Mel Gallagher Movies
Six recently divorced males gather 'round a restaurant table and talk about their past lives and their recently failed marriages while trying to piece their lives back together. This drama is somewhat interesting for presenting the topic of life after a divorce from a man's point of view. (And yes, Neil Sedaka sings the smash title song over the final credits - so don't change that dial!) Originally made for television, and broadcast on ABC in two parts - one on Wed., Sep. 5, 1979, and one on Friday, Sep. 7, 1979 -- this film was reissued on video about ten years later to capitalize on Billy Crystal's growing fame. When it arrived on home video, the picture received its first MPAA rating (R) and was edited down from its original running time of 150 minutes to 96 minutes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In his second Partridge Family guest appearance, Arte Johnson is cast as Morris Dinkler, a desperate but likable escaped convict. After using the Partridges' newly installed burglar-alarm system to his advantage, Morris proceeds to hold the family hostage--with a harmonica! In other words, The Desperate Hours this isn't. Song: "Sunshine Eyes". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Young Tom Black Bull (Frederic Forrest) is a Ute Indian who ventures into the world of white men after the death of his parents. He winds up working at the rodeo. When hard-drinking Red Dillon (Richard Widmark) spots Tom's horse-handling skills, he makes him a bronco-riding star (and keeps the money for himself). Tom eventually tires of their exploitative relationship and sets out on his own, eventually winning a championship. Motivated perhaps by nostalgia, he later seeks Red out. Red, who is nearly dead from alcoholism, steals Tom's championship money to have one last spree. When Red dies, Tom genuinely mourns him and gives him Ute death rites before returning, now a seasoned man, to the reservation. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Circuitously commenting upon the drug culture of the 1970s, this Bonanza episode probes the dangers of the onetime "wonder drug" morphine. Future MASH regular Mike Farrell is cast as Dr. Will Agar, who is revealed to be a morphine addict after he inadvertently causes the death of a young patient during routine surgery. Also in the cast are Gary Busey as Dr. Agar's hapless victim Henry Johnson, David Huddleston as Henry's father, Melissa Murphy as Agar's wife Nancy, and Mons Kjellin (the son of director Alf Kjellen) as Agar's son Chris. Written by Stanley Roberts and Jack B. Sowards, "The Hidden Enemy" first aired on November 28, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
A young, decidedly pre-Family Ties Meredith Baxter is cast as Jenny, a wealthy will-of-the-wisp to whom money is little more than a plaything. Jenny inadvertently causes several headaches by presenting the Partridges with a million dollars. By episode's end, everyone--including Jenny--has learned a lesson or two about the "true" values in life. Song: "It's Time I Knew You Better". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
At the urging of Jeannie (Barbara Eden), Tony (Larry Hagman) is entered in the Florida gubernatorial election, with Roger (Bill Daily) as his campaign manager. Unfortunately, Tony is a military officer, and thus ineligible to hold political office unless he resigns his commission. But there's an even more pressing need to end Tony's political career before it begins when Jeannie discovers that someone else will become her master's wife if he wins the election! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All hell breaks loose in a Texas town when an escaped convict heads home in Arthur Penn's Southern gothic melodrama. Appointed by local kingpin Val Rogers (E. G. Marshall), benevolent Sheriff Calder (Marlon Brando) manages to keep the peace in Tarl, but the situation starts to fester one Saturday when news filters in that wild child Bubber Reeves (Robert Redford) has jumped prison. Bubber's impending arrival arouses hostility among Tarl's citizens, such as Edwin Stewart (Robert Duvall), who believes that Bubber will come after him to settle an old score, and Damon Puller (Richard Bradford), who, between grope sessions with Edwin's wife Emily (Janice Rule), uses Bubber as an excuse to terrorize black residents. As the atmosphere heats up, Calder wants to keep Bubber alive, and he convinces Bubber's wife Anna (Jane Fonda) and her lover, Val's son Jake (James Fox), to find Bubber and coax him into surrender. Val's fear that Bubber will kill his son, however, sparks a long confrontation that leaves rational law and order pummeled into the ground by the town's ignorant cruelty. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, (more)
This episode is something of a family affair, with John McIntire, his wife Jeanette Nolan and their son Tim McIntire) cast in key roles. As "Mike Johnson", Kimble (David Janssen) blends into a community of migrant workers, befriending the nomadic Kelly family. Arriving in the community, Lt. Gerard threatens Lester Kelly (John McIntire) with arrest unless he reveals Kimble's whereabouts. But before Gerard can move in for the capture, a hurricane sweeps through the area, forcing everyone to take refuge in a single, none-too-solid structure. Ultimately, Kimble finds himself in the ironic position of begging the migrants to donate blood in order to save Gerard's life--even while the storm continues to rage all around them. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide











