George Kennedy Movies
Born into a show business family, George Kennedy made his stage debut at the age of two in a touring company of Bringing up Father. By the time he was seven, he was spinning records on a New York radio station. Kennedy' showbusiness inclinations were put aside when he developed a taste for the rigors of military life during World War II, and he wound up spending 16 years in the army. His military career ended and his acting career began when a back injury in the late 1950s inspired him to seek out another line of work.Appropriately enough, given his background, Kennedy first made his name with a role as a military advisor on the Sergeant Bilko TV series. In films from 1961, the burly, 6'4" actor usually played heavies, both figuratively and literally; quite often, as in Charade (1963) and Straitjacket (1964), his unsavory screen characters were bumped off sometime during the fourth reel. One of his friendlier roles was as a compassionate Union officer in Shenandoah (1965), an assignment he was to treasure because it gave him a chance to work with the one of his idols, Jimmy Stewart.
Kennedy moved up to the big leagues with his Academy Award win for his portrayal of Dragline in Cool Hand Luke (1967). An above-the-title star from then on, Kennedy has been associated with many a box-office hit, notably all four Airport films. Unlike many major actors, he has displayed a willingness to spoof his established screen image, as demonstrated by his portrayal of Ed Hocken in the popular Naked Gun series. On TV, Kennedy has starred in the weekly series Sarge (1971) and The Blue Knight (1978), and was seen as President Warren G. Harding in the 1979 miniseries Backstairs at the White House. During the mid '90s, he became known as a persuasive commercial spokesman in a series of breath-freshener advertisements. In 1997, he provided the voice for L.B. Mammoth in the animated musical Cats Don't Dance, and the following year again displayed his vocal talents as one of the titular toys-gone-bad in Small Soldiers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In 1923, after acclaimed director Cecil B. de Mille completed the first version of his Biblical epic The Ten Commandments, an odd event occurred that generated a wealth of speculation and mystery: de Mille - having shot on multi-million dollar sets to rival nearly anything in prior movie history - promptly traveled to the sand dunes on the California coast and buried his sets there. For nearly a century, the reasons belying this odd series of actions remained clouded in obscurity. Now, with his documentary Sands of Oblivion, filmmaker David Flores finally uncovers the truth: De Mille, it seems, acquired the majority of artifacts for the film on actual Middle Eastern burial grounds. The items included an odd prayer bowl, allegedly cursed with the spirit of Im-La-Ra - the god of chaos and fear. Certainly few other explanations could account for the devastating experiences had by the workers on the film crew - experiences that included devastating maniacal visions, sudden insanity and loss of control that led to murder. With Sands of Oblivion, Flores travels to the site of the initial burial and excavates the items once again, with a team of archaeologists, to investigate the truth behind these legendary events. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Baldwin, Morena Baccarin, (more)
Director Wim Wenders and writer Sam Shepard, who collaborated on the award-winning film Paris, Texas, once again join forces for this dark drama of a man trying to turn over a new leaf late in life. Howard Spence (Sam Shepard) is a veteran actor who has been a popular Western star since the mid-'70s. Spence's onscreen image as a strong, principled lawman is a severe contrast to his life off the set, which has been dominated by drinking, drugs, and promiscuous womanizing. However, Spence has begun to find his hedonistic life a shallow existence, and one day, in the midst of filming his latest movie, he simply hops on his horse and rides away, eventually making his way to the small Nevada town where his mother lives. Mother (Eva Marie Saint) has little interest in seeing her wayward son after so many years, but she does share a recently discovered bit of information with him -- one of Spence's former girlfriends stopped by with word that she had given birth to his son years before. Spence borrows his father's old car and drives to Butte, MT, where he finds Doreen (Jessica Lange), the woman who was his lover years ago. Doreen runs a tavern where her son, Earl (Gabriel Mann), plays for the locals with his rock band; Spence is in fact Earl's father, but the young man has no interest in meeting his biological father, and shuts out Spence as the actor tries to get to know him. As Spence struggles to find some sort of familial connection in Butte, he makes friends with a young woman named Sky (Sarah Polley), only to discover she was also fathered by him during his rowdy younger days. Don't Come Knocking's distinguished supporting cast includes Tim Roth, George Kennedy, Fairuza Balk, Julia Sweeney, and Tim Matheson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, (more)
A long-lost fright flick with the power to unleash the silver screen's greatest terrors threatens to turn the ghouls loose once again after being re-discovered by a curious young monster fanatic in director David S. Cass' heartfelt tribute to 1950's-era sci-fi and horror films. Ageing film director Dexter Brisbane (George Kennedy) has witnessed firsthand the power that his film "Monsters on the Loose" truly has, and after seeing his celluliod horrors take human form when the film was first released, he hid it in his attic and vowed never to screen it again. When the ailing Dexter hires Shelley Stoker (Linda Blair) to be his personal nurse and Shelley's son Tim (Tim McCallum) makes the discovery of a lifetime, it's only a matter of time before "living-ghost" Revenant, malevolent store-front dummy Manikin, and toothy were-rat Vermin leap from the screen to torment the living once again. Thankfully the bad guys aren't the only ones with the power to make the leap from fantasy to reality, and with a little help from screen sheriff Jay Forrest (Adam Baldwin), young Tim and his friends may be able to ensure that this screening of "Monsters on the Loose" doesn't go from limited run to extended engagement. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Blair, Adam Baldwin, (more)
Brazilian filmmaker Bruno Barreto directs this comic look at the world of flight attendants starring Gwyneth Paltrow as Donna, a small town Nevada woman who dreams of seeing the world by becoming a first class international stewardess. Lacking the requisite poise and class, Donna finds a mentor in retired trade veteran Sally (Candice Bergen), a wealthy, best-selling author who assists with advice and her considerable influence. Despite Sally's help, Donna finds the process of fulfilling her career ambitions more difficult than she imagined when she’s betrayed by a trusted friend (Christina Applegate) during flight training, a daunting course taught by the bitter John Whitney (Mike Myers), a once-aspiring steward whose eye condition kept him forever out of the friendly skies. Donna also faces a romantic crisis when she falls for a handsome law student (Mark Ruffalo) whose education consigns him to Ohio, far away from the major urban hubs Donna dreams of working. A View from the Top (2002) costars Rob Lowe, Josh Malina, Kelly Preston and Jon Polito. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Ruffalo, (more)
- 1998
- G
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In this direct-to-video sequel to the 1993 movie Dennis the Menace (which was based on Hank Ketcham's long-running comic strip), mischievous youngster Dennis (Justin Cooper) wants to help his eternally frazzled next-door neighbor Mr. Wilson (Don Rickles) celebrate his birthday, but Mr. Wilson is already feeling his age, and the lively Dennis only makes Wilson feel that much older -- and the arrival of Dennis's spry Grandfather (George Kennedy) doesn't help. Eager to feel younger, Mr. Wilson soon falls prey to a con man (Carrot Top) who sells him a variety of bogus youth-restoring potions. Dennis the Menace Strikes Again also features Betty White as Mrs. Wilson, and Dwier Brown and Jaqueline Steiger as Dennis's parents. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1998
In this sudsy made-for-TV installment of the Ewing saga, wily J.R. (Larry Hagman) finds himself discontent merely managing an oil conglomerate and decides to try to regain control of his father's company from Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and Sue Ellen (Linda Gray). But first he needs money. Opportunity knocks when he discovers that Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly) has a large untapped supply of oil upon his land. Best of all, Krebbs is ignorant of this fact. Unfortunately, J.R.'s long-time rival Carter McKay (George Kennedy) also knows about the oil and is not about to let J.R. get it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, (more)
Joe Dante directed this satirical action-comedy about talking tech toys accidentally juiced-up with military microchips. After the defense industry firm Globotech takes over a small toy company, Heartland Play Systems' CEO Gil Mars (Denis Leary) gives the green light to develop a new line of action figures, requesting an upgrade to more realistic figures from Heartland toy designers Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) and fumbling Irwin Wayfair (David Cross). Mars wants toys that act like the ones in TV commercials. The results are fierce fighting figures, the Commando Elite, programmed to seek out and destroy the kindly alien-like Gorgonites. In an effort to make the toys as natural as possible, Benson inserts Globotech's most powerful military computer chips. Meanwhile, in quiet Winslow Corners, Ohio, toy-store owner Stuart Abernathy (Kevin Dunn) and his 15-year-old son Alan (Gregory Smith) are stuck in a failing business, so when Heartland truckdriver Joe (Dick Miller) stops by with the Commando and Gorgonite toys, Alan is convinced they will be hot sellers, commenting, "Maybe this store will finally make a little money." With blistering blows to their blister packs, the Commandos burst out, receive orders from their leader Chip Hazard (voice of Tommy Lee Jones) and ready for an all-out assault on the Gorgonites. When the Gorgonite leader Archer (voice of Frank Langella) begins communicating with Alan, it causes the Commandos to perceive humans as another enemy, simply by their association with the "Gorgonite scum," so an attack on the Abernathy house begins. Unfortunately, the Gorgonites can offer only limited assistance, since they have been programmed to lose. The film combines animatronics, puppetry, and computer animation. The Commando Elite voices include surviving actors from Robert Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen (1967), while the Gorgonite voices reunited several This Is Spinal Tap (1983) cast members. A dedication to Phil Hartman (the voice of Phil Fimple) after the closing credits features a brief Hartman outtake. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, (more)
This animated comedy for the family, which gently parodies the movie musicals of the '30s and '40s, follows Danny (voice of Scott Bakula), a cat from Kokomo, Indiana, who loves to sing and dance and longs to be in show business. One day, Danny decides to do something about his ambitions instead of just wishing, so he heads for Hollywood, convinced that he can become a star in a week. However, Danny quickly becomes aware of the species barrier in Tinseltown; the studios don't much care for animals, even ones with star quality, and the best Danny's agent can get for him is a tiny role in a movie with adorable child star Darla Dimple (voice of Ashley Peldon), who turns out to be a mean-spirited brat who loathes animals as soon as the camera is turned off. Danny soon makes the acquaintance of several other animal performers stuck in the same bind as himself, including Sawyer (voice of Jasmine Guy), a pretty but cynical cat; Woolie (voice of John Rhys-Davies), a piano-playing elephant; Tillie (voice of Kathy Najimy), a singing hippo; and Pudge (voice of Mathew Herried), a performing penguin. Together, the critters struggle for acceptance and a chance to show the world what they can do. Sawyer's singing voice for the musical numbers was provided by Natalie Cole; Randy Newman wrote several original songs for the film, and Gene Kelly was a consultant for the character's choreography. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, (more)
- 1996
A new bio-computer, loaded with vital DNA information, is used in a crisis simulation to test the defense capabilities of a military installation. Unfortunately, the computer develops its own intelligence and goes out of control, threatening to trigger an ecological disaster of apocalyptic proportions. An all-star voice cast distinguishes this episode, which made its first cable TV appearance on December 23, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Quinton Flynn, John deLancie, (more)
- 1996
George Kennedy plays himself in an extended sequence wherein the actor's number one fan, Brian (Steven Weber), reaches heretofore unscaled heights of annoyance. Meanwhile, Larry Mohr (Mark Blum), the contractor hired to build a new house for Joe (Tim Daly) and Helen (Crystal Bernard), is booted out of his own home by his wife. Thus it is that Joe and Helen are saddled with the care and feeding of the morose Mr. Mohr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
- PG13
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The further misadventures of bumbling Los Angeles police Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) are chronicled in this third installment in the popular Naked Gun comedy series. This by-the-numbers entry begins with Drebin as a happily retired house-husband called back into action when an evil terrorist organization threatens Los Angeles. As in the other Naked Gun films, this plot is merely an excuse for an unhinged, rapid-fire succession of gags, ranging from satirical lampoons of cop movies to broad slapstick, all played with a perfectly straight face. Nielsen provides his familiar combination of complete witlessness and oblivious dignity as Drebin, and the film attempts to match the earlier Naked Gun films -- and the Police Squad! television series that inspired them -- in the number of jokes. However, the film proved less successful than its predecessors, as some viewers found that the freewheeling comic style of the earlier films had solidified into its own formula, now mildly entertaining but disappointingly predictable. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, (more)
- 1992
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Donny B. Lord and Victor Love share the title role in Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story. The film traces the true story of young Gathers, played by Lord as a child and Love as an adult. Rising from his inner-city origins to become a basketball star at Loyola Marymount, Gathers' career is suddenly, and tragically, cut short. Co-starring are Nell Carter as Hank's supportive mother and George Kennedy as the inspirational neighborhood priest. Made for television, Final Shot was first seen in syndication during the week of March 29-April 4, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Love, Donny B. Lord, (more)
A brother and sister who are sent to visit their uncle in Los Angeles go on a wild adventure. It seems that good old uncle owes some money to gangsters, and the children inevitably get tangled up in the chase. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- PG
It probably takes an intimate acquaintance with East Germany's famously awful car, a smoky, noisy two-cylinder lawnmower on wheels, the Trabant 601, to fully appreciate the jokes in this extremely popular, celebrity-filled comedy. In the story, Gunther (German television star Thomas Gotttschalk) is an East German inventor who has journeyed with his homely car to an inventor's convention in Hollywood: he has figured out a way to get his Trabbi to run on turnip juice and zoom like a sports car. When his odd car is stolen, he tries to get it back, but L.A. and it's culture are alien to him and he is very much a fish out of water, despite the friendly advice he receives from Billy Dee Williams as a knowledgeable parking-lot attendant. Look for cameos by Milton Berle and Dom DeLuise, among others. This Trabbi film is a sequel to the enormously popular comedy Go, Trabi, Go. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Gottschalk, Billy Dee Williams, (more)
This action film stars Brian Thompson as Frank Ryan, a macho soldier of fortune whose latest mission calls for him to pose as a fashion designer in order to help guerrilla leader Rallis (Jose Ferrer) escape prison. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- PG13
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Leslie Nielsen returns as the intrepid (and accident-prone) Lt. Frank Drebin in Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, "un film de David Zucker." This second feature film from the "Police Squad!" series finds Drebin as a guest at a White House dinner, receiving an award for shooting his 1,000th drug dealer, although he admits to shooting only 998 -- he ran over the last two in his car. ("Luckily, they turned out to be drug dealers"). Also at the White House dinner is energy czar Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer (Richard Griffiths), whom President George Bush (John Roarke) has chosen to start a new national energy policy. Since Meinheimer believes in promoting alternative energy resources, the evil leaders of the polluting energy industries (coal, oil, and nuclear power--or the lobby groups SMOKE, SPILL and KABOOM) are horrified at Bush's choice. Joining together with arch-villain Quentin Hapsburg (Robert Goulet), they plan to kidnap the real Meinheimer and substitute a fake Meinheimer in his place who will enact energy policy according to the dictates of the energy lobby. Drebin becomes deeply involved in the conspiracy when he runs into his ex-girl friend Jane (Priscilla Presley), who is not only Meinheimer's public relations director but also Hapsburg's current paramour. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, (more)
- 1991
- R
This Peter Maris action begins at New Mexico State Penitentiary, where a spew of toxic gas from the crash of a tanker truck leads to the evacuation of the prison by the warden (George Kennedy). In the ensuing confusion, anti-social cons Kuttner (Lee De Broux) and Patch (James Tolkan) kidnap prison psychologist Maria Slayton (Kim Delaney) and hit the road with a bus full of prisoners. The group first heads for Mexico but decides instead to take over the town of Sonora and hold its citizens as hostages. The National Guard sends in a state police lieutenant (Yaphet Kotto) and his tough-as-nails Lieutenant Colonel Johnson (Jan-Michael Vincent) to handle the situation. But the National Guard's ineffectual methods leave the situation more volatile than it was before. It is left to two citizens of Sonora -- sheriff Ike Slayton (Brad Davis) and his army pal Bill (Ken Foree) -- to take matters into their own hands and save the town from the kill-crazy prisoners. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Davis, Kim Delaney, (more)
One of the largest crimes in history was the 1980 robbery of the Boston Depositors Trust by a group of policemen as related in this true story. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Asner, Ray Sharkey, (more)
A Vietnam War veteran (John Schneider) renounces the military for a priest's habit, but after his wife and daughter are killed by terrorists in Rome (and the government does nothing), the hero returns to violent means. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Schneider, Ned Beatty, (more)
Brain Dead was based on a script by Charles Beaumont, leading some obtuse fans to hail the "return" of that frequent Twilight Zone contributor. Actually Beaumont has been dead since 1967, so this cookie spent a long time in the oven. Stalwart supporting actor Bill Pullman is given star billing as a brilliant brain surgeon who agrees to perform an operation on a psychotic mathematician. This surgery, ostensibly, is to "adjust" the patient's attitude--and, incidentally, to unlock the corporate secrets secreted within the patient's brain. But as Pullman probes about, he begins experiencing first-hand the psycho's fevered, paranoic dreams. Pullman drifts farther and farther from reality, and the audience is implicitly invited to do the same. Bill Paxton also stars in this Roger Corman-style thriller, produced by Corman's daughter Julie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Pullman, Bill Paxton, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
When a shady businessman (Alex Cord) attempts to dodge the law by sailing off to a remote island paradise, he brings along a bunch of young spring break revelers. However, when a cat escapes from a dangerous scientific experiment and makes its way on to the boat, the passengers soon discover that it is harboring a deadly secret. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Kennedy, Alex Cord, (more)
- 1988
- R
This cliché-ridden car-racing feature doesn't even get off the blocks. The unshaven villains have greasy hair and black T-shirts, while the clean-shaven good guys are blonde and sport light-colored action wear. Andrea (Marla Heasley) invents a revolutionary new car engine and goes to the Charlotte Motor Speedway to try it out. She meets driver Al Pagura (Joseph Bottoms), and the two fall in and out of love. George Kennedy plays the heavy, and somewhere an underdeveloped plot about racetrack corruption appears. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Bottoms, Marc Singer, (more)
We know we're in a 1988 film when we're invited to laugh at O.J. Simpson in an opening slapstick sequence. We can also pinpoint the year of production when hard-nosed cop Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), during a scuffle with the world's leading dictators, wipes the wine-colored birthmark off the head of Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. Those wacky ZAZ boys -- David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker -- serve up a feature-length spin-off of their cult favorite TV show Police Squad!. Seeking vengeance when his partner (Simpson) is shot full of holes by drug dealers, dead-pan and dead-brained Lt. Frank Drebin searches for the Mister Big behind it all. Drebin suspects above-reproach shipping magnate Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban), but he can't prove a thing. Bumped from the force by the mayor (Nancy Marchand), Drebin, with the unexpected assistance of Ludwig's ex-girlfriend (Priscilla Presley), manages to nab the bad guy at a baseball game, where Reggie Jackson has been programmed to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. MGM mogul Irving Thalberg once reportedly told the Marx Brothers, "You can't build jokes on top of jokes." The producers of Naked Gun prove otherwise; indeed, one could develop writer's cramp just listing the gags in the film's first 20 minutes. Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad was followed by two lesser but still hilarious sequels, Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, George Kennedy, (more)
