Richard Evans Movies

Pop-singer and actress Madonna's meteoric rise to fame is chronicled in this trashy made-for-television movie of her life. Terumi Matthews stars as the dancer-turned-musician, who came to New York City in search of fame and fortune. Based on the book Madonna: Unauthorized, the docudrama follows her rocky road from the streets of New York to the top of the charts in the 1980s. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

Sam (Robert Ito) finds it impossible to believe that his friend Steve Yomoshira (Bill Saito), a kind and gentle man, had gone berserk and killed a police officer before taking his own life. The subsequent autopsy reveals that Steve suffered from radiation poisoning, possibly connected with a covert Army experiment to determine a man's ability to withstand torture. With the help of Quincy (Jack Klugman), Sam sets about to learn the truth about this questionable procedure--and in the process, to clear Steve's name for the sake of his widow (Nobu McCarthy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

During a tense hostage crisis, Hondo (Steve Forrest) sustains a slight bullet wound near his temple. At first he insists upon continuing his duties, but before long he is plagued with headaches, dizziness, and near-blindness. Forced to take a leave of absence, Hondo reluctantly leaves the SWAT team in the hands of prickly Lt. Purcell (Frank Aletter), whose methods serve only to alienate the team members. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two TV films were shown during the 1973-1974 season dealing with the emotional and legal ramifications of rape. While the Elizabeth Montgomery vehicle A Case of Rape was closer to Real Life, Cry Rape! also had a lot going for it. Andrea Marcovicci stars as Betty Jenner, whose world is rent asunder when she falls victim to a rapist. Equally as humiliating as the violation itself is the aftermath; Betty must withstand the adversarial questions of the police on the case, and then must relive her nightmare in court. Filmed in a semidocumentary fashion, Cry Rape! veers dangerously close to discouraging any woman from reporting sexual assault, inasmuch as it demonstrates the step-by-step process by which the accuser often ends up the accused. Only its contrived melodramatic conclusion robs the film of its verisimilitude. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dirty Little Billy thankfully does not try to glorify its subject. Instead, Billy the Kid (Michael J. Pollard) is depicted as the homicidal mental defective that history has proven him to be. The film recounts Billy's formative years, exploding legends and myths all along the way. The Old West is not prettied up in the least; there seems to be mud everywhere, even in the houses. Dirty Little Billy was the last production to be supervised by legendary mogul Jack L. Warner, who had severed his ties with Warner Bros. in 1972 and was releasing through onetime arch rival Columbia Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After pulling off a jewel heist, four thieves headed by John Elgin (Steve Ihnat) escape to a ghost town in the desert. It isn't hard for Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to follow the criminals' trail, but arresting them is another matter: The thieves have rounded up eight townspeople as hostages. When all is said and done, the fate of the prisoners is in the hands of a youngster named Josh Cobb (Clint Howard), who happens to own a ham radio--and knows how to use it. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Innocent Hoss Cartwright is thrown in jail, suspected of complicity in a bank robbery. The real bandits are a pair of Easterners named Luke (John Beck) and Calvin (Hamilton Camp), who'd been drawn to the west after reading an abundance of dime novels. Hoping to live up to the exploits of their literary counterparts, Luke and Calvin make things worse for Hoss by busting him out of jail and forcing him to join their two-man "gang." Slim Pickens plays the Sheriff, and future Little House on the Prairie regular Dabbs Greer is seen as the Judge in this comic episode written by Jack B. Sowards. "What are Pardners For?" was originally telecast on April 12, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rescued from the desert by Ben Cartwright, young Billy Wilcox (Richard Evans) is hired as a ranch hand at the Ponderosa. Falling in love with Jennifer Yardley (Linda Foster), Billy suddenly breaks off the relationship, displaying inexplicable terror at the sight of Jennifer's lawman father Tom (Richard Eastham. Also in the cast are Willard Sage as Sam Denton. Originally aired on March 12, 1967, "Dark Enough to See the Stars" was written by Kelly Covin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The difficulties faced by drug addicts attempting to kick their habits provide the basis of this gritty, realistic drama that was filmed at a real rehab house in Santa Monica, California. The story centers on Zankie (Alex Cord), an ex-con who is having trouble following the strict rules of the house. Soon he finds himself involved in an affair with another inmate, an ex-hooker (Stella Stevens). She is only supposed to monitor and assist with his recovery, not get emotionally involved. When Zankie gets into a fight with another patient (Chuck Connors) both he and the girl leave the center. Soon after leaving, he begins looking for more drugs and dies of an overdose in a cheap hotel. The ex-hooker then returns to the rehab house to resume her own treatment. Synanon, the model for the rehab-house of this 1965 feature, was a large ex-addict-run (and ex-con-run) enterprise which expanded its operations steadily over the next decade. It was famous for its harsh "tough-love" policies and its high success rate and would have continued its high-profile role in the rehab industry except that it became embroiled in several scandals in the late 1970s, effectively closing its doors well before the Reagan era. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Wealthy California widow Millie Barton (Cathy Downs) is matched up by a computer-dating service with Oklahoman Lucas Tolliver (Noah Beery Jr.). Though he pretends to be a poverty-stricken rube, Lucas is actually a filthy-rich oil man. This sets Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) to wondering why Lucas wants to draw up a will leaving Millie's fortune to him in the event of her death. Also problematic is the fact that Lucas' first wife died from an "accidental" poisoning--and guess what eventually happens to poor Millie! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This is an interesting short (23 minutes) that contrasts the memories of an old army veteran from World War I and the perceptions of war harbored by young boys. The veteran (George Ashley) is a wino who misses the annual vet's dinner, something he looks forward to because it gives him a chance to be with others like himself. Dispirited, he spends some time watching little boys play war games, and just as he flees in terror when an unwanted, unbidden memory of war comes from out of nowhere, the two little boys he almost befriended flee from him in fear. Director Richard Evans adds several other vignettes that highlight and deepen the character of the wino and the ignorance of the young children. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Filmmaker Richard Rush made his directorial debut with this low-budget drama about the danger of teenage romance and juvenile delinquency. Cathy Taylor (Jennifer West) and Jim Mills (Richard Evans) are a pair of teenagers who have fallen in love. When they're spotted making out at a local lover's lane by the police, they're arrested and brought in to the station; their parents, imagining the worst, warn them that their romance could lead to behavior that could ruin their lives. However, Cathy and Jim, brought even closer together by their misfortune, are heedless of their parents' pleas, and before long Cathy finds herself pregnant. In no position to marry, Jim offers to pay for an illegal abortion, but he has to turn to crime in order to raise the money. Keep an eye peeled for a young Jack Nicholson, who plays a youthful troublemaker named Buddy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi