Slim Pickens Movies

It's December of 1941, and the people of California are in varying states of unease, ranging from a sincere desire to defend the country to virtual blind panic in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus begin several story threads that comprise the "plot" of this strange period comedy, a sort of satirical disaster movie, from Steven Spielberg. The stories and story threads involve lusty young men, officers (Tim Matheson) and civilians (Bobby Di Cicco) alike, eager to bed the young ladies of their dreams; Wild Bill Kelso, a nutty fighter pilot (John Belushi) following what he thinks is a squadron of Japanese fighters along the California coast; a well-meaning but clumsy tank crew (including John Candy) led by straight-arrow, by-the-book Sgt. Tree (Dan Aykroyd), who doesn't recognize the thug (Treat Williams) in his command; and homeowner Ward Douglas (Ned Beatty), who is eager to do his part for the nation's defense and, despite the misgivings of his wife (Lorraine Gary), doesn't mind his front yard overlooking the ocean being chosen to house a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. There is also a pair of grotesquely inept airplane spotters (Murray Hamilton, Eddie Deezen) who are doing their job from atop a ferris wheel at a beachfront amusement park; a paranoid army colonel (Warren Oates) positive that the Japanese are infiltrating from the hills; a big dance being held on behalf of servicemen, being attended by a lusty young woman of size (Wendie Jo Sperber) eager to land a man in uniform; and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell (Robert Stack), in charge of the defense of the West Coast, who can't seem to get anyone to listen to him when he says to keep calm. And, oh yes, there's also a real Japanese submarine that has gotten all the way to the California coast under the command of its captain (Toshiro Mifune) and a German officer observer (Christopher Lee), only to find itself without a working compass or usable maps. Its captain won't leave until the sub has attacked a militarily significant, honorable target, and the only one that anyone aboard ship knows of in California is Hollywood. By New Year's Eve, all of these characters are going to cross paths, directly or once-removed, in a comedy of errors and destruction strongly reminiscent of the finale to National Lampoon's Animal House (as well as several disaster movies from the same studio), but on a much larger and more impressive scale. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this western, an idealistic and naive rookie cavalry officer is assigned to work with a cruel captain. He immediately gets on the crabby captain's bad side by trying to restart an affair with his ex-sweetheart. The woman is engaged to another who ends up getting killed by the Indians. This rookie, blaming himself for distracting the slain officer with his overtures to the officer's fiance, volunteers to act as a decoy to lure the renegade Apaches into a trap. It works, but many soldiers die. After the skirmish, the rookie has become a seasoned officer prepared to take his duties seriously. Back at the fort, he bids farewell to the woman as she begins her long journey back east. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Talion is the alternate title for the blood-splattered western An Eye for an Eye. You know that the filmmakers aren't kidding around when, in the very first scene, outlaw Slim Pickens puts a bullet into a squalling baby! Robert Lansing plays Talion, a homesteader who, after his ranch is burned to the ground and his wife and child are murdered, hires bounty hunter Pat Wayne to track down the killers. The men are forced to rely upon each other when Lansing's gun hand is shattered in a shoot out and Wayne is blinded during a confrontation with the outlaws. Lansing and Wayne combine into one single, unstoppable killing machine. Talion was co-scripted by Bing Russell, father of film star Kurt Russell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Susan Clark won an Emmy for her performance as legendary woman athlete Babe Didrickson (1916-1956). The film starts in Port Arthur, Texas, with teenaged Babe depriving herself of a social life in order to excel at track and field. Her well-honed skills and fierce competitive spirit win Babe a slot at the Los Angeles-based 1932 Olympics. Able to excel in practically any sport, Babe becomes a pro golfer, tennis player and billiard champ. In 1940, she meets and marries roughhewn ex-wrestler George Zaharias (played by Alex Karras, Clark's real-life future husband), who becomes her mentor and manager. Despite the anticipated career and personal conflicts, George stays by Babe's side for the next sixteen years, ultimately buoying her spirits during her three-year ordeal with terminal cancer. Babe was adapted by Emmy nominee Joanna Lee from Babe Didrickson Zaharias' autobiography This Life I've Led. Footnote: for a glance at the real Babe Zaharias in action on the golf links, see the Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn vehicle Pat and Mike (52). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Slim Pickens makes his first Baretta guest-star appearance in the role of retired mugger Harry Muzursky. When Harry claims that he has "found God" and renounced his life of crime, detective Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) wants to believe him. But after an unidentified cat burglar seriously injures the wife of his latest victim, hapless Harry finds himself at the top of the Likely Suspect list. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vulgar, crude, and occasionally scandalous in its racial humor, this hilarious bad-taste spoof of Westerns, co-written by Richard Pryor, features Cleavon Little as the first black sheriff of a stunned town scheduled for demolition by an encroaching railroad. Little and co-star Gene Wilder have great chemistry, and the delightful supporting cast includes Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens, and Madeline Kahn as a chanteuse modelled on Marlene Dietrich. As in Young Frankenstein (1974), Silent Movie (1976), and High Anxiety (1977), director/writer Mel Brooks gives a burlesque spin to a classic Hollywood movie genre; in his own manic, Borscht Belt way, Brooks was a central player in revising classic genres in light of Seventies values and attitudes, an effort most often associated with such directors as Robert Altman and Peter Bogdanovich . Some of this film's sequences, notably a gaseous bean dinner around a campfire, have become comedy classics. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Slim Pickens makes his first appearance as the rogueish but lovable mountaineer Jim Leyton. Wounded while busting out of jail, Jim tries to steal Hoss Cartwright's horse for a quick getaway, then passes out from his injuries. When he comes to, Jim tries to beat his murder rap by claiming that Hoss was the guilty party. It may be, however, that neither man is guilty of the crime-but it is up to Hoss to prove it, and to look after the troubelsome Jim, whose has been paroled in Hoss' custody. Bing Russell, who later appeared semiregularly in the role of Deputy Clem, here plays the Sheriff. Written by Arnold Belgard, "Half a Rogue" first aired on January 27, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, 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

Singing cowboy Rex Allen and his faithful horse Koko head the cast in Border Saddlemates. This time, Rex in on the trail of counterfeiters (Republic's favorite villains of the 1951-52 season). Criminal mastermind Steve Baxter (Roy Barcroft) is smuggling fake money across the Mexican border while using a fox farm as a cover. But Rex ends up (here it comes!) out-foxing Baxter in the exciting finale. Virtually the same plotline was used in the concurrently-released Republic oater Wild Horse Ambush, even unto casting Roy Barcroft as the villain (but then, wasn't he always the villain?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this carefree children's adventure, a grandfather and his grandson fulfill the former's life-long dream and embark upon a cross-country ballon flight. Back on the distant ground, the flyers are pursued by the boy's mother, the cops, the Feds, and others. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this holiday western an aging saddletramp discovers the spirit of Christmas when he must spend it with a widow and her family during the great blizzard of 1888. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this Western edited together from episodes of the 1960's TV series "The Legend of Custer," Crazy Horse and Custer must work together to stay alive when they end up trapped in the lands belonging to the Blackfoots, the sworn enemies of the Sioux and all white men. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the concluding episode of Walt Disney's four-part miniseries based on the life of frontiersman Daniel Boone, several members of Boone's wagon train are angered when Daniel (Dewey Martin) orders them to lighten their loads so they can negotiate the mountains and have turned back to North Carolina. Only a tiny band of faithful followers remain with Daniel and his family as they begin the last leg of the arduous journey to Kentucky. Alas, once again the wagoneers are attacked by vengeance-seeking Indian chief Crowfeather (Dean Fredericks), who has a personal score to settle with Daniel. "The Promised Land" originally aired as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide