Jeff Corey Movies
American actor Jeff Corey forsook a job as sewing-machine salesman for the less stable world of New York theatre in the 1930s. The 26-year-old Corey was regarded as a valuable character-actor commodity when he arrived in Hollywood in 1940. Perhaps the best of his many early unbilled appearances was in the Kay Kyser film You'll Find Out (40), in which Corey, playing a game-show contestant (conveniently named Jeff Corey), was required to sing a song while stuffing his mouth full of crackers. The actor was busiest during the "film noir" mid-to-late 1940s, playing several weasely villain roles; it is hard to forget the image of Corey, in the role of a slimy stoolie in Burt Lancaster's Brute Force, being tied to the front of a truck and pushed directly into a hail of police bullets. Corey's film career ended abruptly in 1952 when he was unfairly blacklisted for his left-leaning political beliefs. To keep food on the table, Corey became an acting coach, eventually running one of the top training schools in the business (among his more famous pupils was Jack Nicholson). He was permitted to return to films in the 1960s, essaying such roles as a wild-eyed wino in Lady in a Cage (64), the louse who kills Kim Darby's father in True Grit (68), and a sympathetic sheriff in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (68). In addition to his film work, Jeff Corey has acted in and directed numerous TV series; he was seen as a regular on the 1985 Robert Blake series Hell Town and the 1986 Earl Hamner Jr. production Morningstar/Eveningstar. The following decade found Corey appearing in such films as Sinatra (1992), Beethoven's 2nd (1993) and the action thriller Surviving the Game (1994). Shortly after suffering a fall at his Malibu home in August of 2002, Corey died in Santa Monica due to complications resulting from the accident. He was 88. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
- PG
Based on a character created by Robert E. Howard, this fast-paced, occasionally humorous sequel to Conan the Barbarian features the hero (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as he is commissioned by the evil queen Taramis (Sarah Douglas) to safely escort a teen princess (Olivia D'Abo) and her powerful bodyguard (Wilt Chamberlain) to a far away castle to retrieve the magic Horn of Dagon. Unknown to Conan, the queen plans to sacrifice the princess when she returns and inherit her kingdom after the bodyguard kills Conan. The queen's plans fail to take into consideration Conan's strength and cunning and the abilities of his sidekicks: the eccentric wizard Akiro (Mako), the wild woman Zula (Grace Jones), and the inept Malak (Tracey Walter). Together the hero and his allies must defeat both mortal and supernatural foes in this voyage to sword-and-sorcery land. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, (more)
- 1983
- PG
A young man tries to break up the oft-disparaged sport of cockfighting in a rural Southern town. He's up against a whole lot of cockfight supporters and could use a few more folks on his side. ~ All Movie Guide
This is an unusual entry in the knights-in-armor genre. Set in medieval England, the film follows the exploits of a young swordsman, Talon (Lee Horsley). Working as a mercenary knight, Talon possesses a unique three-bladed sword which fires its two extra blades when he touches a button. By chance, Talon learns that he is a prince who has forgotten his royal heritage. Using his sword and his wiles, he attempts to regain control of his kingdom, which has been taken over by a sadistic tyrannical knight and an evil sorcerer. In doing so, he can save a princess who has been taken hostage by the usurpers. Comedy is interspersed with gory and licentious drama throughout the film, which was directed and written by Albert Pyun. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, (more)
- 1982
In this mystery a psychiatrist and his wife are surprised to find that the quiet seaside town they just moved to is plagued by strange deaths that occur during mysterious storms. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Adam (Linwood Boomer) and Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) return to Walnut Grove, where Adam wants to set up his law practice. His first client turns out to be the most hated man in town: Edgar Mills (Jeff Corey), who is accused of swindling the townsfolk in a wide-ranging scam. At first believing in Mills' innocence, Adam soon learns the painful truth -- but also discovers that Mills' motives were not as sinister as they seem. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
Narrated by Vincent Price, this story is about a boy who goes to a Transylvanian Castle to learn about fear. This program is not intended for young children. ~ All Movie Guide
Produced by Roger Corman and scripted by John Sayles, Battle Beyond the Stars is a cheerfully blatant imitation of The Seven Samurai (or at least the American remake The Magnificent Seven). A peaceloving planet is attacked by malevolent aliens. The powers-that-be hire a group of mercenaries, headed by George Peppard, to protect the planet from harm. Peppard's contingent includes squeaky-clean Richard Thomas Jr. and statuesque Sybil Danning. John Saxon goes through his usual paces as the villain, while the supporting players include such dependables as Sam Jaffe, Jeff Corey, and, from Magnificent Seven itself, Robert Vaughn. Keep an eye out for Julia Duffy as "Mol". A deft blend of standard sci-fi action and knowing "inside" humor, Battle Beyond the Stars was one of Corman's biggest hits of the 1980s-not to mention an endless supply of stock footage for future New World Productions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, (more)
- 1980
Homeward Bound is the story of a dying teenager who spends the summer with his divorced father, who has been estranged from his own father for many a year. All three spend the summer at the grandfather's vineyard, learning about love and life. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- R
- Add Butch and Sundance: The Early Days to QueueAdd Butch and Sundance: The Early Days to top of Queue
This "prequel" to the Newman/Redford vehicle Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was written by TV sitcom veteran Allan Burns and stars Tom Berenger as Butch and William Katt as Sundance. The film, per its title, traces the formative days of Butch and Sundance's careers as soft-hearted western outlaws, and their creation of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. There's no Etta Place this time around; the fictional heroine, named Mary, is played by Jill Eikenberry. Only Jeff Corey, as Sheriff Ray Bledsoe, repeats his role from the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, Tom Berenger, (more)
- 1979
After a four-year relationship, Quincy (Jack Klugman) still cannot summon the courage to propose to his lady friend Lynne (Sharon Acker), and in fact seems to be deliberately neglected her in favor of his work. During a particularly difficult forensic procedure in which he must clean up after an incompetent colleague, Quincy reflects on his current romantic crisis--and flashes back to the events leading up to the death of his late wife Helen. Appearing as the former Mrs. Quincy is Anita Gillette), who ironically later joined the series as Quincy's second wife Emily. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
With wheat prices plummeting, the farmers of Walnut Grove hold a meeting to decide whether or not to fix prices. The only farmer who doesn't go along with the plan is town bigot Larrabee (Don "Red" Barry), who refuses to charge the same price as a black neighbor. Outraged by this behavior, Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen) embarrasses Larrabee in front of the man's family. Seeking revenge, Larrabee in turn heads to Garvey's home -- and ultimately finds himself facing a charge of barn-burning. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Jennifer, directed by Brice Mack is an uninspired, low-budget rip-off of Brain De Palma's far superior Carrie but also borrows a bit from Ben and Willard. Jennifer (Lisa Pelikan) is an outcast student who gets her revenge on her classmates at the exclusive "Greenview School for Girls." Jennifer is able to communicate with snakes and calls them to do her bidding, particularly when she gets her revenge on an especially obnoxious popular blonde fellow student. Jennifer, also released as Jennifer (The Snake Goddess), has little to recommend it even for the most fervent horror fan, but it has a few moments, and Lisa Pelikan gives an appealing performance as Jennifer. TV fans will note game-show host Bert Convy in one of the lead roles. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Pelikan, Bert Convy, (more)
The plot of this of this adaptation of the Daniel Carney's novel, sprinkled throughout a series of extended Sam Peckinpah-inspired action sequences, deals with a collection of mercenary toughguys -- Colonel Allen Faulkner (Richard Burton), Lieutenant Shawn Fynn (Roger Moore), Rafer Janders (Richard Harris), Pieter Coetzee (Hardy Kruger) -- who are hired to parachute into the African bush country and abscond with deposed African president Julius Limbani (Winston Ntshona) and reinstall him as a reigning monarch of an African country, to satisfy British mercantile interests. The action sequences were successful enough to spawn a sequel -- appropriately titled Wild Geese II. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Roger Moore, (more)
- 1977
Captains Courageous is Rudyard Kipling's story of a wealthy, spoiled teenager who matures into responsible manhood during an enforced voyage on a fishing schooner. The 1937 MGM version of the Kipling tale lowered the age of the protagonist to accommodate juvenile star Freddie Bartholomew, and re-shaped the plot so that the Portuguese fisherman Manuel, played by Spencer Tracy, would be the leading role. This 1977 TV-movie version wisely restores the full age of Harvey Cheyne (Jonathan Kahn), reiterating Kipling's point that it's never too late to steer a young man on the right path. The 1977 version also relegates Manuel (Ricardo Montalban) to the secondary position he held in the novel, strengthening the growing friendship and mutual respect between young Harvey and wise old captain Danko (Karl Malden). Filmed on location off the Maine coast, The TV version of Captains Courageous originally aired December 4, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
This wonderfully cheesy TV movie-of-the-week stars Tony Franciosa as a detective hot on the trail of a murderer whose mutilated and predominantly male victims are found encased in silken cocoons. He eventually tracks the killer's path to Los Angeles, where he discovers her true identity -- a woman who was bitten by black widow spiders as a child, who has developed the ability to transform herself into a gigantic spider-monster (as portrayed by a not-too-convincing rubber puppet). An odd diversion for director Dan Curtis, with a 1950's monster-movie mentality incongruous with his earlier TV features. The cast -- comprised of many familiar TV faces -- try to play their roles straight, despite the overall impression that the whole thing is a silly put-on. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Anthony Franciosa, (more)
- 1977
The inaugural presentation of the syndicated "Operation Prime Time" anthology, the three-part, six-hour miniseries Testimony of Two Men was based on the 1968 best-seller by Taylor Caldwell; it originally aired in three separate two-hour installments. Sprawled over the course of several generations following the Civil War, this epic begins in 1865. It covers the saga of idealistic, straight-arrow Pennsylvania surgeon Jonathan Ferrier (David Birney) and his irresponsible, hot-headed and slightly effeminate younger brother Harald (David Huffman). The Ferrier boys battle over professional ethics (Jonathan campaigns for medical reforms, Harald is interested only a quick financial turnover) and personal peccadilloes. The drama heats up when the philandering wife of one of the Ferriers is charged with murder, precipating a scandal that threatens to rock the medical profession to its foundations. In the climax, a group of envious physicians try to destroy Jonathan when he lobbies for antiseptic operating conditions--and the truth comes out about Harald's dalliance with Jonathan's late wife. Made available for syndication in May of 1977, Testimony of Two Men was seen in most markets on May 9, 16 and 23. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- PG
Banking on his renewed "leading man" status vis-a-vis Enter the Dragon, John Saxon plays J. B. Johnson in Moonshine County Express. The villain is racketeer Starkey (William Conrad), who has bumped off likeable moonshiner Pap Hammer (Fred Foresman). Now Starkey must do away with Hammer's toothsome daughters Dot, Betty and Sissy (Susan Howard, Claudia Jennings and Maureen McCormick). The girls receive unexpected help from Starkey's flunkey J.B. Moonshine County Express represents perhaps the best screen work of the late Playboy model Claudia Jennings, who evinces an intuitive acting ability. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Susan Howard, (more)
Adapted by Larry Gelbart from the novel by Avery Corman, the film stars John Denver as Jerry Landers, the assistant manager of a grocery store who is chosen by God (George Burns) to spread the Word to the rest of the world. Not surprisingly, Jerry is soon labelled a basket case: even his loving wife Bobbie (Teri Garr) doubts her husband's sanity. But there's enough evidence on Jerry's side for a panel of prominent clerics to demand that the hapless fellow prove in court that he's the agent of God. Donald Pleasence was supposed to have an extended supporting role in the film, but the first cut ran too long, and Pleasence's dialogue was eliminated -- but not Pleasence himself, who retains his prominent billing and is seen doing precisely nothing in several scenes. Netting $30 million on its first run, Oh God was followed by two lesser sequels, both featuring Burns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Burns, John Denver, (more)
Elia Kazan directed this curiously constipated film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished final novel, about Monroe Starr, a brilliant and efficient studio executive (based upon Fitzgerald's experiences with MGM wunderkind Irving Thalberg). Robert De Niro plays Monroe Starr in a cool and detached manner, and as Kazan pans around the Hollywood Dream Factory of the 1930s, Starr juggles several productions, deals with nervous actors and recalcitrant directors, stays afloat in the Hollywood corporate battlefields, and secretly carries on a love affair with an even cooler and more detached English girl, Kathleen Moore (Ingrid Boulting). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, (more)
Also known as Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free, this TV pilot film stars Don Meredith in the title role. Banjo Hackett is a western horsetrader, circa 1885, who travels in the company of his orphaned nephew (Ike Eisenmann). While searching for a rare Arabian mare stolen from the nephew's late mother, Hackett occasionally pays a visit to Mollie (Jennifer Warren), a ranch owner whom Banjo would marry if he'd only admit he loved the woman. Millionaire Dan O'Herlihy and untrustworthy bounty hunter Chuck Connors are also after the stolen horse. The film's storyline is as rambling as Banjo Hackett himself, which was both its charm and curse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Meredith, Ike Eisenmann, (more)
- 1975
This episode was designed as the pilot for a proposed Kojak spinoff, starring Vincent Gardenia) as Lt. Kojak's former NYPD colleague Vince LaGuardia. Now working in Las Vegas, LaGuardia alerts Kojak (Telly Savalas) of his plan to extradite an elderly counterfeiter (Jeff Corey) to Manhattan. When the old man suddenly dies in his jail cell, Vince suspects foul play and launches a search for an unknown hitman. All the while, the veteran cop endeavors to balance his professional life with his personal responsibilities as surrogate father to his nephew Nick (Mike Darnell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- PG
David Niven is an English tutor for the son of the Japanese ambassador to a Southeast Asian country. The two are used as pawns in a politically motivated kidnapping. Niven entertains the boy with fantastic fabrications of his exciting past. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Toshiro Mifune, (more)
