All the President's Men 1976  PG, 139 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Cast: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Jane Alexander, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Ned Beatty, Meredith Baxter, F. Murray Abraham, Stephen Collins, Penny Fuller, John McMartin, Robert Walden, Frank Wills
Based on the bestseller by Washington journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, this award-winning film tells the story of the Watergate break-in and the investigation that led to President Nixon's resignation. The screenplay adaptation by William Goldman won an Academy Award, as did Jason Robards for Best Supporting Actor. Nominations included Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actress (Jane Alexander).
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Blow Out 1981  R, 107 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Director: Brian De Palma
Cast: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz, Peter Boyden, Curt May, Ernest McClure, Dave Roberts, John Aquino, John McMartin, Deborah Everton, J. Patrick McNamara, Missy Cleveland, Roger Wilson, John Hoffmeister
Governor George McRyan (John Hoffmeister), a presidential candidate, is killed in a car accident; however, Jack (John Travolta) rescues Sally (Karen Allen) from drowning in the same accident. Jack believes he has evidence that the "accident" was not simply a tire blow out but was really an assassination and becomes involved in intrigue as he tries to get the facts.
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Citizen Cohn 1992  R, 112 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Pierson
Cast: James Woods, Joe Don Baker, Joseph Bologna, Ed Flanders, Lee Grant, Frederic Forrest, Pat Hingle, John McMartin, Josef Sommer, Daniel Benzali
This made-for-HBO film tells the story of Roy Cohn (James Woods), Senator Joseph McCarthy's right-hand man and chief counsel during the 1950s. This was the time when McCarthy and Cohn promoted the "Red Scare" as they hunted down Communists. Cohn used this notoriety to his advantage in his career. Now, as he lies dying of AIDS, he reflects on his life.
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Day One 1989 TV, 141 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Joseph Sargent
Cast: Brian Dennehy, David Strathairn, Michael Tucker, Hume Cronyn, Richard Dysart, Hal Holbrook, Barnard Hughes, John McMartin, David Ogden Stiers, Anne Twomey, Lawrence Dane, Ron Frazier, Olek Krupa, Gary Reineke
In this strong made-for-TV film, the story about the men who made the Atomic Bomb is told, as well as the political and morality struggles concerning its use. General Groves (Brian Dennehy) heads up the Manhattan Project and works diligently toward the single goal of building the ultimate weapon. He appoints Robert Oppenheimer (David Strathairn) to head up the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. Oppenheimer questions the consequences of their efforts but continues on to the final goal. Now it is time to drop the bomb, and the scientists witness the gruesome consequences of their efforts.
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The Defection of Simas Kudirka 1978 TV, 100 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: David Lowell Rich
Cast: Alan Arkin, Richard Jordan, Donald Pleasence, John McMartin, Shirley Knight, George Dzundza, Leo Grillo, Nicholas Guest, Ted Shackelford
This powerful made-for-TV drama is the true-life story of a Lithuanian sailor who defected by jumping ship in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1970. Arkin does another fine acting job and Rich won an Emmy for his directing.
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Dream Lover 1986  R, 104 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Cast: Kristy McNichol, Ben Masters, Paul Shenar, Justin Deas, John McMartin, Gayle Hunnicutt, Joseph Culp, Matthew Penn, Paul West, Jon Polito
After being attacked by an intruder whom she kills, Kathy Gardner (Kristy McNichol) seeks help overcoming her trauma. She goes to a dream research center, but suffers some unexpected results when her researcher, Michael Hansen (Ben Masters), uses Kathy as a guinea pig for his experiments.
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Gore Vidal's Lincoln 1988 TV, 200 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Lamont Johnson
Cast: Sam Waterston, Mary Tyler Moore, John Houseman, Richard Mulligan, John McMartin, Ruby Dee, Cleavon Little, James Gammon, Jeffrey DeMunn, Robin Gammell
Good performances by Sam Waterston (Abe) and Mary Tyler Moore (Mary Todd) help this otherwise slow account of Lincoln's time in Washington, D.C. The film is a credit to Vidal's bestseller, and Lamont Johnson won an Emmy for his direction. The musical score is similarly excellent.
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The Greatest Man in the World 1980  TV, 51 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Ralph Rosenblum
Cast: Brad Davis, Carol Kane, Howard Da Silva, Reed Birney, John McMartin, William Prince, Sudie Bond, Russell Horton, Henry Fonda
This made-for-TV tale, based on a James Thurber short story, is about a 1930s aviator who became famous after he flew around the world non-stop. The problem is that he is an illiterate dunderhead, and the media that made him a hero must now make him presentable.
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Legal Eagles 1986 PG, 116 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Ivan Reitman
Cast: Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Daryl Hannah, Brian Dennehy, Terence Stamp, Steven Hill, Roscoe Lee Browne, Christine Baranski, David Clennon, John McMartin
Robert Redford and Debra Winger are good together as they play attorneys on opposite sides of an art theft case.
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Native Son 1986 PG, 113 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Jerrold Freedman
Cast: Matt Dillon, Elizabeth McGovern, Oprah Winfrey, Victor Love, Carroll Baker, Art Evans, John Karlen, Geraldine Page, Lane Smith, John McMartin
This film shows the great chasm of misunderstanding between the "haves" and "have nots." Bigger, a young black man (Victor Young), is offered the chance to move up in the world when he is given the job of chauffeur for a wealthy family. When their daughter is accidentally killed by him, he is at a complete loss as to how to handle the situation in his strange new affluent and alien surroundings.
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No Reservations 2007  PG, 105 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: Scott Hicks
Cast: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clarkson, Jenny Wade, Bob Balaban, Brian F. O'Byrne, Lily Rabe, Eric Silver, Arija Bareikis, John McMartin, Celia Weston, Zoe Kravitz, Matthew Rauch, Dearbhla Molloy
In this remake of the 2002 German film "Mostly Martha," Catherine Zeta-Jones takes on the role of control-freak, New York City chef Kate Armstrong whose only friends appear to be her therapist (Bob Balaban) and the restaurant owner Paula (Patricia Clarkson). Things change after Kate's sister is killed in a car accident, and Kate's adolescent niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin) moves in with her. Kate is forced to take a brief time off to cope with the situation. When she returns to work, she clashes with the new, free-spirited chef Nick (Aaron Eckhart), but he gets along well with Zoe who spends her evenings in the restaurant kitchen. And, it isn't long before the opposite personalities of Kate and Nick turn into attractions for each other.
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Pennies from Heaven 1981 R, 108 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Herbert Ross
Cast: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Jessica Harper, Christopher Walken, Vernel Bagneris, John McMartin, John Karlen, Nancy Parsons, Will Hare
A songwriter and peddler (Steve Martin) endures a rather drab existence, but he lives out his fantasies through his song lyrics. Many song numbers are worked into the script to show the difference between Martin's dreary real life and his carefree dream world.
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Separate But Equal 1991 TV, 195 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: George Stevens Jr.
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Burt Lancaster, Richard Kiley, John McMartin, Graham Beckel, Ed Hall, Lynne Thigpen, Cleavon Little, Albert Hall, Macon McCalman
Based on one of the most important cases to be heard by the Supreme Court, this is a made-for-TV account of Brown v. Board of Education, which challenged school segregation based on race. The acting is excellent, with Sidney Poitier as Thurgood Marshall who argued the case, Burt Lancaster as his courtroom opponent, and Richard Kiley as Chief Justice Earl Warren. Lancaster's last role.
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A Shock to the System 1990 R, 91 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Jan Egleson
Cast: Michael Caine, Elizabeth McGovern, Peter Riegert, Swoosie Kurtz, Will Patton, Jenny Wright, John McMartin, Barbara Baxley, Samuel L. Jackson, Haviland Morris
When business executive Graham Marshall (Michael Caine) is passed over for the promotion of a younger man (Peter Riegert), he takes matters into his own hands and employs MURDER for job security in this black comedy.
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Sweet Charity 1969 G, 157 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Bob Fosse
Cast: Shirley MacLaine, John McMartin, Ricardo Montalban, Sammy Davis Jr., Chita Rivera, Paula Kelly, Stubby Kaye, Barbara Bouchet, Alan Hewitt, Dee Carroll
Recreated from the Broadway hit, this film is good entertainment. It is the story of dance-hall hostess Charity (Shirley MacLaine), a woman with a "past," who Oscar (John McMartin) loves but has trouble reconciling with her lifestyle.
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Three Businessmen 1998 N/R, 82 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Alex Cox
Cast: Miguel Sandoval, Alex Cox, Robert Wisdom, Isabel Ampudia, Andrew Schofield, John McMartin, Masatoshi Nagase, Tomorowo Taguchi, Ryoko Takizawa, Adrian Henri
Another unusual Alex Cox film comes our way in this fantasy/comedy. Bennie (Miguel Sandoval) and Frank (Alex Cox), one an American art dealer and the other a British art dealer, meet at the dank, Liverpool hotel where they are staying. Unable to get a dinner at the hotel, they take off through the deserted streets in search of a meal. But that's not easy, since everything seems to be closed. They get lost and end up is such places as Tokyo, Hong Kong, and a desert still in search of dinner.
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Who's That Girl? 1987  PG, 94 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: James Foley
Cast: Madonna, Griffin Dunne, Haviland Morris, John McMartin, John Mills, Robert Swan, Bibi Besch, Drew Pillsbury, Coati Mundi, Dennis Burkley, Robert Cornthwaite, Kimberlin Brown, Crystal Carson
Nikki Finn (Madonna) is released from prison after serving four years for a murder she did not commit. Yuppie lawyer Louden Trott (Griffin Dunne)–who has plans to be married that afternoon to spoiled socialite Wendy Worthington (Haviland Morris)– is given the job of driving Nikki from prison to the bus station. It turns out that Nikki is not interested in catching the bus. Instead, she wants to track down the real killer and uses Louden as her less-than-willing assistant. Chaos ensues.
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| 1. All the President's Men (1976)
2. Blow Out (1981)
3. Citizen Cohn (1992)
4. Day One (1989)
5. The Defection of Simas Kudirka (1978)
6. Dream Lover (1986)
7. Gore Vidal's Lincoln (1988)
8. The Greatest Man in the World (1980)
9. Legal Eagles (1986)
10. Native Son (1986)
11. No Reservations (2007)
12. Pennies from Heaven (1981)
13. Separate But Equal (1991)
14. A Shock to the System (1990)
15. Sweet Charity (1969)
16. Three Businessmen (1998)
17. Who's That Girl? (1987)
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