Forrest Tucker Movies
After leaving George Washington University, Forrest Tucker made his stage bow in Burlesque. He spent two years in the Army, then returned to performing. After appearing in his first film, 1940's The Westerner, Tucker signed with Columbia, then spent another two year hitch in uniform. Most of his postwar films cast Tucker as a bully or outlaw, but his roles took a heroic turn after a good supporting part in Republic's Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). After several years as Republic's answer to Gary Cooper, Tucker began appearing in TV and on stage (he starred in the Broadway production Fair Game for Lovers), developing a solid after-hours reputation as a champion golfer. Among Tucker's starring TV series were F Troop (1965-66), Dusty's Trail (1973) and Ghost Busters (1975). In his last years, Tucker fell victim to a serious liquor problem, which frequently resulted in bizarre, detached performances on stage and on the set. However, he never let his public down when starring on the straw-hat circuit in his favorite role -- Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1987
The "history is inviolate" theory so chillingly elucidated in Ray Bradbury's The Sound of Thunder is recycled for the made-for-TV Timestalkers. William Devane plays a genially eccentric professor who teams with time traveller Lauren Hutton to prevent the course of history from being disastrously altered. In a manner slightly reminiscent of the 1984 movie hit The Terminator, Devane and Hutton must deal with Klaus Kinski, a mad scientist from the 26th century, who plans to hopscotch through time, spreading death and destruction wherever he goes. The odyssey takes the main characters to all manner of locales, including the Old West. Veteran actor Forrest Tucker made his final screen appearance in Timestalkers, which originally aired March 10, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Devane, Lauren Hutton, (more)
- 1986
- R
Actor Forrest Tucker is the host of this Tunnelvision/Groove Tube-type film that spoofs television shows. Included are parodies of the Phil Donahue Show, a slasher Santa Claus and goofy late-night news reports, among others. Started in 1983, this film was finished in 1984 but not released until 1987. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
- Starring:
- Forrest Tucker, Bobbi Wexler, (more)
- 1986
- PG
In this Road Warrior clone, an aging trucker spends his retirement mining an old cobalt mine with the assistance of his devoted grandson. A good friend lures the trucker out of retirement by offering him a quarter of a million dollars to drive some plutonium from Nevada to a high-security operation in Arizona. He begins his trek in a high-tech rig unaware that terrorist are waiting to ambush him and his deadly cargo. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Forrest Tucker, John Ireland, (more)
- 1984
While visiting her cousin Abby (Lynn Redgrave) at lavish Langley Manor in the deep South, Jessica is among those present when patriarch Denton Langley (Dan O'Herlihy) is accidentally killed during a fox hunt. What is puzzling about the situation is that Langley's normally docile horse was startled enough to throw the man to his death. Later on , Langley's daughter is also killed, and all evidence points to a single, and very unusual, suspect: Langley's beloved pet dog (and sole beneficiary) Teddy! Country singer Roger Miller appears as the local sheriff. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1983
Blood Feud was a two-part TV drama, originally presented as an "Operation Prime Time" special. Robert Blake is disturbingly convincing as labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, engaged in a decade-long war of words with attorney (and later attorney general) Robert F. Kennedy. Cotter Smith makes his TV debut as Kennedy, a role he'd repeat on future occasions. Thoroughly compelling when sticking to the facts, the drama falls apart whenever indulging in flight of fanciful speculation (Sample: two of Hoffa's lieutenants watch the live telecast of Lee Harvey Oswald's murder, then celebrate the fact that Oswald will never be able to reveal their complicity in the JFK assassination!) Blood Feud was syndicated to local TV stations beginning April 24, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Cotter Smith, (more)
- 1981
- PG
As in the real-life story which spawned it, Rare Breed deals with the kidnapping of a racehorse and the quest of its loving owner to retrieve it. Tracy Vaccaro plays the cute young girl who wants her horse back so she can continue on her European circuit-winning ways. This film is directed by the elder Nelson boy, David, from the Ozzie and Harriet series. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- George Kennedy, Forrest Tucker, (more)
- 1981
In this version of the Mark Twain classic, Huck dodges the drudgery of an eastern boys school by faking his own drowning. Unfortunately, his good friend Jim is blamed for his apparent earthly exit. So the two of them set off rafting the Mississippi in search of adventure. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- 1979
The Rebels was the second "Operation Prime Time" miniseries to be based on author John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles (the first was The Bastard). The saga of Philip Kent (Andrew Stevens), illegitimate son of a British blueblood, picks up with Kent fighting in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Part One of this two-part endeavor busies itself with setting up characters, places and events; Part Two finds Kent and his pal Judson Fletcher (Don Johnson) teaming up to prevent the assassination of General George Washington (Peter Graves). The enormous all-star cast includes Richard Basehart, Doug McClure, Joan Blondell, Tom Bosley, Macdonald Carey, Robert Vaughan, William Daniels and Nehemiah Persoff; William Conrad does off-screen duty as narrator. The Rebels was syndicated to local TV stations beginning the week of May 14, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
Forrest Tucker guest stars as Edsel Jarvis Castleberry, the long-absent father of hardbitten waitress Flo (Polly Holliday). Now sorry that he deserted his family thirty years earlier, Edsel hopes to patch things up with his daughter. But Flo wants nothing to do with the old man, obliging Alice (Linda Lavin) to step into the role of peacemaker. This is the final episode of Alice's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
This made-for-TV actioner was designed as the pilot for a series based on the popular Walking Tall films of the 1970s. This time out, a young Brian Dennehy is cast as the stick-wielding, scrupulously honest Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser (played in the films by Joe Don Baker and Bo Svenson), with Forrest Tucker repeating his role from Walking Tall: The Final Chapter as Pusser's father. After chasing down a speeding car, Pusser is disgusted to find that its teenaged occupants (two of them dead, two blinded for life) are stoned out of their minds on bad bootleg hooch. Bypassing due process and other such legal niceties, Pusser goes on a one-man rampage of destruction in order to square accounts with the evil disco owner-cum-moonshiner responsible for the tragedy. Making things difficult is the fact that one of the villains of the piece is also one of Buford's oldest pals. A Real American Hero made its CBS debut on December 9, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy
- 1977
The cast of the sitcom F-Troop stars in this comic western about the people of St. Joseph, Missouri and their exasperation with the community's most famous resident--Mark Twain (Christopher Connelly). ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- 1977
- PG
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This comical western chronicles the silly adventures of a bumbling wagonmaster and his clutzy assistant as they attempt to take seven passengers across the prairie. Among the passengers are two wealthy Bostonians, an aspiring showgirl, a teacher, and bachelor. The story is adapted from Dusty's Trail, a television sitcom. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1977
- R
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Rated R for violence, this is another of the promises broken to us by the movie industry. When they promise that we won't have to see something again, why can't they make it happen? Although this, like the Jason movies (Friday the 13th ad nauseam), is followed by a made for TV movie and a series, they really have to be prequels to this "final chapter," as dictated by the fiery conclusion of the movie. The story of a sheriff who just isn't going to take it anymore, it is based on a true story but, as with all Hollywood fare, made larger than life. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bo Svenson, Maggie Blye, (more)
- 1976
Forrest Tucker guest stars as Paul Zachary, a jaded, world-weary NYPD detective. Zachary's obsessive devotion to his work has already alienated his family and stirred up ill will among his police colleagues. Now, the veteran detective's dogged determination to bring an elusive jewelry fence named Ballentine (Malachi Throne) to justice threatens to ruin the case that Lt. Kojak (Telly Savalas) has mounted against the selfsame Ballentine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1975
This 1975 live-action television series starred Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker as a pair of detectives who team up with a gorilla (Bob Burns) to keep troublesome ghosts in their rightful place. This series, which only lasted about a season, predated the popular feature film Ghostbusters and the susequent animated series. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Originally released as The Wild McCulloughs, this AIP melodrama stars Forrest Tucker as J.J. McCulloch, a domineering patriarch. In their race to escape their father's overbearing influence, J.J.'s grown sons come to grief; one son dies in Korea, while another is arrested for murder. Only Gary (Chip Hand), the youngest son, manages to survive the situation. J.J. also has a daughter, played by Janice Heiden, whose romantic misadventures add more fuel to the dysfunctional flames. Costarring in The McCulloughs is Julie Adams as Tucker's long suffering wife, and former "Beverly Hillbilly" Max Baer (who also produced, directed and wrote the film) as one of Heiden's beaus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Forrest Tucker, Julie Adams, (more)
- 1975
Walnut Grove's annual Founder's Day celebration brings a host of visitors to compete in a wide variety of contests. As the Ingalls' and the Olesons' jealously squares off elsewhere (Mrs. Olesen [Katherine MacGregor] is quite a sight at the three-legged race), elderly but proud logger Jim Tyler (Forrest Tucker) puts his heart and soul in the festivities' log-chopping competition. This was the final episode of Little House on the Prairie's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1973
Glenn Ford is Jarrett, a former boxer with an artistic streak. He becomes a private detective, specializing in cases that will allow him to breath the rarefied air of art galleries and museums. Anthony Quayle is Jarrett's "Moriarity," a wealthy art collector who will stop at nothing to build up his collection. Jarrett was written to accommodate a younger actor, but the producers owed a commitment to Glenn Ford. As a result, the storyline, involving the search for some rare scrolls, became an endurance test for both the venerable Mr. Ford and the audience. To be fair, the star does manage to handle the glib dialogue well (when he's not out of breath). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Anthony Quayle, (more)
- 1972
- G
The title of this Bob Hope vehicle Cancel My Reservation is a multiple pun, referring to elements in the story. The ever-youthful Hope plays Dan Bartlett, a late-night TV talk show host. Frazzled, he takes a much-needed vacation in Arizona. There, he stumbles upon a murder and a conspiracy by local rancher, John Ed (Ralph Bellamy) to defraud a local Native American group of part of its reservation. Dan is a suspect in the murder, and must investigate in order to clear his name. Though the story is rather light, celebrities of all sorts have either small parts or cameos in this film, and much of the film's entertainment value comes from spotting them. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1971
In this drama, a freed-POW returns home and is further traumatized by his supposed friends, family and neighbors. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1971
Native American actor Chief Dan George, who had catapulted to stardom in the 1971 theatrical feature Little Big Man, appears in this Bonanza episode as Red Cloud, a dying Indian chieftan. Before being gathered to his fathers, Red Cloud wants to reclaim a precious warbonnet lost in battle, which now hangs on the wall of the saloon owned by former Indian fighter Frank Ryan (Forrest Tucker). Joe Cartwright, grateful to Red Cloud for saving his life, wants to help the old man fulfill his dying wish-but how can he do this without jeopardizing his long-standing friendship with Ryan? Also appearing are Linda Cristal as Teresa, M. Emmet Walsh as Mattheson, and Patrick Adiarte as Swift Eagle. Originally telecast on December 26, 1971, "Warbonnet" was written by Arthur Heinemann, Charles Goldwad, and actor Robert Biheller (using the alias "Robert Blood"). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1971
First telecast January 5, 1971, Alias Smith and Jones was the pilot for the popular TV series of the same name. This genial rip-off of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Kid Curry, two notorious Western bandits who have become folk heroes because of their refusal to kill anyone. Heyes and Curry would like to go straight; the governor offers them that opportunity, provided they can stay out of trouble for one year. Assuming the aliases of Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones, Heyes and Curry begin their "retribution" process as tellers in a very tempting, very unguarded bank. Perennial guest star Susan Saint James provides the feminine angle in this tongue-and-cheek effort. Alias Smith and Jones ran until January 1973, by which time Roger Davis had replaced Pete Duel, who committed suicide on the last day of 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1970
Lee Van Cleef plays a fiercely independent river ferryman in the Old West. Bandit Warren Oates, fresh from decimating a local town, rides up with his gang and demands that Van Cleef transport the crooks and their booty across the river. He refuses, and is taken prisoner. Biding his time, Van Cleef is able to turn the tables on the vicious gang. Heavily influenced by the ultraviolent "spaghetti western" school, Barquero attempts to add a contemporary note to the proceedings by having Warren Oates take an hallucinatory "trip" after smoking an unidentified weed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef, Forrest Tucker, (more)
