Jimmy Dean Movies
- 1995
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Tootsie's Orchid Lounge was a watering hole in Nashville, TN, which didn't look like much on the outside, but inside it was a favored spot for some of the biggest names in country music, who would stop in to meet their friends, enjoy a drink, and swap a few songs. Willie Nelson was a regular at Tootsie's during his days in Nashville, and he's the host of Willie Nelson: Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, which takes a friendly look back at the small club and the big names who made it a second home. Appearing with Nelson are Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller, Dolly Parton, and Harlan Howard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1990
While visiting a friend in Nashville, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) comes face to face with Bobby Diamond (Jimmy Dean), a popular country singer with more than a few of the requisite skeletons in his closet. A maelstrom of greed and philandering yields a murder, whereupon Jessica tries to find out who among Bobby's many enemies hated him enough to kill him. Featured in the cast is C&W entrepreneur-club owner Mickey Gilley, and "Carol Brady" herself, Florence Henderson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Nearly three decades after climbing the top-ten charts with his ballad "Big Bad John", Jimmy Dean stars in a film version of the song. Dean doesn't play the title character, though; that honor goes to ex-footballer Doug English. After killing a man who needed killing, Big Bad John loses himself by going to work in a treacherous Colorado coal mine. A whole slew of plot complications later, the film finally gets around to the gist of the song, with Big Bad John saving the lives of his fellow miners at the price of his own. For the record, Dean plays a sheriff who reluctantly pursues the fugitive John all over the country. Also in the cast is Ned Beatty, playing an abusive father to end all abusive fathers, and Jack Elam and Bob Hopkins, doing their usual. Big Bad John was directed by Burt Kennedy, an old hand at backwoods melodramas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Dennis Weaver plays a tow-truck driver sent to prison on a trumped-up charges of attempted murder. Out after serving four years, Weaver finds himself a reluctant loner. His wife has died, and his two sons have disappeared. In seeking out his boys, Weaver also keeps an eye out for the man responsible for railroading him into jail. Whenever the script or the character threaten to lapse into cliche, The Rolling Man compensates with attractive camerawork taking full advantage of the Southern California landscape. This TV movie had all the earmarks of a pilot for a series, but there's no evidence to back up this suspicion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
After George Lazenby portrayed James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Sean Connery returned to the tux, gimmicks, and catchphrases of Secret Agent 007 in his penultimate Bond outing, Diamonds Are Forever. Fragments of Ian Fleming's original 1954 novel remain, including the characters of the alluring Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) and fey hitmen Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith). The remainder of Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz's script diverges dramatically from the novel, involving Bond in a scheme by the insidious Ernst Blofeld (Charles Gray) to force the world powers to disarm so that he can take over the globe. Folksinger Jimmy Dean shows up briefly as a Howard Hughes-like reclusive billionaire, while Lana Wood (Natalie's sister) participates in one of the film's edgiest cliffhangers. Agreeing to make Diamonds Are Forever only because of the money offered him, Sean Connery parted company with the role for 12 years after this film; he returned to the role once more in 1983, for Irvin Kershner's underrated Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Jill St. John, (more)
- 1969
This made-for-TV movie stars Lee Majors as Andy Crocker, a disillusioned Vietnam veteran. His homecoming is hardly a hero's welcome: Andy finds that his girl friend is married, his business is in the toilet, and his friends and neighbors are reluctant to acknowledge his existence. Originally telecast November 18, 1969, this film was one of the first to tackle the issue of disenfranchised Nam soldiers who came trudging home to indifference and hostility. Wisely, it avoids the fistfights and gore that would attend the later unfortunate spate of "crazed Vietnam vet" pictures. Though it would seem to be self-contained, The Ballad of Andy Crocker was intended as the pilot for a weekly TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
