Promises in the Dark | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jerome Hellman |
Written by | Loring Mandel |
Produced by | Jerome Hellman |
Starring | Marsha Mason Ned Beatty Susan Clark Michael Brandon Kathleen Beller |
Cinematography | Adam Holender |
Edited by | Bob Wyman |
Music by | Leonard Rosenman |
Production company | Jerome Hellman Productions |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Orion Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million [1] |
Promises in the Dark is a 1979 American drama film produced and directed by Jerome Hellman and written by Loring Mandel. The film stars Marsha Mason, Ned Beatty, Susan Clark, Michael Brandon, Kathleen Beller and Paul Clemens. It was released by Warner Bros. and Orion Pictures on November 2, 1979. [2] [3] [4]
For their performances, Marsha Mason earned a nomination for Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama and Kathleen Beller received a nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama, Comedy or Musicals at the 37th Golden Globe Awards. Mason was also nominated that same year for the Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Golden Globe award for her work in Chapter Two.
Numbed by career demands and a recent divorce, Dr. Alexandra Kendall hides behind a hard shell of professional detachment. Then she treats Buffy Koenig, a dying 17-year-old cancer patient who reawakens Kendall to life's possibilities. Eventually, Buffy's deteriorating condition forces Dr. Kendall to weigh the consequences of keeping a promise that she had made.
Actor | Role |
---|---|
Marsha Mason | Dr. Alexandra Kendall |
Ned Beatty | Bud Koenig |
Susan Clark | Fran Koenig |
Michael Brandon | Dr. Jim Sandman |
Kathleen Beller | Elizabeth (Buffy) Koenig |
Paul Clemens | Gerry Hulin |
Donald Moffat | Dr. Walter McInerny |
Philip Sterling | Dr. Frucht |
Bonnie Bartlett | Nurse Farber |
James Noble | Dr. Blankenship |
Arthur Rosenberg | Emergency Room Doctor |
Peggy McCay | Miss Pritikin |
Robert Doran | Alan |
Lenora May | Sue |
Alexandra Johnson | Ellie |
Fran Bennett | Emergency Room Nurse |
Eloise Hardt | Woman in Restaurant |
Bernie Kuby | Tony in Bud's Office |
Karen Anders | Secretary in Bud's Office |
Edith Fields | Mrs. Gans |
Alice Beardsley | Mrs. Keyes |
Writer Loring Mandel conceived the story for Promises in the Dark while he was employed as head writer for the daytime drama Love of Life . When the soap's executive producer Darryl Hickman rejected the idea, Mandel quit the show and developed the plot into a feature screenplay.
The project was initially in development at United Artists, with Elizabeth Ashley cast in the starring role, John Schlesinger set to direct and Arnold Schulman and Jerome Hellman producing. However, with the exception of Hellman, no one remained with the project, which was inactive for many years. Arthur Krim, chairman of the newly formed Orion Pictures, selected the script as one of the company’s first projects on the strength of Hellman’s previous productions, such as Midnight Cowboy and Coming Home . In addition to serving as producer, Hellman directed the film. [5]
Promises in the Dark was filmed partly on location at Manchester Memorial Hospital in Manchester, CT. [6]
Blossoms in the Dust is a 1941 American biographical drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden and Samuel S. Hinds. It tells the story of Edna Gladney, who helped orphaned children find homes and began a campaign to remove the word "illegitimate" from Texas birth certificates, despite the opposition of "good" citizens. The screenplay was by Anita Loos, with a story by Ralph Wheelwright. Some of the important aspects of her life fictionalized in the film are the fact that it was Edna herself who was born out of wedlock; she and Sam eloped on the eve of her marriage to someone else, and they had much more time together before his death than given them in the film.
Watch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin and starring Bette Davis and Paul Lukas. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play Watch on the Rhine by Lillian Hellman. Watch on the Rhine was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Paul Lukas won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Kurt Muller, a German-born anti-fascist in this film.
The Goodbye Girl is a 1977 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Neil Simon and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings and Paul Benedict. The film, produced by Ray Stark, centers on an odd trio of characters: a struggling actor who has sublet a Manhattan apartment from a friend, the current occupant, and her precocious young daughter.
Coming Home is a 1978 American romantic war drama film directed by Hal Ashby from a screenplay written by Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones with story by Nancy Dowd. It stars Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, Robert Carradine and Robert Ginty. The film's narrative follows a perplexed woman, her Marine husband, and a paraplegic Vietnam War veteran with whom she develops a romantic relationship while her husband is deployed in Vietnam.
Marsha Mason is an American actress and theatre director. She has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Goodbye Girl (1977), Chapter Two (1979), and Only When I Laugh (1981). The first two also won her Golden Globe Awards. She was married for ten years (1973–1983) to the playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon, who was the writer of three of these films.
The Cardinal is a 1963 American drama film produced independently, directed by Otto Preminger and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel of the same name (1950) by Henry Morton Robinson. The music score was written by Jerome Moross.
Jonathan Ray Banks is an American actor. His breakthrough came with the role of FBI Special Agent Frank McPike in the television series Wiseguy (1987–1990). For his role, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Banks gained renewed recognition for his role as hitman and fixer Mike Ehrmantraut in the television series Breaking Bad (2009–2013). He reprised the role as a lead character in the spin-off series Better Call Saul (2015–2022) and its sequel film, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019). For playing Ehrmantraut, he received five nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
The Return of Frank James is a 1940 Western film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney. It is a sequel to Henry King's 1939 film Jesse James. Written by Sam Hellman, the film loosely follows the life of Frank James following the death of his outlaw brother, Jesse James, at the hands of the Ford brothers. The film is universally considered historically inaccurate, but was a commercial success. It was the first motion picture for the actress Gene Tierney, who plays a reporter for the newspaper The Denver Star.
These Glamour Girls is a 1939 comedy-drama film directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Lew Ayres and Lana Turner, with Tom Brown, Jane Bryan, Richard Carlson, Anita Louise and Ann Rutherford in featured roles.
Jerome Hellman was an American film producer. He is best known for being the 42nd recipient of the Academy Award for Best Picture for Midnight Cowboy (1969). His 1978 film Coming Home was nominated for the same award.
The Human Comedy is a 1943 American comedy-drama film directed by Clarence Brown. It began as a screenplay by William Saroyan, who was expected to direct. After Saroyan was removed from the project, he wrote the novel of the same name and published it just before the film was released. Howard Estabrook was brought in to reduce the run time to two hours. The picture stars Mickey Rooney with Frank Morgan; also appearing in the film are James Craig, Marsha Hunt, Fay Bainter, Ray Collins, Van Johnson, Donna Reed and Jackie "Butch" Jenkins. Barry Nelson, Robert Mitchum and Don DeFore appear together as boisterous soldiers in uncredited supporting roles.
David Winters was an English-born American actor, dancer, choreographer, producer, distributor, director and screenwriter. At a young age, he acted in film and television projects such as Lux Video Theatre,Naked City; Mister Peepers,Rock, Rock, Rock, and Roogie's Bump. He received some attention in Broadway musicals for his roles in West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). In the film adaptation of West Side Story (1961) he was one of the few to be re-cast. It became the highest grossing motion picture of that year, and won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Sally of the Scandals is a 1928 American silent crime drama film produced and released by Film Booking Offices of America. It was directed by Lynn Shores and starred Bessie Love.
The Chaser is a 1938 American comedy drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Dennis O'Keefe and Lewis Stone.
Chapter Two is a 1979 American Metrocolor romantic comedy-drama film directed by Robert Moore, produced by Ray Stark, and based on Neil Simon's 1977 Broadway play of the same name. It has a 124-minute running time. It stars James Caan and Marsha Mason, in an Academy Award-nominated performance.
Conspiracy is a 1939 American spy drama film directed by Lew Landers, from a screenplay by Jerome Chodorov, based on the story, "Salute to Hate", by John McCarthy and Faith Thomas. The film stars Allan Lane, Linda Hayes, and Robert Barrat, and was produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, who premiered the film in New York City on August 23, 1939, with a general release on September 1.
Cyclone Higgins, D.D. is a 1918 silent American comedy-drama film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Francis X. Bushman, Beverly Bayne, and Baby Ivy Ward, and was released on May 13, 1918.
The Mayor of Filbert is a 1919 silent American drama film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Jack Richardson, Belle Bennett, and J. Barney Sherry, and was released on May 25, 1919.
The Beauty Market is a 1919 American drama film directed by Colin Campbell and written by Margery Land May. The film stars Katherine MacDonald, Roy Stewart, Kathleen Kirkham, Wedgwood Nowell, Winter Hall, and Robert Brower. The film was released on December 1, 1919, by First National Exhibitors' Circuit. There are no known archival holdings of the film, so it is presumably a lost film.
Raiders of the South is a 1947 American Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Johnny Mack Brown, Evelyn Brent, Raymond Hatton, Reno Browne, Marshall Reed and John Hamilton. The film was released on January 18, 1947, by Monogram Pictures.
{{cite web}}
: Check |url=
value (help)