Reb Brown Movies
Lead Reb Brown appeared onscreen from the early '70s. ~ All Movie Guide- 2007
Everyone's favorite diminutive mischief-maker enlists in the United States Marine Corps and the results are pure, unhinged hilarity in this installment of veteran comic Tim Conway's long-running Dorf series. When Dorf was assigned KP duty by Sgt. Fulton (Reb Brown), he never suspected that he would be in danger of becoming the main course. Whistling happily as he dutifully scrubs out the steam vat, Dorf is suddenly trapped inside when two Marine pranksters tired of his merriment put the lid on giant pot. When the cook returns seeing that the lid is replaced, he puts the steam vat on the stove and turns on the heat. All hell breaks loose when Sgt. Fullton discovers what has happened and peeks into the pot, only to find Dorf sitting on his work bench and taking a relaxing steam bath. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Conway, Reb Brown, (more)
- 1995
Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Iolaus (Michael Hurst) are confronted with a baffling mystery when they try to find out who has been plucking the dead from the battlefield of Tantalus. In the process, Hercules finds himself in the middle of a war between his friend King Daulin (Erik Thomson) and Daulin's own sister Poena (Amber Jane Raub). Complicating matters is the fact that another of Hercules' friend, Jarton (Reb Brown), is now Poena's lieutenant. Behind all this intrigue and mayhem is the war god Ares -- of whom it can be said that, at the very least, he loves his dog. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, (more)
- 1994
After surviving Vietnam and the illegal fighting circuit, one man finds himself facing a whole new set of challenges in this action-drama. Billy Thomas (Lou Ferrigno) is a kind soul who happens to have a colossal body -- and a remarkable talent for the martial arts. Tim Yum Lin (James Shigeta) is leader of an underground crime syndicate who has dreamed up a way to profit from Billy's size and strength. Tim and his underlings kidnap Billy and hold him captive, telling him that his best friend has been killed and he must obey or he'll be next. Billy is forced to take on a number of brutal, fearless competitors in no-holds-barred cage matches held in an underground arena, with Tim's gang taking bets on the action. Billy handily wins the matches set up for him, but seeing no other way out, he makes a deal with Tim to bet on himself in an upcoming fight -- with Billy's freedom hanging in the balance. The Cage 2: Arena of Death also stars Shannon Lee, Reb Brown, and James Lew. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Ferrigno, James Shigeta, (more)
- 1991
In this action thriller, Reb Brown plays a DEA operative sent to South America to rescue a kidnapped drug czar and bring him back to the U.S. to face justice. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
In this low-budget, straight-to-video war drama, a Pentagon advisor working in a South American country suddenly finds his sympathies shifting toward the rebel cause when he realizes that some of the atrocities going on in the conflict-torn country are being perpetrated by his own countrymen in disguise. When he first finds out about the covert activities, he protests, but that only gets him tortured by his men. He then becomes a full-fledged renegade and begins secretly training a guerilla force to fight back. Poorly executed violence ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Having agreed to submit to a genetic research project headed by Dr. Paul Flynn (Lane Smith), cancer victim Cindy Oliver (Kate Linder) leaves Flynn's hospital--and promptly dies. Soon thereafter, several other people who'd come in contact with Cindy also turn up dead. Investigating, Quincy (Jack Klugman) comes to the sobering conclusion that Dr. Flynn's experimental cancer-cure serum has spawned a mutant respiratory virus--which is not only fatal, but may also be unstoppable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
This 1981 sequel to the 1979 made-for-TVer Goldie and the Boxer once again stars O.J. Simpson and Melissa Michaelsen as, respectively, boxer Joe Gallegher and Joe's 10-year-old manager Goldie Kellog. When Joe incurs the wrath of an evil promoter, he and Goldie high-tail it to Hollywood. They take refuge in the home of Babe (Stubby Kaye) and Cuddles (Sheila MacRae) a pair of Tinseltown "fringies" distantly related to Joe's trainer Wally (Jack Gilford, taking over for the first film's Phil Silvers). Produced by Orenthal Productions (guess who ran that company?), Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood first aired February 19, 1981. It has been rerun incessantly since June of 1994, thanks to the latter-day notoriety of star O. J. Simpson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- O.J. Simpson, Melissa Michaelsen, (more)
- 1980
Pamela Myers guest stars as Bobbi, a wide-eyed Phoenix tour guide who develops a passionate crush on Mel (Vic Tayback). Inasmuch as Bobbi is willing to shepherd new customers into his diner, Mel strings her along. There's no way that Mel is going to emerge as the "good guy" this time--but has he gone too far to mend his ways? This episode was codirected by series star Linda Lavin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
This 3-hour TV adaptation of the 1932 Aldous Huxley novel is set 600 years in the future. In this "well- ordered" society, the citizens are required to take mind-controlling drugs, sex without love is compulsory, and test-tube babies are commonplace because of a ban on pregnancy. Keir Dullea heads the cast as Thomas Grahmbell, "director of hatcheries". Not everybody is satisfied with society's lack of humanity and feeling; the loudest dissidents are free-thinking poet Heimholtz Watson (Dick Anthony Williams) and brilliant oddball Bernard Marx (Bud Cort). An injection of new "old" ideas are brought in by "primitive" John Savage (Kristoffer Tabori), who lives on an Indian reservation which still honors 20th century values. Meanwhile, Linda Lysenko (Julie Cobb) becomes a natural mother--and in so doing becomes a criminal. In keeping with the style of the original book, the script's newly-minted characters are given names of pop-culture icons (Disney, Maoina, Stalina, and so on). Brave New World was first telecast March 7, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
This second made-for-TV movie features the Marvel Comic-book hero who must keep the villains from succeeding in accelerating the ages of government officials. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Television film featuring the Marvel Comics hero doing battle with a mad industrialist who wields a neutron bomb. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
Jan-Michael Vincent plays a self-destructive beach bum to whom surfing is a Zen experience. We first meet Vincent in the devil-may-care 1960s, in the company of his carefree buddies William Katt and Gary Busey. The boys reunite ten years later, after one has served time in Vietnam. The beach is still there, the waves still break upon the shore, and towards the end of the film, the characters become people that we truly care about. Barbara Hale, the real-life mother of costar William Katt, makes a piquant supporting appearance. Cut from 129 minutes to 104 for its pay-cable release, Big Wednesday is also known as Summer of Innocence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, (more)
- 1977
James R. Silke narrates this 1977 compilation of mayhem in the movies. This Rhino Video release features behind-the-scenes looks at how the stunts are done, and clips from 29 classic films that show heroes riding horses, falling off buildings, blowing up tanks, bare-knuckle fighting, and dodging bullets. Features footage of John Wayne, Hedy Lamarr, Glenn Ford, Joan Crawford, Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth, and more. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Originally made to be a television pilot, this sci-fi thriller is set in the future and chronicles the exploits of a trio of space travellers who thaw out after having spent nearly two centuries in suspended animation, return to earth and find it inhabited by clones. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
As he often did in his 1970s TV appearances, Jackie Cooper forsakes his "good guy" image in this episode to portray a cold-blooded criminal. In this case, Cooper is cast as jewel thief Frank Mullvaney, who intends to pull off a heist at a jeweler's convention right under the nose of Lt. Kojak (Telly Savalas). Such an undertaking requires a disguise, and Mullvaney has a beauty: he's going to show up at the convention dressed as a priest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Disaster follows Nurse Ridgely (Catherine Burns) when she spreads a rumor about Dr. Morton's (Ron Pinkard) financial status, while Roy (Kevin Tighe) hopes that everyone else will follow John (Randolph Mantooth) when he participates in the Fireman's Olympics track event. The emergency-call manifest includes a case of peach-pit cyanide poisioning, and the rescue of a man trapped in an overturned armored car. Finally, another emergency patient suffers not only from a fracture, but from the consequences of having two wives at the same time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar guest stars as an accident victim who turns out to be too tall to be removed from his damaged car by the emergency team. In another incident, a fraternity pledge's life is jeopardized by a misfire party prank. And back at the station house, head nurse Dixie (Julie London) is forced to take a heavy workload due to budget cuts, while Dr. Early (Bobby Troup) suffers from a horrendous case of hiccups. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1947
While appearing in the stage production Harvey, comedian Joe E. Brown was persuaded by director Harold Schuster to accept the atypically serious starring role in The Tender Years. Though hardly his first dramatic film appearance, it was undoubtedly Brown's best. The star is cast as kindly turn-of-the-century rural minister Will Norris, who takes it upon himself to rid his community of the brutal sport of dog-fighting. Discovering that the dog to which his own son Ted (Richard Lyon) has become attached is being used for fighting purposes, Reverend Norris steals the animal, knowing full well that he'll stand trial for his "crime." Moved by the reverend's dedication and sincerity, the authorities decide to call off his trial -- and, eventually, to illegalize all dog-fighting activities. Though basically a "family" film, The Tender Years contains some rather tense scenes with the battling dogs, so it might be best to exercise of bit of parental discretion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe E. Brown, Richard Lyon, (more)
- 1991
- R
After his twin brother is taken hostage in Beirut, a high school basketball coach (Michael Pare) heads to the Middle East to rescue him. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- R
Steve James stars in this martial-arts adventure. This time he plays former maverick NYC cop and Vietnam vet Logan Blade who currently works as a bounty hunter in pursuit of the potentially dangerous Angel, who is trying to get all of the Big Apple's gangs to unite and become a vicious death squad. To do so, he surreptitiously uses his connections with the NYPD to investigate Angel and find out the identity of the person who is really behind the scheme. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve James, Reb Brown, (more)
If you've seen TV wrestling, you know what a "caged" bout is. In Cage, it's for real; two testosterone-pumped behemoths are placed in a cage where they duke it out to the death. Lou Ferrigno plays Billy Thomas, the muscle-bound Vietnam vet who is finagled into cage-fighting by a group of mobsters. Scott Monroe (Reb Brown), the man whose life Billy saved in Nam, finds himself (through a series of ludicrous plot twists) facing his former savior in the dreaded cage. We suppose this was meant to be taken seriously, but audiences didn't get the hint; Cage has been greeted with raucous, derisive laughter ever since its 1990 release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Ferrigno, Reb Brown, (more)
Discharged from Vietnam, John Lithgow and his army buddies have trouble fitting into a hostile home-front society. Rather than endure dirty looks and taunts of "baby killer," Lithgow and his friends wander aimlessly all through the Pacific Northwest. Several years pass, during which time Lithgow's estranged son Ralph Maccio grows to manhood. Finally emerging from his self-imposed exile, Lithgow begins searching for the son he's never known. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lithgow, Ralph Macchio, (more)
- 1988
- R
A team of mercenaries, led by Colonel Virelli (Peter Fonda), is hired by an African nation to get rid of a tribe of people who are trying to block a proposed dam. After the men learn that the tribe is merely fighting to save its life, they face mutiny and confusion as to which side they're on. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Fonda, Reb Brown, (more)
- 1988
- R
William Katt plays Steve Shephard, a Vietnam Green Beret who has continued to fight on alone for 15years after the withdrawal of American forces. He's a renegade, seeking to avenge his fallen comrades and wearing spooky, white Kabuki-style makeup (hence the title) as he wages his one man war in a Vietnamese-Cambodian border area. As the film opens, the Pentagon receives a coded signal from Shephard that he's ready to come home. Ex-Green Beret Captain Walker (Wayne Crawford is dispatched with a team of vigilantes to find and return Shephard. The complication is that Walker and Shephard had clashed bitterly years earlier while in the same unit. White Ghost was filmed in Zimbabwe, doubling for the Southeast Asian locations. The film was planned for theatrical release by its original producers, but a merger with another company resulted in a direct-to-video release. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, Rosalind Chao, (more)
- 1987
- R
In this low-budget, Rambo-esque actioner, a Vietnam vet re-enters the Southeast Asian jungles to complete some unfinished business. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reb Brown, Christopher Connelly, (more)
