John Beck Movies

Another of the many Arthur Hailey literary properties which were transformed into TV miniseries in the 1970s, the five-part, ten-hour Wheels took place in Detroit sometime in the late 1960s. Rock Hudson starred as Adam Trenton, executive in charge of project development at the fictional auto-manufacturing firm of National Motors. Ambitious and ruthless, Adam let nothing stand in the way of his development and production of a new, youth-marketed car known as the Hawk. Meanwhile, Adam's bored and neglected wife Erica (Lee Remick, who earned an Emmy nomination for her performance) drifted into an extramarital affair and a brief "career" as a shoplifter. Eventually, Adam himself acquired a mistress, who in turn fell in love with Adam's son Kirk (James Carrol Jordan). As if things couldn't get any seamier, Kirk's brother Greg (Howard McGillin) was plagued by a blackmailer, while crooked car dealer Smokey Stevenson (played by miniseries stalwart Anthony Franciosa) cooked up a sinister deal that threatened to destroy National Motors. Originally telecast from May 7 to 15, 1978 on NBC, Arthur Hailey's Wheels posted such disappointing ratings that, when it was later rebroadcast, the property was whittled down from ten hours to four -- with episodes three and four summarily dropped from the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Audrey Rose is a "thinking man's" horror film, which in a way is unfortunate, since it tended to be ignored amidst the many spell-it-all-out scarefests of the late '70s. Marsha Mason and John Beck play Janice and Bill Templeton, a happily married couple, the parents of well-adjusted preteen Ivy (Susan Swift). Their family security is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger, Elliot Hoover (Anthony Hopkins). At first mistaken for a potential child molester, Hoover explains that his obsessive interest in young Ivy is actually paternal. It is Hoover's contention that their daughter is the reincarnation of his own child, who died in a horrible accident. This information is dismissed out of hand-and then strange things begin happening. Directed by Robert Wise (who had previously helmed the psychological thriller The Haunting), Audrey Rose was adapted by co-producer Frank de Felitta from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Unlike the 1935 film version of Jack London's 1897 novel Call of the Wild, which devoted most of its running time to a romance between Clark Gable and Loretta Young, this 1976 TV-movie version wisely remains faithful to the source. The star is a magnificent dog--part St. Bernard, part German shepherd--which is kidnapped from its home in California and spirited away to the Yukon. The dog is sold to two greenhorn prospectors (John Beck and Bernard Fresson) who name the animal "Buck". Though faithful to his new masters, Buck shows inclinations of succumbing to the "call of the wild" and running off into the woods at any moment. James (Deliverance) Dickey adapted the London novel for this TV version, which was filmed in the Sierra Madres and the Grand Tetons. Call of the Wild premiered on May 22, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the year 2018 violence has been outlawed and corporations have replaced government as the ruling party following the demise of politics. With the absence of war or conflict, a forcibly passive population's bloodlust is satisfied by a brutal new sport known as Rollerball. A high-octane melding of the outlawed sports of the past, the worldwide phenomenon of Rollerball has resulted in a corporate-backed sensation. The most popular athlete in the world, Jonathan E. (James Caan) has steadily risen through the ranks to become a legendary veteran of the sport. When the corporate backers of Rollerball begin to fear that Jonathan's popularity has instilled him with a potentially dangerous amount of power, a thunderous struggle between man's free will and the oppression of the masses threatens to shatter the fragile strings that the puppet masters use to manipulate mankind. His determination to remain with the sport flying in the face of the very reason Rollerball was conceived, the corporate rulers hatch a plot to abandon the rules in hopes that Jonathan will be killed and their grip of power will remain an unyielding chokehold on an increasingly bloodthirsty populace. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A priest, a rabbi, and a minister are attempting to keep a financially-strapped drug rehab center open, when the last bit of funding disappears. Desperate, they approach a sickly Mafia don and offer to absolve him of his sins in exchange for cash. Unfortunately, he dies before he can get them the money and they must figure out how to steal it from his safe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In 1973, health-food store owner Miles Monroe (Woody Allen) enters the hospital for a routine gall bladder operation. When he expires on the operating table, Miles' sister requests permission to cryogenically freeze her brother's body. After 200 years, Miles is unwrapped by a group of scientists and awakens to a "brave new world" of deadening conformity, ruled with an iron fist by a never-seen leader. Miles is forced to flee for his life when the scientists -- actually a group of revolutionary activists -- are overpowered by the leader's police. He eludes the cops by pretending to be an android, and in this guise is sent to work at the home of Luna (Diane Keaton), a composer of greeting cards who thinks that the world of the future is perfect as it stands. There's more, but why spoil your fun? Sleeper is the most visual of Woody Allen's earlier films, and demonstrated a more pronounced rapport between Allen and his off- and onscreen leading lady Diane Keaton than had previously existed. The Dixieland score is performed by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A former friend betrays a legendary outlaw in Sam Peckinpah's final Western. Holed up in Fort Sumner with his gang between cattle rustlings, Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson) ignores the advice of comrade-turned-lawman Pat Garrett (James Coburn) to escape to Mexico, and he winds up in jail in Lincoln, New Mexico. After Billy theatrically escapes, inspiring enigmatic Lincoln resident Alias (Bob Dylan) to join him, the governor (Jason Robards Jr.) and cattle baron Chisum (Barry Sullivan) requisition Garrett to form a posse and hunt him down. Rather than flee to Mexico when he can, Billy heads back to Fort Sumner, meeting his final destiny at the hands of his friend Pat, who, two decades later, is forced to face the consequences of his own Faustian pact with progress. With a script by Rudolph Wurlitzer, Peckinpah uses the historical basis of Billy's death to eulogize the West dreamily yet violently as it is desecrated by corrupt capitalists. Both Pat and Billy know that their time is passing, as surely as Garrett's posse knows that they are participating in a legend. Using familiar Western players like Slim Pickens and Katy Jurado, Peckinpah underscores the West's existence as a media myth, and he even appears himself as a coffin maker. Just as the bloodletting of Peckinpah's earlier The Wild Bunch (1969) invoked the Vietnam War, the casting of Kristofferson and Dylan alluded to the chaotic late '60s/early '70s present; the counterculture has little place in a corporate future. Also like The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett was truncated by its studio; the cuts did nothing to help its box office. Key scenes, particularly the framing story of Garrett's fate, have since been restored to the home-video version. In this director's cut, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid stands as one of Peckinpah's most beautiful and complex films, killing the Western myth even as he salutes it. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

In Lawman, Burt Lancaster is Jered Maddox, a dedicated marshal with an inflexible adherence to upholding the law at all costs. Riding into a nearby town to pick up a group of local carousers who, during a drunken spree, killed an old man, Maddox meets up with Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb). Bronson is the local town boss, and Maddox discovers that the men he is looking for work for him. Unlike most western heavies, Maddox, although he is powerful and unscrupulous, abhors violence. But violence is something Maddox cultivates. A major confrontation between the reluctant Bronson and the intransigent Maddox builds -- particularly when Maddox enlists the help of weak-willed local sheriff Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A widow finds her life unbearably dull and so becomes a volunteer CIA agent. She is sent to Mexico City for her first assignment and though her intentions are good, she ends up tossed into a jail. This was one of actress Rosalind Russel's final films and is sadly, considered among her very worst. Using a penname, she also wrote the screenplay. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Innocent Hoss Cartwright is thrown in jail, suspected of complicity in a bank robbery. The real bandits are a pair of Easterners named Luke (John Beck) and Calvin (Hamilton Camp), who'd been drawn to the west after reading an abundance of dime novels. Hoping to live up to the exploits of their literary counterparts, Luke and Calvin make things worse for Hoss by busting him out of jail and forcing him to join their two-man "gang." Slim Pickens plays the Sheriff, and future Little House on the Prairie regular Dabbs Greer is seen as the Judge in this comic episode written by Jack B. Sowards. "What are Pardners For?" was originally telecast on April 12, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Silent Gun refers to the weapon no longer toted by Westerner Lloyd Bridges. Once a notorious gunfighter, Bridges has vowed never to shoot again after nearly killing a little girl. Thus, when faced with evil town boss Pernell Roberts, Bridges must rely on his wits to come out on top. This made-for-TV western compromises its potential with dull dialogue sequences and uninspired direction. The Silent Gun was based on a concept by Batman creator Bob Kane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This futuristic sci-fi film contains a strong message against communism. It begins in the year 2087 and presents a totalitarian world ruled by Cyborgs. They are half-machine and their are incapable of free thought. Cyborg Garth has a glitch and is a rebel who swipes a time machine and travels back to 1965. There he encounters Marx, the scientist who started it all. Garth tries to prevent him from continuing his experiments. He succeeds and future humans are spared. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide