Buff Brady
The year is 1997. Manhattan Island is now a heavily guarded maximum-security prison, where the scum of the earth have converged. When Air Force One crash-lands in Manhattan, the president (Donald Pleasence) is held hostage by its denizens. One-eyed mercenary Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is strong-armed into rescuing the chief executive. He is aided, not always willingly, by a tough gal (Adrienne Barbeau) and a manic cab driver (Ernest Borgnine). Escape from New York was followed by a sequel of sorts in 1996, Escape From L.A., again starring Kurt Russell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, (more)
- 1977
In this Roger Corman production, co-producer Jesse Vint stars as Jingo Johnson, a stuntman who goes to work for a backwater mining company. Jingo unearths a hotbed of corruption, partially orchestrated by redneck sheriff, Grimes (Albert Salmi). The hero and heroine (Karen Carlson) are forced into any number of serial-like perils while eluding the villains. Black Oak Conspiracy is enlivened by the presence of several veteran character players, including Douglas Fowley, Peggy Stewart and Vic Perrin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse Vint, Karen Carlson, (more)
Andrew V. McLaglen directs the Western drama The Rare Breed, based on the real-life introduction of English Hereford cattle to the American West in the 1880s. Maureen O'Hara plays Martha Price, an widowed Englishwoman who convinces rancher Alexander Bowen (Brian Keith) to use her new cattle breed. James Stewart stars as ranch hand Sam Burnett, a rambler who agrees to take the rare bull to Texas in order to breed it with the longhorns. He also accepts a bribe along the way from the lawless Taylor (Alan Caillou). The determined Martha and her daughter Hilary (Juliet Mills) demand to go along for the trip, leading to Burnett having to rescue them from several bouts of Western-style danger. Soon Bowen loses faith in the breeding idea, but Burnett has grown to believe in the bull. The bull dies after the harsh winter, but Burnett saves one of its calves. He and Martha decide to start their own cattle ranch. Meanwhile, Hilary begins a romance with Bowen's son Jamie (Don Galloway). Also starring Jack Elam as swindler Deke Simons. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
- 1965
Overhearing a negative medical prognosis for a horse, Agarn (Larry Storch) becomes convinced that he himself is not long for this world. Tearfully, Agarn prepares to big goodbye to F Troop and wander off to spend his last hours alone. It falls to doddering Indian medicine man Roaring Chicken (Edward Everett Horton) to set this situation aright--but not before an unscheduled appearance by the formidable Colton Brothers. With this episode, recurring characters Duffy (Bob Steele) and Dobbs (James Hampton) are promoted to regular status. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In The Hallelujah Trail, Lee Remick plays temperance leader Cora Templeton Massingale, who is determined to halt a shipment of whiskey headed for Denver. The shipment is being escorted by the US cavalry, under the guidance of Col. Thadeus Gearhardt (Burt Lancaster). As the Denver miners thirstily await the precious booze, Gearhardt must fend off not only Cora and her minions, but a bibulous tribe of Sioux warriors, headed by Chief Walks-Stooped-Over (Martin Landau)-not to mention an outsized sandstorm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, (more)
John Wayne's directorial debut The Alamo is set in 1836: Wayne plays Col. Davy Crockett, who, together with Colonels Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark) and William Travis (Laurence Harvey) and 184 hardy Americans and Texicans, defends the Alamo mission against the troops of Mexican general Santa Ana. There's a lot of macho byplay before the actual attack, including the famous "letter" scene in which Wayne craftily rouses the patriotic ire of his subordinates. Also appearing are Richard Boone as Sam Houston, and Chill Wills (whose somewhat tasteless Oscar campaign has since become legendary in the annals of shameless self-promotion) as Beekeeper. Wayne's production crew was compelled to reconstruct the Alamo in Bracketville, Texas, about a hundred miles from the actual site. Dimitri Tiomkin's score, including The Green Leaves of Summer, received generous airplay on the Top-40 radio outlets of America. Rumors persist that Wayne's old pal John Ford directed most of The Alamo; cut to 161 minutes for its general release, the film was restored to its original, 192-minute length in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Richard Widmark, (more)
- 1959
Juliet Harper (Miranda Jones, a young girl on the verge of womanhood, is the central figure in deadly feud involving her family and the offspring of a malevolent ex-Confederate colonel named Jeremiah Pike (Earle Hodgins). Knowing full well that Pike intends to murder Juliet, Paladin offers to help her--but the girl misinterprets his gallantry and rebuffs him. Complicating matters is the fact that Paladin may be forced to go up against the vicious Pike clan without his gun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In The Big Country Gregory Peck plays a seafaring man who heads west to marry Carroll Baker, the daughter of rancher Charles Bickford. Bickford is currently embroiled in a water-rights feud with covetous Burl Ives, so both he and his daughter are hoping that Peck can take care of himself. But Peck, who doesn't belief in fisticuffs, appears to be a coward, especially when challenged by Bickford's cocksure foreman Charlton Heston. The far-from-cowardly Peck decides to distance himself from the machismo overload at the Bickford spread, settling for a romance with headstrong schoolmarm Jean Simmons, whose water-rich lands are being fought over by the two warring ranchers. When Jean is kidnapped by Ives' no-good son Chuck Connors, Peck decides to take action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, (more)
- 1951
The Rodeo King and the Senorita stars Rex Allen (playing himself); it shouldn't be necessary to indicate which of the title roles he plays. In this Republic sagebrusher, Allen tries to determine whether or not a fatal accident was truly accidental. The victim's preteen daughter is Juanita Morales (Bonnie De Simone), the titular Senorita who now legally owns the Wild West show which employs singing cowboy Allen. With the help of heroine Janet Wells (Mary Ellen Kay) and sidekick Muscles Benton (Buddy Ebsen), Allen discovers who was behind the death of Juanita's father, and why. With such powerhouse villains as Roy Barcroft and Tris Coffin in the cast, the mystery is over almost before it begins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Allen, Mary Ellen Kay, (more)
