David W. Rintels Movies

One of the most unabashedly profane (albeit honest) TV movies ever produced for "basic" cable, A Season on the Brink is based on John Feinstein's book about the 1985-1986 Indiana Hoosiers' basketball season. Brian Dennehy heads the cast as the controversial, combative, chair-tossing Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight, whose motto is "The only two words you need to know to play basketball at Indiana: Yes, Sir!" Driving his players mercilessly, and making verbal mincemeat of fans and reporters alike, Knight isn't interested in winning any popularity contests -- he is only interested in winning games, which he does with intimidating frequency. Along the way, Knight's abrasive style has profound effects on two of his best players, Daryl Thomas (Michael James Johnson) and Steve Alford (James Lafferty) -- not to mention Bobby's assistant coaches and family members. Videotaped footage of actual games is incorporated into the dramatized re-enactments, with mixed but generally effective results. A Season on the Brink was simulcast over ESPN and ESPN2 on March 10, 2002, with the original TVMAL-rated version airing on the former service, and a "laundered" TV14LV-rated version running on the latter channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This made-for-TV adaptation of Carson McCullers story features Anna Paquin as Frankie Addams, a 12-year-old tomboy growing up in the deep South in the mid-1940s. Frankie doesn't get along well with most children her age, and she prefers to spend her time with Berenice Brown (Alfre Woodard), the family's housekeeper, and her younger cousin John Henry. However, when Frankie learns that her older sister is getting married -- and that her family may be pulling up stakes and moving away -- she's forced to leave her immaturity behind and, with Berenice's help, begin making her first steps into adulthood. This version of The Member of the Wedding also stars Joanne Pankow and Pat Hingle. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this docudrama based on true events, a mid-'80s Michigan housewife finds her life turned upside down when a vacation to Tehran with her Iranian husband turns into virtual imprisonment for her and her young daughter. Betty Mahmoody (Sally Field) is reluctant to visit the wartorn homeland of her doctor husband, Moody (Alfred Molina). But, depressed about the racism of the American medical establishment and pining for contact with his family, Moody convinces her to join him for a two-week jaunt. The Islamic fundamentalism and strange customs of Iran bewilder and frighten Betty and her daughter, Mahtob (Sheila Rosenthal). But nothing prepares her for Moody's announcement that the family will be remaining in Tehran indefinitely. Despite beatings and more pervasive psychological control from her husband and his relatives, Betty makes it to the Swiss embassy (there is no American ambassador at the time). There, she learns that as the wife of an Iranian, she is now automatically considered a citizen and that she has absolutely no parental rights over Mahtob in this country. Betty then endures several years as a virtual prisoner, escaping only with the help of Westernized Iranian friends. Based on the book by the real-life Mahmoody and William Hoffer, Not Without My Daughter was coincidentally released during the long build-up to 1991's Gulf War. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This WW II-set drama follows the creation of the first atomic bomb. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Choices of the Heart (aka In December the Roses Will Bloom Again) recounts the life and death of Irish lay missionary Jean Donovan. Together with three American nuns, the 27-year-old Donovan (here played by Melissa Gilbert) was murdered in El Salvador in 1980. Constructed in a complex flashback-flashforward style, the film shows how Donovan went from a selfish, materialistic girl to a champion of human rights. Martin Sheen plays the priest who is instrumental in Donovan's turnaround. The increasing demand for the US to withdraw its support of El Salvador's military-oriented government is a secondary but vital ingredient to the full dramatic impact of this made-for-TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

William Devane stars as John Henry Faulk, a popular radio and TV entertainer of the 1950s. In 1956, Faulk is blacklisted on the basis of an attack from the self-appointed anticommunist group AWARE. Fired by CBS, Faulk decides to sue AWARE for libel. His attorney Louis Nizer (George C. Scott) warns him that such a case will take several years to get to court, thus Faulk reluctantly takes a series of low-paying jobs to sustain himself during his "down period". In 1962, the case is finally brought before a judge, with several witnesses pointing out the idiotic iniquities of the Blacklist mentality (one child actor was prohibited from working because he had a name that sounded like that of an adult blacklistee). Appearing as themselves during the courtroom scenes are actress Kim Hunter, herself a blacklist victim, and producers David Susskind and Mark Goodson. Faulk wins his case, though his original award of $3.5 million in damages is later reduced to $550,000, and he is never able to completely return to his pre-blacklist prominence. Like several other filmic recreations of the "witch-hunt" era, Fear on Trial was first presented in the mid-1970s (October 2, 1975, to be exact), long after the most zealous of the 1950s anti-Red groups had fallen by the wayside. The film earned an Emmy award for screenwriter David Rintels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The FBI launches a search for Curtis Stone (Roy Poole), a sleazy extortionist who preys upon the families of servicemen. There is someone else anxious to catch up with Stone: Sgt. Paul Devlin (John Ericson), whose wife committed suicide while he was in Vietnam. Holding Stone responsible for his wife's death, Devlin is determined to mete out his own brand of retribution--and Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is equally determined to prevent the embittered Devlin from becoming a murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season Two of The F.B.I gets under way as Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) receives an anonymous tip that teenager Paul Wallace (David Macklin) has been kidnapped and returned unharmed once the ransom was paid. But when Erskine interviews Wallace's father (John Larch), the man steadfastly denies that any kidnapping took place. It turns out that the abductors, Casey (Scott Marlowe) and Junior (Robert Blake), have threatened horrific consequences to the Wallace family if they talk to the authorities. Unfortunately, Mr. Wallace's silence may prove fatal for the kidnappers' latest victim(Dennis Joel Olivieri)--a diabetic in desperate need of insulin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi