John M. Jackson Movies

JAG (Judge Advocate General) is an elite legal branch of military officers trained as lawyers who investigate, prosecute and defend those accused of crimes in the military, including murder, treason and terrorism. Navy Cmdr. Harmon "Harm" Rabb, an ace pilot turned lawyer, and Marine Lt. Col. Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, a beautiful and strictly by-the-book officer, are colleagues, both with similar high standards, that often find themselves clashing with one another as they take different routes to solve cases. Assisting them with their mission is Navy Lt. Bud Roberts, a lawyer who often surprises his superiors with the breadth of his knowledge, and their boss, the no-nonsense Admiral Chegwidden, a former Navy Seal.

In this explosive hour-long dramatic adventure series, David James Elliot stars as Lieutenant Commander "Harm" Rabb, Jr., a brave, outstanding Navy Lawyer and officer in the Judge Advocate General (J.A.G.) Corps. His missions are to investigate and prosecute all crimes, accidents, acts of terrorism and espionage related to the Navy and Marine Corps. Playing the diverse roles of investigator, prosecutor and defense attorney, Harm and his partner Major Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie (Catherine Bell), use their intelligence and determination to uncover the mysteries behind cases involving murder, treason, espionage and other high crimes to bring world-class criminals to justice. JAG combines all the intensity of the battlefield and all the suspense of a criminal investigation into an action-packed hour!

Eugene Martin wrote and directed this teen drama set in suburban Philadelphia as the school year ends. Rumor escalates a harmless prank on suburban high-schoolers Cherie (Heather Gottlieb) and Suzie (Michelle Seabreeze) into something labeled "almost rape," pitting suburban teens against urban youths. As tensions rise, the film explores "Edge City" dwellers, including romantic couple James (Charlie Hofheimer) and Allison (Jill Horner); James' brother Bobby (Ryan Carmony); petty thief Robert (Todd Berry); and wild Tony (Christopher Kadish), who veers into violence, stirring up emotions for a "rumble," as cameras capture single-parent situations and unhappy home lives. Grainy video and hand-held Super 16mm footage were transferred to 35mm. Alternative rock punctuates the film's original music score by Mario Grigorov. Shown at the 1998 San Francisco Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this explosive hour-long dramatic adventure series, David James Elliot stars as Lieutenant Commander "Harm" Rabb, Jr., a brave, outstanding Navy Lawyer and officer in the Judge Advocate General (J.A.G.) Corps. His missions are to investigate and prosecute all crimes, accidents, acts of terrorism and espionage related to the Navy and Marine Corps. Playing the diverse roles of investigator, prosecutor and defense attorney, Harm and his partner Major Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie (Catherine Bell), use their intelligence and determination to uncover the mysteries behind cases involving murder, treason, espionage and other high crimes to bring world-class criminals to justice. JAG combines all the intensity of the battlefield and all the suspense of a criminal investigation into an action-packed hour!

Unable to deny his drinking problem any longer, Bailey (Scott Wolf) agrees to sign up with Alcoholics Anonymous. But his first AA meeting may be his last when Bailey comes face to face with Walter Alcott (John Rubenstein), the man who killed his parents in a drunk-driving accident. Meanwhile, Julia's ex-flame Griffin (Jeremy London) suspects that his father's efforts to mend their relationship are motivated purely by selfishness. And Grace (Tamara Taylor) decides to run for the San Francisco City Council--simultaneously running the Salinger family, especially Charlie (Matthew Fox), ragged in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this explosive hour-long dramatic adventure series, David James Elliot stars as Lieutenant Commander "Harm" Rabb, Jr., a brave, outstanding Navy Lawyer and officer in the Judge Advocate General (J.A.G.) Corps. His missions are to investigate and prosecute all crimes, accidents, acts of terrorism and espionage related to the Navy and Marine Corps.

Originally made for cable television, Roswell is an entertaining mix of purported actual events and science fiction. The narrative unfolds primarily in flashbacks as retired Army officer Jesse Marcel (Kyle MacLachlan) attends a reunion of the 509th Bomber Group and tries to come to closure on events that had taken place 30 years earlier. Back in 1947, Major Marcel had been part of a military team that investigated a crash site on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. The debris recovered from the site had exhibited some remarkable properties such as being able to repair itself instantly after being cut, suggesting that it might have been of extraterrestrial origin. The military brass had ordered Marcel to go along with their phony story that the material was ordinary metal foil from a weather balloon, and he had reluctantly complied. By the time of the 1977 reunion, Marcel is suffering from a terminal illness, and he feels compelled to try to find out what had really happened at Roswell all those years ago. MacLachlan gives an effective performance, particularly when he portrays Marcel as an older man trying to understand his past. Evocative location shooting in the American Southwest adds cinematic impact. ~ All Movie Guide

Former Bewitched TV-star Elizabeth Montgomery plays against type and stars as a murderess in this made-for-television movie. Based on the book Preacher's Girl by Jim Schutze, Montgomery stars as the real-life killer Blanche Taylor Moore who was caught by authorities in 1989. The movie chronicles her transformation from the innocent 1950s daughter of a preacher into the serial killer known for poisoning her husbands with arsenic. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

This made-for-cable version of Arthur Miller's play The American Clock was adapted for television by Frank Galati. Inspired partly by Studs Terkel's oral history Hard Times, and partly by Miller's own recollections, the film is set at the beginning of the Depression. When the stock market crashes, the well-to-do Baumler family (John Rubinstein, Mary McDonnell, Loren Dean) loses everything. The Baumlers are forced to move from their plush penthouse apartment to the less-attractive Brooklyn digs of Mrs. Baumler's sister (Joanna Miles). Twelve-year-old Lee Baumler (Dean), the Arthur Miller counterpart, hits the road to find out how others are coping with the Long National Nightmare. The alternately depressing and uplifting storyline moves along briskly to a surprisingly abrupt climax. Kelly Preston, David Strathairn, Eddie Bracken, Darren McGavin, and Estelle Parson co-star in The American Clock, which premiered over the TNT Cable Network on August 23, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this military courtroom drama based on the play by Aaron Sorkin, Navy lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is assigned to defend two Marines, Pfc. Louden Downey (James Marshall) and Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison), who are accused of the murder of fellow leatherneck Pfc. William Santiago (Michael de Lorenzo) at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Kaffee generally plea bargains for his clients rather than bring them to trial, which is probably why he was assigned this potentially embarassing case, but when Lt. Commander JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) is assigned to assist Kaffee, she is convinced that there's more to the matter than they've been led to believe and convinces her colleague that the case should go to court. Under questioning, Downey and Dawson reveal that Santiago died in the midst of a hazing ritual known as "Code Red" after he threatened to inform higher authorities that Dawson opened fire on a Cuban watchtower. They also state that the "Code Red" was performed under the orders of Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland). Kendrick's superior, tough-as-nails Col. Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson), denies any knowledge of the order to torture Santiago, but when Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson (J.T. Walsh) confides to Kaffee that Jessup demanded the "Code Red" for violating his order of silence, Kaffee and Galloway have to find a way to prove this in court. A Few Good Men also features Kevin Bacon as prosecuting attorney Capt. Jack Ross and Kevin Pollak as Kaffee and Galloway's research assistant, Lt. Sam Weinberg. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

On July 19, 1989, a DC-10 en route from Denver to Philadelphia lost all its hydraulics and broke apart just outside of the Sioux City, Iowa airport, killing 110 of the 285 passengers and a single crew member, and risking the lives of everyone else on board. At that point, the rescue crew, which had spent months preparing for such an emergency, had its mettle tested above and beyond the call of duty. In this made-for-TV reenactment, Charlton Heston plays the jetliner's pilot (reprising a similar role from Airport 1975). The rescuers include Richard Thomas and James Coburn. Also known as A Thousand Heroes, Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 debuted February 24, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Curiously listed as a 1991 theatrical production in some sources, Eye on the Sparrow was actually a made-for-TV movie, which first aired December 7, 1987. Mare Winningham plays a blind Missouri woman who marries sightless teacher David Carradine. He is resigned to a world of darkness, but she is bitter over her lot in life, especially after an operation all-too-temporarily restores her sight. Unable to conceive children, the couple tries to adopt: but this is the mid-1960s, and agencies are unwilling to entrust "normal" children to the visually impaired. The only children permitted into their household are the handicapped rejects from foster homes. During their 12-year struggle to prove themselves acceptable as adoptive parents, the woman grows spiritually, learning to shelve her own self-pity by caring for those less fortunate than herself. Based on fact, Eye on the Sparrow was written for television by Barbara Turner (the mother, incidentally, of actress Jennifer Jason Leigh). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide