Roscoe Born Movies
- 1990
Keith Michell dominates this episode in the role of Dennis Stanton, ex-jewel thief turned insurance investigator. While probing into a theft and double murder, Dennis decides to use his own criminal knowhow to trap the culprit. At the center of the intrigue is a rare silver dollar, an icy dowager, and a few random suspicious-looking gentlemen with accents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The road movie gets a smart update with this seriocomic tale of two Cheyenne men traveling from their reservation in Montana to New Mexico. For one of them, Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez), a quick-tempered activist, the journey is a practical one; his sister has been arrested and he is the only family member who can help her out. Buddy has no transportation, so he's forced to ride with Philbert Bono (Gary Farmer), a phlegmatic hulk of a man who is using his 1964 Buick as a vehicle for a spiritual journey of his own. Philbert's easygoing ways and insistence on frequent stops to meditate prove irritating at first to Buddy, but the men reach an accommodation as the trip wears on. Buddy comes to see that blaming the white man and what he sees as system rigged against Native Americans is distracting him from his true mission: to better understand himself and his place in the world. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- A. Martinez, Gary Farmer, (more)
- 1989
As usual, the USA network's ad copy for their TV-movie The Haunting of Sarah Hardy was a model of understatement: "She has beauty, wealth, love, and a past that's driving her insane." Sela Ward stars as Sarah, a newlywed who is obsessed with the memory of her late mother. Sarah is convinced that her mom, who committed suicide years earlier, has returned to haunt her on her wedding night. Various friends and relatives (Polly Bergen, Morgan Fairchild, Michael Woods, Roscoe Born) try to convince the girl that she's just imagining things and that there's nothing to worry about. Actually, they're half right: her imagination is being worked overtime. . .by someone who wants to drive her out of her mind. This Gaslight wannabe first aired May 31, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Soap opera queen Susan Lucci stars as an orphan adopted by a mobster family who grows up to be a star attorney, but still dreams of getting revenge on the killers who murdered her parents. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Fast Friends is a lumpy satire set "backstage" at a talk show (imagine what the film would have been like had it been made in 1989 rather than '79). Most of the action centers around egotistical, near-lunatic talk host Dick Shawn. His frantic antics are counterpointed with the story of career woman Susan Heldfond, a divorcee who re-enters the workplace for the sake of her child. This made-for-TV film costars former critic's darling Carrie Snodgress and then-hot actress MacKenzie Phillips. But the real attraction in Fast Friends is the prescient appearance of tenth-billed David Letterman as "Matt Morgan", a brash comedian who has the temerity to upstage the preening Dick Shawn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
It's a veritable Old Home Week on The Rockford Files, with return visits from Jim's fellow P.I. Vern St. Cloud (Simon Oakland), nerdish detective-wannabe Freddie Beamer (James Whitmore Jr.), and last but not least, the impossibly handsome and insufferably lucky private detective Lance White (Tom Selleck). It all begins when Freddie crashes a testimonial ceremony for the Detective's Association, only to stumble upon the dead body of keynote speaker Senator Arnold B. Sanota. In their efforts to clear Freddie of murder charges, Jim (James Garner) and Lance (Tom Selleck) literally fall over themselves--though Lance always seems to land on his feet with nary a hair out of place, much to Jim's dismay and disgust. Meanwhile, there's a seemingly separate intrigue afoot involving Vern St. Cloud's son Larry (played by Tom Selleck's future Magnum P.I. costar Larry Manetti). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Left without a car or a bankroll in Las Vegas, Jim accepts a ride back to LA with a casual acquaitance named Perankus (Sully Boyar). It turns out that Jim's "friend" is not only driving a stolen car, but he is transporting illegal weapons. Hauled into jail when the Feds show up, Jim is outraged that Petrankus is let off scot-free. To find out what is going on, our hero turns to an imperious senior secretary named Mrs. Bateman (Marge Redmond), who in turn is searching for one of her employees (Antoine Becker)--the same girl who took down Jim's statement when he was being grilled by the Feds. And incidentally, the "cigar" of the title does indeed explode...and it's no cigar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
