Gordon Tootoosis Movies

The made-for-TV The Stone Fox is set in 1905 Wyoming. Young Joey Cramer is determined to enter his dog--played by a canine named O.J., previously the star of the "Disney Family Movie" Skeezer--in an adult-dominated sledding race. It's all for the sake of Cramer's ailing, destitute grandpa Buddy Ebsen. The boy's competition for the $150 prize is more than formidable: the winner for the past several years has been taciturn Shoshone Indian Stone Fox (Gordon Tootoosis) and his intimidating team of Samoyeds. Filmed in Canada, The Stone Fox was originally telecast March 30, 1987--smack-dab opposite the annual Academy Awards ceremony (no wonder you've never heard of the film). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-cable family drama set in the 1880s, a teen and his dog set out on a cross-country journey to find the boy's father, who escaped police custody after being falsely accused of murder. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV western stars Rick Schroder as a hotheaded cowboy who guns down the man responsible for the death of his parents. On the run from his victim's powerful father, Schroder is sheltered by old codger Wilford Brimley. Brimley seems to be operating out of friendship, but his reason for keeping Schroder alive is deliberately obscured until close to the end. Blood River was written by John Carpenter, a name usually associated with science fiction and horror. Though set in the Wild West, the film was lensed in Alberta and British Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Meg Tilly and Christine Lahti star in this female buddy story that recalls the earlier Thelma and Louise. Marianne (Meg Tilly) is a quiet waif who has just walked out on her abusive husband. Darly (Christine Lahti) is a brassy waitress who was a ballsy stripper using the stage name Pillow Talk. Darly is on her way to Alaska to claim a home being built for her and return to the family she abandoned eighteen years earlier. The two women run into each other and Darly allows Marianne to tag along as they journey to Alaska. On the way, they met a collection of colorful characters, including a strange-talking waitress named 66 (Patrika Darbo), and Walt (James Gammon), a road guy who recognizes Darly as the former Pillow Talk and wants to pay her big money for sex. The women finally make it to Alaska, where Darly finds that the house she was expecting to find has never been built. The two set up in a house trailer and, with the Alaskian wilderness as a backdrop, they begin to reevaluate their lives. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This version of Jack London's classic adventure was made for television and stars Rick Schroder as the inexperienced young prospector who heads northward for the Klondike gold-rush of 1897. While in the rugged territory he becomes friends with Buck, a courageous German Shepherd being used as a sled-dog. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The sweeping, melodramatic saga of three brothers, their powerful father, and a beautiful woman, the popular period drama Legends of the Fall presents a romanticized view of rugged masculinity against lush Montana scenery. Based on a novel by Jim Harrison, the film covers decades in the lives of Alfred (Aidan Quinn), Tristan (Brad Pitt), and Samuel (Henry Thomas) Ludlow, the sons of retired military man William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins). Raised by the unorthodox Ludlow after the departure of their mother, the boys grow up close, sharing an appreciation of the land and a pioneering spirit. The family becomes divided, however, when young Sam enlists in World War I over his father's objections, and his brothers follow suit to protect him. Despite these efforts, Sam dies in battle, leaving Alfred and Tristan to return home and deal with the lingering torment. Further complicating matters is the presence of Sam's beautiful fiancée, Susannah (Julia Ormond). After Sam's death, she attracts the romantic attention of both the responsible Alfred and the brooding Tristan, a conflict that threatens to drive the brothers apart. Aspiring to epic status, the film utilizes period detail and attractive landscapes as a backdrop for tragic, doomed romance. While some critics complained that the film resembled a romance novel writ, veering at times into the overwrought, audiences embraced the combination of emotion and grand historical scale, making the film a box-office success. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

After being saved from execution at the hands of a vengeful Native American tribe by Powhatan princess Pocahontas, an explorer in the New World finds his relationship with the beautiful Pocahontas fueling the rage from both sides in this take on the classic tale starring Tony Goldwyn, Miles O'Keeffe, and Sandrine Holt. John Smith (O'Keeffe) was an explorer seeking adventure in a new land, but soon after being captured by the Powhatan Confederacy, the brave adventurer is sentenced to death by his captors. As the moment of Smith's execution draws near, a young Powhatan princess named Pocahontas (Holt) saves his life by adopting him under tribal tradition. Though the act of compassion saves Smith's life, it also draws the wrath of both Pocahontas' tribe and Smith's mortal enemy Sir Edwin Wingfield (Goldwyn) -- who views his old nemesis' alignment with the tribe as an act of treason. As the simmering tension between the settlers and the Native Americans breaks into a boil, blood will be spilled and history will be made. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Widower Jake Barnes (Dirk Benedict) moves with his daughter and son to a fishing village in Alaska, and earns his keep as a bush pilot by ferrying supplies to remote locations throughout the state. While the daughter loves her new home, the son cannot stand it, and is impatiently waiting until he is grown up enough to move away. However, they join forces to look for their father when they learn that he has gone down in an airplane accident. The official search party is called off and Jake is assumed dead, but the children will have none of it, and go off on their own into the Alaskan wilderness. Along the way, they thwart a big-game poacher (Charlton Heston) and his sidekick, and learn about survival in the wilderness. A highlight of the film is its fine footage of wild Alaska. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This outdoor adventure is set in the mid-18th century. In the wilderness of Maine a boy struggles to survive and keep a promise when his father does not return from a trip to Massachusetts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Arthur Joffe directed this French comic fantasy, in French and English dialogue, about God (voice of Pierre Arditi), invisible and spinning through Heavenly space on an asteroid, along with his sidekick angel Rene (Ticky Holgado). God observes Earthly events on His television set. After hacking out a screenplay on the Hebrew keyboard of a manual typewriter, the Deity needs a director, lands as a burning bush in back of the Hollywood sign, finds Hollywood hostile, jumps to Paris, and travels from one body to another, eventually settling on tekkie Jeanne (Helene de Fougerolles), an employee at Harper Audiovisual. Faxes in Hebrew begin arriving, and Jeanne hears voices. With God's screenplay translated to French, it finally goes up to the 127th floor for an okay by Mr. Harper himself (Tcheky Karyo). But there's a problem -- God is not very happy about Mr. Harper's alterations, as he explains, "I wrote the Bible, the best-selling book of all time! Where do they get off editing my script?" ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Zoe (Vanessa Zima) is a teenage girl growing up in Michigan, where she's grown frustrated with life in the Midwest and is at odds with her mother (Kim Greist), who refuses to break things off with her boyfriend, who often beats her. Zoe wants to find a new direction in her life, and when she learns that one of her ancestors was a Cherokee Indian, she decides to explore her Native American heritage. Two of Zoe's friends, Ally (Victoria Davis) and Sarah (Stephi Lineburg), want to go to California, and since Zoe thinks she can find a spiritual guide in New Mexico, she decides to join them as they steal a car and head west. En route, Zoe makes the acquaintance of Cecelia (Jenny Seagrove), a British woman who is heading out to Navajo territory to scatter the ashes of her late mother, and Zoe believes she's met a mirror-version of herself (albeit a few years older). Zoe was the first feature film from director Deborah Attoinese, who also co-wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Hank Kirk (Kevin Anderson) is a Caucasian man who objects to his half-Cherokee son Hunter's (James Duval) tendency to believe the stories of his Native American grandfather. Hunter is a hemophiliac, which makes it difficult (and dangerous) for him to take part in the same outdoor activities that dominate his father's life, especially as his mother, Maggie (Jeri Arredondo), worries about her son and tries to keep him away from danger. As Hunter grows older, he feels the need to prove himself to his father despite his medical condition, but his father objects to the Cherokee method of hunting and insists that the boy hunt like a white man, by sitting by the side of the road with a gun and waiting for game to appear. When Hunter goes deer hunting with Hank for the first time, he mistakenly bags a doe instead of a buck -- a tremendous embarrassment for both Hunter and Hank, because the animal has no antlers to show off and thus is not considered a great catch. Humiliated, Hunter seeks the advice of his grandfather, Marvin Fishinghawk (Gordon Tootoosis), and finds love for the first time with a girl his age. The Doe Boy was the first feature film from writer and director Randy Redroad, which was based on his own experiences growing up in a Native American family; the film was shown in competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide