Gordon Dawson Movies

Chuck Norris stars in this made-for-TV thriller as Joshua McCord, a Presidential secret agent. Though still quite virile and limber, McCord feels that he is getting too old for his job, thus he begins training a younger man named Deke Slater (Dylan Neal) as his replacement, using Zen and proper nutrition as primary teachings tools. But McCord springs back into action -- and kicks plenty of serious butt in the process -- when the First Lady is kidnapped by a terrorist organization. First telecast by CBS on April 2, 2000, The President's Man was followed two years later by a sequel, The President's Man: A Line in the Sand. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Karate-champion-turned-movie-star Chuck Norris was ideally cast as the title character in the contemporary Western series, Walker, Texas Ranger. Introduced as a two-hour TV movie on April 21, 1983, the weekly, hour-long CBS series starred Norris as Cordell Walker, who worked out of the Dallas office of the Texas Rangers with his youthful partner, Baltimore-born former football pro Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard Jr.). While Jimmy, like his superiors, preferred to rely upon modern crime fighting techniques -- computers, forensic science, strict adherence to civil liberties and due process -- the impassive, taciturn Walker was generally of the opinion that criminals were subhuman scum, worthy only of a slug in the face or a kick in the groin. Kicking, in fact, was a Walker specialty, notably whenever he came within close proximity of a locked door or bolted window. Though she didn't always approve of his methods, Walker's off-and-on girlfriend, assistant D.A. Alex Cahill (Sheree J. Wilson), admired his strong sense of justice and fair play, especially when protecting those weaker than himself. Too, Alex found Walker extremely handy whenever she got kidnapped, which seemed to happen at the rate of once every other week! Despite his loyalty to his friends, those close to Walker remained so at their own risk, inasmuch as the bad guys were not above hurting them to get to him. Others within Walker's orbit included his old pal C.D. Parker (Noble Willingham), a former Ranger who, after being invalidated out of the service, opened up a restaurant; Uncle Ray Firewalker (Floyd Red Crow Westerman), the sagacious old Native American who raised Walker from childhood and had taught him the value of restraint and contemplation -- unless of course, violence was absolutely called for; Carlos Sandoval (Marco Sanchez), an undercover detective who owed his life to Walker; and Walker's former martial arts student Trent Malloy (James Wlcek), who owned a karate school (and who, teamed with Carlos Sandoval, was briefly spun off into his own TV series, Sons of Thunder). During the series' final seasons, undercover Rangers Francis Gage (Judson Mills) and Sydney Cooke (Nia Peeples) linked up with Walker's team. In the course of events, Uncle Ray Firewalker passed away; C.D. Parker was killed by a band of elusive assassins who intended to work their way up to Walker in their efforts to knock off every Texas Ranger in Dallas; and in the series' seventh season, Walker and Alex became engaged, with wedding bells ringing at the end of season eight and the birth of a baby daughter in the final episode. After ending its CBS run on July 28, 2001, Walker, Texas Ranger launched what was apparently an endless rerun cycle in syndication and on cable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jim (James Garner) reluctantly serves on the jury in the trial of George Bassett (Mills Watson), who has been charged with manslaughter while driving drunk. When a mistrial is declaring thanks to a hung jury, Bassett hires Jim to prove his innocence. The key to the solution would seem to be in the hands of a woman claiming to be the victim's sister--but let's not discount those two brothers (Robert Sampson, James Karen) who run the law firm where George is employed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

TV personality Ruth Beetson-White (played by futureNewhart costar Mary Frann) is determined to frame Morry Hawthorne (Ken McMillan), the manager of boxer Jesus Hernandez (Rocky Echevarria), on a trumped-up federal charge. Since Jim (James Garner) owns a percentage of Hernandez, Hawthorne's plight is of special interest to him. It later develops that several of Jim's fellow investors have been scammed by Hawthorne, but this doesn't make Ruth right; in fact, her involvement in the case may make her dead wrong. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once again, Jim (James Garner) crosses paths with his old prison "pal" Gandy Fitch (Isaac Hayes), who is now managing the singing career of his girlfriend Thea (Dionne Warwick). Unfortunately, Thea has a hot-tempered ex-husband named Joe Moran (Tony Burton), who up until recently was serving time for murder. Released from prison as part of a touchy-feely "Second Chance" program, Moran uses HIS second chance to kidnap Thea and spirit her away. All this rigmarole is tied in with a hidden "treasure", stuffed in an old stereo system. It's up to another of Jim's prison buddies, Angel Martin (Stuart Margolin) to provide a most appropriate coda to this latest chapter in the saga of Gandy Fitch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a variation on the "Little Miss Marker" theme, Jim (James Garner) and Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.) find themselves taking care of an abandoned child named Marin Rose Gailey. Through no fault of her own, the kid proves to be a major threat to the two Rockfords: it seems that her father Stuart (Burt Young) has a price on her head, and that he is being pursued not only by the Mob but also by a corrupt narcotics agent. When Marin is kidnapped to bring her dad out in the open, Jim cooks up a scam to save the girl and flush out the villains. Trivia note: the role of Marin is played by Kim Richards, better known to contemporary audiences as the aunt of Paris Hilton)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once again, Jim Rockford (James Garner) finds himself neck-deep in trouble when he develops car trouble in a small town. The town in question is Pastoria, where thanks to a series of "misunderstandings" Jim is accused of several crimes, including grand theft auto, narcotics smuggling, statutory rape, and worst of all, posing as an insurance agent! Protesting his innocence on all but the last charge, Jim refuses to cop a plea and demands his day in court. Unfortunately, the entire economy of Pastoria is based upon collecting huge fees from strangers charged with phony crimes--and the powers-that-be aren't about to let Jim mess up a good thing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Told via flashback by a saloon keeper to a census taker in a tiny Texas town, this brutal, adult-oriented western offers the tale of a drifter who settles down to marry a woman he doesn't love so he can get at her inheritance. When that is exposed, the drifter flees and does not return for eleven years. He rides back into town with a fortune that he earned while hunting buffalo. The town's crooked banker and two thugs ride out to greet him. Thinking that the only way the reprobate could have gotten so much money is from rustling cows, they engineer a brutal reception that results in his being branded with a big "T." Naturally, the drifter passes out during his painful ordeal and when he finally comes to and learns the truth about the situation immediately gallops off to get his bloody revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide