only slightly by Brolin's earnest portrayal of Clark Gable. His most endearing screen assignment was his extended cameo as P.W. in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985), and in 1992 he had one of his strongest roles to date as a wayward father in Allison Anders' Gas Food Lodging. Periodically returning to television, Brolin has starred on the weekly series Hotel (1983), Angel Falls (1993), and Extremities (1995). James Brolin is the father of actor Josh Brolin, who co-starred with his dad in the made-for-cable Finish Line (1989). In 1998, Brolin assumed one of his most high-profile real-life roles to date as the husband of Barbra Streisand, whom he married in July of that year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A man trying to save his relationship with the woman he loves finds himself sinking into a quicksand of small lies and half-truths in this comedy. Paul (Jason Lee) is a regular guy who is engaged to marry Karen (Selma Blair); while Paul loves Karen, he's more than a bit nervous around her family, even though her father (James Brolin) has already given him a job in the family business. Shortly before the wedding, Paul's friends throw him a bachelor party, complete with a boatload of liquor and a squadron of grass-skirt-clad tiki dancers. Paul strikes up a conversation with one of the dancers, the cheerful if inept Becky (Julia Stiles), and the next morning, he wakes up bleary-eyed with a massive hangover -- and Becky in bed next to him. Paul soon receives a phone call from Karen saying she's stopping by for a visit, and Paul scrambles to get Becky out of his apartment. Paul attempts to explain some incriminating evidence with a few white lies, but a messy situation gets messier when Paul runs into Becky at a pre-wedding family get-together...and discovers she's Karen's cousin. A Guy Thing also features Shawn Hatosy, Lochlyn Munro, and Julie Hagerty. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Stiles, Jason Lee, (more)
- 1998
This romantic made-for-television drama is based on a novel by Georgia Brockoven and tells the story of a boy who dreams of having a complete set of parents and the two very-different adults who love him enough to grant his wish. The child's mother died when he was an infant, and since then he has been raised by his mother's sister Chris (Jane Seymour). Before he came along, she was a work-obsessed career woman. Seven years after taking custody of the boy, his father Mason (James Brolin), of whom his real mother had never spoken, shows up and sues for custody. The boy likes both of them and in court comes up with an outrageous solution. Rather than having to divide his time between the two, he suggests they marry. On the surface, Chris and Mason are polar opposites, but out of love for the child, they marry and much to their surprise find that their sacrifice has planted the seeds of lasting love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Seymour, James Brolin, (more)
- 1972
A Short Walk to Daylight was one of the first TV movies to exploit the popularity of the theatrical feature The Poseidon Adventure (72). Eight people are trapped in a New York subway when an Earthquake rocks the surface. In darkness, the all-TV cast struggles to make its way to the upperworld. The tie-in with Poseidon was solidified by the print ads for this film, which showed the cast members sloshing about in a flooded subway tunnel. A Short Walk to Daylight was partially filmed on location in the Big Apple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Partially filmed in Hawaii and Tahiti, And the Sea Will Tell was a two-part TV movie based on a real murder case. A wealthy couple (James Brolin and Deidre Hall) are killed on their yacht off the coast of a secluded South American island called Palmyra. The suspects are a hippyish pair (Hart Bochner and Rachel Ward) whom the rich folks had befriended. It's fairly clear that the hippies were involved in the crime: The question is, did the man do it while the girl looked on helplessly, or was she a willing accomplice? Richard Crenna plays real-life defense attorney Vincent Bugliosi, upon whose book And the Sea Will Tell was based. The first part of this teledrama premiered on February 24, 1991; part two, in which the girl's testimony consumes most of the screen time, was shown on February 26. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Based on a true story, And the Sea Will Tell was originally telecast in two parts on February 24 and 26, 1991. The story takes place in 1974, when two couples sail separately to the South Pacific island of Palmyra. Wealthy marrieds Mac and Muff Grant (James Brolin and Diedre Hall) are looking for thrills. Former convict Buck Walker (Hart Bochner) and his hippie girl friend Jennifer Jenkins (Rachel Ward) are trying to start life over. Only one of the couples returns. Seven years later, the pitiful remains of the missing couple washes up on shore. Part One is the set-up; Part Two is devoted to the trial of accused-murderer Jenkins, and to the defense mounted by famed attorney Vincent Bugliosi (Richard Crenna). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Veteran Hollywood screenwriter Clyde Ware handled the directing chores in Bad Jim. The film is worth noting as the cinematic debut of John Clark Gable, the son of guess who. Gable, James Brolin, and Richard Roundtree play three soft-hearted bandits who purchase a horse from Billy the Kid. They use the easily recognizable steed to convince their victims that they are members of Billy's gang-thus eliminating the nasty necessity of gunplay. One of the gang members breaks away from the others, taking the horse with him, and pretty soon he's every bit as mean and dangerous as the real Billy. The film's pace may be a bit too measured for some tastes, but the characters are believable and the story has its own peculiar logic. Bad Jim is slightly reminiscent of John Ford's Three Godfathers; both films, in fact, feature Harry Carey Jr. is a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Richard Roundtree, (more)
- 1985
Not long after he lost that "chicken run" to James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), actor Corey Allen switched professional gears to become a prolific film and TV director. Allen was responsible for putting television perennials James Brolin and Lisa Hartman through their paces in Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues. Brolin plays a Beverly Hills cop who teams up with a luscious female private eye from Texas (Hartman, of course). While Brolin prefers peace and quiet, Hartman insists upon rooting out the murderer of a debutante-turned-hooker. Since both stars were gainfully employed on other TV series when Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues first aired on October 5, 1985, we hesitate to suggest that this film was the pilot for a potential series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- R
In this violent actioner, a vengeful criminal escapes from prison and heads off to ruin the life of the one responsible for his incarceration. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Billy Drago, (more)
While at the Cannes Film Festival, producer Sy Learner (Seymour Cassel) makes a bet that he can turn any nobody into a star. A cabbie from New York named Frank (Francesco Quinn) becomes his test case as Sy tries to get Frank noticed amidst the stars and glitter of Cannes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seymour Cassel, Francesco Quinn, (more)
Astronauts Charles Brubaker, John Walker, and Peter Willis (James Brolin, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston, respectively) are hailed as heroes when they become the first men to be rocketed to Mars. Actually the space travelers are as phony as their mission controller, Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook); to avert a failure that might cost the space program its funding, the Mars-bound vessel has been sent up without a crew, while the helmeted astronauts sit on a movie soundstage, pretending to be in outer space for the benefit of the TV cameras. Unfortunately the Mars ship crashes on arrival, making the astronaut trio thoroughly expendable. Investigative reporter Robert Caulfield (Elliott Gould), who's smelled a rat all along, races against time to prevent NASA from "terminating" the hapless astronauts in order to cover up the conspiracy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, James Brolin, (more)
A gifted forger and confidence man attempts to stay one step ahead of the lawman determined to bring him to justice in this comedy-drama from Steven Spielberg, based on a true story. Frank W. Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a 16-year-old high school student who finds himself emotionally cut adrift when his mother, Paula (Nathalie Baye), leaves his father, Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), after Frank Sr. falls into arrears with the Internal Revenue Service. One day at school, Frank Jr. attempts to pass himself off as a substitute teacher, and easily makes the subterfuge work. His small-scale success gives Frank some ideas, and he soon discovers bigger and more profitable ways of hoaxing others, passing himself off as an airline pilot, a doctor, and an attorney. Along the way, Frank learns how to become a master forger, and uses his talent and charm to pass over 2.5 million dollars in phony checks. Frank's increasingly audacious work soon attracts the attention of Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI agent who is determined to put Frank behind bars. Frank seems to enjoy being pursued by Carl, and even goes so far as to call Carl on the phone to chat every once in a while. While posing as a doctor, Frank falls in love with Brenda Strong (Amy Adams), a sweet girl working as a candy striper. When Frank asks Brenda to marry him, he decides to assume a new identity to impress her father, Roger (Martin Sheen) -- who happens to be the District Attorney of New Orleans, LA. Catch Me If You Can was based on the autobiography of the real Frank W. Abagnale Jr., who has a cameo in the film and today works on the side of the law as a top consultant on preventing forgery and designing secure checking systems. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, (more)
- 2005
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A series of devastating storms are leveling major cities across the globe, and it's up to discredited scientist Faith Clavell (Shannon Doherty), dedicated storm chaser Tommy Tornado (Randy Quaid), and the FEMA head Judith Carr (Gina Gerson) to journey into the eye of the storm and find out just why mother nature has turned so violently on mankind in the shocking sequel to 2004's weather-gone-wild thriller Category 6: Day of Destruction. An unprecedented Category Six storm has leveled the Eiffel Tower and reduced the Great Pyramids to rubble, and as the pitch black funnel clouds lay waste to anything and everything in their path, three dedicated heroes attempt to discover whether the malevolent weather is the cause of global warming, or something far more sinister. When a vengeful gang of terrorists threaten to use the storms to their advantage by staging a large scale attack the likes of which the world has never seen, it seems as if it very well may be the end of the world. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Gershon, Cameron Daddo, (more)
Rod McCall wrote and directed this slice-of-life melodrama about a woman in a mid-life crisis who struggles to preserve her home and family. Sally Kirkland stars as Jenny, who must deal with a serious problem involving her errant husband Henry (James Brolin) as she prepares for the wedding of her youngest daughter Kat (Renee Estevez). Henry has taken off for New Mexico with his most recent lover and business associate Patsy (Laura Johnson), where they plan to pay off Jenny's mortgage, sell the property and split the money. Meanwhile, Jenny's other daughter Samantha (Pamela Gidley) arrives at the wedding with her life in an uproar -- she is undecided whether to stay in New York City and pursue her classical music career or head back home and marry handsome cowboy Bill (Michael Moore). Henry arrives at the wedding only to be slapped by Jenny for his callousness. Afterwards, Patsy, tired of all the internecine family squabbles, denounces Henry for his cavalier ways and threatens to keep their proposed business deal (an auto dealership) all to herself. But heading in the same direction is Jenny and Samantha, with Jenny chaffing at the bit, preparing to let Henry have it in a final cathartic confrontation. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Kirkland, James Brolin, (more)
- 2000
Set in Arizona (but filmed in Alberta), the made-for-TV thriller Children of Fortune stars James Brolin as Navy detective Dave Passenger. Assigned to investigate the murder of a sailor's girlfriend, Dave follows the trail of evidence to a small Arizona community where polygamy is still being practiced. Along for the ride is Passenger's estranged 15-year-old daughter Erica (Amanda Fuller), who has been invited to participate in the investigation by Dave in the hope that he can mend a few family fences while tracking down the culprit. Virginia Madsen appears in the role of the secretive Ingrid Bast, wife of the local sheriff (Michael Moriarty). Children of Fortune made its CBS broadcast debut on November 1, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
In this outing a city boy learns the meaning of manhood after he struggles to protect the ancient and beautiful Limberlost forest from those who would destroy it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Christian Campbell, (more)
- 1973
The made-for-TV The Class of 63 is set at a ten-year college reunion. Joan Hackett and Cliff Gorman play a married couple who eagerly anticipate meeting old friends at the event. But Gorman's festive spirit dissipates when Hackett's old boy friend James Brolin makes an appearance. In fact, Gorman harbors dreams of eliminating Brolin for keeps. First telecast March 14, 1973, Class of '63 was filmed on location at Princeton University and USC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
This family comedy stars James Stewart as Dr. Robert Leaf, a college professor who dislikes science and tries to instill in his children a love of art and music. So Robert and his wife Vina (Glynis Johns) are dismayed to discover that their eight-year-old son Erasmus (Billy Mumy) is tone-deaf and color-blind; what's worse, he has a genius-level talent for mathematics. Robert isn't sure what to do about Erasmus, but while his older sister Pandora (Cindy Carol) puts his skills to work by getting him to do her homework, his older friend Kenneth (Fabian) has a better idea. Kenneth and Erasmus come up with a foolproof plan for picking the winners in horse racing -- so foolproof that it draws the attention of two con men, Upjohn (John Williams) and Argyle (Jesse White), who want to use Erasmus's skills to clean up at the track. Robert at first refuses, and then relents only when they agree to use a cut of the proceeds to endow a humanities scholarship, though Robert is about the only one surprised when the men prove not to be good to their word. Meanwhile, Erasmus is head over heels in love with French screen siren Brigitte Bardot -- so much so that he's been writing her love letters. In return, the lucky boy has received an invitation to come meet her, and Robert and Erasmus use some of their racetrack winnings to fly to Paris and take her up on her offer. Nunnally Johnson, who received no credit, contributed to the screenplay; Miss Bardot, of course, plays herself (who else could?). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Fabian, (more)
- 1987
James Brolin harbors several Deep Dark Secrets in this made-for-TV melodrama. Brolin plays a rural hotelier, married to Melody Anderson. When her husband is ostensibly killed in an auto accident, Melody learns a few horrible truths that she'd rather not know. Brolin, who isn't dead after all, would also rather that Melody remain in the dark-permanently. Filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Deep Dark Secrets originally aired October 26, 1987. It has since been rereleased as Intimate Betrayal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Melody Anderson, (more)
- 1966
- PG
Stephen Boyd heads a team of scientists sent on a bizarre experimental mission. Through a revolutionary and as-yet untested process, the scientists and their special motorized vehicle are miniaturized, then injected into the blood stream of a near-death scientist (Jean del Val). Their mission is to relieve a blood clot caused by an assassination attempt. One member of the expedition is bent on sabotage so that the scientist's secrets will die with him. Another member is Raquel Welch, seemingly along for the ride solely because of how she looks in a skintight diving suit. The film's Oscar-winning visual effects (by Art Cruikschank) chart the progress of the voyagers through the scientist's body, burrowing past deadly antibodies, chunks of tobacco residue in the lungs, and other such obstacles. Oscars also went to Jack Martin Smith and Dale Hennesy's art direction and Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss' set decoration. Fantastic Voyage was later spun off into a Saturday morning cartoon series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, (more)
- 1989
James Brolin costars with his son Josh in the made-for-cable Finish Line. The film's ad copy says it all: "His father made him run. The steroids made him win." In a justifiably melodramatic fashion, the film, based on a true story, examines the win-at-any-cost mentality of high school athletes and their parents. As is proven in the wrenching finale, that cost is a precious one. Finish Line premiered January 11, 1989, on the TNT cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The love affair between two of Hollywood's greatest stars of the 1930s and '40s is recounted in this biopic. Clark Gable (James Brolin), the tough but quick-witted leading man often called "the King of Hollywood," meets tart-tongued comic actress Carole Lombard (Jill Clayburgh) at a party, and while the attraction between them isn't immediate (in fact they hate each other at first), as fate keeps bringing them together, they fall deeply in love. Gable is married at the time, and studio chief Louis B. Mayer (Allen Garfield) is afraid that his affair with Lombard will lead to a scandal that will destroy the career of his most valuable star, but Gable and Lombard weather the storm of negative publicity, and after Gable's wife grants him a divorce, he marries Lombard. However, their happy marriage is cut short by Lombard's tragic death as she was selling defense bonds during World War II. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Jill Clayburgh, (more)
