Larry Pennell Movies
American leading man Larry Pennell kicked off his film career in 1955. Pennell briefly became a TV idol when he co-starred with Ken Curtis in the widely syndicated adventure series Ripcord (1962). He later spoofed his macho image as conceited, image-conscious movie star Dash Riprock on The Beverly Hillbillies. Larry Pennell kept busy into the 1990s in character roles and cameos, most memorably as Clark Gable in the 1980 TV movie Marilyn: The Untold Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An ancient evil finds resistance in the most unlikely of places in this oddball comedy horror effort from Phantasm director Don Coscarelli. Resting in the confines of a Mud Creek, TX, nursing home after fading into obscurity following his departure from the limelight, an aging and embittered Elvis (Bruce Campbell) befriends a delusional patient named Jack (Ossie Davis) who claims to be John F. Kennedy. It seems that at the height of his popularity Elvis had switched identities with a convincing double, and, upon the death of the substitute, missed his chance to reclaim his former fame. Despite his anger at never having made a comeback, Elvis finds a new reason to live when Jack tips him off to an evil mummy that is feasting on the souls of hapless nursing home inhabitants. Before long the geriatric duo must muster the strength to fend off the malevolent soul sucker lest they ultimately fall prey to the fearsome Bubba Ho-Tep (Bob Ivy). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, (more)
When has-been baseball player Jack Elliot (Tom Selleck) is signed by a Japanese team, he is initially reluctant to take the game seriously. Elliot is very successful, though, as he teaches the team about American chutzpah, and they remind him of the value of respect. He must fight his way out from under a slump to show that he deserves the title. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Ken Takakura, (more)
- 1989
- R
John McNaughton's flawed but interesting follow-up to Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer languished in distribution limbo for years before its brief theatrical run and subsequent video release. It presents a completely different breed of killer: an alien criminal who is exiled to life on Earth in human form. As if that weren't punishment enough, the creature's human guise is susceptible to frequent head-eruptions, creating the constant need for replacement heads. This leads to a grim and violent series of episodes in which the creature pops the tops of various citizens, ranging from a kindly, homeless eccentric (Antonio Fargas) to a lascivious doctor (Tony Amendola)... at one point, he even "borrows" the head of a dog! Following the trail of discarded heads are two cops (Rae Dawn Chong and Don Gordon), who eventually begin to suspect they're not dealing with the M.O. of the average serial killer. A few creative plot twists (particularly at the conclusion), grim atmosphere and generally good performances enliven this one-note material, which nevertheless fails to measure up to the harrowing, character-driven horror of McNaughton's acclaimed debut feature. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rae Dawn Chong, Don Gordon, (more)
- 1988
In this lively comedy, a womanizing actor dies and is granted a second chance at life on the condition that he remain faithful to only one woman. That's easier said than done, and once he's back on Earth he must choose between a virtuous lass and a shady lady. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Vanessa Angel, (more)
- 1986
When the beautiful Makua (Marlene Sai) witnesses a murder, Magnum (Tom Selleck) does his best to protect her from the killers. But his best may be none too good when he is knocked unconscious and nearly drowned. Awakening in a semi-amnesiac estate, Magnum discovers that he is on the "forbidden" island of Kapu--and that he is the prisoner of the island's highly superstitious natives. Prolific cartoon voiceover actress Jeannie Elias appears as a cousin of Magnum's friend Rick (Larry Manetti). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Flamboyant, giallo-style gore effects are the only highlight of this otherwise pedestrian supernatural horror film, which was originally filmed in 1981 as The Witch and shelved for four years, before it experienced a mild midnight-movie revival in the wake of The Evil Dead's success. The ghastly goings-on begin when a clergyman (Larry Pennell) and his family move into an eerie mansion built near the lake where a powerful local witch was drowned four centuries earlier. It soon becomes evident that the spirit of this evil sorceress, whose powers have increased exponentially after her death, is not content with conducting the standard haunted-house scare tactics, and the bodies begin to pile up at an incredible rate. (These audacious death scenes peak with one poor soul's dismemberment courtesy of a flying circular saw.) When a homicide detective (Albert Salmi) and a minister (James Carl Houghton) discover the cause of the macabre mayhem, they prepare to conduct an exorcism (in the mode of The Amityville Horror), much to their own peril. Overblown performances, a scatter-shot screenplay, and hilariously messy gore effects make this movie impossible to take seriously, but it does have a certain tacky charm. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Salmi, Lynn Carlin, (more)
- 1983
- PG
Metalstorm was a courageous if unsuccessful attempt to renew the 3-D craze of the 1950s. Jeffrey Byron heads the cast as space ranger Dogen, who is bound and determined to stem the activities of integallactic looney-tune Jared-Syn (Mike Preston). We then segue into a plotline that is more Western than Science-Fiction in nature. The special effects aren't going to give the producers of Star Wars any sleepless nights, though there is some ingenuity in the variety of asteroids, spaceships and stuff that are thrust stereoptically at the audience. The supporting cast of Metalstorm boasts some interesting names, including Tim Thomerson, Richard Moll and Larry Pennell. The film was produced by Albert Band and directed by Albert's son Charles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Byron, Tim Thomerson, (more)
- 1982
Robin's Nest is turned over to a Hollywood production crew as a location for a movie starring Magnum's favorite actress Olivia Ross (Dana Wynter) and her perennial costar Jack Martin (Larry Pennell). So entranced is Magnum (Tom Welleck) by the glamorous Olivia that he is willing to endure multiple humiliations as Martin's stunt double. But he hadn't counted on risking his life to solve the mystery behind a "prop" gun which is loaded with real bullets--and which Olivia empties on the hapless Martin! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In 1982, there was a brief cycle of homosexual-relationship films, none of which were successful enough to form the basis of a trend. Producer/director/writer Robert Towne's Personal Best is one of the finest. It stars Mariel Hemingway and Patrice Donnelly as athletes participating in the 1980 Olympics. Growing ever closer during the training process, Chris (Hemingway) and Tory (Donnelly) fall in love. Up to this point, Chris has been "straight," thus has trouble sustaining the relationship with older Tory. Their relationship is counterbalanced with the attitudes held by their male coach, Terry (Scott Glenn). While the homosexual element of the film is secondary to the endless shots of athletes in training, the critics latched on to the film's romantic angle, which may have sabotaged its chances for box-office success (the world was a different place in 1982). Personal Best was the directorial debut for Robert Towne, who was not to direct another film until 1987's Tequila Sunrise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, (more)
In The Man With Bogart's Face, an affectionate send-up of the Bogart detective films of the 1940s, Robert Sacchi plays a man who idolizes Humphrey Bogart so much he has his features altered to look exactly like his idol. He then opens up a detective agency under the name Sam Marlowe (an amalgam of the names of Bogart's characters from The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep). Sam hires the Duchess (Misty Rowe) as his secretary ("She looked like Marilyn Monroe and made about as much sense as Gracie Allen") and "Sam Marlowe, Private Eye" is in business. Sam gets a meager response until a shooting puts his picture in the paper and business starts to flourish. Particularly attracted to Marlowe's services are a collection of characters -- Gena (Michelle Phillips), an attractive Gene Tierney type; Commodore Anastas (Victor Buono), a Greek shipping tycoon and Sidney Greenstreet lookalike; and the mysterious Mr. Zebra (Herbert Lom doing a Peter Lorre imitation). They are all trying to find the famous Eyes of Alexander -- a priceless set of stones from a statue of Alexander the Great. Also on hand are old Hollywood pros George Raft, Yvonne DeCarlo and Mike Mazurki. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Sacchi, Franco Nero, (more)
- 1980
The title of this made-for-TV biopic is faintly risible: is there anything about Marilyn Monroe that we don't know by now? Pleasingly enough, the story is told in a straightforward, nonexploitive manner (the affair with JFK warrants no more than a throwaway line). Emmy-nominated Catherine Hicks plays Marilyn, nee Norma Jean Baker. We follow her progress from orphanages and foster homes to her first 20th Century-Fox contract at age 20. Considered "washed up" before her career has gotten off the ground, Marilyn is rescued both professionally and emotionally by her agent/lover Johnny Hyde (Richard Basehart). She rises to full stardom and is the center of attention of two "ideal" marriages, first to baseball player Joe DiMaggio, then to Arthur Miller (neither of whom are depicted on screen). But Marilyn remains a lonely, tragic figure, a victim as much of her own demons as of Hollywood's exploitation mill. Based loosely on Norman Mailer's highly suspect biography of the actress, Marilyn: The Untold Story premiered on September 28, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- G
The first volley in the never-ending "Presley movie" blitzkrieg, the made-for-TV Elvis: The Movie stars Kurt Russell as the King, Season Hubley as Priscilla, Pat Hingle as Col. Parker, Shelley Winters as Elvis' mom, and Bing Russell (Kurt's real-life father) as Elvis' dad. The film recounts Presley's life from age ten to his 1969 Vegas comeback. Presley imitator Ronnie McDowell expertly dubs in Kurt Russell's renditions of "Love Me Tender," "Heartbreak Hotel," et al. When first telecast on February 11, 1979, the ratings for Elvis: The Movie went through the roof, even beating out a competing telecast of Gone With the Wind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1978
- G
A novel by Paul Gallico provides the plot for this tale of a down-on-his-luck boxing promoter (Elliott Gould). In desperation, he plots a match between the heavyweight champion of the world (Larry Pennell) and a kangaroo. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Robert Mitchum, (more)
Based on the best-selling Vincent Bugliosi book of the same name, Helter Skelter is a made-for-TV account of the investigation and prosecution of Charles Manson (Steve Railsback), who was convicted of leading a group of followers (known as "The Family") to murder seven people in California, including actress Sharon Tate. The film takes a Law & Order-like approach, starting with the discovery of the murders, which leads to the police gathering snippets of evidence that they eventually connect to the bigger picture. The second half of the movie concentrates on how District Attorney Bugliosi (George DiCenzo) attains a conviction despite the enormous amount of press coverage the case received. Nancy Wolfe, Christina Hart, and Cathey Paine portray the three loyal Manson Family members who were the co-defendants at his trial. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George DiCenzo, Steve Railsback, (more)
- 1973
Season Two of Streets of San Francisco opens with an episode focusing on Steve Keller (Michael Douglas), the young partner of veteran SFPD detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden). Forced to kill a robbery suspect, Keller finds his career on the line when the dead man's father (Michael Constantine) insists that his son was unarmed. This time, not even Stone can come to Keller's rescue unless a weapon is found--a prospect that grows dimmer as the story wears on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
No Stone Unturned was the second-season opener of the Banacek TV series. George Peppard plays insurance investigator Banacek, whom the police call in whenever they're stumped. Banacek is assigned to find a 3 ton, 10 foot sculpture, that has apparently walked away by itself. Scott Brady, Gary Lockwood and Candace Clark are among those who might have helped the valuable sculpture in its flight. No Stone Unturned was first aired October 3, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Lassie gets lost in the big city of Los Angeles while a little deaf girl undergoes an operation. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
The modern-day Native American occupation and protest at Wounded Knee is the subject of this drama from Tom Giles. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
Despite the fact that most of the westerns made at this time (early '70s) were "deconstructionist" westerns, which either spoofed or subverted the themes of this genre, occasionally a traditional western got filmed. The Revengers is a traditional western. John Benedict (William Holden) returns to his ranch, only to find all his cattle stolen and his family murdered. He vows to exact revenge on Tarp (Warren Vanders), the varmint who did this to him. He recruits a treacherous gang of convicts, bribing the warden for their release, and makes his move. When the attack fails, the convicts aren't interested in making another try. Instead, they shoot him and, leaving him for dead, head off to follow their own concerns. On her way to a new landholding, Elizabeth (Susan Hayward) stumbles upon the injured man, and nurses him back to some semblance of health. She begs him to drop his revenge plan, but he resumes his quest, receiving unexpected help along the way from Hoop (Ernest Borgnine), one of the renegade ex-convicts. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Although the characters' names were changed, The Great White Hope was a thinly veiled account of the trials and tribulations of boxer Jack Johnson, based on the play by Howard Sackler and directed by Martin Ritt. James Earl Jones stars as boxing great Jack Jefferson, who defeats Frank Bardy Larry Pennell in a Reno, Nevada bout to become the world's first black heavyweight champion. After crossing a state line with his white girlfriend Eleanor (Jane Alexander in her feature debut), however, Jack is arrested and tried under the miscegenation-barring Mann Act. Found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison, Jack escapes and leaves the U.S., but he's dogged by his now bad reputation and can't get honest work as a fighter. Offered his freedom from criminal charges if he'll agree to a fixed fight in Cuba that will restore the title to a white contender, Jack refuses and Eleanor commits suicide, their life on the run overwhelming her. Jack finally accepts the bout in Havana, but he fights his opponent with everything he's got. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, (more)
- 1970
Irwin Allen, praised in some circles as a science fiction genius and damned in others as a shameless schlockmeister, produced and directed this fanciful TV-movie. Set in the 21st century, the film concentrates on a group of colonists dwelling in a modernistic underwater city called Pacifica. The emphasis is on drama rather than special effects, as we see the deep-sea denizens struggling to cope with the pressures of their new existence--and their own personal animosities. Stuart Whitman heads a large cast of TV veterans, including Time Tunnel regulars James Darren, Robert Colbert and Whit Bissell, and onetime Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea star Richard Basehart (as the US President). Expanded from a short "demo" pilot film, City Beneath the Sea is the one Irwin Allen project that could have matured into a truly worthwhile TV series; unfortunately no network was interested in subsidizing this expensive effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Befriending the nephew of pro football star Ken Granger (Larry Pennell), Jody (Johnnie Whitaker) soon develops an acute case of hero worship. Before long, Jody is imitating everything Granger says and does, and is even dressing in the same fashion. When the athlete is brought up on charges of betting on his own, Jody fiercely defends his idol--only to be emotionally devastated when the charges turn out to be true! Appearing as Granger's nephew Bobby is Leif Garrett, who grew up to be a pop-culture idol in his own right. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
In a change-of-pace Mission:Impossible episode, Jim Phelps makes a sentimental journey to his rural home town. Even here, however, Phelps finds himself waist-deep in a danger, as a series of unexplained murders terrorizes the community. Summoning the aid of his fellow IMF agents, Phelps conducts his own investigation of the killings, and comes to a disturbing conclusion: The murderer may well be an old and trusted boyhood friend. Among the guest stars is future MASH regular Loretta Swit, in a truly offbeat characterization. Written by Laurence Heath, "Homecoming" originally aired on October 10, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Leonard Nimoy, (more)
