Veronica Cartwright Movies
An actress with the kind of versatile beauty that has allowed her to effortlessly alternate between earthy and glamorous roles, Veronica Cartwright's steel-blue eyes have a strange way of piercing through the screen and transcending their two-dimensional restraints. Having successfully made the transition from child actor to seasoned screen veteran, Cartwright continued a career which allowed her to explore roles that ran the gamut from straight drama to chilling horror. A native of Bristol, England, Cartwright's family emigrated to the United States when she was still very young. Following a series of modeling jobs and print ads, the aspiring actress became a familiar face to television viewers as the "Kellogg's Girl" in a series of breakfast cereal commercials. She made her screen debut in the 1958 war drama In Love and War, and, in the years that followed, alternated between film and TV work with roles in such features as The Children's Hour (1961) and The Birds (1963), in addition to a turn as Lumpy's sister on the small-screen classic Leave It to Beaver. From 1964-1968, the actress endeared herself to television viewers as Jemima Boone on the popular Daniel Boone series.Although the transition from adorable child star to serious adult actor has been a serious stumbling block for generations of young stars, Cartwright skillfully avoided this pitfall with a series of memorable roles in the 1970s. Playing opposite such heavies as Richard Dreyfuss in Inserts (1975) and Donald Sutherland in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Cartwright was well on her way to crafting an enduring film career. A role as the ill-fated navigator in the 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien found her taking part in what would become one of the most lucrative and prolific franchises in cinema history, and a memorable performance in the 1983 space program drama The Right Stuff (in which she worked again with Body Snatchers director Philip Kaufman) helped to sustain her career through the '80s. Subsequent roles in Flight of the Navigator (1986) and Wisdom (1987) offered little in the way of dramatic depth, though Cartwright's winning performance in George Miller's The Witches of Eastwick (1987) found her nearly stealing the show from stars Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Despite the fact that Cartwright kicked off the '90s with a memorable turn in the popular weekly drama L.A. Law, the roles which followed were mostly comprised of thankless appearances in made-for-TV features and forgettable horror sequels. Although she remained busy, her parts just weren't as rich as they had been. Despite the dry spell, however, Cartwright was nominated for an Emmy for three memorable appearances in the popular small-screen chiller The X Files. The following decade found her edging back toward memorable film work with appearances in In the Bedroom (2001), Scary Movie 2 (2001), and Just Married (2003). After facing off against a cat-munching alien in the 2002 short Mackenheim, Cartwright essayed a substantial role in Richard Day's 2004 comedy Straight Jacket. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2009
- PG
- Add Call of the Wild 3D to Queue
Independent filmmaker Richard Gabai gives Jack London's literary classic a modern-day makeover with this family-friendly adventure. Nine-year-old city girl Ryan (Ariel Gade) is visiting her grandpa (Christopher Lloyd) in Montana and lamenting the lack of shopping malls when she befriends a wounded wild dog and names it Buck. As the annual sledding race draws near, Ryan and her new friends begin training Buck for the big day in hopes that he can win the gold. Can Buck's wild spirit be tamed in time for the race, or is he more comfortable out in the wilderness, running free with his four-legged friends? Veronica Cartwright, Timothy Bottoms, and Joyce DeWitt co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lloyd, Ariel Gade, (more)
A mysterious, mind-altering epidemic has infected humankind, and when a Washington, D.C. psychiatrist discovers that the outbreak seems to be extraterrestrial in origin, she struggles to save her son from infection in this sci-fi thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment). The space shuttle has crashed, and investigators assigned to explore the wreckage have found something unimaginable in the debris -- something from the deepest reaches of outer space. Everyone who comes into contact with it soon begins to transform in ways that can't be explained by modern science. While their physical appearance remains completely unaltered, their emotions seem to be drained and their actions become strangely inhuman. The only people who know the truth about this extraterrestrial epidemic are Washington, D.C. psychiatrist Carol Bennell (Kidman) and her longtime friend Dr. Ben Driscoll (Craig). It seems that the alien virus attacks people in their sleep, and by the time they awaken, the transformation has already taken place. The contagion is spreading rapidly, and as more people fall victim to its eerie effects by the hour, it becomes impossible to differentiate the infected from those who can still be trusted. When Carol realizes that her young son may hold the only hope for saving the human race, she struggles to remain awake long enough to find the boy and prevent planet Earth from becoming host to a terrifying new breed of extraterrestrials. Based on the book The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney, The Invasion was written by David Kajganich and co-stars Jeffrey Wright and Jeremy Northam. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, (more)
A conniving mother seeks to enter the world of politics by encouraging her boorish son to marry a senator's daughter. Eleanor Dingle (Veronica Cartwright) knows that politicians wield power, and she's desperate to break into the game. If she could just convince her son Barry (Barry Shurchin) to court Ethel Shivers (Nicole Sullivan), the homely daughter of a rising senator, then her road to the White House would be all but paved. But little does Eleanor realize that her longtime nemesis Derek (Erik Palladino) has already dispatched his own two sons on precisely the same mission, and it isn't long before the whole ruse blows up in her face. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Shurchin, Veronica Cartwright, (more)
An actor trying to keep the truth about his love life under wraps discovers feelings he doesn't want to hide in this frothy comedy. It's the mid-'50s, and Guy Stone (Matt Letscher) is a very successful movie star. Tall, good-looking, and boyishly charming, Stone has a reputation as a ladies' man with a very active love life. However, the truth is a bit different: while Stone is indeed enjoying more romantic misadventures than he can keep track of, he happens to prefer the company of men. When a scandal sheet gets wind of his sexual proclivities, Stone's manager (Veronica Cartwright) and the head of his studio (Victor Raider-Wexler) decide some camouflage is in order. Stone's handlers arrange for him to marry Sally (Carrie Preston), a sweet and naïve secretary from the studio who is entirely unaware that the man of her dreams is gay. As Stone tries to make the best of his sham marriage while feeling twinges of guilt about the toll it may take on Sally, he meets Rick Foster (Adam Greer), an author whose most recent novel is being adapted into a script for Stone. To Stone's surprise, he find himself falling seriously in love with Foster and discovers that Foster, like himself, has a few secrets that could put his Hollywood career in jeopardy. Straight-Jacket was directed by Richard Day, who also wrote the screenplay which was adapted from his off-Broadway play of the same name. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Letscher, Carrie Preston, (more)
Alfred Kinsey was an entomologist who taught at Indiana University and had a keen interest in an area of human behavior that had seen little scholarly research -- human sexuality. While the courtship and reproductive patterns of animals had been carefully documented, Kinsey believed that most "established facts" about human sexual behavior were a matter of conjecture rather than research and that what most people said about their sex lives was not born out by the evidence (a subject that had personal resonance for him given the troubles he and his wife Clara Kinsey had in the early days of their marriage). After introducing a course in "Marriage" at Indiana University which offered frank and factual information on sex to students, Kinsey began an exhaustive series of interviews with a wide variety of people from all walks of life in order to find out the truth about sex practices in America. When he published Sexual Behavior and the Human Male in 1948, his findings were wildly controversial, indicating that most men had a wider variety of sexual experiences than most people imagined, including a number of practices commonly thought to be dangerous or perverted (including pre-marital sex, same-sex contacts, and masturbation). An even greater outcry greeted Kinsey's next volume, Sexual Behavior and the Human Female, which contradicted common notions than most women went into marriage sexually inexperienced. Kinsey is a film biography written and directed by Bill Condon which examines Kinsey's life and work from his strict childhood until his death in 1956. Liam Neeson plays Alfred Kinsey, and Laura Linney co-stars as Kinsey's wife and colleague Clara. John Lithgow highlights the supporting cast as Kinsey's repressed and moralistic father, while Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, and Timothy Hutton play members of Kinsey's research team and Tim Curry appears as an IU faculty member at odds with Kinsey's teachings. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, (more)
Can a new marriage survive meddling friends, disapproving families, and some of the worst accommodations in Europe? That's the question posed in this broad comedy. Tom Leezak (Ashton Kutcher) is a regular guy who likes sports and beer and tries to make ends meet working as a nighttime radio traffic reporter. Sarah McNerney (Brittany Murphy) is a beautiful young woman from a wealthy and privileged family who is trying to make a name for herself as a writer. Tom and Sarah have seemingly nothing in common, but that doesn't stop them from falling in love. Sarah's family doesn't much care for Tom's boorish ways, and Tom's buddies think Sarah is too highbrow for him, but, if anything, this makes the couple all the more determined to be together, and they decide to get married and head off to Italy for a month-long honeymoon despite the pleas of those closest to them. However, even after the knot is tied, Sarah's former beau, Peter Prentiss (Christian Kane), is dead set upon breaking up the happy couple, though as it turns out, a seemingly endless stream of bad luck and post-marital jitters may do the job for him. Just Married was written by Sam Harper, who claims to have loosely based the script on his own experiences on an ill-starred European honeymoon with his wife; fortunately, the couple's marriage survived the experience. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ashton Kutcher, Brittany Murphy, (more)
Character actor and noted photographer Todd Field made his directorial debut with this emotionally powerful drama, which earned enthusiastic reviews at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Frank Fowler (Nick Stahl) is a handsome and amiable young man who has recently graduated from high school and is spending the summer working as a lobster fisherman before heading off to college in the fall. Frank is also involved with Natalie (Marisa Tomei), an attractive woman ten years his senior who is separated from her husband Richard (William Mapother), though their divorce has not yet been finalized. Frank's parents, Matt (Tom Wilkinson) and Ruth (Sissy Spacek) wonder if it's wise for their son to be pursuing a romance that he won't be able to continue in a few months; Matt trusts Frank and leaves him to make his own decisions, while Ruth quietly but firmly registers her objections. One day, Richard snaps, and breaks into Natalie's home; when he discovers Frank is there, he viciously kills him. The wheels of justice turn in an unexpected direction, and Richard is released on bail, free to go his own way as he awaits his trial. Matt and Ruth are both deeply traumatized by the event; while Matt tries to deal with his hurt by retreating into his work and avoiding his feelings, Ruth instead becomes increasingly withdrawn, losing interest in her job as a music teacher and spending her nights chain smoking in front of the television. In the Bedroom was adapted from the short story Killings by Andre Dubus. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, (more)
This sequel to a box-office sleeper hit that spoofed teen slasher flicks takes its cues from haunted house and possession films, particularly The Haunting (1999) and The Exorcist (1973). Although many of the first film's main characters were homicide victims, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Anna Faris return anyway to "re-possess" their roles for this follow-up in which four students are invited by their professor (Tim Curry) to his haunted mansion, Hell House, for a weekend sleep-deprivation study. Providing the sleep deprivation, however, is a series of murderous, supernatural goings-on. Scary Movie 2 co-stars Tori Spelling, Andy Richter, Christopher Masterson, Kathleen Robertson, James Woods, Chris Elliott, and Natasha Lyonne. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, (more)
- 2001
Posing as an author, Monica (Roma Downey) is granted an interview with Daniel Lee Corbitt (Sean Patrick Flanery), an unrepentant, publicity-hungry Death Row inmate. In the course of events, Monica and her fellow angels unearth some long-buried truths about Daniel's victim (his abusive stepfather) and his estranged mother Shirlee (Veronica Cartwright). The Angels' mission will fail unless Daniel can find forgiveness in his heart for his mother's past indiscretions--but how can this possibly happen when he is to be executed in 36 hours, with absolutely no hope for a last-minute reprieve? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The second of two made-for-TV biopics on the same topic (the first was Side by Side: The True Story of the Osmond Family), Inside the Osmonds was co-produced by Jimmy Osmond and Dick Clark, and as such can be regarded as reasonably accurate, if a tad on the hokey side. Matt Dorff's teleplay recounts the rise in popularity of the singing Osmond clan, from their humble beginnings in Utah onward. The act is strictly stag -- that is, it consisted largely of the Osmond Brothers -- until siblings Donny and Marie break out and matriculate to superstardom. Perhaps inevitably, the Osmond juggernaut begins to collapse under its own weight, due to dissension, jealousy, and the questionable financial escapade of the singers' father, George (played by Bruce McGill). The story ends in a tune-filled concert re-creation, featuring the real-life Osmonds (or as many as could be assembled herein). Standouts in the cast are Thomas Dekker and Patrick Levis as the younger and older Donny Osmond, Janaya Stephens as Marie, and Veronica Cartwright as the siblings' mother, Olive; there are also adequate Hollywood casting-service approximations of musician/politician Mike Curb and the Osmonds' longtime TV director Jack Regas. The abruptness of the continuity suggests that the film was originally much longer than its present two hours. Largely filmed in Toronto, Inside the Osmonds made its ABC network debut on February 5, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce McGill, Veronica Cartwright, (more)
- 1999
Filmmaker Mark Anthony Galluzzo debuts with this gritty account of two poor boys in rural Florida whose lives are irreparably changed after witnessing a friend's thoughtless hunting death. For Sunny (Jeremy Sisto), life becomes meaningless, and he decides to take as much as he can from the world. The trauma causes Anthony (Eric Michael Cole), who has won a couple of high school writing awards, to re-evaluate his life and his future. Though his grades and his relationship with the middle class C.J. (Jaime Pressly) indicate that the future is bright, Anthony is painfully aware that he does not deserve his good fortune. Trash was screened at the 1999 Boston Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Sisto, Eric Michael Cole, (more)
- 1999
- PG13
Women are in charge of a futuristic society were almost all of the globe's male population have been decimated due to biological warfare. In hopes of restocking the population, so to speak, a top scientist creates a new type of male genetically unable to commit acts of violence. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Bowen, Tamlyn Tomita, (more)
Making its world premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, this story adapted for the screen and directed by first-timer Toni Kalem is based on the Anne Tyler novel of the same name. The story deals with finding love in a dead-end life. Evie (Lili Taylor) is a loner, living with her widowed father, who works at an aging kiddie park where she is a costumed cartoon character. One night she hears the words and music of a musician named Drumstrings Casey (Guy Pearce) on the radio, and Evie is immediately infatuated by him. She attends his concerts and falls in love with him. The problem is he doesn't know she exists, so Evie decides to carve Casey's name on her forehead with broken glass. The resulting media attention gets her an introduction to Drumstrings Casey himself. From there, a relationship develops as Casey needs Evie for creative support and Evie needs Casey for emotional stability. Soon after, they get married; unfortunately their problems only get worse as Casey's career takes a nosedive and Evie's father passes away. Will these two people make something of themselves or will they forever just be slipping down life? ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lili Taylor, Guy Pearce, (more)
Shot in 33 days, this $9.6 million biographical drama of behind-the-scenes interactions within the Rat Pack group of Frank Sinatra (Ray Liotta), Dean Martin (Joe Mantegna), and Sammy Davis Jr. (Don Cheadle) is set against the political backdrop of the '60s, establishing links of singers, gangsters, actors, and politicans (sometimes brushing shoulders in the same rooms). The film also explores Sinatra's relationship with John F. Kennedy (William Peterson). Deciding to support Kennedy, Sinatra patches up his feud with Peter Lawford (Angus Macfadyen), since Lawford's wife, Pat (Phyllis Lyons) is JFK's sister -- and a Sinatra-Kennedy friendship soon follows. However, when Joe Kennedy (Dan O'Herlihy) decides Sinatra's nightclub, mob and commie connections are a no-no for JFK, the patriarch's interference angers Sinatra. Meanwhile, Sammy Davis Jr. enters into an interracial liaison with May Britt (Megan Dodds), and the dynamics of the situation are visualized in an imaginative musical fantasy sequence in which Davis sees himself singing and dancing for an unresponsive line of white supremacists. Broadway's Savion Glover stepped in with the film's choreography. Substitute singers featured the voice of Michael Dees for Sinatra and Mantegna duplicating Dino. Also covered here are the events that led to the filming of Ocean's Eleven (1960). For an actual Rat Pack stage performance, see The Rat Pack Captured (1965). Filmed in LA, the TV movie premiered August 22, 1998 on HBO. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna, (more)
- 1997
Pomerantz (Jami Gertz) refuses to put a woman with Down's syndrome on a heart-transplant list; Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Doyle (Jorja Fox) try to persuade her to change her mind. Now that he is of legal age, Jad Houston (Chad Lindberg), suffering from terminal cystic fibrosis, insists upon being taken off life support -- but Jad's mother (Veronica Cartwright) won't hear of it, forcing Ross (George Clooney) to act as "mediator" between life and death. And the relationship between Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) and Fischer (Harry J. Lennix) becomes more serious. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Should Doug Ross (George Clooney) honor the wishes of 17-year-old Jad Houston (Chad Lindberg), terminally ill with cystic fibrosis, who wants to be allowed to die -- or should Ross bow to the legalities of the situation and do everything he can to save the boy's life? In other developments, Greene (Anthony Edwards) giddily sets up three dates on the same night; Haleh (Yvette Freeman) takes over the duties of the suspended Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies); and Carter (Noah Wyle) relishes the opportunity to perform an appendectomy on his longtime nemesis Benton (Eriq La Salle). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
- R
Melba (Park Overall) lives in a trailer park in Victorville, California and is on a run of bad luck. Her husband Flint (Don Harvey) runs out on her when she catches him with a girlfriend. Her mother Sherri (Grace Zabriskie) connects her to a phone psychic, who tells her to watch for three kings who will change her life. In a bar, she runs into Trent (Jamie Kennedy), Brad (Freddie Prinze Jr.), and Joel (Steven Petrarca), who are on their way to Las Vegas, hoping to win enough money to pay their back rent. They nickname her Sparkler; she figures they're the kings and runs off with them. Meanwhile, Flint finds out Melba's won a million-dollar sweepstakes, but she must accept the prize in person within 72 hours or lose it. Melba finds her way to the Crack, a Vegas strip club, and runs into her high school pal Dottie Delgato (Veronica Cartwright) who lives with the club's lesbian owner, Ed (Sandy Martin). Flint, on the other hand, is desperately hunting Melba down with a plan to keep the sweepstakes money for himself. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Park Overall, Veronica Cartwright, (more)
A low-level criminal and a struggling newsman become unlikely partners in this comedy. Franklin Hatchett (Chris Tucker) is a fast-talking hustler who runs a small time ticket-scalping business. A TV news story by reporter James Russell (Charlie Sheen) brings Franklin's business to the attention of the police, and he finds himself under arrest. While being transported by police bus from one lock-up to another, Franklin is handcuffed to Raymond Villard (Gerard Ismael), a high-level jewel thief from Europe. Villard's henchmen stage a raid in which they explode the vehicle, killing most of the passengers (including two cops), but freeing their partner. Franklin is able to escape but learns that he's now wanted as a cop killer. Hoping to clear his name, Franklin approaches Russell with a deal -- if he'll hide him from the police and help him prove that he had nothing to do with the deadly explosion, he'll give the reporter an exclusive story, which could help Russell boost his sagging career. Money Talks also features Heather Locklear as Russell's fiancée Grace, and Paul Sorvino as Grace's father, who is quite impressed by Franklin's story that he's related to Vic Damone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Tucker, Charlie Sheen, (more)
Body parts take on a life of their own in these two below-par horror stories made for television. In one story, a pair of teeth bite into a nasty hitchhiker at an opportune moment, and in the other, an artificially attached hand leaves the body it belongs to and takes off for a series of adventures. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lloyd, Matt Frewer, (more)
A man facing AIDS has to deal with the personal and social ramifications of the disease in this made-for-television movie. John Lithgow was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of twin brothers, one of whom is a teacher diagnosed with AIDS. The film shows how his small town rallies to support him after one courageous woman speaks out and refuses to ostracize him. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
- Add Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh to QueueAdd Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh to top of Queue
This sequel to director Bernard Rose's superb, metaphorical Candyman is a more straightforward Gothic horror project, discarding any association with the events of the previous film (which was based on the short story "The Forbidden" by horror surrealist Clive Barker) aside from the title entity, played again by the imposing Tony Todd. A melancholy but extremely deadly ghost, Candyman is revealed -- in a compelling sequence of flashbacks -- as the vengeful spirit of Daniel Robitaille, a black portraitist in post-Civil War Louisiana who was set upon and horribly mutilated by an angry white mob in retaliation for his affair with a plantation owner's daughter. In present-day New Orleans, at the height of Mardi Gras festivities (the film's title refers to the literal translation of the Latin "Carnival"), Candyman walks the realm of the undead, with a hook in place of the hand he lost to the lynch mob, waiting to be summoned by the recitation of his name five times into a mirror. The latest victims of his evisceration skills include members of the Tarrant family, with young schoolteacher Annie (Kelly Rowan) next in line. Her family's connection with the Candyman legend is eventually revealed when Annie visits the family estate to uncover the link between her ancestors and Daniel Robitaille himself. This is a well-executed horror film, with fine performances and good use of the subtle menace underlying the Mardi Gras ambience, but the deft hand of Barker is clearly absent, leaving a standard horror plot without the mythical resonance of the original. The chilling Philip Glass score is a definite plus, though. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, (more)
The same haunted mirror that bedeviled people in the first film is back. This time it is used to help a crook steal a young girl's rightful inheritance. Low-budget chills. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
- PG13
A radio dee-jay gets targeted by a crazed killer in this made-for-television thriller. Gregory Hines stars as Mark Jannek, a late-night disc-jockey who is being harassed by an anonymous killer on the telephone. The killer thinks that Shepard knows too much and decides to threaten both the dee-jay and an innocent college student (Debrah Farentino) into silence. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Hines, Debrah Farentino, (more)
