Jackie Coogan Movies
American actor Jackie Coogan belonged to a family of vaudevillians. At age four Coogan was already a stage attraction performing with his father when he caught the eye of Charles Chaplin, who immediately hired him (and his father as well). After giving him a bit part in the short A Day's Pleasure (1919), he made Coogan his co-star in the masterpiece The Kid (1921). This launched Coogan's film career and he went on to become one of the highest paid film actors of the day. Movie audiences worldwide doted on him, but his career as a child star petered out when he was 13 and too old to be "cute." In 1935 when his mother and stepfather refused to let him have the $4 million that he had amassed during his child acting days, he filed suit against them. When the settlement finally came, he received a mere $126,000., but the legal fight brought attention to such abuses, and resulted in the "California Child Actor's Bill" also known as the "Coogan Act" which protected the earnings of child actors. He was married to Betty Grable for 3 years, and to three other showgirls in succession afterwards. During his adulthood, he occasionally appeared in films playing character roles and worked frequently in television, most notably as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family TV series. He died on March 1, 1984. ~ Bruce Lawton, Rovi- 1983
The second volume in a three-part series on the life and career of legendary director Charlie Chaplin. Unknown Chaplin, Vol. 2: The Director focuses on the heart of his directorial heyday and his development into one of the most successful and respected movie directors of all time. The video offers interviews with Jackie Coogan, Lita Grey, and others who knew and worked with him, as well as rare production footage and clips from his films. Also included is insight into his transition from using simple sight gags and slapstick comedy to developing complex plots and characterizations in such classics as The Kid, City Lights, and The Gold Rush. ~ Sarah Block, Rovi
The Escape Artist represents the laudable directorial debut of cinematographer Caleb Deschanel. Griffin O'Neal, the real-life son of Ryan O'Neal, plays Danny Masters, the offspring of a famed magician. Determined to match his dad's accomplishment, Danny runs into nothing but trouble. His biggest mistake is picking the pocket of the son of a corrupt town mayor. When not running from adults, the boy is being exploited by them. A critic's favorite, Escape Artist has slowly built up a cult following over the years, thanks largely to its eclectic supporting cast, including Raul Julia, Desi Arnaz Jr., Joan Hackett, Teri Garr, Jackie Coogan, Huntz Hall and M. Emmet Walsh. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Griffin O'Neal, Raul Julia, (more)
- 1980
The title characters in The Kids Who Knew Too Much are young model-building aficionados. Three in number, they are portrayed by Rad Daly, Dana Hill and Christopher Holloway. The kids make the acquaintance of ace reporter Sharon Gless, who is investigating a murder. Everyone is plunged into peril when Gless and the kids discover that the murder was committed to hush up a major political conspiracy. The Kids Who Knew Too Much was firs telecast as a Wonderful World of Disney 2-hour "special" on March 9, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1980
- R
As in several other films with this same theme, six young men and women head out for a hike in the woods, unaware that a crazed killer is on the loose looking for victims. About 30 years earlier, a group of gypsies were burnt to death in a forest fire, except for one small boy. Now the boy, all grown up and physically disfigured by the fire, is out to vent his rage on anyone who enters the forest. With a weak script, no characterizations, and lots of padding featuring wildlife (the animal kind) in the forest, this film might only be noted for the fact that it was one of the last movies in which Jackie Coogan appears. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Debbie Thureson, Steve Bond, (more)
- 1980
- R
This is a crazy horror-film spoof in which the enthusiastic leads provide laughs just by the strength of their characterizations alone -- and because they are obviously having fun. Oliver Reed is Dr. Heckyl whose lumpy face is so ugly it has kept women away in droves. He works at a podiatrist's clinic and one day attempts suicide by quaffing a whole bottle of a weight-loss elixir. The result? Dr. Heckyl becomes Mr. Hype, the suave ladies man. The only problem is that Mr. Hype is evil incarnate, his urge to kill is greater than any other urge, and so he remains as virginal as ever as he leaves a trail of victims behind. When he goes after the woman he has loved as Dr. Heckyl, serious confusion is in store -- she prefers the good-hearted beast over the rotten charmer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Sunny Johnson, (more)
- 1979
- R
Country singer Rachel Foster (Linda Haynes) stumbles across the scene of a mass murder in this routine horror feature. She is arrested and charged with the murders and placed in prison. Psychiatric sessions are run by the sadistic and misogynist Dr. Kline (Geoffrey Lewis). His idea of mental health is to erase the patient's personalities and completely replace them with new ones through brainwashing. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis, (more)
- 1977
The original TV Addams family reunites in this comedy. The trouble begins when the bizarre clan hold their annual party and are so busy with the guests that they fail to notice three inept burglars attempting to rob them. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1976
- PG
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This spoof makes fun of a certain famous German shepherd movie star from the 1920s. The mayhem begins when the head honcho of a financially struggling studio turns a lost dog into a legend. The story features a number of old stars making cameo appearances. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Dern, Madeline Kahn, (more)
- 1976
Sherlock Holmes in New York is a topnotch TV movie starring Roger Moore (surprisingly effective as Holmes) and Patrick MacNee (an intelligent, compassionate Watson). The Great Detective travels to the Big Apple of the 1890s to thwart arch-villain Moriarty, who plans to devalue the world's gold supply. Holmes is also reunited with his lost love Irene Adler (Charlotte Rampling), whose honesty--or lack of it--is just as much in doubt as it had been in Doyle's Scandal in Bohemia. The film combines the razor-sharp deductions of Holmes with the deeper, darker aspects of his character. Sherlock Holmes in New York underwent numerous script and concept changes while the producers awaited the availability of Roger Moore, who in the mid-1970s was being kept busy as James Bond. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1975
- PG
Detective movies and film-noir are parodied in this comedy that tells the story of a rookie detective who is hired via mail-order to find out who killed the milkman. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gabriel Dell, Will Geer, (more)
- 1974
Part of the prolific cartoon version of the Addams Family series, this episode finds Gomez taking on the New York Police Department when he decides he's the true heir to a little patch of New York City ground -- none other than Central Park. ~ Rovi
- 1974
This video is more animated action from the Addams Family, when the ghoulish group finds there's sawdust in their veins and they heed the "call of the circus." ~ Rovi
- 1974
Addams Family: Left in Lurch presents four issues from the animated version of the monster family TV series. Included here are: "Left in the Lurch," "The Mardi Gras Story," "The Voodoo Story" and "Aloha Hoolamagoola." ~ Rovi
- 1974
In these zany cartoon creations of the Addams bunch, we find the family traveling coast-to-coast in a retrofitted castle-camper. Who says these guy have to stay home? These animated episodes, titled "Ghost Town," "Addams Go West," "Follow that Loaf of Bread," and "The Fastest Creepy Camper in the West," feature some original cast-member voices (Ted Cassidy and Jackie Coogan) as well as a famous visitor's voice, Ms. Jodie Foster! ~ Rovi
- 1974
It is hardly a fond reunion when Ironside (Raymond Burr) is summoned to his home town by a letter from his former high school classmate Alice Schmidt (Fay Spain). Upon his arrival, the Chief learns that Alice never wrote the letter--and that her husband John has been murdered. When another member of the Class of 1940, Dick Gillis (William Bryant), likewise turns up dead, Ironside follows a trail of clues leading to an accidental killing that occurred 34 years earlier...thereby setting himself up as the murderer's next victim! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1974
In this thriller, an enigmatic phantom lives in the dank tunnels running beneath the ramshackle back lot of a former movie lot. When prospective buyers endeavor to purchase the property, the furious phantom goes on the rampage. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1973
Jackie Coogan takes over from Ray Bolger in the role of Shirley Partridge's father Mr. Renfrew (now named "Walter" rather than "Fred"), while Rosemary DeCamp recreates her portrayal of Shirley's mom Amanda. The plot gets under way when Grandma Amanda goes to work as the Partridge's maid, if only to escape the rampant chauvinism of Grandpa Walter. Shirley (Shirley Jones) tries to patch up the argument between her dad and mom, succeeding only in sparking a gender-supremacy argument that divides the entire family. Finally, Reuben (Dave Madden) is enlisted to resolve the issue--but this requires him to impersonate a burglar! Songs: "Workin' on a Groovy Thing" and "Grandma". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1973
- PG
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John Wayne plays a lawman who has to deal with the problems of fatherhood in a big way in Cahill: United States Marshall. Wayne is J.D. Cahill, whose singular desire to track down law breakers strains his relationship with his two teenage sons --17-year-old Danny (Gary Grimes) and 12-year-old Billy Joe (Clay O'Brien). The film begins as Cahill is hot on the trail of a gang of outlaws. After the big showdown, he returns to town to discover that the local bank has been robbed. The sheriff and the deputy have been killed, and four bank robbers are imprisoned in the jail. He is stunned when he finds out that one of the robbers in jail is Cahill's son Danny. It seems that during Cahill's absence from home, his two sons have been enticed into a criminal life by nefarious outlaw Abe Fraser (George Kennedy). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Gary Grimes, (more)
- 1972
Filmed in Greece and Italy, Cool Million was the pilot film for a shortlived 1972 TV series which ran as a recurring feature of the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie. James Farentino stars as private eye Jefferson Keays, who takes cases only on the proviso that he is to be paid $1 million if he solves the mystery. Keays' current assignment is to locate the heiress to a $50 million fortune. With several candidates to choose from, the detective must use his million-dollar nose to sniff on the worthy one--and to find out if she's responsible for the peculiar death of her wealthy father. Cool Million was released to syndication under the title Mask of Marcella. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1972
Former Vietnam medic Ed Marlow (Robert Pratt) signs on as a paramedic trainee with Squad 51--and quickly alienates the rest of the staff with his smug know-it-all attitude. Marlow's ego-tripping proves particularly troublesome as he accompanies the staffers on a variety of emergency calls, involving a boy who has fallen off a cliff, a woman who has o.d.'ed on prescription drugs, and a diabetic with a bad insulin reaction. Former child star Jackie Coogan appears as a slovenly junkyard owner who learns the hard way to appreciate the local fire-prevention laws. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1972
Investigating a missing-child report, officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord) expose an illegal adopting ring. In another incident, the two cops probe a report of stolen narcotics on a college campus, following the trail of clues to a star football player. And this being Adam-12, the episode is capped by a high-speed car chase. Featured in the cast are two former child stars, Jackie Coogan and James Lydon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
The killer of police officer Randy Keating (Roger Perry) is himself killed by Keating's partner Frank Carlson (David Carradine)--whereupon Carlson finds himself facing a murder charge. Inasmuch as he attended police academy with both Keating and Carlson, Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway) takes a personal interest in the case. With the help of his boss Ironside (Raymond Burr), Ed slowly but surely figures out that Carlson has been framed--but by whom? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1970
Trying to make Danny (Danny Bonaduce) feel better about his pre-pubescent clumsiness, the family convinces him that he's a natural born comic. This well-meaning gesture backfires when Danny, determined to break into the Big Time as a stand-up comedian, hires broken-down gag writer Ziggy Shnurr (Morey Amsterdam) to provide him with a "sure-fire" act. Jackie Coogan, who would later replace Ray Bolger in the recurring role of the Partridge kids' grandfather, is here seen as a no-nonsense nightclub owner who must break the news to Danny that he's approximately as funny as a crutch. Song: "Somebody Wants to Love You". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1969
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Tony (Larry Hagman) has banished Jeannie (Barbara Eden), only to find out that he can't live without her. Worse still, Tony has been bumped from the space program and transferred to Alaska, thanks to the previous week's brouhaha involving Jeannie's uncle Suleiman (Jackie Coogan) and the ambassador of Kasha. Putting his own career on the line, Roger (Bill Daily) sets out to reinstate Tony and to reunite him with Jeannie. Ultimately, Tony finally proposes to Jeannie--only to find that he must now pass a rather rigorous test imposed by Suleiman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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