John F. Parker
The backdrop for this epic Western, which aired in August 2002 on the Hallmark Channel, will be familiar to fans of the genre and students of Western history. The Johnson County War took place in northern Wyoming in April 1892, growing out of the familiar story of big-money ranchers who suspected homesteader neighbors of rustling. Screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana adapted Frederick Manfred's 1957 novel, Riders of Judgment, which used some of the events and people but changed the names, including the county (which becomes Bighorn) and the main town (from Buffalo to Antelope). Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1981) also employed elements of the Johnson County War in its story. Manfred's book and this film center on Cain Hammett (Tom Berenger), a lonesome cowboy who hankers for Rory (Michelle Forbes); she has married his younger brother Dale (Adam Storke) in spite of the fact that she really loves Cain. A third Hammett brother, Harry (Luke Perry), unlike his honest, homesteading siblings, is a rustler who runs afoul of Marshal Hunt Lawton (Burt Reynolds), who is in the employ of wealthy Lord Peter (Christopher Cazenove), an Englishman in cahoots with the owners of big ranches to exterminate all of the homesteaders, guilty or innocent. Cain Hammett's real-life counterpart, Nate Champion, was a prime target of mercenaries hired by the big cattlemen, and the siege of Cain's cabin, which was the opening salvo in the war, provides the film with its climax. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Luke Perry, (more)
- 1994
- R
A jeep tour service is about to go belly-up. The owner's pretty niece comes up with a swell idea to improve business. She and her gorgeous girlfriends don bikinis and offer their services as jeep drivers. Before long, business is booming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Hays, Floyd Irons, (more)
- 1988
- PG
Uptown (George Newbern) and Mad Mike (Christopher McDonald) are paramedic partners assigned to the tough South Central section of the city by their irate boss Captain Prescott (John P. Ryan). The duo uncovers a fiendish conspiracy that deals in harvesting internal organs from unwilling donors. They encounter street gangs and a female with a killer sex drive. This spoofing parody contains explicate language and brief nudity. Watch for veteran actor Ray Walston as the first patient suffering a heart attack. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Newbern, Christopher McDonald, (more)
- 1985
Norm (George Wendt) lands a job as a corporate hatchet man, whose task it is to fire "dead weight." Because of his unique dismissal methods, Norm soon becomes a celebrity -- and a pariah at Cheers. Meanwhile, Cliff (John Ratzenberger) goes head to head with a contentious new neighbor. This was the final episode for Nicholas Colasanto (Coach), who died February 12, 1985, two days after the show's taping. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
The Hard Road is a 1970s exploitation flick posing as a crusading expose. Connie Nelson plays a "nice" girl who goes from bad to worse after she becomes pregnant. Kicked out of school and virtually driven from her home, Nelson finds solace in drugs. She starts out with pot, graduates to the hard stuff, and ends up selling her body in order to support her habit. This is your brain on drugs: any questions? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Connie Nelson, Catherine Howard, (more)
