Larry Peerce Movies
The Bronx-born son of tenor Jan Peerce, Larry Peerce has had a directorial career of decidedly mixed successes. His debut, as maker of the sensitive race-relations drama One Potato, Two Potato (1964) seemed to portend great things, and his second film, the rock 'n roll showcase The Big TNT Show, featuring the Byrds, Bo Diddley, the Ronettes, Petula Clark, and Phil Spector, was not only a rare success in this genre but also a cult favorite through the years. The Incident (1967), based on a true story, about a pair of thugs who terrorize a subway car on a night-time ride, also attracted much attention, and provided important early screen roles to Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, and Tony Musante. And Goodbye Columbus (1969), based on Philip Roth's novel, was very well received by the press and public alike -- it also allowed Peerce to give a small role to his father. But then, with The Sporting Club (1971), Peerce's career began veering into critical and commercial failure -- A Separate Peace (1972) was dismissed by critics and the public alike, as was Ash Wednesday (1973), starring Elizabeth Taylor. Peerce found greater success on television with the groundbreaking drama The Stranger Who Looks Like Me (1974), detailing the plight of adoptees in finding their birth parents, and found renewed success at the box office with the fact-based dramas The Other Side of the Mountain and The Other Side of the Mountain -- Part 2, and entered the then-popular disaster movie sweepstakes with Two Minute Warning (1976). His adaptation of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar (1979), however, was badly received all around. The TV movie Elvis and Me (1988) put Peerce reasonably back on track, but Wired (1989), based on Bob Woodward's book about the life and death of comic actor John Belushi, was a failure, both critically and commercially. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- 2003
In the first half of Touched by an Angel's series finale, Heavenly caseworker Monica (Roma Downey) is at long last on the verge of being promoted to supervisor. First, however, she is required to pass one last test--and it's a formidable one indeed. Monica must somehow restore hope and faith to the profoundly grief-stricken citizens of Ascention, where all the children have been killed in a school explosion. Curiously, several of Monica's former "clients" have apparently settled in Ascention, including mentally challenged Joey (Paul Wittenberg), the sole witness to the tragedy. And what exactly is the story of happy-go-lucky handyman Zack (Scott Bairstow), who shows up in town just in time to be accused of setting off the explosion? Guest star Randy Travis sings "When Mama Prayed". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2003
In the conclusion of Touched by an Angel's two-part series finale, it appears as though Monica will fail her final test to become a Heavenly Supervisor. The town of Ascention remains entrapped in the grip of bitterness and hatred following a schoolhouse boiler explosion which killed all of the town's children. Worse still, genial handyman Zack (Scott Bairstow), the only person in town with a positive outlook on life, has been accused of deliberately causing the tragedy and put on trial for his life. Even with Monica's fellow angel Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) and her old friend Mike (Patrick Duffy) handling his defense, the cards are obviously stacked against Zack--especially since the prosecuting attorney is really Satan in disguise. But what seems to be a hopeless situation takes a unexpected turn in the final moments...and there is a startling revelation at the very end. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2003
17-year-old Victor Jackson (Billy Kay) is accused of using his car as a lethal weapon, deliberately running over a pedestrian while imitating the ultra-violent video game "Carjack 2000: Millenium Mayhem." That Victor's trial is not an ordinary one is tipped off by the fact that Tess (Della Reese) is the judge, Andrew (John Dye) is the defense attorney and Rafael (Alexis Cruz) is the prosecutor. Meanwhile, Monica (Roma Downey) tries to get the whole truth about the tragedy from the only eyewitness, Victor's 14-year-old cousin Josh--likewise a rabid video game addict. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2002
Ernest Borgnine guest stars as veteran televsion director Max Blandish, a once-idealistic media pioneer who has become jaded and disillusioned during his 50 years in the business. If bitterness doesn't kill Max, his heavy smoking will, and thus there isn't a whole lot of time left for Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) to persuade him to forsake his cynicism and keep the promises he made to himself at the outset of his career. This requires Max to confront an unpleasant incident in his past--specifically, 1954--when he buckled under to sponsor pressure and refused to allow a black female singer to appear on-camera for a performance of "God Bless America" (Need we reveal whom that singer turns out to be?) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2002
Series star Roma Downey plays a dual role in this episode, which marks the return of angelic Monica's demonic twin Monique. Posing as Monica, Monique tricks angel-in-training Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) into breaking up newlyweds Kristie (Sarah Thompson) and Doug (Ryan Hurts), and driving poor Kristie into the arms of a sinister-looking cowboy (Christina Stevens) who always wear bright red boots! Will Gloria figure out which twin is the phony before it is too late? (Incidentally, in a breathtaking burst of versatility, Roma Downey also coscripted tonight's episode!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2001
Young Mickey Dempsey (Matt Weinberg) is in complete denial over his mother's death. Worried about Mickey's mental health, his older brother Ryan (Tony Denman) asks the help of actor Guy Garfield (Lee Horsley), who plays a Heavenly dogooder on the popular TV series "The Avenging Angel." Alas, Garfield is far from an angel in real life: In fact, he plans to exploit his "generosity" toward Mickey for publicity purposes, then drop the kid like a hot potato once he's outlived his usefulness. As Garfield's temporary assistant, Monica (Roma Downey) is determined to do right by Mickey even if her boss won't...and along the way, even the odious Mr. Garfield learns some hard lessons about genuine spirituality. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2001
Monica (Roma Downey) and the angels must restore hope and self-esteem in the heart of Dave, an aging, dispirited busboy at Bubba's Polynesian Paradise. So down is Dave on himself in particular and life in general that he may become a willing accomplice to a sinister arson scheme. All this changes when a group of former schoolmates gather for a reunion at Bubba's--whereupon they immediately recognize Dave as their former (and favorite!) teacher. Naturally, Dave is not the Angels' only "reclamation job" this week; also taken into consideration are two troubled members of the reunion party, Yvette (A. J. Johnson) and Peter (Erik King). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2000
It's Christmas time again, and angels Monica (Roma Downey), Tess (Della Reese) and Andrew (John Dye) are on their traditional Yuletide assignment. The three angels become involved in the trials and tribulations of the Benson family, whose son Cody (Christopher Marquette) suffers from Tourette's Syndrome, and whose dad Joe (Richard Lineback) is serving prison time for accidentally killing a teenager in a fit of anger. Things aren't going so well for mom Kathy (Kathleen Wilhoite) either; thanks to a campaign of hatred engineered by the mother (Ann Bosler) of Joe's victim, Kathy is the town pariah, unable to keep a job or even walk down the street without being barraged with angry words. The mission on this occasion is not only to help the Bensons, but also teach a few lessons in forgiveness and tolerance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2000
Married for twenty years, Maggie (Roma Downey) and George (Tim Matheson) have drifted apart and are on the verge of divorce. To prevent this, the couple's kids (and their respective parents) bankroll a second honeymoon vacation on a lush tropical island. But though Maggie and George struggle mightily to rekindle their romance, things don't look good when Maggie is swept off her feet by a local Romeo and George is entranced by a leggy blonde. Evidently at this point the marriage can be saved only by an improbable twist of fate, so guess what happens? Made for TV and originally telecast by CBS, Second Honeymoon was first aired on March 11, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2000
12-year-old Davey Tucker (Jeremy James Kissner) hates his nomadic existence as the son of a travelling circus clown. He is also somewhat ashamed of the fact that his father Leroy (Phil Fondacaro) is a dwarf. Into this tense situation comes Heavenly casewalker Monica (Roma Downey), posing as a clown-in-training. This time, Monica's assignment is twofold: to teach Davey a lesson about tolerance--with the help of a overweight little girl named Maryjane (Rachel Snow)--and to help Leroy overcome his fear of taking over as the circus' new "human cannonball". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2000
Monica (Roma Downey) shows up as a social worker at the Kewanee Women's Correctional Facility, and in this capacity meets Carol (Viveka Davis), who is doing 25-to-Life for murder--but insists she is innocent, and that she has no memory of the night of the killing. Meanwhile, Andrew (John Dye) is hired as hospice nurse for Santos Gonzales (Castulo Guerra), the stern, unforgiving father of the murder victim. In the course of events, both Carol and Santos must find redemption--and the catalyst for this turns out to be Monica's jailhouse production of the award-winning stage play "Agnes of God." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1999
Cassie Whitman (Roma Downey) is at first relieved that her husband David (William Russ) has survived a deadly plane crash. But as the comatose David recuperates, Cassie learns a few things that will seriously jeopardize the future of her marriage. For one thing, David's travelling companion the plane (who was killed in the crash) was his mistress, with whom he been secretly seeing for eight years. For another, the "other woman" had a child by David, named Erica (Kristina Malota). Will Cassie forgive, forget and take Erica to her heart, or will she give both her husband and his child the bum's rush? This highly rated TV movie offers a rare opportunity to hear Roma Downey playing a role without her inherent Irish accent, and she meets the challenge quite well. A Test of Love debuted December 1, 1999 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roma Downey, William Russ, (more)
Can a man who doesn't believe in miracles possess the power to heal? This is the question posed to the protagonist -- and the audience -- of the made-for-TV Holy Joe. John Ritter stars as Joe Cass, a small-town Episcopal rector who preaches the gospel of pragmatism and logic. Things take an unexpected turn when Joe rescues a young boy from a burning building -- a boy who, by all rights, should have died of smoke inhalation long before Joe reached him. Thanks to this and the other peculiar incidents that follow, Joe's parishioners hail him as a miracle worker -- a designation which, though at first prompting a crisis of faith for the protagonist, will forever change his outlook on life. Filmed on location in North Carolina, Holy Joe originally aired March 28, 1999, on CBS, and has since been rebroadcast under the title Man of Miracles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Ritter, Meredith Baxter, (more)
- 1999
It is Halloween, and things get pretty scary in a hurry when a young man named Lonnie (Titus Welliver) tries to kill himself--just after recognizing Andrew (John Dye as the Angel of Death. It turns out that Lonnie is suffering from Multiple Personality Syndrome, and that he was pushed to the brink of death by his "other self" Gregory. Lonnie's longtime friend Duncan (Casey Briggs) tells Andrew of the terrible trauma suffered by the unfortunate man, stemming from a long-ago Halloween prank that went tragically awry. But this is far more than a case of mental imbalance: Lonnie's alter ego Gregory happens to be an emissary of Satan! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1996
This junior-level Ground Hog Day stars Erik Von Detten as Billy Jackson, a 13-year-old Scrooge in the making. Lacking the athletic prowess to play with his Christmas presents, mooning over a girl who doesn't know he's alive (and whose boyfriend is a bully), and ruminating over the fact that his rich uncle's new Val-U-Mall will put his father's store out of business, Billy has absolutely no reason to believe in Santa Claus--and he relays this sentiment to his kid sister Sarah (Yvonne Zima). In a burst of retaliatory stubbornness, Sarah counters Billy's sourness by wishing that it would be Christmas every day. Wham! She gets her wish, and Billy is trapped in an eternity of Christmases--and of course, he's the only person who is aware that time is standing still. At first intending take advantage of his foreknowledge by getting even with various enemies and selfishly grabbing up whatever he wants, Billy gradually realizes that the only way December 26th will ever dawn is if he stops thinking about himself and starts caring about others. First telecast by the Family Channel on December 17, 1996, the made-for-cable Christmas Every Day has become something of a Yuletide perennial in recent years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1996
Based on a true story, the made-for-cable The Abduction is told in flashback from the viewpoint of Kate Finley (Victoria Principal), who for 11 years was trapped into an abusive marriage with former police officer Paul Olavsky (Robert Hays). Accustomed to violently taking out his frustrations on the long-suffering Kate, Paul finally goes to far when he rapes her, whereupon she divorces him--but makes the mistake of not pressing charges against him. Starting life anew, Kate gets a good job as a college assistant and enters into a warm and loving relationship with new boyfriend Dan Solano (Christopher Lawford). Unfortunately, Paul comes back into her life with a vengeance--and after a lengthy stalking campaign, he ends up kidnapping Kate at gunpoint, handcuffing her to his car, and leaving her to the mercy of the freezing weather as she slowly bleeds to death! The Abduction made itsLifetime Network debut on July 7, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
In this drama, a beautiful woman uses her charms to dupe her new sweetheart and his buddies. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Peter Riegert, (more)
- 1994
- PG13
- Add A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story to Queue Add A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story to top of Queue
This made-for-television movie tells the story of Margaret Mitchell, the well-known author of Gone With The Wind. Young TV-star-turned-Hollywood-bad-girl Shannon Doherty stars as Pulitzer Prize-winner Mitchell, whose impulses and insecurity inspired her passionate work. John Clark Gable, son of legendary Gone With The Wind star Clark Gable, is also featured in this biopic, which was generally panned by critics for Doherty's portrayal of Mitchell. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- 1993
- PG13
Made for video, the Canadian Murder So Sweet stars Harry Hamlin as a ladies' man with a smooth line and a cool approach. Trouble arises only whenever one of Hamlin's girlfriends starts insisting upon a committment. That's when he settles the argument with murder. Helen Shaver, who suspects that Hamlin is a killer but has no concrete evidence, decides to trap him by posing as a potential conquest. Murder So Sweet is a lot better than one might expect, thanks to the cast and the surehanded direction of Larry (Goodbye Columbus) Peerce. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Harry Hamlin, Helen Shaver, (more)
- 1993
Made for television, Prison for Children is set in a brutal boys' reformatory. New superintendent John Ritter tries to improve conditions, but finds himself up against a wall of indifference and red tape. The film shows how a supposedly "beneficial" system of incarceration and detention can actually breed more crime than it prevents (nothing new here). Emphasis is given the case of young Rafael Sbarge, who descends deeper into the morass of crime and cruelty the longer he is exposed to reformatory life. Betty Thomas also appears as a compassionate teacher who tries to get through to Sbarge. Filmed at an actual reform school in Colorado, Prison for Children was first telecast March 14, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
A terrible secret is uncovered in a child's past in this made-for-cable drama. Based on a true story, Ashley Peldon stars as 7-year-old Catherine, the newly adopted child of the Tylers. When Catherine turns increasingly violent towards her new parents and her natural brother, the Tylers try everything in their power to uncover the mysterious root of her anger. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mel Harris, Dwight Schultz, (more)
- 1990
This profile of American tenor Jan Peerce traces the steps of the vocalist's life and career, beginning with his youth in New York's Lower East Side, and following his upward trajectory as one of the most loved and respected voices in opera. The documentary features rare footage of Peerce, as well as commentary and analysis by experts like violinist Isaac Stern. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- 1990
Made for the TNT cable network, The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson concentrates on the wartime service of major league baseball's first black player. Robinson (Andre Braugher), a star athlete at UCLA, is drafted during World War II. He hopes that his academic record will assure him entry into Officers Candidate School, but the racism inherent in the military at the time puts several roadblocks in his way. After finally making OCS, Robinson's belief in himself is strengthened tenfold--to the point that he refuses to bow to the "Jim Crow" laws regarding the seating arrangements on an Army bus, and is subsequently threatened with a court martial. Stan Shaw costars as boxing great Joe Louis, likewise a victim of prejudice during the war years (the script intimates that Louis was more willing to roll with the punches than Robinson). Ruby Dee, who played the ballplayer's wife in the 1950 film The Jackie Robinson Story, is here seen as Robinson's mother. The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson premiered on October 15, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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