Connie Sawyer Movies

Dean Martin plays an easygoing Southern politician, long on charm but short on brains. Susan Hayward, a poor girl with rich ideas, marries Martin and endeavors to engineer him into the governor's chair. Though no saint herself, Hayward is determined to overcome the good-old-boy corruption infesting the state government. She emerges triumphant after a public showdown with crafty politico Wilfred Hyde-White. Based on a novel by Wirt Williams,Ada was produced by the same team that had guided Susan Hayward to an Oscar nomination for I'll Cry Tomorrow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Forced into retirement, disgruntled truck driver Harold K. "Smitty" Smith (Arthur O'Connell) decides to get even with his employers. Assisted by two old friends, Smitty hijacks one of the company's trucks. It was supposed to have been a harmless gesture, but things become dangerous for Smitty when it turns out that the stolen vehicle contains a $500,000 shipment of furs--making him not only a fugitive from the FBI but also from some nasty professional thieves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two tourists, portrayed by the comic duo Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, are talked into working for the good guys to keep art thieves from stealing the Venus di Milo at the London World Fair. Minor entry in the comic spy category. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

No relation to the 1977 Barbra Streisand vehicle of the same name, the independent 1966 film For Pete's Sake top-bills none other than evangelist Billy Graham. This well-intentioned effort concerns a gas-station attendant (Robert Sampson), his wife (Pippa Scott) and son (Johnny Jensen). Barely eking out a living, the attendant must endure harassment from a local motorcycle gang. After attending a Billy Graham revival meeting, the attendant and his family decide to apply their new found religiosity in dealing with the nasty cyclists. A remarkably stellar cast -- including Sam Groom, Al Freeman Jr. and Terri Garr -- do their best to lend credibility to this farfetched fable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This week, Jethro has decided to become a professional crystal-ball gazer. His new vocation spells trouble for Granny, who becomes convinced that she has psychic powers. Proof her clairvoyance is delivered when several of her wildest prognostications come true. Connie Sawyer guest stars as Elverna (but not Elverna Bradshaw, Granny's longtime hillbilly rival). "The Crystal Gazers" originally aired on March 20, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Phyllis Thaxter guest-stars as widowed newspaper publisher Ruth Manning, yet another old friend of Ben Cartwright. Ben comes to Ruth's assistance when her newspaper is targeted for extinction by ruthless town boss Judge Seth Tabor (Simon Oakland). Featured in the cast are William Jordan as Leek, Hamilton Camp as Dobbs, Philip Kennealy as Sheriff Knox, Ken Mayer as North, Connie Sawyer as Mrs. Lewis, James Jeter as Cotton, Arthur Peterson as Dr. Adams, and Ed McCready as Purdy. Written by John Hawkins and Frank Chase, "The Clarion" first aired on February 9, 1969. ~ 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

Five Desperate Women debuted as an ABC Movie of the Week on September 28, 1971. Anjanette Comer, Joan Hackett, Denise Nicholas and Stefanie Powers are four of five graduates of an exclusive girl's college, meeting together for a reunion on a remote island. The fifth girl (whose name we'll withhold for suspense purposes) is the one that's murdered first. It appears that an unknown assailant plans to pick off the girls one by one. The survivors must figure out who's doing them in and why before fade-out time. Aaron Spelling was the producer of this middling clichefest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Andy Griffith plays a philandering apartment house manager who picks up a pretty young girl (Suzanne Hildur) in a bar. He takes her home, whereupon the girl's male cronies show up armed with guns. Griffith and his wife Ida Lupino are held hostage by the crooks, led by Michael Brandon, who plan to use the apartment as headquarters while they pull off a big robbery. Griffith and Lupino pull off the daunting task of conveying emotion while spending half the film bound and gagged. Director Paul Wendkos stages the action essentially from the victim's point of view; we see only what they see, and are kept guessing as to the full details of the crime and the ultimate fate of the hostages. Based on a novel by Fielden Farrington, Strangers in 7A was first telecast as an ABC Movie of the Week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of a two-part story, the Evanses' 18th birthday party for son J.J. (Jimmie Walker) is ruined when the teenager is arrested on suspicion of holding up a liquor store. The case won't come up in court for nearly two weeks, and the family hasn't the money to post bail. As the Evans brood toys with the odious idea of borrowing the cash from a loan shark, J.J. is faced with the startling realization that, despite the fact that he has been falsely accused, he will always have a police record. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A kidnapping has occurred, and the ruthless abductor has posted a ransom. Among the kidnaper's demands is that detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden) deliver the ransom himself. Stone agrees to this condition, even though he suspects that he is walking into a murder trap. Future Hardy Boys regular Parker Stevenson and reliable character actors Dabney Coleman and Eugene Roche are the principal players in this episode, which was originally networkcast in a 55-minute timeslot to accommodate a brief political message (1976 was an election year, of course!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Larry Gelbart from the novel by Avery Corman, the film stars John Denver as Jerry Landers, the assistant manager of a grocery store who is chosen by God (George Burns) to spread the Word to the rest of the world. Not surprisingly, Jerry is soon labelled a basket case: even his loving wife Bobbie (Teri Garr) doubts her husband's sanity. But there's enough evidence on Jerry's side for a panel of prominent clerics to demand that the hapless fellow prove in court that he's the agent of God. Donald Pleasence was supposed to have an extended supporting role in the film, but the first cut ran too long, and Pleasence's dialogue was eliminated -- but not Pleasence himself, who retains his prominent billing and is seen doing precisely nothing in several scenes. Netting $30 million on its first run, Oh God was followed by two lesser sequels, both featuring Burns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide