Matt Clark Movies
Matt Clark is a distinguished character actor, with credits in both film and television for almost 40 years, who played diverse character roles in Westerns, comedies, and dramas.After serving in the Armed Forces, Clark acted in theater in the 1950s and '60s in Washington, D.C., and New York, before heading to Hollywood. The year 1967 saw the beginning of Matt Clark's long film career, with small roles in Will Penny and the Oscar winner for Best Picture of the Year, In the Heat of the Night. Clark's appearance in Will Penny started the actor's trend of character portrayals in the Westerns of distinguished directors, including Sydney Pollack's Jeremiah Johnson; John Huston's The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean; Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid; and Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales, with actors such as John Wayne, Robert Redford, and Paul Newman.
In the mid-'70s, Clark branched out into television movies, such as This Is the West That Was, and the Peabody Award-winning The Execution of Private Slovik, turning in excellent performances throughout the '80s and '90s. He also appeared as a regular in sitcoms, such as Grace Under Fire, or as a guest in shows including Bonanza and Rat Patrol.
Clark continued to maintain a big-screen presence. Two of his more memorable performances were his hilarious portrayal of the Secretary of Defense in the 1984 cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, and his role as Tom McMullen in the Jessica Lange/Sam Shepard film Country, made that same year.
Clark also directed a film adaptation of Hugh Leonard's play Da. Martin Sheen, Clark's colleague in Private Slovik, played the lead role of an Irish-American seeking his roots in his native land.
Clark continued his work with the 1998 film Claudine's Return, a romantic drama set on Dolphin Island off the Georgia coast. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture (as well as four other Oscars), In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town, Gillespie instinctively puts him under arrest as a murder suspect. Tibbs reveals himself to be a Philadelphia police detective; after he and Gillespie come to a grudging understanding of one another, Tibbs offers to help in Gillespie's investigation. As the case progresses, both Gillespie and Tibbs betray a tendency to jump to culture-dictated conclusions. Still, the case is solved thanks to the informal teamwork of the two law officers. Based on the novel by John Ball, In the Heat of the Night inspired two sequels, both starring Poiter as Virgil Tibbs. In 1987, a TV series version of In the Heat of the Night appeared, with Carroll O'Connor as Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Tibbs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, (more)
Rambling along at its own measured pace, Will Penny is a vivid western character study, completely dominated by the rapport between stars (Charlton Heston) and (Joan Hackett). Heston plays Will Penny, an aging and impoverished cowboy. With his cohorts Blue (Lee Majors) and Dutchy (Anthony Zerbe), the trio sets out to find employment before winter sets in. Their job search is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Preacher Quint, a vicious Bible-thumping bandit (Donald Pleasance) and his moronic, sadistic sons. Dutchy gets wounded in the fight and Blue stays with him in a small town nearby to nurse him back to health. Will gets a job on a ranch, and though he is supposed to keep squatters off the land, he can't kick out Catherine (Joan Hackett) and her little son (Jon Gries). She herself is en route to join her husband, an Oregon farmer. Despite her wedding vows, Catherine finds herself drawn to Penny -- who makes no unwarranted move towards the woman, but is equally attracted to her. Then the murderous Quint and his sons reappear to exact their revenge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, (more)
This bleak World War II action drama, directed by John Guillermin, concerns the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen -- the last remaining span across the Rhine into Germany during the final days of the war in 1945. German General von Brock (Peter Van Eyck) is ordered to blow up the bridge rather than let it fall into American hands. Von Brock is reluctant to carry out the orders, however, because that would mean abandoning 50,000 soldiers to the on-coming Americans. Putting Major Paul Kreuger (Robert Vaughn) in charge, he tells him to try to hold the bridge as long as possible. Meanwhile, U.S. Brigadier General Skinner (E.G. Marshall) is trying to trap the retreating Germans by making a push to the Rhine. Leading the offensive is Major Barnes (Bradford Dillman), an officer held in contempt by most of the men. Platoon leader Lieutenant Phil Hartman (George Segal) takes a particular dislike to him. Hartman is also at odds with Sergeant Angela (Ben Gazzara), a scavenger who likes to steal from the corpses of dead German soldiers. As the Americans push onward to Remagen, the Germans step up their resistance. When the Americans reach Remagen, Krueger unsuccessfully attempts to blow up the bridge and throws all his soldiers into a full-assault on the Americans. Skinner orders that the American soldiers must push forward and take the bridge intact. In the face of heavy German opposition, Hartman and Angelo find that they must put aside their differences and fight for a common cause -- to take the bridge at all costs. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Robert Vaughn, (more)
- 1969
Melissa Murphy is cast as Jenny Winters, who claims she can identify the outlaw Logan gang as the men who robbed a stagecoach and murdered the driver. Hoping to protect Jenny from the Logans, Joe Cartwright and Candy offer the girl shelter at the Ponderosa. What neither the good guys nor the bad guys know is that Jenny is a chronic liar, whose "eyewitness" yarn is a total fabrication. Others in the cast include Stefan Gierasch as Orvil Winters, Connie Hines as Hilda, Alan Baxter as Jim, and Bo Hopkins as Stretch. First shown on September 21, 1969, "The Witness" was written by Joel Murcott. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
The Beguiled is a Freudian mood piece from the team of actor Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel. Eastwood plays Corp. John McBurney, a wounded Union soldier during the Civil War, who takes refuge in a prim-and-proper Southern girl's school run by Martha Farnsworth (Geraldine Page). Chauvinistic, insensitive and conceited, McBurney takes full advantage of the women by bedding each successively -- and then learns the true meaning of "a woman scorned." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, (more)
- 1970
- PG
Monte Walsh (Lee Marvin ) and his pal Chet Rollins (Jack Palance) are two over the hill cowboys seeking work in the town of Harmony, Arizona in the final days of the Old West. They take a job at the ranch of Cal Brennan (Jim Davis) and meet an old friend Shorty (Mitch Ryan). Monte goes off to visit old flame Martine (Jean Moreau), a saloon girl suffering from tuberculosis. The ranch closes and Chet marries Mary Eagle (Allyn Ann McLerie), a widow who owns a profitable hardware store. He tries to talk Monte in to giving up his cowboy life and settling down. He asks Martine to marry him, but she declines and cites her deteriorating health as the reason for her refusal. Monte goes on a drinking binge and rides a wild horse through town. He is indignant when a rodeo owner offers him a job. Monte states he would rather spit on himself that resort to such degrading work. Shorty is soon unemployed and guns down local lawman (LeRoy Johnson). Distraught after the death of his beloved Martine, Monte goes after Shorty when he guns down Chet. This film marks the directorial debut for cameraman William A. Fraker. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, (more)
- 1970
- R
This violent western tale finds Macho (David Janssen) as a Union Army regular in a Confederate prison. He escapes by planting dynamite in the coffin of an executed officer, making his move when the coffin is being carried outside the gate. He returns to a small town where he waits for Duffy (Lee J. Cobb), who put Macho in jail years before. Newlyweds Alexandra (Jean Seberg) and David (Carradine) arrive in town, and David heads to the saloon. The drunken one armed Confederate Army veteran is killed by Macho when he becomes drunk and belligerent. Alexandra puts a price on Macho's head, hiring two killers to finish him off. Macho kills them both and rapes a beaten up Alexandra, who falls in love with her attacker. He also gets revenge of Duffy by stringing him up by the neck on the windmill in the town square. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Janssen, Jean Seberg, (more)
- 1970
- PG
Set in a small Wisconsin town (even though it was actually filmed in Canada), this is the story of a young man living in the 60s. He has his own rock band, of course, and is against the war, of course. Despite some good performances, notably by Alex Nicol, the remainder of the movie is somewhat hackneyed and cliched...standard teenage angst, rebel without a cause...trying to deal with the chaotic social situation of the sixties. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Scardino, Alex Nicol, (more)
The Grissom Gang is a remake of the notorious 1949 British melodrama No Orchids for Miss Blandish. Kim Darby plays a 1920s-era debutante who is kidnapped and held for ransom. Her captors are the Grissoms, a family comprised of sadists and morons, and headed by Ma Barker clone Irene Dailey. One of the Grissoms, played by Scott Wilson, takes a liking to his prisoner, which results in a bloody breakdown of the family unit. Both The Grissom Gang and the original No Orchids for Miss Blandish were inspired by the best-seller by James Hadley Chase, though neither film retains Chase's original ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Darby, Scott Wilson, (more)
In one of John Wayne's more interesting late Westerns, "The Duke" plays Will Anderson, a crusty veteran cattleman preparing a 400-mile drive to get a herd of steers to market. Shortly before the trip is scheduled to begin, Will's crew quits when they get word of a nearby gold strike. With little time and few alternatives, Will recruits eleven boys, ages nine through 13, and teaches them the basics of herding cattle and riding the range. Bruce Dern plays a memorably foul villain and cattle rustler named Long Hair, while Roscoe Lee Browne portrays Jebediah, the cattle drive cook, and Colleen Dewhurst is Kate, a madam. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, (more)
Gary Grimes stars in this revisionist western as Ben Mockridge, a 16-year-old boy who has long dreamed of living the life of a cowboy. Wanting adventure, he persuades Frank Culpepper (Billy Green Bush) to take him along on a cattle drive, and Ben learns the hard way just how lonesome, exhausting, and violent the life of a cowhand can be. As one of the men on the drive puts it, "Being a cowboy is what you do when you can't do anything else." Hal Needham, who would later direct a string of successful films starring Burt Reynolds, can be spotted in a small role as Burgess, one of the cowboys. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Grimes, Billy Green Bush, (more)
Years before Kevin Costner danced with wolves, Robert Redford headed to the mountains to escape civilization in Sydney Pollack's wilderness western. Around 1850, ex-soldier Johnson (Redford) decides that he would rather live alone as a mountain man in Colorado than deal with society's constraints. After a series of setbacks, he meets grizzled mountain veteran Bear Claws (Will Geer), who teaches him how to survive. Jeremiah strives to live as peaceably as possible in the rugged environment, trading with the native Crow tribe, adopting a boy (Josh Albee) after his family is massacred, and even marrying the daughter (Delle Bolton) of a Flathead chief in order to avoid confrontation. He settles into a mountain home with his family, but the U.S. cavalry, complete with a puritanical Reverend, interrupt the idyll to compel Jeremiah to lead them over the mountains and through a Crow burial ground to rescue white settlers. After the Crow kill his family in retaliation, Jeremiah's frenzied moment of payback precipitates a long-running vendetta, turning him into a legendary Indian killer at the expense of his original ideals, on the way to a final moment of grace. Spectacularly shot on location in Utah, the film captures both the appeal and the challenge of the landscape that Jeremiah chooses over civilization. With an unglamorous performance by Redford and a story that questioned white colonialism while mythologizing the man of nature, Jeremiah Johnson appealed to its 1972 audience and became one of the biggest hits of the year. Wavering between heroicizing Jeremiah for surviving and damning him for killing, Jeremiah Johnson took its place among the Vietnam-era cycle of critical westerns, like Arthur Penn's Little Big Man (1970) and Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), that condemned civilization for corrupting the wilderness and preventing individuals from going pacifistically native. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Will Geer, (more)
- 1972
- PG
- Add The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid to QueueAdd The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid to top of Queue
The oft-told story of the rise and fall of the James Younger gang is given the Dragnet treatment in The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid. With meticulous attention to detail, the film recreates the outlaw gang's most infamous escapade: the September 7, 1876, robbery of "the biggest bank west of the Mississippi" in Northfield, MN. Cliff Robertson plays Cole Younger, and Robert Duvall appears as Jesse James, herein depicted as a pair of vengeance-driven sociopaths, but no worse than the greedy railroad magnates who've driven them into a life of crime. Younger is also quite the manipulator, convincing the immigrant farmers of Northfield that the bank is completely impervious to robbery, thereby increasing the deposits that he intends to steal. Duvall's Jesse James is a cold-blooded murderer, but, like Younger, not without his own personal charm. The climactic raid is filmed cinéma vérité style, looking more like a haphazard CNN news event than a well-oiled machine (this film is not, thankfully, the standard "slick" Hollywood product). Though it drags in spots, The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid is a superb, iconoclastic reproduction of an era long past. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Robertson, Robert Duvall, (more)
- 1972
- PG
- Add The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean to QueueAdd The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean to top of Queue
Paul Newman plays the title role in John Huston's surreal, revisionist western as the infamous Texas hanging judge. Upon arriving in the tiny West Texas town of Vinegaroon, Roy Bean draws a moustache on a wanted poster of himself, marches into a saloon, and declares his presence. He is immediately robbed, beaten within an inch of his life, tied to a horse and dragged out into the prairie, then left to die. Rescued by a young Mexican girl, Maria Elena (Victoria Principal), Roy Bean heads back into town and murders everyone in the local saloon, declaring that he'll kill anyone of the same sort who turns up. He also sets himself up as the sole arbiter of law and order and renames the town Langtry, in honor of the legendary actress Lily Langtry (Ava Gardner). The community prospers as Judge Bean dispenses his own brand of frontier justice upon strangers passing by, robbing or killing anyone who tries to make their way through the town. But when Maria dies, Bean's old associates begin to turn on him, one at a time (in response to his constant harping on their wives, many of whom were former prostitutes) and Bean is forced to leave. Years later, Bean rides back into town, called back to the place to save his daughter from trouble - and finds that the community has been taken over by a shady character called Frank Gass (Roddy McDowall) - a circumstance that requires Bean to dispense his own unique brand of justice once again. Stacy Keach lends a neat comic turn to the film as Bad Bob, an albino gunslinger whose dining habits consist of chowing down on raw onion, drinking hot coffee from a pot, and demanding that an entire horse be cooked for his supper. John Milius (Red Dawn) scripted.
~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Victoria Principal, (more)
- 1973
John-Boy (Richard Thomas) learns a few harsh and bitter life lessons when he accepts a job collecting debts for shifty absentee landlord Graham Foster (Charles Tyner). Meanwhile, John-Boy's sister Erin (Mary Elizabeth McDonough), feeling that her brother has let her down by aligning himself with Foster, shifts her affections to a wild fawn--and refuses to set the animal free, even when her family gets in trouble with the local authorities. This episode was directed by series regular Ralph Waite (John Walton). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When the police pick up Gator McKlusky (Burt Reynolds) for running moonshine, they agree to let him out of jail if he will help them capture the key figures in his moonshine operation. Since the suspected ring leader is the man who killed Gator's little brother, he agrees to help out the cops to get himself out of prison and get his revenge. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Billingsley, (more)
Stuart Rosenberg's taut police thriller, based on the Martin Beck novel by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahlöö, concerns a serial killer who is targeting bus riders. When a bus full of innocent commuters are killed on a San Francisco street, Jake Martin (Walter Matthau) is assigned to track down the killer. Jake has a personal stake in the killings because his partner was one of the victims. Teamed up with new partner Leo Larsen (Bruce Dern), Jake investigates the back alleys of San Francisco to find the serial killer. The trail leads to a tour of the underbelly of the city's gay subculture. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, (more)
In this gritty and violent period drama set in the depths of the Great Depression, Lee Marvin stars as "A No. 1", the acknowledged King of the Hoboes. A No. 1 is famous among his fellow tramps for his ability to catch a ride on any train, no matter how risky the hop or dangerous the guards. He acts as a sort of mentor for Cigaret (Keith Carradine), a young hobo who brags that some day he'll surpass A No. 1 in his accomplishments. But neither has had the courage to ride a train guarded by Shack (Ernest Borgnine), an unusually sadistic railroad cop who will brutally beat or even murder any man who tries to catch a ride on his train. A No. 1 is determined that no one, not even Cigaret, is going to deny him his title, so taking his life in his hands, he and Cigaret hop a ride on Shack's train, and they are soon bearing the full brunt of his violent nature. Emperor of the North features superb location photography by Joseph F. Biroc and a fine supporting cast, including Charles Tyner, Simon Oakland, Elisha Cook Jr., and Sid Haig. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
A former friend betrays a legendary outlaw in Sam Peckinpah's final Western. Holed up in Fort Sumner with his gang between cattle rustlings, Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson) ignores the advice of comrade-turned-lawman Pat Garrett (James Coburn) to escape to Mexico, and he winds up in jail in Lincoln, New Mexico. After Billy theatrically escapes, inspiring enigmatic Lincoln resident Alias (Bob Dylan) to join him, the governor (Jason Robards Jr.) and cattle baron Chisum (Barry Sullivan) requisition Garrett to form a posse and hunt him down. Rather than flee to Mexico when he can, Billy heads back to Fort Sumner, meeting his final destiny at the hands of his friend Pat, who, two decades later, is forced to face the consequences of his own Faustian pact with progress. With a script by Rudolph Wurlitzer, Peckinpah uses the historical basis of Billy's death to eulogize the West dreamily yet violently as it is desecrated by corrupt capitalists. Both Pat and Billy know that their time is passing, as surely as Garrett's posse knows that they are participating in a legend. Using familiar Western players like Slim Pickens and Katy Jurado, Peckinpah underscores the West's existence as a media myth, and he even appears himself as a coffin maker. Just as the bloodletting of Peckinpah's earlier The Wild Bunch (1969) invoked the Vietnam War, the casting of Kristofferson and Dylan alluded to the chaotic late '60s/early '70s present; the counterculture has little place in a corporate future. Also like The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett was truncated by its studio; the cuts did nothing to help its box office. Key scenes, particularly the framing story of Garrett's fate, have since been restored to the home-video version. In this director's cut, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid stands as one of Peckinpah's most beautiful and complex films, killing the Western myth even as he salutes it. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, (more)
- 1974
- PG
Based on a novel by Michael Crichton, Terminal Man is a sci-fi thriller about a scientist who decides to be the lab rat in an experimental surgery to control his violent tendencies. During the surgical procedure, a miniature computer is implanted in his head. Unfortunately, the mechanism malfunctions, and he becomes a vicious killer. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal
- 1974
No, nobody steals a skating rink in The Great Ice Rip-Off. The "ice" referred to in the title of this TV movie is a cache of diamonds, stolen by aging thief Gig Young and his entourage. Most of the story transpires during a bus ride from Seattle to San Diego, during which Young's various gang members come aboard with their share of the stolen booty. Lee J. Cobb plays one of the bus passengers, who happens to be an ex-cop with a suspicious nature. The climactic chase sequence in The Great Ice Rip-Off is handled con brio by director Dan Curtis--far removed from his earlier work on Dark Shadows. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Melvin Purvis: G-Man was one of two TV pilot films intended to launch a series based on the life of famed FBI agent Purvis. Dale Robertson played the title role in both, emphasizing the heroics and downpedalling Purvis' shameless self-aggrandizement (he was so rabid a publicity hound that many historians have come to doubt the veracity of his accomplishments). The "public enemy" tackled by Purvis in this 90-minute film is kidnapper/bandit Machine Gun Kelly (Harris Yulin). The script accurately portrays Kelly as a cowardly dolt, completely dominated by his ambitious wife (played by Maggie Blye). First aired April 9, 1974, Melvin Purvis: G-Man was followed by The Kansas City Massacre (1975). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In 1945, private Eddie Slovik, a "born loser" who made no secret of his desire to escape the army in any way possible, became the first American to be executed for desertion since the Civil War. William Bradford Huie's chronicle of this unfortunate wartime episode, The Execution of Private Slovik, was published in 1954. Frank Sinatra optioned the movie rights for the book, intending to cast Steve McQueen as Slovik and to have blacklisted writer Albert Maltz write the screenplay. The US military reluctantly agreed to okay the film on the proviso that Slovik would not be portrayed sympathetically. Out of deference to his friend John F. Kennedy, Sinatra abandoned the project, and that was that -- until the award-winning TV-writing team of Richard Levinson and William Link became intrigued in the Huie book. After a series of convoluted negotiations, Levinson and Link were finally able to put The Execution of Private Slovik on the small screen on March 13, 1974 (Albert Maltz, upset that the pair had decided upon a strict "no villains" policy in their adaptation, washed his hands of the whole affair). Martin Sheen was selected to play Slovik, though for a while Dustin Hoffman was seriously considering taking a cut in salary to essay the role. Abandoning the linear style of Huie's book, the writers adopted a Citizen Kane approach, using flashbacks to illustrate the events leading up to the execution. It is made clear throughout the film that no one, neither the military brass nor Slovik himself, truly believed that the private would ever face a firing squad; the usual custom was to postpone the execution until after the war, then reduce the sentence to a long prison term. Thanks to an unfortunate chain of misunderstandings and snafus, Slovik ended up dying by gunfire in a lonely French courtyard -- a fact long withheld from the public (Slovik's wife Antoinette learned of her husband's true fate for the first time from author Huie). The film's most famous scene, in which Slovik nervously repeats his "Hail Marys" as the hood is being fitted over his head, was Martin Sheen's own idea. Filmed on location in California and Canada, The Execution of Private Slovik won a Peabody award for the NBC television network. Originally running a full 120 minutes, it was re-edited into a 97 minute version for theatrical release overseas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1974
The lighthearted title of this made-for-TV film deftly sets the mood for the 74 minutes to follow. Ben Murphy stars as a rogueish Wild Bill Hickok, carrying on with an incongruously glamorous Calamity Jane (Kim Darby). Amidst the gambling and lovemaking, Will Bill must fend off a gang of vengeful gunslingers. This being a Roy Huggins production, we shouldn't be amazed that Rockford Files regular Stuart Margolin shows up as "Blind Pete". Also starring Jane Alexander (who'd later play Calamity Jane herself) and Tony Franciosa, This is the West That Was premiered December 17, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
