Bruce Howard Movies

Combining electric song and dance performances with drama (both on and off screen), Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984) looks back to the 1920s-1930s peak of the legendary Harlem nightclub where only blacks performed and only whites could sit in the audience. Mixing historical figures with characters loosely based on actual people, Coppola and co-writers William Kennedy and The Godfather's Mario Puzo create a panorama of love, crime, and entertainment centered on the Club. Among them are cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere, playing his own solos), who escapes psycho gangster "benefactor" Dutch Schultz (James Remar) for a George Raft-type Hollywood career as a gangster film star; Schultz's nubile mistress Vera Cicero (Diane Lane), who loves Dixie against her mercenary instincts; Cotton Club Mob owner Owney Madden (Bob Hoskins) and close associate Frenchy Demarge (Fred Gwynne); Vincent (Nicolas Cage), Dixie's no-good Mad Dog Coll-esque brother; Club tap star Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines), who woos ambitious light-skinned Club singer Lila Rose Oliver (Lonette McKee); and cameos by Charles "Honi" Coles and Cab Calloway impersonator Larry Marshall. Complementing the period story, Coppola evokes the style of '30s gangster movies and musicals through an array of old-fashioned devices like montages of headlines, songs and shoot-outs. Conceived by producer Robert Evans as his crowning achievement and directorial debut, Evans had to hand over the troubled production to Coppola, but the budget spiraled out of control as the script was repeatedly re-written throughout the chaotic shoot. By the time it was released, The Cotton Club's epic production story of power struggles, financial bloat, and even a murder overshadowed the "reunion" of The Godfather's creative team. Neither a Heaven's Gate-sized failure nor a wallet-saving hit like Coppola's Apocalypse Now, The Cotton Club got some favorable critical notices (although it drew fire for subordinating the African American stories). It did not, however, find a large enough audience to justify its expense and controversy, becoming another mark against 1970s "auteur" cinema in increasingly blockbuster-driven 1980s Hollywood. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Attempting to thwart a robbery, Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) suffers injuries which render him blind. Keeping under cover, the robbers bide their time, intending to return to Hazzard and murder Jesse on the off-chance that his sight will return. Meanwhile, Jesse has taken refuge at the home of Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke)--who is mighty uncomfortable at having to play host while simultaneously trying to close his latest crooked business deal. Ken Hixon, who formerly appeared on the series as Dr. Floyd, returns in the strikingly similar role of Dr. Tawmage. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

As means of repaying an old debt of honor, Jesse (Denver Pyle) comes to the rescue of an incarcerated Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke). Thrown in the slammer by Sheriff Roscoe (James Best) for robbing his own bank, Boss begs Jesse to post bail, which Jesse does by mortgaging his farm. Little do the Dukes realize that they've fallen for a ruse cooked up by Boss and Roscoe to swindle the family out of their property! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) stoops even lower than usual to get his hands on Jesse's secret moonshine recipe. Hiring disreputable magician Jasper Fenwick (Jim B. Baker) to frame the Dukes for stealing money intended for an orphanage, Boss then generously offers to clear the cousins. But, oh yeah, there's a price tag for Boss' largesse: Jesse (Denver Pyle) must give up that precious recipe--immediately!. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When they are denied a raise and overtime pay, Sheriff Roscoe (James Best) and Deputy Cletus (Rick Hurst) go on strike, forcing Jesse (Denver Pyle) to act as temporary sheriff. Taking advantage of the situation, Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) robs his own TV store and frames Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) for the crime. This places honest Jesse in the uncomfortable position of having to arrest his own kinfolk! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) oversteps his bounds once too often when he arranges for a new state highway to bypass three nearby counties. Outraged over being denied the opportunity to shake down passing drivers for ill-gotten gains, a trio of rival country bosses--Sharkey (Earl Montgomery), Hopkins (F. William Parker) and Bowman (William Bramley)--target Boss for extermination, forcing him to hide out on the Dukes' farm. The outcome of the story hinges on a covert tape recording, courtesy of Vance Duke (Christopher Mayer). Singer Mel Tillis, who'd previously shown up in character role in the episode "The Rustlers", herein appears as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The supremacy of Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) is challenged by the equally corrupt (and far more dangerous) Boss J.W. Hickman (Larry D. Mann), who has set his sights on taking over Hazzard County. At the same time, Daisy (Catherine Bach) has fallen for a handsome hitchhiker named Earl Beckett (Phillip Brown)--little suspecting that Earl is Hickman's bomb-throwing chief henchman. This week's victims of Boss Hogg's "celebrity speed trap" are The Oak Ridge Boys, who sing "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" Originally slated to air on February 20, 1981, this episode was ultimately bumped forward to January 9. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A gang of jewel thieves make their getaway in the "General Lee", convincing Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) that Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) are members of the gang. Later on, the stolen jewels are found in the car belonging to Sheriff Roscoe (James Best), who is promptly fired--and making matters worse, it was Roscoe's own dog Flash who "ratted" on him. Thus it is that a reluctant Roscoe must align himself with the Dukes to find the real culprits. This is the only episode in which Daisy Duke does not appear (Catherine Bach was busy taping a TV special). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In a variation of the "D.B. Cooper" legend, a gang of crooks drops a cache of diamonds from a hijacked plane, hoping to pick up the loot later. The diamonds land on the Dukes' farm, whereupon Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) declares that the gems will remain on the property until he can find the rightful owner. Shortly thereafter, sexy jewel thief Lisa (Linda Hart) shows up on the farm, posing as a reporter--and at the same time, Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) schemes to get his hands on the loot with the help of a phony FBI agent. This episode was directed by series costar James Best (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

To the people of Hazzard County, Granny Annie Coggins (Lurene Tuttle) is merely a sweet little old lady who has achieved fame as a rustic artist. But Granny Annie happens to have another little pastime--namely, the counterfeiting of five-dollar bills. As Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) schemes to get his mitts on Annie's beautifully rendered counterfeit plates, a professional "funny-money" purveyor named Big Jim Downey (George Murdock) schemes to put the old lady out of business--and out of this world in the bargain. Mickey Jones appears as temporary mechanic B.B. Davenport, replacing his "cousin" Cooter (Ben Jones, who had gone on strike against the show because he didn't want to shave his beard for his role). Also, The Oak Ridge Boys perform "Old Time Lovin". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the opening episode of The Dukes of Hazzard's second season, lifelong antagonists Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle) and Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) take a trip down Memory Lane while watching a scratchy old newsreel of their bootlegging days. Arguing over which of them was the better "ridge-runner", Boss and Jesse decide to solve their differences with an illegal, no-holds-barred grudge race. This puts both of the Good Ol' Boys in the gunsights of an elderly, embittered sheriff who has waited for years to wreak vengeance. With this episode, Sonny Shroyer becomes a regular in his familiair role of dumb-but-honest deputy Enos; also, the episode marks the moment in which corrupt Sheriff Roscoe Coltrane forevers forsakes his "cynical villain" status to become a live-action equivalent of Wile E. Coyote--literally so in the climactic chase sequence! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Boss Hogg and the Duke boys have a common enemy for a change -- though that hardly means they're on the same side -- in this episode of the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) finds one of his old schemes has come back to haunt him when Neil Bishop (Fred McCarren), who was cheated by Hogg years before, robs him while Hogg is counting the take from a moonshining operation. Bishop needs to make a getaway, but Hogg has had his underlings impound Bishop's car, so he steals the first car he can find -- which just so happens to be the General Lee, dragging Bo and Luke Duke (John Schneider and Tom Wopat) into this mess. Bishop, however, doesn't know he may have set a trap for himself when he tries to make some time with Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach). "The Big Heist" first aired on March 30, 1979. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi