James Almanzar Movies

Walt Disney Pictures produced this ambitious, animated tale of sorcery and swordfighting. Taran (voice of Grant Bardsley), is an assistant to Dallben (voice of Freddie Jones), a pigkeeper in the mythical land of Prydain. Taran longs to be a knight, and he's given his chance to live out his dream when he is sent out in search of a magical black cauldron which can either be a powerful instrument of good or a bottomless fount of evil, depending entirely upon who should find it. However, Taran is not the only one in search of this talisman -- the Horned King (voice of John Hurt) wants the cauldron to shore up his sinister powers and raise an army of the dead, and with the help of the all-seeing pig Hen-Wren, the wicked one may make his hideous plans a reality. The Black Cauldron had the distinction of being the first animated feature from Disney to receive a PG rating from the MPAA, due to some frightening scenes of black magic. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Tim Conway and Don Knotts, mere supporting characters in the original Apple Dumpling Gang, are promoted to starring roles in the 1979 sequel The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. Once more cast as clumsy, soft-hearted western outlaws, Conway and Knotts come to the rescue of cavalry private Tim Matheson. The villain, lieutenant Philip Pine, is undermining the authority of Matheson's commander Harry Morgan, and Matheson wants to find out why. Featured performers include Jack Elam as Big Mac and Ruth Buzzi as Tough Kate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Designed for the regional family trade, Pony Express Rider is a fond harkback to the Saturday afternoon westerns of old. Stewart Paterson plays the title character, a young frontiersman hoping to avenge his father's death. He takes a job with the Pony Express mail service in hopes of running across his dad's murderer. The supporting cast is populated with such always-welcome reliables as Joan Caulfield, Henry Wilcoxon, Ken Curtis, Slim Pickens and Dub Taylor. Pony Express Rider was directed by Robert J. Totten, a specialist in episodic television horse operas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's still the same old story...but what a story. This umpteenth filmization of the classic Mark Twain novel stars Ron Howard as Huck and Donny Most as Tom Sawyer. After faking his own murder to escape his brutish Pap (played by Howard's real-life father Rance), Huck and fugitive slave Jim (Antonio Fargas) fashion a raft and head off down the Mississippi. The darker elements and sociological commentary of the Twain original are carefully excised from this version, the better to allow more time for the antics of those "royal" rapscallions, the King (Jack Elam) and the Duke (Merle Haggard). Mark Twain himself makes a guest appearance, in the person of Royal Dano. Filmed along the Sacramento River in California (a frequent movie "stand-in" for the Mississippi), Huckleberry Finn was first broadcast March 25, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not long after a close friend of Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway) disappears, the friend's abandoned fishing boat, "The Dancing Doll", washes up on shore--bearing traces of blood and gunfire. The authorities conclude that the missing friend was somehow connected with a mob hit, which in turn is tied in with a gangster's convention being held in San Francisco. Though Ironside (Raymond Burr) warns Ed to stay off the case lest he let his heart rule his head, it is the Chief who ends up putting the pieces of the puzzle together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Colicos makes another guest-star appearance on Mission:Impossible, this time as Manuel Ferrar, the would-be dictator of small Caribbean island republic. To prevent Ferrar from assassinating the republic's rightful ruler, the IMF stages an elaborate and often bizarre ruse. The spotlight is on Barney, who almost single-handedly creates a simulated airline flight--and a deadly mid-air crisis. First telecast on October 17, 1970, "The Flight" was scripted by Harry Livingston, from a story by Leigh Vance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Light on characterization and storyline, this routine wartime drama by director Robert Totten deals with a group of American soldiers and Italian partisans active in northern Italy during World War II. As the war continues around them, the two groups are first fighting separately. The American army patrol is bravely holding out against the Germans, but they are loosing men right and left and will not be able to continue like this for long. Meanwhile, the partisans are fighting their own battles. The two different sectors finally join forces, and for once the Germans have something to worry about. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide