Henry Jaglom

Few people are lukewarm about Henry Jaglom's films. Short on structure and often devoid of traditional narrative, what they offer instead (in movies such as 1990's Eating and 1995's Last Summer in the Hamptons) is a startling authenticity that comes as a result of his improvisational process.

Born Jan. 26, 1941, in London, Jaglom was raised in New York City and trained at the Actor's Studio. After appearing in off-Broadway shows and cabaret, Jaglom moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, where he became a Columbia Pictures contract player, turning up on TV shows such as "Gidget."

Using the money he earned from acting to fund his directorial endeavors, Jaglom made his first feature in 1971, the universally panned A Safe Place; it would be five years before he made his second picture, Tracks (starring Dennis Hopper). Jaglom's later films include Lucky Ducks (1993) and Babyfever (1994).

A Safe Place

1971 PG

Ping-ponging between past and present, fantasy and reality, Henry Jaglom's hallucinatory drama stars Tuesday Weld as a delicate young woman whose ethereal sensibilities send her searching for a retreat from the harsh milieu of 1970s New York City. Hollywood heavy hitter Orson Welles co-stars as a Central Park magician, and Jack Nicholson plays the protagonist's ex-lover -- who may or may not be her brother.