Joel Bailey Movies
One by-product of two consecutive Oscar wins is that Tom Hanks no longer has to appear in such potboilers as Turner and Hooch. Hanks plays Turner, a meticulously groomed, excruciatingly well-organized detective working in a small California coastal town. When local "character" Amos Reed (John McIntire) is murdered by drug smugglers, the only witness is Reed's slobbery, smelly mutt, Hooch. You're way ahead of us, folks: Turner, who despises dogs in general and Hooch in particular, is compelled to put the cantankerous dog up as his house guest. Also easily predictable is the fact that Turner and Hooch will, by the next-to-last reel, become boon companions. To its credit, the film has an abundance of laughs and thrills...but, gee, that ending! Neither terrific nor terrible, Turner and Hooch is a pleasant time-filler; we do wish, however, that more time had been spent on the budding romance between Turner and veterinarian Emily Carson (Mare Winningham). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Mare Winningham, (more)
What's that wisecracking young black guy (Eddie Murphy) in that beat-up Chevy Nova doing in lily-white Beverly Hills? He's Axel Foley, a Detroit detective who's been sent on involuntary vacation because he refuses to drop his intention of avenging his friend's murder. Warned by Beverly Hills police chief Ronny Cox to stay out of trouble, Foley nonetheless dogs the trail of above-the-law Steven Berkoff, the British crime czar who was responsible for the murder of Foley's friend. With the help of sympathetic local cops Judge Reinhold and John Ashton and lady friend Lisa Eilbacher, Foley attempts to corner Berkoff in his mansion, which leads to a wild slapsticky shootout. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, (more)
- 1983
Boss Hogg's supercharged tank "The Mean Green Machine" (introduced in the season opener) is stolen by Baxter (Joel Bailey), the man who originally designed it. Baxter intends to use the well-armed vehicle to steal all the gold in the Hazzard County Emporium. Normally, the Dukes would put a stop to this perfidy, but they are kept at bay by the fact that Baxter has kidnapped their pal Cooter (Ben Jones) as "insurance"--and, incidentally, as the vehicle's chief mechanic. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1983
In the last of three feature-length pilot films for the unsold TV series Joe Dancer, Robert Blake again stars as hard-boiled private eye Dancer, this time at large in Hollywood. While investigating an old scandal that could potentially destroy the career of a big star and topple a major studio, Joe Dancer is himself framed for murder. Directing this energetic if derivative whodunnit was Reza S. Badiyi, who had previously helmed several episodes of Blake's earlier cop series Baretta (and surprisingly remained on good terms with the mercurial star). Originally telecast by NBC on June 5, 1983, Murder One, Dancer 0 (working titles: Joe Dancer III, Lights, Camera. . .Murder) is probably due for a revival thanks to the more recent real-life legal travails of the redoubtable Robert Blake. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sondra Blake
When Stockard Channing agreed to co-produce the made-for-TV Gun in the House, she fully intended to play the leading role of Emily Cates herself. But schedule conflicts intervened, and Channing was forced to relinquish the role to Sally Struthers, who was quite good. Attacked in her home by two male assailants, Emily Cates grabs a handgun and shoots and kills one of the intruders. Alas, the police find no evidence that Emily was in fact attacked--nor do they discern any need for excessive force. As a result, Emily is arrested like a common criminal and charged with murder--targeted as an "example" to other would-be gun owners by politically ambitious DA Lance Kessler (Jeffrey Tambor). The Stephen Zito-James M. Miller teleplay takes an inordinately melodramatic approach to the film's provocative subject matter, offering cut-and-dried hero and villain types and occasionally illogical plot twists. Still, Gun in the House has remained food for thought ever since its February 11, 1981 debut. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
