Joe Brooks Movies
The budget may be loftier, but Eye of the Tiger is essentially an up-to-date AIP motorcycle flick. Ex-convict Buck Mathews (Gary Busey) lives as quietly as possible in his old home town. The corrupt local sheriff (Seymour Cassel) would give anything to drive Buck out of town: thus, the sheriff looks the other way when a motorcycle gang headed by Blade (William Smith, who else?) invades the community and targets Buck for extermination. With no one else on his side, Buck turns to honest cop J.B. Deveraux (Yaphet Kotto), but he's a few days away from retirement and doesn't want to get involved. It turns out that the only "good guy" Buck can depend upon is a "bad guy": A well-connected Latino drug lord who owes Buck a favor. When the chips are down and Buck's daughter is kidnapped, Deveraux joins in the climactic offensive against the bikers--which, of course, boils down to a mano-y-mano struggle between Buck and Blade. You've seen it all before, but in this case familiarity does not breed contempt. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Yaphet Kotto, (more)
"Don't expose him to bright light. Don't ever get him wet. And don't ever, ever feed him after midnight." This sage advice is ignored midway through Gremlins, with devastating results. This comic Joe Dante effort is set in a Norman Rockwell-esque small town at Christmastime. Seeking a unique gift for his son an erstwhile inventor (Hoyt Axton) purchases a cute, fuzzy little "Mogwai" from a Chinatown shopkeeper's (Keye Luke) grandson (John Louie), who dispenses the above-mentioned warning before closing the deal. Meanwhile, young bank clerk Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) must suffer such antagonists as rich-bitch Mrs. Deagle (Polly Holliday) and priggish Gerald (Judge Reinhold) while pursuing his romance with Kate (Phoebe Cates). These and a variety of other plot strands are tied together when the lovable mogwai (named Gizmo) is exposed to bright light and gotten wet. In short order, the town is invaded by nasty, predatory Gremlins, who lay waste to everything in sight as Billy and Kate try to contain the destruction. Like most of Joe Dante's works, Gremlins is chock-full of significant cameo appearances: in this instance, such pop-culture icons as Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Chuck Jones, Scott Brady, Harry Carey Jr., Steven Spielberg (the film's executive producer) and even Robby the Robot all show up briefly on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Zach Galligan, Hoyt Axton, (more)
The Big Bus is set aboard a nonstop, nuclear-powered luxury bus commandeered by Joseph Bologna. Naturally, Bologna is a tortured hero with a deep dark secret (he keeps insisting he didn't eat all those passengers on his last disastrous drive). Stockard Channing and Harold Gould play the designers of the big bus, and of course they have a few skeletons in their closet. In fact, there isn't a passenger on the all-star manifest that isn't hiding something. The supporting cast features contributions by René Auberjonois (parodying his M*A*S*H role), Ned Beatty, José Ferrer, Ruth Gordon (doing a devastating send-up of Airport's Helen Hayes), Sally Kellerman, Richard Mulligan, and many others; Murphy Dunne contributes a memorable bit as a smarmy cocktail pianist. Unfortunately, The Big Bus was dumped onto the summer 1976 release schedule without fanfare by Paramount, and it sank without a trace. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, (more)
The success this underdog comedy from director Michael Ritchie almost single-handedly spawned the kids' sports film boom of the 1980s and '90s. When beer-breathed ex-minor-league ball player and professional pool cleaner Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) agrees to coach a little league team in the San Fernando Valley, he soon finds he's in over his head, having inherited an assortment of pint-sized peons and talentless losers. They play well-organized teams and lose by tremendous margins, and the parents threaten to disband the Bears to save the kids (and themselves) any further embarrassment. Buttermaker refuses, though, and brings in a pair of ringers: Amanda (Tatum O'Neal), his ex-girlfriend's tomboy daughter, and Kelly (Jackie Earle Haley), a cigarette-smoking delinquent who happens to be a gifted athlete. With their help, the Bears manage to change their losing ways and qualify for the championship, where they face their arch-rivals, the Yankees. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, (more)
- 1967
Fort Courage is paid a visit by Colonel Adams (Arch Johnson), who informs Captain Parmenter (Ken Berry) that someone in the vicinity is selling guns to the Apaches. Before long, everyone in the fort is suspecting everyone else of being a guilty party, which wreaks havoc upon the various business ventures of O'Rourke Enterprises. More out of self-preservation than patriotism, O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker)and Agarn (Larry Storch) set out to lay a trap for the elusive gun-runner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
James Gregory, previously seen in two first-season F Troop episodes as Major Duncan, returns to the series in the role of smooth-talking carpetbagger Big Jim Parker. Managing to gain financial control of Fort Courage, Big Jim evicts the F Troopers and tells them to vamoose. O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and Agarn (Larry Storch) decide to scare off Big Jim with a phony Indian raid--assuming that the peace-loving Hekawis are willing to cooperate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
On the eve of his promotion examination, Captain Parmenter (Ken Berry) comes down with a nasty cold. This is the cue for everyone at Fort Courage to test out their home-made remedies on the hapless Captain. Needless to say, the cures prove to be worse than the disease--but the "best" is yet to come when Parmenter actually takes the exam. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Larry Storch appears in a dual role as Corporal Randolph Agarn and Agarn's Russian cousin, Cossack officer Dmitri Agarnoff. Upon his arrival in Fort Courage, Dmitri makes a beeline to the town's prettiest gal, Wrangler Jane (Melodie Patterson), sweeping her off her feet with his own special brand of Borscht-thick continental charm. All of which makes Captain Parmenter (Ken Berry) mighty jealous--but is the Captain willing to declare his affection for Jane before she leaves for Siberia with Dmitri? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Child actor Peter Robbins, who provided the voice of the title character in the classic cartoon special A Charlie Brown Christmas, appears in the flesh as 10-year-old Joey Walker. When Joey runs away from his widowed mother (Pippa Scott) in hopes of joining the Cavalry, Sgt. O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) takes it upon himself to persuade the boy to return home. There's only one problem: During his brief stay at Fort Courage, Joey has proven to be the best trooper in the whole place! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Fort Courage endures a Japanese invasion in the form of a fierce Samurai warrior (Mako), who has arrived in town in pursuit of a runaway Japanese girl named Miko (Miko Mayama). In their efforts to protect the girl, the troopers run the risk of seeing their fort reduced to rubble by the warrior's powerful karate chops. As it turns out, the strongest defense against the Samurai's hands is little Miko herself . ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
In the series' second takeoff of the TV western Branded, Cpl. Agarn faces death by firing squad for the murder of Sgt. O'Rourke. As Agarn awaits his fate, flashbacks reveal how all this came about (and though we don't want to spoil the suspence, it can be noted that O'Rourke is still alive and kicking). The storyline is fused together by a plaintive ballad, composed by F Troop producer Herm Saunders and the episode's cowriters Austin Kalish and Irma Kalish, and performed by John Mitchum, who'd made several appearances in Season One as Trooper Hoffenmueller. (And yes, John Mitchum is the brother of Robert Mitchum). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
In this sublimely anachronistic episode, Agarn (Larry Storch) resigns from the Army to manage a singing group called the Bedbugs (played by real-life musical quartet The Factory). Though their rock-and-roll tunes are decidedly ahead of their time, the Bedbugs bid fair to be a success on the Indian-tribe circuit--until O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker), hoping to woo Agarn back into the service, comes up with his own group, "The Termites." This is the episode in which Wrangler Jane (Melodie Patterson), decked out in a hippie costume, performs Bob Dylan's "Tambourine Man", some 85 years before the song was written! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Vincent Price is perfectly cast to type as Count Sforza, a Dracula-like Transylvanian nobleman who has taken up residence in a spooky old mansion near Fort Courage. When Wrangler Jane (Melodie Patterson) suddenly disappears, the troopers are convinced that she's been kidnapped by the sinister Sforza. The climax finds O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker), Agarn (Larry Storch) and Captain Parmenter (Ken Berry) prowling around the shadow-laden mansion in hopes of rescuing Jane--only to make a startling discovery about the supposedly vampiric Count. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
Charles Lane takes temporary leave from his "Homer Bedloe"duties to essay the similar role of Fort Courage banker Mr. McGuire. After the F Troop payroll is stolen by bandits, McGuire threatens to foreclose on the saloon owned by Sgt. O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker). To prevent this, O'Rourke and Agarn (Larry Storch) board the next payroll stage, determined to duke it out with the bad guys--or at least, to appeal to the villains' better nature! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
Thanks to an unexpected loophole, the men of F Troop discover that they're not legally enlisted in the Army. Thus it is that every man in Fort Courage takes a powder, leaving Captain Parmenter (Ken Berry) alone to guard the fort. The situation gets dicier when the hositle Shug Indian tribe decides to mount an attack, forcing Parmenter to do some quick improvising to convince the invaders that the fort is fully manned. Former "Great Gildersleeve" Willard Waterman appears as ex-commander "Cannonball" McCormick. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
Captain Parmenter (Ken Berry) arranges a surprise party to mark Sgt. O'Rourke's 25th year in the Army. Entering into the spirit of things, Agarn (Larry Storch) digs up several of O'Rourke's old friends and comrades-in-arms for an elaborate "This Is Your Life"-style celebration (a cute trick, considering that This is Your Life wouldn't make its radio debut for another eighty years at least!) This is the classic episode in which an old dirty joke is cleaned up to explain how the Hekawi tribe earned its name. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
Andrew Duggan guest stars as Major Chester Winster, the Army's new Inspector General. An avowed Indian hater, Major Winster hopes to use his revolutionary new weapon, the Chest-Winster 76 ("the gun that will win the west") to wipe out every tribe on the frontier--including the peace-loving Hekawis. To prevent this, O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and Agarn (Larry Storch) improvise a clever sabotage scheme. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
In this spoof of the then-current "spy craze", Fort Courage becomes a hotbed of espionage intrigue when Agarn (Larry Storch) is chosen to test a new secret bulletproof vest. Before long, the vest is stolen, and the prime suspect is slinky female spy Lorelai Duval (Abbe Lane). Pat Harrington Jr. gives a standout performance as bumbling, gadget-laden superspy B. Wise, a dead-on takeoff of Get Smart star Don Adams. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
Larry Storch pulls double duty in this episode as both Corporal Randolph Agarn and his lookalike cousin, Mexican bandit El Diablo. In order to clear his family name, Agarn must arrest El Diablo himself--a task that proves problematic when the bandit chief invades Fort Courage and takes Captain Parmenter (Ken Berry) and Wrangler Jane (Melody Patterson) prisoner. In addition to his aforemetioned dual role, Larry Storch also shows up as three other members of the Agarn family: Granny Agarn (who looks like Whistler's Mother), Gaylord Agarn and Carmen Agarnado (Reportedly, this episode was written as a favor to actor Storch, who wanted to show off his famous flair for comic dialects). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
George Gobel guest stars as Henry Terkel, the eccentric inventor cousin of Wrangler Jane (Melody Patterson). Terkel's arrival precedes that of the Army's Inspector General, who plans to check F Troop's pension fund--which O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) has just lost in a poker game with Dapper Dan Fulbright (Del Moore). O'Rourke's only hope in salvation rests with Terkel, who has created a device that will allow him to hold a winning hand every time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
The good news is that F Troop is about to receive a citation for its high morale. The bad news is that everyone at Fort Courage is mad at everyone else -- and you can cut the angry silence with a knife! This episode is best known for an outtake (never seen on TV but shown at network-affiliate meetings) in which several of the male regulars begin "camping" their roles with lisping voices, limp wrists and swiveling hips (surprisingly, the most convincing performance along these lines is delivered by veteran western star Bob Steele!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
To prevent his sweetheart in Pasaic, New Jersey from marrying a horse-car conductor, Agarn (Larry Storch) sends the girl a letter claiming that he has killed the infamous Apache warrior Geronimo (Mike Mazurki). Alas, Agarn sets him self up for a scalping when Geronimo learns of the deception and goes on the warpath again. Jackie Joseph, then the wife of series regular Ken Berry, appears as Agarn's girlfriend Betty Lou MacDonald. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
The entrepreneurial Sgt. O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) may have to relinquish ownership of the Fort Courage saloon to blackmailing con artist Dan Larson (Peter Leeds). Determined to hold on to his ill-gotten gains, O'Rourke conspires with his confederate Agarn (Larry Storch) to beat Larson at his own game. The scheme involves dancing girls, of course, else this episode might have borne a different title! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
The future of O'Rourke Enterprises is threatened by the arrival of Major Duncan (James Gregory). Not that Duncan suspects that anything crooked is going on: It's just that he is impressed by Sgt. O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and wants to promote him to lieutenant. Realizing that such a promotion would be fatal to O'Rourke's many business ventures, Cpl. Agarn (Larry Storch) goes out of his way to prove that the Sergeant is in no way qualified to be an officer or a gentleman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
With the departure of the company cook, O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) orders Agarn (Larry Storch) to don chef's hat and dish up food for the troopers. The fact that Agarn can't even boil water is inconsequential: O'Rourke intends to turn a huge profit by having Agarn pad his list of supplies. Future M*A*S*H costar Jamie Farr makes a cameo appearance as Indian comedian Standup Bull ("Take my squaw--please.") ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.