Claudia Bryar Movies

Set during the Civil War, Bad Company stars Barry Brown as a Northern boy, Drew Dixon, who heads West to avoid getting drafted. He falls under the spell of Jake Rumsey (Jeff Bridges), an easygoing young con artist. Drew joins Jake's gang of boy bandits, who live by their wits and try to avoid confrontation with adult criminals like Big Joe (David Huddleston). It is Drew who must eventually save Jake from hanging, even though he realizes that his intervention could lead to his own execution. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

Ann-Margret is beyond praise in her TV movie debut as the real-life Lucile Frey. A poor, minimally educated rural Iowa mother, Lucile learns on the occasion of the birth of her tenth child in 1952 that she is dying of cancer. Reasoning that her husband (Frederic Forest) is not responsible enough to take care of her children on his own, Lucile takes upon herself the task of finding suitable foster parents for her soon-to-be motherless brood. Not as depressing as it might have been, Who Will Love My Children? closes with the implication that Lucile's children were able to retain their family ties even after being separated for 29 years. The real-life Frey children were showcased the same evening that Who Will Love My Children premiered (February 15, 1983) on an installment of the ABC TV series That's Incredible. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The made-for-TV Green Eyes stars Paul Winfield as a Vietnam veteran who feels like a fish out of water in civilian life. Shunned by his family and friends and pushed aside by the Establishment, Winfield decides to find the one person who truly needs him. That person is the Vietnamese child whom he fathered and left behind in Saigon. Burrowing through miles of red tape and wandering the bombed-out Vietnamese streets, Winfield searches for his lost son. Filmed in the Philippines, Green Eyes originally aired January 3, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Previously seen on Streets of San Francisco as a Latino cop determined to purge his old barrio neighborhood of drug pushers, A Martinez appears in this episode in the radically different role of a hapless illegal alien named Rudy Costa. During a raid by immigration officials, a security guard is murdered, and Costa is fingered as the killer. As they pursue the fugitive Costa, Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) uncover evidence that their quarry may have been framed. Much of this episode was filmed on location in Napa Valley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a true story, The Family Nobody Wanted was one of the better ABC Movie of the Week entries of the 1970s. James Olson plays a minister whose main concern is society's outcasts, particularly the youngsters. With the loving help and support of his wife (Shirley Jones), the reverend takes in 12 unwanted children of various colors and creeds. Though it's very hard to find suitable lodging for all these kids, the couple provides a loving environment for their ersatz family. Adapted by Suzanne Clauser from a book by Helen Doss (who is portrayed in the film by Shirley Jones), The Family Nobody Wanted was first telecast February 19, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When Cliff Robertson was toasted by Ralph Edwards on the TV series This is Your Life in 1972, Robertson was standing on the set of Ace Eli and Roger of the Skies. This production was announced as an "upcoming release"-though as it turned out, the film lay on the shef for several years thereafter. Robertson plays a barnstorming stunt flyer of the Roaring Twenties. Accompanying him from job to job is his 11-year-old son, Eric Shea. Despite having a child in tow, Robertson has no trouble scoring with the local lovelies wherever they go. 20th Century-Fox had so little faith in Ace Eli and Roger of the Skies that the company changed many of the names in the production credits: producer "Boris Wilson" was really Robert Fryer, director "Bill Sampson" was actually John Erdman and screenwriter "Chips Rosen" was known to friends and family as Claudia Salte. Only poor Cliff Robertson was denied the opportunity to cloak himself in an alias. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-part episode), John-Boy (Richard Thomas) refuses to reveal the seriousness of his accident, terrified that he will no longer qualify for a scholarship at Boatwright University. As John-Boy's eyesight grows weaker with each passing day, it is painfully obvious that the only way he can prevent permanent blindness is to undergo surgery. . .if it isn't already too late. Elsewhere, Olivia (Michael Learned) is outraged to discover that Jason (Jon Walsmley) has been dragooned into helping the Baldwin Sisters cook up their intoxicating "recipe"; and Ben (Eric Scott) and Grandpa (Will Geer) continue hunting for the family's Thanksgiving turkey. This episode earned an Emmy Award for scriptwriter Joanna Lee. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A pair of youthful criminal wannabes, Chill and Bryan, concoct a "game" whereby they will kidnap a young boy and hold him for ransom. But the game turns deadly when the victim is hidden in a cave that is threatening to collapse upon him at any minute! In the original TV Guide synopsis, much was made of the fact that the young villains in this episode were portrayed by a pair of "overnight" movie stars: Richard Thomas, who'd been seen in Red Sky at Morning (and was still a year away from The Waltons, and Bryan Houser, one of the principal players in Summer of '42. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Michael Callan guest stars as Harry Springer, an otherwise honest salesman who becomes an amateur extortionist. Actually, Springer's intentions are honorable: He intends to save his brother from a trumped-up murder charge by putting the heat on Alexander York (Simon Scott), prosecution witness whom Harry suspects of being the real killer. Unfortunately, Springer gets in way over his head--and as a result, it's likely that not even Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) can save the salesman from a Mob rub-out. In a rare TV appearance, film favorite Laraine Day is cast as the murder suspect's wife. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Minister Sam (Andy Griffith) and his wife Mary Elizabeth (Lee Meriweather) move to a Kansas town divided by political concerns that stall the town's progress. Will Sinclair (Henry Jones) and Alex Gresham (Edgar Buchanan) have allowed a long-standing family argument to impede the progress of the small rural community. Sam must contend with his mother-in-law (Kay Medford) and his wild brother-in-law Bubba (Jerry Van Dyke) when Bubba sets up a moonshine still in the church basement with the help of his friend Calvin (Parker Fennelly). Art Shields (Gary Collins) is the ambitious young country lawyer who runs for mayor in hopes of bringing peace to the families, and he works for the best interests of the divided community. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

A series of truck hijackings has coincided with the appearance of stolen American cargoes behind the Iron Curtain. Investigating, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) follows the trail of clues to Manning Fryes (Peter Graves), an outwardly respectable businessman who is harboring a terrible secret. In a rare American TV appearance, Louis Jordan is unforgettable as a charming but cold-blooded master spy who uses beautiful women and vulnerable men as his helpless pawns. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is assigned to capture escaped bank robber-murderer Robert Charles Porter (Earl Holliman). Going undercover, Erskine quickly learns that Porter is the latest client of a gang that specialize in smuggling criminals out of the US. In the episode's thrilling climax, Erskine finds himself reluctantly sharing a "last ride" with the wounded Porter and his terrified girlfriend Linda (Barbara Luna). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi