Richard Jordan Movies

The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara becomes this sprawling historical epic. As in Shaara's novel, director Ronald Maxwell focuses on a handful of major players to dramatize the events of July 1863, when the armies of the Union and Confederacy clash at the small Pennsylvania town of the title. Among them are Martin Sheen as General Robert E. Lee, who disagrees with his top advisor, General James Longstreet (Tom Berenger) over battle strategy, and Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a college professor whose unorthodox techniques save the day (and possibly the war) for his beleaguered army. Other cast standouts include Richard Jordan in his final film appearance as the ill-fated General Lewis Armistead, and cameo roles for Civil War buff Ken Burns and media mogul producer Ted Turner. Filmed on-location at Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg was shot as a television miniseries for Turner's TNT cable channel, but earned a limited theatrical release. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, the made-for-television Hunt for the Night Stalker is about a pair of Los Angeles police detectives who hunted down the satanic Californian serial killer Richard Ramirez during the mid-'80s. The film was originally aired under the title Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker and was shown on the day Ramirez's death sentence was announced. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV The Murder of Mary Phagan is an account of the real-life events fictionalized in the 1937 theatrical feature They Won't Forget. In 1913, Atlanta-area teenager Mary Phagan (Wendy J. Cooke) is found murdered. Although the evidence points to another suspect (who years later confessed to the crime), the authorities choose to bring charges against Leo Frank (Peter Gallagher), a Jewish "outsider" who owns the pencil factory where Mary worked. Prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (Richard Jordan) capitalizes on the anti-Semitism rampant in the South, hoping to ride the Frank case into a higher political office. He is aided in his scheme by equally unprincipled journalist Wes Brent (Kevin Spacey). Only Georgia-governor John Slaton (Jack Lemmon) perceives the bigotry and opportunism at the base of Dorsey's case. Within the limits of his power, and at the risk of destroying his own political career, Slaton tries to see that justice is served. Alas, the decision has already been made to railroad Leo Frank to the electric chair -- or into the hands of a lynch mob. Originally presented in two parts, The Murder of Mary Phagan was first broadcast January 24 and 26, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-TV movie, a married politician (Richard Jordan) and a spunky congressional aide (Lucie Arnaz) start up an adulterous affair that could land them both in hot water. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square was the original title of this British caper film. David Niven does his suave 'n' blase bit as a criminal mastermind planning a giant bank heist. Richard Jordan co-stars as an American ex-con tapped to oversee the operation. Gloria Grahame, in one of her last roles, masticates the scenery as Jordan's rude-and-crude mom. The Big Scam picked up a third title when it was released to video as The Mayfair Bank Caper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1979 TV movie Les Miserables was advertised as the 12th feature film to be based on the 1862 Victor Hugo novel (and that was a modest estimate). This time, Richard Jordan is the persecuted French ex-convict Jean Valjean, and Anthony Perkins is the relentless police officer Javert, who dogs Valjean's trail for forty years. Screenwriter John Gay does a nice compression job on Hugo's mammoth novel, including most of the familiar episodes ("The Bishop's Candlesticks" etc.) and reintroducing several vignettes that had been ignored by earlier adaptations. Norman Rosemont produced Les Miserables on a lavish scale in both England and France, populating the cast with several of Europe and America's best actors (including veteran Claude Dauphin, in his last screen appearance). Les Miserables debuted as a three-hour "IBM Special" on December 27, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Richard Jordan plays Paul, a disillusioned American in search of the meaning of life. After his ex-wife attempts suicide, Paul retreats to Hong Kong. Here he tries to assuage his angst by becoming involved with several local lovelies. Still unsatisfied, Paul leaves the British protectorate, once more trying to find himself. Director Pierre Rissient co-wrote the existentialist script of One Night Stand with Michael White; the film was financed in France, lensed in Hong Kong, and performed in English. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A familiar film noir plotline is dusted off and gussied up in this episode. A former convict hires hit man Alex Tanner (Richard Jordan) to kill the attorney who sent the ex-con to prison--but then has second thoughts. Unfortunately, the elusive assassin has no intention of breaking the contract, and as a result Inspector Lew Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) finds himself embarking on yet another "race against time." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a routine heist, two-bit car thief Artie Fowler (Mark Alaimo) is killed in cold blood. Kojak suspects that there's something bigger than a standard robbery going on--especially after Artie's girlfriend Maria (Lara Parker) lets slip that an upcoming "caper" will make fools of the authorities. It turns out that a $500,000 heist is in the works, masterminded by mob leader Hugh Jellicoe (Paul Lambert) and an unknown party whose theatrical bravado astonishes even the professional crooks. Future Dallas costar Ken Kercheval appears in a significant role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Lawman, Burt Lancaster is Jered Maddox, a dedicated marshal with an inflexible adherence to upholding the law at all costs. Riding into a nearby town to pick up a group of local carousers who, during a drunken spree, killed an old man, Maddox meets up with Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb). Bronson is the local town boss, and Maddox discovers that the men he is looking for work for him. Unlike most western heavies, Maddox, although he is powerful and unscrupulous, abhors violence. But violence is something Maddox cultivates. A major confrontation between the reluctant Bronson and the intransigent Maddox builds -- particularly when Maddox enlists the help of weak-willed local sheriff Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Twenty-two people become unwitting participants in a tragic and defining moment of the 1960's in this period drama from actor and director Emilio Estevez. It's early June in 1968, and the California presidential primary elections are occupying the minds of many in the Golden State, with Robert F. Kennedy in a close race against Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey. The Kennedy campaign staff has set up camp at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, while the staff and guests become observers as the brother of fallen president John F. Kennedy sets out to pick up where his sibling left off. Paul (William H. Macy) is the manager of the Ambassador, and his wife Miriam (Sharon Stone) is a hairdresser who runs's the hotel's beauty salon. Angela (Heather Graham) is a receptionist working the hotel's switchboard who has been sleeping with Paul behind Miriam's back. Timmons (Christian Slater) is in charge of the hotel's restaurant and catering department, and makes no secret of his dislike of the African-Americans and Latinos under his employ. Miguel (Jacob Vargas) and Jose (Freddy Rodriguez) are two young Chicanos on the kitchen staff who have it in for Timmons, while Robinson (Laurence Fishburne) is an older black man who counsels them on dealing with their rage. Virginia Fallon (Demi Moore) sings in the hotel's cocktail lounge and has a serious problem with alcohol; her husband Tim (Emilio Estevez) is a Kennedy supporter and also her manager, and he's nearing the end of his rope in dealing with her problem. William (Elijah Wood) is a young man desperate to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam; Diane (Lindsay Lohan) is a pretty young woman dating William's brother who agrees to marry him so William can avoid being drafted, though William is clearly infatuated with her while she considers this a marriage in name only. John Casey (Anthony Hopkins) is one of the owners of the Ambassador, and Nelson (Harry Belafonte) is an old friend who works at the hotel. And Jack (Martin Sheen) is a wealthy Kennedy campaign financier who is married to Samantha (Helen Hunt), an attractive but much younger woman. Bobby also features Joshua Jackson, Nick Cannon and Shia LaBeouf as young Kennedy campaign volunteers, while Ashton Kutcher, Joy Bryant, Kip Pardue and Mary Elizabeth Winstead also highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this political thriller, an ambitious press secretary discovers that the opposing political candidate has feathered the nest of his campaigns with terrible lies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this fast-paced, noirish road movie, a computer expert embezzles half a million dollars and races off to Reno to start anew. Unfortunately, en route, he picks up a pair of hitchers and ends up entangled with a crazed couple who commandeer his car and leave him alone in the desert to die. As soon as he can, he hits the road to get revenge and to find his money before they do. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide