''River Made to Drown In'' is a 1997 drama film starring Michael Imperioli, Richard Chamberlain,

Ute Lemper Ute Gertrud Lemper (; born 4 July 1963) is a German singer and actress. Her roles in musicals include playing Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of ''Cabaret'', for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer, and Velma ...

and James Duval. Although directed by James Merendino, Merendino had his name removed, and the film is credited to

Alan Smithee Alan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project. Coined in 1968 and used until it was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild o ...

.Daniel Herbert ''River Made to Drown In'' failed to secure U.S. theatrical distribution, and it was released on DVD and has appeared on here! television.

Plot summary

Allen is a struggling artist who had formerly worked as a male prostitute. He has left that life behind and is involved with Eva his art dealer. His life is upset by the arrival of Thaddeus, a wealthy lawyer near death from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. Allen had for a time been Thaddeus's "kept boy" and Thaddeus has come to Allen to die. Before he dies, however, he wants Allen to help him find Jaime, another young hustler who had taken Allen's place with Thaddeus. Thaddeus is worried that he's infected Jaime with HIV and says he wants to care for him financially. The film follows Allen's efforts to fulfil Thaddeus's final wishes while struggling to maintain his relationship with Eva and avoid the temptation of being drawn back into his former life on the streets.

Cast

* Richard Chamberlain as Thaddeus MacKenzie * Michael Imperioli as Allen Hayden *

as Eva Kline * James Duval as Jaime *

Austin Pendleton Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor. He is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen who has appeared in films including ''Catch-22'' (1970); '' W ...

as Billy *

Talia Shire Talia Rose Shire (née Coppola; born April 25, 1946) is an American actress who played roles as Connie Corleone in ''The Godfather'' films and Adrian Balboa in the ''Rocky'' series. For her work in ''The Godfather Part II'' and ''Rocky'', Shire ...

as Jaime's Mother * Mike Starr as Frank * Richard Riehle as Heavyset Man *

Michael Saucedo Michael Saucedo (born July 11, 1970) is an American actor best known for his role on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' from 1999 until 2001, and he briefly returned in 2013 and 2014. He is also a musician and published author known for the ...

as Luis *

James Karen James Karen (born Jacob Karnofsky; November 28, 1923 – October 23, 2018) was an American character actor of Broadway, film and television. Karen is known for his roles in '' Poltergeist'', ''The China Syndrome'', '' Wall Street'', ''The Retu ...

as Ray * Michael Kearns as Arthur * Michael O'Hagan as Jack * Lewis Arquette as Vagabond * Paul Marius as Turk * Jon Powell as Martin

DVD release

''River Made to Drown In'' was released on Region 1 DVD on July 1, 2003.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:River Made To Drown In, A 1997 films 1997 drama films 1997 LGBT-related films American LGBT-related films Films credited to Alan Smithee HIV/AIDS in American films American independent films Films about male prostitution in the United States Films directed by James Merendino Films set in Santa Monica, California 1997 independent films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language independent films