Bruno Kirby Movies

The most infamous multiple murders of the 1960s are brought back to life in this, the second made-for-television adaptation of Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry's best-selling account of Charles Manson and his "family." Linda Kasabian (Clea DuVall) is a young runaway with a baby who, while wandering the fringes of Los Angeles' hippie subculture, encounters Charles Manson (Jeremy Davies), a charismatic ex-convict and aspiring musician who travels with a group of young people, mostly women, whom he calls his "family." Kasabian soon falls into Manson's orbit and moves in with the group at a combination riding range and standing Western-movie set, where she and the other members of the family -- among them Patricia Krenwinkel (Allison Smith), Susan Atkins (Marguerite Moreau), Squeaky Fromme (Mary Lynn Rajskub), "Tex" Watson (Eric Dane), and Bobby Beausoleil (Michael Weston) -- subsist through petty crime, handouts, and rescuing food from trash bins and bond with their leader through drugs, group sex, and constant study of his apocalyptic philosophy. Like the other members of the group, Kasabian's life soon revolves around Manson, who is desperate to record his music and frustrated with the slow progress he's seeing from his patron Dennis Wilson, drummer with the Beach Boys. Certain that an international race war foretold in his songs will soon wipe out civilization, and that he and his family will ultimately persevere, Manson decides it's time to kick start events by staging a pair of spectacularly repellent murders, which are carried out by members of his family who have been taught not to question Manson's word. In time, Manson and his family are arrested in connection with the murders, and District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi (Bruno Kirby) is given the difficult task of untangling the mingled strands of the bizarre killings and making a case in court against the family. Helter Skelter was first aired on Sunday, May 16, 2004, by CBS; the film was subjected to last-minute cuts to tone down the violent content in the film's gruesome murder sequences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The real-life drama of the 1994 O.J. Simpson trial is given quasi-fictional treatment in this two-part CBS miniseries, which aired in November 2000. Much of the miniseries' plot focuses on the battle of egos between defense lawyers Johnnie Cochran (Ving Rhames) and Robert Shapiro (Ron Silver) and how the personalities of these men in part shaped the outcome of the trial. Also included in the cast are Bruno Kirby and Christopher Plummer. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

E.B. White's classic children's story is brought to the screen in this fantasy, which combines computer-animated characters with a cast of live actors. Mrs. Little (Geena Davis), Mr. Little (Hugh Laurie), and their son George (Jonathan Lipnicki) live in a brownstone near New York's Central Park. The Littles have decided to adopt a younger brother for George, and while they're meeting the children at an orphanage, they are greeted by a mouse named Stuart (voice of Michael J. Fox), who can talk, walk upright, wear clothes, and do nearly anything a human child can do. The Littles are so taken with Stuart that they decide to adopt him, and soon the rest of the family is just as charmed by Stuart -- with the possible exception of Snowbell (voice of Nathan Lane), their house cat. The cast of humans includes Jennifer Tilly, Bruno Kirby, and Dabney Coleman; animal voices are contributed by Chazz Palminteri and Steve Zahn, Jim Doughan, and David Alan Grier. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Hesitant to have Illeana Douglas as a guest on the show despite the fact that he's currently dating her, Larry (Garry Shandling) is compelled to coach the confounded actress through her appearance. Meanwhile, amidst a seemingly endless barrage of gay jokes from Phil (Wallace Langham), Brian (Scott Thompson) announces that he's considering filing a sexual harassment suit. Despite the chaos around him, Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) uses a video camera to coax celebrity guests into wishing the departing host well as the crew prepares for the final broadcast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

While organizing a roast for Larry (Garry Shandling), Norman (David Paymer) invites Dana Carvey, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, and Al Franken to take their best shot at the self-absorbed talk-show host. When Artie (Rip Torn) invites Carl Reiner to host instead of Hank (Jeffrey Tambor), the sensitive sidekick retaliates by practicing his heckler defense skills and inviting an unexpected guest. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This drama about an undercover cop who learns the hidden dangers of working his way inside the mob was based on a true story. Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI agent who is given an assignment to infiltrate the Mafia; calling himself Donnie Brasco, he befriends Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is in tatters. Lefty's marriage is falling apart, his son is a junkie, and his health is failing, which only adds to his growing disillusionment about having spent 30 years with the Mafia (and killing 26 people) with little to show for it. But in Donnie, Lefty sees someone who can succeed where he failed; he takes the young man under his wing, and under Lefty's tutelage Donnie quickly rises through the ranks of organized crime; however, the longer he plays the role of the gangster, the more Joe Pistone finds himself becoming Donnie Brasco in his increasingly rare off hours; it drives a wedge between himself and his wife (Anne Heche) and children, and Joe realizes that a break in character among the hoodlums he's come to know could mean a death sentence for himself and his family. Just as importantly, Joe has come to regard Lefty as a close and trusted friend, and Joe realizes that when the day comes where he has to turn in his Mob associates, he'll be ending Lefty's life as surely as if he put a slug in his head himself. The supporting cast includes Michael Madsen as Sonny, Lefty's boss, and Bruno Kirby as Nicky, one of Sonny's henchmen. The real-life Joe Pistone today lives under an assumed name with a 500,000-dollar contract on his life still in effect. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Paul (Paul Reiser) works out at a local gym where no one knows who he really is. Jamie (Helen Hunt) ultimately gets a free ten-day pass to the selfsame gym, and promptly hands it over to a homeless individual. Need we add that "mystery man" Paul is somewhat put out by this turn of events? Bruno Kirby is tonight's special guest transient. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bruno Kirby guest stars as Victor Helms, a former plumber's assistant who was convicted of murder after causing the deaths of an entire family in a gas explosion. Newly released from prison, Helms has sworn vengeance against the Baltimore homicide cop who put him away: Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher). In concert with his buddy Danny Newton (Richard Newton), Helms conducts a carefully plotted campaign of persecution and harassment against Frank and his family -- a campaign that, unless nipped in the bud, will culminate in murder. This was the final episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) wrote this ambitious epic that attempts to examine the communist witch hunts of the 1950s, racial prejudice, abuse of governmental powers, guilt, and suicide. The film begins in 1952 as an eager young FBI recruit, Kevin Walker (Matt Dillon), finds himself assigned to root out communist subversives in San Francisco's Chinese community. Unable to find evidence of communist influence anywhere, Kevin is pressured by the FBI office to get indictments anyway. As a result, Kevin drags innocent Chinese laundry man and labor organizer Chen Jung Song (Tzi Ma) into court on trumped up charges and Song is sent to prison. The film then shifts to 1962, and in the intervening years, Kevin's guilt at what he has done has grown into an obsession. But when Song is newly released from prison, he finds himself once again tracked by Kevin. Song, emotionally unable to deal with his new freedom, kills himself by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. Kevin, shattered, now decides to look after and protect Song's daughter, Marilyn (Joan Chen). Gradually, from his role as Marilyn's protector, Kevin's feelings of concern turn into love. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The second volume in this film noir style TV-anthology series, this collection of short stories revolves around the dark world of detectives and police officers. Called to look into a murder, an investigator (Gary Oldman) discovers that the victim of the crime is none other than his estranged wife (Gabrielle Anwar) in "Dead End for Delia." When an attractive woman captures the attention of a detective, he ends up entangled in mob business in "I'll Be Waiting." In "The Quiet Room," the underhanded plans of two unscrupulous officers go amok ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Based on Robert Anderson's novel, the made-for-television Getting Up and Going Home is a drama about a divorced attorney (Tom Skerritt) who copes with a mid-life crisis by having affairs with no less than three women: his ex-wife, a single mother, and a married suburbanite. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In this farcical comedy, Matthew Broderick plays Clark Kellogg, an aspiring director who arrives in New York City to attend film school. However, moments after he arrives in the city, he's robbed by Victor Ray (Bruno Kirby), leaving him no money for the $700 in books required by his instructor, Arthur Fleeber (Paul Benedict). A few days later, Clark runs into Victor and demands his money back, but Victor has already lost it (on a horse race in which he wasn't entirely sure the animal he bet on was a horse). Instead, he offers to fix Clark up with a job with his boss, an "importer and exporter" named Carmone Sabatini (Marlon Brando), who bears a stunning resemblance to Don Corleone in The Godfather. Clark's adventures with Sabatini are just beginning when he's instructed to pick up a package from the airport. Clark is expecting it to be contraband, and he's right, but not in the way he figured -- it turns out he's accepting delivery of a komodo dragon, which is to be served at a "gourmet club" specializing in dishes prepared from endangered species. Marlon Brando's hilarious comic variation on one of his best-known roles is the highlight of this film, but Bruno Kirby and Paul Benedict also deliver fine comic turns, and Matthew Broderick copes nobly with his role as the film's lone normal person. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide