Tony Mockus Movies

Michael Landon produced, directed and wrote the 1990 TV movie Where Pigeons Go to Die. Landon also narrated the story as the adult counterpart of young protagonist Robert Hy Gorman. When Landon returns to his grandfather's house with the intention of selling it, he flashes back 40 years and recalls his warm relationship with his "Da", played by Art Carney. The central bonding activity between grandfather and grandson is the raising and training of homing pigeons--an activity that teaches the boy any number of life lessons about triumph, disappointment and respecting the interests of others. Star Art Carney himself assessed Where Pigeons Go to Die thusly: "Maybe it's corn. But there's nothing wrong with good corn." The film was adapted from a novel by R. Wright Campbell. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two part story, Hunter (Fred Dryer) is convinced that the murder of a movie star will be solved the moment he catches up with a Bulgarian hit-man in Mexico. Though Hunter's trip South of the Border clears up the mystery as to why the CIA is so interested in the case, the real killer remains at large--and worse still, the number of likely suspects has now increased considerably! This episode was adapted from a novel by former police detective Dallas L. Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Like the TV series that shared the same title, The Untouchables (1987) was an account of the battle between gangster Al Capone and lawman Eliot Ness, this time in the form of a feature film boasting big stars, a big budget, and a script from respected playwright David Mamet. Kevin Costner stars as Ness, a federal agent who has come to Chicago during the Prohibition Era, when corruption in the local police department is rampant. His mission is to put crime lord Capone (Robert De Niro) out of business, but Capone is so powerful and popular that Ness is not taken seriously by the law or the press. One night, discouraged, he meets a veteran patrolman, Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery), and discovers that the acerbic Irishman is the one honest man he's been seeking. Malone has soon helped Ness recruit a gunslinger rookie, George Stone (Andy Garcia), and, joined by nebbish accountant Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith), the men doggedly pursue Capone and his illegal interests. At first a laughingstock, Ness soon has Capone outraged over his and Malone's sometimes law-bending tactics, and the vain mobster strikes back in vicious style. Ultimately, it is the most unexpected and minor of crimes, tax evasion, which proves Capone's undoing. All of the credits for The Untouchables boasted big names, including music from Ennio Morricone and costumes by Giorgio Armani. Director Brian De Palma continued his tradition of including a homage to past masters of the cinema with a taut stairway shoot-out reminiscent of a similar sequence in Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (1925). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

F.I.S.T. is author Norman Jewison's chronicle of an innocent and idealistic young man corrupted by power and success as seen through the rise of the United States labor movement. Sylvester Stallone plays a Jimmy Hoffa-inspired figure who rises through the union ranks during turbulent labor times. The film begins in 1937 during the burgeoning of the labor movement. Johnny Kovak (Sylvester Stallone) works on the dock unloading trucks for Win Talbot's (Henry Wilcoxon) trucking company. He turns to organizing the truckers for union representative Mike Monahan (Richard Herd). When Monahan is killed in a fight by strong-arm men hired by the company, Johnny becomes involved with Vince Doyle (Kevin Conway), the local gangster. After an angry response by the union, culminating in a massive riot, Johnny firmly aligns himself with Doyle, and the mob gets its meathooks further into the union. Thanks to the infusion of mob support, the union grows rich and powerful, along with Johnny. By the end of the 1950s, Johnny has so much power that he even manages to blackmail international union leader Max Graham (Peter Boyle) out of his job. Johnny is sitting on top of the world -- that is, until crusading United States senator Andrew Madison (Rod Steiger) targets Johnny's union for a federal investigation. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

In this drama, a former defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears, Jim Finney is offered a coaching job, but opts to pursue a career as an artist instead. All of his work is centered around football and this does not earn him the art community's respect. In despair, he tosses his artwork into the Chicago River. Later his wife, a singer whose career is on the upswing, leaves him. The understandably depressed and lonely athlete later writes her a letter. Her reply is but a publicity photo. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi