Terry Wilson Movies

In the first episode of a two-part story (originally intended to air as Dukes of Hazzard's two-hour Season Four opener, but moved to a later airdate), Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best) is informed that he has inherited $10,000,000. Wasting no time, Roscoe goes on a lavish spending spree, tells off his brother-in-law Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke), and hires expensive (and evil) bounty hunter Jason Steele (played by veteran movie heavy William Smith) to wreak vengeance against the Dukes. Featured in the cast as Dawson is Carlos Brown, who also acted under the name Alan Autry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Four of The Dukes of Hazzard begins with a guest appearance by a decidedly pre-Star Wars: The Next Generation Jonathan Frakes, cast as Jamie Lee Hogg, the wealthy, impeccably mannered nephew of all-purpose nemesis Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke). When Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach) falls in love with Jamie Lee, the traditional Duke-Hogg feud reaches the boiling point. Unfortunately for Daisy, Jamie Lee isn't quite the gentleman he appears to be--in fact, he's a crook and and a scoundrel. Former Wagon Train regular Terry Wilson makes the first of several recurring appearances as Norman Scroggs in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This fast-paced Disney endeavor stars Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann as two adolescents with acute psychic powers. The kids are actually space aliens, but suffer from amnesia and are unaware of their origins. Pursued by greedy business-mogul Ray Milland, who wants to harness their special powers for his benefit, Kim and Ike are rescued by likeable camper Eddie Albert. He and the kids escape to the mountain of the title when Albert's RV suddenly acquires the power of flight. In 1978, the film spawned the sequel Return from Witch Mountain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comical Disney western, a cavalry rider goes AWOL in the midst of a raid to save the lives of a band of Indian women and children. He then takes off across the New Mexican desert astride a camel. En route, he meets a young white boy who was raised by an Indian. The Indian is trying to find his tribe and so enlists the aid of the wayward soldier. Later they encounter a widow and her daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Frank Sinatra stars in this bawdy western satire as Dingus Magee, a would-be outlaw who robs Hoke Birdsill (George Kennedy) while Hoke is en route to Yerkey's Hole, New Mexico. Hoke reports the theft to Belle Knops (Anne Jackson), the mayor of Yerkey's Hole and proprietor of the town's biggest business, a brothel favored by the enlisted men at the nearby Army fort. Belle appoints Hoke as the new deputy, and he tracks down Magee as he's enjoying a roll in the bushes with Anna (Michele Carey), a very friendly Indian maid. Hoke brings in Magee, but Anna then helps him escape; Belle uses Magee's unscheduled release to convince the commanding officers at the Army base that an Indian uprising is imminent, and that their planned relocation to Little Big Horn (where they hope to arrive before Gen. Custer and his troops) might be a bit premature (not to mention bad for her business). Soon Hoke is after Magee for robbing a stage and stealing the strongbox (which, of course, he can't open), the Indians are after Magee for running off with Anna, a sexually repressed schoolmarm named Prudence (Lois Nettleton) is after Magee after he awakens the woman within her, and John Wesley Hardin (Jack Elam) is after Magee, well, just because. "Catch-22" author Joseph Heller co-wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This hilarious oater finds Jesse Heywood (Don Knotts) as a Philadelphia dentist who leaves his home to open a new practice on the western frontier. The hapless dentist is saved by the expert gun handling of Penny (Barbara Rhoades), a reformed bandit trying to earn a pardon by intercepting gun shipments to hostile Indians. After several more situations in which Penny saves the nervous newcomer, Jesse believes he has exceptional firearms prowess and believes himself to be a hero. Comedy ensues when the jumpy Jesse faces a bevy of bad men and nervously clutches a six shooter with a very unsteady hand. Penny has to help the pseudo-hero out of even more trouble before they can ride off together into the sunset. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The Plainsman was a Technicolor remake of the 1936 Cecil B. DeMille film, all about the fictional romantic triangle of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Buffalo Bill. DeMille had the advantage of a topnotch cast: Gary Cooper as Hickok, Jean Arthur as Calamity (complete with a Wally Westmore cosmetic job!) and James Ellison as Buffalo Bill. David Lowell Rich, director of the 1966 The Plainsman, had to make do with Universal contractees Don Murray, Abby Dalton and Guy Stockwell. Denied DeMille's budget, Rich turned out a cut-rate western, wherein the "big" Indian attacks look more like Disneyland exhibits. The usually reliable Abby Dalton further weakens the film with a Southern accent that wouldn't convince a prairie dog. Originally made for television, The Plainsman was instead released theatrically--then went promptly to the small screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in the West of the late 19th century, Richard Brooks' film stars Robert Taylor as Charles Gilson, a brutal buffalo hunter who kills purely for sport and enjoyment. Stewart Granger portrays Sandy McKenzie, a former hunter on whom Gilson is seeking revenge. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Based extremely loosely on the Stephen Vincent Benet story Sobbin' Women," Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is one of the best MGM musicals of the 1950s. Most of the story takes place on an Oregon ranch, maintained by Adam Pontabee (Howard Keel) and his six brothers, played by Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall, Mark Platt, Matt Mattox, and Jacques d'Amboise (it is no coincidence that five of those six boys are played by professional dancers). When Adam brings home his new bride Milly (Jane Powell), she is appalled at the brothers' slovenliness and sets about turning these unwashed louts into immaculate gentlemen. During the boisterous barn-raising scene, the brothers get into a scuffle with a group of townsmen over the affection of six comely lasses: Virginia Gibson, Julie Newmeyer (later Newmar), Ruth Kilmonis (later Ruth Lee), Nancy Kilgas, Betty Carr, and Norma Doggett (yep, most of the girls are dancers, too). Yearning to become husbands like their big brother, they ask Adam for advice. Alas, he has been reading a book about the abduction of the Sabine Women (or, as he puts it, the Sobbin' Women); and, in order to claim their gals, Adam explains, the boys must kidnap them--which they do, after blocking off all avenues of escape. Vowing to remain on their best behavior, the boys make no untoward advances towards their reluctant female guests--not even during one of the coldest winters on record. Comes the spring thaw, the angry townsfolk come charging up the mountain, demanding the return of the stolen girls (who, by this time, have "tamed" their men). A happy ending is ultimately had by all in this delightful if politically incorrect concoction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Ireland, My Hands are Clay is a low-budget but fascinating domestic drama with religious overtones. The story deals with a young man (Richard Aherne) who exhibits a talent for sculpting from a very early age. His success in this endeavor is hampered by the protagonist's emotional problems, chief of which is a long-standing grudge against his childhood rival. He is only able to purge his demons when he begins work on a statue of the Virgin Mary. The amateurishness of the performances and the banality of the dialogue are forgivable in the light of the film's superb cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide