Bill Boggs Movies

Jenny Abel grew up with an eccentric father, to put it mildly. A film producer and occasional journalist for the likes of National Lampoon magazine, Alan Abel spent his life pulling off a seemingly endless series of elaborate media pranks, whereby he would repeatedly drum up insane causes - from banning human breast-feeding to slapping diapers on animals - and appear on news broadcasts under phony aliases plugging the oddball perspectives. At other times, Abel played practical jokes on the public by convincing them, en masse, of some fallacious truth. But the phenomenon was scarcely local in nature: Abel's hoaxes appeared on programs as institutional as Good Morning America and in publications as omnipresent as The New York Times (as when he planted an obituary in the paper, on January 2, 1980, erroneously indicating his own death from a heart attack). Abel also enlisted the top-drawer of talent as his accomplices - he recruited no less than Buck Henry to plug the "diapers on animals" campaign. All of this activity led various media pundits to brand Abel as one of the world's most brilliant satirists, and instilled in Jenny a lifelong fascination with her father's motivations and modus operandi. With the documentary Abel Raises Cain, Jenny Abel takes a long, loving look at her father's life and most unusual career. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

This travel video includes two segments: Historic Rockies and The Southwest. The program explores various destinations in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona--also known as the Four Corners section of the United States. Staff members at various public attractions describe the most popular activites of visitors wishing to explore this rugged region. Find out where some still like to hunt for dinosaur bones near Grand Junction, Colorado, see what it's like for visitors to climb inside ancient cliff dwellings once inhabited by Native Americans, and take a vicarious tour through 400 year-old New Mexico missions. Host Jim Boggs interviews a variety of people along the way who help bring these various places to life. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide

The Historic Traveler series traces the path of the Civil War in Historic Traveler: Grant and Sherman. These two charismatic leaders carved a trail across the country while engaging in bloody battles. The program looks at the sites where the 18th president reigned supreme. Vicksburg National Military Park, Shiloh Military Park, and Chickamauga & Chattanooga Military Park welcome the program's host Bill Boggs as he showcases the historic elements. Where Grant leaves off, William Tecumseh Sherman takes over. The driven general created havoc and destruction as he divided the South in his March to the Sea. Andersonville National Historic Site is just one of the locations which fell to the North. A commanding realism cloaks this 50-minute tour of the nation's battlefields. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

The Wild West leaps off the screen in the Historic Traveler: Gold Rush and Gun Fights. Bill Boggs conducts a personal tour of the untamed land featuring stops at significant places. Historic Traveler: Gold Rush hits the trail in California, exploring the historic centers of commerce in Sacramento. Travel then to the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park to uncover the roots of the gold frenzy. Columbia State Historic Park follows with its own unique past. The Historic Traveler: Gunfights portion of the program concentrates on the outlaws that gave the West its reputation. Specifically, Historic Traveler visits the sites of many memorable battles including the O.K. Corral in Tombstone. Gunfighters' paths are traced to Tucson, Wilcox, and the Lincoln State Monument. This series provides a seldom-seen glimpse into the nation's turbulent and exciting past. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

Narrator Bill Boggs hosts a tour of historic film and music industry sites in the 50-minute documentary Historic Traveler Great Destinations: Roots of American Entertainment. You'll explore the palace theaters of Los Angeles, the back lots of Warner Brothers studios, "The Birthplace of American Music", and the Old Tucson Studios where John Wayne filmed your favorite western. Along the way, you'll hear anecdotes about each site and get tips for routes, lodging, and sightseeing opportunities. The "Historic Traveler Great Destinations" series includes five other tapes: "Exploring the West", "Gold Rush and Gun Fights", "Grant and Sherman", "The Path to Independence", and "Robert E. Lee Country". ~ Kathleen Wildasin, All Movie Guide

In this funny film about the inventiveness of teens, 14-year-old Alex (Martin Yost) is longing for the winsome Sally (Heather Kennedy) and cons his father into fronting the money to begin a video software business -- when all along, Alex just wants to capture as much of Sally on tape as he can. He is joined in his endeavor by his friend Nicholas (Jeff Edmond), and the two expand their film project beyond the confines of Sally's life alone. Their camera skills come in handy when Nicholas is expelled from school by a mean-spirited principal, and the two boys convince a friendly prostitute to entrap the principal in some compromising positions, hoping to use the video they make for leverage -- or blackmail, in more direct terminology. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A shutterbug is haunted by psychic visions of the killer who is murdering all of her friends in this hit thriller. Intense and driven, successful photographer Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) has made a name for herself by juxtaposing sex and violence in her glamorous photos. But at the height of her success -- and just as a media backlash is brewing -- she begins to experience daydreams from the point of view of a serial killer as he relentlessly stalks and murders her associates. Her unbalanced ex-husband (Raul Julia) seems like an obvious suspect, especially when his new girlfriend is murdered and he goes on the lam. But Laura is shocked by the prospect that the killer could be somebody out to discredit her work, which she views as an artistic commentary on the degradation of the modern world. Under the protection of police detective John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones), Laura is unable to save even one of her friends from a violent end. Soon, she finds herself inside the mind of the killer as he marches down a familiar hallway: the one outside her own door. Co-written by Halloween director John Carpenter, Eyes of Laura Mars also features character actors Brad Dourif and René Auberjonois. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

A large, dysfunctional family awaits word on a loved one's fate in this domestic drama starring Susan Sarandon as Mag Singer, mother of seven sons. One, Percival (Matt Keeslar) is serving in the Marine Corps, and when news comes that his barracks in the Middle East has been bombed by terrorists, Mag's family assembles at her home, anxious for more information. In the meantime, a series of old wounds are reopened and healed. The prodigious Singers include the father, Patrick (Sam Shepard), unhappily estranged from Mag and prone to bouts of hysterical blindness, and Alfred (Robert Sean Leonard), the responsible, sober eldest, who is engaged to divorced mother Cynthia (Marcia Gay Harden). There's also Simon (Nick Stahl), the intellectual Izzy (Sean Astin), two twins, and guilt-wracked Gideon (Jason London), a track star who outshone Percival athletically, inspiring the latter to join the military. While the Singers deal with minor crises like a neighbor's dog that repeatedly attacks Simon, Percival's fate looms, and Mag deals with her fear by cleaning out the ramshackle garage and drinking Tequila with her daughter-in-law to be, Cynthia, with whom she's surprised to find much in common. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide