Joel Fluellen Movies

This "prequel" to the Newman/Redford vehicle Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was written by TV sitcom veteran Allan Burns and stars Tom Berenger as Butch and William Katt as Sundance. The film, per its title, traces the formative days of Butch and Sundance's careers as soft-hearted western outlaws, and their creation of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. There's no Etta Place this time around; the fictional heroine, named Mary, is played by Jill Eikenberry. Only Jeff Corey, as Sheriff Ray Bledsoe, repeats his role from the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cajun quarter-horse trainer Lloyd Bourdelle (Walter Matthau) struggles to eke out a decent living for himself and his three sons Buddy, Randy and Casey (Andrew A. Rubin, Stephen Burns and Michael Hershewe). Their prize horse is thoroughbred foal Casey's Shadow, named after the youngest son (Hershewe). The question is whether or not Lloyd, a life-long loser, can take advantage of the opportunity for bettering his lot afforded by Casey's Shadow. Alexis Smith co-stars as Sarah Blue, a wealthy woman who becomes Matthau's strongest ally when she offers to buy the horse rather than allow the vindictive Mike Marsh (Robert Webber) to destroy it. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

If you're looking for revisionism, Man Friday has it in abundance. Peter O'Toole stars as Daniel Defoe's fabled castaway Robinson Crusoe, while Richard Roundtree plays Crusoe's "man Friday". Crusoe makes it his mission in life to convert Friday to Christianity, but this pales in comparison to the marooned man's strenuous efforts to be accepted by Friday's fellow tribesmen. In fact, due to Friday's superior know-how, it is Crusoe who ends up the slave! This curious turn of events was the basis of Adrian Mitchell's stage play, which used the DeFoe work as a mere launching pad. When screened in Cannes, Man Friday included a bizarre ending in which the crazed Crusoe, failing to come up to Friday's exacting standards, kills himself (perhaps DeFoe rejected this notion back in 1712 because you couldn't have a dead narrator back then). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cicely Tyson ages from 19 to 110 in the role of Jane Pittman, a fictional African-American woman whose life began in slavery and ended at the inception of the Civil Rights Movement. Northern journalist Quentin Lerner (Michael Murphy) travels to the racially polarized south of 1962 to interview Ms. Pittman for a potential book. Her life unfolds in flashbacks, many painful and unpleasant, but just as many are uplifting and hopeful. Based on the novel by Ernest J. Gaines and filmed on location in Baton Rouge, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman won nine Emmy Awards, including Best Actress (Tyson), Director (John Korty), and Screenplay (Tracy Keenan Wynn). The film premiered January 31, 1974, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

During a particularly oppressive heat wave, Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) answer several "routine" calls which yield surprising results. In one instance, a report of a theft culminates in a drug bust--and in another, a neighbor's complaint results in the capture of a killer. Also, the two mobile officers search for a missing cyclist and investigate a bogus-looking yard sale. The supporting cast features two of Hollywood's busiest African American character actors, Scatman Crothers and Joel Fluellen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although the characters' names were changed, The Great White Hope was a thinly veiled account of the trials and tribulations of boxer Jack Johnson, based on the play by Howard Sackler and directed by Martin Ritt. James Earl Jones stars as boxing great Jack Jefferson, who defeats Frank Bardy Larry Pennell in a Reno, Nevada bout to become the world's first black heavyweight champion. After crossing a state line with his white girlfriend Eleanor (Jane Alexander in her feature debut), however, Jack is arrested and tried under the miscegenation-barring Mann Act. Found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison, Jack escapes and leaves the U.S., but he's dogged by his now bad reputation and can't get honest work as a fighter. Offered his freedom from criminal charges if he'll agree to a fixed fight in Cuba that will restore the title to a white contender, Jack refuses and Eleanor commits suicide, their life on the run overwhelming her. Jack finally accepts the bout in Havana, but he fights his opponent with everything he's got. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

TV buffs will undoubtedly relish this episode, in which future M*A*S*H "good guy" Wayne Rogers is cast as a psychotic killer, and future flint-eyed action star Kurt Russell appears as a terrified teenager. When Dan Winslow (Russell), the son of millionaire Marshall Winslow (Lew Ayres), is kidnapped by Logan Dupree (Rogers), the elder Winslow grows impatient with the FBI's handling of the case. Against the specific orders of Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.), Winslow alerts the media of Dan's plight--and in so doing may dig his son's grave. Featured in the cast is Ed Asner as Dupree's nervous henchman, and William Reynolds, later to join the regular F.B.I. cast as Special Agent Tom Colby, as an FBI field operative. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With this episode, the off-and-on romance between Gidget (Sally Field) and her classmate Mel (Robert Beach) takes center stage. Gidget enjoys going on dates with Mel, except for the fact that Mel's dad Tony (Herb Voland) insists upon tagging along. Not wishing to hurt Tony's feelings, Gidget must come up with a clever and tactful way to tell the old guy to get lost! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Imperious Southern matron Nell Snyder (Margaret Leighton) is upset by the recent behavior of her orphaned niece, Eva (Eileen Baral), who has created an imaginary "little person" named Mr. Peppercorn, whom she blames for all her acts of mischief. Things don't get any better when Eva attaches herself to a toy doll in the image of a Creole girl, whom the child has named Numa. Before long, Nell has come to the conclusion that the doll is a vessel of voodoo magic, capable of stealing Eva's soul. The end of this episode pulls off the neat trick of being heartrending and grotesque all at once. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Charlie Rogers (Elvis Presley) is a coffeehouse singer who joins a financially troubled carnival in Roustabout. He is hired by owner Maggie Morgan (Barbara Stanwyck) and soon catches the eye of his pretty female co-worker Cathy Lean (Joan Freeman). Cathy's irate father Joe (Leif Erickson) clashes with Charlie when he tries to romance his daughter, but Charlie's singing helps bring in the much-needed money for the failing carnival and keeps the wolves from the big tent show. A disagreement has Charlie joining another carnival before things are smoothed out. Watch for Raquel Welch and Terry Garr in bit parts. Presley delivers 11 songs, the highlight being the Mike Leiber/Jerry Stoller tune"Little Egypt". ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The senatorial campaign between Jason Foster (Richard Anderson) and Randolph Cartwell (Stewart Moss) gets down and dirty when political boss Harry Margis (Patrick McVey) tries to set up Foster's sister as a pawn in a fabricated scandal, using her romance with Cardwell's stepson David (Stewart Moss) as a means to an end. When David is murdered, suspicion falls upon Jason's wife Margaret (Jan Shepard), who thinks that Jason is the killer--and as such, refuses to cooperate with Perry Mason as he tries to defend her in court. Appearing as the ingenue Susan Foster is future Hollywood producer and studio executive Lynn Loring. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While this original movie version of Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning play may have dated somewhat, it was groundbreaking when first released in 1961, and a wealth of future plays, films, and TV productions have taken their lead from this socially conscious drama about a struggling African-American family. Lena Younger (Claudia McNeil) is a strong, proud woman who has raised a family in a crowded apartment on the South Side of Chicago. Her son Walter Lee (Sidney Poitier) works as a chauffeur; intelligent and ambitious but impulsive and often angry, he desperately wants to get ahead in a world that offers him few opportunities. His wife Ruth (Ruby Dee) takes in laundry to help make ends meet and watches over their son. Younger daughter Beneatha (Diana Sands) is a college student who wants to become a doctor and often speaks of searching for her cultural identity. On the death of her husband, Lena becomes the beneficiary of a $10,000 life insurance payment, and suddenly the family is in conflict over how the money should be spent. Lena wants to use the money for a down payment on a house. Beneatha is hoping that Lena will help her pay for medical school. And Walter Lee wants to go into business with friends who plan to open a liquor store, which he's convinced will be a sure money maker. The cast, nearly all reprising their roles from the original Broadway production, offers a collection of superb performances; also keep an eye peeled for a young Louis Gossett Jr. as George Murchison. While Daniel Petrie's direction never takes A Raisin in the Sun very far from its roots as a stage play, it captures the power and tension of a strong ensemble cast working with an intelligent and moving script. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A stellar line-up of African-American actors and musical stars helped to bring DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin's classic operetta to this screen in this lavishly-produced adaptation. Porgy (Sidney Poitier) is a crippled man living in the shantytown of Catfish Row who has fallen in love with Bess (Dorothy Dandridge), a beautiful but troubled woman addicted to drugs. Bess is already being courted by several men, including Crown (Brock Peters), a muscular laborer, and Sportin' Life (Sammy Davis, Jr.), a sharp-suited hipster who deals narcotics. Crown gets in a fist fight with Robbins (Joel Fluellen) and ends up killing him; Crown goes on the lam, and Bess, needing companionship, takes up with Porgy. However, Crown soon returns, and Porgy kills him in a subsequent altercation, forcing him to hide from the police. Meanwhile, the fickle Bess follows Sportin' Life in search of the bright lights of New York City. Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll, Ivan Dixon, and Clarence Muse also highlight the cast; Robert McFerrin provided the singing voice of Porgy, and Adele Addison dubbed in Bess' musical numbers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi