José Ferrer Movies
José Ferrer (born José Vincente Ferrer de Otero y Cintron in Puerto Rico) decided to become an actor while in college. Early in his career he appeared with James Stewart and Joshua Logan at the Triangle Theater. In 1935 he debuted on Broadway with a walk-on part; he soon began to land bigger roles and quickly established his reputation as a highly versatile actor, performing in roles ranging from the comic title role in Charlie's Aunt to the evil Iago in Othello, and he began directing Broadway productions in 1942. Ferrer debuted onscreen as the Dauphin opposite Ingrid Bergman in Joan of Arc (1948), for which he received a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar nomination. He later became internationally famous, and won a "Best Actor" Oscar for reprising his theatrical lead in the film version of Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). Ferrer earned another Oscar nomination for his portrayal of painter Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge (1952). While both roles definitely enhanced his career, he later complained that they lead him to become typecast, and sometimes went years between film offers. In the mid-'50s he began directing films (usually ones in which he appeared), starting with The Shrike (1955). Also in the mid-'50s he made several successful recordings with his third wife, singer Rosemary Clooney. After 1962 he gave up directing and concentrated on stage and screen character acting, usually being typecast in his films as a swarthy foreigner. He continued to appear frequently in films into the '90s, meanwhile doing much TV work. His first wife was actress Uta Hagen. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1992
- PG13
This, the second of 1992's 500th anniversary Christopher Columbus films (the first being Warner Bros. Christopher Columbus: The Discovery), adheres to the historical facts of Columbus's (Gerard Depardieu) possessed quest to discover the New World, and his solicitation of Queen Isabella (Sigourney Weaver) to gain the necessary funding. Despite travelogue-quality footage replete with beautiful scenery of Caribbean islands and a massive cast, this film tends to plod along with too predictable a plot and a mis-cast Columbus. Depardieu -- a very capable French actor speaking English and playing an Italian -- becomes perhaps the movie's bright spot (even if at his own expense) as he laughably struggles with line after line. Michael Wincott puts forth a worthy performance as a nasty Spanish nobleman whose mistreatment of the natives results in an open rebellion. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante, (more)
- 1992
- R
The life and death of Isabel LaNegra (Miriam Colon), a woman who rose from poverty to become a famed Caribbean madam, is the subject of a South American reporter's investigation. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- PG
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Woody Allen brings a diverting whimsy and a hopeful innocence to this period roundelay, based upon Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer's Night and Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game. Allen plays Andrew, a Wall Street broker and eccentric inventor who is having frigidity problems with his wife Adrian (Mary Steenburgen). Adrian and Andrew are the hosts, at their summer house in the country, of a wedding party for Ariel (Mia Farrow) and Leopold (Jose Ferrer), a famed academic who is Andrew's cousin. Over the weekend, another couple converges at Andrew's summer home -- the sly, lady-killer of a doctor Maxwell (Tony Roberts) and his date, the deliciously ditzy nurse Dulcy (Julie Hagerty). Through the course of the weekend, sexual partners are exchanged and magical fairy tale moments are shared. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, (more)
- 1952
George and Helen Pasashvily's colorful memoir Anything Can Happen was delightfully brought to the screen by the Paramount producing team of William Perlberg and George Seaton. Jose Ferrer heads the cast as Eastern European immigrant Giorgi Pasashvily, whose wide-eyed innocence and uncertain grasp of the English language causes him no end of trouble during his first months in America. Things take an upward turn when Giorgi falls in love with American girl Helen Watson (Kim Hunter). The film, like the book that preceded it, is told episodically, with moments of high comedy alternating with scenes of tender pathos. As miserly-but-golden-hearted Uncle Besso, Oscar Karlweis has a death scene that is one of the best and most moving of its kind. When originally released in 1952, Anything Can Happen was heralded with a coming-attractions trailer hosted by Edmund Gwenn, which was every bit as enjoyable as the film itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Kim Hunter, (more)
- 1971
Banyon is an A-number-one detective yarn set (very accurately) in the 1930s. Robert Forster, emulating John Garfield in virtually every scene, plays private eye Miles C. Banyon. Right now he's in dutch because a beautiful young woman has been found murdered--and Banyon's gun was the murder weapon. This state of affairs plunges the detective into a maelstrom of deceit and double-cross involving (among many elements) a Winchell-style radio commentator (Jose Ferrer), a paroled big-time gangster, a scar-faced assassin, and a Nazi Bund camp. Once he solves the main mystery, Banyon is faced with the unhappy Maltese Falcon task of exposing a close friend as a murderer. First telecast March 15, 1971, Banyon spawned a brief TV series one year later, with Robert Forster still in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Forster, Darren McGavin, (more)
After the death of Bruce Lee in 1973, writer/director Robert Clouse made several attempts to reproduce the success of his Enter the Dragon, which belatedly made Lee a household name in America. Clouse felt (with good reason) that Jackie Chan could be the next big martial arts star in America, and he crafted this feature with him in mind. Jerry Kwan (Chan) is a Korean immigrant trying to make good in Chicago in the 1930s. Work isn't easy to find for an Asian immigrant. Jerry is forced by Domenici (Jose Ferrer), a well-connected mobster, to represent him in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all battle in Texas. But can Jerry handle the pressure? The Big Brawl was Jackie Chan's first starring role in an American film, but Chan wouldn't break through in the United States until the 1996 U.S. release of Rumble in the Bronx. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1981
In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the infamous Berlin Wall, CBS offered the made-for-TV drama Berlin Tunnel 21. Richard Thomas stars as Sandy Mueller, a former US army officer. Shortly after the erection of the Wall, Mueller masterminds a plan to unite five West Germans with their Eastern-sector loved ones. Horst Buchholtz costars as Emerich Weber, a structural engineer who oversees the construction of an underground tunnel. This true story had previously been dramatized in the 1962 TV special The Tunnel. Also starring Jose Ferrer, the location-filmed Berlin Tunnel 21 was first broadcast March 25, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Blood Feud was a two-part TV drama, originally presented as an "Operation Prime Time" special. Robert Blake is disturbingly convincing as labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, engaged in a decade-long war of words with attorney (and later attorney general) Robert F. Kennedy. Cotter Smith makes his TV debut as Kennedy, a role he'd repeat on future occasions. Thoroughly compelling when sticking to the facts, the drama falls apart whenever indulging in flight of fanciful speculation (Sample: two of Hoffa's lieutenants watch the live telecast of Lee Harvey Oswald's murder, then celebrate the fact that Oswald will never be able to reveal their complicity in the JFK assassination!) Blood Feud was syndicated to local TV stations beginning April 24, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Cotter Smith, (more)
It will come as quite a shock to discover the venerable James Earl Jones and José Ferrer slumming in this Greek-lensed ultra-cheapie about a legendary sea creature aroused from centuries of sleep off the shores of a Greek island by an opportunistic American archaeologist (Jones). It seems the beastie's legacy is well known by some of the island's old-timers (namely Ferrer), including the part about appeasing the monster with a virgin sacrifice -- namely the alluring Deborah Shelton. The exotic locations and the presence of the gruff Jones (who apparently saw this as a paid vacation) lend a great deal of production value, but apparently Jones' salary came out of the filmmakers' special-effects budget -- because the feared creature of ancient legend looks like a sock puppet! This film is also known as Red Tide and Demon Lake. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1986
Blood and Orchids was adapted from Norman Katkov from his own fact-based book. The scene is Hawaii, 1937. The wife (Madeline Stowe) of a naval officer (William Russ) is beaten nearly to death by her lover (Matt Salinger)--her husband's best friend. Four native Hawaiians find the woman and take her to the hospital, then flee out of fear of being blamed for the assault themselves. The aristocratic mother (Jane Alexander) of the beaten woman knows the truth, but, coldly insistent upon maintaining white supremacy on the islands, orders her daughter to claim that the Hawaiian boys had abused her. A trial follows, complicated by an honest police officer (Kris Kristofferson), who doesn't believe the victim's story. This two-part TV movie digresses from the source novel by hoking up a romance between the cop and the young wife (Sean Young) of the prosecuting attorney (Jose Ferrer). Blood and Orchids was originally telecast in February of 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Sort of a triple-threat Bad Seed with a more overtly violent streak, this film tells the tale of trio of cherubic youngsters whose births all coincided with a solar eclipse, which somehow initiated a kind of time-release evil reaction that reaches its climax on the kids' tenth birthday, causing them to transform into miniature homicidal psychopaths. These darling little tykes then proceed to beat dad's brains out with a baseball bat, gun down their teacher, and otherwise beat, stab and strangle anyone who even looks cross-eyed at them. They also seem to be strangely fond of leering at naked teenage girls... or maybe that's just the director's favorite pastime. Produced in 1980, this proto-slasher opus was shelved for six years, then released to video to capitalize on the already-waning trend of Friday the 13th sequels and their hellish offspring. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Strasberg, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1969
- PG
This epic Spanish biopic chronicles the life of Cervantes, Spain's great novelist, playwright and poet, during the 16th-century, when as a young man he goes to Italy to become a soldier for the Pope. Later he helps the Pope's emissary wage war against the Spanish Moors. His exploits win him great favor. He falls in love with a famous Italian courtesan and she with him. Unfortunately, the Pope splits them apart with his newest decree which demands that all prostitutes leave the city. Upset, Cervantes goes to fight in the famed sea battle of Lepanto and comes back a hero. Later he is captured by Barbary pirates and ransomed by Trinitarian friars. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Leading man Gabriel Byrne adds a "Harlequin Romance" dash to the two-part, six-hour TV movie Christopher Columbus. Seeking out a swifter route to the lucrative Indies, Genoa-born Columbus begs King John of Portugal (Max Von Sydow) to finance a westbound expedition. Failing this, he turns to Spain's Queen Isabella (Faye Dunaway), who is entranced by Columbus' near-religious fervor. After the famous 1492 expedition, Columbus is bankrolled for future forays into the New World, which win him both adulation and vilification. Originally telecast May 19 and 20, 1985, Christopher Columbus was filmed on location in Spain, Malta and the Dominican Republic, making full use of a $15 million budget. It isn't an earth-shattering cinematic experience, but is lots more worthwhile (and less ponderous) than the brace of Columbus biopics inflicted upon movie audiences in 1992. Those concerned with political correctness should be satisfied with the film's second half, which explores the more sinister elements of chauvinistic colonization. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1950
- NR
Cary Grant's utter credibility in the role of a brilliant, world-famous brain surgeon Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson is the single element that keeps Crisis afloat. While vacationing in a politically unstable Latin American country, Ferguson and his wife, Helen (Paula Raymond), find themselves the unwilling house guests of dictator Raoul Farrago (José Ferrer). Suffering from a brain tumor, Farrago insists that Ferguson operate at once. The "crisis" of the title arises when revolutionary leader Gonzales (Gilbert Roland) demands that Farrago be killed on the operating table -- and kidnaps Dr. Ferguson's wife to bind the bargain. Unaware of his wife's plight, Ferguson proceeds with the operation, setting into motion a series of events leading to a grimly ironic denouement. Director Richard Brooks adapted the screenplay of Crisis from a story by George Tabori. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1971
Also known as Cross Current, The Cable Car Murder emulates the 1971 theatrical feature Tick, Tick, Tick by teaming a black homicide lieutenant (Robert Hooks) with a white partner (Jeremy Slate). Simon Oakland costars as the team's apoplectic superior (is there any other kind?) Set in San Francisco, the story involves the cable-car murder of a shipping mogul's son, which was committed in broad daylight. Is Special Guest Star Robert Wagner the guilty party? Designed as the pilot for a TV series, Cable Car Murder received very little word of mouth when it premiered on November 19, 1971; after all, everyone was still talking about Steven Spielberg's Duel, which received its first telecast six days earlier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Recreating his stage role, Jose Ferrer stars as Edmond Rostand's Cyrano, a 17th-century French cavalier, poet and swordsman whose prominent proboscis is the subject of many a duel. Cyrano is madly in love with the beautiful Roxanne (Mala Powers), but assumes that she'd never love him back due to his cathedral of a nose. Roxanne is also loved by the handsome Christian (William Prince), who unfortunately can't put two consecutive words together when it comes to pitching woo. Cyrano agrees to help Christian win Roxanne by feeding him the right words for his midnight courtships and love letters; in this way, Cyrano can vicariously express his own ardor for the fair lady. Years later, Cyrano's deception is revealed, and he dies happily in the arms of his beloved Roxanne, who realizes that she has really loved Cyrano all along--by way of Christian. Cyrano de Bergerac wasn't seen by many paying moviegoers upon its original showing, but its relative box-office failure resulted in an early release to television, where it has remained a perennial attraction for the past forty years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Mala Powers, (more)
- 1962
The oddly featured poet Cyrano De Bergerac(Jose Ferrer, reprising an Oscar-winning role in Michael Gordon's Cyrano De Bergerac), he of the enormous nose, and musketeer D'Artagnan (Jean-Pierre Cassel) lend a hand to put down a revolution in 17th-century Paris. While they bravely fight for the monarchy, the men dally with two comely courtesans (Sylva Koscina and Daliah Lavi). Though paired off with satisfactory partners, the couples find that a switcheroo might afford them each true love. Director Abel Gance and Nelly Kaplan wrote the screenplay, which united period characters Cyrano, from Edmond Rostand's play, and D'Artagnan, from Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers, in this romantic swashbuckler. Though French cinema pioneer Gance was near the end of his career, Kaplan was just beginning. She would go on to write, edit and direct several more films. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Ferrer, José Ferrer, (more)
Deep in My Heart is the MGM-ified biography of composer Sigmund Romberg, here played by José Ferrer. Evidently the scripters didn't feel that the life of Romberg (as set down by author Elliott Arnold, whose book was used as the film's basis) had enough drama to fill out two hours and ten minutes. As a result, the film is overstocked with guest stars, performing such Romberg standards as "One Alone," "Lover Come Back to Me," "When I Grow Too Old to Dream," "Will You Remember," and "Stout-Hearted Men." Among these celebrities are Ann Miller, Vic Damone, Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, Rosemary Clooney, and Gene Kelly, the latter performing a dance duet with his seldom-seen brother, Fred. For all the heady competition, it is José Ferrer who renders the most memorable production number: a one-man presentation of the Romberg musical comedy Jazzboat, in which Ferrer assumes all the roles, from star Al Jolson's to the entire female chorus! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Helen Traubel, (more)
- 1963
An East German youth attempts to join his parents who have escaped to West Berlin. The only escape route open to him is a train containing American travelers which must pass Russian Army checkpoints at the border town of Marienhorn. A young nurse hides the boy on the train, but word gets out there is a refuge aboard. The train is halted by Russian soldiers, who order the boy be produced before the train continues the journey. Cowan (Jose Ferrer) is the journalist who is decidedly unsympathetic to the plight of the Germans. Blaming them for the war and the conditions which now separate German friends and families in the wake of cold war policies, he soon risks his life to help the young boy escape to West Berlin. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Sean Flynn, (more)
- 1978
This introduction to the theater features a collection of fourteen dramas all combined in four modules. ~ All Movie Guide
David Lynch wades through dark waters in his adaptation of Frank Herbert's cult science fiction novel. In condensing Herbert's rambling and complex book by eliminating characters and compacting events, Lynch succeeds in rendering the story incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the novel and making the film look like a sketchy greatest hits collection of the book for Herbert fans. The story takes place in the year 10,191. The universe is governed through a system of feudal rule, presided over by Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (José Ferrer), who appears to take his marching orders from something that resembles a talking vagina. In the kingdom are two rival houses -- the House of Atreides and the House of Harkonnen. Each house is trying to gain dominion over the universe, but that dominion can only be gained by the house that controls the Spice, a special substance that permits the folding of time. The Spice is only available on the desert world of Arrakis, or Dune. Shaddam, tired of the feuding between the two houses, permits the Atreides to take over the Spice production on Dune, while secretly working with the Harkonnens to launch a sneak attack on the Atreides and destroy them. The leader of the Atreides is Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow), who rules with the help of his concubine Jessica (Francesca Annis) and son Paul (Kyle MacLachlan). The rival Harkonnens are headed by the pus-oozing degenerate Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan, in a thoroughly through-the-roof performance) and his two unsavory nephews, Rabban (Paul L. Smith) and Feyd (Sting). When his father is murdered by the Harkonnens, Paul escapes to Dune, where he is greeted by the Fremen (the desert dwellers on Dune who prepare the Spice) as the messiah foretold in Fremen legend. Paul assumes the mantle of messiah and leads the Fremen in a revolt that topples the balance of power in the universe. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francesca Annis, Leo Cimino, (more)
- 1967
Carl Reiner's semi-autobiographical novel Enter Laughing makes a largely successful transition to the screen. Reni Santoni plays the Reiner character, here named David Kolowitz. A machinist's apprentice in Depression-era New York, David dreams of becoming the new Ronald Colman. Defying the wishes of his parents (Shelley Winters, David Opatoshu), David lands a nonpaying job in a seedy theatrical production directed by broken-down ham Marlowe (Jose Ferrer). That the young aspiring actor knows nothing about his "craft" is evident the moment he speaks his first stage direction--"Enter Laughing"--as if it were a line of dialogue. Helped along by Marlowe's sex-starved daughter Angela (Elaine May), David manages to survive the rehearsal period, but his first public performance threatens to become a disaster when he can't find the entrance to the set. Still and all, David makes it through the play, cheered along by his now-supportive parents. Blessed with a marvelous supporting cast--including Jack Gilford, Don Rickles, Janet Margolin and veteran black comedian Mantan Moreland--Enter Laughing is a riot, especially for those viewers who have ever participated in amateur theatricals themselves. Only Reni Santoni fails to ring true as David Kolowitz (a role played on stage by Alan Arkin), though he has a few choice scenes, especially his impromptu performance on a subway. Watch for Rob Reiner in his film debut as a clumsy, self-conscious actor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Reni Santoni, (more)
