Director Michael Ritchie died April 16th at the age of 62. A Wisconsin native, Ritchie studied at Harvard before succumbing to the attractions of the theatre. He started working in television during the 1960s where he directed episodes of The Big Valley and The Man from UNCLE among others. He moved into feature films with Downhill Racer (1969) at star Robert Redford's invitation and later directed Redford again in The Candidate (1972). The latter is a classic look at American political life that hasn't lost any of its power or insights over the years. This was the start of Ritchie's most productive period when he made several films that were both popular and critically acclaimed. You can find his sly wit and sense of critical drama in Smile (1975), The Bad News Bears (1976) and Semi-Tough (1978). By the 1980s, though, Ritchie's films focused less on social criticism and more on stars. The Survivors (1983) with Robin Williams remains under-rated but Ritchie-directed vehicles for Eddie Murphy (1986's The Golden Child), Bette Midler (1980's Divine Madness) and Chevy Chase (two Fletch films) didn't quite achieve their potential. Some of the old Ritchie spark and intelligence appeared in the made-for-cable The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993) which earned him a Directors Guild Award. One of his final films was the long-awaited screen adaptation of The Fantasticks (1995) which partly brought Ritchie back to his theatrical roots.
ANN SOTHERN: 1909 - 2001
Actress Ann Sothern passed away on March 15th at the age of 89. Her film career spanned sixty years and included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Whales of August (1987) and several Emmy nominations for her roles in the TV shows Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). Sothern was born as Harriette Lake in North Dakota. She made her first film appearance in 1927 in small roles (so small, in fact, that some sources omit any films before 1929) before deciding to work on Broadway instead. Shortly afterwards she signed with Columbia Pictures where studio head Harry Cohn insisted she change her name because there were already too many actors with the last name of Lake. So "Ann" came from her mother's name Annette and "Sothern" from Shakespearean actor E.H. Sothern. For most of the 1930s she appeared in light comedies working with Eddie Cantor, Maurice Chevalier, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March. However, it wasn't until she switched to MGM (after a brief period with RKO) and made the film Maisie (1939) that Sothern hit pay dirt. It proved enormously popular and led to a series of nine more films through 1947 when she moved into dramas and musicals. During the 50s, Sothern made a mark with her TV series but returned to mostly second tier movies in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally she earned an Oscar nomination for her work in 1987's The Whales of August (in which, incidentally, her daughter Tisha Sterling played her at an earlier age). Turner Classic Movies plans to host a retrospective film tribute to her in July. Check back for details in June.
The Island
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Michael Ritchie
Brad Sullivan
John O'leary
Bruce Mclaughlin
James Casino
Suzanne Astor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In a Caribbean colony that has existed for hundreds of years, ruthless pirates make their living by raiding pleasure ships. When reporter Blair Maynard goes to investigate the story about disappearing boats, he and his son Justin are captured, but the pirates spare their lives. Instead of killing them, the pirates decide to make them part of their community, Blair is to write for the illiterate group and father children to offset inbreeding, and Justin is to be brainwashed and groomed to become the heir to their leader. .
Director
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/MichaelRitchie.162237.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Michael Ritchie
Cast
Brad Sullivan
John O'leary
Bruce Mclaughlin
James Casino
Suzanne Astor
Susan Bredhoff
Reg Evans
Steve Gladstone
David Hart
Robert Hirschfeld
Cary Hoffman
George Marshall Ruge
John Macchia
Ricky Rincon
Robert Thomas Salmi
William Schilling
Stewart Steinberg
Bob Westmoreland
Mark Westwood
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/MichaelCaine.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Michael Caine
David Warner
Angela Punch-mcgregor
Frank Middlemas
Don Henderson
Jeffrey Frank
Dudley Sutton
Colin Jeavons
Zaeks Mokae
Jimmy Casino
Crew
Carolyn Abe
Phil Adams
Bernard Bats
Richard Beggs
Peter Benchley
Peter Benchley
Mark Berger
Jay Boekelheide
David Brown
Fletcher Bryant
Tom Bullock
Chris Carreras
Jimmy Casino
Dave Cass
David S Cass
Mike Cassidy
Gary Chasen
Michel Cheyko
Erik Cord
Bill Couch
Robert De Vestel
Vince Deadrick
Henri Decae
Chris Doyle
Susan Dukow
Al Ebner
Dean Engelhardt
Eugene Finley
George Fisher
Vivien Hillgrove Gilliam
Ted Grossman
Richard A Harris
Orwin Harvey
Dale Hennesy
Bob Herron
Robert Herron
Larry Holt
John Hudkins
Walter Huse
John M Johnson
Hubie Kerns Jr.
Rick Kline
Bobbe P Kurtz
Clay Lacy
Fred M. Lerner
Alan Levine
Dennis Madalone
William James Madden
Jack Marino
Jack M Marino
Donald O Mitchell
Robert M Moore
Ennio Morricone
William M Nicholson
Paquita Nunez
John Nutt
Grant Page
David Parker
Victor Paul
Ray Pratte
Neil Roach
Ernest Robinson
George Robotham
John Robotham
Yves Rodallec
Philip Romano
Thomas Rosales Jr.
Ann Roth
Jose Antonio Sanchez
Silvio Scarano
Marshall Schlom
Swede Sorenson
Paul Stader
Richard Strauss
Brian Stuart-young
Bill Taylor
Michael Tronick
Dianne Wager
Peter Waller
Bud Walls
Cliff Wenger
Bob Westmoreland
Albert Whitlock
Jerry Wills
Richard D. Zanuck
Manfred Zendar
Film Details
Technical Specs
Articles
TCM Remembers - Michael Ritchie
![Tcm Remembers - Michael Ritchie](https://prod-images.tcm.com/img/film-participant-detail/Featured-Artilce_Placeholder.png)
TCM Remembers - Michael Ritchie
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Summer June 13, 1980
Released in United States Summer June 13, 1980