Larry Bishop
Veteran AIP genre star Larry Bishop (son of famed Rat Packer Joey Bishop) directs and stars in this gritty revenge tale concerning a biker gang that rallies to avenge the violent murder of a fellow gang member. An homage to such classic biker films as Chrome and Hot Leather and Angel Unchained, Hell Ride was conceived when director Bishop was invited to Quentin Tarantino's home to view a print of The Savage Seven. Upon realizing that there hadn't been a true biker film in years, the pair quickly contacted Bob Weinstein and conspired to produce a lean and mean two-wheeled revenge flick that would more than make up for lost time. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Bishop, Michael Madsen, (more)
Quentin Tarantino's sprawling homage to action films of both the East and the West reaches its conclusion in this continuation of 2003's ultra-violent Kill Bill Vol. 1. Having dispatched several of her arch-enemies in the first film, The Bride (Uma Thurman) continues in Kill Bill Vol. 2 on her deadly pursuit of her former partners in the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, who, in a furious assault, attempted to murder her and her unborn child on her wedding day. As The Bride faces off against allies-turned-nemeses Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), she flashes back to the day of her deadly wedding, and we learn of how she was recruited to join the DiVAS, her training under unforgiving martial arts master Pai Mei (Liu Chia-hui), and her relationship with Squad leader Bill (David Carradine), which changed from love to violent hatred. Originally planned as a single film, Kill Bill grew into an epic-scale two-part project totaling more than four hours in length; as with the first film, Kill Bill Vol. 2 includes appearances by genre-film icons Sonny Chiba, Michael Parks, Larry Bishop, and Sid Haig; Wu-Tang Clan producer and turntablist RZA and filmmaker and composer Robert Rodriguez both contributed to the musical score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uma Thurman, David Carradine, (more)
A group of mobsters fight for control in this satirical comedy-drama. Vic (Richard Dreyfuss) is a not-especially-stable crime boss who -- following a spell in a mental hospital after being diagnosed with schizophrenia -- is sent home and is ready to resume his place as supreme leader of the mob. Mickey Holliday (Jeff Goldblum), Vic's enforcer and right hand man, is trying to get everything squared away for Vic's return, which may complicate his personal life, since he's been having an affair with Vic's girlfriend Grace (Diane Lane), as well as her sister Rita (Ellen Barkin). While Vic has been away, a number of other gangsters have been squabbling over who will take control of his territories, including Jake Parker (Kyle MacLachlan), Jules Flamingo (Gregory Hines), and Jacky Johnson (Burt Reynolds). However, it's the seriously eccentric Ben London (Gabriel Byrne) who turns out to be Mickey's and Vic's most potent rival as the various gangsters shoot it out over who gets what piece of the pie. Inspired in part by the "Rat Pack" crime flicks of the 1960s -- such as Ocean's Eleven and Robin and the Seven Hoods -- Mad Dog Time (also released under the title Trigger Happy) was written and directed by former actor Larry Bishop, son of Rat Packer Joey Bishop, who pops up in a small role. Larry's co-star from Wild in the Streets, Christopher Jones, appears in a supporting role as a gunman; it was his first film appearance since Ryan's Daughter in 1970. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Barkin, Gabriel Byrne, (more)
- 1996
- R
In this Quentin Tarantino-style blood-drenched pseudo-film noir, Denis Leary plays a hood named Johnny who, after getting out of prison, dedicates himself to exacting revenge on mobsters who brutally injured his father. Ned Lynch (Larry Bishop, who wrote the screenplay) attacked Johnny's father, causing him to become permanently brain-dead. Johnny travels in a limousine and targets those who he believes may be responsible in a series of killings that take place on Father's Day. His main target is Frank (Joe Mantegna), but he is not certain that Frank is responsible for what happened to his father. Johnny, who has taught himself psychology in prison, takes Frank to a sex therapist, Dr. Diane Leah (Annabella Sciorra), as part of his cat-and-mouse game, in hopes of eventually learning the identity of his father's attacker. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denis Leary, Joe Mantegna, (more)
Although penned by the same screenwriter, David S. Ward, this sequel to The Sting (1973) is tarnished by comparisons to its predecessor. Jackie Gleason fills the shoes of Paul Newman as Harry Gondorff and Mac Davis slips into the Robert Redford role of Johnny Hooker, two con men pals whose latest "sting" involves Hooker pretending to be a down on his luck boxer. Their goal is the fixing of a prizefight, which will rook a tacky nightclub owner (Karl Malden) out of a fortune while simultaneously getting revenge on their old nemesis, Doyle Lonnegan (Oliver Reed). On their side is Veronica (Teri Garr), a seasoned scam artist, but what Gondorff and Hooker don't know is that Lonnegan is manipulating events behind the scenes. Director Jeremy Paul Kagan followed up this terribly unfunny and inferior sequel with the much better received The Journey of Natty Gann (1985), while Ward became a director of such comedies as Major League (1989) and King Ralph (1991). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Gleason, Mac Davis, (more)
- 1982
- R
Director/animator Ralph Bakshi turns his attention to 1950s Brooklyn in Hey Good Lookin', which looks at greasers hanging out (and making out) on street corners, hot girls, and gang rumbles, all set in a decaying urban landscape. The main action concerns Vinnie (voice of Richard Romanus), the leader of an Italian gang called The Stompers, who values, in equal measure, the perfection of his hairstyle and scoring with girls. His bosom buddy, Crazy (David Proval), more than lives up to his moniker, and his impulsiveness leads to many conflicts, including fights with other gangs -- a real problem because Vinnie is nowhere near as tough as he pretends to be. Things become even more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Rozzie (Tina Bowman), whose father keeps her on a pretty short leash. Things come to a head in a deadly shoot-out, which may have serious consequences for the three main characters. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Romanus, David Proval, (more)
- 1980
Condominium is a two-part, four-hour TV adaptation of the novel by John D. McDonald. The setting is a hastily constructed Florida high-rise, assembled at the least possible cost by its greedy owners. An oncoming hurricane threatens to topple the structure and its residents into the ocean. Various degrees of greed, lust, terror and concern are displayed by stars Steve Forrest, Dan Haggerty, Ralph Bellamy, Barbara Eden, Stuart Whitman, Jack Jones and Pamela Hensley. Produced for the syndicated "Operation Prime Time" series, Condominium was first made available to local stations on November 20, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Brian Foster (Wesley Eure) is a young inventor who creates a mechanical dog as part of a home protection system. When he falls out of favor with his boss Ralph Norton (Conrad Bain), the boss' pretty daughter Casey (Valerie Bertinelli) uses her pull to save the company and Brian's job. Mr. Gibbs (Jim Backus) is the rival company president who covets the mechanical mutt. He sends double agent Ken Sharp (Larry Bishop) to do his bidding, and Ken in turn hires a pair of bumbling crooks (Red Buttons), (Chuck McCann) to steal the dog. The real star of this family-oriented comedy is the mechanical dog Chomps. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Eure, Valerie Bertinelli, (more)
- 1979
Crooked car dealer Ace Parker (Jerry Rushinng) offers to sell the Duke boys a battered car with a really good engine (designed by "R. Petty"!) for a measly 200 bucks. All that Luke (Tom Wopat) and Bo (John Schneider) have to do in exchange is repossess a fancy Rolls Royce on behalf of Boss Hogg's wife Lulu (Peggy Rea, in her first series appearance). Trouble is, the Rolls is currently in the possession of a particulary nasty gang of counterfeiters! Ben Jones (Cooter Davenport) becomes a full fledged series regular in this episodes, which features in the guest-star roster Dukes of Hazzard's executive producer Rod Amateau, real-life former moonshiner Jerry Rushing, and onetime NFL defensive end Claude Humphrey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Hoping to enliven her moribund social life, Laverne goes out on a date with a tough guy named Jake (Larry Bishop), who as the leader of the Purple Fiends motorcycle gang enjoys a "dangerous" reputation. Unfortunately, Jake lives up to that reputation by staging a robbery in the middle of the date. Will Laverne be able to escape, or is she doomed to a bleak future as Jake's "old lady"? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- PG
Richard Dreyfuss plays Moses Wine, an ex-Sixties radical who pays the bills as a private eye. Wine is hired to stem a smear campaign against a popular political candidate. Gradually the plot thickens into a murder case, involving a hippie leader whose values, like Wine's, have been severely compromised over the years - and who plans to blow up a major LA freeway as a protest. Susan Anspach provides a great deal of dramatic (and sexual) tension as Wine's boss. Among the minor players are future stars Mandy Patinkin and F. Murray Abraham. The Big Fix was adapted by Roger L. Simon from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Anspach, (more)
- 1976
- PG
A con-man/preacher fools a bunch of naive folks. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- PG
Shanks is not so much a movie as an hallucinatory experience. World-renowned mime Marcel Marceau plays a dual role as a mute puppeteer and an eccentric inventor. The inventor dies, passing along his secrets for reviving corpses to the puppeteer. With the help of an enigmatic little girl, Marceau activates several dead bodies and goes on a robbery spree. Costarring with Marceau are fellow mime artists Tsilla Chelton and Phillipe Clay. Shanks had cult potential, but was released with a surprisingly lackluster ad campaign--all the more surprising in that the film was directed by that master huckster William Castle (whose last film this was). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Richard Michaels, who directed over 30 made-for-TV movies as well as episodes of The Brady Bunch and Love, American Style, gives an overly small-screen feel to this self-described "high-flying comedy caper" which remains hopelessly earthbound. Biker-movie refugees Adam Roarke and Larry Bishop (Joey's son) star as -- not surprisingly -- a pair of actors sick of making biker movies and yearning to add some excitement to their lives. Stealing some motorcycles, they hit the road in character (stopping along the way to attend a screening of The Savage Seven, in which both actors actually appeared) for a series of uninteresting adventures. They get in fights, are ridiculed by real bikers, and eventually masquerade as policemen to smuggle marijuana over the Mexican border. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- PG
This film is notable for singer Marvin Gaye's debut acting performance. In Chrome and Hot Leather, Green Beret sergeant Mitch's (Tony Young) girlfriend has been mortally injured, and just before her death divulges that a motorcycle gang called "The Devils" were responsible. Mitch and his sergeant buddies (including Marvin Gaye as Jim) take military leave and prepare themselves to track down the evildoers by adopting, as best as they can, the appearance of a motorcycle gang: bikes, clothes and all. This results in some humorous moments. They use their army skills in the quest for justice, and The Devils come in for some serious trouble. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Angel (Don Stroud) is the biker who joins a commune of hippies near a small town out West. When the town rednecks attack them in a dune buggy convoy, Angel calls up some of his bad biker buddies to exact revenge. Tremaine (Luke Askew) is the commune leader targeted extermination by the looney locals. Tyne Daly plays a hippie chick and Aldo Ray is the lazy local sheriff who refuses to calm things down in this cycle drama. Music provided by Randy Sparks and Jim Helms. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Stroud, Luke Askew, (more)
- 1969
- R
Faulkner (Christopher George) is an ATF agent who shut down the moonshine operation of Burl (Ralph Meeker) in his Southern state hideaway. Along with agent Martin (Ron Rifkin), the duo uses eight escaped prisoners for the job, promising their freedom should the mission succeed. Fabian stars as one of the more unlikely criminals and Leslie Parrish drips with sweet Southern charm as a honeysuckle rose in this routine adventure film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher George, Fabian, (more)
- 1969
Jeannie (Barbara Eden) gets into a legal jam when she tries to charge items at stores where she has no credit. Husband Tony (Larry Hagman) demands that Jeannie immediately go on a strict budget--an order that results in near-disaster when Tony brings visiting Russian cosmonaut Gregorian (Noam Pitlik) home to dinner. And this being a late-1960s sitcom, it is perhaps inevitable that a bunch of hippies are also worked into the story! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Walker, Jr., Larry Bishop, (more)
- 1968
A rock star decides he'd rather rule the free world than just sell records in this ambitious fusion of political satire and teen exploitation. Teenage rebel Max Flatow (Christopher Jones) has grown tired of life in suburbia with his domineering mother (Shelley Winters) and weak-willed father (Bert Freed), and, having saved up 800 dollars he earned by selling home-brewed LSD to his schoolmates, he blows up the family car with a makeshift bomb and strikes out on his own. A few years later, Max has adopted the name Max Frost, and is one of the world's biggest rock stars, selling millions of records and earning a fortune from concert appearances and music publishing. Max has learned firsthand about the buying power of America's youth, and when Sen. John Fergis (Hal Holbrook) asks Max to appear at a "youth rally" to mobilize younger voters, he realizes the kids could also sway an election if they wanted. At Fergis' rally, Max debuts a new song, "Fourteen or Fight," which demands the voting age be reduced to 14; the youth respond by rising up in support of Max's demands, reducing many American cities to a standstill. As political leaders bow to public pressure, the age of suffrage is reduced to 15, but rather than choosing candidates to support, Max decides it's time he and his inner circle took control. After Max doses Washington, D.C.'s water supply with LSD, congress votes to make any registered voter eligible to hold federal office, and before long Max Frost has become president of the United States. Once in office, Max unveils a bold plan to once and for all do something about people over 30 -- including his parents. Wild in the Streets features an early screen appearance from Richard Pryor as drummer and political activist Stanley X, while media personalities Dick Clark, Walter Winchell, Army Archerd, and Melvin Belli portray themselves. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil wrote the songs for fictional rockers "Max Frost and the Troopers," including the hit single "The Shape of Things to Come." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Winters, Christopher Jones, (more)
