Charlie Robinson Movies

A concerned grandfather gives his troubled grandson one last shot at redemption in director William Katt's sensitive tale of survival in the wilderness. Clay Watkins (Sam Huntington) is a seventeen-year old boy who still hasn't gotten over the recent death of his father. His anger over the death sending him into a rapid downward spiral, Clay struggles to fit in at his new school after he is ejected from the basketball team and sought out by the police for his involvement in a petty crime. When wayward Clay's troubles begin to spell trouble for his concerned grandfather Buster (Barry Corbin), the local sheriff, the sympathetic lawman presents the reckless juvenile with an ultimatum: set out on a sixty-mile stretch of the Pecos River and prove your worth by navigating nature, or go to jail. While at first the choice seems like an obvious one, Clay soon finds his attempt to navigate the rugged Pecos River complicated by the appearance of two fugitives who are racing towards the Mexican border with a frightened hostage (Amanda Brooks) in tow. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The crime thriller Triple Cross concerns five men who have come together to run a small criminal enterprise. Alex owns the club that acts as the legitimate front and headquarters for the gang that consists of his associate Sonny, and three hardened criminal who call themselves "The Bandidos." Their allegiance begins to break apart when one of The Bandidos falls head over heels for a woman. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Tired of being given nothing but "fluff" pieces, Rebecca Chandler (Jennie Garth), a reporter for the Indianapolis Sentinel, demands to write a story with some teeth in it. Unfortunately, her dyspeptic editor Bob Bolton (Victor Raider-Wexler) doesn't see things Rebecca's way, thus he dispatches the reluctant newshound to Hamden, Indiana, there to cover a sappy human-interest story about a mysterious "Secret Santa" who each Christmas bestows money and necessities upon a selected needy person. Not only does Rebecca hate the assignment, but she hates Hamden--especially since she was originally slated to have gone on a Hawaiian honeymoon with her ex-boyfriend. Thus, our heroine is hardly full of the Christmas spirit when she arrives in Hamden and is forced by the holiday tourist crunch to take a room in a nursing home where a fellow named Russell (Charlie Robinson), who has already managed to get on Rebecca's bad side, is the main helper-outer. Inevitably, Rebecca's cold heart is warmed up, not only by the looney but likeable Russell, but also by an unusually perceptive nursing-home resident named Miss Ruth (played by the great Barbara Billingsley). However, Rebecca still has a story to file, and she thinks that she has zeroed in on the elusive "Secret Santa", fingering local millionaire John Martin Carter (Steven Eckholt) as the most likely suspect. But even if Carter is the man in question, the townsfolk aren't about to help Rebecca expose their unknown benefactor--it seems that over the years they've come to believe in the Secret Santa, and they're not about to shatter their own illusions for the sake of a cheap headline! Adapted for television by Beth Polson and Robert Tate Miller from their own novel, Secret Santa first aired December 14, 2003, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the eve of the "Civil Rights Day" celebration in Aynesville, Illinois, Monica (Roma Downey) stumbles across the dead body of an elderly black man, apparently the victim of a hate crime. Over the protests of Sheriff McKinsley (John Ritter) and his black deputy James (Rick Worthy), the organizers of the celebration choose to hush up the murder so as not to spoil the festivities--and for good measure, they order Monica to be locked up in jail "for her own good" until the whole thing blows over. The next morning, Monica awakens to discover that she is no long an angel, but instead a human being...a black human being. The reason for this metamophosis has as much to do with Monica's attitudes towards race as it does with the events of the past few days, but she does not realize this until she meets the celebration's guest of honor, Rosa Parks (playing herself, and appropriately making her first appearance on a bus). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this TV drama-comedy, Julie Barber (Allison Smith) hires detective wannabe Bob Jones (Frank Whaley) to track down the legendary private eye Buddy Faro (Dennis Farina), who was once such a name that he was portrayed by an actor (George Hamilton) in a TV series. Now nearly forgotten, Faro has inherited a small fortune, but no one knows where he went. Traveling to the dusty streets of a little town in Mexico, Jones manages to find the booze-soaked Faro lying in the gutter. Rescued by Jones and Julie, Faro returns to Hollywood, where he made his mark 20 years earlier. Things have changed, but the stylish Faro is soon back in business in a big way, confronting criminals in his ultra-cool style, while the Joel McNeely soundtrack provides a jazzy accompaniment. Premiered September 25, 1998 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This socially conscious family farm drama from director Mark Rydell was his follow up to the Oscar-winning On Golden Pond (1981). Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek star as Tom and Mae Garvey, struggling Tennessee farmers constantly one step away from foreclosing. Their farm sits next to a river that both nourishes their land and constantly threatens to overflow its banks and destroy their crops. The Garveys sell some of their equipment for obscenely low prices at a foreclosure auction, at which some of their neighbors are forced to give up everything they own. The stoic Tom takes a job as a scab at a mill where the union workers are striking. Meanwhile, Mae has a platonic flirtation with local bank manager Joe (Scott Glenn), who saves her life when she's trapped under a heavy piece of farm equipment. Tom's homecoming is cut short by a flood, but the raging waters allow him to become a hero to his family again. The River was the third in a trio of dramas depicting the plight of the American family farmer released that same year. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In a spin off from the actual event of U.S. President Kennedy's assassination, this drama examines what the trial of Lee Harvey Oswald may have been like had he not been shot by Jack Ruby. This made-for-television movie was aired in two parts. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Ingredients essential to this made-for-TV movie are a famous former pro football player, an interracial romance, and a brutal murder. Yes, the football player is O.J. Simpson, but the film was made a full 17 years before the death of Nicole Brown Simpson. In A Killing Affair, Simpson is cast as police detective Woody York, who is partnered with white female cop Viki Eaton (Elizabeth Montgomery) to solve a mysterious killing. In the course of the assignment, Woody and Viki fall in love. Also known as Behind the Badge, A Killing Affair premiered September 21, 1977, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This risque comedy follows the exploits of a former burlesque comedian who blunders into a time machine and ends up captured by nasty Neandrathals and sentenced to death by their leader. Fortunately, the queen of the cavemen saves his hide. Unfortunately, the randy comic gets himself in deeper trouble by putting the make on a particular maiden. Suddenly he finds himself in caveman court. Their antics remind him so much of his vaudeville act that he begins performing it. He is a hit, for who better to appreciate fine vaudeville than cavemen. Soon he becomes the new king. Unfortunately, he accidentally trips into the infernal time machine and ends up back where he started, wishing he could leave modern America for the more "civilized" prehistoric past. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide