Hank Brandt Movies
In the '70s, Roy Munsen (Woody Harrelson) was a bowling phenomenon. He was none too sharp about picking friends, though, and the champion he had to beat, "Big Ern," takes him under his supposedly friendly wing. Big Ern (Bill Murray) shows him the high-living lifestyle, and induces him to go on the road with him, hustling small-town bowlers. A couple of the men he bilks take exception to the scam, and show their displeasure with Roy by mangling his hand. Twenty years later, Roy (who now has a hook in place of his hand), earns his living as a salesman. On a visit to a bowling alley, he cannot help but notice the incredible talents of an Amish boy, Ishmael (Randy Quaid). Bowling is not part of the Amish lifestyle, but Ishmael occasionally sneaks into the bowling alley and plays a frame or two. Roy takes Ishmael under his wing, and together they begin a quest for bowling success. This comedy is directed by Peter and Robert Farrelly, who also directed Dumb and Dumber. Like those comedies, it contains a lot of gross-out jokes and bathroom humor. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, (more)
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play the title roles (though viewers may find themselves debating which is which) in this genially low-brow comedy. Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) are two intellectually-challenged best friends who share an apartment so messy that gangsters aren't sure how to trash the place; the guys also have a certain problem (not difficult to understand) holding on to jobs. Lloyd is working as a limo driver in Rhode Island when he picks up a beautiful and wealthy woman named Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) who is being taken to the airport. Lloyd immediately falls head over heels in love with Mary, and when she leaves a briefcase at the airport, he's determined to return it in hopes of impressing her. Lloyd isn't able to get aboard Mary's flight (though not for lack of trying). Harry has a van decorated to look like a dog (to promote his failing dog-grooming business), and the pair hop in the Poochmobile to find Mary in Aspen. What Lloyd and Harry don't know is that the briefcase is full of money, which Mary deliberately left at the airport as a ransom payment to save the life of her kidnapped husband. Incidentally, Lloyd's chipped front tooth happens to be real; while Jim Carrey had the injured tooth capped many years ago, he thought a broken smile would suit Lloyd's character and had the cap removed for the duration of filming. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, (more)
- 1989
Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) take temporary leave of the streets of LA and head down to Malibu, there to investigate the death of a thoroughbred race horse and the murder of a groom. At first it appeared that the horse had gone berserk before he died, but it turns out that the animal had been slipped a deadly drug--the same drug that cost the groom his life. The two detectives have quite a time solving this one, with more suspects and motives than they can shake a stick at! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Cornell Wilde guest stars as Duncan Barnett, the ruthless founder-CEO of Barnett Industries. Gathering his board of directors (and their wives and loved ones) to his lavish New York estage, Barnett seems poised to name his successor. Instead, he is killed in an accident--or, at least, it looks like an accident. Among the board members is a certain Maine-based mystery writer named Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), who begins to suspect that there's dirty work afoot as she watches Barnett's employees wheel, deal, bicker and backstab incessantly throughout the balance of the episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The original 1946 Dark Mirror starred Olivia de Havilland as twin sisters, one of whom has committed a murder. Since each twin can provide an alibi for the other, a rumpled detective (Thomas Mitchell) and a handsome shrink (Lew Ayres) are compelled to get to the truth through patience and not a little sneakiness. Dark Mirror was remade as a TV movie in 1984, this time with Jane Seymour in the "leads" and Vincent Gardenia as the detective. Seymour has a field day alternating between the good and bad twin; would that the audience was having as much fun. There really isn't any point to this dour remake, except perhaps to honor a contractual commitment to Jane Seymour, whose playing is so ripe that we secretly hope both twins will get the chair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Illiterate factory employee Tim Hurley (Sean Kelly) is killed in a explosion because of his inability to read the warning signs posted on the walls of his workplace. While looking into this tragedy, Quincy (Jack Klugman) is shocked to discover that his colleague, coroner's investigator Arnold Chatham (Gerald S. O'Loughlin), is also illiterate. Though it is something of a stretch to believe that Chatham could have held down an important job for so long without being found out, this plot inconsistency is shunted aside as Quincy goes on a crusade against a public educational system that allows its students to graduate without being able to read or write. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
As made obvious by its title, this TV movie was an attempt to revive the once-popular private eye series Cannon, which ran from 1971 to 1976. Emerging from self-imposed retirement, corpulent gumshoe Frank Cannon (William Conrad) investigates the death of an old friend who formely worked for the CIA. Officially, the death has been ruled a suicide, but Cannon, as usual, has his doubts. Also mixed up in the intrigue is Cannon's former sweetheart and a Hughes-like millionaire. First telecast November 1, 1980 on CBS, The Return of Frank Cannon did not result in a weekly series, but William Conrad was able to find solace in his starring role on the subsequent weekly Nero Wolfe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Robert Wightmanbecomes a regular in the role of John-Boy Walton (which he'd previously played on a recurring basis, replacing Richard Thomas) in the ninth and final season of The Waltons. The two-part season opener (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode) takes place during the final months of WW2, as John Walton (Ralph Waite) tries to clear his friend Harley Foster (Hal Williams) of a long-standing murder charge. Convinced that Harley's original trial was biased, John is willing to put his own reputation--and freedom--on the line to prove the man's innocence. Elsewhere on Walton's Moutain, storekeeper Ike Godsey (Joe Conley) and his formidable wife Corabeth (Ronnie Claire Edwards) have a spirited argument over a woman's "proper place" in a male-oriented society. And as the newly-uniformed Ben Walton (Eric Scott) is headed for the war in the Pacific, his brothers John-Boy and Jim-Bob attempt to connect up with each other in Paris--an effort that seems doomed to failure! Jason Moses in seen in the role of Harley Foster's stepson Josh, replacing Todd Bridges, who of course had moved on to Diff'rent Strokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
While doing volunteer work at Willowdale, a sanitarium which houses convicted criminals who have been deemed mentally incapable of serving prison time, Quincy (Jack Klugman) hears rumors that some of the inmates are being forced to participate in illegal boxing matches. After the mother of a recently deceased inmate comes forward insisting that her son's "accidental" death was anything but, Quincy is all the more determined to find out what's really going on--and not surprisingly, imperils his own life in the process. This is one of a handful of fourth-season Quincy M.E. episode deemed worthy of three prime-time NBC telecasts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
No one can escape from Alcatraz, right? Try telling that to lifer Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood). This Donald Siegel-directed nailbiter is a reenactment of Frank Morris' 1962 attempt to bust himself and two other cons out of The Rock. Eastwood, as Morris, tilts with nasty warden Patrick McGoohan for a while, befriends several fellow prisoners, and picks the guys with whom he'll make his escape. Among his break-out buddies are the Anglin Brothers (Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau), with whom he'd served in other lockups, and several others who've got their own special reasons to despise the sadistic McGoohan. Filmed on location at the newly renovated Alcatraz, Escape From Alcatraz was another box-office winner for the Eastwood/Siegel combo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, (more)
- 1979
Shortly after placing a phone call to his childhood pal Jim Rockford (James Garner), reporter Eddie Hellinger (Frank McCarthy) is murdered. Within the next few days, Jim receives a lot of packages in the mail, presumably from the late Mr. Hellinger. As a result, a couple of hoodlums kidnap Jim and beat him senseless in a meat locker--and that's only for starters. At the bottom of all this skullduggery is a case of widespread union corruption, and a very ripe piece of cheese. Soap-opera diva Constance Towers appears as Sally, a journalist with some rather fascinating credentials. This episode marks the final series appearance of Noah Beery Jr. as Jim's dad Rocky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Jim Rockford (James Garner) and rookie private eye Richie Brockelman (Dennis Dugan) continue to investigate the suspicious death of their mutual mentor Joe Tooley. When the trail of clues leads to crooked computer-company CEO Garth McGregor (Jackie Cooper), he uses his influence to frame the two detectives and force them to take it on the lam. Ingredients essential to the outcome of the story are an underground storage silo, a conspiracy involving a corrupt congressman, and a wild helicopter-chase finale. This final episode of The Rockford Files' fourth season served to introduce the character of Richie Brockelman, who was subsequently spun off into his own TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
In the first half of a two-part story, Jim (James Garner) investigates the mysterious death of his mentor Joe Tooley (Paul Fix) on the Ventura Freeway. Assisting Jim--in a manner of speaking--is greenhorn detective Richie Brockelman (Dennis Dugan), who likewise suspects that Tooley's demise was no accident. The evidence leads to a crooked city councilman and a sinister data-storage firm called the Credit Computer Centre. This episode and its followup served to introduce the character of Richie Brockelman, soon to be spun off into his own eponymously titled TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Jim (James Garner) is hired by an insurance firm to "baby-sit" Frank Falcone (Hector Elizondo), an ex-cop who has struck it rich as a crime novelist. Falcone's career has inspired a movie, a TV show, and a line of toys, and now Jim must prevent the former cop from engendering negative publicity at an LA toy convention. But this may prove impossible, inasmuch as the loose-cannon Falcone is a trouble magnet--especially since he has decided to solve one last case that is guaranteed to bring down the full wrath of the Mob. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Deadman's Curve is a made-for-TV biography concerning "California sound" rock-n-rollers Jan and Dean. Richard Hatch plays Jan Berry, while Bruce Davison is seen as Dean Torrence. The meat of the story is Jan's grueling efforts to fully recover from a disastrous 1966 auto accident. The film's most powerful scene occurs when the still-shaky Jan attempts a concert comeback, only to be booed offstage when the audience realizes that he's lip-synching. First telecast February 3, 1978, Deadman's Curve is seasoned with cameo appearances by Dick Clark, Wolfman Jack, and Beach Boys Mike Love and Bruce Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- PG
Don Siegel took over the directing chores from Peter Hyams on this taut cold war action film, based on the novel by Walter Wager. With the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union thawing, old KGB hard-liner Nicolai Dalchimsky (Donald Pleasence) activates a group of Americans who were brainwashed twenty years earlier to blow up United States defenses when a passage from a Robert Frost poem is recited to them. When bombs go off at an abandoned United States defense installation, the Kremlin realizes that they have a rogue KGB agent on their hands who is trying to re-ignite the cold war. To stop him, the Russians send out KGB agent Grigori Borzov (Charles Bronson). Accompanying him is KGB double agent Barbara (Lee Remick). As the two agents try to stop Nicolai from starting World War III, they find time to fall in love with each other. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Lee Remick, (more)
- 1977
Two men from widely opposite spectrums in life are trapped in the same dilemma. Highly respected police detective Dave Lambert (Barry Primus) and seedy informer Art DeVoe (Mills Watson) have both witnessed a cop killing--and the murderer has sent his minions forth to get rid of them both. Featured prominently in the supporting cast is Robert Walden, on the cusp of his stardom as gonzo reporter Rossi on Lou Grant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
In this crime drama, two dogged FBI agents are on the case to investigate one of the U.S.'s most infamous bank robberies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darren McGavin, Leslie Nielsen, (more)
- 1976
Bill Bixby earned an Emmy nomination for his chilling yet pathetic performance as Eric Doyle, a mild-mannered loser who is fascinated by police procedure. Rejected when he tries to join the San Francisco police force, Doyle vows to prove his worth by turning vigilante. Donning an authentic-looking cop's uniform, Doyle sets about to methodically--and savagely--wipe out all criminals who have managed to slip through the fingers of the legal system. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
In this thriller a federal officer acts upon his suspicion that the recent death of his predecessor was part of a conspiracy to kill a presidential candidate. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1975
An upcoming election for a departmental welfare committee finds Roy (Kevin Tighe) and John (Randolph Mantooth) running against each other. In various emergency calls, a sculptress (Sharon Gless) summons Squad 51 to help extricate her model from a plaster cast; a beer drinker chokes on a pull tab; and a construction worker is stranded on a hgh crane. And at the hospital, the staff has its hands full with a delirious youngster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
In stark contrast with Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner), fellow officer Ed Wells (Gary Crosby) has no time for "teamwork" with his partner Officer Brady (Hank Brandt); indeed, Ed prides himself on the fact that he and Brandt choose to work independently. This attitude proves disastrous when Wells runs up against a well-armed homeowner who mistakes the officer for a burglar. Perhaps coincidentally, this episode represents a rally of "second-generation" Hollywood talent: in addition to semiregular Gary Crosby, who of course was the son of Bing Crosby, the supporting cast features Deanna Martin, the daughter of Dean Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
A Mob trial in Boston ends abruptly in a mistrial thanks to a couple of bribed jurors. Does this mean that the Mob wants defendant Mario Dracus (Frank De Kova) to go free? Not quite: still worried that he intends to turn on them, Dracus' former associates plan to murder him before he ever gets the chance. Already on the case because of the jury-tampering angle, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is now faced with the daunting task of keeping Dracus alive--and expediting a retrial that will send him to prison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this thriller, adapted from the novel Binary by John Lange and directed by Michael Crichton, a federal agent played by Ben Gazzara must stop a madman before he can unleash a toxic nerve gas upon an unwitting political convention. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Syndicate loan sharks Ollie Shanks (Paul Koslo) and Rudy Blake (Lou Antonio) must be intercepted before they can transfer $10 million from Hawaii to California. Assigned to put Shanks and Blake out of business, IMF agent Willy ends up being captured himself. As the villains inject Willy with near-fatal doses of truth serum, his fellow agents race against time to complete his mission before their cover is blown. Scripted by Jackson Gillis and Laurence Heath from a story by Gillis, "Double Dead" originally aired on February 12, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Greg Morris, (more)
