Rozelle Gayle Movies
Clint Eastwood put his tough-guy image on hold for this personal project, which follows a musician taking one final chance at the big time. Red Stovall (Eastwood) is a would-be country singer who has been bouncing around the margins of the music business for years. With nowhere in particular to go, Red arrives at the failing Oklahoma farm of his sister for an extended visit, where her son Whit (Kyle Eastwood) quickly bonds with his uncle. However, it's obvious that Red is in very poor health, drinking heavily and breathing with difficulty, and when Red is invited to audition for the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, Whit tags along for the road trip to keep an eye on his ailing uncle. En route, Red and Whit are joined by Whit's grandfather (John McIntire) and another hopeful vocalist, Marlene (Alexa Kenin), who like Red is chasing her own dreams of stardom on the Opry. Clint Eastwood performed his own vocals and guitar work for Honkytonk Man, and a number of Nashville legends appear in cameo roles, including Marty Robbins, Porter Wagoner, Ray Price, Merle Travis, and Johnny Gimble. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Kyle Eastwood, (more)
In The Man With Bogart's Face, an affectionate send-up of the Bogart detective films of the 1940s, Robert Sacchi plays a man who idolizes Humphrey Bogart so much he has his features altered to look exactly like his idol. He then opens up a detective agency under the name Sam Marlowe (an amalgam of the names of Bogart's characters from The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep). Sam hires the Duchess (Misty Rowe) as his secretary ("She looked like Marilyn Monroe and made about as much sense as Gracie Allen") and "Sam Marlowe, Private Eye" is in business. Sam gets a meager response until a shooting puts his picture in the paper and business starts to flourish. Particularly attracted to Marlowe's services are a collection of characters -- Gena (Michelle Phillips), an attractive Gene Tierney type; Commodore Anastas (Victor Buono), a Greek shipping tycoon and Sidney Greenstreet lookalike; and the mysterious Mr. Zebra (Herbert Lom doing a Peter Lorre imitation). They are all trying to find the famous Eyes of Alexander -- a priceless set of stones from a statue of Alexander the Great. Also on hand are old Hollywood pros George Raft, Yvonne DeCarlo and Mike Mazurki. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Sacchi, Franco Nero, (more)
- 1980
- PG
Comedy falls as flat as a blowout in this film by Joseph Sargent about a down-to-earth trucker (Robert Blake) and the rich and looney witch (Dyan Cannon) he is forced to take on a haul from New York to L.A. Madie (Cannon) is running away from her money-grubbing husband who is conniving to get the most inexpensive divorce he can. Charlie (Blake) the trucker is under pressure from a ruthless creditor and is in desperate need of cash. As the mismatched duo continues in a stressful journey across country, sparks fly but fail to ignite much of anything along the way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dyan Cannon, Robert Blake, (more)
- 1978
Hoping to alleviate the monthly rent problem, J.J. (Jimmie Walker) opens the doors of the Evans apartment to a boarder. Little does J.J. realize that the new tenant is in protective police custody. But this state of affairs becomes painfully evident when the Evans family find themselves in the cross hairs of a likely syndicate hit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
Twenty-year-old LeVar Burton followed up his spectacular television debut in Roots with the made-for-TV film Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid. As can be gathered by the title, Billy (Burton) is a ghetto youth with little chance for a bright future. He gets his chance to escape his dead-end existence when he's hired as an assistant to veterinarian Ossie Davis. Roxie Roker of The Jeffersons fame (and the mother of pop singer Lenny Kravitz) co-stars as Billy's worn-out mom. Based on a novel by Robert C. S. Downs, Billy Portrait of a Street Kid first aired September 12, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1976
Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) doesn't know it at first, but his new "lady love," Miss Wallace, is actually a male criminal in drag. Even worse, the cross-dressing crook is on the lam from the law, with the neighborhood cops hot on a trail that leads directly to Fred's doorstep. Upon learning the truth, Fred cooks up a scheme to claim the reward money for himself -- a scheme that requires him to "play along" with the phony female. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
- 1976
A young pickpocket who works in a major airline terminal is found brutally murdered. Undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) can't understand why anyone would have reason to bump off a two-bit thief. But he intends to find out, and to do that he poses as an experienced "dip." Sanford and Son regular Whitman Mayo appears in a key supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Edward Grover, (more)
- 1976
Unable to pay his back rent, a tenant of the Sanford Arms leaves his sole possession as collateral. Unfortunately for Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx), that possession turns out to be an elephant. Hoping for a quick turnover, Fred stages a spectacular advertising gimmick, with the pesky pachyderm as the main attraction -- and before long our hero is facing a lawsuit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
- 1975
Once again, the unemployed James (John Amos) is strapped for cash. Though he needs money in a hurry, the headstrong James is outraged at the prospect of borrowing it from Florida's wealthy cousin Edgar (Percy Rodriguez). As James nurses his ego at the corner bar, Florida (Esther Rolle) learns a few unpleasant truths about her cousin -- mainly, that Edgar is himself broke and out of work. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Jeannot Szwarc, the director responsible for so many episodes (both good and bad) of the Night Gallery TV series, was the helmsman of The Devil's Daughter. This small-screen Rosemary's Baby clone stars Belinda Montgomery as a young woman targeted by a group of Satanists. It seems that Belinda's soul was purchased from the Devil when the girl was born, with payment due when she reaches the age of 21. Shelley Winters is at her overbearing best as the head of the cultists, while horror-flick vets Joseph Cotten and Jonathan Frid do their utmost to create the proper demonic atmosphere. Colin Higgins, who moved on to such prestige projects as Silver Streak and Foul Play, conjured up the script for The Devil's Daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Belinda Montgomery, Shelley Winters, (more)
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