Ben Johnson Movies

It's Christmas Eve in 1943; in a small Georgia town two young children await their father's return at the local train station as the adults around them whisper about the unspeakable atrocities committed by Axis forces. Eleven year-old Gordy (Aiden Rogers) and his sister Priscilla (Emily Jordan) can't quite make sense of the propaganda posters and hushed conversations, yet a profound sense of sadness and fear swells somewhere deep within both children. Later, when a train transporting German POWs pulls in to the station, Gordy manages to overcome his fear and tenuously approaches the prison car. There, he connects with a young German soldier named Hans (Silvio Busch). Gordy and Hans each face uncertain futures, but together on this crisp December evening they will both come to a common understanding about Peace on Earth and Goodwill Towards Men though the traditional Christmas song "Silent Night". ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The fact that Tippi Hedren is cast as the grandmother of the protagonist is hardly the only Hitchcock reference in the made-for-cable thriller The Darklings. While bedridden with a case of mono, teenager C.J. (Ryan DeBoer) glances out his window, and sees--or thinks he sees--next-door neighbor Clayton Shepherd (Timothy Busfield) murdering his wife Emily (Suzanne Somers). Of course, when the authorities are summoned, there is no evidence of any murder--and in fact there's no body. Further developments suggest that C.J. was simply imagining things, but he refuses to accept this explanation. In league with his youthful pals Jessie (Meghan Ory) and Josh (Ben Johnson), C.J. is determined to bend and even break the law to prove that Shepherd is a killer. Martin Sheen also stars in this delightful blend of TV-style teen angst, light humor and dastardly deeds. The Darklings premiered February 14, 1999 on the Fox Family channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Oscar-winning character actor Ben Johnson was never as well known as other stars, and yet for many industry insiders, he was the epitome of cowboy actors. Of Cherokee and Irish heritage, Johnson was born in Oklahoma and became a cowboy at age eleven. He grew up to become the only movie cowboy to win both an Oscar and a rodeo championship. This documentary tells the fascinating, colorful story of his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The television movie Bonanza: Under Attack involves characters made popular in the long-running television western Bonanza. The story involves the dastardly Frank James hiding on the Cartwright family's Ponderosa in order to escape bloodthirsty rogue Pinkerton detectives who want to do more than simply apprehend James. James befriends the Cartwright siblings, and together they stand up to the Pinkertons. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Two brothers are the victims of their widowed mother's violent drunkard husband who spares no rod with the youngest brother. Reverting to a world of make-believe, they imagine that their Radio Flyer wagon can fly and that in it they can escape their tormenting stepfather. This film deals in an almost make-believe manner with the serious issue of child abuse. It is narrated by Tom Hanks. ~ Rovi

Scott Glenn is H.D., a champion rodeo rider whose career is ruined after being gored by a bull. He returns home to discover things have drastically changed -- the family farm has been abandoned, his old girlfriend Julie (Kate Capshaw) is a now a widowed mother, and his sister Cheryl (Tess Harper) has put his father (Ben Johnson) in a nursing home. H.D. rescues his father from the home and returns him to the ranch. But when H.D. leaves the farm to visit Julie, his father seeks out Cheryl. Cheryl retaliates by threatening to return her father to the nursing home and sell the ranch. At this point, H.D. takes notice of rodeo contest which would give him $100,000 if he can ride four bulls for a total of 32 seconds. H.D. bonds with his father as he gruelingly prepares for a return to the rodeo to win the contest and buy the ranch. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

High in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona, a cache of stolen bank money was hidden back in the 1960s. LA based lawyer Bill Paxton, whose security-guard father (David Michael-Standing) has long been held responsible for the heist-he was the only survivor when his armored car was ambushed-conducts a search for witnesses in order to clear his dad's name. Working from his late father's notes, Paxton and his mentally handicapped brother Todd Field attempt to reconstruct the crime and recover the loot. Expressing inordinate fascination in Paxton's efforts are mysterious hitchiker Apollonia Kotero, as well as local sheriff Luke Askew, whose brother was murdered during the robbery. A great many hidden truths and deep dark secrets come to surface during a final bloody confrontation in the mountains. All evidence indicates that director John Kincade intended Back to Back as a tribute to filmmaker Sam Peckinpah-as evidenced by the presence of Peckinpah regular Ben Johnson in a pivotal role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a Vietnam vet takes a stand when government agents attempt to take his ranch so they can build a missile base there. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this arch sci-fi sex comedy-cum-action extravaganza, a hard-nosed female mercenary helps a hapless yuppie find a new body for his robot girlfriend in the post-industrial wasteland of the American Southwest. In the year 2017, what little remains of civilization feeds off the scrap heap of 20th century waste, while even casual sex has become a matter of regulations and contracts. Like many other members of the L.A. white-collar elite, Sam Treatwell (David Andrews) takes refuge in a quasi-marriage with his beloved sex robot, Cherry (Pamela Gidley). After a soft-focus, bubbly sexcapade short circuits Cherry's body, Sam considers replacing her, but the shoddy production values of modern robots make it obvious that the vintage appliance is irreplaceable. To put it simply, the guy's in love. The wistful romantic therefore heads out to The Zone, a forbidding no man's land, where he hopes to find a new "chassis" in which to insert Cherry's unique personality chip. To do so, he needs the help of a "tracker," and E. Johnson (Melanie Griffith) is just the woman for the job. The gun-toting, red-headed road warrior leads Sam through a dystopian desert landscape full of psychopaths and opportunists toward their final destination: an abandoned warehouse full of antique androids. Along the way, Sam learns what it's like to interact with a woman who has brains and a heart instead of a microchip. Filmed in 1986, Cherry 2000 didn't receive its limited theatrical release until 1988, the same year star Griffith received an Oscar nomination for her role in Working Girl. Griffith and director Steven de Jarnatt previously worked together on the pilot for the 1980s revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Ben Johnson, veteran of many a Hollywood Western, appears as E. Johnson's mentor, Six Finger Jake. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This interesting documentary charts the history of Europe's first all-black ballet corps, the Ballets Negres, comprised of dancers primarily from the Caribbean. Formed in 1946 by Berto Pasuka, the company was highly successful and influenced the course of ballet by its different dance style, its use of mime, and its special music. Director Stephan Dwoskin interviews a few of the remaining dancers (the group disbanded in 1952) to capture a sense of the spirit and attitude of the group. Still photos and re-enactments of some of their rehearsals help to convey a sense of their style. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Set at an indeterminate point in the future, this drama with an overt anti-communist message begins as an ostensible war movie: Russian and Cuban forces have invaded the U.S. and are viciously eliminating the inhabitants of a small town, when a group of teens escapes and plans a counterattack. Jed (Patrick Swayze), Robert (C. Thomas Howell), and six of their friends watch in amazement as soldiers parachute into their town and start shooting. The teens grab a pickup truck, stock up on supplies at the local store, and head for the hills. Meanwhile, the men in the town -- after a minimal resistance -- are rounded up and held at a drive-in theater converted into a concentration camp. The sadistic Soviet military then make them watch acclaimed Russian director Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 classic Alexander Nevsky, as their punishing rehabilitation begins. Meanwhile, after minimal resistance from the adults, a Cuban, Bella (Ron O'Neal), is put in charge and is not certain how he can really defeat the teen army. The Soviets and Cubans have so far defeated the American Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, but these teens are really something else. After a successful ambush, the teen guerrillas gear up for future forays, when they are suddenly betrayed by one of their number and by doubts about the morality of what they are doing. Red Dawn is noteworthy for being the first movie released with the PG-13 rating, created by the MPAA after public outcry over violent content in the PG-rated Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

John Hurt plays the British jockey Bob Champion in this true story of how Champion overcame cancer and the rigors of chemotherapy for an impressive personal and professional comeback. Just as Champion is in the middle of a vacation in Kentucky, he finds out he has cancer, and, like others before him, submits to the full, painful treatments of multiple injections and radiation, suffering as much or more from the cure as from the illness (these treatments are graphic). Gaunt and nauseous, Champion also endures realistic meetings with his doctors that hold forth no guarantee of a cure. His eventual remission leads to yet another grueling physical schedule to get him back into shape for the Grand National Steeplechase -- a 30-fence, well-publicized race that offers difficult hurdles for both the horses and their jockeys. If the 115-minutes running time of this film were cut in places, it would create a better, trim and slim, fast-paced telling of an even more focused tale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi