José Ferrer Movies

In this detective drama set in Hollywood, a private investigator uses logic to solve the murder of a famous mystery writer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Mel Brooks and his real-life wife Anne Bancroft play Frederick and Anna Bronski, musical comedy stars in 1939 Poland. The highlight of the Bronskis' act is Frederick's imitation of Adolf Hitler, but he is forced to eliminate this turn for fear of offending the Nazis. Meanwhile, Anna enters into a harmless flirtation with Polish bomber pilot Andre Sobinski (Tim Matheson). The pilot's nightly signal to visit Anna in her dressing room is "To Be or Not to Be," spoken by Bronski during the Shakespearean portion of his act. When the Germans march into Warsaw, the Bronskis and the rest of their troupe are forced into hiding (notably the homosexual Lupinski, played by Lewis J. Stadlen, who is forced to endure the humiliation of wearing a pink star). Flying for the Polish resistance in England, Sobinski asks kindly Professor Seletzky (Jose Ferrer) to deliver his "To Be or Not to Be" message to Anna. When Seletzky doesn't seem to recognize the name of Anne Bronski, Warsaw's biggest star, Sobinski suspects that something is amiss. Sure enough, Seletzky is a Nazi spy, heading to Warsaw to help Col. "Concentration Camp" Ehrhardt (Oscar-nominated Charles Durning) destroy the underground movement. Parachuting into Poland, Sobinski enlists the aid of the Bronski troupe to foil the Nazis. What follows is an uproarious series of disguises and deceptions, capped by Bronski's impersonation of Der Fuhrer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several deaths have occurred during routine surgical procedures, Quincy (Jack Klugman) begins an investigation of eminent surgeon Dr. Stanley Royce (Jose Ferrer), who had allegedly performed the fatal operations. It isn't that Royce has lost his touch--it's simply that he is signing off on surgeries in which he had no part. Confirming that Royce has been using less qualified resident surgeons as "ghosts" for operations which he was scheduled to perform himself, Quincy mounts a campaign to charge Royce with medical manslaughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1981 motion picture follows in the footsteps of the first Christians, led by Peter and Paul, during three decades of evangelizing in the Mediterranean region. The 195-minute version of the original TV miniseries begins in Jerusalem four years after the death of Jesus Christ when Stephen, a disciple of the new religion, dies by stoning after Jews find him guilty of blasphemy. Among the Jewish accusers is Paul of Tarsus (Anthony Hopkins), a leader in the campaign against the Christians. However, when he reaches down for a stone to throw, he hesitates while other Jews carry out the sentence. Later, on his way to Damascus to root out Christians there, he is thrown from his horse. When he looks up, he sees a bright light and hears a voice -- the voice of the Christian God -- reproaching him for his persecution of the Jews. Paul then converts to Christianity and preaches on its behalf in Damascus, where authorities flog and jail him. He escapes and returns to Jerusalem. There, another Christian, Barnabas (Herbert Lom), introduces him to Peter (Robert Foxworth). At first, Peter suspects Paul is a spy. But after Paul persuades him that he has truly converted, the two men unite in their efforts to win souls to Christ. While Peter remains behind to labor in Jerusalem and other parts of Judea, then a Roman province, Paul goes north to preach in Antioch, Perga, Lystra, and other cities. However, because he converts Gentiles without requiring them to accept Jewish religious law and traditions, the Jerusalem branch of Christianity chastises him. Later, when Peter and others meet with Paul to strike a compromise, asking him to require Gentiles to accept a limited number of Jewish religious practices, Paul angrily rejects their proposal. Eventually, however, Paul and Peter reconcile and end up ministering in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero (Julian Fellowes). There, they become martyrs to their faith. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

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

Faye Dunaway portrays the Argentinian title character in this four-hour TV biopic. The story traces Evita's rise to power from humble origins; she establishes herself as a radio and film actress, then meets and marries powerful politico Juan Peron (played by James Farentino, a last minute replacement for Robert Mitchum). Peron's iron-fisted rule of Argentina allows Evita to become a political power in her own right. At first she is widely beloved as a "woman of the people", but gradually many of her followers are disillusioned by her use -- and misuse -- of her authority and her influence over Peron. After Evita dies, she is all but canonized by the Faithful, and it becomes more difficult than ever to separate fact from legend. Evita Peron was clearly produced to capitalize on the Broadway musical hit Evita, though the script takes great pains not to copy its theatrical inspiration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

National Geographic: Living Treasures of Japan profiles nine established and respected Japanese artists. The Japanese government originally honored 70 craftspeople and performing artists working in ancient arts with a stipend and national admiration; the nine artists featured in the program are culled from that group of artists. Each artist works in a wholly unique ancient medium. For example, one man is a swordmaker who designs weapons based on special rituals; another artist is a dollmaker who gives every piece an distinct personality. A 90-year-old female weaver of indigo is the oldest artist featured; she died shortly after appearing in the video. Directors Noxon and Boyajian travel throughout the Japanese landscape to construct the touching and comprehensive profiles of the artists. ~ John Schietinger, All Movie Guide

In the tradition of his earlier work in Grapes of Wrath and Twelve Angry Men, Henry Fonda played another social-protest role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV presentation Gideon's Trumpet. Clarence Earl Gideon (Fonda) is a poor, ill-tempered Florida handyman who is arrested for petty larceny in 1961. Unable to afford a lawyer, Gideon is sentenced to five years in prison. His treatment by the Florida judicial system, a clear violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, is brought to the attention of the Supreme Court. As a result, a landmark decision is reached, assuring free legal representation for anyone accused of a crime in the United States. Also appearing are Jose Ferrer as Gideon's attorney Abe Fortas, John Houseman (who also produced) as the Chief Justice, and Fay Wray as the owner of the lodging establishment where Gideon lived. Gideon's Trumpet premiered on April 30, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic made-for-television comedy, a womanizing, handsome gambler tangles with the feisty female owner of a large casino and ends up falling in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The bizarre premise for this often remote and uninvolving drama is that an otherwise apparently normal man can become so alienated from his own feelings and his own wife and children that he plans their murder. Paul Steward (Hal Holbrook) and his wife (Louise Fletcher) are about as interesting as a TV test pattern. Although Paul has realized the American Dream -- that it to say, he has money and is successful in business -- he finds the dream hollow and meaningless. Instead of waking up, he decides that his family is to blame for everything and begins to make elaborate plans for killing them off, talking it over with others and disguising it as a fictional story for his magazine. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

We'll confess not to having seen The Amazing Captain Nemo, principally because we can't find it anywhere. It's our loss, because it certainly sounds fascinating. Jose Ferrer stars as Nemo, the demented but essentially well-meaning technological genius created by Jules Verne in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In what seems to have been a one-time-only occasion, Ferrer costars with his namesake Mel Ferrer. Also in the star-heavy cast is Burgess Meredith as an eccentric professor and Lynda Day George as the all-around heroine. The film was largely photographed by Lamar Boren, the undersea expert responsible for the soggy cinematography of Creature from the Black Lagoon and Flipper. Given the cast and the director (Alex March), we suspect that The Amazing Captain Nemo was filmed for television, then deflected to theaters to make back its cost. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Killer bees migrate to the United States from Africa via South America in this disaster film produced and directed by the genre's chief architect, Irwin Allen, and written by Stirling Silliphant, scribe of The Poseidon Adventure. Haughty entomologist Brad Crane (Michael Caine) shows up at a secret military base full of dead soldiers, shocking the attendant General Slater (Richard Widmark). Crane announces that the soldiers are the victims of killer bees with amazingly potent venom; he's been tracking huge swarms of the things and fears they'll kill millions before they're through. Eventually, the president asks Crane to lead the battle against the killer insects and he assembles a team of crack scientists. Meanwhile, the bees overpower a family picnic in nearby Marysville; only the son, Paul (Christian Juttner), escapes with his life. Crane and military physician Helena Anderson (Katherine Ross) head to Marysville to warn the populace about the impending danger. Among the citizens in the direct path of the bees are schoolmarm Maureen Schuster (Olivia de Havilland) and her competing suitors, Felix (Ben Johnson) and Clarence (Fred MacMurray). Eventually, the bees stage a massacre in Marysville and then set their sights on Houston. Neither pesticides, firebombing, nor the heroic sacrifice of scientist Dr. Krim (Henry Fonda) seems to offer a solution for the impending disaster. Universally reviled by critics, The Swarm failed to continue Allen's winning streak at the box office. Caine would re-team with his director the following year for Beyond the Poseidon Adventure. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide