James N. Harrell

Acting

James N. Harrell

Born — Died

1918-09-03 — 2000-02-01

Place of birth

Waco, Texas, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

37 titles

James Nelson Harrell was an American actor with a career spanning several decades. He graduated from Baylor University and held a Master's Degree in Drama from Trinity University. Harrell studied acting at the original Baylor Theater with Paul Baker in the 1930s and, in 1940, was invited to join Michael Chekhov's Acting Studio in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He appeared in films such as Michael (1996) and The Green Mile (1999). Harrell's extensive work in theater and film left a lasting impact on the acting community.

Known for

Film credits

1990s · 14 titles

The Hot Spot poster
6.3

Upon arriving to a small town, a drifter quickly gets into trouble with the local authorities — and the local women — after he robs a bank.

The Hot Spot

1990

Leap of Faith poster
5.8

Jonas Nightengale is a fraudulent Christian faith healer who makes a living travelling around America holding revival meetings and conducting 'miracles' with the help of his friend and manager, Jane, and their entourage.

Leap of Faith

1992

JFK poster
7.6

Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.

JFK

1991

Hope Floats poster
6.5

Birdee Pruitt has been humiliated on live television by her best friend, Connie, who's been sleeping with Birdee's husband, Bill. Birdee tries starting over with her daughter, Bernice, by returning to her small Texas hometown, but she's faced with petty old acquaintances who are thrilled to see Birdee unhappy -- except for her friend Justin. As he helps Birdee get back on her feet, love begins to blossom.

Hope Floats

1998

Flesh and Bone poster
6.0

Haunted by memories of his father murdering a family, Arlis Sweeney prefers to keep to himself, focusing his energy on his work. One day, the traumatic past that eats away at him returns when he meets Kay Davies, a woman connected to the bloody event. Against all odds, Arlis and Kay fall in love; however, when his father, Roy, reappears in his life -- with the coldhearted Ginnie in tow -- Arlis must deal with his past demons.

Flesh and Bone

1993

Varsity Blues poster
6.2

In small-town Texas, high school football is a religion, 17-year-old schoolboys carry the hopes of an entire community onto the gridiron every Friday night. When star quarterback Lance Harbor suffers an injury, the Coyotes are forced to regroup under the questionable leadership of John Moxon, a second-string quarterback with a slightly irreverent approach to the game.

Varsity Blues

1999

A Family Thing poster
6.6

Earl Pilcher Jr. runs an equipment rental outfit in Arkansas, lives with his wife and kids and parents, and rarely takes off his gimme cap. His mother dies, leaving a letter explaining he's not her natural son, but the son of a Black woman who died in childbirth; plus, he has a half brother Ray, in Chicago, she wants him to visit. Earl makes the trip, initially receiving a cold welcome from Ray and Ray's son, Virgil. His birth mother's sister, Aunt T., an aged and blind matriarch, takes Earl in tow and insists that the family open up to him.

A Family Thing

1996

Michael poster
5.7

Tabloid reporters are sent by their editor to investigate after the paper recieves a letter from a woman claiming an angel is living with her.

Michael

1996

The Good Old Boys poster
6.7

An aging cowboy must choose between his desire to remain free and the responsibilities of maintaining a family.

The Good Old Boys

1995

Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind poster
3.7

A gambler, a Texas ranger and an FBI agent are investigating a series of vigilante murders.

Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind

1991

A Slipping Down Life poster
4.4

A young woman becomes obsessed with a small-time North Carolina rock singer.

A Slipping Down Life

1999

Texasville poster
6.1

Summer, 1984: 30 years after Duane captained the high school football team and Jacy was homecoming queen, this Texas town near Wichita Falls prepares for its centennial. Oil prices are down, banks are failing, and Duane's $12 million in debt. His wife Karla drinks too much, his children are always in trouble, and he tom-cats around with the wives of friends. Jacy's back in town, after a mildly successful acting career, life in Italy, and the death of her son. Folks assume Duane and Jacy will resume their high school romance. And Sonny is "tired in his mind," causing worries for his safety. Can these friends find equilibrium in middle age?

Texasville

1990

Wild Texas Wind poster
6.0

Soon after a country singer moves in with her band's new manager, he's found slain and she's a suspect.

Wild Texas Wind

1991

Pair of Aces poster
6.7

A Texas Ranger has to protect his two daughters as he investigates a serial killer who is attacking cheerleaders. Meanwhile he finds himself working with a safe cracker who claims to be innocent of the charges filed against him.

Pair of Aces

1990

1980s · 11 titles

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 poster
5.7

A radio host is victimised by the notorious cannibal family while a former Texas Marshal hunts them.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2

1986

Urban Cowboy poster
6.5

After moving to Pasadena, Texas, country boy Bud Davis starts hanging around a bar called Gilley's, where he falls in love with Sissy, a cowgirl who believes the sexes are equal. They eventually marry, but their relationship is turbulent due to Bud's traditional view of gender roles. Jealousy over his rival leads to their separation, but Bud attempts to win Sissy back by triumphing at Gilley's mechanical bull-riding competition.

Urban Cowboy

1980

Lost Angels poster
6.4

Rich L.A. party brat Tim spins into a cycle of despair after his parents divorce, and trying to fill the void with drugs and trouble only buys him a ticket to an asylum. But with the help of a psychiatrist who has taken an interest in him, will Tim try to pull himself out of the muck of teenage rebellion and ennui?

Lost Angels

1989

Resurrection poster
6.5

The story of a woman who survives the car accident which kills her husband, but discovers that she has the power to heal other people. She becomes an unwitting celebrity, the hope of those in desperate need of healing, and a lightning rod for religious beliefs and skeptics.

Resurrection

1980

Raggedy Man poster
5.7

A divorced mother of two boys is stuck working as a telephone operator in a small Texas town during World War II. Her friendship with a Navy sailor on shore leave causes gossip in town.

Raggedy Man

1981

Nadine poster
5.4

Hairdresser Nadine Hightower wants to retrieve the risqué photos she once posed for, but when she visits the photographer at his office, he's murdered by an intruder. Nadine talks her estranged husband, Vernon, into going along when she returns to the office, where they stumble across plans for a less than legal construction project. But when Vernon tries to turn the documents into a cash windfall, he and Nadine are pursued by goons with guns.

Nadine

1987

The Lone Star Kid poster
6.3

The Lone Star Kid is about a compassionate eleven year old boy who becomes mayor of a small town when he witnesses an accident and a death due to lack of ambulance services. He is determined to bring big-town services to his small town. The movie is based on the true story of Brian Zimmerman, an 11 year old who became mayor of Crabb, a small town in Fort Bend County, Texas.

The Lone Star Kid

1986

Country poster
6.5

Jewell and Gil are farmers. They seem to be working against the odds, producing no financial surplus. Gil has lost hope of ever becoming prosperous, but Jewell decides to fight for her family.

Country

1984

The Dollmaker poster
7.7

During World War II, hard-luck farmer Colvis Nevels leaves his rural Kentucky home to take a factory job in bustling Detroit. Reluctantly accompanying Colvis is his long-suffering wife, Gertie, a talented woodcarver set in her traditional ways. When the perils of city life and Colvis' reckless squandering of money send the Nevels into precarious financial straits, Gertie starts a business making hand-carved dolls in order to provide for her family.

The Dollmaker

1984

Riverbend poster
6.5

A black major and his men are on the run from a rigged court-martial and hide out in a small Georgia town where a cruel white sheriff is terrorising the black population. Together with one strong-willed woman, they formulate a bold plan to fight for freedom and human rights.

Riverbend

1989

Noon Wine poster
NR

The drama, adapted from a story by Katherine Anne Porter, tells of a Swedish immigrant who arrives on a small Texas farm at the turn of the century for work, is hired, and subsequently, and inadvertently, causes the downfall of his employer when a suspicious visitor comes to call.

Noon Wine

1985

1970s · 11 titles

The Sugarland Express poster
6.6

Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.

The Sugarland Express

1974

Paper Moon poster
7.9

During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.

Paper Moon

1973

Race with the Devil poster
6.4

Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.

Race with the Devil

1975

The Great Waldo Pepper poster
6.6

A biplane pilot and WWI veteran takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory days he misses.

The Great Waldo Pepper

1975

Rolling Thunder poster
6.8

A recently-returned Vietnam POW loses his family and his right hand during a violent home invasion, and seeks retribution against those responsible.

Rolling Thunder

1977

Don't Hang Up! poster
6.1

13 years after witnessing her mother's murder by an unknown assailant, Amanda Post returns home to attend to her dying grandmother. When she dismisses the doctor, a local magistrate and an antique collector, all of whom seem to have their own sinister agendas, she becomes the target of anonymous threatening phone calls.

Don't Hang Up!

1974

Outlaw Blues poster
4.8

An aspiring musician is released from prison to find that a song he had written while locked up has been stolen and made into a hit record by a country music superstar. When his confrontation with the star takes a violent turn the ex-con has to go back on the run, but he finds an unexpected ally in a shrewd background singer with a plan to turn the tables in his favor.

Outlaw Blues

1977

Encounter with the Unknown poster
4.3

Three eerie tales based on actual events are enacted in this film. First, three college students play a prank on a geeky classmate, who is accidentally shot and killed. His vengeful mother forecasts the deaths of the three young men she holds responsible, on 7, 14, and 21 days hence. And, one by one, her grim predictions come true. Next, a ghoulish sound emanates from a mist-shrouded hole in the Earth near where a Missouri boy has lost his dog. The boy's father is lowered into the hole and lets out an agonizing scream! Finally, a senator returning home from a party finds a lost girl on a bridge and learns from her father that she died years earlier

Encounter with the Unknown

1972

Houston, We've Got a Problem poster
7.5

NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.

Houston, We've Got a Problem

1974

A Bullet for Pretty Boy poster
4.1

A biography of Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, a gangster who started his career at a young age after seeking revenge for his father's murder.

A Bullet for Pretty Boy

1970

The Whole Shootin' Match poster
5.9

Lloyd and Frank, two lifelong friends and self-styled entrepreneurs in Austin, try to find the get-rich-quick scheme that will actually get them rich. Lloyd has developed a new invention that he's sure will finally lead to the success he and Frank have been chasing their whole lives. Their golden ticket is a combination mop, vacuum cleaner and floor polisher, but before prosperity arrives, reality intrudes on their plans.

The Whole Shootin' Match

1979

Series credits