Wilford Brimley Movies
With varied rugged experiences ranging from blacksmith to horse trainer, portly, handlebar-mustached Wilford Brimley entered films in the 1960s as a cowboy stunt man. Save for a few billed appearances on TV cowboy series like Gunsmoke, Brimley worked primarily in supporting roles until finally achieving star status in the 1980s via his gruff, fatherly roles in such films as The Thing (1981), Hotel New Hampshire (1984), The Natural (1984) and Cocoon (1986). On television, Wilford Brimley starred in the 1980s family dramedy Our House. In addition to his film and television work, Brimley worked for a time as the commercial spokesperson for the Quaker Oats company. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 2002
Directed by Matthew Arnold and filmed entirely in the state of Kentucky, Resurrection Mary revolves around one of the most famous ghost stories in American history. Supposedly, the young Mary Bregavy has been haunting the town of Resurrection, KY, since the turn of the century, when she was struck by a car and killed. Locals believe she may be looking for a suitor to join her in the realm of the dead and could quite possibly be responsible for the recent string of disappearances, but an eccentric old innkeeper knows the real story. The film features local talent, including Wilford Brimley, Susannah Brown, Justin Connor, and Patrick Nagle. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Tom Selleck plays the drifter Rafe Covington in this respectful adaptation of the Louis L'Amour novel Crossfire Trail, presented by Turner Network Television. A romantic Western, Crossfire Trail follows Rafe as he struggles to honor his vow to a dying friend to protect his wife and daughter and their Wyoming homestead. Virginia Madsen plays the widow who questions Rafe's intentions and unwittingly sides with the bad guys headed by land owner Bruce Barkow (Mark Harmon). The producers went to great lengths to find historic buildings and props to lend an authentic air to the production. The film was directed by Simon Wincer, who also paired with Selleck on 1990's Quigley Down Under. The film also stars Wilford Brimley, Brad Johnson, Patrick Kilpartrick, and Barry Corbin. ~ Jessica Frost, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Virginia Madsen, (more)
Michael Anderson directed this Canadian coming-of-age adventure that generates nostalgia for rural America at the turn of the century. Farmer John Lee (Michael Ontkean) and wife Sarah (Leslie Hope) have two children, Jay Berry (Corey Sevier) and crippled Daisy (Katie Stuart). Hoping to buy a pony, Jay Berry works during the summer at the town's general store, run by Gramps (Wilford Bramley). After a train wreck, circus monkeys escape. Jay Berry spots them and sees an opportunity to earn extra money by collecting the reward. But how can he catch them? Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Ontkean, Leslie Hope, (more)
- 1997
Kramer (Michael Richards) plots a horrible revenge on the mail-order company that has been deluging him with catalogues. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) gets a car from his old pal "Fragile" Frankie (Dana Gould), but not the car he wanted; however, the vehicle falls right into place with Kramer's sinister scheme. George (Jason Alexander) is traumatized when he places his weekly phone call to his parents. And Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is smitten by a fellow she meets at the diner -- but can her new dream lover "handle the workload?" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Tommy Lee Jones made his directorial debut in this made-for-television movie about an aging cowboy dealing with the changing face of the West. Jones stars as Hewey Calloway, a cowboy who has roamed the West for years, who suddenly finds himself at a crossroads -- torn between the freedom of his lifestyle and the security of a loving family and homestead. The film was based on the book by Elmer Kelton and filmed in Texas. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Terry Kinney, (more)
- 1995
Another Tom Clancy political thriller is put to film with this made-for-television movie. Harry Hamlin stars as Paul Hood, the new director of an obsolete government crisis management center. Hood is assigned to downsize the center, but during first day on the job some nuclear warheads are hijacked by terrorists. Hood has to rise to the occasion and prove himself as a leader in unfamiliar territory. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Hamlin, Deidre Hall, (more)
- 1994
A childhood friend of Detective Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin) plans to assist in the suicide of his terminally ill father. When Felton hides his knowledge of this action, he runs afoul of investigating detectives Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Crosetti (Jon Polito). Elsewhere, Pembleton (Andre Braugher) looks into the fatal shooting of a drug dealer and uncovers a possible instance of police brutality. And Bolander (Ned Beatty) defies Giordello's (Yaphet Kotto) order to attend a sensitivity-training session. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
This sequel to the 1974 family film Where the Red Fern Grows tells the story of a man named Billy Coleman (Doug McKeon), who returns from duty in WWII to the home of his crotchety grandfather (Wilford Brimley). Hidden deep in the Louisiana woods, the home provides a place for Billy to readjust to a normal life, raise a litter of puppies, and reconnect with the things in life that he fought so hard to save. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doug McKeon, Wilford Brimley, (more)
- 1991
This made-for-TV western stars Rick Schroder as a hotheaded cowboy who guns down the man responsible for the death of his parents. On the run from his victim's powerful father, Schroder is sheltered by old codger Wilford Brimley. Brimley seems to be operating out of friendship, but his reason for keeping Schroder alive is deliberately obscured until close to the end. Blood River was written by John Carpenter, a name usually associated with science fiction and horror. Though set in the Wild West, the film was lensed in Alberta and British Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Schroder, Wilford Brimley, (more)
- 1989
Gore Vidal's 1955 TV play and 1958 film The Left-Handed Gun discreetly explored the hitherto untapped homosexual subtext in the saga of gunslinger Billy the Kid. Vidal's 1989 reworking of the same material, the made-for-cable Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid, is just as discreet, but no less top-heavy with 20th-century psychoanalysis. In relating the tale of New Mexico Territory outlaw William H. Bonney, Vidal once again postulates that Billy (described as a "homicidal moron" by one less sentimentally inclined historian) was a misunderstood kid who fell in with bad company. Val Kilmer, on the verge of bigger things, stars as Billy, while Duncan Regehr portrays sheriff Pat Garrett, the Kid's onetime crony and ultimate executioner. Gore Vidal himself shows up in a bit as a minister. "Pursued by his enemies, betrayed by his friends, ruled by his passions" read the ad copy when Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid premiered over the TNT Cable Channel on May 10, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
While visiting his former partner in an Arizona border town, LA cop Jack Lucarelli witnesses a murder. The killer is white slaver Gerald McRaney-who turns out to be one of local sheriff Wilford Brimley's most trusted deputies. Nobody believes Lucarelli's eyewitness account, not even his ex-partner Jameson Parker, another of Brimley's deputies. Eventually, it dawns on Parker that his department is seething with corruption. He and Lucarelli work secretly to put an end to McRaney's activities, leading inexorably to the film's climactic bloodbath. The otherwise eminently forgettable American Justice is interesting for its reteaming of onetime Simon and Simon costars Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney, this time on opposite sides of the law. Parker coproduced the film with costar Lucarelli, while one of the film's supporting actors, Dennis A. Pratt, wrote the script . ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lucarelli, Gerald McRaney, (more)
- 1986
A pair of childhood friends meet again after one becomes a convict and the other a law man assigned to transport him to prison. Thompson's Last Run features Robert Mitchum and Wilford Brimley in the lead roles. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Produced for the HBO Cable service, Act of Vengeance reenacts the 1969 murder of United Mine Workers leader Jock Yablonski. Yablonski (Charles Bronson) virtually writes his own death warrant when, after a "safe" mine collapses and 80 miners are killed, he rebels against the incumbent UMW boss Tony Boyle (Wilford Brimley) to campaign for presidency of the union. Boyle gets the word out that one less Yablonski in the world would be preferable. Yablonski is depicted as being fully aware of the danger he faces in challenging Boyle--and is supported in his decision by his courageous wife (Ellen Burstyn). Based on the book by Trevor Armbrister, Act of Vengeance premiered on April 20, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
This expensively wrought TV movie was the sequel to the 1984 offering Ewok Adventure, which in turn was inspired by those furry little extraterrestrials introduced in the 1983 theatrical feature Return of the Jedi. On the forest moon of Endor, a little girl (Aubree Miller) is protected by the Ewoks -- and by human hermit Noa (Wilfred Brimley) -- against such enemies as space-witch Charal (Sian Phillips). Like all previous chapters in the "Ewok" saga, The Battle for Endor was executive-produced by George Lucas. And, like Ewok Adventure, the film copped an Emmy nomination. First telecast November 24, 1985, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor was preceded two months earlier by the animated Saturday-morning series The Ewoks, which later evolved into The Ewoks and Star Wars Droids Adventure Hour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
A crew of international astronauts find that a murderer is in their ranks. They must solve the crime before reaching earth, and fortunately receive help from the base commander (Wilford Brimley). The film was originally made for television. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1983
O'Malley (Tom Selleck) is a heavy-drinking, tough biplane pilot flying the skies of China for fun and profit when Eve (Bess Armstrong) seeks him out to help her find her father before he is declared dead and she loses an inheritance to the evil Bentik (Robert Morley). O'Malley does not really want Eve around, but adventure and the challenge beckon. If only their journey together had been sparked by a little excitement, clever humor, snappy dialogue, and seductive romantic chemistry, this bland film would be a different trip altogether. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Bess Armstrong, (more)
- 1982
Amber Waves is the tale of two radically different personalities, united by crisis. Dennis Weaver plays a midwestern wheat harvester, coarsened by his lifelong struggle with poverty and the elements. Kurt Russell plays an obnoxious Manhattan-based male model, who has coasted through life on his charm and has never gotten his hands dirty. When Russell finds himself facially disfigured and penniless, he takes a job on Weaver's farm. Though the two men dislike each other at first, they reach a common ground when Weaver suffers a serious personal dilemma. Beautifully lensed in Alberta, Canada, Amber Waves was one of the high points of the 1979-80 TV movie season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Actor/producer Robert Blake tried and failed three times to launch a TV detective weekly titled Joe Dancer. The first such attempt was the feature-length pilot The Big Black Pill. As Joe Dancer, Blake struts and frets his way around Beverly Hills in search of a killer. Blake's then-wife Sondra co-stars as Joe Dancer's physically challenged assistant. The Big Black Pill went down in one gulp on January 29, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
One of several syndicated TV miniseries of the 1980s, Roughnecks was part of the same "Golden Circle" project that previously yielded the multipart Wild Times. The title refers to a group of two-fisted oil wildcatters, among them self-made millionaire Paul Marshall (Steve Forrest), his lifelong pal and business partner, Plug Champion (Harry Morgan), and up-and-coming young "roughneck" O'Dell Hartman (Sam Melville). Avoiding the temptation of carbon-copying such previous oil-drilling movies like Boom Town, Flowing Gold, and Tulsa, this two-parter devoted much of its screen time to the hero's efforts to help Marshall's former sweetheart Ida McBride (Vera Miles) save her ranch by bringing in a valuable methane well. In most local markets, Roughnecks was telecast the third week of August (usually the 15th and 16th of that month) in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Rodeo Girl is 26-year-old Sammy Garrett (Katherine Ross). Despite opposition from the good-ole-boy network, Sammy is determined to succeed as a bronco buster. But her plans may be thwarted when Sammy becomes pregnant. Even if she doesn't lose the baby, it's likely that she'll lose the love of the baby's father (Bo Hopkins) if she continues her rough-and-tumble lifestyle. Inspired by real-life rodeo world champion Sue Pirtle, the made for TV Rodeo Girl first aired September 17, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Ross, Bo Hopkins, (more)
- 1979
In the made-for-television film Wild, Wild West Revisited, the classic comedy/espionage/western television series is brought up to date with a story featuring government agents Jim West and Artemus Gordon leaving retirement to battle Miguelito Loveless, who is planning to conquer the earth by cloning world leaders. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Conrad, Ross Martin, (more)
- 1977
Jason (Jon Walmsley) falls in love with Vanessa (Lynda Purl), the sister of his brother-in-law Curt (Tom Bower). Unfortunately, Vanessa arrives on the mountain with considerable "baggage": she has deserted her husband to pursue a singing career. Blind to Vanessa's fickle, opportunistic nature, Jason begins neglecting his schoolwork to help her fulfill her ambitions. Meanwhile, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) tests out public reaction to his novel by publishing excerpts in the "Blue Ridge Chronicle." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
With America's entry into WW2 still several months away, Mary Ellen's husband Curt (Tom Bower) is drafted in to the US Army Medical Corps, while Erin's erstwhile soldier boyfriend G.W. (David Doremus) returns on furlough. At the same time, Jason's rambunctious pal Yancy (Robert Donner) decides to enlist, pausing only long enough to wed his girlfriend Sissy (Cissy Wellman). The episode ends on a tragic note as one of the Mountain's three soldiers returns home in a coffin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
