Tom Mankiewicz Movies
Tom Mankiewicz comes from a distinguished film family. His father, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is a renowned screenwriter and director and his uncle, Herman Mankiewicz, is also a highly respected screenwriter. Following studies at the Exeter Academy and Yale, Mankiewicz worked as a production associate on a 1964 film, The Best Man. A few years later, he became a screenwriter. In the early '80s, he directed some episodes of the television series Hart to Hart, and in 1987 he directed his first feature film, Dragnet. Mankiewicz has also worked as a script consultant on a few James Bond films and on two of the Superman films. As a director, he primarily makes action-adventures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Nick Redman details director John Ford's remarkable stint at Twentieth Century Fox in an intimately detailed documentary that pays special attention to the relationship between the famed Grapes of Wrath director and studio head Darryl F. Zanuck. A master of the silent film who would go on to become a true legend of American cinema, Ford was just twenty-six years old when he took the helm for Just Pals (1920). Later, when Fox merged with 20th Century in 1935, Ford went to work with the notoriously strong-willed Zanuck. If there was any filmmaker who could give Zanuck a run for his money it was Ford, and it wasn't long before the director made history by earning back-to-back Oscars. Additional input from Ford biographer Joseph McBride, film historian Rudy Behlmer, and screen legend Peter Fonda (whose father Henry had a long-running professional relationship with the filmmaker) ensure that this is one of the most painstakingly assembled profiles of Ford ever committed to film. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2006
- PG
Reconstructed using archival film and sound elements long thought to be extinct, this special cut of Superman II pieces together unseen footage shot by Richard Donner in order to present the most comprehensive version of what was to be the original cut of the blockbuster sequel. As initially planned, the first two films were to be filmed back-to-back using the same sets and actors to save on production costs. However, with a budget escalating out of control and Warner Bros. breathing down the producers' necks, the decision was made to drop any further filming on the sequel in order to finish the first movie and usher it into theaters. Of course, the first Superman was a wild success, so then it was just a matter of ramping up production again, though this time, Donner was not asked back. Instead, producers went with Richard Lester, who had served them well with his Three Musketeers films. Decisions were made to drop most of the key scenes that were already in the can, including all of the footage featuring Marlon Brando as Jor-El, the Man of Steel's father. After completion, the sequel found much success in theatrical and home-video box-office returns, though that didn't stop die-hard fans from speculating what Donner's cut would have looked like. Once the Internet was spawned, Warner Bros. saw interest grow more and more for this alternate version, even prompting the company to send cease and desist letters to individuals who had posted a re-edit of the film using deleted footage taken from an alternate TV version from the U.K. With the release of Superman Returns, the company saw this as a chance to finally deliver what people had wanted for years and enlisted Michael Thau to oversee the restoration process. Under the tutelage of Donner's notes, scripts, storyboards, and the director himself, the new version was delivered to home audiences in 2006, thereby not only giving people a look into what could have been, but giving a director an unprecedented chance to realize a vision long thought lost in the annals of movie history. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1996
In this feature-length episode of the popular, long-running detective series, Jennifer and Jonathan fly to Germany so she can save a leukemia patient's life with her bone marrow donation, but once there, a case of mistaken identity endangers her life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Wagner, Stefanie Powers, (more)
- 1993
Following up the goofy big-screen comedies Dragnet and Delirious, director Tom Mankiewicz delivered this made-for-cable thriller starring Tony Goldwyn and Lynn Whitfield. After witnessing a murder, Goldwyn finds himself pursued by a group of thugs led by mafia boss Alan Arkin. Whitfield stars as the detective assigned to ensure that Goldwyn not only doesn't flee out of fear for his life, but stays alive long enough to testify at the murder trial. Along the way, as the two spend more time together, a romance ensues. Peter Boyle, George Segal and Will Patton round out the cast, and the film was scripted by Dan Gordon who would later gain noteriety as a scribe on 1999's The Hurricane. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Whitfield, Tony Goldwyn, (more)
John Candy plays Jack Gable, a soap-opera writer who finds himself trapped inside his own television program with a magic typewriter in this toothless comedy. Jack finds himself embroiled in protecting his beloved Laura (Emma Samms), an actress who plays Rachel Hedison in Jack's show -- "Beyond Our Dreams" -- from having her character being killed off by the program's producers, the Sherwoods (Jerry Orbach, Renee Taylor). Laura has recently broken off with her co-star and lover Dennis (David Rasche) and is heading off for a weekend with Jack. As Jack unloads Laura's luggage, he conks himself on the head and knocks himself out. He awakens in a town bearing a name similar to the town in his soap opera. Dennis is on hand, but as his character in the show -- Dr. Paul Kirkland. Jack realizes that he has found himself in an alternative world made up of his soap opera world -- particularly apparent when he is recognized as Jack Gates, "the Wolf of Wall Street." Jack then meets Laura, who, in this soap opera world, is actually Janet Dubois, the daughter of a late biochemist who invented a pill that allows anyone to eat whatever they want and not gain any weight. The unscrupulous Hedison family (Raymond Burr, Charles Rocket, Dylan Baker) want to steal the formula for the pill and make a fortune for their pharmaceutical company. Jack then discovers that he can exit and re-enter the show at will and can alter the narrative of the show however he wants by typing up new plot points on his typewriter. In order to save Laura's character from the Sherwoods, Jack re-writes the show to save Janet by having his own character come to her rescue at the last minute. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Mariel Hemingway, (more)
Dan Bartlett (John Cusack) is a lovestruck teen who misses his plane to the Caribbean in this engaging comedy. He was to join sweetheart Lori (Wendy Gazelle) and her father Bill (Monte Markham) in the tropical paradise. Determined to get to the island, his efforts are stalled by three natives with a penchant for marijuana. After he shakes the stoners, Dan is captured by the pirate Mac MacClaren (Robert Loggia). He escapes the scurvy buccaneer only to land in jail on bogus charges. Dan later follows his sweetheart to a yacht where her family is being hijacked by another crook. Veteran funnyman Jerry Stiller provides comedy relief. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Robert Loggia, (more)
Dan Aykroyd must have practiced for months to perfect his Jack Webb inflections for Dragnet. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz's directorial debut (also written by Mankiewicz, along with Aykroyd, and Alan Zweibel) is a gentle spoof of the legendary '50s television police drama -- pitting '50s conservatism smack up against the attitudes of the '80s. Basically, the film is another 48 Hours or Beverly Hills Cop clone. Aykroyd stars as Joe Friday, the nephew of the original Friday. But with his brown suit, fedora, and lockjaw, he could just as well be the incarnation of Jack Webb. He is involuntarily assigned a smart alecky, street-wise partner, Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks), and they are appointed to investigate a series of religious cult murders in L.A. The two cops follow the trail to a phony televangelist, the Reverend Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer). From there, they are only at step away from uncovering an Orange County-based religious cult calling itself P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness and Normalcy). After sneaking into a secret ceremony, Friday falls in love with the sacrificial victim Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul). So much so that even after his superior Captain Gannon (Harry Morgan, reprising his role from the '60s revival of the Dragnet program) orders him off the case, Friday continues on, with the requisite car chases and crashes that usually climax any '80s cop movie or comedy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, (more)
In medieval France, knight Rutger Hauer and lady fair Michelle Pfeiffer both run afoul of evil-bishop John Wood. Through the auspices of bishop's confessor Leo McKern, Hauer and Pfeiffer are placed under a curse. During the night, Hauer takes the form of a wolf, while Pfeiffer assumes the form of a hawk by day. The two lovers can only meet one another as humans at dawn and dusk. The only mortal in a position to rescue Hauer and Pfeiffer from their fate is nebbishy pickpocket Matthew Broderick, who acts as liaison between the lovers. With the help of the guilt-ridden McKern--and a convenient solar eclipse--Broderick endeavors to set things aright. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, (more)
Between giving up his super powers, confronting criminals from outer space, and having problems with his girlfriend, it's a bad time to be the Man of Steel in this sequel to the 1978 blockbuster. When terrorists threaten to destroy Paris with a thermonuclear device as they hold reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) hostage, Superman (Christopher Reeve) comes to the rescue and flings the weapon into space. However, its blast outside the earth's orbit awakens Zod (Terence Stamp), Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O'Halloran), three villains from Superman's home planet of Krypton who were exiled to outer space for their crimes. Zod and his partners arrive on Earth and use their powers in a bid to take over the U.S., and then the world. However, when Lois realizes that mild mannered Clark Kent and Superman are actually the same person, he brings her to his Fortress of Solitude, where his decision to marry Lois costs him his remarkable strength. Without his super powers, how can Superman vanquish Zod and save the world? Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Susannah York, and Jackie Cooper return from the first film, which was shot at the same time as parts of the sequel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1979
Originally telecast September 25, 1979, Hart to Hart was the pilot film for a series which officially debuted three days earlier. Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers play the fabulously wealthy, blissfully happy married couple Jonathan and Jennifer Hart. He's a conglomerate CEO, she's a mystery author; together they solve crimes whenever their schedules allow. In this first escapade, the Harts tackle the case of a friend's death at a fancy health spa. Lionel Stander is on hand as the Harts' gravel-voiced general factotum Max. The closing sequence of Hart to Hart includes a cameo appearance by Robert Wagner's real-life wife Natalie Wood, billed under her real-life name Natasha Gurdin. Coincidentally, the supporting cast features Wagner's future wife Jill St. John. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Richard Donner's big-budget blockbuster Superman: The Movie is an immensely entertaining recounting of the origin of the famous comic book character. Opening on Krypton (where Marlon Brando plays Superman's father), the film follows the Man of Steel (Christopher Reeve) as he's sent to Earth where he develops his alter-ego Clark Kent and is raised by a Midwestern family. In no time, the movie has run through his teenage years, and Clark gets a job at the Daily Planet, where he is a news reporter. It's there that he falls in love with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), who is already in love with Superman. But the love story is quickly sidetracked once the villainous Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) launches a diabolical plan to conquer the world and kill Superman. Superman: The Movie is filled with action, special effects and a surprising amount of humor. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, (more)
This bizarre entry into the disaster film genre concerns a group of hapless passengers aboard a transcontinental luxury train who are infected with a viral plague by a group of terrorists. Burt Lancaster plays military man Mackenzie, who wants to send the train across a rickety bridge so all the passengers will die, with Mackenzie reasoning the tragedy will give the terrorist movement a bad name. Among the passengers on the train trying to build up antibodies are Jennifer Rispoli Chamberlain (Sophia Loren); Nicole (Ava Gardner), who is embroiled in an affair with a younger man named Robby Navarro (Martin Sheen); and Dr. Jonathan Chamberlain (Richard Harris), a physician who wants to save the passengers but ends up duking it out with the terrorists. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, (more)
John Sturges directed this taut adaptation of Jack Higgins' suspense novel about an attempted kidnapping of Winston Churchill by the German high command during World War II. When it is discovered that in November 1943 Winston Churchill is scheduled to spend a weekend in a country home in Norfolk, the Germans plan to kidnap him. Heinrich Himmler (Donald Pleasence), under orders from Hitler, assigns Nazi colonel Max Radl (Robert Duvall) the chore of sneaking the English-hating Irishman Liam Devlin (Donald Sutherland) into the British countryside and arranging for a 16-man task force to be parachuted into the English country town of Sudley Constable, under the auspices of Colonel Kurt Steiner (Michael Caine). The efficient planning works too well, and before long their exactingly perfect timetable begins to come apart. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, (more)
In this frantic black comedy, Harry Fishbine (Allen Garfield) is the proprietor of the F&B Ambulance Service, a low-budget free-lance rescue service which is struggling to keep up with the bigger and better funded competition after a law in Los Angeles decrees that the first ambulance to arrive at the scene of a distress call gets the job. F&B's best driver is Mother (Bill Cosby), a free-wheeling ambulance jockey who likes to drink beer and play dance music while he makes his rounds. Mother's new assistant is Speed (Harvey Keitel), a former cop who left the force after allegations of drug use; Speed is looking for a new career and a chance to prove himself. And Jugs is the accurate-if-sexist nickname for Jennifer (Raquel Welch), the company secretary who wants to get out from behind the desk and prove her skills as a paramedic. As F&B's drivers race through the streets of Hollywood, their adventures veer between the hilarious and the tragic. Mother, Jugs and Speed also features Larry Hagman, Dick Butkus, Bruce Davison, and L.Q. Jones. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raquel Welch, Bill Cosby, (more)
The Man With the Golden Gun, Roger Moore's second outing as James Bond (Live and Let Die was the first), whisks our hero off to Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, and then the South China Sea in search of a solar energy weapon. His opponent is Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), who rules the roost on a well-fortified island. Scaramanga's aide-de-camp is Nick Nack, played by future Fantasy Island co-star Herve Villechaize. Britt Ekland plays the bikinied Mary Goodnight, whose clumsy efforts to help Bond thwart Scaramanga are almost as destructive as the elusive solar device. The Man With the Golden Gun was adapted by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz from Ian Fleming's last James Bond novel, which had to be published posthumously in "rough draft" form. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, (more)
Roger Moore makes his first appearance as "Bond...James Bond" in 1973's Live and Let Die. Bond is dispatched to the States to stem the activities of Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto), who plans to take over the Western Hemisphere by converting everyone into heroin addicts. The woman in the case is Solitaire (Jane Seymour in her movie debut), an enigmatic interpreter of tarot cards. The obligatory destructive-chase sequence occurs at the film's midpoint, with Bond being chased in a motorboat by Mr. Big's henchmen, slashing his way through the marshlands and smashing up a wedding party. Clifton James makes the first of several Bond appearances as redneck sheriff Pepper, while Geoffrey Holder is an enthusiastic secondary villain. The title song, written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, provides the frosting on this 007 confection. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
After George Lazenby portrayed James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Sean Connery returned to the tux, gimmicks, and catchphrases of Secret Agent 007 in his penultimate Bond outing, Diamonds Are Forever. Fragments of Ian Fleming's original 1954 novel remain, including the characters of the alluring Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) and fey hitmen Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith). The remainder of Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz's script diverges dramatically from the novel, involving Bond in a scheme by the insidious Ernst Blofeld (Charles Gray) to force the world powers to disarm so that he can take over the globe. Folksinger Jimmy Dean shows up briefly as a Howard Hughes-like reclusive billionaire, while Lana Wood (Natalie's sister) participates in one of the film's edgiest cliffhangers. Agreeing to make Diamonds Are Forever only because of the money offered him, Sean Connery parted company with the role for 12 years after this film; he returned to the role once more in 1983, for Irvin Kershner's underrated Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Jill St. John, (more)
- 1968
On California's Malibu Beach in the late 1960s, young people are enjoying a life with few responsibilities and plenty of romantic opportunities. Denny McGuire (Michael Sarrazin) is a beach bum without ambition. His roommate Collie Ransom (Tony Franciosa) is a professional tennis player who soaks up the admiration of other beach dwellers. Denny is attracted to Vickie Cartwright (Jacqueline Bisset), a mostly-out-of-work actress, and would like to settle down with her, but she is more enamored with a series of meaningless sexual encounters with men she meets on the beach or during acting jobs. The film turns more serious with the brutal beating death of Vickie. Denny pulls himself together and decides to become a more responsible adult by taking a job at a hardware store. Also working there is Choo-Choo Burns (Bob Denver), an off-the-wall jazz pianist. Choo-Choo joins Denny and Collie as another roommate. Pop music is provided by the San Francisco psychedelic band Moby Grape and the British balladeer Dusty Springfield. The script by Tom Mankiewicz was based on a novel by William Murray. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Franciosa, Michael Sarrazin, (more)
