Gary Grubbs Movies

Sporting narration and a theme song by country legend Waylon Jennings and starring Tom Wopat and John Schneider as Luke Duke and Bo Duke, The Dukes of Hazzard was a hit throughout its six-year run in the late '70s and early '80s. Also featuring Catherine Bach as Daisy Duke, the show showcased the ongoing adventures of the Duke brothers as they attempted to avoid the crooked local law enforcement and the sleazy Boss Hogg. Originally airing on October 16, 1979, Dukes of Hazzard: Luke's Love Story finds Luke falling for the competition in the upcoming Hazzard Obstacle Derby . ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

In the 122nd and final episode of The Rockford Files, Jim Rockford (James Garner) heads to the small community of Parama for a peaceful fishing trip; instead, he ends up in the middle of a violent Mob power struggle Last episode. If only Jim hadn't agreed to cast a proxy vote for "Propostiion 46D", which will determined whether or not gambling will be legalized in Parama. Also enmshed in the intrigue is snoopy journalist Carrie Osgood (Sandra Kerns) and a shady Las Vegas entrepreneur named Belding (Joseph Sirola). And though Jim has come up against corrupt political officials in the past, those guys were saints compared to the villains in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the tradition of his earlier work in Grapes of Wrath and Twelve Angry Men, Henry Fonda played another social-protest role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV presentation Gideon's Trumpet. Clarence Earl Gideon (Fonda) is a poor, ill-tempered Florida handyman who is arrested for petty larceny in 1961. Unable to afford a lawyer, Gideon is sentenced to five years in prison. His treatment by the Florida judicial system, a clear violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, is brought to the attention of the Supreme Court. As a result, a landmark decision is reached, assuring free legal representation for anyone accused of a crime in the United States. Also appearing are Jose Ferrer as Gideon's attorney Abe Fortas, John Houseman (who also produced) as the Chief Justice, and Fay Wray as the owner of the lodging establishment where Gideon lived. Gideon's Trumpet premiered on April 30, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the opening episode of M*A*S*H's 11th and final season, Margaret (Loretta Swit) drives the nurses of the 4077th mercilessly while her own superior officer, the notoriously severe Colonel Buckholtz (Peggy Seury), conducts an inspection. In the process, Margaret learns to fully appreciate the women in her command. So does Hawkeye (Alan Alda), as he witnesses an act of effortless efficiency and unexpected compassion performed by the hitherto taken-for-granted Nurse Kellye (Kellye Nakahara). This episode was directed by veteran actress Susan Oliver. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Clint Eastwood put his tough-guy image on hold for this personal project, which follows a musician taking one final chance at the big time. Red Stovall (Eastwood) is a would-be country singer who has been bouncing around the margins of the music business for years. With nowhere in particular to go, Red arrives at the failing Oklahoma farm of his sister for an extended visit, where her son Whit (Kyle Eastwood) quickly bonds with his uncle. However, it's obvious that Red is in very poor health, drinking heavily and breathing with difficulty, and when Red is invited to audition for the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, Whit tags along for the road trip to keep an eye on his ailing uncle. En route, Red and Whit are joined by Whit's grandfather (John McIntire) and another hopeful vocalist, Marlene (Alexa Kenin), who like Red is chasing her own dreams of stardom on the Opry. Clint Eastwood performed his own vocals and guitar work for Honkytonk Man, and a number of Nashville legends appear in cameo roles, including Marty Robbins, Porter Wagoner, Ray Price, Merle Travis, and Johnny Gimble. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on a true story, Silkwood begins and ends with Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) driving along a lonely road in 1974, heading to a meeting with a New York Times reporter to deliver evidence of negligence at the Kerr-McGee Plant in Cimarron, Oklahoma. The balance of the film flashes back to Karen's ribald private life with her lover (Kurt Russell) and her loose-living friends (Cher and Diana Scarwid). This is in contrast to her humdrum job at Kerr-McGee--or it least it was humdrum until Karen and several other employees become contaminated by radiation. The higher-ups want to sweep this incident under the rug, but Karen thinks that something's fishy, and informs the union of that fact. X-rays of the faulty fuel rods and written proof of the inadequate safety measures that caused Karen's illness are tampered with, forcing Karen to conduct her own private investigation. As she gathers evidence, Karen becomes a pariah to her boyfriend because of her obsession. She finally organizes the evidence into a briefcase, and heads off to her meeting with the Times reporter. She never makes it; the "official" report on her fatal auto accident is that Ms. Silkwood had been drinking and was under the influence of tranquilizers. Kerr-McGee was eventually forced to pay the Silkwood family an enormous settlement because of her contamination, but the full facts behind her convenient accident have never been revealed (though the filmmakers clearly indictate whom they hold responsible). Director Mike Nichols and screenwriters Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen surround this true story with a lively, improvisational atmosphere that gets the best out of Streep, Russell, and Cher, while providing perhaps the fullest on-screen realization of Nichols' theater-based techniques of realistic, character-centered, dialogue-driven filmmaking, as well as one of the first movie screenplays from future director Ephron. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Convicted murderer Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald had hoped that, by telling his side of the story to investigative journalist Joe McGinniss, the authorities would be persuaded of MacDonald's innocence. Instead, McGinniss ended up unswerving in his belief of MacDonald's guilt, and the result was the devastating best-seller Fatal Vision. In this two-part TV adaptation of McGinniss' book, Gary Cole plays MacDonald, a former Green Beret officer, while Frank Dent essays the role of McGinniss. MacDonald's wife and two children are brutally murdered in their Fort Bragg, North Carolina home on February 17, 1970. The prime suspect, MacDonald insists that the killings were committed by a gang of stoned-out hippies, a story that at first is accepted in toto by the doctor's father-in-law Freddy Kassab (Karl Malden). But after MacDonald is officially exonerated, Kassab notices several holes in his son-in-law's story, and becomes convinced that MacDonald was in fact the murderer. Through Kassab's persistence, as well as the uncovering of new forensic evidence, MacDonald is ultimately convicted for all three murders in 1979. Since the TV premiere of Fatal Vision on November 18 and 19, 1984, there has been a growing movement by MacDonald's sympathizers to discredit McGinniss' book and to retry the case--a movement that has been hampered time and again by MacDonald's own erratic behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Farrah Fawcett earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of Francine Hughes in the television movie The Burning Bed. The film is structured as a series of flashbacks while Francine's character endures a murder trial after she poured gasoline on her sleeping spouse and burned him to death. Her husband Mickey (Paul Le Mat) drove her over the edge after years of physical and emotional abuse when he rapes her. Television regular Richard Masur has a prominent co-starring role. Fawcett parlayed her work in this film into a series of more serious movies, including Extremities and Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

B.A.'s old college rival Jason Duke (Rick Fitts), now a bank employee, turns up missing. Despite his reluctance, B.A. (Mr. T.) agrees to look for Duke at the request of Jason's wife Debra (Sheila DeWindt), who happens to be B.A.'s former girlfriend. This assignment obliges the A-Team to descened upon Whispering Pines, Arizona, where virtually everyone in town is an accomplice in a scheme to steal gold from a nearby mine. Making matters worse, both Face (Dirk Benedict) and Murdock (Dwight Schultz) try to use the same "con" on the bad guys, neatly cancelling each other out--and nearly getting themselves killed in the process! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

French director Roger Vadim pillages his own grave in this nominal re-make of his 1956 creamy sensation And God Created Woman -- the film that made Brigitte Bardot an international star. Unfortunately, he is unable to do the same thing for the cool and cryptic Rebecca DeMornay in this version. DeMornay plays an escaped convict who lands in the limousine of New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Frank Langella and seduces him. For some inexplicable reason, she turns into a hot singing act. DeMornay also seduces innocent stud carpenter Vincent Spano along the way and suckers the poor guy into marrying her so that she can get an early parole. But the joke is on him when she announces that their marriage does not include sexual relations. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

We've been told that Poker Alice, a Boston-bred lady of means who managed a wild-west gambling hall and bordello in the 1870s, was based on a real person. She certainly seems real as portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor in this made-for-TV film (Taylor's first). After winning her house of ill repute in a five-card stud game, Taylor finds true love in the form of bounty hunter Tom Skeritt. Also in hand is George Hamilton as Taylor's slick partner "Cousin John" (the original ads for this film billed Hamilton and Taylor as "The King and Queen of Hearts"). In addition, Susan Tyrrell shows up for a down-and-dirty cat fight with the feisty Taylor. Poker Alice rode into TV land on May 22, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, stars of the Broadway drama Foxfire, recreate their stage roles in this TV-movie adaptation. Tandy plays a 79-year-old Georgia mountain woman, whose highly prized independence is threatened when she sells her land. Cronyn plays Tandy's husband, who though long dead offers her comfort, criticism and advice in spectral form. The story's continuity straddles both past, personified by Cronyn, and present, represented by the domestic travails of Tandy's folk-singer son John Denver. Co-written by Cronyn and Susan Cooper, Foxfire first aired as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special on December 13, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A woman trying to keep a momentary indiscretion quiet finds herself in more trouble than she ever imagined in this comedy written and directed by Robert Benton. Nadine Hightower (Kim Basinger), who is significantly more beautiful than intelligent, is fast-talked into posing for some cheesecake pictures by sleazy photographer Raymond Escobar (Jerry Stiller). When Nadine learns that Escobar plans to use the pictures for a set of racy playing cards, Nadine decides to steal the photos back, and she enlists the help of her soon-to-be-former husband Vernon (Jeff Bridges), who is already engaged to the winner of a local beauty pageant. In the midst of the robbery, intruders shoot and kill Escobar in the next room; Nadine and Vernon grab an envelope marked "Nadine" and make tracks. But the envelope doesn't contain any photos; instead, there are plans for a road to be built in town that reveal dirty dealings by local politicians, and now Nadine and Vernon are on the run from both Escobar's killers and land baron Buford Pope (Rip Torn). Popular country and western group Sweethearts of the Rodeo perform several tunes for the film's soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi