Ben Bates Movies
Director Wes Craven, who went on to fame as the force behind blockbuster horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, departed from his favorite genre to film this unique cult classic -- a spoof on the mad scientist movies of the 1950s. Adrienne Barbeau stars as Alice Cable, a government agent sent to replace a man who has disappeared while guarding a secret experimental lab in the middle of the Louisiana bayous. Dressed in heels and a skirt, Cable professes unease at her strange new surroundings, but she is soon wooed by Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise). Holland is working on a concoction that combines plant and animal cells. Arcane (Louis Jourdan) is the criminal mastermind who is trying to steal the secret recipe for the potion. When Arcane and his mercenaries break into the government camp, they kill Holland's sister Linda (Nannette Brown) and the scientist is accidentally doused with his own formula and bursts into flames, then dives into the swamp. Arcane's men pursue Cable, but she is rescued by a mysterious green man. It takes several rescues for her to understand that the Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) is Dr. Holland, transformed by his own formula. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Jourdan, Adrienne Barbeau, (more)
An orphan grows up to become an Old West legend as the story of the Lone Ranger comes to the big screen in this western saga featuring Christopher Lloyd and Jason Robards. Orphaned as a young boy, John Reid struck up a lifelong friendship with a loyal Indian boy named Tonto. Years later, Reid has become a lawyer and returned to the west in order to ensure that vicious murderers such as the Cavendish gang are brought to justice. Having previously murdered Reid's parents, the Cavendish gang proves that they still rule this lawless land when they launch an ambush that leaves the lawyer serious wounded and his Texas Ranger brother dead. Nursed back to health by his old friend Tonto, Reid dons a mask and sets out to pursue justice anonymously atop his faithful horse Silver. His timing couldn't be better, either, because the Cavendish gang is about to carry out their most ambitious misdeed to date by kidnapping President Ulysses S. Grant (Robards). Upon learning that the president has been abducted by the most violent gang in the Wild West, the Lone Ranger sets out to settle an old score while rescuing the man who will steer the fate of a nation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, (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)
