Ken Pogue Movies
Supporting actor, onscreen from the '70s. ~ All Movie Guide- 2003
Envisioning the death of his prizefighter friend Danny Avila (Greg Serano) during an upcoming heavyweight title bout, Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) goes public with his psychic premonitions. Alas, Johnny's announcement does not cancel the match as he had hoped; instead, the value of the fight has been enhanced as a big-time, pay-per-view attraction, and even the boxing commission has succumbed to the greedy excitement. Desperately, Johnny tries to figure out a way to allow Danny to go through with the fight and survive -- and to do this, he needs the unwitting assistance of Danny's opponent (Jay Winston Kramer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John L. Adams, Nicole deBoer, (more)
The backdrop for this epic Western, which aired in August 2002 on the Hallmark Channel, will be familiar to fans of the genre and students of Western history. The Johnson County War took place in northern Wyoming in April 1892, growing out of the familiar story of big-money ranchers who suspected homesteader neighbors of rustling. Screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana adapted Frederick Manfred's 1957 novel, Riders of Judgment, which used some of the events and people but changed the names, including the county (which becomes Bighorn) and the main town (from Buffalo to Antelope). Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1981) also employed elements of the Johnson County War in its story. Manfred's book and this film center on Cain Hammett (Tom Berenger), a lonesome cowboy who hankers for Rory (Michelle Forbes); she has married his younger brother Dale (Adam Storke) in spite of the fact that she really loves Cain. A third Hammett brother, Harry (Luke Perry), unlike his honest, homesteading siblings, is a rustler who runs afoul of Marshal Hunt Lawton (Burt Reynolds), who is in the employ of wealthy Lord Peter (Christopher Cazenove), an Englishman in cahoots with the owners of big ranches to exterminate all of the homesteaders, guilty or innocent. Cain Hammett's real-life counterpart, Nate Champion, was a prime target of mercenaries hired by the big cattlemen, and the siege of Cain's cabin, which was the opening salvo in the war, provides the film with its climax. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Luke Perry, (more)
- 2000
Ernest Thompson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play and Oscar-winning film On Golden Pond, was both director and co-writer of the cable-TV film Out of Time. The story begins in Oregon in 1980, when Jack Epson -- a young business owner, family man, and dedicated environmentalist -- discovers that he has leukemia. While ruminating over his fate, Jack is beckoned into the forests near his home by what seem to be the ghosts of his ancestors, who lure him into a deep sleep. Jack awakens 20 years later, only to find his home town in the grip of an evil land developer, who is now the husband of Jack's "widow" Annie. With the help of his ten-year-old grandson (who gives the "old man" a crash course in 21st century pop culture), Jack tries to make amends for his lengthy absence, and to set things right in his community. It hardly takes a rocket scientist to recognize Out of Time as an update of Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle; and indeed, Irving is given a posthumous "writing" credit, just in case anyone missed the connection. Co-produced by Tony Danza and starring NYPD Blue's James McDaniel, Out of Time first aired June 18, 2000, on the Showtime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James McDaniel, Mel Harris, (more)
- 1999
Originally titled Milgaard, this made-for-TV drama is a disturbingly accurate account of one of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in Canadian history. In 1969, 17-year-old hippie David Milgaard (Ian Tracey) is arrested on suspicion for the rape and murder on nursing assistant Gail Miller (Ardith Boxall). Anxious for a quick conviction despite a paucity of conclusive evidence, the authorities in Saskatchewan rush David's trial through, and within less than two months of the murder he is sent to prison for life. As David's mother Joyce (Gabrielle Rose]) and a team of dedicated pro bono attorneys battle to clear her son's name, David goes through hell behind bars--for the next twenty-three years. First telecast in Canada in April of 1999 (though banned from viewing in Saskatchewan, where the events took place), Milgaard was retitled Hard Time: The David Milgaard Story for airing in the US via the Lifetime channel. Since that time, a third title has been bestowed on the film at the behest of David's family: Innocent: The David Milgaard Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This was billed as the first dramatic feature to be shot in IMAX 3D. It was first shown at Sony's new IMAX 3D Theater in New York on an eight-story high screen. The story is based on the true-life tale of two French aviators, Jean Mermoz and Antoine de St Exupery, who in 1930 formed the first company to fly mail between South America and France. In those days it was a dangerous journey and the pilots needed a special kind of courage to make the trip. One of their new pilots, Henri Guillaumet flies the dangerous route between Santiago and Buenos Aires. During one trip, he crashes in the Andes during a fearsome storm. Later Exupery flies a rescue plane overhead, but is unable to see Henri, who decides to walk out on his own. Meanwhile, Henri's patient wife Noel and her beloved little dog anxiously hope that he will survive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Assigned to protect a federal witness, Fraser (Paul Gross) learns to his chagrin that the man in question is Gerrard (Ken Pogue), who killed Fraser's father (Gordon Pinsent) back in Canada. With Gerrard at large in Chicago, Fraser is ordered to bring the fugitive back alive at all costs. As Fraser wrestles with his own vengeful impulses, he must also contend with a handful of rogue Federal agents who have no intention of allowing Gerrard to testify in court. First broadcast on Canadian television, this episode made its US debut on December 22, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
Two decades after he abandoned his family and their ranch, a son returns to help out after their livestock begins mysteriously dying. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Ron White, (more)
- 1994
This Canadian made-for-television movie spawned the popular series about a crime-fighting Royal Canadian Mountie. Paul Gross stars as Constable Benton Fraser, an RCMP who sets out to track down his father's killer. His chase takes him all the way to Chicago where he hooks up with Ray Vecchio, (David Marciano) a macho, local Chicago detective. Together they hit the streets as a crime-fighting and justice-seeking duo. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Accompanied by his trusty pet wolf Diefenbaker, RCMP constable Benton Fraser doggedly pursues the murderer of his Mountie father (whose death has been officially deemed an "accident") from the snowy environs of the Yukon to the urban sprawl of Chicago. Once in the Windy City, Fraser meets wisecracking local police detective Ray Vecchio, whose career has likewise been motivated by the death of his father. Forming a tentative friendship, Fraser and Ray become an unofficial team, determined to track down miscreants by combining their separate but equally effective police methods. Along the way, our heroes discover that Fraser's father was killed while investigating a large-scale coverup involving a hydroelectric dam project. This two-hour pilot episode of the weekly seriocomic cop series Due South has since been divided into two hour-long episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
Two women forced to deal with the ugly specter of domestic violence find support in one another in this made-for-television drama. Beth (Donna Mills) has spent years in a violent relationship with her husband Tim (Corbin Bernsen), who batters her on a regular basis. One day, Beth reaches the end of her rope, packing up her children and leaving her husband behind. Tim, however, isn't about to let Beth go, and begins following her every move. In order to put an end to his stalking, Beth enters a shelter for abused women, where she meets Kaye (Robin Givens), a fellow beaten spouse. Beth and Kaye become fast friends, and they decide to find a house together. However, Kaye unfortunately also has a husband who refuses to leave her be, and when her former spouse violently attacks her, it's up to Beth to see that justice is done. Dangerous Intentions was inspired by a true story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Corbin Bernsen, (more)
- 1992
Treatment of a problem only recently addressed, the promotion manager of a sporting equipment firm becomes the victim of sexual harassment. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1992
In this Disney adventure, the third in a series, Chip, the android boy, must save his father from the cruel business magnate who has abducted him. To do so, he reconfigures his father's robotic look-a-like and then prepares to face the spooky Spartacus, his robotic nemesis. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Thicke, Jay Underwood, (more)
- 1991
Michele Lee plays the outwardly cheerful mother of two very different young sons. Rick Schroder, the oldest, is mom's favorite; Corin Nemic, the youngest, is his brother's literal whipping boy. Despite the most damning evidence, Ms. Lee refuses to let herself believe that Schroder is a sadistic psychopath...until it's too late. This tragic state of affairs was, alas, based on fact. The painfully convincing performances of Michele Lee and Rick Schroder effectively lift My Son, Johnny out of the "dysfunctional family of the week" TV movie syndrome. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michele Lee, Corin Nemec, (more)
- 1991
The mother of the title is played by Meredith Baxter. Her daughter (Carrie Hamilton) is raped by an unknown assailant who leaves no tangible clues behind. Obsessed with bringing the rapist out in the open, Ms. Baxter sets herself up as a potential assault victim. Farfetched though it sounds, A Mother's Justice was based on an actual case that occurred in Portland, Oregon. This TV movie had the rotten luck to be scheduled opposite Monday Night Football and a CBS M*A*S*H retrospective when it was first telecast on November 25, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
We wish we had a nickel for every time some producer cleverly titled his film Blind Man's Bluff -- then offered us a sightless hero or heroine. This time around, Robert Urich plays a blind professor, who finds himself the main suspect in a murder case. Investigating on his own, Urich comes to the inescapable conclusion that the killer is his own former girlfriend (Lisa Eilbacher). The suspense slackens only towards the end, when the film seems to be racing uncontrollably to a predictable dénouement. Made for TV, Blind Man's Bluff first aired on the USA cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The Liberators, an ambitious 1987 entry in ABC's Disney Sunday Movie anthology series, was founded on fact. The film begins on a Kentucky plantation in the years before the Civil War. Robert Carradine, nephew of the plantation owner, has grown up with slave Larry B. Scott. Forced by the social structure of the era into a master/slave relationship, Carradine and Scott choose instead to head northward. Befriending a Quaker abolitionist (James Mainprize), the two friends become involved with the Underground Railroad, helping thousands of slaves escape to freedom. A romantic entanglement involving Scott and a lovely slave girl nearly costs the boys their own freedom as The Liberators races towards its climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Loretta Swit stars as a French nun in the made-for-television Miracle at Moreaux. The time is the early 1940s, at the height of the Nazi occupation of France. At the risk of her own life, Loretta shelters three Jewish children in her Catholic schoolroom. Things become even riskier when the three kids request permission to celebrate Hannukah. Miracle at Moreaux debuted December 2, 1985, as part of PBS's Wonderworks series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Suicide Murders was filmed for Canadian television in 1985. Saul Rubinek stars as a klutzy private eye in a small, peaceful village, where clients are virtually nonexistent. When several mysterious suicides occur in the village, Rubinek senses that there's dirty work afoot. He stumbles around town searching for clues, uncovering an intricate murder plot. The Suicide Murders made its below-the-border debut on America's Lifetime Cable Service in 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Produced for the HBO Cable service, Act of Vengeance reenacts the 1969 murder of United Mine Workers leader Jock Yablonski. Yablonski (Charles Bronson) virtually writes his own death warrant when, after a "safe" mine collapses and 80 miners are killed, he rebels against the incumbent UMW boss Tony Boyle (Wilford Brimley) to campaign for presidency of the union. Boyle gets the word out that one less Yablonski in the world would be preferable. Yablonski is depicted as being fully aware of the danger he faces in challenging Boyle--and is supported in his decision by his courageous wife (Ellen Burstyn). Based on the book by Trevor Armbrister, Act of Vengeance premiered on April 20, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
A Canadian-Australian coproducton which originally aired over Australia's 7 Network, the six-hour miniseries Spearfield's Daughter stars Kim Braden as the title character. The daughter of a prominent and powerful Australian politician (Chris Wiggins), Cleo Spearfield (Kim Braden) incurs her father's wrath by becoming a reporter, with the Vietnam war as her "beat." When not dodging bullets and negotiating rice paddies, Cleo is wooed by two attractive gentemen, gonzo American journalist Tom Border (Steve Railsback) and Murdoch-like British publishing mogul Lord Jack Cruze (Christopher Plummer. Adapted by Jon Cleary from his own novel, Spearfield's Daughter was syndicated to the US beginning the week of May 25, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
The Second Amendment of the Constitution forms the basis of this drama that follows the crusade of a lawyer to allow citizens to carry handguns. He launched his fight after his wife and daughter were killed during a robbery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The "magic" in One Magic Christmas is often (and surprisingly) of the "black" variety. Like Jimmy Stewart before her, worn-out wife and mother Mary Steenburgen wishes that she'd never been born. And like Stewart, Steenburgen is visited by a guardian angel, in this case the western-garbed Harry Dean Stanton. Instead of granting Steenburgen's wish, Stanton shows her what life would be like without Christmas--and that vision is as grim as anything you're ever likely to see in any Holiday film. Throughout the horrendous tragedies heaped upon Steenburgen, we are comforted in the knowledge that Stanton is working in concert with Steenburgen's young daughter. Steenburgen learns her lesson of course, but what a ride! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Steenburgen, Gary Basaraba, (more)
- 1985
Adapted from Mary-Lou Weisman's book Intensive Care, this made-for-television movie stars Liza Minnelli (in her first TV appearance) as a woman who must remain strong and contend with her son's muscular dystrophy and all the problems within the family that accompany the illness. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liza Minnelli, Jeffrey DeMunn, (more)
- 1985
In the first of a series of made-for-TV films shot two decades after the original Perry Mason television series ended in 1966, Mason (Raymond Burr), now an Appellate Court Judge, must step down from the bench in order to defend his longtime secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale) against murder charges. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
