Chris Schenkel Movies
In the '70s, Roy Munsen (Woody Harrelson) was a bowling phenomenon. He was none too sharp about picking friends, though, and the champion he had to beat, "Big Ern," takes him under his supposedly friendly wing. Big Ern (Bill Murray) shows him the high-living lifestyle, and induces him to go on the road with him, hustling small-town bowlers. A couple of the men he bilks take exception to the scam, and show their displeasure with Roy by mangling his hand. Twenty years later, Roy (who now has a hook in place of his hand), earns his living as a salesman. On a visit to a bowling alley, he cannot help but notice the incredible talents of an Amish boy, Ishmael (Randy Quaid). Bowling is not part of the Amish lifestyle, but Ishmael occasionally sneaks into the bowling alley and plays a frame or two. Roy takes Ishmael under his wing, and together they begin a quest for bowling success. This comedy is directed by Peter and Robert Farrelly, who also directed Dumb and Dumber. Like those comedies, it contains a lot of gross-out jokes and bathroom humor. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, (more)
It's been said that nothing can bring two men closer together than a dollar placed between them, and a large family finds themselves becoming far closer than they'd like over several million dollars in this satiric comedy. Uncle Joe McTeague (Kirk Douglas) is an elderly man with a multi-million dollar fortune that he made in the scrap metal business and has no immediate heirs. While Joe has no children, he has plenty of relatives, most of whom don't really like him but want to curry his favor in hopes of inheriting his money when he dies (and Uncle Joe is just shrewd enough to know this). However, Uncle Joe has hired a "nurse," Molly Richardson (Olivia D'Abo), who considers modeling bikinis in Joe's Jacuzzi to be therapeutic. The family is afraid that Molly will end up with the lion's share of Joe's money after they've been bending over backwards to earn his approval, so they bring in a ringer. Daniel McTeague (Michael J. Fox) is one of the only members of the family that Uncle Joe actually likes; a professional bowler of no particular skill, Daniel is the son of the family's black sheep, a leftist activist who decided years ago and wanted nothing to do with Uncle Joe. But Joe has a soft spot for Daniel and his imitation of Jimmy Durante, so the family tracks him down and has him come to visit his uncle. The idea is that if Daniel can get on Uncle Joe's good side, he'll be rewarded in his will, and then Daniel will share his fortune with the rest of the family. So Daniel and his wife Robin (Nancy Travis) move to be closer to Uncle Joe, but Daniel soon discovers that he doesn't like his family much more than Uncle Joe does. Greedy also features Phil Hartman, Ed Begley, Jr., Bob Balaban, Jere Burns, and Kirsten Dunst as some of the venal members of the extended McTeague Family; incidentally, the name "McTeague" is a reference to the lead character in Erich von Stroheim's silent epic Greed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Kirk Douglas, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Tim Matheson is Dreamer in this Rocky-like inspirational drama. Instead of boxing, the sport in question is bowling. "Dreamer" is a ten-pin whiz in his small town, but can he make it in the Big Time? In his favor, he has the help of irascible manager Jack Warden and faithful girlfriend Susan Blakeley. As if to boldly underline the resemblances between Dreamer and its cinematic role model, the musical score is by Rocky's Bill Conti. If you like bowling, Dreamer should be right up your...right up your.... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Susan Blakely, (more)
- 1973
This sports drama is based on the true story of professional basketball players Maurice Stokes and Jack Twyman. When Stokes (Bernie Casey), who is black, is rendered comatose and paraplegic by a head injury, his white teammate Twyman (Bo Svenson) exerts himself mightily to raise money for Stokes' physical therapy and medical treatment in the hopes that he will one day walk again. Before the injury, Twyman was just a friendly teammate. Afterwards, he became more or less a member of Stokes' family. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1959
This seventeen-minute documentary does not really have a director, ~per se~. It is a splicing together of the footage from seven different cameras during the first and only three rounds of the historic Ingemar Johansson - Floyd Patterson heavyweight championship fight in 1959. Chris Schenkel narrates but the focus is really on the action itself. The full first two rounds are shown as the boxers jab and parry, with nothing particularly exceptional in view. Then the third round starts and Johansson lets loose with his right hand and mounts an incredibly furious attack on Patterson, knocking him down a total of seven times. As boxing fans know, Johansson won by that last and seventh knock-out. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingemar Johansson
- 1958
The Teleprompter corporation had all the exits covered so far as sports-event marketing was concerned in the late 1950s. Not only did Teleprompter handle the exclusive closed-circuit TV coverage of major prizefights, but the corporation also held exclusive rights for filmed versions of these bouts. The Patterson-Harris Fight is an 18-minute crystallization of the heavyweight championship fight between Floyd Patterson and Roy Harris. Interestingly, the crowd seemed rather blasé as these two pugilistic giants traded blows, requiring commentator Chris Schenkel to work overtime generating audience excitement. The Patterson-Harris Fight was distributed theatrically by United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Snead's career is reviewed and he provides advice for improving your golf game. ~ All Movie Guide
