John Doucette Movies

This uneven comedy came and went quickly in commercial release. An American triathlete (Mark Neely) trains for an upcoming event, with the main competition coming from a pretty Russian exchange student (Terry Farrell). Billy Barty excels in his character role as a diminutive Russian, and the slapstick rivalry between the two event announcers and some sight gags help but fail to bring this feature to the finish line. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This made-for-TV movie relates the true story of the infamous Donner Party, the group of unlucky pioneers who were stranded in the Rockies by a snowstorm and had to eat the bodies of the dead to survive. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

A frontier scout named Hawkeye forms an unlikely friendship with a tribe of Mohican warriors amidst the backdrop of the French and Indian War in an animated adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's classic novel. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Ross Martin guest stars as Damien, a nightclub psychic who lately has been experiencing disturbing visions of fire and flame. Ironside (Raymond Burr) becomes interested in what Damien has seen (and what he WILL see) when the psychic insists that he can predict where an arsonist who is terrorized San Francisco will strike next--but are Damien's powers real, or is there something more sinister afoot? Ironically, this episode was written by one Judy Burns! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When his grandson (played by real-life son Ethan Wayne) is kidnapped by scurrilous baddie Richard Boone, Big Jake (John Wayne) sets out to deliver the $1 million ransom. On the off-chance that there'll be gunplay, Jake brings along his sons Patrick Wayne and Chris Mitchum. Maureen O'Hara plays Jake's estranged wife and Bruce Cabot provides comedy relief as a scraggly Indian Scout. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In fine Hollywood tradition, John Wayne had to play a "one-eyed fat man" before the Motion Picture Academy considered him worthy of an Oscar. In True Grit, Wayne plays grumpy, pot-bellied U.S. marshal "Rooster" Cogburn, hired by 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) to find Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), who killed her father. The headstrong Mattie could have had her pick of lawmen, but selects the aging Cogburn because she believes he has "true grit" (she talks this way all through the picture, so be prepared). Also heading into Indian territory in search of Chaney is Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), who wants to collect the reward placed on the fugitive's head for his earlier crimes. Complicating matters are Chaney's scurrilous cronies Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall), Quincy (Jeremy Slate), and Moon (Dennis Hopper), who have no qualms about killing a troublesome teenaged girl like Mattie. While the plot of True Grit, adapted (and streamlined) by Marguerite Roberts from the novel by Charles Portis, maintains audience interest throughout, the glue that truly holds this Western together is John Wayne, delivering one of his finest performances (though some believe he was better in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon). Wayne's casual charisma is infinitely more effective than the mannered method acting of Kim Darby and the floundering non-acting of poor Glen Campbell. And who could not love the climatic face-off between Duvall and company and John Wayne, whose "Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!" is not only a classic bit of dialogue, but the apotheosis of the Wayne mystique. In 1975, Wayne repeated his True Grit characterization opposite Katharine Hepburn in Rooster Cogburn, but the film failed to match its predecessor and the overall effect was blunted. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Kim Hunter guest-stars as greedy Ada Halle, who holds a monopoly on all salt deposits in Spanish Wells. Charging exorbitant prices for her precious salt, Ada sparks a war between the haves (the wealthy cattlemen of the territory) and the have-nots (the small ranchers). Making things dicier is the fact that Ada is the fiancee of Ben Cartwright's old friend Cash Talbot (John Doucette). Originally telecast on February 4, 1968, "The Price of Salt" was written by B.W. Sandefur. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Luftwaffe hatches a scheme to bomb London with captured RAF airplanes and phony British pilots. When the planes are brought into Stalag 13 for safekeeping, Hogan hatches a scheme to destroy them before they can take flight. Stewart Moss appears as POW Olsen, assuming the responsibilities normally handled by Newkirk (Richard Dawson is absent from this episode). Written by Laurence Marks, "Some of Their Planes Are Missing" originally aired on September 16, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Henry Hathaway's film is based on a character from Harold Robbins' The Carpetbaggers, who, in turn, based it on cowboy actor Ken Maynard. Set in the West of the 1890s, the film opens with the torture and murder of the parents of Max Sand (Steve McQueen) by a trio of gunslingers seemingly motivated by their hostility toward the mixed nature of the marriage, since the wife is a Native American. Swearing revenge, the young cowhand enlists the help of itinerant gunsmith Jonas Cord Brian Keith, who teaches him how to shoot while counseling against revenge. Nonetheless, Sand doggedly scours one town after the other before finally running up against one of the murderers, Jesse Coe (Martin Landau). He finally kills Coe in a vicious knife fight, but is severely wounded himself and has to be nursed back to health by Neesa (Janet Margolin), a young Kiowa woman. He next heads for Louisiana where another of the murderous trio, Bill Bowdre (Arthur Kennedy), is serving a prison sentence in a remote swamp. In order to get close to the man, Sand stages a robbery, and is soon among the prison inmates. This was the only film on which McQueen worked with Landau, the only other person admitted to the Actor's Studio out of thousands of applicants in 1957. ~ Michael Costello, Rovi

Emma Morgan (Adrienne Marden, the jealous wife of religious cult leader Rev. Evan Morgan (John Doucette), is convinced that Morgan's niece Sarah Reynolds (Ina Balin) is possessed by the Devil. It is up to Ben Cartwright to save Sarah from a grisly demise at the hands of Morgan's more rabid followers. Also in the cast are Peter Helm as Gwylem and Angela Dorian (aka Victoria Vetri) as Essie. First broadcast October 17, 1965, "Devil on Her Shoulder" was written by Suzanne Clauser. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Having followed the trail of the One-Armed Man to Northern Wisconsin, Kimble (David Janssen) runs afoul of a mean-spirited sheriff named Deebold (John Doucette). In his efforts to elude the vindictive lawman, Kimble steals a car--which by a cruel twist of fate belongs to his perennial pursuer Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse. Worse still, Kimble has inadvertently kidnapped Gerard's son Phil Jr. (played by a young Kurt Russell), who is every bit as determined to bring the Fugitive to "justice" as his father. Featured in the cast are Slim Pickens as colorful mountain man Corbin, and guest star Kurt Russell's real-life father Bing Russell as Davis. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In 1963, this colossal and opulent $60 million spectacular was epic in every sense of the word -- an epic investment, an epic in the annals of Hollywood gossip, and, ultimately, an epic flop that nearly dragged 20th Century Fox down the Nile along with Cleopatra's barge. Handsomely mounted by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who replaced Rouben Mamoulian as director after six days of shooting), the drama follows the eighteen tumultuous years that led to the founding of the Roman Empire. Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor) meets up with Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) and plans to lure Caesar to her boudoir in order to forge an alliance with Rome so that she may hold on to her Egyptian empire. When Caesar is stabbed to death in the Roman Senate, Cleopatra is left without an ally, and Egypt is up for grabs. When Roman general Mark Antony (Richard Burton) comes along, she seduces him in order to make him over into her new protector. But, under the charms of Cleopatra, Mark Antony is reduced from a an awesome and dominating general to a sniveling, drunken wimp. At the Battle of Actium, Mark Antony is defeated and Cleopatra withdraws her troops, dooming Mark Antony and his army. With Egypt in peril, Antony and Cleopatra, the doomed lovers, meet each other for the last time, as the enemy forces close in. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The creation and testing of jet planes is the focus of this action film. The story centers on a boozy hero from the Korean War who is hired as a test pilot by an aircraft executive on the condition that he sober up for good. It is a long road for the alcoholic aviator, and at one point he almost suffers a breakdown during a simulated flight, but he manages to dry out and begin flying experimental planes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi