Pat Patterson Movies
- 1994
This weird and funny Canadian film has all the makings of a cult classic as it takes sharp stabs at C&W music, fundamentalist Christians, tabloid television, and our culture of victims. The queen victim in this film is Wynona-Sue Turnpike, an aspiring country singer. She finds obstacles for success in her cruelly abusive mother, and from a steady stream of cheatin' men whom she periodically shoots on live TV. Her interracial child was also recently kidnapped by the KKK. Small wonder that Wynona is always whining. At least her experiences provide her with a wealth of country song ideas. She is not any happier after she marries her dream-boat, Crawfish, a talk show host. Her only real friends are her "beautiful little cigarettes." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Chamberlin, Serge Houde, (more)
- 1992
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Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story is a made-for-cable adaptation of James Neff's Mobbed Up, a real-life account about Teamster president Jackie Presser. Brian Dennehy plays Presser, who was Jimmy Hoffa's successor as president of the Teamsters. Like Hoffa, Presser was caught between the Mafia, the FBI, and his own ambitions, and the film follows his rise to power, as well as all the trials and tribulations that arose while he was president of the Teamsters. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy, Jeff Daniels, (more)
Gus Van Sant's dreamtime riff on Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Parts I and II" features River Phoenix as Mike Waters, a narcoleptic male hustler who is first seen drifting on a stretch of highway in Idaho. Mike shifts from Seattle to Portland, where he has taken up with Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves), who is also a hustler. The difference between them is Mike's sleepy state betrays an uncertain future, while Scott is ready to inherit a fortune from his father within a week. Mike feels a real affection for Scott, but Scott does not believe men can really love each other. Besides, Scott is mostly hustling as a means of slumming and killing time before he inherits his money. Mike, however, delusionally thinks Scott will continue with his life as a drifter after receiving his inheritance. Mike's belief is shared by the dregs of Portland, who live out of an abandoned hotel with their spiritual leader Bob (film director William Richert). They're convinced Scott's fortune will benefit them all, when in reality Scott has other plans. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, (more)
- 1986
- R
Prolific actor-stuntman Conrad Palmisano directed this average action-thriller about the owner of an inner-city gym. Earl (Paul Coufos) happens to also be a skilled fighter, and when he is pressured by real-estate developers to close the gym, he fights in order to save it. Former Saturday Night Live regular Tony Rosato co-stars with Irene Cara, who sings a cover version of "She Works Hard for the Money," as well as portraying Earl's love interest, Simone. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Coufos, Irene Cara, (more)
- 1982
- PG
Marc Singer stars in this biography of Tom Sullivan, a blind singer, songwriter and actor. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Singer, R.H. Thomson, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Peter Fonda and Jerry Reed star as truckers pitted against a rival big-rig boss who wants them off the highway. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Fonda, Jerry Reed, (more)
With Muhammad Ali cast as himself, The Greatest covers Ali's life from his "Cassius Clay" days to the celebrated Ali/George Foreman bout. Along the way, the film focuses on Ali's conversion to Islam and his potentially career-breaking decision not to serve in the Army. Ernest Borgnine palys Ali's first trainer Angelo Dundee, while Roger E. Mosley shows up as Sonny Liston. The Greatest was the final directorial effort from the late Tom Gries. The same subject would later be covered in Michael Mann's Ali, starring Will Smith as the champ. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Muhammad Ali, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1977
In the third of four New Avengers episodes filmed in Canada, Steed (Patrick MacNee), Gambit (Gareth Hunt) and Purdey (Joanna Lumley) are assigned to guard an antique automobile known as Emily. It seems that the old car contains the only known fingerprints of an elusive secret agent known only as (what else?) The Fox. Perhaps because it was played purely for laughs, "Emily" emerged as the top-rated New Avengers episode of the 1977-78 season--not to mention the highest rated Avengers installment of all time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Macnee, Gareth Hunt, (more)
- 1972
Chosen for a screen test at World Film Studios, Keith (David Partridge) is consumed with fear and trepidation. Once he lands a role in a major Hollywood film, Keith is once again consumed--this time by an outsized ego. Of course, our hero is once again riding for a fall--but after this experience, will he be able to pick himself up, dust himself off, and start all over again? Future Will and Grace regular Shelley Morrison appears as a talent scout. Songs: "Am I Losing You?" and "Looking Through the Eyes of Love". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Originally made for television, this story focuses on a woman selected for jury duty. During a murder trial, she discovers that the accused is the wrong man; she also finds that the real killer is after her. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Cloris Leachman, (more)
- 1972
The made-for-television No Place to Run stars Herschel Bernardi as a seriously ill 73-year-old grandparent. Despite his many ailments, Bernardi is roused into action when he is denied custody of his orphaned grandson (Scott Jacoby). Grandpa and grandson decide to skip town together, with the authorities hot on their heels. Ironically, production of No Place to Run had to shut down briefly when star Herschel Bernardi fell ill for real. During this period, original director John Badham had to leave for another commitment; the film was completed by Delbert Mann, who receives sole directorial credit. Advertised as a "touching film drama" (well, it was!), No Place to Run debuted on September 19, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
In the first episode of a two-part story, criminal genius Curtis Breer (Bradford Dillman) masterminds a $1,800,000 amusement park robbery with three confederates. Though it looks like the perfect crime, the conspirators have failed to bring into consideration such intagibles as greed, betrayal, and revenge. Featured in the cast is Deanna Martin, the daughter of entertainer Dean Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
In this unusual black comedy, Stacy Keach plays Jonas Candide, a former carnival showman who roams the southern U.S. in 1918 with a portable electric chair. He offers his services as a freelance executioner for $100 a pop. He takes a job in a prison in Alabama, where he is supposed to execute a young woman named Gundred Herzallerliebst (Marianna Hill) and her brother. He electrocutes the brother first. On the night before she is scheduled to die, Gundred seduces Jonas and he falls for her. Jonas tries to get Doc Prittle (Graham Jarvis) to help him fake her execution, but the doctor demands a high price. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stacy Keach, Marianna Hill, (more)
- 1970
They used to say "don't trust anyone over 30," but there's no one over 30 left to distrust in this loosely plotted satirical comedy directed by Roger Corman. During the opening ceremonies for a chemical and biological weapons facility in Alaska, an experimental gas is accidentally released which has an unusual effect -- it rapidly advances the aging process of those over 25, while those under 25 are left untouched. Soon, the world's elders are dead, with the planet left to the youth. Wisecracking hippy Coel (Robert Corff) and his girlfriend, Cilla (Elaine Giftos), discover that rookie cops and conservative frat rats have taken over their hometown of Dallas, TX, so they hit the road in his vintage Ford Edsel in search of a friendly commune in New Mexico. Along the way, they pair up with music-obsessed Marissa and her radical boyfriend, Carlos (Ben Vereen), and as they look for their new home, they encounter Hell's Angels-turned-country club members, a neo-fascist football team, a pack of painfully shy would-be sexual predators, rock star and self-proclaimed "godhead" A.M. Radio (Country Joe McDonald), and Edgar Allen Poe (Bruce Karcher), who roams the highways on his motorcycle. Gas-S-S-S! (aka Gas-s-s-s...or, It May Become Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It) proved to be the last of Roger Corman's many projects for American International Pictures; according to Corman, AIP subjected the film to severe prerelease cutting without his consent, and the interference was one of the factors that inspired him to start his own company, New World Pictures. The film also provided early supporting roles for Bud Cort and Talia Shire, the latter billed as Tally Coppola; psychedelic rock band Country Joe & the Fish appear in a concert sequence and provide the film's musical score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Corff, Elaine Giftos, (more)
- 1969
A fugitive from the FBI, Frank Welles (Steve Ihnat) has also been marked for death by a Mafia hitman. Despite the danger involved, Welles makes a stopover in San Diego, intending to wreak vengeance against the man whom he holds responsible for the death of his best friend's daughter. Thus, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is placed in the position of protecting not only Welles but also Welles' intended victim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
The FBI launches a search for Curtis Stone (Roy Poole), a sleazy extortionist who preys upon the families of servicemen. There is someone else anxious to catch up with Stone: Sgt. Paul Devlin (John Ericson), whose wife committed suicide while he was in Vietnam. Holding Stone responsible for his wife's death, Devlin is determined to mete out his own brand of retribution--and Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is equally determined to prevent the embittered Devlin from becoming a murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Horror, comedy, and country corn combine when country singers Woody Weathrby and Boots Malone get caught in a big storm en route to the Nashville Jamboree and end up taking shelter in a creepy looking old mansion that is said to be haunted. Though plenty of spooky things go on there, the hapless hayseeds quickly figure out that the haunting has more to do with a ring of international agents led by the enigmatic and sly Madame Wong than it does the supernatural. The spies have made the abandoned building their headquarters as they endeavor to steal a valuable atomic secret. This was the final film of Basil Rathbone. It is also a sequel to Las Vegas Hillbillies (1966). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In the series' first and only "sequel" episode, Eileen Heckert returns as free-spirited nun Sister Veronica, a character she'd previously introduced in the Season One episode "Angels Travel on Lonely Wounds". Wounded in his last skirmish with the law, fugitive Richard Kimble (David Janssen) seeks the aid of Sister Vernoica, who is currently working at St. Mary Magdalene School, a home for delinquent girls. Kimble hopes that the Sister can help him follow up a reported sighting of the "One-Armed Man" who killed Kimble's wife. Unfortunately, two things are working against the success of Kimble's mission: Sister Angelica is now gravely ill, and one of her students, a troubled girl named Vicki (Adrienne Hayes, is planning to turn the fugitive over to the cops. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
While stopping at a rest camp, Kirby (Jack Hogan) is shaken out of his temporary complacency by a surprise German attack. Making his escape, Kirby teams up with Harry White (Mickey Rooney), a pugnacious truck driver who jealously guards the locked duffel bag in the back of his vehicle. It turns out that Harry has been systematically stealing silverware at every opportunity--and he's not going to let a little thing like the German army stop him from stealing again! Also in the guest cast are singer Claudine Longet, then the wife of Andy Williams, and former silent movie headliner Ramon Novarro, who'd starred in the original 1926 production of Ben-Hur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Grim and gory, this trashy drama chronicles the exploits of a sexually frustrated psycho killer who terrorizes a backwoods Carolina community and butchers the girl friend of a country western singer after she refuses to service. Just before the wacko is about to blow up an entire town, he is felled by the axe of an angry retarded woman who never forgot the night he raped her. Ugh. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1949
Another of RKO's profitable Tim Holt western series, Rustlers costars Holt with his popular sidekick Richard Martin (as Chico Rafferty). Holt and Martin are arrested by sheriff Harry Shannon, who accuses them of being members of a vicious rustling gang. Actually Shannon is the head of the operation; he hopes to throw suspicion off himself by framing Our Heroes for the crime. Holt and Martin bust out of jail, prove their innocence, and fix Shannon's wagon. Rustlers was one of a handful of Holt westerns directed by Lesley Selander, later a minor favorite of auteur critics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Holt, Richard Martin, (more)
