Richard Boone Movies

Based on a novel by the iconoclastic Richard Condon (of Manchurian Candidate and Prizzi's Honor fame), Winter Kills was one of the vanguard efforts in the "JFK conspiracy" school of literature. Jeff Bridges stars as Nick Kegan, the scion of a powerful Kennedyesque family, who has done his best to make himself obscure after the assassination of his older brother, the former president of the U.S. While working as an oil rigger, Nick is introduced to a terminally ill gentleman who claims to have been "the second assassin." His curiosity aroused, Nick begins digging into what was supposed to be a closed case -- and, predictably, what he finds out isn't pretty. This, however, is the only predictable element of this mesmerizingly mazelike yarn. A failure when first released, Winter Kills fared somewhat better when director William Richert arranged to rerelease the film through his own company and restore several scenes that had been cut by its previous backers. Elizabeth Taylor appears uncredited as one "Lola Comante." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

J.R.R. Tolkien's classic book about the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins and his unexpected adventures came to life in this animated, televised adaptation by Rankin-Bass Productions. Enthusiasts of Tolkien's lengthy and more demanding Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as adult readers of The Hobbit, may be disappointed by this somewhat simplified adaptation of the book, though children and first-time readers of Tolkien will appreciate its whimsical introduction to the fictional world of Middle Earth.

As the story goes, "In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit...." Bilbo Baggins would much rather relax in his comfy hobbit-hole or take long walks in the Shire than have adventures. After all, "adventures make one late for dinner." Unfortunately, Gandalf the Wizard shows up one day with other plans for Bilbo. Gandalf introduces Bilbo to a rag-tag band of dwarves whose leader, Thorin Oakensheild, asks Bilbo for help in recovering his family's treasure from the fire-breathing dragon Smaug. Bilbo meekly accepts the offer, and soon finds himself on a long journey through Mirkwood forest, to Smaug's dark lair in the Lonely Mountain. Along the way, the unlikely band is captured and nearly eaten by trolls, shackled and prodded by goblins, tied-up in webs and hung from trees by giant spiders, and finally imprisoned by the swarthy, distrustful woodland elves of Mirkwood. With keen hobbit-wits and a magic ring he finds in the goblin caves, Bilbo manages to free the band on several occasions and helps them recover their lost inheritance.

Understandably, much detail was omitted from Tolkien's novel to fit this made-for-TV adaptation -- most notably the story of the group's encounter with Beorn the shape shifter, and the somewhat complex issue of the Arkenstone, a legendary gem which Bilbo steals from Smaug's treasure-trove unbeknownst to the dwarves. Rankin-Bass Productions made another foray into Middle Earth several years later with The Return of the King, picking up where animator Ralph Bakshi left his unfinished adaptation of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi

About ten minutes into The Shootist, Doctor Hostetler (James Stewart) tells aging Western gunfighter John Bernard Books (John Wayne), "You have a cancer." Knowing that his death will be painful and lingering, Books is determined to be shot in the line of "duty." In his remaining two months, Books settles scores with old enemies, including gambler Pulford (Hugh O'Brian) and Marshall Thibido (Harry Morgan) and reaches out to new friends, including a feisty widow (Lauren Bacall) and her hero-worshipping son (Ron Howard). Throughout the film, Books' imminent demise is compared with the decline of the West, as represented by the automobiles and streetcars that have begun to blight the main street of Books' hometown. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of two 1976 Italian-Israeli co-productions starring Lee Van Cleef and Leif Garrett (Joseph Manduke's Kid Vengeance was the other), this spaghetti Western stars Van Cleef in a dual role as twin brothers. One of the brothers, Father John, is gunned down by the ruthless Sam Clayton (Jack Palance), allowing Sam's gang to take over Juno City. Young Johnny (Garrett) crosses into Mexico to convince the priest's twin, a retired bounty hunter named Louis, to strap on his guns one more time and save the town. Van Cleef is compelling, even in his somewhat laughable wig, and the familiar cast also includes Richard Boone and Sybil Danning, but it somehow misses the mark. Irwin Yablans, who made his name with Halloween two years later, co-produced with Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Clues come from a beautiful woman on the supposedly accidental death of an oil wildcatter which Hec Ramsey is attempting to solve. ~ Rovi

A killer attempts to assist his friend get out of prison by threatening to kill one person each day until the friend is released. ~ Rovi

A made-for-TV mystery, Goodnight, My Love is bolstered by a top-flight cast and a clever script. The plot revolves around a pair of down-and-out detectives: tall and disheveled Richard Boone, and short and immaculate Michael Dunn. Boone and Dunn are hired by icy blonde Barbara Bain to locate her missing fiance, but it's clear that she isn't telling them the whole story. The two gumshoes tangle with gangsters, racetrack touts and a sinister Maltese Falcon style fat man (Victor Buono) before learning the whole story behind the disappearance. Goodnight, My Love is filled with the many little vignettes that separate a fair mystery from a truly good one--including the unexpected killing off of a major character, a moment that manages to be both chilling and amusing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A college-educated sheriff takes on an older crimefighter as his deputy in this western. (AKA Century Turns) ~ Rovi

"Broad" is right. This gloriously overacted TV movie stars Richard Boone as a movie star who suffers an accident, leaving him totally blind. Boone's wife (Suzanne Pleshette) takes advantage of hubby's infirmity to plot an illicit romance with a local stud (Fred Beir). But remember that Boone's an actor, and as such has heightened senses. He can feel that his wife is scheming right under his nose (literally!), and cooks up his own murderous revenge. The plan is contingent upon Boone's ability to convince witnesses that he can actually see. In Broad Daylight may be florid stuff, but it works beautifully with an audience. Scripter Larry Cohen would later apply his ability to hold the crowd's attention despite the most ludicrous of set-ups in such later films as It's Alive and Q. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When American agents in Moscow try to recover a stolen letter implicating America in an anti-Red China plot, they discover a hornet's nest of treason, double agents, murder, and betrayal. The plot has as many switchbacks as a Formula One racetrack, and a pad and paper to keep track of the agents and their code names wouldn't hurt. Still, The Kremlin Letter is an interesting espionage movie with some good performances. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

Kirk Douglas has an extreme case of mid-life crisis in Elia Kazan's turgid melodrama (adapted from his best-selling novel). Douglas plays successful advertising executive Eddie Anderson, who cracks under the strain of the morning rush hour in Los Angeles and plows his sports car into a truck. Landing in a convalescent home, Eddie remains mute to everyone except his boss Finnegan (Charles Drake). In his recovery room, Eddie dreams about co-worker Gwen (Faye Dunaway), a sexy research assistant at his agency. Meanwhile, the psychiatrist Dr. Liebman (Harold Gould) talks to Eddie's wife, Florence (Deborah Kerr), who reveals that at one time Eddie and Gwen had an affair, but they broke it off. Unfortunately, after that escapade, Eddie's interest in sex vanished completely.

Then after the interview with Dr. Liebman, following a terrible nightmare, Eddie breaks out of his self-imposed silence and declares to Florence that he is tired of his unfulfilling life of "arrangements." Eddie returns to work, but the return is marked by Eddie insulting a major client, alienating his co-workers, and then taking off in a private plane in which he flies madly over the skies of L.A. His lawyer Arthur (Hume Cronyn) keeps Eddie from being thrown in jail and also talks Eddie into giving Florence the power of attorney. Eddie proceeds to travel to New York, where he runs into Gwen, who now has a child. Eddie is in New York to visit his senile father, Sam (Richard Boone), but when his family attempts to put Sam in a nursing home, Eddie takes him away with him to their old family estate on Long Island. Eddie calls up Gwen, and she travels to Long Island to resume their affair. Meanwhile, Eddie's loved ones search for Sam, and they are closing in on Eddie's Long Island sanctuary. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Yes, Paul Newman is a blue-eyed Indian in Hombre, but this apparent ethnic error is carefully justified in the body of the story. Newman plays a white man who was raised by the Apaches, and ever since has straddled two worlds, feeling truly comfortable in neither. While riding a stagecoach, Newman is subject to the racial bias of banker Fredric March and his snooty wife Barbara Rush. In truth, March is an embezzler, and has no reason to feel superior to anyone. This fact comes out when the coach is held up by murderous bandit-chief Richard Boone. When the passengers fight back, Boone takes Rush as a hostage. Newman, who by rights should be supremely satisfied that his tormentors are themselves tormented, proves himself the bravest of the passengers, sacrificing his own life to save Rush and put an end to Boone's reign of terror. Hombre is based on a novel by suspense specialist Elmore Leonard. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi