Michael Payne Movies
- 1979
Fast Friends is a lumpy satire set "backstage" at a talk show (imagine what the film would have been like had it been made in 1989 rather than '79). Most of the action centers around egotistical, near-lunatic talk host Dick Shawn. His frantic antics are counterpointed with the story of career woman Susan Heldfond, a divorcee who re-enters the workplace for the sake of her child. This made-for-TV film costars former critic's darling Carrie Snodgress and then-hot actress MacKenzie Phillips. But the real attraction in Fast Friends is the prescient appearance of tenth-billed David Letterman as "Matt Morgan", a brash comedian who has the temerity to upstage the preening Dick Shawn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Chuck Norris plays John T. Booker, a Vietnam vet who finds out that several of his army buddies lost their lives in a mission that was intended to fail. Seeking answers, Booker quits his school-teaching job and tracks down the surviving members of his unit. One by one, his old friends are being knocked off by sinister forces, orchestrated by a crooked, and legally untouchable, politician. Amidst a plethora of martial arts, gunfire and explosions, the film briefly pauses for a comic-relief scene involving over-aged bellboy Jim Backus. Good Guys Wear Black did so well at the box-office that it warranted a sequel, A Force of One (1979). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Anne Archer, (more)
- 1978
The peace talks at Panmunjon have broken down again, and it looks as if the Korean "police action" will drag on interminably. One person who is decidedly miffed by this logjam is our old friend and reluctant soldier Hawkeye (Alan Alda). Taking the bull by the horns (and breaking several regulations in the process), Hawk heads to the peace conference to put in his own two cents' worth. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
In Night Train, also known as Train Ride to Hollywood Harry Williams, head singer for Bloodstone, a modern rock group, is hit on the head and imagines he's back in the Hollywood of the 1930s. On a coast-bound train, Williams rubs shoulders with reasonable facsimiles of such long-gone greats as Gable, Bogart and Laurel and Hardy. Among the impressionists roped into this patchwork epic are Guy Marks and Bill Oberlin, whose costumes are at least as funny as their lines. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charles Love, Willis Draffen, (more)
- 1974
William Smith and a gang of white drug-dealers try to muscle in on black nightclub owner Rockne Tarkington in this silly blaxploitation film. What they don't know is that Tarkington -- who has a pet lion -- is skilled at martial arts and will not give in without a fight. Abby's Carol Speed co-stars with skinflick vet John Alderman. Director Chuck Bail returned with Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- 1970
- PG
An amoral film student will stop at nothing to gain a movie contract in this pretentious effort. Tony Hall (Robert Forster) insults his cinema professor (Reegis Toomey), degrades his girlfriend Sondra Locke), and alienates his agent. Ken Kerchival and Sam Waterston also appear in this dreary film. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Forster, Sondra Locke, (more)
- 1970
This episode marks a rare joint appearance by actor James Daly and his daughter Tyne Daly. The elder Daly is cast as Judge McIntire, who is presently touring college campuses giving lectures about a controversial death sentence he'd levied eight years earlier. During a classroom re-enactment of the trial, McIntire is himself marked to death by an unknown party. Law student Mark (Don Mitchell) must rely upon his boss Ironside (Raymond Burr) to save the judge's life and ferreting out the would-be "executioner". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
