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IMDbPro

An Early Frost

  • TV Movie
  • 19851985
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
Ben Gazzara, Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, and Sylvia Sidney in An Early Frost (1985)
On this IMDbrief, we'll download the history of the first movies to raise our collective awareness of HIV/AIDS.
Play clip4:54
Watch How Movies and TV Shaped Our Perception of HIV/AIDS
1 Video
37 Photos
Drama
A young lawyer hasn't told his parents about his homosexuality. Now he must tell them--at a time when the diagnosis was still a death sentence--that he has AIDS.A young lawyer hasn't told his parents about his homosexuality. Now he must tell them--at a time when the diagnosis was still a death sentence--that he has AIDS.A young lawyer hasn't told his parents about his homosexuality. Now he must tell them--at a time when the diagnosis was still a death sentence--that he has AIDS.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
    • John Erman
    • Ron Cowen(teleplay)
    • Daniel Lipman(teleplay)
    • Sherman Yellen(story)
  • Stars
    • Gena Rowlands
    • Ben Gazzara
    • Sylvia Sidney
    • John Erman
    • Ron Cowen(teleplay)
    • Daniel Lipman(teleplay)
    • Sherman Yellen(story)
  • Stars
    • Gena Rowlands
    • Ben Gazzara
    • Sylvia Sidney
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 18User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 4 Primetime Emmys

    Videos1

    How Movies and TV Shaped Our Perception of HIV/AIDS
    Clip 4:54
    Watch How Movies and TV Shaped Our Perception of HIV/AIDS

    Photos37

    Ben Gazzara as Nick Pierson, Gena Rowlands as Katherine Pierson, Aidan Quinn as Michael Pierson
    Aidan Quinn in An Early Frost (1985)
    An Early Frost (1985)
    An Early Frost (1985)
    Gena Rowlands and Sylvia Sidney in An Early Frost (1985)
    Terry O'Quinn in An Early Frost (1985)
    An Early Frost (1985)
    Aidan Quinn and D.W. Moffett in An Early Frost (1985)
    Gena Rowlands in An Early Frost (1985)
    Ben Gazzara, Gena Rowlands, and Sylvia Sidney in An Early Frost (1985)
    Aidan Quinn and D.W. Moffett in An Early Frost (1985)
    Aidan Quinn in An Early Frost (1985)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gena Rowlands
    Gena Rowlands
    • Katherine Pierson
    Ben Gazzara
    Ben Gazzara
    • Nick Pierson
    Sylvia Sidney
    Sylvia Sidney
    • Beatrice McKenna
    Aidan Quinn
    Aidan Quinn
    • Michael Pierson
    D.W. Moffett
    D.W. Moffett
    • Peter Hilton
    John Glover
    John Glover
    • Victor DiMato
    Sydney Walsh
    Sydney Walsh
    • Susan Maracek
    Terry O'Quinn
    Terry O'Quinn
    • Dr. Redding
    Bill Paxton
    Bill Paxton
    • Bob Maracek
    Cheryl Anderson
    Cheryl Anderson
    • Christine
    Christopher Bradley
    Christopher Bradley
    • Todd
    Sue Ann Gilfillan
    • Nurse Lincoln
    Don Hood
    Don Hood
    • Dr. Gilbert
    Barbara Hey
    • Meredith
    Scott Jaeck
    Scott Jaeck
    • Phil
    John Lafayette
    John Lafayette
    • Paramedic
    Michael Prince
    • Norman Wesker
    Essex Smith
    • James
      • John Erman
      • Ron Cowen(teleplay)
      • Daniel Lipman(teleplay)
      • Sherman Yellen(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In the DVD commentary, Aidan Quinn ("Michael") remembers that NBC's Standards and Practices department (the network censors) were a constant (in Quinn's words, "hovering") presence on the set. They regulated matters such as Quinn appearing in bed with D.W. Moffett ("Peter")--they would not allow the two to be seen together in the characters' bed, only for Quinn to be in bed while Moffett sat, fully clothed, on its edge. Quinn says in the commentary that the censors were not only adamant that the two men were never allowed to kiss, but also that any physical contact between them had to be "balanced" by Michael's contact with his parents.
    • Quotes

      Michael Pierson: It's not just pneumonia, mom. I have AIDS.

      Katherine Pierson: AIDS?

      Michael Pierson: It's a disease...

      Nick Pierson: Yeah, I know what it is.

      Katherine Pierson: Michael, that's impossible. Who told you such a thing?

      Michael Pierson: The doctors did their tests.

      Katherine Pierson: No, AIDS is that disease...

      Michael Pierson: I'm gay, mom.

    • Connections
      Featured in The 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1986)

    User reviews18

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Still absorbing 23 years after it was released
    It's hard to believe that 'An Early Frost' was made for TV in 1985. I watched it for the first time on 11 November 2008 - 23 years after it was released - and I found it surprisingly fresh and enduring. Although it's an important historic record of the early response to AIDS (and for that reason alone is worth watching) it's more an exploration of family love and courage. The script is well-written, production values are high and the acting is uniformly excellent. Sylvia Sidney won a Golden Globe for her part as the grandmother, but the other main actors including Aidan Quinn (as the young man suffering from AIDS), Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands (playing his parents) are all excellent. A very rewarding experience.
    helpful•10
    0
    • Dukesquay
    • Nov 11, 2008

    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 11, 1985 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • USA
    • Production company
      • NBC Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 35 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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