Ken Renard Movies

Four years after her bout of demonic possession, Regan MacNeil seems at peace as she enjoys a privileged but lonely adolescence. Her actress mother, absent on-location, leaves her in the care of her childhood nanny, Sharon, who feels inextricably bound to her young charge despite the terror she endured during the girl's possession. Regan attends frequent counseling sessions with Dr. Gene Tuskin, an unorthodox psychologist who believes Regan remembers more of her ordeal than she admits. Meanwhile, Father Lamont, a protégé of the priest who died exorcising Regan, is called to investigate the death of his mentor. The Church is divided over the teachings of Father Merrin and wants to gather documentation of his views about demonic existence. Father Lamont himself is conflicted -- haunted by images of a possessed woman he could not save. As he and Dr. Tuskin become convinced that the demon still exhibits a hold on Regan, the priest sojourns to Africa in search of Kokuma, who as a boy was possessed by the same demon and exorcised by Father Merrin. Learning the true name and ancient origins of his supernatural foe, Lamont returns to America to stage a climactic battle for Regan's soul. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

This adventure chronicles two boys' search for a treasure buried somewhere in the Florida Keys during the mid 1800s. The children are assisted by three adults, who each have the their own agendas for finding the cache. The hunters are followed by a greedy gang of villains. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It goes without saying that the 1973 TV-movie version of Double Indemnity doesn't come within shouting distance of the classic 1944 theatrical-movie version. Still, the basic story is a solid one, and the actors are eager to please. Richard Crenna plays the old Fred MacMurray role of Walter Neff, the slightly larcenous insurance salesman inveigled into an elaborate murder/fraud scheme by sexy Phyllis Dietrichson (Samantha Eggar, replacing the 1944 version's Barbara Stanwyck). The scheme almost goes off without a hitch, but Walter's boss Barton Keyes (Lee J. Cobb; originally Edward G. Robinson) has this "stinking" hunch-and besides, you can't trust Phyllis as far as you can throw her. Originally telecast October 13, 1973, Double Indemnity is based on the Raymond Chandler-Billy Wilder script for the 1944 film, which in turn was adapted from James M. Cain's Three of a Kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert DoQui guest-stars as African liberation leader John Darcy, code name Kitara. The IMF must rescue Darcy from the clutches of white supremacist ruler Colonel Alex Kohler (Lawrence Kohler)--and also smash the Colonel's brutally rigid segregationist policies. To accomplish this, the agents utilize a pill that will intensify Kohler's neurotic paranoia. First networcast on February 20, 1971, "Kitara" was written by Mann Rubin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In fine Hollywood tradition, John Wayne had to play a "one-eyed fat man" before the Motion Picture Academy considered him worthy of an Oscar. In True Grit, Wayne plays grumpy, pot-bellied U.S. marshal "Rooster" Cogburn, hired by 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) to find Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), who killed her father. The headstrong Mattie could have had her pick of lawmen, but selects the aging Cogburn because she believes he has "true grit" (she talks this way all through the picture, so be prepared). Also heading into Indian territory in search of Chaney is Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), who wants to collect the reward placed on the fugitive's head for his earlier crimes. Complicating matters are Chaney's scurrilous cronies Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall), Quincy (Jeremy Slate), and Moon (Dennis Hopper), who have no qualms about killing a troublesome teenaged girl like Mattie. While the plot of True Grit, adapted (and streamlined) by Marguerite Roberts from the novel by Charles Portis, maintains audience interest throughout, the glue that truly holds this Western together is John Wayne, delivering one of his finest performances (though some believe he was better in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon). Wayne's casual charisma is infinitely more effective than the mannered method acting of Kim Darby and the floundering non-acting of poor Glen Campbell. And who could not love the climatic face-off between Duvall and company and John Wayne, whose "Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!" is not only a classic bit of dialogue, but the apotheosis of the Wayne mystique. In 1975, Wayne repeated his True Grit characterization opposite Katharine Hepburn in Rooster Cogburn, but the film failed to match its predecessor and the overall effect was blunted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two escaped killers, Carter (John Saxon) and Bains (Don Stroud), burst into Ironside's office apartment, holding the Chief (Raymond Burr) and his policewoman assistant Eve (Barbara Anderson). The captives' only hope for survival rests with Ironside, who agrees to help the desperate fugitives formulate a foolproof escape plan. This nailbiting episode takes place entirely within the walls of Ironside's police-building headquarters (hence its title). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

All hell breaks loose in a Texas town when an escaped convict heads home in Arthur Penn's Southern gothic melodrama. Appointed by local kingpin Val Rogers (E. G. Marshall), benevolent Sheriff Calder (Marlon Brando) manages to keep the peace in Tarl, but the situation starts to fester one Saturday when news filters in that wild child Bubber Reeves (Robert Redford) has jumped prison. Bubber's impending arrival arouses hostility among Tarl's citizens, such as Edwin Stewart (Robert Duvall), who believes that Bubber will come after him to settle an old score, and Damon Puller (Richard Bradford), who, between grope sessions with Edwin's wife Emily (Janice Rule), uses Bubber as an excuse to terrorize black residents. As the atmosphere heats up, Calder wants to keep Bubber alive, and he convinces Bubber's wife Anna (Jane Fonda) and her lover, Val's son Jake (James Fox), to find Bubber and coax him into surrender. Val's fear that Bubber will kill his son, however, sparks a long confrontation that leaves rational law and order pummeled into the ground by the town's ignorant cruelty. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

This landmark Bonanza episode stars William Marshall (long before his tenure as "Blacula" and as "The King of Cartoons" on Pee-wee's Playhouse) in the role of celebrated black opera singer Thomas Bowers. Returning from a triumphant tour of Italy, Bowers encounters the rawest, most vicious forms of bigotry and prejudice when he arrives in Virginia City. Worse still, Bowers faces arrest as an escaped slave. The Cartwrights come to Bowers' aid. Others in the cast include Ena Hartman as Caroline, Kelly Thordsen as Sam, Jason Wingreen as Luke and Alice Frost as Mrs. Gable. This episode caused a stir in some areas due to its sensitive subject matter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not long after divorcing his wife Valerie (Julie Adams), Roy Comstock (John Conte) apparently commits suicide. In truth, both the divorce and the phony suicide are part of an elaborate scheme to swindle Comstock's partner Peter Brent (Carleton Carpenter). When Comstock turns up dead for real, it is Brent who is charged with murder--whereupon Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) sets about to untangle the web of deceit that has already enmeshed this sordid affair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Humphrey's novel Home From the Hill is compressed into 150 minutes for this MGM all-starrer. Robert Mitchum plays Capt. Wade Hunnicutt, a Texas millionaire, married to Hannah (Eleanor Parker). The Hunnicutts have two children of approximately the same age: Wade's biological son, Theron (George Hamilton in one of his earliest film roles), and his illegitimate son, Rafe (George Peppard). As the story opens, Wade conducts an extramarital affair; meanwhile, Theron (George Hamilton), disturbed by his parents' dysfunctional relationship, is not anxious to marry his true love, Libby Halstead (Luana Patten). The vicious cycle threatens to continue when Libby gives birth to Theron's out-of-wedlock son, but it is Rafe who turns Libby into an "honest woman" by acting as father to the child. Vincente Minnelli directs his material operatically, which is as it should be given the larger-than-life character and emotional entanglements he has to deal with. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The literalism of writer-director Richard Brooks serves him well in this meticulously faithful adaptation of the Robert Ruark novel Something of Value. Filmed on location in Africa, this is the story of the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, as seen through the eyes of a handful of protagonists. Virtually alone in a sea of racist British colonialism, gentleman farmer Peter McKenzie (Rock Hudson) strives to understand the demands of freedom and equality made by Kenya's black population in particular and his childhood friend Kimani (Sidney Poitier) in particular. Ultimately, however, McKenzie and Kimani find themselves on opposite sides of the fence when the latter aligns himself with the Mau Mau. Without advocating the terrorism of this controversial movement, the screenplay is careful to deal the ongoing iniquities and frustrations that forced men like Kimani to take arms against their white brethren. There were a few theatres in the American south who, feeling that the racial tensions inherent in Something of Value hit too close to home, refused to book this fascinating, thought-provoking, often startlingly brutal film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide