James Houghton Movies
- 1988
- PG
Linda Shayne wrote and directed this children's story based on the 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley. Billy Johnson (Neal Patrick Harris) is joined by a friendly alien from outer space who wants to play in a rock & roll band. Peggy Lipton plays Billy's mom, with James Houghton as the father and Ned Beatty as Grandpa. The band lends a hand to some senior citizens in their fight to keep their beloved retirement complex. Add Little Richard and Chubby Checker to the fun as the heroes try and stop the greedy landlord Mr. Noodle (John Brumfield) from kicking out the elderly residents. Only one word in the film gives the movie a PG rating instead of G. Watch for Sheb Wolley in a cameo role as the trapeze instructor in this low-budget family feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ned Beatty, Neil Patrick Harris, (more)
- 1982
Joining the cast of Knots Landing as the series begins its fourth season is Kevin Dobson as Federal prosecutor Marion Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie, who is brought into the storyline when Karen Fairgate (Michele Lee), widowed owner of Knots Landing Motors, decides to aggressively pursue the criminals responsible for the murder of her husband. Mack will soon establish himself as the series' all-purpose problem solver, though this will not spare him from plenty of his own problems--several of these stemming from his subsequent marriage to Karen. Among the other characters introduced in the course of Season Four is sinister literary agent Chip Roberts (Michael Sabatino), who agrees to represent Val Ewing (Joan Van Ark) when she pens the novel "Capricorn Crude", a thinly veiled account of the questionable machinations of her husband Gary's (Ted Shackelford) oil-rich family. Another significant addition is singer Ciji Dunne (Lisa Hartman), another of Gary's extramarital flings. When Ciji turns up murdered, both Gary and Val are suspected, but as it turns out the real culprit is. . .but why spoil things for Knots Landing novices? In contrast with the new cast members, Season Four marks the final appearances of longtime regulars John Pleshette as shady attorney Richard Avery--who is booted from his home by wife Laura (Constance McCashlin) after he becomes the latest in a long line of lovers for Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills)--and James Houghton and Kim Lankford as the volatile Kenny and Ginger Ward. Plus, this season marks the last of the Knots Landing-Dallas crossovers, with Gary's brother J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) showing up for a brace of appearances, and Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) appearing in the episode "New Beginnings", which represents the only time that Dallas and Knots Landing ever shared the same storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
- 1981
Season Three of Knots Landing picks up where the previous season left off, as Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), owner of Knots Landing Motors and the boss of series protagonist Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford), hovers between life and death after his car "accidentally" plummets over a cliff, the end result of Sid's cooperation with the FBI in bringing the crooked owners of the Orchid Cab Company to justice. Ultimately Sid dies, leaving his wife Karen (Michelle Lee) in charge of the family business. Karen's partners in this endeavor are the aforementioned Gary Ewing, and Sid's conniving, predatory sister Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills). In other developments this season, Julie Harris joins the cast as Lilimae Clements, the mercurial, slightly larcenous mother of Gary's long-suffering spouse Val (Joan Van Ark); Val herself pens a "roman a clef" about the oil-rich Ewing family titled "Capricorn Crude"; and Karen Fairgate's brother Joe Cooper (Steven Macht) makes the first of several memorable appearances. The season ends as Abby finally succeeds in her strenuous efforts to get Gary into bed with her--and with Val walking out on Gary when she realizes anew that he can't be trusted as far as he can be thrown. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
Season One of the Dallas spinoff Knots Landing begins as Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford), ex-alcoholic "black sheep" of the oil-rich Ewing clan, moves from Texas to Southern California with his long-suffering wife Val (Joan Van Ark). The couple make their new home in the cul-de-sac community of Knots Landing, living in the house bought for Gary by his mother Miss Ellie. The Ewings' new neighbors include Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), Gary's boss at Knots Landing Motors,and Sid's wife Karen (Michele Lee) and children Diana (Claudia Lonow), Michael (Pat Petersen) and Eric (Steve Shaw); record executive Kenny Ward (James Houghton) and his wife Ginger (Kim Lankford); and attorney Richard Avery (John Pleshette) and his real-estate agent spouse Laura (Constance McCashlin). Justin Dana is seen in the first episode as the Averys' son Justin, but will be immediately replaced by Danny Gellis) In the course of events (and WHAT events!) during the first season, Karen will become pregnant and miscarry; Julie Harris will make her first appearance as Val's troublesome mother Lilimae Clements, though she won't become a regular until Season Three; Sid Fairgate will endure run-ins with his ex-wife and his daughter from the previous marriage; and in the two-part season finale, Gary overcelebrates upon being appointed VP of Knots Landings Motors, falls off the wagon, and ends up drunk as a skunk in a cheap flophouse before being rescued by the ever-faithful Val. This season also marks a handful of crossover appearances from the Dallas cast, notably Larry Hagman as Gary's conniving brother J.R. Ewing and Charlene Tilton as Gary's bed-hopping daughter Lucy (who, curiously, is seen but once on Knot's Landing). Despite the popularity of its parent series, Knots Landing languished in the ratings during its first season. Clearly, what was needed was a compelling reason for viewers to tune in week after week. What was needed was the sort of "villain you love to hate" personified by Dallas' J.R. What was needed was Donna Mills as Abby Cunningham. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
Playing to disappointing ratings during its first season on the air, the Dallas spinoff Knots Landing made a spectacular leap forward during Season Two with the introduction to the cast of Donna Mills as Abby Cunningham, the manipulative and predatory sister of Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), Gary Ewing's (Ted Shackelford) boss at Knots Landing Motors. Abby also brings along her children Olivia (Tonya Crowe) and Brian (Bobby Jacoby), who in their own way will be just as important to the overall scheme of things as their redoubtable mom. In addition to bringing Abby into the fold, Season Two wastes no time plunging the characters into a morass of intrigue as Sid Fairgate is accused of raping a nubile hitchhiker. Around the same time, several more recurring characters are introduced, among them Scooter Warren (Allan Miller), the new boss of real estate agent Laura Avery (Constance McCashlin); sexy female auto mechanic Linda Striker (Denise Galik); and Roy Lance (Steven Hirsch) the shady owner of the Orchid Cab company. Among the major plot developments this season: Abby has an affair with Laura's lawyer husband Richard (John Pleshette) the Wards break up when Ginger (Kim Lankford) finds out that her record-exec husband Kenny (James Houghton) has slept with Kristen Shepard (Mary Lee Crosby), aka "The Girl Who Shot J.R." on Knots Landing's parent series Dallas (and as for J.R. [Larry Hagman], himself he shows up long enough to have his own tryst with Abby); and weak-willed former alcoholic Gary Ewing once again betrays his long-suffering spouse Val (Joan Van Ark) by fooling around with Judy Trent (Jane Elliot), the wife of Earl Trent (Paul Rudd)--whom Gary has sponsored for membership in AA! The final two episodes of the season were originally telecast back to back on the same night: In "Designs", J.R. Ewing makes yet another appearance to bedevil brother Gary; and in the (literal) cliffhanger "Squeezeplay", Sid agrees to help the FBI in their sting operation against the crooked Orchid Cab Company--and as a consequence, he is involved in an "accident" as his car goes out of control and plummets over a cliff. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
Returning from the original American Graffiti are Debbie Dunham, Steve Bolander, John Milner, Carol/Rainbow, Terry the Toad and Laurie Bolander (Candy Clark, Ron Howard, Paul LeMat, Mackenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith and Cindy Williams), but Richard Dreyfuss is missing and Harrison Ford shows up in a gag cameo. The sequel brings its principles into the more radical end of the 1960s, with Steve and Laurie, now married, on the fringes of the protest movement. Debbie and Carol have been lured into the flower-power milieu by rocker Newt (Scott Glenn). And John has parlayed his love of hot rods into a drag-racing career. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Candy Clark, Bo Hopkins, (more)
The time is 1964, and the Beatles, already a hugely popular group, are about to go on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, an appearance that launched them into a worldwide phenomenon. Already, girls are fainting during their concerts from sheer excitement at being in the same theater with them. Pam Mitchell (Nancy Allen) is happy enough to be getting married but wants to bed one of the "Fab Four" before she does. Grace Corrigan (Theresa Saldana), a dedicated fan, is certain that if she can get some exclusive photos of the Beatles, her career as a photographer will be secured. And then there are two people who feel that the future of civilization as we know it depends on their efforts to ruin the Beatles' appearance on Ed Sullivan's show. In this madcap comedy, when these people (and others besides) descend on the New York hotel the Beatles are staying in, things begin hopping. This comedy was Robert Zemeckis' first feature. A protégé of Stephen Spielberg, he went on to direct Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? among other popular features. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nancy Allen, Bobby Di Cicco, (more)
- 1977
- PG
Robby Benson plays a talented but naive high school basketball star who wins a scholarship to a perfection-driven college. Here he discovers that he's way out of his league, easily outclassed athletically by his opponents and by his own team. In addition, he runs up against the sort of arm-twisting corruption that often occurs in a college where winning is the only thing. Only the support of his new girlfriend Janet (Annette O'Toole) sees him through his first two semesters. He must weather the bullying of his teammates and his mean-spirited coach (played by G. D. Spradlin). There was plenty of shuttling between cast and production staff in One on One. Besides starring in the film, Benson co-wrote the screenplay (with his father Jerry Segal), while director Lamont Johnson portrays Benson's alumni sponsor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robby Benson, Annette O'Toole, (more)
This pilot film for a TV series titled Hancock was initially telecast as The Dark Side of Innocence. The Hancocks are a tightly-knit, prosperous California family. Mom and Pop Hancock (John Anderson and Kim Hunter) oversee a thriving lumber business--when they're not refereeing the travails of their five children. The pilot episode concentrates on the oldest daughter (Joanna Pettet), who has decided she's sick of being a society matron and has returned to the Hancock manse with her own kids in tow. The remaining Hancock kids all have problems of their own, especially embittered divorcee Anne Archer. The Hancocks didn't fly as a series, which means that some of the crises presented in the pilot are never resolved. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1972
- R
In this women's prison exploitation item from director Michel Levesque (Werewolves on Wheels), sexy Phyllis Davis stars as Sugar, framed for drug possession and sent to a Costa Rican sugar plantation. There, Sugar encounters sadistic guards including The Hills Have Eyes' James Whitworth and a mad scientist (Angus Duncan) who injects the inmates with hallucinogens. The usual violence and copious nudity are on display for devotees. Blaxploitation fans will recognize prisoner Ella Edwards from Detroit 9000 and Timothy Brown from The Dynamite Brothers Co-writer Stephanie Rothman later directed Terminal Island, also starring Davis. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
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