Brian Kerwin Movies
Chicago-born actor Brian Kerwin's film appearances have been more plentiful on the small screen than on the large. Kerwin has been costarred on such TV movies as Bluegrass (1983), A Real American Hero (1978), The Challenger (1990) (as doomed astronaut Capt. Michael Smith) and Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992). He also had regular roles on the TV series The Chisholms (1979), and on Lobo (1980), playing the handsomer of Sheriff Claude Akins' two deputies. In addition, Brian Kerwin played Michelle Pfeiffer's married lover in the 1987 PBS adaptation of John O'Hara's Natica Jackson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When the drug craze of the '60s invades the straight-laced world of a military academy, a group of young cadets turn the school upside down. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In this made-for-TV "roman a clef", Joe Don Baker stars as Tommy Vanda, a Hoffa-esque labor leader. Told in flashback, the film recounts Vanda's humble beginnings on the Chicago docks, where he gains fame and notoreity amongst his coworkers and his bosses by spearheading a wildcat strike. Rising to top dog of the Cartage Union, Tommy doesn't care whon he has to crush on the way up the ladder. Inevitably, Tommy's peccadilloes catch up with him, resulting in federal charges, an arrest, and (remember who he's supposed to be) a mysterious disappearance in the night. Written by Ernest Tidyman of The French Connection fame, Power was telecast in two two-hour installments by NBC on January 14 and 15, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- R
- Add Hometown USA to Queue
Max Baer Jr. borrows liberally from George Lucas's American Graffiti for this slice-of-life look at teenage life circa 1957. The story concerns a group of adolescents whose main concerns are cars, cruising, and sex. The story centers upon Rodney C. Duckworth (Gary Springer), a shy, virginal teen, and the efforts of his friends Recil Calhoun (David Wilson) and T.J. Swackhammer (Brian Kerwin) to try to fix Rodney up with a date. Unfortunately, their libidos manage to get the better of them, and Recil and T.J. end up going out with the girls themselves. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Springer, David Wilson, (more)
- 1979
The Chisholms was a three-part miniseries adapted by Evan Hunter from his own novel. Covering the years 1842 through 1844, the dramatization follows the westward trek of the Chisholm family. Patriarch Robert Preston is driven from his midwestern homestead by a feud. Starting down the Ohio river, Preston and his family head for the greener pastures of Oregon. In Part Two, a romantic angle is introduced thanks to young lovers Stacey Nelkin and Charles Frank, while the Chisholms' safety is threatened by thieves and hostile lawmen. Several deaths impede the family's progress in Part Three, which brings the pilgrims to Wyoming. Spread out over four weeks (from March 29 through April 19, 1979), this miniseries version of The Chisholms served as the precursor to a weekly TV series, which did without the services of Robert Preston (who was unceremoniously knocked off in the first episode). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
In this drama, a prestigious lawyer chucks it all to begin a quest for his long-lost son who is now living somewhere in Hawaii. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This made-for-TV actioner was designed as the pilot for a series based on the popular Walking Tall films of the 1970s. This time out, a young Brian Dennehy is cast as the stick-wielding, scrupulously honest Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser (played in the films by Joe Don Baker and Bo Svenson), with Forrest Tucker repeating his role from Walking Tall: The Final Chapter as Pusser's father. After chasing down a speeding car, Pusser is disgusted to find that its teenaged occupants (two of them dead, two blinded for life) are stoned out of their minds on bad bootleg hooch. Bypassing due process and other such legal niceties, Pusser goes on a one-man rampage of destruction in order to square accounts with the evil disco owner-cum-moonshiner responsible for the tragedy. Making things difficult is the fact that one of the villains of the piece is also one of Buford's oldest pals. A Real American Hero made its CBS debut on December 9, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy
