Renn Reynolds Movies
A pair of lawyers must balance their professional principles (such as they are) against family loyalties in this courtroom drama. Jedediah Ward (Gene Hackman) is a leftist lawyer who has based his career on helping people avoid being taken for a ride by the rich and powerful; he's pursued principle at the expense of profit, though he has a bad habit of not following up on his clients after their cases are settled. Jed's daughter, Maggie (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), has had a bad relationship with her father ever since she discovered that he was cheating on her mother, and while she also has made a career in law, she has taken a very different professional route by working for a high-powered corporate law firm and has adopted a conservative political agenda. Jed is hired to help field a lawsuit against a major auto manufacturer whose station wagons have a dangerous propensity to explode on impact, but while his research indicates he has an all but airtight case against them, the case becomes more complicated for him when he discovers that Maggie is representing the firm he's suing. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, (more)
- 1973
Filmed in Spain, this TV movie stars Stuart Whitman as a painter who drops out of sight for seven years. Upon resurfacing, he discovers that his name has been affixed to high-priced forgeries. What's more, a crooked art dealer is capitalizing on Whitman's supposed death. While mulling through all these plot developments, Whitman falls in love with Brigitte Fossey, whose previous lover is the duplicitous dealer who is benefitting from reports of the artist's demise. Originally titled A Spanish Portrait, this film was shot in 1970, then lay unseen on the shelf for nearly three years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stuart Whitman, Bernard Lee, (more)
A typical gangland killing has an unusual outcome when the victim's son comes looking for justice in this violent blaxploitation action drama. Slaughter (Jim Brown) is a former Green Beret who is a decorated war hero, but while he's devoted his life to fighting for right, his father followed another path as a gangster. However, while Slaughter's dad was a career criminal, his mother played no part in his actions, and when they're both killed in a car explosion, Slaughter is determined to get revenge. Slaughter is convinced a rival crime boss ordered the bombing, and plans a daring raid where he kills the suspect. Slaughter is captured by police, and angry detective A.W. Price (Cameron Mitchell) tells Slaughter he had the right idea but the wrong man. Slaughter is persuaded to team up with undercover detectives Harry (Don Gordon) and Kim (Marlene Clark) as they travel to Puerto Rico in hopes of infiltrating the operations of hot-headed mobster Hoffo (Rip Torn). The cops have learned that Hoffo and his cronies are computerizing their operations and they're looking for hard evidence, but Slaughter is more interested in taking down Hoffo, and he'll do whatever it takes. The rivalry between Slaughter and Hoffo becomes all the more bitter when Slaughter becomes involved with Ann (Stella Stevens), the gangster's beautiful girlfriend. Featuring a dynamic theme song by Billy Preston, Slaughter was a major box-office hit in 1972 and one of the most popular films of Jim Brown's screen career; it spawned a sequel, Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, which appeared in 1973. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1972
- NR
In the hands of writer and director Ralph Bakshi, a popular underground comics character was the inspiration for the first X-rated animated feature in Hollywood history, over the strenuous objections of its creator, cartoonist Robert Crumb. Fritz is a feline college student of New York City in the '60s, using hippie buzzwords and fashion to score easy sex and drugs. After smoking some strong marijuana in Harlem, Fritz hallucinates and ignites a shooting incident with the police, resulting in the death of his friend Duke. Fritz flees across country in a Volkswagen Bug with a girlfriend and encounters a heroin addict biker rabbit and bomb-making terrorist radicals, obvious references to the Hell's Angels and the Black Panthers, respectively. A trippy journey through its anti-establishment times, Fritz the Cat (1972) was viewed as a must-see novelty, a radical departure from the juvenile, saccharine type of animation with which America was familiar. Nevertheless, the film was opposed by Crumb, who felt that his work had been bastardized. The film was followed by a sequel, The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Skip Hinnant, Rosetta Le Noire, (more)
The target audience for this supernatural thriller is never quite clear: the film's poster attempts a psychedelic look, as the ad copy touts "the black mass...the spells...the incantations...the curses...the ceremonial sex," and other ad copy says "He curses the Establishment." In the film, Andrew Prine plays a Los Angeles sewer-dwelling warlock who discovers that his magical talents are more powerful than he had imagined, leading him to power among a group of cult followers. The role of the Satanic cult leader is played by Ultra Violet, a celebrity in artist Andy Warhol's community. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andrew Prine, George Paulsin, (more)
- 1969
- R
When Angel (William Smith) writes a story about the Devil's Advocates motorcycle gang, his luck changes. The good news is he sells the story to a magazine for $10,000. The bad news is he is a wanted man, now hunted by the biker gang. Angel and his girlfriend head for the northern California hills where ex-biker Dan Felton (Dan Kemp) gives the two a job on his ranch. When Dan's daughter Meg (Margaret Markov) unknowingly tells the bikers where the two are hiding, she is gang raped. Angel and his girlfriend try to stay one step ahead of the gang who would like nothing more than to send them to their great reward in this cycle drama. The title track is sung by Tammy Wynette and why not? ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Smith, Valerie Starrett, (more)
Two young men pretend to be gay when they are asked to pay a visit to the local draft board. Danny (Kevin Coughlin) and his pal Elliot (Larry Casey) camp it up in front of Army recruiter Dixon (Jack Starrett). When the two return to their apartment to celebrate with their girlfriends, they are shadowed by the suspicious officer. Danny and Elliot move into an apartment complex that caters to homosexuals. Comedy ensues when the two must pretend to be gay and confusion reigns among family and friends. The two end up losing their girlfriends but have a secret admirer in the macho military man this ribald comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Coughlin, Brooke Bundy, (more)
- 1968
Jennie (Susan Strasberg) travels to San Francisco to locate her hippie brother Steve (Bruce Dern). She meets Stoney (Jack Nicholson) in a coffeehouse and he helps her look for Steve, who Stoney has seen in his various attempts to start a rock & roll band. Stoney and his pals transform the square girl into a swinging hippie chick, complete with a mod miniskirt. Along with their buddy Dave (Dean Stockwell), they search for Steve amidst the psychedelic splendor of the Haight-Ashbury hippie haunts. Dave is killed by a car when he wanders around in an STP-induced stupor. LSD, marijuana, and the good and the bad sides of hippie life are illustrated with non-judgmental accuracy. The soundtrack of the movie is a musical gem, complete with the international smash "Incense and Peppermints" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock. (The group reached the top of the charts with the song in October 1967.) Also on hand are the Seeds, although they don't get to perform their best-known song, "Pushin' to Hard." (Seeds lead singer Sky Saxon would gain as much notoriety as an acid casualty as he would from his musical ability.) Also adding music are the Storybook and Cryque Boenzee. The latter group contained Rusty Young and George Grantham, who would join with former Buffalo Springfield members Richie Furay and Jim Messina from the legendary, long-lived country-rock band Poco. This time-capsulized gem was produced by Dick Clark, the world's oldest teenager. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Susan Strasberg, Dean Stockwell, (more)
- 1968
Three friends from a small North Carolina town face bleak economic futures in the years following World War II. Johnny (Robert Walker) takes to running moonshine after his discharge from military service. He tries to think of a way for a better life for wife Carol (Diane Varsi) and their young son. Johnny and Carol hook up with Roger (Dick Clark), an ex-army demolitions expert. They plan to blow up the safe of a bootlegger, steal $200,000 and head off for a new life in sunny California. Their plans are thwarted when Roger uses too many explosives and the noise draws the attention of a Federal agent. Johnny kills the agent in this backwoods crime drama. Merle Haggard has a bit part and sings a few songs with the help of his band The Strangers. Clark was the producer who, with Michael Fisher, is responsible for the story. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Walker, Jr., Diane Varsi, (more)
- 1968
This violent motorcycle gang drama finds the outlaws riding onto an Indian reservation to take over. A rival gang has other ideas. There are few likeable characters in this feature, the possible exception being Johnnie (Robert Walker), and he is a convicted thief. Rock-guitar legend Duane Eddy plays off the seven, while Penny Marshall makes an early big screen appearance. Marshall would gain fame for her television work in the 1970s, and by the 1990s she would become one of Hollywoods leading directors. The Savage Seven is a modern-day cowboys and Indians tale, only instead of horses, the outlaws ride motorcycles. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Walker, Jr., Larry Bishop, (more)
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