cult film freak: hal holbrook

Showing posts with label hal holbrook. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 1/05/2024 / No comments / action , clint eastwood , cop , david soul , dirty harry , felton perry , franchise , hal holbrook , john milius , michael cimino , richard devon , robert urich , seventies , tim matheson

CLINT EASTWOOD AS DIRTY HARRY VS DAVID SOUL 'MAGNUM FORCE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggddRaxfTZWmxM0fRmOcq_dQH6yyUtPhdz2zBbVyBJMPjkpwaoNYi6PSa9yorfjFWgF2yNK2kYGTkULjoIzcfwUPuBc9ePT0Dd0OTVyeW7kIdyA0Z8sTTzoZgPik9qz_ap6SyVg1D2ELWvTuX-i4CQQaxShQ2AZEeudzOVeavohhR3Zp0MFxAVz8nnzNQg/s2308/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-05%20at%209.58.47%20PM%202%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="2308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggddRaxfTZWmxM0fRmOcq_dQH6yyUtPhdz2zBbVyBJMPjkpwaoNYi6PSa9yorfjFWgF2yNK2kYGTkULjoIzcfwUPuBc9ePT0Dd0OTVyeW7kIdyA0Z8sTTzoZgPik9qz_ap6SyVg1D2ELWvTuX-i4CQQaxShQ2AZEeudzOVeavohhR3Zp0MFxAVz8nnzNQg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-05%20at%209.58.47%20PM%202%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Clint Eastwood and David Soul in MAGNUM FORCE Year: 1973 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Don Siegel's DIRTY HARRY was a cultural phenomenon that gave Clint Eastwood a franchise and character for two decades while defining his persona even beyond the Sergio Leone westerns...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But it was the 1970's, a decade of gritty films but also political correctness, and the sequel... written by John Milius and Clint's future THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT director Michael Cimino... gave the thug-beating, lawbreaking lawman a break by creating a story where there are literal killer cops... actually doing what Harry's been accused of influencing or even instigating (he's even joked about being a suspect since he hates criminals so much)— all to make Dirty Harry Callahan less crooked and more by-the-book, by comparison...  </p><p><span></span></p>

action, clint eastwood, cop, david soul, dirty harry, felton perry, franchise, hal holbrook, john milius, michael cimino, richard devon, robert urich, seventies, tim matheson

CLINT EASTWOOD AS DIRTY HARRY VS DAVID SOUL 'MAGNUM FORCE'

Clint Eastwood and David Soul in MAGNUM FORCE Year: 1973 Rating: ****1/2 Director Don Siegel's DIRTY HARRY was a cultural phenomenon tha...

JAMES GARNER & KATHARINE ROSS 'THEY ONLY KILL THEIR MASTERS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkQCSmGnDV5BXXoPLqWr3qyTrdG0Y0wgk4UHOfrYz-3md5SyYYEIDZlxDxf8qLpNz-11bAVmGMK-hg81M6vo0ij3E2fIOzLMiSp0VfM8DAh8VFOFd2DpWFC9u49pSAtRXvoNmixx6mTP4DAP1vt7HhWdO8mPm58n5NC-3dYajnmtD4U6Bh27r2xNl3Q/s1675/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-22%20at%207.48.56%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1675" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkQCSmGnDV5BXXoPLqWr3qyTrdG0Y0wgk4UHOfrYz-3md5SyYYEIDZlxDxf8qLpNz-11bAVmGMK-hg81M6vo0ij3E2fIOzLMiSp0VfM8DAh8VFOFd2DpWFC9u49pSAtRXvoNmixx6mTP4DAP1vt7HhWdO8mPm58n5NC-3dYajnmtD4U6Bh27r2xNl3Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-22%20at%207.48.56%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1972 Rating: ***</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the first vehicles of the 1970's catering to the 1970's Doberman craze; although this particular pooch is more a McGuffin than pet: A friendly yet sometimes growling, possibly deadly red-herring that could provide California small town sheriff James Garner some clues... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>He plays writer Lane Slate's rural lawman, Abel Marsh, in the first of three movies (Andy Griffith took over the rest); and while this is the only one made for the big screen, with a lightweight, glossy main score it both sounds and plays like a Movie Of The Week... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, crime, doberman, hal holbrook, james garner, jenifer shaw, katharine ross, lane slate, mystery, neo noir, rural, small town, thriller, warner archives

JAMES GARNER & KATHARINE ROSS 'THEY ONLY KILL THEIR MASTERS'

year: 1972 Rating: *** One of the first vehicles of the 1970's catering to the 1970's Doberman craze; although this particular pooch...

SPACING-OUT ON THE MAINSTREAM-CULT FROM 'CAPRICORN ONE'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Novelization artwork cover MOVIE RELEASED: 1977</u></td></tr>
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Football hero turned murderer THE TOWERING INFERNO co-star OJ Simpson follows the lead of square-jawed man's man James Brolin's solid yet sophisticated, thoroughly intense persona along with the always capable Sam Waterston, turning in constant one-liners, which can be genuinely humorous — even as he's climbing to an inevitably dire situation... <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Great Poster Artwork</u></td></tr>
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This trio of eclectic and likeable astronauts, using last names only... Brubaker, Willis and Walker... separate across a vast desert, taking a sporadic survival story backseat within their own central storyline. Meanwhile, an affable and lightweight Elliott Gould is rather out of place under the ultra-serious direction of Peter Hyams. A few years earlier, he reigned as flaky smooth-talkers under improvisational auteur Robert Altman in films like MASH, THE LONG GOODBYE and CALIFORNIA SPLIT. So this is basically the tail-end of Gould's prime/peak popularity... <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNL43ShL3Cv0a5r1BbLHtF5VQc5oq2jmrYBIoUJa__1Fs_AValRtojWYk8ViQSHq9UCrTNjqTbvDpyXoN-RbBHpjSCbfiYOUcGSbjEAfPJGVHXaEm11DhaoPjGhv4tZD4e7HOKf9bU5yz-/s1600/4.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="272" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNL43ShL3Cv0a5r1BbLHtF5VQc5oq2jmrYBIoUJa__1Fs_AValRtojWYk8ViQSHq9UCrTNjqTbvDpyXoN-RbBHpjSCbfiYOUcGSbjEAfPJGVHXaEm11DhaoPjGhv4tZD4e7HOKf9bU5yz-/s400/4.jpeg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Robert Walden and Elliott Gould</u></td></tr>
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As the snoopy and intrepid reporter Robert Caulfield, he gets first-star billing but is the first character forgotten when this multi-genre vehicle stops rolling. An important yet thankless role injecting sloppy Noir into the taut Science-Fiction realm embodied by what's based on a perpetual real life conspiracy surrounding the first men to walk on the Moon circa 1969...<br />
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The basic plot of CAPRICORN ONE, named after the rocket that, in front of the nation's eyes and, in particular, a breezy U.S. VP verses a perturbed David Huddleston, lets us in on what the real late-seventies Washington D.C. felt about space travel...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsp8Yl6dazjf_fxAPEWn3i8O0_IzKtpVcDPL2v5vXCwhSYp3RD4df0Kpynkwdi9oDnYfDr9kazMUnXL7eNn11ZZoZtd4KN6FfYShHgSYBTfrf2Zjm83yF33Kc1sSdNaruxF7IB0rduH3u/s1600/7.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsp8Yl6dazjf_fxAPEWn3i8O0_IzKtpVcDPL2v5vXCwhSYp3RD4df0Kpynkwdi9oDnYfDr9kazMUnXL7eNn11ZZoZtd4KN6FfYShHgSYBTfrf2Zjm83yF33Kc1sSdNaruxF7IB0rduH3u/s1600/7.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Meeting of a death-time</u></td></tr>
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So the titular vessel really doesn't go anywhere since the astronauts, at the last minute before ignition — occurring at a steady-paced fifteen minutes or so into the picture — are given a locked-door speech by Hal Holbrook, turning in a sophisticated villain role, especially while providing a beautiful verbal combination of patriotic reverie under a bewitching spell of remorseful repose — yet most of his other scenes merely concern sitting in the "Houston Room" with a finger on the dump button, just in case the idealistic Brubaker (Brolin) decides to go off script, and thus, ruin the whole show... literally. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Brolin not buying it</u></td></tr>
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The only real problem with the otherwise perfectly lightweight and entertaining CAPRICORN ONE is how quickly Gould catches on to (or that he catches on at all to) an <i>extremely</i> farfetched connection concerning Brubaker's wife (the always-annoying Brenda Vacarro), rushing the proverbial bridge (while literally driving over a real one) to have an ending point in sight...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhAj5oTc3s86sAU5FeIfBAXnAEmIQG-uwpm5AUAQ3zJbUEhNQBhs9AYMUANZlqwecW24bX3YSDlwzb5uPM95q3DI2HA50RTJwnMBlnbYv2hrFsj2rponr-SKdpLgNZ9Hz3ajthVQxoFOK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-07-07+at+9.41.32+PM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="681" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhAj5oTc3s86sAU5FeIfBAXnAEmIQG-uwpm5AUAQ3zJbUEhNQBhs9AYMUANZlqwecW24bX3YSDlwzb5uPM95q3DI2HA50RTJwnMBlnbYv2hrFsj2rponr-SKdpLgNZ9Hz3ajthVQxoFOK/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-07-07+at+9.41.32+PM.jpeg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Capricorn One import DVD</u></td></tr>
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Along the way, some of the best scenes involve character-actor Robert Walden, the smartest of the Houston techies, figuring something's off and not only making his buddy Caulfield (Gould) curious, but genuinely catapulting the plot into motion: ultimately involving an 11th hour "Guest Star" Telly Savalas in a dilapidated underdog desert biplane verses shiny and formidable government helicopters that, after all the brainy espionage, closes the door with simplistic and frolicking action...<br />
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If ever there's discovered a more sublime example of Sick Day Afternoon Cinema, to pass the time while enjoying passing time, let us know, because this ONE is the CITIZEN KANE of time-filling fluff... A special kind of "I grew up loving this movie" project that should cross over into any generation given the straight-out, unapologetic entertainment value since both halves are like completely different movies telling one neat story.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGR8LGwBHFyxSkOhNYQihOEguo5DdbjSf6B4vG0NiDqe54YD97rVbXtek6AF9ucj4gHxG3oQLfVzsJUMOVzuyVWHWFNqcunyCrPWvrNph40D7jJh9eu2WMT7OOiUPRSUHQTyl00QIXD7Rr/s2366/Screen+Shot+2021-07-16+at+2.37.35+AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="2366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGR8LGwBHFyxSkOhNYQihOEguo5DdbjSf6B4vG0NiDqe54YD97rVbXtek6AF9ucj4gHxG3oQLfVzsJUMOVzuyVWHWFNqcunyCrPWvrNph40D7jJh9eu2WMT7OOiUPRSUHQTyl00QIXD7Rr/s16000/Screen+Shot+2021-07-16+at+2.37.35+AM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Robert Walden and Hal Holbrook in CAPRICORN ONE</u><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Karen Black in a 70's classy hot rod with a troubled Elliott Gould towards the end of the movie</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZj05_rYvhRqSKQayCzVAyASvz9O_TT8AcrotMt2_qjV7PAolnAihhf47Yo5yo2K6-pyMjp53uAs1AbEyc2HN1t80eW8gH57NVu3C6t2jEGh3c1I3qoG5Kf6LnlIQOOYPV7UHCbZYPXP4/s1600/11.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZj05_rYvhRqSKQayCzVAyASvz9O_TT8AcrotMt2_qjV7PAolnAihhf47Yo5yo2K6-pyMjp53uAs1AbEyc2HN1t80eW8gH57NVu3C6t2jEGh3c1I3qoG5Kf6LnlIQOOYPV7UHCbZYPXP4/s1600/11.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A fantastic theme by Jerry Goldsmith plays along while this terrific-looking font's shown</u></td></tr>
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action, elliott gould, ensemble, hal holbrook, james brolin, karen black, o.j. simpson, peter hyams, robert walden, sam waterston, science-fiction, seventies, suspense, thriller

SPACING-OUT ON THE MAINSTREAM-CULT FROM 'CAPRICORN ONE'

Novelization artwork cover MOVIE RELEASED: 1977 Football hero turned murderer THE TOWERING INFERNO co-star OJ Simpson follows the lead o...

Written by James M. Tate / 2/03/2014 / No comments / chris mulkey , dixie carter , eighties , gary mccleery , hal holbrook , james whitmore jr , jennifer jason leigh , sean penn , tv movie

FAST TIME TAPS AT THE KILLING OF RANDY WEBSTER

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nnlo42_fCAdMoAX359IR15r84QFLEGEUkSDy1w3OUCtUVMmAzEtij1GQu4gzDOg9JT07pnFQdyYjByoA4IjwFHaznYN_yk8ve0WkiSy2WS6ryxWYhqsQiSLmqX6kTSOyOWNzD9LOqNc/s1600/3749794-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nnlo42_fCAdMoAX359IR15r84QFLEGEUkSDy1w3OUCtUVMmAzEtij1GQu4gzDOg9JT07pnFQdyYjByoA4IjwFHaznYN_yk8ve0WkiSy2WS6ryxWYhqsQiSLmqX6kTSOyOWNzD9LOqNc/s320/3749794-l.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1981 rating: ***</td></tr>
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THE KILLING OF RANDY WEBSTER<b> </b>is an obscure television movie featuring three budding talents who would, one year later, be found having FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH…<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6f_kDP761rNCTO0SuaNEJMFEOWOIJPDYnXO_Rw40KDPg9sRFRuBBjdkUiCMROwAfEbjpYLVl01LdPu_dm6OtAh0ztTZZbsMPIskCS-_3h3I9xGQrbnNI3eK-bH6k809Tij5s7UOVape0/s1600/seanpenn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6f_kDP761rNCTO0SuaNEJMFEOWOIJPDYnXO_Rw40KDPg9sRFRuBBjdkUiCMROwAfEbjpYLVl01LdPu_dm6OtAh0ztTZZbsMPIskCS-_3h3I9xGQrbnNI3eK-bH6k809Tij5s7UOVape0/s1600/seanpenn.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fast Times Duo</td></tr>
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That being Sean Penn, who plays Don, the title character’s best friend, who, like Penn’s character in RACING WITH THE MOON, is on the ecstatic verge of joining the military…<br />
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And Jennifer Jason Leigh as the brooding, semi love interest and Anthony Edwards as another of Randy’s pals, only more rebellious… In fact, Edwards’ Tommy was there the night Randy Webster, a troubled teen who desperately yearns for his father’s attention, steals a brand new van by driving through the showroom glass – all while a groovy rock track blares triumphantly, bringing us back to the early 1980's, still reminiscent of the freewheeling 70's. <br />
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The first half of RANDY WEBSTER is the most entertaining – before centering entirely on Hal Holbrook’s John Webster, Randy’s grumpy father, who hadn’t a nice word for the troubled, wayward teen: not even when his son signs up for the Navy to follow in dad's footsteps. The chemistry between Holbrook and Randy himself, played by Gary McCleery, is fitfully non-existent: Holbrook's love for his only child would blossom after the untimely death.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUgVnz8eDQG813m1cvH0qaFyxyYCwqbAskraseP68yd5UPyTVRPLHt7Szc6XFaSJVtTrFh4E8l8nPlvk6c4z2shVMaaG0a1RS4tgOpmeuzZ_BdspP66qeO6L2HxDTHFczn59Sjz80yfQ/s1600/r3.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUgVnz8eDQG813m1cvH0qaFyxyYCwqbAskraseP68yd5UPyTVRPLHt7Szc6XFaSJVtTrFh4E8l8nPlvk6c4z2shVMaaG0a1RS4tgOpmeuzZ_BdspP66qeO6L2HxDTHFczn59Sjz80yfQ/s200/r3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jennifer Jason Leigh</td></tr>
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McCleery was the local smack-talking, dance-crashing “townie” in TAPS (which also starred Sean Penn, and the second movie in which McCleery’s character is shot by an authority figure, catapulting each storyline)... He plays Randy with the kind of intense energy that pleads to be remembered...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjccHbaj0nWkOKv4ZZyZAJZTK2QGB4wCOpn0SG4HobuJQsSVZfpAOvJczC0gO-bd9TIH3MMQcbByOx6CrPTgZT99rtFEllmYi_S5KMvXO9r45VH9XKrrYOI6dcLSTRtKOfLLUybgEKvhGU/s1600/r5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjccHbaj0nWkOKv4ZZyZAJZTK2QGB4wCOpn0SG4HobuJQsSVZfpAOvJczC0gO-bd9TIH3MMQcbByOx6CrPTgZT99rtFEllmYi_S5KMvXO9r45VH9XKrrYOI6dcLSTRtKOfLLUybgEKvhGU/s200/r5.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean Penn</td></tr>
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After all, this is a movie about an eventual slaying that, initially reported as defensive by the Houston police department, winds up, as Holbrook’s John investigates further, being yet another “shoot first, ask questions later” situation, supposedly common in this particular Texas area: And here’s where a story full of youthful promise and energy becomes somewhat of an agenda piece, meandering in and out of cold police stations and stuffy courtrooms. That’s not saying the true-life tale doesn’t hold up, but the drive and purpose, like the real Randy Webster, leaves us far too soon: With all the rock music, reckless rebellion and those FAST TIMES actors surrounding our edgy focal point, we really missed out on a party: perhaps if Randy stayed with us a little while longer, the posthumous investigation would mean a lot more to those beyond the family.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDc5WQ3P5iPNn3tl4ZOm9JQqy2T7MFpkmN9Cnh8zQ_UJyWAHsSGOJLCFbN3NF0Asg8fbcdNQB_44qoSrsy9ioKMwxu0CkyPKlqaqsHgR5HD7ZqeByGGc5a_XaJtZKI-6IeGmbICxfvWc/s1600/taps.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDc5WQ3P5iPNn3tl4ZOm9JQqy2T7MFpkmN9Cnh8zQ_UJyWAHsSGOJLCFbN3NF0Asg8fbcdNQB_44qoSrsy9ioKMwxu0CkyPKlqaqsHgR5HD7ZqeByGGc5a_XaJtZKI-6IeGmbICxfvWc/s1600/taps.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary McCleery's local townie mouthing-off in TAPS</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeTQ87ioGxLjVo6Juhg0Or-dImnW1WqGFnfTJXswTSYoFC8SSMO2MWMuCAv49oRSChyyr5gS8HltJ96HyExhD8cAoqkn_foDXg7adzXJFxtxtSTj379jniTeld3w5sXJpv8aB2x9bGPI/s1600/r6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeTQ87ioGxLjVo6Juhg0Or-dImnW1WqGFnfTJXswTSYoFC8SSMO2MWMuCAv49oRSChyyr5gS8HltJ96HyExhD8cAoqkn_foDXg7adzXJFxtxtSTj379jniTeld3w5sXJpv8aB2x9bGPI/s1600/r6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary McCleery as the title character in THE KILLING OF RANDY WEBSTER</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary McCleery with future RIDGEMONT HIGH pupils Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sean Penn</td></tr>
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chris mulkey, dixie carter, eighties, gary mccleery, hal holbrook, james whitmore jr, jennifer jason leigh, sean penn, tv movie

FAST TIME TAPS AT <b>THE KILLING OF RANDY WEBSTER </b>

FAST TIME TAPS AT THE KILLING OF RANDY WEBSTER

1981 rating: *** THE KILLING OF RANDY WEBSTER is an obscure television movie featuring three budding talents who would, one year later,...

Written by James M. Tate / 3/24/2011 / No comments / chevy chase , cleavon little , comedy , eighties , hal holbrook , michael ritchie , sequel

FLETCH LIVES

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCle9FRmodZDvFRntoRAplndGazzN7RKuy2THIYsiIS-kqskSXRBBe6-gpY2bm0DxTgHP6S68m4O6Aj8UxE8OYYqG6kqv5m3RS7I-x_PWVojXQ7MQiBzVhvz1XWEA_2HhcaYbExmPtsrE/s1600/Fletch2_scene06.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587838659291378210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCle9FRmodZDvFRntoRAplndGazzN7RKuy2THIYsiIS-kqskSXRBBe6-gpY2bm0DxTgHP6S68m4O6Aj8UxE8OYYqG6kqv5m3RS7I-x_PWVojXQ7MQiBzVhvz1XWEA_2HhcaYbExmPtsrE/s200/Fletch2_scene06.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 185px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> FLETCH LIVES<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>1989<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Chevy Chase<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> *<br /><br />Fletch is back, and he's angry, irritable, and not funny. Too bad because the first FLETCH is Chevy Chase's best, and funniest, film. Unlike the previous plot-line, which had interesting villains connected to a nifty L.A. Film Noir plot, Fletch quits his job and heads South (his dead aunt left him a dilapidated yet sought-after mansion) where he takes on hillbillies, racists, and religious zealots. His disguises range from a white-haired cleaning lady to a televangelist: all impossible to imagine anyone falling for. And before leaving L.A., when Fletch crosses paths with his ex-wife's lawyer (George Wyner) and newspaper editor (Richard Libertini), his humorously glib indifference is bitter and downright aggressive (continuing for the rest of the film). By far one of the crappiest sequels of all time.

chevy chase, cleavon little, comedy, eighties, hal holbrook, michael ritchie, sequel

FLETCH LIVES

title: FLETCH LIVES year: 1989 cast: Chevy Chase rating: * Fletch is back, and he's angry, irritable, and not funny. Too bad because t...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/18/2010 / No comments / cloris leachman , deborah winters , drama , eli wallach , hal holbrook , julie harris , rug culture , seventies , stephen mchattie

THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXZKSuZHoUwZlnCkvuNiwyvmrGqEALNFYdwXIcJ3YKg2iqNHVZ6VrQ9IOVNg0S20xNwUJRI0h5Y4Lw3-BIU4URmbrFmeY99TGZQID1aJW_rLWQKu7e3rgC2-dOd27LrJ-0cqC7pSCz8I/s1600/deborahwinters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXZKSuZHoUwZlnCkvuNiwyvmrGqEALNFYdwXIcJ3YKg2iqNHVZ6VrQ9IOVNg0S20xNwUJRI0h5Y4Lw3-BIU4URmbrFmeY99TGZQID1aJW_rLWQKu7e3rgC2-dOd27LrJ-0cqC7pSCz8I/s640/deborahwinters.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1970 cast: Eli Wallach, Deborah Winters, Julie Harris, Stephen McHattie rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
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A psychedelic-era cult film about a suburban family with problems beneath the surface, headlined by rebellious teenager "Maxie," played by Deborah Winters who, when not freaking out on bad acid, scrutinizes her parent's shortcomings: like booze and hypocrisy.<br />
<br />
Eli Wallach is terrific as the drink-after-work patriarch, as are Stephen McHattie as the hippie son and wife Julie Harris, whose hard-nosed lecture to Maxie in a mental institution provides an explosive, and perhaps even effective, climax. But it's Deborah Winters alone, who, with a brooding reserve as intense as the drug-induced tirades, provides an underlying "vibe" throughout: where <i>anything </i>can happen... at <i>any</i> time. </div>

cloris leachman, deborah winters, drama, eli wallach, hal holbrook, julie harris, rug culture, seventies, stephen mchattie