James Garner

Aristomenis Tsirbas' animated short film Terra concerns an alien who becomes obsessed with an object in the sky. Eventually, his need to discover what the object is far outweighs the risks he must endure to his safety in order to find out. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Documentary filmmaker Dana Brown, who created a visually striking look at the world of surfing in 2003's Step Into Liquid, hits dry land running in this portrait of the world of off-road racing. The Baja 1000 is one of the world's premier desert racing events; taking place both on and off the roads in and around Baja California, the annual road rally pits drivers against punishing conditions as they attempt to cover the thousand-mile course in 36 hours or less. With a wide variety of different vehicles competing -- from modified trucks to stock Volkswagens -- Dust to Glory takes viewers into the middle of the race, with camera crews following in the action while several drivers race with cameras mounted to their cars for a "you are there" perspective. Dust to Glory also puts a special focus on driver Mike "Mouse" McCoy, who hopes to achieve a unique distinction as one of the first drivers to drive the entire one-thousand-mile course by himself (most vehicles employ a team of drivers for the long and demanding race). Dust to Glory director Dana Brown is the son of Bruce Brown, director of such legendary sports films as The Endless Summer and On Any Sunday. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Littlefoot the Dinosaur sets out on a spectacular journey and makes a very unexpected discovery in this, the tenth film in the Land Before Time series. Youthful brontosaurus Littlefoot (voice of Alec Medlock) has a vivid dream in which he imagines travelling to a far-away land where there are many of his kind, and when he tells the story to his grandparents (voices of Kenneth Mars and Mariam Flynn), they take it as a sign to set out and find this mysterious place. After days of travel, Littlefoot and his family do, indeed, discover a new world where longneck dinosaurs are plentiful, including one they never expected to see -- Bron (voice of Kiefer Sutherland), Littlefoot's father, who went missing before he was born. While Littlefoot is thrilled to be reunited with his father, now he must choose if he should stay with Bron, or the grandparents who have cared for him for years. The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration also features the voice talents of James Garner and Bernadette Peters; Olivia Newton-John sings the theme song. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Hoping to utilize the Supreme Court in the same dramatic manner that West Wing utilized the White House, the weekly, 60-minute CBS series First Monday focused on the nine Justices who laid down the law for the United States. Joe Mantegna headed the cast as Joseph Novelli, the newest member of the nine-person Supreme Court. Entering a political arena that was evenly divided between Conservative and Liberal, the "moderate" Justice Novelli generally acted as the tie-breaker in matters of national jurisprudence (though supposedly noncommittal politically, Novelli's beard and pugnacious personality indicated that he was the "champion of the underdog" type). James Garner co-starred as staunchly conservative Chief Justice Thomas Brankin, who displayed his contempt for contemporary political correctness by puffing away on a cigarette in his "officially" smoke-free private office. Brankin's chief ally was the whimsical, womanizing Justice Henry Hoskins (Charles Durning), while on varying extremes of the political spectrum were Jewish jurist Esther Weisenberg (Camille Saviola) and black Justice Jerome Morris (James McEachin). Created by Jag's Donald P. Bellisario, First Monday premiered on Tuesday, January 15, 2002, before settling into its standard Friday-night slot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Mark Twain's 1872 autobiographical novel, this made-for-cable film is presented in flashback form, as aged humorist Mark Twain (James Garner) is invited to be keynote speaker at the Bryn Mawr graduation ceremonies of 1891. At first worried that his reputation as a verbal japester will embarrass his daughter Suzy, who is among the graduates, Twain elects to throw all caution to the winds by delivering an inspirational speech in which he recalls his own early days as a Missouri-bred greenhorn on the wild western frontier. Admitting that his recollections may stretch the truth a bit ("When I was younger, I could remember it, whether it happened or not"), Twain spins a tale of two brothers, Sam and Orion Clemens ("Sam Clemens" was of course, Twain's given name). Envious over the fact that Orion (Greg Spottiswood) has landed a job as secretary to the governor of Nevada Territory, young Sam Clemens (Robin Dunne) insists upon tagging along, thereby launching an extended adventure which would include a rugged interlude digging for gold under the baleful eye of a brutal foreman (Eric Roberts), a bone-chilling winter, and an episode involving a gang of outlaws headed by a man (Ned Beatty) so mean that he bit off the ears of his victims as a "calling card." Also in the cast are Jill Eikenberry as Twain's wife Livy and Adam Arkin as a wild-eyed "character" named Henry. Filmed in Calgary, the four-hour miniseries version of Mark Twain's Roughing It was presented by the Hallmark cable channel beginning March 16, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Making of Grand Prix goes behind the scenes of the making of John Frankenheimer's classic car-racing sports drama Grand Prix. This documentary also explores the history of auto racing, from its less respectable early years to its massive modern popularity. ~ Dana Rowader, All Movie Guide

In this adventure drama, four men passed over by the space program get one last chance to be heroes and live out their dreams. Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood), Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones), Jerry O'Neill (Donald Sutherland), and Tank Sullivan (James Garner) were top pilots within an elite Air Force squadron and on the fast track to becoming the first Americans in space in the early 1950s. However, when NASA was established, the pilots were cut out of the loop; Corvin went on to become an aerospace engineer, Hawkins continued on as a freelance pilot, O'Neill became an astrophysicist with a sideline in designing roller coasters, and Sullivan took up preaching as a Baptist minister. Years later, a Russian satellite's guidance system has started to malfunction, and it is expected to crash into the Earth within a matter of weeks. The system is identical to the one Corvin designed for Skylab, so NASA head Bob Gerson (James Cromwell) asks Corvin to help him with the emergency mission to repair the satellite. Corvin agrees under one condition -- that he be sent up to do the repairs himself, with Hawkins, O'Neill, and Sullivan as his crew. Clint Eastwood directed Space Cowboys while also starring as Frank Corvin; his supporting cast includes Marcia Gay Harden, Courtney B. Vance, Loren Dean, and William Devane. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The fine line between reporters objectively covering a political campaign and attempting to sway its outcome is explored in this made-for-cable drama based on the novel by noted television journalist Jim Lehrer. Newspaper columnist Mike Howley (James Garner) is asked to moderate a nationally televised debate between two presidential candidates. In collusion with fellow newspeople and debate panelists Barbara Manning (Audra McDonald), Henry Ramirez (Marco Sanchez), and Joan Naylor (Donna Murphy), Howley formulates a plan to boost the campaign of the Democratic candidate, whom they favor. They ask the Republican nominee a number of pointed questions about unsubstantiated charges that he has a propensity for violence, eventually prompting the candidate to leave the stage in a huff after throwing a microphone. Several weeks later, the Democrat carries the election. While the debate served the goals of the reporters, and boosted their public image, some observers have serious questions about what went on, and investigative reporter Tom Chapman (Peter Gallagher) is determined to bring the public the truth. A number of noted journalists and political figures served as consultants for The Last Debate and appear in cameo roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Originally aired on CBS, the made-for-TV holiday romance One Special Night brings together James Garner and Julie Andrews for their third feature together, after The Americanization of Emily and Victor/Victoria. Robert (Garner) visits his wife in the hospital, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. There he meets the stern Catherine (Andrews), a widowed pediatrician who spends her downtime visiting the room in the hospital where her husband died a year ago. In the middle of a raging snowstorm on Thanksgiving, Catherine offers Robert a ride and they get stuck in the snow. Taking refuge in an empty cabin, the couple get over their initial personality conflicts to engage in a meaningful dialogue. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The Nobody's Fool (1994) team of Paul Newman, director Robert Benton, and scripter Richard Russo reassembled for this L.A. detective drama, beginning with a Puerto Vallarta prologue showing private eye Harry Ross (Newman) accidentally shot by 17-year-old Mel Ames (Reese Witherspoon) during his efforts to get her to return home. Two years later, the broke and divorced Ross lives in a garage apartment on the estate of Mel's parents, his movie-star friends Jack and Catherine Ames (Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon). The cancer-ridden Jack is not unaware that Harry is attracted to Catherine. Delivering a package for Jack, Harry encounters elderly Lester Ivar (M. Emmet Walsh), who shoots at Harry and then dies. Harry's curiosity is provoked when he discovers that Ivar was an investigator checking into the disappearance of Catherine's first husband, written off 20 years earlier as an unsolved case, but now reactivated as Harry's sleuth-work leads him on a trail of past crimes and cover-ups. The Ames residence is actually the former Cedric Gibbons-Delores Del Rio home, and a never-completed Frank Lloyd Wright house near Malibu served as the Ames' ranchhouse. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Filmed in a special 3-D version of the IMAX high-definition film format, this short subject uses microscopic and time-lapse photographic techniques to explore the wonders that can be found in an ordinary home. Elly (Charlotte Sullivan) is helping her parents housesit at the home of her grandfather (voice of James Garner), an eccentric inventor. He leaves Elly directions on how to use some of his gadgets, ranging from an alarm clock that spits out soap bubbles to magnifying equipment that permits her to take an up-close look at bugs, plants, and other household items. For the film's 3-D screenings, audience members were issued special laser-controlled LCD glasses that acted as shutters, opening and closing in sequence to separate the right and left images for each eye at a rate of 95 times per second. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Directed by the acclaimed Walter Hill and narrated by actor Alec Baldwin, this documentary profiles the adventurous, contentious, and very talented director William Wellman (1896-1975). Ambulance driver for the French Foreign Legion and decorated American pilot in World War I, Wellman later became a barnstorming stunt pilot, but found his true calling directing such classic Hollywood films as Wings, Public Enemy, A Star Is Born, Beau Geste, The Ox-Bow Incident, and The High and the Mighty. Highlights include clips from his movies and interviews with or clips featuring Clint Eastwood, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Scorsese, Mike Connors, Nancy Davis, James Garner, Darryl Hickman, Arthur Hiller, Tab Hunter, Richard Widmark, Robert Wise, Jane Wyman, and others. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide