John Schneider Movies
In order to land the part of Bo Duke in the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, John Schneider adopted a Cracker dialect and shambling good-ole-boy manner, claiming that he hailed from the tiny -- and fictional -- community of Snailville, Georgia. In fact, Schneider was born in Upstate New York, and was raised in Atlanta by his mom. During his teen years, Schneider picked up spending money by working as an entertainer at parties and public events, playing the guitar, telling jokes and performing a magic trick or two. He briefly attended the Georgia School of High Performance, hoping to become a race-car driver. His prowess behind the wheel enabled him to land his Dukes of Hazzard job, which he held down from 1979 to 1985, save for a brief 1982 walkout due to contract dispute. Schneider's Hazzard success allowed him to have both a recording career as a country music artist, and an ongoing presence on the small screen. In addition to numerous made-for-TV movies, he had a recurring role on the popular program Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Schneider gained a whole new legion of fans as the Earth father of Superman when he began playing Jonathan Kent on the teen-oriented superhero series Smallville in 2001. He returned to the big screen with a starring role in 2006's Collier & Co., which he also directed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Wildly popular during its six-season run on CBS, The Dukes of Hazzard focused on the ongoing adventures of Bo Duke (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat), two cousins living in Hazzard County in the Deep South. Jefferson Davis Hogg (Sorrell Booke) is a corrupt local political bigwig who has long had it in for the Duke boys, as well as their moonshine-brewing Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) and their sexy cousin Daisy (Catherine Bach). Roughly once a week, "Boss" Hogg and the corrupt but inept local law enforcement officials under his command, led by Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best) and Deputy Enos Strate (Sonny Shroyer), would made trouble for the Dukes and/or their friends, and Bo and Luke would be forced to take the law into their own hands, usually with their help of their souped-up 1969 Dodge Charger, the General Lee. Country music legend Waylon Jennings sang the show's theme song, as well as serving as narrator. Wopat and Schneider briefly left the series due to a pay dispute in 1982; their characters were written out of the show, and Coy Duke (Byron Cherry) and Vance Duke (Christopher Mayer), two cousins previously never discussed on the show, stepped in to take their place, but Bo and Luke were back by the end of the season in 1983. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Wopat, John Schneider, (more)
- 1979
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 01 to QueueAdd The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 01 to top of Queue
Introduced as a mid-season replacement on CBS' Friday-night schedule, Dukes of Hazzard spends most of its first season establishing, reestablishing, and then re-reestablishing the ongoing battle of wills and wits between Hazzard County hot rodders (and cousins) Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) and Bo Duke (John Schneider) and comically corrupt county commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke), dimwitted Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best), and doltish deputy Enos Strate (Sonny Strait). When not zooming around the countryside in their souped up Dodge Charger, "The General Lee", Luke and Bo can be found in the company of moonshiner Uncle Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle) or their wholesomely sexy cousin, Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach). Although the plotlines of the individual episodes are the least important element of Dukes of Hazzard, it can be noted that the Duke boys' first-season adventures involve the hijacking of slot machines in order to pay the bills at a local orphanage, a desperate flight from angry mobsters in search of a hundred grand in stolen money, an attempt to convert moonshine whiskey into engine fuel, a stopover at the popular and illegal annual Hazzard Obstacle Derby, the theft of the Presidential Limousine from under the noses of the CIA, and a pair of incompetent crooks wearing Laurel & Hardy masks. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1979
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 02 to QueueAdd The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 02 to top of Queue
So popular were the first 13 episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard that CBS ordered a full complement of 24 hour-long installments for the series' second season. Thematically, little changed from season one to season two: Hot-rodding cousins Luke and Bo Duke (Tom Wopat, John Schneider) continue manning the controls of their souped up Dodge Charger, "The General Lee," the better to foil the various crooked schemes of country commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and to keep one step ahead of Hogg's dopey henchmen, Sheriff Roscoe Coltrane (James Best) and Deputy Enos Strate (Sonny Shroyer) -- and on occasion, Coltrane's reserve deputy, Cletus (Rick Hurst). Meanwhile, the Dukes' sexy cousin Daisy (Catherine Bach) and moonshiner Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) continue cheering the boys' exploits from the sidelines, occasionally getting into the thick of things themselves. With so much fast action and rowdy slapstick going on, who needs plotlines? Well, actually, quite a lot happens during Dukes of Hazzard's second year on the air. Highlights include a grudge race between longtime rivals (and former partners-in-crime) Boss Hogg and Uncle Jesse, a con game involving three million dollars in phony gold bars, a misdelivered consignment of stolen TV sets, an encounter with elderly counterfeiter Granny Annie (played by veteran radio actress Lurene Tuttle), a visit from the Dukes' "veddy" British cousin Gaylord (Simon MacCorkindale), a Smokey and the Bandit-like entanglement with a runaway heiress (Suzy Holmes), and a brief and embarrassing period in which Daisy Duke "jumps the fence" and becomes a deputy sheriff. Probably the most famous second- season episode is "Find Loretta Lynn," in which the eponymous country & western singer is kidnapped by a trio of stupid outlaws demanding a ransom of 1136.15 dollars! ~ All Movie Guide
- 1980
Carnival of Thrills is a 2 hour episode of the no-brainer TV series Dukes of Hazzard. Bo Duke (John Schneider) falls for beautiful carnival owner Robin Matson. Upon unraveling himself from her little finger, Bo agrees to perform a death-defying stunt. Matson convinces him to jump his beloved hot rod, the "General Lee", over 32 cars. Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) is determined to stop his brother before he has to scrape him off his windshield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 03 to QueueAdd The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 03 to top of Queue
Season three of Dukes of Hazzard is substantially the same as season two, with cousins Luke and Bo Duke (Tom Wopat, John Schneider) manning their hopped up hot rod "The General Lee" in order to confound and confuse crooked county commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and dumb-bumb sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best), and the boys' sexy cousin Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach) and moonshiner Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) occasionally going along for the ride. The most significant third-season change was the promotion from recurring to regular character of Rick Hurst as Deputy Sheriff Cletus, all the better to fill the gap left when Sonny Shroyer, aka Deputy Enos Strate, left Dukes to star in his own TV series Enos -- the pilot of which found Daisy Duke in the clutches of kidnappers. This season opened with the two-part episode, "Carnival of Thrills," in which the machinations of carnival-owner Diane Benson (Robin Mattson) threatens to drive a wedge between Duke and Bo (the two parts were originally shown as a single "special," but have since been re-divided for syndication purposes). In the course of the next 20 installments, Dukes of Hazzard fans made the acquaintance of two new semi-regular characters: motorcycle-riding postmistress Miz Emma Tizdale (Nedra Voltz), and Chickasaw County Sheriff Edward Thomas "Big Ed" Little (Don Pedro Colley). ~ All Movie Guide
- 1981
Dream House is an opposites-attract TV movie which strives mightily for social relevance. John Schneider plays a Georgia-cracker contractor who journeys to New York for a major building project. Out of love for Manhattanite urban planner Marilu Henner, he scraps his big-bucks assignment. Instead, he endeavors to build a "dream" house in the middle of one of New York City's most rundown ghettos. Dream House coasts merrily along on its star power alone; the storyline is acceptable, but nothing to break a date over. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 04 to QueueAdd The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 04 to top of Queue
The Dukes of Hazzard spends most of its fourth season entertainingly covering ground already traveled during the series' previous three seasons. Cousins Luke and Bo Duke (Tom Wopat, John Schneider) continue burning up the byways of Hazzard County in "The General Lee," their souped-up Dodge Charger; Luke and Bo's attractive cousin Daisy (Catherine Bach) continues to provide eye candy in her form-fitting short shorts--and to pursue her own car-racing career; their Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) persists in returning to the moonshining game, just to keep his hand in; and crooked country commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) never tires of cooking up new get-rich-quick schemes or devising ways to toss the Dukes into the pokey with the aid of non-villainous lawmen Roscoe Coltrane (James Best) and Deputy Cletus (Rick Hurst). Carryovers from season three include a brace of new semi-regulars, postmistress Miz Emma Tisdale (Nedra Voltz) and Chickasaw County Sheriff Little (Don Pedro Colley). Added to the cast lineup during season four are Lila Kent as Laverne and Charlie Dell as Emery Potter. Of the many guest stars appearing in the the 27 Dukes of Hazzard fourth-season episodes, special mention should be made of country & western impresario Mickey Gilley, adroitly cast as "himself" in the episode "The Sound of Music - Hazzard Style." ~ All Movie Guide
- 1982
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 05 to QueueAdd The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 05 to top of Queue
There are many Dukes of Hazzard fans who would just as soon pretend that the series' fifth season never existed. Although perennial co-stars Catherine Bach, Denver Pyle, Sorrell Booke, and James Best are back, and Sonny Shroyer has returned in his familiar role as Deputy Enos Strate (after a brief sabbatical on his own TV series), conspicuous by their absences are leading men Tom Wopat and John Schneider) as hot-rodding cousins Luke and Bo Duke. The two actors had walked off the series over a monetary dispute, obliging the producers to replace them with two more branches from the Duke family tree: cousins Coy Duke (Byron Cherry) and Vance Duke (Christopher Mayer), who according to the scriptwriters had come back to Hazzard country after a six-year absence to help Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle run his farm while Luke and Bo were tooling around the NASCAR circuit. To put it as nicely as possible, diehard Dukes fans did not warm up to Coy and Vance. Fortunately, Tom Wopat and John Schneider patched up their difference with the producers and returned to the series in the middle of season five. The "other" two Dukes hung on until season's end, then disappeared so totally that they might as well have never been born. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1983
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 06 to QueueAdd The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 06 to top of Queue
Season six of Dukes of Hazzard finds hot-rodding cousins Luke and Bo Duke returning to Hazzard County for good and all, cueing the exit of another set of Duke cousins, Coy and Vance. This is because series stars Tom Wopat and John Schneider, who'd ankled the series during season five in the midst of a contract dispute, made their peace with the producers. Thus, it was back to business, with Luke, Bo, their sexy cousin Daisy (Catherine Bach), their farmer-moonshiner Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) and, of course, their souped up Dodge Charger "General Lee," making life miserable for crooked county commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and cloddish sheriff Roscoe Coltrane (James Best). As mentioned, Coy and Vance Duke (played during the previous season by Byron Cherry and Christopher Mayer) had left for parts unknown. Also absent from the sixth season's 22 episodes are Nedra Voltz as postmistress Miz Emma and Rick Hurst as Deputy Cletus. Making up for this gap in more ways than one is actress Peggy Rea in the off-and-on role of Boss Hogg's hefty wife, Lulu. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1983
The year 1983 saw no fewer than two made-for-TV movies bearing the title Happy Endings. The first one premiered March 1, 1983, and starred Dukes of Hazzard's John Schneider. The story concerns a teacher and author named Nick Callohan (Schneider) and would-be singer Lisa Sage (Catherine Hicks), Nick's new neighbor. Both hero and heroine have just emerged from unhappy love affairs. Even though they still pine away for their former amours, Nick and Lisa manage to find romance with each other. The title song, written by Molly-Ann Leiken and William Goldstein, was nominated for an Emmy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Schneider, Catherine Hicks, (more)
- 1983
- PG
The film may be called Eddie Macon's Run, but the title character (John Schneider) takes a back seat during most of the proceedings. Most of the footage is devoted to Eddie's chief nemesis, small-town lawman Marzack (Kirk Douglas). Arrested on a trumped-up charge, Eddie breaks out of prison and takes to the road, with Marzack in hot pursuit. The lion's share of the film is a tire-screeching chase through Mexico. John Goodman makes his film debut in this lively (if pointless) adaptation of James McLendon's novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, John Schneider, (more)
- 1984
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 07 to QueueAdd The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 07 to top of Queue
The seventh and final season of Dukes of Hazzard finds the familiar cast back in harness, with the exception of Don Pedro Colley in the recurring role of Chickasaw County Sheriff Ed Little. Once again, hot-rodding cousins Luke and Bo Duke (Tom Wopat, John Schneider), aided and abetted by sexy cousin Daisy (Catherine Bach) and Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle), spend half their time zooming around in their hopped up vehicle "General Lee," and the other half foiling the crooked machinations of County Commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and the less crooked but no less irksome interferences of Sheriff Coltrane (James Best) and Deputy Enos (Sonny Shroyer). Season Seven begins with a "flashback" episode, in which we learn for the first time how the Dukes came into possession of the General Lee. Subsequent installments feature guest-star turns by singer Waylon Jennings and pro racer Cale Yarborough, not to mention the usual run-ins with crooks, con artists and other assorted nemeses. The series finale, "Opening Night at the Boar's Nest, not only co-stars John Schneider but was also written and directed by him -- a first (and last) for Dukes of Hazzard, though series regulars Denver Pyle, Tom Wopat, Sorrell Booke, and James Best had all previously directed a few episodes here and there. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1984
In this musical venture, Melissa, Ralph and Bert Raccoon combine their efforts, producing six music videos that the kids will love. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1984
Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) produces a document which "proves" that the Duke farm was deeded to his great-grandfather Thaddeus Hogg by Jesse's great-grandfather Jeremiah Duke way back in 1862. Investigating this surprising turn of events, the Dukes refer to a diary left behind by their great-grandma Jenny Duke (Doris Dowling). All this intrigue is merely an excuse to present an extended "Western" flashback spoof, in which the Dukes of Hazzard regulars all show up in cowboy guise as their 19th-century forebears--and run up against the Jesse James gang (somewhat off their own turf) in the bargain! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
When the names of the two leading characters are incorporated in the title of a made-for-TV movie, it's usually a dead giveaway that the film was designed as a series pilot. Gus Brown and Midnight Brewster was no exception to this rule. John Schneider plays Gus Brown, a naïve ex-GI from Oklahoma, while Ron Glass plays Midnight Brewster, another former GI, albeit a slickster from Detroit. The two buddies team up to conquer the world of dog racing, with the dubious assistance of Gus' dimwitted girlfriend Rayline (Teri Copley). This Runyonesque contrivance was produced and written by actor Scoey Mitchell. Gus Brown and Midnight Brewster premiered June 2, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The 147th and final episode of The Dukes of Hazzard focuses on a talent show featuring practically everyone in the cast. The star of the show turns out to be, of all people, amateur magician Roscoe (James Best), who pulls off a trick in which Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) vanishes from sight! What Roscoe doesn't know is that Boss has been kidnapped by a pair of ex-convicts who plan to kill the old reprobate for sending them to the slammer...after collecting a million-dollar ransom, of course. In addition to being the series' last episode, this is the only one directed by Dukes of Hazzard costar John Schneider (Bo Duke). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
In this low-budget but violent action-adventure, the DEA decides to send its top agent undercover as a drug-smuggling flier in South America. The assignment becomes personal after the kingpin behind the drug-ring murders the agent's partner. The agent's own life is jeopardized after he refuses to perform a hit for the drug lord. On video the film is titled Vice Wars. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Schneider, Kathryn Witt, (more)
The outlaws of country music--including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson--team up and head across the Southwestern desert braving Indians, brigands and conflict in this made-for television version of John Ford's classic film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
This awful horror film, the directing debut of actor David Keith, is the second major adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space, first brought to the screen in Daniel Haller's Die, Monster, Die. Wil Wheaton stars as Zack, eternal whipping-boy of a rural farm family headed by his religious fanatic stepfather Nathan (Claude Akins). A large meteor comes zipping through the clouds and crashes in the yard, where local scientist Carl Willis (John Schneider) cracks it open to leak slime into the water supply. Soon, tomatoes are squirting blood, the lettuce oozes pus, apples are full of worms and little Alice (Wheaton's real-life sister Amy) is pecked bloody by crazed chickens. Eventually, the bad water begins affecting other members of the family, until Willis shows up to save the day. Keith's direction is sluggish, the acting is horrid, and even the involvement of associate producer Lucio Fulci couldn't save the wretched effects-work. The cast doesn't even seem to be paying attention most of the time, as in the priceless moment when Zach's mother tells him, "Eat your eggs, Wil." The Curse is an utter abomination which somehow produced three unrelated sequels. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wil Wheaton, Claude Akins, (more)
- 1987
- Add Christmas Comes to Willow Creek to QueueAdd Christmas Comes to Willow Creek to top of Queue
The Duke boys (John Schneider, Tom Wopat) return to play different characters: arguing brothers who are forced to take a shipment of toys to a remote Alaskan town. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Schneider, Tom Wopat, (more)
- 1988
- PG
A sheriff struggles vainly to keep the annual Cannonball Run cross-country race from taking place in this comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Peter Boyle, (more)
- 1988
Outback Bound is a made-for-TV film tailored to the talents of Donna Mills. She plays a pampered Beverly Hills resident whose cash flow bottoms out. Learning that her late father owned an opal mine in Australia, Mills packs what's left of her things and heads for the Outback. The mine is virtually tapped out, but that won't stop our dauntless Mills. Filmed on location in late 1987, Outback Bound made the syndication and cable rounds in the US in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A Vietnam War veteran (John Schneider) renounces the military for a priest's habit, but after his wife and daughter are killed by terrorists in Rome (and the government does nothing), the hero returns to violent means. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Schneider, Ned Beatty, (more)
