Viveca Lindfors Movies
Though of the same era as her Swedish compatriots Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman, talented and beautiful leading lady of stage and screen Viveca Lindfors never achieved their superstar status due in large part to working in movies that inadequately displayed the full extent of her ability and charismatic personality. Still, she earned accolades and awards from critics and film societies around the world, including two awards from the prestigious Berlin Film Festival.Born Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors in Uppsala, Sweden, she learned to act at the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm. She made her Swedish film debut in Snurriga Familjen (1940). For the next six years, she would appear in more films and establish a stage career. Moving to Hollywood in 1946, she contracted herself to Warner Bros. studios and two years later starred opposite Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Don Juan (1948); however, in 1947, she appeared in Night Unto Night, Ronald Reagan's first starring role, but the film was not released until 1949. The following year, she debuted in her first French film, Singoalla. She made her first Broadway appearance playing the lead in Anastasia. Other memorable stage roles include Miss Julie (1955), Brecht on Brecht (1961), and I Am Woman (1973), a one-woman show.
For her filmwork, Lindfors won her first Best Actress Award from the BFF in 1951 for Die Vier im Jeep (Four in a Jeep). Her second BFF Best Actress Award was for her role in Huis Clos (No Exit) (1962). In her personal life, Lindfors was renowned for her numerous romantic liaisons -- this in a decade when such behavior was considered shocking. She claims to have married the first of her four husbands just to prove that a promiscuous woman could indeed marry a decent man.
Unlike many actresses for whom the aging process marks the death of their careers, Lindfors grew gracefully into her latter years, gaining a dignified beauty and an even more commanding presence in such films as Welcome to L.A. and Robert Altman's A Wedding (1978). In 1985, she made her debut as a screenwriter and director with Unfinished Business. Lindfors made her final film appearance in Henry Jaglom's Last Summer in the Hamptons (1995). She died in October that year of complications from rheumatoid arthritis in her home town of Uppsala. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this action thriller, a Gulf War veteran is America's only hope for salvation when a group of ex-Soviets threatens to take over. Written and directed by Richard W. Haines, Run for Cover stars Tom Dunne as a hero in a race against time to save the country from the clutches of evil. The film also features appearances by political figures Ed Koch and Rev. Al Sharpton. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
A legendary theatrical family gather for one final show at their East Hamptons estate in this verbose comedy-drama. Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors takes center stage as Helena, the family matriarch, who has made the difficult decision to sell the estate due to financial problems. A mixed group has come for what will be the last of the family's annual summer performances, a gathering that naturally brings conflicts and rivalries to the surface. Much of the trouble centers on Oona (Victoria Foyt), a financially successful Hollywood actress seeking artistic approval from such theatrical colleagues as avant-garde director Ivan (André Gregory) and gay playwright Jake (real-life dramatist Jon Robin Baitz), who each has difficulties of his own. As in all of writer/director Henry Jaglom's films, the focus is on conversation over action, as the various characters share personal torments and debate their individual philosophies. The talky, intellectual dialogue will be seen by some viewers as witty and perceptive and by others as pretentious and slow-moving. Regardless of one's opinion of Jaglom's idiosyncratic style, Last Summer in the Hamptons is distinguished by the presence of Lindfors in her final film, giving a career-capping performance that addresses the problems of older actresses and looks back fondly on the star's own history. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victoria Foyt, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
- 1994
In this complexly-plotted action-packed police drama, Pittsburgh policewoman Keri Finnegan (Linda Kozlowski) returns to her home turf to clean up crime and clear the ruined name of her father, a cop who was wrongfully disgraced and fired from the force. McKees Rocks is one Steeltown's roughest ethnic neighborhoods, and though many residents are impoverished, they have yet to surrender their pride. Keri's father's reputation, plus her gender, make it very difficult for her to do her job. When a serial killer begins slaughtering owners of local property, Keri masquerades as an old woman and is attacked by what appears to be a policeman. He is eventually arrested for killing his wife, but for some reason the cops ignore the other killings. Keri, however, doesn't and thus launches her own investigation. She finds herself opposed at every turn, not only by her lover and fellow-detective Nick Donovan (John Shea), but also by the police chief, Nick's father, and a powerful gangster. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Kozlowski, Paul Sorvino, (more)
This lucrative, elephantine-budgeted sci-fi opus paved the way for director Roland Emmerich's mega-hit Independence Day (1996). The story commences in Giza, Egypt, circa 1928, where an archaeological expedition unearths an ancient ring with cryptic hieroglyphs. The film then moves to the present day, where Egyptologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is busily trying to convince a group of skeptics that the pyramids were not built by man, but by an extraterrestrial force. After the lecture, a military man approaches him and offers him a job translating the said ring; its inscriptions actually constitute a map to a massive stargate (or interstellar portal). The army sends over resident crackpot colonel Jack O'Neill (Kurt Russell) to travel through the stargate and see what's on the other side; Jackson accompanies him, and the two men turn up in a desert planet on the other side of the universe, with three moons in its sky. The world in question is ruled by Ra (Jaye Davidson), a hermaphroditic Egyptian sun god, who oppresses hordes of slave workers. Jackson and O'Neill then join forces to help the said workers revolt against their oppressor. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, James Spader, (more)
- 1993
The authorities receive an anonymous tip that a wealthy man has been murdered by his wife (Caroline Lagerfelt). But the dead man's doctor insists that his patient died of heart failure, and is successful in blocking a police autopsy. Can there be a coverup and conspiracy afoot? The episode's highlights include a heated argument between detective Logan (Chris Noth) and his new boss, Lt. Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson). Also, watch for an appearance by co-star Noth's then-girlfriend Beverly Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- R
A magic-obsessed New York waitress (Rosanna Arquette) is persuaded by a colorful group of characters to help her rob the restaurant where she works. Along the way, she falls in love with the eatery's bartender (David Bowie), who just so happens to be looking for someone who will make him a permanent resident of the U.S. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, David Bowie, (more)
- 1992
Tony lives in Ontario, but he has relatives all over the eastern part of the U.S. and Canada. Since he has been earning money by running marijuana from Pittsburgh to Canada, he's been avoiding them, but when his beloved grandfather bids him from his deathbed to take care of his wife, Tony's grandmother, he reluctantly agrees to do so. By now, he has already messed up a delivery for a dealer who is now gunning for him, so when his feisty grandmother proposes suing the American mining company grandpa worked with for causing him to die of black lung disease, he readily agrees to take her to Pittsburgh to file her suit. As they travel, these two angry and distrustful relations bicker and quarrel a lot but also uncover their true value to one another. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viveca Lindfors, Jeff Schultz, (more)
- 1991
This effective made-for-TV supernatural thriller (based on the novel Virgin by James Patterson) involves the travails of a Catholic priest (Anthony John Denison) who is ordered by his superiors to investigate the prospect of two separate virgin births -- one of which will bring the Son of God into the world, the other the Son of Satan. Unfortunately, there is no overt indication as to which child is which. Omen-style apocalyptic portents abound as the forces of Evil throw a variety of obstacles in Denison's path, even possessing the soul of the nun (Sela Ward) who is assisting him. Potent, gripping stuff -- and very intense for a TV movie -- this retains much of the metaphysical punch of its source material. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1991
This drama is set in 1981, and chronicles the experiences of a 17-year-old Polish immigrant trying to adjust and survive in his new American environment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cameron Mitchell, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
- 1991
- R
In this thriller, poet Thierry Martin (Judge Reinhold) takes over the family business, abandoning both his art and his sex life, much to the dismay of his wife, Zandalee (Erika Anderson). However, when Thierry's painter friend Johnny Collins (Nicolas Cage) comes to town, his fling with Zandalee could prove more complicated than he imagined. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Judge Reinhold, (more)
- 1990
In this drama, independent filmmaker Paul Leder has brought to the screen the story of some young people enthusiastically campaigning for the (very liberal) presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy in the late 1960's. When it becomes clear that McCarthy cannot win, one of the young folks, who has plenty of money, heads off for a vacation in Europe. The remaining youngsters stay the course until the devastating assassination of Robert Kennedy, which finally extinguishes their hopes of a liberal renaissance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cleavon Little, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
- 1990
This political drama takes a look at the underground network that helps South American refugees travel safely to the US. The story centers on a freedom fighter from Central America who uses the underground to get to the US and settle in a small town. His wife lies to a restaurant owner, telling him her husband is dead, and gets a job as a waitress. Soon after, the owner's son falls in love with her. Meanwhile a crooked CIA agent leads a death squad in pursuit of the former freedom fighter and things get worse when the local sheriff threatens to reveal his hideout to the hunters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
In this provocative drama, the young son of a Holocaust survivor searches for the answers to many painful questions about the great tragedy when he is cast as Hungarian-Jewish poet Miklos Radnoti for an upcoming film. The young man is a Method actor and as he researches his role he becomes so engrossed in the life of the poet, who was killed in a Jewish labor camp, that he begins to lose his identity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Sarandon, Renée Soutendijk, (more)
- 1990
The somewhat kinky writer Roberto (Elio Marchi) is hiding out from the Gestapo, and decides that the ideal place to spend the war would be in a room at a fancy brothel which has its own cabaret. It is run by a down-to-earth madam played by Viveca Lindefors. He rents an expensive room there and pays for the exclusive services of Luba (Bozena Lasota), one of the prostitutes. However, he doesn't want her for sex, just conversation. He wants someone to discuss the place of idealism in the face of tyranny with. She thinks it's better to focus on coping with the ordinary terrors of everyday life, and doesn't hesitate to give him the benefit of her scathing opinions of him and his idealism. While they argue and discuss philosophy, Roberto has flashbacks of his earlier life. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viveca Lindfors
- 1988
- PG13
A bungling gumshoe tries hard to affect a hard-boiled demeanor, despite the fact that his latest assignment is to protect the bratty young heiress to a fortune in this lively spoof of detective movies. Henry Brilliant, Private Eye, is no stranger to the ways of the wealthy as he too comes from a blue-blooded family, but he tries to ignore that to become the classic Chandleresque detective as he heads for Europe to follow the girl on her tour and keep her from being kidnapped by her stepmother who is really after her husband's secret formula for controlling the weather. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Lemmon, Jean Simmons, (more)
- 1988
One certainly can't fault the casting in this made-for-TV biopic. After all, who better to play the title character than Ann Jillian herself. Dwelling very briefly on Jillian's early years as a child actress and her return to the limelight via the Broadway hit Sugar Babies, the film concentrates on her courageous comeback following her bilateral mastectomy in 1985. Tony LoBianco costars as husband-manager Andy Murcia, while Viveca Lindfors and George Touliatos portray her immigrant parents. Equal parts entertainment and inspiration, The Ann Jillian Story was originally telecast January 4, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Jillian, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
Rachel River is a small town in Minnesota. When local "looney tune" Aileen Cole dies, the town comes to the slow realization that the reclusive Cole has in fact touched the lives of virtually every citizen--and nearly always in a positive manner. That realization is so slow because, immediately after Cole's demise, everyone is more concerned with scrambling to recover a buried treasure rumored to be on the old woman's property. The very thin plotline is fleshed out by individual episodes involving some of the town's more visible denizens: Cole's slobbish nephew Craig T. Nelson, Nelson's viper-tongued sister Jo Henderson, elderly Viveca Lindfors, local radio personality Pamela Reed, covetous undertaker James Olson, and "village idiot" Zeljko Ivanek, whose top billing in the opening credits is justified as the story develops. Rachel River premiered in June of 1989 as a PBS American Playhouse telecast, then enjoyed a brief theatrical distribution. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zeljko Ivanek, Pamela Reed, (more)
- 1987
- R
In this sexy thriller, Katya (Diane Lane) is a window dresser who specializes in displays with sexy, slightly kinky themes. Surrounded by the equipment of her trade -- mannequins and lingerie -- Katya lives in a loft apartment in downtown Pittsburgh. She spends her evenings taking baths by candlelight and thinking up new and more provocative window displays. She soon catches the eye of a stalker who watches her as she works in the window of the department store and begins following her home to spend his evenings watching her through her picture windows. He also makes frightening phone calls to her and intercepts her mail. One evening, while she is on a party cruise with a reporter with whom she has become romantically involved, the stalker breaks into her apartment and is surprised by Katya when she returns home. Tired of being harassed, Katya sets a trap, which leads to an interesting, and surprisingly non-violent ending. Diane Lane is appealing and attractive as Katya and the film, while uneven and frequently implausible, is entertaining and fun. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Lane, Michael Woods, (more)
- 1987
In this drama, an American actress must decide whether or not to return to the Hungarian lover who abandoned her 15 years ago. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viveca Lindfors, Peter Donat, (more)
In this exploitation film, the KGB trains a sexy young spy-trainee to become an "all-American" temptress capable of seducing the secrets out of many US officials and businessmen. She will then use the resulting information to blackmail these men into serving her government. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Director Rob Reiner's The Sure Thing is essentially It Happened One Night for the 1980s, but its lack of surprise in no way impedes its entertainment value. John Cusack plays Walter "Gib" Gibson, a self-involved college freshman who makes plans to head to California, there to touch base (and a few other things) with a "sure thing" played by Nicollette Sheridan. Likewise planning a westward journey is coed Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga), a control freak who has a wealthy, stuffy fiancé over there. Gib and Alison despise one another on sight -- so naturally, they are compelled to travel to California together. The fact that everyone in the audience knows precisely how this one will end up is inconsequential; Cusack and Zuniga deliver such engaging performances that we're pulling for them to wise up and discover one another from the very first scene. One of the best bits: the mismatched couple being bombarded with an ear-piercing rendition of "The Age of Aquarius" by their dippy traveling companions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, (more)
- 1985
In this comic thriller, wealthy Maxine de la Hunt (Jean Simmons) is worried about what might happen to her step-daughter Marigold (Lea Thompson) as she goes on vacation in Denmark. So Maxine hires private detective Henry Brilliant (Chris Lemmon) to watch over Marigold. However, Brilliant hardly lives up to his name, and before long he's discovers she's been kidnapped. Also stars Viveca Lindfors and Nancy Cartwright. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Lemmon, Jean Simmons, (more)
- 1984
In this undistinguished, derivative slasher movie, a homicidal maniac is accidentally released from a hospital because of a computer error and heads to the site (a sorority) of his past murders to continue his penchant for mayhem. The good but obviously witless Dr. Joan Gilmore takes off after him while the villainous hospital administrators cover up the mistake and send some staff thugs out to get both the doctor and the escaped lunatic. Gilmore poses as a sorority woman and soon finds herself menaced on all sides as the gruesome, graphic murders begin to mount. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belinda Montgomery, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
