James Jeter Movies

Clint Eastwood, hot off of his Academy Award win for Unforgiven, directed this small character study, appearing in the guise of a cops-and-robbers action picture. The film takes place during the fall of 1963. Eight-year old Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther), the son of a devout Jehovah's Witness mother, is staying home while all the other children are out trick-or-treating. But then prison escapee Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner) appears in his kitchen. Needing a hostage to aid him in his escape from jail, he grabs Phillip. Phillip curiously looks up to Butch and willingly accompanies him. Butch gets rid of his fellow escapee after he tries to molest the child, and Butch and Phillip take to the Texas highway, on the run from the cops. The cop in pursuit in this instance is Police Chief Red Garnett (Clint Eastwood), riding in his sleek Populux Airglide trailer -- his "mobile command headquarters." On the road with Garnett is Sally Gerber (Laura Dern), a pushy pre-feminist criminologist, along with a creepy federal agent who is an expert sharpshooter. Butch is not particularly anxious to make it to the Texas borderline, and neither is Garnett in any particular hurry to catch Butch. As Butch and Phillip form a father-son attachment, the paths of Butch and Garnett gradually come together, in time for a final confrontation, after which Garnett confesses, "I don't know nothing. I don't know a damn thing." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In the made-for-cable film Without Warning: The James Brady Story, Beau Bridges stars in the true-life story of the Ronald Reagan press secretary who was critically wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan by John Hinckley. Brady was left crippled by the shooting, and the film follows his recuperation process, as well as his fight for more stringent gun control. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Joining a Big Brother organization, Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) take an underprivileged teenager named Andy (R.W. Paul) under their wing. The boy returns the favor by stealing the "General Lee" and embarking upon a one-kid crime wave--seriously endangering the Dukes' parole in the process. Meanwhile, Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) is literally off his feed because he hasn't had any dishonest dealings lately. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Brian De Palma's homage to Michelangelo Antonioni's classic art movie Blow-Up (1966) blends suspense and political paranoia when a Philadelphia soundman inadvertently records a murder. Former police technician Jack Terri (John Travolta) makes his living doing sound for slasher flicks. While recording new outdoor effects one night, Jack witnesses a couple's car careen off a bridge into a river, but he can save only the female occupant, Sally (Nancy Allen). Jack begins to suspect something when he learns that her dead companion was a Presidential hopeful. Re-playing his tape over and over, Jack thinks that he hears a gun shot before the crash-causing tire blow-out. When sleazy photographer Manny Karp (Dennis Franz) comes forward with photos of the accident, Jack discovers the real reason that the naïve Sally was in the car -- and also a way to prove his auditory suspicions through motion pictures. Even with all his surveillance talent, however, Jack cannot see (or hear) how dangerous the big picture really is until it's too late. Taking a break from horror films, De Palma turned his interests in technology and voyeurism toward more politically loaded subject matter at the dawn of the Reagan era; the film's red, white and blue mise-en-scène, "Liberty Day" celebration climax, and conspiracy surrounding political "dirty tricks" suggest that American politics are still rotten, seven years after Watergate, . Although Blow Out earned some favorable notice, particularly for Travolta's first "adult" performance, De Palma's downbeat film did not go over well with 1981 summer audiences. Rather than blockbuster escapism, Blow Out instead harks back to 1970s political thrillers like The Parallax View (1974), using cinematic fireworks to tell an unsettling story about one man's struggle against unstoppable corruption. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Filmed on location at Alcatraz Island, this two-part "whole story" actually concentrates on a handful of the denizens behind the cold grey walls of "The Rock". Michael Beck plays the real-life Clarence Carnes, an Oklahoma Choctaw Indian said to be the youngest man ever incarcerated in the notorious maximum security prison. Serving a 99-year sentence for a gas station holdup and murder, Carnes makes periodic attempts to escape, the final attempt being the most violent. Many of the subordinate characters are fictional (as are most of the details concerning Carnes' escape efforts); the one exception is Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz", here portrayed by Art Carney as a gentle, kindly philosopher. Telly Savalas, a costar of the Burt Lancaster vehicle Birdman of Alcatraz, also guest starred in the 1980 film. Originally titled Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes, this made-for-TV movie wavers between gritty realism and "I'm bustin' outta here!" artifice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Middle-aged angst is the catalyst for this drama about an older married couple who join up with younger partners. When Karen Evans (Shirley MacLaine) discovers that her husband Adam (Anthony Hopkins) has been dallying around with young co-ed Lindsey Rutledge (Bo Derek), she is furious. She fights back by starting up an affair with young Pete Lachapelle (Michael Brandon) and pretending to tolerate her husband's pecadillos. Adam is selfish and arrogant, a typical college professor stereotype. The odd couples decide to take off for a skiing holiday in Vermont during which their relationships will be tested. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Rita Moreno makes her first series appearance as freewheeling prostitute Rita Capkovic, who is one of Dennis Becker's most reliable (but least welcome!) street informants. When Rita is attacked by a couple of shady French-speaking characters, she hires Jim (James Garner) to find out who is trying to kill her and why. The trail of clues leads to a Canadian hockey team, which in turn is linked with Rita's best friend Maggie...who turns up dead before the final fadeout. This episode earned an Emmy award for guest star Rita Moreno. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bruce Dern is ideally cast as Lander, a crazed Vietnam veteran, in Black Sunday. Lander joins terrorists Dahlia (Marthe Keller) and Fasil (Bekim Fehmu) in a plot to create a bloodbath at the annual Super Bowl. Piloting the ubiquitous Goodyear blimp, Lander is to ram the aircraft into the capacity Orange Bowl crowd, then fire thousands of poisoned darts into the fleeing spectators. Israeli military officer Kabakov (Robert Shaw) struggles to thwart Lander's plan before it comes to fruition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously seen in timeslots ranging from 90 minutes to two hours, Quincy M.E. settles into its standard one-hour format with this episode. While vacationing in the resort town of Paradise, Quincy (Jack Klugman) is approached by young Jessica Casey (Hilary Thompson), whose alcoholic father John is serving jail time for his ex-wife's murder. Jessica is convinced that Quincy has come to town to reopen the manslaughter case in which her dad was involved--and once he begins to figure out that John Casey is the victim of a conspiracy, Quincy decides to play along with the anxious girl. Unfortunately, he meets resistance from the local sheriff (Pernell Roberts), who seems to have reasons of his own for keeping the case closed. Jamie Lee Curtis appears in a bit role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Big Bus is set aboard a nonstop, nuclear-powered luxury bus commandeered by Joseph Bologna. Naturally, Bologna is a tortured hero with a deep dark secret (he keeps insisting he didn't eat all those passengers on his last disastrous drive). Stockard Channing and Harold Gould play the designers of the big bus, and of course they have a few skeletons in their closet. In fact, there isn't a passenger on the all-star manifest that isn't hiding something. The supporting cast features contributions by René Auberjonois (parodying his M*A*S*H role), Ned Beatty, José Ferrer, Ruth Gordon (doing a devastating send-up of Airport's Helen Hayes), Sally Kellerman, Richard Mulligan, and many others; Murphy Dunne contributes a memorable bit as a smarmy cocktail pianist. Unfortunately, The Big Bus was dumped onto the summer 1976 release schedule without fanfare by Paramount, and it sank without a trace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vacationing in Santa Rosa County, John (Randolph Mantooth) and Roy (Kevin Tighe) hope to spend all their time fishing. Instead, they're forced to treat several accident victims minus the necessary medical equipment--and end up trying to help the local sheriff (James Jeter) set up a local emergency unit of his own. The major crises on this occasion include an exploding fishing boat, and a group of climbers trapped on a sickeningly steep cliff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1975 TV movie Death Scream is based on the shameful Kitty Genovese affair of 1964, in which a N.Y.C. woman was stabbed to death while 38 witnesses locked their windows and doors and pretended not to hear. Raul Julia stars as the detective who investigates the murder and stirs up the guilt feelings of those who refused to help. The film casts celebrity actors in the roles of the witnesses (Diahann Carroll, Cloris Leachman, Lucie Arnaz, Nancy Walker, Art Carney, et al.). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chuck McCann guest stars as Tinker Jones, a mute, itinerant coppersmith. When he wanders into Walnut Grove, Tinker also finds himself in the middle of a community tiff over purchasing a bell for the church. Haughty Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) offers to purchase the bell, but only if it is "dedicated" to her. Without saying a word, Tinker neatly solves the dilemma. Featured in the cast is a very young Sean Penn, the son of episode director Leo Penn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide